A/N: wow. I finally wrote a story. I apologize if it isn't that good; it is the first I have actually written. I'm more of a read it/review it/edit it type person, but you know, here it is. please don't be too mean when you review, but I would prefer your honest opinion, so please, tell me if it needs fixing or if you like where it's going :3

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Fairy Tail, if I did, I would have made the couplings more obvious by putting cute scenes here and there. But I do own this story's idea and any Original Character's I decide to put in

"It's so hoooooott…" She whined to no one in particular. Well really, there wasn't anyone to complain to. She had missed the train by a couple minutes and then the station had closed for renovation which left her walking through the middle of a forest all the way back to Magnolia. Great.

A small shriek was ripped from her throat as she stumbled yet again. She flipped her blonde bangs out of her eyes and cussed under her breath. That had to be the millionth time she'd tripped on one of those stupid, mangled roots jutting out from the path beneath her worn brown boots.

The forest around her was all shades of green and brown with the light slitting through the gaps in the thin foliage above. She could feel the sweat plastering her clothes to her body like a second skin. Gosh, this is so gross! But she continued to trudge further along the path, barely noticing how the brush and trees slowly became thicker the deeper into the forest she went. And besides, it's not like she had an option to stop walking. If she did, it would only take longer to return home.

"How the hell does Natsu do this" she whined, again, to no one but herself. Thinking about him was never a good thing when she was on a solo mission, because she knew it just made her heart hurt and her eyes swell from tears that had no right to fall. It wasn't like that between Natsu and Lisanna, but her mind had to keep making up scenarios of those two together and misinterpreting friendly gestures as something more. It just wasn't like that…. Or she hoped anyway.

She shook her head, trying to dislodge thoughts of the man who was too dense to realize she loved him and thought about the last village she had just been in, feeling a grimace spread across her face as she thought about the little old lady from the edge of the town. I doubt she even knew where she was…. Why did I have to take directions from her?! This is so not a short cut! But she kept walking. She knew it really was supposed to be a shorter way of getting back to Magnolia, as the other roads and even the train went around this forest, and now she was cutting through it, so hopefully it would only be a couple days walk rather than a week.

She supposed she could have just walked to the next town to catch the train, but she had run out of jewel…. She'd spent most of it on the hotel she'd stayed in last night and put what little remained from the small reward she'd worked for during her solo mission into a savings account for her rent.

She sighed, letting her head fall. Thinking about all the things she could have or should have done always gave her a headache, and she so didn't need one right now-

"Damnit!" she'd tripped. Again. This time she ended up falling face first into the dirt. "Why me?!" she cried, slowly sitting back up and brushing herself off. Her shirt was white, damnit! She began to walk forward again, still brushing herself off and grumbling to herself while pushing low branches out of her way, this time making sure to keep an eye on the path in front of her. No more tripping please. And then she heard that wonderful sound, a sound signalling a small salvation from this heat.

She broke into a run, not caring about the way her lungs burned or the way her muscles ached from the added exertion. The air slowly became cooler as she got closer and closer to the sound as it also became darker and darker.

She only slowed when she reached a narrow clearing, the only sunlight falling directly onto what she had been looking for: a small stream. She estimated it to be two metres wide and about knee deep as she dropped her bag beside it and knelt, grinning like an idiot while dipping her hand into the water. It was the perfect temperature to counter the humid air that still clung to her like the sweat clutching her clothes in its sticky grasp.

Pulling her hand out caused the water that clung to the skin of her hand to form droplets that ran down her forearm to fall from the tips of her fingers back into the glistening water, causing her to shiver in delight from its coolness.

"It's wonderful!" she laughed as she began washing her hands and face free of the remaining smudges of dirt. She continued to wash her face and drank heartily from the stream before beginning to refill her flask. She then proceeded to stand and look up and down the stream.

Damn, doesn't look like it gets any wider either way, her thoughts disappointed. Oh well, this will have to do. She reached arms above her head to stretch and then slowly dragged her hands back down her body, her cool hands lingering on her neck and the top of her breasts where her shirt split into a wide V, their coolness soothing her overheated body before continuing on their path to the bottom hem of her shirt and began to lift it, peeling the fabric from her skin, never noticing the eyes watching her every move from the other side of the stream. That is, until she heard someone clear their throat, causing her to jump and shriek a little in fright while trying to yank her shirt back over large breasts. She just ended up getting her arms tangled and falling to the pebbled ground on her ass. God that hurt….

"Hey, are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you…." She felt hands help tug her shirt back down and saw one of them extend in front of her. Smiling sheepishly and face flushed with embarrassment, she took the strangers hand and stood.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Um, thanks, I think" she mumbled, finally stopping brushing herself off and looking at the stranger. Er, boy?

"Um, I didn't mean to disrupt you, and certainly not to peep. I swear." The boy looked away with slightly pinkened cheeks, scratching the back of his head. He's so cute…. She couldn't help thinking as she studied him. The boy had shaggy blonde hair, a roman nose, strong cheek bones and chin, only a little shorter than herself, bronzed skin as if he was in the sun all day every day shown off by a white tank with blue jeans, and looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.

She blushed again at his statement. "Ah…. Don't worry about that…." Definitely awkward conversation matter…. "Anyway, what's a boy like you doing here?"

His eyes flicked back to her, flashing in amusement. "I could ask you the same thing." She blinked, taken aback. Gold eyes?! Is that even possible?!

"Besides, I can handle myself." He smirked.

Her temper flared, and then turned flustered as she fought for words to defend herself. "Hey, I can take care of myself, this was just…. You just surprised me is all. We're in the middle of a forest, for crying out loud. I wasn't expecting anyone to jump out…." He just laughed. It was a nice, smooth sound that made you want to smile in return. His vibe seemed pleasant enough, not a danger to her at the moment. She could just tell these types of things about individuals; after all she was a people person, just like all Heartfilia's are raised to be.

"So, what is a lady like you doing in the middle of a dangerous forest like this?"

She grimaced. "Well, um, attempting to take a short cut through to Magnolia", she started scratching the back of her head, a habit she had no doubt picked up from Natsu over the year and a half they had been partners, "but I no longer think this is a short cut."

"Obviously in a hurry to get home then."

"Yes and no, I suppose. And you didn't answer my question."

"Oh?"

"What are you doing here? I've explained myself, now it's your turn." She crossed her arms over her bulging chest with an expectant expression on her face.

He hesitated a moment before looking down at his feet and scuffing one shoe amongst the pebbled stones in front of him. There was a few heartbeats of silence when she began to think he wasn't going to answer, and was just about to ask him not to worry about it, but he looked up with a small smile gracing his lips that, to her, looked to be tinged with sadness as he looked around at the surrounding forestry.

"I live here." She had to stop herself from asking more questions…. He looks so sad…. He looked back at her, and she was jolted again by the colour of his eyes. "Anyway, you obviously want to bathe, yes?" The question was asked so quietly that she almost missed it, but she got the gist of what he said from him looking between her, the small stream and back again with pink cheeks. "I can take you to a bigger area. It has a small lake and a natural hot spring over the rocks…. It's not too far from here, either."

She grinned softly at him; her next words making him face her again and smile in return. "That would be lovely," she paused, extending her hand, "and by the way, my names Lucy, Lucy of Fairy Tail."

"Lukas," he took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a light kiss on her knuckles. She didn't notice his deep inhalation before he moved away; instead she just stood there with a slightly dumbfounded expression tinged with pink. "What? Cant a guy have manners?" He said with a raised brow and cocky grin before turning and taking her bag.

"H-hey! You don't have to take that!" Scrambling to keep up with him and reaching to take her bag back.

"Yeah, but that's not how my dad raised me. He always told me if I was in the presence of a lady, to treat her as a lady." He swapped her bag to his other shoulder, the opposite side to what she was joining him on and smiled at her. Jeesh, he isn't struggling with it at all… isn't it heavy for him? It weighs near a tonne!

She sighed. She was kind of happy someone was treating her like a lady. She hadn't been regarded as one since she left the Heartfilia mansion, and it's not like anyone at Fairy Tail had handled her like one. Well, everyone knew who was male and female; obviously, because there was no way you could miss the women. The majority of them had massive breasts, so much so it was ridiculous. But they were all treated the same way, like nakama, like equals. Which was a good thing and why she loved the guild so much more than her 'Lady Heartfilia' lifestyle, but she just wished that a certain dragon slayer would treat her differently from everyone else in the guild, as more than just nakama. But of course, he was and is too dense to understand those sorts of feelings and desires…. Sure, he had matured a lot since they first became a team, but he either didn't care about anything sexual or, she thought glumly, he just didn't have any interest in her. She could keep dreaming though, to be held by a particular someone, kissed by them, touched by them…. Oh wow, are my thoughts going off into the gutter or what? She brought her still cool hand to her face, trying to be rid of the heat before it turned a bright tomato red, pressing the other to her chest between her breasts.

At least she wasn't as bad as Erza and her smutty books. Not yet anyway. She giggled at the thought while Lukas gave her a curious side long look, saying nothing.

"So, what do you do around here? I mean, if you live here, how do you survive? Or have fun? And how long have you been living here?"

"Well," he pushed a branch aside and held it for her to pass before continuing. "We go hunting several times a week for food, use the lake and stream for bathing, and the fresh water ponds for drinking. We also scavenge for herbs when someone is hurt or injured. You'd be amazed at how many types there are…. And for fun, we swim, we race, we train… We've all been here about the same amount of time, a couple years difference here or there maybe. I've been here for about seven years now."

"Whose 'we'?" she couldn't help but ask. She hadn't seen any signs of others being here, and she hadn't thought that this forest had been populated to begin with. From what she heard, barely anyone even traversed the area due to the forestation being too thick for larger groups, and too dangerous for any others. Lucy had ignored the warnings in the prospect of getting home faster.

Lukas lapsed into hesitation again, looking unsure. "Um, hopefully you won't have to worry about meeting the others…."

"Why? Is that a problem?"

"No, we just don't get many visitors, and the others should be off hunting for the next day or two….. Anyway, we're here." He smiled down at the lake stretched out before us. She was awestruck.

The sun shone directly down onto it, the beams reflecting off the surface making the water sparkle and the waterfall on the opposite side seem more majestic than it already was with the rocks either side of it covered in a vibrant green moss.

"Wahhh! It's beautiful!" She beamed at the lake, and then at Lukas who grinned in return. "I can't believe you live here." Shaking her head in disbelief, she surveyed the area again with sparkly eyes.

"If this is beautiful, then you should see it during a full moon." She looked at him with wide eyes. He raised his face to the sun, the rays caressing his sculpted face and neck.

"Shall we go to the water's edge?" He smiled again and walked down the hill towards the water, leaving her at the apex to stare after him.

He was a strange one, what with the mood swings and obvious avoidance of some subjects. I wonder if he's alright. With brows lightly creased together, she padded down after him.

"You can bathe just around there," he pointed to a spot a few metres away where a line of rocks were built up into a wall reaching out into the water. "The waters about waist deep and the rocks form a sort of alcove in a horseshoe shape. There is also a smaller waterfall that comes from the stream we were at earlier." Lukas walked over to the wall and rested her bag against the rocks before walking back to the forests edge behind her.

"Are you leaving?"

"No. I was going to fetch fire wood so we could cook some fish from the lake while you bathe. Unless you want me to leave?" He put his hands into his pockets and cocked his head to the right, observing her with those golden eyes again.

"I didn't say that!" He smirked and continued on his way, disappearing into the foliage.

She scrunched her nose and poked her tongue out in the direction he had left. Turning, she walked to where the rocks began to extend out into the lake and noticed a light shelf just below the water's surface. Toeing her boots off, she slipped one foot and then the other into the water, sighing in content again at how cool it was. Making her way to the end of the rock wall, she peeked around the edge and her breath hitched.

It was just as Lukas had stated, except that on every surface of rock at the end of the alcove was covered in violet amethyst and blue sapphire crystals along with lily pads of all sizes on the water's surface around the edges of the alcove. She experimentally pressed on one, finding it solid and smooth under her fingertips. It didn't sink until she had pressed her full weight on it.

That's good. Something to put dry clothes on until I'm finished.

She hurried back to her bag to collect a few things before going back to the alcove. She began removing her clothes, this time with no interruptions.

Wading deeper into the water, she strode over to the small water fall. It was wonderfully warmer than the alcoves water and had enough pressure for amending tight muscles. As she sat on a rock next to the cascading water, she let her mind wander, having the water beat on the back of her neck and top of her shoulders.

I wonder if Team Natsu finished their mission early… She let her eyes glaze over with lowered lids as she lightly began to wash away the sweat that had yet to be removed from her skin.

The team was supposed to return to the guild tomorrow. If they finished early, they were supposed to return to the guild this evening, which was why she was taking this shortcut. And she wanted to see Natsu before having to leave on another solo mission, just for a minute before the pain of seeing him with Lisanna forced her to leave.

As before, she knew it wasn't like that between them, but he had gotten really close to her over the month or so she had been back from Edolas. As close as he was with Lucy, maybe even closer. Lucy knew they were just really good friends, but things could easily change over the course of a mission. And she had felt kind of replaced on the team.

Lucy knew it was her fault that this was happening, seeing as she was always leaving on solo missions. But it was to give the others more time to catch up with Lisanna; after all, they hadn't seen her in many years because they thought her dead when in fact she had gotten sucked into Edolas. Lucy didn't want to step in the way of old friends getting re-acquainted, so she hadn't joined the team for the entire month on any missions. She hadn't meant for it to be so long, but over the last week, it had just slowly become difficult to be around Natsu and Lisanna.

Everything was still good though, because no one had forgotten about her. Erza and Gray still popped up and asked her to join them on missions, and Natsu still invaded her privacy on a daily basis, if she was around after a solo mission that is, to beg her to join him and the team for a mission.

She smiled slightly, skimming over her nipples before adjusting her position to begin scrubbing her legs.

For some reason, she had become accustomed to declining their offers, which always made Natsu pout, right before Lisanna stepped in to comfort him and say 'there's always the next mission for Lucy to join us on, so don't pout'. It hadn't happened. Oh Natsu, have I made a mess of things?

It was quite obvious Lisanna had lingering feelings for Natsu from their childhood together, but she hadn't made any moves to take their relationship further, which kind of confused Lucy. The few times she had spoken to Lisanna, they had become good friends. They even talked about her liking Natsu. All she ever replied was, "do you want me to pursue him? Or is it you who wants to?" Lucy never gave an answer, instead choosing to look away dumbfounded and embarrassed before asking Mira for a drink which in turn made Lisanna giggle at the way she skirted away from the answer. God, her feelings were so messed up and confusing….

She heard a splash on the other side of the rocks that jerked her from her thoughts. She finally noticed that the sun was setting, and that the crystals nestled amongst moss and rock had started to faintly glow. She reached out and touched one, a light hum spreading up her fingers. So pretty…. Shaking her head, she finished washing her hair, drying and dressing into her blue skirt and blue and white shirt. Attaching her whip and keys to each hip, she carried her things back to the rocky beach. Good timing, she thought, as Lukas was dragging a huge fish out of the water.

"How did you catch that thing? It's as big as you!" It also reminded her of how Natsu went fishing, although he was much more boisterous about it along with a fish-crazed Happy.

"It was no problem. I usually catch bigger ones than this, but I think they've gotten smarter…. They're avoiding me more often lately." She couldn't stop the laugh at his feigned hurt expression.

He grinned while staking the fish on a large stick to sit over the fire he'd made. About fifteen minutes later, they each had a large morsel of fish fillet and were eating. Sweet…. I didn't know fish could be sweet without any garnishing's.

"You're frowning. I wonder if you're thinking about the sweetness of the meat?" She stared at him. He laughed. "Everyone is shocked at the taste the first time they eat it. The sweetness is caused by the crystals. I think they have mystic properties that purify the water, adding sweetness and making the fish grow to ridiculous sizes."

"Wow" was all she could reply, nibbling on the piece in between her fingers and considering Lukas' theory. It explained the glowing and humming she'd observed while bathing.

They continued talking about many things, a lot of which they had in common, although he hadn't much experience with a lot outside the forest. They fell quiet to eat in companionable silence for another twenty or so minutes.

"I'm so full, but it's so yummy," she groaned quietly. Lukas looked at her incredulously.

"How can you be full? You barely ate anything!"

"Compared to you maybe, but you just keep shovelling it in! Where do you put it all?" His appetite was just like Natsu's and Gajeels. At least Wendy had some manners and moderation…. Wait, am I comparing Lukas to the Dragon Slayers? No way…

"I don't know. I've always had a large appeti-" He froze, body stiffening, he paled so much so his skin almost matched Lucy's pale tone.

"Lukas?" she asked uncertainly. He growled, actually growled. He stood sharply, food forgotten, and turned away from her to face the trees behind him away from the alcove, continuing the rumbling from his throat. She frowned at him before putting her plate down.

"Ah, Lukas, I see you chose to eat without us. Shame on you." The new voice resounding over their camp sent a chill of unease down her spine. She put a hand on her keys, the other on the handle of her whip.

"And what a lovely friend you have there. Lucy, was it? A pleasure to meet you." A man was suddenly in front of her, the moonlight shone down behind him, covering his face in flickering shadows caused by the crackling fire.

Lukas snarled, swinging around in an attempt to get between her and this intimidating person. The stranger simply turned to him and bared his teeth, a fang glinting in the firelight before a low growl answered Lukas, who froze again before backing off a step and looking to the ground, eyes in shadows.

Who the hell is this?! She was stunned silent, as she felt the strangers eyes shift back to her. This was definitely the point at which to call one of her Celestial Spirits, wasn't it?

A/N: dun dun duh! Hopefully the ending was ominous enough... anyways, plz R&R, and hopefully, I can have the next chapter up sometime next week :3