December 13th

On a rooftop in Manhattan, a lone figure stood gazing out at the twinkling view of New York City, her scarlet hair whipping out behind her as a breeze snaked up and between the buildings. Erza had been occupying the building's penthouse apartment for the past three months. Her time in the city had left her unimpressed. The closely packed skyscrapers glinted in the daylight and shone at night, making it a maze of stone and mirrors. A maze where those rat-like mafia dogs skirted in and out. This wasn't her first time in New York City. She visited often, walking through this maze to pluck out one rat after another. However, it felt like no matter how many times she visited, the number of those rats grew and the harder it was to find them.

Will this ever end? She thought, sighing, her breath visible in the cold air.

In her hand, Erza gripped the organization-issued cell phone tightly. She had just received the latest report on their most pressing assignment. Listening to the report had sent her blood boiling. Everyone at the organization had all worked so hard, but had it all been for nothing? The need to calm herself had sent Erza to the cold rooftop without even her coat, lest she start taking her wrath out on the rat's nest and blow her cover. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out, letting the cold air fill her lungs and soothe her growing anger.

"Erza."

A warm touch caressed her shoulder, brushing her scarlet hair aside.

"Jellal." The second she felt his presence, the tension in her body lifted, her eyes softened, and her scowl disappeared. Erza turned her head up to meet his gaze. He stood behind her, looking down at her with concern.

"Put this on." He opened a coat he held in front of him. "Even you can't beat a cold."

"Watch me," she challenged, turning around and giving him her best warrior's face. The wind picked up, sending more chilly gusts to circle them. Erza shivered, breaking her demeanor, rubbing her arms. Her sweater wasn't much in means of armor.

"Come here," Jellal called to her softly, a warm smile on his lips. Erza let him help her into the coat, thankful for its warmth, but it was only when Jellal wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into his embrace did she feel truly warm. "Better?"

"Always."

He held her quietly for a few moments, the two of them looking out at the city. She felt his arms tense slightly around her, as if he was reluctant to disturb this moment, but she knew the organization had contacted him with the details of the report too. They were members of the organization first. Lovers second. Erza closed her eyes to shut out the view of the city. No matter what darkness she travelled into, Jellal would always be there with her and she with him. This time would be no different.

When Erza opened her eyes again, they narrowed into a glare. She stepped out of Jellal's embrace, ending their moment of peace. Another breeze sent her scarlet locks dancing around her shoulders again when Erza turned to face him; his gaze was as hard as hers.

"It's as we feared."

December 15th

Three months. That's how long it had taken Natsu to complete his mission. Three months of lurking in some of the darkest parts of the Mafia Underworld for what? Absolutely nothing. He didn't understand the organization's leaders. They had used his contract to force him to spend all that time away on a whim. He couldn't even begin to contain his anger. After giving his last weekly report, a bunch of jumbled nonsense like usual, he was told four days later that he was deactivated, meaning he was free to go.

"Ugh!" Natsu hit the tiled wall of his shower as his anger flared up again. The tile cracked, and a smear of blood dripped away. The sting of hot water hitting the wound and the broken tile didn't even bother him. All of that was mild compared to his first explosion of anger after realizing how much time the organization had made him waste. Natsu was pretty sure he had terrorized the small village he was in when he first got the news.

A noise from the other room alerted him. Natsu landed in London twenty minutes ago in order to pick something up and take a much needed shower to wash the filth of travel off him. There shouldn't be anyone else in his flat, but he heard someone shuffling.

God, help whoever thought it wise to rob me. He smiled to himself, happy there was someone so foolish. It meant his anger could have a little more time to play. Natsu turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, eager to greet his guest. It was only when he heard the distinct sound of the wine cooler opening that he stopped himself from opening the bathroom door. That sound alone told him exactly who had paid him an unexpected visit. It wasn't a thief, but Natsu knew he was being robbed. He rolled his eyes and grumbled some obscene things under his breath as he reached for a towel. His anger wasn't going to have any more fun.

Padding across his bedroom to his closet, Natsu dried himself off, tossing the towel on the ground along with the articles of dirty clothing he had peeled off ten minutes earlier. Grabbing clothes, all black, he dressed his barely-dried body quickly.

There was a button hidden underneath the lip of the island in his closet. Natsu pressed it, and the wall full of sweaters and shirts slid away to reveal a hidden room full of weapons. He grabbed a small, black case before pressing the button again to close the wall. He flipped open the case after undoing the clasps to check the contents. Inside were two guns, six rounds of ammunition, leather gloves, a burner, and a hand knife.

"That should be fine," Natsu noted, closing the case again. It was a short ride between here and the airport. The contents of the case should suffice; he was creative enough if they weren't.

Making his way to the back of his closet, Natsu flipped the corner of the rug to the side with his foot and bent down. There was a barely recognizable eyelet in the dark wooden floor. He placed his pointer finger over it, feeling the prick as the hidden scanner took a blood sample to identify him. A panel slid away, revealing a small velvet box. Natsu stared at the box as flashes of a memory seized his thoughts.

Do you know what a man's greatest treasure is? he remembered his father—his birth father—asking him.

"You're out of wine," his sister, Cana, called out as she entered his bedroom.

Natsu reached in and grabbed the box, the panel closing after he retracted his hand. He flipped the rug back into place, shoving the box in his pocket right as Cana appeared, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe and sipping from the full glass of wine she held in her hand. Natsu spared her a glance, just thankful Cana had the grace to use a glass instead of drinking straight from a bottle this time; usually, she didn't bother. It had been a while since they had last seen each other in person, but she looked pretty much the same. Cana was a tall, tanned woman with dark brown hair that stopped midway down her back, matching dark eyes, and an ample figure which was currently dressed in a cream colored sweater dress, and brown knee-high boots.

"I wonder whose fault that is," Natsu muttered as he grabbed a new black duffle bag from one of the top shelves, stuffing the case into it first.

"Yours, naturally." Cana grinned. "It's alright, though. You can just buy more after we go out to dinner."

"And that's after I buy all the wine you'll drink during dinner, right?" Natsu asked, though he already knew the answer. Cana just grinned wider. "Has anyone ever told you there's such a thing as drinking too much?" he joked with his sister.

"No, never." Tipping the glass to her lips, Cana drained the rest of her drink.

"Clearly." Natsu laughed, shaking his head. "I'll take you out next time, Cana. I have a flight to catch."

"Always on the go, little bro." Cana sighed, stepping further into the room, maneuvering around the cluttered mess he was creating on the floor as he packed. Natsu prickled a bit at her 'little bro' comment. Cana was only a few months older than him, yet she liked to remind him constantly of that. When they were younger, it used to be the cause of a lot of their arguments, but he didn't want to waste time debating it now. The sooner he was packed, the sooner he could be on a plane which meant the sooner he could see Lucy. "Where are you off to now?"

"New York."

"Did you get Dad's messages?" The empty wine glass twirled in her hands until she set it down on the island.

"Yeah, I got them."

Cana drank from a flask she had retrieved from her boot. "So then why are you going to New York? The Redfoxes are with our dads in the Alps this year for Christmas. I'll be heading there in a few days myself." She rummaged through his clothes as she spoke, frowning at the section of colored clothing with tags on them.

"Reasons." He didn't look, but he could practically feel Cana roll her eyes at his response.

"Levy did say she and Gajeel would be coming after Christmas…" Cana turned around holding up one of his many black shirts. "Are you really going to be that person and third wheel on the newlyweds' first Christmas together?"

"I'm not going to see them," Natsu said, making a mental note to change the locks to his flat. Again.

"Oh?"

The second the words were out, Natsu regretted them. He inwardly groaned, feeling his sister's heightened attention on him now. He had to change the subject and keep her from asking questions he would rather not answer.

"So why are you here?" Natsu asked.

"I had a feeling you would be here, so I decided to stop by and hang around before going on holiday." Cana shrugged. He would have found the comment strange if it had been anyone beside his sister. She had an intuitiveness about members of their family, always knowing generally where they all were.

"And I'm glad I did. You know, I had an interesting conversation with Mira a few days ago." She put down the shirt she was holding. "I took her out for drinks to see how she's been doing."

Natsu stopped what he was doing and looked at his sister, who was smirking at him. The only Mira she could be referring to was Mirajane Strauss. She and her younger siblings were friends of theirs. It just so happened that Mira was also Natsu's accountant. She was the one that handled all of his financial statements, including the payments he received from his most notorious clients. Her discretion and ability to manage the web of accounts he possessed displayed her brilliance with numbers. Mira's only flaw just so happened to be Cana's strength: alcohol.

"You know how Mira is, such a lightweight. It's so funny how a sweet person can turn into an angry drunk. She was mad at Elfman for not telling her about his new girlfriend and at Lisanna for bringing home even more stray animals instead of a man… And then she got to you." Cana's eyes glittered from excitement. "She was ranting about the headache you caused her over some damages done to a hotel room you booked in Italy this summer."

"Accidents happen."

"$300,000 in damages is an accident?"

Remembering what he actually did to the hotel room, the number seemed rather low. Natsu shrugged. It was probably thanks to Mira that was the case. "Like I said, accidents happen."

Cana rolled her eyes again and took another drink. "She said it was a honeymoon suite too."

"It was the only room available." He sighed. "So what's your point? I don't question you about where you sleep at."

"Do you want to know? Those are some interesting stories." Cana swished the contents of her flask around, grinning.

"Don't be gross." Natsu rolled his eyes at her. She loved to tease him.

"The real interesting news," his sister continued, ignoring him, "came when she started ranting about the time you called her in the middle of the night so she could wire a large amount of money for a Manhattan apartment."

"Mira needs to stop talking to you," Natsu grumbled.

"But I asked myself, 'Is Mira really talking about my little brother?' The same Natsu who hates New York and only visits to see the Redfoxes or for work?" Cana shook her head in mock disbelief. "Mira had to be mistaken because you swore you would never live in a place where the people were outnumbered by the rats. That's why you stay at Gajeel's place instead of getting a hotel room or getting a small apartment of your own."

What Cana was saying was true—at one point in time. New York hadn't been his number one place to visit. His visits were always brief on purpose. The city was a maze of dirty gray buildings to him. There were only a few redeeming qualities at best but nothing significant to warrant moving there permanently. That was what Natsu had thought—before he had met Lucy that is.

Suddenly, the city looked different. The gray masses had a certain splendor to them that hadn't been there before. Especially, if he thought Lucy would be in one of them. There were more attractive qualities he hadn't noticed, or maybe he never paid attention to them. New York didn't feel so insufferable anymore.

"So, little brother," Cana took another drink from her flask. "I want to meet her."

"Meet who?" Natsu asked tightly while tossing clothes unceremoniously into his duffle bag. Drunk Mira was causing him the headache now. How did Cana know just when to get his accountant drunk? Even though speaking to Cana about his financial affairs was breaking a confidentiality agreement, Natsu couldn't really blame Mira. Cana was a persuasive drunk. He had seen her in action before. Many of the homes she had all around the world were a result of her drunken talents.

"Don't play dumb." Cana crossed her arms. "Mira told me enough details that I know you weren't in that honeymoon suite alone. And I know there's no way in hell you would buy a Manhattan apartment just to be closer to Gajeel. There's only one reason for all this strange activity of yours. Who is she?"

"You're too loud. Let it go." Natsu brushed off her question, walking around his closet to gather more clothes, shoes, and other necessities for his trip. There was no way he was planning on telling Cana about Lucy. His sister was impulsive. She would fly to New York, and Natsu wouldn't know peace again. Although, he feared that thought had already crossed her mind from how she was speaking.

"Yeah. Not gonna happen, especially since you're taking that with you," his sister said, pointing to the pocket he had shoved the velvet box in earlier.

Natsu went rigid for a moment. Damnit. She saw.

"Why are you still here?" Natsu went back to packing but this time with added haste.

"Because you're planning on giving that to someone, and I want to know who she is. Or is that for a man?"

"Who said I'm planning on giving that to anyone?"

"Hmmm?" Cana stepped closer, smirking at him as she took another swig from her flask. "Little brother, did you forget you can't lie to your big sister? You are planning on giving this to someone. It's written all over your face."

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "I'm not telling you anything. The second I do you'll go bother her—"

"So it is for a girl!" Cana's eyes widened as she stepped back, a smile replacing her smirk.

Damnit! Natsu cursed his slip-up.

"Wait until I tell our dads. And Gajeel…" Cana's eyes took on a devilish glint. "He owes me a pretty penny."

"I don't have time for this." Natsu zipped up his duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder, making his way to the living room with Cana at his heels.

"Come on, Natsu." Cana grabbed his arm to stop him. "I'm just happy for you. I know we don't talk about the past—"

"So don't," he cut her off. Any mention of the past always made him tense up. Turning around, he saw that Cana was trying to give him her version of an apologetic smile. He sighed, letting his annoyance drop away. "Sorry, Cana."

"It's okay," she shrugged off his apology, taking a long drink from the flask before tucking it back into her boot. "I just know what that means to you. So she's pretty special, right?"

"Special?" A smile stretched across his face when he thought of Lucy. Natsu pulled out the box and stared down at it.

Do you know what a man's greatest treasure is? his dad's voice echoed in his head again. He tucked the box back in his pocket, having finally found his answer.

"Yeah, she is."

Natsu had thought about calling Lucy to let her know he was back in New York but had decided it was better to surprise her. He stood outside her apartment door, his heart hammering in his chest, the velvet box feeling heavy in his pocket.

Why am I nervous? Natsu shoved the key into the lock and twisted it.

"Lu-" He began to call out her name as he opened the door and then stopped. It was in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, which meant Lucy would be at the office. She wouldn't be at home. It had been nearly three months, what was a few more hours of waiting?

The door fully opened to the familiar sight of her living room. He closed the door behind him, taking everything in. It was just like he remembered. The only changes were the Christmas decorations thrown up around the area. He walked further into the living room and paused. Lucy wasn't at the office like he had thought. Lucy was standing right there. Her back was to him, but she wasn't alone. There was a man standing in front of her. Natsu watched as the man gripped the sides of Lucy's arms and leaned forward.

Natsu reacted.

He dropped his bag and lunged for the man, pulling him away from Lucy before he could hurt her. Slamming the man's back against the nearest wall, one of Natsu's hands clutched the man's shirt as he balled his other hand into a fist and aimed it at the man's shocked face.

"Natsu, stop!" Lucy grabbed his elbow to stop him from throwing the punch.

"Don't worry, Lucy." He kept his eyes on the man, glaring at the stranger. "I won't let him hurt you."

"No," Lucy pleaded, "don't hurt him."

Natsu turned his head toward her then. He was confused. This person was clearly about to attack her, so why was she concerned about Natsu hurting him?

"Lucy." He lowered his fist, slowly. A terrible feeling started forming in the pit of his stomach. "Who is he?"

Had he misread the situation? The man was just a coworker, right? He was definitely one of her employees. They were just working on some project together; Natsu knew how much of a workaholic Lucy was. The guy had just lost his balance and grabbed hold of her, or maybe he was a friend―someone who needed a place to stay while touring the city. Or was he a family member? A cousin, perhaps? That would explain the concern in her eyes. That would explain why Lucy didn't want Natsu to hurt him.

"He's…" She looked down, unable to meet his gaze. Why did that action make Natsu's heart constrict? "Loke is…"

The man, Loke, smacked Natsu's hand aside before straightening his shirt. Loke glared at Natsu, shoving him aside as he stepped in front of Lucy.

"I'm her husband. Who the hell are you?"