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Lion's Pride	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 10067 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I make no money writing this. I do it for my own pleasure. Any lyrics are my own or I received permission from the artist.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
For my epigraph, I used to have the first stanza to The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go." Thanks to SakuraXxXIchigo who noted that Loke's plight is reminiscent of this song. When I listened to it with that in mind, this chapter popped into my head almost in its entirety. It's now Loke's "theme song" throughout the next few chapters. I truly can't listen to it without a dire urge to write more "Lion's Pride." See, your reviews inspire this story to be even better! However, since quoting song lyrics is not allowed, and I don't want this story to get deleted for four lines from a song, I'll let you go google that song, read the lyrics, and you will understand why it fits Loke's plight. See, I'm a good girl! If I can't get permission like I did in Chapter 10's lyrics, I'll remove them.

Chapter 25

Gray to Brighten the Shadows
Two months passed in a blur of snow and joy. January came and went. February brought a fierce chill and record snowfall in Magnolia, so Lucy and Loke spent most of their time indoors playing with Luke. The baby could now sit up on his own and loved to crawl around, looking just like an awkward little lion cub with his blond hair sticking out wildly. He grew out of all his clothes, and Lucy had to buy new outfits for him every week. Because of his accelerated growth, she often just let him crawl around in nothing but a diaper.
"If he ends up with Gray's habit of going around naked, we know why," Loke teased.
"Nana...naka...nakee..." Luke babbled.
Lucy stepped up next to Loke and snuggled into his embrace. "Maybe he's trying to say 'naked.' That had better not be his first word."
"He isn't talking yet, is he?" Loke pouted, looking concerned for the baby.
"Dear, he shouldn't even be crawling yet. I'm a little worried," she pouted. "What if his body can't keep up with his growth? Remember when I was captured and went just one day without food?"
"Gah-bah!" Luke cried out, and reached his pudgy hands up to her. It was his signal that he was hungry again.
Lucy hefted him up and lifted her shirt for him to nurse. "He eats constantly. I can't keep breastfeeding him like this."
"Well, at least your breasts are big enough to hold plenty of milk," Loke teased, staring at her exposed bosom.
Lucy glared at him for joking about something that truly concerned her. "What if something happens and he can't eat?"
Loke stopped ogling her. He knew she worried, and honestly so did he. He feared for both of them, his special and brand new family, the Lion's own "pride." He held her close and kissed her head as he gazed down at the loving scene of a mother feeding her child. Such tenderness always made his stomach flutter and his eyes burn, although he could not understand how something so natural made him want to weep with happiness.
Luke's huge brown eyes opened to look at him as he enjoyed his meal. Lucy's eyes, yet shaped like Loke's! The child's eyes and that gold and ginger hair...everything about him was a perfect blend of mother and father. Loke blinked hard to clear away the tears that threatened to spill his dark secret.
"I'll make sure nothing like that happens," he swore softly. "I won't let anything bad happen to either of you. Besides," he said lightly, trying to shrug off his misgivings, "I'm sure the growth spurt will taper off."
"But no one knows for sure," she reminded him. "Zeref is the only other Human-Spirit hybrid, and no one knows anything about his childhood." Luke did not eat much. It was never a lot, but it was constant. Lucy tried to put him on her shoulder to burp him, but he began to fuss.
"Dah! Dah!" It was his way of saying he wanted down.
Lucy placed him on a play mat, and he crawled off fast to where Proto sat with his stuffed arms folded sternly. Luke laughed at the bear and slapped both arms with his palms. The bear put his arms forward, and Luke began a clapping game with the Protecto-Bear as he happily babbled to himself.
Lucy sighed and lamented, "I feel like I won't get to enjoy any of his childhood."
"Don't say that," Loke said soothingly. Privately, he thought 'If anyone is going to miss his childhood, it'll be me.'
Loke sighed at the worst-case scenarios that always played through his mind, everything from his trial taking weeks or months—which in the Human World meant years or decades—to the Spirit King deciding to simply keep Loke locked up indefinitely. Whenever those fears came to mind, he would look to Luke, to his adorable son, his own flesh and blood, and think 'How can I possibly let myself give him up?'
"I'm gonna head out and get more diapers," he said and kissed Lucy goodbye.
Loke stepped out into the snowy afternoon and watched his breath fog in front of him. From atop Fairy Hills, he could see the white vastness, more beautiful than the Spirit World, but very cold. Magnolia sprawled out just down the hill, and only steep roofs pierced through the shroud of snow. He stuck his hands into his suit coat pockets and headed down the hill.
Instead of the baby store, he walked in another direction, crunching over the snow that muffled the world around him. He saw who he was looking for long before he came to his house. Gray stood on his roof doing postures that Loke guessed corresponded to various Ice-Make moves. All he wore were boxers, but it seemed his neighbors were used to the half-naked mage by now.
"Gray!"
The raven-haired man stopped in the middle of going from one posture to another and looked down to the street. "Ah, Loke! What are you doing out in the cold? Shouldn't you at least wear a jacket?"
"You're one to talk! I wanted to speak with you."
"Be right down." He left to another part of the roof and vanished. By the time Loke got to his front door, Gray was opening it. "Come on in. I have some mulled apple cider cooked up."
Loke sat on a couch and watched Gray ladle out two mugs of cider from a crock. He brought over Loke's cup, sat down across from him, and blew on the steam rising from his mug.
"How's Lucy and the kid? Haven't seen you guys around the guild since the weather went bad."
Loke looked in a daze. "Staying home, keeping warm."
"That's good, I guess. Don't want the little cub to get sick. So, what's up?"
Loke stared into his cup for a solid, silent minute. Gray saw the concern in his face and decided to simply wait until Loke was ready to talk. Somewhere in the room, a clock ticked away the seconds. Gray lifted his mug and took a sip that sounded far too noisy in such a heavy atmosphere.
"Hey Gray," Loke finally said, trying to sound casual despite the awkwardness that had already set in between them. "When I was gone, you comforted Lucy, right?"
Gray's throat clenched, and he cringed away slightly in worry. "I...th-that is...really, nothing happened, I swear!"
"No, I mean...she could turn to you," Loke said with a faint smile. "People said you looked after her, were there every day, cooked for her, catered to her. She felt comfortable with you around, right?"
"I...guess so." Gray warily took a sip of cider. He recalled just how awkward it had been at first, especially after he told Lucy he thought she was beautiful. It was not really a confession, but it might as well have been one.
"Good, I'm glad. You see," he said, still only staring at his mug, "I may have to leave again."
Gray sputtered out his drink and set the cup down so hard some cider spilled out. "What?" he bellowed.
"Not long. At least, I hope not long. Spirits perceive time much differently. It very well may be many months to conclude the trial."
"Trial?" shouted Gray. His brow tightened, and he asked in caution, "Loke, are you in trouble with the Spirit World again?"
The Lion Spirit's lips tugged upward with a dim sadness in his shaded eyes. Loke finally lifted the mug to his mouth and took a generous gulp. "Good cider, nicely spiced and perfectly sweetened. I should bring Lucy over for a drink. She'd love this."
"Loke!" Gray yelled, irritated that he was sidestepping the issue.
He sighed and set his cup down. "The truth is, I was never out of trouble. I was given a small leave, a conjugal visit of sorts, nothing more. The trial to determine my fate will be in the Spring, and I don't know how long it might last."
"I see," Gray muttered, not liking the idea, but he supposed something like a trial was unavoidable if Loke broke a law of the Spirit World. "Does Lucy know?"
He shook his head. "I haven't had to heart to tell her."
"You need to," he warned.
"I know, I will, and soon. I...I'm just trying to get things in order before then," he explained, but he sounded desperate. "I want all possible issues covered, that way there's nothing for her to worry about when I tell her. Just in case the worst happens—if I'm detained for a long time, if the trial lasts a few years..." His throat cracked and Loke unexpectedly sniffed. "God, I hope it doesn't!" he wailed out. He covered his mouth, slammed his eyes shut, and turned his head aside to hide his shame for crying.
Gray politely looked away and tried to focus on listening to the ticking clock rather than the suppressed sobs in front of him. He could not even begin to imagine Loke's fears. He tried. He thought how it might be if he had to leave Fairy Tail and knew he might be gone for a long time. If the guild found out about him leaving, they would all be sad, likely try to convince him to stay. Would it be better to tell them and face them day after day as they stared at him like a lost soul, or worst yet, like a traitor? Or was it better to wait until the last moment, then simply walk away?
"Lucy needs someone."
The whispered words brought over Gray's attention, but Loke still could not face him. The flickering light from the fireplace made the lines of tears steaming down his cheeks shimmer golden.
"When I'm gone, she'll need someone to be there for her, to care for her. Luke, he...he's going to need a...a man around." Loke tried to laugh, but it shook out unsteadily. "You know, someone to teach him and...and someone to...to play ball with him and tuck him into bed at night." To Gray, it sounded like each word shattered a little bit of Loke's heart. "I know Natsu will fight through Hell itself to protect Lucy, but he's absentminded, destructive, and a bit childish. I trust you to care for her emotionally. She...she needs someone like you, Gray. They both do." His throat clenched to say it, and a wave of guilt made Loke want to cry again.
Gray looked aside in regret. "I don't think I'm the best person, Loke."
A laugh airily burst out. He sniffed it back, wiped his eyes, and looked over with a smile. His blue shades barely hid the pink tint around his eyelids and the lashes that stuck together with tears. "Hey, we were partners! I trust you, Gray. More than anyone else! I know you'll take care of whatever Lucy and Luke need. Now, I need to talk to a few others. Next week is Lover's Day. We have reservations to a nice resort. I'll tell Lucy then. Please, don't hint anything to her until I'm ready to tell her in my own way." Loke finished off the cider and set the mug down. "That really is good stuff. You'll have to tell me the recipe." Then he excused himself and left.
Gray sat still and stared at his steamy mug, lost in a tempest of emotions. How could Loke trust him? He knew Gray liked Lucy. Loke had even called him out on it when the whole pregnancy thing started up. So how could he put Lucy's emotional well-being into his hands?
Or was that precisely why he could? Because he knew Gray liked Lucy too much to do anything that would hurt her.
Gray just wished he felt the same confidence. He wished he could trust himself.

End of Chapter 25

Rhov's Corner:
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule, and here's to finishing this story before 2012 ends!
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Lion's Pride