A/N: Right, here we go, into the fourth and final part of the story. This chapter picks up two years after the last one. ~CS

Homeward Hours

By CrimsonStarbird

Chapter Twenty-One – Homecoming

Magnolia.

Lucy couldn't believe it had been two whole years since she had last set foot in this city.

Everything had changed, and yet nothing had. She and her team had been the heroes of the Alvarez War when they left, and now they were returning as the heroes who had conquered the Hundred Year Quest – but either way, they didn't care for being heroes, as long as their family was safe. Sure, they were stronger than they'd been before, but to most observers, and for a whole variety of reasons, Team Natsu had already been the most dangerous force in Fiore.

The city looked the same. Well, perhaps if Lucy looked closely, she'd see an office block that had been converted into flats, a shop that had changed hands, new stalls in the marketplace, but as far as the city was concerned, two years wasn't a long time.

Fairy Tail's guildhall had stood at its heart for over a century, after all. There was no reason to believe two years would have changed that.

So Lucy had no idea why she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd turn the final corner and there'd just be a big smoking crater where the guildhall used to be.

It had been perfectly intact when she'd called Mira upon making landfall in Ishgar two weeks ago, though two weeks was starting to seem like an awfully long time. True, the people most likely to (accidentally) destroy the guildhall had been with her the entire time, but it wasn't as though she'd been watching them throughout the night.

Natsu was being awfully quiet as they entered the city, fidgeting with his scarf and not saying a word. There was definitely something wrong, and if she wasn't mistaken, it had started when they were within a day's walk of Magnolia. As if Natsu forcing them to stop in the next village along last night – and fork out for some entirely unnecessary hotel rooms – when they easily could have made it back home before midnight wasn't bad enough, he'd then changed his mind, woken everyone up before sunrise, and insisted that they carry on to Magnolia without delay!

Honestly, she loved that man, but she just couldn't figure out what went on in his head sometimes. Probably nothing.

Still, his behaviour wasn't the only thing unnerving her. They had barely set foot in the city proper when Gray told them that he'd promised to go see Juvia as soon as he was back and disappeared into the streets on his own. Erza excused herself shortly after, pointing out that before dawn was the best time to visit the bakery for fresh warm pastries, and after two years of putting up with what passed for baked goods overseas, she couldn't wait a moment longer. Then, Lucy had to endure a very nervous Wendy stuttering through her explanation of why she absolutely had to drop her luggage off at Fairy Hills before walking to the guildhall. She hadn't had the heart to question it out loud, not even when Carla grabbed Happy and whisked him off with them.

Lucy turned to Natsu, the only member of their team yet to run away.

"The guildhall has been destroyed, hasn't it?" she asked him flatly. "You all know the truth, and none of you want to be anywhere near me when I find out."

After all, she was back in Magnolia now, which meant that she was, technically, back to being the Master of Fairy Tail. Only now was she realizing how nice it had been to not be constantly on edge about what her unruly guild was up to…

"I'm here with you, Luce," Natsu pointed out.

Even though she was still ninety percent sure he was responsible for this, those words had an unfair power to reassure her.

They rounded the final corner together, and a surprised squeak jumped from her mouth.

The guildhall was still standing. Of course it was. Nothing would ever tear it down again; she had been such a fool to doubt it.

But more than that, it was beautiful.

As the morning sun broke the horizon behind her, the street was flooded in rosy light. Bedecked in its halo of pinks and oranges, the guildhall shone like it was hope and sanctuary made tangible: the glow of home to welcome them and the flash of fire to keep them safe.

How fortunate was she, to be able to consider this place home?

That she would always have this to return to, no matter how far she went?

"Are you crying, Luce?" Natsu asked.

"No," she sniffed. "Just… relieved that you, Gray and Erza haven't managed to destroy the guildhall, that's all."

"We've only been in Magnolia for five minutes!"

"Yeah, well, I still wouldn't put it past you," she sighed. "What better way for you to celebrate coming home?"

To her surprise, Natsu glanced away.

"…Natsu?"

"Home, huh?" he echoed.

"You're not glad to be back?" she frowned, more perplexed by the minute.

"No, no, I am. It'll be great to see everyone again and catch up on everything that we missed. But, I kinda realized something while we were away."

"What's that…?" Lucy wondered, hoping against hope that he wasn't about to say he wanted to go on another Hundred Year Quest.

"No matter how far we travelled or how scary the dangers we faced, I never once felt like I wasn't at home, as long as you were there," he said simply. "Home isn't a building or a sense of safety, Luce. It's wherever you are."

"Natsu…"

"I mean it," he said, eyes bright in the dawn, with that ever-wonderful smile. He reached out and took her hands gently in both of his. "I know it's true, forever and always, but I want the whole world to know it too. Lucy Heartfilia, will you marry me?"

"…Eh?" Lucy squeaked.

Her look of surprise didn't seem to bother him; he gave a roguish grin. "I know it's nothing fancy. But I didn't want to lose this moment of coming back to the guild with you for good, of everything just being… right."

"Erza, Gray, Wendy – they were all in on this, weren't they?"

"Yup!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" she huffed. "I thought you'd destroyed the guildhall! What would you have done if it was raining this morning – found an excuse to stay in that other town for another day?"

"I'd've thought of something," he grinned.

"Yes," she murmured, feeling unexpected tears prick at her eyes. Yes, he would have done. Because silly or serious, life-threatening or wonderful, there was very little that Natsu Dragneel wouldn't do for his friends, and nothing at all he wouldn't do for her. She'd always known that, of course, but after two years of adventuring together, fighting together, making the best life they could together while facing down the dangers of the Hundred Year Quest – to know that he wanted to do that forever, that his time spent with her was more important to him than the simple fact of having completed the Quest – that was overwhelming.

"So?" he prompted, and she blinked, not having realized that the answer was ever in doubt.

"Yes, of course, yes," she choked out, and he pulled her into his arms for a few blissful moments. "I can't wait to tell the others."

"Ah. About that…"

Natsu led her into the guildhall. At first, she was surprised that the building was even unlocked this early in the morning – but that was rapidly overwhelmed by her shock at seeing the hall full of people, balloons, glitter, and two large banners: WELCOME HOME TEAM NATSU and CONGRATULATIONS FUTURE MR & MRS DRAGNEEL.

As her eyes filled so full with tears that she no longer had a hope of hiding them, Lucy tried to laugh, "But isn't it too early in the morning for a party?"

"Not when we have this much to celebrate," Natsu grinned at her, taking her hand and leading her into the cheering crowd. "Been running back and forth between here and hotel all night, getting this set up with Mira. Besides, I know you've missed this as much as I have."

She smiled. "No more two-year quests for a while, yeah?"

"Yeah. I think we've got enough going on right here."

It was some time later – hard to say exactly how much, when the party had quite literally started at dawn – that Lucy pulled Natsu aside from the crowd. "Natsu," she began hesitantly. "I've got to go and see him. You understand, right?"

When he said nothing, she pressed, "It's just, there's no way he won't have known we were coming back today, and it's been two years – I have absolutely no idea what his mental state is like-"

"It's fine, Luce," he interrupted. "It's fine. You don't have to explain it; he's definitely petty enough to throw a fit over you not going to say hello on your first day back. Just don't make me go with you."

She definitely wasn't going to do that. Not until she knew exactly what kind of state Zeref was in. She wanted to enjoy her homecoming, not throw a stick of dynamite into the mix.

So she slipped away from the party and made her way up through the woods. It was odd how apprehensive she felt. Coming home to Fairy Tail, she hadn't felt nervous at all; although time had passed and relationships had changed, she knew in her heart that her friends were still the same, their love untarnished, their welcoming natures always beyond reproach. But Zeref was… unpredictable. His mindset could vary so much in the space of a few minutes that she dreaded to think what two years could have done to him. She'd been away for longer than she'd even known him.

She entered the forest clearing and was immediately hit by a wave of panic. Where was the Fairy Sphere?

That invulnerable dome of gold, the barrier that could prevent both his conscious attempts to break out and the uncontrollable attacks of his cursed magic, was nowhere to be seen.

No. It wasn't possible. Surely, if he'd got out, they wouldn't have been having a casual party at the guildhall. Mira would have mentioned it the moment she'd set foot inside, newly engaged or otherwise.

Belatedly, she felt it brushing her senses: the steady pulse of familiar magic enclosing the house. If she focussed, she could make out a shimmer in the air, insubstantial as a heat haze to her eyes but as strong as ever to her magical senses. The barrier was still there, only transparent, free of the golden light that had characterized it before.

She breathed in.

Breathed out.

Forced herself to calm down; tried to recapture some of the floating joy that had carried her through the guildhall that morning.

Then she touched the lacrima in her pocket. It had ceased working as soon as she had left Fiore, and she had been too nervous to try it since her return. But its magic came to her as easily as ever, and she sent a questioning thought down it, wondering how he would respond, if at all.

"Hello, Lucy."

She jumped at the verbal, rather than mental, response. Two years on the most dangerous quest the Council had ever permitted guild mages to undertake, and this was what startled her.

Shaking her head, she scanned her surroundings again. Though she still couldn't see that familiar figure, she finally registered something she hadn't noticed before: a small building constructed at the bottom of his garden, bisected by the invisible Fairy Sphere. Of it, one half appeared to be an outbuilding, complete with glass windows and a little door. The other half appeared to be an outdoor area, covered and lit but with only two out of four walls, one of which formed one of the outbuilding's external walls, and the other prevented any nosy neighbour from peering in, had they ventured up to the clearing in the forest.

It was from this sheltered outdoor area that Zeref emerged, staying within the barrier. It must have been quite a feat of construction, to create a space half-in and half-out of the Fairy Sphere which he and any guests could safely share. Quite an expense, as well. Vaguely, she remembered signing off on some architectural plans shoved in front of her as she'd headed out of the door on the Hundred Year Quest, and resolved to never do that again. After two years of just being one of the team again, she was going to have to work extra hard to pick up the responsibilities of being a Guild Master, starting with getting a better grip on the guild's budget.

She probably should have said hello, or tried to measure his mood, or something else clever or responsible or just plain normal, but what came out of her mouth was, "That's not a shed."

Zeref gave her an amused look. "It's good to see you again, too."

"Yes- no- I mean-"

He watched her struggle for a moment, clearly enjoying the fact that this niceness had completely thrown her, and then said, softly, "Welcome back, Lucy."

"…Thanks."

"And congratulations on getting engaged."

"You know about that?" Just for a moment, a spark of hope flared in her heart – that somehow, when he'd been arranging things with the guild, Natsu had deigned to tell his estranged brother about his plans-

"Mira told me last night about Natsu's intentions," came the cool response. Lucy had a feeling that he knew exactly where her mind had leapt, but no flicker of it showed on his face. "She also warned me not to expect you today, because of the celebrations." He tilted his head to one side, curious. "Trouble in paradise already?"

"No, nothing like that," she huffed. "I just wanted to- well- since I was back-"

"You were worried that if you didn't come and check up on me as soon as you got back, I might take offence?" he guessed.

She swallowed.

"Well, I suppose I might have done," he shrugged. "It's not an unreasonable assumption. Who knows why I do what I do, sometimes?"

"That's not the only reason, though," Lucy clarified hastily. "I need to talk to you about everything that happened while I was away. I have to know how things worked in my absence – you and Mira and the others – and to understand the state of the guild."

"Surely you could get that information from the others at the guild. It would be much easier."

"Probably. But I want to hear it from you first. I want to know what worked well and what didn't; what you liked and what you merely tolerated; what you are expecting to happen now that I'm back, and what you are hoping will happen. The Council expect me to be coming back as Guild Master, and I will have to officially take the reins again now that the Hundred Year Quest is over, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to walk back in and dictate how the guild will be run. Things have changed while I haven't been here. I need to understand where I fit into all of that."

She held his gaze evenly, proudly, and after a moment, he nodded. "I appreciate it," said he. "However, it is not a conversation for today."

"Why not?" she shot back. "What better time to agree a course of action than the day I'm back, before I can do anything stupid?"

"Literally any day other than the day on which you've got engaged," he told her, amused. "Go back to the party, and to Natsu. We can talk tomorrow – or the day after, depending on how long it takes for you to recover."

"Zeref-"

"I am quite serious about this, Lucy," he cut across her, mild but also not mild at all. "I will not talk to you about guild matters today. You have earnt a day of celebration. Go and enjoy it."

Impulsively, she took a step forward. The closer she got to the barrier, the more clearly she could see it shimmer; a built-in warning, she supposed, to ensure that no Fairy Tail mage crossed it by accident.

"You look a lot better," Lucy blurted out.

"…I beg your pardon?"

"Well, I mean. You look well, compared to how you were when I left."

"It is a symptom of my immortality that my body does not change, neither for age nor illness, nor indeed through choice," he pointed out. "Perhaps you are misremembering. It has been two years since you last saw me, after all."

That wasn't right, but Lucy didn't know how to explain it. Yes, physically he looked the same, right down to the ridiculous clothes with which he clearly still refused to part. But there was something about him that looked so very different. Something healthier, something brighter. Something in the blackness of his eyes, that pulsed with life deep within their depths.

Before she'd left, it had always been in his vulnerable moments that he appeared the most human. Now, there was something human to his strength.

She shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it, Zeref, but I am glad to see it."

He held her gaze for what felt like an eternity, perhaps seeking to see what she saw. "Maybe," he equivocated. And then: "The colour of the barrier helps a lot."

"Oh? Well, I'm glad it's helping someone. It nearly gave me a heart attack when I first saw it."

With a faint smile, he tapped the inside of the barrier with his hand, demonstrating – as if his own continued imprisonment wasn't proof enough – that while it may no longer shed golden light, it was every bit as invulnerable as it had been before. "Levy and I worked on a modification to stop it from glowing. It took several months, but it has made a big difference. It doesn't haunt me, any more. I can sleep with the curtains open. I can see the stars."

"You should have told me it was bothering you." The words tumbled out of her mouth, along with a sudden sense of guilt, that she'd never even considered the impact of something like that. "If you'd mentioned it, I could have tried to do something sooner…"

Even as she said it, though, she knew why he hadn't. It would have been admitting a weakness, something he couldn't have trusted her not to use against him. She could see all that and more shifting like shadows in the depths of his eyes.

But all he said was, "Maybe I will, next time."

And she thought that, as he was today, he just might do so.

That was why she murmured, "Thank you."

"Go back to the party, Lucy. Celebrate your engagement."

Still she did not leave. On impulse, she blurted out, "You're taking this very well."

Maybe it was silly of her to take the risk of acknowledging it, but at the same time, she wanted – needed – an explanation to allay her fears when he was in a mood that might provide one.

He tilted his head, interested. "You thought I would take it badly?"

"I don't know what I thought," she confessed. "I just know how important Natsu is to you, and… maybe I might be too, and maybe this is going to make things between the three of us a bit more complicated."

"More complicated? I'm not sure that's possible." He shook his head, a faint smile on his face. "Am I not allowed to just be happy for you?"

"No, no, you are, I mean – I just didn't think you would be. I thought I would have to reassure you that things weren't going to change because of this. I thought…" Her futile attempt to defend herself only increased his amusement further. Embarrassed, she glanced away. "I've been away for a while, okay? It seems like I'm going to have to get used to you all over again."

That was as much as she would say out loud, but it wasn't the whole truth. It wasn't that she was no longer used to him, but that he wasn't acting like he used to. She had been expecting her guild to be happy that she and her team were back, but not so much from him. Yet here he was, the only difference in his reaction being the fact that it come from behind the barrier that was needed to contain his curse. Not a live wire or a dangerous threat, but just another of her dear friends.

She wouldn't know for sure until she saw the state of the guild's finances, but from the reception they had received at the guildhall, and the mellow, even gracious welcome from the man who had been so dangerously volatile when they met, she was beginning to think that getting him more involved with the guild was the best thing she had done. She'd have to thank Warrod for all his help later.

He gave a light shrug. Then, at last, he seemed to take pity on her, taking a step closer to the barrier. "Lucy, Natsu may not accept me as his brother, but he has always been mine, and that makes you and me family – or, at least, it will do very soon. It is none of my business who Natsu chooses to spend the rest of his life with, but if I am allowed to pretend otherwise for a little while, then it is my opinion that there are no two people out there better suited for each other than you and him, and no one that I would be happier to consider my sister."

"Thank you," she murmured.

Offhandedly, he added, "Though, probably don't tell Natsu that. Knowing him, if he hears I approve of it, he'll probably call the engagement off right away."

Lucy laughed because he wanted her to, but his words seemed to catch on the same part of her that had decided it was a good idea to break him out of the Council's prison all those years ago.

For two years, travelling the world with Natsu and her team, she had put it out of her mind. Now, hearing him talk so flippantly about his disastrous relationship with his estranged brother only made her more determined than ever to fix it, once and for all.