There was an awkward pause.

"Hi," said Lucy after the silence had become too uncomfortable. Her eyes kept flicking between Natsu and Zeref. Both men were glaring at each other.

Zeref looked down at the newspaper on the table. "I see word travels fast." He picked up the paper and pointed to the picture. "Is this supposed to be me? This man has a unibrow."

Lucy looked around the café. A few people were beginning to stare. "Can we take this outside?" She tugged on Natsu's vest but he didn't move. Happy had perched himself on Natsu's shoulder and was trembling.

Zeref picked up a menu and began browsing. "Actually, I'm famished. Does this shop have any soup?"

"Don't you think a little more privacy would be nice?" whispered Lucy.

He glanced around the café. There were only five people in the shop not including the waitress who had just gone back into the kitchen. He muttered a few words under his breath.

Each of the other patrons were suddenly attacked by their food. The leaves on one woman's salad began to swarm like angry bees and a man was pelted in the face with meatballs. There was another man whose sandwich opened and closed like bear trap.

There were shouts as the customers jumped out of their seats. The waitress came back just in time to see the last patron running out of the shop. She gave Lucy a questioning look.

Lucy laughed nervously. "I don't know what got into all of them. I think they saw a mouse."

The waitress glared suspiciously but took their orders. When she was gone, Lucy looked at Zeref.

"What the hell happened last night? It sounds like an entire town was leveled."

A look of annoyance flashed across his face. "Well, things didn't go exactly as planned—not that that should be any surprise. Nothing involving Acnologia has ever gone to plan."

Natsu interrupted. "And what exactly was your plan? You better not have used Lucy for any of your evil shit. She trusted you to use that necklace to stop Acnologia, not destroy a town."

Zeref's eyes slid towards Lucy. "You told him?"

Her mouth felt dry.

Zeref waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's fine. It doesn't matter anyways. Acnologia knows what I tried to do. And I didn't lie— I really did try to reverse the spell that created Acnologia."

"What went wrong?" she asked.

"Let's see, after you and your merry band of friends left, I went to the closest town and cleared out the residents."

"Why?"

"As a precaution—he has levelled the closest town as a form of revenge for other failed attempts I've made against him."

"So you knew a town might to be destroyed? What if Acnologia had flown in a different direction?"

He gave her a grim look. "Then thousands of people would be dead." He paused, watching her reaction. "But—I was almost certain he would head towards Columbine. The next closest town is Begonia and it is too small to draw his attention."

It still seemed risky to Lucy but she wasn't going to argue that point. What was in the past, was in the past.

Zeref continued. "Anyways, once the town was cleared out, I went into the forest and summoned the spirit of Brotan."

"Who's Brotan?" asked Natsu.

Zeref looked at him. "I see Lucy didn't tell you everything. Brotan is the first dragon and the father of all dragons."

Natsu's eyes widened and Zeref seemed pleased that he had caught him off guard.

"Did the necklace not work?" she asked.

"Yes and no. I was able to summon Brotan…"

The waitress came back with their orders and Zeref stopped talking. Lucy and Natsu had gotten sandwiches, Happy had ordered the salmon, and Zeref had ordered a bowl of ramen. Lucy had actually expected Natsu to order ramen but he may have been loath to order the same thing as Zeref.

They thanked the waitress and she left.

Zeref clapped his hands together. "It was a bit chilly this morning. I love a bowl of warm ramen after a spending a night outside." He picked up his chopsticks and began slurping up the noodles.

"So, did Brotan refuse to help you?" asked Lucy.

"Oh, I'm sure he would have liked to refuse on principal but he is bound by the person who summons him. He didn't reverse the spell simply because he couldn't."

"He couldn't?" asked Lucy. "After everything we went through, the first dragon couldn't undo the spell?"

"Sadly, you are correct," agreed Zeref. "If he had been alive, it might have been possible. It seems it takes a great more power to reverse the spell than to cast it."

"That seems like a pretty big miscalculation on your part. We risked our lives getting that damn thing. You destroyed an entire town—all because you thought he might be able to undo the spell that turned Acnologia into a dragon?"

Zeref patted his mouth with a napkin. "Well, it sounds reckless when you put it that way. There was no way to tell for certain if it would work. It seemed worth a shot given the risks."

Natsu interrupted. "How do we know Acnologia isn't just killing people because you're trying to kill him? I seem to recall seeing you at Tenrou Island seven years ago."

Zeref's eyes flashed red and Lucy kicked Natsu under the table. It was too late though.

"I assure you that Acnologia isn't the victim in this mess. It's true that his appearance at Tenrou Island while I was there wasn't a coincidence but I did not force his hand in destroying that island. He has destroyed plenty of towns, such as Margaret without provocation."

Zeref lifted more noodles to his mouth.

Lucy cleared her throat. "So, what happened after you found out that the spell wouldn't work? How did Acnologia show up?"

"All dragons, even Acnologia have a connection to the First. The instant I summoned Brotan, Acnologia knew of his existence and came to destroy the necklace. I was actually counting on this to help me cast the spell. However, after my discussion with Brotan, I realized my goals were unattainable so I was gone by the time Acnolgoia arrived."

He reached into his pocket and put the necklace on the table. The three of them stared at it.

"This is essentially worthless now although Acnologia would probably love to destroy it. After I made my escape, I watched from a distance as he tore my castle apart. I believe he was searching for this necklace."

Natsu put his drink on the table. "So why are you here now? Your plan to defeat Acnologia failed. Fine—I get it. But what do you want with Lucy?"

Zeref ignored him and turned towards Lucy. "What exactly is the deal with you two? Are you married?"

"No," said Lucy. "We're partners—we work together."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and you didn't answer his question. Why are you here?"

Zeref sighed. "Well, I'd like to lay low for a couple days while my servants search for a new home-base and I was trying to think of a good way to pass the time. Then I remembered the state that I had left your apartment in and I realized how completely rude that was of me. So, I thought I would stop over here and see if I could be of some assistance."

There was a soft thud as Happy hit the ground

"You expect us to believe that you came here to help Lucy?" asked Natsu.

"You don't have to believe me, I'll prove it."

Zeref stood up and walked outside. They watched through the window as he strolled along the building supplies.

With each step he took, materials and tools seemed to come alive. Saws cut wood and hammers pounded nails. The strangest of all was the lumber. The boards sprouted legs and crawled up the apartment's steps like giant centipedes. People on the street stopped to watch the spectacle. A few took pictures.

Zeref came back inside. "See? No tricks. Your apartment should be good as new in a couple hours."

Lucy stammered. "Th—thank you, I guess."

Natsu jumped out of his seat. "This is crazy. Don't thank him Luce—he almost killed you. You still have his hand marks around your neck and that black eye."

Her hand went up to the ugly bruises. She had forgotten about them.

"I'll admit that that wasn't my finest moment. I'd like to fix that also if you let me." Tentatively, he reached up and brushed the hair behind her shoulder. His fingers traced her cheek and neck. "Sana," he said.

Instantly, she felt the swelling in her cheek dissipate.

"Oh hell no." Natsu grabbed the front of Zeref's jacket and pulled him close. "You might be acting like the nice guy now but you're not fooling me. This is some sort of an act. You want something from us."

Zeref grabbed Natsu's hand and slowly peeled it off his collar. Natsu didn't cry out but his fingers were turning purple so Lucy new that whatever Zeref was doing— hurt.

"I want absolutely nothing from you and I don't require anything from Lucy either. But—"

"Ha, there's a 'but'. I knew it!"

"But, if Lucy is willing, I would enjoy some companionship and perhaps a little help in brainstorming ideas for my next plan of attack against Acnologia."

"You want help from me?" she asked. "I don't know the first thing about killing dragons. Natsu would probably be better for that. He is a dragon slayer."

Zeref laughed. "Hardly. It's obvious from his skill-level that he was abandoned before his training was complete. Natsu wouldn't be able to kill a hatchling, much less a full grown dragon."

Natsu's face turned bright red. His father had been the dragon who had trained him and had mysteriously left him when he was a child. Zeref was pouring salt on old wounds.

"Now you—" Zeref reached out and clasped Lucy's hand. "You almost killed me—a feat which has not be done in centuries. I would greatly value your opinion in this matter."

Lucy took her hand back and pulled out her wallet. "No," she said firmly. "You've just insulted my friend and I'm not going to work with someone like that." She glanced at the check and threw some money on the table.

"Come on guys, let's get out of here." She stood up and Happy and Natsu followed suit. They walked out of the café without looking back.

Natsu jogged to keep up with her pace. His cheeks still had two bright red marks on them but he looked a little better. "Thanks for telling that guy off Luce. I was worried you were starting to buy into his bullshit."

"Yeah, that was a crappy thing he said about Igneel." She squeezed his shoulder. "And I think you're the best dragon slayer there is. You've gotten really strong and you always have my back. That's all that really matters."

Happy flew beside them. "I can't believe that was Zeref. He was scary."

Lucy looked back over her shoulder. No one was following them but she didn't think she had seen the last of Zeref.