Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima is the creator and owner.
A/N: This is the first story I have written. Any and all reviews are welcome. If you have any ideas or see any errors please let me know. Thanks, and enjoy the story.
The train ride heading to Magnolia was taking a while. Lucy was sitting across from two teenagers. One a boy and the other a girl. Both of them appeared to be the same age. They were both blonde with determined onyx eyes. The boy was tall with a muscular build. The girl was slender just a head shorter than the boy.
"This ride is taking forever," the boy said with an annoyed tone to his voice.
The girl shifted her head from the window to the boy. "Maybe if you would just enjoy the scenery and appreciated the world you could see the entirety of it's beauty," the girl stated shuffling her face to look out the window again.
The boy erupted into a fury of anger. "And how would you know if you never go out and enjoy it. All you ever do is observe, not experience." The boy pouted and strutted away from the two.
The two of them always bickered. Not once have they ever gotten along. Lucy knew that very well, she was the one that raised them after all. For fifteen long years she's cared for them, off in a far away country. They've been traveling for two weeks now, heading to Magnolia. The two teenagers don't know what to expect on arriving, but Lucy has been anticipating the day she would once again return. She was also quite nervous. She had no idea how all of her friends would react. The only person she kept in contact for was Levy. She only sent her letters, refusing to give a return address for her. She didn't want Natsu showing up unexpectedly.
Natsu...
The man she loved since the day she met him in Hargeon. The man who had saved her countless times. The man who was by her side day in and day out. The man who gave her the freedom to live her life the way she wanted. The man she betrayed by leaving unannounced. The man that she most definitely left heart broken.
She was going in blind, heading back to Fairy Tail after fifteen years. So much could've changed, for the better or for the worst. News didn't travel far enough where they were about Fairy Tail.
What if they didn't want to see her anymore? How would they forgive her? Would they even remember who she was? Lucy's mind was a jumbled mess.
"You're back. I'm surprised you even came back." The girl snorted as the man sat back down.
"Well at least I'm not a helpless girl who can't even use magic." The boy retorted, striking a nerve in the girl.
"Even without magic I can kick your ass, and isn't that a sad thing coming from the mighty Dragon Slayer." The girl responded, a cheeky grin covering her face.
"In your dreams maybe, but if you think you can beat me at full power then be my guest and come at me." Said the boy with a maniacal look on his face.
Then the bickering continued. Each spitting out useless words hitting each other's nerves. Soon enough the two were in each other's faces, foreheads pressed together.
"That's enough. Conner, Layla what have I told you. Since you are brother and sister you are to get along, especially since we are in a public setting." Lucy stated as if saying it for the millionth time.
The tension released, and the two looked away from each other. Layla went back to staring and Conner looked to be in deep thought. Lucy snapped her head to look out the window also.
"And it looks like we are nearing our destination," Lucy stated. The two teenagers pressed their faces to the window. "Now remember this is where we are going to be staying for a while. I have a lot of business that needs to be taken care of."
The train was starting to slow down. The whole town was in view now. Lucy saw familiar structures; the Cardia Cathedral, Strawberry Street, but the thing that stood out most was the guild... Fairy Tail.
Natsu was sitting by the bar, looking like he always did. Head slumped over the counter he looked like he was thinking about her again today. For the past two weeks all he did was mope around. A letter arrived the other week which Levy showed everyone. She was going to show back up in Magnolia again in the near future. That's when Natsu's "depression" really set in. He didn't move, didn't go on jobs or even ate. And the one thing Natsu refused to do was not eating.
Slowly the guild master made his way over to him, stopping before the man to try to gather his thoughts. He stood there for what seemed like hours, thinking.
"Well are ya just gonna stand there or you gonna say something, Master." Natsu huffed, not even turning his head.
Gray stood there, looking down at him. He wasn't even surprised, the inhuman like sense of smell and hearing he could detect anyone from across town. Gray took his seat next to him gesturing to Mira to leave them be.
"You've been sitting around for two weeks now," Gray started. ".. and you haven't been eating anything. You should go out and clear your mind."
"But everything reminds me of her and you know that. She was my everything." Natsu choked out of his mouth. Tears were starting to form in the corner of his eyes. "And then she just left, leaving me alone. I gave so much of myself to her and she just disappeared, occasionally sending letters to Levy." He was screaming now. " I just want her to come back and have things go back to normal... Or as normal as it can get."
With that Natsu got up and ran away from Gray, the current guild master. Natsu was right when he said about things returning to normal. So much had changed and if Lucy returned it could only fill so much.
As Natsu was running to the doors he looked at the tables in sadness, remembering where everyone used to sit. Lucy, Happy and himself along with Mira and Cana were always at the bar. At one table used to sit Gray and Juvia along with Gajeel and Levy; each respective pair. Then the table over Jet and Droy would look at Levy with awe. On the other side Erza would be scolding Macao, Romeo and Wakaba for never doing anything. There were also; Reedus, the Rajin Squad, the Connell family, the Strauss siblings, and Max and Mest and even Nab.
Natsu glanced over to the corner looking at the guild masters room. Thinking back he remembered them all. Makarov, Precht and Mavis. Makarov had left the guild three years ago to travel with Laxus and had left Gray as his successor. The old man was having a battle of his own with cancer being as old as he was. It was for the best, but making Gray the master hadn't made Natsu the least bit happy.
The guild had been practically falling apart. The next generation wasn't living up to the expectations of what Natsu believed. No one new had joined Fairy Tail in a while, but that didn't matter. Fairy Tail was his home, and everybody around him was family.
All these thoughts went through Natsu's mind as he raced across the guild. Now he was standing at the entrance holding the door open. He looked back rather calmly now and thought about what he had just said. He was a complete idiot. He would apologize to Gray later. To be completely honest Natsu had really no idea why he was so mad. Lucy would be coming home soon and they would be happy.
Natsu decided he was going on a mission. He would take a rather short one to clear his mind, but also so he could get back as soon as he could. He ran over to the request board and looked them over. He picked one that was stationed in Hargeon that paid 90,000 jewel for attracting people to the circus by using his magic.
Hargeon... That had been were they first met. That was when his adventure had truly began. Quickly snapping back to reality he ran to the bar.
"Mira I'm going out on this job, the one in Hargeon." Natsu looked at her with his onyx eyes. Mira saw just how happy he looked and just gave him a nod. "And Ice Princess I'm sorry for earlier."
With that Natsu ran out of the guild, not looking back at the screaming ice wizard. He had to get home first and pick up his friend. She would be so happy they were going to the circus. She had never seen the circus before.
The train had finally come to a rest. The three blondes stepped off the train, looking at the city. It had expanded since the last time she had been there, but that was to be expected. She was focused on finding somewhere to be able to stay since her rent had been way to long past due; it's not like they all could fit in there anyways.
They could head to the guild and ask for rooms their, right? No, she didn't want to go there yet. The celestial mage needed to find another way. She had plenty of money, but when she had left Magnolia there hadn't been any place to stay that could hold more than two people to a room and she didn't want to let either of them out of her sight. She could always go to Natsu's house. Her face reddened at the thought. Hell no she wasn't going to do that.
"Mom I thought we were looking for a place to stay right," Conner had cut into her thoughts. ".. so why don't we start moving. It's starting to turn dark."
"Maybe she's thinking" the younger blonde stated.
"We had a twelve hour train ride. I'm sure she had plenty of time to think."
Conner was really starting to annoy her but he was right. With all the time on the train she should've had an idea of where they could go. Lucy stood there with a puzzled look on her face, staring up at the sky.
Her face lit up. She knew the perfect place to go. It would be private and she knew the person that lived there. Lucy was ashamed that she had even forgot about her. She didn't even live that far from the station.
Natsu burst through the door with excitement. Now where was she hiding. He looked around for the exceed with a smile on his face. It was one of the smiles he had that could be contagious. He was getting frustrated.
"Kari, where are you?" Natsu complained. There was no answer. "Come on I'm feeling a lot better. I want to go on a mission and not just any mission. We are goin' to the circus."
With that the little blue and white furball flew into the room and right onto his face.
"Really? I've never seen a circus before. What are we doing? Are we testing the rides? Is there gonna be fish? How long till we leave?" The little thing blabbers it all out in a second, heaving to catch her breath.
Before she could say anymore Natsu lifted his hand and ran his fingers through the hair on her back. "We are leavin' soon. 'Bout twenty minutes. Get ready and then we leave for Hargeon."
Kari flew to their room and was gone. Natsu was so glad she was happy. It had been a while since they had left to go on a mission together. He just sat there, letting her get ready. All he needed was some clothes, which he already had packed. There was always a sack by his door filled with clothes so he didn't have to do anything. Soon enough the exceed showed up in front of him.
"You ready Kari?" Natsu asked.
"Yea lets get going. I can't wait to see the lights at night. So what's the circus like?" The puffball asked quizzically.
"You'll see when we get there." The exceed's face drooped slightly. "Don't worry I know ya won't be disappointed. No matter how many times you go it's an experience you can't forget."
With that they scooted out of the house walking through the forest. It was quicker that way. Going through town took a lot of time and you only did that if you wanted to ride the train, and transportation really wasn't his forte. It was going to be a couple hours journey by foot. He didn't mind at all since his job didn't start until tomorrow. He also liked to stare at the full moon; seeing it glow radiantly. He was happy at the moment. Everything was how it needed to be.
Lucy walked up to the door. She lifted her right hand ready to knock, but she faltered. What if she didn't want to see her? Would she turn to the guild for hospitality then?
"Mom are you okay? Your hand is shaking quite badly." Layla had a hint of worry in her voice. "If you want I can knock on the door, even though I don't know who will answer."
Lucy shook her head, to focus and to silence her daughter. She raised her hand again and softly tapped the door a couple times. - No answer.
What was she doing? Could she really not knock on the damn door. She raised her hand again. This time she would hit the wood with such force the whole neighborhood would be able to hear it. Just as her hand neared the door it opened.
"Lu-chan!" She heard Levy squeal, seeing her face light up. Levy leaned in for a hug. "You're finally back where you belong. Come inside, it's getting pretty cold outside now that it's winter and all."
"Are you sure Levy. As you can see I'm not alone."
"Yea of course, she can come in."
Lucy's eyebrow raised. "But what about him." Lucy turned around and she gasped. Where the hell had Conner gone. She was to not let them out of her sight and she had broken that rule almost instantly.
"He had said that something was bothering him, some sort of smell that he couldn't get rid of." Layla said almost casually, trying to calm her mother. "It's okay he can handle himself and you know that."
Lucy let her body relax and sighed. She supposed that Layla was right. It's not like she could force him back if she wanted.
"Lu-chan come on. Get your asses in here it's freezing." Levy started squirming as the cold was making its way into the home. Lucy and Layla entered the house leaving the cold behind them. "You guys can stay as long as you like but it's pretty late. Get some sleep and we will talk in the morning. There is a guest room down the hall, last door on the left. If you need to use the bathroom it's right here." Levy placed her hand on the door nob.
"Levy, thanks for all this. You really are a life saver right now. I will have to pay you back somehow."
"Don't worry now get some sleep you two."
Lucy didn't argue. Her and Layla trudged through the hallway and entered the room. They dropped their stuff and headed for the two beds. Lucy collapsed onto the cushion and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Conner found himself walking through a forest. A familiar scent had reached his nose when he stepped of the train, but he didn't know anyone around here. He could always make his way back to his mom and sister, their scents embedded into his thick skull. The forest was beautiful sight with trees rising above him; towering giants. He had been walking for a while now and his legs were starting to ache.
In the distance he saw a rather rough looking home come into view. The wooden siding was being stripped away by the weather and the roofing had been way long overdue. As he neared the house he saw the sign.
"Natsu and Happy's home... And now Kari too!" He whispered to himself. "Looks like their was an addition to the family."
Conner didn't even bother to knock. He waltzed in like he owned the place. To his amazement no one was home. He guessed the scent he was following was the one called Natsu. He had smelled so familiar but he had never met anyone by that name. He rounded the corner and walked up the stairs. He stopped in front of a door.
This is his room. He entered and nothing. The place was trashed but the scent was all over. And then he smelt it. It was his mother's scent. He was confused for a minute and then it struck him like lightning.
"Oh shit... You gotta be kiddin' me." He spit out.
It took a minute for home to calm down. He walked out of the room and down the stairs. He remained in the house and laid down on the couch. He wasn't going back through the woods so he was going to spend the night.
He couldn't sleep because the thought popped into his head every time he closed his eyes. "Natsu is our father." He chanted this for hours until the sun finally began to rise and his eyes shut for a well deserved rest.
Sorry first time writing a story. The next two chapters will be uploaded within the week. Then the rest will be uploaded every Sunday. Already have the next couple chapters planned out and each one keeps on getting longer and longer. Hopefully going to hit 25+ chapters. Also I am writing all of this in my phone so I can write when I have the chance. Currently working two jobs and school without a car. But as I said don't forget to write reviews, whether it be for good or bad. Have a nice day!