Hi guys,

You know what - I'm a pathetic fuck. This has got to be the longest wait for this story and I'm very sorry that it has been a while. After getting my life back on track, I will be updating this story and the other two more frequently because I want to see these stories through.

Thank you for your patience.

Without further ado.

Preview:

"I'm more concerned with their feelings. There are some things that can be resolved. Like friendships." The blue-haired mage watched as the figure walked towards them.

"And there are some things that can't. Like the past. And the pain."

The journey towards Mt. Hakobe proved to be a handful. Lucy eyed the blonde dragon slayer with pity. Right now, they had caught a ride with a farmer and his trailer heading towards a nearby village. Using her charms, the blonde celestial mage managed to persuade the farmer to let them onto the trailer and to take them close enough. Without hesitation, the old man agreed.

"Pull yourself together, idiot." Lucy gritted her teeth. The said dragon slayer turned slowly to offer his admission of guilt but a sudden movement of the trailer resulted him to turn quickly outside and lurch over the wooden handles, emptying his stomach of his afternoon lunch.

Lucy felt the corner of her eyes twitch. There was no way in hell was she going to head over to him and soothe his pain. She already did that with the other fire dragon slayer and those days were long gone. A groan cut through her thoughts as the source turned to face her, using the cloth folded to wipe his mouth, a tired look was on his face despite the fact that he had his eyes closed. Feeling a bit guilty, the blonde celestial mage sighed exasperatedly before moving her way towards him.

"This will be the first and last time, I'm doing this." She told him, settling beside him and placing another cloth on top of her lap as a make-shift pillow. Without missing a beat, she looked at him,

"Lie down." This caused Sting to sputter in shock. A flush of red started creeping up his neck and he looked away. Mouth opened to form a string of words.

"Look Lucy, I don't-"

"Lie down, Sting." A hand reached up and grasped the blonde locks of the dragon slayer, who hissed at the sudden pain before shutting his mouth completely as she brought his head down to her lap, head facing towards her abdomen. Making an attempt to get up again, the celestial mage placed a hand on top of his head and firmly pressed down. She looked down at him with an annoyed face.

"I'm doing the both of us a favor here. Quit moving." Lucy demanded and slowly, the light mage settled fully into her lap. Taking in her scent and letting out a satisfied sigh. He slowly closed his eyes as the celestial mage massaged his head and ran soothing strokes through his hair.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Sting spoke softly. Immediately, he felt a tug on his locks and his electric blue eyes snapped angrily at the source of his pain,

"Woman-!"

"Just rest dammit. I need you to be on full throttle once we stop, just in case we run into something." Lucy said, letting go and rubbing soothing areas where she pulled his hair. With that said, the light dragon slayer eyed the blonde mage before turning his eyes to look at her flat abdomen. Without realizing that as the time passed, his eyes drooped slowly until he had completely shut them.

Lucy looked down at the sleeping male on her lap. His breathing was finally even as he took deep breaths whilst lying on her. He had unknowingly reached towards the blonde and gripped around her waist whilst he slept, shocking the celestial mage as he had pulled himself unconsciously closer to her and nuzzling deep into her abdomen and a deep hue of red had settled on her cheeks. A gust of wind pushed into the trailer and blew softly,

"Dammit."

"Have you seen a mage about this tall, blonde hair, with a curvy body around?" Natsu questioned the food vendor who just stared at the pink-haired wizard with a confused look. Finally getting the words to sink in, the vendor shook his head.

Natsu sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He was looking all over the place for his blonde partner and spent the entire morning, afternoon and early evening asking for her. Slowly, he made his way towards an empty area where a few people were huddled around. Settling on the nearest bench, he ignored the rumbling for food in his stomach and watched the crowd just a few distances across from the market, where he had stood.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew towards the pink-haired mage, and within this wind, he took a deep breath and immediately caught the scent that overlapped each other. With purpose, the fire mage quickly jumped to his feet and ran towards the source of where the he caught slight whiff of the scent that drove his determination.

A scent that he wasn't too happy with.

That scent smelt like Lucy and the Sabertooth mage.

The trailer stopped slowly as it neared a lone house. Immediately, the blonde woke from her small slumber and her brown orbs darted to their surroundings. It was slightly cold due to being close to Mt. Hakobe.

"Apologies miss, but this is the closest I can get you. There's a house over there with a small family in case you need a place to rest. Well-known for their hospitality to strangers." A voice called from the front. Quickly, the celestial mage shook the sleeping dragon slayer awake and pointed to the house,

"We're here." And they both jumped out of the trailer.

"Thank you!" The blonde girl called out, waving to the old man who waved back in response before trudging his trailer forward.

The house wasn't as small as Lucy envisioned, in fact, it was just the right size. Big enough to accommodate a family of two. It was definitely clean on the outside as the pathway looked like it had been freshly cleared and dug for weeds and sprouts.

"Not bad for a family that stays in the middle of nowhere." Sting said, also taking note of the surroundings of the place. He caught a scent of something being cooked and he turned to face the door. Lucy stepped beside him and gave a look to him before raising her hand to knock on the wooden door.

"You think someone's home?" She asked quietly, as they both waited outside the door.

"Probably not. Maybe the food inside is just cooking by itself." Sting replied with a light chuckle. The celestial mage glared at the light dragon slayer before they heard the sound of padding footsteps crossing the floorboard inside the house. With the last few seconds, they straightened themselves before the wooden door opened slightly, revealing a woman in her late forties with a gentle smile on her face.

"I wasn't expecting anyone during this time." The woman smiled, opening the door a bit wider. Lucy smiled warmly at the woman,

"I apologize for the sudden intrusion. We are mages from Fairy Tail, and we have received your request for assistance." The woman before her nodded and took a step to the side.

"Please come in and make yourselves at home. I've just started dinner but there is leftover sandwiches from lunch. Perhaps you can have some before we talk." The woman said as the two mages followed her inside. Sting viewed the interior of the house, taking note of its simplicity.

"My name is Mayu Okomi." The woman said, pulling together her brown hair into a low ponytail over her shoulder. She smiled warmly at the two mages. Walking towards the living room, she pointed to the mages to have a seat in front of a warm fire and a soft couch, before disappearing again and appearing with warm minks.

"You must be freezing from the cold." She commented, handing the minks to the two mages that settles on the couch. They offered her their thanks and she nodded in acknowledgement, settling down as well on the chair opposite of the mages.

"Thank you so much for coming. My husband, Tome, is upstairs, severely sick from an unknown disease. We have tried many practitioners and doctors, but no medicine or potions have worked. So I was the one who sent the request for assistance to Fairy Tail." She pointed to a picture frame that rested on the dressing tables. The picture showed a family of four, of course with the name husband and herself, along with two children.

"These are my children, Yuki and Rayu, they are also very sick. Both are aged seven. I've been looking around for anyone to help but they also have the same symptoms as my husband. I fear for their lives and right now, I am desperate enough to go to extra measures."

"Please don't worry. My partner and I will see to it that your family gets the ice." Lucy said, and Mayu turned to the blonde girl with shock and surprise.

"How do you know I was going to request for the ice? I hadn't even mentioned it on the request paper." Sting also turned to the blonde celestial mage and had the same questioning face as well. Is the girl physic or what?

Feeling the attention on her, the blonde mage shook her head and hands to the pressuring gaze.

"There was a request previously for the same ice. Same reasons too. So of course, I knew what you were asking for." Mayu smiled warmly at the blonde girl and her partner.

"Exactly. Then, I assume you know what this pen is for." Revealing a small white pen in her hand. The celestial mage nodded and retrieved it from the brown-haired woman.

"Yes. I used it on the last mission when we were asked to grab the ice."

"Thank you so much. I have already prepared a spare room upstairs if you are wanting to rest. If you are hungry, there are sandwiches on the kitchen table. Please help yourselves." The brown haired lady then excused herself to attend to the kitchen. Sting turned to the celestial mage who had a thoughtful look.

"What is it now?"

Lucy shook her head slowly. "I just need to figure out a way for us to escape. Once we're in, that's it. We need to find a route to get out." There was a brief moment of silence before Sting placed a hand on her shoulder,

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure out something as we go." Lucy slowly smiled at her companion.

"Yeah. I guess we can go with that."

The next morning, the two left early for the mountains. This time, the blonde summoner had prepared more than the last time she was on the mountain, with additional clothing, fire tools and food. Sting didn't look the least bit fazed by the cold, it seemed like the whole drop in temperature was another walk in the park. Tugging the warm coat closer to her body, the celestial mage gritted her teeth at the unfairness and trudged her way through the thick snow.

"So tell me more about this mountain." The dragon slayer said, walking in front of her to at least block some of the icy wind.

"There's nothing much. We just have to find a cave at the top, head in, find the ice and find a way out. Simple yet difficult." Lucy replied. Eyeing the mountain for any sort of opening. If her memory serves her correctly, there was an icy monster that attacked them after they successfully obtained the ice.

"Sounds straightforward." Sting replied, also taking a view of their surroundings. Immediately, the wind began to pick up and the chattering from behind him was started to sound more audible than before. With a thought, he was determined to find a cave to at least save the muttering coming from the celestial mage.

"There!"

"Of course, they've just left this morning to complete the mission. Is there anything wrong?" A woman at the door questioned, eyeing the pink-haired dragon slayer warily. She had just bid her byes to the two blondes that same morning and now this male was asking for Lucy.

"Nothing at all. I'm just looking for my partner. That's all." Mayu nodded. Understanding the situation, she pointed towards the way where Lucy and Sting trampled. Grinning widely and throwing in his thanks, the fire dragon slayer dashed off quickly.

Just the memory of his time in the mountains sent shivers down his spine. He was going to make things right with Lucy and take back what rightfully belongs to him.

Thoughts of Natsu encircled her mind and the blonde shook her head in an attempt to rid his image. But really, it was something that she would appreciate at the moment since it was so damn cold and the dragon slayer in front of her could only provide light – not heat.

"Are we close?" He questioned, following beside her and taking mental notes of how ridiculous the cave looked. After they had entered the cave earlier, true to Lucy's word, the opening closed and they were officially rooted inside.

"I'm not too sure." Came the response from the celestial mage. She grasped her jacket tight and continued walking.

"Why don't I just expand light inside here?" There was a moment of silence until Lucy threw her bag at the cursing light mage.

"Why didn't you think of that the first time?! We could've seen everything move before taking the first step!"

"Ow- woman, look – my bad. Geez." With a flow of magic, the light mage breathed slowly through his nose and muttered a form of magic words, instantly, the cave lit up brightly, reflecting off the light from it's itce and bouncing the light everywhere.

"That's much better." Lucy smiled, before the two continued walking.

It had been a few minutes later, or much longer, until they reached a glass wall. The sudden recognition brought a satisfied smile to the celestial mage who signaled for them to stop. Pulling off her bag and unzipping to reveal it's contents, Sting watched silently as the blonde girl worked carefully in retrieving the pen and carving out some of the ice,

"Be alert once I remove the ice." Lucy said softly, getting the laser hallway until slowly making it's way towards her starting point.

"Ready." The light dragon slayer spoke, fusing his magic into his body for any reactions. After slipping the ice and the pen into her bag, the cave began to shake violently. As if on cue, a roar echoed through the ice and its blood-curdling sound sent shivers down the two mage's spine.

Without a moment's notice, there was a ferocious bashing on ice and the monster that Lucy talked about appeared.

You know what - you can expect all my stories to be updated every saturday! Really. That's my promise to you all. The only emergency that would most definitely be excused is if something major happens that it completely out of my control. In reality, I just want my stories to finish so I can move to a much more ground-breaking story that I believe has much more mooooreeee breakthroughs. So once I've finished my three piece, be on the lookout for my last story!

Hint: SOF

If you can get the hint from this, then you're amaZINNNGGG

Lots of love,

B7K