Author's Note: Hey guys!
So I've got good news and bad news. Good news first - I'm updating two chapters today! And these two are really sweet, slice-of-life sort of chapters - not exactly fillers, as you'll see, because you get to meet new people and learn more about existing ones.
The bad news… I'm going to be suuuper busy next week. So the next update after this is probably going to be on July 22nd or after. That's kind of why I'm updating in a rush today - I don't want to leave you guys hanging for so long without anything.
And now, a quick note to my reviewers (I'm seriously impressed by how fast you guys are able to read and review! Keeps me on my writing toes!)
valerioux - Yes. You've definitely got one of the major reasons she's against love. And as for Natsu and Lucy, yup. There are a lot more subtle (and not so subtle) hints coming up that he likes her and she likes him.
SistershoOk - He he. Yeah, a love pentagon I guess? (Juvia is coming up soon) But I'm going to give each and every one of these amazing characters their own happy ending. And they'll each get there in their own unique ways, of course. But mostly I just want to portray them as a gang of good friends who stick together no matter what.
FireShifter - EEEK! Quit reading my mind! :-D Two out of three of your theories are spot on - yes, Lucy cannot marry due to her position as Princess, and yes, she is also afraid of marriage in general. Even as a kid she's seen a lot of bad stuff in marriages due to her position, so she's generally wary of relationships. As for her parents… not quite. But there's a whole lotta sub-plot around that one, so I'm going to defer elaborating on that. As for Lucy being in denial about her feelings for Natsu - ABSOLUTELY. I feel like it's sort of a part of her character in the manga/anime too.
Anywho. Enjoy!
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"Monsters… I'm surrounded by monsters…" Lucy bleated weakly, her gaze fixed on a point in the distance.
Levy looked up from the book in her lap, a petulant pout on her dainty face.
"I'm not a monster, Lucy!"
Lucy broke her blank stare to turn to Levy, her eyes as wide as saucers, "I just don't know Levy-dear… If-if Mira could turn out to be one of them… then what is this mad world coming too?! Is anyone safe?! Are those of you with a speck of magic fated to become ferocious fighting monstrosities? Are the rest of us destined to be hapless, clueless casualties of all the silly skirmishes between you absurdly powerful and blissfully careless magical beasts!" Lucy raised her arms above her head in a dramatic gesture, as if invoking the heavens.
Levy simply rolled her eyes and returned to perusing her book, just as Cana slid into the seat beside them, beer mug in hand.
"Are ye still hung up on tha sweet lil tussle between red and ol Mira? If ya got roughed up a bit, twas yer fault, lassie. Why ya had to try ta break it up when it was gettin so good, I still can't understand…"
Lucy glared at the amused witch, her eye twitching. "Had I not stopped them, I doubt what little was left of the training grounds would have survived their onslaught, not to mention what remained of their audience. In fact, I deserve a medal of courage for saving the entire population of Fairy Tail, which would surely have been destroyed by those two Amazonian terrors!"
The battle between Erza and Mirajane had taken place the following day just as Mira had promised. Both teenage girls had fought ferociously, Lucy's awe of Mira's beautiful yet deadly demon transformation quickly turning to horror as she watched her and the scarlet terror battle with such intensity that even the surroundings suffered their wrath. One hour into their fierce scuffle - there was still no sign of it abating. Both girls looked just as energetic and focused as when they had just started. Deciding she (and the poor training grounds) had had enough, Lucy endeavored to intervene. She tried to reason with the dueling pair - only to be caught in their direct cross-fire for a few horrifying minutes. During that time, her person had miraculously been spared, but her dress had been reduced to scraps of cloth barely covering her unmentionables. Clinging to the last bits of measly garment that were slightly smoking (although for the life of her she couldn't understand how they had gotten burnt - neither of the combatants had been using fire) she screamed at the contrite adversaries, pointedly ignoring the snickers from the audience, especially the poorly-hidden snorts of a laughing dragon and his cat, and the bashful stammering of a blushing ice mage. She haughtily exited the stadium that day, vowing never to set foot in those accursed grounds again. Unless Erza made her train there, of course. Because not listening to Erza was a health hazard she was all too eager to avoid.
It was at that moment that a much meeker, subdued Erza slipped onto the bench opposite Lucy, an uncharacteristically sheepish smile on her face.
"Would you like some star-fruit bread, Milady?"
Lucy's imperious glare was undercut by her instinctive grab for her favorite food.
"You are not yet forgiven, Lady Erza…" Lucy took a bite of the soft, succulent bread and almost moaned in ecstasy. "Although this has bumped up your chances to 99% - who made this? It is absolutely divine!"
"That would be me." Mira slipped into the seat next to Erza, beaming fondly at the human girl. "Consider it our apology, Lucy, and as thanks for stepping in to halt our little scuffle. It has been such a long time since I've had such a challenging and fun fight - I guess I got a bit carried away…"
"YOU CALL THAT FIGHT JUST A BIT CARRIED AWAY?!"
"Oh yes." Mira continued cheerily, "You should've seen the battles Gildarts used to have with… well, anyone. He's one of the friendliest and easy-going of mages, but he's certainly not known for holding back in a fight - even a practice battle. I can't begin to count the number of times Master has had to rebuild the main building because he would get a little too enthusiastic during his training!"
"This man sounds… Intriguing." Erza said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, "Do you think he would allow me to spar with him next time he comes into town?"
"Ya wanna fight tha ol bag o bones?! Course ya can, sweetie!" Cana purred with a smirk on her face.
"Monsters… They're all monsters…" Lucy whispered faintly.
"We could challenge him together!" Mira cooed, clapping her hands in delight, "Why, we could even use this battle's outcome to decide the winner of our bet during the last one!" An evil glint shone in Mira's baby blue eyes, "Our last battle did end up in a tie after all… and I am ever so curious to know who makes you blush so prettily every time someone mentions the word romance…"
Erza's telltale blush appeared right on schedule, as she sat up a little straighter, regarding Mira with much more wariness than before.
"Err… I thought that condition was just in jest…"
"Oh, I never jest about my ships."
"Oh. Ships?!"
"Relationships." Cana shrugged, regarding her empty beer mug with a frown. "Mira's gotta hankerin for settin up every being she meets." Cana shot Mira a stern look, "Not the best way ta occupy er pretty lil head, but ta each er own, I guess…"
Mira rolled her eyes, "Oh Cana! That's quite hypocritical of you given the way you tease all our friends so relentlessly."
Cana sighed. "Why do I gotta explain this ta every bein?! I only tease 'em, no schemin or trickin involved! Not everyone gets a happily evah afta like yer brother Elfman and lil missy prissy green, so don go pushin yer luck…"
"Manly!" A tall, imposing young elf lad sat down at the table beside Mira, throwing a friendly nod to the rest of its occupants. His messy platinum white locks and baby blue eyes easily proved his northern origin and his shared blood with the beautiful Mirajane. "Thought I heard my name, so I wanted to see what you'd want with a real man!"
Mira giggled, affectionately patting her brother on the head, while the remaining members sighed.
"Doncha get yer breeches in a bunch, we didn call ya. We were jus discussin tha match tha red nd yer sistah wanna have with mah ol man."
"You're going to fight Gildarts?! Count me in! I owe him a thrashing for last time, anyway." Natsu bounded over to the table enthusiastically, yanking a blushing Lisanna behind him. Lucy pointedly looked away from the pair, opting to observe them discreetly from the corner of her eye instead. Natsu plopped down into the seat beside Lucy, dragging Lisanna right down beside him. With a mischievous wink at his pretty human friend, he reached over her to snag a spicy chicken leg from the untouched plate in front of the seemingly oblivious Levy - only to snap his hand back with a yelp and a whine, regarding his two singed fingers with petulance and curiosity.
"Concentrated lightning spell." Levy glanced at Lucy, a proud smirk on her face. "I've perfected it after my tiff with Gajeel."
"Oh. How amazing!" Lucy smiled, but couldn't quite hide the worry in her eyes. "But isn't it dangerous for you to be using script magic?"
Levy smiled back reassuringly, noting the concern in her friend's voice and gaze. "Not when I use it in very small amounts. At any rate, I feel it's probably better to get my body used to magic-use than to completely abstain from it in the hopes that it will delay my maturation. For whatever I opt to do, I will still mature into a full-fledged fairy someday! And I will be particularly useless in that scenario if I have no magical abilities…"
"Besides," Gray added with a smirk, settling down on the bench beside Cana, "A little bird told me Levy's getting private lessons from a certain ore dragon in the North - on how to cycle her powers to prevent them from burning her out faster when she uses 'em."
As one, the occupants of the table turned to look at Levy, whose complexion had instantly taken on the color of a ripe tomato.
"W-where did you hear t-that?" Levy stammered, becoming impossibly redder with each stuttered syllable.
"You don't deny it then?" Gray's smirk widened into a wicked grin.
Lucy took pity on her fairy friend, attempting to divert the group's attention as she addressed Gray with a kind smile. "Are you in touch with Gajeel, then? Or is this something you heard from one of your friends in the North?"
Gray's smile softened as he addressed Lucy. "Nay, the news comes from my father. He's the nosiest busy-body in all of the North, and he wrangled this tidbit out of Gajeel after that grumpy rust-bucket visited him a few times." He hesitated, his smile fading a bit as he continued, "My father wrote to remind me that my year here in Alagesia is almost over - I will have to return home soon, as I have many duties to catch up on."
Lucy's face fell. "Really? So soon? It feels as if you just joined us yesterday…"
Gray noted her downcast expression with mixed feelings - he felt a thrill of joy that she cared so much for his presence, but a pang of unhappiness that he would soon be the cause of her sadness.
A soft voice interrupted his reverie. "Mother and father received a letter as well." Wendy smiled at Gray as she too squeezed into a seat at the now crowded table, "And they've said they would like to write back to your father, asking for permission to allow you to stay here for a year more - you've been valuable in furthering brother's training, and we've loved having you here as a part of our family."
Natsu scoffed, looking up from Lisanna's gentle fussing over his singed digits. "I don't really agree with the family part but having you around to utterly decimate has been really useful! All the dragon hatchlings are either too scared or in awe of me to put up a real fight!"
"As far as I can recollect, ash face…" Gray growled, "I've defeated you almost every time we've fought, and the few times I've been too lazy to kick your sorry ass we've ended up in a draw."
Natsu leapt to his feet, his eyes blazing with excitement and a feral grin on his face.
"Your asking for a pummeling, freezer burn!"
"Not satisfied with the 254 times you've already lost, flame breath?"
"Are you two trying to initiate a fight?" Erza's stern voice boomed, as her ferocious glare reduced both males into puddles of terrified whimpers.
"NO, MA'AM"
"Good."
"So, are you staying then?" Levy suddenly piped up, closing her book and placing it lovingly on the bench beside her.
Gray blinked. "I… guess so. Once Wendy and the fire moron's parents have written to my father, I hope he'll allow me to stay a little longer."
"That's good." Levy nodded matter of factly. "Because there is someone you have to meet."
Gray frowned. "Who could I possibly…?"
"An old acquaintance of yours." Levy continued briskly, "I've recently had the pleasure of making their acquaintance, and they specifically requested a reunion with you." Levy raised a mocking brow. "That is, unless the prospect of meeting an old friend frightens you for some reason?"
Gray glanced in the direction of his fire dragon frenemy, who was looking far too interested in their exchange. "Go ahead and arrange a meeting, I'm not afraid of anyone."
"Perfect!" Levy chirped, a cat-caught-the-canary grin upon her face. She turned her attention to the rest of the crowded table. "Everyone else is welcome to tag along if they would like." She hesitated a moment, a faint blush creeping up her fair cheeks, "Gajeel will be there as well…"
"Hey, that metal moron is coming back to town?! He didn't even tell me, his own damn cousin!" Natsu whined, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest. Lucy rolled her eyes, as Lisanna rubbed his arm comfortingly.
"He didn't tell me either, brother." Wendy said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I overheard Uncle Metalicana complaining to mother that he barely corresponded with him either, as he was far too busy writing to…"
"As I was saying," Levy interrupted, hastily talking over a giggling Wendy, "Since a year has passed, Gajeel's banishment to the North is now over, and he will be returning home a few moons from now. Whomever wishes to join Gray and I, are more than welcome. Oh, there you are, Jet and Droy! I must take my leave of the rest of you, byeeeee…" And with that hasty farewell, Levy bounded out of her seat and lunged towards her startled pixie friends, dragging them unceremoniously out of the building.
Cana smirked. "Heh, I'll bet all ma life's savin's tha the ol metal monstah is gonna bond with our wee fairy gal when tha time's right…"
"I'll take that bet." Gray winked at Cana.
Cana shot him an amused glance. "Sure, hon. Jus put yer clothes back on first, ya perv."
With a yelp, Gray began his usual frantic search for his discarded garments, ignoring the good-natured heckling from the adjacent tables.
Mira sighed, a dreamy expression upon her face. "Levy and Gajeel… How utterly romantic!"
"Please sister, let them be. They will do fine on their own." Lisanna said with an anxious look at her sister.
"Oh, don't worry so much, Lisanna!" Mira chided gently, "Those two are well on their way to being a happy couple without my help! I certainly do not need to use my expertise there. There are others who are in need of my talents anyway…" Mira shot a pointed look at her blushing younger sister and a confused looking Natsu. As her gaze drifted to Lucy, her own teasing grin faded as she took in the human girl's cold and hardened gaze.
"Is everything alright, Milady?" Erza queried softly, noticing Lucy's tense figure as well.
"Absolutely fine." Lucy returned her friend's concerned gaze with a tight, forced smile, "Shall we leave, Erza? It is getting late, I do not wish to be tardy for supper."
"Hey! You can't leave just yet!" Natsu interrupted, "We've got a surprise for you!"
"I'll see it tomorrow morning, Natsu." Lucy snapped. She missed the hurt expression on her best friend's face as she hastily rose from her spot on the bench, gesturing for Erza to follow suit.
She paused when she felt Natsu's gentle, warm hand on her shoulder.
"I-It's not something you can see in the morning. You'll need to see it now. And… it's okay if you return a little late today, Erza said she's taken care of things for you back home."
"Aye," Erza offered eagerly, "I've arranged a diversion with Loke - he promised to make excuses for us missing supper and keep the others at home well-occupied until we return. You may take as long as you like to enjoy your… err… surprise."
"I was just helping Natsu and Happy with the finishing touches…" Lisanna interjected softly, "They've really put a lot of hard-work into it - we all have. We hope you'll like it…"
"Please Lucy?" Natsu wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, pulling her into a backward hug and nuzzling her neck. Lucy melted at the affectionate action, reaching behind herself to pat the dragon-boy's head resignedly.
"Very well, show me this surprise of yours."
Natsu let out an excited and jubilant roar, grabbing Lucy's hand and dragging the petite human girl out through Fairy Tail's imposing entrance.
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"Natsu, where are we going?" Lucy whined, hugging herself to keep warm in the cool night air.
Natsu did not respond as he studied a point in the night sky intently, waiting for something beyond Lucy's line of sight. A few moments later, he jumped up with a hoot, startling a nervous Lucy.
"That's Happy's signal! Let's go!"
"Go where-AAHHHHH" Lucy screamed as she was suddenly swept into the dragon's arms and into the cold night air, her own arms automatically wrapping around his strong neck and hanging on for dear life.
"WHY COULDN'T YOU WARN ME YOU WERE GOING TO FLY, YOU INSUFFERABLE DRAGON?!"
"Don't shout in my ear, Lucy!" Natsu winced, "It's rude…"
Lucy just glared back. "Says the dragon who snatched me up with no warning and is flying me to heaven-knows-where and good God are you kidnapping me?"
It was Natsu's turn to glare. "No, dummy. It's a part of the surprise, ok! So please, just hang on for a moment longer. You'll see what it is when we get there." With that, Natsu tightened his grip on her little form as she clung closer to him.
Just a few short seconds later, the pair alighted atop a flat-roofed tower, Lucy blinking a little to adjust to the dim moonlit scene before her.
"LUCY!" an excited voice cried from the center of the roof. Happy waved his little paws exuberantly, beckoning her and Natsu forward to join him on the tablecloth spread on the ground and held in place by a colorful picnic basket. Lucy's gaze roamed the roof as she walked towards the little Exceed, Natsu nervously observing her by her side. The roof her two friends had brought her too was decorated with stars and moons, an elaborate drawing of the night sky adorning the stone ground beneath their feet. There were three instruments lining the parapet walls, each a telescope of varying strength, and each already pointing to a section of stars in the clear moonlit sky. Lucy halted at the edge of the table cloth, her gaze dropping to her feet and her lips trembling. Natsu exchanged a panicked glance with Happy before he tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, Luce? Are you ok?"
When she didn't respond, he panicked further, launching into a hurried explanation.
"I'm sorry if this isn't to your liking - I just wanted to do something really nice and special for you, and this was the best I could think of! You see, I've read every single story you've ever written, and I've noticed that in every one of 'em you always manage to mention something about the stars… Heck, if you can't fit stars into the story, you just name one of your characters after them! I-I figured you did that because you liked them so much. So I thought you might like this place, it's got telescopes and everything! It's Fairy Tail's astronomy tower, but since practically no one really knows much about star-gazing and astronomy, it's not in the greatest shape… It took me and Happy and the other guys all these months to fix up even this much, and even now the stairs aren't completely done, so you'll have to ask one of us to fly you up here if you want to see something… But we won't mind! We'd love to come up here anytime you want! You've been so nice ever since you've joined Fairy Tail - I mean you were always nice, but I guess you've become even nicer now? - We've all been dragging you around, showing you the places that we liked, and you've just liked 'em all along with us! So, I wanted to find a place in Fairy Tail that you would like - a place that's special to you." Natsu stopped abruptly, gulping and looking down at his own fidgeting fingers. "But if it's not what you want, I completely understand, we can leave…" He was abruptly stopped again, this time by Lucy's fierce hug.
"Thank you, Natsu." She looked up at her dragon friend, her eyes glistening with unshed tears of joy. Natsu just gazed back, mesmerized by her expressive chocolate brown orbs and the deep affection and adoration he could see in them. "You are right. I love the stars. And this… this is the most amazing place I've ever seen in my life! I love it!" She gave a little trill of bliss and leaned forward again… to place a soft kiss on his scaled cheek. Natsu froze. Her simple action caused his chest to tighten and butterflies to erupt in his stomach. He gulped nervously and looked down at Lucy, but she had already released him and had picked up Happy, whirling the protesting cat around in circles, gleefully laughing all the while. Natsu watched the pair's antics, his gaze drawn to Lucy's lithe figure as she danced with carefree abandon. He felt the tightening in his chest increase and his breath catch.
Why had he never noticed before how beautiful she looked in the moonlight?