Chapter 1: Lucy's conundrum (Omniscient pov)

It was a normal evening back at the guild and Lucy was sitting at her usual spot by the bar talking to Mira. Slurping the last of her strawberry milkshake, she thought of the events of the past few days. She sighed, unsure of what to do next. It wasn't as if she had never thought of Natsu in that way, because she had, but now, things were different. They were best friends and that's how she wanted them to stay, but with everything that had happened, she didn't know if that was even a possibility. She didn't know who to turn to for help. To her knowledge, her spirits didn't really have many romantic experiences, apart from Loke and Aquarius, but there was no way in hell she would ask Loke. There was no point anyway; she already knew what he would say. He'd probably start talking about how much he loved her and how he'd do anything to prove it, but he wouldn't think about Natsu's feelings. Before she had fallen for Loke, she had actually started to have feelings for Natsu, but they left quickly since when her mind told her it wasn't a good idea. Especially if anything bad happened, she knew that she would most likely lose her best friend. Unfortunately for her, that was exactly what had happened.

Aquarius wasn't reliable enough either, as much as she looked up to her, Lucy knew that Aquarius probably wouldn't care and make fun of her for still being single.

Gray! Of course! She could ask Gray, he did know after all. He knew about her and Loke of course since he was Loke's best friend.

"That settles it then, I'll ask Gray!" she thought to herself.

He might not have had much experience in love being as awkward as he was. He was most likely a virgin as well, much to the dismay of his fangirls who clearly wanted to be the ones to change that fact. She then remembered the tiny deal breaking detail.

"Oh, that's right, he didn't know about Natsu…"

She knew it obviously wasn't her place to tell him about it. What was she going to do? Was she really going to have to figure out what to do on her own? She frowned at that thought and ordered another milkshake.

It wasn't clear to Lucy if there was anyone else in the guild she could turn to, but what was clear was that it definitely couldn't be Mira. She loved Mira, as did everyone else, but they all knew of her matchmaking tendencies. She'd be too overwhelmed at the idea of a new potential couple and babies, that she would end up telling the whole guild, by accident of course, but still, Lucy didn't need things to get worse. Erza would probably get angry at Natsu for ruining the dynamic of the team. How would they be able to go on missions together with that amount of awkwardness? At first, Lucy thought that Natsu would act as if nothing had happened, but it had been three days since the incident and he hadn't even been to the guild. She decided it was probably best to wait for someone else approval before talking to him again, but she just had to see if he was ok.

She could tell Cana, but she'll probably turn it into something sexual. She sighed again as she looked around the guildhall. As soon as her gaze met a certain blue haired mage, she knew exactly who to ask.

"Hey Levy-chan!" she said with enthusiasm, she was greeted with a warm hug.

"Lu-chan! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Levy giggled.

"I was wondering, are you busy tonight? I was thinking of having a girl's night, pyjama party?"

"Sure! Sounds great, should I be there around seven? Or later?"

"Awesome! I have a few things to do first so I should get going now then if I want to get it all done before you arrive, see ya in an hour or so!" and she turned to leave.

"Hang on! What should I bring?" Levy leaned in closer and whispered, "Is this clearly important secret chocolate worthy or not?"

Lucy simply nodded furiously and giggled then left.

If Natsu wasn't at the guild right now then where could he be? Lucy thought hard for a moment, he was usually at the guild or in her apartment, but she doubted he'd be there because of the prior incident. She knew he wasn't on a mission since neither he nor Happy had been to the guild to get a request and she had asked Mira, but she said the same thing. She was actually curious to know if Lucy had any idea as to where they were or why they hadn't been to the guild lately. Not wanting to lie, she answered with a simple "I'm not sure" and quickly changed the topic.

She had already checked the woods where he went fishing with Happy and Gildarts. She thought for a while standing at the exit of the woods. That's right! How could she be so stupid? She was unsure if she remembered the way there, but she still had to try. After about fifteen minutes later, she finally found the small house with the small familiar sign in front.

"Here goes nothing," she sighed as she tried to encourage herself; she knocked at the door and waited patiently for her pink haired friend to open up.

"Oh hi Lucy!" all she saw was a blue blur before she felt small warm body hug her. She smiled as she hugged him back; she was so happy to see Happy again, she really had missed him.

"I think you two might need some privacy, bye!" he flew back inside as Natsu came out and closed the door behind him.

"Hi Luce…" he was awkward, clearly uncomfortable; he couldn't even look her in the eye. "Would you like to come in for tea? I can ask Happy to er-" he was quickly interrupted by Lucy.

"There'll be no need for that thanks, I won't be staying long. I just wanted to see how you were doing, people are starting to get worried."

"Oh ok… We're fine, there's no point in worrying. Everything's cool"

"I'll be going then! Bye." She said as cheerfully as possible, although she was still slightly worried, he had avoided her gaze the whole time.

Natsu rapidly turned and went back inside making sure to close the door behind him. He felt his eyes starting to sting, he felt his knees give in and he collapsed to the ground breaking down in tears. Why had he let himself fall for her? Was it to fill the void in his heart left by Lisanna's supposed death? Surely things would have changed when they found out she was still alive, but why hadn't they? Lisanna was back and healthy, but things were different now. With Lucy in the picture, he didn't feel anything for the new Lisanna. Of course, she was still the same person, but inside it still felt as if she was dead. It was reassuring to see her, but something had changed between them. It was as if their close bond, their history had gone, as if he didn't even know her anymore.

Lucy got back home after quickly popping to the shops to get some extra food and drinks. She relaxed for a moment or two, before starting to cook dinner. She was in the middle of chopping onions when her thoughts invaded her mind making her cut a small portion of skin from her finger.

"Ow! Shit, there's blood all over the onion…" after cleaning up, she heard a knock at the door, so she went and opened it.

"Lu-chan! I've barely been able to contain my curiosity; I have to know what's been bothering you. And also of course I want to help you in any way I can," Levy giggled as she greeted her best friend.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you after dinner, it can wait" said Lucy with a devilish smirk making her friend glare at her then sigh.

They talked about all sorts of stuff during dinner, mainly books, and when it was finally time for bed, they got into their pyjamas and prepped for the revelation. There was chocolate and all sorts of sweets in little bowls on the coffee table and they had also made hot chocolate with little marshmallows.

"Ok, so what's the big secret?" Levy asked and Lucy swallowed hard took a deep breath, and then started to explain everything.

FIRST FLASHBACK

A few months prior to the present day, it was raining, so Lucy had stayed home to work on her novel, but she just didn't have inspiration. So, by reflex, she took out one of her keys and opened the gate. Instantaneously, Loke appeared.

"What can I do for you today Lucy?"

"Anything you want, I'm kinda bored and I've no inspiration, would you mind-" before she could finish, she was interrupted by Loke, who grabbed her hand and led her outside.

"It's raining! Are you absolutely out of your mind?" she struggled trying to cover her head with her hands. She shivered as she felt the rain seep into the soles of her fluffy slippers.

"Of course, come on, let loose! Have some fun!" they danced and sang in the rain, jumping in puddles along the way until they finally made managed to make their way to South Gate Park, when they were under the big Sakura tree in the middle, they just looked at each other for a while and for a moment it seemed as if they were about to kiss, but at the right moment, Lucy sneezed. All over Loke. She blushed like crazy, apologising over and over again.

"How many times do I have to tell you that it's ok?" he lifted her up in a princess hold and took her home. The next day, she stayed home sick with the sniffles, so she called Loke up again and gave him an earful. They parted a few moments later agreeing that they were even.

SECOND FLASHBACK

A few days before the present day, Lucy had gone on a mission with Natsu and Happy. They were staying in a hotel, but since this was a last minute mission they had to share a room. Lucy took the bed and agreed to share with Happy, but made Natsu sleep on the couch. She didn't want to make Loke jealous even if they weren't together, they had just stayed friends for the time being, but neither of them could hide their obvious feelings for each other. So she avoided being at the guild with him to avoid anyone figuring it out. The only person Lucy had trusted with this was Gray as he was Loke's best friend in the guild and she knew he wasn't likely to tell anyone. It wasn't that she didn't trust anyone else, but she wanted to avoid everyone knowing.

Happy had fallen asleep and Natsu and Lucy were engrossed in a game of truth or dare. After a couple of seemingly innocent rounds, Lucy had just chosen a truth.

"So, Lucy," he smirked, "Would you ever go out with a fellow guild member? Or, perhaps, one of your spirits?" He winked. She felt about a million questions go through her mind and yet only one was really important. How did he know? Did he guess? She had made sure to try and be discreet about it, she never used Loke on missions when she was with Natsu and she most certainly never talked about him. Confused, she just answered by a simple yes and called it a night. Hopefully, he wouldn't make too much of that confession. What Lucy didn't know, was that that question was actually meant to find out something else entirely. Natsu was completely in the dark about her and the lion. Being Natsu, he was clueless that his question could have had other insinuations. He had only asked about the celestial spirits as well to try to draw attention away from himself. Unfortunately, he was satisfied with his answer, persuaded that she meant she would go out with him.

The next day, after heading home, Lucy just couldn't take it anymore, so she locked all her doors and windows, and then summoned Loke.

"How may I assist you today?" He greeted her, instead of answering his question; she threw her arms around him and told him the three words he had been waiting so long to hear.

"I love you."

"I love you too." They both smiled, and felt like nothing could ever do anything to affect their profound happiness.

"You busy next Friday? You up for a picnic?"

"Of course milady" he said making her giggle. They spent the night talking and talking until finally they fell asleep on the couch in each other's arms.