A/N: Thank you for being loyal and supportive of A Spirit's Love. An AU of Loke and Lucy on a journey to find happiness with each other. The end is in sight but road is still treacherous. It might take a while for me to get you guys to the end as I've lost the way but I won't give up. I promise I'll get you guys there, just keep holding on for now lovies. Here's a short update for you guys.

Disclaimer: FT does not belong to me. It belongs to the great master, Hiro Mashima.

The Truth of the Matter

~Quick Flashback~

"Well, you know, you've been out of Earthland for 2 days. It would do you a lot of good if you eat first then we can discuss it," Loke smiled softly at his master and ushered her to the kitchen where he prepared a quick and simple meal for her.

A full belly and a satisfied smile later, Lucy asked Loke again what the summons was about. Loke huffed as he finished drying the dishes and turned towards her. Fidgeting, he began his explanation.

Lucy has noticed that her usual valiant and romantic lion is nervous all throughout dinner. He paid her no mind as she mentioned it, dismissing her casually and encouraging her to eat more. The blonde mage knows when someone is purposefully delaying the inevitable. Calling to mind the conversation she had with the Spirit King and his council, Lucy remembers Phoenix and Draco's query as to how she would perceive a celestial spirit's request of freedom from their immortal form.

The celestial spirit mage suddenly feels suffocated, thinking that Loke, or one of her other spirits are not happy with her and is requesting reprieve from their contract with her. She recounts all their encounters and tries to analyze what she did that could cause one or all of them to want to leave her behind. Was it when she sacrificed Aquarius? Or when they fought during the Eclipse?

She does not notice when tears fill her eyes but Loke certainly does. He kneels before her, gently waking her from her reverie, "Lucy, Princess, why are you crying?"

"I-I'm not crying," Lucy smiles and tries to deny the existence of her tears but Loke does not buy it. Instead, he gathers her into his arms and turns them around so she sits on his lap with her face buried in the crook of his neck. He rubs soothing circles on her back and murmurs soft reassurances, Loke does not understand what brought on the wave of tears but he will do anything to stop it.

Once Lucy calms down enough, she wraps her arms around him and squeezes tightly, "Please don't leave me tonight, Loke."

He nods his assent and whispers, "I won't. I never will." She pulls back and gives him watery smile, he wipes away her tears and nuzzles her forehead. "Will you tell me why you cried?" he asks tentatively, softly.

Lucy takes a sharp inhale of breath, with her shoulders shaking slightly, she asks him, "Why did the Spirit King and his council summon me, Loke?" He opens his mouth a few times but no sound comes out. She takes the opportunity to ask a question she dreaded before she lost her nerve, "Do any of you guys want to leave me? Did I do something wrong? Will any of you break our contracts?" her eyes started to water again and Loke figures out the cause of the tears.

"No, princess, no. Lucy," he kisses her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks, then her nose. "Lucy, princess, none of us wants to leave you."

"Then why did they ask me how I'd interpret a spirit's request of freedom from their immortal form?"

"Princess, I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd take it to mean it that way. That we'd want to leave you. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing, Loke? And how was I supposed to take that question?"

His beautiful blonde master with deep and understanding chocolate eyes, the leader of the twelve Zodiacs ask himself why he let her misinterpret the summons. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his ginger locks, sighing resignedly, "Oh, Lucy, I was an idiot. I should have talked to you first."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when Lisanna and Levy took you to the spa resort?"

At this, Lucy furrows her brows but nods her head indicating that she does recall but is unable to see how that was related to the situation.

"Do you also remember when there were rumors flying around about Cana and myself hooking up? You were mad at me for a while and I didn't know what I did. The guild was like walking around daggers when Cana, you, and me were in the hall for quite some time. But then you said to Bixlow that it wasn't any of your business who I decided to sleep with. And suddenly, it dawned on me that you were jealous."

Lucy blushed furiously at the reminder, especially when she recalled how Cana dismissed her jealousy and how Loke confronted her about it. Seeing her blush, Loke continued.

"Well, they're related in a way. Lisanna and Levy took you to the resort so we could investigate a claim that Cana told me when we were looking for her special ale."

The celestial spirit mage looked even more confused that Loke backtracked, "Oh, right, let me go back to the root of all this."

Noting her attentiveness, Loke tucked a stray hair behind her ear and continued his explanation.

"I love you, Lucy. Before you interrupt me, this is true. I'm not just flirting with you. I do love you. It might've started when you saved me from myself. I was willing to die after all I did to Karen, but you made me see reason. You were my salvation. Sure, at first I was just flirting… but somewhere along the way, I realized that I really loved you." Loke smiled at her and kissed her forehead, "That was why we investigated Cana's claim. We took to the mountains and found the ingredients for an ambrosia. That ambrosia, when presented to the Spirit King, will give you a free pass to wish anything you want of him."

Lucy absorbed all of the knowledge he presented her with as she snuggled into his arms. She knew that Loke loved her, and if she was being honest with herself, she had fallen in love with him too. Quite a while back, to be perfectly honest, but she knows that they could not be together. Lucy was mortal, she will die and her keys would pass on to the next mage.

Loke would live forever, exist in the endless sky, shining brightly in his constellation, his cluster of stars. It would be cruel of her to torment him into loving her then leaving him when her time comes.

Then she realized what he said, 'a free pass to wish anything you want of him', did that mean that he wanted to leave his immortality behind just for her? Her eyes widened as she sought his out, "Loke, do you want to become mortal?" she asked him.

"For you, Princess, I will be anything. But yes, I do. I want to be with you, Lucy."

"Have you made that wish already?"

"No, not yet. I told the Spirit King, yes, but he said that even if I gave him the ambrosia, he cannot easily grant my wish as I was bound under contract. Aside from that, it was the fact that I am part of the Twelve Zodiacs. Chaos may follow if the lion leaves so swiftly."

"That was why he called me? Because you had a contract with me."

"No."

"No? Then why did he call me?"

"Because, Lucy, it's you. Your bloodline is powerful enough. Your ancestors were the first to become celestial spirit mages. And you were the only mage to have ever been selfless enough to call the Spirit King for the salvation of the world even if it meant sacrificing Aquarius."

"That's it?"

"Yes, if it was another mage involved, they will not bother calling them. The contract will be null and void just as easily as a snap of the fingers. But because it's you that I want to be with and it's you I have a contract with, they have decided to call you. Actually, it was Draco who summoned you."

"Draco? But Capricorn said the Spirit King summoned me."

"He did, only on the behest of Draco. Draco mentioned something about a pact with the first people to wield the powers of the stars. Even I was not aware of it at first."

A/N: Thank you, lovies. I have been battling with depression for the past few years. The death of Chester Bennington, from Linkin Park has been devastating. As an adolescent going through the awkward stages of puberty, Linkin Park's music spoke to me in levels. Though I did not battle with addiction, I had a fear of failure and of disappointing my parents. Their music became my lifeblood and my connection to my brothers. Growing up as an only girl in the household definitely did have challenges. My mom was almost always busy working that I could not talk to her about teenage problems. Our parents grew up way too fast, and that translated in how they raised us. They were always discussing our futures. Pressure at home was a little high and not having an elder sister I can ask or open up to led me to developing those fears. I still battle with those fears. And Linkin Park still speaks to me in levels beyond problems with addiction. Depression and crying out for help and holding on and surviving, these were always my takeaway from their music. To my readers who are going through the same battle, just hold on, love. Hold on and never let go. If you need to talk and do not want to see a therapist, send me a message. It may take a few days for me to respond but always know that someone cares. Thank you, my dears. See you in the next chapter.