Since joining the Fairy Tail guild, Lucy Ashley had learned that the guild had a few unspoken rules.

One was to never deliberately piss off Mirajane. And after the small glimpse she had gotten of what the barmaid looked like when she was angry, Lucy could see why.

Another was to never reach for the last bit of food and booze at the same time. You could do one or the other but doing both made you a dick.

But the one she had noticed the most had to do with the guild's daily bar brawls. It seemed that every day somebody found some petty reason to pick a fight with somebody else. The fights were never serious and usually ended with little injury.

It was one of the things Lucy enjoyed the most about the guild. The brawls always kept her on her toes and helped her sharpen her skills in combat. And she almost never had to worry about fighting someone weaker than her. Most of the non-combative members of the guild always managed to slip away and take shelter.

But every now and then, Lucy would notice two members leave the guild alone. And unlike the daily brawls or sparring matches, no one would follow to spectate. When they left they would be in top shape and glaring at each other. Upon their return, they would be bloodied, bruised, and in much better spirits.

After watching this happen many times, Lucy picked up on what she assumed to be another unspoken rule. If you had a personal gripe and wanted to go all out against each other, you left the rest of the guild out of it. Personal friends could come along to spectate and help settle the issue. But most just left it alone.

The fights were always one on one. No using superior numbers, no cheap shots, and no dirty tricks before the fight began. And of course, you had to avoid seriously injuring your opponent as much as possible.

It was a simple straightforward way to keep peace in the guild. This had been the case for years from the stories Mira had told Lucy. And it had been effective.

Most guild members were on good or neutral terms. Grudges were rare to non-existent. The few members who couldn't get along just avoided one another.

Still, Lucy Ashley wasn't interested in getting involved in what little drama there was. And thanks to her loner reputation, it had been an easy thing to avoid. What was harder to avoid were the rivalries.

Oh god, the rivalries.

Even members of the guild who weren't outright competitive had friendly rivalries. They would fight about who made the most money, who had taken down the biggest monster, and, of course, who was the strongest.

Whether it was individuals or teams, half the guild wanted to know who was the strongest. And of course, the only way to find out was through more brawling.

Lucy was in the middle of figuring out the guilds pecking order. Just to know her own place in it. With no master (he had been killed by the royal army before Lucy had arrived) the guild had no clear leadership. As a result figuring out a social hierarchy proved rather difficult.

Usually, when she moved into a new group Lucy would try and establish who the leader was. From there she would determine who were the decision makers and who were the grunts. And where she fell between the two.

However with no master Fairy Tail also had no clear leader. So she had to start from a different angle. From what she could tell three things determined a person's standing in the guild. Strength, responsibility, and experience.

The strongest mages in the guild had good standing. They took on the most dangerous jobs, frequently made the most money, and were generally more imposing. But there were many strong mages in the guild who were never invited to help make major decisions.

That's where responsibility came in. The more active a member was in the inner workings of the guild the more standing they seemed to have. Successfully completing a well-paying job was one thing. But taking on a low paying job as an official representative of the guild was another.

Fairy Tail worked with many black market dealers. They would often commission the guild to run their stock between locations for them. The job had high risks, low pay, and wasn't at all glamorous. But in exchange for their co-operation, the guild would get a discount on the dealers lacrima.

Members who were willing to do this had a lot of leverage in dealings. And Lucy was surprised to learn that resident crybaby Natsu Dragion was a popular candidate for the job. Before knowing this, she had assumed he was at the bottom of the pecking order in the guild.

She was even more surprised when she realized that he was actually one of the most prominent members. Largely thanks to the last thing that propped up members; experience.

Some members of the guild had been there a lot longer than the others. And that extra bit of experience skyrocketed some members to higher prominence. From what she understood, there remained only a few members from the time when Fairy Tail was a legal guild.

Macao, Wakaba, and Reedus were senior members who had been in the guild since they were all young men. Out of everyone they had been there the longest. As a result, they were often consulted for advice.

Beyond those three there were members who had been in the guild since they were children. Which was something Lucy had never even known was possible. Natsu, Cana, Levy, Mira and her siblings had all joined the guild when little.

As she reviewed the only member of the guild who seemed to fill in all three criteria was... Levy.

Lucy groaned at the idea of the blue haired mechanic as head honcho of the guild. Levy was a powerful fighter, helped out the guild as a mechanic, and had joined the guild five years prior at the age of twelve. And just three years ago she formed what was currently recognized as the guild's strongest team, Shadow Gear.

The only comfort she could find was that the guild and Levy herself didn't seem to recognize her as the leader. The one person who even came close to that kind of respect was actually Mirajane. But once again, neither the barmaid or anyone else seemed to recognize her as being in charge.

It was a frustrating problem. Without being able to identify a clear leader, Lucy couldn't figure out where she herself stood in the guild. Carefully she reviewed her own criteria.

She was just as strong as Levy. But she neither had any large responsibilities nor had she been a member for very long. Yet Lucy was hesitant to place herself among the assorted members of the guild.

Mira had seemed to have taken an interest in her. Even when there were other members of the guild at the bar, she always made an effort to speak to Lucy. Then there was her relationship with Natsu.

If her theory about him being in the guild's inner circle proved to be true, then she was in good standing by association. That would place her in the same social position as Jet and Droy. Both were strong, but neither had been in the guild as long as Levy nor did they participate as much as she did.

Still Lucy loathed the idea of being stuck in the same position as those two bozos. As well as only having leverage due to her unwilling partnership to Natsu. She would have to begin climbing the social ladder if she had any hope of standing on her own.

It had been two weeks since she had first joined the guild. And just over one since she went on her first job with Natsu as her partner. Her wounds were healing fast largely because of the guilds stash of medical lacrima.

Magic healing lacrima were difficult to make, hard to find, had limited uses, and couldn't be recharged. They sped up the bodies natural healing processes but couldn't heal a wound right away. And they went for a fortune on the black market.

And it got even more complicated. There were different types of medical lacrima for different types of injuries. Burn lacrima, abrasion lacrima, rash lacrima, etc. And if the lacrima wasn't made correctly it was completely useless.

Thankfully Fairy Tail seemed to be able to tell the bad from the good. Their stash was well organized and ready for any emergency situation. Lucy had to give them credit. They knew how to be prepared.

Unfortunately, Natsu's arm was still broken. None of the guilds healing lacrima were capable of mending broken bones. So the pink haired fireball was stuck with a cast for at least another five weeks.

This frustrated Lucy to no end. Mirajane had already spread the word. New girl Lucy Ashley and resident car enthusiast Natsu Dragion were officially partners. As far as the barmaid cared she had won their little wager. And Mira expected Lucy to keep her end of the deal.

Lucy didn't like it but there wasn't much she could do. She had given her word after all. And her word was one thing the blonde had never broken. So the delinquent was stuck hanging around the guild until Natsu got his cast off.

On the bright side, this gave Lucy the chance to wriggle her way into everyone's favor. Since she was stuck at the guild she had taken to helping out with some of the minor work. Mainly by helping Mira's little brother Elfman fix things up around the guild.

Elfman was an interesting character. He was tall, burly, and muscular but as mousey as you could make them. Not as shy or cowardly as Natsu, but he had just as much fighting ability. Lucy had picked up from Jet and Droy that he often failed missions.

But he was a fantastic carpenter.

Everything the guild members broke in their daily fights was fixed up by Elfman. He could patch the guilds floors in a timely manner and construct a full set of table and chairs in a matter of days. There was also a poetic side to him that Lucy couldn't help but admire. He was still a wimp, but at least he was a wimp with some constructive talents.

Mira had invited Lucy to assist her and her little sister Lisanna service the guilds bar. Something Lucy had felt compelled to refuse. More than a few of the male members of the guild were the flirtatious type and she didn't want to encourage them.

Macao and Wakaba would usually admonish anyone who leered at the girls too much. But while that discouraged most members, others were still willing to try. More so towards Mirajane than her sister. Mira had made it clear that her sister was off limits to anyone who wasn't a potential future husband.

Lisanna herself was a rather quiet unassuming girl. Lucy hadn't even noticed her at first. Even though she was now aware of her role in the guild she still somehow managed to fade into the background. Despite this, she seemed to be well liked in the guild. Overall Lucy found her likable.

The work was difficult but proved to be rewarding. So long as she was working around the guild Mira was more than willing to let Lucy eat for free. Over time, she came to know the silver-haired siblings rather well.

She also came to understand a few of her guildmates a little better. Outside of a couple of members who left on a long term job before her arrival, she came to know each member of the guild. Even Jet and Droy got used to her presence.

Levy however still seemed to stew every time she entered the room. Lucy figured that it had to be because the two hadn't fought since she had been injured. Mira had forbidden her from taking part in fights until she was fully healed. In the end, Lucy resolved to give her rival an excellent thrashing once she was in top condition.


After another, half week of treatment Lucy's wounds had finally healed. She wished she could say the same about Natsu. Everyone had kept watch over him to make sure he didn't try to sneak off and drive his car.

They had stopped him five times during the day, three at night, and once in the morning when they had to physically remove him from the car. Natsu was now suffering from what Lucy could only describe as withdrawal. He'd been lethargic, moody, and depressed for the past two weeks.

She actually felt rather sorry for him. He just looked so pathetic slumped over the bar counter like a sack of potatoes. She patted his back hoping to give him some semblance of comfort.

"All healed up Lucy?"

Looking up Lucy saw Mirajane standing just beyond the counter.

Smiling she showed off her freshly healed arm by flexing it. "Good as new."

"That's great! Now if only we had some bone mending lacrima Natsu could get healed up much more quickly." Mirajane leaned over the counter to inspect the pink haired boy. "It's just so sad seeing him so depressed."

"Please stop talking about me like I'm not here." Natsu groaned with his face buried in his arms.

"Aint there any place that sells the stuff?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Well, it's difficult for dealers to get ahold of. And it's a high demand product so even when one does come up on the market it's usually pretty expensive." Mirajane sighed. "Nowadays it's almost impossible to get ahold of potent healing lacrima. Since the demand is so high the markets been flooded with counterfeits. So even if we do hear about one going on sale there's no guarantee it'll even be real."

It was a depressing thing to hear. With the king hoarding all the lacrima in the royal city there was no way for most common folk to get a hold of what they needed. More than a few requests on the job board were desperate people needing certain types of lacrima.

It was a terrible time to be alive.

Lucy pushed the thoughts out of her mind. No, she couldn't let herself dwell on any of it. What was important now was her own survival. As long as she had that everything else could fall to pieces.

"I get all that." Natsu sighed. "But why can't I drive my car? I drove all the way home with my arm broken."

Mira gave him a disapproving look. "That was different. You two had no way of contacting the guild right away and Lucy didn't know how to drive the four-wheeler. If we let you take off now you'd get yourself into a drag race or something. With only one arm you'd have much less control and could crash. It's bad enough you have a broken arm. We don't want you breaking anything else with your reckless driving." She wagged her finger at him in a chiding fashion. "When you're all healed up you can drive as much as you like. Are we clear?"

Natsu lifted his head a little and gave a small nod. "Yes Mira."

Lucy couldn't help but crack a smile. It was almost cute how obedient Natsu was towards Mira. He acted just like a small child being scolded by their mother.

Looking back on it, it was almost comical the way Natsu kept trying to have his way. She couldn't help but laugh when she remembered how she had woken up in the middle of the night. Only to find Reedus, Max, and Warren trying to drag Natsu out of his car. His one good arm clung to the steering wheel for dear life while the rest of him was in the arms of the three men as they pulled.

Glancing around the guild the blonde felt herself fill with disappointment. The blue haired short stack was nowhere to be seen. And Lucy had so been looking forward to decking her a new one.

"Levy's been looking for you too." Mira's said catching Lucy's attention.

Frowning Lucy blushed and replied. "I'm not looking for her."

"Lucy," Mira bit her lower lip and looked rather concerned. "have you and Levy been… fighting?"

It was such a strange question that she was caught off guard for a moment. "What do you mean? We fight all the time."

"Not like that." the look on Mirajane's face became even more concerned. "I've noticed her looking at you and not in the usual way. And she hasn't once picked a fight with you since you got back."

Lucy had noticed that as well. But she had assumed it had been because she was injured.

Mira seemed to read her mind. "Levy will avoid physical fights with injured people for the most part. But if she can't fight she'll usually find some other way to compete. Eating contests, races, work. Anything will do whenever she gets in the mood."

Moving in close to Lucy she whispered. "I know it's rude of me to pry but did you say anything out of the ordinary to her? Maybe an insult? Something like that?"

"NO!" Lucy nearly yelled. Instantly she lowered her voice. "No. She hasn't even spoken to me."

"Oh... oh that's not good," Mirajane muttered frantically. "If Levy's mad at you. I mean really really mad. She'll just cut off any communication! Are you sure you can't think of anything?"

"I already said I don't know!" This was starting to piss Lucy off. If the blue haired bitch had a problem with her she should just say something and get it over with.

Even so Lucy ran over what had happened before she had left on her little excursion with Natsu. They had fought, yeah, but it had been pretty normal.

Levy had provoked her. A few sub-par insults had been thrown around. Then they brawled. In their fight, Lucy had managed to land a good punch in the face, but Levy had gotten in more than few to her gut.

Nothing about the fight had stood out much to Lucy at all. It was the same as all the ones the two had gotten into since she had joined Fairy Tail. She supposed it could have been something that had happened after her return.

Perhaps Levy was just pissed that Lucy had gotten to stick around the guild all day instead of working? Maybe she felt her position in the guild as one of the best fighters was being threatened by Lucy's arrival? Maybe, just maybe, she had a crush on Natsu and was jealous that Lucy had gone out on a job with him?

The last one seemed unlikely, but anything was possible.

Still Lucy wasn't one to leave issues like this hanging. She didn't want to deal with whatever personal issue Levy had. But she knew she had to. Her life at the guild couldn't be spent in peace if that blue haired bimbo made things difficult.

Standing up, she looked Mira in the eye and asked, "Where can I find her?"

"Somewhere outside. Are you gonna go look for her?"

"Well, I'm definitely not going to sit on my hands wondering what she's been stewing over. If she has some personal issue with me I'd rather resolve it now."

"Please don't" a pitiable voice whispered.

Lucy looked down to see Natsu staring up at her with a worried look on his face.

"I-I know you're just as strong as Levy b-but I'd rather you guys didn't fight like this..." he averted his eyes from her face having lost whatever nerve he had worked up. "I don't like it when my friends fights get personal."

Lucy scoffed. "Hey, she's the one with the problem. If you hate the idea of us fighting so much you should go talk to her yourself."

Natsu visibly shrunk from the idea. "I-I couldn't do that!"

"Then don't complain about us fighting. If you aren't willing to get involved yourself then you have no right telling me not to settle this my way." With that, Lucy turned and went out the guilds front doors.

Looking down with an ashamed expression on his face Natsu muttered. "It's not that I'm not willing... I just... can't..."

Mira placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as she looked on towards the doors.


((Heheh soooo you guys remember when I said I was gonna do a oneshot? Yyyyeah that's not gonna happen.

I mean this was supposed to be a oneshot about Edo!Lucy and Levy but then it kinda took on a life of it's own. First I started getting a bit too into the world building. I kinda wondered how Fairy Tail would work as an illegal guild without a master and how Lucy would approach it.

By the timeline of this story Lucy's been a member of the guild for only a month or so. She's only just now getting to know all the members because before she was constantly going out on solo jobs one after another. But since she has to stick around the guild everyday due to her injuries she's forced to interact with everyone else and get to know them.
I'm really trying to show how different her mindset is at this time from what we see in the series. At the moment Lucy still see's Fairy Tail as just a place she happens to work and stay at, and not as a home. In the future that'll change as she does.

Now the reason I wanted to give Levy and Lucy their own interaction chapter is because I feel Levy doesn't get enough attention. And I mean by her own merit. I wanted to take this opportunity to define what I think Edo!Levy would be like, her relationship to Lucy Ashley, Natsu Dragion, as well as the rest of the guild. So hopefully you'll see more of that in future chapters.

You also may have noticed while reading this fic that Gray and Juvia are, well, not around. Thats because I was honeslty not sure what to do with them at first. I really want to do a story arc where Lucy has to meet the two for the first time and are surprised by their little quirks (well mainly Edo!Gray's quirks but ya get my drift). I had initially planned for the second story arc to be about that but now I might just make it a part of this one somehow.

Lets see what else what else...

AH!

Lucy and Natsu's relationship hasn't improved very much at all. At least that's what I'm trying to portray. Lucy doesn't hate Natsu anymore and even seems to find him endearing but they aren't really friends yet. She's still rather insensitive and harsh towards him, and doesn't really understand him very well. Of course it's still an improvement on her opinion of him in the first part of the story but I digress.

Anyway as always I publish as I go along so no telling when the next update will be.
The poll I posted on my profile hasn't seen much use so I'll likely be taking it down soon. I probably didn't put up any good options huh? LOL
As always please review with your opinion on this newest chapter and the story as a whole! Feel free to share your ideas and headcanons, and don't be afraid to point out any and all typos!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!))