Guys, guys, guys! I'm back!

Ahhh, so much has happened while I've been away. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Speaking of which, I'm so thankful for each and every one of my readers! Seriously, thank you guys so much! I truly appreciate you all:3

Wow, you guys, traveling gives me lifeee! I wish we could all just travel the world, live peaceful lives, and never have to worry about anything:p haha, oh, the dreams of a madwoman! But, I'm happy to be back and to be able to settle down into my normal routine again. Which meansss, a lot more writing! And much more frequently...yikes, my attendance on here has been bad!

But here's a super long, semi fluffy chapter for you to enjoy!

P.S., I missed you guys!


"Lushiii." Natsu's voice carried its way to her ears in a whine. "This stuff is so uncomfortable." He complained for the umpteenth time since they left the clothing store.

Lucy glanced his way to find him scratching the fabric of his new jeans with annoyance before she rolled her eyes once again. A vein in her head throbbed as she recalled how she'd practically had to force him into the button up flannel and denim pants, which had surely been a humorous sight to behold for outside witnesses.

So far, their journey into town had been a nightmare. For starters, the only way to get into the town was by taking Lucy's old rundown car. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem; except, as Natsu had blatantly pointed out previously, they were not normal and the poor soul couldn't so much as even look at a vehicle without becoming nauseated.

The entire drive went by with him hanging his head out of the window, only barely holding back bile the whole time. Once they were parked, Lucy's worst fears were confirmed when a police officer approached them and asked whether or not Natsu was intoxicated.

Lucy panicked internally, but held herself together and explained to the cop that it was only a severe case of motion sickness rather than the influence of alcohol. Natsu must have sensed the tense atmosphere because he lifted his head and addressed the officer as calmly as he could, albeit while still looking a tad bit green.

"Alcohol? As if I'd ever touch that stuff again!" He made a gagging sound and straightened himself up the rest of the way. "Man, I feel much better! I could kiss solid ground right now!" The dragon slayer perked up with a brilliant smile that seemed to dazzle even the officer for a moment.

Until the cop took an even closer look at the pinkette's wardrobe.

"What's with the getup? You got a sleeve missin' there, kid."

Lucy paled. She'd been right about the clothes standing out, that's for sure. Thinking quickly, she barked out a shaky excuse of just returning from a Renaissance festival out of town. The cop raised a brow at her suspicious behavior, but seemed to take the bait.

After all, its not like choice of clothing was really a crime or anything…at least Natsu was wearing clothing. If Gray had been the one to travel to Earth with Lucy, the officer would've slapped a public indecency charge on them ten times by now.

"Alright." The officer said after an insufferably long pause. "You kids stay outta trouble." He tipped his hat and returned to his vehicle, presumably to continue surveying the parking lot.

Lucy exhaled a long, deep breath. Her heart was pounding.

Natsu, however, was examining her with slight curiosity but was otherwise completely indifferent to the entire situation that had just transpired.

She shook her head at him and forced a smile. "Alright, crisis averted. Now let's get you out of those clothes."

That caught Natsu's interest. But Lucy had already turned away before she could see the rosy tint light his cheeks.

The duo entered the store rather peacefully, but the tranquil atmosphere didn't last long; nor did it ever last long with Natsu…

First, Lucy asked the seamstress in the back of the building for a tape measure so she could find out what sizes they needed to look for. Lucy ordered Natsu to hold his arms up and be still while she took his measurements.

He stared at the blonde but silently obeyed nonetheless. However, when she reached behind him and pulled the tape measure around his waist, Natsu smirked down at her mischievously. "Luce, I don't think this is the time or place to be tyin' me up. Don't'cha think that would have been more fun at your house?"

Lucy's cheeks burned as she stammered out a flustered response. "Sh-shut up! I-I'm just seeing what size clothes you wear." Her face felt hot but she risked a glance up at his face anyway. He was grinning widely, finding a bit too much amusement in her reaction. She glared before returning her gaze to her task and mumbling 'pervert' beneath her breath, fully aware that he would hear her just fine.

Natsu leaned down until their faces were inches apart. "Hey, I didn't mention anything like that. It's not my fault where your mind goes." His hot breath, mixed with a tiny puff of smoke, washed over her face and it took nearly all of Lucy's willpower not to inhale.

He was teasing her, she realized. In more than one way. And he was so not going to get away with it. Plans started forming in her mind as she huffed and pushed him away in order to return the tape measure.

Natsu's laughter followed her through the aisles of the clothing store, but it quickly subsided the moment she held out a pair of jeans towards him.

He took one look at the article of clothing and instantly said no.

Lucy tilted her head. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"Nuh uh, no way. That's the same kinda pants you wear, right? That stuff looks so uncomfortable."

Lucy's eyes narrowed. "It's fine. You're just not used to them. Put them on."

"Nope."

"Please?" She attempted a puppy dog look.

"Haha. No…"

Lucy huffed. Then she decided to change the game a bit. Her eyelids lowered and she stepped really close to Natsu, just as he had done to her before. "Oh really? I didn't think that Natsu Dragneel ever backed down from a challenge. Guess I was wrong." She let her breath wash over his face, mimicking his actions. The only difference was that he didn't even try to resist inhaling her scent. "Or maybe you're just a bit embarrassed that a girl is asking you to take off your clo-AHH! Stop! Natsu, not right here, stupid!"

Natsu, who's expression had darkened considerably, didn't even let Lucy finish her sentence before he started pulling his belt off and attempting to undress right there in the middle of the store.

Lucy was once again red from head to toe as she shoved Natsu into a changing room. "Geez, did you really think that I meant right then and there?" She slammed the door behind him and slid into a chair to wait for him to change. "You're just okay with letting everyone see you like that, huh? I guess 'embarrassed' was the wrong word for sure."

Natsu laughed through the door. "All I'm hearing is that you don't want anyone else to see me like that."

Lucy was mortified. Was that what it sounded like?

"Noted. Don't worry, Luce. I'll only change in front of you from now on."

Lucy could hear the smirk in his voice and officially couldn't take it anymore. "Just sh-shut up! Hurry up and change! And j-just wait in there, I'm gonna go find you a shirt."

Lucy could faintly hear him chuckling as she ran away to search through the aisles. She quietly prayed that her cheeks would return to their normal pigment as she quickly picked out a button-up flannel and tossed it over the door for Natsu to change into.

Natsu grumbled the whole time that he was changing, which helped take Lucy's mind away from her embarrassed thoughts.

"Why does this have so many damn buttons..?" He groaned to himself.

Finally, he emerged from the dressing room and Lucy scrutinized him from top to bottom. She found it odd to see him in clothing from Earth. He looked like a guy that she could have easily met walking down the street. For some reason, she didn't like it…She preferred Natsu as himself. Wild, and kind of mysterious, and very strange. She was already looking forward to him changing back into his regular clothes when they returned to Earthland.

She smiled. "No offense, but it doesn't suit you. I like you better with your weird clothes."

"Ouch." He replied, but Lucy could tell that he agreed.

"Here, one more thing." She had decided that the weather outside was cool enough for a hat, so she plucked up a beanie last minute and tugged it over his unnatural (although very natural to him) pink locks.

"Alright. Now we look abnormally normal. Well…sort of. I think it may be impossible for you." She laughed.

But when Natsu wrapped his scarf securely around her neck, Lucy's laughter ended abruptly. Her skin felt hot where his fingers grazed her neck and she looked up at him with confusion.

She was even more surprised to find that his cheeks were slightly pink. "It doesn't go with this horrible shirt you picked out for me at all. So you can wear it." Natsu glanced down at the scarf with a bit of longing and quickly added. "Only for now, though! You have to give it back."

Lucy chuckled. It was adorable how he kept glancing down at her to make sure it was still safe. She knew how much his scarf meant to him. And she also knew how much he must trust her to even consider letting her wear such an important treasure of his.

"Thank you, Natsu. I promise I'll take care of it." She squeezed his hand and smiled as the woodsy aroma of a campfire filled her senses. It surrounded her like an embrace and she felt overwhelmingly happy.

That is, until they went to the register to pay for his new attire and Natsu's endless stream of complaints began.

And so, after a long, tiring struggle in the clothing store, they got to where they now were. Natsu grumbled a complaint once more, but Lucy was getting quite good at tuning him out. They entered the brisk air of the street and started heading towards the buffet that Lucy had planned on taking them to.

Natsu let out a ginormous sigh of relief upon hearing that they wouldn't have to get back in the car for a while yet. With the town being relatively small, everything was in walking distance.

It was when they entered the eating establishment that the third nightmare of their town misadventures began. Lucy ordered two tickets for the buffet and two drinks. While she paid for the meals, she handed Natsu the cups and pointed him to the drink station.

He immediately disappeared and Lucy waited for the cashier to count out her change.

"Oh, sorry." The employee began hesitantly. "Could you please wait here for a second? I've got to run to the back to grab more ones for the register."

"Sure." Lucy said with a smile.

The cashier returned a few moments later with a stack of dollar bills. "Here you go, enjoy your meal."

Lucy thanked the worker and turned away to look for Natsu. Once her eyes fell on him, her entire face paled.

A line of irritated people had already formed in front of the drink station, and Lucy knew without a doubt that Natsu was at the front of it.

She sped through through the line of people to reach the front, which seemed to aggravate the customers even more.

She ignored their complaints about cutting in line and continued on to find a very confused dragon slayer. He was standing before the machine staring very intently at it. He must have been trying to determine how it worked and what each drink was by looking at the labels, but he had no idea considering the logos wouldn't be the same in their two very different worlds.

He tilted his head to the side and pushed a button, fascinated when the liquid came rushing out. Eyes filled with amazement, he turned his head to look at Lucy, knowing that she had just arrived beside him. "Look, Lucy! Are you gonna try tellin' me this isn't magic either?"

The blonde smacked her forehead and said weakly, "Nope, just more technology."

"But what if the technology is magic?" He questioned curiously.

"No, Natsu, it can all be explained through sci-"

"Hey!" An impatient man behind them in line cut Lucy off. "Quit chit-chatting. Just get a coke and move on with it!"

Natsu raised a brow at the man, but Lucy turned him away before he could say anything.

"It's okay, just ignore him." Lucy said hastily, knowing that Natsu was probably ticked off. "Just put your cup under like this." She demonstrated for him. "And fill it up."

Natsu nodded and followed her instructions. He was about to fill up his cup when he suddenly stopped and glanced back at the man behind them.

"Luce, wait…" He took his cup out from under the spigot and looked at the blonde very seriously. "What if I don't like coke?"

Then, before Lucy could even think to respond, Natsu stuck his head under the drink faucet and filled his mouth with pop.

Lucy froze in shock as Natsu rose and swished the liquid around in his mouth for a split second before spewing it like a fountain behind him, directly into the face of the man that had shouted at them.

"YUCK!" He shouted as his nose wrinkled in disgust. He narrowed his eyes at the speechless man now drenched in soda. "Hey man, that suggestion was awful!"

Lucy's jaw dropped in horror. When she saw the man visibly redden from the neck up, she hurriedly pushed Natsu away from the crowd.

"Sir! I'm so sorry! He…er, he's lived a very shut-in life. He's-um,well, he doesn't exactly know how to act in public." She called behind her as she rushed Natsu away.

"Oi, Luce, what's that s'posed to mean?" Natsu grumbled.

She shushed him and steered him into a far back, isolated corner of the restaurant.

"Sit." She commanded and Natsu fell into the chair instantly.

"Stay." She ordered with a deathly glare before running off to clean up his mess.

Lucy grabbed a handful of napkins and apologized profusely again while helping the man dry his face. She handed him some to dab at his shirt while she dropped to mop the rest of the liquid up from the floor.

The man gruffly accepted her apology, though Lucy could tell that he severely didn't want to. "There's no use gettin' too mad over it, is there? 'Specially considerin' that boy is clearly special."

At that, Lucy paused in her cleaning. She turned her face up to look at the man. "I'm sorry, what?" She asked.

"Y'know. He's one of them special kids, ain't he?"

Lucy's expression turned stony and she rose to her feet. "Um, I'm sorry, sir, but you seem to be mistaken. Just because I said that he doesn't know how to act in public does not, in any way, imply what you are suggesting. And even if he were mentally handicapped, the way you so clearly sneered the word 'special' is absolutely disgusting! What's with that look of superiority and judgment? And that pompous attitude? Where do you get your sense of entitlement? Just who do you think you are? Because to me, you only look like an ass!" Lucy paused to catch her breath, but she wasn't done with the shocked man just yet. "And hey, by the way, patience is a virtue! Didn't your mother ever teach you that? Perhaps if you hadn't been so damn rude earlier, you wouldn't have gotten yourself into this predicament in the first place!" Lucy huffed angrily. She tossed the wet napkins at his feet and turned tail. "Clean up your own damn mess."

She simmered back to the table where she left Natsu, no longer even slightly embarrassed over his actions. She was still boiling as she took a seat in front of the dragon slayer.

Natsu was staring silently at her with a slight gleam in his eye.

"What?" She snapped after a few moments of him staring. She didn't mean to snap at Natsu, but she couldn't help it considering how annoyed she was over her confrontation with the man.

Natsu smiled slyly, not perturbed at all by the attitude from Lucy. "Oh, nothing." He grinned. "Thanks, though."

Lucy felt the ice on her shoulders begin to chip and melt thanks to Natsu's smile. Of course he'd heard everything that just happened...stupid dragon slayers and their awesome hearing. The corners of her mouth twitched. "Don't mention it."

"Okay." He obliged kindly. Then he chuckled a bit. "Remind me not to get on your bad side. That dialect just now was enough to make any man feel stupid. I half-expected to look up to see you with a pair of reading glasses on and holding a dictionary."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, you better watch out. I have a dictionary at home and a lot more where that came from." She stood up, deciding she had calmed down enough. "Now c'mon. Let's eat."

Natsu practically drooled at her words and bounced to his feet, following closely behind the blonde to the buffet lines. Thankfully, the man seemed to have left the premises after Lucy's little speech, meaning they could hopefully eat in peace.

It turns out that the buffet was definitely the best idea for Natsu's insatiable appetite. He was absolutely ecstatic with the fact that the food was all-you-can-eat and he most certainly took advantage of it.

He ate like a monster. Which, Lucy granted, if people on Earth knew what he was capable of they probably would think he was a monster.

Rather than feeling disgust like most people in the restaurant, Lucy only found amusement in his eating habits as she dodged bits of flying food every now and then. She was still amazed by how much he could eat, and even more amazed that he never gained a single pound.

Eventually, Lucy drug Natsu out of the buffet. Not because she wanted him to stop eating, but purely because she knew that he'd probably stay all day if she let him, and they had a lot more important things to do. Plus the poor restaurant would probably go out of business if Natsu stayed there any longer.

Once they had vacated the diner, Lucy made a point to stop at each location in town that Layla and her frequently visited together. They went to the fresh produce market, the little bookstore, and even the yoga studio, amongst a couple different mom-and-pop shops.

While Lucy asked around about her mother at each different location, Natsu remained relatively calm; aside from getting tangled up in his own limbs while trying to imitate the yoga poses in the studio. It took Lucy and the yoga instructor a few moments before they were able to get him untangled.

Lucy was feeling disheartened when person after person declined having seen Layla at all over the past couple of months. She decided to try the supermarket before giving up and returning home to wait a bit longer.

When they arrived at the large building and walked inside, Natsu's eyes lit up in awe. He'd never seen any place like it before. Lucy supposed that the first time visiting a Wal-Mart would be a lot to take in for someone from a different world. After all, it was filled with tons of items that were completely foreign to him.

After Lucy had found the cashier that her and Layla had known for quite a while, she was once again turned down and Lucy was officially out of people to ask. However, before she could fret too much about it, Natsu practically dragged her deeper into the store.

He wanted to go down each and every aisle, and Lucy couldn't deny him that treat. Besides, she figured she might as well buy some necessities to take back to Earthland while they were there. Natsu asked hundreds of questions as he pointed at this and that.

"What's this?"

"Lucy, how do you use this thing?"

"Why does this look so weird?"

The questions were endless, but so was Natsu's happiness and Lucy's amusement. The blonde smiled eagerly and answered every question he had while allowing him to drag her from one aisle to next hand-in-hand.

When they hit the electronics section, Natsu's eyes lit up with recognition. Next thing Lucy knew, he was pressing his face flat up against a large glass container.

"Luce, isn't that the same magic box you have at your place?"

Lucy peeked around him and laughed. "It's called a DS, Natsu." She reminded. "But yeah. They sell them here. And more games for them too."

"More games?"

Lucy giggled at his delighted expression. Then he noticed something else in the case.

"Look, Lucy, that's the mustache guy! But he's all green there."

"That's his brother. It's a different game. There's actually a lot of them. I have quite a few at home."

Natsu's jaw dropped and he peeled his eyes away from the glass to gaze at Lucy. "You've been holdin' out on me!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "More like we've been crazy busy since the moment we met each other. Plus we kind of only just got here yesterday."

Natsu's response was a childish 'hmph', along with a puff of smoke blown directly into her face.

"Hey!"

Lucy and Natsu froze.

"No smoking indoors! Come on, kids, were you two raised in a barn?!" An angry guy was calling from behind the electronics counter.

Natsu lifted a hand into the air. "Actually, I was raised in a cave, so..."

The blonde's face paled and she quickly snatched Natsu's raised hand into her own and started hauling him away. "So sorry, sir! It won't happen again!"

Lucy was already dragging them both far away before she could hear the workers irritable response.

Natsu was still throwing looks over his shoulder, only reluctantly allowing Lucy to pull him forward. "Sheesh, what's his problem?" He asked with annoyance.

Lucy rounded on him. "Natsu! Remember what we talked about before coming to town?"

Natsu stared blankly at her while nervously scratching his head. "Uhh…"

Lucy threw her hands up in the air. "Really?! No fire, no smoke, no magic! This world is different than yours and-"

"Ours." He corrected.

"Okay, yes, ours. But this world is different." Lucy huffed.

Natsu was beyond reason sometimes, but something about the innocent look he was giving her made it impossible for Lucy to stay angry with him.

She let out a sigh and adjusted the crooked beanie on his head. "Just..no magic, okay?"

He grabbed her hand before she could pull away and let loose a wide grin. "Yes, ma'am."

Lucy's cheeks turned scarlet. "O-okay." She stuttered. "Now, let's grab a few things and then we can head back to my house." She finally returned a large smile. "I can show you the rest of the games. Or we can watch a movie!"

Natsu eagerly agreed and the duo set off down the aisles with a shopping cart in tow. They made sure to avoid the electronics department and the eyes of the angry worker from before.

Lucy filled their cart with toiletries, vitamins, and other heath products, as well as gear to take on jobs. She'd never had a reason before to own survival equipment, so she wouldn't be able to find any of that stuff at her house to take with her back to Earthland. So she bought a backpack, along with enough first aid and practical camping gear to comfortably fit inside. Before exited the aisle, a small solar powered charger caught her eye. She threw it in the cart last minute, not in order to charge a phone or anything like that. But because it had a USB port, which would be perfect for keeping the dragon slayer's new 'magic box' charged while on Earthland.

They also went through the nutritious sections. Natsu was already drooling before they had even reached the end of one aisle. He was fantasizing about all of the delicious foods that he had never even heard of before, so Lucy decided to load them up with bags and boxes of her favorite foods and snacks to take with them. She knew that Natsu would be in heaven over one of her personal favorites; flamin' hot cheetos.

Finally, Lucy made a stop in the home department. Natsu smiled sheepishly at her once he realized that she was picking out a new doorknob for her moms house…considering he had completely melted the original one when trying to get them inside. Lucy laughed at his feigned innocence.

The pair made their way to the front of the store to check out. While waiting in line, Lucy's gaze unwillingly flew to the magazines when certain bold headlines caught her attention.

"What?" She said aloud incredulously. "That's who they chose to be the next president?"

Natsu's head tilted in confusion. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lucy shook her head in disbelief and a bit of disgust. "It's just probably a good time to be leaving..." She tore her eyes away from the magazines and moved forward in line to check out.

The duo exited the store with arms full of shopping bags. Natsu was bouncing happily along, excited at the thought of returning back to Lucy's house, until, of course, Lucy reminded him about the upcoming car ride.

"Blergh…" Natsu gagged, going green immediately.

Lucy pitied him, but she also couldn't hold back the tiny laugh that escaped her. "It's okay, come on. It'll be over before you know it." She said while soothingly rubbing his back.

And that was the end of their…interesting, to say the least, journey into Lucy's small town.

OoOoOoO

When the pair eventually made their way back to Lucy's house, the blonde set to work on packing everything up that she wished to take with her to Earthland. Natsu asked her if she was alright with returning to her house already since they still hadn't found her mom, but Lucy brushed it off as though it wasn't a big deal. But her and Natsu both knew that in reality, it was a very big deal. Nothing was adding up about her mom. The expired food, the empty house, the fact that no one in town had seen Layla in months; none of it made any sense to Lucy. But every time she started to think about it, she grew anxious. So, as to avoid panic, she brushed it all off and she packed.

She packed enough clothing for each season; she didn't know how long she'd be staying on Earthland after all. She packed plenty of her favorite books, solely for the purpose of sharing them with Levy. She packed everything she had purchased during their shopping trip, aside from the doorknob, which she left out for Natsu to fix.

While she meticulously sorted through items to bring and items to leave, Natsu occupied himself once more with the DS. His eyes and brows were screwed up in concentration. Lucy stole glances every now and then with a warm smile. Though today had been unsuccessful in finding her mother, it had all been worth it to spend time with Natsu in a new world. She couldn't help but wonder what other worlds were out there that they might be able to discover together…

"Dammit, why can't I open this door?" Natsu murmured with annoyance, pulling Lucy out of her reverie.

She peeked up from an enormous pile of books and journals on the floor. "Locked door?" She questioned knowledgeably; she'd played the game enough times to know. "It just means you have to find the key first."

Natsu's brow pulled together. "Key? Hmm…" Lucy watched as he lowered the DS and scratched his head as if he was trying to remember something important. It was when Natsu's eyes met with hers that he visibly lit up. "Oh! Key!" He yelled. "Thanks, mustache man! I completely forgot 'til just now!" He grinned at the DS before launching himself off the bed, directly at Lucy.

He landed right in front of her and reached for her hands. "Luce! I gotcha somethin'." He exclaimed with enthusiasm. Natsu then set off to find the plastic bag containing his original clothes from Earthland.

"Before you and I met up with each other again, Happy and I went on a job. Who'da thought we'd get done and make it back right as soon as you got back too..." He explained as he dug through his clothing. "It was the job that you picked out, the monster hunting one you asked Mira to save. It was super easy, kinda boring really…"

Lucy's eyes widened as understanding filled her mind. "And the reward was-"

"A key!" Natsu finished for her just as he pulled a small, silver object from the pocket of his discarded clothes.

He placed the silver key firmly in her hands with a wide, sharp-toothed grin.

"N-Natsu, this is amazing! I-I don't know what to-"

"Thank me later." He interrupted impatiently. "C'mon, Luce, I wanna see who it is this time! Though, nothin' will be more surprising than Loke comin' out of one of 'em..." The name came out with a grumble of annoyance.

"Okay." She agreed with a brow set in determination. "Okay, let's do this." Lucy lifted her arm, holding the key out before her. "Open, gate of the-er…wait, Natsu, I don't know the name of the…" Her words trailed off when a faint whisper of a constellation's name breezed through her thoughts. She cleared her throat and put faith in her instincts.

"Open, gate of the southern cross! Crumudgeon!"

A flash of light burst from the tip of her key and a cloud of smoke filled the room. Once it dispersed, a spirit beholding a head the shape of giant silver cross was revealed. Golden floral patterns adorned his face, along with a rather large cross shaped mustache. The peculiar spirit levitated before the stunned pair with its legs crossed beneath him in silence.

When Lucy was over the initial shock and bewilderment, she lurched forward with a smile. "H-Hi! My name is Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

The spirits head raised at the mention of her name, but otherwise made no movement.

"U-um…it's a pleasure to meet you. Uh, if it's okay with you, I would like to make a contract with you." Lucy stuttered along through the process. She was still nervous about making contracts with spirits, but she knew she could only push forward to gain confidence.

As she asked which days worked for the spirit, he only responded with either nods or shakes of his head. Not much of a talker, she thought inwardly. Like Plue.

Once the contract part was out of the way, Lucy smiled gently. "So, um…Crumudgeon, was it?"

Natsu leaned forward. "Crumudwhat? That's kind of a mouthful, gramps…How about…Grandpa Crux?" He grinned at the spirit. "Easier to remember, isn't it?"

"Natsu!" Lucy squeaked. "Don't be rude to-"

"Do you wish to call me Crux, Miss Heartfilia?" The spirit spoke for the first time, startling Lucy and causing Natsu's grin to only widen even more.

"I-I, um…" Lucy stuttered, unsure of what to say. "Well, first, please call me Lucy."

The spirit nodded. "Very well. Then you may call me this…Grandpa Crux, if you wish."

Natsu and Lucy exchanged glances. The blonde rolled her eyes when he gave her a thumbs up, but smiled nonetheless.

"Okay, Crux." She began, turning her attention back to her newest companion. "It's good to know that you can talk. What else can you do?" She asked with a smile.

"I know all that goes on within the realm of the spirits. I am able to look up any information, scanning back countless generations, regarding celestial spirits and celestial mages. However, this knowledge is powerful, and not to be abused; therefore, the information which I can share is limited."

"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

Lucy, on the other hand, understood completely. Her eyes widened as a thought clicked into place in her mind. "So you can look up anything regarding celestial mages, past and present?"

Crux nodded.

"Then…" Lucy paused, her heart racing wildly in anticipation. "Then can you tell me where my mother is?"

The blonde was eagerly awaiting his reply when suddenly the spirit drooped forward, and a soft snore began emanating from him.

Lucy and Natsu exchanged yet another glance.

"Did he just…fall asleep?" She asked uncertainly.

"Well, he does look kinda old…" Natsu leaned in to take a closer look at the spirits face. "Maybe he's just takin' a quick snooze and-"

"Ah!" Crux jumped awake, scaring Natsu into yelling along with him. "Sorry, just scanning. It would appear that your mother is not here."

Lucy stared blankly at the spirit. Really? That's it? She took in a deep breath. "Yes, we were able to gather that much, Grandpa Crux. But can you tell us where she-"

"She is not here." He repeated.

Lucy twitched. "We know that already." She said calmly. "But where is-"

"She is not on Earth, Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy froze. "W-what?"

Suddenly, a dream came rushing to the forefront of her mind. A dream she had only just had the night before. A dream about her mother…

You have to come find me, sweetie.

Lucy's head began to shake back and forth on its own accord. There was no way this was real…If her mother wasn't on Earth, then where was she? It couldn't be that she was...no, Lucy couldn't even bring herself to think the word. Her thoughts were a shambled mess. She couldn't even think straight, much less form a proper sentence.

Natsu took one look at Lucy before reaching over and squeezing her hand gently in his own.

She managed to shakily turn her head his way just as he began to speak. "Oi, Grandpa Crux. If she's not here on Earth, then can you tell us where she is?" Natsu asked in a strong, measured tone.

Lucy couldn't take her eyes off of the dragon slayer as she watched him become her strength. He knew what questions needed to be asked. So at a moment such as this, when words completely failed her, then he would ask them in her place. He helped carry her forward, time and time again.

Crux straightened up after scanning his information. He cleared his throat. "She currently resides in the place from which you came. Earthland."

Lucy inhaled sharply. "That…that's not possible. Surely, that can't be right. Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

Lucy's mind whirled and she began to feel dizzy from her own thoughts. "But how? I don't understand. How can she be there?"

"There are certain things that I cannot answer. I apologize, Lucy."

Natsu gave Lucy's hand another reassuring squeeze and she came back to her senses, though only slightly.

"N-no. It's okay. Thank you, Crux. You've been a great help to me. Thanks."

She closed the gate rather numbly and sat frozen in the same position. She didn't understand anything anymore. Had she really come all the way here, only to find out her mom was back where she had left from? And how was she even there? How could her mom even travel there without the King's Key?

Suddenly, she was pulled to her feet. "Well, let's get going then." Natsu said brightly.

When Lucy didn't reply, Natsu ducked down until his face was directly before hers and grinned. "Hey, no matter how weird it is, this is a good thing, right? Now we know where she is! You're one step closer to your mom. You can ask all the questions you want once you find her." Natsu's wide smile softened. "Now, like I said; come on, Luce. Let's go get her!"

Lucy's lips pulled up into a small smile. She instantly realized that Natsu managed to yet again chase her worries away with only just a few words. She wasn't sure how he could do it, sometimes she didn't even know why; but she knew one thing for sure. That magic burned stronger and brighter than any flame she had ever seen.

OoOoOoO

Lucy was confident this time around when pulling the King's Key from her necklace. She'd finished packing her belongings rather quickly after their encounter with Crux, and now the pair stood in the middle of her living room, surrounded by luggage, ready to travel back to Earthland.

Lucy gave her house one last long look and said a silent goodbye. Then with the raise of her arm and a brilliant flash of light, they were off through the rabbit hole.

She'd envisioned the inside of the guild perfectly before taking off, so she knew without a doubt once they landed that the Key had taken them to the right place.

Surely enough, the moment their feet hit the ground, and light filled the hall, someone sounding an awful lot like Levy swore colorfully.

The light surrounding them hadn't even disappeared completely before Natsu burst out laughing hysterically. "Damn, Levy. D'you kiss Gajeel with that mouth?" He cackled. "Oh, wait. He might like that."

The rest of the light vanished, revealing Natsu and Lucy in the center of it amongst a pile of overflowing luggage.

"What the fuck…" Gajeel grumbled as he rubbed his eyes with disbelief. Lucy found it strange that he hadn't shot back at Natsu over the whole kissing comment yet.

Gray's eyes were nearly bulging from his head, with Juvia clutching onto his arm as if she'd seen a ghost. "It's just one thing after another in this guild…why am I even surprised?" He muttered while shaking his head.

Levy was holding a hand over her chest in shock and Lucy finally raised a brow. Was it really so surprising that they appeared in the guild so suddenly? It is a wizard guild after all…Why did Levy look so frightened? As a matter of fact, Lucy noticed that everyone seemed to be acting a bit strange.

Unless…something else was going on.

"Come on, guys, what kinda greeting is that? Hello to you all too, jeez." Natsu grumbled and crossed his arms.

"Natsuuu!" A little blue ball of fur flew straight into Natsu's arms, knocking him back into a pile of luggage.

"Hiya, buddy!" Natsu grinned while affectionately rubbing Happy's head. "Good to know that at least someone's glad to see us. These other guys are losers, as usual, huh, Happy?" He joked.

"Natsu, that's not it. It-it's something else!" Happy's voice was distraught.

Natsu's face grew serious immediately. He rose to his feet and slid closer to Lucy, all the while holding onto Happy. "What is it?" He called out to the rest of the guild. It was only then that he caught on to their somber expressions. "What's wrong?" He asked once his eyes met Gray's.

The ice mage held his gaze evenly. "We have a few visitors." Gray answered. "It's Jellal's group."


And soooo the chaos begins! Things get crazy from here on out. I wanted to give our two main characters a little bit of calm time together before we set into the main conflict.

Ahhhh, it's starting! Oh man, I'm so excited for the actionnn! But also very nervous at the same time. I hope you guys enjoy it!:D

SOooOO, what'd you guys think? Any questions or thoughts? As you can see, someone new is coming into the story next chapter;)

SulliMike23: Lucy's mom is further away than she thought! Although, next chapter alllll will be revealeddd! Yay, finally! I'm really excited for this turning point in the story:) Thank youuu for reviewing! You're awesomeee!

arcadea333: AHhhhhh, I love how much Natsu cares about Lucy! He's so precious, I just want to hug him and pinch his cheeks! Hahaha. But seriously though, Bowser does the sameeee thing in every single Mario game and you'd think by now he would have learned but nooooo! Natsu's just gonna have to show him who's boss I guess:P Ahhhh, always trust in your instincts! Something fishyy is definitely up! BuTTTT, you get to learn soooo much next chapter, ahhh! ALso, I loved the snuggle time in last chapter! T^T I loved writing it. I just adore these two together, ugh, it hurtsssss! Yessss! WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATED and I feel full of writing energy to bring you endless NaLu fluff! hehehe, thank you so much for reviewing and sharing in my obsessive fangirlyness and just being downright amazingggg! You're so great!

The Age of Awesomeness: YES! Score! I'm glad I could make a fellow Fairy Tail enthusiast's day! Hehehe! And ahh, thank you so much! I'm really really glad that you're enjoying it so far! We aim to please:D But as to answer your question...HMMM. Well, I kind of dislike fics that make Lisanna out to be the bad guy. Like, all of the ones where people write her as a whore and trying to steal Natsu away from Lucy or blah blah. The list of examples are endless:P I also don't like fics where Lucy leaves the guild for petty reasons and then comes back years later trying to win people over. Lucy wouldn't do that! She values her friends way too much...Hmm, honestly, it's hard for to think of many others. I just really love Fairy Tail fics:p haha. What fanfics do you dislike? I'm curious now! Also, thanks for the question! That was fun:) I don't ever get questions like that!

devnick16: Oh my glob, thank you! I was really excited to post the last chapter because of our precious little NaLu babies! I love writing them getting closer to one another! I can't wait to write even more cute chapters in the future!

peacerockgirl123: AHHHH! Thank you so much! Your review made me smile! *slides down wall with you* I'm sorry it took me a while to get this one out, butttt, I'm ready to slide down even more walls with you now that I'm home and back on track with my life! Hehehe, here's to more NaLu! Yayyy! *melts into puddle*

FireShifter: Ahhh, it seems like all my chapters have been long awaited lately! I'm so sorry for the time it's been taking for them to come out! AHHH. I need to get it together! I'm ready to bring you many many many more chapters, much closer together! :D Natsu is definitely the type to get angry quickly, with his short fuse and all, but we all know he could never stay mad at Lucy for longg. And vice versa! They are both definitelyyyy in a little bit of denial! And they're both completely inexperienced in these things, so it's fun that they're going through all these new feelings and emotions together! They'll figure things out soon...ish...I hope! Hehehe, I loved Natsu experiencing things on Earth! That was fun to write! You're right about Layla! We'll find out much more next chapter! YAY! AHHHH, thank you for your continuous support! I really appreciate it and your wonderful reviews! I'm very happy to be back and settled in and I'm ready get the next chapter out to you guys within a couple of days:D

LovelyLovelyLove: OH my goodnesss! Thank you so much for your review! It made me really, very happy! I'm so glad that someone else enjoyed Natsu's reactions as much as I did! He's so adorable! The sleeping next to each other scene was a lot of fun to write! I just adore themmmm! Hahaha, it's a very real posibility that Natsu will completely melt that DS soon if he keeps losing! Hopefully he gets pretty good at it! Haha! We get to find out all about Layla next chapter, yay! Though it may or may not be good news! Also, I hope you enjoyed their outing into town! It was another fun thing to write about:) they're so precious! Anyways, thanks again soooo so much! You're awesome!

Sam Bedson: Ahhhh, thank you soo so much! Wow! I'm so happy that you've enjoyed the story so far! And thank you so much for reviewing! Hehehe, Natsu playing with the DS was one of my favorite scenes to write of last chapter. He's so cute...As for how long this story is going to be...well, next chapter is going to mark the beginning of the main conflict! Or, I should say that it marks the beginning of the explanation of it. But anyways, I still haven't even scratched the surface of this story yet! I think that it might be 25% done, and that's a strong 'might'. I have the outline of everything and I kind of get overwhelmed sometimes over how much more there is to go, but then I think about how awesome all of you guys are and I get so excited thinking about sharing it with you! I really hope that you continue to enjoy this story and I can't thank you enough for your awesome words of encouragement! AHHHH, youuuu rockkkkk!

Darlene: Ahhhhh, Darlene, thank youuuu! You are sooo awesome! T^T Thank you thank you thank youuuuu! You made me so happy again with another awesome review! I hope that you stick around for this journey and continue to enjoy this story until its farrrrr away ending! Hehehe, Natsu is the cutest. I loved typing him playing with the DS! I imagine he would get really really competitive and angry and more than likely end up melting it on accident...hahaha. And yesss! I'm so happy that you were able to figure that out about Lucy! She didn't want to think about her dream or connect it to any possible real danger at all. She was kind of just forcing herself not to think about it or else she thought she'd start freaking out. Plus, she really wanted to enjoy her time with Natsu on Earth, so she sort of just...didn't think about it. And yes! Natsu is so smart! No matter what people think, I truly believe that he understands things a lotttt more than people think. AHHH no, never apologize for long reviews! Your replies are making my day! Thank you so much, you're so sweet, and I really hope you're doing great as well! *jumps in the air with you* hehehe, I hope this update finds you soon and I hope you enjoy this kinda long chapter! Thankkk youuuuu!

Edo-Salandria: AHHHHHH, wow, thank you so much! That makes me really really happy to hear! I'm glad that you liked it that much! AHhhh, welcome to the madnessssss! Yay, another NaLu fanatic to join our ranks *_* Hehehe, the smoochy smoochy will never happen! ...hahaha, jk, I kid, I kid. It'll definitely happen! Eventually. Hopefully. AHhhh, I'm so nervous about writing those chapters, it makes me anxious, ohhhh gosh! Haha, butttt I have time to figure it out. Ah. Ahem. Now thennn, Thank you so much for reviewing! You rock!:D

AHHHHH, you guys are so great! Seriously, you're all incredible and each and every one of you makes me smile so much! Thanks for everything and thanks for sticking with me through this roller coaster ride! Things are about to get INTENSE. This is fine...it will be fine. We might all go a little mad, but we'll ultimately be fine. I think:)

Thanks again! You guys rock:)

Have a wonderful day/night!

Xoxoxo

-Mac