Chapter 7

Whenever Lucy was stressed, she always found herself looking at the stars. Ever since she could remember, it was often one of the few things that helped her relax. There was one particular time—she was six. Her father had been harsh on poor Lucy, and she had fled the room in tears. Her mother had found her, an hour later, curled up in a mountain of cushions on the balcony, staring up at the sky.

So, the logical place to find Lucy that night was on the roof. She had crawled out from one of the windows and had settled herself on a flatter section of the roof, bundled up in an old hoodie. She was on the side of the apartment that looked away from the city—that way, the flashy neon lights of Magnolia didn't drown out the stars.

Lucy uncomfortably rolled her shoulders backwards, wincing as something gave way and cracked. Ahh, that talk with Aquarius was like a double-edged sword: EXTREMELY helpful but it had been so very stressful as well. At least now, she knew what she was dealing with.

Or whom, rather.

"Priscilla the White," Aquarius had said earlier that night, "I bet she was named after Snow White. You know, the princess? Pretty and innocent looking with her juicy, blood-red lips…except Priscilla can cut you up into a million pieces before you can even blink. All without batting a perfectly curled eyelash."

Lucy had the impression that Priscilla was like a spirit version of Erza—a fierce, talented warrior queen who would often confused with being a supermodel. Oh, and no surprise! She was kind and animals loved her.

"Seriously. I didn't even have a chance," sighed Lucy. Well, wasn't it for the best? Who was she, a lowly spirit mage, to mess around with a spirit bonding—a tradition that had been carried out for centuries?

Then, for some reason, all she could think about was the beach. That night…was it that long ago? She had been lying in his arms and that kiss, no matter how brief it was, had sent a spark shooting down her spine. They might not have had centuries together but it definitely seemed as if they had chemistry.

All this thinking was giving Lucy a migraine. She groaned, both hands covering her ears as if she could block the world out. The worst of it was that she had this choking feeling in the middle of her chest. It felt like a ball of nervous energy was just straining to escape her ribcage. She had been groaning to herself when she felt the ground move, shifting ever so slightly under someone who knew how to walk on the balls of his feet. Someone else was on the roof and Lucy had a good feeling that she knew who it would be.

"You…alright?" asked Loki tentatively, settling into a crouch a respectable distance away from his owner. He was dressed in what he liked to think of as 'civilian' clothes—a favorite t-shirt and a pair of old jeans. Even well-dressed Leos enjoyed a break from their manes and Italian suits sometimes.

Lucy, being in the mood that she was in, just stared at him blankly, frowning slightly. Both of her hands were still cupping her face as she answered in a drab voice, "Yeah. I'm alright."

Loki nodded knowingly. "Mmhmm. I can tell. Guess that wave of distress that was emitting from here wasn't from you then, was it."

"Hey, mister. Don't get all sarcastic on me, I didn't call you here. You just showed up. On your OWN."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Loki was quiet. He observed her for a moment—the slouch in her posture, eyebrows furrowed—before pulling the black frames off of his face, shoving them into his pocket. "I know just the thing!"

"…whaat," mumbled Lucy.

"Come here, I wanna show you something," said Loki, standing up. He reached out his hand and gestured for her to take it. When she snubbed him, bounded right up to her, trying to pull her up by her armpits. Almost automatically, Lucy began to complain until he held up one finger in front of her face, shushing her to be quiet. "I have two options for you," he said, "You can mope around here by yourself or you can come with me and feel better. Which one do you pick?"

Lucy was in such a grumpy mood, she had half a mind to stay on the roof and wallow in self-pity.

"As friends. I promise. Not as owner and master, or anything else. Just friends," said Loki, reaching his hand out again.

She sat for a moment thinking. Then in a flurry of activity, she quickly tied her sneakers. She reached up to grab his hand, using him as leverage to stand. "Fine," she sniffed, brushing her bangs out of her face, "But no funny business."

"Roger that," said Loki. He was grinning because he knew that just convincing Lucy was half the battle in changing her mood. So with a bit of spring in his step, he led them to the edge of the rooftop.

She knew it would make it worse but Lucy couldn't help herself—she looked straight down. The backside of her apartment faced the canal so if she fell off, it would be a 3 story drop into icy cold river water. She was very content to stand on the roof until she noticed that her spirit was dangling one sneaker off of the edge. "Oh, you can't be serious," she exclaimed.

"What do you mean? " said Loki, mischievous as always. He maneuvered her grip so that her arm was firmly hooked with his. "You just gotta trust me."

"Err—"

"So? Do you?"

Lucy could feel his weight shifting and she quickly leaned back, all the while imagining what eggs look like when they're dropped off balconies for science projects. Not helpful. "Well, yeah, but—"

"Kay." And with that simple word (and a stupid grin that Lucy was so torn on liking or hating), Loki simply leaned off the edge of the roof, pulling his unwilling master with him.

Lucy's eyes were closed shut as she screamed, like as always, because the first feeling of weightlessness always unnerved her. But thankfully, the feeling of falling helplessly through the air ended as her feet connected with something hard and stable. She felt Loki calmly unlatch her death grip from his arm.

Slowly opening one eye, Lucy exhaled the nervous breath she was holding. It seemed she was somewhere with maple flooring, a few handsome rugs here and there, and oh heavens—an entire balcony with a breathtaking view of…space?

"What is this place?" she gasped, mesmerized by the view. It was literally like having a front-row seat to the galaxy. It was like a sea of stars—winking glowing lights caught in a net of water that was navy blue in some areas, soft pink in others.

"Welcome, my lady, to my humble abode," said Loki, amused. "Humans like views of beaches or mountains. We spirits kinda prefer the stars."

Lucy was speechless. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her mouth hung open in amazement. "Oh Loki, this is…"

Loki crossed his arms. "Feel better?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"See? You should listen to me more often," he chuckled. He padded forward to slide open the glass doors to the balcony before gesturing her forward. "Especially on missions."

"Oh please, we only did a couple so far," snorted Lucy, following him outside. She stepped out tentatively, expecting the gravity to disappear suddenly, but it was safe to walk.

"But don't you know by now that Loki knows best? I've got eons of experience, my dear," said Loki, leaning against the railing.

"Whaaat? I've got intuition. Gut feeling trumps experience sometimes, old man." Lucy grinned, stepping up to the rail to peek over it. It was like an endless void of blackness but in the corner of her vision, she could make out the outline of a dark green planet. It's moons helped illuminate Loki's balcony.

"Old? I can't believe you actually called me old," said Loki, feigning a broken heart, "I barely look a day over twenty five!"

Lucy laughed. This was…nice. One, there was a GORGEOUS VIEW. Two, this easy-going banter was fun! This was the first time since the beach that she felt comfortable around him—not threatened by his past and her future. It was as if all that drama didn't matter—it was just the two of them, right now. Here. So it was no surprise that after an hour of playful debating (it only felt like minutes!), they had drifted closer together-so close their elbows were almost rubbing.

Loki leveled his gaze at her, extending one hand out for a truce. His eyes were just like a lion's, thought Lucy as she shook his hand. They were a shade of deep amber, darker around the edges but flecked here and there with slivers of gold. She knew it was rather cliché, but Lucy felt she could practically lose herself in his eyes. And then Loki made it worse for poor Lucy—he nodded, then kissed her hand.

Lucy's eyes narrowed. "Ooh, that was mean."

An eyebrow raised. "Mean? I don't follow."

"That," Lucy gestured at her hand, "Was so old school. Who the hell does that anymore? Nowadays, it's all ass grabbing and oogling and-"

"…I still don't follow."

Lucy jabbed a finger into his shirt. It wasn't a forceful gesture, less of a jab and more of a poke, but the rest of her palm opened up until it had spread on his chest. "You know I like old school," Lucy mumbled.

"I told you, silly girl," said Loki, "I know." Very casually, he leaned forward and with his free hand, he tilted her chin up until their lips met. Much to his surprise (and perhaps her own), she kissed him first. She kissed him slowly but confidently—no hesitation. There was a friction between their lips, slight but enough to warm them. There was deepness to the way their lips matched, and they could both feel the need yet nothing was rushed. It was gentle. In the back of Lucy's mind, a noise echoed faintly, she swore it as sounded like a 'clink,' but she was quickly distracted when their lips parted.

"You know," mused Loki, as they broke apart, "I'd say that was our first kiss."

"What do you mean? You've kissed me loads of times before," blushed Lucy, who was both mortified and proud that she had the guts to lean over and kiss him like that.

"Yeah I know," he reached over to tuck her hair over her ear, "But I'd say that was the first time it was…reciprocal? Its always me kissing you and then you just do it because I'm doing it. This time, it felt like you meant it."

"I did mean it." Inwardly, Lucy was secretly swooning (not like she would admit it, but still.)

"I know." He smiled. It was a different kind of smile—it wasn't predatory like on a mission or triumphant like when he outsmarted someone. It was simple. He was happy.

It was nice just to look at him but the sight was being ruined by a sharp light shining behind them. Lucy squinted and she could tell it was a star emitting a bright, white light that pulsed slightly. Loki turned and the smile on his face turned into a grimace—suddenly he looked tired. "Well, it's a day of firsts, don't you think?"

"…Firsts?" Lucy was absolutely sure that the white supernova was getting closer.

"Yep. You saw my place for the first time, we genuinely shared our first kiss, and now it looks like you'll have your first meeting with Priscilla the White."

A/N: Have any of you ever read the Hunger Games series? It was so like Battle Royale (That Japanese movie from the 90s) but I liked the way Suzanne Collins (sp) writes.