Sorry I'm so late again! A whole month, that's really bad! Firstly was the writer's block I got (on the last chapter too), that was pretty bad. Also the stupid internet provider stuffed up mine, my housemate's and a couple of my friends' internet, and we're all on different accounts. 3 weeks without internet and a pile of research homework, not pretty. Needless to say I've swapped companies -_-

Well, it's finally the time for me to take my bow. I'm glad you guys have been enjoying it! I know I've never had so much fun writing for other people. I never even imagined that this story would be so popular, but what do you know? Over 100 reviews! Seeing that magical number left me speechless, thanks guys! :D

Disclaimer: FINALLY! I only have to say it one more time! I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.

Whatever the Future Holds

"WE'RE BACK!"

Natsu kicked in the doors, the same as he always did whenever he finished a mission, and enthusiastically jumped into the middle of the guild hall, with Happy clinging tightly to his shoulder the entire time. Several guild members offered them a series of welcomes, some gave a small wave and the rest barely even glanced in their direction. The young fire dragonslayer didn't seem to care though, he just hastily made his way over to Mirajane at the bar, followed slowly by his fellow team members who had only just made it to the door, and slid onto a stool opposite her with a wide grin on his face. Happy flew off his shoulder, sat on the bench and began gnawing at a fish he had pulled out of the sack on his back.

"Welcome back Natsu." The barmaid greeted with a warm smile. "Did the job go well?"

Natsu laughed and replied "It was awesome! There were all these big tough guys that put up a really good fight. But none of them could use magic, so we won, of course. But man…" he then spread his arms out wide, "there was this huuuuuge bang when I started using my slayer magic!"

Gray stood just behind Natsu and added "Turns out there were several boxes of explosives that the lugs used when they went to rob villages sitting in the next room. So, naturally, when this thickhead decided to start spouting flames the whole building went up." He pointed an accusing thumb at the teenager in front of him.

"Hey!" The offended boy turned to his lifelong rival. "Who are you calling a thickhead?"

"You didn't hear me, you thickhead?"

"Oh, that's it! Bring it on-"

The fight ended before it even began with a swift punch to either boys cheek from Erza's iron clad fists. The two gave each other one final glare before the ice mage decided to move over and have a conversation with Elfman, who was lingering in front of the request board, rubbing the side of his face as he walked. Natsu held the side of his face for a few more seconds, before he turned his attention to Erza, who sat down beside him casually as if she hadn't just clobbered him in the jaw. He growled a little at her until she lifted her gaze to meet his, intimidating him into turning towards Lucy, who had perched herself on his other side. Mirajane giggled at the interaction between the teammates before continuing on with their previous discussion.

"So, was there a lot of damage done from the explosion?"

The scarlet haired knight's gaze softened as she settled down and she replied "Surprisingly, no. The hideout was in a rather isolated valley, so the blast was contained to that single building."

"Which means we all got our full shares of the reward." Lucy said happily, patting her handbag that contained her beloved purse which, for once, was loaded. "And I now no longer have to worry about my rent for this month!" The young blonde stretched her arms above her head, then looked over at Mirajane and asked "Oh by the way Mira, did you get around to that favor I asked?"

"Of course!" She opened one of the drawers under the bar and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which she handed to her friend. "It's all been taken care of, so you're set!" Erza and Natsu looked over at Lucy with raised eyebrows.

"What's taken care of?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing important." Lucy hopped off her stool. "Anyway, I need to get going guys. I just remembered I have something important to do."

"But we just got back." Erza said, but Lucy was already out the door before she could say anything else. She then swiveled on her seat and said "What did she ask of you?"

"Lucy asked me not to tell." Mirajane replied, holding a finger up to her lips. The two mages blinked at her in unison as she fished her hand into the drawer once more, but stopped dead in her movements as a realization hit her. "Uh-oh…"

"What?"

The Take Over mage pulled out another folded piece of paper, which had 'Lucy' scribbled on it and said sheepishly "I gave her the wrong thing. I'm going to have to go and fetch her."

Natsu stood up eagerly and said "Don't worry Mira, I can do it for you."

"But Natsu, Lucy asked me not to tell." A gloved hand rested on her shoulder, grabbing her attention.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the guild while you're gone." Erza said with a determined smile. "I have done it before on several occasions."

"Thank you Erza!" With a bright smile she quickly turned and ran after Lucy, who was long gone by then. Erza stood up tall and looked around at the guild members, reflecting on her times of being in charge. It was hard work, since there were so many things wrong with them all, but at the same time enjoyable for her. She never admitted it, but she often had fun pulling the many guildies back into line.

-HALF AN HOUR LATER-

Lucy beamed as she finally reached her destination, gazing at the sparkling blue lake and surrounding trees that she had been longing to see for the several days that she had been away. The mission took place in an area that was two days of travel away, so she had been gone for almost an entire week, although it seemed much longer to her. She had been waiting so long for this moment, decided not to waste any more time.

She unclipped a golden key and held it up high, softly chanting "Open, gate of the lion. Leo!"

There was a quick flash of light as her spirit materialized in front of her and gave her a bright smile and said "I thought you'd never summon me again at the rate you were going."

"Sorry it took so long." She replied with a light blush, her gaze lowering. "I didn't realise the job would be so far away." She quickly looked back up at him and continued "But I got something for us. It looked like an easy job for our first one together." Loke raised an eyebrow as Lucy rummaged around in her bag for a few seconds before she pulled out the piece of paper Mirajane gave her and handed it to him. He unfolded it and read it carefully once, then twice…

"Capture a wanted man, going undercover in a… stripper's club?"

"WHAT?"

Lucy snatched the request back from a very confused Loke and read over it, her face contorting into one of horror before she held a hand to her forehead and sighed "Mira… you gave me the wrong job!"

The lion spirit poked his head over her shoulder, taking another look at the scrap of paper, and said "Who would take a job like that in the first place?"

Lucy turned her head to the side to look up at him and said "Not me, that's for sure. I swear this is not the job I asked for." She hung her head as she stuffed the job request back into her bag.

"Ohhh, cheer up." Lucy tensed slightly as she felt warm hands rest on her shoulders, and a light kiss placed gently on her cheek. "We'll go back over to the guild and see Mira about it later. But for now let's just relax, that's what we're here for, isn't it?" As quickly as it came, the warmth faded away as Loke moved away from her and slumped down against the trunk of the large oak tree by the lake. Lucy followed suit and sat down beside him, looking out at the clear blue water. "So, you're sure the others are okay with you going on a job by yourself?"

"Well, I haven't exactly told them yet… but it's not as if they don't go on jobs without me, right?" Lucy looked over at his concerned face and added "And besides, I won't be alone because you insist on going with me."

"Well, someone's gotta look after you…" Loke said with a yawn as he stretched and lay down on the grass, his arms folded behind his head, "and I owe you for looking after me, plus I get to spend some quality time alone with you." He grinned and winked before yawning again and closing his eyes. Lucy rolled her eyes at his usual flirting behavior, typical Loke. But she couldn't deny that she was also looking forward to it, she had often longed to be alone with him ever since he'd changed back.

She turned towards her bag sitting beside her and opened it up, revealing the remnants of the chapter she was currently working on, with her quill and inkpot tucked neatly beside them. She reached in for the pieces of paper, but stopped when she felt something heavy on her legs. She turned back to see Loke with his arms folded comfortably over his chest and his head resting in her lap, his eyes closed and a smile on his face. She didn't even hear him move over.

"Comfortable?" She asked, poking his cheek slightly.

"Mmhm," he replied quietly, flinching slightly from the poke just below his glasses. He cracked an eye open when he felt them slide off his face and said "What are you doing?"

"Well you're not using them," Lucy said as she slid them over her ears, perching the sunglasses on the top of her head. "Don't worry, I won't lose them." Loke just smiled back up at her before closing his eye again, letting himself drift off for a light nap. Lucy just stared lovingly at his handsome face, enjoying the peaceful moment she had with him. She felt a sense of déjà vu seeing him lay in her lap like that, and made her remember when he was doing the exact same thing as a lion.

Tearing her gaze away from Loke, she looked out at the beautiful lake in front of them, admiring the sparkling clear water and watching as a mother duck paddled around in circles at the shallow end with her ducklings, teaching them how to swim. As she stared at them, she began unconsciously running her hand through Loke's ginger hair, petting him much like she would a cat, And he responded like a cat would, turning his head slightly to one side so she could continue. When she felt the movement in her lap, Lucy realized what she was doing, but didn't stop when she saw the look on her spirit's face. He was clearly enjoying the feeling, his mouth hanging open slightly and curved upwards into that genuine smile she loved, and his head tilted a little further down so she could reach the back of his neck better. She giggled lightly, but continued grazing her fingers along his scalp, sending a tingling sensation down his spine.

"You really like this, don't you?" Lucy said, intrigued by his reaction.

"Uh-huh," Loke mumbled, "used to be the best feeling in the world." At this, Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Used to be?"

"Yep." Loke opened his eyes and grinned up at Lucy. "You know what's better now?" The blonde just shook her head slowly, unsure of his intentions. The lion spirit slowly sat up and sidled next to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap before nuzzling his face into the side of her neck and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"To me, having you here in my arms is the best feeling in the world." Lucy felt her face go red, but only slightly and she didn't really mind. She turned around to face him, making him lift his head up once again, and placed a soft hand gently on either side of his face.

"Who knew you could be so sweet?" She said with a bright smile, staring deeply into his green eyes, which seemed to be twinkling with delight.

"That's the kind of guy you go for, isn't it?" Loke replied with a wink.

"You know I love you just the way you are." The young stellar mage moved to wind her arms around his neck, their faces getting steadily closer. "You don't have to go changing yourself just for me."

"Doesn't seem like I need to." Their noses were now touching. They could feel each other's warm breath. "I never would have imagined that being myself would work on any girl."

"I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic."

"Well, that makes two of us."

They only had to move forward an inch or so for their lips to meet. One of Lucy's hands moved up into her lover's silky smooth hair, gently grabbing a handful, whilst Loke's hands slowly slid halfway up her back, both pulling each other closer. Lucy felt the familiar warmth travel through her body, making her tingle all over, from the tips of her ears to her fingers and toes. She loved the warmth, and she could never get enough, but was left wanting when Loke slowly pulled away. He chuckled lightly and raised a calloused hand to cup her face. He could see everything that Lucy was feeling just by looking in her eyes. But still, he preferred hearing what she felt.

"I love you, Lucy." He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, just feeling her presence. "More than you could possibly know."

"I know. I love you too, just as much." Lucy placed a short, sweet kiss on Loke's lips once more before turning halfway back around in his lap and leaning her head against his chest and clutching at his shirt, staring out at the duck family that was now wading out of the water and waddling past. The two of them watch as they zigzagged their way past them, with one of the little ducklings occasionally tripping over and then speeding along to catch up. Lucy felt content, sitting there in his arms. It wasn't quite what she had originally imagined so long ago… it was better! It was like the happy ending she imagined in all the romance novels she had read, where the princess finally gets to be with her prince after all the tough ordeals they'd been through.

"So," Loke said, interrupting her thoughts, "when should we go back and get that mission fixed up?"

"Oh, I think it can wait a few more hours." Lucy replied, snuggling closer to his body, one of her hands sliding inside his jacket. "I'm sure whoever was supposed to have the job we got would hand our job in. That, or hopefully Mira has realized by now."

-MEANWHILE-

Mirajane hastily walked back towards the guild, barely able to contain her excitement. She had dropped by Lucy's apartment with the intention to swap over the job she had mistakenly given her, but found that she wasn't home. But on the way back, as she walked past the park, she noticed the blond mage sitting by a tree with someone else. Once she had gotten closer, she easily recognized that 'someone else' as Loke and quickly suppressed her magic so that her presence wouldn't be known, if it wasn't already. She knew just how sharp he was, and that he could easily sense someone from afar. After about fifteen minutes of watching from the bushes she had seen all that she needed to see, and just managed to get away without blowing her cover from squealing with delight, completely forgetting about why she was looking for Lucy in the first place.

Oh, how the guild was going to love hearing about what she had seen…

I dunno if that was such a great place to leave it off at, but everyone loves a happy ending and I didn't want to ruin that by going too much further with the story (I mean that in a few senses, plot-wise, quality-wise, fluff-wise etc). Plus I won't be able to update for quite some time since I'm going away tonight for the holidays.

But still, that's it everyone! I finally did it, I finally finished a multi chap fic! And I reckon it was a great success too! This is a big achievement for me!

Thank you all sooooo much for reviewing, favoriting or just reading my story! And for those who offered constructive criticism, thank you very much for your feedback, I have taken note of your advice and will refer back to it in my future pieces, hopefully this will improve my stories even more. I can guarantee that I will definitely keep writing for a while. Who knows, maybe I'll write something else that catches your interest.

Anyways, reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated, but not necessary ^_^

No flames though, of course. I already live with a pyromaniac, so I don't need any more of those…

Thanks for taking the time to read this and maybe you'll see me around the sight again!

Thank you everyone! :D

~Piplup~