This story first started due to Pradesh Week. This is a much darker story and I'm sorry if people are looking for Rainbow unicorn farts and other stuff. this is not a quick story, this is not a short story.

This part is completely unedited from the Original Prompt from Pradesh week "Concede" and is part one. I had to think long and hard about the title, but I think I like "Finding The Starlight" simply because...this will be a story about loss, hurt and darkness.

Reviews are Nice; The pairings are NOT decided yet. I get people like Vander/Lucy, I like them too, they're adorable when she's sassy and keeps up with him, but...I really don't know if they will get together or if it will be a friendship...or how far this darkness is going to go.

I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima Does.

I don't own the Pradesh Clan. Desna does (and thank you for them).

I own the Storyline. That's it.

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Lucy had sat and watched quite a few couples come together, and helped with a few herself. As it was, she sat quietly at the bar and watched the couples that were all together for the Spring Festival in…well While it was still Fairy Tail, it was an affiliated branch of White Sea and the reason was obvious. The small blonde wasn't above poking her extended guild for stories about things and writing about it.

First, There was Bickslow and Cobra, expected, at least to her. The story of them getting together was interesting…and she'd nearly lost two friends because none of them had known anything and a night of drinking had caught her in a tan cookie sandwich that turned into a mating. Dragon slayers were not known for being happy when someone came in between that sort of thing. She'd high tailed it that night, she was happy for the two, but that one night and the foggy memories she could recall still were in her top ten list of things to masturbate to.

Laxus and Xally were settled on one of the newly put in couches, the woman refusing to walk upstairs in her current, very pregnant condition. She hadn't been there, but from what she'd been told, he'd not met the small water mage during his exile, but later on during the year break. He'd apparently fought against the light pull because he'd only just seen her then high tailed it. Now they were very happily getting ready to have a family.

Emzadi and Gray. Solar Dragon Slayer and Ice Demon Slayer. She knew the ice that gray could use actually couldn't be melted by Natsu, so it was a good way to help keep the very hot, in many ways, woman cooled down. Given the looks that were going between Xally's stomach and Gray, Lucy surmised at least one more baby might be rolling around soon. She had to ask how that had come about, it would make a good story, she was sure.

Juvia had been heart broken, but well Lyon had been there while they had explained to her about Dragon Slayers and Mates…and while disappointing, the Water Woman understood, she and the ice make mage were now expecting as well.

The Twin Dragon Slayers and Farron. It started as a bodyguard mission and she truly didn't want to think how that dynamic worked. She sipped her drink slowly as she glanced at the three, chuckling as Sting was whining and Rogue was helping Farron with things. She supposed there were worse things than actually having two Dragon Slayers are your personal, around the clock bodyguards and Lovers.

Yukino and Zen still burned her up inside. She hadn't truly forgiven the other celestial mage for what happened. She and Zen were getting to know one another before it happened and she sighed. It had, quite frankly, been probably the best chance at Romance she may have had. She'd been called on a job for Hisui and apparently Zen had been there visiting Bickslow when Yukino had shown up during one of the Fairy Tail style parties. A Night of Drinking and Dancing later, the two had been mated and when Lucy had gotten back, she looked at Yukino, the woman knowing about Zen and how she was dating him, and had simply said 'you are dead to me'. She hadn't truly talked to either since then, much to Zen's dismay.

Lucy snapped her head to the next couple as she saw Zen move his head, seeing him look at her just in the edge of her vision. She refused to really talk to either of them. She knew the compulsion, they all did and while she knew she shouldn't be so petty, it felt like a betrayal and she couldn't get that bit of trust to reform enough to be anything less than Professional with the archangel mage.

Kaleb and Freed were adorable to her. They could carry on a few conversations and she had no issue with them. Though, she did have a hand in getting them together. She'd seen looks go back and forth but knowing Freed and how both of them were raised, she knew she had to give him a push. It was a night of dancing and partying, and as she thought back on it, quite a few of the couples did get together that way. She brushed the thought out of her head. She'd been sitting at the bar with the Rune mage and they'd been talking, just relaxing and going over a new linguistics study with Levy when she'd seen the bulky, tall, stepped out of the lord of the rings, world class mind bender of 'panty destruction' had flagged Mira down for another round of drinks. She'd mused out loud about how long he could go and there was sputtering from the other two. She had gone to hop up with a firm resolve to ask, only to have Freed's eyes go dark and then she grinned, shoving him and laughing at the embarrassment from the male before shoving him to go talk to Kaleb.

Wendy and Beck had come out of left field to everyone, but the two made it somehow work. Wendy had grown up in…quite a few ways and looked much like her Edolas counterpart now, only a little less busty. She smiled as the two were relaxing, settled with drinks and laughing with a large group of people.

That same night, Cris and Natsu had gotten together. She wasn't sure how it worked, but her best friend was now dead set on getting her, like the rest of the Slayers, set up with someone, or something else. Depending on the day of the week. She was fully acknowledging to herself…that it seemed like she was just going to be single for the rest of her life.

"So, Stardust, any reason you're here, at the bar instead of dancing and being social?" came the purring voice in her ear.

Lucy didn't bother to flinch or jump, fully used to the biggest troublemaker of the Pradesh group, Vander. She put a hand up, fingers splaying before the hand was over his face and pushing him back. She turned her head and smiled softly, "just people watching." She shrugged a bit and smiled. Vander was a good time, a fun time. Any time that she needed it. He seemed in no hurry to settle down like the rest of his family. "Natsu said he wanted to ask me something anyway…so I'm waiting for them to show up."

Vander arched an eyebrow, "well that sounds ominous."

Lucy laughed as she shrugged, "with Natsu, it tends to be something stupid. So…hopefully Cris has talked him out of it."

Almost on cue, the doors opened. Thankfully with Cris' influence, Natsu wasn't as…boisterous. He still made a beeline for her and she sighed as she put her drink down, "…here we go."

"luce!" Natsu grinned as he got close, "have a baby for us!"

The entire guildhall went quiet and Lucy just stared at Natsu for a moment, "…what."

"have a baby for me and Cris!"

Lucy sat there for a moment and then took the glass of Boscan alcohol in Vander's hand, downing it and then setting the glass aside. She stood, looked at Natsu and then just walked towards the door, calling over her shoulder, "no."

"aww! C'mon, Luce!" Natsu whined as he walked after her. "we're not asking a lot!"

That got the pinkette on the floor from a Lucy Kick from Scary Lucy and the doors closing behind her.

Cristoff sighed as he helped his mate up, shaking his head, "we've been over this…we were going to talk to her alone."

Natsu grinned up at the burly slayer, "Sorry."

Vander was trying to decide if Natsu was just that stupid, that dense…or just..being himself. He shook his head as he sat there then clapped his hands at the silence going on, "well…I think it's time for some music."

Natsu watched the youngest Pradesh move to the stage and start up some more music. He looked disappointed, "…did I mess up?"

"it's not exactly a common thing to ask, Natsu," Cris said as he pulled his smaller mate to his side, "especially not of a woman like Lucy."

Natsu's brow furrowed, "what do you mean? She's my best friend, why wouldn't I ask her when we were ready?"

The Lunar slayer shook his head and smiled, "alright, time to talk again about personal expectations." He lead his small mate to a table, raising a hand to flag down Mira for a few drinks. For once, the barmaid not going all heart eyed. They'd all seen how Lucy simply seemed to be withdrawing more and more.

Vander, he knew, had tried to keep the woman social and engaged, but with each couple, and then what happened between Zen and Yukino, it seemed that she simply didn't want to actually be social. She still came to the guildhall, whichever she was working out of at the time, she still smiled, she still lit up a room with her general presence, but Cris could see it was just a mask.

He wasn't sure how to actually help the woman. If it was something physical, he could heal it, tend to it. He'd gone to Kaleb, but his brother had shaken his head. Cobra had chimed in that he'd taught the blonde woman how to keep mind mages out and it seemed that she was even able to keep his brother out.

The Lunar Slayer moved Natsu up to the balcony to talk to him and sighed, "Alright…so let's go over this again…"

Natsu sighed as he sat there, "Lucy is my best friend, she's our kin and probably the best person in the world to actually carry our future kid." He let out a faint sound in the back of his throat, "I thought she'd be happy…"

Cristoff sighed a bit, he was infinitely patient and with a Mate like Natsu it came in handy. He moved to wrap his arms around the other slayer and put his head on top of the pink hair. "you know she hasn't been quite the same since Yukino and Zen, Natsu."

Natsu sighed a bit as he slumped, "I know…I mean…they were doing really good, like…dating and she was keeping that stupid issue had at bay…and then…I mean…we really should have paid more attention…"

Cristoff shook his head and gently rubbed Natsu's back. He understood where his mate was coming from, but really, Kaleb hadn't felt anything wrong that night, though he was slightly distracted by Freed. "what's done is done, Natsu."

"so…we'll ask again?"

Cristoff chuckled and nodded a bit, kissing the fire slayer on the forehead, "we'll ask again."

They didn't get that chance, her apartment was just empty the next day. The two had to surrender the fact that they hadn't been able to convince the Blonde mage…and with no scent to follow, they had no choice but to resign themselves to the Resounding 'no' that was given in so many ways.