A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers who have left comments! They are supportive and appreciated! Comments are like candy, fan-fiction writers love candy!
Alone in the room, she stared down at the keys that lay in her hand, her mind had become a blank canvas. She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the intricately detailed keys and the small vibrations of magic that flowed in them. If she was being honest with herself, as much as she felt so much love and comfort with them in her hand, she was scared shitless.
She wasn't oblivious to the idea that maybe they would no longer want to hold contracts with her since she had failed them. She broke so many promises the day that she died and their connections were severed. It was a wonder that the Spirit King didn't collect the keys and re-scatter them on Earthland.
She did not doubt in her mind that Leo would be called first. She was just afraid of the possibilities of how their reunion could go. Would he even heed her call? Did his life expire when her's did, knowing that there were no Hearfilia descendants to serve in her untimely death?
She feared that possibility more than any other. Her flurry of concerns was interrupted when the keys began to warm gently, almost soothingly in her hands. She felt a wave of resolve, knowing there would be only one way to find out.
She uttered the words that were so familiar to her and she felt the magic flow through her body like a calm river. It felt absolutely fantastic to have that feeling flowing in her body again. She missed it so much.
She kept her eyes closed as she called on her loyal lion spirit. Fearing the sight of an angry or disappointed Loke. She felt him materialize, but it was dead silent. Feeling as if an eternity had passed in silence, tears began to well up in her eyes.
She was startled when she felt a warm hand cup her cheek gently. She opened her eyes to see the leader of the Zodiac staring at her with an expression that put all her fears to rest. She saw the glistening eyes of Leo's and she lost all composure.
She sobbed like a small child, her whole body shaking with each breath. The emotions of her whole ordeal unleashed in a full wrath of emotion and Leo simply cradled his princess as best he could. As her body eventually calmed, rapid sniffles replaced the tears.
She pulled away and looked at the spirit she had missed so dearly and didn't even know where to start. Before he could say anything to her, she just whispered "I'm so, SO sorry," her voice was small and delicate and so completely broken.
Leo assessed Lucy and was shocked at the state his Princess was in. He knew things were bad at the time they had lost contact with her but he didn't realize how much worse it got. The relief he felt at seeing her for the first time in so long, was short-lived. Here she was apologizing for matters beyond her control when it was himself feeling unworthy of serving her, having been unable to protect her.
"Why are you apologizing Lucy," he asked as he wiped the last of her tears from her cheek. "I'm the one who is sorry for not protecting you. We all are, we failed you in a way that no spirit should ever fail their masters."
Lucy was stunned to hear her name spoken, he had rarely used it prior and the formal use of master added to the strangeness. "Loke, none of you failed me, I am not your master I am your friend and I failed you all. I broke my promises and, even though I called you out to establish another contract, I would understand if that is not something you would be comfortable with." She hung her head in shame for not being the Celestial Mage they all thought she was.
Leo only chuckled, despite everything he knew she had been through and everything he didn't know about, she was still the same selfless woman they had all grown to admire. "Princess, you always amaze me. Here we are the ones who failed you and you are apologizing for things so far beyond your control."
Shaking his head, he grabbed her hand gently kissing the back of it, "It would be an honor to serve you, my Princess, consider our contract as if it had never been terminated."
Lucy smiled and felt the relief flow through her. The moment their contract reformed in their magic she felt like she found a small piece of her again. She started to laugh softly at the antics of the lion as he stood to bow and then began fluffing her pillows to make her more comfortable.
Just as she was about to tell him to stop, she felt the warmness in her keys again and Leo pouted slightly. "They all think I am hogging your time," the lion shook his head and pushed the glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose back up, "I know we need to have a serious conversation soon but right now I have an angry maid wanting to take care of you and crab that wants to get your split ends trimmed." Leo smiled as he received the various messages from the spirits in the Celestial Realm waiting very impatiently.
"I am so relieved to have you back, there is a lot we need to talk about but right now, honestly, I could use Virgo's help going to the bathroom." Lucy smiled as her loyal lion approached her, placing a small kiss to the crown of her head as he faded away into a shimmery curtain of gold stardust.
The afternoon had been emotionally and magically draining for Lucy. She managed to visit and re-contract with all her golden keys, along with a few extras like fresh clothing, and a new haircut. Virgo came out every so often to assist Lucy as she needed help. Everyone else in the cabin relaxed to recuperate from the previous day's stress and give Lucy the space she needed.
Wendy spent the day comfortably on the couch snuggling up to Midnight who had made a small cocoon of blankets for them. They watched movies and delighted in the laughter that could be heard floating from the bedroom where the Celestial Mage was recovering, all under the disapproving gaze of Carla.
The other two mages had decided to take a walk and give the blonde the privacy she needed to reconnect with her spirits. Both men had some vague understanding of the magic required and the special bond that was being re-established. Bickslow understood it better than most since both he and Lucy held a close relationship with spirits of various kinds. Cobra understood because he could hear it in their souls.
The men walked in silence on the crisp early winter day. The leaves so dry the cracked they disintegrated under their feet, a thick layer of frost covering everything around them. They enjoyed the unspoken company as the small white perfectly formed snowflakes fell from the sky at random moments.
Cobra eyed Bickslow from the corner of his singular eye, he could hear the turmoil swirling in his soul but the seith mage did an excellent job at hiding what it was about. Bickslow had been practicing his shielding a little more now that Papa seems to have gone off the tracks in his antics with Cobra.
Cobra stopped walking suddenly and about 3 paces after, Bicksow paused and turned to look at the Poison slayer. Tilting his head to the side slightly, "What's up man?"
Cobra eyed the tall mage in front of him, noting the pink tinge of color on the tips of his ears and nose. He chuckled for a moment realizing that he had found it cute. He never admitted such things to himself and the fact that he was now made him feel even more agitated. Now was not the time to be entertaining these thoughts.
Cobra cleared his throat to regain his composure, "What did you see?"
Bickslow turned around, shoving his hands in his pockets and continued walking, "I don't know what you mean". His response was cold sounding even to himself.
Cobra still stood there as Bickslow walked away, "Bullshit Spooky, what did you see?"
Bickslow ignored the question, he didn't want to think about it. His head was swimming in confusion after having had control of Lucy's soul. He saw and felt everything she had and he understood on a deeper level that things were complicated as hell. He had no idea how he should proceed, he didn't know what the right thing to do was so he figured the best way to act is to ignore.
He had feelings for her before she was kidnapped, then Cobra came along and he certainly gained feelings for that man as well. The problem now was that he had all of Lucy's feelings floating around from touching her soul and he was having trouble differentiating between his feelings and hers. Not that it mattered since it paralleled his own.
Logically, he knew it was too short a time to even be at this stage of debate when it came to love and attraction, especially after what she has been through, but he knew better. When it comes to souls if they were meant for each other, then time is not a factor, be it too short or too long. He just didn't know how he fits into it all.
Cobra heard the swirls of confusion and frustration with no clear answer, the fucker was blocking and it was only making him angrier. What was the man hiding? What did he see? What happened when he had control of Lucy's soul? As Bickslow gained more distance the more volatile Cobra became. The fact that he was being ignored was only the tip of the iceberg. Cobra growled in frustration, "Hey, I am talking to you."
Bickslow paused in his steps, and turned his head toward the slayer, "I told you man, I don't know what you're talking about." He knew it was a stupid thing to say, that he should just fess up to the man that he actually cared a lot about. He should share the information and maybe they could figure this out together, but again, logic does not always prevail.
As Bickslows legs began to move again, Cobra snapped. He rushed at the man ready to punch or poison the answers out of him.
Cobra made a full impact with Bickslow shoving him against a large tree, pulling his fist back ready to wail on the seith mage. Cobra paused when he heard the low beat of despair in his soul. Cobra shifted his hands to grab the collar of Bickslow's coat and in a low demanding growl, "Talk to me asshole" his voice softened slightly along with his grip, "What is bothering you."
Bickslow was stone still, staring into the singular eye that was filled with confusion and anger. He wanted to share it all with Cobra, he wanted to know what the slayer thought of him, what he thought of Lucy. Where did Cobra see himself fitting into the whole scenario that was emerging in the Seith Mage's mind? In the end, Bickslow just broke, frustrated with not knowing what to say or do. He relaxed into the body that had him pinned against the tree and wrapped his arms around Cobra's midsection. He hunched over and just hugged the man as if his life depended on it.
It was Cobra's turn to freeze. He was unsure of how to respond. On the one hand, it felt like the most normal and natural thing to do, to return the embrace. He wanted to relax into the body leaned against him and comfort Bickslow. On the other hand, he was Cobra and in no way was he supposed to be capable of this. Lucy was one exception, but now he has two exceptions? If he wasn't careful he would ruin his ultimate asshole persona.
Cobra relented and tightened his grip on the mage and in a few short minutes Bickslow's soul began to right itself. He pulled Bickslow from his chest and looked at him squarely. "I'm sorry I pushed you, but your blocking and there is nothing I hate more than not being able to hear what is going on."
Bickslow shifted, "Sorry man, it's just with Papa being a loose cannon I have been practicing my shielding a hell of a lot more. Apparently, it works since you can't hear all the damn drama in my head." The seith mage smiled and stuck his tongue out in an effort to deflect.
"Cut that shit out." Cobra fought the urge to add a lascivious comment about the seith mage's tongue. It wasn't entirely appropriate at that moment but Cobra couldn't ignore the fact that a lithe strong body was pinned between himself and a large tree, and Cobra also couldn't deny the attraction he felt for the blue mohawked man.
Shaking the errant thoughts from his mind, he released Bickslow from his hold but grasped his hand absentmindedly and began walking. "Look, anything you tell me or I hear, it stays between us. Just so you know." he looked down at their joined hands, Cobra noted how comfortable it felt and tightened his grip a little as he continued. "I don't have a right to listen in on souls, it just happens, I hear a lot from everyone and sometimes it is difficult to remember that it's not always thoughts or information to be shared freely."
Bickslow looked down, surprised by their hands and from the apology. He squeezed back, "Thanks man, when I figure out what is up from down, I'll throw the fuckin' doors open." Bickslow smiled at the man holding his hand, "When you take control of a soul, it's not easy. It's a lot of filtering to only see and control what is needed. Lucy is just raw, so fuckin' raw. I couldn't filter and I got a lot of shit that happened. Even the stuff that she doesn't remember, but her soul does. That shit can mix with your own soul if you are not careful."
They emerged from the tree line and walked toward the cabin before either man realized it, Bickslow pulled the slayer's hand to his mouth and kissed it quickly, "Thanks man, for understanding" he smirked toward the slayer who had a dumbfounded look on his face.
Bickslow quickly released Cobra's hand understanding what he had just done without realizing it. He uttered a quick apology and walked quickly toward the cabin and before the full effects of his embarrassment could be seen shading his face.
As Cobra stood there watching Bickslow bolt for the cabin, he could help but hear his soul warble with excitement. Maybe Bickslow was just as interested in him as Bickslow was with the beautiful blonde inside.