In the weeks that followed as they sailed back towards Fiore with Wendy and Chelia ushering wind into the sails, Lucy reacquainted herself with life involving not only just people in general, but people she didn't have to be nervous of. She hadn't realized just how nervous she'd gotten about being caught off guard while aboard the ship with Grimoire Heart until she'd jumped a foot in the air upon being scared by a loud call of her name from nearby. Natsu hadn't been pleased, but she'd calmed him with a simple huff.
It wasn't hard, taking only days for her to remember that she didn't have to be so wary around people like this. Natsu should have helped, but he spent most of his time hanging over the edge of the ship, retching. Wendy and Chelia helped him when they could, but were wary of performing the same spell on him too many times.
In that time, she also made sure to form a contract with Gemini, who'd wanted it and had sincerely apologized for its part in her capture. Lucy had been amused with its horror towards itself and had ensured to reassure the spirit that she wasn't bothered. It hadn't been Gemini's fault, after all. It had merely been doing what the other spirits had done without being entirely aware of the plans of others.
She was very relieved to know that Natsu had its support, and that it was alright with them becoming the Keeper and Guardian of Celestial Spirits.
By the time they finally sailed into the port city of Hargeon, Lucy was done with the boat and nearly bounced on the balls of her feet in impatience to get off while the men and women around her secured the ship beside a dock. Everyone was pleased to be home – although more than one was agitated to find that their memories had been fuddled. Even Gray's had been smudged, the location of Tenrou Island erased.
Lucy's hadn't been messed with, but she kept quiet when she heard Gray complaining.
Natsu, of course, was the first one off the ship. He nearly threw himself over the side, not caring about the rather lengthy drop. He landed lightly on his feet like a cat and looked immediately better, her own stomach relaxing its churning sensation. He turned to watch impatiently as Lucy and the other members of his guild followed in a safer, more common way.
Lucy tightened her grip on Happy as they gathered on the dock, Gray nudging her out of the way with a friendly hand on her arm. He was eyeing the sky critically, debating. "The stags are still at the Hargeon stable…we could maybe make it back before nightfall."
Juvia shook her head in disagreement. "Juvia thinks we should set out tomorrow morning." She yawned pointedly. "Juvia's too tired to deal with people swarming us upon our return to the guildhall."
"I could go ahead and warn Makarov," suggested Wendy, shifting Charle in her arms with a smile.
"No, you're not going alone." Gray's firm denial made Wendy scowl. "I don't care if you're technically older than me and a dragon. Natsu is older than both of us and look what happened. We need to be more careful in the future." He glanced at Lucy and Natsu. "What do you guys want to do?"
Lucy blinked, not expecting the decision to be dropped onto their shoulders. She glanced at Natsu, but he was simply staring at her, narrowing his eyes when she huffed. It was up to her, then. Natsu didn't want to make the decision. "How many stags?"
"Three," said Juvia immediately. "One for me, one for Gray, one for Natsu. Wendy rode with me. You'll have to ride with one of us."
"Which stags?" Lucy began to ask, but Natsu snickered and said, "Salutem's here. Means we can go if you want. Wendy's as light as a feather. You…not so much."
She glowered at him, although she couldn't bring herself to be truly annoyed. Gray was giving Natsu a weird look that Natsu didn't look as if he enjoyed, so she declared, "Let's go tonight. We can all go home and report to the guildhall in the morning, since I'm assuming Makarov will want to meet with us."
Juvia inclined her head, liking the decision, and Gray nodded, too. Wendy shrugged, not minding either way. Natsu looked more pleased than he normally would with the decision, stretching his arms above his head. "Let's get going then," he said with a yawn. "We'll make it home by the evening if we hurry."
"Hold on," protested Lucy, "I need to thank Lamia Scale –"
"I'll take your thanks to the guild," offered Chelia from where she was standing, waiting for them to finish so she could say farewell to Wendy. Lucy turned to look at her, and she smiled brightly at Lucy. "And really, it was nothing. We apologize for not being able to come and get you the first time around. We would have sunk in that storm."
"It's fine," reassured Lucy though Natsu scowled his disagreement, clearly thinking the opposite. "I understand. Still, Lamia Scale has my thanks for helping my friends get me home." She smiled broadly and Chelia beamed back, inclining her head in acceptance of Lucy's gratitude. She gave Wendy a quick farewell hug and then went to go let Lyon know they were leaving at Gray's request.
"We'll go get the stags settled while you say bye to Lyon," said Lucy, waving Gray off when he opened his mouth to question if they could wait. He looked a little relieved that he'd not even had to ask. "We'll meet you at the Lamia Scale guildhall?"
"Sounds good." He ruffled Lucy's hair and then turned as Lyon shouted his name, asking him to give him a moment.
"Come on," Juvia said, winding her arm through Lucy's. "Let's go."
Lucy nodded, turning to leave, and then paused to look back when Gray suddenly called for her. She blinked at the grin he gave her. "Just wanted to let you know: it's good to have you back, Lucy."
Lucy swelled with happiness and Natsu scowled at the fact that out of all the people to give that happiness to her, it was Gray.
By the time Gray rejoined them, noon had come and gone. The stags were all tacked up and ready to go, with Salutem's muzzle buried in Lucy's fingers while they waited. Gray arched a brow when Salutem made a happy lowing sound that Lucy rolled her eyes at.
"He missed me," said Lucy blandly, though amusement and delight warred in her eyes. She stroked Salutem's head, and he nuzzled at her shoulder, his lips nibbling at her shirt. "A lot, apparently."
"Are we ready to go?" demanded Natsu, itching to get a move on. He wanted to make sure everything in his home remained untouched. He doubted anyone could have possibly broken in, with all of the defenses he'd thrown around it, but he still wanted to make sure. He'd been gone for a long time, after all. And while he traveled often…he'd been gone for longer than expected, meaning he hadn't checked well enough before leaving.
"Yep," said Gray and then hoisted himself onto one of the stags. Lucy recognized it immediately: Shiria, the stag he'd ridden when they'd gone to Crocus together. Gray gave Natsu a dirty look as Juvia helped Wendy climb into Shiria's saddle. When she'd settled securely in front of the half-demon, Juvia gently helped Charle into the basket on her own stag before climbing on with ease.
Lucy jumped when Natsu braced his hands on her waist without warning, lifting her with ease. She focused as she swung her leg over Salutem's saddle, settling in. After Happy was put in his basket, Natsu climbed up behind her, taking hold of the reins. "Everyone ready?" Juvia asked when she'd seen everyone settled. Echoes of "yes" and nods were her response.
Juvia urged her stag forward and the graceful creature lurched forward in a quick bound, head thrown high. Shiria was a step behind, Wendy laughing and Gray whooping as they went. Salutem gathered his hindquarters beneath him, and Lucy barely had time to grab the sleek hair on his neck before he'd jolted after them in an explosive leap, slamming back into Natsu.
He grunted at the force of it, but only snickered at the vulgar swear that left Lucy's mouth.
Lucy's heart skipped a beat in excitement when the dim lights that came from candle-lit streetlights came into view. She squirmed a little, recognizing Magnolia even in the darkening light. Natsu snorted in her ear and said, "Stop that, Luce, you're throwing Salutem off balance."
"Oops," muttered Lucy, stopping. Still she grinned at the sight of the town she'd grown to love so much. "Just excited."
"I can see that," he muttered back, aware that he found her response amusing for some reason. He encouraged Salutem forward, and Salutem briskly bounced over to walk beside Juvia. Juvia would be easier to deal with than Gray. "If we stop by Lucy's place, would you take Salutem back? Dunno who'll be there this late, and Mira should have closed up, but I don't wanna deal with anyone who might be there."
Juvia looked surprised to have been asked such a thing. "Sure," she said willingly. "Wendy can help untack him when we get to Fairy Tail's stables."
They picked their way through the streets, moving briskly to get to Lucy's apartment before someone who recognized them alerted the rest of the town that a few of Fairy Tail's more well-known members had made an appearance after being away for some time. Lucy kept quiet as Salutem's hooves click-clacked down the cobblestone streets. A small smile appeared when they passed where she'd hit the canal with Jellal upon first arriving.
When they reached the building, Natsu patiently let Lucy slide off before sliding off himself. Natsu let Lucy scoop Happy out of his basket and unloaded a few things that had been packed into the saddlebags, and then watched Wendy spring down from Shiria's saddle to scramble up onto Salutem's. Salutem made an unhappy snort when he realized that Lucy wouldn't be going with them.
"We'll see you at the guildhall tomorrow," said Gray, giving Lucy a playful mock salute. She smiled in turn, amused, and nodded.
"See you tomorrow," agreed Lucy. "And thank you – all of you. For coming to help me get home."
Juvia smiled kindly at her and twisted her stag's reins so that it had turned in the direction it needed to go. "You're a part of our family, Lucy," she said softly. "We'll always come and find you when you go missing. Whether it be here, or in a thousand years. We'll find you regardless of where you've gone and bring you home."
Someone – Gray, more than likely – must have told her about the truth, about where Lucy had originally come from. For some reason, Lucy felt tears prick at the backs of her eyes. Natsu rumbled low in his chest, amused that she was trying not to cry again. After a final goodbye, the trio were on their way, leaving Natsu, Happy, and Lucy standing in the street.
Lucy took a shaken breath, trying to push back the swell of love she had for the guild she'd been initially forced into. Turning to Natsu, she said uncertainly, "I don't know what you were planning on doing for the night, but you're welcome to stay over. My sofa is open."
Natsu shook his head, albeit reluctantly. "I've got some stuff to do. Happy can stay with you though." He eyed the cat who was staring him down from Lucy's arms, as if daring Natsu to try and take him away from her. Natsu had no doubt in his mind that if he tried to lay a finger on Happy in that moment, Happy would rake those nasty claws over his skin.
"Okay." Lucy didn't seem concerned, only hoisted Happy further up. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yeah." Natsu turned away, feeling a little uncomfortable for a reason he couldn't describe. He waved without looking back as he started down the street, his stride brisk. "Night, Luce."
"Good night, Natsu."
Lucy was awoken by a purring in her ear and sunlight shining in her eyes. She squinted, briefly confused as to why the world wasn't rocking beneath her, but quickly remembered where she was. She rocked upright and yawned, scratching Happy behind the ears as she squinted at the clock she'd set up in the corner of her room, its gentle ticking and Happy's purrs the only sound in the room.
Early, but still later than she normally woke up. Lucy scrambled out of bed, intending to get dressed.
It didn't take Lucy long to do so, nor did it take her long to start making some quick breakfast. She was in the middle of dumping eggs onto her plate with Happy weaving impatiently around her ankles as he eyed her bacon when the window suddenly opened. She spun on her heel, nearly tripping over Happy with a grunt of surprise.
Natsu only had eyes for the food she'd been making, barely minding the glower that appeared on her face as he clambered the rest of the way in. "Hey, Luce," he said casually as if he'd not just waltzed in through the window rather than through the front door – or even knocking like a normal person. "What's for breakfast?"
"My breakfast is eggs and bacon," she seethed, glaring for a few moments longer. But she gave in and sighed, shoulders slouching. "But I did put on some extra bacon just in case." It had taken several mornings before they'd set out for the deserts and the north to figure out that if she didn't prepare extra food as a precaution, she was likely to lose her own meal to a hungry demon or an equally hungry feline.
It didn't help that Natsu hadn't had a proper meal in weeks, barely able to keep anything down for longer than a few hours. Lucy wondered if he'd thought to eat anything before coming over. By the way he was eyeing her food…probably not.
"Here," she muttered, splitting the eggs and scooping some off of her plate and onto a second that she quickly grabbed. "But you have to share with Happy, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said, and she doubted he'd actually heard the words. He didn't bother to thank her as he snagged the plate she offered, immediately scurrying over to her sofa and dropping heavily into it, digging in without hesitation. Lucy winced. At least he didn't have to worry about burning his mouth.
She wished she had that luck, she thought wistfully as she simply settled onto the floor near him, glaring at Happy when the blue-furred cat bolted to her and dropped into a pitiful crouch in front of her. "I said Natsu would share," she hissed at him, and he merely blinked at her with a hopeful purr. "Fine." She threw the familiar a piece of bacon.
Happy gulped it down and then wandered over to beg for some more at Natsu's feet. Natsu didn't look as he tossed him a piece, instead commenting, "Someone told the guild that we're back."
Lucy paused, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"
A smirk crossed his features. "I went past the guildhall on my way here and there was a hell of a lot of noise. I bet Wendy got bombarded and spilled the news when she went in for breakfast this morning." He paused, bacon half-way to his mouth. "Or Juvia. Juvia talks really quickly when someone puts the pressure on her."
"How would you know?" muttered Lucy suspiciously. "I thought you did your best to avoid everyone in the guild."
He shrugged. "Doesn't mean I don't watch them," he said pointedly. "Gotta learn who's around me."
Lucy was willing to bet that there was an unsaid "and who can be trusted" that should have gone with that statement, but she said nothing in regards to it. She'd gotten the feeling in recent times that her partner had somehow received some kind of emotional cannonball that had been fired at him and that he was trying to figure out how to deal with it. He'd been overly sensitive and irritable – particularly about the scarf he wore even in his sleep.
Realizing she still didn't know much about it, Lucy lowered her fork, eyes locked on the scaled material. "Natsu?" He grunted. "Can I ask about your scarf?"
He paused, narrowing his eyes warily at her. Finally, he finished chewing his food and swallowed before sitting up straighter, eyeing her. "S'a scarf. Not much to ask, Lucy." She arched a brow pointedly, indicating that it wasn't what she meant, and he knew it. He reluctantly tested out her intentions, sensing the genuine interest and no sign of mockery or disgust or anything negative.
She merely wanted to learn why it was important to him, so she understood.
Natsu sighed through his nose and took a few more bites, scarfing down what was left of his breakfast before dumping the plate carefully on the floor for Happy to investigate. They watched the familiar lap up crumbs with a happy purr, and Natsu waited for Lucy to put what was left of her own on the floor for him before he spoke.
"Igneel gave it to me seven-hundred-and-ninety-five years ago," he said roughly, "on the day that Zeref was executed, to show that I was his ally and friend and that even though I didn't have scales, I was a dragon." Lucy inclined her head, nodding slowly to show she understood how such a thing could be important. His gaze lifted to meet hers, staring her down as he continued. "I wore it to Zeref's execution – so that he'd feel the same level of pain I did when he betrayed me and turned me into a monster just 'cause he didn't like who my mother was." Not that he'd ever found out who his mother was. And he didn't care if he ever found out.
"You're not a monster," Lucy said immediately, her voice fierce. "Stop calling yourself that."
Natsu shrugged in disagreement. "I was one. Before I started talking with Igneel, after Zeref did what he did." He'd never go into detail about what had happened when he'd become END – never. It was the one thing he'd never tell anyone; he'd never told Igneel, and he'd never tell Lucy. "I killed a lot of people – and I liked it, Lucy. I liked inflicting pain at first." His eyes narrowed a fraction. "I was a monster. I try not to be one anymore, but I remember what I did, and I chose to do it."
Lucy fell quiet, digesting the information she'd just been granted. Suddenly, she scowled. "You were not a monster. A monster wouldn't have changed. A monster wouldn't have turned around and done the right thing by helping the side that wanted peace during the Demonic Wars, Natsu. A monster would have continued hurting people – not done everything in his power to help them. You were not a monster, regardless of what you think, and you won't convince me otherwise. The circumstances were merely unlucky, and I doubt you could have stopped yourself. That kind of power suddenly pushed into some person's body…someone who wasn't wanting of it, nonetheless…I bet it influenced you without you realizing it."
Natsu blinked, caught off guard by her fierce tone, and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as Lucy snagged his plate and her own, rose to her feet, and went to dump them in the sink.
"I think your scarf fits you perfectly, Natsu, end of the entire discussion." She swiped her hands and smiled brightly at him over her shoulder. "Now, come on. Let's get moving. We have work to do and we've wasted enough time."
Natsu frowned, not sure what to think of her sudden switch away from the conversation she'd started. But…he didn't mind.
He merely stood, picked up Happy, and went to wait by the front door for his partner as she went to grab her shoes.
A super chill chapter and some more on Natsu's part about a few things! ;)
I'm super excited to announce that I finished Part III and have begun working on Part IV! I'll be interested to see what people think of it all in the future, and I hope you all like it. :D
xHallowedFangirlx, regarding my birthday...you are absolutely spot on. Today's my 21st birthday! :D
Randome013, regarding Lucy's parents and Natsu's age compared to Makarov's...you'll have to wait and see about Lucy meeting Layla and Jude, but with regards to Makarov and Natsu: yes! Natsu is older than Makarov. I don't think I ever specified a time in which Makarov was born, but Natsu was alive for quite a while before X000 (the end of the Demonic Wars) while Makarov was born sometime after them.
Thanks to reviewers (Meow Orbit, itsxoi, nkukurichan, Rachel Maddison, stranger1999, LePengwen, Lovetoreadff, Randome013, Uchida Akira, Bananarock509, FairyTailxFanGirl, Lodemai04, xHallowedFangirlx, AthomeinFairyTail, Eyriegirl, and Lissuin!) as well as those who favorited and followed!