Author's note: Thank you for the kind reviews you left on the last chapter! It made me so happy to read them uwu I'm still trying to make things better in the story, so hopefully things will continue to be okay *fingers crossed*


Returning home to Magnolia after having been on a job for a few days always felt like a welcome relief. To Natsu, there was no greater sight than seeing the guild hall, their emblem resting proudly above the wooden doors, waiting for them, welcoming them home after a job well done. With every passing step, he could see Lucy's eyes filling with more excitement. Happy giggled to himself, and Natsu smiled.

He kicked the door open the moment it was within reach, and shouted, "We made it back alive!"

As expected, there was the good natured groaning in the back, a few raising of glasses, and Elfman shouting, "Just like a real MAN!" Natsu turned his head slightly and looked at Lucy, grinning at the look of wonder on her face. Just as he expected from her as well. Fairy Tail was really something to behold when you first saw it.

Turning to her fully, he waited until she had his attention, then said, "Go over to the bar and speak to Mira." He nodded over at the white haired woman smiling and serving drinks, and he grinned at Lucy. "Happy'll go with you. I'm just going to take care of something."

"Wait, you can't just – " Lucy began to say, but whatever else was in that sentence Natsu missed as he made his way through the people and tables of the guild hall and up the stairs, to the second floor.

On the second floor, in the shade of the rafters and the relative privacy from the rest of the guild, the noise seemed to quieten down, dimming to a low hum. Walking over to the requests board, he stared at it, indecision running through him. The low hum helped to calm his mind, but he couldn't decide on a job request. Maybe it was just him. Maybe the jobs for S-Class just weren't good at the moment.

Just as he was about to leave, one caught his eye. A cursed island, huh? Mentally filing that information away for later, he turned at the sound of low chucking, coming from somewhere behind him.

"Back already, Natsu?" Laxus moved out of the shadows, smirking and arms crossed, jacket hanging lazily across his shoulders. "Though I'm not surprised."

"It was hardly even a fight," Natsu shrugged, leaning against the requests board as he brought out the flyer he'd completed, prior to meeting Lucy. "Guy was annoying. I think he was trying to lecture me to death. And don't even get me started on his so-called assassins."

Laxus merely smirked in response, and moved to rest his arm on the bannister. "I don't know why you insist on hanging around with those weaklings, Natsu," he said, observing the guild below them for a moment.

Natsu closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, forcing himself to remain calm. "Just because they're technically weaker than us, Laxus, doesn't mean – "

"That they're weaklings," Laxus finished airily, waving a hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah." He glanced at Natsu over his shoulder. "I know you tend to do your jobs with Happy – and I'm not saying anything about him so don't you ignite that fist at me! – but you've been on jobs with Titania and Levy before." Laxus gave him a look. "If you want a job partner so bad, dragon breath, then I'm more than happy to oblige. We could even get Mystogan to join in on the fun if he ever sticks around for long enough."

"You have your Thunder Legion always following you around, though," Natsu countered, pointedly glancing to where Bixlow, Freed and Evergreen were sitting, talking quietly amongst themselves. For some reason, Bixlow was doing a lot of flailing.

Laxus shrugged.

"They can take care of themselves for one day."

Natsu had to grin, then. "Alright then, bolt brains. I'll take you up on that at some point."

With a nod and a smirk, Laxus turned back to… whatever he'd been doing in the shadows before Natsu turned up, and Natsu himself made his way down the stairs, making his way towards the bar. Somehow, in the time that he'd spent on the second floor, which was five minutes, maybe ten at the most, another brawl had broken out. He watched from the bottom step as Elfman threw himself into the fray, shouting, "A real man never backs down from a challenge!" Jet and Droy were attempting to shield Levy… by bickering about who was protecting her the most.

And then there was Gray.

"Heard ya were back in town," Gray said, managing to slither out of the fight and stand in front Natsu. "Gonna let me fight you this time, flame brain?"

Natsu yawned and stretched his arms above his head. "Nah."

Gray opened his mouth to respond, probably in the normal, "Why not?" way, but he was interrupted by Cana throwing an empty keg towards him, helpfully shouting, "Gray, your clothes!"

Gray looked down at himself, and his eyes bugged out. "Crap!" He immediately began looking around for his clothes, but in his attempt to try and pick his shirt up off the floor, he accidentally tripped and fell into Levy, knocking her over. Natsu suppressed a smirk at the flash in her eyes.

Before Jet or Droy even had the chance to notice what was happening, Levy was back on her feet and pointing at Gray, shouting, "Solid script: fire!"

Natsu turned and made the final part of his journey to the bar, still chuckling at Gray's misfortune. After all, you didn't want to get on Levy's bad side. "Why does he want to fight me so bad, anyway?" he wondered aloud, then shrugged it off. Must be a stripper thing.

He got to the bar in time to hear Mira ask, "What colour would you like your guild mark and where?"

Lucy grinned, her eyes dancing with delight, and replied, "Pink, on my right hand." As soon as she saw Natsu walk up the bar, she waltzed over to him to show her mark. "Look, Natsu. I'm a member of the guild now!"

"Sure, that's great Loopy," Natsu replied absently. Mira gave him a small smile and wandered over to them. "I finished this request, Mira."

Mira nodded, taking the flyer of the request that he'd put on the bar. "I take it the Duke wasn't too much for you?"

Natsu just snorted. "I think the guy tried to lecture me to death. I burnt down his library."

Mira tried to adopt a stern face, but Natsu could see her lips twitching. "Now, now, Natsu. It's not nice to go around burning down libraries, you know."

He shrugged. "I got my job done." Suddenly remembering something, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden key, something that one of the maids had given him after Everlue was arrested. "Say, Loony – "

"Lucy," Lucy ground out, looking annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu dismissed, waving his free hand, "You're a celestial spirit wizard, right?"

Lucy blinked, her annoyed look suddenly morphing into confusion. "I – yeah." She looked genuinely startled that Natsu had remembered that piece of information.

"I got this as an extra on my last job, the one I did just before meeting you," he explained, showing her the golden key. He could see her eyes widen even more, and her gaze seemed to focus on it. "I'm not a celestial wizard, so since I have no need of it, why don't you take it?"

"That's a zodiac gate key! That's – wait what?"

Natsu shrugged, grin fading into a more genuine smile. "Here. Consider it a 'welcome to the most awesome guild, we hope you enjoy your stay' gift," he said, handing the key over to her. With shaking hands, she took the key, looking like she couldn't quite believe what had transpired just now.

"Thank you, Natsu," she breathed, looking at the key reverently. After a moment, she attached it to her ring of other keys, and gave him the happiest smile that Natsu had probably ever seen. She might have said more, but gramps chose that moment to finally stop the brawl happening around them, scold everyone for property damage, scold the magic council for sending them bills for property damage – he even burned the bills, much to Natsu's delight. He'd been feeling a bit hungry and there was no better snack than burning council documents – and announce that he was leaving for a guild master's meeting, leaving Mira in charge.

With a cheerful smile, Mira turned back to Lucy. "Now that you're one of us, it's time you learned the family secret we have around here."

Natsu glanced at Happy, who was happily munching away on a fish, and smirked to himself. He loved this part. Lucy looked apprehensive.

"Family secret?" Lucy asked, looking confused. Mira nodded, face shifting into what everyone in the guild referred to as her 'stern mode'. Even gramps obeyed her when she was like that.

"This is something that can only be talked about with fellow guild members, and no one else." Lucy nodded, and Mira smiled again. "Natsu here is actually a demon."

Three.

Two.

One.

"What?!"

Mira nodded again, picking up a glass and turning briefly to put it away on the shelves behind her. "You wouldn't think so, would you?" Natsu watched Lucy take in the information, absently eating the fire he'd found on a stick like a whirl of cotton candy. He could see questions forming in her brain, like she couldn't decide on which to ask first. He'd had a lot in his time at Fairy Tail, the most common being, 'why do you have a demon in your guild?'

Instead, what came out of her mouth was, "But how can he be a dragon slayer as well?"

Natsu decided to answer that one. "It's complicated, Luigi." Ignoring the look Lucy gave him, he tossed the stick at the bin, "As a demon, I was already pretty in touch with fire. When Igneel found me and taught me slayer magic, the two seemed to strengthen each other, probably because they're both fire based." He paused for a moment. "As for being both, that's a really long story that I can't explain because it hurts my head to think about."

Lucy just stared at him.

"You're the lamest demon ever," she declared, and Natsu shrugged.

"I never said I was a good one."

There was a loud crash from behind them, and the three of them looked in the direction from which it came. Gray had managed to worm his way out of another scuffle that had somehow gotten Max, Laki, Vijeeter and Nab involved, and was staring at Natsu with a fierce look on his face. Natsu sighed, knowing what was going to happen.

"Natsu!" Gray roared, oblivious to his shirtless-and-pantlessness. "Fight me already! Ice make: hammer!"

With a bored look, Natsu raised a hand towards the incoming projectile heading towards him. The moment the hammer came within touching distance of his fingers, the ice immediately shattered, like ice breaking apart in warmer weather. Lucy let out a screech from his side, and Natsu sent Gray another look.

"Nah," he said, repeating his earlier answer. Honestly, how often was he going to have to repeat himself?

"A real man finishes what he starts!" Elfman yelled, and he unexpectedly yanked Gray back into the fray, throwing wild punches. Natsu snorted at the sight, half tempted to join in. Shaking his head, he turned back to Lucy, only to find her staring at him with wide eyes.

"I take it back," she squeaked out, waving her hands frantically. "You're not lame!"

Happy sniggered from behind his fish. "Yes he is."

Suddenly, the guild hall doors burst open, the loud bang echoing throughout and leaving a silence in its wake. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look to the interruption, to see Loke standing at the doors, looking terrified.

"It's Erza!" he panted, hanging onto the door by one hand, eyes wide behind his glasses. "She's back!"


Author's note: So we have Lucy in on the guild's little secret. We also have Laxus being friends with Natsu, because who doesn't like Laxus when he isn't trying to take over the guild? Hopefully that was okay. Was it okay? Please let me know?

(This is also a little thing I want to quickly mention: while I read the manga, as well as watch the anime sub, a lot of terms I've kept in from the anime dub, like 'thunder legion'. I really hope this doesn't confuse anyone!)