Lucy opened the door to her room and was not at all surprised to see that Natsu had beat her to her apartment, or more specifically, her bed. She was however a little surprised to see Erza and Gray making themselves at home at her table where they were currently playing go-fish. Lucy didn't even own a deck of cards so one of them must have brought it with them. Erza and Gray (shirtless with concentration) didn't even look up as she entered which made it clear they were more than comfortable here. Lucy had just returned from market where she had spent a good portion of her pitiful savings, if she didn't get another job soon she wouldn't be able to make rent. She shimmied herself around a pile of luggage (Erza's?), from which a low hissing sound was emanating, and into her cramped kitchen where she placed her arm full of groceries.

"Don't you guys have a home?" Lucy called, too used to this to be annoyed at this point. Besides, if she was being honest, she bought enough for them anticipating their frequent visits.

Now that she thought about it, she had never actually been to any of their homes and vaguely wondered if in fact they didn't have one. Erza must at least, she reasoned, she's more than capable of doing solo missions to afford rent. (No doubt the hissing luggage contained some creature brought back from one of her adventures). If she was looking for privacy it might be a better idea for Lucy to pack up and spend the night at Erza's place instead. Or maybe I'll just start charging them rent, since they practically live here. She mused, petulantly. Her irritation was half-hearted though because in reality she was happy to have them visit so often, it made her feel like she really had a family, which was so different from her life before Fairy Tail. The constant company was only now becoming a problem because Lucy's new found wizard power came with an unexpected drawback. Her spirits were now able to cross over without her specifically calling them and would drop in at unexpected times if she hadn't used them for a few days. She didn't mind for the most part, as she was friends with all of them (except perhaps Aquarius, but Aquarius didn't make a habit of visiting anyway). But between the spirits and her friends, her alone time was virtually nonexistent.

Left to her own devices in the kitchen, Lucy lazily began to prepare dinner (tonight, curry with rice). She had just left it to simmer when Happy intruded excitedly. "Lucy, Lucy, what are you making?" He swooped over her head and peered in the pot excitedly then drew back, obviously disappointed.

"I didn't forget you Happy." Said Lucy, smiling and reaching for the fish she had bought him. But before she handed it over she stopped short. "What is that on your face? Is that-ARE YOU WEARING MY MAKEUP?"

"It wasn't me! It was Natsu, he put it on me!" He insisted, then he darted in, snatched the fish and quickly flew out of reach in case Lucy changed her mind about giving it to him.

"NATSU" Lucy yelled as she stalked out of the kitchen, where she promptly tripped over the luggage partially obscuring the doorway and landed sprawled on the floor. "Natsu-oopff,"she struggled to her feet "Natsu stay out of my makeup! Do you have any idea how much that costs?" She scolded loudly, glaring at him from where he lay, still asleep and unbothered. Seriously, makeup costs a fortune.

"GET UP" Lucy yelled as she pulled on the sheet, dumping him onto the ground. It was then that she noticed he was wearing makeup too.

He jumped up, half asleep, fists flaming. "I'LL KILL YOU-Oh hey Lucy."

"Natsu, why are you wearing my makeup?" She demanded.

He blinked. "I wanted to look pretty." He replied, as if it was obvious. Then he stuck a pose in front of her mirror.

"But why did you put it on Happy?"

"To practice, duh."

"He's getting pretty good at it." Gray interjected, slinging an arm over the back of his chair. He was also sporting Lucy's makeup.

Lucy threw her hands up. She could barely keep Happy out of her underwear drawer, why should it bother her that they got into her makeup too. "Boundaries" wasn't exactly part of their vocabulary.

"I'm going to go take a bath" She announced, giving up on trying to make sense of them and feeling drained. She loved them but she needed some space.

Which she wasn't going to get because as soon as she opened the door to the bathroom she saw that someone was already occupying the bath.

"Oh, sorry Lucy-sama...I'll go." Aries mumbled in a shy voice.

"No no, please stay and relax, I can take one later." Lucy was quick to reassure her. "And please call me Lucy, we're friends, I want you to feel comfortable here."

"Oh...ok Lucy-sam-Lucy."

Lucy shut the bathroom door with a small click. It had taken weeks for Aries to feel comfortable enough to visit without being summoned and Lucy was determined to make up for all of Aries' past abusive masters. Aries had taken a particular liking to Lucy's bath soaps and was now encouraged to visit as often as she liked to enjoy that small comfort. Lucy didn't mind this new found quirk too much, having spirits appear without her summons, it was slightly like being haunted by friendly ghosts who got increasingly more persistent when lonely. Though it took a magical toll every time one of Lucy's spirits would visit, she was working hard to instill an "open door" policy. She didn't like the idea of a relationship based solely on what her spirits could do for her in battle. Besides, she needs to exercise

her magical power to accommodate all of the new spirits she employs. This usually left her feeling exhausted, but it was worth it to improve, if even just a little.

Lucy's bedroom had gotten much louder since her small trip to the bathroom. Gray and Natsu were brawling over who was the prettiest while Happy circled overhead chiming in. "What about me? You didn't even acknowledge my beauty!" The card game was left abandoned, the table had been turned over in their scuffle, and Erza was missing.

"Natsu, Gray! Cut it out before you take out a wall!" Lucy yelled over the commotion.

"He started it." Gray grunted, while pinning Natsu to the ground.

"You're just jealous of my beauty." Natsu retorted, shoving Gray off with a kick.

Lucy was ignored as the fight continued.

"Enough." Said Erza in her commanding voice as she returned from the kitchen with a serving tray. "The food is ready."

Erza had finished preparing the curry and had arranged each portion neatly in a bowl over rice with a garnish. It looked wonderful.

"Wow Erza, I didn't know you could cook." Said Natsu, impressed.

I cooked that. Thought Lucy.

"Seriously, this looks great." Gray agreed, as he righted the table.

She just put it on a plate. Thought Lucy.

"I'm glad, enjoy." Erza said as everyone took a bite.

She's totally taking credit for it. Thought Lucy, but shrugged it off and took a bite. And choked.

"Uh...did you...did you add something to the curry, Erza?" Lucy asked as her eyes started to stream and her face flushed. Gray was sweating and looked as if he had been poisoned and Natsu appeared to be bracing himself as his face turned red. Gray fell sideways off his chair.

"I just added a little seasoning." Said Erza, nonplussed. "I like it spicy."

"I think I might actually be dying." Gray groaned from under the table.

Then everyone ducked as Natsu belched a giant ball of flame that set fire to the curtains.

So basically, it was an average night at Lucy's apartment.

Chapter 2.

Lucy woke up feeling strange, the hairs on the back of her neck were raised as if she was being watched. She groaned, stiff from laying on the floor and began to survey her room. It was raining hard outside and the sky was just starting to pale with early morning light, but her room was still dark with shadows. Something had woken her but she wasn't sure what. On her left was Ezra's tent which she had brought with her and skillfully set up in the corner. There was a lamp inside that cast the shadow of her sleeping form onto the tent canvas. Lucy rolled over and narrowly avoided putting her face in Gray's armpit as he slept sprawled out on the floor in his underwear. Natsu and Happy were sleeping in the bed, she wasn't exactly sure how that arrangement had been made. Meanwhile a low hissing sound was coming from under her bed. Lucy had a sinking feeling that whatever was in Erza's luggage had escaped but wasn't brave enough to investigate.

Lucy's eyes then moved to the window where she gasped and sat bolt upright. It was only for a moment but Lucy was certain she had seen an angry pale white face lurking just outside her window through the charred curtains before it abruptly disappeared into the dark. More than a little unnerved, Lucy edged as far away from Gray as possible, until her back was against the wall. The face didn't appear again but after some time the rain subsided.

Maybe we should take a break from sleepovers. Lucy thought as she sunk into unconsciousness again.