Lucy sat with Natsu on her left and Zeref on her right, grinning between the two brothers. She was still in awe of that fact that two most important men in her life were related. The whole thing seemed surreal to her, like something you read in a story instead of something that was actually happening to her. She shifted herself so that she could talk to Levy, who had sat on the other side of Natsu.
"Lulu, I'm so glad that you're okay," She grinned, winking at the blonde.
Lucy grinned back, "I feel fine. I probably could have been out yesterday, but Wendy wanted to make sure that I was fully rested before I started interacting with the guild again. I'm under strict orders from Wendy that if I start feeling tired that I will let one of these wonderful gentlemen know so that they can take me home."
Levy giggled, "Is that why neither of them have left your side since you came out of the room."
Lucy nodded in mock graveness, "I suspect that they think I'm a fragile girl who is in need of their protection."
The girls laughed merrily when the boys protested Lucy's words before Lucy turned to them, giving them each a glare, "Then why aren't you behaving as normal?"
"We don't know what you're talking about, Luce," Natsu protested.
Lucy stuck her finger out at him in irritation, "Why aren't you fighting Gray?"
Natsu scratched his head, unsure of how to reply without getting into even more trouble with his best friend. Zeref snorted as he watched the pinkette scramble for an answer he didn't have.
"And you," Lucy turned on her boyfriend. "Why aren't you ... doing whatever it is you did when I was sleeping in the infirmary?"
Zeref grinned, "Because I was in the library and it's closed for the day."
"Oh," Lucy replied, unsure of how to respond to that.
She turned back to Natsu, who was still scratching his head.
"And do you have an excuse?"
He sighed, "I just wanted to spend some time with you, Luce."
She looked at him suspiciously before sighing, "I cannot keep dividing my focus between the two of you. You're like two little boys competing for the same ice cream bar."
The two of them grinned at her and she sighed again, "Fine. But I'm telling you, if you two wear me out then I'm making you see me in shifts, got it?"
They both nodded eagerly before Natsu ran off, presumably to finally pick a fight with the ice mage. Lucy smiled, rolling her eyes as she turned back to Zeref.
"So what was so interesting in the library?" She teased softly.
Zeref shifted uncomfortably at her words, he was afraid to tell her what he'd been really doing down there. He knew that she wouldn't approve of it and it might even make her mad at him. He really didn't want that to happen. He looked surprised when it was Levy, of all people, who came to his rescue.
"He was helping me with some research," The bookworm said with a small smile. "I hope you don't mind, Lulu. Jet and Droy are sort of driving me crazy right now and Zeref volunteered to help so that I wouldn't have to ask them to come along."
Lucy smiled brightly, "Oh, it's not a problem, Levy. Will you be needing him again tomorrow?"
Zeref almost sighed out loud in relief when Levy replied with an affirmative. He was surprised that the blunette would cover for him when she really didn't know him all that well, but he was thankful nonetheless.
After a few more minutes Lucy yawned softly and shifted her attention back to him.
"I'm sorry, guys," She whispered. "I guess I'm still not up to full strength because I'm exhausted."
"Do you want me to take you home?" Zeref offered, noticing how she seemed to sag in her chair.
Lucy nodded, "Do you mind?"
He grinned at her, "Of course not."
Lucy smiled up at her boyfriend, amazed at how sweet he was being toward her. She still wasn't sure how on earth he'd managed to fall for her, but every day he did something to remind her of why she had fallen for him.
"I'm taking Lucy home, not you," Natsu said, glaring at Zeref.
Lucy sighed heavily, her shoulders falling. And then there were times that she was reminded once more how much alike her best friend and her boyfriend were.
"No way, idiot, Lucy wants me to take her home," Zeref said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Psh, yeah right. There's no way she would want someone like you to take her home. She prefers someone who's actually able to carry her."
"What are you talking about? Lucy's light as a feather."
"Yeah, she is, not that you would know anything about it."
Lucy turned away as the two continued on their argument, looking around for someone to walk home with her. Noticing that most everyone seemed to be involved in their own affairs, she headed quietly for the door, determined to go home even if she had to walk by herself.
"Where do you think you're going?" A masculine voice asked as she pushed open one of the doors.
"Home," She replied shortly, looking up to see Gray standing beside her with a frown on his face.
"I'll walk with you," He replied, not waiting for an answer as he took her hand in his own, leading her toward her apartment.
"If you get too tired let me know and I'll carry you," Gray said quietly, looking down at his friend in concern as he noticed how she seemed to be dragging already.
Lucy nodded her thanks, not really feeling up to saying anything else at the moment. The two walked in silence until Gray turned and noticed that she was walking even slower than before. Sighing, he walked back to her and without a word picked her up and started carrying her.
"I was doing just fine, Gray," Lucy protested.
"Right," He grunted. "That's why you looked like you were about to fall on your face."
Lucy sighed, resigning herself to the fact that Gray was going to carry her the rest of the way to her house no matter what. She settled in, allowing her head to lean against his chest as she made herself comfortable.
"By the way, where are those idiots that are supposed to be taking care of you, anyway?" Gray asked in irritation.
Lucy shrugged, "I don't know. Probably back at the guild, still fighting about which one of them gets to take me home."
Gray sighed heavily, "Are they still on that?"
Lucy nodded, sadly.
"Idiots," Gray muttered to himself, looking down at the girl who looked like she was going to fall asleep in his arms any moment now.
"Lucy chose me, so obviously she wants me to take her home. Right, Lucy?" Zeref turned and for the first time the two boys finally noticed that the girl they were fighting over had disappeared. "Lucy?"
Mira giggled, "She left soon after you two started fighting over who was going to take her home."
"Lucy shouldn't be out there by herself," Natsu yelled, worried for his best friend.
"Don't worry," Mira teased. "I think I saw Gray leave with her. I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Gray went with her?" The two yelled in unison before looking at each other. "We gotta go after her."
Zeref nodded his agreement and Mira watched in amusement as the two ran out the door.