Chapter Text
Ignite My Heart.
The late afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, casting a golden hue all over the sprawling cityscape of Magnolia, as well as filtering through the expansive windows of Fairy Tail guildhall that stood proud in the southern portion of the town, illuminating the large interior with a radiant warmth that seemed to breathe life into every possible corner of the guildhall.
The atmosphere inside, as always, was very lively and alive with the usual chaos and camaraderie—members sparring, laughing and drinking as if the world outside didn’t really matter.
Some of the Fairy Tail members had unwillingly found themselves getting roped into a big fist fight that had started when Natsu had challenged Gajeel and Elfman to a fight, which had quickly spiraled out of control and had also dragged Erza out of all people into it, with Queen of the Fairies being the one to put a stop to the whole ruckus as quickly as it had started.
Sitting at a table by the window not that far away from the whole chaos and feeling glad that she hadn’t gotten anything (or anyone) thrown her way, was Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail’s very own Celestial Spirit mage.
She was immersed in her own world and attempted to read a book she had brought with herself to the guild, sitting in her usual spot and resting her chin against her hand. Her gaze then shifted from her book to Natsu and Happy, watching them engage in their latest antics and wondering how the hell pinkette seemed to be so casual and relaxed even after causing damage and chaos in the guildhall left, right and center?
Natsu was tossing a fiery ball and bouncing it back and forth with his blue Exceed as if it were a harmless toy, as their laughter echoed throughout the entire guildhall—carefree, loud and completely oblivious to the world around them.
Lucy smiled faintly to herself as her fingers lightly traced the edge of her celestial keys that hung from her belt, a comforting weight she had grown so used to over the years. However, as her hand fell away from her keys, the ever familiar ache crept into her chest again, the one that had been gnawing at her insides for months now (or more like years at this point).
Despite everything she and Natsu had been through together—the battles, the laughter, losses of people who were so near and dear to their hearts (Aquarius and Igneel definitely came to mind first), the moments of quiet comfort—he had always remained completely unaware of her burgeoning feelings for him. He saw her as a close best friend and as his partner in adventure, but never more than that. And for the blonde, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the growing gap between what she wanted and what she had.
A sigh escaped her lips as she finally tore her gaze away from Natsu, letting it drift back to the table in front of her. The wood was worn from years of use, the grain etched with scars and burn marks from countless guild members’ antics, and it reminded her of the scars on her heart—quiet, unseen, but still ever-present.
‘’Still staring at him like a love struck puppy, aren't y’a?’’
Lucy nearly jumped out of her seat at the sound of Cana Alberona’s teasing voice. She turned her head around to see the buxom brunette standing near her table, grinning like a Cheshire cat. She was holding a medium-sized beer barrel in her left arm and swirled a glass lazily in her right hand.
The pretty blonde could already feel her cheeks reddening in slight embarrassment. ‘’I’m not staring.’’
‘’Yes, you are totally staring.’’, Cana countered as she plopped herself down in the seat across from Lucy’s and set aside the barrel, resting her elbows on the wooden bench. ‘’The blush in your cheeks confirms it as well.’’
Lucy let out an audible groan as she leaned back in her seat and covered her reddening face with her hands, knowing that she couldn’t really escape another round of teasing coming from the Card mage herself. ‘’Please don’t remind me about that...’’
Cana chuckled in response before taking a long sip from her glass and setting it down with a clink. ‘’So blondie, what’s your plan? Are you gonna’ keep staring at him until he magically figures everything out, or are you actually gonna’ take the first step and do something about it? Or as Elfman would put it—man up?’’, she said, emphasizing the last two words with air quotes.
‘’Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Natsu’s a little…’’, the Stellar mage trailed off, searching for the right word. ‘’Dense?’’
‘’Dense as shit, yes of course.’’, Cana agreed with a throaty laugh. ‘’But girl, that still doesn’t mean he’s totally hopeless. You just have to—’’
‘’Be patient with him.’’, Lucy finished, her voice tinged with slight exasperation and bitterness. ‘’Yeah, I’ve heard that about a million times already—and not just from you, but from Levy, Juvia, Mira, everyone!’’, she added, letting out a frustrating sigh. ‘’But what if he never realizes it? What if he never sees me the way I see him?’’
Those words came out way harsher than she intended, but that was indeed the truth.
Natsu was, in so many different ways, completely oblivious with the concept of having romantic feelings, especially when it came to her. He was passionate about fighting, eating copious amounts of food, about his friends and guildmates, about protecting what mattered to him the most—but love was a totally different, almost foreign thing to him.
Slumping into her seat, Lucy let her thoughts wander off.
She couldn't really pinpoint the exact moment in which she had started to develop romantic feelings for the Fire Dragon Slayer—because if she were to be completely honest, there had been quite a lot of moments that she deemed to be pivotal for her starting to develop feelings for Natsu, as well as seeing him in a very different light and considering him not to be just a best friend and very close teammate of hers, but also now thinking of him as a potential romantic partner.
From him catching her right on time when she had thrown herself from the Phantom Tower because of the immense trust she had had in him, uprooting Magnolia's prized cherry blossom tree just for her to be able to see all of its glory when she had been sick, cheering her up after the devastating losses she had experienced against Flare and Minerva during the Grand Magic Games, him going berserk over Future Rogue killing her future self, unleashing his END form on Dimaria Yesta when he thought that she had killed her—those were just some of many, many moments that made her heart swell with nothing else but pure happiness and joy.
However, a truly breaking point for Lucy and realizing that she had developed feelings for the pink haired dragon slayer was when Natsu had left on a year-long mission without seeing her in flesh beforehand and leaving behind nothing else but a mere written handnote. While she had forgiven him for what he had done to her after Fairy Tail’s disbandment and the two of them had gotten even closer during and after the war against the Alvarez empire, nothing had really changed between them in terms of going from being close best friends to becoming romantic partners—because to Lucy, chances of that happening were about the same as Cana giving up drinking and sobering up completely.
Despite everything, she still hoped Natsu would somehow snap out of his general denseness when it came to romance and come to realize his own feelings for her.
Cana’s teasing grin faded slightly, her expression turning more thoughtful as she noticed that Lucy’s face had now dropped into a frown. ‘’Lucy, I get it. Trust me, I do.’’, she said. ‘’But you can’t put your life on hold waiting for him to figure things out. Natsu is just Natsu, and he might need a little more time than most people.’’
‘’A little more time?’’, Lucy scoffed in response. ‘’Cana, we’ve known each other for years. I’m pretty sure that by now he’s had plenty of time to figure things out.’’
But before Cana could say something back, another voice joined their conversation. ‘’Maybe Cana’s right, Lucy.’’
Lucy and Cana both turned to see Mirajane standing near their table with a usual warm smile on her face, expertly carrying one tray full of booze in one hand and a tray full of food in her other one. Being the guild’s resident matchmaker, she had an almost supernatural ability to overhear conversations about romance and relationships, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise to Lucy that the she-devil had chimed in.
‘’I know you’ve been pining for Natsu for the longest time…’’, Mira continued, her tone gentle but firm. ‘’But have you thought about potentially moving on from him and exploring other possibilities?’’
Lucy’s heart skipped a beat at the suggestion, but she shook her head pretty quickly. ‘’Mira, I’m not interested in anyone else, okay?’’
‘’You don’t know that for sure.’’, the Take Over mage said with a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. ‘’There are plenty of people who might just catch your eye if you give them a chance.’’
Lucy was about to open her mouth to protest when the white haired beauty cut her off with a knowing smile. ‘’And besides, a little competition might make Natsu realize what he’s been missing out on.’’
Cana grinned wolfishly at that, raising her glass in agreement. ‘’Yeah, shake him up a bit! That boy’s been coasting too long, thinking you’ll always be there. Maybe it’s the time to show him you have options?’’
Lucy frowned, crossing her arms defensively. ‘’But I don't want to make Natsu jealous. That’s not how I want things to happen, alright?’’
‘’Well, it might not.’’, the brunette said, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. ‘’But hey, at least you'll be doing something for yourself, instead of waiting around for him. Trust me, it’s worth considering it.’’
Lucy slumped her head in between her arms and let out a quiet groan, before staring up at the ceiling, feeling the weight of both Cana and Mira’s words settle over her.
The idea of moving on and letting go of her feelings for Natsu, or at least pushing them to the side, was frankly terrifying. However, there was still some truth to what her two friends were saying—she had spent so much time hoping, waiting and wishing to have something more with Natsu, but it was starting to wear her down and sometimes be too much for emotions to handle.
But before she could even spiral too far into her own thoughts, the sound of the guild doors swinging open and hushed conversations between her friends were what brought her back to reality.
‘’Hey Lucy!’’
The mage in question turned her head just in time to see Gray and Juvia walking towards her, followed by another person that looked really familiar to her, although she couldn't remember who that person was exactly. She waved and smiled kindly at the trio of mages when they approached her and sat down at her table, then raising a curious eyebrow at them. She wanted to ask Gray and Juvia how their job had been going so far, considering the fact that it didn’t seem to be that difficult and that the reward was surprisingly hefty, but they had suddenly found themselves in a bit of a trouble because one part of their job required translating the directions from a language spoken only in one particular part of Fiore (unsurprisingly, nobody had even informed them about that)—however, she instead looked curiously at the newcomer and earned herself a polite smile from him.
‘’Hello Lucy, do you remember?’’, the stranger asked, extending his hand out to Lucy. ‘’My name is Colvin Bellevue. We met at one of your book meet-and-greets a couple of months ago.’’
Colvin Bellevue was a man only a couple of years older than Lucy, and had become sort of a ‘talk of the town’ within the magical circles due to not wanting to affiliate himself with any official guild, despite wielding some seriously strong powers. His magic, called Aegis Umbra, was a type of shadow magic that created impenetrable barriers and reflective shields made of condensed shadow energy, as well as a type of molding magic that allowed him to create any kind of shadowy constructs. On top of being a skilled mage, he was also handsome, intelligent and well-spoken—with his short, tousled black hair that was streaked with silver strands, sharp facial features and piercing gray eyes.
‘’Colvin?’’, Lucy responded, standing up as she approached the mage and gave him a quick hug. ‘’What are you doing here?’’
The shadow-wielder chuckled in response, scratching the back of his neck. ‘’Well, I was out and about in the town after completing a mission, but I happened to run into Juvia and Gray as they were returning from their own job, so I thought I’d drop by and say hello to you if you happened to be here. It’s really been some time since we met at that book signing, hasn’t it?’’
Lucy smiled, remembering that event oh-so fondly.
Her book, The Adventures of Iris, had come out not long after the end of war against Alvarez empire, so she had been doing a bunch of meet-and-greets in libraries and book shops all throughout Fiore at that time, so she had met Colvin during one of those events for her first published novel. He had been nothing but polite, kind and enthusiastic about her work and potential future literary endeavors, leaving a lasting impression. From what she had gathered about him, he had been somewhat of a rising star in the wizarding world, noted for his powers and not wanting to join any legal guild (which she had found to be a bit weird, although she hadn’t given it much thought later anyway, since independent mages weren’t exactly a new concept).
‘’Yeah, it has.’’, she replied warmly. ‘’It’s nice to see you again.’’
Gray crossed his arms as he moved to sit closer to Juvia, much to the water mage’s joy. ‘’So Lucy, the main reason why we wanted to talk to you is because we are looking for some help on a mission. Juvia and I are already in, we invited Colvin because support magic is always helpful, but we thought you might want to join us too. It might be right up your alley since one part of the mission requires translating a text written in Palentian, and I think that’s an ancient language only you, Levy and Freed can speak, am I right?’’
Hearing what the potential job was about, Lucy’s interest was now definitely piqued. She hadn’t been on a job in a few days, and the idea of getting out of the guild (as well as getting away from her tangled emotions) sounded appealing enough for her. ‘’So, what’s the job exactly?’’
Colvin cleared his throat before speaking, his tone smooth and friendly-sounding. ‘’Nothing too complicated. It’s just a retrieval mission for a rare magical artifact hidden in the mountains not far away from Magnolia. The client also supplied Gray and Juvia with a map and instructions, but those are written in Palentian script and require translation from a mage who’s fluent in the language.’’
‘’And as far we know, Levy’s currently on a two-week mission with the rest of Team Shadow Gear, Kinana and Pantherlily, and Freed is probably returning tomorrow from a job he took on with Laxus, Evergreen and Bickslow, so you’re pretty much the only person left who can help us.’’
Lucy hesitated for a moment, glancing over at Cana who had made herself comfortable at the bar and Mira who was wiping down the counter and also carefully watching the whole interaction between her and Colvin. They exchanged looks, but said nothing. Taking a breath, she nodded and gave the three mages a smile. ‘’I’m in.’’
‘’Great.’’, Colvin replied, his smile widening. ‘’We’re leaving early morning tomorrow.’’
Lucy agreed, before she, Colvin, Gray and Juvia all went over the most important details of the mission and all the intel the three of them had gathered so far, as well informing the celestial mage of the astounding prize money they all would be getting upon completing the job. Some time later, all four mages went their separate ways in order to prepare for the upcoming mission, although Lucy stayed behind in the guildhall as she wanted to read some more of her almost forgotten book.
She was just about to open the book when Cana suddenly draped herself over her friend and leaned in with a teasing grin, holding a pint full of beer in one hand. ‘’See, I told you! Maybe there really is more than one mage in your life who can make your heart pitter patter!’’
Lucy rolled her amber eyes, though she couldn’t help herself but smile. ‘’It’s just a mission, Cana.’’
‘’Sure.’’, the brunette replied with a wink. ‘’And maybe it will be just a date after that! Well, actually, I can take a look at my cards if you would like to?’’
Lucy laughed lightly, shaking her head ‘no’ in response to Cana's offer as she grabbed her belongings and waved goodbye to her former Tenrou island partner, eventually walking out of the guildhall through its massive wooden front door and making a beeline for her cozy place situated on Strawberry Street.
The truth was, a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Cana and Mira were right—maybe it was the time to finally give someone new a chance and forget about her feelings for one person who would probably never reciprocate those same feelings anyway, and that it maybe was time to explore some new horizons (even if just a little).
Later that evening in the guildhall, Natsu sat slouched at the bar, snacking on a plateful of fire chicken and a side of mashed potatoes, although he would sometimes find himself staring blankly at the plate of food in front of him, which was half eaten—something that rarely (if ever) happened when he was around.
Happy, his faithful blue Exceed, was sitting on a stool nearby and eagerly munching on a grilled fish that Mira had made for him just the way he liked it. Natsu’s unusual lack of desire for wanting to scarf down as much food as humanly possible hadn’t gone unnoticed by the feline, so he tilted his little head curiously to the side as he watched his partner get seemingly lost in his own thoughts. ‘’You okay Natsu? You’ve been acting weird all day.’’
Natsu could only grunt in response, shoving a piece of meat into his mouth, as even his usually voracious appetite wasn’t helping to distract his uneasy thoughts. His gaze kept flicking towards the door of the guild, as if he were expecting a particular someone to walk through it any minute.
Lucy.
Unbeknownst to her, Natsu had actually been closely watched and listened to the conversation she had had with Gray, Juvia and Colvin, which had left him feeling quite uneasy about her going on a mission with a guy who seemed to be rather suspicious and not so trustworthy to him.
The thought of her going on a mission with that Colvin guy had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since he came back to the guild earlier in the evening and realized that she wasn’t there— normally, Lucy wasn’t the type of person to go home early, as she was usually sitting at a table with the girls, laughing and sharing a drink or two with them.
The fact that there had been no scent of hers lingering in the air and no traces of her presence bothered Natsu more than he actually wanted to admit.
‘’Lucy’s not here.’’, he muttered, although more to himself than to Happy.
Happy blinked, puzzled. ‘’So? She probably just went home a little earlier than usual. Maybe she’s going on a job tomorrow and needs to get up early.’’
Natsu frowned. ‘’Okay, you’re right about that.’’, he admitted unwillingly, not wanting to reveal any of the doubts he had about Colvin. ‘’Yes, she is going on a job tomorrow, but she didn’t tell me anything about it, and we usually always go on jobs together.’’
The Exceed bit onto the last of his fish with a satisfying chomp and then proceeded to swallow it, before a mischievous grin formed on his face. ‘’Well, what if she’s with someone else? Maybe with someone you don’t expect? You know, like a guy.’’
Natsu stared blankly at Happy, as if the idea was completely foreign to him. ‘’Huh? What do you mean by that?’’
Happy rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. ‘’You’re just so dense sometimes, Natsu! What if Lucy’s out on a date or something?’’
Natsu muttered to himself, the words not quite registering at first. ‘’A date?’’
‘’Yeah! You know she usually goes home late, but what if she went home earlier because she wanted to get ready for a date? Maybe she’s off with some guy and that’s way she didn’t tell you anything about it.’’
Those words hit Natsu like a strong punch to the gut, even though he couldn’t quite understand why— Lucy on a date? With some other guy? The very thought of it made his stomach twist in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with hunger.
Natsu was, contrary to popular belief, actually quite perceptive of others and their feelings, since he could easily pick up on the subtle shifts in mood or the underlying tension present in someone’s words. However, when it came to matters of love, in that department he was like fish straight out of water—that was just a rather unfamiliar territory for him, and having romantic feelings for someone was something he had yet to fully understand, let alone navigate.
He didn’t recognize the signs in himself, the fluttering discomfort in his chest or the irritation bubbling up at the mere thought of Lucy being with someone else, and not with him instead. Still , he wanted to chalked it up mostly as concern for his closest teammate.
Well, but what if the guy she was with turned out to be untrustworthy? What if Lucy needed him and he wasn’t there?
That had to be why the idea of her being on a date unsettled him so much.
Natsu glanced at Happy, who was watching with an amused smirk and clearly enjoying his reaction. ‘’What’s so funny, cat?’’, he grumbled, his tone sharper than intended.
‘’Oh, absolutely nothing!’’, Happy responded as he floated up to sit on top of Natsu’s messy pink hair. ‘’You’re just acting all weird? Is it maybe because you’re jealous?’’
‘’ Jealous ?’’, Natsu’s voice shot up an octave as he raised his arms in an attempt to snatch Happy, although the cheeky Exceed beat him to it and was now hovering above the pyromaniac’s head. ‘’Why would I be jealous? Lucy can do whatever she heck she wants! I just…she..well, what if that guy’s a jerk? Or dangerous? Or—’’
‘’Uh-huh.’’, the blue feline rolled his eyes again, a smug expression plastered on his face. ‘’Sure Natsu. You just keep telling yourself that.’’
Deciding to keep his mouth shut at least for once and not fall for Happy’s continual teasing, Natsu crossed his arms, scowling as he stared off into the distance. He then attempted to push those jealous thoughts from before to the back of his mind for the time being and focus on what he had gathered from that conversation between Lucy, Gray, Juvia and that Colvin guy from earlier.
As Mira walked past him and around the corner to set down a tray full of empty glasses and mugs, an idea popped into the forefront of Natsu’s mind.
‘’Mira…’’, he began, scratching the back of his head. ‘’Can I ask you something?’’
The whitette’s smile softened, and she tilted her head curiously to the side. ‘’Yeah, what is it?’’
‘’I heard Lucy’s joining Gray and Juvia on a job they had picked out, but I also saw some guy sitting with them at the table and discussing important job details and what it entails. I think his name is Colvin Bellevue.’’
‘’Yes, you’re correct. They asked her to join them because they had trouble with translating a guide map that is supposed to help them find a magical artifact hidden in the mountains not far away from here. That entire area can also get pretty dangerous at times, which is why they also asked Colvin to tag along with them, although I’m pretty sure he actually wanted to come here to see Lucy first.’’
Natsu’s brow furrowed. ‘’Can you tell me something more about that guy? Have you heard of him before?’’
‘’Well, I’ve heard of him before, but I don’t think he’s been affiliated with any guild so far. As far I know, he’s gained a bit of reputation and rarely, if ever, asks other mages to team up for completing a job. Apparently, he’s so skilled with using his magic that he doesn’t need anyone’s help!’’, Mira explained, her voice casual.
Natsu’s confusion deepened, and Mira seemed to sense his feeling of unease too, her smile turning a little more teasing. ‘’You seem surprised, Natsu. You know Lucy usually doesn’t pass up an interesting job offer to earn herself some extra cash to pay the rent and not worry about it for at least some time. And besides, Colvin seems like a nice guy!’’
Natsu mumbled something in response, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair.
The Fire Dragon Slayer felt really uneasy about his best friend going on a job with a guy about whom he knew so little and had a particularly bad feeling about, as following his gut instinct more often than not proved to be the right thing for him to do. He could’ve sworn that he had heard the name Colvin Bellevue somewhere before, but couldn’t really connect the dots and piece everything together.
And just then, the guild doors swung open with a loud bang, and Natsu turned his head to see Gajeel and Jellal walking in together, deep in conversation. Seeing them distracted him momentarily from his scattered thoughts, and he couldn’t help but overhear their discussion as they passed by. He was also a bit surprised to see Jellal in the guildhall, but he had been hanging out around the guild so much recently that one would think he had already become a member of Fairy Tail and finally reunited with Erza after years of being apart from each other.
‘’Look, I’m telling you, I’ve heard that name before.’’, Gajeel said, his voice low and gruff. ‘’Colvin Bellevue. That just doesn’t sit right with me.’’
‘’Really?’’, Jellal asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘’I also haven’t heard much about him, other than he’s a pretty mysterious mage and isn’t known to be a member of any legal guild. He works as an independent mage mostly, just like I used to back in my Crime Sorcière days.’’
‘’That’s what I thought too!’’, the Iron Dragon Slayer replied. ‘’I do remember once fighting a guy named Colvin back when Fairy Tail was disbanded. I didn’t know his last name at the time because members of a dark guild he was a part of were either on first name basis or used different code names to keep themselves on the down low.’’
Jellal frowned, glancing around as if making sure no one else was listening. ‘’You think it’s the same guy?’’
‘’Absolutely, because the name’s not common. And from what I remember, he used to wear a mask at all times as a means of not getting caught, which is why I wasn’t able to immediately recognize him. He’s just sneaky, and the kind of person who hides in the shadows and manipulates people to get whatever the hell he wants.’’
Natsu, who had been eavesdropping on the entire conversation, froze as he finally pieced everything together.
His heart began pounding wildly in his chest, a sudden sense of urgency taking over. He stood up so fast that his chair nearly toppled over.
Lucy, his best friend and closest teammate, was going tomorrow on a job with that Colvin guy, completely unaware that he might be really dangerous. Sure, Gray and Juvia would also be with them, but if he was really someone from a dark guild and had incredibly strong powers, they could all be in some serious trouble.
‘’I’m going over to Lucy’s place.’’, Natsu announced as he sprinted over to the door.
Gajeel glanced over at him, one eyebrow raised. ‘’What’s up with you, Salamander?’’
‘’That Colvin guy…’’, the pinkette began, his voice tight with barely contained worry. ‘’I have to warn Lucy about him!’’
The black haired man’s eyes widened slightly, while Jellal’s expression darkened. ‘’Are you sure it’s the same Colvin we’re thinking of?’’
‘’ Positive .’’, Natsu snapped, his voice filled with determination. ‘’I gotta’ go talk to Lucy, and I’m not gonna’ wait around anymore to find out. She could be in danger, and I’ll do anything for her to not get hurt by that bastard.’’