*It is probably best that Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail so he can keep writing great stories to inspire the rest of us.

The following morning, Lucy refused to get out of bed. Fried hadn't just left Bell's room; he had completely disappeared from the estate. No one knew where he was, but they suspected that he had returned to Magnolia. Franco had told Bell what had happened after the party was over and she had done everything she could to comfort her friend, but the blonde didn't want comfort. She just wanted to cry.

Bell had left so she could say goodbye to her other guests, so Lucy was alone when Franco came into the room. Not wanting to talk, she rolled away from him and pulled the sheets up to her chin.

He sat in the chair next to the bed and sighed. "I'll wager that you weren't expecting this when you took this mission, were you?"

She gasped and shot straight up as she stared at him with wide eyes. "H-h-how… when… did I…"

Franco chuckled at her. "Don't worry, your cover was flawless. Bell has no idea about what you're really doing here and I would prefer to keep it that way. Lord Sebastian told me that he had hired you and the story you were using. Imagine my surprise when I saw it was Fried who was posing as your fiancé. I was almost certain that your cover would have been blown since I had told her about him and how he was a bit emotionally distant, but you made it work."

Her eyes dropped to her hands which were gripping the sheets in her lap. "You must think I'm a terrible person. Someone who expects to be paid to help a childhood friend," she shook her head. "Please tell Lord Sebastian to keep his money, there's no way I could accept it."

"I had a feeling that you or Fried might say that," he smiled. "That's why I told Sebastian to forward the money to your guild master. It will be waiting for you when you get back."

Lucy scowled at him, which didn't seem to faze the man, but his expression did become serious. "So are you scared of my brother now?"

She thought about it before she answered. "No, I'm not scared of him. I wasn't scared of him last night either," she told him. "I'm a little worried about what would happen to him if he was to lose control, but I'm confident he wouldn't hurt me."

"Why's that?"

"Because he could have hurt me last night when I put myself between him and Junelle, but he stopped. He just dropped his sword and wrapped his arms around me."

Franco shook his head. "Then you didn't see his dark side, not all of it at least. I've only seen it once, many years ago, but that was enough for me. Fried will literally let his darkness completely take him over and he turns into a demon."

"I still don't think he would hurt me," she said confidently.

He chuckled again. "I'm not sure if that makes you foolish, crazy or brave."

Lucy smiled at him. "I'm a Fairy Tail mage, which means that I'm a bit of all three."

"Good, you'll have to be if you intend to have a relationship with my brother." He reached over and took one of her hands in his. "I meant what I said last night. I have never seen him happier than he is with you and I don't want to see him lose that happiness so quickly."

"I'm not going to give up on him. He ran because he thought I was scared of him. I just have to find him and prove that I'm not."

Giving her hand a final squeeze, he released her and stood from his chair. "Then you better get going before my brother beats himself up too much over what he thinks he did to you. You have two months to get him to see reason before my wedding. And you both better be there or else I will set Bell loose on you."

She chuckled as she imagined the lengths her friend would go to in order to insure that she and Fried would come to the wedding together… it would not be pretty. "Do you mind arranging a carriage for me while I pack and get dressed?"

"It's waiting downstairs already," Franco smiled at her. "If you hurry, you should make the next train. Good luck."

~oOo~

Lucy thought of what to say and how to approach Fried the entire journey back to Magnolia and decided that anger was probably the best way to start. She was mad at him for running off and leaving her and since her rune mage was someone who preferred honesty, then anger was the best way to break the ice with him. After that, she would confess how much she cared about him and make sure that he knew she wasn't scared of him.

First thing she did was go to the guild to talk to the master. He wasn't in his office but Mira had a letter from him.

Lucy,

I'm glad that your mission went well and that your friend is safe. Lord Sebastian forwarded you reward to me and I have enclosed it with this letter. Fried reported in last night and has requested for you to leave him be. I will respect his wishes and not tell you that he lives at 352 Fountain Street. I don't know what happened between you two, but please try to fix it if you see him soon…

She stopped reading and turned to glare at Mira. She was not-so-subtly watching the blonde as she wiped down the spotless counter with a cloth. "You read and rewrote my letter from the master, didn't you?"

The white haired woman smiled sweetly, fooling no one. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lucy. But now that you mention it, I saw Fried come in last night and he looked so heart broken. Something must have happened during you mission to make him look like that and leave you behind, what was it?"

Knowing that the woman would never admit to the letter, but she knew Fried pretty well, Lucy took her usual seat at the bar and told Mira everything that had happened. By the end of her story, the take-over mage looked like a heartbroken fan-girl whose favorite couple had just broken up right in front of her. There were even tears in her eyes.

"I should have known," she muttered to herself as she wiped away her tears and gave Lucy's hand a comforting pat. "Fried is a strong mage, but I think he's terrified of hurting those closest to him. That's why he's only really been close to Laxus, Bickslow and Evergreen. But I did notice the way he looked at you before you left for the mission and I can tell that he cares about you, so don't give up on him."

"And here I thought you were all for me getting together with Natsu, Gray or Loke."

She shrugged and smiled brightly at her. "Those three were my favorites until I saw you with Fried. But mostly, I just wanted to see you fall in love and since I can tell that you do love him, fight for him."

The conversation ended there. Not because Lucy had nothing more to say, but because a certain pink haired mage threw his arm around her shoulder and scared her half to death.

"Hey, Luce! You're back! Does that mean I get my Lucy dinner tonight?" Natsu said as he gave her a squeeze.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She yelled at him, just about to let loose a Lucy kick to his chin.

He pouted. "Come on, Luce. I haven't seen or talked to you in almost a week."

She sighed and got up from her chair. "You're right, I'm sorry. We'll have to stop by the market for food since I'm sure that you ate everything in my apartment while I was gone."

Shopping with Natsu turned out to be the perfect way to calm her nerves, it was impossible to be mad when he was happy like this. She listened to him talk about everything that had happened since she had started working with Fried. Happy had gotten turned down again when he had offered Carla a fish. Lyon had come to the guild to ask Juvia out and had gotten in a weird three-way-tug-of-war with her gripping Gray and Lyon trying to pull her away from the other ice mage. Then, just this morning, Lisanna had asked Natsu out on a date!

"She really asked you out? That's awesome! What did you say?" Lucy asked as she unlocked the front door to her apartment and carried the groceries to the kitchen.

"I… um… told her I'd think about it."

"Natsu, you idiot!" She yelled at him as she spun around to glare at him as she shut the fridge door. "You don't tell a girl I'll think about it when she asks you out on a date! You tell her yes or no; and telling her I'll think about it is just as bad, if not worse, than telling her no! You realize that you probably just broke her heart!" Lucy spun back around and shoved the rest of the groceries into the fridge, as she continued to mutter to herself.

Realizing that the blonde was about to go into a dark mood, the dragon slayer attempted to retreat into the living room to escape her, but she wasn't going to let the flaming idiot escape her so easily. Lisanna was her friend and she was not about to let her feel the same uncertainty and rejection that Fried was making her feel right now. Lucy stormed after him and unintentionally collided with his hard back. She was going to yell at him until she realized that he was staring at something. Looking past him, she gasped when she saw that her entire living room had been moved around. Nothing seemed to be missing but there was definitely something new that hadn't been there when she'd left a few days earlier.

Placed against the wall was a square, grand piano and matching piano bench. The wood had a beautiful reddish color and a glossy finish that almost made it shine in the fading sunlight. The music rack was beautifully carved with an ornate design that made her want to trace it with her fingers. The keys were perfectly polished and waiting for someone to bring the music it could produce to life. It was so beautiful that she felt tears building up in her eyes.

"You didn't tell me you were getting new furniture. What is this thing anyway?" Natsu asked as he cautiously inspected the new object.

"It's a piano," she told him as she came out of her stupor, though she was still in a bit of a shock. Only one person at the guild knew that she played… Then she noticed the white envelop placed on the music rack and opened it with shaking fingers.

My Angel,

I don't expect or deserve your forgiveness. If you never wish to see me again, I understand. I should have expected as much, a demon like me has no chance with an angel. But a talent such as yours should not go to waste.

Love, Your Demon

The tears she had been holding back fell from her cheeks and onto the paper as she read the letter over and over again. You stupid, beautiful, irritating, sweet man! You never needed my forgiveness.

"Luce, are you alright?"

Wiping away her tears, she turned to her friend and gave him a watery smile. Despite how dense he usually was, Natsu seemed to read her expression right away.

"You know what, Luce," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "You're right; I shouldn't have left Lisanna without an answer. I think I'll go talk to her right now, so we'll have to do a rain-check on dinner tonight.' He gave her his signature, toothy grin. "If we're lucky, then the four of us can go on a double date. I'm pretty sure Lisanna would really like that."

Lucy threw her arms around his neck and hugged him hard enough that she heard him gasp for air. "That sounds perfect! You are the best friend anyone could ask for!"

"Of course I am!" He kept grinning at her as she turned and sprinted out the door.

Lucy pulled the note from Makarov/Mira out of her pocket to look at the address written on the paper. It was more than half way across town; about a twenty minute walk… she'd be there in less than ten minutes! She had to see Fried right now. She had to tell him she loved him. She… she needed him and she had to make sure that he knew he would never scare her away. As Franco said, she was too foolish, crazy and brave to let herself be scared away.

I'm coming for you, my demon!

A/N: Again, I know that Natsu seems a bit OOC, but I think he knows Lucy enough to know what his best friend needed to do. I'm going to have a busy weekend, so the next chapter won't be up until Monday at the earliest.

A/N 2: Have been debating on writing one more chapter for this story. There is one more scheduled chapter, but I'm thinking of adding one more. After I post the next chapter, please comment and let me know if I should leave the story as it is of if you would like one more.