Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.

Nathan walked towards the railing, following Laxus' gesture and introduction. He peered down at the cluster of his guildmates who eyed him back. It took only a moment to spot her in the crowd. Her blonde hair acted as a beacon for his eyes. He locked onto the beautiful brown orbs that caught all of his attention, feeling as if he had found his Nirvana after years of searching. Her eyes seemed to widen the longer they looked at each other, and to Nathan, it almost felt like no one else was in the room. He wanted to jump down right then and there and pull her into his arms, but he restrained himself. Realizing they were both simply just staring at each other for an unknown amount of time, he quickly shifted his gaze around the room. He hoped he had not already started awkwardly with Lucy, but he wasn't perfect. He just couldn't help soaking in the sight of her.

She was still as beautful as ever and in the years since he had seen her, she only gained even more of a captivation of him. Even just seeing her slightly done up for this party was almost too much for him, and he felt guilty he had no formal attire of any kind to better present himself. He really never thought about looking nice or acting proper as Natsu, but waking up and realizing everything he had lost had brought many new perspectives to him. He wanted to show Lucy he could be a man she could spend her life with, which he should have done much earlier than now. Nathan was not worried right now, though, about how he had acted in the past. He had a fresh start, in the same guild with the same people. He was only the new factor, and he wouldn't waste this opportunity.

Laxus smirked and whispered into his ear, "Hey Nathan, why don't you say a few words about yourself instead of gawking at the pretty ladies here."

Nathan blushed, embarrassed that he had obviously stared at Lucy for far too long. What should he say about himself? Luckily he noticed his voice was slightly deeper and softer than Natsu's, so as long as he said nothing too outrageous his cover shouldn't be blown.

"I am so thankful to be here with you guys. I know how legendary and amazing this guild is and I hope to live up to that legacy. I haven't come here simply to make my name for myself as wizard, but to start an entire new life here. My past is mostly gone to me thanks to unknown circumstances, and the nature of this guild will help me get back to a place where I know what my purpose is. My name is Nathan, and I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you."

The crowd smiled and began a soft applause for the speech. It seemed any doubts of the new comer had been placed in the back of their minds as no self righteous poser would speak to strangers like that. Lucy wasn't sure what to think. She was intrigued that this man seemed to have appeared from no where, and his face and eyes looked so much like Natsu it was hard not to think there was a connection. His behavior and manner of speaking was completely different though. He was not loud and seemed to be nervous to make his presence known, as if it could backfire in some way. She was sure he would find a place here and was hoping she could understand more about him, especially after what seemed like an instant connection with him.

Levy snickered at her side, "Oh my god Lu! Will you stop staring at him?!"

Lucy immediately blushed and looked over at her friend who was trying very hard to hold in her laughter. "I have tried showing you tons of hot guys; you've never once reacted to one like that!"

Lucy put her on her most convincing annoyed expression and pouted, "Whatever, you're exaggerating Levy."

Levy only seemed to laugh harder at that, "Just admit you think he's cute! I do!"

"What was that?" A gruff voice said menancingly behind the petite blue haired woman. A tall red eyed man wearing all black, with piercings all over his face, and long spikey hair stood behind Levy looking like he was about to beat the living shit out of someone. Now it was Levy's turn to blush.

"Gajeel! Well, it's about time you showed up! Don't worry, I am just using a perfect opportunity to tease Lucy! You know you are my one and only dragon."

Gajeel glanced up at the dark haired man on the second floor balcony, wondering just what this new member was capable of. "I don't care if you were joking or not, I don't want to hear anything about how cute another guy is from you!"

Levy meerly furrowed her brows and smirked at her boyfriend, " You don't need to act tough, you wanna-be thug. You know I am not going anywhere."

Gajeel huffed and sniffed the air with his nose pointed at Nathan. "That guy smells strange, like something completely foreign yet familar at the same time. I don't think I've met him before, and I don't think I've met him back in Phantom."

Lucy pondered Gajeel's words for a moment but decided she shouldn't dwell too much on Nathan's past. He said it himself, in spite of what had happened in his past, he came to Fairy Tail to start over. Gajeel should understand that better than anyone.

Lucy finally asked Levy the question she wanted to ask before Laxus made his announcement, "Where is everyone else? I know Wendy and Carla were still at Lamia Scale doing a mission with Sherria, but I thought Gray and Juvia got back already from their mission. Cana, Lisanna, Elfman, and Erza aren't here either."

Levy looked back at her friend and shrugged, "I know Erza asked to be able to spend the night with Jellal, but I dont know about the others. I guess Erza and Nathan had already met when he came to the guild hall earlier."

"The lovebirds will be here soon. As for the drunk and the animal siblings, I don't have a clue either," Gajeel grunted in between the two girls.

All three watched as Nathan came down the stairs and begun shaking hands with the other guild members. Macao and Wakabe were already pouring the man a drink and asking who he thought the best looking ladies of the guild were. Reedus had offered to make him a painting showcasing his first night at the guild, Nab was showing off his extensive knowledge of the job board, and Romeo was already chatting Nathan up asking all sorts of questions about his magic. Laxus had told everyone to begin drinking and food would he out soon, and the whole guild cheered. That was a sound Lucy hadn't heard in a while, and it brought an almost forgotten warmth to her heart. Nathan used the commotion to slip away from his inquirers and journeyed to the trio that he was the most interested in talking to. As he approached, Gajeel stepped out in front and crossed his arms as he glared at the newcomer.

"Listen punk, I don't care who you think you are, or if you're even an official member of this guild. You stay away from Levy, you hear me. She's mine."

Levy swatted the back of her boyfriend's head, "Gajeel!"

Nathan smirked and closed his eyes, not wanting to antagonize the smoking gun in front of him. "I respect you, uh, Gajeel. I can see you really care about the woman you love. I am glad you can show that so easily. I'm sure your magic must be as strong as your personality. I will respect your boundaries, but I do plan to make friends with everyone in this guild at some point, including Levy."

Gajeel stood wide-eyed at Nathan, not expecting such a level-headed response. He wanted to keep trying to get a rise out of the man, but he felt it would be a waste of time. He smells somewhat like Salamander, but he definitely doesn't act like him. His personality is a completely different person. Perhaps I am being cautious for nothing.

Lucy stood by and watched the interaction. Did Gajeel just back down like it was nothing? This guy is for sure different than her Natsu. Nathan turned towards and smiled. The smile did remind her of her old partner, minus the fang sticking out of his mouth. She stood still as if she was waiting for a huge life-changing announcement.

Nathan said as cooly as possible, "I don't think I have heard your name yet. You look lovely tonight, I'm sure your magic must be wonderful."

Lucy's cheeks became dusted with a light pink but she mostly kept her composure. "I'm Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. I am a celestial spirit mage, and one of the guild's S-Class mages. It's a pleasure to meet you Nathan."

Gajeel looked between the two and wondered why Lucy looked so focused on Nathan. He had never seen Lucy behave that way with a guy these past few years. Maybe Levy's earlier teasing was well warranted. Levy, on the other hand beamed at the two. She was estatic that someone had found a key to Lucy's well built defenses. She wasn't expecting anything serious to come of this yet, but anything was better than seeing her friend just be miserable all the time.

Before Nathan could reply, a shout above them caught everyone's attention.

"LLLLUUUUSSSHHHHY!"

A blue cat fell out of the air above them after his magic wings had dissapeard with a poof, and landed into the arms of the blonde mage.

The cat sobbed as it looked up to his friend, "Mira said there was no fish on the menu tonight! What am I gonna do?!"

Nathan could only stare at the blue cat, keeping himself together before he broke apart everything he had achived before this. His old best friend was mere feet away from him, and he couldn't react in the slightest. He breathed through his nose and used this opportunity to maybe spend time with his friend again.

"Well, hello there little guy. What's your name?"

The blue cat turned towards Nathan and looked at him closely. For a second, Nathan thought his clover may be blown somehow, but the cat simply answered his question.

"My name is Happy. I am an exceed and mage of Fairy Tail!"

Nathan smirked at the cat, "Happy huh? Well it sounds like you like fish. I happen to not be too bad of a fisherman myself. Would you like to go fishing tomorrow? I'm sure you know all the good spots around here."

Happy blinked few times as did Lucy. The cat jumped out of Lucy's arms and landed on the top of Nathan's head with a look of pure excitement on his face. "Yay! I haven't been able to fish with anybody in so long!"

Lucy suddenly looked very annoyed at this statement. "Excuse me?! I go with you all the time you stupid furball!"

Happy turned with an apologetic face towards Lucy, "Yeah but you never really know what your doing so its different! I always have to tie your hooks and you never put your feet in the water! That's not fishing!"

Before Lucy could tear into the feline, Nathan spoke up.

"You should come with us Lucy! I can teach you anything you need to know. We could get to know each other better too!"

Lucy looked at Nathan with a blank look on her face. She knew all too well she really wanted to know more about him, and this would make Happy well.. er... happy. She wasn't really looking forward to being by herself tomorrow anyways.

"Alright, that doesn't sound too bad. We will meet you here at the guild tomorrow morning. How does 9:00 sound?"

Nathan could only smile. "That's perfect."