Chapter 38

Lucy ran her fingers over the smooth contours of the dragon mask. Could she really give it to Natsu? To go home… and to see him again…

She groaned and held the mask to her face, pressing her forehead against it. How could she face him? She was so stupid. Why did she always have to freak out and cause problems? He ought to be furious with her. She just left, after all. Without warning… without explanation… she just… left.

"I'm so stupid," she moaned. She smacked the mask against her forehead. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

But it didn't change the way she felt. If the guilt of making her friends worry was enough to make her forget the pain she had caused… then she'd be back at Fairy Tail right now. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't feel better.

"I'm sorry, everyone," she murmured, lowering the mask to her lap.

"Lucy?"

She lifted her head at the sound of the voice. A man with dark green, spiky hair stood in the center of the street before her. He was dressed in a simple brown leather jacket and a pair of close fitting tan pants. His bright hazel eyes were wide as he stared at her.

Lucy slowly stood, "G-Garric?"

In two strides, he closed the space between them and swept her up in his arms for a tight hug.

He closed his eyes as he held her close, burying his fingers in her soft hair. "I thought I'd never see you again…" he whispered breathlessly.

And just like that… Lucy ran into her old home.

"Where's Lucy?"

"How should I know?"

Loke pressed his fingers to his temples, "Isn't it your job to keep an eye on her?"

Natsu yawned and rubbed his knuckles against his eyes, "I was with her up 'til the fireworks. I had to go find Happy. I thought I'd meet her here at the hotel."

Loke walked to the edge of the roof and peered over the edge, "Damn it… I can't find that woman anywhere."

"She should be on her way back here, right?" Happy asked. "Maybe she's just walking slow? It is Lucy we're talking about…"

"Wait," Natsu sat up, resting his arms on his knees, "Are you telling me that Lucy's been gone this whole time?" He jumped to his feet. "Where the hell is she?"

"That's what I was asking you!" Loke whirled to him. "It's the middle of the night and she hasn't come back! Why did you leave her alone?"

"The festival was over!" Natsu threw his arms out wide. "I thought she'd come straight back!"

"How have you ever managed to complete a job, ever?" Loke moved close to the dragon slayer. "You're only responsibility is to watch over her! And you can't even do that!"

"I usually have Lucy around to keep me on track!" Natsu turned away from him, clutching his hair with his fingers. "Shit! Why does she keep leaving me?!"

Loke sighed, "Natsu… calm down."

"I'm going to look for her," Natsu pulled his jacket on and didn't hesitate before jumping down from the roof.

Loke looked to Happy.

The cat shrugged, "I think the lack of sleep is making him grouchy."

Loke nodded, "Yeah. Really grouchy."

"I can't believe it's you," Garric leaned on his elbows on the table. His eyes scrutinized Lucy's face. "You look exactly the same as when I last saw you nine years ago…"

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah well… I went on hiatus for about seven years…"

He reached over and covered her hand with his, "It's so good to see you again. I… I've thought about you so much all these years."

Heat rushed to her cheeks and she looked away. "O-oh…"

"How have you been? Where did you go after you left the guild?"

Lucy fidgeted on the chair, "Uhm well, I kind of joined a mage's guild."

He blinked in surprise, "You did? But… to work for a mage's guild, don't you have to take on violent, dangerous jobs?"

She shrugged and casually slipped her hand out from under his, "Occasionally. But there are other jobs that don't include a lot of danger."

He nodded, "So you just take those all of the time." He said it as if it was a god given fact.

"Uhm," she scratched her head, "Actually…"

"Lucy?"

The sound of the other voice drew both of their attention.

A woman in a pink yukata ran across the pub, waving her arms excitedly. "EEEEEeeeeeeee!"

Lucy didn't have time to prepare before she was being bowled over.

"Calica!" Lucy hugged the woman back.

"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!" she squealed, wiggling all over. "I've missed you so much!"

Lucy laughed, "I've missed you too!"

"Is that Lucy? No way…"

Two men and three women joined them. They all crowded around Lucy and the woman on the ground.

"She looks the same!" one of the women exclaimed.

"No way! I can't believe it's actually her!"

"Lucy! How've you been?"

Outside, Natsu heard Lucy's name being called. He turned to the pub across the street and quickly ran to the door. As he entered, his eyes fell on the group of people across the room. He easily ignored everyone but the blonde on the ground. He took three long steps into the bar with the intent of grabbing Lucy and dragging her somewhere he could scold her for being out so late… but a man with dark green hair beat him to the punch.

Natsu paused as the stranger helped Lucy to her feet and gently brushed off her shoulders. The way he smiled down at her made Natsu's stomach twist and turn.

"I'm so glad you've come back to us!" a small woman with orange hair hugged Lucy around the waist.

Come back to us? Natsu quickly melded into the shadowy corner of the pub. What does she mean by that? How did these people know Lucy? His Lucy?

"It's really nice to see you all again," Lucy said, hugging the woman back.

Again? How did Lucy know these people?

"Does this mean you're returning to the Clarity Knight guild?" one of the men asked.

Natsu's jaw dropped. Lucy belonged to another guild before she came to Fairy Tail?! He hesitated. He had never heard of Clarity Knight before though. Were they even a mage's guild?

"I'm actually just visiting," Lucy said.

"Awhhh," the group collectively groaned in disappointment.

She chuckled, "Sorry! I was actually planning on leaving tomorrow…"

Natsu perked. Lucy was coming home!

"You have to stay!" the man with green hair demanded. "We just barely met up again! At least stay another week so we can catch up!"

"Yeah!" everyone else agreed.

No! Natsu desperately wanted to jump in on the conversation, but restrained himself.

"Well…" Lucy tugged on the sleeve of her fiery yukata. "I guess it wouldn't hurt if I stayed a few more days…"

The group cheered and Natsu slumped against the wall of the pub. He was never going to get any sleep…

"She met up with people from her past?" Happy and Loke exclaimed.

"Yeah," Natsu grumbled. "Supposedly she used to be a part of a guild before she came to Fairy Tail. They called it Dairy Night or something like that."

"I assume you're talking about Clarity Knight," Loke said.

"Have you heard of them, Loke?" Happy asked, climbing into Natsu's lap.

"Yeah," Loke leaned back on the palms of his hands on the roof. "They're a merchant's guild. Back when I was banned from the celestial spirit world, they were pretty small, but I guess they've really gained fame in the past few years in this part of Fiore."

"So Lucy used to work for a merchant's guild?" Happy frowned.

"It would seem so."

Natsu scowled, "She was gonna go back to Fairy Tail tomorrow before she ran into those jackasses! Now she might not leave for another week!" He clenched his hands into fists. "I should give that green haired bastard a piece of my mind!"

"Calm down, Natsu," Loke said. "The job still stands. Hang out in the shadows and watch her. She'll come home eventually."

Natsu grumbled and looked away. "She better."

Lucy spent the next few days at the same pub, catching up with the people of her past. Natsu watched and listened from a table in the corner of the room, face shrouded in the hood of a cloak Loke demanded he wear to keep his identity secret.

As the days stretched on, Natsu grew weaker and weaker. Only catching one or two hours of sleep each night was taking a toll on the dragon slayer's mind and body. He became grouchier and grouchier, even banning Happy from coming with him to the pub. Not that the cat minded. Since the festival was still going on, he resigned himself to fish watching every day.

On the fourth night, Lucy's former guild mates dropped a bomb Natsu had no desire to catch.

"So Lucy," the girl with the curly orange hair leaned close to the blonde, green eyes wide. "Are you still in love with Garric?"

The goblet in Natsu's hand promptly burst into flames. He smothered it quickly, patting it out with his other hand.

"Wh-what?" Lucy stammered. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on," a man in a knit hat said with a grin. "You were totally head over heels for the guy back in the day."

"Yeah!" another girl said. "I remember you used to follow him around everywhere and blush like crazy when he talked to you and then there was that one time that you asked him out on a date but he didn't realize it was a date and took you with him to do business in Hargeon."

Lucy groaned and slumped over the table as everyone laughed.

"Yeah…" she muttered. "I remember that… I was so embarrassed. I wore my best dress and everything."

"What did you ever see in him anyway?" the redhead asked. "I mean… sure, he's really cute. But he's so dense!"

"I guess I just have a thing for dense guys," she said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "I don't know… he was so professional, and he could make a deal with anybody. I guess he kind of reminded me of my dad."

"I thought you hated your dad."

"I didn't hate him…" she played with her hair absently. "Sure, I was furious with him around the time I left. But… I still loved him. And I loved a lot of things about him. Like his drive and determination. But he was just obsessed with money. That was his biggest downfall. His need to make more money overshadowed his need to love others." She stared down at the table. "But, he got better. I feel like… like we really understood each other in the end."

"So…" the redhead looked at her companions and then back to Lucy, "Do you still like Garric?"

Lucy's cheeks flushed red.

"You do!" she exclaimed. "You totally do! That's the look you'd always get when he'd talk to you!"

"No it's not!" she hid her face in her hands. "Shut up Calica!"

"Awww," one of the men said. "I bet he'll be thrilled to hear this."

"Hear what?" Lucy looked to him, "No seriously, I don't have feelings for him anymore! I admit that I did… back then… but… now…"

"Oh come on, Lucy," Calica rolled her eyes. "What's not to like? He's just as sweet and driven as he was back then. And he also got cuter with age. You gotta admit it."

"But—"

"Don't tell me you already have a boyfriend?"

Lucy's face turned a deep red.

Yes! Natsu wanted to scream across the pub. Yeah she fuckin does! Now back off! He gulped down the remaining liquid that wasn't burned away in his goblet and then looked away. Not that she actually does… he added. But… still.

"Well…" Lucy gripped her hands together, "There is someone…"

What? Natsu fought the urge to leap to his feet and throw a table to the rafters. Which asshole is it?!

"Oh my God, really?" Calica's mouth dropped open.

Lucy shook her head, "It's nothing. It's not… romantic. It probably never will be."

"Then what's to stop you from dating Garric?" knit cap asked. "Trust us, he's not quite as dense as he used to be. And if you asked him on a date now, he'd drop any business he's in to take you out."

"I don't think…"

"What's goin' on over here?" the green haired man joined the table with a drink in his hand. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he pulled out the chair next to Lucy's and sat down. "I had some business to finish up with one of our sister guilds."

"Oh Garric," Calica grinned. "We were just talking about you!"

"You were?" he took a drink with an eyebrow cocked. "Good things I hope?"

"Remember back in the day when Lucy was in love with you and you never realized it?"

Garric choked on his drink and started coughing.

"Yeah," knit cap smirked. "He remembers."

Natsu stared at Lucy's face. Her cheeks were bright red, her eyes cast down. She cleared her throat and rubbed her bicep. Garric got ahold of his lungs and glanced over at her. Their eyes met momentarily and then they looked away. Garric scratched the back of his head. His mouth stretched into a small smile.

Lucy's did too.

Natsu's goblet burst into flames again and he hid it under the table.

Author's Note: Well well well. What do we have here? Methinks a little drama on the horizon?

I went to the Bridal Expo in my town yesterday. And since I'm already married, I got to lie to dozens of people so I could enter to win a big prize for brides-to-be. Haha diabolical, am I right? My Mom was a little bit horrified on how easily I made stuff up when talking to all of the vendors. Apparently I've just gotten engaged, am planning for a winter wedding, want my colors to be mint green and burgundy, want to wear an ivory ball gown with a sweetheart neckline, and will only get married in a barn type setting. After I faked out a lady asking about where I plan to honeymoon, my mom's friend seriously looked at me and was like, "Wow. You're so great..."

Feel proud of my lying skills. After all, liars make the best writers! The art of making things up on the spot is a valuable skill to have. Any of you have good "I lied and got away with it" stories to share? :)

Tracks to fawn over:

"Hate Me" by Blue October

"Bulletproof Weeks" by Matt Nathanson

"Exposed" by Kelly Sweet

"Talking in Code" by Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

"Bother" by Stone Sour

And that's enough for today. Even though I have MILLIONS more. Meh heh heh heh heh

As always, I love you all. You are the light of my life. Review and message me and whatever. I never get tired from hearing from you. THANK YOU!

Love-Moo