The party at the Fairy Tail good was in full swing; as it had been for the last two weeks. Raucous laughter was punctuated by the occasional flying chair or table as the entire guild celebrated the return of one of their own. Lisanna had returned to them, as though by an act of providence, and the guild was sparing no reason to prolong the welcome home party as long as possible. Missed birthdays, Christmases and various holidays were all being made up for in one frenzied, inevitably drunken fervor. The guild's celestial mage, one Lucy Heartfilia, sat in one of the corners, resting her head in her hand as she watched her guildmates with an amused smile.

"Hey, Lu. What's wrong?"

The blond in question turned to her blue haired friend, "Oh, nothing's wrong, Levy. I just needed a break, you know. I think if I even consider taking so much as another sip of alcohol, I'll drown."

Levy laughed at her and nodded her understanding, "Yeah, this has got to be some kind of record. But what a miracle though. To think she was alive all this time."

"Yeah, I'm really happy for everyone. Especially Mira and Elfman. The entire guild seems brighter than before."

Levy smiled and nodded, and the two girls spent some time simply watching the festivities. At length, Lucy sighed and stood, "Well, I'm going to head home. Two weeks of straight partying really takes it out of you. See you!" With a wave, the blond made her precarious way to the exit, masterfully dodging the errant furniture that came her way.

"There you are!"

"Ah! Landlady!" The blond couldn't help the cold sweat that broke across her skin as the older woman glared at her. Something told her this wasn't a simple exchange of pleasantries.

"You didn't pay your rent."

Lucy flinched, mentally going over the calendar before blanching, "I… Uh…"

"I expect the full payment by the end of this week."

"Yes, ma'am!" Lucy squeaked with a fearful salute before ducking into her apartment. Groaning to herself, she made her way to a small box and slipped a small key into the lock, "I was so caught up in the party that I completely forgot about rent. Can't believe it," She counted the jewel she'd been saving and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I'm only 20,000 off. I can go on a small job tomorrow and get this out of my hair." Nodding to herself, she wandered into the kitchen and opened the cupboards. Her eyebrow ticked in irritation as she realized her walking garbage disposal of a partner had cleaned out her foodstuffs again. Grumbling, she walked back to her box, opened it, and withdrew a small amount before venturing out to find a cheap meal.

"Maybe I should switch to vegetarian. That would keep him from eating everything," she mumbled to herself as she walked back, with her small order of sushi. She really did need to do something about her team's utter disregard for personal space. Yes, she loved them dearly, but she really couldn't afford to fill their stomachs and replace the furniture they damaged on a weekly basis. Shaking her head, she changed for bed, resolving to take a job first thing the next morning.

The guild was experiencing a rare moment of silence when she slipped through the doors early the next morning. Smiling serenely to herself, Lucy carefully stepped over her slumbering guildmates as she made her way over to the job board. She'd decided last night that she was going to take this job on her own; everyone was still so wrapped up in celebrations, and she didn't want to spoil that for anyone. She'd take a modest job, one that she could confidently do without the brute strength of her team. The idea of receiving the full reward made her somewhat giddy as she scanned the job board for potential candidates. Finally, a flier caught her eye. A shipping crew just outside of Acalypha wanted some extra hands with offloading some delicate cargo, and an escort into town. Her eyes widened at the reward: 150,000 jewel. She nodded to herself; Taurus could offload cargo without breaking a sweat, and it wasn't too far between the loading bay and the town.

"Acalypha, huh?" Lucy murmured, turning her gaze towards the sleeping Strauss family. All three of them were cuddled together, finally reunited. The sight put a thoughtful frown on Lucy's face. Her father worked at the merchant's guild in Acalypha. She'd be right there, maybe it would be nice to visit? She chewed her bottom lip doubtfully, remembering the myriad times she'd tried to visit her father in his study back home. It had never gone well. She shook herself, "Then and now are not the same," She murmured. Besides, her father had tried to reach out to her. Pride would only rob them both of more time. She had the opportunity to make amends and start fixing the bond between her and her father; she needed to take it.

"Up so early, my child?"

Lucy turned sharply to see Master Makarov smiling at her from his current position on the bartop.

"Good morning, Master. I was just looking for a job."

"First solo mission, eh? Let's have a look."

Obediently, Lucy handed the flier over for the older man to inspect. At length, he nodded his approval, "Yes, yes. You should be just fine on your own for this one. I'm proud to see you spreading your wings a bit, Lucy."

"Thank you, Master. Could you mark me down for a few more days?"

"Hm? This is a simple mission, it shouldn't take more than half a day to complete."

"I know, but… My father works in Acalypha. I thought it might be nice to visit him."

It may have been a trick of the light, but Lucy could have sworn she'd seen tears in the master's eyes. However, when he turned around, he was wearing one of the biggest grins she'd ever seen, "What a thoughtful idea. Of course, my dear. Take the week and reconnect. We never do hold family quite as close as we should, after all."

"Thank you, Master Makarov."

"Oh, Lucy! You're here early," Mirajane had managed to untangle herself from her siblings and was smiling at the blond.

"Good morning, Mira."

"Can I interest you in some strawberry pancakes this morning?"

"Always, Mira."

The bombshell barmaid laughed lightly and began making breakfast, the aromas slowly awakening the rest of the guild.

"Lucy!"

"Hey, Happy."

"Natsu and I are gonna take Lisanna fishing today. Come with us!"

"Yeah, Luce, it'll be fun."

Lucy shook her head, "Sorry, guys, but I have a job today."

"Oh, where are we going?"

"No, no, you don't need to come. Go fishing. Have fun. You should spend this time with Lisanna and catch up. Besides, the weather's perfect for fishing."

"But-"

"Don't worry, Natsu. It's just a small, easy job to cover rent. Since I forgot to pay it last week."

Natsu gave her a blank look before realization dawned on his face, "Oh, no! We completely forgot! We were gonna take a job before the whole Edolas thing and then the party… Sorry, Luce."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I forgot about it too."

"I'm sure Lisanna will understand… Hey, maybe we can bring her with us! I'll go let her know."

Lucy quickly grabbed Natsu's wrist before he could get too far, "Hold on a second, Natsu. It's fine. I can handle this one on my own."

He frowned at her, "But… We're partners."

"Of course we are. But that doesn't mean we need to do every job together. You and Happy go on missions without me sometimes, too. Besides… This one's in Acalypha."

"What's in Acalypha?"

"Isn't that were your dad lives now?" Happy inquired around a mouthful of fish.

"That's right. I'm going to visit him when I'm done with the job, and I would rather… Well…"

"She wants some time to reconnect with him, just like I've been doing with Mira and Elfman," Lisanna sat down in one of the vacant seats, "I heard what happened with him, but I'm glad that you're trying to work past that and make things right."

"Thank you."

Lisanna smiled brightly at the blond, "Take all the time you need; I've learned that Fairy Tail will always be waiting for you. And when you do get back, we can all go fishing together."

Lucy nodded, "That sounds like a plan, I'll definitely be looking forward to it. Keep Natsu in check for me, will you?"

"Oh, give me the easy job, why don't you?" Lisanna joked back, laughingly, "Good luck on your job, Lucy. Be safe."

"You're sure you don't want us to come with you?" Natsu pouted at her, but Lucy could tell that he also really wanted to spend time with Lisanna.

"I'll be fine. You know I'm never alone, anyway. I'll be back before you guys can even miss me. That's a promise." Lucy waved as she headed back to her apartment to pack. Since the master had given her a week's leave, Lucy was going to make the most of it. Of course, she was still mindful that she needed to be back before the end of the week to pay her rent, but that didn't mean she couldn't spend some extra time out. She decided that five days would be a suitable amount of time, and would give her some wiggle room to ensure she made it back on time. Once she'd packed everything she'd need she glanced at the clock and shrugged, "Well, no time like the present."


I'm back, errybuddy! *Flails* I'm sure you all must be absolutely thrilled to see me on another story! (I know, I know, I should finish what I started, and I'll get to it... Probably.) Anywho, welcome to my newest plot-bunny. MidLu gets so little love. Additionally, I'm working on an original book I'd like to publish at some point, but I would honestly like a few trial readers to help me fine-tune and edit. If you like my writing style and would be interested in helping me out that way, please do send me a message. Cheers!