AN:

ilft . natsu: I am also a die-hard fan, but this was a request so, sadly, Nastu must be the man waiting in the wings.

Zeref tucked the notebook in his bag, surprised at how late it was getting, as Levy gestured over to his table, talking to the head librarian. The green-haired lady frowned in his direction but finally nodded at whatever Levy was saying and Levy bowed to her in thanks.

"It's all set," Levy announced as soon as she reached him. "You're books will all be left exactly as they are and, so long as you come back tomorrow, they will remain that way until you return them to the shelves yourself."

Zeref thanked Levy before hurrying out of the guild. He was desperate to see Lucy again, having been gone from her most of the day. Plus, he really wanted to discuss what he had found in his research. It wasn't a sure thing, but he thought he might have found something. He would just have to come back tomorrow and recheck his notes. He pulled up as he neared the guild; it would probably be better to wait until he was sure before sharing the information with his beloved. He didn't want to get her hopes up just to find out that it was a dead-end and there was nothing they could do after all. He sighed, his shoulders slumping a little at the thought, remembering how long it had taken him to get the formulas for the R System right.

He shook his head, he was just as determined as his little brother, however, and he would not give up until he found a way to make sure that Lucy stayed with him forever. He nodded in satisfaction as he swung the infirmary doors open, finding Natsu sitting there clutching Lucy's hand in his own.

Lucy smiled up at Natsu, taking his hand in her own. For as long as she'd known him, holding Natsu's hand was as easy as breathing. It was never awkward or embarrassing, but it never really invoked butterflies in her stomach like holding Zeref's hand did. It was just a natural thing that the both of them had taken for granted. Looking at that dragon slayer now, Lucy wondered if he had found it as easy and natural as she did.

"Lucy."

She turned her head to find Zeref standing in the doorway and she smiled brightly, instantly dropping Natsu's hand so she could stretch both of her arms out toward her lover. Zeref sighed inwardly with relief as he gathered up the delicate girl in his arms. For a moment he had been afraid that she was falling for the boy she'd known since joining Fairy Tail.

"Where have you been?" She demanded. "I've been missing you."

Zeref smiled down at her, "Sorry. I had some research to do in the library. I'll be going back there tomorrow, but I promise that after that I'll be here for you."

She grinned up at him, "I'm glad. Wendy says that by tomorrow I should have recovered enough of my strength that I can go home."

Lucy felt good about that, because right now all she wanted was a warm bath and a clean set of clothes. She felt gross, but she wouldn't disobey the little healer's instructions, knowing that Wendy would have a fit.

"She's also going to start training me next week," Lucy announced proudly, causing Zeref to grin back at her.

"That would be good," He replied. "It'll give you better control over your magic."

She nodded, "I should learn to control the magic inside me as well as I control the celestial magic I use."

Zeref nodded, "And when Wendy can't teach you anything else, I'll teach you my magic. Your magic is the opposite of mine, but I bet a lot of our spells are cast in similar ways. We should definitely try it out."

Lucy nodded, "I would like that."

Natsu stood from his seat as he listened to the two lovers talk.

"Well, I should probably go."

Lucy turned back to him, "Natsu?"

He turned, looking down at her with a slightly crestfallen face.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

His face seemed to transform as he smiled down at the celestial turned healer.

"No problem, Luce. I'll always be here when you need me."

Lucy smiled softly as he left the room, leaving Zeref to glare after him.

"Zeref?" Lucy turned her head back to her boyfriend, determined to ask him the question that had been on her mind all day.

"Yeah, Luce?" He asked, sitting down and taking her hand in his own.

"You had a little brother?"

Zeref felt the bottom fall out of his stomach. How had Lucy found out his secret? Very few people knew the truth behind his experiments. He had kept it that way on purpose. If people didn't know why he was doing them then they couldn't find a way to take the reason away.

"H - How did you know?" He asked hesitantly, a flicker of fear flashing through his eyes.

Lucy felt sorry as she saw that flicker. How long had he been keeping it secret to protect the boy? How often had he thought keeping it secret was the right thing to do, guarding his brother so that he could never be used against him. Lucy gently pulled him toward her.

"Don't worry," She whispered, kissing him gently. "I know this must be hard for you, but I am going to ask some questions. If you feel you can't answer yet, then just tell me and I'll drop it - for now. I understand if you're afraid, but I promise I'm not going to hurt either of you. I just have questions."

Zeref nodded, his brain knew that Lucy could never harm someone he cared about. Even more so, she could never harm someone that she cared about. That didn't stop his heart from clenching and fear from roiling in his stomach. Too long he had kept Natsu a secret, trying to protect his little brother from those that would do him harm just because he was Zeref's sibling.

"Sorry," Zeref answered after a moment. "Yes, I have a brother."

"Named Natsu?"

He nodded, still curious as to how Lucy had found all of this out while he had been gone.

"Our Natsu?"

Zeref hesitated a moment, wondering if he should tell her the truth or lie to her. Lying would be easier, but in the end he knew the truth would have to come out eventually and lying to Lucy would just cause her not to trust him when the truth finally did come out.

He sighed, "Yes."