Chapter 1: Malfunctioning Runes

Lucy had been wandering around magnolia planning to find a new apartment to rent or to buy. The apartment she was at currently just didn't seem to suit her needs anymore, and ever since the GMG had ended Lucy had been taking more solo missions. Her team and the entire guild believed that it was because of the losses Lucy had suffered, but it had more to do with the fact that her team always covered for her. Whenever she was in trouble they would swoop in and rescue her which made it so that when she was fighting an opponent one on one she ended up getting a little lax. Plus doing solo missions made it so that she no longer had to worry about rent money and the like. Heck she had saved over a million jewels from the money she earned on her own missions.

Of course the guild worried about her because of the change in her attitude and the fact that she was alone far more often. Yet her team needed to rely on others as well, and she and Natsu needed to be away from each other for a while. It seemed that Lucy was the only one not blind to the fact that Natsu was in love with Lisanna, even Natsu was blind to it having tricked himself into believing she meant more to him then Lisanna did. The dense baka having fallen into the assumptions that the rest of the guild seemed to have, when in reality the relationship they shared was more of a sibling one. Something she was certain Natsu would eventually realize once they had been away from each other for a while. Yet she hadn't quit the team because she still wanted to be able to do missions with her friends, just not as often as before.

Right now Lucy was looking around for apartments, cottages, or houses to rent near the forest wanting a bit more peace and quiet then she usually got. Not to mention that it would be easier for her to fight if she was attacked again if she wasn't worrying about a ton of citizens around. With how often she had been targeted by dark mages she was starting to become a little concerned about others safety. Plus the amount of times she had been attacked was probably one of the main reasons that her team and everyone else in the guild was so protective of her.

She was about to go look into a small quaint cottage the real estate lady had mentioned to her when she heard a scream from the apartment across from hers. Not even giving herself a chance to stop and think about why a man was screaming Lucy found herself running into the apartment. She was too concerned about whoever had screamed that Lucy didn't even notice the shimmer of runes pass by her as she ran into the place.

Left hand on her keys and her right on her whip Lucy prepared to fight whatever had made the person scream. Instead she found herself collapsing on the ground with laughter as she saw Bixlow standing over Freed, Freed's hair suddenly a bright hot pink that stood out way more than Natsu's did. Freed was staring into a mirror with horror as he glared at Bixlow both of them too busy to notice her, although a chuckling Laxus shared a glance with her before he did a double take and stared at her with disbelief in his eyes.

"Blondie, how did you get in here?" Laxus asked bringing the other two's attention to her as well and both of them stared at her in shock. Lucy really didn't understand why they seemed so shocked that she had ran into the house after hearing a scream. Poor Freed though everyone in the guild knew just how much he prided himself in his hair and to have it messed with well she was certain he would get Bixlow back ten times worst.

Shrugging at him Lucy just told him the truth, "I heard a scream and thought someone was in trouble so I ran in."

"How did you get past the runes Blondie?" Laxus asked another question his tone harsh as he stared at her.

Lucy just looked at him slightly puzzled. What runes was he talking about? There had been nothing stopping her from running into the house, although now that she figured it was Freed's she did find that a little shocking. With how much Freed liked his privacy from anyone not in his team or his Laxus-sama and Mirajane she would have thought he would have his house protected. Then again maybe it was supposed to be since Laxus was asking her how she had gotten past the runes.

"There were no Runes," she said with a shrug not really understanding what the big deal was.

"My magic is still encasing my home Laxus-sama, but I do not understand how Heartfilia-san could have come through my runes. The rules make it so only those I have invited in, our team, or my family can enter these runes. None of which Heartfilia-san fits into," Freed stated in his usual formal tone after he had placed his hand on the floor and let his magic go through it.

They all seemed puzzled and truthfully so was Lucy. In the time that she had known him Lucy had never even heard of a story of Freed's runes malfunctioning let alone ever seen it happened. Yet here she was the person who had somehow entered into Freed's runes and gone against the rules of his runes. Maybe someone had messed around with his runes as a joke, but then again wouldn't Freed have noticed it when he checked the state that the runes were in.

Although there was a small chance that his runes weren't malfunctioning at all. Lucy didn't know anything about her mother's family only knowing that her mother had left them when she started to use celestial magic. As far as Lucy knew her mother had never actually contacted her family, and Lucy had just put it off to that her mother's family might have died. Otherwise why wouldn't they had attended her mother's funeral ages ago. Yet with how different she looked from Freed it was a long shot thinking that they might be related through her mother. It was better for her to look into this on her own before she even suggested it, not to mention that she wanted to know if it was true why her mother's family had never tried to see them.

"Well now that I know that you aren't in any trouble, I only have an hour left to look at the cottage before it magically locks again. Sorry about barging in like this Freed-san," she said with a slight smile before turning and walking away not even giving them a chance to respond.

Until Lucy knew the truth one way or another she didn't need people questioning her on how she had gotten through Freed's runes. If it was possible that they were related somehow Lucy really didn't need herself linked to Freed. Not that he's a bad guy or anything, she had completely forgiven him for Fantasia, but rather because she didn't need people comparing her to him. People already seemed to think she was weak without knowing how much magic just one summoning took, and she didn't really need people wondering how someone related to Freed had such low magic power. She didn't need them to suspect that she was holding back.

She preferred when people didn't realize her power, and wondered at times how no one had realized that she hadn't unlocked her second origin during her fights in the GMG. If that mascot had given her the chance to they would have realized that her magic wasn't completely gone, but the spell had failed because her first container had been drained by that cheater. Then again everyone seemed shocked enough with her being able to summon two spirits at once, she wondered what they would say if they knew that she could hold open four of the golden gates at one time.

Yet Lucy was afraid of showing people how strong she was and having people expect more from her then she could do, she had seen how power had warped some people. Laxus being the best example of that because of wanting to be stronger so that he could be recognized as his own person instead of judged based on who his grandfather was.

Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts Lucy walked into the cottage across from Freed's. If it had been Bixlow's apartment across the street Lucy wouldn't have even bothered with looking at the place, but Freed was usually quiet so him as a neighbour wouldn't be too bad. Not to mention that she would be able to see Laxus more often. She didn't have a crush on Laxus, but she couldn't deny that he was a very pleasant sight to look at and something drew her to him. Unfortunately though she couldn't admire his form at the guild because she was too afraid of Mira going on about babies like she tended to do whenever she thought she noticed a couple.

Looking around the two bedroom cottage Lucy did have to admit that it was a very nice place. Not to mention right in her price range, and there might be another benefit of having Freed as a neighbour. Mainly asking him to do her a favor and fortify her house so that people could only enter when invited inside, that or if she was in danger for safety reasons. Another reason she wanted to move was so that Natsu would stop sneaking into her house to sleep. It was really getting irritating with how often she ended up waking up not feeling rested at all because of him moving as much as he does in his sleep.

The walls were a nice light blue color that had a calming effect on Lucy. There was a living room that was big enough to fit her team in without her place feeling crowded, and a separate dining room so that she didn't need to have people in her kitchen. The kitchen was also large and had a lot of space for cooking or baking, something Lucy loved to do when she had time for it, but didn't do much of since Natsu usually ended up eating it all on her. Then there was the bathroom with a huge tub. Really the only downside was that if she ever had a guest they had to share the bathroom, but not a big enough problem to deter her from deciding to get this place.

Walking out of the cottage Lucy was glad that there was no sign of Laxus, Bixlow, or Freed outside. Giving a sigh of relief she headed to the real estate office to tell the woman she had decided to buy it. Then she would head on home to her current apartment to tell her landlady she would be moving out before the end of the month in three days. It was why she hadn't payed next month's rent yet hoping that she would have a new place before hand. At least she had Virgo and Taurus to help her move her things to her new apartment instead of needing to hire a moving crew. It would take a few trips to move everything, but maybe she could request Reedus to draw her a carriage with his magic so that Virgo and Taurus didn't have to make too many trips.

Two days later with the help of her spirits and a drawn carriage from Reedus, Lucy was finally moved into her new place. She was just glad that her team was currently out on a weeklong mission, which would last another five days and therefore didn't know as of yet that she had moved. Hopefully she would be able to convince Freed to help her, or offer to pay him for his services to fortify her house against unwanted visitors. With owning the house she would actually be able to do it, since her old apartment she wasn't able to since she was only renting it.

A knock on her door surprised Lucy and she went to it cautiously wondering who it could possibly be. Luckily there was a peep hole on the door so she could tell if the person was a threat or not. Whatever or rather whoever she had been expecting to be on the other side of the door, she hadn't thought that it would be her new neighbor. Feeling shocked, but thinking it was rude to leave him outside she opened her door, and groaned inwardly when she realized that his team was with him as well. Well it was really only Bixlow who bothered her with his cheerleader and cosplayer comments all the time.

"A house warming gift Lucy-san," Freed said holding out a wrapped present as he and his team took her unspoken invitation to come in.

A shiver went through her when she realized that Laxus was in her house, and she had to act like it was just the cold from outside swiftly shutting the door behind them. It was Autumn at the moment and could be chilly for most people. Ever was also holding a basket which by the smells from it was some sort of food.

"Thank you Freed-san make yourselves comfortable," she offered.

"I'm surprised at how organized you are already Blondie," Laxus said before plopping himself down in the armchair looking completely at home. She was just glad that her furniture wasn't completely girly otherwise he would look quite comical.

"My spirits helped me unpack before they went home themselves, and Reedus drew a carriage for me to make the move easier. I wasn't going to wait and have Natsu and Gray destroy all my stuff, they would see helping me move as a competition and you know how they get," she elaborated seeing the confused looks.

Evergreen and Freed's eyes automatically went at Bixlow who was whistling calmly like he didn't have any idea what they were implying. Then again there was only one Bixlow and his mayhem was usually on purpose through pranks, Gray and Natsu were more like uncontrollable unstoppable forces of nature. She sometimes really didn't understand why Master allowed them on the same team with all of the destruction they caused. Surely it would have been better if he kept them apart and a Team with Gray and Juvia would be a lot less destructive then Gray staying on the same team as Natsu.

"Would you like me to write up some runes Lucy-san?" Freed asked shocking her completely. Lucy had thought that she would need to end up buttering him up first before she could request that Freed draw some up. Never had she thought that he would just end up offering out of the blue, and by the stunned looks on his teams face they hadn't expected it from him either.

Smiling brightly at him she was so happy, "thank you so much Freed I was wondering how I could end up asking you. I was thinking putting up Runes where people have to be invited in unless if I'm in danger if that isn't too much to ask?"

Freed exchanged looks with his team looking thoughtful his gaze sweeping around the house. Since the guild believed that she had no family left she was certain that they wouldn't find it odd that she didn't request family to have a free pass. Otherwise it would be hard for her to explain to them if they knew she still did have family that she did know about, and probably family she didn't know about as well. Those she did know though she didn't want to allow free access into her home.

"That would be fine Lucy-san, but would you mind if my team and I can come and go if we need to. It would also make it easier if you need someone to keep an eye on your place when you go on extended missions," he offered.

Something in his eyes though told her that he also wanted to look out for her, which truly surprised her since she didn't really know Freed all that well. Ever she had become friends with since all of the girls in the guild ended up having girls only nights to gossip about the males of the guild or share the latest news. The girls in the guild were like family some more than others, and even Juvia was fine with her as long as Gray wasn't around.

She and Juvia would continue to have problems though until either Gray finally told her that he loved her, or Lucy got a guy of her own. Not that Lucy really minded since Juvia didn't actually try anything, and she and Gray both saw each other more as siblings. When Natsu wasn't around him Gray was a lot calmer and didn't get on her nerves as much, but he seemed to become a child again as soon as their hot headed team mate came into the mix.

Thinking back to Freed's offer though Lucy had been wondering what to do when she went on long missions since she wanted to start a little herb garden. If she had four people, although she didn't think Laxus would help as much, looking after her house she was sure one of them could water it when she was away. Plus she could return the courtesy to Freed since his runes seemed to allow her in. The Raijinshuu and Laxus weren't destructive, actually as far as Lucy knew they were the least destructive team in the guild, so she really didn't mind them having free rein of her apartment if she wasn't home.

"I'd appreciate that thanks," she said finally after a prolonged silence, which surprisingly wasn't awkward at all.

"Alright I will start tomorrow so that I can have them done before your team gets here. We have all heard the stories of how your team sneaks into your house, and I can promise you that the four of us will only come in without knocking when we are looking after your house. I've always thought it was improper for the complete lack of consideration your team showed to your privacy."

"Oi cosplayer open your present," "present," "presents," his babies chanted after Bixlow.

Ever and Freed sent him a look, but Lucy did as Bixlow said anyway and the four of them had once again shocked her. When they had said house warming present Lucy had expected something practical like silverware, plates, a plant, or something people usually gave someone when they moved into a new place. She hadn't expected to find a shiny silver key laying in a box and gasped as she looked at it. If she had gotten it before she had started moving her things she wouldn't have had to ask Reedus to draw her a carriage.

It was the key of Auriga the Charioteer and despite being silver in color it was actually a platinum key. Like her golden celestial keys the platinum keys only had one copy, unlike the silver ones like Plue who had multiple keys with multiple spirits and a variety of personalities. Lucy had believed that they were lost since she hadn't seen any platinum keys owned by any of the celestial spirit mages she had met. Now she had one of the keys and couldn't wait to make a contract later once they were alone, although it would be better to contract with this key in a field since she didn't know how large the chariot would be.

"Thank you really," she told them fighting off the tears. Usually Lucy preferred getting keys on her own since finding them made a better bond, but something about receiving it from Laxus ... and his team just made it seem right.

"It was my mother's," Laxus said shocking her, it seemed that he kept doing that tonight.

Although it made it even more special that Laxus gave her the key from what she had heard Laxus's mother had died when he was little. That was all she knew about the mysterious lady who had birthed Laxus and married Ivan. No one in the guild talked about her much the younger generation having never met her, and the older generation seemed to not mention her out of respect for Laxus and his grandfather. Not once had anyone ever mentioned that she was a celestial spirit mage, or that she was a mage although Lucy shouldn't have been surprised.

Knowing it was his mother's though made Lucy wonder if she could really accept it. She was going to tell Laxus it was too generous a gift, but the look in his eyes made her swallow her words. Obviously Laxus had been wanting to give her the key for a while, although she didn't know why he didn't save it for his children if they inherited their grandmother's magic. Or their mothers a traitorous voice in her head said, and she had to duck her head to hide the blush that thought caused. Asking Laxus if he was sure would probably insult him since this obviously wasn't a decision he had made lightly.

"You never mentioned it was your mother's key Laxus-sama," Freed said his eyebrows raised, if Lucy didn't know better she would almost think that the rune mage was teasing Laxus about something.

"Yeah well mom had made me promise that I would keep that key and only give it to someone I believed worthy of it. Blondie's the only Celestial Spirit Mage I've met who treats her keys as people instead of objects, I don't think there is anyone else my mother would rather have it. Hell if I knew where the rest of her keys were I'd give them to Blondie to, but mom had them hidden everywhere. Plus according to Jiji each key has specific requirements for the owner, but I still think Blondie will reach all of them," Laxus said gruffly avoiding their eyes.

"Auriga is a he Laxus and truly thank you this means a lot to me, and I promise I won't let you down in your expectations," she told him with a bright smile.

"Yeah, yeah Blondie why don't we eat the food we brought over. Your first meal in your new house shouldn't be alone," he said changing the subject. Seems Laxus was still a little shy when someone was thanking him, and it was actually quite cute.

Not wanting to push him though Lucy just went to her cupboards grabbing enough glasses, plates, and silverware for all of them well the others laid out the food. Looking at the food Lucy was certain that Mira wasn't the one who made it, but something told her not to ask who had made it. Instead she just sat down with the others to eat.

The evening passing in small talk and random conversations plus a bit of teasing from Bixlow towards Ever and Freed about certain white haired siblings the two were crushing on. He even tried to tease Lucy about Natsu, but stopped when she burst into laughter. Obviously it was her turn to shock the team and they had all waited for her to explain to them in clear terms that her and Natsu would never be anything more than friends. Close friends sure, but friends never the less.

It was late when they all went back over to Freed's. Freed explain to Lucy that the team had a habit of crashing at each other's houses most of the time, only not when one of them wanted privacy for certain things, or when Ever was doing girls night. Then the next day Freed arrived and put up the runes for Lucy explaining what the runes would do, and how an attempt to breach the runes would alert the lacrima that Laxus carried for their team and another one in the Masters office. A safety precaution he had assured her that his runes had as well, and wasn't just because she was a woman living alone. Obviously he had learned quite a few things from being close friends with Ever as long as he had been.

An: Yep another Lalu fic I seem to keep getting inspiration for these and have quite a few other story ideas for this category rolling about. This one connects Lucy with someone other then Zeref or time travel, and I hope is unique in it's own way. Please tell me what you think of my newest Lalu. :)