Did someone order a little Gajeel face time? Well, your order is served. As well as a... let's call it a special development. This is the chapter that officially puts this story into its second category (which I will not reveal here and spoil things for you all.)

As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!

Lucy notched her arrow and shot at her target once more. When it hit just outside of the inner circle, she growled and grabbed another arrow to try again.

"Hey, Bunny Girl!"

With a curse, Lucy twisted her torso and let her arrow loose. It thwacked into the tree next to Gajeel's head, causing him to glare at her. "What'dya do that for?"

"For interrupting me." She pulled out another arrow and turned away. "Didn't Levy tell you talking to me was a bad idea right now?"

"Yeah, but that's never stopped me before."

Anger blasted through her so fast that she was already letting another arrow go in his direction before she'd finished blinking. The sound of metal on metal filled the air just before her arrow bounced off of his hand. He sighed as he allowed his scales to retract. "Ya done yet?"

"No, I'm not." Lucy yanked out another arrow and let them off in a flurry at her target. When she ran out, she yanked her whip off her hip and used it to smash the target to smithereens. With no clear target to hit, she assaulted the trees around her, slashing back and forth until she struggled to draw in breath.

Gajeel waited until she had worn herself out before getting closer. "Ya done now?"

"Fine," she snapped, her anger leaching out of her until all that remained was despair. She leaned forward to brace her hands on her knees. "I don't want to," she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No one's makin' ya."

"Yes, they are," she argued. "Despite their complete and utter lack of interest in my life up until now, the entire pantheon has suddenly become very interested in me all of a sudden." She leaned back to stare up at the sky. "They're at my home all day now, each and every one of them, telling me why it's a good idea to create a connection with another pantheon."

"Nothin' wrong with that," he said. "I did."

"But you were in love with Levy," Lucy said. "I've met Danicarus, and I can tell you that I have less than zero interest in him."

"Then don't marry 'im," Gajeel said with a shrug.

"It's not that simple," she argued.

He raised an eyebrow. "It is that simple."

"No, it's not." She hung her head, hating the burn of tears in the back of her eyes. "It's not easy finding someone willing to… marry someone like me."

"Nothin' wrong with ya," he said. "Except yer temper, but it's not the worst I've ever seen."

Lucy chuckled a little, even as her fingers found the scar on her cheek. "You make it sound easy."

"It is," Gajeel answered with a shrug. He came forward and set a hand on her shoulder. "Marry 'im if you like 'im, don't if you don't. Simple." After a light squeeze, he let her go and began to walk away. "Don't let 'em dictate your life, Bunny Girl. Just do what ya want. It's your life, not theirs." He paused before he walked out of view. "I'm gonna go make sure Lev ain't breaking any skulls. Stop by for dinner later. We'll make ya something."

Lucy continued to stare after him for a long time, allowing the wind to help her cleanse some of the anger from her system. Her Zodiac calmed down as she did, but continued to shine among the long tresses of her hair, and her dress flickered occasionally as it rippled in the breeze.

Marriage. The word knocked loudly around the inside of her skull, refusing to remain silent, even after so many hours. She sighed as she returned her whip to her hip and headed through the woods, away from her home.

She didn't want to get married. She didn't want to have to share her home with a god she barely knew. She didn't want to lose her freedom to a god who would look down on her like the others - who would be able to do it from inside the safety of her own home. Who was he, to ask to wed her when they'd barely had a conversation?

It was different for him! Her anger had her lashing out again; her magic slashing through trees and toppling them to the ground. Leo and Capricorn came out from her hair to shimmer in the air around her. They circled her, defensive because of the force of her actions. She held out her hands and pulled them close as she reached her destination. Entering the darkness, the rest of her Zodiac lit up, giving her light in the pitch black space, even though she didn't need it.

She followed the same path she always did, until she reached the cave in the back. She walked quietly around the edge until she reached the raised flat rock in the very back where she always sat. Once she had folded her legs under herself, she found a small pebble and tossed it in front of her.

The pebble made a small splash, which echoed across the cave. In the lights from her stars, she watched the ripples in the water. They hadn't quite reached the edge before the light slowly began to change.

Glow worms, scattered across the ceiling and in the pond, began to glow, illuminating the space around her. Their light pulsed slightly, giving the illusion of sparkles as they mimicked the look of the night sky. It had taken time for her to gather them, all, but it had been worth it to be able to enjoy this sight whenever she wanted.

Lucy sighed as she looked around, relaxed for the first time since she'd been approached that morning.

Here, there was no politics. No heavy decisions, no pity marriages. Here, she glowed brighter than anything else. Here, she could just be.

Leo and Capricorn left her hands to sit upon her knees, while the others left her hair to sit nearby. She sighed as she ran a hand over all of them, giving them each attention so that they were reminded how much she cared about them.

"I don't want to marry someone who pities me," she said quietly. The glow of the worms increased slightly as she spoke before settling again.

"I've heard that he has a scar himself, one that goes through his eyebrow. He got it during one of the past wars." She ran a finger along Leo's spine, making him arch his back like a cat. "He's a god with a real job, not like mine, but he's still looked down on in his pantheon." The air around her heated up. "Why do they think I should marry him? Just because we are both scarred? This is their game of politics, not mine, so why do they expect me to play a part in it?

"I don't want to marry him. I don't want to marry anyone."

A face came to mind that she tried to push away, but here in the dark, in her special place, her mind refused to obey.

Messy hair. Dark eyes. A wide grin. A personality as bright as a thousand suns, with the enthusiasm to match.

Despite her efforts, she recalled their conversation from his last visit. It had been strange, to say the least, but since then, she'd been feeling odd...

"Um, Lucy?"

"Yes?" Lucy looked up from her work. Natsu was rolling her quill between his hands, looking pensive.

"Have you heard about… Hibiki?"

"Hibiki… the human? Yes, he's been, um…" Lucy flushed. "A visitor to my pantheon recently, right? What about him?"

Natsu's face was redder than usual, and Lucy wondered what was going through his mind. "Do you, um…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you ever have him visit you? You know, in your world?"

Lucy nearly choked at the idea and shook her head. "No. No, absolutely not." The gods had strange hobbies, many of which she did not participate in, and the one Natsu was asking about she had always refrained from.

Often when they found a particularly attractive human, they would invite them to their world to service them in exchange for gold and favors. Generally, the human would get passed around for a while, until the gods grew bored, and then they were returned to their world, usually with a special status among the humans and a large sum of money. Sometimes, if a god or goddess was particularly pleased, they would mark the human, making them off limits to any of the others. They would still be expected to perform, but they would only have to service one god instead of many, before eventually being sent home.

The practice had never interested Lucy, since she'd never had any emotion with which to feel an attraction towards anyone. The thought had barely passed her mind before she found her eyes wandering over Natsu. He was nearly eighteen, and had grown into his body rather well already. Gone were the days where he was just a little too skinny. Gone were the days of threadbare clothes and dirty skin. Gone were the days of dark circles under his eyes as he was forced to wake up often and defend himself during the night.

His smooth skin was tan from spending so much time outdoors, and well muscled because of his work. Even though his height was a bit short for the average human male, he was well proportioned, with strong legs and lean arms. His jaw was straight, his cheekbones high, and when he smiled, he had a dimple in one cheek. Despite the color, his messy hair only added to his attractiveness, and his dark eyes had always been beautiful to her.

When she realized she'd been staring, she quickly looked away. "Why do you ask?"

Natsu cleared his throat. "I was just wondering." He glanced at her before focusing on his hands. "Do… all the gods and goddesses… do that?"

"Not all of them, no," she answered. She returned to her work to keep her hands busy. "Some of them are devoted to their spouses, and some of them just aren't interested in… uh, doing that sort of thing with humans."

The silence grew increasingly awkward as both avoided eye contact. Eventually, Natsu leaned forward and met her eyes with a determined expression. He stayed quiet until she finally met his eyes. "Are you?"

Lucy found herself getting a bit distracted by his eyes, so she didn't immediately understand his question. "Married? Of course not."

"No, I meant…" His fingers dug into his knees hard enough to draw her attention. "Are you- are you interested in humans? Like that?"

"Oh!" Face flaming, Lucy tried to put her thoughts together. "Well, um, to be interested in that sort of thing requires you to feel and I've been lacking in that department for most of my life." Natsu continued to watch her, waiting, and she realized she hadn't actually answered. "I suppose… no. No, I haven't before."

Something changed in his eyes, and his face brightened slightly.

"What about… since you got your emotions back?" He leaned forward just slightly, his eyes roving her face as he whispered.

"What about now?"

"Ugh…" Lucy scrubbed her face hard with her hands. The worms pulsed in response to her outburst, reminding her she needed to remain quiet. "What is wrong with me? Why am I having these thoughts? It's not okay!"

Or was it? Humans were made the same as gods, physically. They just lacked the power and ethereal beauty of the gods. Not only that, human females were able to bear children fathered by gods. Didn't that mean that an attraction to them was natural? Didn't that mean it was natural for her? She'd been uninterested for so long, she wasn't sure if it was okay for her first sexual interest to be a human. Was there something wrong with her if she found a human male more attractive than the gods of her pantheon?

She thought about the younger gods, about their powers and their physiques, and while they were objectively beautiful, none of them held a candle to Natsu's personality, to his essence. The gods were cruel and greedy where Natsu was caring and loyal. If she was honest with herself, overall, she found him infinitely more attractive than every god in her pantheon.

But that was wrong, wasn't it? She'd watched him grow up! She'd been his friend when he could find no other. She'd been his teacher when he'd been unable to learn anywhere else. She was his patron goddess; she had a duty to him, to watch over him and protect him.

All of which do not exclude the possibility of a physical relationship, she thought, and cursed the rational side of her brain. The more she thought about it, the less it sounded like a bad idea. Natsu had even given her the indication that he was interested in such an arrangement as well.

Which didn't surprise her, at least anymore. Despite her scar, she was still a goddess. She was beautiful, she was powerful, and she was higher on the proverbial food chain than a human could ever hope to be. Why wouldn't he be interested?

Immediately after those thoughts entered her mind, she huffed and got to her feet to pace.

Natsu would never think those things about her. He liked her because of who she was, not because she was a goddess. Not because she was powerful or because being her favorite made him any more special than any other human. He liked her because she was Lucy, she was herself.

Right?

With a wave of her hand, she recalled the Zodiac and began to leave. There was no point staying there and poisoning her special place with all her negative thoughts. Natsu would be visiting her the following day and she would just ask him about his feelings.

He was an adult. He had adult feelings. If she was going to get any answers, all she had to do was ask.

And if he had similar thoughts, she'd just have to figure things out from there.

She was damn well old enough she could just ask him.

I'm sorry to Hibiki for pimping him out. Kind of. Also, gruff supportive Gajeel was fun to write.