She groaned softly as the pulsing through her magic became more insistent, "Okay, okay. I'm awake," she mumbled, brushing her fingers once again over her clock spirit's key. She shifted slightly, only to find that Midnight was still leaning against her, fast asleep. Not having the heart to wake him just yet, she settled back into her original position with a quiet huff, "You are so spoiled," she murmured quietly as she gently tugged the edge of his cloak more securely around him. Her eyes flicked to the window, and noted that the sun was beginning its descent.

"May I have your attention, please?" One of the attendants was on the loudspeaker.

"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. The rail line is in the process of securing more vehicles to transport you all to your original destinations, but it is taking more time than anticipated. To make up for this, the rail line has paid for accommodations for everyone for the night. We'll have enough buses up and running tomorrow, so don't worry. Please grab a voucher from me before disembarking and present it to the front desk at the Golden Clover Inn. We will be arriving shortly."

Well, that's one less thing to worry about, Lucy thought as the bus rounded a bend. The derailment had really caused a lot of problems. Although, she supposed it was more the reason for the derailment than the accident itself. The bus pulled into Clover, and people began to shuffle off.

"Midnight? Midnight. Hey. Heeey," She prodded the man gently in the stomach, to no avail, "Oh, seriously, I swear you could sleep through anything," Lucy growled at him, poking him in various other areas. Finally, she grasped a longer strand of white hair and tickled his nose with the end of it. His nose twitched slightly, eyebrows furrowing before he cracked one eye open to glare at her. She smiled slightly at him, "You are really, really difficult to wake up. We're here."

He grunted at her, mumbling something, but followed her off of the bus once she'd grabbed a voucher, "What's that?"

"A voucher for a room tonight. It's taking them some time to get organized after what happened, so they're putting everyone up for the night."

"Oh."

"You know… It's kind of a miracle that you didn't burn alive back there."

Midnight raised an eyebrow at her from beneath his hood.

"Do you always sleep so soundly?"

"First off, you tickling my nose is not anywhere near the same as a train car exploding. Second, my magic tends to react to danger, so it's not a question of sleeping soundly."

"Now that you mention it, I remember you deflected an attack from Natsu without waking up… That's really interesting. I'm useless without my keys. Anyway, this is our stop."

"Our stop?"

"Of course. You need a place to spend the night too, and there's no way I'm leaving you out on the streets with that injury. Besides, you still look tired," Lucy added, somewhat guiltily.

"I'm always tired. Don't make that face."

"What face?" Lucy huffed when she realized he wasn't going to answer her, then approached the front desk with her voucher in hand.

"Ah, another one. Well, it's good that everyone seems to be alright," the receptionist handed her a key, "There you are. Room 348. Have a good night."

"Thank you," Lucy chirped, bounding back to Midnight, who had situated himself in an unassuming corner, "Alright, let's go… Midnight? I swear to God, if you fell asleep again…"

He chuckled quietly at her, "I was messing with you. What room are we?"

"I- you- 348," Lucy muttered, leading the still amused man to the elevators.

"What would you have done if I had fallen asleep?" Midnight inquired as the blond closed the door behind them.

"Probably just tickled you again," Lucy replied, watching him as he shrugged out of the cloak.

He smirked at her, "You know, there is an easier way to wake me."

"Enlighten me."

"You were actually pretty close with the nose. But its' actually my jaw that you need to go for," He turned his head to show her a long, thin scar that began behind his ear and extended down the left side of his jaw. At Lucy's questioning look, he elaborated, "The weapon that did this was coated with a venom designed to make any wound it inflicted incredibly painful. The spot's still sensitive, even though it's been years since the injury. Just touch that scar and I'll wake up."

"But… Does it hurt?"

Midnight shook his head, "No. It's just more sensitive."

Lucy was still clearly anxious about it, and he rolled his eyes, "Here," He reached for her hand, directing it to the scar and letting her fingertips rest against the slightly raised skin.

"See? It's fine."

"Okay," Lucy agreed slowly, brushing her fingers against the scar, but pulling away quickly when a low hum of approval escaped him, "Sorry! Totally just made that awkward."

He turned from her, trying and failing to hide his embarrassment as he shook his head, "It's fine."

"Well… Man, I'm hungry. Haven't eaten since this morning," Lucy changed the subject, "Let's see what's around and I'll pick us up some dinner."


About forty-five minutes later, Lucy was walking back to the hotel, a bag of food securely in hand. She'd decided to splurge a bit, going for some fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It was nice knowing that she'd be able to eat more than a few bites of her meal before Natsu inhaled the rest of it, and Happy wouldn't be around to tease her about her weight. Which was fine, thank you very much. Besides, her current companion looked like he could use the calories. The que at the restaurant had been long, so once she'd placed her order she'd headed over to the small cosmetics shop across the street. She hadn't planned on buying anything, but had ended up leaving the store with a bottle of matte black nail polish. She'd noticed Midnight's was chipping, and if there was one thing that Lucy Heartfilia could not leave alone, it was surely chipping nail polish.

"I'm back!" She called, closing the door behind her. Midnight looked up from the small travel pamphlet he'd been reading and she froze a moment, taking in his appearance. He'd obviously showered, if the damp hair and lack of makeup were any indication, but he was now dressed in a black tank top and a deliciously tight fitting pair of faded jeans. A wine colored leather jacket with white fur lining on the high collar was draped over the chair.

"Virgo?" Lucy ventured a guess.

Midnight nodded, "Yeah. She was just there when I got out of the shower. Gave me a damn heart attack, but re-wrapped my side and gave me these."

"Sounds about right. She loves dressing people," Lucy appraised him critically once more, "She's got good taste though; that suits you."

"Uh… Thanks," Midnight tugged slightly and one of the longer white strands of his hair, than eyed her bag with interest, "So that smells amazing."

"Oh, right! I got some fried chicken and potatoes… You're not vegetarian, are you?"

Midnight laughed at her, shaking his head, "No. If I was, I would have told you before you left. I was kind of expecting you to be, though."

"Me? Oh, nah. Though I was considering it, just so Natsu would stop literally eating me out of house and home."

"Cobra was the same way!" Midnight huffed, apparently irritated by the memory of the poison dragon slayer, "That guy's stomach is a bottomless pit, I swear to you."

Lucy sighed, "Dragon slayers, right? Try living with three of them," she quipped, handing Midnight a box of food and taking the other for herself, "Though to be fair, Wendy's manners are absolutely angelic compared to Natsu and Gajeel."

"Wendy? The Sky Maiden?"

"That's right. She joined Fairy Tail after the Nirvana incident."

Midnight frowned slightly, "Wasn't she part of that Cat guild? Cat sanctuary or something?"

"Cait Shelter," Lucy corrected absently, "About that…" As they ate, Lucy recounted the story of the Nirvit tribe and how the guild had been created for Wendy's sake.

"It was hard for her to watch her family disappear like that, but Wendy's a tough girl, and always optimistic. She decided to join Fairy Tail, and fit in right away. I've been doing my best to keep an eye on her; make sure she's adjusting well and isn't lonely or overwhelmed… Then again, she has Carla, so I'm sure she's fine."

"If you're looking out for her, I'm sure she's quite happy," Midnight nodded, smiling slightly, "You have a very nurturing demeanor."

Lucy laughed, a little embarrassed, "Ah, thanks, I think. Most people say I'm bossy or overbearing. Mostly annoying, though."

"I can see how some people would see it that way, but I think your perceived bossiness just shows how much you care for others. I don't' find it annoying."

Lucy grinned at him, "Give it time," She joked, earning a smirk from the reflector mage. They finished dinner in relative silence, a few pockets of pleasant chit-chat punctuating the meal.

"Oh, I picked something up while I was waiting for our food," Lucy dug around in her purse once things had been cleared away. Finally, she produced the nail polish, "Aha! Here it is. I noticed yours was chipped," she explained at Midnight's curious expression, "Here, I'll redo it."

"Here are your supplies, Princess!" Virgo appeared at Lucy's elbow with a small bin containing nail polish remover, cotton squares, base coat and top coat, cuticle oil and orange sticks.

"Thank you, Virgo," Lucy smiled at her maid spirit, not at all startled at her sudden appearance. Midnight, on the other hand, had jumped visibly, watching the short exchange with an incredulous expression.

"How often does that happen for you to not even be phased by that?" He inquired still staring at the spot Virgo had been standing before she'd disappeared into sparkles.

"At least three times daily," Lucy replied, "Now come here."

Shaking his head, Midnight sat across from her, offering his hand over the small card table when prompted, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Besides, you're doing mine next," Lucy smiled at him as she removed the nail polish.

"Fair enough."

An hour later, the pair of them were sporting matching matte black nails. Virgo appeared once more to collect the supplies, then bid them both good night Lucy glanced at the clock and yelped, "It's that late?! We should probably get some sleep."

"No complaints here," Midnight agreed with a slight smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "From you? Of course not," she tugged her oversized T-shirt down over her shorts and crawled into her bed, "Hey, Midnight?" She asked just as the man in question flicked off the lamp.

"Yeah?"

"Where will you go now?"

"I don't know. I was just hopping trains, trying to make sure my trail was covered. I hadn't really thought about a destination. Why?"

"Just curious."

"What about you? Was Acalypha your stop, or were you transferring?"

Lucy shook her head, even though he probably couldn't see her do so, "I was headed for Acalypha. I have a job there, and… Well, I wanted to visit my father."

"Your father?"
"Mm-hm. Last time we ran into each other, we didn't part on the greatest of terms." Slowly, she launched into the story of how her father had hired Phantom Lord to force her to return home, which then prompted the story of Lissana's miraculous return from Edolas and Lucy's subsequent decision to reconnect with her own family.

"Man, you fairies keep busy," Midnight commented dryly.

"We certainly do," Lucy agreed, "Well, sorry for talking so long. Good night."

"Night."


Lucy's such a sweetheart. Anywho, thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed; it lets me know that I haven't totally lost my writing ability, lol. Cheers!