Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.

Lucy's POV
I hummed to myself happily as I sipped my strawberry smoothie, and sighed in content. I had a nice start to my morning, beginning with a peaceful and humorous chat with Jay, and along with the absence of the usual rowdy intruders as well as the beautiful weather, everything seemed to be perfect. Stirring my straw around in my cup, I looked at the calendar that lay on the side of the bar. There was only a week until mating season officially began, and being the hopeless romantic that I was, I was looking forward to confirming my suspicions about who my mate was. I was pretty sure that I would be able to find my mate this year, though it would just be really sad if I didn't… Like being alone on a Valentine's Day while eating cold leftovers… I shuddered at the thought and regained my previous happy mood. I took another sip of the drink, savoring the sweet taste as well as the cooling sensation on my tongue. I started to daydream, letting my thoughts wander, but then my communication lacrima rung. Taking it out of my purse, I checked the nnumber and saw that Sting was calling again. My smile grew wider, and, drink in hand, I skipped out of the guild hall to take the sudden call.

"Hey…" Sting said, his face downcast. Immediately, I began to worry about him, all traces of my preceding carefree mood gone.

"What's wrong?" I questioned, genuinely concerned.

"You know how… the other day that happened?" Sting said, raising his head to look me in the eye through the camera feed. I blushed at the memory of the signs, and apparently Sting didn't look too happy about it. He put his head down again, and I shot my gaze towards him.

Sting's POV
I couldn't tell her that I loved her, but then leave her for herself. That would be selfish, and it would hurt her to no end. The only other choice was to lie. As she picked up, I held my face downcast, so that she wouldn't be able to see the tears that were threatening to spill out. Crazy, I know. Who would've thought that the Sting Eucliffe would be crying over a girl? I quickly wipped my tears subtly, though, and rose my head to look her in the eye. I didn't want to lie to her… I didn't want to lie to myself… But this had to be done, or else we would've been lying to ourselves even more… seeking comfort in what seemed to be fate, but was actually just a misunderstanding. If I had to lie, then I would at least tell the partial truth.

"I love somebody else, please forgive me." I said breathlessly, watching in anxiety as I waited for her reaction. Surely, she thought that she was my mate as well, so why wasn't I getting any reaction? Instead of seeing the expected tears spill over, she smiled at me.

"Don't be sorry. I can't help who you love…" She looked away for a second, her smile faltering, but then she turned to me again.

"Be happy with yourself. If this is what you want to do, then do it!" She exclaimed, shining with Fairy Tail's brilliance. I was about to say something, but was cut off by her now wavering voice.

I saw her eyes start to puff up, and I saw her mouth wavering, as well as her fragile figure start to shake.

"W-well then… See ya later!" She yelled, and the screen flickered, then faded to black. I sighed, putting the lacrima away and ruffling my hair. I felt guilty, yet I also felt a tremendous weight be lifted from my shoulders.

Lucy's POV
Once I hung up, I let the tears fall. I was heartbroken, really, but a part of me couldn't help but feel happy for him. Puzzled at my contradicting thoughts, I laughed, and wiped the tears away. I guess I really have changed. Before, I would just cry… But now, I'm happy for him. Well, I'm glad that he has someone there for him now, even if it wasn't me. Besides, I'm not really sure that I could've placed our relationship under the category of love. It was more like… a brother sister bond. Letting a small smile grace my lips, I hurriedly rubbed my eyes once more, and then took out a pocket mirror, preparing to fix the mess that my mascara has probably become. Looking at myself, I covered up the faults on my face, and I held up a determined grin. I would get through this, just like how Fairy Tail got through every battle. Clenching my fist and holding it to my chest, I close my eyes before snapping my pocket mirror shut and stuffing it back into my purse. From there, I sipped my smoothie once again, a bit of pain lingering on my heart, but ignoring it, I skipped back to the guild, as happily as I had exited it.

Natsu's POV

So this… was the relationship I had with Lisanna? I mentally groaned as I shifted my position in the uncomfortable couch, also readjust my grip on the millions of shopping bags that the white haired takeover mage had made me carry.

Natsu… you've always been there for me. And I want to do something for you. SO, from now on, I grant you the privilege of becoming my shopping buddy!

I remembered that one, clear sentence ring through my head, and groaned again. Of course, I had done everything in my power to refuse the 'honor' as politely as I could, but it was to no avail. When Lisanna came out of the dressing rooms with three more bags, my shoulders slumped considerably. Noticing this, Lisanna smiled an obviously sugar coated smile that also held an edge of bitterness to it.

"Natsu… You're having fun aren't you? Nobody else would go with me, so you're having fun with me, aren't you? Tell me you're having fun, right?" Lisanna said threateningly, holding her purse out, ready to take a swing at me if I said something wrong. Gulping, I put on a fake smile and nervously nodded, and Lisanna seemed to be pleased with that, nodding at me in approval as she went to purchase the items she had brought with her out of the dressing rooms.

Lucy's POV

I felt as if I was forgetting something somehow… Shrugging it off, I pushed my hands deeper into my jacket pockets, zoning out the noise and rowdiness of the guild. I was awakened from my trance, though, when I felt something brush my fingertips. Curious, I fished out a crumpled, small piece of paper from my pocket, and realized that it had an oddly similar guild mark stamped onto it…

"HOLY SHNAZZLEPOPS, THIS IS WAR!" I shouted, scolding myself on forgetting something so important. Everybody stared at me weirdly as I scrambled up to Master's office, excited.

"War? With this guild?" Master said, his brows furrowed. I nodded, watching his reactions carefully. He stayed silent for a bit, and I began to panic on the inside, all of a sudden worrying if this was much more serious than it had let on during the note's first encounter with my observant eyes. My worries were killed off, however, when Master grinned at me, malice in his eyes.

"Zeref, aye? Let's go show that old punk who's boss!" Master said, now excited as well. I shook my head at his restlessness, but my smile had returned, now brighter than ever. That's right… This'll be a good distraction, and in two ways, for both the guild and I…

Master's POV
If this was just a test, then there was no harm, right? Besides, it's time to show who's pulling the ropes around here. Dark lord my butt, we weren't going to make fools of ourselves this time. I walked out of the office, feeling Lucy's determined eyes on my back, and climbed onto the banister as I usually did when I made announcements.

"LISTEN UP BRATS!" I yelled, briefly going into my huge, demonic form, and watched in amusement as everyone stopped midway in their brawl, some falling unceremoniously from the air while others dropped cards, rings, and other magic items in shock.

Clearing my throat, I reverted back to my normal form, and used my regular voice.

"This is a test, but this is a war. A game between Zeref and us. NOW, LET'S SHOW THEM WHAT WE'RE MADE OF!" I yelled without further explanation, but those few words were enough to rile everyone up. Thank Mavis that Natsu wasn't here right now, or else I'm sure that he would've burned down the guild in a matter of seconds. I chuckled at the fired up expressions of my children, and hopped off of the banister, standing face to face with Lucy, who had been standing behind me during the announcement. She flashed me a grin of approval, and I returned it with my own toothy one. She happily skipped down the stairs to the main hall, and I walked back to my office, the grin never leaving my face. After all the hell we've been through, something told me that this would be fun…

Lucy's POV
I bounded down the stairs, giggling at everyone's excited behavior. They were just like little kids who found out that the ice cream truck was coming. Sitting down at the bar, I had nothing to do, but I didn't feel like going home, so idecided to go out back to the training grounds.

"Hey, Mira. Can you fix up the training grounds for me?" I asked the surprisingly not busy bartender.

"Sure no problem. But wow, I've never seen you use the grounds. Not that I can blame you, with Natsu, Erza, And Gray always turning it into a war zone!" Mira giggled along with me as she wiped her hands with a towel and led me out back.

"I know, right? I just didn't feel like going home… Today's too beautiful of a day to waste, you know?" I pointed out, and Mira nodded in agreement as we stepped outside, feeling the sun wash over our skin. Breathing in the fresh air, I smiled. I watched as Mira began setting up a barrier around the area, and magically set up some dummies and targets. Once she was done, I said my word of thanks, and curiously stepped into the area. I saw multiple weapons laid out, but I decided to use my regular knives. Smirking, I jumped up and quickly pulled my knives from their hiding place in my jacket pocket. Looking at the magically charged targets, I made swift choices in my attack. I charged a knife with holy magic, and sent it flying towards a shadowy target, getting bulls-eye. Doing the same with the other targets, I quickly used my elemental card magic for different targets, and ten minutes later, I finished up all 100 of the targets. Landing back on the ground kneeling, I breathed in the fresh air once again, but this time, I felt etherions fill my body, and felt the magic coursing through me. After half a minute, I did a back flip and jumped back up into the air, beginning to use straight up magic attacks. As I cut down dummies and targets, I let all of my feelings pour out, yelling at the sky as my once supressed anger, confusion, and sadness overtook me at once.

Mira's POV
I was about to go outside tell Lucy that her reservation time was up, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard her yelling viciously, crashes and thuds from her attacks echoing throughout the guild hall. Smiling sadly, I continued on my path. I wasn't too surprised to see that the training grounds had been wrecked, but I was surprised to see that Lucy was a disheveled mess. On the outside, she seemed like a fierce warrior, but that changed when I looked into her chocolate brown eyes. They were filled with hurt, with confusion, and I stopped once again, just outside the barrier, and began to lightly knock on it, earning the blonde mage's attention.

"Oh… Hi Mira…" Lucy trailed off, panting as she rested her hands against her knees. I smiled my usual smile in reply, and took down the barrier, starting to chant a spell in which it started to magically fix the training area. Once I was done, I threw Lucy a bottle filled with some water that you could only find on Mt. Hokabe. She took it gratefully and uncorked the cap, starting to quickly drink up the rejuvenating liquid. After a few seconds, Lucy lowered her previously raised head, and thanked me.

"Whew, you're a lifesaver, Mira!" She exclaimed, stretching out as the water started to magically energize her. Laughing, I just walked back inside the guild with her, and started to make some small talk. Eventually, all of the other girls joined us, and it became a full blown girl talk.

"So… What's up with everyone's love lives?" I asked, smirking with a devious gleam in my eyes.

"Juvia is expecting children!" The water mage yelled ambitiously, and nearby, Gray started to blush while the men cheered, and the girls all giggled sheepishly at her straightforwardness. Smiling to myself contentedly, I mentally checked her off on my match-making target list. Turning to Levy, I tuned in to hear what she was saying.

"-So we went to this really chill café for our fourth date, and it was really fun! He even let me go to the library, even though it must've been so boring for him! And guess what? I even saw him starting to read that book I recommended! The blue haired mage yelled, gushing as a tinge of pink dusted her cheeks. Smirking, I silently cheered Gajeel on, and also checked the pairing off. I didn't even have to ask the other blunette in the guild, as everyone saw her clearly talking to Romeo. We all sighed, happy with the young love floating throughout the air. As everyone put in their nickel, I couldn't help but notice the obviously forced smile that Lucy wore, and how her eyes seemed so distant as she listened to others. Not wanting to cross the line, I didn't say anything, and continued with my usual routine as the guild was its usual rowdy self.

Natsu's POV
When Lisanna had used her lion takeover to lug the bags back to her place, finally leaving me alone, I ran at full speed, bursting through the guild doors. All of a sudden, an intoxicating scent wafted through the air, and I had to do a double take. I looked around, only to find the source of the scent being Lucy. Well, Lucy always had a special scent to her, but this… this was different. When I realized what was going on, though, I started to scratch at my mind. I thought she wasn't my mate… so what was this feeling? Oh well, it's probably not important… I thought this as I started drooling at the scent of food, pushing my jumbled feelings to the back of my mind. Greeting the others, I ran to the bar, excited to finally being able to have some of Mira's fire chicken. The said mage smiled at me knowingly, and I let out another whoop as she placed the fresh, hot flaming piece of meat before me. Biting into it, I started to tune in to the girls' conversation.

"-And then he comes to me all like, IM A MAN!, and I'm just here in the corner, face palming because Elfman was yelling at the male protaganist of this chick flick we were watching, scolding the dude about how he was a wimp for not confessing…" I hear Evergreen say, and I shrugged, tuning in onto Juvia's incoherent chanting. She was swirling a bottle in her hands, and was cornering Gray, and I smirked, thinking she had a new strategy to beat the Ice Freak.

"With this… Gray will surely have kids with Juvia…" The water mage chanted, threatening the said ice mage with a bottle, effectively trapping him in a corner, he backed away, sweating bullets.

"WAIT! I'll have kids with you without the stupid bottle- OH no! That's not what I meant! HELP!" Gray yelled, and I snickered at his helplessness. Getting bored and taking another bite, I decided to dart my eyes over to Levy and Lucy, with the latter a little too quiet.

"Everything'll be okay, don't worry, Lu. You can get through this… You should get a punching bag! You know, to vent your anger out on something!" Levy exclaimed, striking a pose as if she just had the best idea. Lucy nodded, and then got up, murmuring something to Mira. The barmaid nodded, I watched in curiosity as Lucy exited the guild through the back doors. Following her, I saw as she stepped into the training grounds, and I jumped in excitement. Yeah, if there was no one to fight, then fight a dummy! I grinned, but then my excitement slowly melted to confusion. Why would Lucy use the training grounds? She never used them… As I began to ponder this, my head jerked up to see Lucy stabbing a dummy through the chest, and she let out a blood-curling scream, one filled with so much emotion, that I decided that now wasn't the best time to interrogate her. Well, Mira was the next best thing, wasn't she? With this, I ran back inside the guild, aiming to get some answers.

Levy's POV
I watched as Natsu followed Lucy out happily, but then stared at him, confused, as he came back in just as fast, a troubled expression on his face. Just as I was about to ask him what was wrong, I heard a scream, one that could only be Lucy's. Immediately, I understood that he was worried about her. Everyone in the guild was. I was the only one who she had told, but Lucy had been like this all day, going to the training grounds and venting out her feelings every hour or so. I stirred my iced tea thoughtfully, and decided that I shouldn't interfere. If this is what he wanted to do, then I should let him be. I studied him as he began to talk to Mira, and started to observe.

"What's wrong with Lucy?" Natsu said plainly, and I smiled wryly at his bluntness.

"I… don't know" Mira answered honestly, and I knew that it must've been secretly killing her on the inside, not being able to do anything for Lucy. She must've still been feeling guilty about the whole Lisanna dilemma at the very beginning.

"I… Don't know, but I think that it's best that you leave her be for now…" Mira repeated herself again, and continued, uncertainly. At this, Natsu let out a low growl.

"Why not? She's our friend, so we should be helping her in any way we can!" Natsu rose his voice, and slammed his fists against the table. Hearing his outburst, the whole guild stayed silent for a moment, looks of guilt and worry coating the faces of the members. Timidly, I spoke up.

"Natsu… What I feel is best for Lucy right now is that she just lets her feelings out by herself…" I voiced out my real feeling, and Gajeel patted my back reassuringly. Natsu looked at me for a moment, and I was afraid that he was going to start yelling again, but he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, is that's how her second best friend sees it, then I guess that's best!" Natsu said cheerfully, and the guild chuckled lightly at his sudden mood change. Giggling softly to myself, I suddenly stopped when I processed what he said, and I walked over slowly to him, a deadly aura surrounding me.

"What do you mean by second best friend…?" I questioned threateningly, and the guild became quiet again, but Natsu didn't seem to notice it.

"Hey, Flame Brain…" Gajeel said, knowing from first hand experience how angry girls could be.

"Well, I'm obviously Luce's first best friend, duh…!" Natsu said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I glared at him.

"No, I'm pretty sure that everyone here thinks of me as Lu- chan's best friend!" I shot back, and Natsu looked at me, eyes wide, but then he settled into a comfortable smirk. I returned it.

"Are you sure about that? Well, here, I have a nickname for here that only I call her! It's Luce!" Natsu said, and I was honestly stumped at that for a moment. Then, I looked up, grinning maniacally.

"Well, I also have a nickname for her, because we're so comfortable together. SO, let's hold a bet. Winner gets the title as her best friend. I call her by you nickname for her, and you call her by my nickname for her. It'll just prove how close we are, and how we can call each other anything…" I challenged, and started to laugh inwardly. Natsu, being the oblivious person he is, accepted without batting an eyelash. I let out a low chuckle.

"Okay then… So I'll call her Luce, and you'll call her… Lu-chan…" I couldn't hold back the fit of giggles that made its way out of me, and everyone joined in imagining one of the strongest Fairy Tail mages saying such a cute nickname. Natsu blushed, seeing what he got himself into, and murmured something about how girls were crazy. Of course, he couldn't back out now. I grinned wider. Everything started to going into action when Lucy walked in about half an hour later. Smiling, I called out to her.

"Luce! Catch!" I yelled, making an excuse to talk to her, throwing a book in which she easily caught. She replied nonchalantly at the subtle nickname, and I also felt how the name slipped smoothly out of my mouth, not awkward in the least bit. Now, this will be interesting… I thought to myself as she said thanks and started gulping down some water. Then, I saw Natsu sheepishly approach her. Giving him a mental shove that I was sure he felt, he looked up, and then grinned confidently.

"Lu-chan! Make me some food!" He yelled for all the guild to hear, and, for third time today, the guild fell into an anxious silence. Lucy stared at him shocked, and everyone waited for the reaction that would end this little feud. After a few minutes had passed, Natsu started to blush a deep shade of red, and red as his fire, and he covered his mouth with his hand to prevent the blush from spreading.

Natsu's POV
When she didn't respond, I felt my cheeks start to heat up, and I placed my hand over my mouth, hoping to hide the fire on my burning cheeks. While I was at it, I made sure that I wasn't actually on fire. I looked away, knowing that I would blush even more if I met Luce's unwavering, brown eyes. When I met them, though, she smiled, and I felt relieved that I wouldn't lose the bet. Everyone stared as she made her way over to me, and then she placed her hand on my head, messing up my head. When her cool, slim fingers weaved skillfully in my pink locks, I bit back my tongue to keep from moaning, but I lost the battle. I surprised myself, the guild, and Lucy, and Lucy then quickly regained her composure, watching as I started to blush even more. She took my hand, and we walked out of the guild. Then, she whispered to me in a voice so low that I could only hear.

"Okay…" I smirked as I looked back at Levy, who now had hearts in her eyes, apparently unconcerned that this matter was at a standstill… for now.

Lucy's POV
When he said that… it was kind of cute… BUT IT WAS ALSO SUPER EMBARRASSING! I mentally yelled in frustration as I led Natsu out of the guild hall, knowing that I was badly losing the battle to hold back a blush from spreading like a wildfire all over my body. As I walked in silence with my best friend, I realized that we were still holding hands, and I abruptly let go, looking away. He seemed puzzled, but shrugged as we continued to walk back to my place. And let me tell you, it felt like the longest walk of my life, and that's saying a lot, considering the training that I had undergone. We walked in silence, but then, oh-so-courteous of Natsu, he decided to break it. Little did I know that the next few words coming out of his mouth would change my life forever…

"How's your rent?"

I stopped walking, my eyes wide. Falling to my knees, I dug through my mind, trying to remember the date. Well, according to my calculations… Oh no. I lay down on the cobblestone road, ignoring the looks I got from passerbys. Holding Natsu's hand, I gave him my will.

"Natsu… My rent… is due today… And there's war, too…" Natsu perked up at the last part, and he fist pumped the air as he usually did, running towards the guild while he left me alone, to die.