"Are you absolutely sure you know the way?"

"Yes, we've already established this Levy!"

"I know… but are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Lucy sighed. She was having the same conversation again and again since the day before. She loved her friend but sometimes she was a bit overprotective.

"Lev I'm sure. I've been in Magnolia for a few days now I think I can find my way. Besides you've made me memorize the map by heart, I'm not going to forget everything when I leave the house."

"Fine! Promise me you'll call if something's wrong?" She was almost pleading.

"Of course I'll call you, don't worry. I need to do this on my own."

"Call me when you finish too!"

"We live right next to each other. Once I get back I'll tell you everything, okay?" Lucy reassured her.

Levy pouted. "Okay, I guess you're right. Sorry, I'm just a little worried for you. Ah, not that I don't think you will succeed!"

Lucy playfully nudged her friend in the shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. I'm the one who should be anxious not you."

"I know that… leave all your worries to me and you go blow their minds with your awesomeness!"

Lucy let out a laugh. "Well I'll leave that to you then! I really should be going now."

"Right!" Levy rushed to unlock her apartment door. "Wait, did you take the leaflet with you?"

"Yes, it's in my bag. I don't think I'll need it though I've memorized the address."

"Right… okay. Good luck then, you'll do great." Levy flashed a grin and gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks!" Lucy waved as she got down the stairs of the building. The elevator was fully functional but she lived only on the secondfloor and it would be a waste of energy and time. Besides, it was a good excuse for some exercise.

Lucy skipped the last two steps landing on the pavement with a huge grin on her face. It was finally happening! It was finally the day she could go to the place of her dreams! She would finally go to Fairy Tail!

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -/

Lucy realized she hadn't thought this through. All of her previous excitement had been slowly turning into anxiousness the closer she got to her destination. Now standing in front of the stairs leading up to the glass doors of the Fairy Tail building she was contemplating her decision to go inside.

What was she thinking? She should have been more prepared! She slowly realized she had no idea what to say and how to present herself. How was she supposed to approach the subject? Oh hello, you haven't seen me since I was 5 and probably don't even remember me, but would you mind being my coach?Yeah, like that would work.

Lucy was regretting not taking Levy with her, at least she would have some emotional support and she clearly needed that. Maybe she could call her friend and talk to her for a little while! That would make her calm down more.

The blonde let her backpack slide from her shoulder and started looking for her phone when she stopped and closed the zipper again. She couldn't just call Levy like that. Not when she had given that brave speech of having to do this on her own and not needing any help. She just had to open her big mouth and ruin herself.

Should she just leave and come back another day? No, she wasn't a coward, she wouldn't just give up! Besides Lucy had come all this way she should at least go inside.

Determined Lucy took one step forward. But what if the woman wasn't there? She hadn't made a previous appointment maybe she couldn't go in like that.

However, before the same traitorous thoughts get the chance to cloud her mind once again.

"Hey! Sorry to interrupt your inner turmoil but you know you're blocking the way, right?"

Lucy lost in her thoughts hadn't realized another person had shown up. She quickly turned around to face the source of the voice. The first thing she noticed about the man in front of her was his vibrant pink hair. It wasn't uncommon to find people with various colored hair on the streets but the particular shade was a little unusual. It strangely suited the man who was now cheerfully grinning at her. He seemed about her age and he wore a white scaled scarf around his neck.

Snapping out of her thoughts she responded "You know it's not polite to sneak up on people."

"Hey, I didn't mean to sneak up on you!" he defended himself "You are the weirdo staring at the building like you want to set fire to it."

"I'm not a weirdo! Also why would I want to set fire to the building?"

"I don't know… you were glaring at it pretty intensely." He squinted "What are your intentions?"

"I'm not a pyromaniac, okay? Why would you think that?" said Lucy frustrated "And I wasn't glaring, I was just thinking."

"I know, I was just teasing you." He grinned.

This man is unbelievable. Lucy thought

"So are you going to come in?"

"What?"

"I mean, if you want to glare at the entrance door all day, I won't judge. I don't think you came for that though. Hey, maybe you can come glare at the inside, its warmer too!"

"I TOLD YOU, I WAS JUST THINKING!"

"Okay, don't shout you weirdo."

"And quit calling me a weirdo!"

"Fine, fine… weirdo." He whispered

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" The man hurriedly headed to the automatic doors and stopped right before he got it. "Come on, it's getting really cold out there." He then went inside.

Lucy followed the pink haired man inside the considerably warmer building. She looked around and took in her new surroundings. The lobby was colorful with plants all over the place and comfortable looking couches in the middle. Overall it seemed like a pretty welcoming place.

"So… is it your first time here?" asked the pink haired boy

"Well, yeah."

"I would help you out but I'm running pretty late, sorry."

"It's fine! I can find my way by myself."

"If you want any help go ask Mira." He pointed to a white haired woman reading a magazine behind a desk "She's really nice, don't worry."

"Okay, thank you." Lucy smiled. He wasn't so bad after all.

"No problem! I'll see you around, weirdo!" he waved at her as he sprinted to a corridor.

Never mind. "HEY! What did I say about-" it was too late, the man had already disappeared.

That whole encounter had been really bizarre though Lucy found herself least she didn't feel as anxious anymore. Talking with that weird man had cleared her head and lifted her worries without her noticing.

Lucy turned to look at the woman behind the desk who she assumed was the receptionist and made her way towards her. She tried to get the woman to notice her presence thinking she was engrossed in her magazine but before she could say anything the woman looked up and smiled sweetly.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

Taking a closer look at the woman's face she had something familiar about her that Lucy couldn't place yet. Well, she had other things to worry about.

"Hi, I am… looking for Aquarius, can I talk to her?"

Please say yes, please say yes!

"Yes of course! I think she's in the office. Take the stairs and it's the first door at the front."

Lucy sighed in relief. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem!" the woman smiled again. "Oh wait a moment! I think I should warn you, she just had a fight with her boyfriend so she's a little… grumpier than usual."

Lucy gulped. "I'll keep that in mind, then."

That was not good, that was not good at all! From what she remembered from the woman, she always had a bad temper. That definitely did not make things easier.

Lucy walked up to the direction she was pointed at and finally stood in front of the door that she hoped was the right one.

You can do this Lucy, you didn't come all this way for nothing! She motivated herself. She took a big breath and knocked hesitantly on the door.

And then there was… nothing. There was no response! No sound from the inside that indicated someone had heard her or even if there was someone inside.

Lucy determined knocked again. Maybe she wasn't heard the first time

"Go away!" said an angry muffled voice from the inside.

"Wait, hear me out I-"

"I don't care, I can't deal with you right now."

"Please let me in, I have something important to tell you!"

Lucy was met once again by silence.

"I know you're inside!" Lucy knocked once again on the door not wanting to give up. "I came all this way to talk to you and I won't leave until you give me a chance."

Suddenly the door opened and Lucy stumbled catching herself before she fell down. Then she was met with the very angry gaze of a blue haired woman now blocking the entrance.

"You've got some nerve kid, what do you want?" she glared.

Lucy stared straight back at the woman not losing her newfound confidence. "I am-"

"No, wait, don't say anything." Aquarius cut her off once again "I'm in a very bad mood, come back tomorrow or something."

She started closing the door but Lucy put her foot between the door and the wall stopping her from doing that. "Please hear me out! My name is Lucy Heartfilia." She managed to say as she tried to stop her from closing the door.

At that Aquarius loosened her grip on the door allowing it to open a bit more. "Layla's brat?"

"Yeah."

Aquarius closed her eyes seemingly contemplating a decision. "Fine, come in!" she finally caved in "Make it short though."

The woman stepped away from the entrance allowing Lucy to enter the spacy room.

"So what is Layla's kid doing here?" she cut straight to the point.

"Well, I was in town and I thought I would come visit you." Lucy tried to slowly make her way to the point.

"Yeah, that's nice and all. Now tell me why you're really here. I haven't seen you since you were a shrimp why did you decide to come now?"

There goes Lucy's plan. She prepared herself, now was the time. "I want you to become my coach."

The seconds of silence that followed her statement felt like hours. Then finally Aquarius squinted her eyes and broke the silence. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes, I want to take up professional skating."

Aquarius sighed "Of course you do, what did I expect from Layla's brat? And you want me to guide you in that I suppose."

"Please, you're the only one I could think of! It has been my dream since I was a child. I've been practicing for years, I promise I won't disappoint you!"

"And does your father know about this?"

Lucy winced. She knew this was going to be brought up at some point. "My father, he… He doesn't control my future. This is my dream and I'm going to make it reality."

"So he doesn't know and you came on your own."

"He, uh.., will find out eventually?"

"Look kid, I don't want to be caught up in your family drama. If Jude finds out about this you're on your own."

Lucy's eyes brightened up "Does this mean you agree?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Layla's kid or not doesn't mean I will be making exceptions for you. If you want to be my student you have to prove yourself."

"I am not my mother. I will be making my own place!" Lucy was determined to get the woman's approval.

Aquarius gave her a crooked smile "I like your spirit brat, follow me."

Lucy smiled brightly "Thank you so much!"

"Hey, I haven't accepted yet." The woman frowned and stormed out of the room with Lucy on her toes.

"So where are we going?" asked Lucy as she tried to catch up with the larger steps of the woman and failing at it.

"The ice rink."

"Why?"

"I just told you, you have to prove yourself."

"Right now?" this was not going well

"You have a problem with it?"

"No I just… I thought I would get more time to prepare."

"Prepare for what? I want to see your skills right now not an organized performance."

Aquarius finally stopped in front of twin metal doors and after fumbling a bit with a set of keys she opened them and stepped inside. Lucy could barely observe the world around her before the woman started talking again.

"We're here. Do you have your skates with you?"

"Yes, they're in my bag."

"Good, put them on and go to the ice."

Lucy got her skates out and stated putting them on. What was she going to do? She was confident in her skills but what if she failed? She just hoped the woman wouldn't make her do anything too difficult.

"Hurry up! I don't have all day to wait for you."

Lucy snapped out of her daze and speeded up her process eventually getting to the ice.

"So what do you want me to do now?"

"Now I want you to skate me something."

"Like what?"

"Whatever you want, go wild. I just want to see your skills. If I like it I may consider being your coach."

"Anything I want…"Lucy whispered to herself. She knew which routine she would be skating to! This might not be a failure after all! She knew it like the back of her hand by now.

She took her starting positions with her arms wide open and her eyes closed. She could feel the older skater's calculating stare on her. Lucy took a big breath and let the music play in her mind as she moved to the non-existent rhythm.

When she was skating everything disappeared around her. It was just her and the ice. At that moment she forgot all about her worries, about impressing Aquarius. She was just dancing alone, her blades slashing across the ice, going through overly familiar steps.

Before she knew it she had stopped her arms clasped together for the final pose. Then all of her worries came back to her and Lucy frantically searched for Aquarius's gaze to see if she liked it. They stared at each other silently for a few moments with Lucy's worries only growing. Was it appropriate, did she make any mistakes?

"That routine… it was…"

"It's my mom's." Lucy smiled to herself "I always saw her practicing that and she managed to teach me part of it before she… Well, I added some parts that I couldn't remember on my own too.

"You know, you really look like your mother." The woman's gaze almost softened for a moment but it quickly disappeared, Lucy thinking it was just her imagination.

"I want you to know that I am very strict with my students and I expect you to follow whatever I say. I will not tolerate any tardiness or laziness from your side, is that clear?"

Lucy stared at Aquarius for a few seconds processing what she meant. Catching on, a wide grin started making its way to her face. "So this means I passed!"

"It means you're not as horrible as I expected you to be. Damn it, now I have to sign all this paperwork because of you. Wait here I'll be back in a moment."

When Lucy was left alone she let out a scream of joy, spinning around on the ice in excitement. She had done it, she got herself a coach! The girl felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was one step closer to her dream. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell Levy!

"That was awesome!"

Lucy yelped, startled by the sudden voice behind her. She thought she was alone when did someone come in? Looking for the source of the voice she recognized the pink-haired man from before. He was waving at her, leaning at the rink railing and a childish smile on his face.

Lucy carefully approached him from inside the rink. "It's you again. You scared me, I didn't know you were here!"

"Hey, maybe I'm secretly a ninja!" the man pulled his scarf up to his nose covering half of his face "Nin-nin"

Lucy couldn't suppress a laugh "You're ridiculous." The man grinned at her. "Are you even allowed to be here?"

"Well… sort of? That's why I was hiding! The crazy woman didn't notice me at all." He finished proudly.

"Wait, since when are you hiding?" he didn't see her whole routine, did he?

"Since you started skating! I was passing by and I noticed you from outside. That was a really amazing performance!"

"You liked it?" Lucy smiled as she felt warming up on the had really liked her performance! Lucy wasn't used to showing her skating to other people so it felt so good getting praised for it!

"Of course I did, you weirdo!"

And she was brought back to reality. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Then what should I call you?"

"What?"

"See, that's why you're a weirdo. You haven't told me your name yet, you know." he shot a bright smile.

"Oh, right! I'm Lucy, nice to meet you!" she extended her arm.

The boy reached to clasp her hand. "I'm Na-"

"NATSU, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?"

They both turned around to see Aquarius glaring at them from the entrance.

"Oh no, the crazy lady's back! I got to go!"

"WHO'S A CRAZY LADY?" She was now furious, that was not a good choice of words.

Natsu looked at Lucy with a scared look on his face "I really have to go, see you around Lucy!" and he bolted to the exit door with Aquarius throwing curses after him.

"Yeah, I'll see you around!" mumbled Lucy.

"That brat really gets on my nerves! Does he have a death wish?" Aquarius was fuming. "YOU!"

"YES!" Lucy flinched.

"We need to talk about your schedule and the contract. Get out of the ice and follow me."

"Yes ma'am."

Lucy's thoughts couldn't help but wonder to the strange man, Natsu. Without knowing it he had helped her a lot even if he was a bit annoying, calling her a weirdo all the time. She didn't get a chance to thank him… She would be sure to do so once she meets him again. Yeah that was a good plan! Lucy kept smiling for the rest of the day.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - /

Hey guys, we hope you enjoyed the new chapter! We look forward to reading your thoughts about it!

We finally entered the nalu part of the story! We were so excited about posting this chapter, it's our favourite so far! From now on the nalu and gruvia parts will be posted more equally.

We also have a new dual nalu and gruvis cover! You can found the full versions of them in our tumblrs. Ruby drew the awesome lineart and I colored them.

See you next chap!