Lucy Heartfilia, a girl once known for her family and its company, stood before the bathroom mirror in her small, but cozy apartment; but while she'd normally be busy admiring the almost flawless reflection she was so proud of, that day it was different.
With her head bowed, hands clutched tightly around the smooth and cold ceramic of the bathroom sink, she stared down at the pink tattoo on the back of her right hand. She clenched her jaw, thinking of her chosen family. Fairy Tail. The place she could always come home to, where she would find friendship, comfort, honesty, support and trust. Lately she had found herself stumbling about especially the latter. The bonds between each and every Fairy Tail member were based on such faith in each other, which would allow one to lay their life into the hands of a nakama without batting an eye.
The blonde thought back to all the times she had entrusted her wellbeing to Natsu, Gray and the others, her body and mind being the living proof, that she never had been disappointed or proven wrong. When Natsu had brought her to Fairy Tail all that time ago, he had trusted her almost blindly, even more so, when he asked her to form a team shortly after. The blonde also remembered all the promises she had made herself back then. She had promised herself, that she's train hard and become strong, proving every single person wrong, who had brushed her off as a weak cheerleader. But even after all this time, and even though she was the owner of most of the Zodiac keys, she hadn't become a mage, one would consider strong, at least Lucy thought so. She had managed to find excuses for almost every planned training session and she felt genuinely horrible for letting her friends down like that. She had never stood her ground in a real fight. She had always tried her best though, but it never had been quite enough; neither against Phantom Lord, nor on Tenrou Island, or during the Magical Tournament.
She had always hoped for her next chance, but kept screwing up and disappointing everyone. The worst part of it all though: They kept throwing their insane love and trust right at her, again and again, as if daring her to abuse it one more time, and the celestial mage was torn between being thankful for that or mad about it.
Lucy soon felt the first desperate sobs rip through her body as her tears shattered on the cold ceramic and her warm hands.
Suddenly the crying girl jerked up when she felt a gentle touch on her back.
"Don't be sad, my dear princess. Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll be able to fix it," a soft voice whispered soothingly. When Lucy then turned her head, she came face to face with her strongest spirit.
"Get out," Lucy ordered him sternly, but instead of letting go, Loki simply pulled her into a tight embrace.
"How can I leave you alone, while I hear your cries and feel your turmoil? It was driving me insane. Such a pretty face should be graced with a tender smile, not be darkened by a frown."
The ginger man slowly maneuvered his master out of the bathroom, the sound of her cries ripping at his heart, tighter than her fists at his shirt. They sat in silence, the blonde's head still tucked safely under her spirit's chin, while she tried to dry her tears and stifle her sobs.
"Now, please tell me who turned you into this mess, princess, so I can kick their ass all the way to the farthest star out universe has to offer." He put on a fake smirk, which faded instantly when Lucy had finished her answer.
"The little worthless princess did this to herself," she had spat, her voice full of disgust with herself. Loki had to blink several times before he was able to answer, one word in particular ringing in his ears and tugging at his heart strings. The Lucy he knew was a gentle, caring and optimistic person and she would never in her life call anyone worthless, not even the guys who had tried to kill her or her friends in the past.
"You are not worthless," the lion growled out, anger flashing dangerously in his green eyes. "Actually, to be honest, you are the most precious person in my life. Don't you dare call someone I love worthless, not even if it's yourself!"
Lucy's eyes widened a fraction for a moment before her façade shifted into a sad, humorless smile. Seeing as that this was all the answer he was gonna get, Loki sighed and roamed his head for the right thing to say.
"Am I weak," the celestial mage suddenly asked whispering, but with a tone so piercingly hurt, that Loki almost flinched at the sound.
"No Lucy, you are not. You're neither worthless, nor weak!"
"But-"
"And," he raised his voice over hers. "I don't want to hear no buts or maybes from you. Sure you're not as brute or physically strong as Natsu, but you're just as essential for the team as he is." He ignored her low snort and continued. "Believe me, I've been around long enough to know, that Natsu was in desperate need of someone like you before you two met in Hargeon. A mage's strength consists of the will, the mind, the experience and of course the body with its magical power resource and while Natsu's the body, you're the mind. The only thing you lack in comparison is the experience, but you've grown so much stronger in that little time you've been with us, I am sure it won't take long until you've reached their level."
"It's just that I want Mama and Papa to be proud of me."
A small smile graced Loki's face at the sincerity of her words when he pulled her back into his chest where she let the tears fall freely.
"You know Lucy, I am one hundred percent sure that your mother couldn't be any prouder of her little girl than she is right now. At least I know I couldn't."
"Thanks Loki," she sighed before a comfortable silence spread between them.
Lucy listened to her spirit's steady heartbeat and soon snuggled deeper into the lion's chest.
"You're so warm."
The words were mumbled, but Loki heard them clearly and chuckled lightly. The urge to lift her head up and kiss her full pink lips clawed at his heart, but he knew better than that. A gentleman like him wouldn't take advantage of her situation, but wait for the right moment, so he just started rubbing his hands over his master's back gently until she had fallen asleep in his lap. Slowly the lion smiled down at the sleeping form and the gorgeous smile that had spread on her face, before tucking her in, silently leaving for the guild.
When he arrived at the big wooden doors he could already hear the dulled sounds of the familiar ruckus going on inside. He opened the doors just wide enough for him to slip through, hoping he wouldn't be noticed with all this commotion. Dodging a few chairs, mugs and people he almost thought he'd been successful until a mop of salmon hair appeared right in front of his shades. Of course he wouldn't have been able to trick the dragonslayer's sensitive nose, he should've known.
"Natsu," Loki addressed his friend with a sigh, pushing his blue shades further up his nose in irritation.
"Hiya Loki, you don't visit often. Something wrong with Luce?" The worry in his voice was evident.
"No it's nothing. She just didn't feel like coming in today," he lied smoothly. "I was gonna get a mission for just the two of us, though, since she told me that you just came back yesterday from your own mission."
"Well, that's true, but I'm already fired up again," the boy laughed, pushing his fist up in the air to show his determination.
"I am sorry Natsu, but I really think you shouldn't come this time. I'll explain after we come back."
With that the redhead pushed onward, signing Lucy and him up for a job, leaving behind a stunned and confused Natsu.
[5 days later]
A certain pink haired teenager was tapping his foot impatiently, while sipping on his drink.
"Shouldn't they be back by now?" he asked, not even trying to cover the worry in his voice. "They should, shouldn't they?"
"Well yeah, Mira said the job wouldn't take long; three days tops," Gray answered, his own face showing a worried frown. Both of the boys were anxious about Lucy going out on a mission without them, seeing as they were used to protect their friend.
"But it's been five days already!"
"Don't you think I know that, flame brain?!"
Natsu returned a low 'naked snowman' insult, but neither of them could really get motivated about their fight, so they stopped and sat in silence again.
"Maybe we should go look for them," Wendy quietly suggested after she had sat down on the same table as Natsu and Gray, absentmindedly staring into her cup. Before any agreements could be spoken, though, Erza had slammed her fist on the table.
"Enough! We have to trust them. I am worried too, but considering what Loki told me, we should not take action unless absolutely necessary!"
"But-"
"QUIET," the Titania roared, causing most of the guild members to stop dead in their tracks, searching for the cause of the female's uproar. "We will not interfere for now, and that is final."
Nobody dared to question Erza's decision after that, so they stayed at the guild, trying to take their minds of their missing nakama, but to no avail.
"Lu-chan will be alright, she's with Loki after all," Levy tried to sound optimistic, but you could still see the hesitation in her eyes as she looked up to Gajeel, searching for any kind of comfort.
Suddenly Natsu started crunching up his nose frantically and jumped up from the table, knocking his cup over in the process. Just as Erza wanted to start scolding him though, a wide grin spread over his face.
"She's back everyone! I can smell her," he exclaimed happily and remained standing until the guild doors opened, revealing Lucy, who leaned onto Loki for support.
"I'm back everyone!" she told them smiling, fatigue and exhaustion evident in her voice.
Natsu's grin faded but then, when he took in the form of his heavily bandaged friend. Several gasps could be heard throughout the guild hall.
"Luce, what happened to you," The dragonslayer asked shocked, walking over in her direction.
Lucy looked down at herself and frowned at all the bandages she was wearing, and how it must have looked to their friends.
"It's nothing to worry about, really. Just a few scratches and cuts Virgo thought had to be treated properly, plus I've sprained my ankle on the way home. That's why we took so long, I am sorry." Loki just nodded when the salmon haired boy had looked at him, silently asking him to confirm Lucy's words, before helping her over to where the others were sitting.
"Welcome back, Lucy. Did the mission go well," Erza asked casually, a proud expression glistening in her eyes.
"Well yeah, thanks Erza. Actually there were some complications we didn't quite expect, but we made it after all."
"Complications," Loki snickered. "More like our definite doom if it hadn't been for you Lucy. You know, after we had defeated that Honton guy and took back the magic tool he had stolen, we noticed that we were trapped inside a rune barrier, set to explode five minutes later." Shocked eyes stared at the lion, who now proudly looked down at the bowed head of his blushing owner and friend.
"Thankfully Lucy managed to rewrite it in time."
"Only thanks to Levy teaching me. And you could've simply flashed out, you know."
"And leave you for yourself? I would do no such thing princess!"
The girl in question blushed even more under Loki's intense gaze and almost agreed a little too quickly, when Wendy offered to take a look at her ankle and wounds.
When the two girls came back half an hour later, the guys were still sitting in the same spot, chatting casually and even before Lucy could sit down she tried to stifle a long yawn, but to no avail. She could hear Loki chuckling and the rustling of his clothes as he stood up, offering her his arm for support.
"Tired, my love? I shall escort you home then."
Too tired to even comment on the nickname the blonde yawned again.
"That's probably a good idea, yes. Goodnight everyone, see you tomorrow!" She waved lazily before marching out the front doors ignoring Lokis arm, since she could walk on her own again. Out in the cold streets of Magnolia she stretched, trying to ease her sore muscles a little.
"That was quite a troublesome mission you picked out there Loki, but I'm glad you did actually." The ginger man's face showed a genuine but knowing smile as he walked next to his favorite girl.
When they finally reached the apartment the spirit couldn't help but notice the soft glow Lucy seemed to emit in the dim light of the night and how her hair swayed slightly in the warm summer breeze.
"You truly look beautiful in the moonlight, my dearest. No star in the heaven's can match your appearance and don't get me started on your personality. Even the eternal beings in the sky are envious of you, Lucy."
"You probably can't even see me in this darkness," the girl muttered as she felt warmth crawl up her cheeks once more.
"Believe me I can, beautiful and I am dead serious. I've never met anyone like you" the lion assured her before he gently took her soft hand in his and gave it a light squeeze.
Lucy's gaze shifted just in time to see Loki's face inching closer before his lips connected with hers and her eyes fluttered closed again.
The celestial spirit noticed, that the blonde's lips really were as soft as they always looked and as he wanted to pull away, Lucy's fingers found their way into her lover's wild mane pulling him even more into their kiss. Pleased at the missing rejection her leaned even more into the kiss as he bathed in the sight of his beloved's blissful expression.
When the two broke the kiss the redhead immediately pulled his owner into a tight embrace.
"Thank you. For the mission, for being there, for everything really," the blonde whispered sighing.
"Everytime, my lovely princess. But I'll take my leave now, if that's alright with you. If you want me to, I'll be glad to walk you to the guild tomorrow, you know how you can call on me."
"Yes I'd love to, thanks." She quickly added a "Goodnight Loki," before disappearing behind her front door. Once inside she touched her lips in disbelief and couldn't stop the wide grin spreading across her face.
"I guess I love you too, stupid lion," she finally muttered to herself."
~Hey there guys, Ramona here. I know I haven't posted anything in ages and I am really sorry, but I am really busy with university and all that.
Anyways. I hope you liked my little LoLu story here. I've been in the "fluff-mood" lately, so that's what came of it.
Anyways. It's still January 1st here in Germany, so happy new year guys! I wish you the best of luck for 2013 and lots and lots of health, fun and whatever makes your life more colorful!
I don't wanna bug you too long, though, so I shall take my leave now!
Bye guys, I love you and I'd love you even more if you left a review for me. It would really really mean a lot to me.
Well then guys. Goodbye, have a nice day/night whatever and I hope to see you soon.
Love 3
~Moni-neechan