Red Gloved Hands Chapter 3, a fairy tail fanfic

Hey y'all, how you guys going? I'm going great you know, from all of your wonderful reviews! Wow, 14 reviews for only 2 chapters, I love you guys!

Here's a chapter to express my love.

Disclaimer: Access denied. Password incorrect. You are unable to accessFairy Tail ownership. YEAH…WELL…FUCK YOU TO! Stupid firewalls…passwords…I JUST WANT NALU! GIVE IT TO ME!

Warning: Eh, language

3rd Person P.O.V.

"Bye Lucy!" Wendy waved to the blonde-haired girl as she ran off to Fairy Hills with Carla. "Thank you so much for that job!"

Lucy stood up on her tiptoes and waved back enthusiastically. "Bye Wendy and Carla! We should do a job together another time!" The Celestial mage could vaguely see the blue-haired girl nodding in agreement before disappearing over the crest of a hill, accompanied by Carla.

"Wow that was a long day." Lucy stretched her arms above her head and sighed blissfully when her back popped. "But it's not over yet. I still have to go back to the guild and report the success to Mira." Lucy swung her arms to get them feeling fresh and set off towards the guild.

After a short walk that helped to relax Lucy, she made her way into the opened doors of her precious guild.

"Lu-chan!"

Lucy whirled at the sound of her name and came face to face with an excited, petite blue-haired girl. "Levy-chan!"

Levy gave the girl a fierce hug before stepping back to look at her good friend. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages Lu-chan! What have you been up to? Writing more chapters in your book hopefully." The girl gazed up at Lucy with hopeful eyes.

"Ah," Lucy scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Sorry Levy-chan, I've been so busy with jobs recently that I've had no time to write…I'm so sorry."

Levy looked slightly put out by the reply, but quickly flashed her friend a smile. "Ah well Lu-chan, I guess now that you'll have enough time to write your story. You have heaps of free time after those jobs. Right?"

Lucy opened her mouth to agree with Levy, but found herself hesitating, remembering what she promised herself. "No…Not really Levy-chan. I promised that I would train more, I don't have time to write stories if I want to get stronger." She grasped a disappointed Levy's' arm in an apologetic way. "I'm sorry Levy-chan."

Waving her arms around, Levy apologised right back to the Celestial mage. "No, it's my fault Lu-chan! I shouldn't be so demanding of you! You go get stronger! But, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're plenty strong right now." Levy hugged Lucy around the waist before stepping back and giving her a wave. "I'll see you later Lu-chan! I have some jobs to do of my own!"

"Bye Levy-chan!" Lucy watched with a smile as Levy skipped over to join her two teammates Jet and Droy, before they headed out of the guild. 'It's nice to know that someone believes in my capabilities…'

The smile didn't leave her face as Lucy wandered off to the bar to give Mirajane her report on finishing the job successfully. Mirajane would be so surprised. And hopefully proud.

"Hello Mira." Lucy slid onto her usual stool and leant forward on the table, cupping her face with – what she noted to be – gloved hands.

Mirajane gave a start at the sudden voice before whirling around to face Lucy. "Lucy?" Her eyes widened and she dropped the rag she had been wiping the bench top down with in order to grab the blondes' hands. "Lucy! Oh I've been worried sick! You're still bleeding! Oh my, we have to get this fixed right away!"

Lucy's' laugh made the white-haired girl pause her anxiety attack in order to reprimand her. "This is no time to laugh young girl. You have a serious injury that I only found out from Gajeel of all people! Why didn't you tell me?" Mirajane's blue eyes shone slightly as she leaned towards Lucy with a wounded look.

"Well I expected at least one Dragon Slayer to notice I had blood on me," Lucy nonchalantly replied as she propped herself up on one elbow. "Though I'm also surprised that it was Gajeel."

"There better not be an insult in that bunny girl!"

"Sorry Gajeel!" Lucy waved her free arm in the air without turning from Mirajane. "No offence meant to be given!"

"Damn straight there shouldn't be!"

"Lucy," warned Mirajane. "Stop avoiding the question." She crossed her arms under her bust and looked down at the girl with what she hoped to be a somewhat scary expression. "Tell me why and how you got blood on yourself. Natsu said you two have been having a fight."

Lucy wilted at the last comment. "U-uh, yeah. I guess you could call it a fight. We had an argument at my place and I got really angry at him by the end, so I started throwing stuff at him to get him out of my apartment faster. When he finally left, I guess I got so angry that I shattered the lamp I held in my hand." Lucy waved her hands reassuringly at Mirajane's horrified expression. "There were no metal bits in my skin or anything and it's already healed Mira! You don't need to worry. Although…" The blonde tapped her lip with her free hand thoughtfully. "I do need a new lamp now…"

Her mental tirade on what lamp she should get was interrupted by a short gasp from Mirajane. "Lucy! How on Earthland do you manage to break a metal lamp?!"

The blonde paused before shrugging. "I'm not sure Mira. But that doesn't matter right now." The girl stood up from her chair and did a victorious pose. "We have completed the job and I got paid the full amount of money! How cool is that? It's the first time that's ever happened!"

Soothed slightly by Lucy's happy attitude, Mirajane giggled at the girls' enthusiasm and obligingly pulled out the job book which they wrote the jobs and whether they were completed or not. "So you, Juvia and Wendy split the reward between the three of you?"

"Not really." Lucy plopped back down onto the stool and resumed her earlier pose of propping herself up with one arm. "We also split it with another freelance mage called Jessie. She's really cool and helped us out, so we first split the money with her and then split our ways." The girl laughed at her own joke before signing her name under the job she completed. "Well Mira, I'm going to head home for a nice bath and a snack, beating up dark mages works up a girls hunger." Lucy winked at the mage before getting up and heading off to the exit of the guild.

"Bye Lucy." Mirajane waved back to the girl as she left, but paused when the girl did. "Lucy?"

"Shit!" Lucy sprinted back the way she came and dove over the bench top of the bar. "I was never here Mira, okay? I haven't come back from my job yet!"

"What on Earthland…" Mirajane looked down at the girl that was squeezing herself into a gap in the supplies stacked under the bar at her feet before looking back up at the guild entrance. "Oh…"

A familiar group of hair colours were making their way towards her. Pink, navy and red in respective order.

Mirajane put a smile on her face as Team Natsu approached the bar after returning from the job they had taken earlier on in the day. The one where they had to deal with a rogue Vulcan terrifying a nearby town if she remembered correctly.

"Hello Natsu, Gray and Erza." Mirajane beamed at them as Lucy clutched at her feet when she was in danger of falling out of her hiding spot. "Was your job okay?"

"Quite." Erza nodded to the barmaid before sitting down at a stool, Gray and Natsu sitting either side of her. "We only destroyed two houses this time."

"And whose fault was that…?" Muttered Natsu from her left.

Erza's fist shot out and nailed a swift – yet powerful – punch on the side of his head, effectively knocking him out of his stool.

Mirajane put on a giggle and covered her mouth. "Master will not be pleased about this."

Gray went to answer Mirajane, but found himself rudely interrupted by a suddenly worked up Natsu.

"Has Lucy come back yet?!"

Mirajane could feel Lucy's hands tighten around her ankles in an almost painful matter. The barmaid suddenly didn't have as many doubts as to whether or not the seemingly weak girl could shatter a lamp. "Not yet Natsu. I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later. She'll be fine though, she has Juvia, Wendy and Carla with her. They'll keep one another safe."

Natsu clenched the bench top with his hands before slumping back into his stool. "I just really want to apologise to her, you know?"

Lucy's hands doubled the strength in their grip and it took all of Mirajane's willpower not to wince.

"Well flamebrain," Gray said in a dangerous tone. "Maybe if you weren't so much of an ass, Lucy would've been on that job with us."

Natsu instantly pushed his stool up and leant across Erza to growl into Gray's face. "Do you wanna say that again you wet puddle?!"

Gray's stool toppled to the ground as he too stood up. "I'll say it however many times it takes to get through your thick skull! You said total ass comments to Lucy and I bet she's not too happy with you right now. I swear to god Natsu," Gray leaned in closer with a serious expression on his face. "If she hates us too, you're a dead man."

A low rumbling noise came from the back of Natsu's throat, startling Gray as he had never heard his Nakama make such a noise.

"Enough." Erza's powerful voice halted the two males. "Do you really think arguing like a bunch of little boys is going to help this situation in any way? Both of you shut up and go sort out your differences elsewhere." Erza's sharp brown eyes fixed onto Natsu's onyx ones. "But Natsu, if you have hurt Lucy in any way I will punish you as I see fit."

Gray nodded his assent on the topic and turned to leave. "Just find Lucy soon and apologise to her you dolt. She's precious to more people than just you, do you realise this?" His dark eyes bore into Natsu's before he left the guild, picking up his discarded shirt as he went.

"I agree with Gray on this matter." Erza stood up as well and nodded at Mirajane as she did so. "Think over what you have done Natsu, think over it well." The Re-quip mages' red hair swung as she turned and followed her teammate out of the guild.

Natsu stared after them for a moment before slumping down on his stool and slamming his head onto the bench top, startling a wound up Lucy who was right under him.

"Ow," Mirajane hissed quietly as Lucy's hands tightened again from her surprise.

Natsu lifted his head to stare at Mirajane with something akin to suspicion. "Are you alright Mira?"

The barmaid put on a smile and nodded vigorously. "I'm fine Natsu. Just…stubbed my toe against the bar." The girl broke off into nervous laughter that left Natsu only more suspicious.

"Mirajane." Natsu's voice took on a growling quality. "What are you hiding? You're a terrible liar you know that?"

Instantly going on the defensive, Mirajane answered much too quickly. "Like you can talk Natsu! Everyone can tell when you're lying!"

Now the Dragon Slayer was really suspicious. He took a whiff of the air around him, trying to sense if the girl was really lying on not. What he got was a definite lie and the scent of vanilla.

His eyes widened and he glared at Mirajane. "Lucy has been here!" He smelt the air again and stood up. "And she's still here!"

Underneath the bar, Lucy was strangely reminded of the ending of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Was she Goldilocks? Tearing away from the scene as quickly as she could?

A creaking noise echoed from above her and Lucy let go of Mirajane's feet in order to squish herself even more between two wine crates. Holding her breath and hoping that Natsu wouldn't find her, Lucy found her hopes dashed when a nauseatingly familiar shade of pink hung in front of her.

Natsu stared at her with wide onyx eyes as his scarf dangled past his waving pink hair. "Lucy…"

"I'm sorry Lucy." The blonde could hear Mirajane's apologetic voice echoed from to her left as the barmaid moved away from what was almost guaranteed to be a big scene. "He got past me."

"Luce…" Natsu's hand inched towards her, but almost instantly went back to Natsu's side when Lucys' teeth sunk into it. "Ouch Lucy! What the heck was that for?!"

Lucy didn't reply, only pushing herself further into the corner of her hidey-hole. Why couldn't she go intangible or something?! Celestial magic was useless in a situation like this!

Natsu's upside-down face righted itself as he flipped over the bench top and crouched in front of the hidey-hole Lucy had managed to squeeze into. "C'mon Lucy, I just want to say that I'm sorry. What more can I do?!"

'Either than letting me be alone at this moment…?' The thought crossed Lucy's mind before the blonde just shook her head and tucked the appendage under her arm, she didn't want to see his face.

"Oh, so now I get the silent treatment?!"

Natsu now sounded angry. As angry as he had been on the night in her apartment. When he had told Lucy that she was useless.

"That's real great Lucy! Real mature! You're always telling me to act my age, so why don't you act like it for once?"

Lucy bit her lip as she struggled to stay silent. She could feel Natsu's gaze boring into her and anger beginning to make itself known in her gut, but she managed to ignore both with a Herculean effort.

"Just leave her alone Natsu." Mirajane's voice came from Lucy's right now. "Don't you know that she just wants to be alone to sort this out?"

Natsu didn't reply to Mirajane with words, instead, a low growl escaped his throat again.

Lucy was flinching slightly from his anger filled words and especially from the growling sound that frightened her, but she absolutely freaked when Natsu's hand touched her on the leg.

Almost out of instinct, Lucy's foot lashed out in a solid kick that landed straight into Natsu's face, stunning him momentarily. Lucy took advantage of this and darted out from her hidey-hole, vaulting over the bench top and beginning to run away from the confrontation that she didn't want.

"LUCY!"

The strangely silent guild rung with Natsu's shout and Lucy just doubled her pace in answer, making it out of the doors before Natsu could even stand up.

She made to go to her apartment, but decided against that, Natsu was probably thinking she would go there. So where should she go?

The large building atop of one of Magnolias' many hills caught her attention as she ran and she took a hard left down a street to run towards it. Fairy Hills was where most of the females from the guild lived and they had a no-male policy there. Surely Erza or Wendy would let her stay the night.

Her breath was rasping in her chest when she finally made it to the top, her legs not faltering their almost sprinting pace. A brief thought of why Natsu didn't just sniff her out crossed her mind, but the thought deserted her when she tripped over.

Arms flailing, Lucy hit the ground and just lay there, panting and sniffling through her exhaustion and misery.

"Lucy? What the fuck are you doing here? And looked so rough too. Is it not your day?"

The blonde lifted her head to see an arm being offered to her. She grabbed it and let herself be pulled upright, brushing down her outfit when she was steady. Looking at her saviours face, she offered a watery smile. "Hello Cana, I could ask you the same question. I know you have your own place, so why are you up here?"

Cana quirked an eyebrow at the blonde who was wiping her tears away. "Sweetheart, that doesn't matter until we get you fixed up. C'mon up, I was going to grab some more booze, but that can wait. I wanna know why you are turning up on Fairy Hills' steps crying your eyes out and running like a ghost is after you."

A weak laugh escaped Lucy's lips at Cana's twist on her situation. "Sure Cana, do you have your own room?"

"Nah." The alcoholic grabbed Lucy's wrist and began to pull her through the lobby and up a flight of stairs. "I'm actually crashing with good ol' Erza right now. My plumbing broke and flooded my whole house. Erza was kind enough to give me accommodation while it's being fixed." Pulling a key from her long black pants, Cana opened a door and pushed it open. "Now that I've told my story, you can tell me yours."

Lucy was unable to reply at the moment, her mouth was currently occupied with gawking at scene she was met with. "Is this Erza's place?"

"Hm?" Cana turned to face the stationary girl before following her gaze to the contents of the room. "Oh yeah," a smirk appeared on her face when she looked at the nearby by bunny outfit. "This is Erza's apartment. She's demolished two rooms in order to have enough room for all of her…Re-quip outfits. Cool isn't it?"

Lucy could only gape some more at the scene. "D-does she have an actual apartment? You know, to sleep and stuff?"

Taking out an emergency flask from her blue side bag, Cana popped it open and sculled some before answering. "She does, it's over here. Come and tell me your story Lucy, I'm sure it'll be interesting." The brunette didn't wait for Lucy's answer before wandering over to a small area down the lengthy room that contained a kitchen, bathroom, couches and a bed.

Cana quickly dibbed the bed by sprawling out across its length, sipping at the alcohol in her hand. Lucy followed at a more cautious pace, taking a seat on one of the nearby couches.

"So Lucy-chan," Cana sat upright and quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "Are you gonna tell me what happened or am I going to have to torture it out of you?"

A small smile crossed Lucy's face and she relaxed at Cana's casual attitude. Taking a deep breath, she launched into an explanation of how she and Natsu had been fighting, and that she wanted to become stronger to show him, and herself, that she wasn't a weak little princess. The explanation drew to a close when Lucy told Cana of the incident at the guild just before that made her run away.

"Okay, first of all," Cana took another sip of her alcohol with a contemplative look on her face. "You probably shouldn't have run. If you want to be stronger and show Natsu that you are, then you've got to show him who's boss! So next time you see him, act like he's not there, or get a better attitude about it. Maybe go for the whole, 'I'm fearless' look. Hmm…doesn't work so well on you…maybe…"

"I know that I probably shouldn't have run," Lucy fidgeted on the couch. "But do you reckon someone will let me stay here for a while? Just one night I mean! Until I know Natsu won't be jumping through my window and stuff just to-"

"Oh ho!" Cana leant forward with a perverse look on her face. "Mister Natsu, sneaking in your windows at night! This is just too good." Her eyebrows wiggled at a blushing Lucy. "So do you do the dirty deed at night when he comes or what?"

"Oh my god Cana!" Lucy jumped up and waved her hands frantically in denial. "It's nothing like that at all! He just climbs through my window and I occasionally wake up to find him in my bed sleeping."

"Nothing like that?!" Cana doubled over with laughter. "It sounds exactly like that! Little Lucy-chan all grown up and finding her own man! Tell me," the brunettes' perverse grin didn't falter once. "Is he a hot little dragon in bed? I bet that-"

"La la la la!" Lucy shouted and covered her ears with her hands. "I can't hear you! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"And now Lucy-chan's swearing," Cana commented to the air. "What has the world come to?"

Lucy looked at the girl warily before uncovering her ears. "Are you going to stop now Cana?"

"Well," Cana tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I was going to ask you if his inhumane stamina was good in be-"

"AHH!" Lucy let out a scream and tackled Cana onto the bed. "Shut up Cana!"

The brunette just laughed and began to wrestle the blonde. "Natsu and Lucy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Second comes marriage! Third comes the baby Dragon Slayer in a fire-proof carriage!"

Lucy moaned and slapped Cana's arm as she sat up. "You're so mean!"

Cana just continued to laugh as she sat up. "Well your wrestling's pretty weak; you didn't even knock my booze once!" The brunette tilted her head back and drank some of her alcohol in order to prove her point.

Suddenly, the bottle was flung out of her hands and smashed on the floorboards when Lucy defiantly slapped the hand holding it. "Now we're even."

There was a moment of silence as Cana stared disbelievingly at the smashed bottle of her precious nectar that could've lasted her roughly another hour. "Did you…What the…" She looked up at Lucy before screaming and tackling her back into the bed. "Revenge will be mine!"

"No Cana no!" Any further protests by Lucy were drowned out the scuffle that followed. The scuffle contained several traces of tickling, laughter and screaming that may cause the participants and any spectators some symptoms such as; more laughter, phantom tickle pain and painful ringing located in the Inner ear. It's advisable that you see a doctor if the symptoms continue.

The two fighting girls were so loud that they didn't hear the door be unlocked or opened by the owner of the place they were fighting in.

Erza took in the strange scene of what looked to be two girls fighting on her bed. After trying to make out who they were for a moment, Erza finally realised it was Cana and Lucy when Lucy pinned Cana down in order to tickle her.

"Say uncle!" Lucy's fingers wiggled unsympathetically against a laughing Cana's side.

"N-never!" Cana managed to gasp between laughs.

"You're going to say it sooner or later!" Lucy made a move to begin more vigorous tickling, but found herself suddenly picked up and crushed against a metal wall. "Gah!"

"Lucy!" Erza hugged the blonde to her breastplate in a solemn hug. "You can punish me in any way that you see fit! Natsu should've never said such a thing and I hold myself responsible as I was the one who educated him when he was younger." Erza placed the blonde on the ground before standing back and scrunching her face up. "You may punch me in the face Lucy, I deserve it."

At first, Lucy was flustered because she had seemingly just been picked up and hugged by a stranger – and for one scary moment she had thought it was Natsu. But when her assailant began to speak, she relaxed at the deep and familiar female tones. When Erza placed her back at the ground and asked Lucy to punch her, she instantly began to protest against such an action.

"No Erza! I would never punch you!" Lucy grimaced at the thought of such a thing. "It's not your fault at all! It's just me and Natsu having a fight, okay?"

Erza opened one brown eye and stared down at Lucy, "but I insist that you punish me for my actions of not helping you!"

'She's starting to sound like Virgo…' An image of Lucy's wayward spirit came into mind, asking about punishment, but she quickly banished the thought. "I'm not doing it and that's final Erza!" She turned her head away and defiantly crossed her arms to emphasise her point.

A loud crashing noise sounded from behind her and Lucy turned to see Erza shakily giving her a thumbs up as she held her stomach before she collapsed to the ground unconscious. "Honestly…" Lucy shook her head in fond exasperation. "All of my friends are so weird."

"You better not be counting me in that" Cana said from her place on the bed. "'Cause I'm really quite normal."

"Says the alcoholic," retorted Lucy as she began to struggle to lift Erza up onto her couch. "Erza weighs so much with this stupid armour!"

"Hey!" Came an indignant reply. "This is coming from the chick with the knack of her clothes mysteriously going missing, almost as much as Gray."

Lucy pouted as Cana brought up the several instances where her clothes were torn to shreds, stolen by Natsu, or changed by some sort of fun machine in Edolas. "Shut up Cana." She finally hefted Erza onto the couch and stood back, panting slightly. "That would've gone so much easier if Erza didn't wear all that armour."

"Maybe your little girl arms can't take the strain," snickered Cana.

"Aw shut up you," Lucy replied playfully as she sat down next to Cana. "What do you want to do while we wait for Erza to wake up?"

Cana shrugged before pulling some cards from her blue bag. "Go Fish?"

Lucy looked at her in confusion. "I thought your cards were reading cards? Like you know, mystical cards that should be respected."

The brunette shrugged in answer again. "I also have regular cards."

Lucy couldn't really find a problem with that and agreed. Soon the cards were dealt and they began to play.

"Do you have any sevens?"

"Go Fish."

A low groan brought the two card playing girls – they were now playing Gin Rummy – to a slowly awakening Erza.

"My dear Erza." Cana grinned down at the now open brown eyes of Erza. "How was your nap? It lasted long enough that you could almost count it as a beauty sleep. Not that you need it…"

The red head blinked as she sat up, "I beg your pardon, I shouldn't have knocked myself unconscious, I have left you without a host and for that, I'm truly sorry."

"Calm down Erza," laughed Lucy. "You don't need to stress out so much."

"Lucy!" Erza quickly stood up and grasped Lucy's hands with her own gauntleted pair. "I apologise for Natsu's behaviour! It is repuls-"

"Erza." Lucy patted the girl on the shoulder and shoved Cana over so that the older girl could sit down on the bed. "You don't need to apologise for that – as Gray eloquently put it – dolt. He was just angry at me and I was angry at him…I take full responsibility as I started the fight."

"Oooh~" Cana leant in close to the blonde. "What 'cha say to him to get him angry? You didn't tell me the stuff you said in your explanation."

"Yes Lucy," Erza crossed her arms expectantly. "Natsu told Gray and I that you were fighting, but I am curious as to what you were fighting about."

"They were having a lovers' spat~" Sung Cana.

Lucy shoved the girl again as her face turned red. "S-shut up!" She calmed slightly and turned to Erza to answer her question. "I may have…told Natsu that I didn't need him saving me all the time. I accused him of thinking I was weak and that I wasn't some princess that needed him to take the hits for me…" The blush was back on her face by the end out of sheer embarrassment at what she had said.

"And how did Natsu reply?" Erza asked.

"Um…" Lucy began to fidget again. "He may have said…thatIalwaysneededprotectingandthatIwouldbedeadwithouthim!"

"He said WHAT!" Erza stood up angrily. "Did he seriously say that you would be dead without him?!"

"Woah," Cana shook her head disapprovingly. "Not a good way to work your way into a woman's heart by saying that she could've died if you weren't holding her hand. Smooth move Natsu. Smooth move…"

"I shall avenge you Lucy!" A glow surrounded Erza's hands and disappeared to show a long sword grasped in her right hand. "I shall smite him where he stands!"

"Are we back in the olden times…?" Cana looked around for any carts or horses before deciding that Erza was just mad. Well, actually, this was no madder than usual for the Re-quip mage.

"No Erza!" Lucy grabbed the girls' arms and tugged her back down to sit, but not without some resistance. "I was just wondering…maybe someone here could let me stay a while. Just until Natsu and I cool down a bit. He'll just follow me back to my place, but here it's a no-male rule, so he won't be allowed in."

The sword disappeared from Erza's hands and she nodded in agreement. "That is quite alright Lucy. I agree that it is a sound plan and I am more than happy to let you stay here."

"Oi oi!" Cana grabbed Erza's arm. "What about me?! There's only one futon and it's mine."

"You shall stay here Cana, Lucy and I shall just share my bed." Erza looked across to Lucy for agreement. "We have done it many times, have we not?"

Supressing the shiver that wanted to work its way up her spine at Erza's scary look, Lucy had to nod. It wasn't because Erza was being scary – though Lucy wasn't saying that she wasn't! – But it was logical. "Erza and I can share Cana, we've done it several times like Erza said."

Memories of Erza's adventures of breaking into her apartment and sleeping in her bed with her came unbidden into her mind, but Lucy shrugged them off. Although it could be irritating sometimes that people broke into her apartment, Lucy had to confess that when Erza stayed, it was quite nice. The red head would also be so anxious and shy about finding out what girls' did at sleepovers, and Lucy would gladly do the girls hair or nails. It was one of the rare times that Lucy felt like she was the older sister, rather than Erza always being the confident and older girl.

"Okay," Cana looked at them suspiciously, "if you're alright with that."

A jaw-breaking yawn decided to escape Lucy's lips conveniently at that moment and Erza looked at her with alarm. "We must get you some food and then get you to bed! I've heard that fighting can be stressful for the body…!" The girl stood up and began to rummage through her cupboards in order to find food.

"Let me do that Erza." Lucy stood up and took some ingredients from Erza's arms. "I'll do this in payment for letting me stay here."

"But…" Erza looked at her in bafflement.

"Just let her Erza." Cana stretched out on the bed and put her arms behind her head comfortably. "If you've tasted Lucy's food, you wouldn't be disagreeing."

Said blondes' face lit up as she busied herself with preparing the food.

"You're right there Cana." Erza went and sat down on her couch with a sense of regal grace. "I have tasted Lucy's food and have found it rather good."

Lucy rolled her eyes at Erza's comment. The girl hadn't just tasted Lucy's cooking before, Lucy often found herself cooking for her teammates when they broke into her apartment. She loved her teammates, really, but they could barely cook a meal that passed as a meal. Natsu just lit something on fire and ate it. Gray just froze food solid. And Erza was more often eating sweets than cooking real food, but when she did, something usually caught fire. And it wasn't because of Natsu.

"I'm cool with this set up." Commented Cana as Lucy finished making the food and placed it down on Erza's dinner table. "Three meals a day for free and a great place to sleep. Awesome."

Lucy smiled at the brunettes comments. Why wasn't she better friends with Cana? Or heck, anybody else in her guild? It was like it was only Team Natsu and no one else. But Lucy had made a promise to herself, and damn straight she was going to fulfil it!

"So Cana," Lucy tapped her fork on her plate. "What do you do either than drinking?"

Cana smirked before wrapping her arms behind her neck. "Well Lucy-chan…"

By the time Lucy crawled into Erza's bed alongside the red head, her face was flushed from embarrassment, mortification and laughter. Also, maybe some of the booze that Cana had seemingly pulled from nowhere might have something to do with it.

Snuggling into a soft pillow, Lucy began to relax and drift off to sleep. Tonight had been great with Erza and Cana. Both of the girls had some funny stories to tell and some great ones from when they were younger. Cana had managed to produce a couple of pictures of some of the guild members when they were younger and that prompted Erza to bring out a scrapbook filled with photos of her time at the guild. The book had guaranteed laughs from all of the girls and Lucy had enjoyed looking at the adorable – and incredibly younger – pictures of her Nakama.

Her personal favourite had to be of the picture of a younger Cana trying to handle a keg. The girl had nearly been crushed under the weight of the mammoth barrel.

Erza's preferred one was pretty funny as well though. It showed her basically drowning a young Natsu in order to clean him as they bathed, Gray trying to creep away while she wasn't looking.

The blondes' eyes fluttered once before she succumbed to closing her eyes fully. A brief though of what her ex-partner was doing crossed her mind, but was drowned out by the fuzziness that came with the nearness of sleep. A smile adorned her face as she fell asleep, next to her good friend and near another hopefully good friend.

The moon shone down mockingly onto the blue ribbon that was held in scarred hands.

Natsu twisted the flimsy thing around his fingers as he perched on Lucy's bed. He stared out across Magnolia as he waited for his best friend to return. But somehow, he knew that she just wasn't going to return that night. Or even the next night…

A sigh escaped the Dragon Slayers' lips as he continued to twist one of Lucy's favourite ribbons around. She hadn't been wearing it recently, she had taken to wearing those gloves that reeked of her own blood. Natsu didn't understand why his favourite blonde was changing, but he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

Tugging on the ribbon in his distress, Natsu froze when a ripping sound echoed around the empty room. Looking down to see a shredded ribbon in his hands, Natsu couldn't help but let a low sound escape his throat.

"I always destroy everything I touch…" Natsu held the ribbon tighter in his hands in his anger. "Why do I…?" Flames licked at his fingers and he quickly dropped the ribbon in surprise as it caught fire.

The scraps of flaming blue cloth got caught in the wind and began to float out of Lucy's window and into the starry night that Lucy loved so much. Natsu's eyes followed the small flames away from the window, not faltering until they fizzled out.

The boy dropped his head and tugged his scarf to cover the lower part of his face. He continued to sit cross-legged on Lucy's bed long into the night, not moving a muscle the whole while. Only one thought beat a taboo against his brain the entire night.

What if I've destroyed mine and Lucy's friendship? What if it's gone up in smoke like everything I touch?

Ugh, so filler and melodramatic. Not one of my better chapters really, but I hope the characters were at least not too OOC. 'Cause that is one thing I rather dislike. Natsu is seeming a little more mature right now, but that's only because he's fighting with his favourite blonde. He's also being an angsty teenager, what is the world coming to?!

Anyway, ciao my friends and I hope to see you soon.