Hi! I made a lot of revisions and might still revise some of the chapters. Just minor tweaks, really, until I'm pleased with my work. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Chapter 1: Romance Lessons

After Master Makarov had disbanded the Fairy Tail guild, Lucy Heartfilia tried to pick up the pieces and forge a new path like everyone else. Thanks to Jason, she landed a job at Sorcerer Magazine as a model. It wasn't exactly her cup of tea, but it made good money.

Moving to Crocus was one of Lucy's ways to heal her broken Fairy Tail heart. When she found a new apartment in the city, she fell in love with it right away. It was much larger than the one she used to reside in Magnolia. The only problem was that she found her landlord to be the scariest man alive, so she always did her best to pay her rent on time.

It was already nightfall when the celestial mage arrived in her apartment after a tiring day at the photo studio. She had ordered a sandwich takeout from a snack bar nearby because she felt too drained to cook dinner. After setting her meal on her kitchen table, she sat down and sighed. For some reason, she didn't feel like eating.

"Maybe I should take a shower first," she told herself, drumming her fingers on the table.

She got up and headed toward the bathroom. She stepped into the tub and turned on the shower after she had tossed her dirty clothes in the laundry basket and put her celestial gate keys on top of a small cabinet. Moments later, she applied shampoo on her blonde mane and rubbed a floral-scented soap all over her body.

While Lucy was rinsing, she thought she heard a knock on her apartment door. Feeling doubtful, she switched off the shower and tried to listen. There was nothing but silence.

Did her tired mind play tricks on her? She got out of the tub and then slipped into her bathrobe. Grabbing her celestial gate keys, she tiptoed toward the main door of her apartment and yanked it open to check if there was really someone outside.

"Hey, how's it going, Lucy?" came a girlish drawl.

Lucy stared at the voluptuous figure in front of her. The girl had thick wavy brown hair and wore a checkered bikini top, white capri pants, and red sandals. A Fairy Tail emblem was unmistakable on the left side of her smoothly tanned stomach.

"Cana, it's you!"

"You bet," Cana Alberona chuckled, waving a glittering card on her hand. "My tarot card showed me your location, so I thought I'd drop by."

"I'm so glad to see you!" Lucy exclaimed happily. She gave her old comrade a tight hug and then motioned for her to enter the apartment. "Please make yourself at home. Would you like something to eat?"

"That would be great. Thanks." The magic card user grinned as she stepped into the room. "Wow, blondie, this is a cool apartment!"

"Thanks," the celestial mage said. "Oh, wait, hang on. Let me just change into something first, okay?"

"Take your time, blondie."

Lucy ran into her bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of comfortable clothes. Moments later, she hurried back in the main room and found Cana seated on the couch.

"So, what brings you to Crocus, Cana?" The blonde brought her a sandwich plate from the kitchen table.

"Bacchus invited me for another round of drinking match," the brunette told her, helping herself to a sandwich. "You remember him from Quatro Cerberus, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course," Lucy recalled, nodding. Then, she frowned as she placed the sandwich plate on the coffee table in front of them. "Wait, you're not going out with him, are you?"

"What if I am?" Cana challenged. "Come on, Luce, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you ever want a man in your life?"

Lucy blushed as she imagined her friend and Bacchus Groh doing stuff together in a rather intimate way. Then, she shook her head hard. "No, I don't have time to think about romance. I'm too busy with work."

"Is that so?" Cana cocked an eyebrow at her. Then, she crammed her remaining sandwich into her mouth, got up from the couch, and dusted her hands off. "Okay, blondie. Get up."

"Why?" Lucy asked, but she slowly got up nevertheless.

To her surprise, Cana's face suddenly loomed over hers. She tried to step back, but she felt the other girl's hands gripped both her arms.

"Hey, uh, what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"You really need to experience some romance in your life, Lucy Heartfilia," the brunette said somewhat seriously. Seconds later, she curved her lips into a mischievous smile. "Do you want me to warm you up?"

"What?"

Before she knew what was happening, Lucy found herself backed against the wall with Cana's face buried in her neck and arms wrapped around her waist. Then, she started to sense the other girl breathing her scent.

Startled and embarrassed, the celestial mage yelped as she tried to push the magic card user away. "Cana, knock it off! What the heck are you doing?"

"Hmm, you smell so good, Luce," Cana murmured. Chuckling, she leaned over for a kiss, but Lucy turned her face instantly so that the kiss landed only on her cheek.

"Cana, stop fooling around," she repeated, feeling tingles all over her body. "This isn't funny, and it's not my kind of…" But Cana was already trailing soft kisses on her cheek down to her neck that she couldn't finish her sentence.

"Hey, stop it," Lucy said weakly. When she felt the other girl kissing and nipping at the skin below her ear, her body grew unbearably hot and heavy. "Don't!"

"What's the matter, Luce? You don't like it?" she asked softly, pulling back slightly. Then, she traced the blonde's lips with her index finger in a provocative manner.

Lucy didn't answer and held her breath. When she had thought that the other girl would try to kiss her again, Cana took a few steps back, raising her arms in mock surrender.

"Sorry about that, Luce," the brunette said, giving her an apologetic smile. "I was only teasing you, but I guess I went too far. Peace?"

The blonde heaved a sigh, feeling relieved. "Yeah, don't worry about it," she told her old comrade, scratching her head. "Seriously, if that was your idea of romance, then I'm not interested. It's way too weird and embarrassing."

Cana burst out laughing. "Was I that bad? Okay, fine. Maybe you just haven't met your type yet."

"Well, that's true," Lucy admitted. "But I'm in no rush. I'm happy for you and Bacchus though."

"Thanks, blondie. Listen, I can't stay long." Cana winked. "Bacchus and I are spending the night somewhere. You're going to be okay here by yourself, yeah?"

Her face reddening, Lucy nodded. "Yeah, of course. Thanks for dropping by, Cana. It was really good to see you."

"You bet. I'll see you around, okay? Hopefully with someone handsome!"

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, not a chance."