Loke stood from his place at the bar, and hurried towards his master. He had no plan, no words, no thought as to what he would do once he got there, he was only aware of her for that small point in time. He wanted to grab her, press her close against him and kiss her, stroke the flower in her hair. To claim her. All it took to stop him in his tracks however was a single glance from Lucy, and that shocking, disarming smile. His mind went blank, caught up in her gorgeous face, stopping just short of her, already a little too close. What was he planning to do exactly? Pull her with him to kiss her passionately in the rain? That's what he wanted yes but it didn't take a fully functioning mind to calculate the infinite reasons that wouldn't work. He hesitated, realizing he was a tad screwed. Everyone in the guild had just witnessed him run up to Lucy and freeze, so he resorted to a desperate back up plan. Loke reached out and caught her hand, causing Lucy to blush as he pressed his lips against it in a smooth flirtatious gesture.
"Welcome princess, I was so lonely waiting for you to arrive."
Most on lookers chuckled and shook their heads, typical Loke. Lucy however gave the spirit a glare that would have usually rendered him immobile with fear, if he couldn't sense the sudden flustered disarray of her thoughts. Perhaps he could save this.
"Are you going to be a flirt all day?" she muttered crossly, but the blush never faded.
He pulled back his hand and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "No I swear! I just needed to get one in to tide me over, I promise I'll be good." He smiled at her, but smiled with his heart not his mind. The difference being the smile he gave everyone else, and the smiles he gave Lucy. She could always spot a genuine smile apart from his charming ones.
The blonde huffed and shook her head, but seemed to ultimately forgive him. It was just his way. Considering this though, Lucy reached up to adjust the rose in her hair and was very pleased to catch the flustered expression that crossed Loke's face.
"Thank you," she said suddenly, and the lion's eyes snapped from the flower to her gaze. "For the gift I mean… It was very sweet, thank you. I'll keep your secret," glancing at the ever adorable cat ears atop his head and grinning.
She settled the rose more securely in place and giggled. "This one was my favorite by far."
"I- uh- I'm glad master." He managed, berating himself for the obvious hesitation that made her smile.
"Lucy," she corrected, surprised that she needed to do so.
"Lucy," he agreed.
He managed to guide her to the bar and present her with the drink he had ordered for her while she greeted her guild mates. She took the hot chocolate gladly, distracted from replying to Levi when she noticed her spirits distracted eyes sightlessly scanning the bar.
The symbolism couldn't have been lost to her. She was a writer, and also just plain clever enough to know. The orange poppy was obviously Lucy, and the golden rose was obviously himself, nestled close together on her bed. There was no way that went over her head, so she picked that flower knowing that. Or maybe it really was just her favorite one? He couldn't help but overthink it, confused as to what this counter play meant.
Lucy smiled into her mug as Levi talked animatedly about a job request, easily picking up on her spirits confusion. Pairing that with his behavior and she was pretty sure she had flustered the poor guy pretty badly. He wasn't the only one who could be smooth.
It was then that Lucy's team approached the bar. Loke did his best to keep a lofty charming grin on his face while Erza explained the mission they would be going on soon, but he was nervous, tensed for a scream any second.
To his surprise, Lucy brightened at the mention of a ball. "I haven't had a reason to dress up in ages! That's amazing! I mean, dealing with all the withered asshole politicians is kind of a downer… but it can still be fun. And for such a high reward!" She clapped her hands and squealed, stopping suddenly when a thought occurred to her. "Wait am I going in alone? It's going to be hard to gather information by myself, I'll constantly be asked to dance or talked at by horny palace boys." The image made her grimace.
"Already considered. Loke will be accompanying you through the ball as your partner, able to assist in case of trouble as well as with the social hurdles."
Lucy's eyes widened, turning from Erza to the ginger haired man sat next to her. She stared at him, not saying anything for a full second before smiling. "That actually makes sense, you said the spirit world has balls all the time right?"
Loke had honestly been expecting a kick in the face, and was quick to nod his head. "They are a tad more eccentric then human balls but that's just because of the crowd. I can fit in."
Lucy crossed her arms, and gave him a half-hearted glare. "Okay, we can be partners but you have to stay FOCUSED okay?"
Loke broke out into a huge grin, utterly ecstatic, and snapped a salute, "Mam' yes mam'!"
"Don't salute you look like Sagittarius"
"Moshi Moshi!"
"That's settled then," Erza commented, effectively ending the conversation and causing Natsu and Gray to wander off pretty quickly. Erza turned to the lion spirit, smirking at his very apparent good mood.
"Have you decided on attire? I assume you will be getting something from the spirit world."
Lucy's gasp was so loud it actually caused the hardened warrior to jump.
"A BALL GOWN FROM THE CELESTIAL WORLD." The girl was bouncing on the barstool, stars in her eyes when Loke leaned around her to address the red head. "I was going to let Lucy pick, for obvious reasons." He reached out and grabbed Lucy by the shoulders, forcing her to stop bouncing before she slid off. "Shall I ask Virgo to pick out some options?"
"Please!"
This was how Loke ended up being roped in to a kind of impromptu fashion show for the ladies of Fairytail. He had originally been against the idea, but then Bisca said it was important to see the matching outfits as a set and not just Lucy's dress, and he couldn't stand to ruin Lucy's fun. Virgo was waiting for him in the back room of the guild hall, another regal collection of cloth in her arms.
"Was the red not satisfactory?"
Loke sighed, allowing Virgo to change him in her whirlwind fashion. "No they loved it, they love all of them but they want to see several. I wonder how many more this will go on for."
The nearly emotionless maid stared at him blankly, stating, "The princess seems to be enjoying herself."
He smiled, thinking of the way Lucy twirled in each extravagant dress, standing next to him to compare the complementary clothing. It was always the same sort of dynamic, his was sharp, hers was elegant.
"I am done."
Loke looked down, approving of the dark blue fabric. The coattails were never quite his style but they were nice for formal events, and the detailed gold lines falling along the front and sides of the jacket were a nice touch, looping out to form a circular lattice of gold across the back. When he observed his back in the mirror he easily recognized it as the magic circle used for celestial summons, and his own constellation in the center stitched in silver thread. He made a note to switch the cufflinks for his own when he heard the calling of the girls.
"Lets see it!" Evergreen shouted, letting herself engage in the fun of the girls for once.
"Come on lets see!" Lisanna called out, gasping adorably when Loke obliged them.
He did a turn when they prompted, cheering and swooning all the while, most likely just feeding his ego but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
"The vest is perfect and the jacket!" Levi jumped up and down in excitement, "She's really gonna love this one I know it, I can't wait to see the dress!"
"I'm ready!" Loke turned at the voice of his princess waiting patiently for her to step out, and never could he have prepared himself.
In a way the dress was simple. It was a tight corset like top to the dress, fabric never reaching up to conceal the gorgeous lines of her neck, but choosing instead to hug just short of her shoulders, forming a gently curving slope towards her breast. There was a triangle like cut at the very center, drawing the eye along the tightly held mounds of her breast, only hinting at the start of her cleavage. Across her stomach were long dipping gold lines of stitching much like his own, choosing to cut across her sides instead of forming an elaborate pattern, forming golden bars across her back that only gave way to a sharp V dip at the direct center of her back. The tight torso length of the dress molded to her body to accentuate her slim waist and show off her figure, before the corset top ended and blossomed in great gorgeous lengths of shimmering dark blue fabric. It fell in waves and folds, only catching up on the bright jewels stitched seamlessly in, like stars in a clear night sky. Towards the bottom the dark blue fabric gave way in flowing irregularity to the shining lighter shaded blue cloth underneath, falling to the floor in a cascading waterfall.
It was the jewels stitched across her chest though that described ever thought pounding through Loke's mind, placed in the unmistakable form of the Andromeda constellation with silver stitching connecting the stars.
She was royalty, stepped before mortal men.
The room was silent, Lucy looking out to the faces of her friends to see they had finally torn their gazes from the unbelievable beauty of the ball gown, and were looking at Loke instead. She was almost hurt, before she too saw his face.
He was frozen, his eyes wide and his mouth just barely open, looking at her like he was only seeing her just now. She remembered that look, from a time where he lay dying on an outcrop of rock over the surging waters of the falls, and watched as the stars bent and came before Lucy Heartfilia, a woman he had only run from, in an effort to save his life with an impossible display of celestial magic.
It was awe.
"Princess…" he tried to speak but found it hard, deciding to instead bow his head as he gathered his thoughts. "You- you shine brighter than the stars ever could."
Lucy hid her smile behind a slender hand, but couldn't hide her blush from the gathered girls. Luckily Loke's gaze was still tied to the floor, trying desperately to collect himself, and he didn't see.
"I think I like this one."
Not a soul in the guild hall disagreed.
Lucy frowned out of the window of Fairy Tail, staring at the downpour that kept her from getting home in any kind of comfortable condition.
"I love the rain, but not when I'm IN the rain."
"You like the idea of rain," Mirajane offered from her place behind the bar, setting down a plate of fish for Happy as paid for by Natsu from the aftermath of some childish bet.
"It's gonna be cold" she pouted, continuing on as if no one had contributed to her sulking.
Lucy sighed theatrically, sitting down at a table and looked around the surprisingly full guild. It was late in the day but no one was very eager to leave the warmth of their benches for a soaking outside, and had stayed later then was typical.
Lucy jumped when there was a sudden clang of a beer mug on her table, and the resident drunkard Cana Alberona sat across from her.
"Why not have Lion boy carry you home. You will definitely still be wet but at least you'll be warm!" Lucy's face was hot while Cana laughed heartily, severely doubting the drunk's insinuation of 'wet'.
"Keep it down Cana what the hell!" The 'Lion Boy' in question was still in the guild, enjoying the company of Elfman and Lisanna at the opposite end from where Lucy was sat. She prayed to the stars that he hadn't heard but judging by the smirk on his face she figured that was unlikely. Stupid cat ears.
"Oh come on girl, you have got to see he's all over you," Cana was grinning at her friend but indulging her with a hushed tone to preserve her health. Too much teasing and the little blonde might explode.
"It is NOT like that." Lucy huffed and crossed her arms when Cana just raised an eyebrow.
"You aren't blind are you? Could have sworn you had a working set of eyes."
"Is there something you need?" Lucy knew she was being rude but she was getting more red faced by the second.
"I need to know what is going on Luce now spill!"
"Nothing!" Lucy hissed, probably a little too loud.
"Oh you know that's not true." Lucy looked up and groaned when she saw Mirajane bringing Cana another drink despite the fact she was only half way through the one she had, finding any excuse to come over and join the conversation.
"I'm glad you have some sense Mira, tell her I'm right," Cana prodded, ignoring that Lucy had now slammed her head down onto the table.
"You're right, I could see it from the second he walked in today you should have seen it. He was here before the jobs were even posted, all excited and fresh faced. He tried to flirt with me when he knew I was getting suspicious but you could tell he didn't mean it." Mira winked at the exasperated celestial mage when she finally raised her head. "He was definitely waiting for someone."
"Okay he WAS waiting for me but it was for something comple-"
"Yeah hes been totally off his game all day," Cana interrupted her and smirking at her frustration. "He was trying to say some suave line to Evergreen but it was only after she was poking fun at him for the way he reacted to Lucy's dress, and like have you even seen the way he's been looking at her? I've never seen it before, he's never treated one of his fan club that way. And he definitely didn't look at me like he was seeing the birth of magic whenever we hooked up."
Lucy suddenly felt a twinge of anger, thinking about how many girls from the guild or even the whole damn town must have been by Loke's bedside at one point or another.
"What? You've never slept with Loke," Mira frowned, setting the drink down.
"Yeah but did you see her face!" Cana erupted, pointing at Lucy, "You totally dig him!"
Lucy groaned again, palming her face as the two women went on and on. A run through the rain was definitely better than this.
Then she heard his voice, speaking into her mind with a deeply amused tone to it. 'Need a distraction milady?'
Lucy's head snapped down to look at the keys she always kept by her side, noticing the Leo key was shining faintly as he used it to contact her. She looked across to where he was, catching his questioning glance.
She quickly made physical contact with the key to return to message. 'Have you been eavesdropping!?' Lucy used all her mental power to shriek into his head, watching as he flinched from the force of it.
'Haven't heard a word,' he insisted in return, but the amusement was still present.
Lucy groaned out loud for a third time, drawing the attention of the two women for the first time in several minutes.
'Just get me out of this and I will consider not killing you.'
'Your wish is my command.' And with a massive, powerful blast of light, Natsu was sent flying from his stool at the bar face first through a wall to the back rooms.
"HEY NATSU" Loke shouted, after hitting him out of the room. "LETS HAVE THAT FIGHT."
"YOU FUCKING CAT EARED BASTARD"
"Boys stop!" Mirajane called out but the fight was underway, causing every sitting guild member to run for the safety of the storm. They were going to get roasted if they stuck around.
"Stay the hell away from the bar guys!" Cana was on her feet as well, running to defend her stock of booze. Lucy grimaced as the fight started to involve more and more people, wondering if she should put a stop to it before the hall was destroyed. She didn't want Loke getting hurt but knew he probably missed the guild brawls from when he could be around all the time instead of just visiting. Gray, Elfman, Bickslow and Gajeel were getting wrapped up in the fighting and she considered running for it as well when she saw a table fly in her direction only to get shattered by Loke before it ever got close. It looked like he was just mindlessly fighting but he was keeping an eye on Lucy to make sure the fight zone didn't spread so far as to put her at risk. Seeing this made her laugh, and as a way of repaying him, Taurus was suddenly there to clobber Gray into the floorboards before he could land a nasty blow on her lion spirit.
The chaos continued with Lucy keeping a careful watch over where Loke was and summoning spirits as needed ("Where the fuck are these guys even popping up from?!") until it was all ended under the furious crushing fists of their guild master, and they were all thrown out into the rain.
Lucy waited patiently for Loke to limp his way over, her worry only being eased by the happy smile on his face.
"Lets get you out of the rain gorgeous, can't have you getting sick with a big dance coming up."
Lucy giggled, reaching up to support him as she knew he would insist on walking her home despite his condition. "You didn't have to break a wall and start a fight just to save me from an awkward conversation. But thanks."
He smiled down at her, doing his best to walk on his own as he teased her. "Awkward? Why, whatever was a conversation involving Mirajane and Cana possibly about?"
"Nothing shut up!" causing him to burst out laughing.
She glared up at his handsome, happy face and reached up, quickly taking advantage of his weakness and rendering him powerless from the might of her scratches. The laughing instantly gave way to VERY loud purring, and it was his turn to be embarrassed.
"Luuuucy…" he whined pitifully, and even he wasn't sure if it was because it was embarrassing or because she stopped, only consoled by her victorious expression.
"That was very loud."
"Lucy!"
"The whole town probably heard it that was-"
"LUCY" but there was no stopping her, skipping out ahead and relentlessly teasing him. He pretended to frown, but seeing her so happy, practically dancing in the rain was worth the humiliation.
He eagerly awaited the moment where he would be dancing with her, it a very different setting, and smiled as he knew he would not be waiting very long.
((AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all so much for the amazingly kind favorites and reviews, every time I see a review I get back to writing that much quicker so thank you so much. Next up is a very special night for Loke and Lucy, and I hope you like it!))