Natsu leaned against her doorframe while she fumbled with her apartment keys. He was impatient as usual. "For a mage who uses keys all the time, I would expect you to be a little quicker at this," he grumbled.

Lucy didn't look up. "That's the funny thing about keys—the more you have, the harder it is to find the right one."

"This would be a lot easier if you just gave me a key to your apartment already. It's becoming a safety concern. I almost fell last week when I was crawling through the window."

"Well, maybe you should act like a normal person and use the door." Finally she opened the door and they went inside.

"Hiya Captain!" Happy called out. The small Exceed was hovering near the doorway. Apparently Natsu's bad habits were contagious.

Lucy took off her shoes and put her gear away. "There's some fresh fish and ramen in the refrigerator if you're hungry. Help yourselves."

She smiled as she heard a chorus of woops. Those two were always hungry.

With her friends occupied, Lucy made a beeline for her sanctuary—the bathroom. The food would keep her two houseguests busy long enough for a quick bath.

A moment later she was in paradise, allowing the hot water to loosen the stiffness in her muscles. When she finally got out of the tub, she felt like a new person—refreshed and ready for another mission. She put on her pajamas and went back out to join her friends.

It seemed that the brief time alone time might have been too much. Happy was wearing one of her bras and flying around the living room. "Look at me Natsu. I'm Lucy. Don't you want to kiss me?"

He made a kissy face and barely managed to dodge the book that flew towards his head.

"Hey, knock it off you two." Lucy shot Natsu a look and held out a hand towards Happy, motioning for the bra.

The blue Exceed landed on a bookcase and began fumbling with the straps. "How do girls get these things off? It's like a booby trap."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Everyone's already heard that joke before."

"What joke?" asked Happy.

"You didn't even clasp it, here—". She went to the bookcase and helped him out of the bra. "Why are you two even fighting? You never argue."

Natsu shot Happy a dirty look. "He's just upset that he hasn't been coming on as many missions with us."

Now that she thought about it, Natsu was right. "Why aren't you coming on missions with us any more Happy?" she asked.

"Natsu—" Happy started.

Natsu cut him off. "Happy's been spending some extra time training with Panther Lily."

"Oh, that's great Happy. You'll have to show me what you've learned."

Happy was eager for an audience and began striking a few martial arts poses. His short limbs made him more adorable than menacing but Lucy was able to keep a straight face. All three of them chatted and laughed as the sun set.

Happy was very interested in hearing about Lucy's dreams.

"I bet he liiiikes you," Happy sang after Lucy described the mage in her dreams.

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm not even certain he's a real person. This could all still be a dream. We're just going to play it safe and check things out."

She looked at the clock—it was already 11pm. "Alright guys, I think I'm going to call it a night." She went to the bathroom and and when she came back, Natsu was laying on her queen-sized bed.

"You cannot sleep in my bed tonight," she said firmly. "As a matter-of-fact, you're not supposed to sleep at all. You said you were going to watch me sleep."

"And I will. I just want to be comfortable while I'm doing it." He sat up and began taking his shirt off.

Lucy looked away to give him more privacy. "Why don't you just sit in the chair?" She waved her hand at the desk chair she used when she was writing.

"It's uncomfortable." He lifted the covers and got into bed.

"You'll fall asleep if you get too comfortabe," argued Lucy.

"No way. I don't even sleep that much."

That was a lie. Whenever they were on a mission Natsu slept like a log, but arguing wasn't going to get them anywhere. Resigned to a night of stolen sheets, Lucy went to the other side of the bed and got in. She turned on her side and hit the lights.

Instantly, she heard some rustling and the room was bathed in an orange glow. Lucy turned back around.

"What are you doing?"

A small flame was dancing in Natsu's palm. "I'm supposed to watch you."

"Well I can't sleep if I'm worried about a fire hazard in my bed."

He closed his hand and the flame was gone. "Okay, you're the boss. I can see pretty well in the dark anyway.

She rolled back over.

A few minutes later, she heard snoring.

"Natsu!" Lucy shook her bedmate.

"Huh, what's up? Are you dreaming?"

"No, you were snoring. How can you watch me if you're sleeping?"

"Don't worry. I got things under control."

She rolled back over. Natsu was being annoying but he would still come through in a pinch. He always did.

She waited to see if Natsu would start snoring again. He didn't, but his breathing deepened. It was a familiar sound from countless nights of camping. Her sleep came easily.

In her dream, the forest was too quiet to be a real and the air had a distinct smell that she remembered from other dreams—a sort of spicy smell similar to incense. She looked up and saw large oak trees blotting out the sun. It appeared to be either early morning or late afternoon.

Sitting across from her on a fallen tree-trunk, was Mr. Black.

He wore a kabuki mask that looked like a devil with a grin so big, it made her imagine that he had just won someone's soul. It should have been terrifying, or at least uncomfortable, but for some reason it wasn't.

"Welcome back student." He stood and approached her.

"Hello Mr. Black." She bowed slightly to show her respect.

"Are you ready for today's lesson?"

"Yes."

He made a small nod. "Okay then. Let's work on unlocking your inner magic. You've made a lot of progress but you're still holding back."

She cleared her throat and he looked at her. "Before we begin, I had a question?" she asked.

Mr. Black paused. "Yes?"

"Well, it just occurred to me that you have been so kind to me and yet, I don't know anything about you." Lucy twisted her foot back and forth and played with one of her golden locks. If Happy's theory about a crush was correct, a little flirting might help.

Mr. Black stared at her. "What's your point?"

"Just that I'd like to get to know you better. I mean, I don't even know your first name."

"This is a waste of time," he said, beginning to get irritable. "Why do even you care about such things all of sudden? You still want to become a more powerful mage, don't you? I thought you were more serious than this."

Happy had been way off on his secret-admirer-theory. She stopped swaying her foot and dropped her hands to her side.

"Of course, Sir. I was just a little curious, that's all."

Mr. Black waved his hand, ending the conversation. "Let's begin." He found a place in the forest clearing and sat cross-legged.

Lucy followed his lead, kneeling to the forest floor so that the two of them were facing each other.

"Close you eyes and relax," he instructed.

Her eyelids shut and she took a deep breath. Soft chanting filled her ears and she drifted into a trance. The language that Mr. Black was speaking was unfamiliar but beautiful.

After several moments, the chanting stopped. "Now, imagine a third eye here." Fingertips traced the center of her forward. "The eye looks inward, rather than outward."

Lucy visualized an eye peering into her brain. As her sight focused, she saw blood vessels floating amongst grey tissue.

"Use your third-eye to find your chi-lines."

Her vision stretched, moving into the grey matter. She felt resistance but ignored the urge to pull back—this was only a mental exercise and she could get through it.

Suddenly the wall was gone and she was standing alone in a bright room.

"I'm there," she said softly.

"What do you see?"

"A white room, filled with light."

"Excellent. You will need a way to control the light. Try to imagine an object. Like a tool or a wand."

"A wand?" she asked.

There was a pause and Lucy sensed Mr. Black nodding. "In my time, it was common to use a wand. Is there some other object you would feel more comfortable with?"

"A key," she murmured.

"A key is an excellent focusing object. Try to make one appear by gathering the light."

Lucy focused on the light in the room. It felt heavy, sort of like sand. She held out her hands and imagined the light being drawn towards her. Her fingers began to tingle— then burn.

"Ouch." She drew back and was once again sitting on the forest floor. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"What happened?" he asked

Lucy rubbed her hands together, still tender with pain. "It felt like my hands were burning."

The man cupped her hands in his and instantly the pain was gone.

"Better?"

Lucy wiggled her fingers in surprise. "Yes, actually it is."

"Good, let's try again."

Lucy frowned. Suddenly, she couldn't shake the thought that what they were doing might be dangerous. While in that trance, she had felt… something. She took a deep breath and spoke quickly. "Are you a real person?"

"I thought we were done with questions about me."

Lucy reached for his mask but he was too quick and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't," he warned.

"But I want to see your face. Who are you?" She was beginning to get mad. "Natsu thinks you're a real person."

The man stiffened. "Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yeah, how do you know Natsu?"

The hand around her wrist tightened. "What did you tell him?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

A large crash made her jump. Somewhere in the forest it sounded like a tree had fallen. Something told her the timing wasn't just coincidence.

"Ungrateful," he muttered. He dropped her hand, stood up and began to pace. "I told you not to tell anyone about these lessons."

"But—" Lucy fumbled for the words. "If these are just dreams then I don't have to take orders from you."

"Is that what you really think?" he asked. "That these are just dreams?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "Shit," she whispered.

He bent down so there faces were mere inches apart. "What? Are you really that surprised? Some piece of you must have realized that you weren't suddenly becoming a competent mage simply by having a couple dreams. How pathetic. True magic is learned through blood, sweat and tears. Or, in your case, being taught by someone else who has already done all the legwork."

"There's no reason to get nasty," she snapped. "Who do you think you are? I never asked for your help and I certainly didn't ask for you to enter my dreams."

He laughed. "No, but trust me, these dreams are an improvement over your typical fantasies. When I enter, you're usually dreaming about princesses or detectives or some strange combination of the two. I've never met anyone as simple-minded as you."

Mr. Black was describing the plot of her latest a novel—a crime-solving princess who had a quirky but lovable side.

She stuck a finger in his face. "Okay, that's it. You're going to get the hell out of my dreams and if you ever come back you can be certain that my guild and I will find you and drag your ass to the magic council."

He laughed loudly. "Does this information really change anything? I'm teaching you to be stronger. That's what you want, isn't it? Does it really matter who I am?"

"Of course it does."

Distantly, she heard someone calling her name. The man's head turned to the side, listening. The voice called her name again, a little louder this time. It was Natsu, but he sounded far away.

"Think about it Lucy. I can teach you how to be more powerful than you ever imagined."

At that moment, she didn't care. Instinct was telling her to get the hell away from the man in front of her. She focused on the voice, like she had learned to focus with her third eye. She felt herself begin to drift between the two worlds.

"This isn't over," the man said. But his voice was already fading.

Suddenly, she was on a bed, being shaken by her pink-haired friend. When she was certain of her surroundings, she hugged him tightly.

"Oh God Natsu, you were right. These aren't just dreams."