Hello all! I have risen from the dead! (not) I think I need to stop making those 'It'll be done reeeally soon!' promises in each chapter because apparently I suck at keeping them. I'd ask you to forgive me but I don't really deserve it OTL

Er, anywho, a chapter to you, from me. Please don't strangle me.

"Finally! Town!" Lucy cheered as she clapped her hands together excitedly, "It felt like we'd been in that carriage forever!"

"Aye sir!" Happy's high pitched voice rang out as he flew excitedly in tight circles besides her, "Nay nay Lushi, can we get some ice cream later? I want fish flavor!"

"Hmm, I'm not sure if they even sell fish flavored ice cream.. but I'm sure we'll figure something out! Right Natsu?" The blonde turned her hazel gaze to her partner, "Natsu?"

"Uuuuuuggggghhhhhh," The dragonslayer swayed unsteadily beside the blonde, still not recovered from the whole 'Being in a moving vehicle for half an hour' thing.

"Tell me," He croaked, placing a hand on his teammate's shoulder as he stumbled closer, "Why… we had to.. shop, all the way out here?" He managed as some of the color slowly began to return to his face.

"Because," Lucy stated simply, "There aren't any malls in Magnolia, which is why we came to the shopping district."

The dragonslayer straightened himself, the effects of finally being back on solid ground beginning to sink in. He huffed, still a little dizzy, "It was only half an hour by carriage! We could have walked that in two hours easy!"

"It's already noon," The blonde stated as she shrugged the now almost-fully-recovered dragonslayer's hand off her shoulder." We only have today, so no time to waste!" She sent a sly glance back at her friend, "Unless, oh, I dunno, you want to come again tomorrow too?"

Natsu instantly snapped into full recovery mode, "Haha shoulda just said so earlier Luce! What are we waiting here for then?!" The dragonslayer quickly grabbed her wrist and began to drag the girl along with him towards the bustling town, Happy floating excitedly along with them.

Lucy felt her heart leap against her ribcage as Natsu's calloused fingertips curled around her slender wrist, sending what felt like tingling jolts of electricity skyrocketing up her forearm. She unconsciously bit her lip as she let the fire mage lead her deeper into the center of town, her entire being focused solely on the feel of her skin beneath his.

Mavis, I have it bad. The blonde mentally bit out as she turned her head roughly to the side, inspecting the venders they passed in attempt to distract herself from the humming electric currents that tingled down her arm.

Suddenly her eyes landed on a store that looked something to her tastes, pink and buzzing with a sort of feminine vibe. She turned to tell Natsu she wanted to stop, eyes widening as she realized her was already a step ahead of her.

Powmf.

She collided head on into the dragonslayer's muscular back, nose taking most of the blow from the boy's sudden stop.

"Ow!" The blonde groaned, carefully holding her sore nose with her free hand -the other still being firmly in Natsu's grasp- and glaring daggers into the back of her teammate's shirt.

"What did you stop like that for!? Natsu!" The blonde demanded, growing ever impatient when the dragonslayer in question refused to turn around.

"Hey, Natsu, at least look at me when I yell at you!" she exclaimed, making a grab for the fire mage's shoulder, forcibly turning him to face her.

His onyx-green eyes were wide with fear, and they instantly locked with hers, his face a shade paler then normal.

"We have to run." He deadpanned, tone deadly serious. He looked nervous, horrified in fact. There was only one other person in all of Fiore -besides herself on a bad day- that brought out that look in Natsu Dragneel.

Lucy's eyes widened slightly and she peered carefully over the dragonslayer's shoulder, praying that he hadn't saw what she thought he saw.

One look was all it took for her worst fears to be realized. There she stood, only a few yards away from the trio, interrogating an innocent shopkeeper for one reason or another. It was hard to tell with that girl.

"Erza." All three of them said in unison, an equal look of horror shared amongst them all.

Now, don't get them wrong, all three of them loved Erza, truly. An older sister figure, an amazing warrior, and an even better friend, she always pulled through when they needed her the most, and they all cherished her deeply.

But no one, no one -save maybe Mira, and even she was iffy- wanted to be stuck in a mall with the infamous shopping prodigy Erza Scarlett. Not even Lucy, who prided herself on feminine wills such as shopping and trying on clothes and the like, could handle Erza in shopaholic mode.

And trust her, Lucy had tried. Once. When she was still rather new and the idea seamed like a wonderful bonding opportunity between the two. She hadn't understood when Natsu and Gray had stared at her in outright horror when she'd accepted the redhead's invitation out, and she had blown off their hushed warnings as them just being their normal boyish selves.

What she hadn't expected was being forced to try on damn near every outfit combination in the store, at every single store. Or end up playing packmule to the ever-growing mountain of shopping bags the redhead piled up, which trust her, was a whole freaking lot of shopping bags.

And she didn't even want to think about what had happened when she'd told Erza she didn't want to buy the outfit she'd picked out of her. To say the least, she was convinced rather easily after Erza had taken certain.. measures. She still had the damn thing in the back of her closet somewhere. Seriously, what the heck was she supposed to do with a maid costume from a store called 'Sexy Sexy Erotica' anyways?

Lucy knew all three of them would be done for if they were spotted. They'd be stuck in Erza shopping hell and the blonde wouldn't get a single thing done the entire day, which would result in shopping trip 2.0, which she wasn't so sure Natsu could handle without crying.

The blonde quickly shifted the grasp Natsu had on her wrist so that she had a grip on his hand instead. The dragonslayer sent her a swift look of panicked confusion before Lucy gave a quick tug to his calloused hand, pointing off toward the right.

"Come on!" She hissed as she gave another tug on their conjoined hands, "If we don't get out of here fast she's going to spot us." Damn all complicated feelings to hell, if Lucy had to hold Natsu's hand to get them out of the shopping she-demon's line of sight then she damn well would.

The dragonslayer didn't need to be told twice, he let Lucy nimbly guide him through the roaring crowd of people until they were a relatively safe distance away from their guild mate. They were on the edge of the crowd, standing outside some dusky looking shop with deep crimson red curtains serving as a doorway.

Lucy heaved a lengthy sigh of relief, a quick scan of the crowd showing no signs that the redhead had spotted them. She felt Natsu let out a similar breath beside her, the death grip he'd had on her hand relaxing into a loose hold. Lucy felt her cheeks redden as she stared down at his rough, tan fingers laced easily around her pale ones, as if he didn't even realize he was still holding her hand.

He probably doesn't. She deadpanned to herself. Leave it to Natsu stay dense as ever while she had an internal panic attack.

"Uh, Natsu.." She began, just as the dragonslayer whipped his head towards her so fast she was sure he'd get whiplash. His eyes had widened again, like he'd just been hit with the realization of the century.

"Lucy." He stated, worry edging it's way into his tone, "Where's Happy?"

Lucy paled, their intertwined hands momentarily forgotten, "You don't think..?"

As if on cue a high pitched mewl of horror rang out in the crowd, and Natsu's keen hearing quickly zeroed in on the sound.

"Happy!" He picked up a terrifyingly familiar female voice amongst the crowd of people, and he could just picture the look of terror on the feline's face as he found himself confronted with the one and only Erza Scarlett.

"What are you doing here?" Erza continued, and Natsu assumed the redhead must have a death grip on the poor cat for him not to have flown away already.

"A-aye! Uh.."

"Are Natsu and Lucy with you too? Oh I'd love to meet up with them, I need some help picking out some new dresses you see."

"Aye… um, they're here but.." The little blue cat trailed off, not quite sure if he should condemn his friends to the same fate as himself.

"Erza's got him." Natsu relayed solemnly to the blonde beside him, head tilted toward the crowd as he strained to hone in on the voices of his friends.

"And…." Natsu paused to angle his head again, his mouth dropping open slightly in shock from whatever he'd just heard.

"What?" Lucy squeaked, easily reading the look on her best friend's face, "What's wrong?"

"Happy sold us out!" The dragonslayer shouted as he took another step back from the crowd, his gesture unknowingly pulling the celestial mage along with him.

"He did what?!" Lucy gawked at her partner, Why that damn cat.. I'll cook him one of these days!

"Erza said she'd buy him some fish if he told her where we were and now she's hot on our trail." Natsu clarified hastily, locks of pink hair ghosting this way and that as he shook his head softly. They where screwed. So, so screwed. How were they gonna get out of this one? The last thing he needed on a day like today was a whipping from Erza.

Lucy's grip on his hand suddenly tightened and he felt her tug him backwards. He stumbled a bit before turning back to look at her.

"Quick, in here. Before she sees us!" The blonde pointed towards the giant red curtains behind them, hoping the dark looking interior would deter their persecutors. Natsu quickly nodded in agreement and willingly trailed after the blonde. Anything was better then shopping with Erza, even this sketchy looking building.

The duo quickly slipped beyond the 'doorway' just as the familiar scents of his teammates hit Natsu's nose. He could tell Lucy was about to say something and quickly clamped his free hand over the blonde's mouth. She shot him a startled look, brown doe eyes widening as he quickly shook his head in the universal sign for not a good idea, Luce.

"I know I saw them go in this direction…" Came a high pitched tone, muffled slightly from the thick curtain between them. The duo froze in place, hardly daring to breathe as footsteps echoed around them, a shadow peaking out from the tiny gap left between the curtain and the floor.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped." Another voice, this one feminine, sounded outside, and Lucy prayed to every god she could think of that the redhead wouldn't have some epiphany to fling open the curtain to reveal her in Natsu in a rather… compromising position, she noticed.

"You'll have to do, come, Happy, let us shop!" The duo heard the obvious mewls of protest and the hard clanking of armor echoing away from them, and they let out a harmonious sigh of relief, Lucy's muffled by the presence of Natsu's hand.

Come to think of it.. The blonde smirked devilishly against the warmth of Natsu's palm, still firmly clamped around her lips. What was it that happened last time we were in a situation like this? The blonde thought ironically to herself. Oh yeah.

"Ouch!" Came the yelp of pain from the boy beside her, who instantly whipped his hand away from her mouth.

Lucy grinned in victory and even stuck her tongue out for good measure, her honey brown eyes sparkling in amusement.

"You bit me!" the dragonslayer pouted as he inspected his hand carefully, noticing the twin light red curves on his ring finger. Not like it had really hurt all that bad, but still, she'd bit him. Seriously. Only Lucy.

The blonde giggled at his childish reaction, " 'That's what you get for cutting me off' -was it?" She parroted the dragonslayer's words from that day in her apartment, her soft laughter slowly becoming louder as she noticed her teammate join in.

"Yeah but I didn't bite you, weirdo!"

"Huh. I guess you're right. Oops?"

"Don't 'oops' me, I have bitemarks, Lucy! Bitemarks!"

Lucy felt herself shake with laughter alongside her partner, who's teasing grin didn't go unnoticed by the blonde.

That day in her apartment already felt like forever ago, even though in reality it had hardly been 24 hours. It felt like a lot had happened, and she supposed a lot had. Falling in love was so weird. And it hurt, -more then it should, she realized- that this is as far as it would ever go. Her falling and falling deeper and deeper before she finally crashed somewhere at the bottom.

And then what? What would happen to her then? It's not like she could lean on Natsu like she usually did, not when he was the root of the problem.

What a fine mess I've gotten myself into…

"Ya two here for a couple's reading?"

Someone suddenly spoke from behind them, nearly scaring the two teens out of their skin as they spun to face the owner of the voice.

A tiny looking older lady stared up at the duo, soft dark eyes gazing curiously at the pair of teens that had been standing just inside her shop for the past ten minutes or so. She was dressed in deep purple robes that she had folded over herself to look more like a dress. Every one of her long thin fingers were covered in some sort of ring or other shiny looking bauble, and long golden earrings trailed down from her earlobes. She wore several layered necklaces, the first coiling just around the base of her neck and the last sweeping against her lower ribcage. Natsu's eyes instantly snapped to a medium sized pendent that look like a dragon holding some sort of pearl.

Lucy was the first to speak, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment.

"A c-couple? Us? No no uh.."

At this point the lady's words had finally sunk in for Natsu and he joined in with his teammate's incoherent sputtering.

"Oh uh, no we're-"

"We're just-"

"Friends." The two finally finished together, eyes anywhere but each other.

A twinge of amusement danced in the old lady's dark eyes. So that's what it was like, eh?

"Ah, forgive me. I jus' assumed because of yer hands that ya were.. well, together."

Instantly both teens snapped their heads downward at their hands, which, much to their horror, were still very much being held and very much intwined together.

The two sprang apart so fast it was a miracle neither of them broke any of the glass trinkets that lined the hall. Never before had they been so glad to be in a very dark room, for fear that the other would notice the nice shade of red dusting their cheekbones.

"Er, that was-" Lucy sputtered, all possible excuses flying right out the window as the older lady let loose a hearty laugh, her dark eyes wrinkling together as her small frame shook.

"Kids are a piece 'o work these days, eh?" She flashed the two teens a toothy smile and extended her small, thin hands outwards.

"Come, let Madame Luna read 'ya palms, it'll be good fer 'ya." The fortune teller grinned as Lucy and Natsu exchanged hesitant glances. They knew had to get going or they'd run out of time, but on the other hand, there was still a chance Erza was nearby…

"How much?" Lucy decided, turning to ruffle through her purse for her wallet. No way was she chancing another run-in with Erza, not after all they'd done to avoid her up until now.

Madame Luna waved a hand in dismissal, a quick shake of her head causing her long golden earrings to cling softly against one of her metallic necklaces, "Nay, fer the youngsters, no cost."

The blonde scowled, tone persistent, "Well we have to give you something, this is your job after all."

The fortuneteller twisted her jewelry covered hand in a nonchalant manor, dark eyes sparkling with mischief. The young ones were always the most fun, so full of life and dreams and love,"Hmm, then you let me do the couple's reading ya?"

The older lady watched in amusement as the two teens reduced back to their earlier sputtering, cheeks lightly dusted in embarrassment.

"We already told you-"

"We're not-"

"It's not-"

"We-"

"We're just friends." The two once again finished in unison, an exasperated look in their eyes. Lucy felt her heart hammer against her chest as she noticed the twinkle in the old lady's deep brown eyes, She's doing that on purpose, dangit! Why do old ladies have to be so good at reading people!?

"Oh of course of course, just friends ya? But you still do the couple's reading, it's much more fun for this old lady!" Madame Luna pointed a skinny finger at herself and Natsu could have swore she winked at him. He blinked in surprise, but sure enough, the old lady was definitely grinning right at him. Suddenly Natsu thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Uh, Luce-" He started, at the same time Lucy had said,

"Fine, we'll do it."

Madame Luna clapped her hands in glee, which made an interesting clanking sound as all her rings bumped against one another.

"Yes! Good, follow me, ya?" The older woman beckoned as she turned and vanished behind a rustling curtain of bright-colored beads.

Lucy glanced at the boy next to her, who in turn caught her eye with a nervous stare. Lucy cocked an eyebrow, What's the problem?

Natsu glanced at the direction the older lady had disappeared and then instantly at the doorway, We should bolt.

Lucy scowled at the boy, what did he have against going to a fortuneteller? She shook her head and reached out to grab his wrist, "No, come one." She voiced as she began to tug him in the direction of the fortuneteller's room.

Natsu looked like he was about to protest, but a backwards glance from Lucy left the words caught in his throat. They were doing this, wether he wanted to or not. He sighed.

Why do I have a bad feeling about this…

—

"Now, you, missy, sit ova there." Madame Luna pointed a slim flinger to the far side of the room, which was covered in pillows of ever shape and size just like the rest of the confined space. In the middle of the tiny room was a low table, barely an inch or two off the ground, on which sat a bowl of incense, a deck of cards, a few candles, and a few other miscellaneous fourtune-y looking baubles.

Natsu instantly sneezed as soon as he entered the room. He rubbed his nose absently as he watched Lucy pick around the pillows to the side of the room she was instructed to.

"Strong stuff you've got there." The dragonslayer sniffed loudly, eye twitching as he barley held back a second sneeze.

Madame Luna grinned up at the dragonslayer, who's sensitive nose continued to twitch irritatedly at the strong fragrance that filled the room. It wasn't a particularly bad smell, he noted, just really, well, potent.

"Ah, 's called 'Dragonflower's Night', even sensitive noses like yers get used to it wit' time." The fortune teller moved away from the fire mage to sit beside Lucy at the small wooden table. As she sat she beckoned the dragonslayer toward her.

"Come here boy, sit sit." She waved a jeweled hand at the seat next to hers and across from Lucy.

He should have bolted then, he would later realize. He could have dealt with the consequences later- be it becoming Erza's packmule for the day or suffering Lucy's wrath the whole ride home- everything in him said he should have hightailed it out of there right then and there. And he almost did. He seriously almost made a break for it.

But he didn't, of course. Because Lucy was sitting right there looking all expectant and kind of excited and he knew she secretly loved this sort of stuff and dammit he was already sitting down wasn't he.

"Good good!, Now we all 'ere!" Madame Luna swayed happily while Natsu tried to figure out when exactly he'd moved from the entrance to the table on the floor.

The first thing the old fortuneteller did was blow out every candle on the table but one, it's low flickering flame now the only light against the darkness of the compact room. It's pale glow illuminated the outlined faces of the two mages, sharp shadows dancing across the angles of their cheekbones.

Lucy found herself staring right at Natsu, who was in turn staring at the single flickering flame between them. She watched as the flame danced hypnotically in the reflection of his eyes, their deep onyx color bringing a sort of feral intensity to the bright orange and yellows of the firelight.

Without warning the dragonslayer's eyes suddenly flicked up and caught her own, and she quickly averted her gaze downward, embarrassed to be caught so obviously staring.

With a snap of her fingers Madame Luna brought the teens' attention to herself. She was now holding a stack of thick, almost wooden looking cards in her palm, the backs of which faced the duo.

The fortune teller brought her gaze to Lucy's, her dark eyes sparkling with something unreadable to the blonde. The older lady extended the cards facedown towards her, "Chose one, dear, but no peekin' ya?"

Hesitantly, Lucy eyed the cards in concentration, as if the right choice would suddenly make itself distinguishable from the others. But no such event occurred, and each card reflected the same pale candlelight as the other. The blonde reached out and grabbed the one on the far end, setting it face down on the table in front of her. When she was done, the lady extended her hand towards Natsu, encouraging him to do the same.

Without much thought on the matter, the dragonslayer plucked one straight from the middle, setting it nonchalantly down on the table across from Lucy's.

"Again." Came the accented voice of Madam Luna beside them, angling the cards back to Lucy.

Once more, the celestial mage carefully pulled one of the thick wooden cards from the deck, setting it carefully on the table next to the other. Once she was done, Natsu did the same.

"Now, flip 'em over." The older lady instructed, gesturing to the cards facedown on the table. Carefully, the two teens flipped their cards over, one right after the other.

"I've never seen Tarot cards like these before." Lucy blinked, confused my the images laid out before her.

"That's 'cause they ain't Tarot cards, dearie." The fortuneteller answered distractedly, her attention focused on the cards face up on the table. Finally, the old lady straightened herself out and plucked one of Lucy's cards out from under her, inspecting it closely.

"Dragon, hn?" She spoke to no one in particular as she twisted the slim object between her fingers. Sure enough, the card depicted a great swooping dragon, painted carefully against the light blues and whites of the sky at dawn. It's great ruby colored body was facing forward, wings extended to either side like it was about to fly right out of the card and straight into reality.

Lucy tried to keep her pulse out of her throat as she fidgeted slightly. A dragon. How ironic.

"What does it mean?" She questioned as the old lady's attention shifted from the card in hand to the blonde. A toothy grin broke out against her thin lips.

"Well well, we take a look at yer friend's card first ya?" She avoided the blonde's question as she slipped the card back beside Lucy's other, bringing Natsu's first card to into her hands instead.

Just like she had the other, the fortuneteller turned the thin card in her hand, absorbing every detail of it with great interest. This confused Lucy, however. Weren't theses her cards to begin with? By the way she studied them so carefully, you'd think she'd never seen them before.

"The Sky. Ya have excellent taste, boy." The old fortuneteller mused, sending a knowing glance back at the dragonslayer. Natsu shifted uncomfortably on his pillow. He didn't like where this was going, and he especially didn't like that look of I know all of yer deepest secrets, boy that this Madame Luna person kept shooting him. It was all he could do to pray she wouldn't let those secrets slip into conversation with a certain someone present.

Never one to focus on a problem too long, he found his gaze stuck on the card Madame Luna was flashing back at him. He had to admit, even to him, who never found much interest in such trivial things, the card was quite beautiful. It was the sky, just as the fortuneteller had announced, but it wasn't just one solid shade of blue, either.

The colors shifted, from the top, which depicted the light turquoise of a mid-afternoon sky, downwards as the colors faded into yellows, oranges, reds, purples, and eventually the deep dusky navy color of night, pale splashes of light resembling stars nestled amongst the black. He liked the night part best, he thought. It was also the section that took up the most space on the card, with dozens of star-like dots ranging from large to hardly present misted against the darker shades of sky.

"So?" The dragonslayer questioned anxiously, "What's so great about that?"

"Hush boy." The old lady sent him a swift look as she set his card down, just as she had Lucy's, and returned her attention to the other two undiscussed cards. Smoothly she reached out a hand to either side and pushed the cards to the center of the table so they sat next to one another.

The old lady seamed to ponder them for a moment, a thin, lean hand settling under her chin as she tapped a ring-clad finger against the side of her lip. With her other hand she reached out to touch the surface of either card lightly, closing her darkened eyes as she hummed absently.

"For the girl, the Torch. Fair choice, good, good. Stands fer realization, starting of journey, an increase in probability, an' the ability to see what others do not." The old woman cracked open an eye to study the blonde as she spoke.

"Yet, fire is a creature of it's own, ya? A strong fire built with time and dedication is passion, intensity, power. Someone who will light the way when hope is lost."

Lucy felt her breath hitch in her throat at the obviously purposeful use of someone not something. Of course, in the mind of Lucy Heartfilia, there was only one person who embodied the word fire so perfectly it was terrifying. His very existence was the incarnation of flames and all things that burn. And woah, shocker, he was sitting across from her.

Great, not only does this whole being-in-love-with-my-best-friend thing interfere with my daily life, it interferes with my Tarot card reading too.

The fortuneteller blinked open her other eye and snapped her full attention to the blonde, who flinched slightly at the sudden intensity in the old lady's dark hazel eyes.

"Fire can be difficult to tame an' understand, an' it's flames can often burn where they had intended to warm. Caution an' extreme endurance in patience are needed to be able to set apart the intention from the result. Yet, there ain't no better companion in the dark then that of fire, and no better warmth in the cold. See pas' the knowledge that it can burn ya' and trust that it won't."

Lucy felt her throat dry as Madame Luna's knowing gaze shifted slowly from the blonde to the pink haired boy on the other side of the table, his arms folded skeptically across his chest and dark eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Don't say anything you're not supposed to, lady.

The fortuneteller's eyes crinkled upwards as she grinned wryly at the pinkeye without a care in the universe.

Wouldn't dream of it, boy.

"For the boy, the Star." Madame Luna's eyes searched the dragonslayer's, her deep almond eyes making sure each and every word hit home as she spoke.

"The embodiment of light an' ethereality, the most common meaning of Star is the idea of an unattainable goal. Yet, they also can represent the needin' of guidance or advice, or possible change in direction or ideals, ya? Stars give light even when the moon cannot, an' are often connected to a trusted constant in one's life." Natsu broke the older woman's gaze in favor of staring at the picture of the sky in front of him, carefully taking in each individual star painted amongst the inky black section of the card. The older fortuneteller grinned smugly at the boy as she continued.

"Stars, very tricky an' fickle things an' can sometimes misunderstand good intentions. 'S important to clearly state yer desires as it very possible that they will be interpreted wrong. However, stars are also very smart beings, and will occasionally come to the correct conclusion on their own. It not be wise to rely on this though, as it may not resolve as many problems as it creates."

Madame Luna turned her gaze from the dragonslayer and let her eyes rest on the two cards in the center of the table instead.

"But together.. they are very interesting, no?" She blinked, not making eye contact with either teen beside her.

"Torch and Star.. similar yet different at the same time, ya? Both burning with passion an' strength and unwavering determination. Both bright and lighthearted an' so full of the energy. Very distinct too, though. Creatures of different worlds, ya might say. While each it's own, both made of the same element in the end. The same foundations, no? 'S very important."

Something glinted in the old lady's expression and Natsu narrowed his onyx eyes in suspicion.

Where is she going with this?

"All 'n all, two very compatible cards, a good sign for two people in love-"

"-OK LUCY TIME TO GO!" Natsu suddenly rocketed out of his seat, eyes wide as he stalked around the table and latched a hand around his partner's wrist, effectively yanking her up to stand beside him.

"Hey, Natsu! What's the big idea!?" The blonde protested hotly, a pout pressed on her fine pale lips as she glared at the teenager beside her. As much as she hated to admit it, was it that bad to want to know how compatible you were be with the guy you were in love with? Huh?! All her nonexistent chances to hell, she wanted to know, dammit!

Madame Luna cleared her throat for attention and snapped her lean fingers sharply, causing the cards on the table to disappear in a puff of smoke.

Lucy and Natsu, their glaring momentarily forgotten, stared at the table in awe.

Natsu turned his eyes to the older woman in shock, "What the hell?! You're a mage? I thought you where a fortune teller!"

Madame Luna clicked her tongue in protest, a thin finger waving in the boy's direction, "Stupid boy, they are one in the same, no?"

The pinkette practically growled at the older woman and Lucy had to place her free hand on his chest to keep him from getting right in her face, "Hey, who you calln' stupid?!"

Lucy sighed. So much for her relaxing fortune reading with Natsu, of course something like this would happen, what else did she expect, really?

"Well, I guess that's the end of that for us…" Lucy gave her partner a shove towards the exit, braking his staring match with the older woman, who was smiling coyly at the duo as Natsu began to drag the blonde in a b-line for the exit.

The blonde threw an exhausted smile back towards the old fortune teller an gave an apologetic wave, "Thank you so much Madame Luna! We'll be sure to come see you again!"

The older lady gave the blonde a toothy grin while Natsu mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, 'Treacherous old hag, I ain't never comin' back here.'

Lucy glared and knocked her partner on the back of the head with her free hand, to which Natsu whipped his head back in protest before being cut off by the blonde, "Thank the fortune teller you idiot! She did this for free!"

Natsu scoffed, "I ain't thankin' that woman for nothing! She almost-"

"I said. Thank the fortune teller." Lucy growled and Natsu instantly clamped his mouth shut. Damn, she was mad. That was never good.

The dragonslayer let out a huff of defeat and glanced back at the fortuneteller, who was still smiling that damn, I know something you don't smile. Lucy gave a rather loud cough and nodded her head in the older lady's direction.

"Fine. Thanks for the reading old lady. Now come on Luce we've still gotta find Happy and get the hell out of here!"

Lucy gave one final wave of her hand as Natsu hauled her out of the reading room and back out into the busy shopping district streets.

It wouldn't be until much, much later that Lucy would realize her purse felt a little heavy then usual, or that Natsu realized he had something in his pocket.

But for now, the old lady in the fortune telling shop on the side of the street laughed. She laughed until she had to bring a shaky hand to wipe the tears of mirth out of her dark, twinkling eyes.

"Ah I knew it! The young 'uns in love are always the most interesting." She picked up the cards that the two teens hadn't chosen from her deck, their blank white, unpainted faces staring back at her as if in agreement.

They'd probably never know, those kids. Magic cards are quite simple things, really. One touch from the recipient and the cards paint themselves to match the deepest, purest feelings within. A Dragon, The Sky, and a Star. The brightest of Fires, who would have thought?

"Silly children, don't ya know the cards are never wrong?"

Wow I really hope that chapter wasn't as boring as I think it is. The next one will be more interesting, I hope (out of nowhere festivals and awkward situations, anyone?)

And now for my favorite part of posting a chapter :D

REVIEWS

Rapunzel3: Eeeeee it always makes me so happy to see someone enjoying all the little fluff bunnies in the story! I'm so glad you're liking it so far and I hope to see you around! ^^

rinwright: Well well well, I do wonder! No spoilers yet, but we'll see! ;)

bluerainst0rm: Mira is most definitely the embodiment of fangirls nationwide. I adore the bajebers out of her! I'm sure she's not done messing with our lovely resident idiot couple yet, we'll have to see what's in store for the voice of the fangirls! ;)

Nouchali: Yay! I'm so glad you think so xD I'm so happy to see you enjoying the story! (*heart eyes*)

PhantomPierce-Okamoto: Ahaha I'm so glad you liked the brick thing, honestly I cracked myself up writing that. (I'm so lame laughing at my own writing) And I'm so happy you liked the ending as well! I really liked it too xD

Melody233: Haha I think so too xD I'm sooooo gald that you're liking the story so far and I hope you enjoyed this chap just as much as the last! :D

MiriFlower27: I simply adore the relationship between Natsu and Lucy, I'm glad you like it too! I'll try and keep updates quickish, but I seam rather bad at that honestly ;v;

Gh0st's buddy: Eeee thank you so much for the kind compliments! I'm so so so happy that you like the story as well as my writing style! I really appreciate it! :D

gwb620: Haha I'm so glad you think so! Happy is just a little fluff ball of trouble, and his ability to be the least dense out of the trio is going to get him places, and hopefully others too! :)

WhiteWinterStar: Yay! I'm so happy you liked the whole dense-not-dense thing, I've personally always thought Natsu wasn't as dense as he let on (I mean, he grew up around all those perverts in Fairy Tail, they had to have taught him something!) So I just had to include that little tidbit in there. x3

RoseAndRavens: Yes! I'm so happy you think so! It's sooo hard to try and capture all the Fairy Tail character's personalities (mostly Natsu's) because they seam to change a lot depending on the situation. So it makes me happy that you say that :D

whimsicalMedely: AHHH YAY I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE IT AHHH! YOU ARE VERY VERY WELCOME, THANKS FOR READING THIS! :D

Thank you so so so sooooo much for all your reviews! They mean everything to me, and I get so so happy to see a new review! Thanks again everyone for being super awesome!

Til next time!

~Ria