Chapter Text
“Welcome to Fairytail!" Happy said, and Lucy looked up at the insignia with eyes full of wonder.
Despite the fact that it caused an immense property damage, Lucy had always liked Fairytail. Fairytail had always been sincere with its payment and as the top guild, it had always had a good reputation despite being rowdy.
“We're back!" Natsu and Happy yelled, and even though they kicked down the door, it felt like home. Dozens of people welcomed him back, some eating, some drinking.
Moments later, Natsu started a fight and most of the tables were broken down and all the other mages were somehow taken in too. Lucy laughed, flabbergasted.
“Ah, a newcomer?" A woman said, and Lucy internally fangirled.
“Mirajane!" Lucy squealed. “Wow, you're so pretty!"
But moments later, she was taken out by a thrown body, and Gray was naked and Loke picked her up. Somehow, she was again at the sidelines watching everyone start round 2 of the fight, but this time with magic.
“They’re gonna burn this place down!" Lucy freaked.
“Stop this, you fools!" A giant appeared out of nowhere and yelled. Everyone froze.
“You're here, master?" Mirajane said. And Lucy squeaked as he stomped on Natsu while he babbled something.
“A new recruit?" He said.
“Yes!" Lucy said, still a little stunned.
“Glad to have you on board!" He said, having shrunk to less than half her height.
“This is Fairytail’s Guild Master, Makarov," Mirajane introduced.
The master jumped to the second floor, first scolding everyone about the property damage before giving a rousing speech about the origin of strong magic being their emotions and free spirit.
It didn't take long before most people cleared out. The guild furniture was broken after all. With the Master’s approval, Mirajane asked her what colour she wanted the mark in and where and Lucy eagerly showed the back of her right hand. A pink Fairytail insignia was imprinted onto her hand.
“Natsu! Look! I got Fairytail’s mark!" She said excitedly, jumping a little.
“You did? That's nice, Luigi," Natsu said. Lucy scowled, pausing in her search for Taurus’ key.
“It's Lucy!" She scowled. “Hmph!"
“Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus," she called out.
“What a mooo-ving body, Lucy!" Taurus said.
When everyone turned to her, she winked.
“I'm a Celestial Spirit mage!" She explained to everyone, and then she turned back to Taurus with a grin, showing off the back of her hand. “Taurus, see! I told you I’d get into Fairytail!"
“Nothing can stop Lucy’s boooody!" Taurus put his big axe on his shoulder, grinning cheesily and just as happy as she was. Lucy giggled.
“This is going to be even more fun than freelancing! I just know it!" Lucy made small excited jumps. Taurus put one hand on her head, patting her. “Um, sorry about the thing in Hargeon, by the way."
“I know Lucy wouldn't do it deliberately!" Taurus nudged her lightly, and Lucy grinned back before he closed the gate on his own.
She sighed, before slumping into a seat at the bar.
“How long are you gonna hide now, Vulpex?” Lucy complained.
The fox reappeared around her neck, flicking a tail at Mirajane in greeting before disappearing again.
"Hmph,” she huffed, miffed at the brief acknowledgement.
"Are they your Spirits?” Mirajane asked.
"That's right!” Lucy puffed up with pride. "They are two of my Celestial Spirits! I collected loads of silver keys, but I even have three golden keys! Though well, it really shouldn't get out,” she winced. “Golden keys are so rare, I've heard that people actually hunt them down. Especially since it got out that a silver key was sold for 50 million jewels at an auction once.”
"50 million?” Mirajane exclaimed, surprised.
"Amongst the rich, this is practically common knowledge,” Lucy told her. “I'm surprised word hasn't spread this far yet. Even the magic shop keeper in Croccus knew about it."
“Well, if it was such a high price, you really should be careful," Mirajane warned, looking worried.
“Well, it went that high because it was a silver key. If the magic consumption was as high as a golden key, the key would have been too hard to use, even if it was pretty," Lucy shrugged.
While she was sharing tidbits of herself, a child started yelling at the master to send someone after her father. Natsu, who was looking at the request board, also paused.
The kid and the master argued about it before the kid punched him in the face before running away. Natsu punched the request board before walking out, and Mirajane told her about how Igneel had disappeared on Natsu as well, before she ran after him.
Lucy shot the little kid a grin before she ran after Natsu.
"Natsu! Wait for me!” Lucy yelled, running after him to catch up. Natsu turned in surprise.
"You're coming too?” He asked.
"Natsu, I found someone who's going to Mt Hakuo!” Happy exclaimed.
"Let's go, Happy!” Natsu said.
"Wait! I can take you there faster!" Lucy interrupted. Then when Natsu paused again, Lucy took out a key and swung it, “Open! Gate of the winged horse, Pegasus!"
The white Pegasus neighed, raising up impressively on her hind legs.
“Her name's Eve!" Lucy introduced. “She's one of my spirits. She'll do, right?" She smiled at Natsu.
"Uh…I've never ridden a horse before,” he said uncertainly. The two of them exchanged a nervous look.
"Oh, it'll be fine! She can be pretty quick. You'll see!” Lucy said cheerfully, before grabbing Natsu’s wrist and pulling him closer to Eve. She sat easily on top of her. "Just sit behind me like this and I'll manage everything else!"
Natsu gingerly sat behind her.
"Hold onto me!” Lucy said, bending forward to tap her neck once.
Eve unfolded her wings, and started running. Everyone in the street gaped at them and Eve neighed like the attention whore she was, before she started beating her wings and flying. Natsu yelled in surprise before reaching forward to grab her…only to grab her boobs.
Lucy froze for a few seconds, flushing red before she screamed, “Natsu, get your hands off me!"
“I'll fall!" Natsu screamed back panicking. Happy also screamed incoherently and Lucy had to grab Natsu’s too warm hands and force them to her waist instead.
Normally, she would have been way more offended if a guy grabbed her boobs, but it was an accident. From the beginning till now, she had never seen Natsu taking advantage of anyone. Actually it was more like he didn't know how to do that, and that somehow made her feel embarrassed to think about calling him a pervert.
It took till Eve evened out for Natsu to stop screaming and start getting pukish again. He slumped over her shoulder, face turned outward. Lucy, still pink cheeked and overaware of Natsu's hands holding her waist, let it go with a deep sigh. Even though she knew it was platonic, Lucy couldn't help being embarrassed at how unashamedly Natsu had just grabbed her chest. Thankfully, he was too motion sick to fluster her more.
“We'll arrive soon,” Lucy reassured, and Natsu gagged. She stroked Eve’s neck reassuringly, worried at the state of Natsu and hoping he wouldn't puke on Eve.
Normally, she didn't ask Eve to fly quickly, but Eve used wind magic to rush to Mt Hakuo so she could get Natsu off her just a little sooner.
“Happy, are you okay?" She asked, turning around to check on him.
“A-aye!" Happy said, and she laughed.
“Are you scared of being on another flying creature? Eve would never let us fall, you know?" Lucy said, and Eve neighed in agreement.
“I'm not scared!" Happy insisted. “I can fly too!"
“Of course," Lucy laughed. “You're really good at flying, Happy. Both of you are good at flying."
Eve tossed her head, and her hair hit Lucy's face.
“Yes, yes, you're better at flying long distances, you highness," Lucy said sarcastically, but still honestly. “Don't be upset, you know I love you," she cooed.
Eve hurrumped, and Lucy laughed.
“But why did you come along, Lucy?" Natsu mumbled near her shoulder, looking down as the scene changed from cityscape to greenland to a snowy mountain.
“Well, I wanted to help my guildmates," Lucy tilted back to nudge him. “And I couldn't just let you go alone! You're fire and this is a snowy mountain! You could cause an avalanche or something!"
“Lucy…you're weird,” Happy said, and Lucy felt an irritated tick on her forehead.
"You're the weird one, you silly cat!” Lucy practically growled.
Vulpecula mewled from the other side of her neck, and Natsu’s nose twitched when Vulpecula became visible.
"There's someone there?” Lucy asked her fox.
"Happy!” Natsu called out.
"Aye!” Happy said cheerfully, his wings popping out.
"Thanks for the ride, Luigi!” Natsu said before he jumped off Eve. Happy caught him mid air and Lucy sighed deeply.
“It's Lucy!" She yelled at the falling figure. "Why do I feel like these things will keep happening?” She mumbled to herself.
Moments later, she landed and the icy cold wind blew through her. She shivered. Eve dismissed herself and she brought out Ember to warm her a little.
"Natsu? Did you find him?” She called out. But there was no response. "Natsu?”
Without warning, a Vulcan appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her. Ember hissed and lit up, scratching at his hand and then at his face. Ember's long range claw attack spluttered out in the cold wind and even her close range attack wasn't as useful. She hissed in frustration.
"Woman? Where, woman?” The Vulcan growled, and then it said "No! Woman here! Woman captured!”
But despite the Vulcan’s words, it let her go, confused. Vulpecula’s illusion had confused the Vulcan.
“Good job, Vulpex!" Lucy said, pulling out a golden key. “Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"
“Lucy's body is hooooot!" Taurus said dramatically, but his focus didn't waver, setting his eyes onto the Vulcan in front of them.
"Open! Gate of the chained maiden, Andromeda!” Lucy summoned another, dismissing Vulpecula at the same instant.
“Woman!!" The Vulcan screeched excitedly.
“Pervert," Andromeda remarked coldly. Andromeda had silvery blonde hair plaited at her back and a purple toga on, but all of it was wound up by golden chains criss-crossing her entire body from top to bottom. She had a cold expression on her face, but Lucy knew from experience that it was only because there were guys present.
Andromeda was a complete misandrist, aside from Perseus of course. The story of how her mother’s vanity had caused Andromeda to be sacrificed to a sea monster, causing Perseus to save her was a famous story. It had also caused Andromeda to hate all men who looked at her superficial beauty.
She hated perverts.
Taurus attacked from the side while the Vulcan jumped easily within Andromeda’s reach, eager to reach a seemingly unarmed woman. Andromeda splayed her hands, and golden chains wound around the Vulcan from its foot to neck. The moment Taurus was about to bring his axe down, however, Natsu appeared out of nowhere and Andromeda instantly wound him up in chains too.
"No, wait! He's an ally!” Lucy screamed to her spirit.
Taurus knocked the Vulcan out and Andromeda reluctantly released the struggling Natsu from the chains. Natsu shook himself off and looked at Andromeda curiously. Andromeda looked back evenly.
"Natsu! Where did you go?" Lucy put her hands on her waist, and both Taurus and Andromeda dismissed themselves, knowing they were draining on her magic reserves.
“You literally just sent me to a bunch of Vulcans!" Natsu said exasperated.
“Aye! Natsu took down three of them but one ran away!" Happy said. "We were chasing after that one!”
“And Macao?" Lucy asked, but before she could receive the answer, the Vulcan she had just defeated started transforming. She jumped away, and then watched with wide eyes as the Vulcan changed back into Macao.
“What the hell," she whispered and Happy explained that Vulcans could take over people. But both Natsu and she leaned over to check for injuries. They could see blood seeping through his shirt. After lifting his shirt, Lucy pressed her lips together tightly. There was a wide cut over his chest, bleeding rapidly.
“The transformation must have stopped the wound from worsening," Lucy furrowed her brows, and then she looked up sadly at Natsu. “I don't think he'll make it."
Natsu looked down at Macao, face blank. Then he ripped his shirt open even more.
“I'll shut the wound, and you can get us back quickly, right?" Natsu said.
“Yeah," Lucy nodded.
Natsu put his hand over the slowly seeping wound and his hands lit up. Macao screamed as Natsu seared the wound close. Lucy immediately pinned his hand and legs down, trying to stop him from interfering. Natsu stayed focused even while Macao struggled and screamed.
Finally, when it was over, Lucy was sweating, and Natsu was breathing a little faster too.
“Let's go," Lucy whispered after a moment.
Natsu nodded firmly, looking up at her, and his eyes caught hers, somehow flaming bright despite being so dark in colour. Lucy didn't waste time in calling up Eve again, and didn't protest when Natsu carefully put Macao between them.
Eve didn't need much more guidance. When they were all up, she drained through Lucy’s magic hurrying all the way back to Magnolia. Natsu guided her to a different place than the Guild house, but Lucy was losing too much magic to focus. Thankfully, Eve managed to follow Natsu's directions.
It really didn't take too long.
"Happy, look after Lucy,” Natsu said before he got off and carried the still passed out Macao back.
Lucy immediately dismissed Eve, breathing hard as she fell from her back. Happy caught her.
"Sorry, Happy, you can go in too,” Lucy said, panting and sweating.
“I'm not going to leave you," Happy insisted, flying the short distance from where they were to a small hut in the woods.
The door was already wide open and Natsu was standing near it while an older woman was checking Macao’s wound. Lucy grabbed Natsu and slumped tiredly against his shoulder.
"Is he okay?” She slurred unsteadily.
"Get her in the bed too,” the woman snapped, and Lucy felt warm arms wrapped around her before she finally fainted.
Lucy woke up hours later to find that Macao had already been released and Porlyusica had already thrown out Natsu and Macao’s kid, Romeo, and half the guild that had gathered to see them.
Porlyusica waved Lucy off, telling her to go back to the Guild if she was feeling better and after Lucy said that she didn't know how to go, the woman clicked her tongue and told her to keep walking in one direction until she reached Magnolia.
It was…lonely.
Lucy didn't like being deprived of magic, and it was mostly because it meant that she couldn't summon her spirits. For a moment, she faltered, stopping awkwardly in the middle of the forest. She was in a guild so she didn't have to feel lonely, but why was it that the first moment they could, she had been abandoned by her guildmates?
She knew Porlyusica had said that they were being rowdy and that they were waiting for her at the guild hall, but…what if they weren't? What if she went and they were having fun and no one even realized she was there? What if her trying to save him didn't mean anything? What if it was just like back home, where she tried so hard and only ended up being abandoned?
Lucy couldn't help the uncertainty that suddenly plagued her. Her hands felt too bare, and even if she knew she shouldn't, her fingers ached to call for her spirits for reassurance.
Her spirits would never abandon her. Her spirits would never leave her. They were hers until the moment she died.
She touched Aquarius’ key, and the warm, steady connection reassured her more than she could say.
“-cy! Lucy, you're awake!" A cannonball hit her chest and she stumbled back, coughing. The cannonball hugged her with tiny paws and cried into her neck. “Lucy!"
“Happy!" she said, surprised. Then she looked up, “Natsu!"
Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Despite that it was clear what happened, Lucy found herself hesitant to name it.
“Were you…waiting for me?” Lucy asked, starting to smile.
"Yeah!” Happy said cheerfully. Natsu nodded in agreement.
"What if you forgot the way to the Guild? Gray said you wouldn't know the way back since you're new and Cana said to bring you back to the Guild when you woke up. Everyone wanted to see you,” Natsu said, and there was a bright grin on his face as he said it.
"Aye! And we couldn't leave you to wake up alone!” Happy added.
“Then let's go!" She said, mood taking an about turn. Lucy hugged Happy to her chest, grinning back.
“You're squeezing me~ let go!" Happy complained.
“No way," Lucy said, but she gentled her grip, carrying him more than keeping him captured. Happy settled in her arms, and she let out a relieved laugh, her worries draining away.
Lucy asked about the forest and Natsu and Happy alternated between telling her about it and stories about Porlyusica, their scary healer. Lucy laughed at the antics Natsu had gotten up to, and the two of them took turns to expose the illicit details of their adventures to Lucy. In trying to one-up the other, Lucy laughed so much that tears came to her eyes and she had to wipe them away, still laughing.
When they reached the Guild Hall, Natsu slammed open the door once again, and loud cheers greeted her when they noticed Lucy.
“Lucy! Welcome back!"
“Good job saving this idiot!"
“Are you feeling okay?"
“You're super strong!"
Lucy blushed, scratching her cheek and smiling, pleased. Natsu was immediately off yelling about something, but Mirajane welcomed her back again.
“Welcome back! Natsu told us you defeated Macao's Vulcan by yourself," Mirajane said, offering her some water.
“Thank you," Lucy said politely before sliding into the seat at the bar. “My spirits are pretty strong,” she said smugly.
"Oh? Which spirits did you use? Natsu said the two of you flew back and forth on one,” Mirajane prodded.
"Yeah, her name is Eve. She's a Pegasus!” Lucy grinned. Beside her, Cana snorted beer, breaking into a coughing fit.
"Oh dear,” Mirajane said, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"What?” Lucy asked, surprised.
"Well, I'm sure you've heard, but there's a guild called ‘Blue Pegasus’. We are quite close, you can say,” Mirajane said.
“They're gonna bust a hip when they find out about this," Cana cackled.
“Well, they have a flying ship," Mirajane shrugged.
“I could have a flying ship," Lucy mumbled resentfully.
“What did you say?" Mirajane blinked at her in surprise.
“Well, I could summon a flying ship too, but I'm missing a few keys," Lucy admitted. “It's a constellation called Argo Navis, but it requires three silver keys to be summoned.”
"That's impressive,” Mirajane admitted. "I didn't know there was something like that.”
"There are a lot of really cool silver keys. They might be more common than the gold keys, but that's just a misconception. Only the really popular ones like Canis Minor are really popular. Even Leo Minor is hard to find now! I even bought a few silver keys from different countries. They're really hard to get. This time I called out Andromeda and I got her key from a person who thought it was a key to a treasure chest and tried to sell it to me with a treasure map!" Lucy went on a rant, getting worked up when it came to her keys.
"Haha, that makes me glad cause I don't need anything too special to use my magic!" Cana said, laughing. Mirajane excused herself to serve others.
“What magic do you use? I saw you take out a card before," Lucy asked, curiously.
“It's called Card Magic," Cana said. “I'm really good at telling fortunes and creating effects with the card. For example," she threw out a card and a gust of wind carried a flying Happy out the Guild door.
“Natsu~!!" Happy cried out, flying furiously to come back, and diving right into Natsu’s arms. For the first time, Lucy saw Natsu comfort Happy instead of picking a fight. Distracted, she watched them for a few moments.
“You interested?" Cana said casually.
"In what?” Lucy asked, pulling her eyes away when Natsu got hit in the face and Happy flew away so Natsu could fight.
"In Natsu,” Cana whispered, and Lucy's whole face turned red.
"Wha-what, no, what are you talking about,” Lucy stuttered, coughing. She glanced around before turning back to Cana.
"It's not like that,” she said, rubbing her flushed cheeks. “I’m just curious. About all of you. I didn't think a guild was going to be like this. This feels more like a family than a place people come to pick up job requests."
“Well," Cana said, picking up a barrel to drink before she grinned at her. "A lot of us grew up here, so we really do consider it home. I've been here since I was 12 and people like Erza, Natsu and Gray were even younger. Laxus is Master Makarov’s grandson and even Romeo grew up here. It's natural to think of everyone here as one family.”
"No wonder Natsu was so furious in Hargeon,” Lucy murmured.
"Yeah,” Cana made a face. "We heard about that. Honestly, anyone who faces something like that would be furious. To think someone was using Fairytail's name to do human trafficking.”
"I almost believed it too,” Lucy confided. "So, I'm glad I met Natsu there. Though, I'm sure I would have found out eventually."
Cana laughed, slapping Lucy's back.
“We're glad to have you here too! All of you did a great job on Mount Hakuo! Without you, it would have taken a long time to come back with Macao,” she praised.
“Porlyusica also managed to reduce the scarring from Natsu's first aid. So you did really well, Lucy,” Mirajane came back to praise her.
"You're a true man!” Elfman cheered from nearby. Lucy was flushed to her ears, waving her hand in front of her at the praise.
“It wasn't that much, please don't praise me so much," Lucy was practically steaming from how red her entire face got. Cana laughed evilly at her words.
"Oi, where's Macao and Romeo? Lucy’s here!” Cana yelled out over the guild. A few people who hadn't realized she was there, cheered.
"Um, thank you for saving my dad!” Romeo shoved away a crowd and bravely thanked her. Lucy stopped getting flustered, smiling through her pink cheeks at the boy.
"Thank you for being so strong and fighting for him. Because you spoke up, we heard you and went to look for him. So, you did a good job protecting your dad too,” Lucy said, and Romeo’s eyes got wide at her words, and the crowd around him quieted down.
His breath hitched and Lucy got down on one knee, patting his head comfortingly. Romeo threw his arms around her and sobbed loudly into her neck. Tears and loud cries left him and even though it wasn't the most comfortable, Lucy didn't mind. She patted his back, and looked up at a sheepish Macao who whispered ‘thank you’ to her.
After Romeo had soaked her shirt and the wooden floor was starting to feel uncomfortable, he pulled away with an embarrassed look on his face. Lucy didn't let him dwell on it too much, pushing him towards his father before she went back to Mirajane.
“Now what do I do about this," she sighed at the wet patch on one side of her shoulder, almost reaching her chest.
"Oh my, do you have a change of clothes or would you want to borrow one?” Mirajane asked.
"It's fine I can-” then Lucy winced, remembering that she couldn't use a gold key for a while. "Nevermind, looks like I'll need to borrow something.”
"Of course, come over here,” Mirajane guided her to the back and gave her a guy’s top. "We have a lot of clothes left behind but I don't think I have anything for a woman that will fit your chest.”
Lucy flushed at her words.
"It's okay. This will be fine, thank you,” she said hurriedly before taking the shirt and wearing it. It was too long to tuck into her shorts, but it fit loosely over her chest and didn't look half bad over her shorts.
Lucy left the room and went to wash the front of her shirt free from any snot or marks. She could hear the loud ruckus of the guild get even louder for some reason, and Lucy smiled to herself.
She needed to find a place to live, but it was really nice to see how cheerful the guild she had just joined was. She appreciated the look of her guild mark again, preening at how pretty it was.
Once she was outside again, she was informed it was a party to celebrate Macao's return and Lucy joining them, and then everyone was drinking or dancing. Lucy, tempted, asked if it was okay to get one of her spirits to play too and when most of them agreed, she called out to Lyra.
Lyra winked at her, and set about playing a cheerful tune.
It was something Lucy had never heard from Lyra before. Normally when Lyra played for her, she pulled out soft ballads or songs to soothe her. She had even played songs of freedom and cheer. But it was different from what Lyra was playing now.
It was a little crude but a loud kind of cheerful. It sounded at home with the rowdy Fairytail guild. While not everyone paid attention to her, there were a few who looked pleasantly surprised at the tune being playing in the bar.
It was obvious why. With how much destruction that went on, no one would want to risk expensive instruments. That was if anyone knew how to play at all.
Lucy had never before realized how far she had come. From a life where she could barely leave her home, from searching for keys by throwing money and yearning for her father's love quietly, she had joined a guild she could stand proudly in. She could be loud and free. Lucy laughed.
“Cana, wanna dance?" Lucy turned and asked, barely hesitating at the surprised look in her eyes to drag her up in front of Lyra.
Lyra smoothly changed tunes playing a tune to dance to, and Lucy tapped her heels and swung her arms through Cana’s, laughing as Cana caught up to the easy rhythm. They switched arms and kept dancing. A few people whistled at them, and Cana threw them a wink and a laugh.
It was pretty fun.
After a while, Lucy took a break, drinking water and looked at the dark sky. It was so late, and yet there were still people around. Most were drunk, some were just sleeping in the Guild Hall, some had gone home, and some were still partying.
Mirajane shook her head at everyone, staying outside of the range of thrown items or drunk people.
"You don't have a place yet, do you, Lucy?” Mirajane asked.
"No, do you have any suggestions?" Lucy asked eagerly. It was always best to ask a local for advice after all!
“Well, Fairytail had a dormitory divided by gender. Most people stay there. You can also rent an apartment. There's one by the river that just emptied up, you can go there in a few hours and see if you like it," Mirajane said.
“Thanks, I'll go see it!" Lucy grinned happily.
“It's been a while since a party has caused so little destruction, so consider it thanks," Mirajane winked. Lucy looked around at the destroyed Hall and sweatdropped.
Soon after Lucy had to take call back Lyra and the party ended soon after. Lucy napped at the Hall for a few hours before going to address Mirajane had given to her.
Tired and sweaty, but still cheerful, Lucy rented her first very own apartment!
She had enough energy to quickly call up Cancer to bring most of her necessities to her world. The biggest difference between the gold and silver key, she found, was the way their gates operated. Golden keys could transport things and people that were unrelated to them, while silver keys normally couldn't.
So, this was the first time she was properly setting everything up since she had Cancer pack them away. She took the time to set up everything in her new apartment, and by the time she finished, she was sweaty again.
She was so glad she didn't have to deal with the hassle of packing up again and again. When Cancer had offered to pack up her entire room, she couldn't have agreed faster, and now, after so long, she was setting everything up again.
It might not be her bed, it had the same covers. It might not be her cupboard, but it has her clothes. This apartment was hers, and fully hers for the first time. She hummed to herself, preparing to finally clean up.
She dumped all her clothes in a basket before making her way to the bathroom. She giggled to herself, looking at the guild mark in her hand and stroking it. She spent a long time just scrubbing herself, cleaning up thoroughly, comfortable where she was for the first time in forever.
She hummed a tune Lyra used to play for her and felt her entire body unwind. After washing up, she dried her hair and then wrapped the towel around her body. She didn't really need to since she obviously lived alone, but it was comfortable.
But the moment she left the bathroom, she felt a shiver go through her.
“Hey Lucy!" A familiar voice called, and her body relaxed again, despite the irritation that hit her immediately after.
“How did you get in here?!" Lucy pointed at him, clutching at her towel.
“Your window was open," Natsu pointed out, Lucy gaped.
“That's not an invitation, Natsu!" Lucy yelled.
“More importantly, why don't you have anything in your fridge?" Natsu asked curiously, looking put off for some reason.
“I'm hungry," Happy concurred.
“If you're hungry then go eat something at the Guild!" Lucy yelled, eye twitching. "I just moved in! I haven't even slept properly!”
"Lucy, your bed is so soft!” Happy bounced over her bed.
"Don't destroy my perfect ideal bed! I was just about to sleep on it!” She screeched.
"Ne, what's this?” Natsu said, picking up her diary.
"That- no! That's embarassing!” Lucy grabbed it from him, hiding it behind her. "You can’t read it!”
“Then what can we do?" Natsu asked, exasperated.
“Go home!" Lucy yelled, grabbing her towel before it could slip further.
“We came to visit you. It's pretty selfish to tell us to go home!" Natsu pointed out. Lucy narrowed her eyes.
“You're lucky I like you," she hissed, before stomping to her cupboard. “I'm gonna change and then I'm gonna serve you tea and then you're gonna go home!”
She went back to the bathroom to change into a clean pair of clothes, putting her tower to hang behind the door. She wore a cute dress with shorts underneath, before coming back out.
Then she made some tea, which she had planned to drink before sleeping, and set a cup in front of both of them.
"There! Are you gonna go home yet?" She asked, irritated by her lack of sleep more than their presence. Happy and Natsu exchanged a look.
“That’s pretty harsh, Lucy," Natsu said.
“We wanna see your spirits!" Happy added.
“My spirits?" Lucy repeated, blinking rapidly, and her hands went to the two straps on her thighs. "Well, what'd you wanna know about them?” She asked, mood much happier.
"Well, how many do you have? You have that bull guy, the music lady, the chain lady and the horse, right? Oh and the fire cat and fox!” Natsu rattled off. Lucy blinked, before smiling at him.
"Yeah,” she agreed. "I have three golden keys- they take a lot of magic to summon but they're the best for battle. I keep each of them in one place, in case I can't reach them for some reason.”
Lucy stuck out her legs to show the small pouch on either side of her thigh.
"My right side has Cancer, and my left has Taurus, and I keep Aquarius on my necklace,” Lucy pulled out Aquarius’ key from between her chest, stroking it once before hiding it again. "I also have 11 silver keys- Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Lyra, Pegasus, Canis Minor, Leo Minor, Sextans, Vulpecula, Horologium, Pyxis, Vela."
“Andromeda is the chained lady. Leo Minor is my fire cat. I can also use Cassiopeia and Horologium, but they're more for defence than anything," Lucy shrugged. “Most silver keys don't tend to be very useful in fights. That's why Celestial Spirit mages aren't very strong. But it doesn't change the fact that I love all my spirits."
“Say, wanna be in a team?" Natsu asked, leaning over the table.
"A team?” Lucy tilted her head. "Like, on a permanent basis?”
"Yeah!” Natsu grinned at her. Lucy blinked a few times before she grinned brightly.
"Sure! Let's do it!” She agreed.
"Well, since you agreed…we already took this job!" Happy showed her a flyer for the request. Lucy’s eye twitched with irritation when she finally read it.
"You want me to pretend to be a maid?” She narrowed her eyes at them.
"You promised!” Happy immediately defended and she sighed.
"A Celestial Spirit mage never goes back on their word,” Lucy sighed, then she grabbed Happy and rubbed the top of his head. "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna be happy about it!”
Happy whined loudly and Natsu laughed. Since they weren't travelling far, Lucy only took some money with her, and the two of them got onto a train for a quick ride.
Natsu spent the entire time complaining about riding the train and kept asking why they didn't just walk until Lucy burst with irritation.
They finally reached the place, and three of them went for a quick meal. Before they ended up at the Duke Everlue’s mansion. Lucy had changed into a simple dress before trying to get a job as a maid, but was rejected. Irritated, Lucy met up with the others and discussed sneaking in at night.
A brief nap did wonders for her mood and magic, before Happy flew them to the rooftop and sneaked in. What felt like almost immediately after, they got caught and they defeated the security to hurry into the library. Lucy was ridiculously close to summoning Cancer and running away with the entire library, but she restrained herself. After running away with the book and finding out the secret, Duke Everlue came after her and, irritated, she called out Andromeda to restrain him.
That was about when the man took out a golden key mocking her about not having one, and he called out Virgo. Virgo, who still had Natsu attached to him.
Belatedly, she got a cold sweat from fear at what could have happened.
“Natsu, stop the maid!" She called out, and Andromeda wrapped her chains around Everlue with vengeance, covering him head to toe.
Then Natsu with his normal overpowered fist, blew through the mansion, and Lucy silently wailed at having missed out on taking the library when the mansion collapsed behind them. She did, however, take Virgo’s key from Everlue.
God knew how the man found it, but he didn't have a single silver key. Truly, a creep who had no taste in literature or keys. She left him tied up in front of his collapsed mansion in disgust.
Honestly, she would ask that Kaby use his father's book as evidence against Everlue. Thankfully, his destroyed mansion and his status as being tied up by Andromeda’s ‘sealing’ chains would give the knights enough of a leeway to do a thorough search. She didn't even want to think about what more disgusting secrets could be found about him.
She could only be grateful that Everlue didn't understand Celestial Spirits enough to go after any silver keys.
The two of them ended up at Kaby’s house, and after a brief argument, Lucy offered up the book that was his father's legacy. However, even knowing the secret of the book, she was still taken by surprise when Natsu refused the reward. She gained a new appreciation for him when he figured out that they were only pretending to be rich.
If Lucy had asked the locals, then the plan would have been exposed in a second. But neither of them had. Lucy had simply assumed that they dismissed the servants due to the need for secrecy. It was only Natsu with his sharp nose, who had figured out that it wasn't their house in the first place.
Despite being the one actually born rich, it proved how much she had still never managed to see through. Then or now. She had been reluctantly impressed, and had conceded to Natsu's strong desire to avoid the train.
Lucy had Vulpex and Ember with her while they walked, and Natsu constantly threatened to eat Ember's fire until she gave in and let him. That evening gave rise to a hilarious moment when Ember was roaring, a wide flame lit out around her while Natsu swallowed the fire with the look of someone eating a rare delicacy.
Happy cheered Natsu, and then yelled at Lucy for being mean when she coldly refused to let him cook his fish on Ember. Tired and mildly freaked out, Ember unsummoned herself and refused to come out as long as Natsu was around.
Lucy had to laugh while the three of them ate their dinner after the Natsu-Ember entertainment.
“No fair! I wanna eat that fish! You ate before already!" Happy complained to Natsu.
“But this one is so well cooked! Don't you wanna have the more raw one?" Natsu pointed out.
Both of them were already chewing through one set of fish that they had hunted down from the river. But they were as insatiable as always while fighting over their next fish choices. Lucy was so done though.
“Since we have time…” Lucy started eagerly, "how about I see if Virgo is going to make a contract with me?”
To her surprise, both their eyes sparkled with curiosity at her words.
"How do you make a contract?” Happy asked. "Do you have a big ritual? A blood seal?”
"A butt seal?” Natsu snickered.
"What kind of weird impression am I giving?” Lucy asked, flabbergasted. And then she scolded the snickered duo. But she didn't wait to take out the golden key from her pack.
Virgo had a contract with Everlue, and even though she had taken the key from him, it didn't change the fact that there was a contract between them. It was impossible to make a contract if Virgo was unwilling. The most Lucy would be able to do is to keep her key away from that trash.
“I am the link to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!” Lucy called out.
There was the familiar chime of bells in her ears as the gate to the spirit world was opened up again with her magic. She felt a surge of relief as her words were answered by the spirit.
A beautiful woman in a maid uniform answered her call. Chains hung from her wrists and she bowed to Lucy on arrival.
“Master," Virgo acknowledged. “Would you like to make a contract with me?"
For a moment, even Lucy was thrown off before she regained her spirits.
“Please don't call me master," Lucy said sincerely. “I don't intend to be one. Can you tell me what days you are available for and what kinds of work you dislike?"
Virgo’s eyes roved over her, falling to her whip.
“Would you prefer being called Queen? Mistress? Princess?" Virgo asked in favour of trying to complete the contract.
“Princess sounds fine," Lucy nodded, trying to not seem as flustered. “What about your contact terms?"
“I'll always be available to be summoned, Princess," Virgo bowed to her.
“So an open contract," Lucy said, writing it down. “What about work preferences? Is there anything you like or dislike doing? Do you want me to call you out for anything special? Not call you out for anything?”
Virgo blinked at her a few times.
“Then, can you whip me?" She asked, and Lucy's eyes widened, cheeks flushing pink.
“I- I'm not comfortable hurting my spirits," she stuttered out, embarrassed. “Anything else I could do?" she almost pleaded. Virgo somehow seemed amused by her.
“Then, I enjoy doing a maid’s work, please feel free to call me out as often as you like. I am pleased to be helpful to the Princess," Virgo said.
“Thank you, Virgo," Lucy said, smiling. It was only after her negotiations finished that she noticed Happy and Natsu looking at them with deadpanned expressions.
“That's it?" Natsu said disappointedly. “That was boring, and even the shape is boring. You seemed much stronger before."
Lucy's eye twitched but Virgo took it as it went.
“Then would you prefer me in this form?" Virgo asked before inflating, and they all shrieked to revert back until she did.
"The contract is the most important part of having a spirit, Natsu. Since we don't really know each other, we depend on the contract to understand what we can provide to the other. For a Celestial Spirit mage, our word is our bond," Lucy explained.
Natsu looked at Virgo like he understood words that she hadn't said yet. He grinned at her spirit.
“Then welcome to the family! Wanna have a fish?" Natsu offered cheerfully. “Lucy ain't eating so it's fair.”
"Hey! Who said I'm not eating!” Lucy protested.
"Then Princess, would you like me to feed you?” Virgo asked.
"No!” Lucy refused Virgo’s offer.
"So Lucy's not eating? More fish for me!” Happy said happily.
"Shut it, cat! I'm hungry after all the walking. You better leave me some!” Lucy growled.
"Aye!” Happy squeaked, and then turning to Natsu, “Lucy's scary!"
"I'll show you scary!” Lucy threatened.
"Princess, your fish is burning,” Virgo reminded.
“Then take it out!" Lucy said exasperated.
Finally, Lucy ate, Virgo unsummoned herself with a smile, and they met Gray and some creepy bandits before reaching Magnolia again.