Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail- just the totally awesome characters that I created.

He touched her eyes, her lips. She was asleep on the couch, head lolled to the side. Apparently she'd been too tired to change, because she still wore the uniform she'd put on that morning. Her mouth was open slightly, and she breathed deeply and serenely. He smiled. She looked so beautiful, with her lovely red hair falling over her face, and her cheeks flushed from lying on her side.

Soon, my love. Soon it will be better.

I promise.

Rhodis sighed. Another work request, another early morning. She peeled herself off the couch, and stared at the wall, where the request was being projected off the MV. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and blearily examined the request. Capture Man-Eating Tree bark? Sure, whatever.

She sat up, half-noticing that she was still in her uniform. Oh well. Just meant that she didn't have to change. She stretched, feeling her joints crack and pop. Yawning, she shuffled into the kitchen. The toaster had done a perfect job for once, and her bread was a nice golden brown. She grabbed a knife. She sloppily globbed jam onto the bread and, being too hungry to care about looks, jammed it in her mouth. As she chewed, she heard the door creak open.

"What are you doing up so early, Yo? I thought you got in late last night. You should get some more rest," she scolded lightly, though she knew that he would never admit to being tired. He was annoyingly tough like that. She heard him move towards the toaster, then heard him sigh as the toast came out.

"Burnt?"

"Yeah."

"Bummer. I got the good piece. Y'know, after this job, we might be able to get a new one…" She turned to look at him, raising her eyebrows in an attempt to be cheery. The funny thing was, he was more cheery than her, usually. Whatever he had done last night must have been really tough on him.

"Whatever. I'd love a new one, but with the magic tax…"

She sighed. The Magical Utilities Tax, or Magic Tax, meant that anyone who used magic had to pay 20% of their earnings to the government. Everyone was outraged, but since the new president of Fiore had such a huge army backing him up, everyone was afraid to oppose him.

Rhodis clenched her fists. "If only the guilds were still around…"

Yo spun, slapping his hand on her mouth. She peeled it off angrily.

"You know it's dangerous to talk about it, Rhodis! If someone heard you-"

"Anyone who's close enough to hear hates the tax too. Do you think that Miss Halfeel would turn us in? After what they did to her? She's more likely to run down the hall naked. Even the guards wouldn't turn us in. They know that this is wrong. Everyone knows. I don't know why we don't just…" She trailed off, but she knew that Yo would understand.

Rebellion. It was like a death word, one that was sure to get you arrested if anyone caught you saying it. The president was so paranoid that he'd outlawed the word completely. Oh, she hated him. If she could just once get her hands on him-

Oh well. For right now, she was content with being here, as long as Yo was with her.

She stared at him for a moment, letting herself melt in his sapphire eyes. He didn't have a shirt on, much to her delight. His muscles gleamed, strong from all of his work hunting down rare beasts for collectors. His special kind of magic was sorely wanted, so he was almost constantly being hired for increasingly dangerous missions. The many pale scars that graced his skin were proof that he didn't always succeed. She feared that his dark hair would go gray from all the stress and worry that he was forced to deal with. He never complained, though. He would write off his pain, saying that seeing her happy was well worth it.

She smiled, wondering what she did to deserve him. Her magic was nothing extraordinary. Botany skills weren't as sought after now that factory farms provided most of the food. She wasn't particularily pretty, either. Not that she was ugly, but she was easily outclassed by most women, even those who hadn't had their faces magically altered. Her only pretty feature, in her opinion, was her eyes. Her eyes were like two, almond-shaped pools of caramel. Yo loved to comment on them, and often complimented her on them when she felt depressed. He knew her, knew that if he tried hard enough then everything would be all right.

She suddenly had an idea.

"Let's go to the museum!"

He tilted his head, clearly confused by her sudden change in thought.

"I want to see him- talk to him again. It's been so long, and I can't even message him 'cause he doesn't have a Magi-phone. It's weird, but I feel like I need to talk to him. About… something. I can't put my finger on it…" She pursed her lips, trying to think.

Yo smiled. He gave her a look that said 'whatever you want, I'm good with'.

She grinned.

"Great! Let's go see The Dragon Slayer!"