Lucy's Apartment 10:36am

Lucy started blinking up at her ceiling, eyelids feeling especially heavy from the long night but for some reason, it bothered her not being able to remember how she ended up back in her apartment. She knew she was in front of the building, but had no memory of getting in the elevator and actually getting into bed. Lucy looked down to see her clothes changed. Her eyes scanned the apartment and nothing else seemed out of place...except her purse that was placed on her nightstand with some pills and water in a glass. Lucy groaned as she tried to stretch but pain shot through her arms and legs. She sucked in her breath and slowly moved her arms back down, not quite wanting to feel that again. Her tired brown eyes darted to her sides, slightly twitching, from seeing the bruising up and down her arms. She didn't think it'd be that bad but, there it was.

Trying to take another deep breath again, she felt pain shoot from her backside this time, something like needle-like pins stabbing her airways that was crushed into from last nights predicament.

"Is...anyone here with me?" she wheezed loud enough but coughed from inhaling too much air. Lucy suddenly heard feet shuffling from another room and her door clicked open. Lucy stiffened but relaxed when she saw one of her dear friends from the clinic across the street.

"Lucy-san!" a girl with blue hair tied into twin pig-tails came rushing at her but stopped right at the foot of her bed nearly tripping, "I'm so glad you're awake! How're you feeling?"

Lucy grimaced and smiled, "I'm feeling terribly sore, but other than that i'm fine. Uhm, i know this is weird and i'm really happy to see you Wendy but uhm..." she narrowed her gaze carefully at the girl, "How'd you get in here?"

Wendy's face paled and halfheartedly laughed while shuffling her feet awkwardly, "Natsu-san called me on my emergency phone. He told me you were badly hurt so i came rushing over...b-but i swear i didn't let him in your apartment if...if that's what you're concerned about..." biting down her bottom lip nervously.

"Natsu?..." the blonde was confused and then gasped. His name was Natsu? She thought, That's right, i never asked for his name last night after helping me...

Lucy let out a loud sigh and smiled at Wendy, "Well i guess i owe the both of you my sincerest thanks" She took hold of the tiny girl's hand next to her bedside, "I really appreciate you doing this Wendy, as embarrassing as it is. I never should've let myself get this banged up..." Lucy squeezed her eyes shot feeling more stabbing pains in her airways and looked away.

"Lucy-san, are you still hurting? Here let me help" the girl shuffled closer and moved her hands over the blondes body. Her hands began to glow a bright green, feeling warm underneath it. Lucy sighed feeling the pain numb away bit by bit.

"Once again, thank you, that feels so much better"

Wendy smiled and continued a few minutes longer before finally moving her hands back. Wendy Marvel is a dear friend that Lucy met when she moved here. They met on chance as they passed by each other for work, but Lucy couldn't help take notice of the tiny girl when she tripped over so awkwardly nearby. Anybody would've ran to help her back up onto her feet and they have been friends ever since.

Lucy stretched her arms out yet again and noticed the stinging pain was gone. Drawing another look over her arms, the dark purple bruising disappeared as well, "Your magic never ceases to amaze me, Wendy"

Wendy giggled and smiled, "Also Lucy, Natsu told me to tell you something" The young girl pulled out a small card from the pocket of her white coat. It seems she ran straight over from the clinic to still be wearing that. "He said if you ever get yourself into trouble again"

Lucy frowned and eyed the card that seemed awfully familiar. She took it from the small girls hand and looked over it carefully, "This is just the club's business card, why would he..." she flipped it over to the backside and it was completely blank.

The small girl spoke nervously, "Maybe he meant for you to call your friends?"

"Ugh, Who does he take me for? I can totally take care of myself!" She threw the card onto the nightstand next to her and hopped out of bed.

"But Lucy-San, What happened to you last night to get hurt so badly like that?"

Urk...

The blonde twitched remembering quite well how it happened, as to why she let it happen, she is still trying to understand that herself, "I-I panicked...and I thought i would be perfectly capable handling just one guy...but i just didn't expect a whole group to come out of no where..." Lucy picked up her purse and sighed in relief to see her shimmering golden keys inside.

"I'm just so glad Natsu-San found you when he did, what if you had gotten kidnapped?" Wendy started to let tears bubble on the edge of her eyes.

"...I-..." Lucy was suddenly slammed into by the sobbing girl. She couldn't help but soothe her by patting the girls head gently, "I'm sorry, i promise to be more careful from now on, Wendy"


Sorcerer's Daily News Station

May 19, 1:30pm

bzzzzt...bzzzzzzt...bzzzzt

Startling her out of concentration, Lucy glanced down at her work phone with Cana's number blinking up at her. She yawned before reaching over her papers and answered the call.

"Heya Lucy! How're you feeling today?"

"Hello Cana, feeling drained from the unending pile of work that never seems to get smaller. What's up?"

"How do you feel about having Lunch with me tomorrow at Yajima's Family diner?"

Lucy immediately sat up feeling her skin crawl. The last time she was ever told to meet up with Cana somewhere, she got left with some guy from the bar, twice.

"Uhm, what's the occasion?" the blonde asked wearily, as if she needed more stress added to her workload.

"No occasion, Can't a girl take her girlfriend out once in a while? Also i won't be taking no for an answer, I'll see you then! ta~"

Lucy facepalmed as she heard the phone click and dropped the device back onto her desk. She knew this was NOT going to end on a high note. Glancing at her clock, she knew she had only a handful of work hours left to finish her current assignment. Being behind schedule was never an option and she sure as hell wasn't going to start now. Picking up her pen, she quickly starts jotting some notes down for her next gossiping column. Lucy tidied up her papers and glanced over at the news articles that was cut up and laid out loosely in front of her.

It's been awfully quiet since that last heist she thought while looking at the time gaps between each one, Not that its a bad thing but...i don't know...it seems...odd...

She started to scrutinize the dates and places, linking them together on one small map next to her. However, no matter how much she tried matching them together, the robbed places were too far spread out and all over the place. Some thefts included money, others were random historical artifacts that looked too old to be considered usable. So what were they after?

Lucy clicked her pen repeatedly, eyeing her papers back and forth, looking at each individual theft carefully.

First heist was south of the city, stole some old books, Next heist was eastern part of the city in some small town nearby, stole some scrolls.

Her pen drew red circles specifically around each stolen item.

A month ago, some money was stolen again with some rare, dusty urns. A couple of weeks ago was a locked thousand and some years old chest from the bank with a very strange engraving. almost like a flame but not...

The girl stared and stared but nothing made sense, they didn't seem remotely important but nonetheless they still stole the items for whatever reason.

I wonder if Loke or Gajeel know, i remember them bringing up the heist and conveniently walking away when i asked about it...

Lucy turned around to see an empty desk behind her.

Loke hasn't been around work lately saying he was too busy with some field research, but if i asked him what it was about, would he tell me?

Chewing the bottom of her lip she tapped her pen repeatedly on the desk before making a decision to ask him about it. If she asked him as carefully as possible, maybe he might answer, despite being her best friend, he was also her celestial spirit. No matter how much he would weasel his way out of most answers, If she was adamant enough about it, he had to answer to her, no matter what.

Gah, i don't want him being uncomfortable about it though, i respect his personal space and things but, this is such a roadblock, especially when the criminals haven't even been found.

Slamming her pen down finally, she managed get some courage to pull up her purse. Opening the bag, she found her few shining golden keys on the bottom of it. Pulling up Leo's Key carefully, she inconspicuously started channeling her magic into it, just enough to get his attention, not to summon him.

The key shimmered, barely illuminating the inside of her purse.

Leo, can you hear me?

...

Leo...?

Hello Princess, is something wrong?

No, not quite...i have a question to ask you though...

Oh? Finally going to ask me out, my lady?

Urk, No! Listen, i have a question about the heist from a couple of weeks ago...

...

Leo?

What's the question?

Are any of the stolen items related to one another?

...

Leo this is important...if you don't know, its fine...

I'm not sure to be honest. Been having my hands full with everything at the moment, but i can tell you this much...

What is it?

Lucy glanced to the corners of her eyes making sure that no one was coming up from behind her. The last thing she needs is people finding out about her magic.

The Celestial realm is getting rather busy lately, something is definitely spooking them. I can't say for sure if its related but from what's going on, it's not good whatever it is.

I see...well, thanks Leo

Is there anything else i can help you with, princess?

uhm...

hm?

Lucy shook her head and sighed, Nothing never mind, i have to get back to work now, I'll see you soon.

She placed the key quickly into her purse and leaned back into her chair. Taking his words into consideration, it helped ease her nerves a little bit but, the information was not enough to make it all connect together with one knot. She eyed again at the strange chest that was circled in red on the newspaper clipping. The wooden box looked big, the way it was laid out on the pedestal. Despite its age, it still looked rather well kept. The engravings looked to be metal, twisting around the chest with strange markings while the keyhole was symbolizing some kind of flame.

I wonder what's inside for the criminals to go out of their way for such an old looking box. Maybe...just maybe...its...an enchanted item? Something to do with magic...it has to be...It's so strange otherwise...no normal person would go out of their way to steal something like this.

Looking back again at the other stolen items, Books...scrolls...urns...chest? Lucy's eyes widened, There's no way this was a coincidence...It has to be magical! Some kind of magical ritual or something! AH how'd i not see this before!

Lucy shot up from her desk and quickly wrote down some notes.

I have to tell Leo this later, maybe he can pass the info onto Gajeel, The only problem is, What the hell are these thieves planning to do with these items?

She packed up her things, shoved the papers back into her work bag and left work swiftly to mentally prepare herself for tomorrow's not so welcoming outing.


Yajima's Family Diner

May 20, 1:15pm

The sun was shining high up in the sky, birds chirping and flying around in a small groups. The air was finally getting warmer out and despite all the cheeriness, a specific celestial mage just couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. She loved the bright and sunny, warm weather, but the closer she got to the diner, the more dread she felt. There just wasn't enough time to mentally prepare for what ever Cana had in store for her.

Lucy glanced up at the small Diner that was in front of her. The windows were nice and clean, the lot was well kept. The paint looked freshly done and the inside was as retro as you can get. The tables inside were boxed in by a couple of red vinyl couches for each one. Few tables were set up closer to the counter that looked similar to a standard bar but lined with black and white tiling. Some stools were set up for people that wanted to come and go quickly, but sometimes it was just nice to be closer to the kitchen. The food there was simple and tasty. Lucy hardly went because she never wanted to pack in the extra weight but, when she did, it never failed to bring a smile to her face, especially seeing the Chef Yajima. He always had stories to tell her when she passed by. Sometimes they were about his younger days, sometimes its about the people that pass through here and sometimes it was just about the food. He honestly felt like a grandfather to her, despite knowing him such a short time. He made sure Lucy was always comfortable when she came to visit. However today, was just not going to be one of those days.

Unfortunately, Lucy peeked into the window to see Cana waving at her and immediately wished she called in sick. Knowing what this probably entailed, she purposely did NOT dress up for this reunion. Lucy wore the most simplest of outfits, a small pink v-cut t-shirt and a tiny black ruffled skirt that covered what it needed. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail to make sure her neck got enough airflow from the warmer weather outside. Putting on her best smile, Lucy walked into the restaurant and smiled towards her trouble making friend.

"Hey beautiful, hows my bestie doing today~?" Cana squealed as she squeezed the blonde tightly into her arms. Lucy coughed and tried to back up a little bit to mostly just breathe.

"Hello Cana, nice to see you again, How's the bar doing?"

"Hm? Oh that? I had Lisanna fill in the shift for me while i meet you here"

Lucy's smile wavered, "So uhm, What's up?"

She sat in the cushioned vinyl couch by the window that Cana was once sitting at. The brunette sat across from her facing towards the entrance.

"Oh nothing really, i really just wanted to see you today. All the girls were worried about you! They heard about that little issue a couple weeks ago and panicked when you haven't shown up at the bar since. It almost breaks my heart having to hear the news from someone else" Cana held her hand over her heart feigning pain.

The blonde shifted uncomfortably, I knew something was up! But how'd she know? i purposely didn't make a scene about it...unless... Lucy cleared her throat and avoided eye contact, "It was, uhm, no biggie, got in a little fight and well i'm fine now as you can see..."

She glanced up at her friend who no longer was smiling, instead looked at her accusingly, "That's not what i heard Lucy Heartfilla" Lucy flinched back, "You know darned well that wasn't a little fight. You have any idea how worried i was? I tried calling you only to find out from someone else, a few days later, you got yourself nearly kidnapped! Lucy, what's going on? Did you not have your keys with you?"

Lucy let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm sorry, i just didn't want anyone to worry about me, especially when everything is okay now. Just a few jerks who thought they can swindle me away into their disgusting hands..."

"and...?" the brunette raised her eyebrow.

Lucy shrunk back further, "...and i must've dropped my purse from panic, with my keys still inside..."

"Girl, you are so LUCKY Natsu found you when he did, I would've had to call everyone just to hunt you down. You realize that right?"

The blonde sniffled as she nodded back.

"Oooh, there, there, come here..." Cana got up and moved over to Lucy. Stroking her head gently as she hugged the shaking girl tightly. "Promise me you'll take someone with you the next time you do outings late at night, I don't need anymore gray hairs in my young life, you know?"

Lucy grimaced and wiped the threatening tears away.

"Anyway missy, i ordered us some food with all of your favorite fixings"

"Thanks, Cana"

Cana moved away slightly and leaned onto the table, carefully looking at the blonde, "You know, I wouldn't have known if i hadn't poked that little, pink runt right?"

Lucy blinked a bit and looked back up at her friend confused, "What do you mean?"

The brunette sighed quietly, "That kid came in like a sad sack of potatoes the past couple of weeks. Each day he just kept going to the end of the counter, peeking around as if he was looking for somebody"

Lucy still looked at her confused, "...but, how does that lead to finding out about me?"

Cana nearly scoffed, "Well you see, in between the shifts i worked, he would ask me how you were doing"

The blonde had her eyebrows shot through the roof if it could, "B-but why? I barely know him. Don't get me wrong, i'm extraordinarily grateful to him but, i don't see why he would get bothered about it. He didn't seem too thrilled when he did come to help me anyway..."

"Giiirl, there's still so much you need to learn about guys, it's almost illegal to be that cute" Cana laughed and patted the girl on the back. "Listen here, there's two important things you need to know about them, one being, How you look to them...and Lucy, you got the looks...all the guys i know are practically drooling around you wherever you walk"

Lucy's faced burned brightly but didn't speak to let Cana continue, "Two, when they do decide to man up and rescue a damsel in distress, of course they're going to want to know more about their lady, it's only natural"

"There's nothing natural about having to be rescued from a possible kidnapping" Lucy scoffed and waved her away.

"Lucy, there's another thing that you should be aware of, specifically about Natsu..." She looked directly at the blonde, making sure shes looking right back at here, eye to eye.

Lucy gulped, "a-and what's that?"

"He has never asked about anyone before, especially just talking in general. When he came in the first few weeks, he kept to himself at the back of the bar and out of sight. Only recently has that little, pink recluse moved closer to the counter."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at her, "How'd you manage that?"

"Doesn't take much to bribe him, he loves food"

The blonde laughed, "I see how that could've happened"

"So you understand now?"

Lucy nodded, "Yeah, i really am grateful to him though, but i'm also really sorry I've worried you guys..."

"Damn straight i was worried, I called up Wendy and she pleaded with us Ladies back at the bar to not storm your place with pitchforks"

The blonde laughed louder as the food started to come in on a tray, "Thanks, i appreciate it"

"Good, cause now i want you to return that favor"

Lucy's face dropped and felt her skin crawl immediately, "F-favor?"

Before the woman could answer, the bell on the entrance way chimed. Lucy looked behind herself to notice a specific "pink recluse" walk in. He was wearing a long, navy Blue shirt that was hanging loosely over his white jeans. However, there seems to be a scarf hanging quite loosely over his neck this time. Lucy squeaked and turned around to see Cana grinning deviously right at her.

"Cana no, why?"

"You promised me, Lucy"

"I didn't promise anything!"

"No take backs, look the foods here and i got to go"

"CANA! GET BACK-...!"

Lucy stumbled off her chair when Natsu walked over to them. His dark-green eyes narrowed down when he noticed Lucy on the floor in front of him. The girl smiled nervously before quickly returning back into her seat.

"Now kids, be nice, i paid for all the food here so you better not disappoint me or there will be hell to pay. Got it?" She specifically pointed at Natsu for whatever reason.

"Cana, but...but..." Lucy cried out quietly to her.

Cana pulled out her phone, "Listen Lucy, if Pinky here gives you a hard time let me know about it, i'll come running. Enjoy your meal, i got an appointment to run to"

The brunette quickly sauntered off and left the Diner without another glance back.

(Pretend the little jukebox in the background started playing *quietly*: Trapt - Echo)

Lucy sighed and sank further back into the couch while Natsu sat down across from her, almost looking nervous. However the second that he saw the food, he looked like a child with the biggest smile on his face. Lucy couldn't help herself and hid her smile under her hand as she watched him dig in.

"So uhm..." Lucy nervously sat up and started poking at her fries. "How've you been lately, Natsu?"

He glanced up at her, with one cheek full of food and shrugged, "Fine i guess, you?"

Lucy grimaced as she watched him continuing to stuff his face, "I've been doing really good actually..." she scratched the back of her head nervously and continued, "I actually wanted to tell you properly, how grateful i am when you came when you did. I know I was in the wrong and if it wasn't for you, i don't know where I'll be right now."

The pinkette sighed, wiped his face with a napkin and threw it next to him. He looked at her with a face looking almost annoyed but mixed with a bit of concern, she couldn't tell really, especially when she hardly knew him. Lucy shrunk back as he leaned forward onto the table in front of him, hands clasped together now and eyeing her carefully, his head rested barely above his hands, "I still think it was really stupid for what you did. You could've brought someone back with you from the bar, Levy, or metal face or that annoying playboy, somebody..."

Lucy flinched, not knowing how to reply and started to feel slightly agitated herself. She didn't ask to be lectured by someone she barely knew, she already knew she messed up and already apologized, did he have to continuously rub it in her face about it?

"Look i said i was sorry and excuse me for thinking it was safe to walk a few blocks back to my place!" she snapped.

Natsu didn't waiver and continue to stare at her with a look that seemed to change into anger, but he kept quiet.

"What was i suppose to do, Natsu? Levy was having a good time, Loke was busy with Gajeel and everyone else i know was probably still working or sleeping!"

Lucy huffed and glanced away feeling like she already lost this argument, "...My purse...probably fell out of my hands when i got grabbed...i panicked...and I tried to get away. For a moment, i forgot i could've used my keys for help..." she mumbled quietly but he still heard every word of it, "...I ran and i ran without thinking...i got surrounded...and i was scared..." Lucy covered her face with her hands, "I don't like bugging my spirits all the time, i don't want to depend on them. If i can't handle so much as a few guys, what good am i as a celestial mage who cant do anything without their help?" Tears slid down her face, but her sobs were quiet.

Natsu watched her carefully, feeling almost guilty for snapping at her. He had no idea what this girl was going through, he just saw someone who was being careless walking around at night by herself and was offered a few rides back home. Despite sitting far away from them, he heard everything they were talking about at the bar. His sense of smell and hearing were above average, heck they were unnaturally higher than anyone else he has known. He left the bar early to eavesdrop on the conversation Gajeel and Loke were having but got sidetracked when he saw Lucy leaving the bar, Alone. Something told him to watch her, to make sure she got home safely. He knew this neighborhood had its fill of bad people and he spent almost every night patrolling it ever since the heists picked up repeatedly.

He looked at the tearing girl in front of him, seeing her hand shaking on the table in front of him. For some reason, unknown to him, he wanted to comfort her. Natsu slowly moved his hand over to hers, gently brushing the back of her hand, "Hey, sorry uhm...i didn't mean to make you cry..." he mumbled, almost tripping over his words.

Lucy hiccuped a bit and wiped her tears down, "No, no...its not your fault, i'm just too stubborn for my own good" She sniffled and took a huge breath before looking back at him. Natsu pulled his hand away and grimaced.

"You okay now?"

She nodded and looked back down at the pile of empty plates that used to have food. Her brows scrunched together, almost getting entirely sidetracked, "Yeah i'm fine now...i guess i just had more on my mind than i thought..." she grumbled trying to pick up the few scraps of food left from her plate. Losing all her enthusiasm for food, she dropped the french fry and sighed yet again.

"Look, the food is gone and I don't want to keep you here hostage if you don't want to be here. We've said our peace and can tell Cana everything went fine..."

Natsu's face fell and sat back, "huh?"

The blonde stared at him, "You came because Cana told you to right?"

"She told me you were coming today, the food was just a bonus"

Lucy's face fell, blinked and averted her eyes immediately after, leaving her face completely red, "I-Idiot, you could've just seen me when i visit the bar or asked someone about how i was doing...You didn't have to go out of your way to come here"

Natsu shrugged, "You haven't even shown up at the bar at all these past couple weeks and Cana specifically warned me to not to go back to your place so this was the only other way"

Lucy facepalmed, "Seriously? Why didn't you just leave me your number on the card you left me then?"

Natsu laughed, "I thought it'd be pretty obvious where I'll be if i just left that"

The blonde blinked at him, not sure whether to feel dumbfounded or annoyed. Either way, she couldn't help but feel slightly at ease knowing he was worried about her, in his own little way.

"Lucy..."

"hm?"

"You're really weird, you know that right?"

Her face dropped and immediately grabbed onto that annoyed feeling, yes, definitely feeling annoyed, "I am NOT weird!" she threw a fry at him and stomped away from the table.

Natsu couldn't help himself and started uncontrollably laughing, holding his sides.

Calling me weird, how dare he? Especially when he was the one who was sulking around at the bar for two weeks and could've easily found where i was but nooo, he comes all the way out here because I was here with food?!"

"Doesn't take much to bribe him, he loves food" Cana's voice echoed through her head. Lucy stopped at the door way and looked back at the boy who was still apparently laughing at his own joke.

I may be weird, but you're weirder, Natsu"


A/N: Hey Everyone!, How are you guys liking it so far?

It might seem a little slow at first but trust me, it'll get good, i PROMISE. It's just such a struggle sometimes trying to put myself in their shoes. My mind is everywhere...help...

Until next time :3