AN: Hello there, you guys did earn this chapter early-by A lot-and I do wish I was able to get this monster out earlier, but I had so many issues with it, and I just couldn't get it right, and URGHHHHH.

But I think I finally got it down after working on it all. freakin. day. Not even kidding, this was an all day project.

All my other chapters were 6,000-7,000 words, and honestly this one was supposed to about the same amount AND the last part of the intermission. But no. There is still one part that I hope to have out either this weekend or early next week. I wanted to do the final years of the intermission in one chapter, but year six was 8,755 without line breaks and author note, and I hadn't even started editing the next year!

ABOUT NATSU!

A lot of people have been asking about him and Fairy Tail. What have they been doing? Does Natsu feel the things that Lucy feels? Is he with Lisanna? Well, I do know all the answers to that, and don't worry, you guys will too, you'll just have to be patient. All of that will be cleared up sometime after the intermission :D

Enjoy your early chapter! And tell me what you thought! I'm really nervous about this one because so much happens and I'm not sure if it was too much or not. I almost didn't post it because I was so iffy about it!


Year Six:

Early January was accompanied by a huge snow storm, and by huge, she meant huge. As in she woke up that morning to find Max having a battle with the white flakes and losing quite pathetically. With his blue fire flying and buckets full of salt and sand by his side, he cleared away a path that would be recovered by the snow in a couple minutes flat.

About five minutes into her watching him, he noticed. He had started doing some martial arts moves (ones that she had mastered already) as he pranced around the sidewalk making grunting noises. She giggled when he threw a powerful punch at the enemy pile of fresh snow and slush. She must have giggled just loud enough for him to hear her because he spun around so fast that he nearly doubled over in his rush. Her laughter had her gasping, and his bright blush didn't help the matter either.

Instead of letting her tease him, like she wanted to, he ushered her back inside. As they walked into the kitchen he scolded her for standing out in the cold wearing nothing more than flimsy pajamas and an old blanket. Her immune system still wasn't back to normal yet, and he was talking about her catching her death, or the plague, out there. Either one was really bad in his book.

Lucy had just finished explaining that catching her death would probably be the same as catching the plague when the lights flickered off.

She froze. Max froze. No one dared to speak.

But after a couple seconds of heavy silence, Rea spoke first from the bathroom.

So, the power just went out!

Lucy's eyes locked with Max's and then promptly the two busted into laughter because Rea was in the middle of a shower.

Lucy spent the rest of the day gathering candles and flashlights, getting everything that needed to be cold out of the now useless refrigerator and into the still active snow storm.

Max spent the majority of the day trying to get the rest of the shampoo out of Rea's hair via snowballs.


The outage lasted just under a week. They had to buy water (Lucky for them, they bought the last couple gallons in the entire store) and ration it, otherwise Rea would have drank it all in the first couple days. That girl could consume water like a fish.

Then, they spend their time either playing cards, practicing martial arts (much to Lucy's surprise, Rea even joined in though she was against sparring indoors after the fire incident), or meditating. For such a hyperactive, high strong guy, Max really enjoyed his meditation. Lucy never cared or noticed that Max always got up a good couple hours before Lucy even thought about waking up, and apparently he did that all for the sake of his meditation time. He needed peace and quiet to properly get on his zone. He reasoned that there was no better time to do that than when everyone else was asleep.

It was through the metal exercises that Max found out about Lucy's magic. Like Rea, he knew that she was a mage, but wasn't sure about her actual power. And it was the simple fact that meditation wasn't her thing that revealed the secret behind her particular brand of magic. She could only sit and do nothing for so long, so, she began practicing the new technique of magic she stumbled upon in the hospital.

Apparently, her parts of the conversations were verbalized.

This was embarrassing because Ares had been the one to answer her, and she was telling her about Max. In all his shirtless sweaty glory too. She didn't skimp out on any details either.

After the teasing (I didn't know you liked what you saw) (Would you rather we spar naked?), he then realized that Lucy probably wasn't just saying those things to poke at his ego, and that the pauses in her rants left room for someone to answer her.

All sorts of chaos ensued. Rea was convinced that Lucy was verging on insanity and was in need of more medicine. Max, surprisingly calm about the ordeal after the initial teasing, had concluded that she was a physic and was merely voicing the thoughts of every other girl in the world.

Laughing somewhat sheepishly, Lucy denounced both of their claims and told them the truth. She explained in detail of her Celestial Spirits, and the new way of communication she developed.

Max had stood up, smiling from ear to ear. He went into grueling detail about her type of magic. Which surprised her because why would he of all people know so much about it? Was this some weird thing fate had planned? Where they meant to meet? Even though she knew the majority of what he was saying already, she listened with her undivided attention. Her said that Celestial magic was one of the more powerful supportive type magic. Unlike exquip mages and alchemists-frontline mages-supportive mages could make battling situations less taxing on the more combative mages. She knew this well. She was the only supportive mage in her old team. Eventually he embarked on uncharted territory for her.

He told her that her magic capacity was practically limitless compared to other types of supportive magic. Because there was little to no strain on the body physically, celestial mages could 'charge up' their energy in the main chakras. A Chakra was a pool of energy, and when mixed with pure magic, it gave the results for battle center mages. Supportive magic use the already present magic as they do not have the means to mix it with the energy in their chakras.

Half way through his explanation of chakras, Max ran off to his room. Lucy looked to Rea in confusion, the younger sister shrugged, obviously befuddled over his little outburst.

According to her he had a fascination with magic and did a lot of research on the topics when he wasn't busy. Celestial magic just happened to be his favorite supportive magic, so he knew a great deal about it.

Max returned with a book in hand. Commenting on her love of reading, he said this book was one of his favorites on celestial magic, the majority of what he knew about it came from that book. Lucy happily took the book, inwardly wondering why she didn't think of researching her own magic before.

She spent the rest of the day reading and only made it a little less than half way through it. The thing was pretty thick.

Plus the lettering size was really small. Or at least that was what she told Max when he asked why she hadn't finished it yet.

She found out that Max was right about her magic being pretty cool. She didn't know that she was capable of doing all these cool things. For years she wondered why all her friends could do crazy awesome things with their magic when she could only summon spirits and watch them do all the work for her.

She didn't know there was a deeper layer of power to her magic. Like her friends back in Fairy Tail, they all worked to become outstanding mages, they invested themselves in their magic for years until they found the deeper layers of their power. Some, Like Natsu, Erza, and Gray were naturally pretty powerful and only had to look a little harder to see their potential. But for Lucy it wasn't like that.

As a child her mother was the only one to support her as mage. Her father disapproved, especially since the other wealthy families were talking about her magic. When her mother passed her father banned all magic from the mansion.

She didn't have people to tell her that her magic could be improved on. No one told her that there were more than just the basics. And she didn't have the raw power like her old team to realize it herself. She lacked the drive that the others had. Not to mention that she never met anyone else who had her magic that wasn't evil.

It felt good to have renewed faith in her magic. For a while, she thought she had reached her capacity. That she wasn't going to get any stronger. Her hands clutched at the book in excitement because something worth while finally came from this ridiculous adventure of hers.

For starters, most outstanding celestial mages could communicate with their spirits through their mind easily by the time of their deaths, the more talented ones could talk to all of them at the same time if they wanted to. Lucy couldn't imagine talking to all her mages at the same time. That would be one chaotic, insulting, strange conversation.

The beneficial quality of this ability includes using the spirits magic without actually summoning them. If Lucy was able to make a strong enough bond with a spirit mentally she could call up their offensive (or defensive) attacks and abilities and use them as her own. Of course a lot of training would be needed to accomplish that, especially with that specific spirit.

A bond of trust and faith had to be forged, one that was unbendable and strong. Something like that could take years to establish, but when she pictured herself launching Loke's Regulus attack and couldn't help but smile. She was willing to put that amount of work into her bond with the lion spirit if he would let her.

Flipping through the book some more in search of ways to strengthen these bonds with her spirits, she paused when she found the right section. Scanning over the words, she couldn't help the rueful smile that crawled up her face.

In order to begin such a bond, the wizard must be in tip top mental state. The mage must be sure of who they are, and have no lingering questions about who they want to be.

The book recommended that meditation would be the best way to begin such a task.

Go figure, the one thing that Max forced her into that she failed miserably at was the very thing that could strengthen her magic.

The remainder of the black out she meditated. Lunch? Ha, no, meditation. Looking for a place to shower, no. Sleep? No. Her life became meditation, and not just halfhearted attempts either. By the time Max dragged her out of the apartment on the last day of the outage to play in the snow, she felt like a different person. She had set goals now. Ambitions for the future (one of which was getting a job). Another was to meditate with Max every morning for then on out.

She had never sparred in the snow before, but it was one of the more fun experiences of the outage.

Especially when she sent Max flying into a snow bank that was over ten feet tall. He had to use his magic to find his way out. She'll never forget the look on his face when he emerged, somewhat prideful because he taught her that move, but a bit angry, because his pupil finally surpassed him.

Of course, he waved it off, claiming that she merely got lucky.


Really, it didn't seem like she and Max were dating until she thought she was home alone. It was rare for her to have the apartment to herself, so after taking a shower she didn't get dressed right away. Instead she pranced around in her bra and underwear, dancing to her own beat as she moved about the house, cleaning. She was enjoying her alone time, absentmindedly working on the weeks new set of martial art moves when she finished her chores for the day.

Max had her practicing her breathing this week, that way she could be fighting as intensely as she could manage, but still have the endurance of a simple spar. She was concentrating so hard on her slow warm up movements and breathing that she didn't notice the door click open on the opposite end of the room.

She didn't notice the blonde haired man sneak in, nor did she hear him put his karate bag down on the kitchen table.

No, she didn't notice him until she turned to sit down on her 'bed', which was still the couch because she refused to share a bed with Max even if they were dating. Imagine her surprise when she looked to the kitchen to see her boyfriend sitting in a chair with an amused smirk on his face.

At first, she was embarrassed because he caught her doing her exercises rather sloppily. He always commented on how serious she took every move she did, and well, that image was out the window. Then she remembered she was wearing only her underwear.

She must have looked like a fool as she screamed and lunged for the couch. Pulling the sheets that dangled from the ceiling closed, she hurriedly looked for something-anything-to cover herself up. Her clothes were moved into Max's closet so they wouldn't wrinkle in the makeshift storage system she began to use. Or as Max would put it, simply throwing it on the floor.

She spotted her nightgown hanging off the edge of the couch, and her hands grabbed it before her brain registered that that would do. She was preparing to slip it over her head when a set of hands reaching around to snatch it from her. She felt her face heat up, and she twirled around to met Max's amused eyes.

He was eying her like a piece of meat.

And then he was upon her.

There was an awkward moment in which it was obvious that he wanted to do so much more than kissing, and she didn't. It wasn't that the man above her wasn't attractive, quite the opposite really, he was gorgeous. There was just something stopping her, something hot, and vaguely painful stirring in her stomach at his advances.

Like a warning.

So she shoved him off of her with a defensive move she was taught during the blackout. He fell off the couch and onto the floor with a loud clattering noise. One of her 'walls' was ripped from the ceiling in his descend.

After he recovered his dignity and senses, he threw the sheet off him and glowered at her.

Giggling, she told him she wanted to wait for marriage. Which wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly true either.


After than incident Max maintained his forwardness in the sexual part of their relationship. Although he never pushed her to go all the way with him, he seemed to start heated kissing sessions with her more and more in hopes of going as far as possible with her.

So now, instead of laughing, and talking, and just goofing off when Rea wasn't around and they weren't training, they were kissing. Sure, they still trained fairly regularly, but it wasn't as often as it was before he practically saw her naked.

The whole situation was beginning to make Lucy feel funny. It wasn't that he couldn't kiss or anything, no, he was pretty good at that. She didn't like the feeling of his hands on her, or the way his body fit with hers when they were cuddling.

She swore she would never compare Max to Natsu because they were completely different people, but she felt much more comfortable when with Natsu. Just because the Dragon Slayer hadn't been forward about his advances didn't mean they didn't have their moments.

Sighing, she shoved Max away from her, saying that she really had to pee.

The truth was that she just missed Natsu, and couldn't bare to have Max's lips on her while she thought about her pink haired Dragon Slayer.


'March comes in like a Lion, and out like a lamb', her mother once told her that as a child. She remembered the conversation like it happened last night, and right at this moment, her mother's words rang true.

Her and Max had their first argument at the beginning of March. She and Rea had just gotten back from a girl's day out. The smaller blonde was in need of a new outfit for a date. That's right a date. Lucy had met the man that asked her out at the Christmas party last year, and watched with interest as Rea flirted with the big, burly guy. His name was Rhydion, and with his dark hair and tan skin, he was quite the looker. Lucy wasn't aware that Rea kept in contact with the huge guy until that morning when her friend up ran from her bedroom screaming about a date.

Thus a day out on town ensued. They must have spent five or six hours looking for the perfect outfit. By the time the two girls returned to their apartment, both were exhausted from the long day. But at least it wasn't all for naught, they had come home with the prettiest dinner dress Lucy has seen in a while.

At the end of the day, all she wanted to do was wash up and go lay down. She imagined that as soon as her head hit her pillow, she would be out for the count.

So when Max cornered her in the hallway on the way to the bathroom for some 'alone time' Lucy snapped. In her tired grumpiness all the stress of his advances came forth as she told him that she didn't understand his sudden want for sex. She went on to tell him that she thought it was rude to push her considering she said that she wanted to wait for marriage, and that he should respect that.

Those words were probably a declaration of war to Max, because he went on defense. Backing away from her, his face crumpled into something that looked like a snarl. It didn't look good on his face at all. She was so used to seeing him with a huge grin that it shocked her into silence to see the sour expression in its stead.

She gaped at him as he blew up, steaming coming off of his clenched fists. He told her he was sick of her games. That it was normal for two people in a relationship to do things-like sex-together, and that she was only holding back because she wasn't completely over her ex. He made wild gestures as he said that he always felt like he had to live up to whoever her ex was-even though the guy was scum anyway. He felt like he was always giving, giving, giving to her but she wouldn't even given him a little release in return. He went on to talk about Natsu, and that it frustrated him that she never told him his name, how they met, what he was like-or anything. He hated that he knew virtually nothing of this man other than his one misdeed. He also didn't like the fact that she wouldn't tell anyone what guild she was from. He was beginning to think she made all of that up just so someone would pity her and take her off the streets.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the mention of Natsu and her guild. He could scold her about her decisions all he wanted, he could even call her a liar if he wanted to, but as soon as he brought her old life into the fight things got serious. Despite trying to forget about them, she felt herself becoming extremely protective of them.

It was her turn to back him in a corner as she bit out through clenched teeth that her past was really none of his business, and how dare he accuse her of making something like that up. She felt a fire in her system that she hadn't felt in years as she said that her ex's name and her guild should be irrelevant because she was trying to leave them behind for him and Rea. If she told them their names, then wouldn't that defeat the purpose? She tried her hardest to keep her mind from thinking about them. And it was beginning to work. She was thinking less and less everyday because she wanted to start a new chapter of her life with them, and if he had a problem with that, then maybe they weren't meant to be after all.

She made eye contact with Rea as she pulled the front door open. Her eyes softening when they locked onto the other girl's frightened ones. The poor girl looked like she was about to cry. She then said for her sake, not Max's, that she'd be home for dinner and that she had to go think about some things.

As she slammed the door shut behind her she thought that even if Max was right about her and Natsu, and her feelings were still intact, it shouldn't matter. He knew of her history, and even if he didn't believe it, he should be willing to at the least give her a bit more time to settle in with them. She spent six years, the majority of it alone, brooding about Natsu. It was only normal for her to still have him on her mind, and if Max really loved her, then he would understand that she was trying. He should be okay with waiting until she either tied up her loose ends, or told him the truth about her lingering feelings. That's what love is, being there for the other person whenever they needed the extra support.

But now, Lucy wondered if Max would stick around long enough for her to open up that path with him.

Thus, the seeds of doubt had been planted.


It took nearly a month for them to apologize and actually mean it. The argument hadn't ended when she came back for dinner that night, it went on for days-weeks!-before Max finally cracked and apologized sincerely. She had began to cry after he said something about her integrity again, and she saw him change back into the Max that she knew from the hospital.

Everything resumed to what it used to be before the fight. Rea was happy and laughing again. She and Max were training and meditating together. She was getting pretty good at connecting with Loke. Now the process of reaching out took a couple minutes and a good deal less effort on her part.

Things were good again, but Lucy was still weary. Max's words were sharp and hard for her to swallow. Sometimes she would find sleep hard to catch because her mind would be muddled with his hateful anger. She never thought her happy go lucky, friendly, silly boyfriend was capable of such hurtful words.

But, as May brought the warm weather, Lucy started to realize something even odder about Max.

He was coming home later everyday. It was only by five or ten minutes each time, he wasn't coming home so late that she would stay up into the wee hours of the morning for him. But he was one who was obsessive about being on time. He was prompt with everything he did.

Lucy began writing down the times he came home in a notebook she bought a couple weeks ago so she could record her times when connecting with Loke, and how long she could retain the connection before she drained her magic.

There was a pattern. He would come home five minutes late on some days, then ten on all the others. She began to worry when five to tens minutes late turned to fifteen on every day.

The early summer day Rea moved into an apartment with Rhydion was when Lucy started getting really edgy.

It was surprising how much stuff Rea had in that small room of hers, and it took the three nearly five hours to clean it out. Max was supposed to help with the moving, but he never showed up. This left Lucy bristling because as of lately he has been becoming more and more unreliable. He would say he would be back to do something by a certain time, but show up an half an hour late. Sure, he would apologize profusely after, and give her some believable excuse to quell her suspicions, but he'd been doing it for a month now. It was coming down to a matter of respect for Lucy now.

She expected him to at the very least keep his word about being on time, and the fact that he was ditching her left and right was making her wonder about the amount fo respect he actually held for her.

Due to Lucy's obvious anger, Rea tried to talk her out of her tizzy. Lucy must have looked devastatingly angry because Rhydion made him self scarce. She felt bad because the guy was a sweetie, and despite his size, he was easily startled by stern words. She hoped he wouldn't stay scared of her for long.

(When he started dating Rea, Max lectured him. Ever since the poor guy would practically run from the protective older brother.)

With a sigh, Rea put the last box in the moving vehicle before turning to her with a frown.

Don't worry, he probably got held up at work again. Something told Lucy that Rea was getting sick of his behavior as well.

Lucy tried to smile, she really did. But what Rea didn't know was that Lucy found a receipt for condoms in a bag on the kitchen table. It was dated last weekend, Lucy spent the day with Rea last weekend, and she didn't see Max at all that day because she was out with Rea until late that night. It was an impromptu girls day out because Max would be working extra late AND going to visit the children at the hospital.

Lucy thought that was weird, because he never went to visit the kids without her.

Besides, if he was so busy, then why did he need condoms?

Lucy chalked up for him getting ready to purpose, ignoring the awful feeling in her heart because Max knows her. He wouldn't do what she first thought he might be doing to her.

Right?


It took another couple weeks, but Rea settled into her new apartment with Rhydion pretty smoothly. She spent the morning hours there having breakfast with the couple. It was supposed to be a double date, but like usual, Max didn't show up.

Rhydion warmed up to Lucy again during the breakfast. Since the moving day, he hadn't spoken to her, but now he wouldn't stop. She didn't even know what he was going on about now-robots?-but Lucy was smiling anyway. Even if it was a bit fake because Max still hadn't showed his face yet!

After the meal, Rea gave Lucy the grand tour without her brother present. Lucy had a hard time concentrating on Rea's words, because all she wanted to do was go and find Max. It was time she got to the bottom of his new bad habits.

She had to forcefully return her attention back to Rea and her new apartment before she ran out the door to find Max (I'll only be a couple minutes late, I can't find the right belt!) and bring him over here by the ear.

Rea's new place was just as small as the apartment she originally lived in. But it had two bathrooms and one good sized bedroom. The kitchen was a tad bigger too. The living room was very small though.

Rhydion snuck up behind Rea and wrapped his arms around her. He began kissing her neck, and the girl blushed, eyes sliding over to Lucy. Rhydion wasn't good at direct comments or commands, so when he wanted something, he usually did something that would get the point across. Despite the man staying silent, Lucy heard him loud and clear.

Smiling, she waved at the couple, saying she'll give them their privacy.

Besides, she was itching to go find her boyfriend.

She left quickly, the door squeaking when she closed it behind her. Looking down the street she frowned. Lucy had a mighty big bone to pick with Max. This wasn't just any visit to a friend's house he missed. It was the first visit to his sister's new apartment with her boyfriend. It was a date, something that he even set up.

She walked the whole-agonizingly long- way down the street to where she and Max were living, fuming the entire way. She went up the steps and unlocked the door to their apartment. All her spiteful thoughts about her confrontation with him went out the window when she got a look at the kitchen. The keys in her hand clattered to the floor with a loud 'thud', and her hands flew up to her mouth to smother the gasp.

A girl-a red head- was splayed naked over the kitchen table. Lucy didn't get a look at her face because she was facing away from her. But she was curvy, and freckled, and sexy, and Lucy felt the tears coming even before she looked to Max. She didn't let them fall.

He was also naked, situated behind her. He was looking over his shoulder at her, an angry face skewed across his face like he was about to tell the intruder to bug off. But when he saw her, he blinked, eyes going wide, and face going pale. Pulling away from the red head like she'd burned him, he pulled his pants up from around his ankles. He began to shake visibly, regret already playing through his features.

He looked like he was caught shooting someone's cat.

She remembered his voice, thick with sorrowful emotion as he explained himself.

Lucy, I-I was-No, I wasn't doing what your thinking I was doing! I was doing what you asked me to, I was trying to save or relationship! I swear, this isn't what it looks like at all.

She figured he was hoping she would go with the cliché 'then what is it' line, but she remained silent in favor of keeping her composer. She feared that if she opened her mouth, nothing but angry words and muddled cries would come out. She knew he was up to something, and although cheating had crossed her mind, she never thought he would stoop that low. They'd had plenty of conversations about honesty, and how she wished Natsu would have just told her about his feelings for the other girl. It wasn't like Max didn't know she would rather have him be honest and upfront about this type of thing. So, how could he do this to her?

Men have needs, sexual needs. And I just needed a release. Something to keep me at bay for a while so I-I wouldn't p-pressure you! He was approaching her, his stormy eyes watery.

Bitterness welled up in her throat as she backed away. Her entire being went numb. She felt cold as the words she was biting back came out. Are you saying that Natsu was just relieving himself too? That he cheated on me because of his manly needs? Is that why he told the entire guild of Fairy Tail to keep their mouths shut? Because he was PROTECTING ME?

He froze, something tragic in the way his eyes lit up in realization. It was like he was falling a part right in front of her very eyes. She wondered if this was what she looked like when she confronted Fairy Tail. My, how things have changed. Now she was the one holding her own, she was watching her loved ones fall to pieces.

Your ex was Natsu Dragoneel, the infamous first generation fire dragon slayer?

Lucy nodded. The one and only.

Almost in disbelief, he stared at her. You're Natsu Dragoneel's long lost partner? You're Fairy Tail's lost Celestial Mage. Why didn't I put it all together? Lucy, Lucy. Blonde, blonde. It's s-so obvious!

She turned around, head bowed. I don't know, but you're no better than him.

Tell Rea I said goodbye.

The last thing she saw besides the crushed look in Max's eyes was the opened box of condoms sitting on the counter beside him. She huffed, calmly walking over to the apartment complex across the way. She hunkered down by the window to watch Max and his little girl toy leave so she could get her stuff out of there.

She hadn't realized how much she'd changed up to until that point. If this had happened to her six years ago, she would have been a mess, just like with what happened with Natsu.

She wasn't that naive, innocent little girl anymore.

She knew pain. She knew hardship; she knew what it meant to struggle.

This time, she wasn't blind sided, she saw this coming. All those years of hard travel had sharpened her awareness, and this time she saw the signs. Although she was still pretty distraught because she trusted Max, she knew that the world wouldn't end. That life goes on. She would go on.

Even if it seemed like her world was crashing down around her at the moment.

The door across the street opened, and the red head left first. She had one high heel on, the other in her hand. Her curly mess of hair was in disarray, bouncing in which ever direction, untamed. Her clothes, a glittery silver dress, rumbled like she was rushed while getting dressed. Lucy knew she'd never forget the shade of that's woman hair for as long as she lived. It was dark, but lighter than Erza's.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Max exited too. He paused outside the door, looking straight at where Lucy sat in the window of the adjacent building. They watched each other for a moment before he looked to the ground. He walked down the street towards Rea's apartment, head bowed and shoulders slumped.

When he disappeared into the apartment building, Lucy emerged onto the street. Bee lining for her old apartment, she fumbled with her keys to open the door only to find it left open. She didn't want to still be there when he returned. She had nothing to say to him, so she rushed inside.

Upon entering the apartment she noticed that the kitchen table had been washed, the box of condoms was gone, and that there was a note on the kitchen counter. Despite herself she took the time to read it.

Lucy,

I figured this would be the last chance I'd get to talk to you, so I'll make this letter worth your time.

I want to say that I love every single little bit of you. Every flaw, every scar, every bit of baggage you came with, I love it. I love you. I never said it before, and I regret that now, because it's true. I've never felt this way about a girl before, and my feelings for you run so deep, and I am so SO sorry. Everything I do-good or bad-had you in mind. As I said before, and as lame as it sounds, I was just trying to protect you from my own sex drive.

Believe it or not (You probably won't), but I did plan on telling you about my lapse in control, so I was already preparing for the worst case scenario when my friend stopped by unannounced this morning after you left for Rea's. I wasn't expecting you to walk in though. But that's so like you; full of surprises.

I really do wish you'd stay around just a little longer. I saw you go the apartment complex across the street from ours. I know you're waiting for me to leave. So I will, I'll go tell Rea good bye for you, like you told me to. And if you're here when I get back, good. If you're not, then my life just got that much more difficult.

But there is one thing that I must stress. Besides Celestial Magic, my other favorite happened to be Dragon Slayer Magic and I think there is a couple things you need to know about Dragon Slayers. It could help you understand your condition Luce.

For your information, there's money on my dresser and a suitcase in the closet.

Max

Lucy wiped her tears with an angry swipe. She swore she wasn't going to cry, but here she was, shedding tears and blubbering like a beached whale for a man that couldn't keep his promises. A couple drops fell onto the paper, smudging the neat penmanship. Crumbling up the paper, she threw it in the garbage, hesitating when she saw the box of condoms on top. She scoffed. There was only one missing.

Thinking back on the letter, she sniffed. If he thought he would get her to stick around by pulling the 'I know how to cure you' stunt then he had another thing coming. She stomped down the hall into his bedroom, kicking a chair out of her way when she arrived. She rummaged around the desk finding the money she stashed away for an emergency. She decided to put it in his room under the pencil sharpener because it was the least likely place for anyone to find it. Especially Max because he didn't use the desk for anything but storage.

Besides, she wouldn't take his money. She didn't want to owe him anything.

On the floor a plastic bag caught on her foot. It was kind of big, probably just enough room to pack the clothes she actually liked. She kept her clothing hung up in his closest so they wouldn't wrinkle. He didn't really use it anyway. Storming over to the open closest to stuff the majority of her wardrobe into the bag, she no longer cared if it got wrinkled. She threw the things he bought her onto his bed as she grabbed them. She didn't need the memory with her.

On the floor of the closet was the suitcase he was talking about in the letter. It was the same one he bought her when he decided that they would travel a bit in the future. That was about a week ago. Now that she knew about his red head friend, she wondered if he knew even back then that she would probably be leaving him soon. Probably. If Max wasn't anything, he was a realist. He didn't sugar coat things, and this case probably was no different.

The suitcase was a plum color, she thought it was pretty enough at the time, but the color disgusted her now. She helped him pick it out, and it was after that trip she first said she thought she might be falling in loved him. It kind of came out, she didn't mean to say it out loud because of the 'might' part.

He hadn't said it back. A hand snaked around her waist and a kiss found its way to her forehead, but he didn't utter a word in response.

Now she was sure, and the answer was no, she did not love him.

Grimacing, she kicked the suitcase as hard as she could in anger. It shocked her when it didn't tip over, merely swaying back and forth as it regained its upright position.

She knew for a fact she didn't put anything in that. Curiosity had her kneeling down and opening it. A note on top of a pile of books greeted her. Furrowing her brow she picked it up. The paper was stained with tear marks.

This note read:

I figured you'd leave, so everything I want to tell you is in these books. Take which ever ones you like.

Placing the note down, Lucy read the titles.

Dragon Slayer Magic Skills: Honed

Dragons and Dragon Slayers for Dummies

Dragonslayers and Relationships

Dragon Slayer Behavioral Guide

After scanning each title she picked the 'for Dummies' book, and Dragon Slayers and Relationships book to take with her. She figured she'd have plenty of time to read them on the boat heading to the next colony.


Lucy didn't expect it to be as hard as it was to get through the books. She chalked it up to the combined stress of breaking up with Max and reading about the Dragon Slayer that broke her heart first and for most. Something about the weight of the books in her hands made her whole body shake with the effort to keep her self together. She refused to let herself breakdown in front of the hundreds of people on the bottom level of the ferry boat.

With a deep breath she dove into the smaller of the two books. Dragon Slayers for dummies. The book gave her no new news. She'd seen the dragon roar up close and personal, she'd seen the speed, the power, the competitive glint in their eyes, she knew of the enhanced senses from day one, and she had seen the possessiveness in their gazes every day.

But the one thing that this book mentioned that Lucy had no recollection of was the mating principle. Sure, she knew about sex, and love, and how Dragon Slayers acted when in a relationship (for the most part). But she didn't know there was a difference set of rules for Dragon Slayers than normal humans.

The most shocking of these rules, was that Dragon Slayers only have sex once, and as soon as they do, that person becomes their significant other for the remainder of their life.

Everything made sense now. Natsu was never a sexually in tune person. With her time with him, he never made any sexual advances (like Max), and seemed just fine with hanging out. She would be lucky to get a heated kiss here and there or a nice long cuddle session with the hyper Dragon Slayer. He could hardly stay still long enough to get passionate with him.

He must have sealed the deal with Lisanna within the month of her return. That would explain his late nights, and the distance he put between him and her as soon as Lisanna returned.

Lisanna was his mate.

But Natsu was a nice guy and cared for his nakama with the deepest part of his heart. He wanted her to be happy, and he knew that the only one that could truly make her happy was him. That was why he didn't break up with her right away. He still loved her, but Lisanna was his one and only.

Of course she was, he was hers before Lucy even came into the picture.

But that didn't eliminate the pang in her chest at the thought that she never had a chance. That he already had eyes and body for another girl-even if he hadn't known that until she returned from Edolas.

Setting that book to the side, she rested her head in her hands. Her breathing was labored with the effort it took to keep her emotions under wrap. She had been so foolish in her younger years, so oblivious to the obvious facts of the guild. She knew that even as children Lisanna and Natsu had plans for marriage. Now that she was familiar about this mating thing, she wondered if back then Natsu had known about his relationship differences.

She felt the prickle of tears become too much as the salty water fell from her eyes. Closing them, she took even breaths-like Max had taught her-to calm down in fear of a heat wave taking over. It was these moments that having friends like Rea and Max helped a lot.

Lucy felt like she was back to square one-alone, emotionally worn, and sad.

And there was no one there to tell her it would get better.


Lucy didn't as much as look at the second book until the third day on the ferry. The third colony was a lot farther away from the Northern ones, and would take an entire weeks travel to get there, so she took her time in dealing with the second, thicker book. She needed some time to calm down from her epiphany.

So she decided to try communicating with a couple people on the second day to get Natsu and Max out of her head. Although she met no one worth keeping around in her life, she did find some useful information about the third colony.

The large city the ferry would dock at was called Claytondale, it was the capital of the colony. The first colony had been an agricultural based island, the second medical based, and the third one was military based. Lucy was heading to the colony that was in charge of the kingdom's army and military training.

Which explained the enormous amount of male passengers on the boat. They were probably looking for a job in the army. At that moment, Lucy decided she was looking for one too. She knew that she was more than qualified, what with being an ex member of the best guild in all of Fiore. That and her martial art skills were pretty good if she said so herself.

That and her magic. In the book that Max had given her to read during the blackout it said that her type of magic used to be very popular, but was now on the decrease. When the book was published, nearly twenty years ago, there were only thirty known celestial mages left and the majority was elderly.

For all she knew, Lucy could be the last one left.

She finally picked up the second book, and hadn't been able to put it down since. This one dealt with the Dragon Slayer's train of thought when picking out a mate, and the differences between a males perspective of mating, and a female. The book was split up into sections by the type of magic they used, and Lucy automatically started with a male fire user.

A male fire Dragon Slayer would pick a mate based off of three things. Like all males, the first thing a male fire Dragon Slayer noticed was body type, although not in the conventional sense. They take notice of the overall build of the girl in terms of strength.

The second thing they notice was temperament. Male fire dragon slayers were wild, and need a sensible, cool headed woman to look after them. A male fire Dragon Slayer tends to be easily distracted, and in these cases a smart, strong girl would be ideal-as she'll have moments in which she would need to protect herself AND him.

The third thing, and most important, was magic. Male fire Dragon Slayers are very aggressive, meaning in most cases a sparring partner would be needed-or another mage. The type of magic the woman uses also comes into play. Compatible magic would be considered a less violent, more supportive type. Although a male fire Dragon Slayer does not think as far as an offspring when choosing their mate consciously, their choices in the type of mages the mate with are also survival based as well. A supportive mage's child is more likely to take on the fire Dragon Slayer traits in the magical department.

Skipping a couple pages, Lucy looked to the relationship likely hood of Natsu's magic and hers. All in all, her magic was pretty compatible with him. She was considered a high level supportive magic, and if her and Natsu were to have children, there was a slightly higher chance for her to give birth to a Dragon Slayer than a Celestial Mage.

In the same breath, Lisanna's takeover magic was equally suitable.

She laughed bitterly, because this was just another aspect of the story of her life.

She seemed to be the one that was always so close, yet so far away. Not quite good enough. She should just expect that there would be always be second best. The runner up.


She didn't read anymore of the book that day, but the day the ferry would dock she looked up her other Dragon Slayer friends, or more specifically-Wendy. The book pretty much pinpointed her personality-sweet, caring, and most likely unsure of her own power until her adult years. A female wind Dragon Slayer matures slowly sexually, and that reflects in their mate choices. Not until they are in full adult hood (Natsu's main time span was late teens, early adult hood) will they began their search. Female Dragon Slayers have different mating requirements. Instead of them looking for one male, she chooses from a hand full of suitors. Lucy tried to picture an older Wendy with a trail of men following her around; the image didn't quite work in her minds eyes.

Gajeel's description was pretty similar to Natsu's. Although where it said that Natsu would be a caring, intense spouse, it said Gajeel would be a very protective, sexually driven spouse. Lucy couldn't help but think of Levy and giggle. The poor girl didn't know what she was getting herself into.

A section at the end of the Dragon Slayer's mating ritual chapter caught her attention. It was about what happened when a relationship went wrong. The book said that if a Dragon Slayer and their mate get separated, a severe pain will be suffered by both parties. The Dragon Slayer will feel the mate's pain if something happens to him or her-emotionally or physically, but that connection is not two sided. The lost mate will have a range of unidentified symptoms that change per person. The longer they are a part, the more the pain will fade for the mate, but the Dragon Slayer will always have symptoms because of their lost one.

In the rare case that a Dragon Slayer begins a relationship with one mate, but finishes it with another, the separation process could be nearly deadly for the rejected mate. Although the Dragon Slayer still feels a little tug at being separated from the rejected mate, it is minor and typically passes after a couple years. For the rejected, the symptoms could range from deliriousness, intense pains in relevance to the type of magic the Dragon Slayer uses, to intense bursts of magic depending the type of magic the rejected uses. In cases that involve Shadow Dragon Slayers, the rejected is killed instantly due to the magnitude of the strength of magic they use.

There have been no known survivals of the rejected mate of any Dragon Slayer after five years.

Lucy looked up from the book, shocked. Her mother always told her not to believe everything you read. It's been six years and a half, and Lucy was still very much alive.

She supposed that there was a first for everything, and sometimes there are things that even experts don't know about their studies. Maybe she was one in a million.

The book closed with a snap, and she picked her bag up as the captain announced they had successfully docked and it was ok to get off the ferry at that time through the loud speaker.

She was the first one to step onto solid ground. Looking up, she saw large buildings, military vehicles everywhere, and even more women and men in uniform milling around.

Lucy didn't know the first thing about military standing, or what it takes to be a part of the army. Hell, she didn't even know the beginning ranks-the ones she would probably sign up for. So she picked a random solider and asked where she could get one of those uniforms for her self. The guy stiffened giving her a funny look as he pointed at his badge.

You mean you want one of these?

She shrugged, thinking it was pretty. Yes, I do.

Ok, He eyed her up and down, still frowning as he told her where to go to sign up for boot camp, Go to the main office, and sign up for the try outs for the special forces.

Lucy nodded and thanked the man. She had no idea what the Special Forces did, but it sounded like an important job, so she would give it a shot.

The next person she came in contact with told her where she could find the main office.