: Jazbez again with another LuCa. I don't know why exactly but I love this pairing and it saddens me at just how few people actually notice this couple. Once again, my stories are inspired by songs, and the song this time is "Love Letter" by Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes, and I highly recommend listening to this song as you read the story.
Disclaimer: I, Ja Z. Bez, under no circumstances, own or am making money of off Hiro Mashima's 'Fairy Tail'.
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Note: This takes place three years from the current storyline.

It was another day in the guild, though the circumstances were different inside. At one of the tables was a small grouping of the some of the females of the guild, surrounding the slightly flustered form of Lisanna. I admit, I'm a part of the group, smirking while the others continue quickly talking to Lisanna.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us!", I heard Lucy cry out towards Lisanna, slight bewilderment visible on her face.

"Well, I...", Lisanna started before getting cut off by Erza.

"I can't believe that Mira didn't realize that her own sister was engaged," Erza said, playfully smirking towards the woman in question, "Aren't you supposed to be the resident matchmaker and romantic?"

"I was a little busy, I'll have you know!", Mira exclaimed, a small blush on her face at being called out, "I had other... matters, to attend to." She finished with a small smile on her face. A few of us, namely Levy, Lucy, and I, saw a now extremely flustered Erza turn beet red as she turned her face away to hide the blush on her face.

'Heh, I should remember to tease the two of them about that later.", I thought as I caught Lucy's amused expression and chuckled.

"But, Lisanna," I heard Wendy start as I returned to the group from my thoughts, "Why didn't you tell us you and Natsu were engaged?" Her question being followed by several nods and mutters of agreement from from the other women at the table.

"Well, uhm, it's just that there are so few married couples in the guild," Lisanna started, "And it's also that we're still pretty young compared to most married couples, with Bisca and Azlack being the youngest after us, at the moment." The twenty year old stammered, eyeing the incredulous gazes the others were giving her.

"Lisanna," Levy started, "We were all surprised at the fact that it took you so long to ask Natsu out three years ago, I mean we all saw the looks the two of you gave each other. We still can't believe that the two of you thought no one would notice.", Levy finished, a few chuckles leaving her mouth as well as the chuckles of several others.

"Well, it's just that the whole situation was so complicated." Lisanna said, her head tilting downwards in defeat, "After the entire Edolas incident, and the years that passed during that time, neither of us knew what the other felt." Lisanna finished with another blush.

"And then we all had to 'convince' you to ask him out", I added with a grin on my face.

"Yes, yes you did. I have to admit that was one of the strangest experiences I've ever had, to see all of you marching towards with those looks in your eyes," Lisanna muttered with a slight chuckle.

"Hey Lisanna," I chuckled at her with a devious glint in my eyes, "Why don't you tell them about how you proposed to Natsu." I said, pointing the top end of my bottle at her.

"WHAT!", I heard the others exclaim in astonishment at that detail, while I just drank some more from my bottle, watching Lisanna gave me a friendly glare at my question and seeing the small smirk I had that I was failing to hide.

"Uh yeah," Lisanna mumbled, "I was the one that proposed to him." At seeing the looks on the faces of the others, telling her to go on, Lisanna continued in her explanation, "Well, it's pretty safe to say that we all know how dense Natsu can be, and any male dragon slayer for that matter," Lisanna added, giving Wendy a small smile and nod, while Levy gave a laugh as she thought about Gajeel, "After a long time of me hinting to Natsu about the prospect of marriage, I became a little discouraged when he didn't seem to understand what I was implying. So, I decided it would be best for the both of us if I proposed to him instead, that was two months ago."

"I still can't believe you and Natsu were able to hide the entire thing while the rest of us were in the dark," Lucy added.

"And then Natsu told everyone by accident." Lisanna deadpanned, while the rest of us laughed.

It was pretty funny, in a stupid way. Typical for Natsu, but it was still pretty stupid:

'It all started this morning, due to some of Gajeel's somewhat friendly bantering and teasing of the others. Early, after arriving to the guild with Levy, Gajeel decided to leave Levy to her books that she brought with her, not wanting to disturb the bluenette. So, in turn he came up to the bar to talk/tease with Mira, Lisanna, and I about the others.

After about thirty minutes of this, Gajeel turned to Lisanna and asked, "So, when are you and the salamander gonna tie knots?" With a smirk on his face at the flustered look Lisanna had.

Natsu, having turned towards Lisanna at the bar, saw her flustered look and mistook the look as a kind of sadness. Then, after seeing Gajeel, Natsu yelled at him, "What did you do to my fiancée, huh!?", and after the yell he quickly threw a punch at Gajeel while the rest of the guild was processing the information.

In a typical fashion however, the battle between the two dragon slayers escalated into a full blown brawl between the men, while the women went over to where Lisanna was.'

"Wait a minute," Mira started before turning to me, "How did you know that it was Lisanna that proposed to Natsu."

At that I let out a full laugh this time, before saying, "Because I'm the one who gave her the suggestion."

At this, the rest of the women turned towards Lisanna questionably, "Well, you see," Lisanna started, "I was really bothered at the time about how dense Natsu was being so I decided to try and talk to somebody."

"Why didn't you ask me about it?" Mira said, a slight edge of hurt in her face and voice.

Seeing at how upset Mira was becoming, Lisanna quickly said, "I wanted too, Mira-nee, but you and Elfman are really overprotective of me. I didn't know how you would react to the news so I had to find someone in the guild at the time who I could talk too."

"So she then went and looked for a level-headed and normal person in the guild to talk to. Unfortunately, since this is our guild after all, she couldn't find anyone that matched those requirements at the time, so she came to me at the bar while Mira was attending to someone and asked for my opinion. So I gave her my opinion and here we are." I finished with a smile and a wave of my bottle.

"I still haven't thanked you for that conversation have I?", Lisanna asked in concern.

"Don't worry about it, you know I see you as a little sister after all these years." I added with a smile, one that both Mira and Lisanna returned to me. "Now then," I continued with a mischievous look in my eyes, "How is Natsu in bed?" I asked.

"CANA!" I heard both Lisanna and Mira exclaim, both blushing deeply, while the others and I laughed at their reactions.

Several hours later, the rest of the group and I were still talking and chatting with each other despite the mess around us, bodies were strewn throughout the hall and tables were flipped as a result of the brawl. Somehow, our conversations were still primarily about the romances in the guild.

"... All I'm saying Wendy is that we all know sooner or later you or Romeo is going to ask the other out. It's only a matter of time." Mira said while the rest of us nodded our heads, sending smiles and smirks in Wendy's direction.

Wendy, with her face beet red at all the attention and the talk of her and Romeo, quickly stammered, "I, I have n-no idea what you're talking about." While, at the same time, turning her head in an attempt to hide the pleased smile at the thoughts floating around in her head.

"Now then," Levy started, "It appears that the only other two in the group right now not in a relationship are you two," she said as she nodded towards both Lucy and I, "I would have said four but apparently Erza and Mira are supposedly seeing someone, aren't they?" She added with a smirk, all of us seeing the blushed looks the two in question gave one another before they looked away and began rubbing their faces to get rid of their blushes.

"You know me," I said, "No one is really interested in a recovering alcoholic now are they?" I finished, taking another drink from my bottle and failing to notice the several sweat drops the other girls were having at my action. "Now then, what about you Lucy? There must be a lot of people that have interest in a girl like you?" I asked, 'I should know, I'm one of them.'

"I don't really know what to say. There have been several people that have had interest in me, but none of them have really caught my attention." Lucy responded as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Why is that?" I asked, leaning forward in an attempt to find out what she's looking for.

"I don't really know why," Lucy said, "I think it has to do with my mom and several different novels making me wish for a certain flair in terms of how others approach me. This may sound absurd, but I've always found the idea of a prince on horseback or a secret admirer to be romantic, and if they can stand out like that then they must be worth looking into." Lucy finished, the other girls having several ranges of emotions and reactions at this.

'A romantic is what she's looking for is it? I know I can at least try that approach; I know I'm willing to." I thought to myself, not noticing that the others were beginning to notice my change in behavior and, as such, were looking at me.

"Uhm, Cana?" I heard Lucy say as she shook me by my shoulder to get my attention, which it did, "Are you okay?"

Now flustered, I quickly said, "What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." In an attempt to distract the others, I turned to Levy and asked, "Now then, how about you and Gajeel. You two planning to tie the knot soon?"

This, in turn, led to another discussion between the others, one I used to think about different ways to approach being a romantic.

I decided to stay home today rather than going to the guild. Normally, after a day such as yesterday, with a large portion of the guild in shambles after the guild brawl, the guild is often more rowdy than it normally would be. Guild mates would either taunt or challenge each other for brawls they either won or lost, and those kind of days don't seem ideal today.

Rather, I would like time to think instead of going to the guild and the chaos around it. One part of yesterday's discussions has been stuck in my mind and I've trying to find a way to use the information, "I've always found the idea of a prince on horseback or a secret admirer to be romantic, and if they can stand out like that then they must be worth looking into." I'm pretty sure I could never pull off the 'prince on horseback', but the other one, the other one I can do just fine.

"Come on Cana, you have some writing to do." I told myself, grabbing the nearest parchment I have and a pen, "Now then, it can't be that hard to be a romantic can it?" I chuckled to myself as I began to write, not having to think about my words as I wrote them down.

It's nighttime of the same day that I left the letter in the crook of Lucy's door. Knowing that she would get and read the letter since her team wouldn't be going on a mission anytime soon, I headed towards the park to wait. I decided to sit down on one of the benches in front of the sakura trees, choosing to stare at the stars as I waited for Lucy to arrive.

Around midnight, the time I told Lucy to meet me at the park, I cast one of my lamp cards as a means for her to find me when she arrived. About five minutes later, I heard footsteps coming up to the path where I was. Rather than look at the source however, I continued to stare at the stars as I waited for her to speak to me.

"C-Cana? Is that you?" I head Lucy question me. Lowering my head to her level, I simply nodded my head as I smiled at her.

"You-You're my secret admirer." Lucy continued, attempting to learn the truth.

"Yeah, yeah I am." I answered, "Surprised that it was me that wrote you that letter." I asked, a smile still on my face, though it was slightly strained because I was afraid of how Lucy would react to all of this.\

"Yeah, I am surprised." Lucy said to me, "I have to admit I never knew you felt that way towards girls, let alone to me."

"It's not that much of a surprise if you knew me when I was a kid in the guild. When I started drinking at thirteen, I didn't have too much of a tolerance. According to the others, I am apparently a flirty drunk, and yet I tended to flirt on the girls specifically." I responded, chuckling as I remembered the awkward scenes following the flirting. "Laki still looks at me awkwardly when it's just the two of us, alone." This time with Lucy joining me while I laughed.

After a minute for both of us to calm down, Lucy started speaking again though now she was more at ease with me and the situation, "Hey Cana, did you mean everything you wrote down in that letter you left me."

Turning towards Lucy once again, I gave her a full smile before responding, "I meant every word of it Lucy. I'm not a liar, the first time I had ever told a lie that hurt someone was during the S-class exams," now though I was giving Lucy an ashamed look, "And that was the first time I hurt you, Lucy..." I trailed off, too ashamed to finish.

"Cana," Lucy started as she laid a hand on my shoulder, noticing the flinch I gave at the touch, "You know I forgave you for that, right?"

"Still though," I started, "I hurt you..."

Sensing the continued tension in the air, Lucy decided to change the topic, "Cana, when did you first start to like me?"

Noticing her desire to change the subject, I forced myself to try and recover before answering, "It... it was shortly after the Phantom Lord battle."

"That long?" Lucy responded, and when I looked up at her I saw the surprise in her wide eyes.

"Yeah," I answered with a small smile, "I realized how I felt after the battle. Everyone was congratulating me about how I took charge in the defenses and never slowed down. When they asked me why I was fighting so hard I said it was because I didn't want the guild to be destroyed. Don't get me wrong, I would never want the guild to be destroyed or anyone hurt, but there was another factor that I didn't realize until after the battle was over and we were rebuilding the guildhall. I realized that I didn't want you to get hurt. If I could fight hard enough, and if I took charge, then maybe the others that were inside didn't have to worry about the battles going on outside and focus on rescuing you. It took me a few more days to realize just how much you motivated me to continue fighting, but after I realized that I knew that I had a crush on you. It wasn't until much later that I realized I loved you." I finished, now with a modest smile.

Lucy, wanting to hear more, urged me to continue, "When, when did you realize that you loved me?"

Seeing just how excited she was at the topic filled me with hope that she may feel the same way that I do, "During the exams," I said, "The fact that you were willing to do so much for me was heartwarming. Before we teamed up, I constantly tried to be independent, to build myself up to be worthy of my dad. Don't get me wrong, I was still friendly with everyone, but I still wanted to get stronger. Most of the guild knew that I had a more solo approach to my missions so they didn't actively pursue me to see if I needed help. Because of this, you were the first person in years that asked me if I needed help and I actually accepted. You actually cared about me, you motivated and assured me when I didn't want to continue. I owed so much to you and that gratitude escalated into infatuation." I finished, a full blown smile on my face this time.

"Why didn't you tell me this face to face before, why send me a letter?" Lucy asked me a few minutes later.

Letting out a small sigh, I started to explain, "I don't really know why I didn't tell you before, I guess I didn't want to risk what we already had. I didn't know how you would react to the information, whether you would hate me or find being around me awkward. And the risks seemed to grow worse the more that I thought about them, so I decided not to tell you. In order to get closer to you, I did change a little though. I became a little more sociable with you and the others, I backed down with my lewdness, hell, I even cut down on my drinking." I finished, nodding towards the half empty bottle by the legs of the bench.

"But, what changed? Why leave me the letter? Lucy inquired.

At that, I gave a small chuckle, "Yesterday you said that you were looking for a prince on horseback or a secret admirer, that if anyone went through the trouble to approach you like that then they would have to be considered," I said, noticing the way that Lucy's eyes had widened as I talked, "I knew that I couldn't be a prince on horseback so I decided to write you a love letter. Before you ask why I chose to write you an anonymous letter, here's the reason. I thought it would be the romantic approach you were searching for, and if it was anonymous you wouldn't be able to disregard the confession of a girl."

"Cana, you know I..." Lucy started before I cut her off.

"Lucy," I whispered sadly, before continuing, "If a girl you knew for years suddenly told you that they were in love with you, how would you react?" I finished, allowing a pause so she could interject if she wanted to. At seeing the shame on her face at this, I continued, "That's why I left the letter, it allowed me to share how I felt with you and not risk you casting me away without hearing my thoughts."

After several minutes of silence between the two of us, Lucy broke the tension, "Cana, the truth is I don't know how I feel at the moment. There's a part of me that doesn't want to risk our friendship, another part that is against the idea, and then there's a part that's telling me to feel the same way." Giving off a weary sigh, Lucy continued, "I can't tell you today, I don't believe I have an answer for you tomorrow, but one day I think I can give you an answer..."

At that, I gave Lucy a small smile, "That's the best I can ask for, isn't it?" Sighing, I looked at Lucy before continuing, "If you need time, you can have as much as you need to make a decision. Know that no matter what, I will respect what you come up with, and don't worry about how long it takes you to find your answer. I've been waiting three years to tell you, what' a little more?"

Looking at me now, Lucy gave a grateful smile, "Thank you..." And at that she started to get up from the park bench.

Not wanting her to leave, I grabbed her wrist gently to get her attention, "Please don't leave," I whispered, "I don't want to be alone just yet."
Seeing the pleading in my eyes, Lucy sat back down. Now more relaxed, I turned my head back towards the stars. After a moment I started up a conversation, "Want to know why I love looking at the stars?" Seeing the glint in her eyes, I continued, "It's because..."

It's been two days since Lisanna's and Natsu's wedding and I had just entered the sparsely filled guildhall. Eyeing the room, I saw very few members, just Erza talking to Makarov in the back of the first floor by the stairs, Nab eyeing the Request Board, as always, and Mira wiping off the counter of the bar. 'Figures,' I thought, 'Everyone is probably still tired from the wedding.' Figuring the others were busy, I walked towards the bar.

As I sat down on one of the bar-stools, Mira noticed my presence and started to speak, "Hey, Cana. Between you and me, I'm surprised that you're here, if anyone was meant to have been hungover I expected it would be you." She finished with a kind chuckle.

Shaking my head and smiling back, I answered, "Mira, you know I've been trying to cut down on my drinking. There's a reason I didn't drink at the reception you know, while the others drank, if I started then I knew I wouldn't stop."

'Not stopping out of either merriment or sadness, I don't know.' I added in my head, thinking of Lucy. It's been two months since Lucy last spoke to me, two months since the night I confessed to her in the park. We still give each other small smiles and a few words from time to time, but it was nothing like we did before when we both sat at the bar, chatting with Mira. I knew deep down Lucy was simply coming to terms with her feelings and thoughts, but still I felt lonely.

"Are you okay Cana?" I heard Mira ask me with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I answered back, rubbing the back of my head, "I was just thinking of a few things, personal issues and such." I finished, noticing the look Mira gave me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mira asked me, her sisterly side showing in her face.

"No, I'm fine. I've just been tired recently," I said, in an attempt to ease her worrying, "How's Lisanna doing, have you heard from her?"

At that, Mira's smile grew, "She's doing great," she said, beaming at me, "She and Natsu left for their honeymoon this morning to the Caelum Kingdom. She said that they wanted to explore a few of the islands, as well as wanting to stay by the resorts near the beaches."

"Have they decided on where they will be living?" I asked Mira, remembering Natsu's small house that he had lived in since he was a kid.

"Lisanna told me that the two of them are planning to build a house near the forest. She said that it was going to be near Natsu's old home since it has memories for both of them." Mira finished, a smile once again gracing her features.

The two of us continued to talk about future plans or dreams between us, and over time a few more members arrived at the guild, some of whom still being hungover. During this time I spotted Lucy talking to Erza at one of the tables, apparently not being affected by a case of being hungover like the others were. After about another half hour of the two of us talking, I felt a small hand rest on my shoulder. Looking around I was surprised to see who it was.

"Hey Cana," I heard Lucy say to me, her eyes slightly having an embarrassed look in them, "I was wondering if we could talk."

Now excited at the fact that we were talking once again, I quickly pulled back one of the bar-stools and motioned for Lucy to sit down, "I'm always here for you talk to." I answered back, giving Lucy an encouraging smile, one that she returned to me.

"I'm sorry about being so distant over the last two months, I've just been thinking about what I wanted." Lucy told to me.

"It's okay Lucy, I understand. I realized I probably told you too much, I'm sorry, I didn't mean too. I just wanted to tell you how I actually felt." I said back to Lucy, trying to console her.

"Don't be sorry Cana, I'm actually glad that you told me," Lucy said to me, "In fact I came here to see you." Lucy finished, a sly smile on her face.
"You, you did?" I stuttered out, a blush forming on my cheeks at the look on her face, "What, what is it?"

"I'm done thinking, I have an answer for you about us." Lucy said, her sly smile turning gentle.

"You did!" I exclaimed, shock on my face, "What is it? What did you decide?" I prompted, wanting to get her answer.

"Here, I'll show you." Lucy said softly as she leaned forward on her bar-stool. When she got close to me, she turned my face to the side and gave me a small kiss on the cheek, making my face blush a beet red.

"Really?" I asked awestruck. At seeing Lucy's small nod as she continued to smile, I rushed forward and gave her a strong embrace and buried my face in the crook of her neck.

As Lucy and I broke apart from the embrace, we both heard a stutter from behind the bar counter. Turning around, we both saw Mira stuttering and wide-eyed as she stared at us. "Wait, whuh, what?" She sputtered at us, "You two are together?" As I turned to look at Lucy, she gave Mira a smile and a nod of her head.

"Yes, we are." Lucy said to Mira, "If you'll excuse us Mira, I think we'll go go to my apartment to talk." Lucy finished, giving Mira a hug across the counter.

As Mira watched the two leave the guildhall, Mira remembered the whispered words Lucy had given her as they had hugged, "It's Cana's." She had said, putting something on the edge of the counter. Looking down, Mira saw folded parchment, and after opening it, saw that it was a letter.

"Dear Lucy,

For years I have looked at you from afar, and I have enjoyed every moment of it. To see you smile fills me with joy, and whenever I see you cry I want to hold you and calm you. I've been afraid to talk to you as I want too, for if I did I don't know how you would react to me face to face. While you are beautiful, what I have fallen for is what makes you who you are. The smiles you share with others, the tears you shed with them, and the willing to help those that need you. Those are what led me to fall for you, both from up close and from afar. Lucy Heartfilia, I love you, and if you feel that you could feel the same way with me, please meet me tonight in the park at midnight.

~ Love, A Secret Admirer

Folding the letter back up and reminding herself to return it to Lucy, Mira softly said to herself, "What a lucky girl, I wonder if Erza could ever write me a one?"

From behind her, Mira felt two arms lightly wrap around her waist, "Write you what?" A gentle voice asked quietly, the owner resting their chin on Mira's shoulder.

"Erza," Mira quickly exclaimed, placing her hand on her shoulder, "What are you doing? You know we're trying to be discreet." She finished quickly.

"Hush," Erza chided lightly, "Very few people are here right now, let alone looking at us. Now then what is it you wanted me to write?"
Grinning now, Mira handed the parchment over her shoulder to give to Erza to read, "A love letter." Mira finished with a grin.

Fin. Hope you enjoyed the story, I may be editing certain parts at a later date. Have a good day.