The stars are lit up with Love

A small chat

Their mission, despite the planning setback, had been a rousing success. It turned out that if you put two string guilds together, then powerful evil guild or no, they were going to win. She should be more thankful. With the excuse of powerful allies at her side she hadn't needed to summon Loke or Aries, her other spirits did the job just fine. Which meant she held off on seeing them get hurt with the new emotions of their relationship tied to it, and she didn't need to answer their not so silent questions about why she'd been clinging to them so tightly. It had been mortifying and she was glad for the excuse her team gave her to close their gates instead of answering. She was well and truly a coward.

She signed deeply in her bed, she couldn't sleep. These swirling worries and rising guilt was a dangerous concoction, refusing her rest. She pulled herself up, rather reluctantly. Though she was sat up, it felt like gravity was pulling down on her, her fatigue weighed her down. She reached out for her keys, but stopped just before her fingers touched the pouch. Was it a good idea to summon them? She needed this worry off her chest, needed them to know that if she started dragging them down then they could just-

She pulled away, a coward in every sense of the word. She played with her fingers, interlocking them as she got trapped in her thoughts. She was spiralling and she knew it, but being aware that her mind was taking a dark turn and stopping it, were two very different things. She closed her eyes tightly, breathing deeply and fighting against her own mind. They didn't need her insecurity, it wasn't fair or right. She wasn't sure how long she sat there before a small voice broke into her thoughts.

"Lucy? Are you ok?"

She'd never heard him sound so unsure before, so it caught her by complete surprise and dragged her attention to him. Loke stood at the foot of the bed, fretting and seeming out of place. He was looking at her but small twitches told her he could turn away at any moment. He was nervous. Had he picked up on her negativity? Her connection to all her spirits was getting stronger these days, had just being near her keys been enough? That was a problem for another time, right now she had to face the one in front of her.

"I'm...I can't lie can I?"

He hummed quietly in response, barely concealed concern bleeding through.

"I'd rather you didn't...but do whatever you're comfortable with"

She didn't say anything and he patiently waited for her decision, one way or the other. She dug down deep and found some small nugget of confidence. They deserved her best after all. She reached more firmly for her keys and caught him flinching in the corner of her eye. She could sympathise with his fear, but she wasn't about to shut him down. With one quick motion she opened the pouch and pulled out Aries's key. He was relieved but still looked at her with hints of confusion.

"This is something I should tell you both"

"Oh...ok?"

That hadn't helped, rather she could tell he was now panicked there was something wrong with them. But they were never an issue, it was all her. She had to bite back a wave of sadness as she summoned Aries.

The sheep spirit appeared by Loke, looking no less concerned, perhaps even more so.

"L-Lucy? What's wrong?"

Somehow, it was a hundred times worse with them both worrying about her. She felt herself frown, she could only hope this was nothing.

"It's...It's something I noticed recently that burrowed itself into my mind and won't leave. I want to talk about it now before it festers and makes me panic more. It's something so small I know that, but...would you both hear me out?"

They shared a look with each other and she wished she knew what they were actually communicating, and not just what her brain was telling her. They split apart, slowly walking around the bed to sit down on both sides of her. They each slowly took one of her hands, and she was slightly off put by the sheer amount of comfort that brought her.