Lucy was still sitting at her desk, head on her arms, when Zeref finally came home, grinning broadly. Her heart almost broke in two as she stared at his innocent face. He had no idea, obviously, of what had occurred while he was gone and Lucy was loathed to be the one to tell him. She sighed inwardly as she realized that she was unintentionally going to tear the two brothers apart. She struggled with herself for a moment before deciding not to say anything to Zeref about what had happened. Lucy had always been the kind of girl who handled her problems on her own and she would continue to do so. Right now, this was strictly her problem and she knew it would probably be better to leave Zeref out of it if she could.

"Hey, you," Zeref said, bending down to kiss her cheek.

"Hey," She forced a grin as she looked up at him. "How was research with Levy?"

"Good," He said, smiling down at her.

"I'm glad."

"How did things go with Natsu?"

Lucy's heart dropped for a moment, "Oh, they went the way they normally do."

"That's good, right?"

Lucy nodded, knowing that if she spoke her voice would crack. Zeref looked at her in concern, but didn't press the issue as he turned around where he stood, studying the apartment once again.

"Tired?"

Lucy shook her head, "Not really, no."

Zeref turned, grinning brightly, "I'm glad. That means you're getting better."

Lucy laughed as she stood, stretching in relief.

"So do you think we'll be able to go on missions again soon?" Lucy asked.

Zeref raised an eyebrow as he led her into the kitchen, "You're that eager to get back to work?"

Lucy shrugged, "Bills do have to be paid after all."

He frowned, "What do you want for dinner?"

She shrugged once more, "Whatever you would like."

He turned, and kissed her quickly on the lips, "You're so adorable when you're agreeable."

Lucy felt a twitch under her eye at his words, "Am I usually not agreeable?"

"Not that," Zeref reassured as he pulled ingredients out of her cupboard. "You're usually very agreeable. Unless, of course, Natsu is in the same room with you. You two seem to argue about everything."

Lucy sighed as she helped him pull out pans and then plopped herself down at the counter, content to watch him cook.

Zeref watched in girlfriend out of the corner of his eye. Something was definitely bothering her, but he knew she wouldn't tell him until she was good and ready to. He wished she would have more faith in him, but he couldn't force her to trust him any more than she already did and to try would only make her lose what little trust she had in him. He wondered for a moment how she would react if she knew what he was really doing down at the library every day. He thought about telling her for a moment, but seeing the sad look in her eyes, decided against it.

He turned back to the food he was cooking, wondering what it was that was causing that look in his beloved eyes. Something had obviously happened while he was gone, but he knew that Lucy wouldn't tell him unless she felt it was important, so whatever it was it couldn't have been too bad anyway.

"Lucy," He said after a moment, trying to decide how to best phrase what he wanted to ask her.

"Yeah?" She asked after a moment's silence.

"Would you be okay with me going out on my own for a few days. I need to do something."

Lucy furrowed her brow in confusion but shrugged, "I'm not your keeper, Zeref. You can go where you'd like. You don't have to ask me."

He smiled at her as he set a plate in front of her.

"I know, but that doesn't mean that I don't like to be sure. Also, I'm not sure how well I'll do being away from you for a long period of time," He whispered the last part, staring down at the plate.

"Are you worried about your magic?" Lucy asked softly.

He nodded, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

Lucy sighed nodding her head, "I know you don't. Go, though. And if you start feeling off you get out as fast as you can and as close to me. You're not going far are you?"

Zeref shook his head, "No, not really."

Lucy smiled, "I'm glad. I would miss you."

Zeref smiled back, though he silently wished he was leaving for longer. Lucy was exhausted and he was beginning to suspect that the magic that was constantly countering his death magic was starting to drain and tire her out. He wished there was a way for both of them to learn how to control their magics. Then this wouldn't happen. He nodded to himself, silently reminding himself as to why he was leaving in the first place. There really was something he needed to do, other than to let Lucy try to recover her strength.

And though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, except perhaps Natsu, whom he knew would understand, he'd rather the whole world be destroyed by his magic than allow Lucy to wither and die because of it. Lucy was, after all, his whole world.

Zeref shivered at the thought, wondering just how far he would push himself this time to save the one he loved. He smiled down at the blonde mage beside him and felt his heart twist. In that moment he knew, he would go even farther than he had gone for Natsu if it meant saving the precious life in front of him.

And that scared him more than anything else could have.