Hey guys...been awhile...I lost motivation to write at all for a few years, but I want to try to reconnect with it. For now, I think I'll push out one shots or short stories as I've never been proud enough to actually finish a prompt. Enough talk, we now write

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The celestial mage wasn't sure what it was. After everything that she and her guild mates had been through the last several years, she thought she would understand this new and unwavering feeling. But she didn't. At first, she played it off as admiration and there was nothing to worry about. It became increasingly obvious it was NOT. It was something more. And it terrified Lucy because she had never felt this way before.

She wouldn't lie. She had fallen for Natsu's boyish and charming personality at one point. The way he was protective of his friends and everything important to him was so cute. The dragon slayer was extremely dense but his love of food was rather...iconic to say the least. All that boy cares about was stuffing his face with Happy or fighting until he went berserk. The blonde could see how any woman could fall for this immature pink haired wizard. He was a genuine guy...for the most part.

For a while, Lucy believed that Natsu and her would end up together as that they had such great chemistry, unfortunately she had been sorely mistaken. The mage wasn't even sure how it happened and why, but she couldn't deny her own feelings. It caught her off guard sure, but she was slowly accepting that she would be unable to break the effect that this person had on her. It was unbelievable how much control they had. And they didn't even realize it at all.

The summoner sighed and rubbed her brow. This was frustrating, dealing with her feelings and now this hundred year quest they had all agreed to take. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she knew if she didn't tell the person how she felt, she would lose them. Lucy didn't want that. She sat up in the bed she had been lying on. She glanced over at the window, seeing the moonlight filter through the curtains and into the room. She hesitated before convincing herself to get up. She silently walked past the other bed, making sure she didn't wake its occupants. She slowly drew back the curtains. It revealed not just a window, but a balcony. Her hand reached for the lock and she twisted it, the sound of it unlocking making her more nervous than it should.

Lucy took a glance behind her to make sure she didn't wake her room mates. Her eyes softening as she looked at the one sleeping figure. The moonlight reflected onto the opposing woman's face. It was a rare site to see Erza Scarlet look so peaceful. Her breathing was slow, a sign that she was truly relaxed. The requip mage had an unfortunate tendency to sleep with one eye open. She was always on alert, always making sure she wasn't inattentive. The key holder knew better than anyone that it was just the redheads way of ensuring herself that she was safe. It had dissipated over the years, but it was still a thing she did out of habit.

Those brown eyes slid over to see the figure sleeping next to Erza. The small dragon slayer was out like a light. In all honestly, Wendy was like the guilds younger sister. She was truly a sweet and compassionate girl. She wasn't as reckless as the other dragon slayers, but she was just as stubborn and proud. Lucy assumed most of the dragon slayers were just like that. It just seemed almost natural. Just like the embodiment of a true dragon. Their team naturally took Wendy in and she has been an important player ever since. The wind dragon slayer was loyal to the end, no matter what.

The blonde smiled softly before turning back around and wrapping her fingers around the glass door knob. She opened it and closed it as quietly as she could. She took a breath of relief before approaching the railing to lean over it. With her eyes fixated on the moon, she began to get lost her in thoughts once more.

How am I ever going to tell you? I've never been so lost with this type of thing before...

The woman felt her fist tighten the more she thought about it.

I thought I knew but I guess not.

Lucy let her nails dig into her palm the more she thought of this peculiar situation she somehow ended up in. She still didn't understand.

"Why me...why did this happen to me?" She whispered softly to herself as she felt tears threatening to spill. Her body shook as she fought off the pain and uncertainty. The last thing she needed was to wake Erza or Wendy up. She knew even though Natsu was dead asleep, he still had extremely sharp hearing. So if he heard her, he would wake up Gray and then they would wake up everyone else. She didn't want that.

Many emotions racked through her mind which caused the trembling in her body to increase. Her breathing became heavy as she began to feel the weight of an anxiety attack beginning to emerge.

She was terrified of many aspects of this mission. She didn't wanna lose her friends, she didn't wanna die and she definitely didn't wanna be rejected either. It was overwhelming her and eating away at her mental state.

After struggling several more minutes with this, she broke. She couldn't tell if she was even producing noise, but she didn't care. She could only pray that no one heard her. Her breaths came out in short exasperated bursts. Tears blurred her vision and rolled down her cheeks. The anxiety flooded her senses and she was lost in it.

"Why...why did it have to be this way?" She choked out.

"Lucy?" A concerned voice called out.

Lucy immediately froze and rotated her head to see Erza standing there. Her normally stoic demeanor was replaced with worry. Her hazel eyes widened slightly seeing that the celestial wizard had been crying, which the blonde swiftly wiped her tears away and did her best to calm down.

The younger girl didn't trust her voice but she let it rasp out anyways. "E-Erza, I'm sorry I didn't realize you were awake. I must've woke you up huh..." she forced an apologetic smile.

The knight mage just stood there, unsure what to say. Lucy felt awkward but just sighed and turned back around to gaze outwards. Even as awkward as the redhead could be, the summoner felt the S-mage's presence at her side.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" She finally asked softly.

"Nothing much, I'm just overwhelmed. It's majorly stressing me out." She managed to get out. Her voice was strained beyond recognition. Her body was shaking so badly.

A hand clamped onto hers and Lucy whisked a look to meet Erza's gaze. Concern laced the redheads features. "You're shaking. What's wrong?"

The requip mage could be persistent so there was no point in trying to hide it. The blonde prayed for forgiveness as she shamelessly turned and threw herself into the knight's arms.

Erza's breath caught in her throat as Lucy hugged her tightly. She could feel the fear radiating off the girls form.

Lucy was about to pull away as she felt the woman's hesitation but Erza wrapped her toned arms around her. And just like that. Lucy Heartfilia bawled her eyes out as Titania held her.

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