Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fairy Tail characters that honor belongs to Hiro Mashima!

I do own the Original Characters (Ocs) that appear in this story and the plot~


Chapter 28: Day Like Any Other Day?

Today was a beautiful day.

Lucy was skipping happily towards the place she called her second home, the Fairy Tail Guild. She heard the greetings of the usual men in their boats. They wished her a good pleasant day and for her to be careful when she walked on the ledge close to the river's edge. She only smiled at them in thanks as she balanced herself with one arm, since her other arm was still broken and out of commission. Wendy, her adorable Imōto, was still not back from her job with her Exceed and Lily, so Lucy was stuck with allowing her arm to heal naturally. Besides, she was too scared of the human hating Porlyusica to bother her with such a thing. The old woman would have probably hit her with a broom.

The Celestial Mage knew that she could survive with a broken arm for awhile. It was not an injury that hindered her too much, especially when she had a spirit like Virgo. And then there was the other thing too. There was also the fact that she would not be taking any jobs that require a lot of fighting though last night he would do all the fighting for her. That was uncharacteristically sweet of him. Thinking about her new partner made her smile widen and her mood lifted when she thought about yesterday.

After the pair of mages had miraculously managed to sneak past Demon Mira, the Iron Dragon Slayer had taken her out to dinner. She was surprised that he offered something like that and he must have caught a look on her face because he told her to think nothing of it. It was their form of celebration he kept stating and that he was not doing it to be nice. The Celestial Mage found it sort of cute how he kept trying to hide the fact how nice he was being to her. She kept this thought to herself though because she knew better than to outright tell him that. Knowing that grumpy pants, if she called him cute or nice he would be insulted by it. Honestly, the man acted like complements were insults. She just had to edit what sort of complements she would give the Iron Dragon Slayer in the future.

Oh well, at least that made Gajeel interesting to work with.

Lucy giggled as she shook her head in amusement. The blonde saw the guild's building come into view so she hopped off the ledge with a graceful ease her mind still on last night and on Gajeel's attempts to hide his kindness from the world. The gruff man had even walked her all the way to her home since it was so late out at night and thus it was dangerous for the Celestial Mage to out by herself. She appreciated the sentiment and promised to keep his secret of Gajeel being a big softy.

Lucy pushed her thoughts of yesterday away as she walked inside the guild. She hoped Mira was not holding a grudge about ditching her yesterday. Her brown eyes quickly around to see who was in the guild. She hoped to either find Gajeel or Gray, but as luck would have it neither of them were present. In fact, there was barely ant one at the guild today. Maybe it was some sort of day off today? She doubted it because she would have heard about from someone. The only other person she did see was her best friend Levy. The blonde wouldn't mind speaking with her and decided it would be nice to have some girl talk. Lucy caught Mira staring at her and she signaled her to keep quiet. The ex-heiress quietly made her way towards the bluenette and when she was near enough she moved. With a quick motion of her good arm Lucy gave her fellow book lover a one arm hug as a broad friendly smile spread across the blonde's face when Levy squeaked in surprise. Hazel eyes looked up at her with surprise.

"Scared you didn't I?" Lucy grinned mischievously before she greeted her tiny friend. Hi Levy-chan!"

"Oh, Lu-chan you scared the life out of me!" The Solid Script Mage pouted cutely, before she smiled at the blonde. "How are you today?"

"As good as I can be with a broken arm."She replied back cheerfully as she sat in the empty chair next to her friend. She briefly scanned the title of the book her friend was reading. It was something about the history of Solid Script Magic. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, okay." The shorter girl shrugged. She closed her book and placed it on the table. "Jet and Droy are spending the day together to have some male bonding time today."

"Oh wow, I didn't even think their minds revolved about anything else, besides you." The Celestial Mage teased in a friendly manner. Anyone with eyes could see how in love Jet and Droy were with Levy. Even Levy herself knew it. "Aren't you lonely without them?"

"Sometimes it's good to have my me time." Levy said plainly with a small smile on her face. "You know, like the times when Natsu used to annoy you."

"I feel you there, but Natsu doesn't bother me much anymore. And not being on a team with him has lessened the contact I have with him. I don't even think we can be considered friends either."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of something bad." Her friend instantly apologized.

"It's okay. I mean it's not like it is a big secret or something. Everyone knows it." The ex-heiress swept some of her air back. "Everyone knows I'm not a part of team Natsu anymore."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that." Levy answered. Her hazel eyes twinkled with a thought. "So let's not talk about your old team and talk about you and your new partner Lu-chan."

"There's not much to say, really." The blonde replied. She did not understand what else there was to say. Sure, she had caught some of the strange responses from the others and she figured that would have died out eventually. "Gajeel and I are a team now, what more else is there to that?"

"Not much to say, Lu-chan?"Levy raised an eyebrow. She looked like she had expected more than a simple answer. Honestly, Lucy did not believe that her partnering up with the Iron Dragon Slayer needed anymore explanation. Why did she have to explain making a team with someone? No one cared when her and Natsu became a team, so why now? "Honestly, it came as a shock to everyone about you two. People were thinking you were going to team up with Gray, since you were going on so many jobs together."

"I did think about partnering up with Gray, but I don't want to be drowned in my sleep by Juvia." She shuddered at the thought, though Juvia is a really good friend. Besides, she was positive that Gajeel would be a good partner that would help her grow as a mage since he actually believed in her capabilities. "As much as a good friend Gary is to me I would rather be with Gajeel since it didn't come with a possible hostile water woman."

"That makes sense. Juvia is rather protective of the Ice Mage." The Solid Script Mage agreed whole heartedly. Levy had been a witness to some of Juvia's jealous fiascos. "She probably would have been pissed if you and Gray partnered up."

"Yes and I would be living in hell." Lucy added though her eyes held no hate for the Water Mage. She knew that Juvia saw her as a friend, despite some of her hostility towards her. "So no team Lucy and Gray, sorry to disappoint you guys."

"Is that why you asked Gajeel?" Levy pointed out her hazel eyes filled with curiosity. Lucy was sure everyone else in the guild was asking the same question too."I mean you two don't really talk much at all, so why ask him?"

"Actually, I didn't ask him." The Celestial Mage stated as she blew some of her blonde hair out of her face. Her bangs were getting to long and were bothering her eyes. She needed them snipped sometime soon, but she felt like since levy was her friend she could give her a little explanation. "Gajeel asked me to be his partner after we finished the job we went on together."

"He asked you!" The shorter female gasped her expression shifting into one of shock and the blonde was sure everyone else would have the same reaction. She wondered why though? Was it because of her or Gajeel? Maybe the guild dubbed them as mages who would stay solo."How? Why?"

Okay, Lucy was starting to feel like even Levy had expected her to stay without a partner.

"He basically offered himself to be my partner. Trust me, I was shocked myself when he asked me. It was totally unexpected, Levy." The Celestial Mage explained only giving a simple answer. She didn't want to give out too many details because she knew Gajeel would not appreciate it if she told. And there was a big part of her that wanted to keep that conversation on the train to herself, especially something like his Dragon Slayer promise. Natsu had once explained to her was that some things said between a Dragon Slayer and another person were to be kept only between them. And she was going to keep the Dragon Slayer promise with Gajeel to herself. "He even listed all the reasons why we would work out as a team and thus he practically convinced me to say yes."

"It sounds like you had doubts yourself, Lu-chan." The blue haired female replied. She was eying the blonde like she was trying to figure out something. "You're saying that he had to convince you to be his partner?"

"Like I said, I had my doubts. I guess the whole thing with Team Natsu had affected me more than I first believed. I was against making a team because of that whole experience."

"So why did you say yes?"

"I said yes because despite my ass getting handed to me by a wyvern he believes in me and I know he has my back." The last of the Heartfilia family stated her eyes filled with pride as she talked about her partner. Gajeel was already proving himself to be a good teammate in her opinion. "He won't treat me like Natsu did. I know that as a fact."

"How could you be so certain, Lu-chan?" Levy asked though Lucy caught the struggle reflecting in her eyes. It looked like something was weighing on the Solid Script Mage's mind, but it was Lucy had no idea. "It is no secret that Gajeel is not known for being nice or much of a people person."

That was true, but Lucy could say that she would not take the words of others. Besides, she had seen how nice the Iron Dragon Slayer could be. And the same could be said about her and how other's perceived her to be. The blonde knew what some people outside the guild said about her and those who knew her well enough knew that none of it was true. So she would do her best to derail any rumors about her partner, even from her own guild mates.

"Just because Gajeel doesn't act nice doesn't mean he is an antisocial or dislikes people. I mean haven't you ever had the feeling of telling people to leave you alone? People can be annoying and some don't know when to quit so you can't blame Gajeel telling people to fuck off." The blonde replied her voice echoing the defensiveness she already felt for her partner. "Sometimes I feel like being alone and telling people to fuck off."

"I can never see you telling someone that Lu-chan. You're too much of a people person." Levy smiled sincerely and Lucy smiled back. She thought Levy was going to drop the subject now, but she was wrong. "Which I why I'm worried about you being partner with Gajeel since you two are polar opposites. Would you even get along? Would he have your back like you say?"

"Trust me Levy-chan that guy tore up the wyvern that attacked me. He protected me and did other things that convinced me that he would be an excellent partner." Lucy replied as she blushed when she remembered waking up in his lap and then he carried her like a bride. "I have already seen it myself. And we both may annoy each other, but we get along just fine."

"If you say so Lu-chan then I guess I'll believe you." The Solid Script Mage's facial expression changed into a frown of disappointment.

"I'm totally sure."

"I still find it unbelievable that he would ask you of all people." Levy stated with audible nasty bitterness in her voice. Lucy immediately caught on to the tone of her voice and found herself becoming uneasy. Why was Levy sounding like that towards her? "I always thought he wanted to join my team, since he helps me out a lot."

"Umm, I wouldn't know." Lucy bit her lips as her brown eyes filled with confusion. "I guess Gajeel had his reasons."

"I guess he was looking for something else." The shorter mage's hazel eyes quickly glanced at Lucy, but the blonde saw that she was not looking at her face. Levy was looking at her chest and the disdain in her eyes was a clear as day."Something I lack."

Her friend was definitely upset with her for some odd reason and she knew she saw something unpleasant flash in her eyes just now. The Celestial Mage did not like where the mood of this conversation was going. Everything was going well until Levy had to ask all these questions about her and Gajeel. Why was the Solid Script Mage so upset with her? Shouldn't she be happier for her and Gajeel? Despite the blonde feeling like she had done nothing wrong, she felt compel to comfort the girl. And she was going to.

"Levy-chan-" Lucy was cut off by Levy quickly standing up out of her seat. She picked up her book as she looked at the blonde.

"I got to go."The blue haired girl smiled at her, but to Lucy it looked like Levy was forcing the smile on her face. "See you later."

The Celestial Mage didn't get a chance to tell her friend good bye or even wish her a good rest of the day. The Solid Script Mage walked out briskly not looking back at her. Okay, it was official. She was utterly confused by her friend's actions. She wondered if she did something wrong to cause Levy-chan upset her and if she didn't realize it. The ex-heiress decided not to dwell on it, shrugging it off as Levy having a bad day. There was nothing much she could do about it anyways. So she decided to find conversation elsewhere. And that conversation just happened to be in the form of the smiling barmaid, who was still looking at Lucy like she was glowing or something. As soon as the blonde was near enough Mira brought a strawberry milkshake and greeted her when her butt made contact with the stool.

Mira was definitely happy to see her today and she took that as she had forgiven her sneaking out on her.

"Lucy, I'm glad to see you out and about today!" The eldest of the Take-Over mages happily greeted her like she had not seen her for days. The white haired woman instantly pointed to the wall behind her. "Come look at the wonderful picture I took of you and Gajeel!"

Lucy's brown eyes followed the woman's pointing finger which was aimed at a certain picture among the mass array of things pinned on her wall. She found herself like the one Mira had chosen of her and Gajeel. It was one where they were posing like they had just beaten some strong enemy/ Well, for Gajeel that part was true and at least Mira was able to capture her good side, thus making Lucy look all the more attractive. She grinned broadly, her earlier thoughts of Levy completely gone.

"It is a good picture Mira!" Lucy agreed, causing the Take-Over Mage to squeal excitingly. Now Lucy knew from experience to tell the difference between the Satan Soul user's squeals and this one was the one that expressed when she had deemed something cute or likable to her in a match-up sense. "You okay Mira? I swear I heard your voice go higher than normal?"

"Don't be silly Lucy! My voice is perfectly normal. I just love this picture of you and Gajeel so much!"

"Err, I don't understand why."

"Isn't it obvious? You two look so good together! I mean a rough looking Dragon Slayer and a sweet looking Celestial Mage as a team? That is what I call an intriguing matchup!" The eldest Strauss released a sigh that was filled with excitement. The blonde was beginning to worry about Mira when she started to dramatically twisted around in circles with sparkles around her. "It's a matchup that caught me totally by surprise!"

"Heh heh," Lucy nervously laughed as she watched Mira twirl around for a bit. Was she picking up habits from Juvia? Dear Mavis, the guild did not need a Mira with Juvia habits, but then again Mira was just Mira. "I'm happy you're so happy about my partnership with Gajeel."

"Of course!" Her twirling continued as she spoke with her. "Why would you say something like that?"

"I just get the feeling that some people are not to please with my partnership with Gajeel." She answered hesitantly.

"Oh, who wouldn't be happy about such an amazing thing?" The barmaid was fully brought out from her semi induced wild imagination land. Her face was inches in front of Lucy and her blues were glittering with anger. She looked upset. "I will have a talk with the idiots that have said that. Anyone who does not see your team as anything but amazing will have to punish."

"You really see my partnership with Gajeel as something amazing?" Lucy tilted her head eying the woman whom she respected as much as Erza, possibly more. "Why?"

"Well, to put it simply I love the teams. I love teams because people on a team get the chance to further bond with people. I find the bonds formed on a team to be something extremely beautiful, much like a romance between people." Mira replied in a soft tone. "That's why I always want to celebrate when a new team is formed, especially when it gives people the chance to get to know one another better like in the case with you and Gajeel."

"I get your point, Mira. Honestly, I am really excited to go on another job with Gajeel." The blonde looked around and leaned in to whisper to Mira. "Between you in me I think this is the best decision I have made in my life since I became a solo mage."

"That is the most important thing. You always have to consider yourself when you make a life changing decision and that includes making a team with someone." The ex-model advised as she smiled at the blonde. "Personally, I wish you would go back with Natsu and his team, but I think you and Gajeel will work out."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, because Mavis knows that man needs to get that stick out of his grumpy ass and have a lighter mood every once in awhile." She grinned at the wide eyes Celestial Mage. "And I think you can pull it out of him. From what I have seen when you two came back something had clicked between you two. I mean I have never seen Gajeel act that way before!"

"I thought that was normal Gajeel behavior actually." Lucy laughed nervously, neglecting to tell Mira that the Iron Dragon Slayer had threatened to bite her on more than one occasion. "I think I learn more about his quirks like he will learn about mine the more we team things."

"Yes! I wish I could be there to record all of it." Mira sighed dreamily before her eyes narrowed and a glare settled on her pretty face. "So I think I have had enough of ignoring your statement from earlier, Lucy. Did someone tell you that they are not being happy with your partnership with Gajeel?"

Damn, she had completely forgotten about that herself and she really know what to tell Mira so she went for an obvious answer.

"Eh, no one has outright stated it to me." Lucy waved her uninjured arm in defense. The normal glare on Mira's face changed to her demon one and the blonde stumbled on her words. "It just a feeling…ah never mind!"

She lowered her eyes a little hoping Mira would leave the conversation at that, but no, the day was against her today.

"Now you have my curiosity peaked even more." Mira leaned in towards her with large blue eyes filled with interest. "What's wrong Lucy, you can tell me anything?"

Lucy was already weighing her pro and cons of telling Mira why she had made such a statement earlier. Normally, she would have kept her mouth shut, especially when she was not sure that a transgression had been made against her, but this was Mira. The eldest Strauss had always treated her kindly like she was a sister to her and had never failed to listen to her problems or insecurities. Mira had built a trusting relationship with her. Maybe that was why she felt like she could tell the Satan Soul user anything without fear. And besides, maybe Mira had an idea why Levy had treated her like that earlier.

"It's just I think Levy-chan is upset with me." The ex-heiress mumbled loud enough for only Mira to hear. The pain from Levy sounding so angry with her refilled her veins. "I was talking with her and she sounded upset with me."

"What were you two speaking about?"

"Well she asked me questions about me and Gajeel. Like who asked who and if I was sure he would be a good partner for me." Lucy bit her lips, her eyes swimming with confusion. "Then she just left me hanging in the middle of our conversation, but her tone of voice made me think she wanted to get away from me."

"That does sound odd for Levy to do something like that."

"Maybe it was just my imagination!" The blonde released a small chuckle and shook her head. "I could be just misreading things and Levy-chan is just having bad day."

"Maybe she is." Mira agreed to the explanation, but for a brief moment Lucy believed she saw doubt flashing in her eyes. "Everyone has bad days every once in awhile."

What Lucy did not know was that Mira did not believe that the Levy was having a bad day. The bar maid had noted the Solid Script Mage had been in the guild earlier than usual and strangely enough she was alone. She had looked upset about something so Mira, being the kindly mother figure she strived to be, started a conversation with her. She had hoped to alleviate whatever had her so down in the dumps, but that planned failed before it even began. As soon as the conversation had veered to the newly formed team she had noticed something changed within the Solid Script Mage's demeanor. Nothing went past the white haired S-Class Mage's eyes after all.

She instantly took not of how the blue haired girl would frown in distaste whenever Mira mentioned anything to do with the teaming up of Lucy and Gajeel. At first the Satan Soul user dubbed it as a trick of her eyes and the after effects of releasing all her excitement over the new team, but the further the conversation went the more she was certain her eyes were not playing tricks on her. She saw the flare of jealously that colored Levy's eyes when the barmaid had mention how surprisingly well Gajeel and Lucy were getting along with one another. Mira was positive that the tiny woman was having her first bout of envy and that person she was envious of had happened to be Lucy. Surely, the Solid Script Mage would not stay jealous of the new relationship between the Celestial Mage and the Iron Dragon Slayer, who she had feelings for, for long because it was not like her to act this way. Then again after seeing what jealously had driven her Lisanna into Mira had her doubts, but Levy was not her sister.

Levy knew better than to fall prey to those negative feelings.

Mira hoped the young Solid Script Mage would get out of the jealous funk before she did something that would badly affect her friendship with Lucy.

"Yeah, that was what I was thinking as well Mira." Lucy smiled taking a sip of her milkshake with a satisfied hum. Oh, it was filled with more strawberry flavor than usual. "Your milkshakes taste as amazing as ever!"

"I added extra strawberries just for you Lucy." The Satan Soul User answered her in a heartbeat. "It's a gift for lifting my mood yesterday!"

"You were in a bad mood yesterday Mira?" The blonde questioned with the straw still in her mouth as she stared at the white haired mage. She thought about the day Mira was speaking with her and Gajeel trying to figure out if the barmaid was upset, but nothing came up. "You were so chipper when you were talking with Gajeel and me. Why were you—"

"Don't worry about it." Mira laughed cutting off the girl's question, but her face turned into a smirk a few seconds after. "Speaking of Gajeel, where is your knight in shining armor? You know the sour Dragon Slayer, who ripped apart a wyvern protecting you?"

Lucy had a feeling that Gajeel beating a wyvern single-handedly would not go away for awhile.

"Knight in shining armor? You mean Gajeel?" Lucy's eyes widen at the barmaid's description of her partner. To her, it felt so off calling Gajeel a knight in shining armor. And she was sure that the Dragon Slayer himself would disagree with it. "I don't think Gajeel is a knight type, Mira."

"Oh, then what would you describe your disgruntled partner as Lucy?"

"That's easy." The blonde grinned widely. "He's more like a fearsome dragon!"

"Eh, that's something rather cliché." The white haired woman replied as her facial expression rested to something that Lucy would describe as a bored look. "Don't you think so?"

"That's the only way I would describe him." The blonde Celestial Mage responded as her mind already decided how to explain her answer. Gajeel was more like a formidable dragon than a knight in her honest opinion. If anyone was like a knight it would be Erza. "With his arrogance, attitude, somewhat violent tendencies and let's not forget his strength as well! He is nothing more than a fearsome dragon who loves to fight!"

Lucy failed to notice the look in matchmaker Mira's eyes when she said that until the woman spoke again.

"You seem to think very highly of Gajeel, Lucy." The barmaid spoke with a smirk on her lovely face. "And you two get along perfectly fine and act almost like…"

"Almost like?" Lucy asked utter confused about where the Take-Over Mage's thought process was going. "Come on tell me, please? Don't leave me hanging like this Mira."

"Well, it almost like you two never went through the Phantom Lord incident. Almost like it has been completely forgotten between you two." Mira stated calmly with a small smile on her face. "And that fact makes your teaming up with him all that more amazing."

"I guess so Mira." Lucy took a rather long sip of her milkshake. Her brown eyes watched the woman across from her. The blonde felt at ease being around her. So feeling so at ease Lucy got the idea to ask her about how Team Natsu was doing. "So Mira, how are Na—"

"Mira-nee!" Lisanna's concerned voice interrupted Lucy's question. "We have a big trouble!"

The female two mages turned to see the short haired Take-Over Mage running towards them. Her blue eyes were wide with fear and there was sweat dripping down her face. Lucy did not understand why the girl was sweating so much. The day was not to hot so it was not the weather. So the only other explanation was that Lisanna had ran a great distance in order to get here. The blonde then focused on whatever had made the girl so on edge. Something bad must have happened.

Mira must have thought trouble was heading their way and she intently began to question her younger sister.

"Lisanna, did something happen to Elfman? Are we being attack by someone?" Mira asked quickly and the Celestial Mage knew the Satan Soul user's mind was heading to battle mood. "Tell me now, so I can warn Master and prep for an immediate attack."

"No, it's worse than that!" Lisanna shook her head vigorously.

What could be worse that what Mira had asked her? The only thing Lucy could think of that would be a bad situation would be, by some very slim chance, that more dragons had invaded their present time from the past and were causing havoc in some poor unsuspecting town. Who knew it had happened at the Grand Magical Games before, but the Eclipse gate had been broken and the Princess had gotten rid of all text relating to it so another one could not be made. So that was out of the question. So she decided to wait for the girl to say something and her mind began to work out ways she could help fight, even if she was short one arm.

It did not take Lisanna long, just a couple of breaths, to reveal what had her so worried.

"I can't find Natsu!"

Lucy and Mira just stared at the girl silently for a bit. Perhaps their brains were so surprised by Lisanna's statement. Okay, sure if Natsu was missing during an attack on the city then maybe their reaction would have been different, but this was a time of peace. So the pair of women ended up laughing, like a loud boisterous laughter that happened when you heard a good joke. Their laughter did not amuse the younger white haired girl and she had an irritated expression on her face.

"I don't see what's so funny!" She replied heatedly, her blue eyes cold as steel. "Natsu is missing! How can you laugh about something like that?"

"Lisanna, Natsu is just fine." Mira smiled at her younger sister. Her voice was cheery as she went into her reasoning for not taking Natsu's absence seriously. "He came early today and took a job with Happy."

"He went on a job? Without me?" Lisanna's voice sounded like she had been psychically injured and there was the echo of slight disbelief in her voice. "He left?"

"Yes, he did. He stared at the job broad for quite some time before he chose one." The barmaid placed a finger on her cheek as she continued to speak. "He picked a long one too, a really long one."

"How long?" The Animal Soul User asked her face still drawn in surprise. "How long will he be gone?"

"It would be a couple of days. Maybe like two or three weeks, since the job Natsu picked was rather far away as well. He really wanted to go on it." The Satan Soul User paused her blue eyes sparkling like she remembered something. "Though, now that I think about he was acting sort of strange."

"Strange?" Lisanna voice echoed off her desperation to know any information on Natsu.

"He was oddly quiet and pensive, very un-Natsu-like." The bar maid looked at Lucy, like she was expecting her to know something. And a part wished that Mira would ask her nothing about the Fire Dragon Slayer because she knew Lisanna would not be happy about that. Sadly, Mira did not get her silent plea. "Lucy you know him best. So what do you think?"

Lucy could not deny the truth of her knowing Natsu pretty well.

"Well, we haven't been talking much lately, but it sounds like he has something on his mind. And it has to be something big, real big. " Lucy replied simply. She kept her eyes only focused on Mira. She didn't want to look at Lisanna because she felt a strong aura of dislike coming from her. "He usually does things like that when he wants to be left alone so he could figure it out on his own."

"You don't know anything! Natsu wouldn't leave without telling me!" Lisanna was at the beginnings of an argument, the blonde knew there was going to be a rant thrown at her. "He would never—"

"Lisanna, if Natsu wants to be left alone then leave him be." The elder Take-over Mage interrupted her before she could start. Her voice was firm and stern when she spoke to her younger sister. "He wants his privacy, so let him have it."

"But Mira-nee–"

"Leave it." The Satan Soul user said with a calm, serious voice. By the sound of her voice there was no room for argument. "If you want to do something then go ask Elfman to go on a job with you. If not then Kianna and I can always use an extra pair of hands around the bar."

Before Lisanna could retort with something a voice rang out in the guild hall.

"Mira, I need more beer out here!" Cana walked in slurring as she headed towards her table. Lucy could see that the Card Magic user had already been drinking since earlier today from her somewhat unsteady steps. The only known child of Gildarts pulled out a glass cup from her blue purse and waved around in the air. "Hurry or I'll die without my life substances, A.K.A beer!"

"Coming Cana!" Mirajane responded back as a small smile on her face appeared when she notice Cana's enthusiastically waving her cup. The Celestial Mage assumed this was a normal occurrence with Cana. The long white haired woman had already pulled a beer barrel from Mavis knows where and she headed towards Cana. "You two stay put. I'll be back after I attend to Cana."

The ex-heiress mood dampened and went on edge the instant the Satan Soul user left her alone with Lisanna. The blonde Celestial Mage had become very uncomfortable since she could feel the Animal Soul user glaring at her. Lucy had no concrete idea why Lisanna disliked her so much. She had tried to be nice to Lisanna, but the Take-Over Mage had been nothing except hostile towards her. She never did understand what she had done to gain the girl's hatred towards her, though she had an inkling it had something to do with Natsu. She just wanted to drink her strawberry milkshake and wait for Mira to come back, but Lisanna didn't seem content with the blonde's silence.

"You think you know Natsu better than I do?" The youngest female Strauss sneered at her. Her voice filled with hate. "That's the biggest bullshit I ever heard. I know Natsu best not some dumb ex-rich girl like you."

The Celestial Mage said nothing and continued to sip on her milkshake.

"You're just a faker, nothing but a big fake."

Seriously? Lucy did not understand what she was faking or where the Animal Soul user got these things from.

"Why don't you do everyone a favor and leave the guild, Heartfilia." Lisanna's blue eyes narrowed in a glower as she continued to hiss her hatred at her. "It's not like you have done anything for this guild."

Lucy didn't say anything. She just continued to ignore her, which just made the youngest Strauss angrier.

"You were an embarrassment to Fairy Tail during the Grand Magical Games." Lisanna replied coldly. She was aiming to hurt her using her words, Lucy was sure of it. "I don't know why everyone in the guild treats you like some grand, strong mage."

Just keep ignoring her.

"You just want attention. I mean, you dress like a slut and then have that whole pity-me-act just to get attention." The short haired girl stated in a clipped, insulting tone. "Then you partner up with that Dragon Slayer ruffian just to get more attention and to make up for your weakness."

Ignore her. Just ignore her.

"You disgust me."

Lucy had to bite her lips so she could keep herself from saying something mean and damn she was doing a good job at keeping her mouth shut.

"Don't ignore me, you damn bitch!" Lisanna seemed to have gotten fed up with Lucy's silence. She grabbed the blonde's shoulder, forcing her to turn and look at her. Lucy winced as Lisanna's nails dug painfully into her shoulder like a beast. The white haired woman's blue eyes were filled with so much detest aimed at her that it made her sick. "Stop acting like you're better than me!"

Since when had avoiding confrontation meant she thought she was better than Lisanna?

She just did not understand the Take-Over Mage's train of thoughts.

"I wasn't, I just don't want to fight with you." Lucy replied as she gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the biting pain from Lisanna's nails. "Now get out of my face, please."

"What the fuck can you a weak, little blonde do to me?" Lisanna sneered and the blonde was sure form that look that she was being looked down upon. "Huh, don't tell me what to–ow!"

The hand that wrapped around the Animal Soul user's wrist seemly came out of nowhere and it was holding on to her wrist very tightly from the pain etched on Lisanna's face. Still Lucy was able to recognize whose hand it belonged too. And Lisanna seem to as well. The youngest Strauss forcefully, it did take some effort, pull away from the grip, but failed. Both of the female mages' eyes looked up towards a pair of red eyes of the Iron Dragon Slayer. And there was no doubt to either of them what was reflected in the male's eyes. His were burning with malice aimed at Lisanna.

Lucy noticed the young Take-Over Mage shiver as Gajeel continued to glare at her with venom. The Celestial Mage assumed that the other girl was afraid of Gajeel since it was common knowledge that he was nothing like fun-loving Natsu or the shy Wendy.

No, this Dragon Slayer was fierce and slightly wildly violent towards others. It was safe for Lucy to assume that the short white haired girl was straight out scared of him. And from the looks of it Gajeel did not like Lisanna that much either. He looked like he wanted to kill her.

"Ouch, what the hell? Let go of me!" She tried to get her wrist free again, but failed. And Gajeel's grip only tightened painfully. It looked like her wrist would be broken off if he did not let go of her wrist any time soon. "That hurts! What the hell is your problem?"

"You better listen good, you little spoiled girlie." Gajeel's red eyes narrowed into slits giving him a much more frightening look. "If you value your pathetic life then you will stay away from my partner. If I see or hear your weak ass shit face near Bunny Girl again, you will regret it."

"Let go!"

"Got it?" He snarled in the youngest Strauss' face.

He's dead serious about his threat! Lucy eyes widen with surprise, but then a blush painted her face red when she realized why he was acting like this. He's threatening someone for me. Normally, I would be appalled about something like this, but this seems different. He's acting so protective, but if I don't stop him Mira will kill him. And I could be without a partner.

"Gajeel, you're going to break her wrist if you keep that up." Lucy placed her uninjured hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down. "I think she gets it."

"She better or she will lose an arm one day." Gajeel released his grip on the girl's wrist. He pushed the young Strauss sibling aside with his body rather hard. The push was hard enough to make her stumble back, but to Lucy it looked like the Iron Dragon Slayer didn't really give a damn. "Oi Bunny Girl, how's your arm doing?"

He ignored her completely.

"It's still broken, but I'm doing well." The Celestial Mage smiled brightly at her partner, completely forgetting Lisanna, who was gingerly holding her wrist. "I'll just have to live with it for awhile."

"The brat should be back in a couple of days." The male replied simply his focus solely on her.

"Hey, don't talk like I am not here, damn it!" Lisanna scowled as she reminded them she was present. She showed her wrist, which had an evident blue bruise on it from where Gajeel had grabbed her. "Look at what you did to my delicate wrist, you big asshole!"

"You must not really not want an arm, rude girly." Gajeel growled venomously at looked very annoyed by her presence. "Leave, unless you're looking for a fight, not that you would be much of a fight for me anyways."

Lisanna's face expressed horror as the Iron Dragon Slayer openly threatened her again. The blonde beauty watched as the other girl bit her bottom lip as she gave her once last glare before she walked off. Neither Lucy nor Gajeel said anything and before they could continue a conversation amongst themselves Mirajane had return. The Satan Soul User had explained to her that she had asked Kinana deliver the beer to Cana, since she could only be around Cana for so long. So Mira had decided to come back to her previous spot.

Lucy was happy Mira was backed, but she was also afraid. She shot Gajeel a quick warning glare as she silently told him not to mention Lisanna. The blonde was sure that if Mira got wind if her partner treating her little sister like that would not end well. His eyes silently answered something Lucy could only assume translated to I don't give a shit about that girly, but he kept his lips sealed.

Whoa, Gajeel really doesn't like her. Lucy realized her shock filling her body, before Mira decided to acknowledge the new arrival.

"Gajeel, when did you get here?" Mira asked her blue eyes sweeping over to the empty space where her younger sister was standing a few seconds again. Confusion filtered in her eyes as she asked the question on the tip of her tongue. "Where did Lisanna go?"

Gajeel ignored the barmaid as he suddenly found interest in the woodwork of the bar, leaving Lucy to answer the Take-Over Mage.

"She went to go do something productive." The Celestial Mage quickly lied, hoping Mira would not catch it. She hated to lie, but sometimes it was necessary too. "And Gajeel just got here."

"Well, I hope Lisanna keeps herself occupied from her unnecessary worry." Mira nodded in acceptance before she turned to Gajeel with a smile on his face. "So will you like anything to eat Gajeel? The usual?"

"No, I had breakfast already." The Iron Dragon Slayer eyes looked up from the woodwork. He looked at the barmaid, looking slightly bored as he replied. "So I'm not hungry."

That one sentence brought something to the front of Lucy's mind: She had not eaten breakfast because she was running low on food!

"Shit!"The blonde's sudden curse caused the other mage's eyes to focus on her. The two looked shocked as the blonde shot out of her seat. She almost tipped over her half empty milkshake. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"Bunny Girl, I don't think Demon Woman would appreciate the complement about her food."

"I wasn't insulting Mira's food, idiot!" The Celestial Mage quickly countered fearing that the Satan Soul user would take the Iron Dragon Slayer's comment serious. "Mira's food is always delicious!"

"I know you weren't insulting my cooking ability, Lucy. Don't worry about it. Gajeel is just spouting nonsense."The bar maid stood there behind the bar with a sweet smile on her face. She was totally unfazed. "Though I am curious why you had a sudden outburst, Lucy?"

"Heh heh, I just kind of realized that I forgot that I had something to do today." The blonde rubbed the back of her head with her uninjured arm. She was embarrassed to admit this, but she knew it was not good to hold back on a worrying Mira. "I have to go food shopping. I'm running low."

She left out the part of not eating breakfast.

"Shopping with a broken arm?" The eldest Strauss looked at the blonde worryingly. Her eyes were fixed on her injured arm. "Do you need any help? I can always have Kinana watch the bar and help you out, Lucy."

"No, it's all right. I don't want to be a bother." The blonde shook her head. She appreciated the offer, but she did not want to be a bother. Beside's she had plenty of spirit friends "I could always ask Virgo or Loke to help me out. Those two are always already to help me out."

"Eh, are you sure Lucy?" Mira's face still held a look of worry as she looked at her."I don't think it's a good idea for you to be using your magic in your condition."

"Mira?"

"You're hurt, so you need to converse your magical energy so you can heal. You don't want to over strain yourself."

"I'll be fine Mira." The blonde smiled hoping to placate the older woman, but she had a feeling Mira would not take no for an answer. "Really, Loke and Virgo will look out for me."

"A young beautiful girl like you walking around with an injury is an easy target for unsavory people that hide in this town." Mira's eyes shifted towards Gajeel. Why she was looking at the Dragon Slayer was a mystery to her. Unless Mira was trying to rope in Gajeel into accompanying her, but she wouldn't do that, right? "That would be too dangerous, right Gajeel?"

"…" Gajeel was silent, but Lucy saw his lips twitch. She had the feeling that he wanted to say something smart and rude, but the stare Mira had casted him was enough to freeze him in fright. So it was no surprise that he had agreed with Mira, probably to keep his lie intact. "Demon Woman–Mira has a point Bunny Girl."

"Ehh, you too Gajeel?" Lucy eyes widen slightly, but understood he had no choice. She should have known that Mira would have used her Satan glare to get her way. "I swear it, I'll be totally fine."

"I suggest you take Gajeel with you." The barmaid smiled at the looked Dragon Slayer, except there was a certain glint in her blue eyes. "So he can help you out Lucy."

"Help with what exactly?"

"You're a big strong Dragon Slayer so you can help by carrying all her bags for her."

"I'm not some pack mule or her servant." The Iron Dragon Slayer growled in utter annoyance.

That was not a good thing to say to Mirajane Strauss and Lucy new that, thus she feared for her new partner's life.

"Oh what was that Gajeel?" The Take-Over Mage grinned widely her eyes shining with an evil flash as she eyed the pierced man across from her. Oh, man she looked pissed. "Did I hear you say yes?"

Even Lucy felt the cold dread of Satan Soul echoing from Mira's inner soul as she spoke to Gajeel. The only other time she had ever felt this feeling from a fellow guild mate was with Erza. And the Reequip Mage was pretty scary when she wanted to be, but it that was nothing compared to Mira. The Satan Soul user was on a whole other level of scary and the Celestial Mage learned long ago to always stay on the elder Strauss good side.

And Gajeel knew it too.

"Yes, that's what I said! Didn't you hear me the first time?" Gajeel stood up looking away from the barmaid. Lucy could tell he was nervous when he grabbed her uninjured arm." Let's go, so you can get what you need to get done Bunny Girl."

"EH!" She managed to squeak before Gajeel began to pull her away.

"No arguing Bunny Girl or Demon Woman will kill me!" He whispered quietly to her so Mira would not hear. He paused as his red eyes shifted to her broken arm. "I have to admit that Demon Woman has a point. You'll need some real muscle to carry your shit around."

There he goes being a nice again.

"It's a good thing that my partner is so strong." The blonde add her voice ringing with cheer. "Or I would be out of luck."

"Now that's a complement, Gi hi!"

"I forgot to mention that my partner also is a slightly annoying, but a nice, tough guy!" She added, making his smug face fall into an expression of shock.

"Oi that was an insult!"

Lucy took the chance of his distraction and his loosen grip to slip her arm out. She laughed running out of the guild. She noticed that Gajeel was frozen in place for a few seconds before he noticed she was a little ahead of him. It was not long before the blonde had an upset Dragon Slayer chasing behind her with a fist in the air. Lucy wondered if she could out run him. She briefly glanced backed at Mira and waved goodbye.

"It's a good day." Mira said to no one in particular. She picked up Lucy's cup and smiled. "Another typical day at the Fairy Tail Guild."


Levy sought to find some refuge.

She found that refuge in the biggest park in Magnolia, thus it would make it difficult for anyone to find her. The blue haired Solid Script Mage sat under a rather large tree that provided her with the cooling comfort of shade from the heated sun in the sky. She was feeling horrible and she found herself feeling guilty. She began to lecture herself for leaving Lucy like that and a part of her, the sensible part, knew that Lucy was not at fault for anything. She had acted irrationally.

She had never been so rude to anyone in her entire life.

So she had spent quite some time convincing herself to walk back to the guild and apologize to her blonde best friend, but she regretted her choice. She was doing just fine when she had finally returned to the guild and her mind was set on apologizing to her Celestial Mage friend. Then she saw something that made her reconsider. Levy saw Lucy run out of the guild doors laughing and not far behind her was Gajeel. Her immediate reaction was to hide behind something so she could not be seen by either of the pair. The Solid Script Mage would not deny that she was perceptive and as she observed the scene before her she knew something was amiss.

The Iron Dragon Slayer had caught up with the blonde and picked her up, starting both her and Lucy. Before the Celestial Mage could say anything she was swung over his shoulder in a quick motion. Levy felt a tremor of worry course through her petite body, but she noticed what the Iron Dragon tried to hide. He was being extremely careful when he tossed her over his shoulder. He was trying not to add more stress to the Celestial Mage's broken arm. Even as Lucy began to pull his hair and yelled at him to put her down. Gajeel only grinned and told her to shut her trap so he could carry her properly to the market.

The blue haired girl had never seen so much care in the Iron Dragon Slayer's eyes before.

She did not want to stay to see anymore of this. Her plan of apologizing to Lucy was forgotten as she ran away from there. She had never sprinted so fast in her life. Her rational side whispered to her that she had just effectively ran away from her problems and from confrontation. She ignored it as she ran to the park she was currently in. So that was how she had ended up under this tree with her mind replaying that look in Gajeel's eyes and his smile. The smile he had given Lucy. Damn, it hurt to witness something like that.

It hurt because she had never seen the grumpy man smile at anyone, except his Exceed. The Solid Script mage clutched her hand towards her chest where her heart was located. She could feel the needle of jealously attacking her heart again. She really did not want to feel this feeling because of her best friend. She hated feeling like this.

And her earlier encounter with Gajeel did not help her current situation when she had impolitely left Lucy at the guild. She had not expected to bump into him when she was a little far away from the guild, but did not matter. Levy was happy that she got a chance to converse with him and she hoped to clear some things up for herself. It had become evident that the conversation would not go the way Levy wanted it too. It went the total opposite of what she had wanted to happen.

His words repeated in her mind.

"Watch where you're going Shrimp." She heard his gruff words when her small body made impact with him, but to the tiny woman's relief he was able to catch her before she fell. "You're going to break yourself one of these days if you're not aware of the surroundings."

"Sorry!" She moved her head to the side so she could better hide her blushing face as he helped steady her. She liked the feel of his strong arms helping her. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!"

"Tch, whatever." His hands left her body when she was able to stand properly and she missed them. He took no notice of her disappointment. Gajeel merely shrugged it off as he began to walk past her. "See ya, Shirmp."

Her hazel watched as he was heading straight to the guild, heading to where Lucy was!

"Wait!" The blue haired girl acted on her feelings of him not wanting him to be near the other girl and ended up wrapping her hands around his arms. She wanted him to stay with her. "Don't go yet!"

"Oi, don't go grabbing me like that." The Iron Dragon Slayer looked annoyed at her. He quickly pulled his arm out of her tiny grasp.

"Sorry." She apologized again biting her lips. She played with the hem of her orange dress nervously. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Then why are you grabbing me like that?"

"I…uh…" She swallowed the lump of nervousness. Mavis, why could she not talk to him like she normally talked to him? She had never had this problem before, so why now? "I wanted to talk!"

"Then talk."

"Well I wanted to ask you something really important." The blue haired woman felt like her words were stumbling out of her mouth. She felt like her tongue was tied. "It's …um…I wanted to…"

"Shrimp, would you just spit it out already."He stated as his eyes looked over her quickly. Levy got the distinct feeling he did not want to be here with her any longer than he had to. "I'm in a hurry to get the guild you know. I do have things to do."

He looked almost bored standing in front of her and she could not help but compare to how he acted with Lucy at his table. Her mind was already listing the differences, but she stopped it before it could go too far. She needed to concentrate for the task at hand. She mentally counted to ten and released the breath she had not realized she was holding.

"Ano," Levy felt her words were going to fumble even worse if lost her focus now. His tall towering figure overshadowed her small frame as he waited for her to speak. Well, at least he was being patient with her. "I…"

"I repeat. Spit it out, Shrimp." He sounded like he was getting annoyed with her hesitation and his patience was running thin.

Levy Mcgarden gathered all her courage and finally spoke the question.

"I wanted to ask you to join Team Shadow Gear." She said in a bold confident voice. Despite the fact he had announce he was the Celestial Mage's partner, she still believed that it would go her way. In her mind there was no doubt that he would say yes to her since he had interacted with her more than Lucy. The blonde could always find someone else. "What do you say, Gajeel?"

He was silent for awhile. Levy assumed he was thinking about what he would tell Lucy when he broke the news to her. The Solid Script would be sure to comfort her as well. She knew that the blonde would be upset at first, but in the end she would understand and get over it. Her hazel eyes focused on the Iron Dragon Slayer in front of her. His red eyes were widened slightly in shock. It was only seconds before his surprised expression settled back to his usual indifference. He was done thinking Levy knew and she continued to wait for his reply to her question. Then he smirked. He smirked a wide smirk that made her heart flutter in a rapid beat. She could already hear the yes leaving his lips and she could not to get started on spending so much time with him. She envisioned all the conversations they would have, the jobs, the bonding and eventually the love confession that would come. She would be the one standing by him in a white dress and—her vision was shatter by the invisible hammer that was in the form of his words.

"I already have a partner." Gajeel stated to her like she had asked a ridiculous question. "Why would I team with you and the other two dipshits?"

"It would benefit the both of us." Her tone of voice was calm with a touch of disappointment and nervousness. "We would help each other out more than not being on a team."

"Benefit the both of us how? As far I as I see it the only one that would benefit would be you. You would gain my strength and experience for your team and all I would get is a major headache from it." The red eye man stated. "No offense Levy, but I don't really see any gains for me."

"You would get m—a team and friends that cares for you."

"Who say I don't have that now?" He growled. Levy knew that the man did have two close friends in the form of Lily and Juvia, but he could always have more. And she could offer him a chance at romance. "Besides, I cannot tolerate Jet and Droy for an extended amount of time. I would snap."

"I'm sure you guys would get along. I mean that is what bonding is for. And we'll all be good friends before you know it." She smiled at him pleasantly, though on inside she could not help but wonder why he was so against her proposal. Still, the Solid Script Mage held firm her belief that he would waver and agree. "Wouldn't you like that?"

"I seriously have to repeat myself to you?"

"I don't understand?"

"I already have a partner."He restated his voice was firm and steady. His face was unyielding expressing his decision. "And I have no intention of ditching Bunny Girl to join your team."

Why was he so against her idea?

It was a wonderful idea!

"Just give it some thought!" Levy replied her eyes pleaded with him and she knew the volume in her voice. "Do you really think you and Lucy would be good partners?"

"I said no."

You know I'm speaking the truth. You and Lucy barely speak to one another, let alone get along." The blue haired woman stated. She saw no logic in him working with someone he didn't know that well. "It would be so much better for you if you join my team, Gajeel. We make a better match up."

"Tch, this is getting really tiresome. I don't see your point, Shrimp." He shrugged at her explanation with a glare on his face. "Bunny Girl and I make a good combo in my opinion. And we get along just fine."

She couldn't believe this.

"What makes you so sure of that?" Levy questioned him in a low voice. Her hazel eyes narrowed at him. She did not understand why he was being so difficult. She had to make him understand. "Why are you so positive that Lucy is right partner for you?"

"Are saying I'm making a mistake?"

"Maybe I am." She replied calmly.

"Honestly, you aren't anyone to judge my choices, Shrimp." He growled testily. He sounded like he was getting angry at her. "Besides, it is none of your business either."

"That's true…" She mumbled, yet she had to disagree with his answer. She had every right to know.

"Then leave it alone."

She couldn't.

"Just one more question."

"Fine, but after this I'm leaving. I got places to be."

"Why did you partner up with her?" She tried hard to keep her voice from cracking or give any hint of what she was feeling on the inside. "Why?"

"You're really annoying me, Shrimp." He replied back. He looked reluctant to tell hear anything related to her question. "Like seriously annoying me."

"Just tell me, Gajeel." Levy repeated. "And then you can go on your way."

"Fine, though I don't why you want to know."

"Curiosity."

"Easy. Bunny Girl is strong." The Iron Dragon Slayer, her love interest, smirked proudly. "She's strong enough to team up with me."

Levy fell to grass as she forced her mind away from her memory. Nothing had gone like she wanted and now she feeling doubt about herself. The man that she loves had called Lucy strong. He had said that with so much conviction that all Levy could do was run away after he answered her. So she hid in the park. Then when she finally sorted out all her negative feelings and had gone back to say sorry to her best friend she had to see him smile at Lucy. Levy felt the tears falling down her face as she began to rip the grass out in frustration.

"Why?" She screamed as she threw grass into the air. She always screamed out her anger when she could not bottle it up in her tiny body. "Why can't I be Gajeel's partner!?"

Gajeel words rang in her mind.

"I already have a partner. And I have no intention of ditching Bunny Girl to join your team."

"Why did he reject my offer?" She felt her heart ache when she remembered his rejection. He had never rejected him before and she didn't know how to handle it. "Why would he say no to me?"

"Bunny Girl and I make a good combo in my opinion."

"I should be his partner!" Levy screeched as she pulled the last blade of grass out leaving a bald dirt patch on the ground. "We make a much better combo!"

"Easy, Bunny Girl is strong. She's strong enough to team up with me."

"I am strong enough to be with you Gajeel!" She sat there frozen as she cried out to the sky. "Why did he have to go and team up with Lucy! It should have been me!"

"Yes, it should have." Levy heard a familiar voice coming from behind her. She turned to see Lisanna standing there. She was smiling in understanding, like she knew the pain Levy was going through right now. "I understand."

"Lisanna!" The Solid Script Mage cried as she ran up to the other girl. Her tiny thin arms wrapped around Lisanna's waist, hugging tightly.

"Levy, let's have a little chat." Lisanna smiled as she looked at the broken hearted Solid Script Mage in her arms. "About a certain pain in the ass we have in common."


Magnolia was filled with strange pairs of people.

The people of this town were more than use to it. After all, their lovely town was the home of the Fairy Tail guild. And living with that guild in their presence had certainly provided them with some form of weirdness and thus were pretty immune to seeing some of the stranger mages. So no one was really paying much attention to the strange pair of a dainty looking blonde and a rougher looking man walking among them. And none of them heard much of their rather loud conversation.

"I swear you get more than enough food for ten people, Bunny Girl!" Gajeel shifted the many bags in his arms as he walked behind his partner. "Do you have the appetite of a wyvern or something?"

"Hey, it's good to stock up on food!" Lucy turned with a slight frown. Besides, Gray comes over sometimes to eat at my place and I don't eat that much. "What? Are my groceries to heavy for you, Iron Hedgehog Head?"

"It's like carrying feathers." He replied as he rolled his eyes.

"If you say so!" She replied in a sing-song voice. He had expected him to answer her taunt with something along those lines. The man was always about keeping his strong image up, even around her or when no one was watching.

"You sound like you're in a giddy mood."

"Well, it's not every day I get a personal strong Dragon Slayer to help me out with shopping." The Celestial Mage replied as she walked backwards towards him. She was now walking side by side with him. "It just makes me want to smile all the time."

That and she didn't mind the fact that he kept away those over curious people that sometimes nagged at her.

"Finally, you see what an amazing Dragon Slayer I am Bunny Girl!" He grinned broadly. "You've been giving me complements the entire trip."

"Would you rather that I insult you all day?" Lucy asked her eyes shining with mischievousness. Yes, it was true she had been complementing him because she felt like it. He was being his usual ass, but stilled helped her. "If you do then I can think up a few good insults right now."

"I'll pass." Gajeel replied with his best attempt of a shrug. Despite, his complaining earlier about being a used as a pack mule he still had refused to even allow her to carry one bag. "Besides, you give yourself too much credit to your weak ass insults, Bunny Girl."

"Ha, ha, ha, that was so funny!" The ex-heiress faked laughed her as she skipped once and then again. She still stayed in her spot next to him. "Perhaps my insults are weak ass because the only insults I hear are your pansy ass and predictable insults. They aren't very creative."

"As if!" The red eye man puffed out his chest as his eyes harden. She knew he took her comment as a challenge and if it was a challenge he wanted then she would give him one. "I can insult so much better than you."

"Want to test that theory of yours, Gajeel?" She grinned widely a sardonic glint in her brown eyes. She really liked this. She liked being able to act like this without worrying about not being ladylike or hurting someone's feelings. She loved her freedom to be sarcastic with Gajeel and the man encouraged it with his own replies. "I'm so ready to prove you wrong."

"Nah, I'm too much of a jackass so I know I'll win, Bunny Girl." He grinned that grin that made her want to pinch his cheeks so it would disappear. "Besides, I wouldn't want to make an utter fool out of you."

"Suuurrre!"

"If you hold the word out any longer you're going to faint from the lack of oxygen."

"You're just afraid that I will best you with my awesome word skills." The blonde chirped.

"Nope."

"You're all words and no bite–never mind you do bite!" The Celestial Mage said as she remembered how his sharp teeth latched onto the skin of her arm. At least he didn't bite hard enough to leave a mark. "I still can't believe you did that, actually."

"I gave you plenty of warnings about pulling my hair, Bunny Girl." He shrugged it off like it a normal occurrence to bite someone. Then again she wondered if it was normal for him or Dragon Slayers to go around biting people. She had high doubts that biting was even normal behavior for Dragon Slayers. "You just didn't listen to me."

"Not my fault that you gave birth to my urge of pulling your hair when are not listening to me or annoying me." Lucy said in a sweet sugary voice. Her brown eyes flicked to his long black mane of hair. Ah, but I'll admit I like pulling it. His hair is so soft. "It's your fault."

"Don't blame your fetish on me, Bunny Girl."

Fetish? Her? That was not true.

"Please, if anyone has a fetish it's you Iron Hedgehog Head!" She remarked in a clam voice. "You refuse to call me by my name and often compare me to a bunny. Oh, and let's not forget the biting. All those sound like fetishes to me."

"Not my fault you remind me of rabbit, Bunny Girl." He argued plainly. "And you're the only person I have actually bitten."

"Oh that makes me feel so much better!" The blonde mage replied her voice filled with sarcasm.

"It should because you're the only person to annoy me enough to actually do it, Bunny Girl." The Iron Dragon admitted, but somehow she felt like from the look in his eyes that if he had a chance to bit her again he would. "You should listen to me."

"No guarantees." Lucy replied before she giggled uncontrollably causing the Iron Dragon Slayer to look at her like she lost her mind. Maybe did lose her composure for a few seconds "Sorry, sorry! I swear I am not laughing at you, Gajeel!"

"I wasn't asking."

"You know, I have the weirdest conversations with you." She clutched her quivering side trying to control her laughter. "Despite that, I enjoy our comedic banter and your smart ass mouth, Gajeel."

"Tch, there is a complement again Bunny Girl." He looked at her with an amuse smile on his face. "I'm starting to think you like me."

"I never said I dislike you, Gajeel." She paused as she gazed at the blue sky. "If anything I like you and your smart ass, egotistic self a lot. Considering…"

Gajeel waited for her to speak his red eyes watching her with interest.

"Considering, the first time I met you was not so pleasant." She whispered like she didn't want anyone else to hear her words. No one outside of the guild or who came after the Phantom Lord incident knew about this. It was not something she told anyone. "You criticized me as a mage, calling me a weak bitch and eye candy."

The ex-heiress could tell that the Iron Dragon Slayer still felt guilty about that whole situation. The way they had met was really not on such good terms. The facts were he had kidnapped her, threatened life and her family. He had treated her like trash, like her life didn't matter. It was a time she was sure he would rather like to forget. She knew she wanted to.

"You brutalized me with no remorse in your eyes. And then you hung me up like a slab of meat so you could practice your knife throwing skills." Lucy murmured her footsteps slowing a down a bit as she reminisced. The fear she felt during that time came rushing back in her veins. "You left quite an impression on me."

"Not a good one." He spoke lowly, his voice filled with shame.

"I even had nightmares because of you, Gajeel." She admitted loudly to him. She knew he would be the only that would hear it. "Though now it's every now and then, but it's mostly gone. Guess I got over it over the years."

"…" He lowered his head slightly.

She caught the look on his face and could not help to assure him there was nothing bad between them.

"It's nothing to worry about. I forgave you a long time ago, Gajeel." Lucy tugged his hair slightly forcing him to look at her. She smiled brilliantly, her eyes reflecting nothing but happiness.

"You have?" His eyes reflected confusion as he looked at her.

"Yeah, I have." The ex-heiress replied in a soft voice. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"I am happy that you are my partner, Gajeel. I could have not asked for anyone better."

"Bunny Girl." The Iron Dragon Slayer stared at her in shock. "All that shit I–"

"Let's talk about old news between us anymore Gajeel. Like I said I have moved on from it and should too." She poked him hard in his bicep with a playful smile on her face. "Oh! I have a great idea!"

"Idea?"

"Let's start over!"

"Start over?" He asked perplexed. She would have been lost too with all the conversation topics she had been switching on him. "What do you mean?"

"Yes. It's a perfect idea!" She walked in front of him and placed a hand on his chest, which effectively stopped him in his tracks. She didn't think she would have to explain what she meant when she made her next move. She removed her hand from his chest and held it out. "Hi, my name is Lucy Heartfilia! I'm the Celestial Spirit Mage of Fairy Tail! Nice to meet you!"

He looked at her outstretched hand for a few seconds. The blonde held back her giggles because the normally tough Dragon Slayer reaction was so damn funny to her. She waited for another few seconds before she cleared her throat telling him to go along with it. Seriously, she felt like she needed to hold his hand for something like this, for them to start over? Maybe she wasn't clear enough for him.

"Umm…Gajeel…"He began awkwardly.

If he really introduced himself to others like this then the ex-heiress would slap herself!

"Oh, come on that was pathetic!" Lucy frowned in disappointment. She was expecting a response filled with his usual dose of arrogance and his usual gruffness. Yeah, Gajeel was surprise her every day. "I know you can do better than that! Unless introducing yourself is too hard for you to do?"

He growled, which Lucy was sure it translated to something along the lines of: I can so do better!

She just smiled and tried again.

"Hi, my name is Lucy Heartfilia! I'm the Celestial Spirit Mage of Fairy Tail!" She repeated, smiling pleasantly at him. "Nice to meet you!"

"Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail." He shook her hand, giving her his shark like smirk. "The most badass, strongest Dragon Slayer you'll ever meet anywhere in Fiore and outside of Fiore!"

"That was so much better!" Lucy laughed joyously as she gave his chest one poke. She was glad he went along with her somewhat silly idea. "See, that wasn't so hard!"

"Weirdo, seriously you're a weirdo." He replied, but in a quiet whisper, though Lucy heard him clearly enough. She was not too bothered by the remark because she knew it meant no harm. "I'm glad you're my partner too, Bunny Girl."

Reposted 6/5/2015

"Aww, you like me then!" She teased poking his cheek this time around. "You're such a nice softie on the inside."

"Quit saying false statements." He moved his face away from her poking finger and snapped his teeth. It was a silent warning to her about poking her again. "I'm not nice."

"Whatever." The blonde Heartfilia turned and began to walk towards the direction that led to her apartment. She avoided bumping into any of the other people around the area, though people seemed to move out of her way as walked. "Come on Iron Hedgehog Head, I'll attempt to make you some food one-handed as a reward for helping me out today!"

"I rather not die from the poison slop you call food."

The last thing Gajeel saw in his sight was Lucy whacking him in the face.

"I'll ignore that comment, but one more like that and it'll be a kick." Lucy threatened him. She ignored his cursing and decided to look at the random pedestrians sharing the sidewalk with her. To them it was just another normal day out and sometimes she envied their normalcy, but she loved her life too.

To her today was just another crazed filled day like any other day in the life of Fairy Tail mages like herself!


Reposted 6/5/2015