Dream
When Lucy and the others arrived at the Guild, she immediately went upstairs to the second floor to start work for the day. After taking time from the Team - and missions in general - Lucy had been approached by the master with a job opportunity. It was a good deal, not only for her but also for the master and Laxus.
"Is it true?" Lucy jumped when she heard Master's voice from behind her, causing her to almost drop her strawberry milkshake.
"Gramps?" She softly questioned him in a curious voice, not completely sure what he was talking about. He was probably talking about her break from Team Natsu and missions, but there was always a chance - a small, near non-existent - chance that he found out about Aquarius and what she did to save them all.
"You've quit Team Natsu?" He looked at her like how she imagined a concerned grandfather would look at their grandchild. That look, filled with so much worry and love, nearly made Lucy break into tears and tell him all about Aquarius and the Celestial King and how much it hurt. But Lucy stood strong and gave him a tight smile, choking back the sob that threatened to spill from her mouth.
"Yea, I think I'm going to take a break from missions for a while." She told him, trying so hard to stay strong. She wouldn't burden him with her problems, not when he had so many problems to deal with already. "I think the battle with Tarturus took a lot out of me."
"Is everything alright, my child?" Lucy nodded and forced her herself to smile even bigger, willing him not to see the unshed tears that gathered in her eyes. "Are you sure?" She knew that tone, she knew that he didn't quite believe her lies that everything was alright. Lucy wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep the charade up if he didn't stop looking and acting so worried about her and her decision.
"Of course Master, I just think I need some time off." She could feel pairs of eyes watching her, probably worry about her like the Master was. She wondered, for a brief moment, who was watching her and how she could get them to stop.
"Well, how will you get money to pay for what you need? Do you already have a job lined up?" He asked her, the corned starting to be replaced by a thoughtful look.
Lucy wasn't sure if she liked that look. "Not yet, no." She admitted with a nervous chuckle as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I was going to look for one today after I told you and Team Natsu that I'd be taking a break. I have enough money saved up for about two month's rent," that didn't include her enormous food bill that came with being a part of Team Natsu ". . .uh actually, just one month's rent actually. I forgot to factor in other expenses!" She said as she tried to laugh it off so she wouldn't worry Master or anyone else who could hear her.
The look that Master Makarov gave her made her believe that she wasn't doing the best job at that.
"Well then, it's a good thing Laxus and I need a personal assistant." He declared and Lucy made a surprised noise in the back of her throat. "Mhmm, you can start Monday. You'll work guild hours, Monday through Friday, and help us manage the guild. With your studies in business, I'm sure you'll do great!" He said, mostly to himself as he began to make his way upstairs to his office to begin the paperwork to employ Lucy.
Lucy hadn't gotten herself together until she heard Master Makarov's office door shut, effectively knocking her out of her stupor. "Wait, wait, what?" She said to herself, starting to run up to the Master's office. "Master! Master, you can't just - !"
Lucy remembered the the hours spent trying to convince Master to not try and give her this job. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, she just didn't want to get special treatment just because she was a member of the guild. Master just wouldn't take no for an answer and eventually, Lucy walked out of his office with a new job and a list of responsibilities. One of which she was currently doing.
Her number one priority was checking the mission boards and making sure each mission was on the right board and that it wasn't a possible mage trap. It had been a while since Fairy Tail received any mage traps, missions meant to get mages alone or in small groups so they ambush them and capture or kill them. While checking the boards, the S-Class one first and then the bottom floor after, Lucy made sure to organize each mission by difficulty to make things easier for when someone picked a job. As she read through and organized the missions, a particular name caught her eye.
Layton Gallagher.
Lucy clutched the paper tightly in her hands, her heart pounding so hard and so quick that she was sure that the Dragon Slayers in the guild could hear it. Layton Gallagher was the most famous and most powerful Mending Mage in Fiore. He could fix any magical item, or so Wizard Weekly claimed. His prices were extreme for most magical items and, from what Lucy heard, he had no social skills what so ever.
"What could he possibly need?" She thought to herself curiously, reading over the mission.
S-Class mage, preferablly with team or partner, needed to take care of dark guild.
It seems my reputation has once again caused me trouble, this time with a dark mage guild. They have told me that if I do not repair their equipment, for free, that they will end my life. I have held up in my house and activated ruins to protect me until this guild has been destroyed.
Should you take this job, you will recieve; a map to their location and a horse to bring you to them.
Your reward; I will fix one magical item from each mage in group and you will be payed 3,000,000 Jewels.
Lucy's breath caught, . . . I will fix one magical item . . ., the greatest mending mage who could - possibly - fix any magical item. One of her hands went up to her neck where Aquarius's key rested on neck.
Was it possible to even fix a Celestial Key?
If it was possible then Layton Gallagher, the Layton Gallagher who she would never been able to afford under any circumstance, was the best - the only - chance she had at fixing her oldest friend's key. She had no other choice or chance, no other mending mage would be able to fix such a powerful and old magic item.
She had to go on this mission.
In daze - This is a dream, this has to be a dream Lucy thought with tears gathering in her eyes - Lucy slowly walked to the steps and began her decent downstairs. This was an S-Class Mission, Mira would never allow her to take this mission by herself, no matter how much she begged the barmaid. "I have to get a partner." She whispered to herself, unaware that she was by the bar where Mira, Levy, and Cana were sitting together talking.
"A partner for what, Lu-Chan?" Levy asked curiously, tilting her head to the side as she stared at her tearful best friend. Lucy's head shot up and she stared at her three friends, watching as their smiles dropped and concerned frowns appeared. "Lu-Chan, is everything alright?" Lucy wasn't listening though, instead she began looking around the guild in a slightly frantic manner.
Mira, Erza, Laxus, Gildarts, Mystogan. The five S-Class mages of Fairy Tail.
Lucy immediately crossed of Mira, Gildarts, and Mystogan from her mental list of S-Class mages. Mira didn't really take missions that often anymore, instead choosing to stay as a barmaid even after the return of her little sister. Gildarts, while he would definitely be able to help her, was still on one of the 10 year missions and Lucy wasn't sure when he'd return. And Mystogan wasn't technically apart of the guild anymore, kind of. The name Mystogan was still registered to the guild, but Edolas Jellal was obviously in Edolas however Earthland Jellal sometimes used the name Mystogan whenever he needed to be a legal mage.
So that left Erza and Laxus, neither of which she really wanted to ask to take her on this mission. Erza would invite the rest of Team Natsu and she was sure that they'd ask her questions until she told them why she needed to go on this mission. Laxus, who she was sure would help her without questioning her, had become very protective of her for some reason. Lucy noticed it wasn't just him, she could feel several pairs of eyes watching her constantly when she was in the guild but she wasn't sure who was practically stalking her. Lucy sure if this protectiveness would transfer over to when they were on a job or if it would effect how he treated her while they were fighting.
Erza or Laxus. Erza or Laxus. Erza or Laxus.
With her head held high, Lucy practically ran from her friends - who were no getting more and more worried as she ignored their questions - and made her way over to Team Raijinshū. As she stopped at the end of the table, four sets of eyes turned to stare at her with a curious gaze.
"Hey everyone, sorry to interrupt but I need to borrow Laxus." She told he with a small smile, a real smile that felt so forieng to her after all the fake smiles. "It's really important." She assured them as Laxus stood up and began making his way up to his office, not waiting for Lucy to catch up to him.
The short walk to his office was silent, neither blond mage saying anything to the other. "What'cha need, Blondie?" He asked, taking a brief look at the piece of paper clutched in her shaking hands. "A mage trap?" He asked, looking much more serious than he had before. Lucy seemed confused at first before she realized how this must've seemed; her stealing Laxus away, a mission clutched in her hands, claiming that it was important.
Which it was . . . just maybe not as important to Laxus or the others in the guild.
"N-No." She stuttered uncertainly, now a little embarrassed and afraid about her request. With shaking hands, Lucy laid the mission on his desk and knelt down on the ground. "Please, please, please take this mission with me Laxus." She wondered if Laxus could hearing her pounding heart, if he could smell the tears that were falling from her eyes, if he could feel her desperation. "Please." She said, her voice shaking so much that she was afraid she'd sobbing in front of him.
"Shit." Laxus cursed quietly, but Lucy still caught the curse, as he stood up and practically yanked her up to her feet. She prepared for a lot of things; Laxus to kick her out of his office, him to fire her for making something seem important when it really wasn't, or maybe for him to drag her to the master to have her thrown in an mage asylum. Instead though, Laxus placed her on her feet and raised her head so he could look her in the eyes. "Shit Lucy, stop crying." He told her as he wiped away her tears with wide eyes and a confused look on his face. "I'll go with you, just stop." He pleaded with her, obviously unsure about what to do with her.
"Thank you!" She threw her arms around him and cried into his chest, not caring about how ridiculous she must seem. "I have, I have to go pack!" She suddenly shouted, running out of his office and running through the guild like a mad woman. She knew several of guildmates were probably staring at her, but she didn't care about anything but one thing.
She was going to get Aquarius back.