"You, um, look really nice today, Lucy."

The words tumbled out of Gray Fullbuster's mouth before he realized it. He had no idea why he just said that. He wasn't a talker and definitely wasn't the type to compliment girls in any way, shape or form. He was a cool dude. The strong and silent type. Telling a girl she looked nice might make her think you liked her, and that was a complication he didn't need. It was bad enough that he had to constantly fend off the advances of most people in whom he wasn't interested in at all - Juvia Lockser, random bandits, Sugarboy.

*shudder* Let's not think about that last one right now.

Not that he was lying when he told his teammate, Lucy Heartfilia, that she looked nice. She really did. Sure, she had less makeup on than usual, and only wore a simple denim skirt, pink tank top and her usual black boots. But he kinda liked that. For once he could see her, instead of her bright makeup and flashy clothes.

So why did he say it? It's not like she wasn't aware of her blonde good looks and curvaceous body. You could even say she was too aware, a trait which occasionally got on his nerves. Dragging her out of her apartment to go on missions while she tried on endless combinations of clothes had always been a sore point with him, so catering to Lucy's vanity was something he generally avoided. But lately his teammate seemed like a pale, faded version of the cheerful girl he knew, and a sad Lucy just wasn't right.

Yeah, that was it. Lucy was sad and he didn't know why. He wasn't sure when it began; all he knew was that what he had thought was a just passing mood with her had stretched out into days, followed by weeks. Her bubbly bounce into the guild had been replaced by a quiet shuffle, her bright expression dulled into a pensive look, her sharp attention span now a faraway absentmindedness. Seeing her like that made him feel like he wanted to punch something. And not in a good Fairy Tail kind of way.

Lucy's fork toppled from her fingers and clattered onto her plate, the background noise of their raucous guild covering the sound. Her chocolate-brown eyes widened at him in disbelief. "R-really?" she asked, a slight rosy tinge brightening her cheeks.

Gray sighed with irritation and put on his best bored expression. The last thing he wanted was anyone getting any ideas about the two of them. "Yeah," he shrugged, acting as though complimenting his teammate was something he did every day instead of, well, never.

To his surprise, Lucy brightened into a sunny smile he hadn't seen in weeks. "Wow, thanks, Gray! That's so nice of you to say!"

An unbidden rush of heat surged into Gray's face at her warm response. "It's, uh, no big deal," he stammered, taken aback by her immense gratitude for such a small compliment.

She looked at him under her eyelashes. "Well, it is to me. Lately I've been feeling like no one notices all the effort I take to look good." She reached out across the table and gave his hand a squeeze. "It's nice to know that at least you notice!"

He froze at the sudden warmth of Lucy's soft hand enveloping his. Staring at their clasped hands on the table, her petite, smooth hand draped over his larger, muscular one, he croaked, "Lucy, I—"

"Notice what?" asked Natsu Dragneel, flopping himself next to Lucy and elbowing his way through his teammates' clasped hands to grab a slice of toast from Lucy's plate. He bit into the bread and grimaced. "Yuck, this is cold," he frowned, sticking out his tongue. Using his fire magic, the Dragon Slayer spewed flames onto the lukewarm bread, charring it to a crisp.

Gray pulled his hand back to his side, the pressure of Lucy's touch still lingering on his skin. He expected Natsu to go sailing across the guildhall from a trademark Lucy-kick, but instead the blonde simply looked away. "Hey, I was eating that," she grumbled half-heartedly.

Natsu wiped the crumbs from his mouth with the back of his hand before grabbing another slice of toast. "What did Gray notice?" he insisted.

Lucy looked over at Gray, her eyes pleading with him to explain. But the last person he would tell that he complimented Lucy was Natsu. Everyone knew those two were going to be a couple, it was just a matter of time before the pink-haired idiot realized it. Not that Gray was gonna help him figure it out, though; he had his own girl troubles to worry about.

Seeing that Gray wouldn't budge, Luc y sighed. "He noticed I looked nice, unlike some people."

Natsu swallowed the toast then leaned his face straight into Lucy's, giving her a forceful stare. The blonde sat motionless under her teammate's gaze, her brown eyes looking down to avoid his intense scrutiny. After a few moments, the Dragon Slayer shrugged. "I guess so. You always look the same to me."

"Yes, I know," she tossed back, crossing her arms over her chest and staring back down at her plate with a frown.

Something in the tone of Lucy's voice brought back that punching feeling to Gray. "Hey, greedy, leave her alone," he snapped.

Natsu placed both hands on the table and leaned forward, pushing his face straight into Gray's. "You got a problem with me, droopy eyes?"

"I always got a problem with you flame-brain!"

The fire mage threw the first punch, which the ice wizard was glad to return. Somehow smashing Natsu's face in seemed more satisfying than usual. Before long most of the other Fairy Tail wizards joined the fray and the guildhall was soon turned into a boxing ring.

It was a few hours later when Gray woke up from a concussion, lying on the wooden floor and clad only in his boxer shorts. He sat up, rubbed his head, and looked around. Everyone else was scattered around the guild, blissfully knocked out. Happy was dozing on Natsu's face, Gajeel had two protective arms around Levy and Pantherlily, Evergreen was snuggled against Elfman, and Max and that goddamn broom again. But Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

Where the heck did she go?

For the first time, Lucy had been glad that Natsu and Gray got into a fight. The brawl had been the perfect cover for her to escape the guild, and just in the nick of time. Had she been there any longer she would have burst into tears in front of everyone and she didn't want to have to explain why.

It had been a month. An entire month since she had first heard the terrible news and she still couldn't keep her heart from breaking. She kept replaying the horrible moment she found out the truth in her mind, over and over again, wishing it could just go away, but knowing that she had to face the awful reality.

"So what we read in that book is true?" Lucy struggled to hold on to the last thread of hope that one day Natsu would finally realize his love for her. She deeply loved the fire Dragon Slayer who had changed her life in so many ways, and he seemed to have given hints that he felt for her in more than just a friendship sort of way. True, he was a little immature, but she figured he'd grow out of it at some point and then she would welcome him with open arms. But ten years?

Levy McGarden nodded sadly. "I'm sorry Lu-chan, but Gajeel confirmed it to me. Dragon Slayers age at a different rate than the rest of us. What's only a few years to them can be decades for us. According to Gajeel, in dragon years Natsu is about twelve years old. It could be at least another ten years before he hits puberty, and even then, he'll be like a teenager and most likely not want to settle down and have a family yet."

It was like someone had ripped a hole in Lucy's heart. "But Gajeel isn't that much older than Natsu. Why is he ready to be your boyfriend?" She didn't mean to attack her friend, but her grief made her angry.

Levy looked down, for the first time ashamed instead of proud of her relationship with the iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel Redfox. "Gajeel is actually a lot older than Natsu," she explained. "So he's noticed girls for quite some time. As for being ready for a relationship, well," Levy blushed. "He's a possessive kind of guy."

"Ten years!" Tears ran down Lucy's face. "I was willing to wait for Natsu. But ten years! Levy-chan I'll be almost thirty by then! I could miss my chance to have a family if I wait that long!"

Levy couldn't help but shed a few tears herself for her friend's predicament. She so she wished her friend had the same happiness she was enjoying! "I know it doesn't seem fair! I'm so sorry!" The blue-haired girl wrapped her arms around her best friend and gave her a hug. "Whatever you decide, know that I'm here for you!"

"Th-thanks!"

A month later, and Lucy still hadn't decided anything. She loved the fire boy with all her heart, but the thought of passing a decade waiting for him seemed unbearable. In her mind, the years ahead stretched out in front of her like an endless, lonely road – she getting older as she walked along it, while her flaming lover stayed exactly the same. Could her heart survive blazing for another ten years, or would it simply be burned to a crisp?

Lucy hugged herself as she walked home, taking in deep breaths to keep from crying before she could get to the safety of her apartment. Her celestial spirit, Plue, wobbled behind, keeping a quiet eye out for his owner who absentmindedly made her way through the streets of Magnolia, unheeding of the people who bustled around her.

Despite her best efforts, tears filled Lucy's eyes, blinding her for a brief moment. As she stopped to wipe them away she heard a loud scream, followed by the rumbling sound of horses' hooves. She looked wildly around to find the source of the commotion, and felt her stomach lurch when she saw a runaway coach heading through the cobblestone street, and straight for her.

Before she could think to move, two strong hands grabbed her from behind and yanked her out of the coach's destructive path. Falling backward into her unknown rescuer, Lucy could only watch in shock as the coach, wheels groaning and scraping against the ground, careened into a fruit stand and came to a screeching halt.

"Are you okay, miss?" asked a voice that seemed strangely familiar. She turned around to see that her knight in shining armor was a well-dressed, attractive young man with spiky dark-blond hair who looked at her with concern. "Hibiki!" she cried.

A look of surprised recognition spread over Hibiki Lates' handsome features. "Lucy! Why, I thought it was you!" He frowned as his ebony eyes searched her body for injuries. "Are you hurt?

"I'm fine," she said, dusting off her skirt as he helped her regain her balance. "But let's check and see if the passengers in that carriage are okay!"

Hibiki nodded. "Just what I was thinking! Come on!"

The two rushed over to the scene of the crash and were relieved to find that the carriage had held only the driver, who, other than a couple scrapes and bruises, was fine. The owner of the stand also turned out to be okay, sustaining only minor fruit injuries. Once assured of everyone's safety, the two mages helped to right back up the fruit stand, a task that earned them an apple each from the appreciative owner, an older woman who blushed whenever she spoke to Hibiki.

"I couldn't help noticing she gave you the bigger apple," Lucy teased to him as they walked back towards the road. Her greenish, scrawny apple looked almost comical next to his red, robust one. "You Trimens definitely know how to pile on the charm!"

Hibiki chuckled. "Well, being a member of Blue Pegasus does have its advantages!" He tossed his butterscotch-hued hair expertly, earning him appreciative glances from several female passersby. "Be that as it may, as a Trimens and a gentleman, I cannot let a beautiful girl like you have the smaller apple. I insist we trade!"

"Oh, please," she shook her head. "You deserve it! After all, you did rescue me back there." Her cheeks reddened a little in spite of herself. "I didn't get a chance to thank you for that yet, by the way."

With a flourish, the young man crossed his two arms over his chest in a "V" shape and gave her a smile that sent sparkles all around his head, and the girls around them into a tizzy. "Well, I know the perfect chance for you to thank me," he winked. "How about dinner tomorrow night?"

She planned to say no, like she had the many, many times before when Hibiki had asked her out on a date. The "N" was just about to form in her mouth, but something stopped her - the same something that had caused her to say no to Hibiki's previous offers in the past. And that something, was Natsu.

Lucy had always turned down Hibiki because she cared for Natsu. But if Natsu wasn't an option any time soon – if ever – then why should she say no? The alternative was another night crying into a pint of ice cream, which wasn't doing anything for her mood or her figure. Come to think of it, she doubted she had any food other than ice cream and a few top ramens in her cupboard at home, seeing as how her lack of missions lately had left both her pantry, and bank account, bare. She could really use a hot meal, and a distraction.

Natsu was already lost to her, in a way. What more did she have to lose?

Lucy took a breath and mustered the most sincere smile she could.

"Hibiki, I would love to!"