"But Luuuuucy!" whined Happy, "we told you we were sorry!" The little cat looked down at his stomach, almost positive he could see it moving with the strength of the growls that were emanating from it. He had made the mistake of trying to get Lucy to buy him food as they walked through Magnolia's marketplace, ignoring the hectic morning she had had.

"That's enough, Happy!" she finally snapped, "Both of you just leave me alone for a while!"

Natsu was stunned, not by her outburst (which was positively a rote feature for Lucy), but by the tone of her voice. Before he could say anything, she had stalked off, disappearing into the crowd. Happy and Natsu shared a dejected look before they turned the opposite direction, towards their little house.

"Natsu?" Happy asked as they reached the outskirts of town, "why was Lucy still upset? I thought she said she was okay."

Natsu blinked a little, coming out of his stupor. "I think..I think, in a way, she is okay, and in another, she isn't."

"I don't understand. How can someone be okay and not okay at the same time?"

Natsu thought about the question for a couple minutes "Maybe it's sort of how I feel about Igneel. I'm still not okay with him disappearing, but most of the time I can keep going. Sometimes, though, I still get really sad and can't think of anything else. And Lucy just found out about her dad. I'm guessing it's even worse off for her."

"Oh" Happy said quietly as they reached their door. The duo walked inside and dropped their packs haphazardly wherever they might fall. As one, they sat on the ragged couch and closed their eyes, enjoying the peace of the moment. And a moment it was.

No sooner had they both relaxed that a loud gurgling filled the silence of the little house. Happy looked over at Natsu and began to laugh, but was silenced when a similar noise was emitted from his abdomen.

"Alright, Happy, let's go to the guild. Maybe we can convince them to give us some food"

"Aye, sir!"

"But Kinanaaaaa, Miraaaaa" Natsu whined

"No 'but's, Natsu. The guild doesn't have the money to try filling your stomach. Why don't you go take a job? There isn't much to choose from, but I'm sure you can find something to do"

Grumbling, Natsu pushed away from the counter and walked dejectedly to the job board. His mood didn't last long, as with each step he grew more and more eager to get back in the field. As he looked over the requests, he eventually chose the one that paid the most, not really looking at the description itself. It was still a pittance of what he used to work for, but, ignoring that fact, he grinned down at Happy.

"Alright, buddy, let's go get Lucy!"

Death is strange. People go about their lives, living, laughing, loving, crying, and then, one day, they just don't. Their heart ceases to beat, the light fades from their eyes, and those that remain are left with the knowledge that they will never see that person's face again, hear their voice, or see the wonder in their eyes. Those not present at the time of leaving have this sense of never being able to finish things, or see them through to the end. The worst feeling is the thought that they will never get to say what they always meant to, or what they thought they never said enough. It's startling to realize how, once someone is gone, you start to crave nothing more than to hear their voice, or see their face. You will search through hours of film just to hear a few seconds of their speech.

Death is strange. It makes a person realize what truly mattered, but by the time the realization comes, it's too late to act upon it.

Lucy didn't really feel any of this, however. Instead, she sat upon the stairs in a park near her apartment, her mind finally, wonderfully blank. The breeze played with the tips of her hair, rustling the grass and leaves. Groups of children shrieked and laughed as they went about their games, and the fountain splashed and danced. Lucy was unsurprised to feel the numbness take hold of her once more. What could she do, say, or think that would change the situation? Rather than face the hopelessness that came with her own inabilities, Lucy Heartfilia retreated, hiding in the far recesses of her mind. With each passing moment, it grew more and more difficult for her to care about the world around her, and she would have been lost in her apathy had something not woken her from her stupor at the last moment.

"Ooya-san?" she exclaimed in disbelief. Without warning, the imposing woman grasped hold of Lucy's arm and began to drag her out of the park. Terrified, Lucy began to scream, thinking that her landlady was dragging her away to be arrested for not being able to pay rent. When they appeared on Strawberry Street in front of the building housing Lucy's apartment, Lucy's fear grew. Was Ooya-san going to lock her in the basement? Torture? Was that what Lucy's future would amount to?

Thus, it was with a large anticlimax that Lucy suddenly found herself tossed into her apartment. Sitting up, she blinked and looked back at her landlady.

"I cleaned it every week. Most of your clothes have gone bad, though, and I took an outfit, too."

"Wha-"

"Look on the table," Ooya-san interrupted, "they were sent on the same day every year. Another came this morning." And without further ado, she retreated from the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Staggering to her feet, Lucy mutely made her way to her coffee table, which was littered with packages, six, to be exact. On the couch was the seventh, smaller than the rest, yet somehow it managed to consume her entire vision. Lucy reached out a trembling hand and read the small tag. "To my beloved daughter: Happy Birthday, Love, Dad".

It wasn't an overbearing sentence. Just eight little words. Yet, with that short octet, Lucy finally felt the numbness that had wrapped itself around her mind begin to crumble. Her eyes burned, and no matter what she did, she couldn't stop the trembling in her jaw, even after clenching her teeth so tightly she feared they might crack. Turning her gaze slightly, she pulled out the small envelope from beneath the package and slid out the piece of paper within. As she read the words her father had penned, Lucy finally felt her first honest emotion since she had discovered his passing. The tears rolled down her cheeks, and the grief she had thought she could keep at bay consumed her form.

To my beloved daughter,

Happy Birthday! It's been a long time since I heard you vanished along with your friends. I was incredibly worried, but I kept on believing. You resembled Layla so much, you really were a blessed child, so I kept on believing that you would be okay, and that we would be able to meet again.

I'm getting ready to finalize some business in the west. It keeps me busy, but I still think of those days when I was happiest. I think of when I was with you and Layla every day. You are our pride. All I want is that you stay strong and follow whatever path you believe in. I hope I can see you again soon.

Lucy, I've always loved you,

Dad

The note was short, and those who study such things might say it couldn't even considered a true letter, but to Lucy, it became, in that instant, the single most important document she had ever held in her hands. And here she was, staining it with the tears that refused to stop. Setting the paper on her couch, Lucy collapsed inward on herself and let loose a wail, a meager attempt at manifesting the grief that now rolled over her in waves. Lucy was finally feeling the regret that walks hand in hand with Death, and she had finally come to the realization of everything her father's passing truly meant.

To never see him again. To live her life trying to comfort herself with thoughts such as 'he'll always watch over me' and 'at least he's with Mama now', when her heart continues to scream that the thoughts aren't enough. They aren't the same as being able to physically grasp that which you long to see. She finally knew that she had her father's pride and love, but she would never hear him say the words. Perhaps this is where the strangeness of Death finds its exemplification. People will readily admit that Death makes them sad, afraid, and, in some peculiar circumstances, happy. However, no one will admit to the one truth we all share: Death makes us greedy.

Lucy felt the desire for more than what the note could give her. She felt the desire to embrace her father, to kiss his cheek, and to tell him what she hadn't told him in so long.

"I've always loved you, too"

The first emotion that hit Natsu was the sheer wrongness of the situation. While he almost felt need to congratulate the woman before him on her courage to go through Lucy's rather extensive closet, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by how odd it felt to see Lucy's clothing on someone else. Just as he was about to open his mouth and say something he probably shouldn't, the woman interrupted his thought.

"Take it easy on her for a bit," Natsu blinked a little at her acceptance of his rather obvious reasons for being here. His interactions with Lucy's landlady had always been minimal, at best, and from what she had told him, Lucy never really spoke with her except to pay rent. Yet, the way she said that... Natsu didn't have enough formal education to be able to accurately describe what struck him as odd about the Landlady's short command, but it would likely be the word choice she used. She didn't order them to leave as someone who didn't know Lucy would. She simply told them to take it easy.

"But," Natsu began, torn between asking how she could know Lucy that well, and what had happened since Lucy had left them that would give them cause to take it easy on her.

"We brought work!" Happy interrupted, showing the woman the flyer from the hall.

"The letter came this morning with seven years worth of rent," the woman explained, before looking out over the canal. Her next words were so quiet that even Natsu almost missed them, "Geez, I guess that's what you call foolish parents."

Natsu and Happy were on opposite planes of thinking. Happy, though he cared about Lucy, was most definitely thinking with his stomach. To his way of thinking, so long as Lucy was near them, there was no way she could be in any real trouble and so, it was more worthy to worry about more pressing concerns, such as the rumblings his stomach was giving off.

Natsu, on the other hand, knew what it was to lose a father, and he also knew Lucy. The dragonslayer may not be what one would call formally educated, but there was one thing he always knew in his heart, if not his mind, that prevented him from being overly worried about his lack of learning, and that was the difference between knowledge and Knowledge.

"Come on, Happy, we need to do something! Let's go work!"

"Aye, sir!" the feline shouted. Turning, Natsu ran down the small alley that Lucy's window overlooked.

"Lucy!" he called, knowing she could hear him, "We're off to work!"

Up above, Lucy's sobs were interrupted by Natsu's voice, causing the aggravation to stir within her, though, if she were to be honest with herself, she was always felt happiness more than anything else. The irritation was more a force of habit than true emotion.

Her annoyance quickly as she felt the sadness within her begin to abate. Hearing Natsu and Happy reminded her that, while it was alright to be sad, life continued to move on with or without her, but as long as she had her friends, she wouldn't have to carry the burden alone. She would miss her father, but with friends like she had, she could fulfill the wish he had left her and continue to be strong on the path she had chosen.

Hey there, readers. I know it's been a while, and I apologize. I would say writer's block (though it did play a small role), but the truth is I just started a couple new animes and a new RPG (Aion, check it out if you've never played it ^,^ It takes a bit of time to download, but it's free of spyware and whatnot, and it's really fun. My character name is MixBerkaan, just like on here).

Here's the fixed version, and let's give a great big thanks to my Beta, Catwho! She's also written a few FT fics (among others), and I happen to think they are quite good. Go ahead and check out her writing, sometime! I'm finishing up the new chapters to both this story, and my other, "Home is Where the Heart is", and I'm hoping to have them both uploaded by Sunday in honor both of the new episode (how I've been waiting to see the Dragon King Festival animated!) as well as the new chapter in the manga that came out this week. I don't know about you, but I am really enjoying this new Demon arc. Not only are we getting to see more of our favorite characters, but Hiro Mashima is also bringing more of the secondary characters forward and highlighting their strengths (a factor I am enjoying immensely).

Until Sunday, readers!

Mix