A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been busy with exams, party preparations, and working out (gotta get fit before school starts yk), coupled with bouts of writer's block :c I also haven't had time to rewatch the movie to make sure that the details I'll be adding are correct, but I hope you enjoy the chapter either way!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I own Letters to Juliet, and if anyone has had the same idea already, I apologize but I was unaware of it.

NOTE: This an AU, so it won't be focused too much on Fairy Tail as a guild. Also, Wendy will be closer to Lucy's age. For this story, all the characters will be about 23-24, while Wendy will be around 21 or 22.

Chapter 4

Lucy was very pleased. Earlier this morning, she had gone on to meet Mavis at the hotel the woman was staying in, and they had clicked. It didn't help that they also enjoyed teasing Laxus, who seemed to be annoyed with both females. His annoyance towards her seemed to have increased when she asked if she could help them with the search. Upon mentioning that she had a passion for writing, Mavis' bulky great-grandson had snarled at her, telling his great-grandmother to just drop her because he didn't want 'pesky journalists writing about personal stories'. It had taken Mavis chewing him out for his attitude, and Lucy mentioning that she also worked as a fact checker, for her to be on board with the search for Zeref.

Currently, she, Mavis, and Laxus were taking a break somewhere in the countryside. Laxus was brooding, still completely against this search, so he stood off a few meters away from the women, who were sitting down on a bench located underneath a large tree. Lucy was sitting with her back facing the tree, her journal on the table in front of her. Although the warm breeze and the rustling of the leaves made the place an ideal location to write in, Lucy just couldn't find inspiration right now. All she had written down in her journal were the various facts that Mavis had mentioned throughout their car ride.

Mavis, having noticed her dilemma, had saved her from it by telling her more about Zeref. "He loved the earth, you know?"

Lucy blinked, eyes shifting to the older woman. "Zeref, you mean?"

Mavis nodded. "Yes. He always found beauty in nature. Unfortunately, he couldn't grow plants to save his life." At this, she snorted before continuing, "I watched him once, you know. I believe it was a school project. They were to try and grow some flowers at home, but after giving the plant water, it died after. I was shocked to see it. When I looked at him, he was moping and telling me that he would fail. Of course, I grew another flower for him to help."

"It must have been awful for him," Lucy sympathized, "to kill that which he so loved."

"It was," Mavis commiserated. "He was very different. Zeref." Mavis then gestured towards Laxus, who had taken to doing some stretches. "Laxus and his great-grandfather… I love them both, but they also take after each other too well. They don't really see love as something beautiful. They think it's hormonal."

Lucy glanced at the man and couldn't help but notice Laxus' muscles, which were easy to see as he had opted for a short-sleeved white top today. It really was unfortunate that he had that kind of mindset. She would have loved to get to know him more, seeing as his great-grandmother was a joy to be around, but she didn't understand how he could just blame hormones for love. Attraction was definitely because of hormones, but love was a choice.

Lucy sighed, turning back to Mavis. "It's an odd way of thinking."

"That it is," Mavis sighed, as well. "And what about you, though, Lucy? Any romance on your part?"

Lucy chuckled, showing the woman her engagement ring. "I have a fiancee."

Mavis gasped with delight, gently holding Lucy's hand as she examined the ring. "He has nice taste. In both the ring and the girl in question."

Lucy smiled. "I suppose he does."

"How did you meet?"

"I met him at a school organization called Fairy Tail. It was an organization my mother had mentioned to me before, and I was curious about it. Natsu, my fiancee, was actually the one who brought me there, and, in a sense, recruited me. The organization did odd jobs around the school, and the students paid us to do it. Members of Fairy Tail could do those jobs by themselves or in a group. Natsu asked to partner with me, and well, we got close after that." Lucy smiled. "I was actually surprised when he came over to the house to ask my father for permission to be my boyfriend. I wasn't allowed to have one then, and my father really did his best to intimidate Natsu, but Natsu was oblivious to my father's threats. He never took those seriously. I guess my father saw that Natsu wasn't going to go away, and while he would tell me every day that he disapproved, he knew he couldn't really do anything to keep Natsu away."

"Then, how did Natsu get your father's blessing for the engagement?"

Lucy grew silent, wincing as she remembered just how Natsu had asked for the blessing.

"He didn't really have to," Lucy admitted after a while. "My father died a year before Natsu considered an engagement. So, Natsu just took me to my father's grave and asked me there."

Lucy glanced at the older woman with a hesitant smile, but Mavis looked at her with teary eyes and a warm smile.

"I'm sure your father would have been proud of him that day. And he would have been proud of your choice in a fiancee," Mavis said, holding Lucy's hands tightly in comfort.

"I hope so," Lucy chuckled but frowned.

Mavis noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "You're doubting your decision?"

Lucy opened her mouth a few times to try and speak, but couldn't seem to find a way to word what she felt about the question until she sighed and said, "I don't know, but maybe I'm just affected by how my vacation in Magnolia has been. It was supposed to be our pre-honeymoon, you know? Natsu's an amazing chef, and he's opening up a restaurant back in our town soon, so we weren't sure if we could even have a honeymoon in the first place because he'd get busy, and when he got calls from his suppliers in Magnolia to taste test a few things, well, I couldn't really blame him for jumping on the chance, you know? At the same time, I just—"

"You wish he would spend time with you."

Lucy nodded, guilt clear on her face. "I don't want to be selfish."

"You're not," Mavis insisted. "The reason you came to Magnolia was to spend time with each other. It's wrong for him to put his suppliers first."

"But the restaurant—"

"—can wait, Lucy. He should know how to treat a woman, especially on a pre-honeymoon."

Lucy couldn't find a proper reply to that, but Mavis didn't seem to need one. Instead, the woman just squeezed her hands once more before calling for Laxus.

They arrived at a quaint house with a few windows. Mavis told them that this was where Zeref used to live, and she excitedly got out of the car. Lucy could tell that the woman was still a little nervous, though, so she squeezed Mavis' arm in comfort before she hurried over to the front door.

An old man with a cigar hanging between his lips answered the door and gave Lucy a polite smile. "Yes?"

"We're looking for Zeref Dragneel?" Lucy said.

The man blinked. "Yes, I'm Zeref Dragneel. Did you need something?"

Lucy gasped in surprise and looked at Mavis, who hesitantly approached.

"Hi. I'm Mavis. Mavis Vermillion? We used to go horseback riding. Do you… remember me?"

The man glanced at Mavis with a furrowed brow but shook his head hesitantly. "Sorry, but I'm sure I'd remember a dame like you. I think you got the wrong person. I hope you find him, though."

Mavis and Lucy sighed before the man closed the door.

"I told you this was going to be a disappointing trip," Laxus sneered at Lucy, causing her to glare at him.

"That was just one out of the many Zeref Dragneels out there. Don't be so pessimistic."

"I'm being realistic. There's a difference, Blondie," Laxus narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm out here wasting gas and money on someone who might not even be in Magnolia anymore. Did you even consider that? And what if all of this is for nothing? What if it's just a wild goose chase?"

"Really, Laxus, must we argue about this again?" Mavis cut in dryly before Lucy could give an irritated response back. While the great-grandmother and her great-grandson argued again, Lucy was working on calming herself down. She really couldn't understand Laxus. While he had a point, why couldn't he also consider that maybe the Zeref they were looking for was still here? And what if they had given up this early on? What then? Why couldn't he understand that?

Lucy took a deep breath before heading over to Mavis, who had won the argument yet again. "There are probably other Zeref Dragneels nearby. Let's try our luck again tomorrow, hmm?"

They ended up in a nearby hotel that, thankfully, was beside a library. After checking some of the books there, which held an account of the population of Magnolia, and some details about its residents, Lucy was able to narrow down a location on the map of Magnolia where they could concentrate on finding Zeref. Admittedly, the books on the residents were hard to get, and Lucy had to use all of her persuasion skills and training as the heiress of the Heartfilia Konzern to get access to them. Mavis' stories about her time with Zeref also helped in pinpointing possible areas to search in.

By the time she was finished, Lucy's map had a giant red circle on it, and red dots to show where the Zeref Dragneels were. It was this map that she showed Mavis, who was lounging by the pool.

Mavis looked on in awe at the map and beamed at her. "Your skills are impressive, Lucy."

"It just took some time and practice," Lucy said humbly before she took a seat next o Mavis, stretching her arms and basking underneath the sun. It was around three in the afternoon, and the sun was still warm enough for Lucy to enjoy.

"I really must thank you, Lucy. Without you, I wouldn't even know where to start searching for him. I know that we weren't able to find him a while ago, but I'm confident that we have a higher chance of finding him, now that we have your map," Mavis told her, causing Lucy to chuckle.

"I'm happy to be of help, Mavis. You're helping me out, too, giving me permission to write about our adventure," Lucy smiled.

"It is a joy to be around someone so like-minded," Mavis returned the smile. "Were you planning on swimming?"

Lucy shook her head. "Natsu's a little overprotective when I swim without him in the area. That, and I didn't think to bring my swimsuit along with me. My decision was a little impromptu, after all."

"Yes, the fiancee," Mavis said dryly. After sharing some more stories about Natsu, Mavis seemed to start doubting him. Lucy couldn't seem to figure out why, but was thankful that Mavis wasn't bluntly telling her that she didn't like Natsu. "Well, that's fine. An old lady needs some company, too."

"Did Laxus leave you alone?"

"Oh, no, but he is swimming. See?" Mavis pointed at Laxus, and Lucy followed the finger's direction to Laxus' well-toned body. He was shirtless and Lucy could see the defined six-pack on his torso. He seemed to be doing laps around the pool and Lucy found herself staring at his form.

Mavis didn't think she would ever become a matchmaker. She never entertained the possibility, especially when the match Yury had initially planned for Laxus, a Yukino Agria from a minor family, didn't turn out so well. However, as she stared at the younger girl who seemed transfixed by her great-grandson, she wondered if she could start now.

She knew it was rather inappropriate of her to do so. Lucy already had a fiancee, and her great-grandson just wasn't in the mood for anything romantic, especially after what happened with Yukino. She also knew that Lucy and Laxus' mindsets about love differed greatly.

It would be so, so wrong for her to even entertain the thought of Laxus with Lucy, a girl she had met just recently and probably didn't even know a lot about. Still, it didn't hurt to indulge in fantasies every now and then.

"…What?"

"Yeah, might be back by Friday tops, if ever. Sorry, Luce! It's just there are so many opportunities here, and well, it's not like we're returning to Magnolia anytime soon right? And, uh…" he started to trail off, probably searching for more excuses, but Lucy understood. She always did.

"It's okay, Natsu. This trip with Mavis might actually take some time, too."

"Oh, well, then, that's great! I mean, we both win, right? I promise I'll see you on Saturday, though, Luce. We'll spend the whole day together!"

Sometimes, it hurt Lucy to understand, but in this instance, it somehow hurt a little less.

The next few Zerefs weren't the ones they were looking for. One Zeref had played chess with Mavis, and he had flirted with her the whole while, but in the end, told her that he hoped she would find her Zeref. Another Zeref owned a ridiculously huge mansion that reminded Lucy of the Heartfilia estate, and this Zeref had kindly told Mavis that had he been her Zeref, he would never have let her go. The four other Zerefs they had visited that day had all said the same thing, and though disappointed that they weren't the ones, Mavis was thankful for their kindness and support.

Once it was nighttime, they stayed at the hotel once more, enjoying their dinner. They had also engaged in small talk before Mavis yawned, kissing Lucy's forehead and slapping Laxus's cheek gently before heading up to her room. The action made Lucy snort quietly before she returned to her delicious meal consisting of steak and mashed potatoes, with a strawberry milkshake awaiting her as her dessert.

"I don't hate you," her companion said once she had finished with her meal. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes at her before adding, "I just don't like this… thing, okay? I don't want her to get hurt, is all."

At that admission, Lucy felt her gaze soften. He had just been worried. It wasn't that he had wholeheartedly been against this for selfish reasons. He just didn't want Mavis hurt. Lucy scolded herself for ever judging him like that. "I'm sorry I thought otherwise. And… I understand what you feel, but can you also consider that maybe this search won't be fruitless? That maybe we might actually find Zeref and Mavis can get her closure? She deserves that."

"And if he ends up dead? What then?"

Lucy sighed instead, halfheartedly mixing her strawberry milkshake before taking a sip. "It's still closure, isn't it? I'd prefer him to be alive and well. I just want her to get closure. It sucks, you know, to not be able to say the words you needed to tell someone. It's going to bother her. It's been bothering her for years, hasn't it?"

Laxus shrugged. "Guess so. Wasn't really obvious until your letter came. Always thought she just missed great-grandfather."

And Lucy could admit that that must have sucked, to find out that your great-grandmother had been in love with someone other than the man she had married, but she had always been a romantic, and she really hoped Mavis would find Zeref. "But you never really forget your first love."

Laxus snorted. "Not true for everyone."

Lucy tilted her head in curiosity. "Bitter feelings there."

"Yeah, well, when the girl who would have become your fiancee is caught making out with your cousin in your own house, it tends to get messy."

Lucy winced at the blunt admission. "That's terrible. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Broke up with her after. I didn't love her, so I don't think you'd count that as 'first love' or whatnot, but it was messy."

Lucy reached out to squeeze his hands, taking him by surprise. "There'll be someone out there for you."

"You seriously believe in that whole soulmate crap?"

"I just want to believe that everyone will eventually have someone. Maybe not in this life, but eventually, you know? No one deserves to be alone."

A/N: I hope this was a good chapter :c, and thank you so much for the support! See ya in the next chapter!

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