She missed them dearly, but she knew she could not leave all this work she had done.
"Where are you Lucy? Lucy! Come down, quickly!" said mira.
She abandoned her thoughts and hurried down the pathway.
"What's going on?" She asked softly,
"It was a Loke! We saw him catching fish with other guys !" said mira
She spun around, but saw nothing. She searched frantically, but to no avail.
"Are you certain?" She asked.
Three nodded reverently, yet quickly.
"Okay. This is something I need to do alone," Lucy said calmly.
"You just want him to yourself!" A girl cried.
"I know this spirit very well. If someone else goes in. There's a great chance he won't remember me either, but I must, as this is my work being fulfilled. I will let you know what happens, but please, let me do this alone," Lucy begged to the crowd.
They slowly backed away and towards the tents, leaving Lucy alone with the rushing water. She turned to it and sighed.
"Loke, have you really come back or is someone playing foolish tricks on us? On me?" Lucy asked the Lion. "Loke , are you merely playing with all of us, or has our beloved Loke returned to us, to you and me?"
"Loke" She chuckled, tilting her head to the side. "You just want me to play your games. You want me to believe you may or may not be there."
he merely continued fishing.
"Well, I'm finding out if you're truly here or not, whether you're ready or not. I've waited ten years, and heard nothing. Spirit king cannot bind you to any contract while you know your name and when your Lion runs free again."
She laughed, and walked further to the Lion. She merely stood, ankle deep in water, and waited. Waited for any sign her beloved white Lion had returned.
For an hour, there was nothing. For another, there was nothing. Nobody dared come down to see if Lucy was alright. They knew she would be furious if they interrupted her and her search.
Lucy waited for what seemed like years until she felt something vital return to the Lion. Her once closed eyes snapped open and she began to speak lovingly to the Lion.
"Loke the Lion, have you kept me here this whole time for your pleasure? I can assure you that I would stay forever and a day just to see our beloved Loke return. You need him as much as I do. Now, I know you've heard this before, but allow me to tell you again. Feel free to stop me anytime you get bored of my tale," Lucy said good naturedly, sitting on the bench in the middle and beside the Lion, making sure to keep a good amount of herself in contact with the water. "I was young, as I've told you. , in fact. I know that it's crazy, but I fell in love with you . I didn't know at the time it was love, oh no, but it was. As I grew older, so did the feeling. You know how many times I was tempted to go back to the Spirit World, just to stir Loke up and leave again. I nearly did, I got to the entrance but stoped. I knew that it wasn't the right thing to do. He'd be so happy to see me, but for a fleeting moment only. I couldn't do that to him or myself. I called his name, and that's all I did. I walked away.
"I had work to do here; you know that I could never abandon you. And in a way, you are. I have used so much time, resources and energy to get to flow. And I succeeded. You are my beautiful Lion Loke . I couldn't let harm come to you now. Not after so long."said Lucy
She was aware she was being watched, but smiled instead of reacting. She slid back into the Lion and walked upstream a little, feeling the eyes following her.
"You are in a sense. Loke and you did. This is my repayment to you. Both the Leo as Lion and Loke have a place in my heart, and a firm place in my memories."
Lucy allowed herself to completely submerge herself within the Lion, before emerging once again. She walked back downstream and saw a flash of white in the water. She grinned and called the name of her beloved.
"Loke... Loke... Come back to your sense.Just come back to us, Loke..." She called softly and sweetly.
"Lucy..?"
She turned and saw a pair of hazel eyes staring at her.
"Loke," She responded in kind.
They stared at each other before Lucy said, "I told you we'd get each other Lion back."
The Lion gurgled in response, which elicited a chuckle from Lucy.
"I see you agree with me," She said, before turning her attention back to the Spirit.
"How... when... did you do this, Lucy?" Loke asked, walking into the guild
"Yes, and with the help of many skilled others," She said softly, smiling up into the jade eyes she loved so much.
"Why, Lucy?"
"Because you deserved it. It is my repayment to you," She said softly, touching his cheek gently. "You saved me and asked nothing from me except to keep faith in you. I kept that promise, Loke, and repaid you for your help. The promise was simply not enough; I needed to keep busy somehow."
Loke looked around at his Lion and smiled, "It seems so. You have been telling this Lion a great many things over the past few month."
"I spoke as I needed a way, a reason, to come back for you," Lucy said.
"And you did the job. my Lucy," Loke said, taking the hand on his cheek in his. "I cannot thank you enough for this."
"You don't need to thank me, Loke. Just live here, and keep living, I'm never leaving this place, I love you too much ," Lucy said, without thinking.
"You never told me that," Loke said with a soft smile on his face.
"It wasn't meant to come out now," Lucy said, but looked up into sorrowful eyes. "But I always meant to tell you."
"I would never let you go again, Lucy. I felt like dying after you left and went through . I had so badly wanted to follow you, take you in my arms and go away with you. But it wasn't to be, not yet. I had to wait until you, my beloved and cherished Lion seems fine. And as soon as it did, I felt free . I didn't know what it was until a few months, but I felt so free. You won the battle and my freedom" Loke said, taking her into his arms and holding her like a fragile piece of art.
"And I'd do it again and again if need be," She replied softly, hugging him back.
He pulled back and stared into her eyes. She smiled her beautiful smile at him , as was her quirk these days. He unwrapped an arm from around her and grasped the back of her neck gently. Lucy knew what he was going to do, and she closed her eyes as her head was pulled forward slowly.
The feeling of his lips on hers was like nothing she had ever felt before. They pulled back and looked into each other's eyes.
"I love you Lucy."
"And I love you, Loke."
As they kissed each other again, the Lion gurgled in happiness, content to have been together.