Chapter Nine

Romantic Possibilities

Lucy bit back the grin spreading towards her rosy cheeks when he leaned in to kiss her hand. Even if she was a sucker for romance and his smile could melt every heart in Fiore, she knew better not to succumb to his advances. She pulled back her hand before he made contact. "Sorry Loki, I didn't want to give the wrong impression by taking you out here."

He didn't seem bothered by this, knowing fully well about their situation. He leaned back in his chair and raised his cup of oolong tea towards her in a grand gesture.

His unrepentant grin belied his gentlemanly mannerism. "My apologies, princess. Your smile had drawn me closer to you."

She'd expected him to say that, and didn't blame him for seizing the opportunity to make light-hearted fun. Why couldn't this romantic play production be this fun and casual for her? Instead, she found herself avoiding her team, mainly Natsu. As much as it pained her to not walk with them today, she needed time and space to shake off the fuzzy feelings for him. After all, Natsu was not the type who viewed romance as another facet of his life.

Yet, you'd give your heart to somebody like him.

She blinked away the thought and spoke before the images of last night could infiltrate her mind. "Then you can see more of my smile when we talk more about the play, ok?" She forced a preppy smile.

He chuckled while taking a sip. "Well, I won't deny your offer. For you, I'll be your prince charming anytime."

"Great! It's settled. You'll play the royal prince and the rest of the Celestial spirits can be casted."

He bolted upright, choking on his drink. With a cough, he furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Yeah, like Cancer can handle the hairstyles. Virgo designs the costumes. Lyra plays her beautiful harp music, and then Aquarius, Scorpio, Gemini, Aries, and-"

"Lucy!" Loki rose from his seat, with a serious expression that snuffed out the flame fueling her train of thought. "I will not let you summon them all at once. Summoning more than two spirits is suicide!"

Her hands raised up in surrender. "Whoa, Loki. Calm down. I'm totally aware of that." Her voice regained slightly. "Only an extremely advanced Celestial mage is strong enough to summon that many. That's how I discovered a loophole around this."

His face softened and he descended onto his seat, waiting for her to explain.

"My magic is not strong enough to sustain even one spirit on Earth for odd hours. But…" Her index finger lifted for emphasis. "If the Spirits use their own magic to summon themselves on Earth for a certain amount of time, I think we can have our own cast." She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "And since you'd stayed on this Earth for three years, which is longer than any Spirit can accomplish… Maybe you, Leo… Leader of the Zodiacs." She crossed her legs and placed her chin on both hands, wearing a smile that she hoped would convince him to come on board. "Can teach them how with a few hours of rehearsals?"

He tapped a finger on the table, his hand over his mouth, all the while staring down at his drink. Then, he sat upright, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "They need a strong motive to push past their time in the human world. It's uncomfortable, but possible."

She nodded, understanding the repercussions of a spirit using every bit of their life force to remain existent. As soon as her friends felt uncomfortable using their magic, she would not hesitate to permit them to close their gates from the natural realm.

A sudden pulse of energy vibrated from the pocket of her denim miniskirt. She pulled out a compact platform that fit the palm of her hand and swiped her thumb across the crystal ball. Tiny orbs of energy merged into a holographic form of Levy, looking tensed. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I tried to keep him at the guild. He's coming after you."

Warmth drained from Lucy's face. "Can't he wait till I get back to the guild?"

Levy sighed and shook her head. "He said he needed to tell you something important. And the way he said it…" Lucy couldn't read her changing facial expression through the fade-in and -out transparency of the hologram. "Lucy." Her tone hinted a gentle caution. "It's best for you to confess to him right now."

"Say what?!" She arched her brow. "No way! I can't confess to my best friend that I'm crushing on-" She stopped herself with her hand over her mouth, and glanced over at Loki. His smirk formed as slowly as his understanding of the situation.

Heat rose up her neck. "Um, thanks for the heads up, Levy. Talk to you later." She slipped the compact into her pocket before her friend could say anything. A mist of energy dissipated into the summer humidity and she wished she could disappear herself and watch the world from the sky.

Loki shifted his focus onto his teacup and cleared his throat. "So about your play," He smirked. "Will there be a love triangle between the princess and the princes?"

She rolled up a napkin and threw it against his shoulder. He jolted back with his hands up in defense, laughing.

"This isn't funny! How am I going to produce a play without every line reminding me of how…" She fished for the words swimming in a mental torrent. Hunky, he is? Hot? Captivating? She threw up her hands. "Whatever! I can't be distracted by someone who doesn't even care about romance! Ugh!" She dropped her face onto the table, mumbling. "Why me? This is torturous enough."

"Aw come on, Lucy." Loki scooted his chair over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What's the worst that can happen if he finds out?"

His tenderness soothed her frayed nerves better than her cup of raspberry herbal tea. She finally looked up to his face. "It'll be super awkward between us and he would never be my friend anymore."

"I doubt it." He smiled. "Just find out if he feels the same way about you."

She looked down at the rose-colored wooden tabletop gleaming with morning dew. The chances of Natsu feeling the same way towards her seemed highly unlikely. The closest person she could think of who could give him feels would probably be Lisanna. Or, at least according to the unconfirmed implications of his childhood shared with Lisanna through Mira Jane.

"But how? Do I just go up to him and say." She straightened up, crossed her legs, and played with her hair, adding an extra pep to her grin. "Heya Natsu, wanna go out on a date with me and see if our friendship turns into something else?' Or should I act totally casual and slip in hints to see if he's interested in getting a girlfriend?" She blinked. "No wait, he's too dense to pick up a girl's hint." She gasped, raising one index finger. "Oh, I know! I'd read this article in Sorcerer Weekly around 5 in the morning. That guys find the color red on a girl super attractive. Do you think if I wear red clothes, Natsu will be more attracted to me?"

"Whoa Lucy! Slow down." He chuckled. "It all starts with a simple conversation. Nothing too serious or out of the ordinary. Just be yourself and talk to him."

Yeah, at this rate, Lucy wasn't sure if she would be ready to confess… ever. But hiding anywhere else from Natsu and his keen sense of smell would be nearly impossible.

Unless…

She exhaled in relief with a nod, hoping her reaction appeared genuine. "Thanks, Loki. Look at you. Who knew you're such a natural at giving dating advice?"

The emerald in his eyes illuminated with his cool smirk. "Trust me, nothing's more flattering than a pretty girl wanting you as more than a friend." Before she knew it, she found his hand around her lower back, pulling her gently towards his side. Her gasp caught in her throat as she stared back up through his glinting slick glasses.

"Um." She giggled nervously. "We're really getting sidetracked right now." Her hand slipped down to her belt, popping open the leather pouch to trace around the ring of golden keys for a specific engraving. "After you inform the Celestial spirits about the play, let me know what time of the audition will work for their schedule. Ok?" She stood up, whipping out the Celestial key.

He nodded. "So you'll confess?"

"Ok bye!" She pretended not to hear the question and forced the Leo gate shut.

Loki disappeared into smoke, startling a few bystanders in the cafe. Whispers erupted with, "did she just make that guy disappear?" with "yeah, she's one of Fairy Tail's mages."

Her boots clicked heavily onto the cobblestone street, passing by a young guy staring in awestruck until his lover smacked him upside the head. Levy and Loki may have wanted her to confess, but that didn't mean she was ready to do so.