Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter One: Freed's Feelings

"So, Freed, when are you going to make a move on Blondie?"

Freed looked up from his book at Laxus, who was sitting in front of him at their table on the second floor of Fairy Tail's guildhall. The rune mage's eyes widened slightly and a faint blush dusted his cheeks. He moved the book in his hands to cover his face as he asked, "what are you talking about?"

His brunette friend who sat next to him laughed as she fanned herself a few times before she spoke in a teasing tone, "come on now, we know that you've had your eye on Lucy since the S-Class Trials on Tenrou."

Freed shot a glare at Evergreen, receiving a chuckle from the said mage. Bixlow then decided to join in on the conversation by saying, "you better make a move now before someone else does." His babies repeated the word "move."

Freed snapped the book in his hands closed and looked at the seith mage, questioning with a furrowed brow, "what do you mean?"

Laxus shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "do you have any idea how many guys have their eyes on Blondie? If you don't take a chance now, then you might never get one again."

Freed looked down at the table that Lucy was sitting at, her best friend's arm around her shoulders and laughing at something that he said. The rune mage narrowed his eyes, a feeling of jealousy bubbling in his gut. He had long heard rumors that Natsu had feelings for Lucy, but he never thought much about it. The Fire Dragon Slayer was a dense idiot, how the hell could he identify his feelings for Lucy if they were romantic in nature? Freed never thought that Natsu would be a problem. Is it possible that he was wrong?

Evergreen drew his attention back to her when she remarked, "you might want to start getting close to her if you want to have a chance with her."

Freed then exclaimed, "I am plenty close to her!"

The woman chuckled once again, as did Laxus. It was Bixlow that responded, "true, but there are many other dudes that are just as close to Cosplayer." His babies echoed the nickname that Bixlow had given to Lucy.

The green-haired mage looked back at Lucy. He had always found her to be beautiful and interesting, even before the S-Class Trials. Since she joined Fairy Tail, he had felt drawn to her in the sense that he wanted to learn a bit about her. However, he knew where his place in the guild was, and that was secluding himself and doing as Laxus said. After his best friend's expulsion from Fairy Tail, he was tempted to befriend her, becoming closer than acquaintances. He was never able to bring himself to do so, instead resigning himself to get information about her from Bixlow, who didn't have a problem with becoming yet another one of her annoying friends.

It wasn't until after the S-Class Trials on Tenroujima Island that his unknown interest became romantic. He had feigned a weakness for women in incredibly revealing clothing, when in actuality, this supposed weakness applied to only Lucy. Seeing her in a bikini had made him realize that while none of the other women he was often around could make him lose composure, the blonde celestial wizard had that ability.

After they returned to Fairy Tail, he spent more time than he cared to admit analyzing these feelings he's been experiencing toward Lucy. As time passed and the guild went through more hardship than they wanted to, the rune mage, with the help of his three closest friends, managed to arrive at the conclusion that he was in love. He then pushed himself to form a closer relationship with her, which he found to be better said than done, but once he started developing a friendship with her, he found the act of having lengthy conversations with her to be increasingly easier.

However, when it came to the topic of him confessing his feelings for her, or, as his friends so eloquently put it, "make a move" he wasn't at all confident in himself. He had made such attempts before, but always backed out at the last moment. As he watched Lucy and Natsu joke with each other, he thought that maybe he should attempt to further his relationship with Lucy by spending more time with her.