A/N: This story begins after a slightly AU end to the Tenrou Island Arc. Everything plays out the same except for instead of a 7 year gap there was only a 3 month gap. I think that's the only point I really need to make. Aside from the fact that for the main storyline there will probably be no pairings and if there are it the only main character pairings would probably be Juvia being Juvia and stalking Gray with subtle hints of it being reciprocated.
Home
Chapter 1
Lucy's feet ached due to the length of time she'd be standing in front of the request board. After the disaster that was the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial, where they were essentially non-existent for three whole months , she just wanted a nice, easy job in which her life wasn't threatened, Was that tom much to ask for? Her track record and the lack of nice, easy requests on the board said, yes, yes it was too much to ask.
She sighed, giving up, and joined Cana at the bar. Lucy slumped into the seat and rested her head against the table.
The guild's top drinker eyed her friend over the rim of her mug. "Not going well then?"
Lucy groaned.
"That bad, huh."
"Why can I never seem to get a job that doesn't involve death, injury, or perverted outfits?"
"Because you regularly team with Natsu, Gray, and Erza."
"They're probably in my house eating my food right now," the blonde cried.
Cana laughed. It was a well known fact in the guild that those three seemed more at home in Lucy's home than their own. "That's not true. I know for a fact that Natsu and Happy have run off to Lapinus."
Lucy jerked upwards. "They're on a mission? Why didn't they ask me?" She managed to keep most the hurt she felt out of her voice at being left out of her team.
"Natsu heard a rumour about some sort of fire dragon there and rushed off searching for Igneel before anyone could say a word."
Where as before the thought of dragons and Igneel filled her with a sense of wonder, all Lucy could think of was the pure terror and helplessness she felt against Acnologia. Her mind suddenly filled with worst case scenarios. Natsu and Happy arriving only for it to be the wrong dragon. Natsu and Happy dying. Natsu and Happy dying alone and in pain.
"What if …" her voice trembled and Cana reached over and held her hand.
"Lucy."
The celestial spirit mage wiped the forming tears away. "I'm so stupid thinking like that. If was that monster then not only would the rumours be it be big news by now but it'd already be gone."
"It's okay. The thought scares me too. And if it makes you feel better I think Gray and Erza caught the next train after him, though I think that was more so they could stop the town people killing him."
"Huh?"
Cana laughed. "Last time he was there he destroyed their castle."
"That sounds like him."
They sat in a friendly silence for a moment before Cana spoke up again. "Why don't you take a slightly higher level job if there's no simple ones," she suggested.
"By myself?"
"Sure. You've grown a lot since you first came here."
"You really think so?"
"Being on a team with Natsu when he's growing so strong, so fast, it must be so hard to see the progress you yourself are making. But you are."
"Thank you." The words were spoken so softly the card mage barely heard them. "You're a good friend Cana."
"It's the least I can do. You helped me find the strength to tell my father the truth."
Lucy smiled, grateful for the distraction. "How's that going?"
"I so drank him under the table last night."
Lucy glanced around the guild hall, taking in the new gouges, burn marks, and cracks in various places around the room. "Last night seemed like it was fun."
Cana grinned. "I can't really remember. Though Mira found all of Gray's clothes here this morning so I have no idea what he went home in."
Lucy sighed at her friend's antics. "It's never boring here, is it?"
"Never."
As if to answer them a fight broke out in the far corner and quickly escalated into a full guild brawl. And (not for the first time) Lucy gleefully dove in. Things sure had changed since she first entered Fairy Tail and stood flailing on the sidelines in a panic.
When things eventually calmed down, as much as they ever did in Fairy Tail, she noticed Mirajane waving her over. Brushing herself down and straightening her hair out as she walked over, Lucy smiled at her friend and finally took notice of the pink haired girl beside her. "Hi Mira. New recruit?" she asked.
Mirajane shook her head. "No. A client. This is Summer "
"Hello. It's nice to meet you," she said.
Though Summer smiled her eyes were sad.
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Lucy."
"I know. Mirajane was telling me about you. You hold the key of Scorpio, do you not?"
Lucy stiffened slightly. Feeling protective of her spirit, who like Aries and Gemini had been in the hands of a bad master. She answered stiffly in the affirmative.
She didn't expect the girl's reaction at all. She fell to her knees and clasped one of Lucy's hands. "Please," she begged, "please come to my grandfather's funeral and summon him then."
"What?"
"He was my mother's partner for years before she died. And he'd be the closest thing to having my mother there. Please."
Lucy gently pulled the girl to her feet. "I'd be honoured to attend your grandfather's funeral."
The girl wiped her tears on the end of her sleeve. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
Lucy smiled kindly and soon found herself sharing a carriage with the girl heading towards a small village two hours west of Magnolia.
"It's not really that sad," Summer was saying, "Granddad Meow was eighty-six. So it wasn't like it was unexpected."
"Granddad Meow?" questioned Lucy. Then she blushed, unsure if it was her place to ask.
Summer didn't seem bothered at all. In fact her brown eyes sparkled happily for the first time. "When I was little I couldn't pronounce Granddad and Nana's surname. But they had a cat so they became Granddad and Nana Meow. It kind of stuck. It's what half the village calls … called them."
Lucy smiled. "That's kind of sweet."
"A bit embarrassing though," her face taking the same pink tinge as her hair. "Anyway it's Nana Meow that I want Scorpio there for. She's never really got over mum's death and I'm granddad dying has hit her pretty badly." She swallowed slightly. "There's people in the village saying that she'll go soon as well. She and granddad have never really been apart. They were born around the same age born in the village at that time you see. I thought that if I showed her that there's still a part of mum left then that would give her strength to keep going.
"That's really thoughtful of you."
"It's kind of selfish too though. I don't want her to leave even though I know she'd be happier with granddad."
"It's not selfish to care about the people you love."
"Thank you, Lucy."
The journey continued for a while with stories about her grandfather's life. Some were funny and others were sweet. Either way Lucy could tell the man had been quite the character and would be sorely missed by the whole village.
When Summer began to recognise some of the landmarks outside of the carriage she turned to Lucy. "Is it okay if I get changed in here? The funeral is going to begin shortly after we arrive, you see."
Lucy nodded. Before looking down at her brightly coloured outfit and felt her stomach sink slightly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think to bring anything appropriate to wear."
Summer smiled. "That's okay. I have a spare dress. We should be around the same size." She sounded a bit uncertain though as she looked at Lucy's above average sized bust.
"I'm sure it'll fit," Lucy said in relief. Not being able to breathe at a funeral would be a lot better than turning up in bright colours. At least, she thought rather morbidly, she wouldn't be the only one.
As the carriage arrived outside the small village church and Lucy noticed the already growing trail of mourners dressed in black and was thankful for the first time since putting it on for the painfully constricting dress.
"Do you want me to summon Scorpio now?"
"Please."
Lucy was surprised upon his appearance that Scorpio was not in his usual shirtless self in red and gold but decked out in a black mourners suit.
"We are aware of Master Jane's father's death," he said solemnly in the plural tense that seemed to be the strange quirk of this particular celestial spirit. "And we are grateful you are allowing us to attend his funeral."
Lucy nodded, even though she felt guilty that it hadn't even crossed her mind what the funeral would mean to her spirit. Thankfully Summer's mother, the name being Jane apparently, had been a good summoner. Lucy wasn't going to pretend she hadn't worried about that even after seeing how kind Summer was.
"Scorpio," sniffled Summer, the nearness of the funeral and the mood in the air obviously getting to her, "It's good to see you again."
Scorpio nodded. "You humans grow so fast. You were barely past my knee last time we met."
Lucy guessed that was why Summer was able to speak of her mother's death so calmly. It must have been the better part of two decades ago that it happened. She felt a sudden wave of empathy. Summer must have been around the same age Lucy had been when her mother died.
"You still look the same," Summer said, sounding slightly surprised. Lucy guessed the girl wasn't a mage then as most mages would have known that fact.
Scorpio just nodded at the obvious, seemingly unwilling to say anything that could upset the girl that day.
"Where's your father?"
"He should be here soon. I think he's arriving with Nana." She paused, as if remembering something and turned to Lucy. "When dad get's here please don't stare."
"Why would I stare?"
"He and my mum knew each other when they were children as their parents were friends. So when he was taken and injured by a dark guild it was mum that went rescued him, that's when they fell in love, but his face is still covered in scars."
"I understand. I promise I won't do anything to make him uncomfortable."
"Thank you. Oh here they come."
Lucy turned to see a rather ornate carriage pulling up and for the first time took in all the signs of wealth in Summer's family that had been there all along. From the high quality material of the dresses to the expensive jewellery.
Before she had time to wonder at how she missed it a tall man with neatly trimmed, greying hair stepped out of the carriage. It was only Summer's warning that kept her from staring. Scared was an understatement and she but she could still find small signs that he had once be handsome in the arch of his brow and the way the left side of his mouth pulled up in a smile unhindered by heavy scarring like the right at the sight of his daughter.
He turned away and offered his arm out to the other passenger of the carriage. An old lady with sad brown eyes much like her granddaughter's and short white hair that the occasional dark hair ran through. Though her face, no doubt containing more age than before her husband died, looked so tired and pained. But it was her eyes that caught Lucy's attention the most. Lucy knew then and there that that was what true heartbreak looked like. She could see why people were saying that she would go soon too and couldn't help but feel the same way.
"Dad, Nana Meow, this is Lucy. She agreed to summon Scorpio for us so a part of mum could be here too."
Her father exchanged a nod with the summon spirit, while her grandmother's eyes teared up. "You're such a sweet girl Summer," she said and turned to Lucy. "And thank you. You didn't have to do this." Summer's father added his agreement to that sentiment.
"I know. I wanted to though," Lucy smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Mr, er …"
"Smith."
"Call me Nana Meow. Everyone does." The old woman smiled slightly and suddenly there was something strikingly familiar about her face that Lucy just couldn't put her finger on.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Smith and Nana Meow. I'm sorry it's under such circumstances. I'm sorry for your loss."
Nana Meow nodded. "A lot of people will miss my husband," said, closing her eyes.
"He was well loved," added Smith, laying a gentle hand on the old woman to comfort her.
After that Lucy gave the family some peace as other well wishers began to offer their condolences to the bereaved family.
Soon the ceremony began and Lucy sat awkwardly at the back, feeling slightly awkward at being at the funeral of a man she never met, especially since she had to explain that fact to some of the guests when they had asked her how she had known him.
After the funeral she was invited back to Nana Meow's home along with most the funeral guests for the after party. Lucy felt it rude to decline, especially when Summer looked at her so hopefully, and so three hours later was with most of the congregation in the mansion that Nana Meow called home.
The mood had improved with drink as everyone told their best stories about the man, with the more well known ones getting large groups joining in at the climax., and Lucy felt much more relaxed than she had at the church.
Smiling slightly and wondering if when she died if she'd have so many people who loved her turn up, she wandered down one of the hallways looking for a toilet. A large photograph at the end of the hall, set in an ornate frame engraved with a date from sixty years earlier caught her eye. She smiled seeing the white dress and happy faces in the photo.
"Nana Meow's wedding," she guessed aloud and walked over to get a better look.
She froze.
Blinked.
She took a second look and blinked again.
"But that's impossible."
There in the centre of the photograph, holding onto each other on their wedding was Natsu and Wendy. Wendy, who suddenly bore a resemblance to a much younger Nana Meow.
"But - but," Lucy stammered. That photo was taken sixty years ago. It was impossible.
"Lucy!" a familiar voice called out behind her. Summer smiled as she found Lucy's side. Smiling with Wendy's eyes and Natsu's hair. "You found Nana Meow's wedding photo," she said cheerfully, though her eyes watered. "They all look so happy back then."
"Yeh," Lucy said weakly, unable think properly because that was Natsu and Wendy and it was impossible.
"My other granddad's there too. He was their best man. He died a few years back. Granddad Meow told me that before the attack my dad looked just like him," she said pointed to one of the wedding guests in the photo.
"Ga-Gajeel?" Lucy stuttered in shock.
"You knew my grandfather?" Summer asked in shock.
No, Lucy didn't know her grandfather. She knew Gajeel the Dragonslayer.
"I met him once," Lucy lied, "My father's a businessman. We owned Heartfillia Konzern. He must been one of my dad's contacts."
Summer looked thoughtful before smiling. "Grandfather Gajeel was a big partner in an ironworks company and still did work for them up until he died. He must have been one of your dad's suppliers."
"Yeh," Lucy murmured, still in shock. "Must have been."
"By the way. Thank you so much for bringing Scorpio today."
"That's fine. I think I may leave soon. The summoning is wearing me out and if I don't leave soon I won't make it back to Magnolia before it gets dark."
"Oh," Summer said sounding slightly disappointed. "Okay. It's been lovely meeting you."
Lucy nodded and saying her goodbyes she made her way back to the main reception room to say offer her condolences to Nana Meow one last time. And as she did so, she couldn't help but take in everything about her that shouted "Wendy".
She left the room just as a toast rang out.
"To Natsu."
"TO NATSU!"
She left quickly after that and, slumping inside the carriage that had been arranged to take her back, tried to calm her thoughts.
"What the hell is going on?" she asked aloud.
Nobody answered.
A/N: As I said there will be no pairings. The NatsuXWendy in this chapter was for plot development only because I needed some way to link all the Dragonslayers together. Marriage/best man was easiest way to do so and I find NatsuXWendy more likely than GajeelXWendy.