Zeref reached the library just as the doors were being opened. He was relieved to see Levy there as well and immediately followed her inside to his table where he had been working.
"Why did you cover for me yesterday?" He asked the bluenette.
She grinned at him, "I'm guessing you're looking for something to help Lucy with this new magic of hers, correct?"
He nodded, looking at her in suspicion, "Yes."
She nodded back, "And you don't want her to know because you're worried about how she will react."
"Yea," He said, dragging the word out.
She grinned, "I want to help. Lucy is my best friend and I don't want to lose her any more than you do."
Zeref looked at her, curiously, "I didn't think you would approve."
Levy shrugged, "You'll find that there are a lot of things you can approve of that you normally wouldn't when it comes to someone you care about."
Zeref nodded, thinking back to the research that had led to his immortality in the first place, "Yes, I know that all too well."
Levy looked at him curiously, but didn't press the issue as the two of them dove into their research.
Lucy was surprised when Natsu showed up only moments after Zeref had left, though she supposed she shouldn't be that surprised, given that Natsu had a habit of hanging around her apartment at all hours of the day and night.
"Lucy," Natsu said softly as he slipped in through her window.
"Natsu," She smiled brightly at the boy. "I heard you were probably going to be coming by today."
He hung his head in shame, "I'm very sorry for what happened yesterday. We should have been taking care of you and not fighting about it."
She nodded her agreement, "Yes, you probably should have, but it's all in the past now, Natsu. Don't worry about it, okay?"
Natsu nodded, his face brightening a little at the girl's logic.
"I still feel awful about it," He replied.
Lucy laughed brightly as she gave him a plate of leftover pancakes, "Well, don't alright?"
The two sat in a comfortable silence born by years of spending days together in the same way. Lucy cleaned up the kitchen table while Natsu ate and then sat at her desk to work on her novel while he laid on her bed, staring up at the cork board by her bed, grinning broadly at the many pictures that featured the two of them.
"Hey, Luce," He said softly after a few moments of studying the pictures.
"Yeah, Natsu?" She asked in a distracted manner.
He rolled over so that he could study the blonde and make sure that she was paying attention when he asked his next question.
"Do you ever think that things got mixed up?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" She asked, finally looking up from the novel she was working on, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.
"I mean, do you ever think that maybe this magic, finding Zeref, everything that's happened since that day, wasn't supposed to happen?"
Lucy frowned, her brows furrowing as she struggled to understand what it was that Natsu was trying to get at.
"Not really. It's just one of those things that happen, I guess," She said with a shrugged.
Natsu frowned in annoyance, "But they don't just happen, Luce. How many times does a person discover some unknown magic lying within them and then get sent away where they just happen to meet the only person in the world that could possibly complete them?"
Lucy frowned back, "Not many I suppose."
He nodded eagerly, "Right. So do you ever think that you ended up with the wrong person?"
"Who else would I end up with, Natsu?" Lucy asked in exasperation.
"Me."
Lucy's jaw almost dropped at Natsu's words.
Him? Natsu thinks that I should have ended up with him? He never even said anything until now. Why didn't he say something sooner? What on earth is happening?
Natsu shifted uncomfortably at the long silence that followed. Part of him was relieved that Lucy wasn't yelling at him and telling him to get out, but another part of him was concerned for that exact reason. She just seemed to be sitting there, staring at him in a daze.
"Lucy?" Natsu finally asked after a few moments, worried that he had broken his best friend.
Her eyes shifted slightly, but she remained silent.
He crawled off the bed and moved so that he was kneeling down in front of her, staring into her eyes. Was she angry? Was she upset? Happy? Even her eyes seemed to be blank of emotion.
"Luce?" He called softly, finally noticing the tremors running through her arms.
"Get out," She whispered softly. "Just get out."
Natsu didn't need to be told twice. He quickly ducked out of the window, slamming it shut behind him before taking off down the roof like his life depended on it.
Lucy finally blinked once more before allowing her head to thump on her desk. Now Natsu decides to confess to her? What sort of messed up logic was that? She sighed before lifting her head back up and staring out the window where he had just left. What on earth was she going to do now? She sighed once more before turning back to her novel, tucking it in the drawer. There was no way that she was going to be able to write now.
The only question on her mind now was - what on earth was she going to tell Zeref?
AN: OMG, Sorry I've been away for so long T.T work has been crazy and I finally got a day off. I'll try to keep up with updating more often but right now we are really short staffed and everyone is taking their vacations, so I might not always be able to.