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Lucy's heart throbbed painfully in time with the clock as she watched the time between now and her birthday dwindle.
Her birthday had never been her favorite time of year — too many disappointments to fully shake the trepidation she felt as the day grew nearer and nearer. At first, she had been looking forward to her birthday, excited to finally have friends to share it with.
Not that that would ever happen — she must be doomed to celebrate her birthday alone every year since Fairy Tail dissolved and everyone scattered to the wind. She's been able to keep track of most of the members — Wendy joined Lamia Scale; Levy and Gajeel are working for the Council; Laxus and the Thunder Legion are in Blue Pegasus, but some, like Natsu and Happy, have seemingly disappeared off the face of earthland.
So when she wakes up on her birthday, she's more than a little surprised to hear someone clamoring around in the kitchen, with a sweet smell in the air. The clamoring wasn't unusual to her — when you practically lived with Natsu and Happy, you quickly got used to a near constant ruckus.
It was the second part that really startled her. Despite fire magic being his whole shtick, Natsu couldn't cook to save his life — outside, using his magic to quickly roast whatever meat was in front of him.
Ok, so not Natsu but maybe another guild mate had snuck in at some point and wanted a snack? It took her a second to remember that nobody else knew where she was, she had left her old apartment in Magnolia with no forwarding address and none of the other dragon slayers were likely to have memorized her scent.
Maybe Wendy? But why would she be in Crocus? Also, Wendy was too polite to let herself into Lucy's apartment — especially after leaving so suddenly.
Ah, so it must be a robber, she can deal with a robber, and she doesn't even need her keys to do it! She grabbed the handle of her whip and slowly crept from behind the curtain that separated her space from the rest of her studio apartment to the kitchen.
Behind the small stove stood Capricorn, flipping some perfectly cooked pancakes onto one of her plates while Loke was loading grounds into her coffee machine. Both heads snapped to hers as the spirits finally felt her magic was finally starting to wake up with the rest of her.
“Not that I'm not glad to see you guys, but what are you doing here?” asked Lucy with a yawn.
“We're here to spoil our favorite Princess on her birthday,” said Loke.
“Yes, I have missed celebrating so many of your birthdays, Lady Lucy, and I would be remiss if I missed anymore,” said Capricorn, looking at her with a soft smile.
Before she could protest the two spirits’ spoiling of her, Loke had already begun leading her to her loveseat with the coffee he had prepared for her. Capricorn followed shortly with a stack of pancakes smothered in syrup with a lit candle on top and a small bowl of diced strawberries in one hand and a small navy box decorated with a gold ribbon.
“You know you guys didn't have to make me breakfast, right?” She asked the spirits.
“Of course, Princess. We just wanted to spoil you this morning — now eat up so you open your gift,” Loke said with a wink.
Knowing how stubborn her wonderful spirits were, Lucy just shrugged before blowing out the candle and making a wish. Capricorn's pancakes were probably the best she's ever had. The strawberries, too, were delicious; the natural sugars helping her wake up. She almost didn't want to finish them, but she knew that both spirits would be disappointed that she didn't finish her meal.
As soon as she put her fork down for the final time, the plate was quickly whisked away by Capricorn before she could protest. She tried to get up and follow him to the kitchen. Loke had shoved the small box in front of her.
“This is from all of us, Princess. Happy birthday,” Loke stated.
Inside the small box was a delicately decorated bracelet with the emblems of her spirits spanning the width of the gift. She could feel the power emanating from it, too.
“The bracelet is Celestial Steel — which can't be melted by any fire here in the mortal realm. Each charm has a small amount of your spirits magic embedded within it, similar to your Star Dress but less magic intensive, in case you need us but dont have enough magic” explained Capricorn.
“Oh, and not just the powers of your current spirits either. The King himself insisted that some of Aquarius’ magic be added as well. She wishes you a happy birthday, by the way,” said Loke.
Lucy was speechless. A powerful gift in its own right, but for the King to not only have given her Aquarius' Star Dress, but to also insist the bracelet had some of her magic? For her? She couldn't believe it, someone needed to pinch for lest she keep thinking it was a dream.