As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.
A/N - Hope everyone is having happy holidays! Please read and review :)
Gray, Natsu and Happy left later that afternoon. There were lots of hugs and a few tears on her part, but Lucy stayed in a positive mood and it was rubbing off onto Lucas. He didn't fuss about meditation or lessons at all. In between lessons he asked about going to Fairy Tail at some point to visit which she readily agreed to. After Vander returned they would plan a trip to the nearest town to get him exposure to multiple people and if that went well they were to head to Bosco to train at White Sea. Afterwards she was already planning on bringing him back to Fiore and figuring out how to officially adopt Lucas. She hadn't told him yet, but she couldn't just bring him to Fairy Tail to be raised as a guild orphan like Gray, Erza, Natsu and several others had. She wanted him to have a real family, even if just her and her spirits. She could only hope he would agree to it.
Loke came out to keep her company while Capricorn attended to the boy's lessons. "It was good to see them again."
She threw a brilliant smile his way, "Yes it was! I was a bit nervous about Natsu, but they all got along great. It seemed like even he and Van got along in their own way."
"Natsu is a better conversationalist with his fists than with words." Loke had to admit.
"Gray asked me something while he was here. I'm not quite sure how to feel about it."
Her spirit could see the stress whatever it was caused her and he frowned. His Princess should never be anxious to tell him anything. "Spill it Princess. I can see the weight on your shoulders from here." Lucy proceeded to tell her faithful lion everything as he held her in his arms for comfort. Loke stayed quiet for awhile before carefully responding. "I suppose it's somewhat of an honor to be asked, but I can understand your dilemma. What do you want to do?"
Lucy put her face in her hands. "I don't know. It would make them so happy, but just thinking about… well you know. I just don't know if I can do it." She hid her face in his chest as his arms squeezed her reassuringly.
"You don't have to do this just to make them happy. It is a lot they are asking, and although I understand why they asked you, it is a bit unfair of them. Take your time and do you want to do for you, not just them. Okay?" She nodded and sniffled into his chest and he just continued to hold her for a bit. Slowly she pulled away and smiled.
"Thank you Loke, you are always there for me when I need you."
"And I always will be Princess." He kissed her gently on her forehead and released her from his arms just as Vander appeared. Vander gave him a quizzical look as Lucy quickly wiped her eyes and brought forth her signature smile.
"Hey Van! Did you get what you needed taken care of?"
The Shadowquip thought back to the twins he found. "Oh yes, very much indeed. Is everything alright?"
She waved his question off, "Just some girly emotions after saying goodbye to friends. You and Natsu seemed to have gotten along." She stopped for a second as she just looked at him with a blank stare. "I'm glad you sorted out whatever it was you needed to. I need to get to preparing dinner." She excused herself quickly and went about her tasks.
Vander was about to question her abrupt mood change and departure when the lion spirit interrupted him. "You have a little something right here…" he motioned to the side of his neck before disappearing in a shower of gold.
Vander created a small mirror and checked his neck to see a large hickey. Somehow he managed to both smirk and cringe at the same time.
He watched Lucy carefully that evening. On the surface everything seemed perfectly normal. Everything she did and said was typical Lucy. She was smiling and seemed to be in a good mood, but Vander couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering her. At one point he even cornered her lion spirit to find out if something was wrong, but he was brushed off being told that Lucy would tell him if there was something he needed to know. He was starting to feel like he was just being paranoid. Why would she be bothered by a hickey? She knew him well enough by now. He would keep close attention to her behavior and sort it out. He was a spy after all. Intelligence gathering was part of the job.
The next day, they packed up for a day trip to the closest town. It was not only a test for Lucas, but Lucy was primed and ready for a day of shopping. If anything went wrong, Vander could get them out of there fast.
Lucy was doing her best to keep her mind off of the request from Natsu and Gray. She called out Plue and he was dancing circles around Lucas as they walked sucking on a lollipop. She knew she shouldn't indulge him so much with sweets, but he had the biggest puppy dog eyes and was terribly hard to resist. She was enjoying the walk and the scenery, fall would be coming soon and the breeze was just a little brisk. Fall and Winter were her favorite seasons, but she wasn't excited to be out camping still when they arrived. If all went well, they'd be on their way to Bosco's warmer climate within days.
Lucy wasn't paying attention that she had gotten further ahead than her three companions, busy dreaming of sunbathing near the famed Grass Sea. She nevers saw the hunter's trap and stepped right into it. Suddenly her world turned upside down and she was staring at a wide-eyed Lucas, a grinning Shadowquip mage and a Celestial Spirit hopping up and down waving a half eaten lollipop at her. The only problem was they were all the wrong direction and below her. Looking up, she let out an "Eeep!" as she struggled to keep her skirt covering her since gravity was reversed.
Relief flooded her as she watched Loke appear next to Vander, but the now outright laughing man held him back as he went to step forward to assist. "What the hell Vander? Will someone please help me down from here?"
Vander just grinned more as he replied, "You are not a damsel in distress that needs saving as you've explained. I'm sure you are more than capable of escaping a simple rope trap."
She growled at him as her face started to pinken from the blood rushing the wrong direction. She looked to Loke, who just smiled and shrugged. "Traiter," she mumbled as she tried to think about how to get out of this while not flashing her panties at everyone in attendance. She donned her Taurus stardress since it was the only one without a skirt. A headache started to form from being upside down. She used her whip to pull herself upright enough to grab the branch the rope was slung over. Pulling a dagger from her boot, she cut the rope off and dropped to the ground in a crouch. Glaring at the men that were still grinning as they started a slow clap, she forced Loke's gate closed and snapped her whip at Vander who easily side-stepped it, dropped into the shadows and reappeared behind her.
"A red lace thong? Naughty naughty." He whispered into her ear and quickly jumped back to stand behind Lucas and the still hopping Plue.
Lucy threw her hands up in the air and yelled about infuriating men as she started to stomp off once again. "Be careful, there could be hunter's traps out there." Vander called after her gleefully.