Disclaimer: I not own Fairy Tail. You not sue me ploz.

For Secret Agent #1, Gunpowder Cookies. Merry Christmas! I apologize in advance if you end up hating this and this is the worst gift-fic you've ever received.

Important notes: Disregard the 1 day in the Spirit World is equal to 3 months in Earthland. Why? Because it was a device to push the plot forward and it creates so many plot holes that my foot will get stuck in one.

Rated M for sexual content (no lemon). You have been warned.

The Breaking Point

Poor little Aries; can't fend for herself, can't speak with conviction. She can hardly compare with a real womanly spirit like Aquarius. She's so pathetic.

That was what other spirits thought about her. Sure, Aries was one of the twelve gold key celestial spirits, but she was hardly any use when it came down to a battle, and she wasn't handy like Virgo. In the name of the King, all she could do was throw wool at people! Sometimes she wondered how that was helpful at all!

Despite those things, the horned spirit recognized her flaws and weaknesses. She accepted them because not doing so would only make her more of a burden to others. She couldn't afford to have low self-confidence! Leo would come and try to reassure her of how wonderful she was then!

Aries was certain any female would love to have the powerful lion come and rescue her from danger—whether it was from an enemy or from a battle within one's self. It was always flattering to have a sexy spirit care enough about you that he would save you no matter what. The pink-haired female was no exception. The problem was, after saving her, Leo would pat her on the head and smile at her…like she was his little sister.

She resented him for it.

Well gee, Aries the little lamb isn't a slut, so she gets put in the "little kid" category! She isn't the flirty type, so she isn't girlfriend material! She's polite and a bit shy, so she can't speak for herself; I'll have to speak up for her. That was what Leo thought about her, and that was what hurt the most.

She knew that Leo would never look down on her. He accepted her for who she was, but he always wanted to look out for her. That wasn't a bad thing; it was just that a relationship between lovers went both ways and the strawberry-blond wouldn't allow her to take care of him the way he did her. He wouldn't even let her make dinner for him after coming home from a big fight!

It was honestly ridiculous! What did those numerous hussies on have that she didn't? Why had he given kisses away to them so freely when all she got was a brotherly tousle of her hair? She just wanted a chance, one chance to be more than just "that celestial spirit he takes care of". Too bad she'd never gotten one.

Instead it was "Lucy!" this and "Lucy!" that. Aries really had nothing against their summoner. Lucy was a wonderful celestial spirit mage who respected all her spirits, seeing them as her friends rather than tools. The horned girl was certainly fond of her key holder, but that didn't make her any less jealous. Leo turned into a complete fan-boy when anything associated with the blonde human was mentioned! Aries appreciated that Lucy had been the one to save her friend's life, but now the lion would never turn his head toward her. His eyes would remain on their beautiful summoner forever, even if everyone, including Leo, knew that Lucy's heart belonged to Natsu.

Her love for Leo ran deeper than he would ever know. She suppressed her feelings and played her part as the younger sister even while she yearned for him to see her as something more than that because she didn't want to complicate things for him. If he never learned of her feelings, he would never have to worry about breaking her heart and he would be free to pursue Lucy or other girls as much as he wanted. Letting go for the sake of his happiness had been the hardest thing Aries had ever done, and it hurt her a little more everyday, but it was worth it in the end when he grinned and babbled on about his wonderful Lucy.

Despite all these horrible thoughts, Aries had a smile on her face. Today she and Leo were going to have a picnic, and though it wasn't a date with her boyfriend, it was still time spent with her best friend. They hadn't had any quality time for a while since the last two times they'd planned an outing together, the spirit had had to cancel to help out Fairy Tail in some form or another. It was nothing the pink-haired spirit really felt she should be upset about. Fairy Tail was important to her too and she'd been summoned often enough to assist them in a struggle. This time was different, however, because Leo had promised her that he would tell Lucy not to summon him today. He'd promised that today would just be about them.

It was probably a foolish thing to feel giddy about, considering that Leo could only be regarded as her best friend, but it didn't lessen the feeling of being on a date with the man she loved at all. The ram spirit could hardly contain her excitement, arriving at their meeting spot outside the library half an hour early just to stand there in joyful anticipation. Her face should have rightfully split from how much she was smiling.

So she waited…

Half an hour passed. He should be arriving any minute.

And waited…

So he's a little late. Leo's a popular spirit; he must've gotten held up somewhere.

And waited…

An hour passed their meeting time? Aries hoped he was okay…

And waited…

Two hours. He still wasn't there. He wasn't coming, was he? Aries had an inkling of where he was and walked to the gates from Earthland.

And waited.

Twenty minutes later, Leo appeared through the gates looking worn and tired, like he'd used up all his magic while he'd been away. His eyes immediately landed on her, widening through his shades as he rushed over, regardless of his exhaustion.

"Aries, I'm really sorry I missed out on our plans today," he told her sincerely, looking ashamed as he loomed over her. "I feel horrible, but Lucy need me."

I needed you too, she thought bitterly, her chest throbbing painfully, but the sweet ram forced a smile upon her lips. She'd promised herself, anything to keep him happy; anything to keep him from this pain. "I know."

He grinned back at her gratefully. "Hey, look, I'll make it up to you. Promise! She wouldn't have summoned me if she didn't need someone really strong," Leo explained, clearly meaning everything he was saying.

Scorpio's strong. Sagittarius is strong. She could've called them if you had kept your promise, but you didn't, so what should this one mean to me? Aries maintained her cheerful appearance. "I know," she repeated, refusing to break her resolve. She would not falter. She could be strong too.

"Thanks, really," Leo replied, his lips curved upwards. He placed a hand on her head and softly jostled her hair. "You're such a good friend."

Whatever thin thread that had been holding her together just then, snapped. Something inside of her burst and her body was flooded with white-hot fury. Her breaths came out uneven and shaky while her limbs trembled. Her hands balled into fists as she bit her lip to preserve whatever self-control remained in her. Burning tears surfaced in her eyes and she forced herself not to blink lest they fall.

Aries was angry. She was furious. She'd never been so filled with rage in her entire life, not even when Karen had been abusing her. She wanted to scream and lash out and create destruction. She wanted to. But she didn't.

Because she was Aries.

"Please take your hand off of me," she requested politely, voice quaking.

"Huh? Aries?"

"Let go!" she demanded, wrenching herself out of his grasp. Everybody had a breaking point and Aries had reached hers. Her breath grew heavy as she struggled not to explode. It felt like there was a rock in her chest and the only way to get it out was to scream.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Leo asked in concern. He stepped forward, reaching out to her, but her foot slid back, edging away as he did so.

The ram turned and ran before he could say anything else. It was such a typical thing to do and the fact that there was no way she could outrun a lion was shoved firmly to the back of her mind by the blinding rage she could hardly suppress. She ran indiscriminately, letting the tears run down her face and ignoring the voice calling out her name behind her. The raw emotion pounding inside of her poured down her legs and out the soles of her feet.

It was short-lived, however, when another body came crashing into her own. Aries landed on her side, aware of a set of arms wrapped around her torso. They were Leo's arms; she knew well enough that he wasn't going to just let her go after how she'd reacted only minutes earlier. She lay limp in his arms, panting while her head whizzed through numerous thoughts. It was in those seconds that she forgot how to be herself.

She was sick of being shafted and looking after the happiness of others. It wasn't her job anymore—or at least that was what the adrenaline was telling her. It was time to be selfish and take what she wanted. She wouldn't let anyone get in her way right now. She'd stood in the background for far too long.

The pink-haired celestial spirit pushed herself onto her knees and her usual hero sat up along with her, opening his mouth to say something. She cut him off instead, shoving him roughly back onto the ground, determined not to let anything stop her—including her victim. Aries wasn't even really sure what she was doing, now straddling the shocked lion beneath her. She forced his arms over his head, Leo offering little resistance in his stunned state, and deftly pulled apart his tie, using it to bind his wrists together. One more flick of her wrist had his tinted glasses discarded to the side. She gazed at him, half-lucid; his strawberry-blonde mane was dishevelled, his shirt was partly open, revealing his muscled pecs, and he was staring openly at her in disbelief, black eyes completely exposed.

He was beautiful, and everything she ever wanted.

Aries crawled up over him and kissed him hard. She'd wanted this for so long—wanted to taste these very lips that others, whose feelings would never run as deep as hers, had tasted before her. She kissed him hungrily with passion she hadn't shown before, a dream coming to life with every touch of their lips. She barely noticed that he was kissing her back with equal need and desperation, the feeling so extraordinarily good. She was on a high and didn't want to come down. Ever.

Eventually, the spirit pulled away when the hot sensation forming between her legs became unbearable. She begrudgingly abandoned their tongue-war in favour of the increasingly noticeable bulge straining against the cloth at his crotch. Aries pressed herself against him, hands supporting her as they grasped Loke's shoulders.

"A-Aries—" his voice came before it turned into a pleasured groan when she worked her hips forward.

She needed to finish this, regardless of the fact that she was dry-humping her long-time love in the middle of nowhere and he had no choice but to follow along. Every emotion she kept deep inside of her surfaced and only spurred her on. All that anger, hurt, and love kept her rocking harder and harder into his body, the pearl in her center sending wave after wave of ecstasy coursing through her body. It was all building up, just like it had been for months, until she was ready to explode all over again. The ram was on the verge of tears when she at last pressed into him and broke the dam. She threw her head back and screamed out as every muscle in her body contracted and her mind went blank, scarcely hearing Leo's voice join her own in a strangled cry.

She collapsed beside the male and began to cry, feeling her legs grow wet from the result of her climax. The adrenaline was gone and she remembered who she was again. Shame took over as she realized how badly she had just violated her best friend.

Leo was still in a daze when she crawled over to his bound hands, chanting "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" over and over. He didn't' say a thing and simply kept staring into the sky.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again, feeling sick and horrible and disgusted with herself. Aries shakily undid the knot of his striped tie and released his hands. Once they were free, he sat up, still peering into nothingness. She desperately reached for his shades but couldn't stop herself from trembling. It took her four tries to finally grab hold of the item and hold it out in offering. "I'm sorry…"

Aries couldn't meet his eyes when he turned to accept the glasses before placing them on his face. His back was slumped as he ran a hand through his mane, making no attempt to gain eye contact either.

She sat formally, still apologizing, waiting for him to either say something or walk away from her forever. The mess on her legs made it terribly uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to what she had just put Leo through. Tears ran down her cheeks and she did nothing to stop them.

"I'm sor—"

"How long have you been hiding this?" Leo asked her brusquely, catching her eyes when she looked up in astonishment. To her surprise, he didn't look angry or hurt in the least. He looked guilty.

"H-hiding—"

"You're in love with me, Aries," he stated critically, staring at her intensely. "You're in love with me and I've been treating you like a kid."

"I—"

"You were sick of it, weren't you? Damn it, it's my fault that this happened at all! I've been such an asshole, blowing you off all the time. I can't believe I pushed you this far!" the strawberry-blond hissed at himself.

Aries could hardly believe that her best friend had just openly recognized her feelings and was proceeding to blame himself for the fact that she had sexually harassed him. It made absolutely no sense and was just plain wrong. "I—I did this, Leo. I forced you to do this—it's wrong for you to say it's your fault…"

He shook his head firmly. "You don't understand; a tie is not going to keep me from pushing you away, Aries. I wanted this just as much as you did," Leo explained stressfully. She swallowed, grasping the implication of his words, but quickly squashed the hope that rose within her just in case. "I—I do love you too, Aries; you just never showed any interest, so I thought it would be okay to treat you like a sister—it was easier for me that way."

"But-but what about Lucy-sama?" the ram inquired in uncertainty. Hearing him say that he loved her seemed too much like a really nice hallucination to be accepted so quickly.

"Lucy's great, but she's completely set on Natsu. And she's our summoner; long distance relationships aren't really my thing."

Silence ensued until Aries worked up the courage to ask about his feelings for her. "Leo, if you love me, why didn't you say anything?"

He looked down guiltily. "You're not one of those girls that I just want to have fun with; you've been my friend for a long time and I can't even describe how much I feel for you, but I'm the lion spirit," the male elaborated honestly, "I'm a womanizer and a flirt, and I can't stop myself from being that way. If we were together, I'd hurt you, Aries, and you deserve better than that."

Aries shyly took his hand and wiped her previously watery eyes. "You accept me for who I am; why shouldn't I accept those things of you?" the horned spirit questioned quietly.

"You're right, and I hurt you anyway just by keeping my feelings from you," Loke agreed. "Can we fix this? Lunch tomorrow? I swear I'll tell get Virgo to cover for me this time if Lucy calls for me."

She nodded, smiling genuinely for the first time all day. Things between them were incredibly screwed up, but they had plenty of time to remedy their mistakes. She still felt ashamed of what she'd done, but she would be able to forgive herself if Leo didn't feel like there was anything to forgive. Right now, Aries was just thankful that nobody had seen them (which had been a huge possibility considering they were outside in public view) and that she was finally getting the chance she'd wanted for so long.

He stood up, pulling her with him by their connected hands and he grinned at her. "You know, demanding Aries was kind of sexy. Maybe I'll see her next time you want to violate me."

"Leo!" she shouted in embarrassment, face going red. "I was really angry, you know!"

"I do know, but she was still hot!"

She pouted at him, but her heart soared as how normal things were again, despite the change in their relationship. He could still tease her like nothing had changed at all. "Can we go now?"

"Yes," he replied with a smile. "Just make sure demanding Aries only ever violates me."

"Leo!"

"Okay, we'll go! I'd really like to wash the inside of my pants anyway."

"LEO!"

Thanks for reading!