The Past and the Future

Fairy Tail

Lucy + Lisanna by Request!

If you have a favorite Fairy Tail couple, I wanna hear it! I'm taking a poll of who the most popular FT couple is! Send me a PM, leave it in a review, or contact me through Tumblr between now and 11/30/12! Winning couple will be the feature for my Holiday 2012 fic! –Sora

Lucy couldn't remember the last time she'd taken a day just to herself. Every morning revolved around getting up, getting dressed and heading out of town towards the guild to help with getting the building back in a decent structurally-sound state. It was exhausted work, but it was needed if they were ever going to boost Fairy Tail up from Fiore's last-place guild to the pedestal of number one once again.

She had planned this day carefully, having told everyone that she was not to be bothered and that meant especially for the members of her team who had the tendency to just show up unannounced and drag her off to some unknown and dangerous adventure. Today she wasn't going to the guild hall. She wasn't even planning on leaving Magnolia.

Her dark brown eyes looked up at the outside of the pristine building giving a sigh. Already she could feel her troubles washing away. She was going to the Four Seasons spa and health resort, and for once her day wouldn't be filled with reconstructing a building from the ground up.

"Good morning." The hostess at the front desk smiled pleasantly at her as she walked in, nothing but a purse in hand.

"Morning." Lucy smiled. "Heartfilia. I have a reservation."

"One moment Miss." The woman dug into her files, pulling out a stack of paperwork. "Ah, yes, here you are. I just need you to sign here for today's visit. Will it be cash or credit?"

The blonde made her way up to the desk, admiring the moving waterfall that was running behind the hostess' station. It must have been held together by magic, but the moving water meshed nicely with the blue lights and the soft smell of incense. "Cash." She said, signing her name on the dotted line.

The woman blinked up at her. "That's a pretty guild mark." She replied, looking at the stamp on the back of her hand. Her expression turned thoughtful. "I think there was a woman that came in this morning with the same mark."

"Really?" That had Lucy's interest. "Do you know what color it was? And where the mark was?"

"I think it was on her leg." The woman smiled. "I can find out for you, if you like."

"No, that's okay." Lucy waved it off. "If she's here she probably just wanted to get away too." She could only think of a couple women who had their guild mark there and she was right in thinking they probably just wanted a day off too.

The woman smiled, took her paperwork and her money, and then got to her feet. "I understand. Right this way then Miss."

The backrooms were clean and smelled like herbs and fresh cut fruit. The steam from the hot springs clung to the air here and Lucy breathed deep. She had needed this badly.

"Here you are-" She went to step in the room and they were met at the door by a strapping young man with short sandy brown hair and matching eyes. "Louis! I thought Marco was reserved for this room?"

"Marco was requested twice this morning. He decided to take the client who showed up first." He smiled. "Popular guy. I told him I would help his next guest since I was free, or she could wait. What would you like, Miss?"

"N-No!" Lucy was trying to keep from changing five shades of red. "I-It's fine, really!" She squeaked out, her eyes wavering. He really was handsome. Maybe not as handsome as her usual escort, but he seemed to have a better personality.

It didn't seem possibly but his smile got brighter. "Well alright then. Come on in and I'll see what I can do."

"Enjoy your time Miss!" The Hostess smiled at her.

"So what are we doing today?" Louis asked her as she came into the large open-air room.

"Everything." Lucy blurted out before she'd even thought about it.

He looked back at her playfully. "Oh really?" He smiled. "Do you mind if I take the lead then?"

She could only mutely nod, face completely flushed.

"Let me take your bag for you then Miss. I'll put it in the safe. And then we can get started with your hands and feet, if you don't mind."

She handed over her purse, climbing up into the high-backed chair with the large tub full of crystal clear water at her feet. "Whatever you want." She told him.

He wasn't her usual, but Lucy hadn't seen the difference either. When she had started coming here, seven years ago, after she'd first settled in Magnolia, she had asked around for the hottest guy and then made sure to request him. Marco was gorgeous indeed, but he hadn't managed to make her laugh either in all the times she had been there. Louis was funny, flirtatious and charming. He was good at his job and Lucy enjoyed being with him. It was amazing, the simple change.

He reminded her alot of Loke, she found herself thinking as he massaged the arch of her feet. A lot of Loke, but more so of Natsu. The playful attitude that was always there and yet acted as such an effective barrier… the fact that she knew he'd never take her seriously. Natsu wasn't as knowledgeable, that was for sure, but still she found that she liked Louis and she was already sure she would request him again.

"Is there anything I can get you Miss?" He asked when he was done and her nails were all wearing a gorgeous shade of pastel pink. "Tea? Coffee?"

"No thanks." She smiled at him. "I'd like to get up and stretch if you don't mind. Take a bit of a walk."

"Of course." He smiled back at her. "Did you bring your own robes with you, or do you need me to get one of the girls?"

"I brought my own." She smiled. "Thank you though."

"Certainly." He went to the locking cabinet and retrieved her bag. "I'll let you change and get up for a bit, then meet me back here for your massage?"

She blushed, looking shyly up at him. "Looking forward to it."

He left her and she stripped down, putting on her baggy pajama pants and her open-backed halter top, her robe slipping on over that, all the while trying hard not to mess up her fingernails. They had used magic and heat to seal the paint but that didn't mean they were safe from a particularly hard press or scrape. When she was dressed she put her purse back up in the locking cabinet and let herself out of her service room. She stuffed her hands in the pocket of her robe, heading down the hall. It seemed to be pretty quiet this morning in the spa and only a few of the rooms were actually in use. It was peaceful, this sort of calming silence, and she found herself drawn towards the hot springs at the back of the building.

On the way, she passed the open sun room where several women would usually converge while they were waiting for their face masks or hair color to set. The room was empty except for one woman who was staring at the window. Her short silvery hair was pulled back and pinned in place and she was in an open flowing robe that pooled around her as she sat staring out the glass. The most noticeable thing to Lucy though was the white guild stamp on her left thigh.

She smiled, recognizing it instantly. "Lisanna!"

The woman turned, pale blue eyes batting around a face of cool green cream. It was so startling that Lucy jumped in the doorway, but the girl giggled. "Sorry!" She laughed. "I know, it's terrifying."

"They had told me at the front desk someone from Fairy Tail was here. I hadn't even thought about the fact that it could be you." Lucy told her, coming into the room.

"Been coming here ever since I was a little kid. Mira worked here for a little bit when she was in her teens just to try something different. Its how she got into modeling." Lisanna smiled at her. "You?"

"When I started in Fairy Tail. Mira actually recommended this place to me." Lucy admitted, and the two girls shared a laugh.

"Are you staying here all day?" Lisanna asked her when they were done giggling.

"Yeah!" Lucy let out a soft breath. "Just needed a day to relax, you know? It's been so stressful lately."

Lisanna gave a sympathetic nod. "It's gotta be really difficult being part of Team Erza too. She and Natsu are always going to put some pretty crazy stuff on you."

"That's for sure!" Lucy smiled.

"Miss Strauss."

The deep voice calling for her from the doors made the two women jump and they both turned to see Marco standing there. When he recognized both of them, his eyes widened and Lucy got the feeling this is what a guilty man looked like when you realized he was cheating on you with your best friend.

"So YOU'RE the one who stole him this morning!" Lucy couldn't help but tease.

"You requested him too?" Lisanna looked over at her in surprise.

"Miss Heartfilia, I'm so sorry…" Marco started, his blue eyes looking very much like a puppy's as he stared over at them.

"It's okay." Lucy smiled. "I've got Louis today, and he's doing a fantastic job."

"Lucy." Lisanna looked over at her. "Later, when you have time, would you like to get in the hot springs together?" She glanced over at her escort. "Can we schedule something like that in?"

"That sounds great." The golden blonde smiled at her.

"I'll talk with Louis." Marco gave one of those small smiles of his, grateful that he had been forgiven. "Are you ready, Miss Strauss?"

"Sure." Lisanna got up, pulling her robe around her. "See you later!"

"Of course." Lucy smiled back.

Once the other two had left, she hovered around and then found herself walking back down to her room, an awkward feeling hanging over her.

"Welcome back." Louis smiled up at her as she came back in. "Marco came to see me with some interesting news."

He patted the long padded table and Lucy slipped the robe off her shoulders. He took it from her wordlessly, hanging it up on a hook on the wall.

"Yeah, the girl he's with is a member of my guild." Lucy laughed nervously, fidgeting with the drawstring on her pants.

He caught her wrists. When she jerked her gaze up to look at him he smiled. "I always tell my first-timers that you only need to go with what is comfortable for you."

She smiled back at him. His words were reassuring and a lot more then she'd ever gotten from Marco. "You're sweet, but I'm okay."

She took pants off and handed them to him, and he placed them on the chair on the other side of the room. She hopped up on the table and laid down on her stomach, resting her cheek against the face rest. He came up behind her, pulling her hair off the back of her neck, his fingers working the strings on her halter top loose. His touch was warm and very soon she was in such a relaxed state that the mad beating of her heart had faded away and she felt like she was being lulled to sleep.

The only thing that seemed to stop that was the insistent nagging in the back of her mind. Something about the whole thing with Lisanna had irked and she couldn't figure out what. She had always had this awkward emotion whenever she was around, but this was more of an annoyance now. Was she jealous that she had taken Marco from her? Not really. She was happier with Louis then she probably ever had been with Marco.

The more she thought on it the more she realized it wasn't about Marco at all, but more about Natsu.

Lisanna and Natsu had always been close, and when he had lost her Lucy had known that there was no way she was going to ever fill the void left in his heart. That hadn't stopped her from discovering her feelings for him or realizing how she felt, but then suddenly, Lisanna was back in the picture again and things had just gotten really strange.

It wasn't so much Natsu either; she discovered as she lay there in perfect bliss, it was the thought of losing something important again. She had been fortunate enough that between the three of them nothing serious had happened yet, but eventually something was going to have to give.

"You falling asleep on me yet?" Louis asked as he rubbed down her shoulders.

"I should be." Lucy told him. She could feel him retying her shirt in place. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Why don't you go talk to your friend about it?" He smiled at her. "Take a bath and relax, since I'm apparently not enough."

"It's not that!" Lucy sat up. "You've been fantastic." He handed her her robe and she slipped it on. "...Maybe you're right. I really do need to talk to her."

He winked. "See you in a bit." He told her, and then ducked out the door.

She found Lisanna already in the hot springs. She got undressed and threw her things in one of the cubby spaces on the wall just inside the entrance before steppimg out. The air teased her skin, still sensitive from the massage and she shivered.

"Have you been waiting long?" She asked, pulling her arms around her breasts to try and keep the cool air away.

"Just got here." Lisanna turned to smile at her.

Lucy sat took a step in, finding the water to be a soothing welcome as she continued in all the way to her waist. This pool was large, with high bamboo walls on either side and rock ledges built into the side to rest upon while you enjoyed the atmosphere.

"It's so quiet right now. I can't believe we got the place all to ourselves." Lisanna told her.

"It's good to come on a weekday. Still... it's almost been too nice. I keep waiting for something to go wrong." Lucy told her as she tied her hair up.

"More like someone. God only knows what would happen if Natsu were here." Lisanna pointed out.

"I doubt he'd show up... there's no one to fight and nothing to eat."

The platinum blonde doubled over she was laughing so hard. "That is so true!"

Lucy smiled, but as soon as Lisanna was done giggling, an awkward silence fell between them. It had only been a matter of time…Natsu had been brought up and it seemed like neither one of them knew how to handle the situation from there.

Finally Lisanna gave a small sigh, her pale blue eyes closing. "It's so funny," She started, an odd tone in her voice. "There was a time in my life when I was so crazy about him."

Lucy jerked, her brown eyes looking at the other woman, but Lisanna was gazing up at the sky as if she were lost in thought. The celestial mage felt her heart skip a beat. "You're still not…?" She asked slowly, peering over at her.

Lisanna gave a slow shake of her head. "For so long he was my whole world. We grew up together, and I was so convinced that one day we were going to get married." She sat forward, resting her forearms on her knees, the water lapping at her bare chest. "But then I ended up in Edolas, and I was so alone and lost. It was only by chance that I found the Fairy Tail guild there." She smiled over at her. "And you were already there. Not you of course, but your Edolas self…"

She shook her head. "I latched on to Mira-nee and Elf-ni… but the one I wanted to acknowledge me was Natsu, and in Edolas he's such a shy thing. He clung to you with all his might and I realized that somehow, I had been replaced." She leaned closer, folding up so that her chin touched her knees. "At first I was really upset about it. I was angry. But then I realized that in that life, Lisanna and Natsu had never been close, not like he had been with Lucy. I had no choice but to see the obvious, and as heartbroken as I was, I got over it."

Blue eyes shifted, looking over at Lucy who was watching her with wide dark eyes. "When I saw who you were…and where you came from, I just knew. I knew that somehow or another, Natsu had found you on Earthland and that once that had happened, nothing was going to keep you apart."

"That's…." Lucy swallowed, her cheeks flushing. "That's not right. You can't compare the people on Edolas to the people here. The Edo-Natsu might not have cared for you, but the Earthland version still feels really strongly for you-"

"I know he does." Lisanna cut her off. "But I've noticed the way that he looks at you. He's caught between his past and his future, and I'm the one who's holding him back." She gave another soft sigh. "It's unfair really. I had two years to see the truth, and to deal with it. Natsu just had a loss he didn't know how to get over." She smiled. "We both know he's a simple guy. He doesn't see the way out of this."

"You… you really don't have feelings for him?" Lucy asked, still watching her with wide eyes. "You don't love him?"

"I'll always love him." Lisanna leaned back. "It's just not the same as it once was. I forced myself to move on, and I don't want to look back." She got up, standing until she was right in front of Lucy. "Promise me you'll take good care of him, okay?" She told her, wrapping her arms around the girl's shoulders and squeezing her tight. "He's dumb sometimes, but you know how loyal he is. I don't think he'll be able to move on until he realizes that I'm going to be okay without him, and once he does, he will give his all to you."

Lucy blushed, her dark eyes falling closed. "I'm sorry." Her hands lifted and she hugged her back. "I'm sorry, if this is all because of me. You're not going to leave Fairy Tail… are you?"

"Fairy Tail is my family. I'll never really leave… but I was thinking that a reprieve sounds good." Lisanna laughed. "Maybe I'll find myself a boyfriend and bring him home. Maybe that will prove some things." She pulled back, holding the woman at arm's length as she looked her over. "I never blamed you for anything Lucy. You're a good person. And you're very cute. If Natsu doesn't make a move soon, I might just have to smack him."

"Thank you." Lucy smiled shyly. "For everything. This whole trip has really opened my eyes."

"I'm glad I could be of some help." She smiled. "I don't think I'm coming back to the guild for a while, so when you get there, give my family my best regards. I wish you luck."

"Right." Lucy nodded. "You too Lisanna. Take care."

"Don't look so sad!" The other girl told her. "Especially over a former love rival! I really don't mind, the thought of you two together. We all have to walk our own path, remember? Mine just moved away from his a long time ago."

Those words were still hanging in Lucy's mind later on when she left the Four Seasons Spa. Her body felt relaxed but her mind felt renewed. Talking to Lisanna had truly taken a weight off her shoulders and unlocked so many hidden doors that Lucy felt free. Free to love who she wanted and not be ashamed for it.

"You're right," The woman smiled to herself. "We all walk our own paths."

Hers was leading right back to Fairy Tail.

END