Celestial Requirements

Fairy Tail was oddly quiet on a late Thursday afternoon. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, the city of Magnolia bathed in a beautiful orange glow. Inside the Guild Hall, Mages of all types of Magic were sitting peacefully, a definite change from the usual rowdy fights that broke out inside the Guild. One of the reasons for the sudden change it atmosphere was that three of the most likely mages to start the battles, Natsu, Erza and Grey, were all out of town. The Weapon Mistress had left on an S-Class quest earlier that morning with the Ice Mage, this fact alone infuriating the Dragon Slayer of the team when he had not been invited along with them. After his best friend, Lucy, had declined his request to accompany him on spying on their teammates, he'd gone off with his exceed, Happy, to do it anyway. This was, of course, after his blonde-haired partner had told him not to do so, yet Natsu Dragneel could not be convinced out of doing something once his mind was set on it. So, with a short sigh of exasperation, a wish of good luck and a smile and wave, she reluctantly saw the two off on their adventure.

Now the Celestial Mage was standing in front of the request board, rocking up and down absentmindedly on the tip of her toes. Her hands were clasped behind her as her eyes flickered over the various jobs tacked up in front of her. Without her fellow team mates by her side, Lucy decided it'd be a good opportunity to take on her very first solo mission. Excitement bubbled through her at the thought of successfully completing a job on her own, seeing Natsu, Erza and Grey look at her in surprise before congratulating her. She couldn't wait for that moment. They'd all arrive back from their own jobs and she'd just casually mention she completed a solo mission and watch their jaws drop. Lucy also felt bad for relying on her team mates sometimes during their group missions. She could fight her own battles with her keys, but Natsu, Grey and Erza had been there to get her out of a pinch so many times she'd lost count. Maybe this could also be a way of thanking them for helping out with her rent. If she found a well-paying job, she could treat them to dinner or something.

Then again, she thought bitterly, it's not like Natsu and Happy don't constantly raid my fridge. Shaking away her thoughts, she refocused on the task at hand.

Let's see, let's see. Bringing in some crooks, rebuilding a shrine, recapturing an escaped prisoner…wait. Pausing mid-thought, Lucy's features contorted in surprise at the sight of something written in cursive at the bottom of a flyer that seemed quite intriguing. "Celestial Mage required?" she read out loud, eyes wide in disbelief. "Assistance needed in Starlight Town to help rid the town of Dark Mages, Celestial Mage required in town for eight days." She untacked the request and re-read the words over again. "Help needed ASAP. 90,000 jewels and rare Celestial Key as a reward?" her lips curved into a smile. Not only was that a perfect amount of money she needed to keep her home for the next month, but there was 20,000 left over and a Celestial Key with apparent rarity? "That's my rent done! I'll do it! This job is the one!" she said to herself in glee, hugging the paper to her chest. Not a heartbeat later, she skipped towards the bar where a close friend of hers spent most of her time at serving drinks to her fellow Guild mates. "Mira, look!" Lucy cheered, catching the white-haired woman's immediately with the request she was giddily waving around.

"Your first solo mission, huh?" Mira smiled, her eyes full of excitement for the girl standing before her. Lucy nodded eagerly, pressing the paper into the elder girl's hands. She looked over the request, scanning the words with a thoughtful look. "You'll be gone for eight days?"

Lucy nodded once again. "Yeah, but the requesters seem like good people and I want to help them out." She smiled. "Eight days isn't that long, anyway. I might even come home early if I do a good job!" the blonde leaned forward with a wide grin upon her lips. She tapped on the bar with a slight impatience as the Sorcerer Weekly model sorted out the paperwork for her mission's approval. After spending so much time with Natsu, some of his traits had rubbed off on her, such as his stubbornness and as she noticed, his impatience. She mentally rolled her eyes at the thought of becoming alike to him, the mission-crazy and fight-crazy Dragon Slayer she called her partner.

"Okay, it's approved! Good luck, Lucy." Mira said the last part with a little less enthusiasm and even slight concern that the Stellar Mage didn't quite pick up.

Lucy returned her words with a smile and nodded, her gaze determined. "Thanks Mira. I'll see you in a few days, then." She hugged her friend in farewell before saying goodbye to the rest of her fellow Guild members. They wished her good fortune as she left Fairy Tail, ready to take on her first solo mission. She clenched her fist and looked up to the sky. Let's do this, Lucy! She punched her fist in the air, eagerly rushing home to begin packing.

Loke, who had opened his own gate to visit, had his arm around his Key Owner as they boarded the train, which in fact was the first of many they'd have to board in order to reach the Celestial Mage's clients. Lucy had pushed him off of her the first three times, but eventually just let him be. So they took their seats, the Spirit sitting closely next to her with a smirk on his lips that she returned with a roll of her eyes. "You know you don't have to escort me there," Lucy said as the train began to pull out from the station. "I'm sure I can make it to Starlight perfectly fine on my own. I'm completely capable, Loke." She blushed involuntarily as he pulled her closer to him.

"But it's your first solo mission, and it's my duty to protect you." Loke smiled, affectionately patting her head with his free hand. Lucy rolled her eyes once again and huffed in annoyance, believing he was simply patronising her. After a few moments, though, she sighed, relaxing against her friend.

"I guess it's different." She said in a thoughtful tone, tapping her chin as she stared at the empty seats across from them in the booth they were seated in. "Not having Natsu moaning and being sick everywhere or having him and Grey fighting. That's a change. And Erza's luggage is always interesting to see when she's shoving it onto the train." She gave a laugh at the last sentence, reminiscing.

"Well, you have me if you get lonely." Loke grinned. "Though I didn't bring any luggage and I don't get motion sickness." He said for an afterthought.

Lucy laughed for a few moments before recomposing herself. "Thanks anyway, Loke. You're a good friend for keeping me company like this. Normally I only see you when you're fighting." She chuckled.

Loke shrugged. "It's part of the job, but I still get to see you when I'm blocking attacks from hitting you." he said jokingly, causing her to lightly shove him in response. "What about we hang out some time soon? Someplace that isn't a battlefield?" He nudged her playfully, his voice teasing.

"Yeah." Lucy agreed with a nod. "You should come visit Fairy Tail; you haven't seen everyone in a while."

"Sure." Loke said. "Maybe I'll bring Aries with me…"

Lucy smirked at his words and this time she nudged him with her elbow. "So, you and Aries, huh?" she teased knowingly. "When are you finally getting together?" she laughed when Loke's face began to redden.

"We're not like that," he said, shaking his head with an uneasy laugh.

"But what about you and Natsu?" he quickly asked, attempting to avert the conversation from himself to tease his Key Owner back.

Lucy rolled her eyes for the third time. "Firstly, just…no." she said in response to the thought of her and her fire-eating Nakama. She'd been down a road like that before, after stupidly listening to Mirajane and her crazy ideas. She didn't think she'd ever listen to the Take-Over Mage's love advice ever again. "Secondly, don't change the subject, Loke. I'm genuinely curious about you and Aries, okay?" she smiled down at her pouch that held her precious keys safe, fondly patting the leather. "You all are precious to me; I love all of you dearly."

Loke smiled at her, hugging her tighter. "And we love all of you, and I'm sure under all those…err…scales, even Aquarius adores you. We all couldn't have asked for a better Celestial Mage." He patted her head once more and her cheeks burned.

"I guess I couldn't ask for better Celestial Spirits." She grinned. "Hey, I've got an idea!" she reached for her keys, pulling out one in particular and pointing it to the free space beside her. "Open! Gate of the Ram: Aries!" she cried, the key flashing gold before the beloved Spirit appeared before them.

"M-Miss Lucy, Loke!" she stuttered in surprise at not being in the middle of a battle, like almost every other time she'd ever been summoned.

"Hey!" Lucy grinned, giving a friendly wave. "Aries, are you busy?"

Aries shook her head.

"Do you want to hang out with us then?" Lucy offered. "You two have got to catch me up on the gossip in the Celestial Realm!" she begged jokingly. Aries smiled at the thought of spending time with her friends and nodded, shuffling over to sit beside her fellow spirit. Loke put his arms around both girls as the three began to happily converse.

After an hour or so, despite Lucy's disappointment, Aries and Loke decided to return to their own Realm to let their Key Owner's Magic Power levels replenish. But she knew they meant well, (and that Loke had opened his own gate so not too much Magic had been used) and that she couldn't keep them away from their home just for the sake of spending time with them. They most likely had things to do within their realm, and she had her job. After only killing two hours in total, the blonde-haired girl sighed as she remembered the complete duration of her journey. As the train pulled to a stop, she'd then have to board another one and three hours after that she'd arrive at a small port town alike to Hargeon.

After spending an hour or so there, she'd be able to catch the next available train that would finally get her to Starlight. She was already completely over travelling as she stepped off the first train, and as she stepped on the second one, she was lucky to catch a few hours of rest. Embarrassingly, a train attendant had to politely awaken her so she'd be able to depart the transportation device before it took off again for its next journey. So, after running her hands through her hair as a makeshift comb to look slightly more presentable, the blonde-haired girl jumped off of the train and skipped off to buy her next and thankfully last train ticket. After handing over the right amount of jewels, the ticket was soon in her hand, although Lucy couldn't find anything on the paper to help her find the duration of the trip.

Please be under an hour, Lucy pleaded in her thoughts, mentally crossing her fingers. Please be under an hour!

She turned to her right and saw an elderly man exiting a train himself. The Celestial Mage patiently waited until he had done so, before calling out to him. By the way she'd seen the townsfolk dress, his attire seemed similar and Lucy deemed him as one of the locals returning home. "Uh, excuse me!" Lucy called, waving her hand in the air to grasp the man's attention. Once he looked up, she jogged over to him, flashing a friendly smile. "Hi, I'm just wondering if you know how long the train will take to get to Starlight?" she asked politely.

"Ah," the man said, nodding as he tapped his chin thoughtfully as he searched his memory. "About twenty minutes, miss. You seem to have been travelling for quite some time today," he observed.

Lucy let out an uneasy laugh as she smoothed out the creases in her clothing, which had formed during her slumber. "I guess it's obvious, then." She sighed. "Yes, I've been travelling for the past six hours or so."

The man's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You must be tired then, poor girl. Here," he pointed towards the exit to the station. "If you go out that way and follow the path that goes past the local merchant stalls, you'll find a restaurant called The Lagoon." He directed. "If you enjoy your seafood, you should head there to rest for a while and find yourself a nice lunch, dear." He gave her a kind smile. "Our specialty here is fish, after all. Enjoy your day."

"You too, sir." Lucy smiled. "Thank you for your help!" she waved goodbye to him, tucking her train ticket safely inside her pocket before heading out of the station. She followed the elderly man's instructions, and sure enough, she found herself standing outside the restaurant he had spoken of. Pushing open the door, the Celestial Mage walked towards a staff member who was showing people to empty tables.

"Oh, hello." The waitress smiled, giving a short, polite bow at her customer. "Table for one, miss?" she asked.

"Oh, yes please," Lucy said.

The waitress nodded, craning her neck to catch sight of a spare seat. "Right this way," the woman directed her over to a free table at the side of the restaurant, gesturing for her to take a seat. Lucy sat down, thanking the woman as she pressed a menu into her hands. She scanned the laminated paper, allowing a small smile to grace her features as she noticed the overwhelming amount of fish-based meals being offered. Her thoughts drifted to Happy, wondering what his reaction would be to such a place. She lifted her head to gaze at the empty seat in front of her.

Natsu, Happy and Lucy would regularly take job requests together; sometimes it'd be just the two mages if Happy had gone off to chase after Carla. Normally Natsu would've been sitting across from her, laughing and talking away. Lucy let out a sigh. Fairy Tail…she missed them all already. She had no idea how Natsu had done solo missions all those years by himself, but then again it was all he'd ever known before he met her. She turned her head to gaze out the window beside her, watching the townsfolk through the glass.

The port town, Serene, was just as the name suggested. Civilians wandered around the town's square peacefully, quietly. The expanse of ocean surrounding the area was mystifying. The waves sparkled under the sunlight, a flash of colour darting beneath the surface every so often as the flick of a fish's tail. The locals seemed happy with their lives, calm and restful. Lucy might've loved to live at a town like this, with such friendly townsfolk, but she knew she loved the rowdy, loud Fairy Tail that was her second home in Magnolia. Lucy smiled at the memory of the latest fight Grey and Natsu had that soon turned into a full-Guild scale brawl. She loved those two idiots dearly.

Maybe being alone for once made her realise how much she really loved her team.

.

..

…

A/N: And that's the beginning to Falling Stars, everyone.