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It was another normal day for Lucy. If one could call waking up to see a cat and fiery-haired boy taking up the other half of your bed 'normal'. She should've been used to it by now, and admittedly she was, but that didn't stop her from loudly announcing her disapproval and annoyance at the situation just like she did every other time.
"Oh, hey Lucy, is it morning already?"
"This is still my house! And my bed!"
"Aye!"
" GET OUT!!!"
Once her unofficial roommates finally left her alone, she went about her morning routine with Plue at her side to prepare for the day ahead. Rent was coming up and yet again she was looking short on funds thanks to her guild members constantly eating her out of house and home. Thankfully, she wasn't too far behind so a smaller mission would do just the trick, and there'd be no need to borrow Natsu who usually left mass levels of destruction in his wake for even the simplest of jobs.
Just as Lucy was about to head out of the door she was greeted by yet another surprise guest.
"Lucy~! My love! It's been so long since we've seen each other. Each day without your beautiful face seems longer than the next~"
His attempt to lean in for a kiss was swiftly met with a hand to his face and a dead pan exchange, "Hello Loke."
In a matter of seconds he had wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her close to him as tightly as possible. Almost as if he was afraid to let go. One day she would figure out how he did that so quickly, but at the moment Lucy was too busy attempting to get out of his tight hold to notice the slight worry hidden behind the usual tinkle seen in his eyes.
"Sweetheart how have you been holding up? I know our love is strong enough to withstand any challenge but time is the toughest one of all. Have you missed me~?"
"Sure, Loke, I've missed you," she replied with a sigh, still trying to get out of his gasp, which for some reason seemed a lot needier than usual. Lucy quickly pushed that thought to the back of her mind when an opening presented itself as Loke started to ramble about all the things he'd been up to in the spirit world. Most of which included missing her and missing her even more.
"Loke, can we catch up later? I have a lot to do today, rent is almost due."
"There's no need to worry, my dear Lucy," his hand lifted to caress her cheek as a dazzling grin presented itself on his features, "For the power of our love will get us through this tough time!"
"Last I checked the power of our love didn't pay my bills!"
It wasn't until twenty minutes later that Loke was finally coaxed back to the spirit world with promises of a dinner for two and his constant reassurance that he'd always be there for her, even when she wasn't sure she'd need him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that day, Lucy was officially on a solo mission to help out an elderly couple with a few things around the house. It wasn't as extravagant and luxurious as the other's solo missions but it had seemed simple enough for the reward being advertised, and how long would it take, right? The house couldn't possibly be that big.
Or so she had thought. Five hours, and a huge dinner later, Lucy was finally leaving what had turned out to be a mansion going through a maid crisis. Who knew that even maids went on strike? After four floors of dusting, vacuuming and mopping, Lucy was pretty sure that her place was going to resemble a pig sty for the next few weeks at least. She had muscle pains in places she hadn't even known existed. Thankfully the couple was nice enough to treat her to a nice dinner on top of paying her the reward.
Being so exhausted after a long day of manual labor had left her unable to focus on anything other than getting home as fast as possible despite the sun being replaced by the moon. She had been offered a ride home but she found walking along the river to be more relaxing. However her tired physique had left many of her defenses down. She was unable to notice the suspicious duo that had been following her the past few streets. Nor did she realize that when one 'accidentally' bumped into her, it happened to lead her right into an alley.
"Hey, you're from that guild, right? Fairy...Queen!"
"Fairy Tail. Could you let me through please?" Her attempts to push past the two men fell short, it was almost as if they had this down to a routine.
"Where's the fire? Why don't you...play with us a little while? What kind of mage are you anyway?"
Despite her valiant efforts, Lucy unfortunately just wasn't a match for the two bigger men, especially after they had managed to toss her keys down to the other side of the alley.
"You better let me go. I'm sure my friends are looking for me."
All the threats and bluffs fell on deaf ears, but just as Lucy was about to be pinned up against the wall, a flash of something bright could be seen, bright enough to light up the entire street.
"I suggest you unhand my Lucy while you still have the chance."
"Who the heck are you?"
"The soul mate of that beautiful creature you've so rudely taken hostage of. Unhand my love at once!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The men, unfortunately, chose not to listen and within minutes were lying on the ground courtesy of both Loke and Lucy who worked flawlessly together to put them all in their place. But as with anything involving the flirty lion, it wasn't over quite yet.
"Lucy...look..."
When her eyes finally landed on the wall, she was met with another one of Loke's visual displays of love. This time it choicely read, "Lucy & Loke, Always & Forever. ♥ Your Knight in Shining Armor"
Normally Lucy's reaction would've been something along the lines of extreme embarrassment and pointing out that she loves him as any friend loves their nakama. Nothing more than the love shared between mages and spirits. But this time, Loke was thanked with more than he could have ever hoped for. A kiss, a hug, and a promise amidst tears as she held him tight.
"Lucy and Loke, always and forever."