The Engagement Game

Because I Love You

"Hey. I've got a question for ya, will you marry me?"

Lucy's heart pounded as she recalled the scene from the Grand Magic Games; the question Loke had been talking about. "He was serious?!"

There the kittenish male waited, still knelt on his knee in front of her. There was a genuinely anxious, tempting smile stained on his lips, along with a tint of pink in his cheeks.

They were being stared at. Loke looked like a dream... his sweet smile and pleading eyes pierced her own, begging her to say yes. It was tempting to do so, but her common sense told her hell no. She'd never felt so nervous in her life. In the heat of the moment, Lucy blurted out an answer. "Y-yes...?!" She covered her mouth after speaking, hoping she somehow managed to go unheard, but the answer was clear; she did not.

Loke blinked what seemed to be a hundred times. He froze in place, staring into Lucy's brown eyes, looking like he was going to faint. As for the townsfolk, a few cheers and claps could be heard from them.

"She... actually said yes?" The stunned, flushed spirit was then dragged onto his feet and away from the town by his... fiancée?

When the two of them got a good distances from the town, Lucy let go of her spirit's sleeve and turned to him viciously. "What the hell were you thinking?!" She asked him out loud, but couldn't be heard through his thoughts.

"She actually said yes. Lucy Heartfilia just said she'll marry me... is this real?"

"Loke!" Lucy's voice finally broke through his thoughts, snapping him back into reality.

"Ah! Y-yes, love?"

"Don't call me that."

"Yes... honey?"

"No!" Lucy growled in distress. "Why did you do that?" She mumbled angrily, looking down to hide her face.

"Because," the lion's thumb rested below her chin, gently lifting it so she could look into his eyes as he said his next words. "I love you." He replied in a serious tone, with a smitten look on his faintly flushed face. His words were smooth and genuine-sounding, almost actually convincing.

Lucy stared into his tempting eyes, hiding behind those azure glasses. "Don't you have like forty other girls waiting for you to ask them that instead?"

"Yes, probably..." Loke nodded admittedly. He suddenly pulled Lucy into his arms, resting his chin just above her shoulder and speaking softly in her ear, "but I don't love them— I'm only in love with one girl; that's you."

She roughly brushed him off and took a step back, very red in the face. "You can't be serious..."

"I'm completely serious." He looked down at the angry girl with relaxed eyes, as a smirk rose to his lips. "Besides, you said yes."

He was right; Lucy did already agree to this, out of panic, or not. She tried to think of a quick excuse to get out of her situation. Sure, she was used to putting him down when he flirted, but this was so much different— so much more real than she thought. It wasn't a game. "Aha! That's it!" "But this is just a game." She sighed, unknowingly shattering the mighty lion's fragile heart.

"W-what?" Loke felt a lump in his stomach; a deep, unbearable pain.

"You're playing games with me. That's what this is, right?" Lucy continued. "I'm still not falling for you... I know you're a player." Not only did that statement hurt Loke, but Lucy as well. How could he claim to love her when he probably said that to so many other girls? It somehow hurt her to accept that probability.

The zodiac leader stood there, speechless, feeling nothing but his heart sink even further. Still, he pulled a smug grin and pushed his glasses back into place. "Hah. I'm not playing with you... but if you want to be stubborn, that's fine with me."

Lucy was confused. "There's no way he could really be in love with me... besides, isn't there some kind of law against that? A spirit and their wizard can't be together... can they?" She was pulled from her thoughts when the ginger quickly took her by the hand.

"How can I prove to you that I'm serious about this?" His expression made it clear that he was in fact serious. Lucy felt the urge to pull her hand out of his grip, but instead, only stared. Loke still had the same solemn look in his eyes from before, only instead, this was a disappointed, desperate kind of serious.

"I... I don't know." She answered truthfully.

He took a moment to think. "If I can prove that I'm not playing games, will you marry me?"

Lucy became flushed in the face again, taking in the words he said carefully. "What about me? What do I get if you can't prove it?"

Loke scratched his head, looking to the ground. "Gosh, um... I'll... stop flirting with you? Yeah. All or nothing; if I don't win your heart, I'll give you up." He nodded sadly, then gave a reassuring smile. "But don't worry, it won't affect our contract in any way. I would never abandon you just because you don't feel the same."

That wasn't the deal! This was about proving that he loved her, not that she loved him! "Sure, something like that." Lucy agreed, which caused the lion to frown a little. "So, basically, we'll play a game to prove you're not playing a game?"

"Yes. And if I can do it, will-"

"Don't say it again, please!" Lucy shouted, showing obvious embarrassment in hearing that question.

He let out a chuckle. "Alright, I won't say it... but will you?"

Lucy's heart was racing and beating rapidly. Marry him if he could prove she was the only girl he wanted? That's a big, real decision. Then again, as much as she wanted to, she knew she'd never believe him... "Okay!" The blonde nodded to him confidently, accepting his proposal—pun intended. "If you somehow manage to get me to believe you, I'll-" she stopped herself as the blush rose to her cheeks again.

"Marry me?" The sly cat smirked, finishing her sentence for her.

Lucy whined in embarrassment, hitting him in the chest. "I told you not to say it again!"

Loke wasn't sorry. He loved seeing Lucy get so embarrassed over the thought of them being together. His pride was interrupted, noticing the blonde giving him what almost looked like a mischievous glare.

"But, there's one catch," she started, really getting his attention now. "You can only have thirty days."