Lucy nervously sets a foot inside her apartment, half afraid that Natsu might be lounging on her bed. Thankfully, the place is empty.
The blonde assumes that Natsu did come and picked up her letter upon seeing the windows fully open, and the ripped envelop on her bed. That means things went alright while she was gone. And she won't have to go through awkward interrogations from her teammates.
To say Lucy is fully okay will be a stretch and honestly, the blonde knows that she cannot get over her feelings for her best friend so quickly. However, she does not mind. It may take months or even years, and Lucy is willing to take her time.
For now, she wants go back to her usual self. Lucy does not want to worry her friends anymore, not when she cannot talk to any of them about it.
After taking a long and peaceful shower, the blonde quickly prepares for the guild. She has a lot of explaining to do, Lucy reminds herself with a sigh.
"Lushieee!!" Happy flies to Lucy the moment she enters the guild with a sob. "You're mean! How could you leave us alone?!!" He wails into her chest as she gently pats him with guilt. "It's almost a month since you left, Natsu and I looked for you for days!!"
"I'm sorry, Happy."
"No! You can't convince me to forgive you. Not even with a fish!" The feline declares.
"How about ten?" Lucy offers with a wink, Happy looks up at her with teary eyes. "Promise?" She agrees, "Promise."
Lucy's heartrate picks up after seeing Natsu walking over to her, but he just smiles at her instead of complaining like the exceed.
"Welcome home, Luce!" The dragon slayer offers his signature grin. Something inside Lucy's chest hurts. But she returns his gesture with a happy face, "Thanks, Natsu. It's... been long. How've you been?"
"I'm great! What about you? We missed you, y'know." For a moment, Lucy thinks she sees something completely different in his eyes. The next moment it is gone.
"I'm good, I missed you all too."