Chapter 40

Stellar Ending

Lucy was pulled by Loke all the way out of the government building to his car in the parking lot. They got in, and Loke slowly stepped on the gas. The car was silent as they drove through the busy streets of Crocus. Neither of them said a word for a long time.

Lucy could not understand. Why would he leave everyone in there and go early on such an important day like this? It was not like him at all.

She gazed at his profile while he drove, hoping he would not notice. This profile of him in the driver's seat, his eyes intensely forward on the road, the paleness of his knuckles as he held the steering wheel, was a sight she had not seen for a while, and her heart thumped wildly.

"Sorry for taking you away," he finally said, as if just realizing she might have wanted to enjoy the ceremony and party.

"Oh, no, it's fine. Parties aren't my thing."

"It looked like you were in the middle of talking with Natsu."

"No, we'd just finished."

They fell silent again, and Lucy desperately searched for something to say.

"So … h-how have you been?" She cringed at how pathetic that sounded. Loke laughed, and Lucy felt even more desperate. "S-Sorry. I mean—"

"Fine. I've been fine." The car pulled over to an empty spot at some meter parking and eased to a stop. Loke turned toward her, and his piercing green eyes looked directly into hers. "And how have you been?"

"M-me? I've been completely focused on work." For Loke. For closure. She wanted to add that, but the words did not come out.

She had thought that this would be the first and last campaign she would create with Loke. She wanted to give it her all from start to finish, to help him on his ambitious road, and to stand aside as he strode proudly forward. She thought seeing this through to the end would also end her emotional pain. However, now that it was over, she did not get that sense of closure. No matter how hard she worked, her feelings for Loke consumed her.

Still, she had been the one to break things off. She had told him she was tired of it, since they had not even really begun anything. They went all out of order. What even were they? A powerful man and a booty call? She didn't want that, so she broke it off.

Then he severed his plans for an engagement, but he said it was because if he won that way, Makarov would not be happy. As much as she really wanted to think he did it just for her, that was delusional. He did it for whatever promise he had made.

Everything he did was for Fairy Tail, not her … right?

Still, she hung on to the faint hope of maybe. It was a sign of obsession, and she hated it, but she knew deep in her heart, she was crazy for him. She slept with him when she was really drunk and could not remember much of that night. She slept with him again and thought it was a one-night stand, but before she knew it, her feelings for him grew. Again and again, she ended up in bed with him, and pure physical need turned into deep emotional craving. She had always admired him from afar, but it turned into something more, something real.

Loke looked hesitant to speak. "… I …" He turned away from Lucy and looked at the windshield as he spoke gently. "I … was desperate. I knew that this was the critical moment. I had to get it right."

She nodded, figuring he meant winning at the presentation to make good on his promise to Makarov. He had said that this presentation was a battle that he could not lose. He had even bowed before Natsu and the team and asked for their help. Incredibly, they emerged victorious. Once they pulled off the Grand Magic Games campaign, the dream of becoming the number one agency might no loner be so crazy anymore.

"I was desperate because … there was something I'd been wanting for a long time. It isn't easy to get something when you really want it."

Lucy hummed. "I suppose that's true." For her, that was none other than Loke. He was so close now, and they were alone together for the first time in many weeks. However, she knew not to say some things. Certain words had always been forbidden between them.

"I was willing to give up everything," Loke went on. "I thought about everything I've built, years of climbing higher and higher, and still, I wanted this badly enough to throw all the rest away. This is the first time I've felt this way." He chuckled. "It confused me."

Lucy blinked. He would throw everything away to get it? But then he wouldn't be able to bring Fairy Tail to the top. She remembered what Sting had said. Loke could be working at Sabertooth if he gave up on trying to make Fairy Tail the top agency. He apparently kept turning them down. He could have rose quicker in Sabertooth, yet he stayed with Fairy Tail.

"I don't remember feeling attached to many people in my life," Loke went on. "Even marriage was something I saw as a mere contract. It wasn't really important to me."

Lucy frowned in confusion. What was he talking about? She listened, trying to grasp his meaning.

"And yet," Loke said with a sigh, "I've realized that it's actuality incredibly meaningful. There's no happier thing than the irreplaceable experience of being with the one you love."

Lucy's eyes widened. 'The one you love? What … what is he saying?'

Loke gazed longingly at her. "When I realized that, I couldn't continue as I had been. I knew I had to take that risk, because nothing else was more important than that love I found. Whatever the outcome, I wanted to act with pride, to forget everything else and try again." He tenderly laid his hand over hers. "It started that first night. I could hardly control myself around you, even before we went to that hotel. The reason I slept with you wasn't because you were cute, or you complimented an old commercial of mine. It was your sincerity that enchanted me," he confessed. "As I got promoted and further removed from the actual work, I forgot something important along the way. I lost sight of myself, but you reminded me of who I really am. And I adored you for that."

Lucy's mouth dropped in surprise. He said he slept with her because she was cute. She thought there was no deeper meaning behind it. Now he was confessing this?

"Do you remember what I told you before the presentation started?" He gazed back out at the windshield, like he was thinking back. "About the engagement … I considered going along with it."

"Yeah," Lucy muttered.

"To me, it wasn't a good idea, it just wasn't a bad deal, either. I'm not interested in involving myself with politicians, but if I had married Aries, I know that I'd get the power I needed to make Fairy Tail number one."

Lucy hummed and nodded. She realized, with his lofty goals, that sort of power would have been tempting, although he probably did not want to get involved with politics because of his wealthy family.

"Like I told you, up until recently, I thought of marriage as a type of job. It's how I was raised, how my family saw it, that to enter the contract of marriage, it had to socially or financially benefit both parties." He looked at her, a sad expression on his face.

Lucy said nothing, but that was exactly the kind of person she had thought he was at first. He would have entered a loveless marriage for the sake of a promotion.

"But," he went on, "I also felt like there was something not quite right about it. The old me, the way I was before promotions and promises, would have wanted to win on my ability alone, not through a spineless trick of using a woman like that."

Although he said the words calmly, Lucy saw the sorrow in his face. It looked like he was telling her something he had kept bottled up for a long time.

"I had climbed so high chasing an ephemeral dream, I couldn't see reality anymore. It was like I was living in a haze, until one day, you opened my eyes and my heart. Even before that first night, I would watch your progress, the growth you made in Fairy Tail, your early commercials and how rapidly you grew in creativity. You made me remember the old me … made me value that me. Always voracious, always positive. Whenever you were working hard at something, you were just like I was. You possess something that I'd forgotten somewhere along the way."

Lucy could hardly believe she was hearing these words, but Loke reached out to place his hand over hers. That warmth made her heart race. Even though they had slept together multiple times, such a simple thing as his touch still thrilled her.

"You told me that first night that you admired me, but … I admired you for a long time. You inspired me long before we slept together. Yet I worried so much that I was doing the wrong thing. I told myself that I couldn't be serious about you, not when I might be getting engaged. It wouldn't have been fair to you. I thought I could leave it as a one-night stand, but I just couldn't. I knew I needed your talent on the GMG account, but watching you work stirred those memories of the old me. You had so much potential, and I was greedy, wanting to cull it out of you, wanting to watch that growth myself. I wanted to see you rise like a star, Lucy. And I did. And it was glorious. And I fell so madly for you."

His words took her breath away. She tried to look aside, but Loke took her chin, pulling her face back to him.

"Maybe I'm still being greedy, but … I want to try again. I want to be with you, unencumbered and in the open, so that I can win your heart for real this time. It was that desire that got me through to the presentation today. I had to win this, not just for Fairy Tail, not just for the promise I made to Makarov, but for you. After all the pain I put you through, I needed to prove that I was worthy of those feelings we could not say to one another."

Lucy dropped her eyes, completely stunned. She recalled, their last time making love, he had sounded so regretful as he realized she was refusing to tell him her real feelings, and he had said it was his fault. She had thought that would be their last night together, and she would never touch his man again. Now, here he was.

"You're a scoundrel, you know that?"

He laughed quietly. "I am. I'm sorry. I can't apologize enough."

Lucy smiled to herself. "You can be a scoundrel around me."

That reply stunned him. "Oh?"

"Because I'm a scoundrel too. I knew we were pretending you might not be getting engaged, that what we were doing was wrong … I knew that." Yes, she knew, but she still wanted him. Even if their relationship was complicated, she was fine with that, so long as she had him.

He looked at her seriously. "I said that I didn't think that night was a mistake, but it's like you said. We never actually started anything. So I … I want you to let me start something now. However, you need to tell me if this isn't what you want."

He slowly brought his face closer to Lucy's, but he did not kiss her. She wanted him to, and she could see that he was barely holding himself back. Their lips were close enough to feel each other's heat.

"How do you feel about me?"

Lucy pouted. He obviously knew how she felt, but he was making her say it.

"You know already, right?"

"Tell me," he insisted.

"You really are a scoundrel."

"I know," he admitted with a tiny smile.

"I … I think you're brilliant at your job, and you're my inspiration."

"Uh-huh," he said, gazing at her lips as they trembled to speak.

"I think … you're kind, but you don't let people know what you're feeling."

"Guilty."

"And yet, despite all of that…" Her voice choked up.

"Tell me. Please," he requested, watching with desire and hope.

It was safe now, she told herself. It was safe to say it, and now she needed to. She had wanted to tell him for so, so long, and now it was safe to say the words.

"… I love you."

As soon as she said it, Loke leaned in to seal their lips with a kiss. He had simply been waiting to finally hear her say it. His lips were soft, and Lucy felt his hand cup her cheek with tenderness.

She could not ignore this feeling anymore. Maybe part of it was just for fun; maybe others would have labeled it as a booty call. Still, the emotions were serious, and she refused to hide them anymore. She threw her arms around Loke's neck and took the initiative to deepen their kiss. He seemed to really like that assertive side of her.

Their kisses grew hotter. In that car, stopped on the side of a busy main road, all the love they felt for one another ignited. Their ardent kisses continued, leaving them gasping for breath. Lucy was hardly even thinking as her hand landed on Loke's thigh and slowly began to slide up, wanting to know if he felt the same as her in that way as well.

Loke finally pulled back, and pressed her hand away. "Once we start, there's no stopping us."

"S-Sorry," she said, holding the offending hand. What had she been trying to do, and in public?

"Lucy," he said, touching her cheek again. "I may not be the perfect man you think I am, but I have never been so enamored with someone before as I am with you. I promise to show you, and only you, the real me from now on. No more holding back, no more hiding things, no more biting back the words we want to say." He gave her a firm kiss, and his mouth fluttered against her lips as he whispered, "I love you."

Hearing those words from him sparked through Lucy. She grabbed him and kissed him harder. The car again filled with the sound of their lips and tongues.

"I love you, Loke," Lucy moaned.

Loke pulled back and gazed fervently at her. "I love you too." Then he laughed and blushed slightly. "We finally said it."

She chuckled as well. She had drunkenly said those words once, but now she felt like she could say them over and over. "I love you … so much."

She realized, now they were free. She could tell whomever she wanted. They would accept it when she explained how she felt.

They kissed again, and this time when Lucy's hand slid along Loke's thigh, he did not push it away. However, she only briefly felt what she wanted to explore. That was enough, to feel it, to know he enjoyed it that much, and to bask in the brightness of his love. They abandoned words, and everything was spoken with more amorous kisses.

Loke's phone rang, but he ignored it, caught up in her kiss. Then Lucy's phone began to ring too.

Lucy pulled back, panting hotly. "They might be calling us back for the ceremony."

"Do you really want to go back?" he asked, still kissing her and ignoring the phones.

Lucy moaned. "I like this better."

Their phones kept ringing, but they could not keep their mouths apart. They did not notice the traffic shooting by them. They simply lost themselves in each other's kisses.

Finally, Loke pulled back. "I think we're at a choice. We can find a hotel here in Crocus, or we can return to the party."

Lucy hummed sensually. "How about we return, we tell the team we're a couple, and we can see about that hotel later tonight?"

"Can I be a scoundrel and give you a kiss in front of one of the cameras? Then we don't have to bother with telling all of our coworkers that we're together."

Lucy laughed and smacked his arm playfully. "That's awful." However, she smirked. "I like it."

"You really are a scoundrel too." He straightened up in his seat and turned the car back on. "Although, Natsu's going to scold me."

"Natsu?" she asked in confusion.

"He's really protective over you."

"Oh. Because we're childhood friends."

Loke chuckled and shook his head as he eased back into traffic. "Yeah … because you're childhood friends."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"You really are a naïve little girl."

"Hey! That's rude."

"You're brilliant with your work, but you're a bit ignorant at times."

She huffed and folded her arms. "You're being mean to me."

"Of course I am." He smiled over at her. "I like to see how my girlfriend reacts when I tease her."

"G-G-Girlfriend," she gasped.

"That's what we agreed upon, right? We're an official couple now. Do I need to say 'Will you go out with me' to make you realize that?"

"It might have been nice to hear."

"Then, how about it? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She giggled and blushed. "Yes."

"And will you be my lover later tonight?"

"Mmm, definitely yes," she said sensually.

Loke chuckled and focused on the road. "It's going to be hard, not touching you until tonight."

"Perhaps I want to keep you hard until tonight. It's your punishment for touching me while I was drunk."

"Fair enough. If holding myself back will forgive me from that sin, I'll accept it." His eyes slid over to her. "Perhaps redemption will take a long, long time."

"Perhaps it will," she said with a secretive smile. "You could be working toward redeeming yourself for a quite a while."

"Years?" he asked.

"Maybe."

"A lifetime?"

"Hey! Don't get ahead of yourself."

Loke laughed and reached over to hold her hand. "You already know, I tend to do things and say things because I simply want to."

"Yes, because you're a scoundrel."

"Indeed."

She scooted over and leaned on his shoulder as he waited at a red light. "Then I can also be a scoundrel and say I hope you'll be redeeming yourself for a long, long time."

Loke tipped her chin up and gave her a kiss. "That's a heavenly blissful punishment."

"Well, it was one stellar mistake."

"Only the fact that you were drunk, I hope."

"Only that. I wanted it, you wanted it, so we did it, and I don't regret it. You shouldn't have done it, though. That was awfully perverted of you."

"I know, and I swear I'll never touch you when you're drunk again, even if you throw yourself at me half naked like you did that night."

"Oh!" She huffed and blushed as she turned aside. "Let's never mention that night to anyone."

They drove along, returning to the government building.

"Hey, Lucy."

She looked over, no longer hearing the teasing in his voice, and instead a bit of Loke's business tone.

"The project, what you did, what you came up with … it really was brilliant. I had something in mind right away, of course, but I saw so much potential in your other projects, I wanted to give you this chance. I wasn't just sweet-talking you. Long before that first night, I admired your work greatly, and somehow you came up with almost the same thing I initially had in mind, only better, fresher, you put your own spin on it, and it was phenomenal. It won! You, Freed, Gray, Natsu: you all put in so much effort, combining all the assets that make Fairy Tail so great, and which will catapult us into being number one in Fiore, I just know it." He glanced over at her with a smile. "I am truly honored to have such a brilliant and creative person as my girlfriend."

Her eyes widened and her face went red.

"You look like a tomato," he teased.

"Hey! You just came out of nowhere saying that; of course I'm blushing."

He reached over while they were stopped at another light and squeezed her hand. "We're going to make a good team, you and I. I hope you lend me your brilliance through many more trials, both at work and as a couple."

She squeezed his hand, happy to be by his side.

They drove back to the government building, entered the party underway, and explained things to the team. The fact that they were holding hands so openly proved that the rumors they all had already heard were true. Gray hugged Lucy in congratulations. Natsu predictably berated Loke and gave vague threats of what he would do if Lucy was hurt. Freed merely shook Loke's hand, proud to see his friend finally in love.

Sure enough, they kissed in front of a camera, and that picture ended up on the front page the next morning, along with a headline about Fairy Tail winning the account. The office exploded in gossip for weeks. Cana and Levy pressed Lucy for all the juicy details, and the progress they made was all the talk during their lunch break.

Even Gray and Natsu were curious about how their dates went; Gray because he wanted to support Lucy, Natsu because he wanted to make certain that she was safe and happy. When there was backlash from Loke's family about him choosing a commoner over the king's daughter, Gray and Natsu fiercely defending Lucy and protected her from their cruel words, until finally Loke convinced the Regulus Clan to relent.

It was not easy at times, but Lucy stayed by Loke's side, and he stayed loyal, defending her, praising her, assisting her, fighting together in the weeks and months that followed, with assignment after assignment, job after job, ad after ad, all pouring in. They became known as the power couple of Fairy Tail: the heart-filled storyboarder and the lion-like director.

When Loke was promoted, Lucy was there to celebrate with him. When Makarov gave Loke a tearful handshake at the news that Fairy Tail had beaten out Sabertooth as number one, Lucy got to watch it all. She was not just in the shadow of Loke's shining brilliance, either. She was beside him, standing together as equals. They were professional at work, adored one another in private, voracious at night, domestic in the morning, always giving one another glances, smiles, and light teases.

On the opening night of the Grand Magic Games, sitting in the stadium with many friends from Fairy Tail to watch the athletes march onto the field, Loke surprised Lucy by getting down on one knee and presenting her with a diamond ring. She tearfully said yes, and Levy, Cana, Freed, Gray, and Natsu partied with them afterward. They all realized, this was the perfect ending for all the work they did, the deep bonds that formed during that exciting time when they fought as a team to make history.

As she lay in bed later that night, with Loke asleep and his arms wrapped around her, Lucy looked down at the sparkling engagement ring. She sighed happily, grateful for that stellar mistake that brought about so much love and joy into her life.

The End