Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

CHAPTER 24: Reunion

"I heard what happened to Lucy-san. Is she alright?" Erza asked with a concerned tone.

Natsu had told her about what happened the next morning and it has been three days since the attack happened. Lucy's wounds have healed but the trauma it left her with was too great.

It triggered a subconscious trauma that she has been blocking out. We'll need to give her time to recover from that.

It was what the doctor, who was an acquaintance of Poluchka, told them the other day. Despite this observation, Lucy seemed okay and was lively and cheerful especially when in front of their daughter but it didn't fool him at all. He noticed how she trembled whenever someone suddenly speaks from behind her and how she flinches when anyone tries to touch her especially if it's a male but what irked him the most was the look she got in her eyes whenever she looked at him as if she was afraid of him.

Why does she avoid looking at me anyway? Natsu thought.

A clipboard struck Natsu's head enough to hurt him and yank him from his thoughts. He put a hand on the spot that stung because of it and looked irritated at Erza.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You were spacing out. You know it's rude to space out while talking with someone," she answered and narrowed her eyes on him.

"I just remembered something that's all," he answered back.

"I was asking you if Lucy-san's all right," Erza asked again.

"Yeah the doctor who looked her over she said she was recovering physically..." Natsu trailed off and Erza raised an eyebrow at him.

"Physically... so you're saying there's something else that is not good with her," she stated more than asked.

"The trauma brought back some kind of subconscious thought that she was suppressing in her mind. It's making her fidgety around people especially me," he said with a huff of breath.

"I see... well if you think about what she just went through then you really can't blame her for how she is acting right now," Erza said thoughtfully and she left to leave Natsu back to his work. Before she could leave, Natsu called him back again so she stopped and faced him.

"I'm leaving the office. Can you move all my meetings for tomorrow?" he said and Erza gawked at him.

"Are you crazy? You've got tons of work to finish today and they're all - "

" - done," Natsu cut her off as he threw down the last of the folders that he was supposed to look at, "I've looked these through yesterday at home. I had the project manager send me a soft copy in my email."

Erza just blinked and went over his desk to look at them thoroughly. He did already look it through.

"So what's so urgent that made you be so diligent with your work today?" Erza said and quirked an eyebrow at him. He just shrugged and left his office waving a hand at her as a silent goodbye. As soon as she heard the door close, she sighed.

"Guess he'll go see her. Seems like they're slowly getting steady with each other," Erza chuckled after speaking and went to gather the folders and organize the corrections and suggestions Natsu made on them to forward it back to the department heads.

Lucy was busy with her housework while Natsuki was still at school. She had Levy helping her out on her chores since she was still feeling jumpy from the incident three days ago and Levy also wanted to keep an eye on her. Lucy just finished hanging all the clothes out and went inside slumping on the sofa while Levy just finished sweeping the floors.

"How are you feeling?" Levy asked as she sat beside Lucy.

"I'm better now thanks to everybody although I feel a bit bad that I'm making you all worry," Lucy answered to which Levy shook her head in response.

"Don't mention it. We're friends right?" Levy said and smiled at her friend.

They both heard a knock and Lucy jumped a bit but soon relaxed when they heard Natsuki's voice from behind the door.

"Mommy open the door. We have a visitor!" Natsuki said as she giggled and the two women inside looked quizzical at each other.

Levy got up to open the door while Lucy stayed sitting on the sofa. When she opened the door, They saw Natsu carrying the little girl on his hip.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed completely surprised of his presence.

"Oh come in," Levy said and hid a knowing smirk as father and child entered the house. As soon as Natsu placed his daughter down, she ran towards her mother who hasn't moved an inch on the sofa and kissed her on the cheek. Levy introduced herself to Natsu and she went to the kitchen to go get something for he guest.

"Let me do that instead Levy-chan," Lucy said as she stood up but Levy waved her hand at her.

"Oh shush you should entertain your guest. I can handle myself well in the kitchen," Levy said and her eyes sparkled mischievously.

"I'm going to get changed in my room, okay? You guys should talk," Natsuki said and rushed to their room and closed the door.

Now the only ones left in in the small living room was Lucy and Natsu who were enveloped in a blanket of silence.

"How are you feeling now?" Natsu asked and Lucy answered meekly while looking down her hands.

Natsu was irked at how he was being treated by Lucy and by instinct his hand moved to her chin to make her face him eye to eye.

"Why do you keep avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?" Natsu asked with all seriousness.

"N-no... It's just..." Lucy answered and then tried to evade him but his hold on her was firm enough to make her face him. She managed to keep her eyes looking sideways until they heard Levy come in with some biscuits and coffee for them to share.

"Sorry about this, but this is what we currently - Did I miss something?" Levy asked as she noticed the two were a bit tense despite them sitting beside each other not to mention they were looking away from each other.

"Uh I think I need to check on Natsuki as well so I'll leave you two alone okay?" Levy said as she put the tray down and headed for the they were sure Levy was out of earshot, Lucy decided to speak.

"I'm sorry... I just don't know how to face you right now..." Lucy said and Natsu raised a brow not really understanding what she was trying to say.

"I don't really get you right now..." Natsu honestly said.

"I know I'm being difficult but it's best for both of us anyway," she said and faced Natsu with a smile that didn't really reach her eyes before she spoke again, "I know I haven't said this yet but thank you for saving me. It's kind of nostalgic knowing that you still know where to find me and manage to help all the time. You're probably tired of me right now for always bothering you."

"Lucy I want us to be together again," Natsu said and Lucy' eyes grew wide from what she heard from him.

"You're kidding right? You can't be serious I mean you and Lisanna.." she reasoned out obviously not believing what she was just told.

"I'm dead serious. I broke up with Lisanna and no matter what I do, I can't shake you off from my head. It's you that I love...even back then," Natsu said and Lucy felt her eyes sting a bit. She looked away and hid her eyes behind her bangs before she spoke.

"...you shouldn't have done that..." It was Natsu's time to be surprised completely not expecting that answer from her. He half-expected that she would be happy about his confession and was also half-expecting that she'd make a fuss out of it but not totally reject him.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed completely losing his cool with her. Did she really not love him to begin with?

What's wrong with her? Why can't you look at me again like you did before?! he thought angrily.

"You wouldn't understand Natsu. Things are not what they were anymore. You'd be better off without me," she briefly explained and looked at him with sorry eyes.

"That's what I don't understand about you! Why the hell Lucy? I ate my pride just so I can admit I still love you and you just casually shrug me off like that? I mean you obviously still love me too right? Just admit it," he said letting emotion take over. He knows he was putting too much pressure on her right now but he wanted answers, not to mention he was sounding too confident about himself.

"We were young back then and we were easily influenced by our youth. You being a father to Natsuki is all I can ask for and I am thankful for all your efforts. There's a lot you don't know about me Natsu," Lucy explained.

"Then tell me. If you won't then how can you say that things won't work out on us?' Natsu said.

"You don't have to concern yourself with what has happened before Natsu. What's done is done. I don't deserve you that's all I can tell you," Lucy said and looked away from him but he grabbed her arm to make her look at him.

"Then say that you don't love me. I won't accept your reasons but if you tell me that you don't love me as much as I love you then you can expect to hear more from me," Natsu said with determined eyes. Lucy was stunned at his boldness and found herself helpless as she continued to look at his resolute eyes.

"I..."

"Say it."

Lucy gulped and tried to voice it out again. She shut her eyes tight and tried once more.

I need to say it. I can't burden him with my own issues, Lucy thought.

"Natsu I..."

"Hey Lucy, you there?" someone called out from outside. Both Natsu and Lucy knew the voice well and irritation flashed from Natsu's face in an instant.

"Y-yeah Sting. Let me get the door for you," she called out. In that moment, Levy and Natsuki went out the bedroom with Natsuki running up to her father to sit beside him.

"That guy really has bad timing," Levy mumbled as she put her hands on her hips pouting her lips a little.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked as he looked at Levy who was surprised that he was able to hear her and made a lame excuse.

Almost got me there, Levy thought. Actually, the entire time that the two were having a bit of a dramatic soap opera scene, she was eavesdropping together with Natsuki and both were squealing with suppressed delight whenever Natsu renounces his love for Lucy.

When Lucy opened up the door, Sting was standing on her doorstep holding a cloth bag with a couple of food containers in it. He raised the bag he was holding to show to Lucy.

"Yukino wanted me to give these to you. Everyone at the diner is worried and Yajima-san said you can return to work whenever you feel like you can," he said and Lucy smiled warmly at how she was being taken care of by her friends.

"Thank you Sting. Come in," Lucy said and made way for Sting to enter the house. As soon as he stepped in, he noticed Natsu who was sitting on the sofa silently glaring at him. He scoffed and made his way to Lucy's kitchen to put the food on top of the table.

"You can just leave them there Sting. You can go sit on the couch to rest for a while," Lucy said.

"Oh I'll help you with that," Levy offered as she also went to the kitchen with Natsuki following her wanting to also help out.

Sting sat across from where Natsu was sitting and the two had a stare-down going on. Neither one of them breaking their concentration of sending the other how they felt.

"You seem to be awfully familiar with Lucy," Natsu said and Sting snickered.

"Of course. Lucy invites me over to eat ALL the time. I could say I practically live here," he responded with a smirk and this grated on Natsu's nerves.

"Don't get too cocky. I might just snatch her back from you," Natsu said and gave an equal smirk.

The two of them glared at each other and the air sizzled with tension. When Lucy went to go check the two, she saw both Natsu and Sting just looking at each other with smirks on their faces and the longer she looked at the two, the more she felt scared for some unknown reason. They look scary. Did something between these two? Lucy thought and she cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Um...Thank you Sting for bringing the food but I don't think we'll be able to finish all of it and throwing it away would be a waste so I was wondering if you could stay for lunch," she said and Sting answered a very enthusiastic 'sure!' to which Natsu deeply scoffed for, "you too Natsu can you stay over for lunch? Natsuki would love it if you could."

Natsu's face brightened and gave a nod before he side glanced at Sting showing an evident smirk. The air between the two crackled with tension and Lucy was completely oblivious to the reason why these two won't get along.

"I'll just be setting up the table and then we'll call you in when we're done," Lucy said and walked off leaving the two men on their own.

"Looks like I'll be staying over for lunch as well blondie," Natsu said with a triumphant air around him to which Sting flicked his tongue with.

"She was just being considerate of you. I was the one she invited first and not you pinkie," Sting retaliated.

The two of them continued to argue while the women were busy preparing for their meals. Levy noticed Lucy return with a serious look on her face as if she was trying to figure something out so she asked her what it was hoping she could help her out.

"Hey Lu-chan, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I was just thinking... How come Sting and Natsu never get in good terms with one another? Ever since they met the first time, they have been at each other's necks. I wonder if it's because of that huge fight they had back when Natsu saw Sting and I walking home together," Lucy said.

"Are you sure you don't know?" Levy asked teasingly and with a meaningful look in her eyes.

"Not really... and what's with that look? Do you know something Levy-chan?" Lucy asked.

"Daddy's jealous of Sting. Didn't you know that Mommy?" Natsuki said and Lucy gawked at her daughter.

"What she said," Levy agreed.

"That can't be right. Natsu was really cold to me back when we first met and that was during the time he had a fight with Sting because he was trying to force to go back to working for him," Lucy reasoned out.

I would have believed that to be possible if what he confessed to me earlier took place before that incident, Lucy added in thought.

"Oh come on Lucy, you're a smart girl so I know you know that we are right. You're just having troubles accepting it right now," Levy added.

"You two are spending way too much time watching soap operas together on Friday nights," Lucy commented and laughed them off before she continued, "let's hurry up and finish here so those two can instead focus on their food rather than tearing each other's limbs apart."

Lunch was a very interesting sight especially for the two fangirls munching on their meals while their eyes glimmered with suppressed mirth. The other side of the table though has a somewhat heavy atmosphere on it. Levy and Natsuki were sitting on the other end of the table looking closely at the three people in front of them. Lucy has been sighing non-stop while seated in between Sting and Natsu who were exchanging intense glares at one another.

I can't believe I have to endure this, Lucy thought as she silently ate her food pointedly trying to ignore the two men beside her. The two have been getting on it since they sat down on both her sides. Whenever Sting tried to make light talk with her, Natsu butts in and asks her some random thing and then Sting starts a re-butt. Before they knew it, the two have been arguing her ears out since she was sitting in the middle of them. Levy and Natsuki both grinned at her as she silently begged them to get her out of this mess.

Ring! Ring!

Lucy's phone rang and she sighed heavily. Thank God! she thought silently.

"Excuse me but I need to get that," she said and stood up from her chair to answer her mobile phone that was sitting on top of the living room table.

"Hello?"

"Hi Lucy-san. This is Jellal"

"Jellal-san?! How can I help you?" Lucy asked surprised to receive a call from him.

"Thank you again for the hard work last time. My boss saw how wonderful you were on your pictures and wanted to meet you personally. If you're free today, we would like to invite you to dinner tonight," Jellal said.

Lucy thought long and hard about it but tonight would be a stretch as she is mentally exhausted for today with her guests plus it was all too sudden if she were to accept it today.

"Thank you for the offer but I don't think I'll be able to commit tonight though. I still need to look after Natsuki so she'll be able to prepare for school tomorrow," Lucy answered honestly.

"I understand. Then perhaps we can have set an appointment for lunch on Saturday? My boss really wants to meet you in person," Jellal offered.

"Okay then. I can make it by Saturday afternoon," Lucy said and they spoke of what time and where they will be supposed to see each other. After agreeing on their appointment, Lucy hung up and went back to finish her meal and was met with curious stares coming from both Sting and Natsu.

"W-what?" Lucy asked feeling uncomfortable of the stares she is getting from the two men.

"Well?" Natsu began and Sting added.

"Who was it?"

"Oh Jellal-san called," she answered and Natsu raised a brow at this.

"Isn't he the manager of both Gray-kun and Loke-kun?" Levy asked remembering the name.

"Yeah, he invited me for lunch this Saturday said his boss wanted to personally thank me for filling in last time," Lucy answered.

"You talking about the photo shoot you got dragged in, right?" Natsu asked to which Lucy and Levy raised brows at.

"How did you know about that?" Lucy asked.

"Those shots were supposed to be used for our latest advertisement of our newest product," Natsu said and took a bite out of his sandwich.

Everybody in the room was shocked to hear that. None of them knew or even expected that to be the case.

"Wha - I thought that was just for some random magazine or something," Lucy said obviously caught off guard.

"That being said, that means you're the client who was presented those pictures," Levy said which made Lucy blush.

Kyaa! I'm so embarrassed... If I knew Natsu would see them I shouldn't have done the job, Lucy thought holding her already flushed cheeks.

"True. Jellal showed them to me personally after the shoot so I saw all of them and decided to pick on a few good shots. I even kept some to myself," Natsu teased and looked teasingly at Lucy who blushed further.

Sting clicked his tongue at this. He knew about the shoot as well and was thinking of buying the first copies to be released of that shoot.

And here the jerk already kept some for his own private collection, Sting thought bitterly.

"Then that means Mommy is going to be famous? Cool!" Natsuki exclaimed.

"N-no Natsuki-chan. That was just a one-time deal," Lucy said with a sweatdrop and then she realized something and looked at Natsu before she asked, "...does this mean you're the boss Jellal is talking about?"

"Of course not. I'm their company's client but I'm telling you right now. You know, exactly who his boss is and you'll be surprised," Natsu said and smiled knowingly. He looked at his wrist watch and stood up.

"I'll be taking my leave now," he said and approached Natsuki to kiss her on the forehead.

"Can't you stay longer Daddy?" Natsuki pleaded which made Natsu laugh a bit as he bent down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"I wish I could but I have to get back to work soon. I'll come visit again some other time," he answered and his daughter hugged him on his neck and kissed him on his cheek. He then went and approached Lucy.

"Thank you for the meal but I need to go now," Natsu said.

"Thank you for bringing Natsuki home sor - "

Lucy suddenly stopped as she felt something warm land her cheek making her face heat up. Turns out Natsu took the chance to also land a kiss on Lucy's cheek while she was pre-occupied. He saw her blush a squeaked a little in surprise which forced a smirk on his lips and a slight growl being heard from the blonde male who witnessed it all.

"I'll see you soon Luce," Natsu said and left for the door.

Levy was squealing in suppressed delight as she hugged Natsuki who also got excited to just what happened.

"Would the two of you stop that?" Sting said irritatedly.

"Oooohh... Do we hear jealousy Sting?" Levy teased and Sting growled at her making her grin wider.

"Cut it out Levy-chan. Sting just let it go. You know how she is with these sort of things," Lucy said trying to pacify Sting.

"Tch, I'll let it slip this time but she"s right you know," Sting admitted and Lucy blushed getting exactly what he meant.

"Sting..." Lucy trailed off.

"Well I have to get going as well. Rogue might get mad at me for leaving Lector and Frosche alone at home," he said as he went straight for the door. Lucy followed him to see him out and when they were right out the door, Sting suddenly grabbed Lucy for a tight hug. Lucy was taken by surprise and she just blinked at Sting after he let go of her and winked at her before he waved a hand off and left. Lucy could only stand there and watch Sting leave with a smirk making her blush further just realizing she got pawned by two guys who were obviously fighting over her.

Timeskip - Saturday

It was early morning and Lucy started doing her motherly duties so as to be able to prepare for her lunch appointment this afternoon. Jellal left a VM on her phone yesterday saying that a car will be sent to pick her up 30 minutes before the scheduled time and that she can bring over her daughter if she wants to. Levy had stated she would love to join them but was unable to because of her work down the bookshop and partly because she felt that she will be gatecrashing if she did go with them.

Tiny footseps approached her as she was setting up the table for breakfast and she saw Natsuki groggily making her way to the table.

"It's too early for you to wake up Natsuki-chan, you should go back to bed and I'll just wake you up when I'm done," Lucy said but her daughter just shook her head and smiled sleepily at her.

"I'm fine Mommy. I always wanted to watch you do your cooking and I also want to help you get pretty for today!" she exclaimed the last part before releasing a huge yawn which made Lucy giggle at her.

Both mother and daughter shared the breakfast Lucy made and tidied up after themselves. By early noon, a lavish car parked just in front of Lucy's house and their neighbors all stared in awe wondering why she seems to have a lot of rich friends coming to visit her everyday.

"Mommy there's a really nice car outside," Natsuki said as she peeked at their window looking at the black limo where a chauffeur waited for them.

"That's probably the one Jellal-san mentioned before, Lucy muttered as she got out of the bedroom wearing a baby pink flutter-sleeve dress with the bottom part ending just an inch above her knees and a plunging V-neck. She picked a simple pair of short-heeled sandals to pair it up and left her hair loose instead of her usual ponytail. It wasn't much but from her little wardrobe, they were the nicest pair of clothes she could wear. Natsuki was wearing a pair of blue shorts and a white top with a blue ribbon tied on its collar while also wearing her favorite pair of sandals.

The chauffeur knocked on their door and Lucy answered it. She was greeted by the gentleman who bowed at her before speaking.

"Jellal-sama has sent me here to pick up Lucy-sama for lunch at Blue Belles. I'm Nick. Nice to meet you," the young man said and Lucy also bowed to introduce herself and Natsuki.

"Nice to meet you as well, Nick-san. I'm Lucy Heartfilia and this is my daughter Natsuki," she finished.

"Hi!" Natsuki gleefully waved as she grinned up. The man smiled and led he way for them promptly opening the door for them to get in the car. All the while from the short walk from their doorstep to the waiting car, Lucy felt eyes from her neighbors who were talking amongst themselves wondering why such a lavish car was parked in their neighborhood. She squirmed afraid that she might become the next hottest gossip topic around the neighborhood.

Lucy and Natsuki got in the car and it drove off the distance. The drive was a bit silent with a bit if small talk every now and then between the driver and Natsuki. Lucy would sometimes lightly scold Natsuki for taking the driver's attention off the road.

"Natsuki you shouldn't disturb Nick-san too much. You don't want us to crash here in the freeway now, do you?" Lucy lightly scolded to which Natsuki pouted at but she still followed her mother knowing she was right and said a little sorry to Lucy and Nick.

"It's okay. I enjoyed speaking with a little princess like you," Nick said and focused on driving to their destination.

Blue Belles is a large five-class restaurant situated in the heart of Magnolia City. It's near the business district so it attracts a lot of high end customers and the restaurant is more than decent for its customers. From the outside it looked more like a casino because of the well-crafted greens and statues giving off a grand look but what really gave it off was the crowd of reporters and paparazzi trying to get good shots of famous icons in the building. For this, the owner decided to heighten security to ensure the privacy of their customers. The limo parked in front of the entrance and security immediately positioned themselves to make sure no one crowds over whoever the guest is. The reporters themselves caught the limo that just stopped and were wondering who could be the new guest for today.

"Could it be a businessman or an actor/actress?"

This was the question being thrown about by the media people.

When the doors opened, they were surprised to see an unfamiliar mother and daughter pair come out. Both blondes were accompanied by the driver who introduced the two to the awaiting escort.

"We're here. Now I need to park the car and wait until Natsu-sama calls me to take you back home. All the guests here are chaperoned by an escort who will assist you on everything while you're here. Pretty cool, huh?" As soon as Nick said that, a young lady wearing a white long sleeved blouse and a black pencil skirt. She introduced herself as the hostess and that she will be their escort for the day. Lucy didn't really get why she had to be given an escort but probably it was something that made the place well-known as well.

The place doesn't look that big for someone to get lost to so I suppose this is just to make them unique from the others, Lucy thought as they were steadily approaching he double doors. As soon as they opened, Lucy was in quite a shock. The inside actually looked bigger than how it looked outside and it was spacious.

Now I see why... Lucy added as a thought. Looking at the place, someone could potentially get lost inside if they didn't know their way around.

"Mommy this place is like a castle. Are you friends with a princess?" Natsuki asked to which Lucy smiled at before she responded.

"No sweetie. I'm supposed to meet Jellal-san here and his boss," she answered.

"This way to your room Heartfilia-sama," the escort said and pointed her hand to the direction of a room to the far right of the building.

"This is one of the reserved VIP rooms we have here. Fernandez-sama and Strauss-sama are waiting for you inside," the escort added.

After hearing Strauss-sama, Lucy immediately thought of Lisanna. So Lisanna is Jellal's boss that I'm supposed to meet? she thought. The doors opened and Lucy saw the one person she least expected to see that day. Sitting in front of a round table were Jellal and across him was none other than Mirajane.

"M-Mira?" Lucy asked not believing her eyes.

Upon hearing her name, Mira beamed and approached Lucy who glomped her as soon as she got a hold of her.

"Lucy it's been ages! Look at you. Oh gosh you look more beautiful now," Mira said as she continued squeezing the life out of Lucy.

"It's nice to see you too Mira but I can't breathe," Lucy said as she was immediately released to let some air fill her lungs.

"He he sorry I just got a little excited," Mira said as she scratched her cheek with a finger.

Lucy felt a tug at the back of her dress and noticed Natsuki hiding from behind her.

"By the way Mira, I want you to meet my daughter Natsuki," she said as she looked down and Mira looked from behind Lucy to see a miniature version of Lucy who was shyly looking up at her.

"Oh my gosh she looks just like you Lucy," Mira said and glomped the young girl as well, "she is so adorable!"

Natsuki looked at her mother awkwardly as if trying to silently ask if it was alright to interact with her since she was told to not talk to others so easily. Lucy knew this and gave a nod of agreement as she spoke, "Mira is a friend of mine so it's okay."

With that said, Natsuki smiled and hugged the silver haired woman as a greeting to which Mira was so happy about.

"Mira-san I think you need to let the child breathe as well," Jellal said and Mira let the child go and she stood beside her mother as she introduced herself to them. After the introductions, Mira invited them over to the table and they all started eating lunch as they had small talk.

"We want to thank you for accepting the invitation Lucy-san," Jellal said.

"It was nothing really. I should thank you for inviting us today," Lucy answered and continued, "If I had known I'll be seeing Mira again today, then I could've picked a much more decent dress than this."

"Don't worry about it Lucy. You actually look good on it and besides, I specifically asked Jellal and Natsu to not tell you anything to surprise you," Mira said and smiled.

"Natsu knew about this?" Lucy asked.

"Well of course! Their company has been working with us since way back when. Our agency helps them with advertisements while they help us with all our security and computer software," Mira said.

"But I thought Jellal-san was working for a modeling agency?" Lucy asked.

"That's true. You see, Mira-san's company handles clothing lines and have expanded the company's reach to modeling and advertisements. We're trying to use all resources we have to enhance whatever asset the company has," Jellal explained.

"Oh I see..." Lucy exclaimed.

"Lucy I actually wanted to ask you something," Mira said as she placed her fork down and looked at Lucy with a smile.

"What is it?" the blonde asked.

"You see, I asked for us to meet not just because I wanted to thank you personally but the clients we sent out the photos of the shoot you were involved in were interested in getting more shots of you for their advertisements so I wanted to ask you if you would be okay to work as a full time model in our agency," Mira said as she smiled further.

"W-what?!" Lucy gawked dropping her fork on the table, "you can't be serious, right?"

Mira just smiled sweetly at Lucy and she groaned.

"You're dead serious..." Lucy said.

"Mm-hm," Mira said still with a smile and she continued, "don't worry I know you'll have fun. Besides, you're actually going to meet your very first client today."

"Hold on! I haven't agreed to this yet - " Lucy said but was cut off when they heard a knock on the door.

"Oh my, he really came here early. Jellal can you please assist our guest in?" Mira asked and Jellal stood up to get the door.

"So I was saying, you'll meet your first client today and he specifically asked for you as well," Mira added as she turned back to Lucy.

When the doors opened, Lucy was surprised to see who Mira was referring to as her 'client' and blatantly stood up in shock. A young man in smart casual attire stepped in as he gave a signature smirk to which he gave Lucy.

"You?!" Lucy exclaimed.

A/N: And BAM! I'll be cutting the chapter off right there. Wait for next chapter's update to know who Lucy's client is but I think it's already pretty obvious. I also wanted to say sorry for taking so long to update. I've been very busy lately at work and I only manage to get a few minutes to type this down everyday. I was actually rooting for making a longer chapter than this but I know you're all itching to read the next update so I'm posting it now. Have fun reading :)