This was requested on AO3 by butterflyzilla.
Here's some LoLu fluff and angst.
I hope you enjoy!
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Loke was relaxing in the Celestial Spirit World. He was watching as Taurus and Hercules spared together, a few other celestial spirits cheering them on. Thoughts of visiting his girlfriend were rolling through his mind when he felt it. A feeling of dread that resulted in his stomach dropping to his feet. His blood ran cold and his heart all but stopped. His relaxed sitting position shifted to one of rigidness and alertness. His eyes were blown wide with fear.
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong with Lucy.
Without a second thought, he opened his gate himself and disappeared from the Spirit World. Within a few seconds, he appeared in Fairy Tail's infirmary. His eyes instantly fell upon his girlfriend, finding that she was lying there underneath the white covers, a wet piece of cloth over her forehead.
Loke launched himself toward her. His eyes roamed over her form. Her skin was deathly pale and sweat covered. His hair was damp with sweat. There were visible bags underneath her closed eyelids and her breathing was heavy, coming out of her agape mouth. Loke could feel his heartbeat pick up its speed until it felt as though it could bruise his chest. He placed his hands on Lucy's shoulders and gently shook her, exclaiming, "Lucy! Lucy! Wake up, please!"
The blonde groaned as her eyes opened, though not fully. Her eyes shifted over to him and Loke's breath caught in his throat when he saw how hazy and unfocused her brown eyes were. He gulped and blinked back tears as he said, his voice weak and already broken, "what happened?"
The corners of Lucy's mouth twitched up in a small smile. She slowly, weakly, lifted her hand to place it on his cheek. The action was so familiar that Loke unconsciously leaned into the touch, not failing to notice that her palm was burning hot.
Lucy opened her mouth and managed to whisper, "I...got s-sick." Her voice was hoarse and it seemed that just talking was painful to her. It caused Loke's chest to hurt.
"Loke."
The celestial spirit turned around at the sound of his name. He watched as Levy solemnly walked toward him, her hands clamped in front of her and her head drooping. She came to a stop in front of him and explained, "she was on a job with Cana. The dark mage they were fighting cast some sort of sickness spell on Lucy. Alzack and Bisca are getting Porlyusica."
Anger swirled within Loke's gut, but it was easily overshadowed by the worry and fear that he felt. He whipped back around to grip Lucy's hot, pale, sweaty hand in his. Tears burned his eyes and his breathing became heavy as he whispered to her, "Lucy, you have to get through this. Please. I can't leave me. Not yet." His voice was trembling and quiet. He struggled to hold back his tears, not wanting to fall apart so easily. His girlfriend was clearly fighting for her life, and he had to be strong.
Lucy continued to smile at him. It was a pained and tired smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but Loke shushed her, telling her, "you need to save up what strength you have left."
He didn't know how long he remained like that, but all too quickly, Porlyusica showed up and ordered that Levy leave and Loke return to the Celestial Spirit World. The Zodiac spirit tried to argue, tried to appeal to the aging woman's heart and get her to allow him to stay beside his girlfriend, but she was adamant that he leave. Eventually, Loke had no choice but to obey, not wanting to delay Lucy's treatment.
When reappeared in the Celestial Spirit World, he found himself alone. Loke stood there, staring at nothing in particular. His breathing was heavy and his hands were trembling at his sides. His mind was jumbled with thoughts, all reflecting his worry and fear toward Lucy and her condition.
Was she going to be okay? Could she be healed? What were the possible long-time aftereffects of this? Was she going to die?
Loke choked out a sob at that last thought. His hands clamped against his mouth as tears streamed down his face. His trembling legs gave way underneath him and he fell to his knees. He heaved a few shuddering breaths.
What if Lucy died? How was he going to be able to go on if she died?
He hadn't thought about it before, maybe because he never allowed himself to. He hadn't ever wondered what his life was going to be like without Lucy. But now, he was forced to think about it. And he hated having to think about it.
"What are you doing, furball?"
The unmistakable sound of Aquarius' voice broke him out of his distressing thoughts. He didn't bother looking at her, only wiped his eyes and sniffled a few times. He remained on his knees as he straightened his posture as much as he could. He took a deep breath and asked, "what do you want, Aquarius?" His voice wasn't as strong as he tried to make it.
He could hear the mermaid spirit scoff as she answered, already irritated, "I can't have me time when you're making so much noise."
Loke almost laughed at that. He hadn't realized that he was making any noise. He sighed and responded, "sorry about that."
He heard Aquarius scoff and begin to float away. His fingers twitched at his sides and he fought the urge to stop her. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to be alone. He looked over at Aquarius' retreating figure and called out, "w-wait!"
Aquarius stopped and turned around, the beginnings of a scowl on her face. "What?"
Loke flinched at the venom in her voice. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, like he was naked in front of every wizard guild in Fiore, he wrapped his arms around himself and looked down at the floor. "Nothing. Sorry." He muttered the words just loud enough for her to hear,
He heard Aquarius sigh loudly and, to his great surprise, she floated over and sat right next to him. She glared down at him and questioned, "what's wrong with you?"
Loke would have chuckled and teased her with a smirk if Lucy wasn't facing death right now. He sighed and locked his eyes on a tiny crack in the floor in front of him. "Lucy was attacked with a sickness spell. She might die."
Aquarius was silent before she spoke, her voice strangely soft, "I understand how you feel."
"Really?" Loke looked up at her, his eyes wide. Aquarius actually had a heart? Color him impressed.
"Yes, really!" She yelled before her tone went back to strangely soft, "has Lucy told you about her mother?"
"It's still a sensitive topic for her, but I did tell me that her mother was a celestial wizard and had a few of the Zodiac keys."
Aquarius nodded. "Cancer, Capricorn, and I were Layla's spirits. She and I were particularly close. She got sick after a," she paused, as if she was trying to figure out words she should use, "certain event. Her magic was completely depleted and we knew that she was going to die." She pause again before she looked at Loke. Her blue eyes had softened noticeably and glistened with unshed tears. "I know how you feel, Leo. Losing a wizard who you love greatly isn't easy, and you might not ever get over it, but it's a part of being a celestial spirit. We live forever, but humans don't. That's a fact that you need to accept."
Loke looked back down at the floor. Fresh tears welled up in his eyes and threatened to fall. Aquarius wasn't being very comforting, but he guessed that he should have expected that. Aquarius then continued, "however, that doesn't mean that you can't make the most of the time you have with the wizard whom you love." She rested a hand on his shoulder, finishing, "Leo, I promise you, Lucy will survive this. And, when she does, you should do everything you want to do with her. You should make as many memories as you can with her. Make sure that when her time does come, there aren't any regrets or what ifs."
Loke sniffled. A warm feeling enveloped him as Aquarius' words sunk into his mind. She was right. He was still worried about Lucy, and he was still dreading the day that Lucy would die, but he also felt hopeful. He looked forward to the happy memories that he and Lucy would make together, once Lucy was recovered. He wiped his eyes free of tears and turned to Aquarius. "Thank you, Aquarius."
The mermaid spirit smiled down at him and patted his shoulder. It was at that moment that Loke felt a tug on his magic. He was being beckoned to Lucy's side. He mumbled a goodbye to his fellow Zodiac and allowed his gate to open and pull him from the Spirit World to the human world.
When he appeared, he found Lucy sitting up in bed. She was still pale and tired-looking, but looked healthier than she did the last time he saw her. The blonde smiled at him with love and Loke threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her and burying his nose into her hair of sunlight, inhaling the familiar scent that he missed greatly, that he wanted to memorize for the rest of his immortal life.
When he pulled away, he cupped Lucy's face, tears welling up in his eyes. "I thought that you were going to die." His voice was in a whisper.
Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled sweetly at him. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she whispered back, "I will live for a million years."
The couple then shared a searing, love-filled kiss as tears raced down their faces.
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This ended up being more angst than fluff, but oh well. I missed writing LoLu. It's such an underrated ship.
My update schedule:
February 16th: Laxus and Lucy from the Future (Laxus x Lucy)
February 19th: I'm Not Leaving You (Gray x Lucy)
February 22nd: The Red Bitch is Back Part 2 (Laxus x Lucy)
February 26th: You're as Intimidating as a Butterfly (Meredy x Lucy)