A massive thank you to my two reviewers, Rook2020 and Cyrilalbar06. Your reviews meant a lot to me, so I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the two of you. Thank you for your support!
Also, I don't own Fairy Tail, which is probably a good thing otherwise Lucy would be with Loke, Gray, Natsu, Laxus and Gajeel and the poor girl wouldn't get a break! Also, I am thinking of a Gajeel, Laxus, Lucy one shot, so keep an eye out for that!
A silence descended on the table after Gray's announcement. Lucy looked to Erza, hoping the older woman would give her some kind of hint about how she was supposed to react. Erza sat there with an impenetrable mask on her face, her expression not letting any emotion leak through. Lucy's eyes darted to Natsu, hoping her pyromaniac friend would react, even if it were by the usual screaming match, he would get into with the Ice Wizard. She wrung her hands and ducked her head when she saw he was much like Erza just looking at Gray. However, unlike Erza, his mouth was slack jaw, with Happy mimicking his expression. Normally, Lucy would find this amusing, but not when the situation was so serious. Natsu seemed to get his bearings back, and immediately flames licked his skin, reacting to his temper.
"Whaddya mean you are leaving Fairy Tail? No one leaves Fairy Tail, it's Fairy Tail the best guild in all of Fiore!" Natsu exclaimed, standing up and throwing his hands out to further prove his point.
"It does seem rather sudden Gray, you have never given any indication you wanted to leave before." Erza added, sitting up straight with her eyebrows furrowing.
"It's not that I don't love Fairy Tail, of course I do, it's home and we are family," Gray added calmly, a slightly irritated tone to his otherwise impassive voice.
"Then why are you leaving!" Natsu fumed, flaring daggers at his 'enemy'.
Gray sighed and looked down, his hair covering his eye. His knuckles whitened from squeezing his hands, the actions making his friends soften towards him. "I should've done better during the battle of Fairy Tail. I let everyone down, I need to get stronger." He said simply, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"Well, you can do that here, you dramatic Ice Princess! You don't have to leave," Natsu screamed, with happy nodding furiously beside him.
"It does seem rather rash Gray, which is not like you at all," Erza added, frowning at the situation.
Gray was about to reply when Lucy let out a sigh. All eyes turned to her. Natsu's eyes showed the irritation he felt at the situation, but slightly softened seeing her looking so upset and torn. Erza kept her slightly frowned expression and Gray, well he looked at her with unconcealed desperation. He begged her with his dark eyes to understand, to have the magic words needed to make Erza and Natsu understand, and ultimately let him go. Lucy looked up and her eyes softened, reading the emotions Gray was expressing with the skill of a trained Heiress, after all, how could she make more money for the company or make her husband happy if she couldn't read their expression?
"Guys, Gray doesn't want to leave-"
"Then why is he!" Natsu yelled, slamming a flaming fist of the thankfully fire-retardant table.
"Let me finish, you idiot!" Lucy yelled, pinning him with a glare that made him shrink back. "Gray thinks this is the best move for him to improve, so instead of making it harder for him, we should support him." Lucy said, letting her disapproval infuse into her voice.
"Thank you, Lucy, appreciate it." Gray said, shooting Lucy an appreciative glance.
"I'm planning on only going for 6 months, so I'll be back after that. I want to see how I can improve my magic and fighting techniques and I can't do that here." Gray said, looking everyone in the eye.
"But who will freeze my fish for me?" Happy asked, tears in his eyes.
"Is all you think about is yourself, you stupid cat?" Lucy yelled at the blue feline.
"Lucy is right, it is the best thing for Gray. Also, while we are here, I have an announcement to make," Erza said, sitting up straight.
"Not more bad news!" Natsu wailed, flopping into his folded arms.
"I have been asked to undertake a top-secret mission that will span a year, and I wanted your opinions on the idea. It means the team will be breaking up for that time." Erza said, looking at her team.
Natsu wailed about how unfair it was that he wasn't asked, Gray encouraged her to take it and Lucy… well she just smiled softly and tried to ignore the knot forming in her throat and the burn in her eyes.
"When do you leave?" Lucy asked Erza, smiling at her friend and trying to hide the sadness in her voice.
"Tonight, if I take it," she answered, clearing her throat.
"I guess you better start packing," Gray said, smiling at the S class mage.
"I suppose I should," she replied stoically. "When do you leave Gray?" She asked the Ice mage.
"I'm not sure, haven't decided on the day yet, maybe in a few days," he replied, ignoring Natsu's muttering.
"Well, I suppose this is our last meeting as Team Natsu, for a while at least," Gray said, sadness darkening his eyes.
Lucy looked at them, memorising their features. Of course, the guild was family, it was practically their motto, but the 4-5 including Happy- were the true family. They supported each other and battled for her, protected her even when they had to face unimaginable odds. They were her family, her true family and there was no way, absolutely no way, that she was going to let them leave for a year without a proper goodbye.
Natsu was too busy muttering, but Gray caught the change in Lucy. She looked happy, but her shoulders sagged, practically a neon sign that she was upset. As soon as she noticed it, however, she straightened up, determination lightening her brown eyes.
"We aren't splitting like this. Come to my place in about 2 hours for a team dinner, then we can split for a little while," Lucy said, smiling brightly at her friends.
Natsu looked up with a massive grin, Erza let a smile sneak onto her face and Gray leaned back and crossed his arms, a half-smile creeping onto his face. "Okay Lucy, that sounds good." Gray added.
"Luce, you genius weirdo!" Natsu said, a massive grin on his face.
"Make sure you buy fish!" Happy demanded, and the blonde rolled their eyes but nodded to the blue cat.
"Fantastic, I'll go get some things and I'll see you all soon!" Lucy cheered, standing up once she polished off her strawberry shake.
"See ya soon, Luce!" Natsu yelled to her retreating figure, an enormous grin showing his sharp teeth on his face.
Lucy waved one more time and left her beloved guild, heading straight to the market to get her needed groceries.
Lucy was just wiping her hands on her apron when her first visitor appeared, using the window of course. "Hey Luce!" Natsu greeted, his voice intertwining with Happy's.
"You are early, I'm shocked," the blonde teased, smiling slightly at her male best friend.
"Free food!" Natsu cheered, making Lucy growl and roll her eyes at his predictable reply.
"Whatever, go sit down and don't go through my stuff!" The blonde demanded, making Natsu and Happy sprint to the pointed-out couch.
Lucy smiled happily as she cooked. It was a stress relief for her, no matter what she had control whenever she was in the kitchen. There was nothing that she couldn't control, unlike in the battlefield. Just as her mind went to dark places, a knock on the door woke her up from her reverie. "Natsu, can you grab the door, please?" Lucy hollered, choosing to ignore his grumbling as he did as she asked.
"What happened to you Ice Breath?" He questioned, raising his eyebrow when he saw his friends dishevelled appearance.
"What do you think happened? Juvia happened," he groaned, walking into Lucy's apartment.
"Gray! Do you need anything?" Lucy fretted, running over to her friend, and checking him over.
"Can you make Juvia get over me?" He said, making Natsu snort in response.
"Not even the Spirit King himself could do that, I'm afraid, but I can get you a towel?" Lucy said, her expression apologetic and her voice lilting into a question.
Nodding, Gray went and sat on a dining room chair. Lucy scampered off to her bathroom, re-emerging with a fluffy white towel. "Thanks Lucy," Gray said, smiling as she passed him the fluffy towel.
Waving off his thanks, Lucy retreated to the kitchen. They all Knew Erza would be a bit later than everyone else, seeing as she had to prep for her secret mission. Lucy would be lying if she said she wasn't curious, but at the end of the day it was secret for a reason and no amount of prying would change that. Seeing that her pork dumplings were done, she plated all the food she cooked, smiling happily to herself.
Another knock sounded, and without having to ask, Natsu stomped over to answer it. "My apologies for being late, I had to sort out my belongings." She said, walking in.
"You are right on time, Gray could you help me set the table?" She called out, knowing Natsu would complain.
"Sure Lucy," Gray said, striding I'm and opening the cutlery drawer.
By the time Lucy had all the food on the table, it looked like she was hosting a massive banquet, not a get together with friends. Happy and Natsu were salivating, the other two not far behind them. "Looks delicious, Lushy!" Happy reclaimed, looking at the food with happiness.
"I made you this Happy, I hope you like it!" Lucy said, placing a plate with all his favourite fish-uncooked- in front of him.
Happy launched himself at Lucy, tears streaming down his little face. "I'm so happy! Thank you so much Lushy" he gushed, hugging into her like his life depended on it.
Giggling, Lucy stroked his soft blue fur, cooing to him softly. Eventually the small flying cat made his way back to his food, the smile practically tattooed on his face.
"This looks awesome Luce!" Natsu cheered, already digging in.
Lucy looked and saw Gray and Erza had piled up their plates, stopping between bites to hush about her food. "I'm glad you like it, I wanted to do something special for our last team meal for a while" Lucy smiled, placing food on her own plate.
"You made all our favourites, you shouldn't have done so much trouble," Erza lightly reprimanded, though the smile said otherwise.
"It was no trouble; I'll miss you guys." Lucy said, blushing slightly.
"We'll miss you too," Erza and Gray said softly, smiling fondly at their friend.
"Enough of this sadness, let's eat!" Natsu cheered, and everyone nodded, all sadness melting away.
The night continued as usual. Gray and Natsu tease each other, Erza threatening them, making them shake and hug each other for dear life, and Lucy, well she wouldn't have it any other way. After having a dessert of strawberry cake for Erza, mint chocolate chip ice cream for Gray and a berry pie for Natsu and Lucy, the four were lounging in the Celestial Mages lounge, completely stuffed.
"I'm so full," Happy groaned, rubbing his swollen belly.
Four groans were his reply.
"I thank you for such a delicious treat Lucy, it was the best parting meal we could ever have." Erza said, sitting up straighter. "But I had best be off, I need to leave tonight," the Requip Mage added, standing up.
"Wait!" Lucy screamed, making all eyes turn to her. Blushing, the blond got up and hurried to her desk, pulling out 4 packages.
Everyone looked at her curiously as she passed them around. "Open them," she instructed, smiling happily.
Shrugging, each opened their envelopes, including Happy. "Lushy!" He breathed, looking up with tears in his eyes.
In his paw was a small bandana for the base of his tail, coloured white. Embroidered over it were the words Team Natsu repeatedly, in each of the team's guild marks. The small cat threw himself at Lucy, blubbering noisily.
"It is a shield charm and allows you to fly even faster, also increasing your strength a little so you can carry heavier things."
Lucy explained, just able to catch the flying cat. "Oh, I can carry you then Lucy!" Happy said, tears still streaming down her face.
Lucy growled and tried to not let the stupid comment get to her. After all, it was a joyous occasion. Once she was calm Lucy looked over nervously as she looked at her friends, no her Nakama and waited for them to open their gifts.
Erza opened hers and was choking up. She looked over at Lucy, mouthing thank you as she clutched a silver metal band, which Erza immediately recognized as a brassard, to her chest. On it, was the words Team Natsu, the T being shaped like a down pointed sword. On one side there was a snowflake and a key, and the other was a flame and a fish bone.
"It goes on your upper arm, but it can change size and will stay either on the handle of our sword or on your upper arm and will automatically come to you whenever you call out. It's also a shield charm, imbued with ring magic and has magic that makes your natural sword magic stronger and allows you to sense the properties of any sword you may wish to buy." Lucy sheepishly explained.
"I love it, thank you so much," Erza reared up and hugged the blonde, crushing her into her chest.
"It's okay, Erza, I wanted everyone to be safe on their journey." She explained, smiling bashfully.
Natsu was looking at his, a silver ring with the words Team Natsu on it, a in Natsu shaped like a flame. On one side the T in team was a key next to a snowflake, and the other side was a miniature sword and a fish shape. "Luce…" he breathed, a look of wonder in his eyes.
"It's the same as Erza's with the shield charm, however yours is a universal match, meaning it will create fire just by rubbing it on a surface for you to eat," Lucy said, smiling softly, "I also thought you could thread your scarf through it, and it means the scarf can't be taken off you by force or damaged. ."
Natsu threw himself at his best friend, pulling her tight against his chest. He breathed in her vanilla scent and tried to stop the tears, employing a little fire magic to dry them up. He knew she was incredible and generous, but this… this was more than he could ever imagine.
"It's also flame proof, and I designed it as a scarf ring, but it will change size into a ring if you'd prefer," Lucy added, hugging her best friend back.
Meanwhile, Gray was fiddling with his own gift, stroking it with a small smile on his face. The a in Team was in the shape of a snowflake, and the symbol of Lucy and Erza was on the side of the T and the symbols for Happy and Natsu were on the other. His was a little different, being a small cross, with the words across the horizontal bar and a thin black chain attached to it.
"I've only ever seen you wear the necklace, so I wanted to make sure it was something you'd like." Lucy stammered, playing with her hands as she looked down. "It is a shield charm, but it also acts as a tracking device and can sense demonic energy, since I know that is a big thing for you." Lucy stammered, not meeting his eyes.
Without a word, Gray strode over to the blonde bombshell and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her snug against his chest. He placed his chin on the top of his head, feeling an unfamiliar warmth flood his chest. No one, woman or otherwise, had put so much care into choosing a gift for him, and he was flattered and honestly quite flawed that Lucy, whom he considered a good friend but knew they weren't as close as her as Natsu cared enough about him to do this.
He stood back and smiled at her, letting her see how much this meant to him. "Thank you so much Lucy, this is perfect." he said simply, putting it over his neck and letting it rest against his heart.
"I hope you got yourself one, Lucy" Erza said, the armband placed securely on her left bicep.
Lucy smiled and pulled out her key ring, letting them see the shiny metal. They narrowed their eyes and saw their team's name embossed on the metal. The bottom of the t is Natsu curling into a key shape. They moved closer and saw Happy and Natsu's symbols on the side of the word Team and Erza and Happy's symbols on the end of the u.
"Does it have any magic properties?" Erza asked, looking at the key ring.
"Yes, it is a shield charm and is imbued with my magic so if anyone tries to take my keys or if I drop them like in the Phantom Lord fiasco, it will appear back on my belt." She said, smiling softly. "I am powerless without my keys, and I'll be damned if I let that happen again." Lucy said, squeezing her hands into fists.
"Luce, you are super strong, with or without your dumb keys." Natsu said, smiling toothily as Happy jumped in with his usual "Aye!"
"Don't call my keys dumb, you idiot!" Lucy seethed, glaring daggers at the pyromaniac. Sure, he was one of her best friends, along with Levy, but she'd be damned if she let anyone insult her spirit.
"Sorry Luce\Lushy," Natsu and Happy muttered, looking at the floor sheepishly as their words melded together.
"I am ashamed I didn't think to bring a parting gift. You must hit me to atone for my sins," Erza stated, walking up to Lucy, and standing at attention, a look of seriousness on her face.
Lucy's sweat dropped and backed away, waving her hands in front of her. "No need for the Erza, I'm just glad you all loved them. Oh, another feature is if you send magical energy into them and picture our faces, ours will heat with your magic and will let us know you are in trouble." Lucy added, trying to move the conversation away from the conversation.
"Where did you find these anyway, they are awesome!" Natsu added, cheering with Happy who nodded his agreement.
"My godparents wanted to do something for me after they heard about the Phantom Lord incident. My godfather is a metal make mage and my godmother has charm casting magic, so they made these for us." Lucy said, scratching her bicep as her face flushed.
"That's very kind of them and really sweet of you Lucy once my quest is complete, we should give them our thanks." Erza said, smiling at the blonde she considered her sister. "Speaking of my quest…"
Lucy sighed, blinking to keep the tears at bay. "I'll miss you" was all she said to Erza, losing the battle with her eyes.
Erza squeezed her hands to stop herself from crying, before scooping the blonde in her arms. Soon Happy joined the huddle with Natsu jumping in and after the blonde gave Gray puppy dog eyes, he sighed and joined in as well. The five of them were family, even more so than the rest of the guild, so even though the boys and Erza weren't big on physical contact, they knew the blonde was so gave in easily.
They all pulled apart and Erza went straight into her drill sergeant mode. "Gray, be safe, don't take any unnecessary risks and keep in regular contact with the guild." She then turned her fierce glare onto Natsu, making the salamander gulp. "Don't cause destruction while I am gone, and no fighting." It was only when she turned to Lucy that her expression softened, and she pulled the blonde into another hug. "Stay safe, I'll miss you too, my little sister," she whispered, making Lucy cry and repeat the same thing.
The girls pulled apart and after a quick hug to the boys and Happy, Erza was out the door, letting it shut with a resounding thud. Gray helped Lucy clean up and then he and Natsu followed suit, but not before thanking the blonde and promising to see her at the guild tomorrow. Happy wanted to stay with Lucy tonight, so once the boys were gone, Lucy ran a quick bath before cuddling up with her favourite cat and let out all the emotions she had been building up.
"Don't cry Lushy, I can get you some fish?" Happy said so earnestly that it made the blonde laugh despite the thickness in her throat.
"I love you Happy, now let's get some sleep." The blond said, giving the Exceed a watery smile before the pair curled up and fell into a deep sleep.
3,500 words later and another chapter is done! I've got a lot of assignments to do this weekend and next week, so I won't be able to update until at least next weekend. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you would like to leave a comment, that would be very appreciated. A little bit of fluff between the team and especially Gray and Lucy and Natsu and our favourite Celestial Mage! It'll take a while before any real romance happens, so I hope you stick around to see it unfold!
Stay safe and see you all soon,
Love, The Blank Page.