Lucy heard the front door slam shut before she heard the piercing shriek of a young girl in love calling her name. The blonde woman groaned, pulling an open book off of her face. She was lying in a makeshift bed of novels. She had spent all night and most of the morning doing nothing but reading, hoping, praying to the Gods of literary design, that she would find a new inspiration for her next novel. She had barely gotten up when her office door opened, allowing passage to a girl, about 14 years old, with hair a mixture of crimson and cerulean. Her beautiful brown eyes were practically sparkling with stars.

"I'm back from school, Lucy!" she announced.

"I can see that," Lucy yawned again.

"I got you the mail too!" The girl showed off a handful of letters clenched in her fist, and she literally threw herself at the older woman. She tried to bury her head into Lucy's bosom, but Lucy happened to shift her body just in time, forcing the child to rub her face on her guardian's bare arm instead. However, it didn't seem to disappoint her.

"I love you!"

"You're always telling me that," Lucy chuckled, scratching the girl's hair.

"I mean it! I'm only two years away from being 16! I'll be legal, and then you can take me to bed whenever you want!"

"You always say that too!"

"No, last year I said I was three years away!"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Just hand over the mail and I'll start on dinner while you wash up."

The girl puffed out her cheeks, but she did as she was told, slapping the letters into Lucy's open palm. "Fine! There's no way I can disobey a pretty face like yours anyway...!"

"You really love repeating yourself, don't you?"

Lucy watched the girl leave, and when the teen was finally out of sight, she turned her attention to the letters. The first few were nothing but bills and a few paychecks. It seemed her first and only book yet, an autobiography of her early years as a member in Fairy Tail, was still well-received enough to sell copies, even though its peak popularity in mainstream culture had long since passed. Lucy was thankful for that much. There was also a wedding invitation for Wendy and Laxus' wedding; a couple that controversial, even if Wendy had long since been of consent, would likely bring more than a few drunk party-crashers along with it.

Placing those letters aside, she finally came upon the one she had been hoping for. It was from Erza Scarlet-Fernandes, and her husband Jellal.

Lucy tore the letter open, letting the note tumble out onto her lap, along with a wad of money Erza always sent as compensation. She stared at it for a few seconds. She wasn't sure if she should read it, even though a big part of her desperately wanted to. Although she kept in close contact with Erza for all this time, it had been so long, longer than it should have been, since the redhead last visited in person. Especially considering her daughter had been staying under Lucy's care for nearly six years, with only a few visits every other year. Their daughter, Roberta, had been effectively abandoned by her own parents.

Erza and Jellal were constantly away on trips, whether it was on missions to resolve diplomatic disputes in foreign countries, or just personal romantic get-aways between them. Lucy couldn't deny that they were terrible parents. However, she also could come up with an excuse for their behavior. They had both lost their parents in childhood, and forced to grow up emotionally and mentally very quickly in order to survive. They didn't know how to raise kids, but the fact that they were too afraid to really try was what bothered Lucy. Maybe what they thought they were doing was best, by securing a financially secure future for their child, at the expense of emotional support and responsible raising.

It also bothered Lucy that her true feelings for Erza, as taboo as they were, hadn't died out yet, not even after Erza had already married and had a child with the man of her dreams. It was like an emotional stake through the heart.

Lucy picked up the note despite any more reservations. She started reading it, and the first thing she caught notice of was that Jellal had signed the note too. He really was trying hard to be on her good graces. Lucy honestly couldn't bring herself to hate him as much as she felt she should have, considering the situation. She kept reading, and she started to imagine what they were doing right now; Erza's descriptions of their voyage across the sea, participating in a foreign war involving a power dark guild, were quite vivid, and the scenes formed like paintings in Lucy's mind. She jokingly wondered if Erza was the true writer here after all.

The last few sentences were the usual fare: hoping that Lucy was well too, asking her to send a response soon, and to tell Roberta that she and Jellal love her very much. Lucy sighed, and she folded the note, placing it onto her desk. She needed to hurry and get dinner ready, or else Roberta would get cranky.

"How'd you like dinner?"

"Delicious as always, my dear!" Roberta flashed a wink at the older woman, taking her plate back into the kitchen, "You might have burnt the rice a little, but I didn't mind it one bit! I actually thought it was tastier that way!"

"Err, okay..."

Lucy finished off the last spoonful of her meal, and forced herself to swallow; she didn't think the burnt rice tasted any good at all. Roberta was probably just trying to flatter her, as usual. When the young girl returned into the dining room, Lucy decided to switch the subject to another question just as commonly asked.

"Did school go alright for you today?"

"It was fantastic! I came in first place in all the athletic practices today!" Roberta boasted.

"That's impressive!" 'But not surprising,' Lucy thought, 'She definitely has her mother's genes.'

"I'm still not as good at actually using magic as I'd like to be, though..." Roberta sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

'I guess she didn't inherit Jellal's skills, though.'

Lucy smiled, and she had to say it. "Your parents sent a new letter today. They're doing fine, but they've been busy. They told me to tell you that they love you very much."

Roberta's smile faltered, just a little, as it usually did whenever the mention of her parents came up, but she quickly threw back up her defenses, and put on that same happy grin Lucy had seen so many times. "Oh really? I'm glad they're doing alright!"

Lucy sighed. If there was anyone being hurt by this arrangement most of all, it was Roberta.

"By the way, Lucy..."

"Hmm?"

"Can I sleep with you in your bed tonight? I feel a bit...lonely..."

"Sorry, I'll be up working all night."

"Gah! How mean!"

"Good night, Lucy!"

"Good night!"

"Love you!"

"Mmhmm..."

"Just say it once, please!"

Once Roberta had finally fallen asleep, curled up in the platinum-colored covers of her bed, Lucy left her and returned to her office to start writing. Or at least, that was what Lucy wanted to do, but as soon as she opened up her notebook, her mind instantly went blank. She couldn't stop thinking about Roberta, and Erza, and Jellal. It had been many years, but her mind seemed to be caught in a loop, and she still thought about that lovely redheaded warrior as often as a schoolgirl with a crush.

'Erza...why are you such an idiot?'

Lucy thought it was the cruelest irony that she was in love with the mother, and yet the child was the one who constantly proclaimed words of affection for her. Why and when Roberta had fallen in love with Lucy was unknown, but she was surprisingly determined to win her caretaker's hand one day. Lucy understood how she felt.

She still sometimes dreamed of being able to hold Erza, to touch her and to kiss her, and to be touched by her in return. However, the chance of that ever happening had long since passed, and Lucy needed to get over it. However, as long as Roberta was in her presence, she never could. She didn't have Erza's eyes, but she definitely had her face.

Lucy flicked her desk lamp on and off a few times, trying to distract herself from her work, just because it helped ease her mind a little. She wondered about everything that's happened, and everything that will happen, and she wasn't pleased by the results.

She clenched her teeth tight, and an anger she'd felt again and again started to bubble up inside of her, like an overflowing cauldron. It wasn't an anger toward Erza for dumping her daughter on her, nor was it an anger toward Jellal for stealing away the woman Lucy had loved. It was an anger with herself. This wasn't the first time this had happened.

'No...no! I need to try and stay happy, for both of us...! Stay positive, Lucy Heartfilia!'

Lucy started scribbling down word after word, barely without any direction intended. She was going to force a new idea out of her Erza-addled brain even if it killed her. Maybe she could use her own personal experiences as an influence, just as she'd done for her autobiography. She could only hope that, this time, her thoughts stayed on the page, and didn't go drifting off into the oblivion when her imagination eventually failed her.