Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
She appeared in his realm like the spun smoke she used in her attacks, pink curls trailing and coiling loosely behind her as she glided into his office.
This meeting was not necessarily a long time coming, but coming nonetheless. Now that Lucy held Aries' key they could interact without betraying contracts or having to fight against the other to honor them.
It was late, but that never stopped Leo from staying in his office.
When he looked up to see who had entered the proverbial lion's den, Aries all but stumbled, halting her trek completely. She hadn't purposely attempted to sneak up on him but she was afraid he thought that she had; there was just something in his eyes. They gleamed and pierced through her, and as he took the tinted glasses off, her breathing stilled.
"What're you doing, Aries?" Leo's brows drew together.
The young girl gulped, but the spell he always seemed to cast over her was broken, and she brought herself to full height. "You're still working."
"Yes."
Aries hadn't posed it as a question but he answered it anyways. He was always working, either here or for Lucy back on Earthland. Leo was the leader of the zodiac,and that title called for more than just dating another zodiac or planning outfits for Lucy in-between being called to assist their key holder on a mission.
"You should get something to eat and some rest." She deftly moved the rest of the way to his desk, littered with papers and decorated with the picture frame that she studied countless times. She fidgeted and sucked in a breath, "A spirit is useless to their master if they're not taking care of themselves."
Leo snorted and smiled up at her, "You're right."
The celestial spirit faltered when she didn't return the usually shy smile that was the domino effect to his own. Aries remained quiet for several beats, enough time to dart her eyes over his disheveled hair, the shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, and the forgotten jacket and tie laying on the cabinet behind him. All of them were the tell-tale signs that Leo was tired and had fought a losing battle with the mental effort to stay on track. She nervously bit her lip before she spoke again.
"I have…missed you."
For all his roguish playboy antics, Leo felt his heart lurch for the one statement from this one girl. He had unashamedly bragged about breaking several hearts in his time as a spirit and on Earthland (it was just his way), but Aries was always the one that broke down that suave persona and left him purposely delivered that killing blow; by now the ram knew precisely what to say when she wanted him to be serious and stripped of his ludicrous facade.
Leo sighed heavily and let the corners of his mouth dip down, using that time to soak in the image of Aries. He felt guilty when he realized that she had been asleep, her curls loose and her wool top with the skirt missing, replaced with a wool sweater and pajama bottoms. Tired as he may be, he got up from his chair with the leisurely and calculating grace of the powerful feline. Before Aries could even process the movement, he had circled the desk and stood barely an arm's length away from her. The leader of the zodiac glanced down and clucked his tongue in amusement at the sight of her feet covered in tall wool socks.
Leo attempted to regain some of his smooth charm to erase the tiny downcast wrinkles at her eyebrows and mouth. "No worries now, right?"
When the lighthearted, confident comment didn't assure her right away, he was left fidgeting under her penetrating gaze. Leo had no idea what to do now, but he had the sinking suspicion he said the wrong thing and once again his devil-may-care attitude did more harm than good. He shoved one hand deep in his trouser pocket and the allowed other to scratch at the back of his neck, eyes averted and mind reeling for something to say.
Aries tilted her head and watched him, seemingly waiting for something herself. Leo barely caught her shaky hesitation before she had closed the distance between them and wound her arms tight around his waist. Suddenly, he didn't have to search for something to do or say because his arms snaked their way aroundher shoulders. He marveled at her tiny form, how he towered over her short stature and how it had been so many years since he had even just touched her hand. It was only by their close proximity after a few moments that he heard her speak, muffled against his shirt and branded into his chest.
"Not anymore."
It was no secret that the lion stayed cooped up in his office more days than not, constantly bent over a desk in various states of disarray. Capricorn kept his own office of sorts nearby, for easing the work load off of Leo's shoulders.
The goat's attempts to get him out of the office for even two hours usually ended in failure. The only times he had been successful were when he had stoically threatened to rat him out to Lucy and Leo wasn't able to decide if he was bluffing or not in the end.
The room remained a solitary place for him, no distractions or headaches from his rowdy pride; it was how he preferred to work. However, he'd be lying if he said it didn't get too quiet at times, as three years in Fairy Tail will do that to your perceptions of noise level.
Leo had called on Aquarius that day to discuss a recent mission she'd fought on and she had merely arched her brow at him with that infuriating smirk upon her arrival. "You'll never find another girlfriend if you stay in here all the time. You're as hopeless as Lucy."
The zodiac leader rolled his eyes and returned her condescending look with one of his own, "You know cats instinctually hunt out fish first, right?"
The mermaid scoffed at his daring, hotly tossing her long blue hair over her shoulder. "Sorry, cats aren't much my type."
"Can't disagree there, I've never been one to play with my food." Leo lazily leaned back in his chair, intertwining his hands behind his head and looking quite boastful for his clever retort. It wasn't everyday he was able to get the mermaid's goat, no offense to his friend down the hall. "Careful 'Quar, Scorpio might not stick around if he sees you gaping like a measly fish."
The female zodiac's thin brow rose again, ready to counter with the killing blow to his cocky attitude. She was a sea creature that had heard more than her fair share of sailor talk, settling on a comeback sure to make even the self-proclaimed playboy blush and splutter uselessly. Aquarius had barely opened her mouth when the door to Leo's office cracked open and a tiny voice broke their verbal warfare.
"Leo?" Aries slowly craned her neck into the room, a bright blush springing to her cheeks when she saw the temperamental spirit pinning a knowing look at her. "O-Oh! Sorry! I didn't- Capricorn just told me- I'm sorry, Aquarius!" The heavy door shut harder than the young spirit had intended in her hasteto escape.
Aquarius turned her striking glare back to Leo, amusement sparking in her eyes and her grin stretching like a cheshire's. "The wee lamb, ah?" She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward mockingly. "The prideful cat chasing away loneliness with the gentle ram. Unless Gemini or Virgo or even Sagittarius randomly drop in, as well?"
"Knock it off, 'Quar." Leo deflated before her, his arrogance vanishing as his hands fell to the arm rests of his chair and petulantly averting his gaze.
"Don't call me that." The mermaid huffed and eased her expression a fraction before speaking again, her arms crossing over her chest. "She doing okay?"
Leo sighed and scratched at his head before he glanced from the door back to her, "Better…Getting there."
"If you don't need to be told not to play with your food, then I assume you don't need to be told not to use your sad excuse for charm on her, as well." Aquarius wasn't the easiest to get along with, nor would she ever become a great protector. It just wasn't in her nature, but there was an obvious threat laced in her tone.
His answer rolled off his tongue like a growl, the seriousness every bit of the king of the jungle's. "Of course not."
She nodded, satisfied with his answer for the time being. "Is that all then? I've got plans with Scorpio and it appears you've got some plans of your own….For once."
The celestial lion snorted and waved a hand in dismissal.
She twirled around and flicked her hair out behind her, her tail curling cunningly in her wake. The mermaid slunk out the wooden door and back into the hall, nodding her head to Capricorn before smiling and winking cunningly to Aries. She turned without a word, disappearing into glittering dust as she returned to her Scorpio.
"It looks to meh that you could go in now, Miss Aries." Capricorn stretched out a hand to direct her back through.
Aries liked Capricorn, but she found his unnecessary formality amusing at times. She quietly thanked her friend for keeping her company during her wait and opened the heavy door once again. She made sure to close it without a sound this time, asdealing with Aquarius was sure to be more than a handful any given day and slamming doors wouldn't help Leo's headache.
"I-I'm sorry for interrupting, Capricorn only said you were in y-your office. He never m-mentioned that A-Aquar-"
"It's all right, Aries," Leo laughed and sat back in his chair again. "Come to wash the sour taste of bitter fish out of my mouth?"
While he would never choose her to use his lines on, the banter was ingrained and not the easiest habit to break. But the ram was always wise to his games and lightheartedly rolled her eyes at him. Aries continued her way over to his desk unphased, doing her best not to sweep her scrutinizing gaze over the papers he'd been scratching on all day. It wasn't any of her business and the point was to get him to take a break, not dive into a full on briefing to sate her curiosity. Instead, she picked up a familiar black frame that had sat on his desk since his return from Earthland.
"You look so much younger." Aries traced her index finger slowly over his shorter hair in the picture. "It's been centuries since you've looked so like a cub."
"Ah, those days were fun. Same amount of centuries it took for tiny, gnarled knots to grow on your head too, if I recall."
"The headaches were awful." Aries grimaced and placed the picture back on the cluttered desk, brushing her fingers lightly over the twisted horns on the top of her head. "I think manes are much easier to grow compared to these, though."
Leo nodded his head and briefly thought back to a tearful Aries, scared and pained from the horns that were finally growing in with her adolescence. Virgo would lay the tiny girl's head on her lap and sweep her hand through the ram's pink curls when she had the time, but Aries had come to him whenever she could. He hadn't been much help, but she always claimed he was anyways. Capricorn had offered advice, not only to Aries, but also to Leo while he awkwardly tried to copy Virgo's act of comfort.
Aries mind raced with similar memories, although she only recalled the stressed faces of her friends and choked sobs that she could never control. It had been one of her weakest moments and it had left her feeling like a helpless burden.
"I must have been a handful then…S-sorry…about that." The memory always left sour shame in its wake as she glanced down at her feet and refused to meet Leo's eyes. She knew what he would say before she had even apologized.
"Aries."
"Hm?"
"You don't have to apologize for that."
The girl nodded her head slowly and looked back up from the carpet at her feet. "Have you eaten lunch yet?"
Leo swore he hadn't even fully materialized back into the celestial spirit world before Aries had cleared through the front door of his apartment and met him halfway to the bathroom for the first aid kit in the counter. He couldn't get a word in edgewise;it was rare for her to be so concentrated and without restraint. Leo tried in vain to assuage her, as it was just a few scrapes.
She'd only returned herself maybe half an hour before, her torso and chest wrapped tight with bandages. Virgo and Aquarius helped clear out the dirt and wrap the bandages for her, with Virgo offering her an open button up shirt to wear that wouldn't further agitate her wounds.
Aries broke from her single-minded mission when he hissed at the contact of alcohol on his shoulder.
"Sorry….Is s-she okay?" She pulled away from his shoulder and swept her attention over his face, looking for signs of lingering pain. His breathing settled and he rolled his shoulder, signaling that he was okay and for her to continue. She set back to work, slower and more delicately with the cotton ball in her hand.
"Lucy? Yeah, she's got a pretty capable idiot with a reckless complex to watch out for her."
He was surprised when she snorted and looked back at him, "You or Natsu?"
Leo halfheartedly growled at her joke, "Natsu."
He usually relished in her rare moods where the reserved personality took a backseat to the current one she was sporting, except that it only came out when she was stressed or bone-tired. Memory served correct when her own tiny smirk sunk and her eyebrows scrunched together, exhaustion creeping into the small shadows of her face.
"I-I let her down."
"No you didn't." For the first time since she'd rocketed into his home, uncharacteristic of her nature, he noticed the wide bandages covering her ribcage, chest, and over her left shoulder. Leo daringly flicked a side of the shirt she was wearing, "Lucy was worried about you, though."
Aries hummed anxiously and finished tying off the gauze on Leo's shoulder. He smirked and set his hand on her head to dispel her nerves, carefully ruffling her wild, battle swept hair. Having had the chance to fully take her appearance in, he realized something peculiar about the shirt she wore.
"Virgo help you?"
"Mhmm." She didn't turn to look at him, continuing to clean up the used cotton and putting the first aid supplies back into their spot.
Leo smirked and glanced at her from over the rim of his glasses. "Then that explains how my shirt ended up with you."
The poor celestial spirit could only squeak out an unintelligible sound of distress and succumb to the fiery blush that crept up to her hairline and down past her neck, her cheeks puffing out with the embarrassment as well. Aries ducked out from under his hand and immediately started to shrug out of the crisp shirt, a slew of apologies overlapping and tumbling off her tongue.
"It's alright." He gently held her wrists still, smiling at her distressed appearance. "That's Virgo for you, andbesides, you won't have anything else to wear." He blamed being born the lion zodiac for the surge of possessiveness that bolted through his system when she chewed on her lower lip and finally tugged the shirt back over her shoulder. He huffed out a laugh and stood from the rim of the bathtub, faintly pushing her in the direction of the kitchen.
"C'mon, I'll fix us something to eat."
Leo was acutely aware of how hopeless he was in several domestic aspects, but he liked to think that he could cook proficiently enough not to send anyone running. Aries was overtly thoughtful of people's feelings and would sit through anything if it meant preserving someone's happiness, but even he didn't have the heart to force her into eating his cooking if it was only just edible.
Aries sipped at the hot soup, too tired from coming down from an adrenaline rush to have any real appetite, but glad for the warmth and comfort unfurling in her sore bones and taut muscles. Her host seemed not far beyond her own predicament with it all. They passed several minutes in silence, both of them attempting to covertly double check wounds and bruises on the other to be sure there weren't more that needed to be treated. Leo was the one to finally break the amiable quiet, chuckling at her droopy eyes and her heavy head resting in her hand. In all the time he'd known her, he had never seen her place an elbow on a table during a meal.
"You should rest, you look like you could fall asleep in your plate."
The ram rose up and self-consciously ran her fingers through the tangled curls that had fallen limp after the fight and scanned the room toward the apartment's front door. She wasn't sure she even had the strength, let alone the magic power, to make it back to her realm safely. Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer had their realms between hers and Leo's, making the trip exceptionally long for a spirit almost completely zapped. If she walked East, Virgo's was fairly close. But Virgo had done so much for her already, and the maid had clearly tried to plan something if she had stuck Aries in Leo's shirt. The lion spirit must have sensed her turmoil because he cleared his throat, gently breaking her frantic train of thought.
"You…could stay."
Seeing the mighty lion's own cheeks glow with an emotion other than playful arrogance and pride was enough to quell her own frustration at the flush making its way back to her own face. Aries didn't dare trust her voice to remain steady, so she stayed quiet and merely nodded her head.
They moved in tandem to clear the table, Aries bullheadedly ignoring his protests to let him take care of the dishes. It wasn't until he had set the last bowl back in the cupboard and turned back to Aries that Leo realized none of the living room or kitchen lights had been turned on. The only light switched on in his house was the one in the bathroom, the yellow glow spilling into the hallway right in front of his bedroom door. The only factor that had stopped it from being completely black in his house was the celestial sky that was always softly illuminated with kaleidoscopic streams of the galaxies. It served as a testament to how truly worn down the two actually were.
It was another battle entirely when Leo had to break it to her it would be inhumane to leave her on his worn couch and self torture to attempt chivalry even for one night, especially with the condition his shoulder was in. He lucked out that her depleted magic and energy left little fight in her, though. While Aries was considerate and flexible to other's thoughts, feelings, and will, she could be particularly stubborn when she deemed it necessary.
Much like a ram.
Leo placed his hand between her shoulder blades, softly scratching at the bandages there, and pushed enough to get her moving again. They both stumbled at a stupefied shuffle down the dim hallway to his room. The odd situation they'd placed themselves in left him to be the one to initiate her fall to the clean sheets.
What little energy he had, he shifted to sheer willpower so he could completely ignore the dress shirt that fell open when she lay down. He wasn't dead inside just because it was her, even if she did nullify his tricks. Leo kept to his side and let her have as much room as she needed, all too aware of how hard it was to get comfortable with half of one's body mummified.
Aries tossed and turned in an attempt to get settled and unintentionally cocooned herself in most of the blankets, earning her a hearty laugh tinged with exhaustion from her friend. Once she had freed herself and resituated the blankets, she rose up enough to weakly punch the amused lion in his uninjured shoulder. The feigned rough treatment only brought him more mirth, and he apologized through muffled guffaws when she turned away to hide her face under the covers.
They were both lost to the protocols for this awkward, in-between after battle sleepover and Leo was infinitely relieved Gray or Natsu or Cana or anyone from the guild wasn't there to witness him flounder on what to do his surprise, it was Aries that quickly solved the problem for him when she turned back to him. She kept the blankets held up to her nose and watched him. This time neither of them were searching for injuries and it suddenly struck him how intimate it was. He'd lived for the 'king of the jungle' reputation he didn't have to work for, the bravery and power and automatically being recognized as a leader. But it was the smallest of their pride, as she came to teasingly call it, the quiet pacifist among them that cut the stings to his prowess and stripped it all down to apprehensive second guesses.
There was no hiding from her doe eyes, bright and unyielding like the sunflower's seeds.
Leo's eyes flitted across her face and her eyes softened, the lids drooping low with understanding rather than the exhaustion of the last few hours. Aries knew, she hated that there was no obvious answer to how to breach any decision and any move they chose would toe the lines in the sand between them. They had never been given the opportunity to try.
She closed her eyes and grinned at him, gathering her courage and pouncing over the line. It was no great leap, but folding herself in and curling her head into his chest was enough for now. Leo's heart beat strong and sure against her brow, confidently lulling her to sleep along with his hand running through her hapless locks.
Aries waited until his breathing had evened out and his hand fell from her waist before she carefully slid from his loose grip. She gathered what remained of her magic power to return to Earthland; she had something to do.
Lucy sat at the bar amidst the usually raucous guild as Aries materialized. The ram swallowed hard at the sight of gauze wrapped around her owner's arms and a few bandaids placed on her rosy cheeks. The celestial spirit mage laughed and smiled despite her wounds, softening Aries' quivering heart a little to see her master so happy. Her wild companion always at her side caught sight of her first, as no doubt he had her scent before she was even visible to the others. Natsu carefully touched her shoulder, whispered a 'Luce', and tipped his head in her direction.
The smile on her owner's face faltered momentarily before it returned, not nearly as wide as before. "Aries! Are you okay?"
Aries skittishly tiptoed to her master as the blond girl slid off of the barstool. The guild quieted and watched on, the pretty girl with white hair gasping and covering her mouth with a hand once she noticed the bandages on the spirit. The pink haired girl became intimidated and dizzily whipped her head in several different directions. She saw several familiar faces from Leo's picture and from previous battles she had fought with Lucy. She pulled in a breath and focused back on her key holder.
The mage had opened her mouth to ask Aries if would want to go somewhere to talk, just the two of them, but she was beaten to the punch.
"Miss Lucy?" The celestial spirit slowly stepped closer to Lucy and warily eyed the mage's wounds before she lightly wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders. "Thank you."
Lucy was caught off guard, as the appearance of any of her spirits outside of battle was rare, even for Loke. It was especially rare for one that had recently taken damage, but she returned the embrace without hesitance but with a watchful eye to the other girl's bandages. The moment she pulled away, Aries glimmered back into her world with a satisfied smile gracing her face.
The girl turned back to the bar as the boisterous conversations started up again, mixed with whispered confusion over the random visit from Aries, and sidled back onto her barstool. The dragon slayer at her side offered her a sideways smile and touched his elbow to hers. The stellar spirit mage returned the easy going smile and let out a tinkling laugh.
"Guess this means I'll havta' set a few things straight with Loke, huh?"
Aries centered her sight past the glimmering and shining spots of her materialization to watch Leo dazedly sit up in his bed. One arm lazily stretched out to hold him up and the other aimlessly rubbed at a tired eye. She had been afraid of waking him.
"Sorry, I-I just went to-"
"I know, Lucy told me. Also used some very colorful threats if I were to step out of line." Leo raised an eyebrow and allowed a corner of his mouth to pull up into a small smirk.
He decided not to tell her it had scared him, hearing Lucy's voicing calling for him and not finding Aries where she'd fallen asleep. Imagine his surprise when his owner's amused giggles and hopeless romantic daydreams had turned into dangerous promises that involved dragging him to Earthland for more than one of his old friends to handle his philandering ass and then leaving what was left to Aquarius. Not to mention what Virgo and Capricorn would do to him, not that he hadn't already been given enough vague hints of what they would suddenly be willing to do to a fellow zodiac.
Aries shyly approached the side of the bed and plunked down on the edge of it heavily. "I could not thank her enough. She takes care of us, puts her heart and soul into it…What she did for us- what she was prepared to do-" A silent hiccup racked the ram's slight frame and sent a shiver along her spine with chills. Karen and Angel had hurt her, had hurt her family, causing her constant fear that terror would wreak havoc on their world again if someone else besides Lucy Heartfilia had their keys. "I have never had an owner cry for me before."
Leo sat the rest of the way up and silently held his hand to her face. He angled her to look back at him and smoothed his thumb against the skin underneath the small bruise on her cheekbone.
A somber smile crept onto his features at the mention of their master. She had the greatest heart and Leo would have given everything if Aries had been with her, or even her mother, the way Aquarius and Capricorn spoke of Layla, from the beginning. Leo inched to her in fractions, waiting for any signs of discomfort with his intention. When she leaned into him, he gently set a hand at her back and slid the other behind her knees to ease her back into bed.
She yawned and then spoke up, taking her chance before they both fell asleep, "Doesn't she know that your heart's too gold toward me?"
Elysium: a place or condition of ideal happiness.
A/N: I'm a little nervous as to how this little number will be taken, there's not a lot out there for these two.
For Scar.