A/N: This takes place after Tartarus, but it doesn't include any of real manga plot after the Celestial Spirit King appears and everyone is freed.

This is my first fan fiction.

I don't own Fairy Tail.

Lucy POV

How in the world did he get into my apartment this time?! One, I locked my door and my street-facing window, and two, I blocked the brick chimney so that not even Gray would have a chance of getting in. I had told my team to leave me alone for a while, and Mira had supposedly sent them on a mission to eradicate a dark guild in order to give me some space. I say supposedly because what I see peeking out from under my duvet before me is definitely the mop of salmon hair and the ends of a scaly scarf belonging to one of the people that are, supposedly, "on a mission" for the rest of the week.

I decide to let Natsu be instead of (literally) kicking him out, because he looks so peaceful sleeping that it's impossible to be mad at him. I grab my woolen sweater, drop my keys into my pocket, and slip through the door silently. My steps take me in the opposite direction of the guild hall, while tiny raindrops drizzle down on me from above.

Now that all the trouble with Tartarus is over, the people in the guild have taken it unto themselves to party like there'll be no tomorrow. It feels like they want to drain the sorrow of the past months through a sieve of alcohol and merrymaking, leaving only the useful knowledge of experience behind. Actually no, cross that. I don't think anyone wants to remember anything, let alone something so painful.

We all lost something in the fight against the demon gates. Some lost more than others... I guess I would know more than most. Aquarius- I lean my head back and try to swallow the tears that I refuse to let escape from my eyes. She was such a wonderful spirit, even though she hated me for not being more like my mother. A single drop of salt water runs down down my cheek and hangs glimmering on my jaw. I wipe it off quickly and quicken my pace, my ankle high boots crunching over the gravel of a small, meandering garden path that I found while exploring Magnolia a year or so ago.

Not only did I lose Aquarius, I lost-

Huh? I can't remember! Please don't tell me it's happening again! I groan and close my eyes, praying that it won't be as bad this time. The Headaches. The Pain. And then... silence. And not just any silence. Silence that pushes all sound away, silence that digs it's claws into my brain like a mutilated bird, and all of a sudden-

Flies away.

I open my eyes. Thank Mavis it wasn't so painful. I feel cold seeping through my shirt and realize that I'm facing sky-ward, with my back on the cold, wet pebbles on the ground. How long was I out cold? I thank my younger, seventeen year old self for finding this secluded path, because it would have been embarrassing to have fainted in front of tons of other people. I pull myself up on a vine and brush off the tiny stones that decided to hitchhike on my woolen sweater, and wonder how I ended up fainting.

I suppose it must be because of the fit, but usually I'm conscious throughout the entire thing. As far as I know I've never fainted as a result of pain, but this time was different. Why?

I know that something happened during or after the fight against Tartarus that triggered this level of instability but of course I can't remember.

As I approach the end of the pathway I look down at my polished brown boots and avoid eye contact with people. I don't want them to see my blotchy tear-stained face. I follow my feet without a clue of where I'm headed and continue mulling over my predicament. Maybe someone in the Guild could figure it out for me? Although, I don't think I'd be able to bring it up. I haven't even told Levy yet, and she's been visiting me almost every day since we returned from… wherever we were.

I think about the Guild. I hadn't been there since the end of Tartarus, how long ago was it now? It seemed like years while it was probably only a few weeks. I wonder what they would think of my appearance, just randomly showing up. Not only have I not been there for weeks, I've also changed. I no longer wear my usual miniskirts and crop tops (it's fall after all,) instead I wear a pair of long navy blue jeans that hugs my legs while still being flexible enough for most anything. Hidden by my grey-blue sweater is a white tee shirt with sleeves reaching just below my elbows; a pretty lace-like design in front, and on each wrist rests a bracelet of smooth turquoise sea glass.

I had kept the pink heart shaped earrings from my mother, and I still wear the same belt: albeit without my fleuves d'étoiles today. My brown eyes probably have large bags under them from all the crying and the lack of sleep, and I'm not sure whether I've even showered or brushed my hair today. I feel gross, but at least I'm walking outside of the fifty foot radius I'd mentally built around my apartment in the past few weeks.

I stop walking and look up. I'm standing in front of the guild.

Mira POV

I stand behind the bar and polish one of the dusty wine glasses. I had to carry up a whole box of them from the storage room because so many people were still drinking and celebrating. Even the Magnolians have joined us! It reminds me of after the Grand Magic Games, where the townspeople had joined us in the celebrations for an unexpected win and a brand-new guild hall. Kinana helps me by serving the masses while I prepare the drinks and, like I'm doing now, clean glasses.

There's one key difference between now and the party we had after the Grand Magic Games though. It's much calmer this time around. I put the blame on the absence of Natsu. He was here the first few days of partying but when he noticed that Lucy hadn't shown up at all he stopped coming to the guild. I told him that Lucy just needed some time to get over her loss, but he said that he only wanted to help, and it's not like she would want to stay away from her friends and the guild for so long if there wasn't something seriously wrong.

I explained to him that she had told me she wanted to be alone, but he wasn't having any of it. It was so cute how much he worried about Lucy! However I knew that she would be really disappointed in me if he just showed up at her house despite her request of solidarity, and decided to send Team Natsu on a job, seeing as the rest of Lucy's team wasn't acting much better. I thought a mission to wipe out a dark guild would take them at least a week, and that's what I made Levy tell Lucy in one of her regular visits to the blonde's apartment.

I bring my attention back to the guild hall and see that Laxus' eyes are fixated on the door, no, something past the door. I turn my head and see a very feminine silhouette that seems mildly familiar. Laxus can probably see the details better than I, as the girl is standing right in his field of vision and he has better eyesight. I gaze up questioningly at him, and he mouths one word. A name.

Lucy.

Natsu POV

I groan and roll over. My head is still groggy from such a short nap, but I can tell immediately by the scent of strawberries and vanilla that I'm in Lucy's bed. I sit up and adjust my scarf, mentally preparing myself for the yelling that is sure to come. Mira warned me that I shouldn't go to Lucy's apartment but I couldn't help myself, I missed her and it just wasn't fun in the guild without her presence. But to my surprise nothing happens.

I listen carefully, but even with my dragon slayer senses I can't hear her. All I can hear is the rain and the low humming of her electrical appliances. Her smell is about twenty or so minutes old and a little unfresh. I wonder why she left when I came. And how in the world did I fall asleep when I was so close to seeing her again? It must be because of the mission Mira sent us on. We had finished it in half the time planned but had sacrificed precious hours of sleep in the process, meaning that when I broke into Lucy's rental by breaking through the back window, I had gone straight to her bed instead of thinking beforehand. I guess it's habit at this point, sleeping in Lucy's bed despite the circumstance.

I stood up, my head clearing a little bit more. Where is Lucy? Suddenly the irrational fear that something horrible could have happened to her grips at me, ripping the last shreds of grogginess from my mind. I race through her room and out the door, sniffing the air for any trace of her scent as I thunder down the stairs. I stand outside and can smell faint traces of strawberries and vanilla in the air, floating towards me from the general direction of the Magnolian Gardens. I follow my nose until I'm standing in front of a tiny garden path.

I follow Lucy's smell for over thirty minutes. By the way it's spread throughout Magnolia in a completely disorganized way I can guess that Lucy was walking around without paying attention to the direction she was walking in. At one point her smell is very strong, as if she stood there for a while, but I relax a little as I realize that the entire time I've been walking, I haven't detected any unfriendly smells. Because it's fall now it's kind of chilly, but my magic keeps me warm. I chuckle. I wonder how Lucy must be holding out, with her miniskirts and all.

It occurs to me that this is actually the first autumn that Lucy is experiencing in Magnolia and with the guild. Since the warmer seasons are much longer in Fiore it kind of makes sense- I met Luce in early summer, we fought Phantom Lord soon after that. Then there was Jellal... and the Oracion Seis as well. Those were both during the second part of the summer. We went to Edolas during autumn, and since I'm assuming Edolas has different seasons we experienced more late-spring like weather. Tenrou was so far south that we didn't have a winter, then we were frozen for seven years, and the whole thing with Real Nightmare took so long that the entirety of spring had come and gone without us noticing it. The Grand Magic Games and the Dragon King Festival were in the summer, and Tartarus was late summer. Now it's fall. It's crazy how the time flies.

I realize that I'd spaced out for a moment and had accidentally knocked over a market stall. I run away from the angry looking man that's yelling at me while still following Lucy's trail, and shout apologies at the people I trip or trip over. I start running faster as Lucy's smell grows stronger with every step I take. Ahead of me I can see the guild hall and I'm confused for a moment, but Lucy's smell is the strongest there so she must finally be visiting the guild again. I grin, run into the guild and stand panting by the large double doors, scanning the crowd for a blond head. I spot Laxus on the second floor, and I see him looking towards the bar more often than usual. That's when I see Lucy's hair and I rush into the crowd of people, a smile stretched across my face.

Lucy POV

The first thing I notice when I walk into the guild is that each of the dragon slayers are staring at me. Am I really that easy to smell? Oh no, please don't tell me it's because I haven't taken a shower yet...

The looks on their faces suggests it's not the fact that I stink, more the fact that I showed up at all that makes them look so... surprised? Wendy however looks overjoyed and immediately starts walking towards me. I see another bluenette follow her and recognize Levy's petite figure. Gajeel's eyes follow Levy for a moment, but then they snap back to me. Laxus seems to be having a telepathic conversation with Mira, who's standing at the bar holding a dusty wine glass.

She hastily puts it down and rushes around the bar in my direction. Erza and Gray notice the commotion being made by their friends and they join the rest of the group as they all start hugging me and asking me what in the world I've been doing this whole time. Even the master comes out of his office overjoyed.

"I think this calls for a party!" He yells over all the commotion.

Mira sighs and looks at the amount of people that would definitely be buying even more drinks. I could tell from the look on her face that this was going to be a long day for the white haired take over mage.

I hear a voice behind me.

"Luce!"

He's already awake? All of a sudden I feel a weird sort of tugging in my stomach and I duck under Mira's arm in an attempt to get away. I run around the bar and ignore the shouts from my friends and those that I push away in my haste. I slam the bathroom door behind me and slide down the stall wall.

What happened to me? My head is pounding and I feel like I'm about to vomit. I crawl over to the toilet seat and rest my head over the rim, just in case anything does come up. My eyes flutter closed as the sleep I desperately needed slithers into my brain at the worst yet best possible moment.

I'm lying on the ground and my body hurts in every possible way. My head pounds and the sharp pain in my chest won't go away.

Where am I?

What am I doing in a place like this?

I groan as I try to roll over and open my eyes. One of them refuses to open and it feels like someone poured mud into it. The other is fine, however, and I look at my surroundings with increasing fear and disgust. The ruins of a building lie in piles around me and shards of glass litter the floor. I see a hand poking out of the rubble and my stomach threatens to push up my breakfast. If I even had any breakfast that is.

I see something move to my right and tilt my head so that I can see it more clearly with my uninjured eye. The shape seems vaguely familiar, although it seems somewhat unhuman, like a human's silhouette merged with that of one of the gargoyles perched on Cardia Cathedral. I can't see much color yet, and the shadows can barely register in my brain, so I can't see the- beast- very clearly. Although the general body shape suggests it's male. A male human with demon horns coming out of its head.

But why does it seem so familiar? I wrack my brain for a memory or a clue, anything that will tell me who is standing there with smoke pouring out of the ground beneath him. What sort of magic is that? I need to cough but I'm afraid that the… thing… will notice me.

I lie still, hoping that it won't realize I've woken up. Not like it will matter to the beast, but just in case I slow down my breathing and force my heart to calm down as well. All of a sudden the creature turns towards me and looks me straight in the eye. I nearly scream and my heart goes straight into a rhythm that rivals the heartbeat of a scared mouse. It's not the fact that it looked at me that scares me. No, it's the fact that I recognize him.

But he doesn't recognize me.

Soooooo… You like? Please review! If you have any questions they will (probably/hopefully) be answered in the next chapter… but still ask so I don't forget to answer it. Constructive criticism is welcome!

PLEASEREADPLEASEREADPLEASEREADPLEASEREAD!

I've noticed that not many people read past the first chapter, so if you're one of those people that want to stop after a chapter or so, please review/PM me and say why, because for my first story I really want to focus on improving my writing skills, and I can't improve if no-one gives me any constructive criticism! [but if the reason is something that can't be turned into something helpful than please don't tell me, that would make me sad :)]

Ok, on the other hand if you have an idea for and OC then please review or PM me with the usual OC info (if you forget something then whatever, I can fill in the blanks) I will probably fiddle around a bit with the info but I really need ideas as a base. If your character is really *awesome* then it will stay the same but... yeah it depends on what is going through my head at the point when I'm writing the next chapter. The main thing I need is NAMES!

Enough with the talking.

~Stellar MEL