It was a mission like any other, that's what they thought at least. It turned out to be a lot more dangerous than any of them had expected. The mission had been to apprehend a rogue wizard who had been practicing the dark arts. He lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere and supposedly one of his more recent attempts to use the dark arts had injured many and nearly destroyed the whole town. It had been the last straw and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

So when Natsu, Lucy, and Happy set out the last thing they were expecting was to be facing an entire dark guild. All this time the small town had really just been the dark guild in disguise. Now they were seriously outnumbered and things had taken a turn for the worst. The first person Lucy had faced had unfortunately been a wizard who excelled at sealing magic and had locked her and all her spirits inside a barrier with him. It was clear he had experience fighting celestial wizards and since Natsu was busy fighting the other thirty to forty wizards she was on her own.

"What are you going to do little girl? You'll never be able to beat me." Lucy gritted her teeth and grabbed her keys.

"Open! Gate of the…" The wizard was ready, he swooped in and landed a solid punch to her mid section sending her flying back into barrier. She fell to the ground gasping trying to regain her breath. Her opponent laughed evilly.

"Time for you to die. It's a shame you're so pretty." The wizard threw a powerful punch, as it came barreling towards her face everything seemed to move in slow motion. She could see Natsu trying to break through a throng of enemies to get to her, but she knew he would be too late. She saw his lips move and knew he was calling out to her even though she couldn't hear him through the barrier. She couldn't believe that this was the end. That she had been defeated so easily. As the punch connected with her head everything started to go black, as he pulled back his arm back for another punch she called out. She called out to the only person she knew would be there, would save her. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a man kneeling in front of her. He had caught the wizards punch in his hand. A small smile crossed her lips just before she lost consciousness because he had protected her, just like he promised.

When Lucy's eyes finally fluttered back open she found herself being carried, two strong arms holding her close. She buried her face into the muscular shoulder of her savior.

"Lucy, good, you are finally awake. I was beginning to worry." She looked up into his deep hazel eyes.

"Thank you Leo." He smiled down at her.

"Of course Lucy, I just wish you had called me sooner." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"I know I should've, but I wanted to try and do it on my own. I can't rely on you all the time." Leo chuckled slightly. He was certain that Lucy knew full well that he would be at her every beck and call if that's what she wanted, yet she still tried to do things on her own. She didn't become complacent allowing others to do things for her, instead she chose to always try and improve. Leo loved that about her. It had been two years since he had become Lucy's Celestial Spirit, and he had fallen more in love her every day since then. She had saved his life. Not only did she keep him from disappearing forever, but she had also pulled him from the dark pit of guilt he had trapped himself in.

"I will always be there when you call and I will always protect you."

"I know. Hey…where's Natsu?"

"I was going to stay and help him after I took care of that wizard and broke through the barrier he had created but Natsu just told me to get you away and he would handle it. He was pretty pissed off since he saw that guy punch you. He said he would catch up."

"I'm sure he was." Lucy watched as Leo's full head of orange, mane like hair blew in the wind. His black suit cut to perfectly fit his muscular form. She couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked. She shook her head. Clearly that punch and done more damage than she thought. Leo had been her Celestial Spirit for the last two years and a thought like that had never crossed her mind. After a few hours had past Nastu and Happy finally caught up.

"Hey guys!" Leo paused and turned towards Natsu and Happy.

"Glad to see you are both all right. Not that I doubted you."

"How's Lucy?"

"I'm right here you know." Lucy snipped.

"Ah, making your spirits carry you again huh Lucy? You really are lazy!"

"Yea, Lucy!" Happy added in support of Natsu.

"Hey! I was unconscious!" Lucy yelled in defense, her forehead getting little wrinkles in it as she glared at Natsu.

"You aren't now." Natsu teased.

The sun was almost completely set when they finally made it back to the guild hall. Leo put Lucy down gently.

"Thank you Leo, I'll see you again soon, okay?" Lucy turned and gave Leo one last smile and wave before she disappeared into the guild hall.

Once he was back in the spirit world Leo let out a sigh. He had never expected to fall head over heels for a human, but here he was completely smitten. He wanted to tell her, but he knew that there was no real way for them to be together. He would give anything to be with her. As a celestial spirit he was infinite, but never in his life had he felt anything like this and he had a feeling he never would again. He would rather live one life with Lucy than for eternity without her.

xxx

After getting checked out at the infirmary Lucy had headed home. She sat soaking in a warm bath giving her sore muscles a break. She thought back over the day's events. A slight flush came to her cheeks as she remembered the moment Leo had materialized from his gate a stopped that wizards punch. She blamed her flushed cheeks on the warmth of the tub. It really was convenient having a spirit that could open his own gate. She had merely whispered his name and he had come, he was a steady presence in her life, she could always trust him to be there. She sunk lower in the tub, laying her head back to rest on the rim. She let out a relaxed sigh.

"Oh Leo…" She said to herself. Suddenly he appeared in the middle of her bathroom.

"You call…aahh!" When he saw that she was taking a bath he quickly turned around.

"Ahh, Leo! I didn't mean to call you." She screeched.

"I'm sorry Lucy; I didn't see anything I promise!" Both of their faces were deep shades of red. He rushed out of the bathroom. He thought he might die of embarrassment. He had thought that the way she said his name sounded different than normal, but because of her injury he just wanted to be sure she didn't need anything. He let out a sigh; he would have to make it up to her.

When Lucy finally felt like she had sufficiently washed away all of her humiliation she got out and let the water drain from the tub. Once she dried off she put on a comfortable fitted silk nightgown. It was white with lace trim on the top and bottom. She wrapped herself in the matching silk robe that had her initials monogrammed on the back. When she came out she was surprised to find a vase full of a beautiful bouquet of assorted flowers sitting on her kitchen table along with a fresh pot of tea. She smiled as she sat down at the table and poured some tea into the waiting cup, the smell of chia wafting into her nostrils. There was a small note attached to the flowers, she giggled when she read it.

Sorry I appeared in your bathroom.

- Leo

She had always seen Leo as a playboy, mostly because he was, but over the last two years he had changed, it was clear that he had finally stopped blaming himself for the death of his last key holder Karen. Lucy guessed he no longer felt the need to numb himself anymore.

"Leo." Lucy called to him. When he didn't appear she called again. "Leo." This time he did appear. Lucy giggled when she saw he was covering his eyes. "You don't need to cover your eyes. Thank you for the beautiful flowers, I love them. Will you sit and have some tea with me?" Leo grabbed a cup and sat down at the table across from her. As he took a sip of his tea he couldn't help but admire how gorgeous she was. It didn't matter if she was dressed for the finest ball or dressed for bed, she took his breath away.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucy asked timidly. Leo blushed when he realized he had been openly staring at her. For as much of a ladies man as everyone thought he was, he was uncharacteristically unsmooth when it came to Lucy.

"Sorry, it's just…" Leo stopped himself. He wanted to do nothing more than pull her close and tell her how he really felt, and kiss those gorgeous lips. "I'm just really glad you're okay. That's all." He took another sip of his tea.

"Oh, well it's all thanks to you. I don't know what I would have done without you the last two years. It's hard to remember what it was like before you became my spirit, ya know?" Leo nodded.

They spent the rest of the night talking about anything and everything. Neither of them realized how long they had been talking until rays of light started peaking in through the windows. Lucy let out a yawn and let her head rest against the love seat they had moved to at some point in the night. Leo resisted the urge to caress her soft cheek.

"I can't believe its morning already, we've been talking all night." Soon after Lucy closed her eyes she was asleep. Leo gently got up off the couch so that he didn't disturb her. He pulled back the sheets on her bed and moved the decorative pillows. Then he went back over to the love seat and scooped Lucy into his arms. He tucked her into bed, brushed her bangs away from her face and delicately kissed her forehead. He watched her sleep for a few minutes before he opened his gate and went back to the Celestial World. He thought his heart might pound out of his chest. He wished he could change how he felt; keep himself from falling desperately in love with Lucy. Never in all of history had a human and a Celestial Spirit had a romantic relationship. He was setting himself up to get a broken heart. He let out a frustrated sigh. Who was he kidding? He was already head over heels, there was no changing that. His heart had made its decision, and it couldn't tell the difference between a Celestial Spirit and a human, it was not bound by any rules or regulations, it chose indiscriminately. His heart had made its choice and it was Lucy.

xxx

Lucy awoke around noon. She was surprised to find herself in bed; the last thing she remembered was saying how she couldn't believe it was morning already. Leo must have carried her to bed. He was always so kind and gentlemanly like that. As she got up and started what would normally be her morning routine all she could think about was spending the night with Leo. It had been so nice, just talking and spending time together. As it turned out, Leo had more to him than just his charm. She found herself blushing as she brushed her teeth. It was weird; she had never had feelings like this before. At first she had thought it was some strange symptom of hitting her head, but she was starting to think it might be something else. She got excited every time she saw Leo, thinking about him made her smile, and she had been thinking about him an awful lot lately. Even considering the possibility that she liked him made her stomach flip flop, which probably meant that she already did, but she wasn't ready to admit it.

Over the next few weeks Leo and Lucy spent more and more time together. From shopping, to watching movies, to missions, to more late nights talking over tea. They were joined at the hip, and not just because that was where Lucy carried her gate keys. Lucy had finally admitted to herself that she had a major crush on him, even though she knew a relationship between a Celestial Spirit and a human could never really work she found herself liking him more and more. It didn't help that he was literally a call away. All she had to do was say his name and he would be there. Always. There a been a few times during their late night conversations that she had almost told him how she felt but she always stopped. She always talked herself out of it by telling herself that even if he did feel the same way they wouldn't be able to act on their feelings. Unfortunately, that didn't make them go away.

xxx

Lucy dug her house key out of her pouch. Her day had been pretty uneventful; she had done a small mission with Natsu for some pocket change, and gone shopping with Levy, but that was it. Her evening plan was to have a light dinner and see if Leo wanted to watch a movie. Her heart rate increased at the thought spending time with him. She was silently scolding herself as she opened the door and entered her home. When she looked up her jaw dropped open. She thought her heart might explode out of her chest. The kitchen table was set with a white table cloth, a dozen pale pink roses sat in the middle, and two candles. Leo's black jacket and red tie were slung over the back of one of the chairs. If that was enough Leo was standing in front of the stove with an apron on cooking. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, his always unruly mane of orange hair was pulled back into a pony tail, a few sections that were too short to make it framed his face.

"Welcome home Lucy." He smiled over at her as he finished chopping up some vegetables. He slid them off the cutting board and into the pot of boiling water on the stove. "Do you need any help with your bags?" He put the knife down and walked over to her.

Finally recovering from the initial shock she spoke. "That would be great thank you." She handed Leo her bags. "What is all this?"

"I figure since you are usually the one cooking you would like a break. It's the least I can do." He put her bags down on the counter and walked over to pull a chair out for her. "I just want you to know that you're appreciated." She nodded her thanks as he walked back over to the stove. Lucy watched him as he cooked. She sighed inwardly, cursing him for being so attractive. This certainly wasn't making her like him any less. Why couldn't he have looked like Taurus?

It took about ten minutes for dinner to finish, Leo dished out Lucy's first and brought it to her, she smiled sweetly and thanked him, telling him how good it looked. After he dished out his own he hung up the apron and joined Lucy at the table. He couldn't help but think he wouldn't mind doing this every night. He loved to see Lucy smile, and make her happy. He would do anything for her. They shared a few words over dinner, and then Lucy helped him clean up. She was being unusually quiet. Once they were finished cleaning up Leo blew out the candles and they went and sat down on the love seat. He slung his arm over the back of the sofa.

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure." At her response Leo grabbed the remote and started flipping through movie titles from the list of on demand items. "Leo…" He turned giving Lucy his full attention. "Why did you really do all this? I mean don't get me wrong, I feel appreciated, but my favorite flowers, candles, and making me dinner seems like a lot just to make me feel appreciated." Leo's heart pounded as he looked into Lucy's gorgeous brown eyes. He was screaming the answer inside his head, because I love you, but the words weren't coming out of his mouth. He didn't know what do to. He knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn't sure it was the best thing for Lucy. Her voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Leo?"

"Lucy I…" He gently cupped her face in his hand, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "I love you…" It came out as a whisper. As he continued to speak the words came with more confidence. "I've liked you since the day I became contracted to you, and my feelings have only grown since then. I love you Lucy." He leaned in and kissed her lips gently. He started to pull away when he felt Lucy's hand grab his shirt, keeping him close, her lips almost brushing against his as she spoke.

"I love you too." He thought he might die of happiness. Without hesitation he pulled her into another kiss, the hand that had been resting on the back of the sofa holding hers, their fingers now intertwined. This time the kiss was deeper, passionate. They separated long enough to catch their breath before they connected again. Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close, their kisses becoming more heated, and the desire for each other starting to take control. They parted both breathless, Lucy now in his lap; he let his head rest back against the sofa, Lucy looking down at him.

"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." She smiled at him.

"You're not too bad yourself." He chuckled.

"I don't want to rush things, so if you aren't ready for this yet, that's fine."

"I think we've waited long enough. You said you've liked me for two years, and even though I only just admitted it to myself, I've liked you for a long time too." She paused for a few seconds. "I want this…I want you." Leo smiled as he picked her up off the sofa; she wrapped her legs around him and he walked over to the bed laying Lucy back gently.

"I want you too Lucy. I will always want you." She smiled. "Want to know a secret?" She nodded. "This is my first time." Lucy's eyes widened in surprise but then she smiled happily. She pulled Leo close so she could whisper into his ear.

"Mine too." She gave his ear a gentle kiss letting her hands trail down the front of his shirt, undoing buttons as she went. They took their time, they were in no rush. They wanted to enjoy every exhilarating second. Before long there was nothing left between them but skin, Leo trailed gentle kisses down Lucy's neck, slowly spreading her legs with his free hand. She held his other, giving it a tight squeeze at the feel of his hand along her inner thigh. He paused for a moment, looking deep into her eyes.

"Ready?" He smiled at her lovingly. When she nodded at him he slowly started to slide inside of her, they both let out moans of pleasure once he was fully in.

"Oh, Leo…" Her voice was full of desire and it was music to his ears. He called her name in response. "I love you." She said between moans.

"I love you too."

xxx

The next morning as Leo woke up it took him a few moments to figure out where he was, but the events of the night before quickly came flooding back to him. He thought he might die of happiness. Lucy was still sound asleep, her head on his chest. He made a decision right then that he would find a way to make this work, no matter what. He lay awake trying to think of how to do it, enjoying the feel of Lucy next to him. He had just made up his mind to go talk to the King of the Celestial Spirits when Lucy's eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at him. He thought he might melt.

"Good morning beautiful." He gave her forehead a peck.

"Morning." She replied groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"How about I make breakfast?" She nodded as she got up and went into the bathroom. He made his way to the kitchen, putting his underwear on as his went. Lucy reappeared just as breakfast was finishing. He put a plate of hot pancakes down in front of her.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What's up?" He finished chewing a bit of food before he spoke.

"Will you go with me to see the King?" Lucy almost choked on her bite of pancake.

"I can't go to the Celestial World! I'll die!" Leo let out a hearty laugh.

"That's not what I meant. I mean will you talk to him with me, if I ask I am sure he will come to the human world like he did the last time we talked with him."

"Oh, of course. What do you want to talk to him about?"

"Us, He must know of some way for this to work. Maybe I could become human or something."

"You would do that?" Leo reached across the table and took her hand.

"I would do anything for you. How about we go after breakfast?" Lucy agreed and took another big bite of pancake.

xxx

After cleaning up they had made their way back to Karen's grave, the place they had first encountered the King. It was one of the few placed that had enough room for him to appear.

"This brings back some memories." Leo pulled Lucy into a hug. "I still can't thank you enough for saving me that day." Lucy stood on her tiptoes and gave Leo a kiss.

"Well if this works out you will have the rest of our lives together to make it up to me." She gave him a mischievous smile. "You could start by doing that one thing you did last night that I really liked." Leo's face turned beat red making Lucy laugh.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Leo vanished into the Celestial World.

The King's palace was huge; fortunately he had put a smaller door in at the bottom of the gigantic door he used for all of the normal sized spirits to enter through. It was incredibly hard to move the door the King used. As he walked down the halls towards the throne room his heart rate increased, and his palms grew sweaty. He hadn't expected to be so nervous. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door to the throne room.

"Enter." The King's voice boomed. Leo gathered his confidence and obeyed the command. "Ah, Leo, my old friend, how are you?"

"Good, thank you. I came to make a request of you."

"Very well, what is it?"

"Would you please come and speak with me and Lucy?" The King arched an eyebrow.

"What for?"

"That's just it, it's kind of personal, and we would really like to speak to you about it together." The king was quiet for a few moments as he considered Leo's words.

"Very well, but only briefly."

"Thank you!" When Leo reappeared he made Lucy jump.

"That was fast. So is he coming?" A large cracking noise answered her question. As the King's gate opened it diverted the flow of the waterfall.

"Hello Lucy." The King greeted her.

"Hey stache face!" Leo slapped his forehead.

"Lucy, you can't call him that." He whispered under his breath at her.

"Tell me, what is this matter that you wish to discuss with me?" Lucy grabbed Leo's hand.

"I would like to request your permission, as well as ask for your guidance. I have fallen in love with Lucy, and I want to be with her. Please allow us to pursue a relationship."

"Hmmm, a relationship you say?" The King tapped his chin in thought. "Never in all of history has a Celestial Spirit and a human attempted to enter into a relationship that involved anything more than their contracted duties. I do not fault you for your feelings, but I'm just not sure that it's possible."

"That is the second part of my question. Is there any way for us to truly be together, for me to become human or some other option?" Leo's voice carried a hint of desperation. "I would rather live one life with Lucy than an eternity without her." Lucy clung to his arm tightly.

"Human? Certainly not. A Celestial Spirit cannot become human, any more than a human can become a Celestial Spirit. I'm sorry, but it is just not possible for your relationship to work. Leo is bound to the Celestial World." Both of their faces fell.

"Please stache face! We will do anything! I can't change my feelings, and to live without Leo wouldn't be living at all. I couldn't bear for him to be so close, yet out of my grasp. Is there no other option?" Lucy's eyes had filled with tears. Leo pulled her into an embrace and she buried her face in his chest. The King let out a sigh.

"I can see that your feelings are genuine. But there is nothing…" The King suddenly paused, his brow furrowing in thought. "There is one possibility, but I cannot guarantee that it will work, or that either of you would survive. We are in uncharted territory here."

"Please, tell us." Leo's voice had a hopeful ring to it.

"I may be able to connect your gate and a portion of the Celestial World to Lucy's life force, essential making it a part of her. Then you would no longer be bound to the Celestial World, but too Lucy. However, assuming it is possible at all, once done, it could never be undone, and upon Lucy's death, you would also fade away because your connection would be severed."

"Do it!" Lucy cried out. "Whatever it takes!" The King smiled down at her determination.

"You would be willing to risk your life?" She turned and looked at Leo.

"I would do anything for Leo." He smiled at her using his words from earlier.

"I can't lose you Lucy, are you sure you want to move forward with this?"

"If we don't, we lose each other anyways." Leo nodded.

"We are willing to try." The King nodded in response to Leo's answer.

"Very well then, if you both survive you may move forward with my blessing." The King smiled. "Let's begin." He had Lucy lie down on the ground and started chanting an incantation in a tongue neither of them had heard before. As the King continued a magic circle appeared under Lucy, a thin white strand stretched up into the air from her chest. "This is her life force." The King drew a dagger from his waistband and reached his hand inside of the Celestial World and pulling something toward him. It was hard to track as it changed from transparent to tangible and then back again. "Leo, this is your gate. I am going to have to sever it from the Celestial World in order to join it to Lucy. I do not know what will happen, if you do not survive; know I will remember you always." Leo nodded. The King let out a yell and with a mighty swing cut Leo's gate from the celestial world.

The next thing Leo knew he was on his knees screaming. As soon as the King had severed his gate from the Celestial World excruciating pain had shot through whole his body. It felt similar to the pain he felt when he had first stayed in the human world for an extended period of time only this was tenfold. He knew that he was screaming, but it sounded muffled to his own ears as he barely held onto his consciousness. The last thing he saw before he lost the fight was his life force stretching from his gate.

xxx

Leo was vaguely aware that his name was being called as he slowly began to regain consciousness. When he finally opened his eyes he realized he was in the Celestial World. He let out a sigh. Whatever the King had tried to do must not have worked. He was about to go to Lucy when he realized that something was different. Where ever he was looked like the Celestial World but didn't seem quite right. He started to walk but after only a little way he smacked into a barrier. That was weird. He was distracted from his investigation when Lucy let out a frantic call. He immediately opened his gate stepping through to the human world.

As soon as he appeared Lucy latched onto him, tears streaming down her face.

"Leo! Oh, Leo…I'm so glad you're okay." She sobbed. "You were screaming and then you disappeared. I was so worried. And then I was calling for you but you weren't coming, I was beginning to think the worst."

"I'm sorry Lucy." He held her tightly. "When I finally regained my consciousness I was in some place that looked like the Celestial World, and felt like it, but it wasn't quite right." He looked up at the King. "Maybe you can explain it."

"It is just one small part of the Celestial World, and it is no longer connected to the rest. It is inside of Lucy, and is only connected to your gate. You are eternally bound to Lucy. Your life forces are connected. As long as you are near to one another you can remain in the human world with no side effects. For the first time in history a Celestial Spirit and a human are bound, allowing you to live out your lives together. However, I must warn you, I do not know what effects this will have on you, and it is unlikely that you will ever bare children but you will be together. Leo, my old friend, Lucy, go with my blessing." Lucy jumped into Leo's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. They kissed each other tears of joy streaming down their faces.

"Thank you, we will forever be in your debt." Leo said. They watched as the King vanished back into the Celestial World.

"Did you hear that? We are eternally bound." Lucy smiled. They kissed a few more times before Leo finally spoke. He smiled as he looked deeply into her eyes.

"Will you marry me Lucy?" She gasped in shock and then let out a squeal of excitement.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" They shared a passionate kiss. "I love you a Leo."

"I love you too Lucy."

xxx

One year later Lucy and Leo were wed. They had their wedding at the Fair Tail Guild Hall, Makarov officiated their ceremony, and the entire guild attended. Little did they know that three years later against all odds Lucy would give birth to a son who they would name Lionel. He would have blond hair like his mother that was constantly unruly like his fathers, and deep brown eyes. He would grow up to become the greatest celestial wizard to ever live, his name legendary among all of Fiore. Being born the son of a Celestial Spirit and a human he would have the unique ability to survive in both worlds, and like his parents he would fight fiercely, love deeply, and do things that had never been done. All because Leo loved Lucy, and Lucy loved Leo.

xxx

Nel here, I know that the story developed pretty quickly but I hope it as enjoyable regardless. Reviews welcome. =]