~Jacin~

"Jacin," said a disembodied voice. I turned over, pulled the blankets farther over me. "Jacin."

I groaned and opened my eyes, "What time is it?"

"Four thirty."

"Thanks, Natsu," I said, rubbing my eyes. I froze and then looked up again. "What the hell are you doing in my room!?"

"Making sure you're not a murderer or a stalker or a creepy person in general," Natsu said, nodding happily.

I ripped my blankets off and slammed him against the wall, "As far as I can tell you're the creepy person."

He opened his mouth to say something and then shut it again. "Hi, Natsu!" Roawin called over my shoulder.

"Sup," Natsu said, giving my little brother a quick wave.

"Don't say hi to him! He just broke into our room," I said, turning to Roawin.

"Yeah, but Natsu is nice. Also, he's weird. I bet he does this all the time," Roawin said, yawning and rubbing his eyes and he sat up in bed.

"Actually I do," Natsu said.

"You're not helping your case, here," I growled, "And you need to get out of my room." I grabbed his arm, opened the door, and shoved him out into the corridor of the dorm. I sighed and slumped against the door.

"Are you sleepy?" Roawin asked, hopping out of bed and coming to wrap himself around my thigh. I patted his curly hair and nodded.

"Definitely. Let's go back to sleep, yeah?"

"Alright," Roawin said, running and launching himself back onto the bed. I sauntered after him and lay down beside him. He curled up in the crook of my arm and was fast asleep within seconds. I followed suit soon afterwards.

~Jacin~

I yawned as I pushed the door to Fairy Tail open. I trudged over to the bar and my head smacked against the table. I groaned.

"My! Are you alright, Jacin?" asked Mira, the girl I'd talked to yesterday.

"I'm ok. I was woken up at," I took a moment to try and remember the time Natsu had given me, "Four thirty this morning."

"May I ask why?" Mira said, placing a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. I handed over a few jewel and she smiled. It was like she could read my mind. I'd been about to ask for coffee.

"I don't really understand why, actually," I said, lifting m head so that I could drink my liquid energy.

"Natsu came to our room," Roawin said, pulling himself up onto the barstool that was about as tall as he was.

"Natsu?" Mira asked.

"Something about figuring out if I was a murderer, stalker, or creepy person. I have no idea," I mumbled, rubbing my temples.

Mira giggled and I stared at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just know why he did that," she said. Another giggle.

"I would ask, but I don't think I was to know."

"Luuuuuce!" yelled a voice. I growled and stood up, turning around to survey the guildhall. I spotted Natsu almost immediately as he bounded towards Lucy. I immediately engaged in pursuit.

As I got closer I heard a bit of their conversation. "Mission accomplished!" Natsu said, saluting her.

Lucy paled, "Oh god. You didn't. Oh, no. You did?"

"I did! And it was enlightening!"

"Natsu! You should be ashamed!" she scolded. I nodded as I listened to her scold him.

"Mental stability: acceptable. A little hot-blooded, but that's alright. I'll let it slide. Physical status: very fit. I saw him without his shirt on and it was impressive."

Lucy and I both facepalmed at the same time. "Also, I think that—"

"Let's stop talking about me behind my back, yes?" I said, interrupting him. I couldn't listen to this anymore. "Oh. My. God." Lucy said, "I am so sorry!"

"I'm not," Natsu said.

"It's alright, Lucy. I know this wasn't your fault. I don't appreciate being woken up at four thirty, though."

"I'm still not sorry," Natsu interjected.

"I saw this coming. I really should have done something."

"It's really not that much of a problem," I said, trying to ease her guilt.

"But he's my teammate and I should have kept track of him."

"I feel like the way you're talking about me you might as well be saying 'it' instead of 'him'," Natsu mumbled.

"So, how about that tour we talked about?"

"Oh! I totally forgot!" Lucy said, her eyes going wide. I grinned.

"Great, I'll come along," Natsu said. Lucy and I both glared at him. "You're trying to tell me that I can't come?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Lucy said, "I don't want to risk it."

"Risk what?"

"Oh…nothing. Let's go, Jacin." I followed after her wondering what she didn't want to risk. I mentally shrugged and grabbed Roawin off of one of the bar stools.

"Where are we going?" he asked, latching onto me.

"On a tour of the guild with Lucy," I replied.

"Yeah! Lucy's coming!"

"Yeah, Lucy is coming," I said, ruffling his hair. He reached up and brushed some of mine out of my eyes like he always did.

"This might take a while," Lucy said as we walked together.

"Why's that?"

"Well…you'll see…"

~Jacin~

Along the way we'd been stopped by almost every person we walked past so that they could greet me and welcome me to the guild. The guild, which was just as huge as I'd expected it to be. By the time we got back to the main hall I was exhausted. I plopped down on one of the chairs and Lucy sat across from me. I was pretty sure she hadn't stopped smiling that entire time…not that that's a bad thing.

"So…what'd you think?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to answer her question, but instead said, "Roawin, don't do that."

My little brother was clambering up onto Lucy's lap. She looked surprised. "But I—"

"No buts! Some people don't like it when you climb on them," I scolded. He frowned and started to slide off of her lap.

Lucy wrapped her arms around him, "No, it's ok. I think it's cute."

"Yay!" Roawin said, burying his face in her chest. She smiled and hugged him. I grinned, "Alright…as long as it's ok with you."

"Lucy's nice…and pretty," Roawin said, brushing some of her golden hair out of her eyes. She raised an eyebrow.

"It's something that he does to people he likes," I explained. Lucy smiled and leaned down.

"Does that mean you like me?" she asked.

He nodded immediately, "I like you a lot…but not as much as my brother."

"Of course not! I could never hope to be loved that much!" Her tone was joking and playful. It was nice seeing Roawin smile so much. I had to thank Lucy for it later.

"Yeah, but I still like you."

"Will you still like me after I do…this!" Lucy said and then started tickling him. He squirmed around and laughed hysterically.

"No! No! Stop it! I don't like you anymore!" he squealed. He was still smiling. I could clearly see that this only made him like her more.

"Oh…really?" Lucy said, her voice growing quiet. She bowed her head and pretended to cry.

Roawin grew silent and peeked past her hair, "I lied. I still like you."

"Really?" Lucy said, her crying immediately dissipating. She swooped him up and kissed his cheek, "Good! Because I was worried there for a second!"

Roawin giggled, "Jacin, can Lucy live with us?"

I laughed, "I doubt she'd want that."

"Aw," Roawin said, curling up in her arms. I noticed her face was a bit red.

"Are you ok? You look a little red. You're not getting sick, are you?" I asked, "Because I was about to ask if you'd like to go on a job with me."

She perked up, "Really?"

"Uh…yeah?"
Her shoulders slumped, "But then my team would have to come."

"You can't do a job without your team?"

"Well, technically I should be able to…it's just that every time I go somewhere they end up following closely behind."

"Well, they can come if they'd like. I don't mind," I said, giving her a half-smile. I wasn't quite sure about that decision since it meant that Stalker Natsu would come along, but I figured it couldn't be that bad.

"Are you sure? They're sort of…destructive," she said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I said, shrugging it off, "Besides, I heard all of Fairy Tail was destructive. Wouldn't that include you?"

"Yeah, but they're on a whole different level. My spirits generally don't destroy much…well, at least not much compared to my team."

I leaned forward, "You're a celestial wizard?"

"Oh…I thought I told you that," she said, looking shy.

"Can I see them? Your keys?" I asked. I wasn't sure if that was a question that would make her uncomfortable, but I'd asked it anyway.

"Sure," she said. She reached for her keys, which were at her waist, and placed them on the table. I picked them up and my eyebrows shot up, "Zodiac keys?"

"Yeah," she said, readjusting her arms around my brother.

"That's impressive…not to mention the fact that you have ten of them," I said, "And you even have Leo. Oh, and Aquarius. Capricorn…you've got a lot of the most powerful spirits. You're missing Libra and Pisces, though," I said, "Still a lot of powerful celestial allies you've got here."

"You know all of them?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Yeah, well…I sort of used to be obsessed with them. I read about them all the time."

"You read?"

"A lot, actually."

"That's amazing…"

"Amazing? Is it that amazing to be able to read?"

"No, I was just thinking about something else…" I shrugged off the questions I wanted to ask her. I figured asking would be crossing the line.

"What are these keys?" I asked, clearing my throat.

"Crux, Horologeum, Lyra, Nikola, and Pyxus," she recited, pointing to their respective keys. I nodded.

"That's quiet an assortment of keys you have," I said, pulling mine out. I placed them on the table.

"You've already met Fleure, Rouge, and Agwo," I said, placing their keys aside. "My silver keys are all elemental keys. These ones are Fuegia, Terro, and Cilo."

"Fire, earth, and air. Right?" she asked. I nodded and smiled.

"Platinum keys, these ones, often come with two spirits. When I summon the spirits from this key, all three foxes will come through the gate. This one," I said, picking up the foxes' key, "Belongs to Venra, Shiea, and Exxos."

"The foxes."

"Yeah. This one belongs to the twins, Mayla and Diedos."

"Twins?"

"They're actually twins. You'll most likely see them when we go on a job. This key belongs to the grim reaper, Grentha."

"Grim reaper?" Lucy questioned, reaching for the key, "No wonder it looks like a scythe."

I chuckled, "She not a very cheerful spirit. This one belongs to the wolf-woman, so to speak. Her name is Lupiyah."

"I bet she likes that name a lot. Actually it reminds me of something that Natsu calls me."

"She doesn't like it at all. She forces me to call her Elle. I'm not sure why, though. I think her name is beautiful."

"It's sounds like Loopy."

I cracked a grin, "I guess it does…a little. Anyway, this key belongs to the gearmaster. He's called Gallego."

She nodded, "And this one?"

"That's Crossman, the knight," I said, "He's nice, but a little strict. I call him Cross."

"And what about this one?"

"That one is Brezza the Strong Woman," I said.

"The strong woman?" Lucy questioned.

"She's scary," I said, "And mean."

"That sounds like Aquarius."

I laughed, "Seriously?"

"You have no idea."

"And the last one?"

"That's the blindman."

"I didn't see this one when I had your keys."

"I don't keep him on my key ring. He was my first spirit. He's special to me, so I keep him around my neck."

"He's your friend?"
"Well, all of my spirits are my friends…it's just that he was my first."

"Is he really…blind?" I smiled and took the key from her hands.

I stood up and whispered the words to open his gate, "Open, Gate of the Blindman. Othos."

He shimmered into existence and quietly as he always did. There was no loud sound or shining lights. There was only a slight change in the air, almost like how air looks under intense heat, and then he was standing in front of me.

"It's been too long, Jacin," he said, smiling.

"I'm sorry I lost your key," I said, walking up to him. I wrapped my arms around him and patted his back.

"Just don't do it again, alright," he said.

"Wasn't planning on it."

Lucy cleared her throat. "Oh, Othos, Lucy wanted to meet you."

"Lucy? Stars! Did you finally find a girlfriend?!"

"I'm not his girlfriend…just a friend," she said, standing up and placing Roawin on the ground.

"Uncle Othos!" Roawin cried. He ran towards Othos and slammed into his legs. Othos was surprised considering the fact that he couldn't see Roawin coming.

"Don't call me uncle! It makes me sound old," he mumbled. Despite the fact that Othos was a celestial spirit, which meant that he was insanely ancient, he only looked about twenty on the outside. I guess his blindfold made him look older, though.

"To answer your question, Lucy, yes…Othos is blind," I said.

"Oh," she breathed, "Can I…" Her voice trailed off and she started to look shy again.

"You want to see?" he asked, "I don't mind."

"Othos," I warned.

"Well, if you're friends she's going to see eventually. Might as well speed it up," he said, reaching to untie his blindfold.

I turned to Lucy, "Just…try not to…"

"She'll be fine!" Othos insisted. I inched towards Lucy, anticipating what was about to happen. Othos's blindfold fell off and fluttered to the ground. It landed gently and Othos raised his face. His eyes snapped open and Lucy squeaked. Othos's eyes…what's a good word to explain it…glowed? They were milky white, but shone in the dim room. "Othos, stop!" I shouted. He looked at me.

"She did better than I expected. Are you a celestial wizard?" he asked, looking back to Lucy. I knew he couldn't see her, but I was still worried. When Othos looked directly at someone, they'd usually faint. His eyes were unable to see, but they could reveal the truth. He could read people's thoughts or scan their memories. It was handy when searching for someone in a crowd, but it wasn't ideal when he used his ability on my friends…not that I've ever had a lot of friends.

"Oh, you are a celestial wizard. Daddy issues, huh?" he said, stepping closer to Lucy.

"Othos, you need to stop. Lucy, are you alright?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I just…I feel…"

Othos raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you're in love with—" I stopped listening to him when Lucy's knees buckled and she collapsed. I caught her before she hit the ground, "Lucy!"

"I'm sorry, Jacin. I just wanted to make sure she wouldn't harm you," Othos said, kneeling beside her as he tied his blindfold again.

"I trust Lucy! You went too far!" I practically shouted.

"I apologize. I just wanted to keep you safe."

"By hurting my friends?!"

"No, I—"

"Othos, stop. Just go back. I'll talk to you about this later." He nodded slowly and then disappeared as silently as he'd arrived. I turned back to Lucy and cradled her head in my arms. "Sorry, Luce," I said, standing up and carrying her princess-style out of the door.

"Is she ok?" Roawin asked, pulled on my pant leg.

"She'll be fine. She might be unconscious for a while, but she'll wake up soon," I said, carrying her through the guildhall. Everyone stopped to stare at me as I headed towards the door that I knew would lead to the infirmary. I was thankful for the tour Lucy had given me more than ever.

I kicked the door open and strode over to one of the beds. I gently lay Lucy down in one of the beds. She mumbled something, but I couldn't hear it. I sat down in the chair beside her and Roawin climbed onto her bed. He sat beside her and pushed her hair out of her face, "Othos should say he's sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sure he will," I said, leaning forward. I stared at Lucy as she slowly breathed in and out. She smiled a little in her sleep. I was glad that she wasn't hurt, but a little angry with Othos for doing something like that. I jumped when the door burst open and slammed against the wall.

"What did you do to Lucy!?" Natsu shouted. He barreled towards me and grabbed my shirt, pulling me to my feet.

"I'm sorry. It was an accident!" I replied.

"That's not good enough! You hurt my teammate!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu, stop this now!" another voice shouted. I peered past his shoulder and saw Erza and Gray enter the room.

"We heard that you brought Lucy here," Gray said.

"What happened?" Erza asked.

Natsu was still glaring at me menacingly and holding on tightly to my shirt when I answered, "One of my spirits accidentally caused her to faint."

"So it was your fault!" Natsu shouted. I didn't try to block when he hurled a punch towards me. His fist collided with my left cheek and he dropped me to the ground. I spat out some blood and pressed my hand against the cut that'd opened up on my lip.

"You're right. It was my fault. I'm sorry, but I didn't intentionally hurt her. I would never hurt Lucy," I said, getting to my feet.

"Natsu, that was rash," Erza said, standing in between Natsu and myself.

"My head hurts a little," said a voice. I whirled around and saw that Lucy's eyes were slightly open. I grinned and winced as my lip started stinging again. Lucy sat up slowly, "Why are you bleeding?"

"No reason," I said, "I, uh, fell?"

"It's because Natsu punched him," Roawin said, swinging against an invisible opponent.

Lucy's eyes went wide, "You hit him!?"

"It really wasn't that big of a deal," I said. She didn't hear me.

"He knocked you out!" Natsu protested, "What was I supposed to do? Just let him get away with it?"

"He didn't knock me out! I passed out! There's a difference!"

"He said one of his spirits did it!"

"It's not his fault. Out of all people I know best that sometimes spirits don't listen very well…it wasn't his fault."

"You keep telling yourself that," Natsu growled and stalked out of the room.

"Sorry about that," Gray said, "He's not usually like this."

"I think he's threatened by your presence," Erza said.

"Huh?" I questioned. Threatened by me?

"He's always been the closest to Lucy and now that you're here, Lucy's perf—" Gray started. Erza clapped a hand over his mouth.

"We'll go talk to him. Lucy, you're ok?" Erza asked.

Lucy smiled and nodded, "I'm totally fine. My had doesn't even hurt anymore." Erza grinned and dragged Gray out of the room. The door shut gently behind them. I turned to Lucy and rubbed my neck anxiously.

"Look, I'm really sorry," I said, "I didn't mean for any of that to happen. Othos shouldn't have—"

"Hey, it's ok. I'm fine, alright?" she interrupted. I sat down on her bed. "Besides, as far as I see it, Natsu has caused you way more trouble that Othos did for me."

I laughed a little, "I can tell that he was just worried about you. Both times."

Lucy shrugged, "That's what friends are for, right? I just think he went a little too far with the whole 'worried about me' thing."

"I guess so," I said, "But something tells me that he does everything dramatically and ends it all with a flourish."

Lucy laughed, a loud and cheerful laugh that filled me up with relief and happiness at the same time. That's when I realized why her laugh made me so happy. I sounded similar to Abigail's. A heavy weight slammed down on my chest and my smile faded.

"Jacin?" Lucy asked. I stood up and cleared my throat.

"Would you mind looking after Roawin for a while? I, uh…I've got to go," I said and headed for the door. As soon as I'd connected their laughs, Lucy started to remind me of Abigail more and more. Her brown eyes, her smile…even her hands looked the same!

I wrenched the door open. "Jacin, what's wrong?" Lucy called after me. I slammed the door shut and realized that I hadn't looked at her at all as I left. She probably thought I was crazy or something. I didn't want her to think that…but it was too late now. I ran to the door of the guild, a few people calling out my name in concern. I slammed the doors open and took in a deep lungful of fresh air. I sprinted as fast as I could away from there. I couldn't go back…not yet. I had to calm my nerves before I faced Lucy again. Maybe I would explain it to her one day, but not today. I tried to shake off the memories, but they all flooded back.

"Jacin? Where are you?" she called. I stifled a laugh. She was walked right below me and she didn't even know it.

"Jacin!" she called, pausing directly underneath the tree branch I was perched on. I took a deep breath and counted to three. One. She looked to the left. Two. She looked to the right. Three. She looked up. I leaped off of the branch and plummeted towards her. I landed on top of her and was rolled to the ground. She laughed as we tumbled down the hillside. We slid to a stop. She was lying on top of me.

"That was cruel," she said, still laughing.

"That was genius," I said, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"You didn't need to jump on top of me, though," she said, her face getting closer by the second.

"I didn't?" I questioned, staring into her eyes.

Her face inched closer, "No, definitively not."

"Definitively?"

"Definitively," she whispered before her lips gently pressed against mine. I eased myself upright, out lips not parting as I repositioned myself. I pulled her close to me and she giggled. She pulled away and I kissed her nose quickly. She rested her head against my chest, "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"We can," I replied. Our voices were hushed, the only sound coming from the rustling of the leaves in the autumn breeze. A few drifted gently to the forest floor.

"That's impossible. Everything changes sometime," she whispered back.

"It won't change if you marry me," I said.

She looked up at me and smiled, "You're not serious, are you?"

"Well, I mean, not today. Sometime in the future."

She stared at me and then kissed me again. "Ok. Sometime," she whispered against my lips.

I smiled and kissed her again.

The memory stayed with me as I paused at one of the bridges. It was dark out, so I couldn't see my reflection in the murky water. I was breathing hard. I hid my face in my hands and shook my head. This wasn't the time to remember her. Abigail was gone…and she was never coming back. I felt a tear slide down my face and angrily wiped it away. I took a shaky breath and squeezed my hands into fists. I kept telling myself to get it together…to face reality, but something told me that I couldn't go back to Fairy Tail tonight. I needed time.

A pretty long chapter for you guys. I hope you liked it. Yeah, the ending was a little depressing...sorry? Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you thought. Thanks.

OC List:

Jacin - Lucy's dream guy. Two years older than Lucy. Celestial wizard with both platinum and silver keys. Some troubled past that led to his little brother and himself living on their own. Looking to join Fairy Tail.

Roawin - Jacin's little brother. Four years old. Bubble magic.

Abigail - A girl that Jacin loved and lost. (You'll find out more eventually)

Jacin's Spirits:

Rouge - Platinum celestial spirit. Able to change her size at will.

Fleure - Silver celestial spirit. Flower magic. Is fond of Roawin.

Agwo, Fuegia, Terro, and Cilo - The four elemental spirits, (silver keys).

Venra, Shiea, and Exxos - The three platinum key fox spirits.

Mayla and Diedos - The twins, platinum key.

Grentha - The Grim Reaper, platinum key.

Lupiyah - The Wolf-Woman, platinum key.

Gallego - The Gearmaster, platinum key.

Crossman - Also called Cross. Nice and strict. Platinum key.

Brezza - The Strong Woman, who is pretty scary, (well, Jacin thinks so). Platinum key.

Othos - The Blindman. Caused Lucy to faint. Is actually blind, but able to 'see the truth'. Can read memories and thoughts. Special to Jacin because Othos was his first spirit. Kept around Jacin's neck on a necklace. Platinum key.