I promise Lucy's side of the wedding day will come, but for now, I present you this! Another thing!

As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading.


Lucy groaned quietly as she checked who was at her front door. "Not again..."

"Mommy, who is it?!" Igneel skidded to a stop as he looked out the window next to the door before yellingexcitedly. "Uncle Gajeel!"

"Is Aunt Levy here, too?!" Layla ran into the entryway too, waving enthusiastically when she spotted Levy through the other window. "Mama mama, let them in!"

"I would, but two little terrors got in my way," Lucy teased as the pair jumped back. Igneel continued to jump up and down as first Levy and then Gajeel entered the house. Gajeel had barely crossed the threshold when Igneel leaped into the air and was caught by the smiling man.

"Woah there, little man, yer gonna hurt yerself! Gonna need to get yerself a pair of wings if you're gonna try flying like that."

Gajeel carried Igneel into the living room while Levy squatted down and pulled out a book from her purse to hand to Layla. "I brought you the next book in that alchemist series you've been reading."

"Really?!" Layla squealed as she squeezed the book tight to her chest and looked up at Lucy. "Mama mama mama, can I read it now?!"

"How about you wait until after supper? You were going to help me with dishes-"

"Oh go on," Levy said, scooting Layla towards the stairs. "You go ahead and start it, I'll help your mother."

"Thank you, Aunt Levy!" Layla said before bolting up the stairs.

Alone, Lucy allowed her smile to fade. "You know you don't have to do this. I'm fine."

"I know, but I want to," Levy reassured her. "I know you miss Natsu-"

"I'm fine."

"-and we miss him, too. That's why we're here," Levy said as she headed for the kitchen. "Spending time with Igneel is almost the same as spending time with Natsu."

Lucy groaned again but followed her friend. "The kids would be okay with just me, you know. You guys don't have to show up every day and visit." She glared at Levy. "Or at least be more subtle that you're taking shifts. You three have been showing up in a consistent pattern; there's no way that's a coincidence."

Levy shrugged. "You talk to that BFF of yours. She was convinced you'd be too distracted to notice."

With a huff, Lucy returned to the sink to continue with her dishes. "Just so we're clear-"

"You're fine, yes yes, I know. Just let me help you with dinner, would you?"

"Fine. We're doing spaghetti tonight, since I know it's Gajeel's favorite."

Levy flushed a little, but kept her head high. "I'll work on the dishes, you can start the meat." A squeal from the living room drew both their eyes for a moment. "You know, he really does miss him."

"Only because Natsu rises to his bait, unlike Gray."

"It's more than that," Levy said. "Our weekly meal with you guys is incomplete without those two turning something into a contest. And their ridiculous sundae bars. I had to stop Gajeel from bringing all his stocked up toppings tonight."

Lucy smiled a little as she remembered their past shenanigans. "I think we still have quite a few here," Lucy said checking her pantry. "If you want we can set it up after we eat. Igneel and Layla would like that, we haven't done one in almost two weeks."

"I think Gajeel would like that, too," Levy said with a smile.

Lucy sighed quietly as she continued to get things set up for dinner, ignoring the little hole in her chest that wanted Natsu there to fill it.


Lucy didn't relax until much later, when she finally closed the door behind Levy and Gajeel's retreating forms. Layla was in her room reading once more while Igneel was playing in the living room. She allowed herself a moment in the dark of the entryway to center herself, to prepare herself for another bedtime taking care of them alone, before she went to find Igneel.

"Alright buddy, time to clean up."

"Okay mom," he said, surprising her when he didn't make a fuss. Lucy knelt down and helped him put all his dinosaurs and dragons in their bin before heading upstairs with him to his and Layla's bathroom.

"Get started on your teeth while I get your sister," she said as she turned on the bathroom light.

Lucy found Layla still deeply entranced by her new book. She had to call the girl's name three times before she finally responded. "Sorry mama."

"It's okay," Lucy said, "but it's time to brush your teeth."

"But mama-"

"None of your arguments tonight, my little star light." Lucy took her book and carefully placed her bookmark in it. "Go on. Teeth."

"Okaaaay," Layla whined.

Lucy smiled after her daughter before pulling out a set of pajamas for her. She was pulling some out for Igneel when he appeared in his room and jumped on his bed. Lucy squinted at him. "Did you brush all your teeth this time?"

"Yes mom!"

"Are you sure!"

"Yes mom, geez, I know how to brush my teeth!"

"Alright, well get your pajamas on then," Lucy said as she closed the door. When both children had finished getting ready, she went to say good night and turn off lights.

She kissed Igneel's cheek as she tucked the blankets around his sides. "Good night, firecracker. I love you."

"Love you too, mom."

Lucy flipped his blond hair out of his face with a small smile. "Dad loves you as well."

"I know, mom." Lucy's heart clenched when his smile drooped, but he didn't say anything else as he rolled over. Lucy kept her sigh to herself as she turned off the light and shut the door.

Layla was already tucked in and curled up on her side when Lucy entered, leaving only a little pile of pink hair exposed. Lucy merely strode forward and slid her hand under the covers, causing Layla to whine when she pulled out Layla's new book. "Sorry mama."

"I'm still taking it until morning," Lucy said as she tucked the book under her arm.

Layla pouted but didn't argue as she snuggled into her pillow better. "Love you, mama."

"I love you too, my little starlight." Lucy kissed her on the head.

Layla looked at the photo on her bedside table. "Good night, daddy."

"Daddy loves you, too," Lucy said as she rose and turned off the light. She smiled once more before closing the door and returning to the main floor.

She glanced at the pile of dishes in the kitchen before continuing passed the door and stretching out on the couch. With a deep breath, she stared up at the ceiling and imagined she wasn't alone.

Lucy imagined that she was napping and Natsu had just come through the door, late from work. She imagined waking slowly, first realizing it was him by the smell of smoke stuck to his clothes, and then feeling his body slowly settle on top of hers. She imagined his face wiggling between her neck and shoulder, his lips peppering her skin with kisses. His hot breath washing over her as he sighed, his exhale removing the stress of the day from his body as he curled around her. She imagined sinking her fingers into his hair as his own dug lightly into her sides. She imagined him telling her about his day in hushed voices, trying not to alert the kids so they could enjoy a little time together, just the two of them. She imagined that it hadn't been two weeks since she'd last seen him. That he was right there and they were-

The door jiggled and Lucy bolted upright as it slowly swung open. There was a muffled curse and then a bag appeared peeking around the door. The door hadn't even begun to shut before Lucy was across the room and whipping it farther open so she could throw herself into Natsu's arm.

"Shit, Luce!" Natsu managed to quietly toss his bag towards the carpet while simultaneously catching Lucy as her legs wrapped around his waist. He chuckled as Lucy's mouth found his, her body squeezing around him so hard, he was surprised she didn't assimilate with him. He managed to close the door behind him and then followed the path of his bag so he could sit on the couch. Lucy adjusted slightly so her legs were on either side of his, but her mouth never left his. He was careful to keep their teeth from knocking together as she thoroughly welcomed him home.

Lucy eventually pulled away enough to catch her breath, only to lean forward and hug him once more. "Missed you," she mumbled against his shoulder.

"I missed you too, Luce." He kept her close as he rubbed her back with both hands. "I'm sorry I was gone so long this time."

"'s okay," she said.

Natsu chuckled and then gently extracted her from around his body. "Are you sure? You're not usually this aggressive about welcoming me home."

"I'm sorry," she said, more sincere this time. When he continued to just look at her, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Just looking at my beautiful wife," he said, grinning when she began to blush. "It feels like it's been a year since I was home."

"Were the fires really bad?" Natsu becoming a firefighter had been almost a no-brainer when he first returned to earth as a human. He'd briefly considered becoming a chef, but the amount of money he would have had to put into school, plus the lack of physical activity, had steered him away from his first choice. Being a fire fighter had been a great second option, though. His knowledge of fire, his love of heat, and his apparent continued tolerance to flame had made it an easy transition. Still, his body was no longer super strong and super durable, and there was more to worry about when fighting fires than just the fire itself. He'd nearly been impaled by an I beam during his second year and ever since, Lucy had had to deal with the fear that some day he might not return from a job.

Due to his knowledge and uncanny ability to understand how a flame would move, he was usually consulted multiple times a year during the dry season to help with wild fires. He'd left nearly two weeks ago for a job that should have only taken a week at most.

"Oh, not nearly as bad as last time" he said. "The chief took some of the precautions I told him about last year, so it was only half as large this time."

"Then why did it take you so long to get back?" Lucy leaned back and punched him, making him yelp. "And why didn't you call?" she hissed.

"Oh, well, uh..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black chunk of plastic. "There was a rescue mission half way through that I volunteered for. Someone's kid had gotten spooked and taken off into the woods, right into the path of the fire. I managed to find him in time, but this fell out of my pocket at some point while I was running. I didn't even realize until we found it when we were putting out the embers. The rock charm Layla made me melted to it." He tilted it so she could see where the wire and rock had fused to the plastic corpse. "I'm going to have to apologize to her."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Lucy said as she hugged him once more. "I know I do."

"I really am sorry. I didn't even think to borrow someone else's phone, we were so busy and I was exhausted-"

"Did you use your magic while you were away?" Lucy asked.

"A little," Natsu said, "but that wasn't why. I just didn't get any sleep and it wore me down."

Now that Lucy took the time to look at him, she realized he looked just as tired as she felt. "It's hard to sleep when we're apart, isn't it?"

"Ugh, yes." He sighed as he laid down, pulling her with so that she settled on top of him. "Honestly, I know I need a shower, but all I want right now-"

"Just go to sleep," she said as she nestled her cheek against his chest. "Don't worry, I can clean up tomorrow."

"Ya sure?" he whispered, already half asleep.

Lucy kissed his chest and snuggled close. "I love you, Natsu."

"Love you, too," he mumbled, moments before he began to snore softly.

Lucy studied his face as he slept, drinking in his tousled hair, his soot stained cheek, the dark circles beneath his eyes. She wondered if he'd slept at all while he'd been gone. While she was usually anxious during his absences, Natsu tended to get little to no sleep when he wasn't able to wrap himself around her at night. Occasionally, she had to stay up late working to meet deadlines, and they'd discovered when it had first started that Natsu could only toss and turn until she joined him eventually in bed. She wondered if their dependence on each other stemmed at all from their being mates, even though he was in a new body sans dragon. It made the most sense to her, but it could also just be a married thing. Maybe she'd ask her friends about it some time.

For the moment, Lucy ran her fingers through his hair once more before placing a kiss on his chest and cuddling close. The kids would no doubt wake up early, asking when Natsu would be home, so she needed to get to sleep if she wanted any rest before that happened. Lucy smiled as she listened to Natsu's steady heartbeat under her ear.

She was exhausted, the house wasn't as clean as she'd like, her couch was getting dirtier by the minute, and she'd probably be woken by screaming children much earlier than she'd like. For the time being, though, she didn't care. With her children asleep upstairs and her husband finally home once more, she had everything she needed.

As long as she had them, she had everything she'd ever need.


For a hot minute, you thought he was dead, didn't you? Didn't you?! That was the plan.

Because I'm evil, hahahaahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!

I'm sorry... Please don't hate me!