[Re-Edited 04-26-22]

Happy Wednesday!

NaLu heavy chapter ahead. Just the usual fun fluff before the next arc. Plenty of action next chapter.

~Onward!

13

-The Stalker-

Lucy shifted a bag of groceries to her other arm, propping it on her hip as she fished her house key out. She unlocked the door and held it open for Natsu who was juggling a few bags himself. Following him in, the blonde placed her groceries on the counter next to the ones Natsu had already put down as she yawned loudly. "It is good to be home," she announced happily and began putting the groceries away as Natsu snagged a beer from her fridge and dropped on to her couch in the living room with a content sigh of his own. She eyed him as he kicked his boots off and lounged back, taking a long sip of his drink. Smiling despite herself, she asked, "you do remember that this is not your home, right?"

"Might as well be with the amount of time I spend here!" he laughed out. Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled out a cutting board to begin chopping an array of veggies.

It was surprisingly nice to be home doing something as mundane as prepping dinner after a month of camping with refugees, subsisting on scraps of food, irregular showers and desperately searching for their comrades. Then there was the terrifying battle with the demon, she didn't want to dwell on that much; though she was incredibly happy that particular shadow had been lifted from her friends' hearts and they could finally move forward.

Pausing in her chopping, Lucy's eyes drifted around her pristinely clean apartment and landed on the pile of notebooks and unmailed letters on her desk. At some point this evening she'd take a little time to write a letter to her mom. Since running from the Heartfilia mansion, the letters had become a necessary cathartic activity that helped her process the good and the bad of her experiences. Her attention shifted to the melting pinks of the sky beyond her window, until Natsu's sudden movement drew her gaze back. She snuck a peek at the fire mage, who at one point, had been sprawled on her couch and was now sitting stock straight and sniffing at the air.

When his eyes met hers, she raised a questioning brow at him, "Hey Luce, have you had someone new over recently?"

"No… how could I have? We've been gone over a month," she countered, "why?"

"There's a new smell in here that I don't recognize," he explained.

"The landlady maybe?" Lucy suggested. She dropped the veggies in a large bowl with oil and seasonings and tossed them, not overly concerned with her companion's unknown smell.

"Nah, I know her smell, unfortunately."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about... Can you do me a favour and lightly seer this meat for me?"

Natsu took one last sniff of the air, frowned and dismissed it as he made his way over to help Lucy with dinner, controlled flames already licking at his fingertips.

The aromas of their dinner cooking brought a satisfied smile to Lucy's face. She checked the rice before grabbing a can of lemonade from the fridge, and flopped down on the end of the couch opposite Natsu. Popping the tab for a sip, Lucy leaned back into the couch and let her eyes drift closed as a wide grin pulled across her face.

Natsu arched a brow and shifted his weight onto his elbow as he watched her, "Careful, your face might freeze in that goofy grin," he teased.

Her eyes shot open and she whipped a pillow at him. Catching it, he just laughed harder at her mock outrage, "What are you thinking about Lucy?"

The stellar mage shifted on the couch to face him and pulled her knees to her chest, "Just that I must be insane," she replied.

"I think a little insanity is a prerequisite to being a Fairy Tail mage," he told her with a wink.

She chuckled behind a hand, "Now that you mention it... I've been getting that impression myself." She took a long gulp of her lemonade and pondered her short time in Fairy Tail. The unconditional warmth she felt constantly in the presence of her new guildmates, still seemed like an impossibility to her. She still had occasional moments where irrational panic would bubble up in her head, screaming that the past couple months had all been a figment of her traumatized mind. The fear that it would all be torn away from her, the moment she let her guard down. That Levy and Mira, Haru and team Dragon Soul, would all be torn away from her... That Natsu... She shook her head slowly, banishing her insecurities for a time and refocused on the pink-haired man in front of her. The direction of her thoughts startled her, not the fear, but the growing reason for that fear where the fire mage was concerned.

Bringing herself back to the warmth that had set her thoughts in motion, Lucy felt a small smile pull at her lips, the barest upturn of the corner of her mouth. "It's been just over four months since you practically dragged me to Fairy Tail, and in that four months, my life has been on the line multiple times..." she told him as she willingly crashed back to the reality of her new life.

Natsu was watching her with an unreadable expression, his arms spread across the back of the couch, waiting patiently for her to continue. "So I must be insane, because I have never been happier in my life. That is crazy, right?" she concluded, giggling.

Natsu leaned forward abruptly, unexpectedly and stopped inches from her face. The subtle flecks of green in his irises were visible in their close proximity, they were mesmerizing. She sucked in a sharp breath, and a blush covered her cheeks immediately, though she didn't dare to distance herself. "Crazy people are the best kind of people," he declared with a toothy grin. Then he was pulling her into his arms and impulsively dragging her back to his side of the couch where he stretched out again, holding her firmly against his chest. He absently traced circles over her back, and Lucy wondered if he could feel or hear the jackhammering of her heart as her body instantly responded to his embrace.

Lucy glanced up, fixing him with a searching look, but he was staring at the ceiling obliviously, remaining completely unreadable. That fact alone threw the blonde for a loop, sure, she hadn't known him for very long, but in that time she had come to realize he was a completely open book. Unreadable, simply wasn't a term she'd ever have thought to use when describing him. Shrugging it off, she settled into his embrace, choosing not to read too much into the gesture, lest her brain short circuit.

The pair spent the evening relaxing, enjoying dinner and chatting randomly through the night and Lucy spent the majority of that time searching for a way to ask Natsu about his seemingly subconscious impulse to cuddle with her. As he chowed down on the food in front of him, she cocked her head to the side, her meal temporarily forgotten and considered the range of emotions coursing through her. 'Could I be falling for Natsu? Or do I just feel this way because I've never had a friend like him before?' she pondered.

Natsu downed the remainder of his beer before his eyes met hers and her face erupted in a blush that could rival Erza's hair. He gave her a spectacularly smug look, having caught her staring.

"Something catch your attention there, Luce?" he asked, pride tinging his voice as he smirked at her.

"What?! No, not at all… I was just thinking you better slow down, before you choke on your food!"

He gave her a knowing smile, "Whatever you say Loonie."

Fairy Tail

It had been a few days since the newly formed Dragon Soul team had returned home, and Natsu, Haru and Lucy were making their way towards the guild with Happy flying around them as usual. Fall was approaching and the air was crisp, the colours brilliant, and the blonde gushed over Magnolia's beauty, not for the first time. Haru was telling Natsu that he and Gray were going to take a short job up on mount Hakobe and asked if they wanted to come along, presenting the mission flyer.

Natsu's eyes raked over a simple herb retrieval mission before he shrugged, "Nah, doesn't look like much fun, and the reward isn't very large to split between four of us." He slapped a hand across the water mage's back, "you guys have fun, maybe Lucy, Erza and I will take a job too."

"Erza left yesterday on an S Class mission that personally requested her, she'll be gone for a while, but she said she'd be back for the Harvest Festival to celebrate with us."

That caught Lucy's attention, "the Harvest Festival?" she questioned, receiving the Twin Dragons' attention as they continued down the cobble stone streets.

"Yeah! One of four big festivals the town and the Guild celebrate, it's a blast, one big party Magnolia-wide!" the fire mage explained excitedly.

"It's kind of one of the ways Fairy Tail gives back to the town for putting up with our rambunctious tendencies, we go all out to entertain the townspeople, and have a brilliant time while we're at it," Haru added.

Lucy bounced on the balls of her feet, clapping her hands, "That sounds amazing! I can't wait!" she called. Her comrades' enthusiasm over the annual event was intoxicating, and she skipped forward a few steps, "come on Natsu, let's find a job of our own, I want some spending money for the festival!"

"Now we're talking!"

Bursting into the guild, the trio found most of their family already around for the day, chatting happily and cheering for Mira who was singing on stage. Lucy approached the request board, waving to Makarov, Macao and Cana who were wrapped up in conversation at the bar. The master and the brunette were talking animatedly, each with a pink telltale dusting across their faces that gave away their intoxication, despite the early hour. Lucy overheard bits and pieces of their enthusiastic discussion on how to top the previous year's Fantasia Parade as she passed by. She made a mental note to ask one of her guildmates what that was as well. Stopping at the large board next to Nab, her eyes scanned the assortment of requests on the board, looking for something with a reward big enough to cover rent and some spending money. "Better pick something good Lucy," Happy commanded as he landed on her shoulder.

"Oh yeah! Here we go," she exclaimed, tearing a request off the board. She held it out for the blue cat to see as well as she read through the details, and Happy echoed his approval. Lucy cheered and bounced over to the table where Natsu was sitting with Haru and Gray as they watched Mira's performance. As the white-haired beauty's singing faded, the boys clapped and cheered. Mira smiled and waved at them before returning to the bar upon noticing the growing crowd waiting to place orders.

Haru left them to get the Hakobe mission recorded, and spent more time chatting with Mira than Lucy thought would have been necessary to get a mission flyer stamped. She raised an eyebrow watching as Mira giggled at something Haru had said, before Gray's impatience got the better of him and he yelled at the Water Slayer to hurry up. Turning with a look of agitation, Haru simply saluted Gray with his middle finger, before saying goodbye to Mira and returning to assist Gray in organizing for their departure. The ice mage hefted his pack to his shoulder and bid a farewell to them all, Haru followed suit waving at them as he trailed after Gray.

Lucy shouted a good luck as the two exited the guild hall and Natsu waved at their retreating forms as well before looking over his shoulder at her, "So what did you find Luce?"

She handed him the flyer in response, confident in her choice. It was a perfect mission for them, she'd decided. It boasted a decent reward, provided Natsu didn't destroy too much, and potential to 'scorch some butts' as he usually put it. The request came from Balsam Town just to the west of Magnolia, where a group of bandits had been pickpocketing, harassing and generally causing problems for the town's visitors. As a town dependent heavily on tourism, the bandits were putting a major dent in their revenue as people were beginning to avoid travelling due to the bandit activity.

"Awesome! I'm all fired up, let's go Lucy, Happy!" He spun on his heel, slapping the flyer down on the bar in front of Mira, "put us down for this one, Mira!" Smiling, the barmaid pressed the stamp down on the bottom corner of their request and wished them luck as Natsu requipped the flyer away.

. . .

Balsam town was close enough that Lucy took pity on the Dragon Slayer and they agreed to take the half-day trek to the neighbouring town. There was no real rush after all, the Harvest Festival was still a few weeks away and this request shouldn't take them too long. Natsu walked with his hands interlinked behind his head, listening as Lucy chatted happily about the job being in the renowned spa town. She turned eyes glittering with excitement on himself and Happy and suggested that they take some time to enjoy pampering themselves after their mission.

Happy giggled mischievously, "You just wanna go to the hot springs with Natsuuu and sneak a peek," he sang out from behind his paws. Lucy froze, ripping him out of the sky in a flash and pulled on his whiskers ruthlessly in retaliation. Natsu just cocked his head at the scene. He certainly wasn't oblivious to the fact that Happy had been teasing the blonde even more than usual recently, implying her romantic interest in the him, every time the chance presented itself. He wondered if the blue cat knew something he didn't. Sure, he'd caught the stellar mage staring more frequently, and had definitely noticed how easy it was to make her blush… A skill he seemed to be perfecting quickly, much to his amusement. But he still wasn't sure if there was anything more to it than their close friendship and her ease to fluster.

A familiar smell broke his attention away from his pondering and the squabbling of his travel companions. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the tree line surrounding them slowly.

The abrupt change in his demeanour didn't go unnoticed by Lucy and she released Happy's reddened cheek, "Hm? Something up Natsu?"

Shifting his attention to her out of the corner of his eye, Natsu continued to focus on his enhanced senses, trying to pinpoint the smell. "I'm not totally sure, but I think we're being followed." Lucy moved closer to the fire mage's side and scanned the forest they were currently walking through as well. "Lucy… this smell, it's the same one I picked up in your apartment the other day."

The blonde gasped, "Are you sure?" she asked breathlessly. Natsu noted the anxiety reflected in the tension of her frame, and felt guilty for worrying her, but he needed her to be on her guard as well. Regrettably, he was forced to announce that he'd lost the scent not long after, which didn't help to ease his friend's new worries. She raised a hand, holding his biceps as she fit herself closer to his side, and he looked down at her. An odd sensation that felt different then the typical need to protect any of his friends settled in his belly, but her next question left him no time to consider it. "You think I'm being stalked?" she whispered.

"Doesn't matter, I would never let anyone hurt you, Luce!" he promised vehemently. "Let's keep going, we're not far from Balsam Town now, and we've got a hot spring to enjoy!" he finished with a toothy grin. She nodded slowly, and sensing her continued anxiety the mischievous fire mage threw in, "don't worry Loonie, I'll even let you bathe with me!"

Natsu laughed as her whole face turned bright red. Yeah, that was never gonna get old. It might turn into his new favourite pastime, he was beginning to understand why Happy enjoyed flustering people by implying their romantic entanglements. Though, he was starting to suspect the blue cat might actually be onto something with his teasing, for once. Unlike Happy, Natsu had only teased her this time in hopes that it might defuse her lingering concerns. In her embarrassment, she cuffed him in the back of the head and stomped off down the trail again. The fire mage smiled widely, 'She sure is feisty,' he thought fondly as he relinked his hands behind his head and followed after the fuming blonde.

Later that evening

Lucy, Natsu and Happy entered Hosenka Spa and Inn just shortly after night fall. The fire mage dragged a foursome of half-conscious men and one woman behind him, bound with a length of rope, as he chatted with Lucy, unfazed by the confused looks the hotel's patrons were giving them. The lobby of the inn kept with the rest of the town's theme of stunning oriental architecture and Natsu's glance swept over the ornate sand garden that framed the far wall as they made their way to reception. He leaned an elbow on the counter and tapped the small bell, summoning a petit woman in a simple kimono from the back office, asking how she might help as she approached.

Natsu gave her a toothy grin and jabbed a thumb at his chest, "I'm Natsu Dragneel, my teammates here are Lucy and Happy, we're with Fairy Tail. We came here to respond to the request your resort manager and some other merchants placed…" he trailed off. Lucy had stopped paying attention to the conversation after his introduction. Beaming, she realized she might never get over the swell of pride that came with being introduced as a member of the most powerful guild in Fiore.

"Earthland to Lucy," Natsu's voice broke her out of her daydreaming, and she focused on the room key he was dangling in front of her face. "They're providing us with a suite for the job and including hot spring access."

Lucy cheered excitedly, snagging the key out of the Dragon Slayer's fingers and bounced on the balls of her feet with unrestrained excitement. Best mission ever!

While the Fairy Tail mages were gushing over the free stay, the receptionist paged the resort manager on a communication lacrima and one of the rice paper walls slid open. A middle aged man appeared and approached the trio with a polite smile that made his round cheeks even more prominent. "Thank you so much for responding Fairy Tail mages! My poor hotel hasn't seen even half occupancy in weeks, if we don't get this resolved, we will be forced to close—"

The fire mage laughed heartily and tossed the restrained bandits at the manager's feet, "I believe, these are your culprits. Idiots made the mistake of swiping Lucy's keys while we were talking with one of the restaurant owners on our way over here... It was quite the unexpected welcome, but it sure made our job easy!"

The manager blinked dumbly down at the bandits. It seemed unbelievable that after weeks of being harassed by these four, they'd been thwarted before he was even aware Fairy Tail had accepted the Town's request. "Uh, well… I suppose, if that's done already..." He scratched his head in awe, still eyeing the pathetic looking bandits, "you might as well enjoy the Hosenka resort. It is the least we can do, please let us know if we can do anything to make your stay more enjoyable."

"Aye sir!" Happy cried out, blowing passed Lucy and swiping the key from her hands before disappearing down the hall in search of their suite.

"Hey! Get back here you mangy fur ball!" Lucy shouted, pivoting and darting after the cat without another word. Natsu raised an eyebrow as he watched his companions disappear around the corner. Looking back at the resort staff, he shrugged and thanking them both before wandering down the hall in search of them. Natsu found the door to their suite wide open and walked into a lavish room furnished with two large beds, a couch and table in front of a fireplace. Following the giggles to their suite's patio, Natsu found the rice paper doors pulled wide open, leading to small private hot spring. Happy was already floating on his back in the spring and Lucy had squatted down to dip her hand in the water, she looked up with a blissful expression when he stopped in the doorway to observe them. "Natsu!" she said exuberantly, "can you believe this place?! They weren't kidding about the luxury suite!"

He smiled at her excitement, "No doubt! I'm starving though, gonna grab us some food... What do you guys want?"

"I just want to soak the night away in this spring!" "FISH!"

Laughing at the predictability of his friends, Natsu turned to leave, "Alright, enjoy then, I will be back with some food soon."

. . .

Waltzing back into the resort with a couple bags of takeout in his hands not 20 minutes later, Natsu decided if the food was half as tasty as the strange chef's forehead was tall, then the meal would be delicious. But his anticipation for the food was cut short. He stopped dead as he pushed the door to their suite open, dropping the bags of food on the floor in his shock. "What the…" he growled, hesitating only a second in his confusion before charging across the room and bursting out onto the patio. Happy was curled up, purring peacefully on a large warm stone and Lucy was leaning back into the edge of the spring with her eyes wide and an arm trying to cover her ample chest as she looked back at an unknown man across from her. "What the hell is going on here?!" Natsu yelled, stepping up beside Lucy and pulling her from the spring and behind his body. Lucy immediately clung to his shoulder as Natsu narrowed his eyes at the toned man with spiky orange hair.

The intruder ignored his demanding question out right though. In fact, he didn't even acknowledge his arrival, just continuing to stare down the blonde over his shoulder.

"It was you, you're the one who has been following Lucy," Natsu tried again, his tone soft now, but hinting a dangerous edge. He felt Lucy's grip tighten on his arm, felt the slightest tremble of her fingers against his skin. Between her fear and the other man's bored attitude, Natsu was getting more pissed off by the second.

Finally breaking his silence, the ginger narrowed his eyes, "Lucy Heartfilia," he stated, "tell me, what is so special about you?"

"Eh?!" Lucy exclaimed, "why don't you tell ME, you're the one stalking me, you creep!"

"I do not see why my brethren choose to put their lives on the line for you," he growled, his indifferent demeanour giving way to disgust.

"What the hell are you—" Lucy started to ask him, but Natsu's impatience had him interrupting her, further pissed by the man's implications against the stellar mage's character.

"Though we have no idea what you're talking about, I can say with confidence that all of those of us willing to put our lives on the line for Lucy, do so because she would do the same for any of us!"

The man across from them gritted his teeth, "Is that so? Well, I don't trust you," he stated bluntly, eyes still watching her appraisingly. "But for some unfathomable reason, my brethren do. So understand, that what I am going to tell you is for their sakes, not yours." Lucy and Natsu exchanged a tense glance.

"Stop talking in riddles ya jerk!" Natsu barked.

"I am Leo, leader of the Twelve Zodiac," he paused as the two mages before him gawked openly and blurted questions that he proceeded to ignore. "And though I trust no human, I will warn you, that your father has plans in motion to bring you back under his control."

The stellar mage gasped as the cold fear of her past stabbed through her, "W-why tell me this? And why have you been following me?!"

"Your father contracted me to track you down and report back on anything I learned. He is the perfect example of the deplorable behaviour of humans," Leo spat. He ignored Lucy's passionate denials that she was anything like her father. "I've been following you for quite a while, and I am aware of the bonds you hold with several of the Zodiac. Any fight you get dragged into, will affect them as well, that is the only reason I am alerting you to his plans." He crossed his arms, eyes hovering on the key pouch that rested on the robe she'd left folded to the side of the spring. "I am warning you, if any of my friends are harmed because of you, I will show you no mercy."

Natsu shot across the small hot spring in a fiery flash and Lucy squealed having been exposed, dropping into a squat to protect her modesty. Natsu had a grip full of Leo's tie in his fist and a ball of fire whirling around his other, "Stupid move threatening Lucy in my presence," he bit out in a dangerously low voice.

Leo raised a taunting brow, completely unfazed by his display of anger. "Be seeing you around, Lucy," he promised and Natsu's punch met nothing but golden light. The fire mage cursed under his breath, and he had to physically reign in his anger before he could properly support his frightened friend. Releasing a long exhale, he approached Lucy who was shivering and hugging her knees to her chest. He snagged her robe off the stone and draped it over her shoulders, kneeling down next to her as she pulled the fabric tighter around herself. Folding her into his arms, he ran one hand up and down her back soothingly until her shaking slowed. The smell of her tears felt worse then an unexpected gut punch... and he wanted nothing more then to go hunt her father down and make him pay for all the hurt he'd ever caused her. But right now he knew, all she needed was his support. He released another breath and calmed himself.

"Hey, it'll be okay," he told her, lifting her chin to look at him, "it's like I said when we first met, Fairy Tail protects its own from any threat, that includes that mangey lion, and your sorry excuse for a father." He brushed her bangs back and pressed his lips to her forehead in an unexpectedly tender gesture. She took in a surprised breath, turning teary brown eyes on him.

"I will always protect you Lucy, you can count on that."

He handed her keys to her as she got back to her feet with his assistance. Hugging the keys to her chest, she revelled in the warmth of the magic reassuring her and nodded, "Yeah, thanks Natsu."

Natsu woke the next morning with Lucy's weight draped across his body, her arm was lazily wrapped around his hip and a leg had threaded between his own. He felt his cheeks heat at the position, but peering down at the slumbering blonde, he chose to remain still, not wanting to disturb her sleep. It had been a rough night; Lucy had been completely distraught after Leo's unexpected and unwelcome visit.

She couldn't make sense of the spirit's distain for her and the news that her father was up to who knows what… Well, to say she had been on edge, would be a monumental understatement. Lucy had leaned against the headboard of her bed, holding Happy in her lap and absently stroked the cat's fur more for her own comfort than for Happy's pleasure. Natsu had joined her, sitting close by, but not saying anything. Slowly, she had begun to tell him about the strained relationship she had with her father.

She had explained to him that her father had never been warm, but when her mom had passed while she was just a child, the shreds of fatherly affection he'd had, died with her. On his best days her father had been indifferent and cold, on his worst he became physically abusive, but regardless of his mood, he always demanded nothing less than complete obedience. Just a few months before her 16th birthday he'd informed her that she was to marry the heir to the Junelle fortune securing a business venture. She'd escaped the Heartfilia estate just days later. She'd resorted to living in hotels, never staying in one city long enough for her father to catch up with her, never allowing herself to trust anyone or form any bonds.

That is, until she'd met Natsu. Two years of living in anxiety of being found, until Natsu's appearance in her life had every wall she'd painstakingly formed, crashing down around her. He charged into her life with the force of a canon, and had every detail of the life she'd thought was set in stone, changing impossibly fast. Suddenly, she'd dared to believe she could live outside of her father's shadow for the first time.

Natsu had remained quiet, he simply sat close, absently running his hand up and down the top of her leg in silent support. Allowing her to talk everything out until she had fallen quiet and her tears had run dry. He hadn't offered any more verbal reassurance. It was clear she already had confidence that Fairy Tail could handle whatever her father dished out, even if she felt anxious over how it might affect her guild. So, he'd just suggested that they return to the guild in the morning to discuss the news with Makarov and she'd agreed, mentally preparing to share her rocky family history with her new family.

Turning his head now, Natsu found a ball of blue fur curled up on the pillow Lucy had abandoned in favour of turning him into her own personal body pillow. Both his companions were still fast asleep, and Natsu briefly considered trying to sneak out of the stellar mage's grasp to hunt down some breakfast for them. But before he could begin freeing himself, Lucy released a content sigh as she shifted in her sleep, dragging her arm over his hip and across his groin to rest on his upper thigh. He froze at the brief friction the fleeting swipe of her fingers had inadvertently caused and sucked in a breath, the heat of her hand was still dangerously close to his member. He fidgeted uncomfortably, his pants tightening with the direction of his thoughts. If she moved like that anymore... he was going to pounce on her before she knew what was happening.

'Okay, that's enough of that!' he thought frantically, brining the arm that was pinned under her form to her shoulder to gently shake her awake. He desperately hoped she wouldn't reactively beat him when she noticed their intimate proximity.

Lucy just curled into his side further in response though, burying her face into his chest. "Lucy, come on, it's time to wake up," he coaxed softly.

Her eyes fluttered open and her weight moved briefly as she took in her current position, looking slightly disoriented. Understanding dawned in her warm brown eyes and the next second she was yelping out an apology, leaping away from his body. She blinked down at him as he rolled on to his side resting his head on a propped elbow to observe her.

"Hey don't worry about it, can't really complain about waking up with a beautiful girl in my arms," he said with a brilliant smile. She stuttered out a variety of incoherent words, flushing crimson as he climbed out of bed and picked up his vest from the floor where he'd thrown it the night before. Shrugging the black and gold material on, he wrapped his scarf loosely around his neck before looking back over his shoulder at the awestruck blonde. "Come on Lucy, Happy," he said as he tossed a pillow at the slumbering cat, startling him from his sleep. "Let's find some breakfast and get back home."

A/N. *I am aware that in the Anime the town is called 'Hosenka,' it is Balsam Town in the manga, so I decided to call the resort 'Hosenka.'

ALRIGHT, Leo's on scene and Lucy's father is behind the scenes. Predictions?

'Till Saturday!

R&R.

~LokaMuse