Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters – thank Mr Mashima for that

Chapter 8 – Epilogue

Charle, Wendy and Erza burst through an opening in the rubble that partially blocked the entrance to the room where Charle saw Natsu and Lucy in her premonition. Wendy started moving towards the battered Lucy, when she stopped suddenly, her mouth hanging wide open. Behind her, Erza and Charle had the same expressions. Natsu and Lucy were embracing softly, sharing a tender kiss. A few moments later, Happy, Lily, Gray and Gajeel came running in, just in time to see Natsu and Lucy break apart and smile at each other, blissfully unaware of the stares they were receiving.

"They lllllllllike each other…" Happy said, characteristically spoiling the moment.

"Uhm, Natsu-san, Lucy-san?" Wendy asked tentatively.

They looked towards the stunned group of their comrades.

"What are you all staring at?" Natsu asked, then turned to the sky dragon slayer, "Wendy, come quick! Lucy needs your help."

Lucy was indeed getting very pale again, the elation from the rescue and Natsu's kiss was wearing off, leaving her close to the edge of consciousness.

"Of course!" She yelped, running forward with Charle by her side feeling unnecessarily guilty that she did not attend to Lucy right away.

"Get off Lucy, Natsu!" Erza commanded, unceremoniously kicking Natsu off to the side, "This is not the time to be all lovey-dovey, Wendy needs space to do her job effectively."

"Ha! Serves you right Ash Face!" Gray laughed.

"Ghee hee," Gajeel smirked.

"Was it necessary to kick me that hard?" Natsu asked very softly, while Gray kept sniggering.

Erza turned toward Natsu with a steely look in her eye, "Did you say something?"

All the guys cowered at the aura she was giving off.

"N-No!" Natsu squeaked, a totally different man than the one who saved Lucy.

Everyone smiled as they heard a sound sweet as bell and soft as a whisper. Lucy was giggling, clutching her ribs as she did. It was painful, yes, but the joy at having her friends back was overwhelming. She already looked much, much better, thanks to Wendy's skill. It took a while longer for the girl to finish healing as much of Lucy as she could handle in one day. When she was done, Lucy could sit up on her own. Gajeel walked forward and handed over Lucy's keys and whip.

"Found that on the way here," he said and shrugged off her fervent ' Thank you's '.

At once Virgo and Loke appeared and started apologising for not being able to rescue her. She ordered them to not feel guilty, there was no way they could break the magic barrier on their own. It had only dissipated when Natsu caused the huge explosion that shredded an entire section of the compound and the hill. She looked at all the faces staring down at her.

"Thank you. All of you," she said with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, "you saved me once again. I am so glad I am part of this family! Let's go home, let's go back to Fairy Tail!"

On cue, Natsu walked forward and lifted her into his arms.

OOO

Needless to say, they were almost run over with concerned mages as they got back to the guild.

"Stay back you fools, you'll hurt Lucy!" Erza shouted, causing them all to stop in their tracks.

"As if they could," Natsu said loudly, "I'll take out anyone who gets too close to my Lucy! You got that you perverts? Lucy is mine, now."

At first they looked shocked, then sly.

"It's about time!" someone said.

"Go on then, give her a kiss, Natsu!" another person joked.

Lucy, still in his arms was blushing severely. Natsu smirked, then drew himself up proudly and lowered his lips onto Lucy's, giving her a fiery kiss. Literally. His whole body had flamed up without affecting the girl in his arms. When the guild saw this, they broke into applause. Mira was standing behind the counter with a huge grin on her face, always the hopeless romantic.

A few other strange things happened at the same time. Gajeel and Levy, who had been walking close to each other since Marigold Town were avoiding each other's gazes, both blushing. Juvia, who was watching the scene, replacing Lucy and Natsu with herself and Gray in her mind, was shocked out of her daydream by a hand taking hold of her own. Gray was smiling at her and she could barely contain her glee. Happy was offering Charle a fish, and for the first time ever, she accepted.

Before their display of affection infected the rest of the guild, Natsu and Lucy broke apart. Lucy was hiding her embarrassed smile in Natsu's neck, but Natsu stood very tall.

"We have to celebrate Lucy's homecoming. Let's party!" Master Makarov shouted.

"Who wants to fight me? I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted, putting Lucy down at a table and diving into the crowd.

A full scale Fairy Tail party was launched within seconds. Everyone drank, sang, danced, fought and laughed. In Lucy's opinion, it was the best party they ever held. Natsu would run to her in between fights to pop a kiss on her cheek, before storming away to beat up anyone who laughed at it. After a few hours, as the party started to slow down, he came to her again.

"Let's go home, Lucy," he said, picking up the sleeping Happy from Lucy's lap.

"I don't want to be alone, Natsu," Lucy said, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"No," he said, causing her smile to falter.

He put his free hand on her heart, smiling at her.

"I'll stay with you forever, Lucy."