Recollections

I had to get to Natsu. It was all my fault. I had been so damn close to completing the mission, but then he got caught while he was relaying information back to me. Bullets were fired over my head as I ran through the halls of the insanely large mansion, kicking and knocking out every guard on sight to the ground. I landed another painful kick to a guard's rib before continuing with my run. I was told by one of the guards that he was held somewhere in the middle of the mansion. I reached a corridor with three doors evenly spaced out. Pushing open the door in the middle, my eyes widened at the sight before me. Natsu was tied up in a chair, purplish bruises and cuts covered all over his skin, the cuts most likely made from a army knife. "Natsu!"

"..Lucy?" His voice was hoarse as I ran over to free him. My hands trembled as I untied him from the ropes that were binding him. Tears sprang from my eyes as I hiccuped "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…Natsu…"

"Don't cry, Lucy. Save those tears for when we get out of here." That salmon haired idiot gave me one of his toothy grins as I sobbed. "O-okay."

I slung his arm over my shoulder, dragging him with me to the escape route that we had planned out. Luckily I had called Mira to send Levy and Gajeel as back up, but there was one small problem; we were trapped behind a wooden table that was barely standing, and a group of guards that carried pistols. I cursed while tearing my ragged black clothes into pieces, tying the pieces around Natsu's wounds tightly. He had gotten shot in the shoulder and the leg while we were assaulted by the guards.

"Lucy…" Natsu's voice was faint and hoarse. There was blood all over his shoulder and leg. I applied pressure onto both of his wound while I glanced at his shoulder, taking note of the bullets I should have taken. "Don't die on me now, Natsu!"

"Lucy… Go. I'm only slowing you down."

"What? No! I'm not leaving you here!" I shouted before grabbed my gun and firing at the guards. Natsu shook his head, "I'm not letting you die because of me."

"Don't you dare act like you're going to die now! Levy and Gajeel are coming soon!"

As those words left my lips, I heard shots being fired, groans and shouts of a sniper filled the room before the intercom in my ear buzzed with Levy's concern voice. "Lu-chan! Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine, but Natsu…"

"Gajeel should be there now, I'll clean up the rest." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar black haired figure coming towards us, leaving behind a mountain of fainted guards in his wake. "Okay, I'll see you later, Levy."

"Gihee. So Salamander got beat, eh Cheerleader?" I wanted to roll my eyes. Does he always have to call me that? I thought as Gajeel slung Natsu over his shoulder.

"Whatever, let's go before more guards come."

After that, I was ordered by Mira to go to the medic. Natsu was currently at his house since he had gotten the medical attention and practically fought his way up 15 floors just to get there. My cell phone rang as I entered the elevator. It was Michelle, my cousin. "Nee-san!" she said through tears. A chill went up my spine. "What's wrong, Michelle?"

"N-nee-san! I-It's Uncle!"

"Dad? What happened?"

"He collapsed all of a sudden, we're at the hospital! The doctors say that he's in stable condition for now."

"I'm busy right now, but I'll come as soon as possible, okay?"

"Hai, nee-san."

She hung up as I saw Loki, my boyfriend at the time, come around the corner. "Hey, Loki."

"Lucy...Are you okay?" He must have heard about the mission.

"I'm fine." Loki wrapped his arms around me as I returned the hug, before he suddenly pulled away.

"What's wrong, Loki?" I asked, surprised when he took a deep breath and said, "We need to break up."

"What?" My mouth dropped.

"Lucy, it's been three months since we've first started dating. I enjoyed it, really I did, but we both know that you love Natsu."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to silence me. "Let me finish."

Hesitantly I nodded as the spiky orange haired man in front of me continued. "I would never say this to any of my girlfriends, but you need to stop underestimating yourself. I've seen the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. You two have a sort of connection, and I don't want to be the one dragged along for the ride."

I closed my mouth thinking, have I really been dragging him along? "How do I look at him?"

"I can't really explain it, but I can tell that he loves you more than a partner should, or would for that matter. It's hard to explain." Loki shook his head as he said those last words.

"So we just end this?" I asked helplessly, my mind in a storm of emotion. I needed to get out, get away from him. Loki nodded, "I think this is for the best, we can still stay friends, right?"

My mouth turned into a forced smile. "Of course. I'd better go, I'll see you later."

I didn't know where I was going, but I kept on walking. Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of Natsu's apartment. He was always the person I went to whenever I had problems; he was my best friend. I pressed the doorbell and waited patiently. When Natsu opened the door, I noticed that he wore a black sleeveless undershirt and a pair of jeans.

"Who is-"His voice changed as soon as he saw me, "Lucy…"

"Can I come in?" I asked as he nodded, opening the door wider. Natsu led me towards the couch as I looked down.

"I'm sorry." I heard myself saying while looking up into those coal eyes of his that blinked in surprise. Natsu soon regained his composure before waving it off, soon realizing what I meant, "It's okay! You don't have to feel guilty about it."

I protested fiercely, pointing out "I was the one who got you into this mess in the first place!"

"Mistakes happen all the time, Luce, it wasn't your fault. We should have checked for bugs." He always knew what words to reassure me with.

"Natsu." Tears were just flowing as I went into his arms, letting all my worries out. After calming down, Natsu handed me a glass of water. I thanked him as he sat next to me asking, "What's wrong?"

"I got a call from Michelle. My father's in the hospital. He collapsed all of a sudden, according to Michelle. She says that he's in stable condition, and should wake up soon." I told him once I finished with the glass of water.

"When did she call you?"

"Right after I came out of the medic floor and Loki came up to me."

"Isn't that the guy you're dating?" I nodded, surprised that he remembered him, considering how dense Natsu was when it came to relationships. "Yeah... We broke up."

Natsu suddenly got up; walking over towards his kitchen, he took out two of his shot glasses and a bottle of Krupnik vodka, the good stuff. I raised my eyebrow. "At one in the morning you want to bring out the vodka, really Natsu?"

He shrugged while pouring the Krupnik vodka into the two shot glasses. "What, my shoulder hurts like hell. I did just have two bullet taken out of my body. Go on, why did you break up with him?"

"Actually, he broke up with me." I continued before I drowned down the vodka, letting it burn through my throat as Natsu spits out his vodka.

"Hey!" I shouted before wiping some of the vodka off of my face.

"What?!" Natsu's demeanor soon turned dark. He was always concerned for my well being. Thinking back to what Loki said, I felt blood rush to my cheeks. Oh crap. Gesturing for him to pour me some more vodka, courage from the bottle they say, I started out slowly, letting the shots pile up every time I spoke, "Loki...broke...up...with...me...because…"

"Because?" He prompted me to go on while I continued to dull the pain with vodka. I leaned towards him, taking in a deep breath before my eyes slowly went to the ground, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I'm in love with you."

"What?" I sneaked a peek at Natsu's face, seeing surprise and realization dawn upon him. Suddenly, I felt his warm coarse hands cup my face before he pressed his lips lightly against mine. After a few moments, the lack of air caught up to us and I pulled back to catch my breath. We looked at each other once more before locking lips once again. It was like a dam of hidden desire had broken free, something that neither of us could stop.

Hands started roaming as Natsu's lips began to trail down my skin, leaving red purplish hickeys on my neck that I knew I would scold him for. With his lips traveling downwards, I could feel the effect of the alcohol kick it. Somehow my blouse came off, and his arms slid to my back and the back of my knees. Natsu lifted me up mumbling something about how I wouldn't like it if I woke up on a lumpy couch in the morning. He dropped me onto the bed, and I knew that there was no going back once Natsu closed the door.

The next morning, I awoke to the blasted sunlight sneaking in through the blinds. I rubbed my temples, groaning at the fucking after effects of last night. Last night. It quickly resurfaced as I noticed that I was alone. Alone. Slowly, I staggered to his living room and took a quick look around while buttoning up my blouse. Alone. It felt cold without him.

He's gone. That was the thought that dawned upon me as I went to get dressed. He just goes up and leaves like this? It feel like a...

"One night stand." Those words passed through my lips as I felt broken, no the right word for it was lonely. And it made me angry. I just didn't know what came over me, but the next thing I know was that I had my phone in my hand and it was up against my ear.

"Mirajane, I'm requesting a LOA, and could you book me a flight to Acalypha?"

"A leave of absence, and a flight to Acalypha. Come back when you can, Lucy." Her voice was cracked, I knew something was up, but I didn't want to bring whatever she was stressing about to the surface.

"I will, Mira." I snapped my phone shut, glanced back to Natsu's apartment, and walked away.

Dozily getting up, I noticed sweat secreted all over my skin. I need a shower. I thought while looking at Natsu, feeling like a knife had plunged into my heart. We might have called it a truce, but I could still feel the tiny awkward atmosphere around us. I glanced at the necklace that he had given me. Fuck. I just had to remember that.

I heard Natsu groan as I got up, pulling the curtains to the side, letting in the sunlight. "Morning Natsu."

"Mornin' Luce. What's for breakfast?" I felt my shoulders stiffened at the nickname. His eyes narrowed at the sight. "What's wrong, Lucy?"

"N-nothing!"

Natsu came closer, my back pressed against the suddenly cold wall as he leaned forward and trapped me between his arms.

"Liar." Natsu said in a husky voice that made my knees turn into putty.

I tried to retain a straight face before saying, "Natsu, I'm fine, really. Did you put up the cameras yet?"

"Uh…No?" I gave him a knowing look before he pulled back and went to get the small cameras that Freed, our tech guy, got for us. After installing the cameras, Natsu left for the gym, alone. It was dangerous for both of us emotionally if we went together.

I invited Erza to get more information on where her objectives lie. We discussed cakes and dishes, even made a few when it was close to lunch. Erza picked up the dirty dishes and insisted to clean up. "Think of this as a payment for baking that delicious strawberry shortcake."

As she walked to the kitchen, I noticed that she swayed a little. When I turned back to refill my cup with coffee, I was startled by the clash of dishes hitting the floor and followed by a shriek.

"Erza!" I ran into the kitchen finding the scarlet haired woman on the ground surrounded by broken shards of porcelain that had cut through her flesh. Erza slowly got on her knees before she coughed abruptly, "Medicine."

"Where is it?" I asked, trying to maintain my calm composure.

"Purse." I ran to the living room, grabbing her purse before I dug into it. "How many do you need?"

She held up two fingers as I opened the medicine bottle and took out three. I hesitated for a moment before slipping one of the pills into my pocket while offering her the two pills with a glass of water. Erza popped the pills into her mouth before greedily drinking the water. I took a glance at the medicine to see who the doctor was. . I put the medicine bottle back into the bag before supporting Erza as she wobble through the broken plates.

"I'm sorry," she said with her head bowed.

"It's okay! It's okay! I can always buy another set. Are you hurt anywhere? I'll get the bandages." I went to the upstairs bathroom where the medical supplies were held in. When I was done bandaging Erza's cuts, the dazed woman thanked me for the tenth time before heading back to her house.

Quickly I went into the bedroom, turning on the cameras that Natsu had installed earlier before he headed to the gym. Turning on the television, I rewound the tapes to when Erza fell, trying to see if she had said anything strange. Luckily my partner had positioned a camera to where I could see her face. I saw her lips move, but I couldn't hear what she had said. My eyebrows furrowed in frustration as I turned up the volume.

Mirajane...

My eyes widened. Oh shit.

Erza opened the door to her home. Taking off her heels, she called out to see if her husband was home. "Jellal?"

She walked around the house, carefully manuvering herself as she looked into each and every room. Erza touched her head gingerly. Another memory, Erza mused, thinking back to the incident that happened in Lucy's kitchen."What did I say again?"

Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist as her husband's deep voice began to breathe down her neck, "Did you say something?"

Erza turned around, surprised as his arms loosened around her curvy waist. "I didn't hear you come in. Where were you?"

Jellal frowned, "I heard you come in from the living room. Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head, "No… I think I'm starting to remember something. My memory is still fuzzy, but I remembered something."

The blue haired man blinked in surprise before frowning, "And what would that be?"

"A name….I think." Erza felt her husband stiffened slightly, which surprised the scarlet haired woman. In all the time that she had spent with the man, he was never the type to be taken back by anything. Erza always knew him to be that calm composed man that could be gentle when he wanted to.

"Whose? Mine?" Jellal pressed on. Erza shook her head. "No, someone else's. It's…" she frowned before trying to recall the name, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration, "Oh…What was it again?"

After a few minutes of trying to remember it, Erza's frown grew deeper and Jellal sighed, "There's no use in trying to remember it, Erza. Did you have a good chat with Lucy?"

His wife's eyes lit up as she smiled. Jellal's eyes softened at the sight. He could faintly hear the details of her talk with the blonde haired woman, not caring in the least bit. All the tattooed man wanted to see was her dazzling smile that lightened his dark world. Once his wife paused, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Weren't you listening? I accidentally broke Lucy's plates!" Erza pouted, folding her arms as he chuckled. "I'm sure she forgave you."

"She did, but if it wasn't for my clumsiness, I wouldn't have ruined her set of china!"

"Erza, your clumsiness is a part of you. It makes you who you are. You shouldn't feel bad about it. Now, I have to finish up some work from the office, so I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Alright, Jellal." Erza then pecked him on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." Jellal felt a twinge of guilt in his heart as he left her in the kitchen before reprimanding himself. He took another glance at the humming scarlet haired woman in their kitchen. I'll never let anything hurt Erza again.

"I'm Levy McGarden, your new partner. It's nice to meet you," said a small blue haired woman in a black sheath dress that went down to her knees. Levy held out her hand with a smile plastered on her small cheeky face. Gajeel stared down at the pipsqueak, stunned. This is my partner? What the hell?!

"I expected you to be taller, short stuff." He grumbled while that the pipsqueak's eye twitched slightly as she dropped her hand back to her side. With a wide grin he continued, "Are you sure you can handle any field work? You look more of the office researcher to me."

"And you look some like a street thug." shot back his new partner. Gajeel shrugged, knowing his untucked white button shirt and piercings made him look nothing like the clean cut office workers down the hall. He snorted before walking away, not wanting anything to do with the midget who followed him.

Levy knew that she had expected way too much out of the man in front of her, the notorious lone agent, Gajeel Redfox. The blue haired agent had heard the rumors of her new partner, the man was known for going in and out of the medic's lab frequently after missions, his black personality that made other agents reluctant to partner with the red eyed man, and she heard that on his last solo mission he came back almost on the brink of death.

Therefore, the heads of the Agency had no choice but to assign the brute man a partner that could keep him from going on that edge of death again and finally set him straight. That's where Levy came in. When she had first gotten the request for the partnership, the young 20 year old agent thought pairing up agents together was just a way for Mirajane's amusement, considering how the former 'Demon' woman was, Levy wasn't surprised, yet wary of the white haired woman's intentions.

Over the next two months, she watched the brute man as he picked their missions that mainly consisted of body-guarding, retrieving stolen items, and strangely enough, missing person cases. When Levy asked why he chose a missing person's case, he only replied with, "You're a spy, so you figure it out."

That's exactly what she did, but she had to admit that it was hard, since she didn't have that kind of level clearance. Plus it wasn't like she could just go up to Mira or Laxus and ask for her partner's file. In the end she met up with Juvia and asked her, "How long have you known Gajeel?"

"Gajeel-kun? Hm…" Juvia pondered for a moment. "It's been seven years."

"Didn't Gajeel join the agency three years ago?"

"We both came from the same agency that rivals this one."

"Do you know why Gajeel picks out missing people cases?" Juvia frowned at the question, "Well no. Gajeel-kun doesn't really talk about why he picks out missions like those. If you want to find out you'll have to ask him yourself."

The next day, Levy went to talk to Lucy for old times' sake. It had been a while since the blue haired agent had seen her, since Gajeel apparently had no mercy when it came to taking breaks between missions. That's when Mira called.

"Levy, where are you right now?" asked Mira

"I'm with Lucy…what did the iron idiot do now? Did he 'accidentally' beat up another agent that was 'picking a fight with him'?" replied the blue haired woman. Over the months she had known the crazy destructive idiot, she had come to understand that Gajeel was an interesting yetcomplex lone wolf, and he did his job like any other agent in the agency. Levy could hear her boss's husband swearing up a storm as Mira explained, "Gajeel came to us demanding a mission. When we asked where you were, he said that you were in the restroom, and we gave him one of the two celled missions…"

Mirajane continued to fill Levy in on the details of the mission as the enraged bookworm apologized to Lucy politely. When Levy left Lucy, the blonde haired woman shivered as if she was the one who was going to have a bullet to her head in a few minutes. Hopefully we won't have a funeral for the poor guy.

Now Gajeel was starting to regret not calling the midget bookworm. The iron steeled idiot continued to attack the guards. He didn't carry a pistol, hell he never liked shooting in the first place, the only thing he had was his main weapon, his iron knuckles.

The sound of a single bullet being fired rang throughout the , he ducked while looking at the guards, none of them had a pistol in their hand. One word went through his head. Sniper. He glanced at the window behind him, and sure enough there was bullet hole in the glass. There's a fucking sniper.

Then he noticed that the guards were dropping one by one. The sniper was not aiming for him, but the guards. Then his phone rang. He answered while crawling along the wall with the windows. "Hello?"

The iron clad man heard his midget bookworm partner shout loudly into his ear, "YOU STUBBORN IDIOT!"

"Shrimp?"

"The target is on the second top floor, get there before the police get here."

"Wait, where are you?"

"You're a spy, you figure it out." Gajeel looked out the window, and spotted a very familiar blue haired midget on the roof of the other building with a sniper rifle. "You-"

"This is what it means to have a partner, having someone watch your back while you fight," said Levy while reloading her precious sniper rifle. "So don't underestimate me."

After Gajeel completed the mission, he met up with Levy who had to threaten the stubborn man to get to the roof.

"What were you thinking going solo like that?! There's a reason why we have two cell teams!" ranted the furious blue haired midget as she jabbed the stubborn punk in front of her in the chest. "You could have been caught and tortured, better yet killed!"

"Bu-" She shot him a glare that stopped him. "If you ever try to that shit again, I might accidentally shoot you in the knee or worse," she pointed to her partner's lower area "while trying to save your ass, got it?"

The overly pierced man merely nodded, not wanting to add more oil to the fire. That fire being the blue haired midget with the M24 SWS sniper rifle standing before him.

"Good." Levy smiled knowing that her point got across him well. Just as she was about to pack up her sniper rifle, Gajeel grunted, "Oi, midget."

The blue haired woman turned around angrily and felt a pair of lips on her. The kiss lasted for a solid minute before Gajeel pulled back with a smirk on his face and took a blushing Levy's hand.

"Thanks for saving my ass, Levy."

A lone woman stared at the sunset, feeling the wind blow through her blue wavy hair as she stood in the shadows. She turned to her M24 SWS sniper rifle that was on the edge of the roof of a doctor's office, positioning herself onto her stomach as she took aim. Gajeel…Levy thought before peering through the scope, seeing two people she had hoped that Mira wouldn't have sent;the raven haired man and his partner, her blue haired friend Juvia. She didn't want to hurt them, but Levy gripped the pistol handle and release the safety. I have to do this, for him. She fired the first bullet.

Once again I do apologize for the late chapter now you guys now what happened to Natsu and Lucy that cause the GREAT GAP! xD

Also that medicine that Jellal is giving Erza has actually exists. When I first googled it I was like 'No way.' It called no wait I shouldn't spoil it for you guys. You'll find out eventually.

How do you like it so far?

Longer? Better? Fluffy to the max? xD

That nice review box is just below!~

:D