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Stellar Mistakes
By : Rhov
Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail
Views: 14748 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I make money from this fanfic.
Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 17
Doctor's Advice
As the days went on, Loke continued to act like her boss at the office. He often went up to talk with her about the project with a professional smile and his director voice. Lucy could hardly help but think that he seemed to be a little too good at hiding this office romance. He was busy on weekends, often leaving to the capitol of Crocus, although he never told Lucy why, and she figured it was not her place to ask.
Finally, it was another Tuesday, and another weekly meeting. Loke was in his boss-mode once again, as he always was at times like this. He looked puzzled as he read Lucy's revised proposal.
"Like I said, the concept's not bad; I like the angle, how people with no relationship to the GMG view the Games. That's the standpoint of almost everyone who will be watching this commercial."
These were all good points, but the puzzled look on his face told Lucy what she needed to know. It still was not good enough. What was missing?
"Should I try a different angle?" she asked.
His eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "No, I don't think you need to change the direction. It just needs more punch, something that'll surprise our viewers. I want a message that means something to people."
Something surprising? Lucy really felt like she was pushing the limits of her creativity already, but she could not give up the battle yet. She shook her head and firmed up her shoulders.
"Okay, I'll keep working on it."
"Can you do it?" Loke asked, although he had a smile of confidence.
"Yes, I'll get it done on time."
Her energetic reply seemed to satisfy him. He handed the proposal back to her, and the discussion shifted to Freed's department. Lucy kept her disappointment hidden, but she hardly listened to the rest of the meeting. Financing the venture meant little to her. She still had time to get a storyboard finalized, but time was quickly running out.
As the afternoon dragged into evening and she found herself no closer to fixing the proposal, Lucy went to the break room. Most people had gone home for the night, but she could not return to Plue when her mind was so focused on work. There in the lounge with only the hum of the vending machine, she could finally openly sigh as she looked at the printout of her failed proposal.
It was lacking in edge. She already knew that, but she had drawn a blank, so she went with this simpler idea. The point of view was good, it just needed impact, something to get people's attention.
"Ugh! I don't know," she groaned with a sigh of exasperation.
"That sighing … is that the proposal?"
She turned around and saw Capricorn, the in-house doctor. "Dr. Capricorn, hello."
"Hello," he greeted with a gentle smile, but also worry creasing his brow. "You're staying awfully late. That's not healthy."
"I know," she muttered, and she slouched over. "I can't concentrate at home, so I thought I'd collect my thoughts at the office. Are you still working, too?"
"I was getting ready to go home when I saw you." He took a seat across from her. "So, it looks to me like my old friend has given you an impossible task, and you're struggling to deal with it."
"Old friend? Do you mean Mr. Leo? Did you two go to school together?" she asked, recalling that Loke said he had known Freed Justine since university.
"Yes, I've known Loke Leo since preschool."
Lucy gasped. "That long?" She set her proposal to the side and leaned forward in excitement. "What was he like?"
Capricorn chuckled. "I could go on for days about him. There are a million stories I could tell you."
She wanted to hear all of them, but maybe in the middle of Fairy Tail was not the place for stories of a director's childhood. At least, Capricorn kept his million stories to himself for now.
"I was a little surprised that you're on the Grand Magic Games team. Not that I don't think you're talented—Leo would not have chosen you otherwise—but all of the other members are in management or senior levels. That must be a lot of pressure on you. How's that going? Are you feeling okay?"
Lucy frowned and slouched again. "As I'm sure you've gathered from my sighs, I haven't been able to meet Mr. Leo's approval." She cast her eyes down to the proposal.
"In other words, you're burdened by his expectations."
"It's … really not that bad," she said meekly. He looked at her a little more firmly, obviously not buying that, so she decided to confess, just like when she had gone to him in the past for mental health counseling. "He said the presentation hangs on my campaign concept."
"I see," Capricorn said gently. "That must be emotionally taxing on you."
"I want to use what ability I have to do my absolute best. I also want to believe in myself, like Mr. Leo believes in me. I want to get this right, no matter how many revisions it takes, but every time, I can feel it: it's not enough, it's not fully developed, and I don't know what to do. He sees the flaws instantly, and although he's been giving me good advice, I just can't figure out what's missing. I want to do this; I know I can," she insisted. "I just have to wonder if I was really the best choice. As you said, I'm not senior level. Do I truly have the skills he thinks I do?"
Capricorn listened to her worries and quietly nodded. "I know he looks like an executive, but he's more of a player than a manager, if you know what I mean."
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You mean women?" Was Loke that sort of player?
He chuckled and shook his head. "I mean in the game. Since he was a child, everything has always been a game for him, and he's fiercely competitive. However, he was horrible in team sports. He simply couldn't play well with others, and he got into a bit of trouble in school because of that prideful streak."
"Oh yeah?" she asked, curious by this glimpse into young Loke.
"For as long as I've known him, he's always wanted to do everything himself without relying on anyone else. It's one of his greatest weaknesses, and it's also precisely how he's risen in the corporate world to where he is now."
"Everyone knows he's good at what he does," she said.
She knew Loke could probably get this proposal done faster than her, especially since he obviously had something in mind. He had won so many awards, it was clear that if he did this on his own, it would have been done already. However, it seemed like Mr. Leo was trying to train younger talent, such as guiding Lucy, giving her hints without telling her directly what to do. He had been so helpful to Lucy, so she was surprised to hear that he was more player than manager. Although, he did arrange for this presentation all by himself, so there were definitely moments where the Creative Director struck out on his own.
Capricorn stroked his goatee. "He's the most detail-oriented man I've ever met, and he's enthusiastic in everything he sets his mind to. He's always been eager to leap in and fight the battle on his own. To put it bluntly," Capricorn told her, "he normally doesn't expect things from other people, and he doesn't try to help them. It's too much trouble for him. He'd sooner do all the work himself and get it done faster."
"That's what I was thinking," she muttered. "He could do this faster than I could."
"Probably, but better? That's subjective. I probably shouldn't say this since he's your boss, but Leo is a man who surrounds himself with only the best because he doesn't have patience for mediocre. Whenever he handpicks a team, he chooses only those he knows are better than him to do a given task. Lucy," he said seriously. "He handpicked you. If he's actually offering you guidance, then he must adamantly believe in your potential."
"He does?" Lucy asked in astonishment. "Me?"
"If he didn't, he would have just done it himself and gotten it over with. He must truly believe you have the skill to come up with something even better than he could."
Lucy laughed and shook her head. Her, better than Loke? No way! Yet, these were the words of someone who had known Loke since preschool, someone who knew how his mind worked, especially being trained in psychology. Capricorn had no reason to lie to her, so it must be the truth. Still, it seemed impossible. How could she possibly surpass the creativeness of a renown man like Loke Leo?
Capricorn chuckled to himself. "You remind me of him when he was younger. Reckless, hardworking, voracious when it comes to the things you like. Perhaps he senses that about you."
Lucy laughed awkwardly and blushed. Obviously, he was overestimating her. Still, hearing it made her tremendously happy. "Thank you. You've made me feel like I can do this."
"I'm sure he's hoping you continue to develop your talent, and he sees this as your chance to truly shine like a star. Maybe," he murmured, "it's because you're like him that he put the moves on you."
Lucy's jaw dropped open. "What? P- … Put the moves on me? What are you talking about?"
He looked up in confusion. "What? Didn't he sleep with you that night after the awards ceremony?"
If her jaw could have dropped lower, it would have. Instead, her heart plummeted. How did Capricorn know that? Did Loke tell him? Were there rumors? Maybe Cana was right and it was obvious.
Oh right … Capricorn was at the bar that night, too. Did he see something?
"I studied psychology, dear. When there's that sort of mood between two people, the odds are high that they'll eventually get together. And I know Leo. He doesn't do things halfway. If he was as interested in you as he seemed to be at the bar, it was obvious to me, as his friend, that he was going to get you into his bed at some point."
"R-Really?" she stuttered.
"Yes, and I knew just from watching him, how happy he's been these past few weeks, that's precisely what he did. Oh, don't misunderstand," he said with assurance. "I didn't hear it from him. He's still hiding it from me, maybe to protect you."
"So then how…"
"How do I know so certainly? Well, many thing. For one, he can't be bothered to take care of someone who's had too many drinks. He's no lightweight, you see. He gets frustrated when those around him start to act drunk. But that night at the bar, he wouldn't let me help you home."
"What? Help me? You?"
"Of course. I offered my assistance and said I'd take you back to your apartment. I am a doctor, after all. Taking care of people is what I do. However, Leo said he'd see you home and quite firmly turned me down. Normally, he'd consider a thing like that a nuisance, but he was watching you quite affectionately. I was actually worried a bit more that he might take advantage of you while you were so drunk. He … didn't, did he?"
"W-well," Lucy muttered. "It was pretty much mutual."
"That's good. I don't know if Leo knew what he was doing at that moment," Capricorn went on, "but he was certainly attracted to you. More than just physically. After all, he went out of his way to care for you, all by himself. He was quite adamant about it, in fact."
Loke was already attracted to her? Was that why he ran after her in the rain when she wandered off drunk, hailed a cab for them, took her to a hotel, and when she said she loved him, he embraced her like that?
All this time, she had thought she put the moves on him when they got to the hotel, and he just went along with it because she was a bit cute. Instead, he had planned from the start to care for her that night, but it was just chance that lead them to that hotel room, where Lucy must have appeared to return his already-developing affectionate feelings. When she threw off her clothes and came at him, he did not push her away, although a part of him knew he should. He was already attracted, and she made it clear that she had feelings for him.
It had never been a mistake. He had actually gone out of his way to care for her, something that normally annoyed him, all because…
"I wanted to make love to you, and I did. There's nothing to regret in that respect."
Capricorn smiled at her. "A man like him does what he wants to do and never regrets it."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you a mind reader?"
"Please. I'm a doctor; I don't have any sort of mystical, celestial abilities."
He said that, yet he read her mind so clearly. Obviously, like Loke, Capricorn was no ordinary man. No wonder the two had been friends for such a long time.
"Now, as the company doctor, I insist that you go home and get to bed. Your brain needs rest in order to be creative."
Lucy sighed but nodded. She collected her proposal and let Capricorn lead her out of the building.
"Perhaps another day I can tell you about the time little Loke got detention for talking back to a teacher who was actually wrong about a math problem."
Lucy giggled, totally able to imagine the dashing ginger as being smarter than the teachers and refusing to put up with incompetence. "I'd like to hear that."
"Until next time then, Ms. Heartfilia."
"Thank you for the encouragement, Dr. Capricorn." She waved goodbye and walked to the train station with a lighter heart.
- 16
- 17
- 18
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Stellar Mistakes	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 14748 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I make money from this fanfic.

Stellar Mistakes