Loke led his master up to the private balconies, finding one that was deserted of other party goers. Lucy left his side and peered over the railing, watching the swirling of the grand dresses on the dancefloor far below them.
"You know," she said eventually, "I remember being a little girl and loving watching the dresses spin. I wasn't able to dance myself and all the dull talk about work and money just bored me to tears. It's fun to actually get to go to one of these things with someone I can talk to."
Loke joined her, standing a short distance away and leaning on his elbows.
"I couldn't agree more, you have no idea how much better it is for me to have you at a dance. Getting to talk and dance, it's so much more fun than sitting in some horrid gold chair trying to act like a proper member of the celestial elite. Much better than stiff practiced dances and being dragged back by the coattails anytime I tried to sneak away."
The visual of the mighty lion being dragged back to a dinner table like a pouting little boy made her laugh that high ringing Lucy laugh that always made his heart skip.
"Lion's day ball is better," He continued, "It kicks ass in comparison to the Zodiac ones."
She laughed again at his decidedly informal description. "I like this," she said suddenly, still looking down at the dancers. "When you're relaxed and…" she seemed to roll a few words around on her tongue, trying them out before settling with, "genuine."
"Did I not seem genuine before?" He asked, his voice sort of betraying his nervousness, fearing that somehow their time together through the storm and at the guild had seemed fake.
"No," she said after a moment of consideration, "but you also have never been like this before." She turned and stunned him, the light from the candles and lanterns placed around the balcony catching the shining gold of her hair and the diamonds that rested in it.
"That's because I've been getting to spend so much time with you beautiful," he managed to reply. "I'm not always a flirt," he added, glad the laugh didn't betray him.
"So this is the real Loke huh? How you really are underneath all that charm?" Her smile was the only thing that gave him enough courage to nod. She walked closer, and said "I like it."
His heart soared at her acceptance, having someone you care about announce their clear and undoubtable praise is something that can be compared to few things.
"I guess we should keep hanging out then," he grinned, eagerly teasing her in his even better mood.
"I guess we should," she agreed with a smile of her own, laughing out loud at his sudden flustered expression. He pouted cutely in her opinion, reaching out to catch her hands and pulling her close to him as a new song started far below them.
The song was slow and beautiful, and Lucy felt her face heat as the intimacy of what was happening struck her. Before, her nervous mind could argue that their dancing before was all work just as Loke had suggested, but here…
They were alone, on a balcony in formal attire, like a prince and a princess.
His body was warm, and close. They both knew there was no other justification for a dance up here besides just the desire to do so, the desire to be near each other. Either could pull away, stammering out something about work or a professional relationship between wizard and spirit but neither did, moving through the steps together. Her face was hot and her heart racing as she acknowledged the message she was sending by staying in his arms, but still she did not leave.
'I trust him,' her heart whispered to itself. 'This is okay. I like this feeling… spending time with him like this. Where he laughs and it sounds so real and vibrant, where he asks for details of my life because he wants to know, not to build some angle. This…' she tried to put a word to what her heart was saying but couldn't. 'This… I don't know what this is. I'm not sure what to do or say, but I like this. I like it when he stays with me.'
She shook her head, just a tiny action against his chest as they danced through their minuet. She cleared her mind, just focusing on what she knew in the sea of things she didn't.
She liked dancing with him.
Loke cradled her, his mind so rattled and fried it just replayed the same words over and over. 'She didn't move away. She didn't move away.' She could have left and he would have thought of her no differently, understood it even if it had killed him. But she didn't. The warmth he felt in his chest was so new and grand and terrifying that he was at a loss of what to do or say. So he focused on what was there and real, the thing that threw his whole life into disarray. The feeling of Lucy Heartfilia in his arms, and how she stayed. This sensation was the realest thing to him now and he focused his sanity to it, swaying with the beautiful woman tucked against his chest, wondering how he had ever been so lucky to catch her in that storm.
Neither one of them noticed when the song came to an end.
Everyone noticed when the ballroom shook and groaned with the force of a massive explosion coming from the manor, and for a moment in time, Loke despised the dragon slayer responsible. The moment wasn't just gone, it was ripped away and torn to pieces, scattered somewhere underneath the panicked charging of the crowd fleeing the ballroom.
"God fucking DAMN IT" Loke shouted, throwing his arms into the air along with his curse and Lucy, despite also feeling the loss of the moment, collapsed in laughter, laying on the floor clutching her side.
"I am going to skin him alive I swear to GOD," he continued to vent, realizing it was entertaining her but also just genuinely frustrated. He stooped to pick his master up from the floor, effortlessly carrying her sprawled out across his arms and storming out from the balcony. Luckily everyone was so afraid when the explosions continued that no one paid any mind to an infuriated man carrying a hysterical woman in a heated rush down two flights of stairs and out the door, completely forgoing the carriage and just carrying her down the road while her laughter rang off the hills along with the sounds of battle.
It was just past one in the morning when the infiltration team rolled into town, the documents they were sent to procure securely fastened in Erza's armored hand. She was flipping through them idly, but its contents were mostly patents for ground breaking new technological advances through the use of magic, and thus of little use to a guild wizard.
"I would want those back too if I were Abner," Gray commented, reading over the red head's shoulder, "That stuff could bring his fortune back and then some. Wonder how Godfrey got his claws on em'." No one proposed a theory, because no one really cared, just glad to have the job tied up and done. They would collect the reward and be on the way home before the sun even came up, everyone deciding that since they were up so late anyways they might as well catch the late night train and sleep on the way there. Everyone save Natsu, who only grimly accepted his fate under Erza's threatening gaze.
"Think Loke made any progress?" Erza asked plainly, and Gray wasn't really surprised she had caught on. By the time the two of them had made the lacrima call in the courtyard they had both seemed a pretty chummy, having obviously been enjoying themselves.
"Dunno. What do you think of it?" Gray only asked because he was curious if anyone else had reached the same conclusion he had.
"I think she would be very good for him, and that she already has been. Leave it to Lucy to actually get him to stay in one place." She smiled as she thought of the two of them, nervous and blushing as he gave her his ring just before they departed. "I think he's good for her too. That brand of loyalty and tenderness is rare, and for once from him, genuine. I have high hopes, but it's too soon to tell."
Gray nodded, agreeing whole heartedly. He was hoping for a chance to catch the lion alone and ask him how it went before they went to get the reward. Gray was hardly the matchmaker type, but recognized when a friend probably just needed to talk. He damn well wouldn't have any advice but if it let the spirit speak his mind and sort things out for himself so be it, he would do it for a friend.
Plus it was pretty entertaining to watch Loke flounder over a girl.
The topics of discussion were visible now at the end of the road, waiting on the steps of the inn having already changed. It was sort of jarring to see them so insanely casual after being so 'royal blood' not that long ago, Lucy in a baggy t shirt and jeans and Loke in much the same with the addition of his shades set on top of his head.
From so far they couldn't tell much but the pair just seemed to be chatting, occasionally pointing up at the sky.
When they finally got close enough Gray could just make out Loke saying something like, "- well for now yeah but Capricorn will be visible in like a month or so," before they caught sight of the team and rose to meet them.
"How did it go?" Lucy called out, rushing out to meet them in the road, Loke following at his own pace.
Erza held up the papers triumphantly while Natsu stepped forward to claim Lucy's attention, telling her all about their side of things. Gray looked past Lucy to the casual man, giving a questioning glance and a hand gesture that rotated between a thumbs up and a thumbs down and also somewhere in the middle.
Loke grinned at his friend, giving him a thumbs up to answer his question and that was enough for him. 'So it went well that's good,' Gray thought to himself, listening in for a moment as Erza asked Loke about the party before getting bored and starting to wander off.
"Talk and walk guys let's get this in before it's even later."
The rest of the team turned to see Gray sauntering off down the road and Lucy rushed to grab her things from the inn steps and following after her teammates as they followed him. Loke was at the rear of the group, staring up at the stars and occasionally glancing down to smile at Lucy who would smile back until his gaze shifted back to the stars.
'I wonder if he's thinking about home… or his fellow spirits or even when he was banished. I know falling stars can make him sad, I hope there aren't any tonight,' looking up herself to check for any.
'God damn I'm tired,' Loke thought in an uncomplicated fashion, his brain too worn from all of the worrying and emotions to produce anything more. He could mull over his immediate future when it was slightly more immediate, and he had a bit of shut eye.
Exhausted though he was he frowned when he considered leaving. He wanted to stay in Lucy's company, but knowing full well that the glorious day where he was invited to sleep over was not this day he eventually gave in.
"Luce I think I'm gonna-" a yawn cut through his sentence and made the gorgeous blonde giggle, understanding his exhaustion.
"Head on home Loke, you earned a nice long rest."
"I don't want to leave," he felt the need to say, "but I don't sleep well on trains."
"You don't need to justify it" she laughed, leaning against him as they walked, "I'll see you in the morning?"
"You will?" He sounded stunned because he was, honestly expecting he would need to concoct another scenario that would lead to them seeing each other again.
"Well I need to give you your cut silly, plus it's an off day. I would need to run some errands but-"
"I'll help!" Loke offered in sudden excitement, honestly thrilled to be included in some routine part of her life. If he played his cards right she might take him along on errands regularly. It might be dull but it was time so he wasn't going to complain.
She smiled, her tiredness keeping her from embarrassment or shyness simply because she didn't have the energy for it. "That's settled then. Now go before I make you," she hovered a hand over her key pouch at her side in a mock threat.
"Tonight was perfect Lucy, I'll never forget it."
"Neither will I. Goodnight Loke."
"Goodnight princess." And in a shower of golden particles he was gone, forgetting to say goodbye to the others entirely.
In the celestial world he made it the two steps up to his bed and collapsed on top of the comforter fully clothed, asleep near instantly, her goodnight still playing in his mind and ushering him to peaceful dreams, a glowing goddess warding off any nightmare that may come.
The train lurched to a stop and Lucy would have fallen to the floor had Gray not been awake to catch her. She was barely aware of her surroundings as the weary team stepped off the train and back into Magnolia, the familiar territory a welcome sight. "Goonigh'" she slurred, trudging off away from her team mates and grimaced at the dim brightness of the sky that promised a dawn only moments away. 'I'm gonna be all messed up now.' Though in honestly she didn't mind, the memories of the night far outweighing a skewed sleep cycle. Her thoughts turned fondly to her spirit, and the way he had acted throughout the party. How he held her and spoke to her, how he laughed and had fun. But also the way he gripped her arm a little tighter when she would be ogled, or his biting tone whenever one of the leering husbands would drunkenly offer to whisk her away. The way he stood over her and held her close to him seemingly without thinking of it at all. She wondered through her exhaustion if his protectiveness was excessive, or bordering on possessive but she waved it off. It made her feel safe and cared for, feeling a small surge of pleasure whenever he would curtly remind people they were 'engaged' even if it was only a cover.
And she remembered the last dance, the way they were so close they could feel the others heartbeat. She smiled into the night, relieved to see her home at last and even more relieved to note that no suspicious characters had tried to take advantage of a distracted woman in the middle of the night.
She walked inside, barely remembering to lock her door as she went to sleep without changing. She crawled under the covers and brought her key pouch to rest in her hands.
"Night guys," she muttered aloud, and was suddenly sound asleep, dreaming of a dance that was never interrupted and of where that might had led for the two of them. And where it might lead still.
There were no nightmares, only ball gowns and a handsome prince, every doubtful thought or wayward worry being warded off by some large guardian creature just out of sight. When she tried to look she would always catch a glimpse of a deep golden coat and wild mane before the powerful creature was off again, having charged itself with watching over her dreams, always just out of sight but always there. Protecting her.
((AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all again for your support and reviews. If anyone has anything they would like to see or headcanons they would like to share please do! And I will see if I can possibly incorporate it into the coming chapters. Sorry this one is so short but I needed to end the ball night without delving in to the next series of events so I will try to update soon.))