Summary: Aries' first real interaction with Lucy is so refreshing after all the torment she has been through over the years.

Pairings: Lucy/Aries friendship, a little bit of Loke/Lucy, some Aries/Loke (friendship or romance, whichever way you like it), a brief mention of Aquarius/Scorpio, and a bit of Natsu/Lucy.

YouTube Prompt: A tribute to Fairy Tail's return to number one guildhood in the Magic Games arc, to 'Zero to Hero' from Disney's Hercules.

Aries was nervous. Like, really, really, really nervous. Because today, today, was going to be the day she'll be called up for her first job ever with Lucy.

It may seem weird that she knew but all Celestial Spirits knew when they were going to be called. It was a strange tugging sensation at the pits of their stomach, a hand curled round their very hearts, and the voice of their master beginning to echo in their minds…..something, somehow, just told them.

Aries dreaded it. She can't remember a time she looked forwards to being called out by her master. The last few had been so…horrible. She's sorry! She really is! But it was the truth. They beat her. They use her. They sneer at her. They looked down at her and smirked cruelly. They were horrible, horrible, horrible people! And she's sorry!

"It'll be okay," Leo reassured her gently. He looked at her over his sunglasses, a warm smile was on his face, and he took her hand into his. "Lucy isn't like the others. She will take care of you. I promise."

He said the same thing about Karin. Blinded by her beauty though it didn't last long, and he soon became her protector once more. She was sorry how that turned out. Sorry for the pain he endured for her. Sorry for the death it caused. She was sorry for Karin. Sorry, sorry, sorry….

"Hey," Leo nudged her gently, "she's calling for you."

Aries felt the tug and Lucy's voice, loud and clear, calling for her, she allowed the magic to the drag her through the vortex, the gate, that lead her to the human world. The bright sun dazzled her and the chaotic sight of men fighting, destroyed trees, and fire spewing everywhere, terrified her.

"Sorry!" she squealed as she tried to back away. "How can I help? Sorry!"

"Aries!" Lucy cried out, she used her whip to knock a man out that was about to attack Natsu from the behind. "Help Natsu, please!" she ordered. "I'll take care of these idiots," she then jumped and kicked a man that tried to sneak up behind her in the face.

Aries was terrified. The men looked cruel and evil, and the way they smirked reminded her of the men that Karin had made her entertain. She could just pictures their hands on her, feel them, and she shuddered, shut down, she couldn't do this. She couldn't do this again.

The men lunged for her, just as some of them grabbed Natsu and threw him across the road, and Lucy was knocked down by another, and she freaked out. She couldn't help it. She could just hear them laugh at her, feel them touch her, and then suddenly she could hear Karin's scorn, and feel her blows as she smacked her, and then she could hear and feel Angel's coldness.

She tried to push them away with her hands. "WOOL BOMB!" she screamed, and at the very tips of her fingers, she could feel the soft wool pour out.

The pink wool bounced out, knocked all the bad guys out, and caught Natsu at the same time.

"Oh thank God!" Aries heard Lucy cry out.

"That was awesome!" Natsu cheered from the pink wool.

"Sorry!" Aries blushed in reply. And then realised that she said the wrong words. "Thank you! Sorry!"

Natsu leaped down from her wool and made his way towards Lucy and Aries. Lucy moved her hand and Aries couldn't help but flinch, her master's hand went nowhere near her as it gently, surprisingly softly considering the speed it moved, touched the bruise forming on Natsu's cheek.

"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

"Could have been worse," Natsu shrugged. "If it wasn't for you and your weird sheep."

"Sorry!" Aries squealed.

"Aries isn't weird!" Lucy snapped. "You prick!"

"Don't call me a prick, you weirdo!" Natsu shouted back, and then his temper suddenly vanished as confusion took over. "What's a prick?"

"You know, what?" Lucy frowned. "Never mind," she then turned to face Aries, and Aries couldn't help but step back. "Nice job, Aries!" Lucy enthused and the ram spirit couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up so they now matched her hair colour. "Thank you."

"Sorry!"

"What are you sorry for?" Lucy asked worriedly. "You did a wonderful job saving Natsu and taking the bad guy. You're going to give Loke a run for his money."

"Sorry!" Aries scrunched her eyes shut. She was still waiting for the scolding blow for screwing up. "I'll try harder, I promise! Sorry!"

Aries' eyes widened and she felt tears prick the corners of them as Lucy wrapped her arms round her. Her skin tingled at the warmth that Lucy gave out as she held Aries to her. No one had ever hugged Aries. Especially humans. Even more specially her masters. She can't remember a master of her's being so gentle, or kind, or….

"Sorry!"

Lucy pulled away and smiled at her. It wasn't cruel, or cold, or empty…it was a nice, warm, sweet smile…"Why don't you go home?" Lucy suggested. "You deserve a nice rest."

"O-okay," Aries stuttered, still unable to keep a blush off of her face, "Sorry! Thank you! Goodbye!"

And with that she disappeared back into the spiritual realm where hopefully Virgo will kindly dig her a hole to hide in.

Instead, she was greeted warmly by Leo's arms as he clasped her to his chest. "See?" he said happily. "It wasn't so bad."

"Lucy-san….is really nice," Aries mumbled into his chest.

"She is, isn't she?" Leo agreed as he pulled her away. He smirked down at Aries and she couldn't help but inwardly groan. He was going to say something perverted. She just knew it. "I haven't had a master that nice looking since the -"

Aries punched him before he could even finish whatever disgusting sentence he was going to come up with. "Sorry!" she squealed. "But you shouldn't! Bad Leo!" she scolded him with a light smack. "Sorry!"

Leo just laughed in return. "All right, all right!" he said with his hands out in an 'I surrender' gesture. "Now tell me, how was it?"

Aries paused for a moment, and then before she could stop it, a whisper slipped out; "She hugged me."

"Yeah, she does that a lot," Leo smiled dreamily, "it's so nice and warm, and her breasts feel lovely against my chest."

Aires chose to ignore that perverted comment because what she had to say was far more important (and if she accidentally lets it slip to Aquarius….well…). "We've never had a master that hugged us," she pointed out.

"She's different."

Aries agreed and they lapsed into silence as their many, usually cold if not brutal, masters paraded in their minds. Leo and Aries have always been together apart from the last couple years, and therefore they have always shared a master. Very rarely they were kind to them. They inspired the desire to serve because all Celestial Mages have that charismatic power but they had never inspired them to want to do the very best and make their masters love them….Lucy was different.

They wanted her safe, so that one day she could love them.

It had barely been an hour since Aries completed her first job with Lucy, which was roughly a few days in the human world, when Scorpio came rushing past, prepared to go into battle for their shared master's sake. "Aquarius is going to kill me, we are! And then Lucy!"

"Lucy-san gets into a lot of trouble, doesn't she?" Aries couldn't help but observe.

Leo hummed his agreement. "Yeah…." He said eventually, and then a smile appeared on his face as he wrapped an arm round her shoulders, "I'll teach you some tactics that will definitely help. Especially any male bad guys."

And that's how Aries ended up learning to seduce men. Just in time for when Lucy needed her against that weird, fat, voodoo, monster-man.