I open my eyes and jump when I hear something seem to fall outside my room.

"What? What was that? What time is it anyway?"

I sit up and look around for a few moments, hoping to see if I can find my phone somewhere but all I can see is darkness.

"How did I even get here?"

The last thing I remember was watching television with Natsu in his den and now I'm in his room. Not only that, I'm in his bed, under his covers with his scarf wrapped around my neck. Did he do that?

Knowing him, he probably did.

I shake my head and gasp when I remember why I woke up. "Natsu!"

I have to see if he's alright. I hope he didn't hurt himself.

I quietly make my way to the door, trying not to wake Plue who is snoring in the bed next to me and open it. I look back at him and smile, relieved that he's sleeping peacefully considering what happened to us. I close the door behind me once I make my way out and tiptoe down the few steps the Dragneels have in their house that lead to the den.

"Hey, Natsu?," I hear someone whisper down to me from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah?" I reply drowsily as I open my eyes to see who I'm talking to.

I yawn as her figure comes into focus, "Oh, what's up Luce?"

"Are you okay?" she asks, concerned.

I nod, a little confused, "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I heard a pretty big 'thud' from out here. It was so loud that it actually woke me up," she giggles. "That, and you're on the floor," she says in a more serious tone.

I look down at what I previously assumed was the couch and realize, "oh, you're right," as I laugh and pick myself up off the floor.

"I must have rolled off the couch in my sleep," I explain, still a little sleepy.

"And you didn't wake up from that drop? Man, you are one heavy sleeper," she observes.

"Yeah, my parents say that if a bomb were to go off nearby, I wouldn't even hear it since I sleep so heavily," I joke.

Lucy smiles slightly as she sits next to me on the couch. She leans her head on my shoulder and sighs.

"'s something botherin' you, Luce?" I ask. I feel her nod but she doesn't say anything right away.

"I'm scared," she admits after a long silence.

"Why, because of what happened with your father?"

"Yeah... what if it happens again? What am I gonna do, Natsu?" she asks as she looks me in the eyes.

He folds his arms across his chest and scrunches up his face as he thinks. He's thinking so hard I can almost smell the wood burning in his brain.

"If you want, me and my dad could go teach him a lesson," Natsu suggests with a fire burning in his eyes.

"Yeah, but I don't want either you or your father to go to jail, and he still is my father. Even though it doesn't feel like it most of the time. Anyway," I shake my head. "Got any other ideas?"

"Hmmmm, well you could always move out," he suggests after a few minutes.

"Where would I go?"

"Right here!" He offers with a wide grin.

"I couldn't do that to your family. I don't want to be a burden," I reason.

"What about Levy? She lives alone. You could room with her," he suggests.

"She lives alone? What about her parents?"

"They passed when she was younger. She wasn't doing well for a while but she slowly recovered and now she has her own little apartment nearby."

"Huh, I feel bad about her parents but maybe I'll talk to her about it the next time I don't feel comfortable at my own house. That sounds like a great idea."

I yawn since my mind is at ease once again and my consciousness starts fading.

"Come on, Luce. Let's get you back to bed," I hear Natsu say. I shake my head no but feel myself being lifted off the ground as I fade out once more.

*.*.*.*.*.*

I feel a calming breeze blow through my hair and clothes. I open my eyes and see nothing but blue sky in front of me with little puffy clouds and cherry blossom petals floating by. I sit up and look around at the fields of gold surrounding me, wondering where I am and whether or not the war and events that I recently experienced were all just a dream.

I look at the back of my right hand and smile, relieved and happy that I still have my guild mark there.

It must have been a dream, then... or a nightmare. That's the only explanation. I stand up and look around the area, wandering around for a few moments but all I see are golden plains for miles. That is until I hear a familiar voice call my name.

"Oi! Lucy!" the voice shouts. I turn around and see a bunch of shadowy figures that all look very familiar to me.

"Come on! Get over here!" the voice commands me.

I stand still with my eyes wide and mouth slightly open, surprised that they're over there. My friends: they're all alive.

"We're all here waiting for you!" another voice tells me. Oh, Happy.

I feel tears of joy start to form in my eyes but I don't want to move. What if it's all just an illusion and they're not there?

Natsu makes his way through the fields and holds out his left hand to me as he says, "come on Lucy! What are you standin' around here for? We still have tons of adventures to go on!"

I blink some of the tears away and smile, "yeah, okay! Let's go!"

I place my hand in his and he doesn't fade away. This is real. I am so happy that this is all real.

He curls his fingers around my hand and we dash off together through the fields, into the afternoon sun, towards the rest of our friends as my face flushes slightly and happy tears fall from my eyes.

*.*.*.*.*.*

It's been a few hours since I once again moved Lucy back to my bed. However, this time she wouldn't let me go. She gripped onto the bottom of my shirt like her life depended on it and I felt bad about leaving her alone the first time, so I didn't want to do that again.

Long story short, I ended up staying in my room with her and falling asleep, holding her close.

But now, it's time to get up since both Happy and Plue are awake and the sun is shining very brightly through my bedroom window.

"Natsu..." I hear my name mumbled as Lucy nuzzles my chest and squeezes my body in her sleep. I squeeze her softly in return and when I look down at her, I notice the tear stains on her face and my t-shirt.

I wipe the tears from her cheeks with my thumb and shake her gently.

"Lucy," I whisper shaking her a little harder.

"Luce, it's time to wake up," I tell her as quietly as I can.

Her eyelids flutter open after a few seconds and she yawns, "g'morning," while rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, you okay Lucy?" I ask her as she sits up.

She nods, "yeah, why?"

"Well, 'cause you were cryin' in your sleep again," I explain.

"Oh, I was?" she asks, not sounding so surprised.

I nod, "do you know why?"

"Yeah, I do," she smiles.

"Can you share it with me or is it something you wanna keep to yourself?"

"No, I'll share it with you," she smiles again.

She thinks for a little while and then says, "I now know what it feels like to lose someone you love, thinking you've lost them forever, only to find them again and realize you never really lost them in the first place."

"... eh?!" Natsu asks very confusedly.

I then explain my dream to him, adding in that it felt like he and all of my other friends were just gone and I was the only one left in the world until I heard his voice seemingly from out of nowhere. I explain to him that I was actually crying tears of joy and happiness rather than sadness.

"Oh, well then that's good," he smiles.

I lean my face into his chest and his shirt muffles, "I don't want to lose you, Natsu. You're one of my best friends and my boyfriend and I love you."

"I love you too, Luce," he says as he rests his head on top of mine, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"And don't worry," he adds, removing his chin from the top of my head and using his free hand to lift my chin up. He leans in close, whispering "I'm not going anywhere. I promise," right before he places a gentle kiss on my lips.

I smile into the kiss, as my arms snake their way around his neck and my hands tangle themselves in his spiky pink hair.

***.***.***.***

The kiss breaks after some time and he and I work out a way to explain why I'm here to his parents.

"Why don't I just tell them the truth? They'd understand. Plus, they can see what happened to Plue," he explains.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Natsu. Let's go and get this over with."

I walk over to the bed on the opposite side of the room and give Plue a few love pats on his head. I let him lick my face and hand happily for a few minutes until Natsu says we should head down to the kitchen.

'I am SO not ready for this' I think as we make our way down the stairs.

When Natsu and I talked, he suggested that he go talk to them first which I completely agree with since they're his parents.

"Morning everyone!" I say to my family as I walk into the kitchen and grab the orange juice carton, then take a huge gulp.

"Good morning, Natsu! How'd you guys sleep?" my dad asks me, causing me to choke, nearly spit take and cough up some OJ.

"Uhhhh... 'you guys'?" I ask nervously.

"Yeah, you and your little party of four that ended up in your room last night," he chuckles.

"Uhhh, p-party?" I stutter, "what party? It was just me and Happy last night," I laugh nervously.

Dad laughs loudly, almost like Santa then shouts, "Hey Lucy! Come on down and get some breakfast, we won't bite!"

I feel the blood drain from my face as my dad leans in close to my ear, whispering "you left your door open last night."

"I-I did?" I manage to let out, "heheh... oops. Uhhhh, am I in trouble?"

I scratch the back of my neck and give my dad a sheepish smile. He laughs at me and shakes his head, "no, I'm just teasing you, son."

I breathe a sigh of relief as Lucy enters the kitchen and pulls up a chair. Then, all five of us sit down and enjoy breakfast.

"Oh, Natsu!" I shout, remembering something I wanted to tell him.

He raises an eyebrow as he stuffs his face with pancakes and bacon.

I roll my eyes at him, then say "I wanted to ask you if I could keep Plue here for a while, at least until his leg heals. I just don't feel like it's safe for him at my house anymore... not after what my father and Virgo put him through."

"Uhhh..." I add, "th-that is if you guys are okay with it," I say alternating my gaze between Igneel and Grandeeney.

I shut my eyes, cross my fingers under the table and pray they say "of course, my dear! I don't see why not." I open my eyes immediately after those exact words leave Igneel's mouth and sigh a thank you.

Then, I get up and hug them both gratefully before finishing my breakfast.

"And please don't worry about him. It'll only be a little while anyway since I plan on finding my own place to live thanks to Natsu's suggestion," I justify without really needing to.

Grandeeney chuckles softly, "don't worry, Lucy. We will take good care of him. You're family to us, so we'll help you take care of yours. Take all the time you need, dear."

I smile to myself knowing there is a loving family that I can turn to whenever I need to.