Celestial Heart (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Epilogue: The Princess to Your Knight

Fairy Tail was notorious for its lack of screening when accepting new members. They were a ragtag group of wizards, really, thrown together by fate and encircled by criticism. Some of it deserved, most of it outlandish.

But that made them no less of a family, even when it came out that they'd been housing a fallen star for approximately three years.

The news was, unsurprisingly, well-met by all - unless you wished to count Happy in that category, as his first reaction upon hearing that Loke was in actuality Leo the Lion was to demand if lion was simply another way of saying grown-up cat (to which Loke cheerily agreed, much to the Heartfilia twins' immense distaste).

There was, however, one drawback, so to speak, in that Loke no longer possessed any inhibitions whatsoever in terms of his interactions with Winter. Such as in the case when, mere moments after finishing a conversation with Natsu and Lucy, he cleanly scooped said Celestial Wizard into his arms and walked away, without a hint of remorse in his jovial footsteps.

"You know, Winter... there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

Winter struggled to right herself in the Spirit's arms, a bit uncomfortable. Finding it was a fruitless endeavor, she huffed moodily, succeedng only in dislodging the bangs from her eyes and releasing a speck of her inner frustration. "Eh? What is it? And could you maybe put me down while you're at it...?"

A slow, flirtatious smile graced Loke's lips as he tucked the glowering blonde against his chest. He nuzzled into her neck, his warm breath fanning out over the prickling skin - clearly wishing to incite trouble. "Nope! That would be wrong, seeing as how you're my princess."

"Gah. Shut up or get on with it!" Her face flushed with heat; the world went fuzzy and unfocused the closer Loke got to her, and she wasn't particularly fond of the experience.

Drawing back, Loke chuckled. He'd forgotten how uncharacteristically volatile her reactions to affection could be. From him, in any case. "Right. About that... When you summoned all your Celestial Spirits... I got the feeling that, instead of calling them, it was more like... they were attracted to you."

"Attracted...?" Winter blinked, unsure she'd heard him right. However, when the thoughtful look remained in Loke's eyes, unchanged apart from an oddly steely glint she was sure hadn't been there a moment before. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, but...," Loke said, lifting his gaze to the passing clouds, "it wasn't a normal summoning by any means. And you've done it before, with Taurus."

"Ah. I'd almost forgotten about that..."

His lips quirked into a frown. "Well! I wouldn't worry about it, so long as it means I don't have any competition~!"

"Wha-?!" Startled, Winter twisted sharply in Loke's arms, angling his face upwards so as to meet his descending gaze. "Competition? For what, exactly?"

It was infuriating her how she found it near-impossible to decide whether his smirk was... sexy or too... Candor-esque. "For my princess' kiss, of course!"

Lividly denying the flames licking at her cheeks (and their migrating companions who found it necessary to settle in the still-sensitive skin of her neck), Winter shoved her hands into Loke's chest, forcing herself from his arms. She stumbled slightly, landing awkwardly on her heel, but regained her balance without assistance and spun precisely on her toe to face the grinning Spirit. "Gah, even when I know you're a Celestial Spirit, you don't change! I really thought that might've been an act before!"

Winter's pride denied her the luxury of simply coming clean and confessing the intense feeling of joy that bubbled up inside her whenever the idea of kissing Loke crossed her mind (as it had been doing for several days continuously, despite her desire for peaceful slumber).

"Some of it was," Loke admitted with a chaste smile, taking the small step forward that once again brought the two so close that their seemingly synchronized breaths mingled. "Whenever I was with those other girls, all I could think about was how much I'd rather be with you."

"...You're... surprisingly candid..."

"I'm done with lying, Winter. Now that you know the truth about me, and now that... I can actually think about the future... I don't have any reason to hold back."

Winter paused. "Huh." A rusted gear clicked; her mind whirred to life. He was giving her free reign to do as she liked. "Same goes for me then, I guess."

There was no hesitation in her movements as she looped both arms around the Spirit's neck, pulling him closer than even her daydreamed self had dared. She pushed off on her toes - not bothering to staunch her rather manic smile - and pressed her lips to his.

And for those of Team Natsu crouched among the neighborhood' spotted shrubbery, it was agreed that this was a much more believable romance than the short-lived fairy tale of the Prince and Princess of Ice.

the end

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You guys sad yet?

Well. Don't be, 'kay?

Welcome to the end of Celestial Heart... and the beginning of Celestial Memories!

The sequel should be up reeeaaaal soon. Promise!

Oh, and as for those lovely looking folk in the picture on the side (or at the top, if you're reading this on the app), it's as the alert says: They're a few nifty people I'll be introducing in book two. I decided to do a sort of teaser to see if anyone could make a guess as to who they are. I'm really interested in what you guys' thoughts are!

In any case, thank you so much for all the amazing support I've received for this book. I've loved writing it from start to finish, and I hope you've felt the same reading it. Here's hoping book two (and book three!) are just as successful!