Chapter Ten: Information and Pajamas

Sin of the Fallen A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long but I have a good reason! The day I was gonna upload this, my house was hit by lightning. The surge breaker protected the more sturdy electronics but my poor Toshiba bit the dust. And my Toshiba was the only computer I had access to that wasn't programmed to block FF.

But I saved up some money and got a new one! It came in today!

Edit: Just finished taking care of my grandmother's funeral arrangements. And it's been more than doubled.

Edit 2: Just finished with about 10,000+ words of college application. Important stuff. Important stuff that I've been working on every day without stop since mid-September, working through Christmas, working through my birthday, and only finished before the New Year.

Don't get on Lady's case. This is all on me. She's been wonderfully patient with me and doesn't deserve any of the heckling I've seen. Be nice to Lady. And it's now tripled.

Lucy smiled as she noticed Mystogan had once again been reduced to a silent, blushing man. Honestly. Either he was really easy to fluster or he was just a quieter, handsomer, taller version of the Makarov brand of perversion.

But Lucy guessed she did not need to prod him too much yet. Better to let him get more comfortable with her and her antics. He acted like he expected to wake up any second and find this was a dream too good to be true.

Lucy led him over to her bed, and rooted in her closet as he stood there awkwardly. She determinedly looked for the spare pair of men's pajamas Gray had left when he came over awhile back. Gray was a couple of inches shorter than Mystogan, but if she remembered right the pajamas had been too long for Gray. Lucy let out an "Aha!" of triumph as she found the desired garments. They were dark grey with a cloud pattern done in a shade lighter than its dark background, and felt like 100 percent cotton.

"Here you go! You can wear these; even have them if you want. Gray left them here awhile back, said they were too long on him. We can wash your clothes while we sleep, so at least you won't have to wear dirty clothes tomorrow.

Now I'm gonna go take a shower. You can have one after me, ok?"

Mystogan gave her a soft smile and nodded. "Save some hot water for me." Lucy grinned back at him. "Maybe I will. If you're lucky!" She took a pair of conservative pajamas with her, and soon sounds of running water could be heard.

Mystogan could not help but feel mildly relieved. Now he had a chance to regain his composure. But the desk covered in paper, pens, and novels beckoned him. He quickly gave into siren temptation, quietly reminding himself that Lucy had not declared the desk off-limits. And really, it was not like Lucy would leave any potential dirty secrets out in the open. Right?

Mystogan quickly reached the desk and sank into the cushy armchair. He picked up a small book, unusual in the fact it was unbound. The book was held together by three small bronze colored rings on the left side, but he was puzzled as to why Lucy would have such an odd book.

Desiring answers, Mystogan looked to the cover page and read the title out loud softly.

"Dragon Slayers: Behavior, Antics, Risks, Dangers, and Benefits. An analysis, by Lucy Heartfilia. (Revised and Current Edition)"

Mystogan blinked in shock. Lucy had complied a small book on Dragon Slayers after only a few months since meeting Natsu? Fascinating.

He flipped to the first page and set to reading, quite curious as to what his blonde had discovered.

"So you've met your first Dragon Slayer. There's little other reason to have picked up this book, unless you wanted to try something that isn't just the flights of fancy you'll find in Francis Serpens' The Beasts and Their Slayers.

But even if you are simply curious about these resurfacing Lost Magicks, keep in mind that since Slayers are so very rare and the limit of one Slayer per Dragon I've had only the chance to observe three Natural Slayers and one Artificial Slayer. This book uses Natsu Dragneel (Fire Dragon Slayer), Gajeel Redfox (Iron/Metal Dragon Slayer), Wendy Marvell (Sky/Wind Dragon Slayer), and Laxus Dreyar (Artificial Lightning Dragon Slayer) as the basis for all predicted behavior, dangers, and etc.

Before we begin, I'm sure you're curious as to why I called Dreyar an artificial Slayer (Commonly referred to as a "Second Generation Slayer"). Well, to be simple, it is because Laxus Dreyar was not raised and taught by a Dragon of any element. Further details are unavailable, but it is a surety that whatever made Dreyar into a Slayer was an incredibly risky procedure with a high chance of death. Despite not being a "true" Slayer, it is intriguing that Dreyar displays several major traits and characteristics that Natural Slayers exhibit.

Now that I've explained the difference in the types of Slayers, I'll be covering the very basic character traits all currently known Slayers possess.

All Slayers are extremely loyal to any family, friends, comrades, pets, or guild, without exception. Once a Slayer has thrown their lot in with someone's, it takes astronomical efforts to budge that loyalty.

All Slayers possess incredibly heightened senses. For example, while Gajeel Redfox was on the opposing side of one of my battles he was able to track me by scent across a town that boasts roughly 7,000 inhabitants. Gajeel had never met me before that day and used clothing I had not touched in over eight months as his tracking basis. This is only a simple example of the sensory enhancements all Slayers possess, though there is variation in sensory perception between Slayers.

All Slayers are able to devour anything that is formed out of their element, and will gain physical and magical strength in proportion to how much they eat. Natsu Dragneel eats fire and Gajeel Redfox eats metal (preferably iron, but has been observed eating other metals.) Should a Slayer encounter a Mage that wields their element, they can and will eat that Mage's magick.

Despite Serpens attempt to accuse Slayers of falling prey to the legendary draconic trait "gold-lust" from the old fables, this is far from the truth. Slayers do not covet gold to form a hoard, and have never made mention of parent Dragons displaying the craving for precious metals to hoard away. (Do note that Iron Slayer may or may not eat gold.) However, Slayers have shown themselves to be incredibly possessive of anything they regard as "theirs" and do not suffer sharing willingly.

Natural Slayers' base personalities are purported to be extremely similar to their parent Dragon's. However this is cannot be found by observing each peculiar parent-child relationship, for each Natural Slayer confirms their parent Dragon vanished without reason on 7/7/777. This knowledge is gathered from the Slayers as each revealed some memories regarding their upbringing. Do not assume the personalities to be perfect matches. Each Slayer is their own person and will resent any implications otherwise.

Each Dragon Slayer's style and magick is grounded in each corresponding Dragon's element. Fire Dragon for Fire Dragon Slayer, and so forth. Due to either luck or misfortune, I have either fought or served with each currently known Dragon Slayer in existence. Using my experiences, I believe it is safe to say that each currently known Slayer will only use magick that has a natural, material base. My best guess as to the spectrum a Slayer's magick can spring from is this: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind/Sky, Iron/Metal, Ice, Lava, Sand, Crystal, Poison (the only known biological magick base), and even possibly Light and Darkness. It is unlikely we will ever face a Dragon Slayer with a base in illusions or time manipulation.

Before we move farther on, I must pass on a warning and piece of advice to anyone who seeks to interact with a Slayer.

My advice is this. If you should work with a Slayer, or become friends, prepare to have absolutely no personal space. Your Slayer will begin to exhibit strange actions around you and will begin confusing antics. Keep in mind though; these strange displays have a logical reasoning to the Slayer in question. They will constantly touch you in order to learn your scent and how it lingers. They will sneak into your bed and sleep beside you in order to learn your breathing pattern along with your sleeping habits. They will invade your home to scent your possessions as being under their protection. There are many other little quirks that are unique to each Slayer, so try to be tolerant. Slayers will only do this if they believe you will either be spending large amounts of time working together or if they believe you have a relationship(of any positive sort) that promises to be lasting.

Do not, I repeat, do not try and attempt to stop your Slayer from doing this. I learned this the hard way. Slayers do these things for your protection. If they feel threatened in a potentially hazardous situation they will subconsciously aim to kill anyone they have not learned is safe. However, remind your Slayer there are limits they must observe. Eventually they will learn to comply.

And finally, my warning is simple. When fighting a Slayer, do not hold back for any reason. You must attack with all your might, and distract them by any means necessary. (Bantering usually holds a good chance of success.) Your only advantage against a Slayer, especially if you're not gifted in close quarters combat, is to blitzkrieg them. Slayers all share a fondness for battle and will either go easy or toy with any opponents they perceive to be weaker. If your blitzkrieg fails, prepare for the Slayer to fight seriously and to be enraged.

Also there are lines you should never cross with an enemy Slayer. Do not try to threaten their precious people or innocent non-combatants (Note, this is only for Slayers with morals.) That is a sure way to ensure that the Slayer will commit to killing you.

Spare your Slayer opponent no mercy; get them out of the fight in any way possible. They tend to be linchpins at the least."

Very informative, Mystogan mused. Though he had already known a great deal of it, Lucy's analysis of the battle and everyday behaviors answered some questions. It also explained how she knew precisely how to take down three Magi that could have easily beaten her.

Lightly and quickly skimming a bit more revealed the rest of the work to be just as informational and useful. He would have to ask Lucy if he could borrow this for further study. Curiosity satisfied on that front, he closed the book and made to set it back down. Before he completed returning the book, he noticed there was a sticky note on the inside of the back cover page. Again, Mystogan indulged his curiosity.

"No longer for publishing attempts, not any of my scholarly works at least. There's too many enemies that keep coming out of the woodwork that are attempting to kill me and our Slayers. No need to help. I'll be keeping these though, just in case."

'My my, Lucy certainly has a healthy dose of paranoia.' Mystogan began eyeing the unbound books lying around, now certain they were Lucy's works.

' Let's see, The Celestial World and Earthland, The Connection Between Celestial Summoning and Celestial Manifestation(Heavenly Body Magick), The Purpose of Celestial Magi, Celestial Magi and Other Magicks, The Difference Between Celestial Summoning and Various Other Types of Summoning, andThe Differences Between the Average Mage and a Celestial Mage. Amazing. Lucy has here at least seven unpublished scholarly works and- What's this?'

Mystogan noticed a manuscript that appeared to be hidden from the average glance. It seemed to be unfinished. And Mystogan, eager to see what his clever partner had written, pulled it out of its hiding place and turned to the last page.

Mystogan stopped reading almost immediately, too mortified to go on. Blushing mightily he quickly flipped to the front cover and whispered the title out loud. "Cold Iron: By Lucillia Amore."

Now while Mystogan might be highly isolated from regular contact, even he had heard of the astronomically popular newcomer to the Romance genre, Lucillia Amore. The author had no known photo, background, or name. "Lucillia" had arranged with Blushing Moon Publishers that as long as her information remained hidden she would give them exclusive rights to her works. But what Lucillia was known for? That was where it got interesting.

Lucillia was known for three things. Excellent writing, unusually quick publishing, and long and involved series.

In fact, Mystogan was quite sure he was holding the next book in Lucillia's series Star Struck. Something he knew would fetch several million Jewels on the grey market. And Mystogan was quite sure that if he looked harder he would find the next addition to the other four series: Two Twined, Temporal Tempo, Wavering Waters, and The Linguistics of Romance.

Mystogan gulped, and felt his face burn even harder than it had earlier. No wonder Lucy was so deliciously sensual. After all, once you had the clues it was very easy to see "Lucillia Amore" was really Lucy Heartfilia.

Lucy watched as Mystogan blushed as he absent-mindedly held her work, not noticing as she silently moved to her frozen partner. Inwardly, she sighed. She had hoped that either Mystogan never connected the dots or that she would have a chance to explain herself before shocking him out of his wits. Oh well, she would just have to wing it Heartfilia style.

Carefully she wrapped her arms around his waist, and felt him twitch in shock before turning to meet her held resting on his shoulder. "So you found it already huh? You're too curious by far Mystogan." Face still rosy, Mystogan silently nudged her to prompt her explanation for this new facet of herself. Lucy gave him an easy grin.

"I'll tell you all about it if you want to know, but let's get in bed ok? I'm tired, so I'll probably nod off after telling you." Mystogan, still too embarrassed to really converse, inclined his head in acceptance and speedily rushed into the bathroom to change. Lucy crawled into her wonderful bed and sighed in contentment.

Quicker than she thought he would be, Mystogan stepped out in his borrowed pajamas. Lucy eyed him in appreciation. The pajamas were flattering to his figure, helping him to look somewhere between an effortlessly sensual incubus and blushing virginal sacrifice. Mystogan was such a sight all Lucy could think for a moment was 'Damn. I'm lucky.'

Hesitantly Mystogan made his way to the bed, eyes flicking about to see where he would be sleeping. Lucy smiled at him again, before remembering Mystogan was still new to partnership despite how easily they fell in synchronization.

"You're sleeping with me Mystogan. It's preparation for camping. We need to be comfortable with sleeping together, because we won't be able to risk a fire in enemy territory." Mystogan blushed softly and nodded in agreement after a moment. Lucy opened up the coverlet and patted the mattress. "Come on, you can take the outside until you're used to sharing a bed."

Gingerly he crawled in and readjusted the covers while Lucy shifted to get more comfortable. She then proceeded to snuggle up to the stiff wooden board that had mysteriously appeared in place of her partner.

"Well, as you know, I am the true identity of Lucillia Amore. I write high quality short romance novels that I tend to make into series. I publish about two 100 page novellas per month and a half. And the only reason Lucillia exists is because when I ran away from my father I didn't have enough money to survive.

I couldn't sell my jewelry, because it was too identifiable and I couldn't get to it anyways. Clothing had my father's mark stamped all over it, and there was nothing I could take that would fetch money without being a dead giveaway. So I used what I had to earn a discrete income that allowed me to survive long enough to make it to Fairy Tail. All people originally knew about Lucillia was that she needed money below the table as fast as she could get it, and I was intent that was all she would ever be.

Once I joined Fairy Tail I was sure I could finally lay Lucillia to rest, but I didn't count on joining up with Team Natsu. You must have heard about how we usually destroy a town, or some other form of collateral damage? Well after our first team job, not only did every cent of our pay go to repairs but we still owed money. So I hied off on a solo 'job' to the other side of Fiore.

I arrived in the town known for its passionate adoration for the arts; Vanille Town. I promptly sought out a magic barber, picked out a model for an enchantment that would give me waist long, deep red hair that curled into perfect ringlets. I paid a good deal for the owner to cast the desired hair alerting enchantment onto a necklace brought for that purpose, and then paid more to ensure his discretion.

After I had my hair enchantment in order I found a magically specialized optometrist and paid her to enchant a pair of half-moon spectacles. They would alter my eye color to having one grey eye and one green eye when worn, and again paid more to gain her silence. Finally I stopped by a beauty parlor and had them add the finishing touches before running off to find a place I could safely change from Lucy to Lucillia.

I wanted Lucillia to look radically different from my usual image, so I put on an old deep blue gown I still had from my days as an heiress to add that extra bit of space between us. So with my glasses, gown, and necklace on I determined Lucillia would be prim and proper like the desperately composed, impoverished nobility I wanted to be seen as. Lucillia showed up at the tiny branch of Blushing Moon Publishers, and she was an empress coming to inspect a minor, unproductive fief of her empire."

Lucy stopped to smile at Mystogan's quiet chuckles, the man finally relaxing as she spun her story.

" Lucillia didn't deign to announce herself and barged into the publisher's office as imperial as you please. Lucillia slammed down two novels I had completed before meeting Natsu and ordered the man to read. He spluttered a bit, but I had chosen that branch house because it was common knowledge in writing circles that this man lost his spine when it came to dominant women. A side effect of being married to his wife is the popular theory."

Lucy paused to take in Mystogan's amused grin, drinking in the unusual sight on his face.

"And just as my information had said, he folded to Lucillia and started to read. So Lucillia sat there for the rest of the afternoon, sipping away on some jasmine tea she had politely terrorized some secretary to bring her. Right when the sun began to set, the man put down the second book and took a sip of his own tea, never noticing it had been cold for over an hour. The man steepled his fingers together and gave Lucillia a look that told her she had won.

And he said, "Madam, while I most emphatically do not endorse either your attitude or your brazen way of storming into my office, I must concede to the fact you are a gifted writer. I would happily sign you on, and, I presume, from the way you forced your way in to see me you wish to publish these books?"

Lucillia quirked her lips in approval and inclined her head, sipping from her tea.

"And judging from your style I would venture to guess that these books are part of a series. An unfinished series?"

Lucillia set her cup down. "Very good. Now, pull out your pen and paper my good sir. We shall not be leaving this office until we work out my contract."

"And we stayed there late into the night going over the contract because I was asking for unusual stipulations. I was demanding higher amounts of payment, percentages, and other such revenue based matters. I only managed to get him to agree to such a costly contract by conceding to his demands on how many scripts I was required to send in during my timeframe.

Even then I needed to spin a tale of woe about how my drunken gambler of a father had driven my mother to an early grave before following shortly after. And dearly departed Father had left me, Lucillia, with astronomical debts after wasting our fortune that I needed to start paying immediately. Just enough truth to make him believe Lucillia and get me what I needed.

We also conspired about how to retrieve and receive full payment of the novellas I had published anonymously for a pittance while on the run. It took Mr. Blackwell a few days after our long night but he took care of it. Before the next week ended I had enough money to pay off Team Natsu's debts."

Lucy halted her yarn for a moment to address Mystogan.

"Now know, nobody, and I am very serious when I say nobody knows that Team Natsu is always in the red, that I'm Lucillia Amore, or that I, Lucy "Lucillia Amore" finance Team Natsu. So mum's the word okay?" He nodded seriously, knowing that keeping these secrets was important to Lucy.

"Anywho, where was I? Oh yes. After I signed my contract I went to the town's bank, which had a branch in Magnolia. Makarov uses them for Guild financing, and most of our nakama use Stitch and Blood, so it was easy for Lucillia to set up an account for any collateral damage caused by Team Natsu. Stitch and Blood was amendable to such an account because they've done business with Fairy Tail for a long time. And once I revealed myself to be Lucy and not Lucillia, I was able to fully manage my finances, Lucillia's finances, and Team Natsu's debts.

Stitch and Blood filled me in on what I would need to know about Fairy Tail financing and how to discretely wipe away Team Natsu's errors."

He smiled at Lucy's practicality, but he could not help but ask the question he suspected he already knew the answer to.

"Lucy, I know how insane the Guild can be, and how much it can cost. Do you ever regret choosing Fairy Tail, for any reason?"

Lucy sniggered at him; already having anticipated the question everyone asked a Fairy Tail mage eventually.

"Nah. Wouldn't trade the Guild for any other. Fairy Tail may be crazy, riddled with debt-inducing magi, and hazardous to my sanity, but it's probably the best choice I could have made. I got luckier than I could have ever imagined when Natsu dragged me out of Hargeon."

He smiled softly, happy she had answered the way he had suspected she would. After all, he would reply with a similar answer. He smiled as she huffed at him.

"Silly mage. If you were worried you could've simply told me. Anyways, enough talking! Let's get some shut eye."

Feeling mischievous, Lucy quickly gave Mystogan a quick chaste kiss, watching as pale features turned red. "Goodnight Mystogan." Lucy closed her eyes and began dropping into sleep while Mystogan remained paralyzed.

Why had she kissed him? Why had she stopped so quickly? He blushed anew as that last thought crossed his mind. Lucy was driving him crazy; his own thoughts were now treacherous.

Idly Mystogan started thinking of battle strategies, plans, and the future. It was long since ingrained habit from Edolas, to reflect and contemplate before sleeping in preparation for tomorrow's toils. He barely even took note of how his hand drew traceries of images on Lucy's skin, so engrossed in his own thoughts he had become. Activity from Edolas had been petering off these last few years, but it had suddenly halted completely.

Edolas had never acted in this way before; in fact they had been increasing their activity drastically before this latest turn. His native reality needed Earthland's ambient magic, for no one had an alternative source of power. Quite curious really… He turned his head so he could look at Lucy. He fought a silly grin. Maybe this stimulating visual sight could help stimulate his thoughts?

As Mystogan's mind wandered, Lucy fought the urge to squirm. She was trying to go to sleep over here, but Mystogan's petting was making her hot and bothered. Irritated and aroused, but minding Mystogan's reluctance to move too quickly, Lucy made a bargain with herself. If Mystogan did not stop in the next thirty seconds she would give him the make out he was asking for.

Lucy felt like shouting in victory when he did not stop. She snapped her eyes open, grinned at him, and pulled him into the hottest kiss of her life while he gapped at her. Needless to say, Mystogan quickly pulled himself together and joined in on the fun, pulling Lucy closer. She began to slide her hand under Mystogan's top, gleefully gripping pectorals and abdominals while clutching navy blue hair.

Pulling out of their kiss, panting for air, she licked her lips and caught the taste of Mystogan on them. He was delicious.

Mystogan's pupils dilated at her action, avidly watching her tongue as she licked her slightly swollen and reddened lips. He surprised her when he suddenly pulled her back, and then her mind flew away when Mystogan tentatively started doing these wonderful things with his tongue…

She gasped into the kiss as he gripped a little tighter. They kissed more, and Mystogan grew surer of himself. Lucy completely forgot about "waiting." Why had she wanted to delay this again?

Then he broke away, panting hard, and rasped out,

"We're…not supposed to go-Ah!"

He cried out in surprise as Lucy gave a sharp nip to his neck in reprimand for breaking the kiss. Before he could start up again, he involuntarily let out a moan as she began pressing butterfly kisses at the smarting spot in apology, licking and suckling at random between kisses.

It took him a moment to remember what he had been trying to say. "Lucy…" The butterfly kisses started to slow; the licking and suckling grew longer, sending shivers down his spine. The kisses came to a complete halt, but it took a little while longer for Lucy to quit entirely. She finished up with a hard last suck, before licking the spot for the final time.

"God Mystogan. Next time don't start turning me on so much unless you intend to finish it."

She pulled her head away from his neck, admiring the nicely forming bruise she had made there. She caught his gaze, pupils still blown wide enough to leave only a thin ring of brown (just like his), and gave him another good night kiss.

"Goodnight sexy." She whispered with a slow, satisfied grin and he whispered back, "Sweet dreams Lucy."

She gave him a tired smirk. "If you're in them, I'm sure I will have some very sweet dreams indeed." He blushed, she laughed, and all was quiet.

They fell asleep soon after that, not to wake till morning.

When the sun began to creep over the horizon, Lucy heard her window give the tell-tale groan that told her Natsu was trying to get in. Usually Lucy never bothered to fully wake up and evict the irritating Slayer. Usually it was too damn early to muster the outrage needed for a properly executed Lucy-Kick. But today her eyes snapped open because she needed to make sure the blabber mouth did not see Mystogan's face.

Lucy checked on her sleeping partner, and found he had buried his face into the crook of her neck while curling around her. His face was covered, so Lucy struck. Her hand snaked out of the covers quicker than the eye could see and firmly caught a thunderstruck Slayer's mouth. She hissed to Natsu,

"Normally it's too damn early to deal with your shenanigans, but today's special. I've got a hunk in my bed and I refuse to let you upset or scare him. I have a job to do today, and if I lose sleep because of your sorry ass I will have every terrifying female in Fairy Tail out to make your hide into a rug. Understood?"

Natsu gulped as he stared at his newly demonic friend before saluting and Aye!-ing frantically through her muffling hand. "Now get!" Lucy ordered.

Natsu needed no other warnings and got away as fast as he could, fearing that Lucy would go through with her threat and make his female nakama try to carve filets out of him. Now he just needed to find a way to explain what had happened to make him run and hide under a table at the Guild, without getting laughed at by all the guys...

Lucy sighed in appreciation, eyeing her outfit for the day from her bed. She had laid out a moderately exposing black blazer-styled top that curved around her hips that featured gold lace, pauldrons, and two rows of five shiny gold buttons. It came with blue shorts that ended at mid-thigh that was decorated with gold embroidery, and fingerless blue gloves. The gloves included a thick, black armored cloth forearm for her right arm (to protect against any whipping accidents) and a black lace extension on her left arm that included a small circular shield. Her footwear was pointy dark brown boots with coiling metal vines curling around her calves until they ended in wicked two-pronged spurs on her heels.

Practical and Sexy, Style and Steel.

But she was going to go back to sleep, and she curled up in Mystogan's arms again. It was too damn early to be conscious.

When Lucy woke for the third, final time it was finally a decent time to be up and about. Mystogan was still sleeping, face soft and relaxed in slumber. It was endearing to see the badass mage look so cute.

Lucy proceeded to carefully wiggle out of his arms, trying to let him sleep. She grinned when Mystogan only sighed, but remained asleep. Lucy quickly slipped into her outfit for the day. Now she could fix them breakfast.

She moved to the fridge and checked her supplies. Hmmm… Ah! There's enough for bacon, pancakes, and omelets! Humming softly Lucy began pulling out the ingredients needed and setting up the stove.

It was so rare nowadays that she got the chance to cook. In fact, Lucy was sure that she had not since she had met Natsu. Either it was her team sneaking over to devour her food, she was on the road, or she was too tired to do more than eat at the Guild. Her first job had been at a café, her second at a restaurant, and her third at a dessert shop. There had always been a chef –usually it was the ones who were stuck with her on the customer-less shifts- who was willing to take pity on a runaway without the faintest idea of how to cook.

Cooking was another way of rebellion, another way to distance herself from the useless pretty princess her father wanted. That it was a handy skill to have was a bonus.

Lucy flipped a pancake, shifted the bacon, and cracked an egg into the omelet bowl. Her mind began to mull over last night's dream as the familiar motions of cooking let her attention drift.

After she had drifted back to sleep after that wonderful make out secession, and before Natsu's rude intrusion, Lucy's dreams had turned weird. Usually she dreamed of stars, music, and blazing through the black skies on the back of a comet. Last night was completely different, though it was not a bad dream per se.

First off, she was nearly completely leather-clad in the dream. Brown leather hat like Bisca's, jacket, hot pants, and thigh high lace-up boots. The only non-leather part of her dream ensemble was the navy blue silk halter top. And her whip had been coiled at her side, ready to take on any enemies she might find in the ancient Temple.

Lucy had made her way inside, skillfully dodging snake pits, crushing walls, blow darts, flamethrower traps and more; mostly by running and using her whip to haul her ass out of range. What she was after she had had no idea, just thrilling in her skill and cunning as she beat the deadly surprises. Many more traps later, including a gigantic rolling stone boulder, and she arrived at a chamber without traps; and without a way to get at the shiny gold Key at the center.

But she was not deterred by the hopelessness of it all! Leather-clad Lucy would not even consider leaving without the treasure. She had then begun to pace dramatically, taking care to look as sexy as possible, before inspiration hit. Impossible feats of whipping later, with a dash of fool's luck thrown in to add some adrenaline, and Lucy was in possession of her Key. Then the Temple started collapsing around her.

Mystogan had appeared then, dressed scantily, calling her name, and beckoning her to follow him. Like she wouldn't follow him when he was dressed like that! She repeated the stunts that got her the treasure to reach him, and then they took off running. There were more traps they had to dodge, likely malfunction due to the collapsing Temple. She masterfully saved both her ass and Mystogan's, all thanks to her handy whip.

She even got to grope him. All in the name of saving their lives of course, and once they got out Mystogan was quite grateful… Those scanty bits of clothing made sense finally; they were meant for easy removal.

Lucy leered at the stack of pancakes, and piles of omelets and bacon; an excellent dream to be sure, no matter how odd. She switched to humming a cheeky tune, feeling quite upbeat between last night and the dream.

"Something smells good. Did you make breakfast?"

Lucy started before turning around with a smile and the spatula. She had not heard him get up. "Yes I did. So you're up now? Good. Sleep well?"

Her smile became a leer when he blushed and stammered out something. Looks like their brains had been on the same page. So cute. So edible. And on that note, best start eating before I decide to skip breakfast and go straight for the dessert!

"Well I'm done cooking. Grab what you want, then grab your clothes and get dressed. We'll need to pick up your traveling supplies-" Mystogan broke in around a piece of buttered pancake. "My stuff is enchanted to come when I summon it. I live on the road so it pays to keep everything within reach."

Lucy took that in before nodding. "Alright. Then it's only me that needs to pull out her gear. After we're ready we'll head to the train station… Unless you have any business to take care of before we leave?"

Mystogan shook his head while steadily devouring his omelet and second pancake. "No. And this is quite good by the way."

Lucy smiled and kissed him on the cheek as wordless thanks before returning to her own chair. Mystogan, predictably, blushed.

After that they quickly cleared away all of the food and cleaned the dishes. Mystogan changed out of his pajamas and into his clothes. Lucy coiled her whip and buckled on her Keys. The Keys reminded him of an issue they needed to address.

"Lucy can you summon your Keys to you if they're taken away?" Startled at the unexpected words Lucy simple shook her head in a negative. He frowned. "Then we do have an errand to complete. We need to fix this. You're vulnerable without those Keys Lucy."

Lucy perked up. This was something she wanted to fix anyways. If Mystogan knew a way to solve her problem they most certainly could run this errand.

"I'm listening…"