A Path Corrected

"You have two major roads you could take… It depends on what you want out of your life." Cana looked up at Levy from the cards laid out on the table.

Levy was lightly chewing on her light pen deep in thought. Her brows furrowed cutely and she glanced around the room—eyes stopping briefly on two completely different men. Looking back at Cana, Levy finally spoke, "So… what does it say about the outcomes?"

Cana looked down at her cards once more. Pointing to one side of the table, she stated, "This path… is hard to read. I can't see very far down that path. It's very unpredictable... and a little dangerous." Sweeping her arm to the other side of the table, Cana continued, "In contrast… this path is very easy to read… predictable and safe. You'll get married, you'll have a child, and you'll be safe for the rest of your life." Sighing, Cana looked Levy in the eyes. After what happened on Levy's last job, it's not surprising that she was asking about her future. She had nearly died in what should have been a standard retrieval job…

Levy was looking at the cards… still trying to make sense of them herself… almost as if she were willing them to reveal their secrets without having to say anything. Looking up at Cana, who was staring into her eyes, she finally spoke again, "And… what's the choice to be made? What changes my path?"

"Love. Or more specifically, who you love." Gesturing to the safe path, she continued, "This path shows a stable lover. Someone who wears their heart on their sleeve. Someone who will always love you no matter what happens and you will never question their devotion." A weird smile graced Cana's face briefly.

Levy glanced across the room at an orange haired man briefly.

Her smile disappearing quickly, Cana gestured to the dangerous path and continued, "This one is nowhere near as clear. You'll have love, but not control. You'll never know their real feelings, even if you think you do. As hazy as it appears… I believe this path has a grim end." Her brows furrowed in concern as she mentioned 'a grim end'.

Levy looked at a card in that path that clearly showed a large dragon destroying a building. At that, she glanced across the room at a large man with wild black hair. He happened to glance up at her at the same moment and she quickly looked back down at the table, flushing slightly.

Cana looked to both the men Levy had been glancing at all night and sighed. "You seem to know what the choice is. The cards don't tell me who it is… but you clearly already know the answer. You just need to figure out if you want safety… or excitement." Picking her cards back up, Cana walked back to the bar and grabbed a keg that had already been prepared for her.

-RIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG-

A hand lazily hits the alarm clock on the bedside table, quieting it. With a light grumble, Levy threw the blanket she had off of her and blinked to the room blearily. Her hair was sticking in all directions and the strap of her nightgown was hanging off of her shoulder. Swinging her legs out of bed, she got up and grabbed a brush to brush her long hair with. While brushing her hair, a girl's voice could be heard yelling from across the small house.

"Mom! I'm heading to the guildhall early! Layla said we could beat the Fullbuster twins if we got there early enough!"

Levy tied her hair into a loose ponytail as she yelled back, "Be careful! We can only rebuild the guild so many times you know!" Sighing at her daughter, Levy quickly changed clothes, intent on preventing too much damage from happening. 'Gotta stay safe after-all….' At that thought, Levy paused. A quick flashback to that fateful card reading so many years ago… Shaking her head, she grabs her bag and heads out to the kitchen, thinks better of it and just leaves for the guildhall.

The same walk she'd done every morning… Very predictable… Very safe… very….

Boring.

Levy should have seen this coming. She chose predictable and safe. When Jet had proposed to her, she had accepted quickly. It had been what she wanted. She thought…

Reaching the guildhall she already heard the sound of fighting. Just another day at Fairy Tail… Ignoring her daughter fighting a pair of twins with a pink haired girl, Levvy went straight to the bar and waved hello to Mira.

"Good morning! The kids sure are feisty this morning don't you think?" Mira was cleaning a glass and watching the young teens fighting around the guildhall.

Forcing a smile, Levy responded, "Yeah, the more things change, the more they stay the same, huh? Reminds me of you and Erza or Gray and Natsu. But I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that respect." Looking at the fighters, the teens seemed to be split into two teams. Raven McGarden had teamed up with Layla Dragneel against Cobalt and Heather Fullbuster. There were no clear winners in the fight, because after a few more minutes, Lucy and Juvia had broken the fight up.

Sighing again, Levy turned back to Mira.

Mirajane looked at Levy with concern. Passing her a glass with some orange juice in it, she asked, "Are you doing okay Levy?"

Levy took a sip from the juice and responded with, "Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm just feeling a little… morose? Yeah… I'll go with that. Got any jobs for me?"

Mira continued to look concerned for her friend but grabbed a few sheets of paper from below the bar and handed them to Levy. "Here's all your translation work for the week. I think Jet's supposed to be back from his delivery today. Maybe that'll cheer you up." Mira smiled hopefully.

"Yeah…" Levy rifled through the papers distractedly, just answering Mira reflexively. While reading the translating jobs in front of her, Raven walked up to the bar next to her mother and started talking with Mirajane.

"Hey Mira! When is Gajeel performing again?" Stars were in her eyes when she asked.

Mirajane giggled lightly, "Tonight at 7, I still don't know what you kids see in his performances."

"He's the best Mira. Seriously, no one plays guitar like Gajeel!" Raven was bouncing on her heels and returned to her friends/rivals where they were all discussing the upcoming concert.

"So he's back tonight then?" Levy was holding her papers, and refusing to meet Mira's eyes.

Mirajane's eyes widened a touch as she looked at Levy, "Yeah, he's back from a job and has a concert scheduled tonight. He'll probably be back out tomorrow. You shouldn't worry yourself too much."

Taking a calming breath, Levy finished her juice. "Thanks for the jobs, Mira. I'll be in the library. Let Jet know if you see him?"

Mirajane nodded her head and Levy made her way to the library.

Just another day at Fairy Tail for the resident bookworm…

A/N – I wrote this quite a while ago, I just never got around to posting it. It's already complete. I'll just be posting the chapters randomly. Let me know if you like it!