Hello, my pretties. Here's a really long chapter that I normally would split into three but I really wanted to post something in honor of Pradesh week even though I wasn't participating. Then work and grad school stuff happened.

I own nothing. I'm kinda glad for that though. Copyright issues with my own stuff is a big enough migraine.

Cristoff was walking away from the lab where he'd been helping some lunar mages, already planning on going to the school's pools to relax. Maybe enjoy some time with an attendant.

It wasn't uncommon for him to be asked to help with certain spell at the Acadame. As the lunar dragon slayer, his brand of lunar magic was more powerful than an average mage. The researchers would call on him if a spell wasn't working to see if he could cast it. Typically, if he couldn't cast it, that meant there was something wrong within the parameters of the spell. When that happened, like today, he'd stay at the Acadame to help out until he was needed elsewhere.

On his way down the familiar hallway, he'd heard humming in one of the libraries. It was the smallest of the three libraries and of the times that he'd been at the Acadame, he couldn't remember anyone being in that particular library. Also, when he'd paused, he noticed how his inner dragon seemed to perk up at the soft sound.

This time, he heard muttering.

"Damn library built for tall people and fucking heavy ladders and-" The expletive-laced rants made him laugh as his inner dragon seemed curious of the person saying them.

He didn't like the smell of the room. It was warded with special air purification to protect the ancient books held in that library. Those wards were why these books were housed separately.

The sound of the door opening surprised Lucy enough to jump slightly in her already precarious position leaning too far to the right on the ladder.

"Shit," she cursed, instinctively closing her eyes and hoping all those fights made her immune to the damage the unforgiving floor would cause. She cracked open an eye when she realized that she'd fallen into arms that were definitely larger than Loke's. Confirming that thought was the handsome face that she vaguely recognized from Sorcerer Weekly.

"If I'm dead, this isn't a half-bad heaven," she said, looking into the midnight blue eyes that reminded her of Draco's scales.

"You're not dead," Cristoff replied.

"Oh. Then it's probably okay for you to put me down."

"Right." He set her down, surprised at his own flustered reaction to her. She was beautiful, but it was her scent that was baffling. She smelled like stardust, like all celestial mages, and strawberries. The stardust smelled distinctive. Unique enough to stand alone amongst the stardust around the school.

"Thank you for that. Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Cristoff Pradesh." He shook her hand, noting the pink fairy still residing on it.

"As in Arman Pradesh?"

"You know my father."

"He did some business with mine. Or rather my father tried to do business with him. I don't think he liked him. Then again, I'm not sure many people actually liked him after Mama died. Your brothers were the only non-vile potential husbands my father ever offered. I'm rambling. Sorry."

"It's fine. Here, let me get the book down for you."

The book was on a high enough shelf that even he, at 6'4", had to step onto the ladder to retrieve it. The Language of Ancient Celestials.

"This doesn't look like light reading."

"It's not. Thanks."

She was already flipping through the book and ignoring his presence. That wasn't a reaction he was used to. While he'd seen the blush when she'd realized that he'd caught her, she overall was nonplussed by him. Most Fioran women that he'd met were easily twitterpated by him. His brother's teammate being one of the exceptions.

"You're not a student, are you?" he asked, almost more to himself than to her. Her tan shorts and red tank top were already not typical Boscan clothing. Nor were they the blue and silvers that were mandatory of Acadame students.

"Uh no. I'm more of a researcher," she answered absently as she walked over to a table covered by books and scraps of paper.

He could appreciate when someone was busy and let himself out. Once out the door, he heard her sigh and repeatedly beat her head on the table.

"Virgo, next time, dig me a hole please," she muttered. He didn't smell a second person, so he guessed that she was speaking to her keys.

Using his comm, he called his brother as he headed to the bathhouse. "Hey, Bix. You know someone named Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Cosplayer? Yeah."

"She's at the Acadame Celestine. She'd also probably appreciate Freed's help."

"Oo. I'll be there tomorrow."

-oOo-

Lucy glanced up when someone entered the library. For two weeks, no one had bothered her. Now, for two days, people kept interrupting her peace. It took a moment for the two faces to process.

"Bickslow!" she squealed, launching herself and nearly knocking him over with her exuberant hug. "Freed!" She turned her attention to the green haired man. "What are you doing here?"

"I was born here. What are you doing here?" Bickslow retorted.

"You're Boscan?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Yeah."

"How did you know I was here?"

"You met my brother yesterday. He saw your guildmark."

Lucy's eyes widened. There had only been one new face. "You're a Pradesh? Did I know that?"

Bickslow laughed. "Don't know. Did you?"

"I don't think I did. I'm sorry."

"No worries. I didn't really throw around my last name at the guild."

While they were talking, Freed had wandered over the table and was glancing through her haphazard notes. "You're looking for keys?"

"Yeah." She launched into a tirade about the lost keys and her search for information about them. As she and Freed are swapping ideas, Cristoff slipped into the room.

"What's with you?" Bickslow asked in a low voice.

"I don't know. My dragon acts weird around her."

Bickslow arched an eyebrow. "Is she your mate?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. It's almost like-" Cristoff trailed off.

"Like?"

"Like the first time I met Laxus. She feels… familiar." Speaking up, Cristoff asked, "Have you tried journals?"

"What?" Lucy said, looking at Cristoff.

"They keep the journals of old celestial mages and professors and such in this room. Have you tried to look at them?"

"Yeah. The only problem is that they're in one of the half-dozen variations of Old Boscan," Lucy said. "I learned Boscan as child but not any of the old languages."

"Well take what you need and let's go," Bickslow said. He gave Freed a confused look when the man made a sound like a cross between a scandalized squeak and gasp.

"The books in this room are ancient and are protected from the humidity of the Grass Sea," Lucy said, moving as if to protect them from her friend.

"I've got a better idea. Many of them, if not all, have probably been archived. You might even be able to find translations in the Pelerno archives," Cristoff said. "You should come with us."

"Where?"

"Home, Cosplayer," Bickslow said, guessing where Cristoff meant to go.

Lucy rubbed the guildmark on her hand. The valley with Draco had been home. Magnolia had been home. She wasn't sure how she felt about another 'home.' However, the dorms were noisy and crowded. And since she hadn't taken any jobs in a while, she didn't have the money to afford a place in town.

"Yeah. Okay."

-

The Pradesh Manor was every bit the large, sophisticated home that she'd imagined. It wasn't over the top like Konzern had been. It was stone, though, as they drove up, the differences in the stone showed where additions had been made as the family grew. It didn't have the gaudy statues and pillars, instead it had a simple staircase leading to two large wooden doors.

Inside, the foyer was small and quickly opened into a sitting room that was a mixture of formal while still looking comfortable. She imagined that there was a second room somewhere in the house where the family sat to be relaxed.

"Dad, we're here," Cristoff said when they entered. It wasn't overly loud, and Lucy had to remind herself that Arman was a sound mage and probably heard them from the moment the car had pulled into the driveway.

Arman Pradesh was every bit the figure she'd read about and remembered. As a Heartfilia, her father had insisted that she learn about all of the ambassadors on the Ishgar peninsula. Her father even ranked them in importance.

Arman ranked high in importance, but Jude also thought him a sap. However, Lucy had admired how he'd adopted children in memory of his wife. It was only with the perspective of age that she recognized the similarities in how each man loved their wives.

She'd met him, briefly, when she was fifteen. It was after runaway attempt number two. Her father had not been foolish enough not to recognize the timing between the marriage interview and her escape attempt. The Pradesh boys were near her in age and a trainline between Fiore and Bosco would be financially advantageous.

"Hello," Arman greeted, kissing her knuckles. Even without her saying so, he knew who she was. She looked too much like the portrait of her mother in her father's office not to be the Heartfilia child.

"Hello. I'm Lucy Heartfilia. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"We met briefly before." Arman gestured for them to sit. His statement had the rapt attention of his children who hadn't known that.

"Yes. You pissed my father off. It was rather impressive."

"How long after that did you run away again?"

"Successfully? Six months. Thank you for sending me Pyxis."

She saw the twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes confirming that she'd guessed right. The silver key had been sent anonymously and had been secreted to her by one of the maids before her father had found out. She'd waited for a few months, was on her best behavior, waiting for her father to give her an opening to run again.

"No idea what you're talking about."

"Maybe not, but I'm curious," Bickslow said, looking between his father and friend. "Come on, Cosplayer."

"My father tried to arrange a marriage between me and one of your brothers. Your father didn't approve. My father is very loud when he's angry. But it's damnedest thing, about a month later, I got Pyxis the Compass in mail."

"Gotta save 'em all," Cristoff said.

"Jude might have mentioned that his daughter was a celestial mage in his pitch. And I might have been in a store, saw the key, and remembered wishing there was something that I could do to help Lucy. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything technically illegal about trying to arrange marriages for business reasons."

"Like I said, thank you."

Arman nodded, letting the subject drop. "To what do I owe the pleasure of the company."

"We were looking for Farron actually," Cristoff said.

"I'm looking for the Ptolemaic Royalty keys. Except all of the primary sources are in Old Boscan and I can't read it. They said that Farron would likely be able to translate it for me."

"Oh, I'm sure he could, but I think I can do you one better."

Arman stood and led the group down the hall to his study. It was much like her father's office with floor to ceiling bookshelves and a large desk. However, she could see the differences. There were pieces of childhood artwork tucked amongst the books as well as at least a dozen pictures of the family.

For a moment, he hesitated in front of a second set of doors before opening them. Behind her, Bickslow and Cristoff both gasped. Neither had seen the doors opened before.

"This was Ganier's study. She was looking for those keys as well. After Farron was born, she decided that bringing the baby back and forth to and from Ceillis was too much.

"The only reason I entertained your father's offer was because you were a Heartfilia. However, I wasn't going to force my sons to marry someone that they didn't know. And when I offered to let you stay for a while… Well I'm not going to repeat what your father said about Boscan sexuality.

"We met while she was following a lead on the location of the keys. I hated the idea of her giving up her goals, so I had all of the books copied and she did most of the translations. Farron went through a period that he wanted to continue his mother's work, so the rest of the translations were his."

"Why didn't he?" Cristoff asked.

"He came to agree with his mother's hypothesis that only a female celestial wizard could find the keys. That it was part of the enchantment that Anna Heartfilia had put in place."

Lucy, who had been silent and a little in awe of the room, turned to Arman. "Thank you. This can't be easy for you."

"Actually, it is. She wouldn't want her research to go to waste. Though," he said, pretending that it was an afterthought, "if you married one of our sons then the keys would definitely stay in the family."

Lucy glanced at Cristoff and flushed red. "Let's shelf that idea."

"That's better than a no. Anyways, since I knew three of my children would be here, I called the rest. Emzadi is still on a job and Xally has a patient in surgery and wants to wait until he's out. But Kaleb and Vander will be here."

"I also called Laxus and Evergreen," Bickslow added.

Arman glanced at Lucy who he could hear had tuned them out and was already debating where to start first. "Go," he said gently, nudging her to the door. "Dinner's at seven. I'll have someone get you."

Her face lit up with a smile and she immediately went to work. Watching her immediately go to work already had him debating offering her a job as his assistant.

Yes, he mused. There's a lot of ways to keep her in Bosco.

-

Kaleb's favorite part about going home was not needing to entirely shut off his magic. Instead, his family's thoughts were a faint hum in the background that was almost as comforting as simply being home.

Laxus and Evergreen had just beaten him there and were already conspiring with Bickslow on the best way to surprise Lucy. Mr. Elan was cooking, excited for a new person to impress. His father was working though Kaleb could also hear the side thoughts of him considering who was best suited for the celestial mage. It was Cristoff's thoughts that were the strangest.

His brother was in the sitting room across the hall from the office that Lucy was in. When Kaleb arrived in the doorway, Cristoff had a book in his lap as if he intended to pretend to read instead of glare.

"Is there a particular reason your glaring that hard?" he asked. He could poke into his surface thoughts but preferred to avoid doing that to family. Kaleb sat down across from his brother and pulled his gaze away from the wall.

"Lucy Heartfilia."

"I'm aware of our new guest. You should hear dad's thoughts on the matter. What I'm failing to understand is this reaction to her. It isn't like you."

"My dragon reacts to her."

Kaleb's eyes widened. "As in she's your mate?"

"No. I don't know. It's never happened. The closest comparison is when Em was brought home and I met Laxus. It was like kin but not."

"Have you thought to ask Laxus about it?"

"Didn't he just get here with Evergreen?"

"Now's as good a time as any."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"Yeah. Dad asked me to get one of the tablets from the guild. He figures it'll make her research easier."

"All right. There's something off about her. Bickslow vouches for her. And I can see how she is around Freed. But-" Cristoff trailed with a series of incoherent grumbles.

Kaleb chuckled. Bickslow's feelings towards the girl were somewhere between brotherly and wishing they didn't have such a sibling relationship.

There was an entrance from the hall to the study where Lucy was, but he decided to go into his father's office instead. His father was working in the main living room, trying to give her time to adapt. It also allowed him a moment to silently observe her.

Her surface thoughts surprised him. She was making both a mental and physical annotated bibliography as she quickly skimmed through books with her wind reader glasses. The only people he'd ever known to think this way was Farron and Freed. If they weren't already in a relationship, she'd have given Freed a run for his money as far as attracting his brother.

It took him a moment to realize that she was doing that because she entirely expected them to kick her out, so she wanted to have a narrowed down list of pertinent books to revisit and translate.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"Shit!" she squealed, jumping and dropping the book as she turned to look at the man.

Holy powdered donut… she thought. Her eyes roved over Kaleb's impressive form. Like his brother, Cristoff, he was tall and muscular. His long, white-blond hair was loosely braided over his shoulder. She didn't think she had a thing for lavender eyes but looking into his definitely made her question that assumption.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, appreciating the view she provided. However, he vaguely remembered Evergreen thinking something similar about him the first time they met.

Evergreen, what's the significance of being called a 'powdered donut'? he asked, keeping his family from being privy to his question. That didn't stop her bark of laughter followed by confusion from her team.

"No. It's fine. You know, you were the cause of a riot at Sorcerer Weekly," Lucy said, picking up and mentally apologizing to the book.

I'm guessing you're with Lucy.

Yes.

A lot of alcohol during a girls' night led to creation of a ranking system of sexiness. 'Powdered donut' is the highest.

"How so?" he asked, a hint of a smile curling his lips.

"Just after I started, they were doing a special on you and White Sea. There was a fight over who would go."

"You didn't participate."

"I'd just started as a model."

"That, I would like to see," a voice said, soon accompanied by a body stepping out of the shadows with a lecherous smile that part of her recognized from Bickslow.

"Lucy kick!" she yelled, shifting away enough to get enough space for a decent side kick. He flew, disappeared into the shadows before crashing into a wall and appearing behind Kaleb.

"That is an impressive kick," the shadow mage said.

"This is my brother, Vander," Kaleb supplied.

Is this whole family full of powdered donuts? she thought, ogling the man with leather that looked painted on. He had wine-colored eyes that nearly matched the streak of red in his black hair. Built more like Bickslow, he was tall and lithe with impressively fast reflexes.

Can I get a cavity from all of them being hot? If I can, can Cristoff fix it or would that just cause more trouble?

She glanced at Kaleb who was doing a poor job of concealing his amusement. Wasn't he some sort of telepath?

He nodded. She let a long string of curses then hid her thoughts behind elevator music. That, he acknowledged, was impressive.

"I brought this to help with your research," Kaleb said, pulling out the tablet from his bag. The distrust in her brown eyes as she glanced between the device and his face didn't seem congruent with the stories Bickslow told him.

"Why?"

"It's connected to the archives as well as you'd be able to reach out to other script mages within White Sea for help."

"That's very kind, but I think I'll pass."

Kaleb stepped closer to her, ignoring his little brother's squawk of warning. "Lucy, no one's going to kick you out. You're welcome here for as long as you wish. Longer, if you offer Dad grandbabies. Preferably not donuts."

Lucy smacked his arm but what he found curious was the way that her muscles flexed, showing that she pulled back at last second.

"I'm assuming it's dinner time, right?"

"Almost." Kaleb stepped past her to leave the tablet on the tablet before walking back out to lead her to the dining room.

She's an interesting one, Vander thought, trailing behind Lucy and sending Kaleb his view of her butt.

Kaleb stored the image away before doing a deeper dive into her mind. As a general rule, he avoided going deeper than temporary thoughts as they flitted across the mind.

Most people's minds were organized like a warehouse full of boxes. Sometimes they were neatly shelved and labeled. Other times, it was a haphazard mess.

Emzadi's was a massive closet with hangers holding most memories while dragons protected the dressers. Cristoff's was the clearing where he'd grown up with Nurem but Kaleb imagined with more rocks. Farron's was a library. Kaleb avoided Vander's who had somehow designed his mental palace to look like a carnival, complete with clowns.

Lucy's was a street lined with shops. It was crowded with people and as he tried to move around them, he realized that each person was a thought that she was suppressing to keep him out of her mind.

Color me impressed, he mused.

"Hey, Blondie," Laxus greeted.

Lucy let out a shriek of excitement that reverberated through her mind and forced him out temporarily. After giving him a hug, she kicked him into a wall.

"What the fuck was that for?" Laxus demanded. Lucy ignored him to gush over how good Evergreen looked in her Boscan outfit.

"What was that for?" Laxus repeated, standing over Lucy as if she could be intimidated. When she whirled around with her hands on her hips, it was apparent that she wasn't impressed with the static around him.

"That was for shocking Mia when she tried to ask about you joining White Sea. It sure as hell wasn't her fault that one of the biggest teams in Fairy Tail moving to Bosco is kind of a big deal."

"Whatever," Laxus said, grumbling and moving to sulk in a chair.

"Um, hello. It seems like I'm the last one you've met."

Lucy had never met Farron but he'd been featured prominently in her lessons when he became an ambassador at such a young age. He'd also been her father's preference as a Pradesh suitor. Like his brothers, he was tall but leaner like Vander. His mahogany hair was long and braided and his baby blue eyes watched her curiously.

"Hi. Sorry about that but he kinda deserved it."

"Stay on her good side, Bro," Bickslow said in a faux-whisper.

"Bixy," she said in a honeyed voice that made the seith mage nervous.

"Yeah…" he said slowly as a decorative pillow, expertly aimed, hit him in the face.

"We need to play discus together," Vander said.

"I'm not playing against her," Bickslow said.

As the conversation devolved into an arguing match over teams that Lucy hadn't agreed to, Kaleb started to go back into her mental palace. Since she was no longer actively trying to keep him out of her mind, the street was less crowded.

She'd noticed how close Farron and Freed were sitting. From what his father had said about hers, he'd expected some condemnation. Instead she was mildly surprised that Freed had it in him to get over Laxus.

Once he'd gotten past the crowded streets, he realized that her mind was exceptionally organized for being over active. The shops represented different memories like a bookstore for all the books she'd read. Fairy Tail had darkened windows from her trying to suppress her thoughts concerning her guild. Even the store front concerning her family seemed to be in better condition.

One shop gave him pause. It was boarded up like when a new business moved into a storefront but didn't want anyone to know what they were doing inside. Kaleb reached for the door only to find it locked.

Lucy jumped. She'd settled on the couch between Evergreen and Bickslow.

"Are you all right?" Evergreen asked.

"Yeah."

That's not very polite, she thought, knowing that the mindbender would hear her.

Just curious. Though the fact that you could sense me in your mind palace is impressive.

Then just ask.

What's hiding in there?

Ask anything but that.

While both Lucy and Kaleb were engaged in the conversation, Farron could hear the faint whispers of the mental conversation. Not enough to distinguish words but enough to know it was happening. He made a mental note to ask Kaleb about it later.

"Dinner's ready," Arman said, pausing to look between Lucy, Cristoff, and Kaleb. As the group moved into the dining room, he grabbed his two sons and whispered, "Don't go scaring her off. I have plans for her."

Is Dad planning on staging his own version of The Bachelorette with us? Cristoff asked Kaleb.

Yup.

Great…