Chapter 4

While Lucy's heart was beating entirely way too fast, it seemed like Loki's wasn't beating at all.

But it was, Lucy told herself. Even if his heartbeat was faint, she knew it was still there, so she kept going. She swallowed hard in an attempt not to panic, but she felt as if she was fighting a losing battle. Pumping firmly on his chest, Lucy prayed that she wasn't too late; praying that he'd take a breath. At least there was some consolation-he didn't seem to be bleeding anywhere.

Seconds passed, which to Lucy felt more like hours. Still, there was no change, but she refused to give up. He'd saved her life, hadn't he? Now it was her turn.

"Loki?" she said through gritted teeth, "C'mon Loki...please." Lucy tilted his head backwards, and without hesitation, she blew fresh air down his windpipe. His lips were cold, definitely not a good sign.

Lucy couldn't help it, letting a sob escape. The adrenaline pulsing through her veins was starting to make her woozy, which had the effect of increasing her panic. It wasn't looking good for her Spirit, not good at all. With one strong push, she pumped once more.

Nothing.

Lucy swallowed, taking as deep of a breath as she could manage. She was going to fall apa-

Loki groaned, his eyebrows furrowed together as he violently coughed up a mouthful of salty water. His nose and throat burned like mad but he was thankful-it was a sign that he was alive. The first thing he noticed was the water, which his feet were submerged in, soaking his pants up to his knees. The second was the dull ache in his nasal and throat passages, from the salt. The third thing he noticed was the pair of hands on him. Their touch felt dainty yet strong, if the combination could exist, pressed against his chest and their fingers were curled tightly into his shirt.

With a haggard intake of breath, Loki opened his eyes. He had lost his sunglasses, but he wasn't disappointed at all-it allowed him to view her unfiltered, in all her sun-kissed glory.

She was crying, which he couldn't stand, so he raised a hand to cup her face, the ghost of a smile showing on his lips. "Why're you crying, beautiful?"

Lucy pursed her lips together in an attempt to regain her composure. "It's just...you were..." She was suddenly at a loss for words, swallowing hard instead. "...I thought you were gone," she managed to whisper.

Loki chuckled. "You know I'd never leave you."

The fatigue was obvious on Lucy's face as she attempted a weak smile. "C'mon, let's get out of the water. Can you stand?"

"Yes, I think so." Loki pushed himself up, leaning upon his Owner for support as they hobbled towards a trio of overlapping palms. If this were a resort, one would expect to sit under such palms sipping an ice-cold margarita.

"So, what happened?" asked Lucy, gently easing her partner onto the ground. The exhaustion hit her suddenly, and as if her legs gave out, she plopped onto the white sand. "I was quite sure I was a goner."

"Silly girl, life wouldn't nearly be as sweet with out you," said Loki, shrugging out of his jacket, "So I knew I'd had to save you." He wadded it up into a pillow of sorts and began to stretch the aches out of his legs.

Lucy frowned as she watched him grimace. "How'd you do it? I was so close to hitting those rocks..."

He moved on to his arms. Ahh, these were alright. The tenderness was minimal. "Its what we spirits call a 'return.' Its very difficult to do, but I think Virgo did it once. With Natsu."

"Natsu? When did Natsu...Oh!" Lucy snapped her fingers in recognition. "That one time, on the mission I won her key! That's right, he did travel through the spirit world. I totally forgot about that."

Loki pulled his shoulders back, and almost instantly, there was a sharp pain in his upper back. It raced up his spine to throb uncomfortably right below his neck. Damnit, he swore to himself, I'll need to go back to heal this one.

"So, can we do another...return to get back home?" asked Lucy, glancing around. The beach was beautiful and relaxing, but they weren't on vacation. Heck, she was still technically on contract! There was a mission she needed to take care of. Ignoring the urge to gag, the professional side of Lucy wished that the wonderfully pleasant Brooke was safe.

"Yes, but I can't do it just yet. A return involves quite a lot of energy, and I'm rather drained at the moment."

"Can I summon Virgo to do it? Or maybe Taurus?"

"Mmm, you can try. But its a rather difficult technique to perform. That, and a spirit usually has to be...inspired to do it."

Lucy frowned, and clipped her keys securely back to her belt. She shuddered at the thought of having to...inspire...Taurus. "How do you know you'll be inspired?"

"Don't worry, love. I got this," he smiled, "But first, I've got to go back for a while. Will you be alright? I don't want to leave you alone here, really, but-"

Lucy grinned, flashing the victory sign. "No worries! I'm a big girl, you know. I'll survive a couple hours by myself. I'll hunt...coconuts or something."

"Alright, alright. Promise you won't terrorize the local wildlife while I'm gone?" he teased, easing himself back into a sitting position.

"Of course. What do you take me for, a-"

With a slight eyeroll and one more grin, Loki had leaned forward, stroking the side of her face before cupping her chin. "I'm serious this time. Be safe."

"I will." Despite the heat, Lucy couldn't help but feel goose bumps on her legs. "What about you? Take all the time you need."

"Can do. See you in a bit." He unexpectedly leaned forward. Lucy panicked, thinking he was making a bee-line straight for her lips, but instead, he kissed her cheek softly. She closed her eyes; the clossness of him was rather thrilling.

And then, his touch was gone as his body returned back to the world he called home. Lucy blinked slowly; she could still feel his lips grazing her cheek.

Out of the blue, she swore. Seriously! She was a stellar spirit mage, one of the best. Loki was one of her spirits. In her mind, she pictured the two of them standing in a room, its walls plastered a startling white. There was an angry red line painted on the ground between them. But still, she could picture that stupid grin spreading on his face, blatantly ignoring the "rules" to extend a hand over the line to her.

"Bah, I'm wasting freaking daylight, she muttered." Lucy shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Lucy had a to-do list as long as Natsu's scarf and she was wasting all her time daydreaming about Spirits. Spirits who happened to have the nicest lips she'd ever-

"AARG enough!" she swore, stomping off into the forest.

A couple hours later, Lucy was lounging around in the afternoon warmth feeling quite proud of herself. After setting up base camp under the same trio of palms, she relished the time to stretch out her limbs. In the hours that Loki had been gone, Lucy had been quite productive! She had a bountiful pile of firewood, located a nearby stream, heck she'd even managed to fashion herself a beach chair. She'd been lucky enough to walk face first into a papaya tree, and Lucy was very willing to trade a bruise for something tasty (and healthy!) to eat. Sagittarius had stopped by to light a fire (and then quickly dismissed so that Lucy could save her energy), and now Lucy was lazily watching the sun begin its daily descent under the horizon.

No matter how accomplished Lucy felt, she still couldn't shake the feeling of...uneasiness about her..."love interest." Her brain and her heart were having very lengthy discussions, yet Lucy herself didn't have much to contribute. She just couldn't get him off her or mind, and Lucy couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

Just as she was about to get lost in her thoughts once more, Lucy felt a slight tug on her conscious. It was followed by a sudden breeze, and she was suddenly aware of a recognizable presence behind her.

"Miss me?" said Loki, as confident as ever as he bent into a crouch at her side.

Lucy prayed that the brilliant sunset masked the color on her cheeks. "Err...sure. A little. Are you better now? That was fast." She briefly looked him over. He didn't seem to be in any obvious pain, that was a good thing. Gone was the fancy Italian suit, replaced by something more casual and familiar-a soft, white t-shirt and a worn, sturdy green, fur-lined jacket. "Nice jacket," she teased, gesturing at the sandy beach, "Are you planning on playing in the snow anytime soon?

"Hey, I'm prepared," he said, unslinging the backpack he wore. "And I'd say I'm about 85 percent. I think I'll be ready to try the return in the morning, so I brought back some provisions."

Lucy clapped her hands together. "Spirit world stuff! My favorite!" She goo-ed and gah-ed over the little tubes of Spirit World toothpaste, roll of toilet paper, and her favorite-a paper bag which seemed to contain a spirit world hamburger. "Oh...my gawd," she drawled, her mouth full of food, "Let's get stranded more often."

Loki's only response was to roll his eyes as he shrugged off his coat, stretching his legs out in the sand.

"So...did you bring anything for us to do?" asked Lucy, as she munched on fries.

"What?" Loki exclaimed, mock irritation, "I brought you toothpaste and food, and I have to entertain you too?"

She frowned. "Nothing? Fine. I guess that's better than Natsu, when we were stuck in the elevator, he made me put on this stupid play with my-"

"Relax, relax," he sighed, pulling out a small, black zippered portfolio out of his backpack, "I know my girl. See?" He held it out to her like an offering.

Upon setting sights on the item, Lucy's eyes lit up as the portfolio was made of pure gold. Spirit world burgers were NOTHING compared to this. "Oh Loki, really?" Her voice rang with the happy bells of delight.

"Yes, really." He was amused.

"Well then. Loki," said Lucy, smiling angelically as she could, "Are you ready to be destroyed?"

"Amazing for 89 points," said Loki, nonchalantly placing 7 tiles onto the board.

"NO FREAKING WAY," Lucy shrieked. She peered closer at the board, absolutely sure that in the dim firelight, he had read one of the tiles wrong.

"Hey! Write it down, I get 89 points."

The two of them were lying in the cool sand, their heads clustered around a miniature scrabble board. Lucy always thought she had a knack for letters and words, but it was she who was being destroyed. She grumbled as she scribbled his score down on an extra napkin. "You're cheating because you've had eons to practice."

She was determined to make it up the point difference, but at the end of the night, she ended up short. The fire had burned down to a a pile of slow burning embers by the time she had played her last tiles. Although it was only by a couple points (he told her this was quite the accomplishment), she felt a bit disappointed.

"Aww, come here," said Loki, folding up the board, "Come. I'll teach you something." He set it aside and patted the sand beside him.

"How to beat you in Scrabble?" she asked, moving over. Just being near him made her heart beat faster-which was something that Lucy tried very hard to ignore.

"Nah, something you'd find a bit more...interesting." Loki pointed upwards, to the stars. The crescent shaped moon was directly above them, but its light seemed to make the stars shine brighter.

With an eyebrow slightly raised, Lucy said, "You're going to teach me constellations? I'm a stellar spirit mage, you know. I think I know 'em pretty well."

"Ah, but not as well as I do. See that one? Kinda down to the left of Heracles? That's Aquilla."

"The eagle," Lucy said knowingly. She shivered a little, partly from nerves, partly because it had gotten rather chilly. The pleasant island breeze had been refreshing during the day, but at night, the wind had a slight bite to it.

"Yep. I'd best describe him as a glorified errand boy," said Loki, shrugging out of his jacket for the second time that day. He draped it over her shoulders as he continued talking, "So if you ever need to deliver something extremely important or valuable, say for a mission, he's your guy."

Lucy smiled. Loki had been awfully smooth about that-she had the same feeling as if she were in high school, on a first date at the movies with the boy who just asked her out. "Oh really? That's a pretty handy thing to know."

"See? Oh, and that one. Pegasus? He's-"

"Ah! I've been looking for a Pegasi key forever!" Lucy clapped her hands together. "Wouldn't it be fun to-"

"No," Loki said bluntly, "It's not what you think. Not fluffy horse, more of...cranky taxi driver. Pegasus is like the cab business of the spirit world."

"Aww," complained Lucy. It had always been her dream as a stellar spirit mage to summon a beautiful white horse with wings.

"And one more," said Loki, casually slipping his arm around Lucy's shoulders, "That's Cassiopeia. A bit of a 'wicked queen from Cindarella' syndrome."

Lucy laughed. "Wicked queen?"

"You know. Who is the prettiest in the land? She's got billboards proclaiming how blessed she is. But anyway, she's reliable, does some great work, but I'd pass on her key if I were you."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Lucy frowned slightly-curious, but still disappointed about her knowledge of Pegasus.

"Because..." Loki turned towards her. The moonlight and the orange embers combined to light up her face, giving her a glow that was almost divine. And although she bit her lip in uncertainty(which he found adorable), her eyes had sparkled with life. "...you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Lucy bit her lip. Her skin felt tingly, it felt like her heart was stuck in her throat, and a million things were running through her brain. Not wanting her silence to be taken the wrong way, she managed to choke out something that sounded like a "thank you."

Loki said nothing as he turned back to the stars, but by the moonlight, Lucy saw that his lips were curved upwards into a light smile. She couldn't help smiling herself-THIS is what she liked. It was a beautiful night, the stars were out, and a rather good-looking guy [spirit] had his arm around her.

"Well, it's rather late. Time to tuck in? We've got a big day tomorrow," said Loki, looking down at her, "Lots of summoning and returning to do."

"Mmm, I guess you're right." By judging her internal clock, Lucy figured it was just short of one in the morning. Had they really been stargazing that long? She could be wrong though, the fatigue that had started to seep in could be throwing her time off.

Unexpectedly, Loki leaned backwards until he was lying comfortably in the sand. One arm was bunched under his head, the other he lay flat, straight out to his side. "Come here."

Lucy was tired and after a brief mental consideration, she [and her excited heart] decided that it was in her best interests to comply. She lay so that her head was on his shoulder and she felt him arrange the jacket around her snugly. It just felt so...natural and comfortable, she was sure to fall asleep soon. "Thank you," she mumbled into his chest.

"Good night, beautiful."

"...hey, Loki?"

"Mmm?" His voice sounded tired too.

"...can I have a good night kiss?"

There was a soft chuckle. "Of course." Loki started to turn over, but she was quick and able to beat him too it, leaning on her elbow until they were face to face. He was smiling a tired grin as she bent down, her lips tentatively meeting his as if to ask, 'is this ok?' He answered by reaching up to cup her face, kissing her deeply as he pulled her into him. His lips were soft yet firm, and a little chapped, and he smelled like-it was so familiar yet she couldn't put a name to it. Her brain wasn't working, all she knew was that he smelled good.

Finally, they slowly broke apart.

"Go to sleep, love," said Loki, softly, as he gently pushed her head back down. She fell asleep quickly, listening to the beat of his heart.

It was cool when Lucy opened her eyes, waking up to the soft crash of the waves. After a few drowsy stretches, she sat up slowly, pulling the jacket around her shoulders. Loki was gone.

She stretched some more, trying to think. Where could he have gone? While twisting to crack her back, she found a note stuffed into the jacket pocket.

"Don't worry, love," she read aloud, "Gone to get us breakfast. Be back quick."

Lucy shrugged, a smile creeping onto her face. Being with him, it just felt so...good. Tingly, happy-go-lucky, jump for joy kinda good. Her prior debates about their status had been pushed to the back of her mind ; she felt like a glacier-cold and unmoving-but his warm was starting to melt her. Lucy couldn't wait until he came back.

She stood up, ready to go use the bathroom and brush her teeth, when she heard footsteps in the sand behind her. Someone was coming. Lucy grinned. He must have come back early! Turning around to meet him, she called his name.

"Loki, where did you-"

Blinking in confusion, she stopped dead in her tracks. There was a person, walking towards her, but it wasn't Loki.

"Hi Lucy." The newcomer looked extremely out of place on the beach. It was a girl, wearing something that looked like soft fleece. Little horns curved out of her fair hair. Meekly kicking the sand off her fleecy boots, Aries said, "...can we...talk?"