"We haven't brawled in a while, Elfman!" Gray exclaimed. Although he hadn't fully recovered from his fight in sun village his enthusiasm for a match with his comrade was as strong as ever.
"Manly!" Elfman roared, and accepted Gray's challenge by punching his face.
"Hahaha, not bad! But mine is even stronger!"
Like always, a supposedly dual match between them soon turned into a group fight as Gray and Gajeel got dragged into half-voluntarily.
While there were guildmates who enjoyed watching their fight and cheering for them, some others, like Lucy, Cana and Mira, preferred having their own fun, drinking and chatting at the other corner of the room.
But there was one guild member who had not engaged in any of these group activities.
Sitting alone by the window, Lucy looked up at the moonlit sky as her mind drifted off to Loke who had appeared unexpectedly together with her guild in Drasil but was currently absent on the occasion. Her guild had been partying for three nights straight in the pub, and not one time had Loke shown his face. It wasn't like she thought he had done anything wrong for not turning up. In fact, no one from Fairy Tail had officially invited him to join the party. Her guildmates hadn't thought about inviting him, simply because they saw him like a member and assumed that he would naturally join them. And when she tried to look for him to check if he would be coming, he was always nowhere to be found. She hoped it was just a coincidence but not him trying to avoid her.
But she also wouldn't be too surprised if Loke had been intentionally keeping a certain distance between himself and Fairy Tail. He probably didn't feel it was appropriate for him, a non-member, to get involved with the guild too much, acting like he belonged to and taking benefits from it. He was just stubborn like this sometimes. She wished that one day, he could accept that even though he was not a member, Fairy Tail, like her, would always welcome him with open arms. Even though he was an independent mage, it didn't mean he must stay alone all the time.
She didn't want to leave him alone too now they met again finally after months of separation. Lucy glanced at her guildmates. Everyone was having a good time, in the company of friends or lovers. She supposed they wouldn't have a problem with her leaving the party earlier without informing them first. Not wanting to disturb her guildmates and raise any unnecessary attention, she got up and moved quietly, slowly, to the front door, and slipped out of it when she confirmed that no one was watching her.
The night breeze danced around her long red tresses as Lucy strolled the main street of the town. Her eyes searched for passersby who might be Loke, while she tried to figure out what place in this unfamiliar town Loke might go to spend his private time. She would always pick the riverbank when she wanted to be alone but it was not necessarily Loke's case. She then recalled that he had this practice of meeting her under the bridge when she worked for his guild temporarily as an investigator. He had once told her, he wished that one day he would no longer need to hide in the shadow of the bridge, but could walk on it freely and without the fear of being caught by the council to appreciate his surroundings as long as he wanted to.
She decided it would be a good start to look for Loke from the nearest bridge, and summoned the tourist map from her requip space to look for its location. It was a canal bridge that was within twenty minutes of walking distance. According to the description, it was a touristic point too for it allowed people to appreciate not only the canal's beauty but also the historical buildings on the two townpaths connected by it.
Lucy felt extremely lucky when she arrived at her first stop and saw a lone figure with a head of familiar blue hair standing on the canal bridge. He seemed to be deep in thought, leaning over the parapet and watching the water flowing under the bridge. She took a deep breath, then straightened her skirt and smoothed her hair messed by the night breeze earlier with her fingers, before she steadily walked towards the man she had been looking for.
He turned his head to her direction, sensing her presence before she called him. He was always sensitive to his surroundings.
"I thought I'd find you here, Loke." Lucy couldn't contain her satisfied smile as she greeted Loke.
"Lucy." Loke returned her a gentle smile. He hadn't shown any hint of surprise at her sudden appearance as if he had prepared to meet her. "I can't be part of a guild-only occasion, right?"
"Nobody would mind." Lucy told him simply but surely. His reason for his absence from the party was just like how she had guessed it. She could have given him more reasons on why he was wrong, but to lecture him and persuade him to join the party wasn't her purpose to find him. Nonetheless, she felt obligated to at least make it clear to him, being a Fairy Tail member herself, that he would always be welcomed to be part of the guild, member or not.
Loke didn't express agreement nor talk back, but merely deepened his smile and held Lucy's gaze as she came closer to him.
They broke their eye contact when Lucy reached Loke's side with not more than an arm's length distance left between them. Standing side-by-side, they fell into a comfortable silence as they switched their focus to the night view of the town expanded in front of them: the buildings on the either side of the canal looked warm and lively as lights of different colors emitting from the shops' and homes' windows brighten them up; the canal looked liked it was gold-plated as the water glimmered under the soft yellow light of the street lamps; and the sky was a spectacular backdrop of the town, being lighted up by the silver-white crescent moon and also countless diamond-like twinkling stars.
Lucy thought the sight was quite a romantic one, and it felt dreamy to be able to enjoy it with Loke in peace. They were always either apart from each other, or had some battles to fight when they met.
"It's been a while." She remarked lightly.
"Yeah…" Loke answered simply, before he signed and did a facepalm. "But I have no memory of what happened while I was whited out." He sounded clearly worried and uncertain. "Did I do anything bad?"
"Um...um, well…" Lucy could feel her face warming up as she recalled their earlier encounter. She didn't like lying to Loke but she also really didn't know how she could tell him the truth. They would both be embarrassed to death if she told him everything honestly, that he had displayed practically no shame when he was whited out, becoming uncharacteristically overly open and flirty with her and almost losing it when she put on her seduction armour. Avoiding looking at his direction, she mumbled. "There were no problems."
Loke nodded and put his hand covering his face down finally. However, his furrowed brow was telling that there was still something bothering him.
"I feel...so ashamed…" He admitted, a little bit hesitantly. "To think I'd end up like that while pursuing mission
"Here we go again." Lucy said softly with a knowing smile on her lips. "Is this the part where you say, 'it's all my fault'"? She teased him lightheartedly.
"It really was my fault." Loke replied matter-of-factly.
Lucy was about to tell him he was too harsh on himself for something that wasn't in his control, but she fell silent when she turned to look at him because she was surprised to find him smiling, and not bitterly but calmly.
Loke turned to Lucy looking into her eyes. "But...I will no longer beat myself up over every failure I make."
A wave of relief washed over Lucy as she realized what Loke had just declared meant that he had finally accepted that he could take responsibility for his wrongdoings in the past without self-loathing and self-depreciation, but with self-forgiveness instead. She looked at him admiringly, wearing a big proud smile on her lips, as she waited for his further elaboration.
Loke raised his head, looking into the sky with hopeful eyes. "Of course, I'll continue to reflect over my past sins and mistakes. And by doing that, I will find a path that will lead to tomorrow."
"I see."
Lucy noted simply, for she just couldn't find the right word to express how extremely happy her heart felt for Loke for having found a new purpose in his life beyond punishment and redemption. At last, he was able to break free from the shackles of his guilt tying him to the past, ready to explore his future.
"That's what it means to live, right?"
Lucy knew there was no need for her to reassure Loke anymore, finding no sign of uncertainty or anxiety, but only confidence and easiness on his face. He was no longer the man who felt complete lost in life whom she met two years ago when she came back from her seven years of "sleep" at Tenrou Island:
" I've started to wonder what I'm doing any of this for. And I can't seem to find a way out of the maze those thoughts put me in. I think that perhaps I should die after all."
"You've changed, Loke."
Loke gave Lucy a meaningful sidelong glance as he gently placed his palm over her hand.
"It's all thanks to you, Lucy." He closed his fingers around hers.
Loke's gesture, despite being small and simple, was enough to make Lucy blush and her heart skip a few beats. And before she could give him any response, she had been pulled into his embrace next.
"I can love people freely now."
For a brief moment, Lucy wondered if she was only dreaming about Loke confessing to her that he was ready for love. But she could genuinely feel his warmth enveloping her body, his arms holding her firmly and his heart beating strongly against hers through their touching chests, that she couldn't be in her dream. Smiling gratefully, she closed her eyes and leaned toward Loke, resting her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his torso.
"That's right."
Finally, the boy she loved so dearly but lost seventeen years ago, had found his way back to her.
For a long while, they held each other in silence to enjoy the closeness as much as they could. Lucy knew, and so as Loke, their time together wouldn't last long. Soon, she would have to return to her team to continue her mission on the 100 years quest, and Loke would probably go on with his investigation on the white mage.
But Lucy wasn't one to lose hope even if there seemed to be no solution to a problem. Making up her mind and gathering her courage, she pulled away to look at Loke.
"May I...stay over at your hotel room tonight, Loke?" She asked timidly but there was also resolution in her voice.
"S-stay over at my hotel room?" Loke blushed faintly.
"I-it's purely innocent!" Lucy stressed; face reddened like Loke's. "I just...hope that we can spend more time together before we part ways. You know, we aren't lodging in the same hotel, but I thought I can still spend tonight with you at the very least if I stay over…..."
Loke's tense face softened, and his lips turned up into a gentle smile. "Surely you can come over if you want to. It's my hope too, to spend time with you as much as I'm allowed before you leave."
"I'm glad that you feel the same." Lucy smiled in relief.
"Let's go back to my hotel then, it's quite late at night already."
They unwrapped their arms from each other, then reached for each other's hand and intertwined their fingers as Loke led the way to his hotel. It was only a short ten minutes walk, but nonetheless an enjoyable one for them, as they took the chance for moon viewing and star gazing in each other's company.
After they had returned to Loke's hotel room, they firstly took turns using the bathroom, not only for showing to wash away the dirt but also for replacing the bandages on their bodies with new clean ones. And when done, both of them changed into their sleepwear.
Loke dressed in a plain black long-sleeve t-shirt and a pair of color-matching pajama pants after showering. As for Lucy, she had put on her favorite Heart Kreuz purple pajama set which she had always stored one in her requip space. But she had also considered for a brief moment to wear the more sexy nightgown she had bought to prepare for any possible "special occasion", only decided against it quickly because she didn't want Loke to think that she was pushing anything between them.
The room was small and simple, provided with only a double bed, a closet, a writing desk and a chair. They therefore chose to make themselves comfortable in the bed as they updated each other on the recent happenings in their lives: sitting side-by-side with their backs resting against the bed's headboard as well as sipping the hot chocolate Loke got for them from the hotel's bar.
But Lucy wasn't able to share much details about her mission on the 100 years quest. So she let Loke talk most of the time and would post questions sometimes. When she noticed that Loke had fallen silent at one point, seemingly running out of things to share, she suggested calling it a night.
"I'm sorry that there's nothing much I can share with you even though I'm the one who asked to spend the night with you." Lucy looked at Loke apologetically as he offered to take her mug now emptied of chocolate.
"It's really fine, Lucy." Loke got off the bed to place both his and Lucy's empty mugs on the writing desk. "I understood it perfectly as someone who has been taking secret missions all the time. You don't have to do anything to justify your stay over; your company alone is good enough for me."
He then reached for the closet and pulled out the sleeping bag he always carried when travelling around.
"You can take the bed, Lucy. I will sleep on the floor."
Lucy shook her head. "You won't."
She got off the bed as well, going to Loke's side. She took his sleeping bed and put it back into the closet, then held his hand to pull him with her to go back into the bed again.
"The bed is big enough for us both to sleep in it. And the hard floor is not doing any good to your wounds."
"Lucy." Loke tried to reason with her. "I'm fine…"
"Shhh." Lucy wouldn't listen. She knew it was out of his respect for her that Loke hadn't asked to sleep with her in the same bed. But she wanted nothing more than him staying close to her as much as possible, making up for their time apart even just a little now that he had no reason to avoid her anymore. She held his hand firmly even after she had gotten under the blanket and looked at him resolutely, while he still tried to resist her invitation by standing at the bedside.
But at last, Loke gave in and slipped into the bed, as he didn't have the heart to pull his hand away from Lucy's.
Lucy smiled in relief and snuggled to Loke. She used to do this a lot to him when they were in the Tower of Heaven, seeking his comfort over the sufferings she endured. She was strong enough to protect herself now. But Loke was still a presence which could always make her feel safe and at peace.
"Thanks, Loke. And good night."
"Good night, Lucy." Loke turned the bedside lamps off. He then slid an arm around Lucy's waist to hold her closer, and whispered lowly in her ear. "I love you."
Lucy felt her heart soaring with joy; a sweet smile spread across her face. "I-I love you too."