An experiment i've been tampering with. Please excuse my grammar errors and spelling.

Other than that, enjoy!

The upper level of the guild was darker than the bottom, it was less crowded and more quiet. No body rarely talked and if they did, it was for a job proposal or if someone was going to leave. Usually Freed would try to start a conversation, but Laxus would brush him off by putting his headphones on. Evergreen wasn't around as much, no one really knew where she would run off to, other than Mirajane and Lucy. Bickslow was always around and Laxus had nothing better to do. The patience he had stretched on for Lucy hadn't gone unnoticed, everyone was just too scared to say something. Except Freed, it was always Freed. Bickslow would try to do the same with teasing, but always found himself in the infirmary the next day.

The days were usually hard for Lucy. Not that everything she did was hard. It was the way she was living it. Natsu and Erza's presence no longer filled her day. The loneliness soon lingered on far too long. Lucy had insisted on leaving Fairy Tail for awhile until they came back. Makarov only made Laxus take her under his wing. Of course he refused, but he had no choice. The first days they spent together were stressful to Lucy. He had no patience with her what so ever and every minute it was constant yelling. Sooner or later the whole Thunder God Tribe had began to train her. Slowly accepting her.

They had taken her to several S-Class jobs, because of this, Lucy rarely saw Gray anymore. Whenever she'd return from a job, she'd try to talk to Gray like she usually did, but this time he distanced himself and stuck with Juvia. It broke her heart to see a friend drift away, especially the friend being Gray. Yes, she cried. But her new team had made her move on, it's not like he disappeared.

Then the day the Dragon Slayers were suppose to come home didn't happen. Soon enough they stopped watching the door so eager with high hopes. Before Lucy knew it, the S-Class trials were beginning. She had been nominated and paired with Freed. Those moments were exhilarating and she couldn't help but yelp in sheer excitement. Even during the tests. Yea, it'd blow their cover and yea it'd annoy Freed, but she was happy. And she wished that Natsu and Gray, maybe even Erza were here to watch her. She wanted them to cheer her on, she was powerful too right?

In a blink of an eye she was part of the Thunder God Tribe and a full-fledged S-Class mage. After the competition she was actually greeted by Laxus, with a hug. Lucy was so shocked she stiffened in his arms as if Evergreen had turned her into stone. The hug lingered for awhile more though and half way through it she finally relaxed and placed her arms around his neck and continued shouting in excitement.

During the party she looked all over for a friend to tell about her S-Class trials. She stopped before realizing what she was doing. Lucy was only a few feet away from reaching Levy, but she had stupidly forgotten. Levy doesn't talk to Lucy anymore. She had failed to remember that Levy stopped talking to her like Gray. Once her hard training had started and once she stopped writing, Levy was gone. Not Levy, but Lucy. Lucy could no longer talk about boys or take baths with another girl. She couldn't tell her stories to another female, because Levy wasn't in the picture. If Lucy did somehow get her attention, Levy would look at her as a stranger and busy herself with Jet. Jet had seemed to comfort Levy when Gajeel left. So what does it make Gajeel? She turned around with swelling eyes and headed back to her team. Had everybody left her?

But now she was here. On the upper level of Fairy Tail with the Thunder God Tribe, looking down at the other Fairy Tail members as they laughed. Whenever a brawl would break out, Lucy would snicker and join in now and then. The compiled problems that entered her head only made her more frustrated, so she took it out on 5 or 6 other mages. Laxus or Freed would stop her here or there before she broke somebody's arm. Soon she was forbidden by Laxus to even watch a brawl.

"Lucy." She heard her name in a certain sweet ring. Lucy had come to know and love that voice ever since she had joined fairy tail, for maybe a decade or so, she looked at Mirajane as a mother figure. The Sorcerer Magazine model simply didn't fail to act as it.

"Mirajane." Lucy looked at the white-haired takeover mage and gave a warming smile.

Mirajane's soft facade changed into more of a concerned one. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed but he smile was still plastered onto her face, "Makarov says they're here."

Lucy looked down at the guild doors from the upper level. her hands were on the rails and she was staring intently. After at least 2 years, she had been waiting for this, was it even safe to say hi to them? To welcome them back after leaving her? She had been hurting ever since Natsu had left that small stupid note. Was she not worthy of a good bye? Even from Erza, she had received nothing. Erza had only signed her name under Natsu's note. Not even an apology. Gray didn't even get anything either, he had to figure it out from Lucy. Ever since then, the downhill of all their relationships went broken, missing, closed.

Lucy reached down into her pocket and picked at the small note. She let her eyes lingered onto the already memorized message.

Luce!

You were sleeping, so we didn't want to even bother you. We know you like your sleep. And don't worry, I didn't sleep in your bed this time. It was more of a last minute thing - that's what Erza said - so we should be returning soon, aye! Don't worry, we'll come back and go on a job with you so you can pay your rent. Be safe! Take care.

Natsu

Erza

Aye!

She scrunched the paper in her fist and let a growl form in the back of her throat. He didn't even say when they were coming back or what they were doing, and because of him she really didn't pay her rent that month without the help of Makarov. Plus he also included an explanation of what the three Dragon Slayers were doing with the help of Erza.

Looking for the dragons that raised them. Lucy let out a 'Tch' and threw the paper ball down into a garbage bin. She didn't doubt them, she just doubted that they would ever find them. After all these years, they couldn't just reappear all of a sudden at the shout of their names.

"It's been 2 years, Lucy." Laxus's voice thundered, even if it was only a quiet whisper. He stood at the right of Lucy, his back leaning against the not-so-sturdy-anymore rail. He looked at her with eyes so tired and lazy. And his headphones were still pumping a tune lowly.

She nodded and then shrugged, "What were they doing for 2 years?"

Bickslow placed a shoulder on Lucy and hissed, slithering his long tongue out a bit as it skimmed her ear for a second, she shuddered but then relaxed when he brought his head down, "Learning how to train a dragon."

Lucy rolled her eyes and shoved him off lightly, his jokes weren't getting funnier, "Do you think they succeeded?"

"No." Laxus's answer was flat out straight. He turned around and crossed his arms, his forearm briefly touching her shoulder.

The Thunder God Tribe didn't have all it's members present and she didn't need them to be. Bickslow and Laxus were two of the three people that she had spent most of her time with. Eating, doing jobs together, maybe even napping - past time activities - she seemed to have grown comfortable in their presence and it looked like it was all that she needed. Laxus, Freed, and Bickslow understood that. So with the devotion of their time with her, they'd go wherever she'd go. And they wouldn't complain or ask why. Lucy would admit it was flattering and awfully hilarious when she'd go out in town with Laxus and Bickslow following. With their size they looked like body guards and she had never had a towns person flirt with her again. The loneliness was soon filled.

But now why was it coming back?

It's like she could feel Natsu's heat radiating this far. Maybe he wasn't so far. She could hear Gajeel's grunting with almost every step. And she could muster out Carla's nagging at Wendy. Lucy snickered at this, Wendy's skirt might have been too short. She had blocked out Erza's movement, the clanking of her armor scratching against one another was unbearable, her ears felt like they were about to bleed.

"You can hear them?" Laxus asked, not in shock but as if it was a factual statement.

She shrugged, "How'd you even get my hearing to be this good?"

Laxus didn't answer the question but only laughed. He continued to stare at the door with Lucy. The waiting should have been at least 15 more minutes and Laxus couldn't be more than proud to have taught Lucy to listen so far. The first time she had used the hearing made her go crazy, she cried as she listened to every whisper and all the towns bickering and conversations. Laxus then had tortured her more by scratching onto the wooden panels of the table or clicking his tongue. He couldn't help but find her cries and whimpers… amusing. After what seemed like 2 weeks of ear covering, Lucy had finally mustered the control of her hearing and was now using it at her advantage. She was simply a prodigy to Laxus now.

"Are you excited?" Biscklow walked closer to Lucy, his arm draped around her.

"No."

Lucy didn't feel a bit of excitement, she only felt hatred and betrayal, why not take her with them? She shivered at the thought, that's right, she had forgotten she was too weak to do anything and everything. The only thing she had back then was a whip and keys. No one ever let her do the fighting. Gray was always protecting her, taking hits before she could, and sweating under the pressure of Lucy getting hurt again. And if he failed, Natsu would brush off his own mob and come to Lucy's rescue while Erza chased down the big guys. She only ever felt like a burden, living in their shadows and crying like a baby. She forgot, she was weak. Even if her team mates said she wasn't, she only had one spell that was equal to Natsu's Dragon Roar. And it took most of her magic, causing her to faint in the end. She never matched up as equivalent to the members in Team Natsu. Maybe even Happy did more damage. She'd cover it up with a smile and chant everyone good job, just to reassure that she was okay.

"Don't over think it," Laxus placed a finger between her eye brows, "If you keep over thinking and make that face, you'll become ugly. And you'll have a really unattractive wrinkle here."

Lucy relaxed at his touch and turned to look at him. She stifled a laugh. Laxus's face was still serious as he said that and never really smiled, only if Freed was being joked by Bickslow, and it wasn't that often. She returned a warm smile, just to see if Laxus would soften his expression.

It didn't.

"Natsu!" Lisanna shouted across the guild hall. Lucy watched as she quickly ran into Natsu's open arms. Lucy stepped back from the railing and tensed her posture. She looked at the Salamander who's appearance was a little rugged. His hair seemed a bit more pink and he looked… handsome? He still had on his scarf and his chiseled stomach was visible from the vest that rarely covered him. He looked somewhat better? But maybe she didn't see him for so long.

She shook her head and stepped back more as the guild cheered and got louder, greeting the lost group with hugs. Erza's scarlet hair was the same, and her attire never changed. She wore a gigantic smile with her hands on her hips as if she was a hero.

Then there was Wendy, still flat chested and a couple inches taller. Carla on her shoulder and her skirt a little too short. Lucy wanted to snort at being correct but only found herself walking back more. She hadn't gone noticed for she was stopped by Laxus and pulled closer to the railing again.

"Stay still, will ya?"

She gulped and looked at the other Dragon Slayer, Gajeel. His arms were a wince more buffer and you could see the lines that formed his muscles. He wore the same facial expression on his face, a glare that seemed too normal for him. His eye brows were still studded and his piercings were still there. His long black hair seemed tussled out in knots and he had a new scar on his right cheek bone. His eyes were red and deep… and he was staring up at Lucy, no smirk or that stupid "Gihi." But Just piercing at her own brown eyes. She shivered.

"Are you gonna say hi?" Bickslow slapped her butt and guarded himself in preparation for Lucy's speech or Lucy Kick. But she didn't even mind, in fact she wasn't even moving. She was completely lost in the Iron Dragon Slayer's eyes. Not a love lost, but in a hypnotizing way that made her feel lost.

She shook her head again and averted her eyes from the Iron Dragon Slayer. Did he smirk at her?

Natsu looked around lost, he had shook himself free from Lisanna and headed towards Mirajane. Lucy knew what was coming and stepped back from sight.

How was it?

Review are encouraged!

Ciao! Till next time.

- Crishalee