~Lucy~

I hate mornings. They're the worst. This particular morning, however, wasn't so bad. When I finally cracked my eyes open, fighting against the sleepiness, I saw Val. He was curled up in the crook of my arm, his tiny arms wrapped around me. His eyes were shut tight and he was making small mumbling sounds.

I wanted to stay like that for a long time, but I knew I couldn't. We had to get to the guild, so staying in my apartment all morning wasn't an option. I gently shook my arm to try and wake Val up, "Val." He sighed deeply, but didn't move.

"Val, we have to get back to the guild soon," I whispered to him. A thought occurred to me, "If you don't wake up now I'll kiss you."

His eyes slowly opened and then he whispered back, "I don't really mind."

I laughed, "You're so adorable."

"I'm also sleepy," he replied.

"It makes sense that you're tired after everything that's happened to you. Tell you what, if we get to the guild soon we can have a delicious breakfast that Mira will cook for us," I said, tapping his nose. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He nodded and then stood up on my bed. He stretched his arms above his head and then let them drop to his sides. His eyes drooped and he started to fall over again. I quickly caught him and swept him into my arms.

"Don't pass out on me now, buddy," I said, standing up, "I need to get changed. Do you have any other clothes?"

"I've only worn these my entire life," he mumbled as I set him down on the bed. His eyes closed but he stayed sitting up. I quickly got changed, not really worried that I was changed in front of a little kid.

"We'll have to get you some," I said, yanking my hoodie over my head. I combed my hair quickly and then kneeled beside my bed, "You ready to go?"

He nodded without opening his eyes and slumped against my shoulder, wrapping his arms around my neck. I smiled and picked him up off of the bed. He was pretty light, but part of that had to do with his size. I grabbed my celestial keys on the way on and hooked them onto my belt. I shut the door behind me and turned to leave.

"Oh, my!" squealed a voice. I'd almost bumped directly into the landlady.

"I'm sorry!" I said immediately. Val didn't pick his head up off of my shoulder.

My landlady stared at me for a few seconds and then stared at Val. Her eyes flicked back up towards me, "Since when did you have a child?"

"Oh, he's not mine!" I said immediately, my face flushing.

"Yes, I am!" Val insisted, tightening his grip around my neck.

"Well…is he or isn't he?" she demanded. She leaned forward expectantly.

"Uh…" I started. Val wasn't really my kid, but I didn't want to explain that to her or to him.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter," said the landlady, stalking off. I headed down the stairs, glad that she hadn't pressed me any further for answers. Once outside I shut the door with my foot, not willing to take my arms off of Val.

"Lucy, I know you're not my real mom…" said Val, hiding his face from me.

"W-What?" I asked, shocked at his sudden confession.

"I…I've never had a mom, though, so I've never known what it's like," he said, still not looking at me. I kissed his cheek and his head snapped towards me, his eyes wide. He clapped a hand to where I'd kissed him.

"I promise that I won't leave you ever," I said, smiling at him.

I wasn't ready for what he did next. He leaned forward slightly and planted a kiss on my cheek, returning the favor. When he pulled away his cheeks were bright pink, "I won't leave you, either. I promise!" He stuck out his pinky and I hooked mine around it, supporting him with one arm.

"We'll be the best of friends, alright?" I asked, heading towards the guild.

"Alright," he replied. He was smiling bashfully. He seemed pretty awake now, so I asked, "Do you feel like walking on your own?"

"I don't walk that often, actually," he said, squiggling out of my arms. I freaked out when he broke free from my grasp because I thought he was about to fall on his head. Instead, he floated up gently into the air. He did a few 360's and then drifted down beside me. I was staring at him, "You can fly?"

He nodded, "For as long as I can remember!"

"We'll talk more about this when we get to the guild. You may be very special, Val," I said, starting to walk again. It took me a moment to shake off the amazement. Val can fly?

"Lucy, wait!" Val whined. He'd been stopping every five feet to stare at things. Apparently he'd never seen a dog before. He was fascinated by it until it started barking. He'd yelped and slammed into my chest, wrapping himself tightly around my torso.

I sighed, glad that we'd finally arrived at the guild, "We're here, Val. Come on." I wasn't annoyed that he'd been inspecting every building we passed by…more like I was worried that I'd turn around and he'd be gone.

"We're here!" I called, swinging the door open. Natsu bounded towards me, "Where's the kid?"

"I'm not a kid!" Val said indignantly, floating in above my head. He drifted to the ground and wrapped his arms around my leg.

"How did you sleep?" Erza asked, leaning down a bit.

"Really well! Lucy is comfy," he said with delight.

"Nice, buddy. Scoring a night with Lucy the first day you met her," said Grey, fist-bumping Val.

"Thanks! But…I don't get it," said Val, looking confused.

"He's talking about—" started Natsu, but I shut him up with a punch in the arm. "What is wrong with you?" I hissed. Val floated up beside us, "What is Gray talking about?

"Nothing," I replied, smiling. He looked like he wanted to protest, but instead just nodded. He latched onto me again. He was pretty clingy, but what did I expect? He had just lost a close friend.

"Where's the master?" I asked Erza.

"Right over there," she said, gesturing to the bar where the master was sitting in a meditative position. I raised an eyebrow and heads towards him. I stopped short when I heard Val yelp. I whirled around, on high alert, but tried not to laugh when I saw what had happened. Val was sitting on the floor, staring up at Gajeel. Gajeel grunted as he leaned menacingly over Val.

"Wait, Val…he's not a bad gu—" I began, but my words were cut off when I had the wind knocked out of me. Val had rocketed into my chest, causing me to lose my balance and fall backwards. I flailed about, trying to stay upright, but it didn't work.

"Luce!" Natsu yelled. He sprinted forward, running full-speed towards us. I was suddenly stopped by something hard…but it definitely wasn't the floor. It wasn't Natsu, either. He was still a few yards away. I looked up hesitantly, my arms wrapped tightly around Val who was sobbing.

"Blondie," Laxus said, his deep voice reverberating in his chest and therefore my back, which was pressed against his rock-hard abs.

"Thanks?" I squeaked. He grinned down at me. I smiled nervously, my face heating up. He pushed me upright and away from his chest. I couldn't help but feel a little cold. I looked down and saw Val who was still shaking and crying. I pet his head, "Hey, Val. It's ok. You're safe. I'm right here. Gajeel isn't scary…he's one of my friends."

He looked up at me with his adorable tear-stained face, "He is scary!"

"Thanks," grumbled Gajeel, sauntering past, a nail hanging from his mouth.

"Gajeel, say you're sorry," I insisted, staring him down. He sat down on a barstool.

"Add a 'no' to my previous statement," he grumbled, picking up his drink. I frowned and looked back to Val, "Ok, so maybe he's not nice, but he's not a bad guy, alright?"

Val nodded as I wiped his tears away. "Man, you two sure have gotten close," said Natsu, striding over to us.

"That's because I love Lucy," Val said, hugging me tighter, "And she's really pretty."

I smiled, "Awww…thanks."

He nodded and kissed my cheek, resting his head on my collarbone. Natsu looked a little angry, "Yeah, well she's part of my team…not yours." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I slept with her!" Val shot back, "I bet you haven't done that!" I felt my face heat up at the thought. Natsu reeled backwards, his face also bright red. I heard Laxus chuckle a little. "I saved her life…like, a lot of times!" Natsu argued, leaning forward.

"I kiss her, too!" he said a pecked my cheek again.

"Yeah, well just because I haven't done it doesn't mean I don't wa—" Natsu started.

"Be quiet, Natsu," commanded a voice.

"But this kid—" Natsu whined.

"He's the child…not you," said the Master, stepping down from the bar. I set Val down beside me and he grabbed my boot. He huddled close to my shin. The Master strode towards Val, "You're Val, right?" The Master whipped out his best friendly smile.

Val eased up, "Yeah. I'm Val."

"Pleased to meet'cha!" said the Master, grinning. Val smiled a little and stepped forward.

"He's so adorable!" squealed a voice. I glanced to my left and saw Mavis smiling.

"I am not adorable!" Val retorted, crossing his arms like the little man that he was.

"Yes, you are," I said, grinning, "…wait…"

"DID HE JUST TALK TO MAVIS?!" Natsu yelled. He got down on his knees next to Val and searched him for a guild mark. Mavis leaned forward and stared at Val.

"Val, can you see her?" I asked.

He nodded, "Why wouldn't I be able to see her?"

"He doesn't have a guild mark!" Natsu concluded.

The Master stroked his impressive mustache, "Peculiar."

Val pulled on my skirt, "Why am I 'peculiar'?"

"He's not peculiar at all," said Mavis, "Well, by your standards, perhaps." He reached out and touched her finger to Val's forehead. A blinding light burst from her fingers. Val's eyes went wide. I had to close my eyes and shield them from the brightness.

"What's happening?" I shouted. When the light finally died down I slowly opened my eyes. Mavis was smiling and sitting beside Val. Val looked the same as always except for one thing.

"T-T…" Natsu stammered.

"Tail!" I finished for him. Val flicked his tail around, "I didn't know I had a tail."

"This is his real form…it being hidden was most likely a side-effect of the curse that's on him," chirped Mavis.

"C-C…" said Natsu.

"Curse!?" I yelled.

A/N: Sorry, there are still a lot of questions...hopefully you're catching the drift of the story now, though. If not then you will. :) Don't forget to review! Thanks.