Lucy stood in front of the Fairy Tail guild hall, there was a solemn expression on her face as she slowly pushed the ornate wooden doors open. It had been about a week since the end of their adventure in Edolas and she and the other members of Team Natsu had succeeded in both saving the Exceeds and returning all of Magnolia's citizens to Earthland. But as well as that, the group had unknowingly come back with Lisanna Strauss, with the Take-Over mage explaining the circumstances behind her alleged death. After a tearful reunion with her siblings, a celebration had been held for the return of the youngest Strauss and although the partying had long since died down the guild was still abuzz with talk of the miraculous event.
But that wasn't currently what the Celestial Spirit mage was concerned with, what she had on her mind was to do with Team Natsu. Looking through the busy guild hall, Lucy noticed the other four members of the team plus Wendy and Carla at a nearby table. Natsu and Gray seemed to be in some sort of argument, evident by the fact that they were squaring off against each other, Erza was eating a slice of cake, looking quite content while doing so, Happy was attempting (and failing) to woo Carla with a fish while Wendy was looking on at the display in amusement.
Steeling her resolve, the blonde made her way over to the group, "Hey guys." She greeted.
"Hello Lucy." Erza said, greeting her team mate back, "We were about to go out on a mission with Wendy, would you like to join us?" The Requip mage asked, completely ignoring the fact that Natsu and Gray's confrontation had escalated into an all-out brawl.
"Actually…" Lucy began, sitting down next the red-haired woman, "I wanted to speak with you guys about something, in private."
"Oh, well if this is between you guys, I won't intrude." Wendy said politely, getting up and motioning for Carla to come with her.
"So what did you want to talk about Lucy?" Happy, who had now become interested in the conversation, asked.
"Well we're going to need Natsu and Gray." Lucy said, barely a second later Erza stepped into the mass of wizards still fighting it out with each other. Even with the noise caused by the brawl, the sound of Erza knocking out her two male team mates was still fairly audible. The armoured wizard stepped out of the mass relatively unscathed, dragging the unconscious Dragon Slayer and Ice-Make wizard behind her. Lucy and Happy both sweatdropped at Erza's rather straightforward method of getting the other two core team members. "Next, can we go to my apartment? This something that should be a little more private."
Receiving a nod from the armoured wizard and the Exceed, Lucy led the group out of the guild hall from up front with Happy flying beside her, Erza was at the back of the group as she continued to drag Gray and Natsu behind her. When the group was at Lucy's apartment, Natsu and Gray finally began to stir.
Once the fire and ice wizards had regained their bearings they instantly locked eyes, glaring at each other, "What the heck did you do Ice Princess?!" Natsu shouted, finding that blaming his rival was the easiest explanation for the sudden change in surroundings.
"I didn't do a damn thing Ash-for-Brains!" Gray responded, squaring up to the Dragon Slayer.
"Boys, stop it!" Erza ordered, preventing the altercation from escalating any further.
"Yes ma'am!" Both boys squeaked, immediately sitting down.
"Good, now listen up, Lucy said she has something to tell us." The swordswoman said, motioning for the blonde to begin.
"Thank you Erza." Lucy said before she began to address her now-seated guests, "The reason why I called you guys here is because…" However, the blonde's words hitched in her throat, as if she was trying to stop herself from carrying out what she intended. It was at that moment that the Celestial wizard seriously contemplated making up some (likely poor) excuse for why she had dragged them to her apartment. She was so deep in her thought processes that she jumped lightly when she felt the coldness of metal on her shoulder.
"Take all the time you need." Erza instructed gently, giving the blonde a reassuring look, noticing the similar expressions she was receiving from the other members of the team, she smiled appreciatively at them.
"Thanks, you guys." Lucy said gratefully, "This isn't easy for me to say, but… I want to leave the team..." She was going to continue, until her teammates spoke up to voice their shock at the sudden announcement.
"What?! Why?!" Natsu began.
"Is it because, we've broken into your house so many times?" Gray asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"Or if it's not that, if it's something else, please tell us and we'll work to correct it." Erza offered.
"Lucy, don't you like us anymore?" Happy asked sadly.
"No, no, no." Lucy clarified, causing her teammates to calm down somewhat, waiting with bated breath for an explanation, "I love being with you guys but I feel that you guys are in a completely different league to me and I don't want to burden the team. I just think that I need a little break, get stronger, and then come back." She explained, an awkward silence befell the room, something that made Lucy all the more anxious as she attempted to gauge the rest of the team's contemplative expressions.
Erza was the first to speak up, "I understand." The three boys giving the swordswoman questioning looks, "There is no shame in wanting to get stronger, if you really want to leave the team temporarily, we should respect that decision."
"That does make sense," Gray admitted, "This is just a suggestion on my part Lucy, but maybe talk with some other members of the guild, see what happens. It could be good for you to get to know other people a little better."
Now the only two left were Natsu and Happy, who still seemed unsure about the blonde's announcement, "You definitely want to come back to the team once you're done?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah, I promise." Lucy responded affirmatively.
"And Celestial wizards never break their promise, right?" Happy asked, Lucy's nod was enough to sway the two, causing Natsu to stand up and held out a clenched fist towards the blonde. Realising what the Dragon Slayer was asking for, Lucy acknowledged it by bumping the fire-user's fist with her own.
With that, the four members of Team Natsu left Lucy's apartment, each giving a nod of acknowledgement to their currently former teammate. Lucy continued sitting down, glad that her announcement had gone over smoothly. One thing of course did stick out for the Celestial wizard, what Gray had said about getting acquainted with other members of the guild.
It was definitely true that Lucy had seldom few connections with other members of the guild, she was friendly with everyone of course, but she didn't really know much about people outside of Team Natsu. The person she was closest to outside of her main group was Levy and while the petite girl would have been her go-to-choice, she was currently away with her own team on a mission. There was always the Thunder Legion, though given they were deemed powerful by Laxus of all people, she suspected it would eventually feel like the dilemma she had with her original team. There were members who were single, such as Juvia, Gajeel and Cana but in truth, Juvia would probably become suspicious that her self-proclaimed 'love-rival' would attempt to form a team with her, the Iron Dragon Slayer still somewhat intimidated the blonde despite his new allegiances and Cana seemed to be distancing herself from even those in the guild she was closest to.
"Maybe some fresh air will clear my head?" Lucy suggested to herself, deciding the best place to go for some peace to contemplate her next course of action would be to visit Magnolia South Gate park. Due to its size, the park oftentimes seemed sparsely populated even when it was late morning, even though it was located next to several residential areas. Though, the serenity of the park was something the blonde appreciated.
While Lucy's plan seemed a good idea, after a while of walking she still hadn't come up with any possible solutions, that is until she spotted something or rather, someone. Sitting at the base of a tree, shielded from the sun by the shade, was Lisanna Strauss. The youngest of the Take-Over siblings seemed to be deep in thought as she didn't hear the blonde approaching until she was almost next to her. After her brief surprise, Lisanna greeted her fellow guildmate, "Hello Lucy."
"Hey Lisanna, are you okay?" Lucy asked.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" The Take-Over mage inquired.
"You just seemed a little down, I wanted to make sure you were alright." The Celestial wizard explained, the youngest Strauss shifted uncomfortably despite looking grateful for the blonde's concern.
There was a brief pause before Lisanna spoke up, "Well… if I'm honest, there is something I've been wanting to talk to someone about."
At her response, Lucy sat down next to the white-haired mage, "Go ahead, take your time." The blonde said in a reassuring tone. After taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Lisanna spoke up.
"Well… you know I was stuck in Edolas for two years, right?" At the blonde's nod, Lisanna continued, "During that time, I couldn't use my magic and after two years of not being able to do that, I'm out of practice. With the two years I was gone, Mira is as strong as ever and Elfman even mastered Full-Body Take-Over!" Lisanna explained, her pride-filled tone suggesting happiness for her siblings, before her expression turned solemn, "As for me… I'm struggling to keep up even a partial take-over, we took a few missions together and I just feel… like I'm lagging behind, you know? So, we all agreed that I should just take some time off to practice, maybe even try to reconnect with people I knew before… the incident."
"Yeah, I know." Lucy answered, her companion giving an inquisitive look, "I decided to take some time off from my team as well."
"Really?" Lisanna questioned, "But you seemed to fit in really well with them."
"And I did," The blonde stated, "But like you, it's because of the differences in my strength and theirs. Gray even suggested something similar, that I should start forming bonds with other people in the guild."
"If that's the case, can I make a suggestion?" The youngest Strauss asked, at the blonde's indication to continue, Lisanna did so, "How about we work with each other? We're both in pretty similar positions and truth be told I've wanted to speak to you for a while since I knew Lucy Ashley when I was in Edolas."
Lucy had to admit that she was flattered the Take-Over mage was willing to get to know her better, plus she did have a point with the two of them being in roughly the same situation, "Sure! Let's do it!" Lucy declared.
"Great!" Lisanna said enthusiastically, "But first…" She trailed off, sticking a hand out, "I knew Lucy Ashley but I can tell you two are different, so how about this? I'm Lisanna Strauss, nice to meet you."
Grinning, Lucy took the white-haired woman's hand, "Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia." Little did the two realise that with this shake of their hands, a bond would soon form, one that would be sure to stand the tests of time.
A/N: Hey guys, so as my summary states this is my take on the Lucy leaves Team Natsu trope, I also plan on doing a friend-to-lovers romance with Lucy and Lisanna, so I hope you look forward to that. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and perhaps I'll see you in the next one.