Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.
Hey guys! So, I owe everyone a huge apology for just disappearing. My life has just been SO busy the last few weeks and I am so sorry.
Also, I'm sorry to say that in order to update faster, I will not be responding to each individual comment. Sorry :( You can let me know if next chapter, if you want me to do it at the end of the next chapter, alright. So, this chapter goes out to:
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"You goddamn bastard."
Gray stood, marching over to the Fire Dragon Slayer, and standing over him with a scowl.
"So, the first new girl that comes along, you throw yourself at?" Gray asked, angry. "Funny, I never took you for a man whore, but look where we are now," he sneered.
Loke roughly grabbed him by the shoulder (he would have by the collar, but as usual, Gray's penchant for stripping was raging, strong as ever) and wrenched him so they stood face to face. He glowered at him over his blue tinted glasses, his orange hair doing nothing to obscure his deadly glare.
"Shut the hell up," the Lion snarled.
"Oh, look who's standing up for you now, the other infamous womanizer who-"
A golden beam of light shot Gray in the head. he lay on the ground, clutching his head.
"Ow! What the fuck?"
"I went easy on you," a voice came from the figure rising from under the Dragon Slayer. "Don't think you'd still be conscious if I'd actually wanted to hurt you. These are your friends, and all you've done since I got here was fight." The angel was looming over him, but had turned her head back to stare at the man still grasping her wrist.
"You're really... real," was all he said, as he got off the ground, to kneel in front of her. He hugged her around the waist, lifting her off her feet. She laughed as he spun her around, giggling like a teenage girl in love.
Which was what she was, actually.
"I missed you. I missed you so so much," Natsu confessed.
She slid down, and stood on her tip toes on top of his feet. Their foreheads pressed together, her eyes sparkled in a way he'd only seen before in his dreams. Directed at him anyway.
Just a not-so-known fact: Lucy had given him that look. Many many times over the course of them being partners. He'd just... Never noticed.
"A friend of yours told me I could've- we could've- had this a long time time ago," Natsu murmured, staring at her with eyes full of tears. "I can't believe I'm so stupid." Lucy drew back, still smiling.
"And you too, you big idiot," he said, mussing with her hair. "You never... Noticed how I looked at you? Yo big dummy, you thought Lisanna was my mate? I bothered you all the time. I even slept in your bed, dumbass." Natsu said, completely exasperated, not to mention infatuated, with his mate.
"Hey well-" Lucy spluttered for a second, searching for a retort. He snickered. "Hey! Stop laughing at me," she whined. He laughed harder. She was cute when she was angry. "Natsu! Oh, hey wait, I waited for you! I feel in love with you and I never went on another date again!"
"Hell yeah you didn't," was his smart ass reply, as he drew her closer to him.
"Levy told?" she asked after a moment of content silence, raising an eyebrow. "Huh. So that's why you jumped on me the second I got here. I might have to thank her."
"We'll send her a gift basket," he said with a cheeky grin.
"Can you two get a room?" Loke suddenly groaned.
"Oh, don't tell me you support this hookup," Gray spluttered. "He's had a rough time but that doesn't mean he can become a desperate, man-whore-"
"You shut the hell up," Lucy spat. "I thought you were better than that Gray. You of all people should-"
And then Juvia tackled her, happy tears striking down her face.
"Thank you," she sobbed, though whether it was t her friend, or some higher power was unclear. "Thank you thank you thank you."
As Juvia calmed, with the rest of the audience still completely perplexed as to what was happening, the scent of her tears began to fade, the cool air from above washing the smell away. And what was it about Juvia's tears...?
Ah. Right.
They had the overwhelming smell of salt.
Rogue had even resorted to pinching his nose, to stop the smell from invading his nostrils. (It was a weakness most Dragon Slayers had: overwhelming smells gave them migraines.) Sting himself looked a little nauseous. Instinctively, Yukino was moving forwards, her hand coming to gently rest on his forearm.
"You good?" She blurted, before slapping a hand over her mouth. Both looked at each other, held awkward eye contact for one... two... three... four-
"Lucy!" Juvia cried, crying happy, jubilant tears.
And the whole area went silent.
...
"Did she say her name?"
"Oh, shit, I thought that was taboo?"
"I'm pretty sure it is... Wait wait wait what if it was a mistake?"
"I'm pretty sure that wasn't a mistake."
"Shit... What about Natsu?"
And all eyes were on the pink-haired man, who as of late, had been very prone to being unstable, and being very, very (understandably) angry at even the barest hint of someone talking about her.
Natsu just smiled, the rush of finally, finally kissing Lucy, his mate (just thinking the damn word made him giddy) not lessening, even with everyone carefully watching him like he was a time bomb ticking down to its last final seconds. He just calmly wrapped his arms around Lucy's shoulders.
"Mine," he said stubbornly.
Juvia's eyes softened.
But she didn't let go. Not just yet.
Lucy blew at her hair again, resulting in her hair still just staying in her face. Which then resulted in an adorable pout that Natsu laughed at. He ruffled her hair, sending her blond locks just everywhere. not to mention her laurel fell off, scattered somewhere among the dirt. She swiped at him. He stuck his tongue out, and Juvia's heart melted just about then.
It was... Just so comfortable. They looked like they'd been together forever.
It was almost as if the past two months had never even happened. Like sh'ed never left, like Natsu had never spiraled deep enough into his depression to self-destruct.
Like she'd never even died.
But, alas, all of those things had happened.
Sting's face had gone paper white. His pupils had dilated almost instantaneously, his eyes looking almost completely black. It was a common reaction for Slayers. When they latched onto a familiar scent, when they were scared. Angry.
And he certainly looked... menacing. Scary.
Frightened.
"Who are you?" He whispered. He pointed an accusing finger at her.
And then he was in front of her, though the most crowd would later say they hand't even seen him move. Crouched in front of her, he was approaching her as one would a wild animal. And it was really, very embarrassing. Lucy could feel heat rushing into her cheeks, as everyone watched them.
"Who. Are. You."
She swallowed roughly.
"Sting. It's me."
"No, no no," he said, backing up. "She's dead. You're dead," he insisted.
"Yeah. I know."
Strong, gentle hands, presumably belonging to the figure who she had her back pressed against, were smoothing all her hair back, exposing her anxious face.
"Lucy," he breathed, dumbfounded. "What the hell?"
And then Gray spun on his heel, nearly falling over himself when the damn forbidden name was spoken.
"What did we say about saying her n-"
Gray never finished his thought. He stormed over, his face coming so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her face. (She had to keep a tight grip on Natsu's arm to keep him from snarling. Possessive instincts were hard to just stomp down and suppress. Especially for new mates.) Sting had been pushed to the side.
His eyes were wide and huge, and hers were soft and warm and just so damn familiar it hurt.
Gray dropped to his knees in front of her.
"Impossible," he breathed.
"Yeah," Lucy said in return, rubbing at her temples. She sighed.
Here comes the migraine.
"I know."
Every. Single. Screen. Zoomed in on her face; zeroed in on her completely lost expression.
Where to start? And, how to start? Just with a 'oh how have you guys been? Me? Oh, you know, same old same old. Died and came back reincarnated as a Spirit. No biggie." Yes, because that would go over so well in casual conversation.
But her thoughts were interrupted by the overwhelming noise.
There was a deafening roar. It echoed; bouncing off the marble walls.
People.
Were.
Going.
Crazy.
Practically all of Sabertooth was in tears, leaping over the railing. Then came Lyon from Lamina Scale. (He'd never believed in ghosts, not really. Never since complicated circumstances surrounding Ul's death.) Sherry was right behind him.
All of Fairy Tail was dead silent, unmoving. Eyes were wide, huge even, and not a sound came from them.
"Oh my god! Could it really be? Lucy Heartfilia?! She's returned from the dead!" The announcer came over the speakers in their booming voice.
"Hi Gray," Lucy greeted as she crouched to be at his eye level, the overly loud announcement making her flush. "Been a while huh?"
And with that, he sprang forward and caught her in a hug.
"Lucy," he rasped.
"You're dead," he sobbed into her shoulder, for once his hardened shell had cracked. "You're dead."
"Yes." Was her short reply.
She shushed him quietly, as he cried into her shoulder. She rocked slowly back and forth on her heels, humming a lullaby she she'd always, always been humming under her breath on the many nights they'd gone on overnight jobs, and god did that only make him cry harder.
He only let so many people inside. There were only so many people that ever saw the soft side of Gray; the people he cared about the most. Sure, Fairy Tail was his family. But Lucy had been, or rather, was different. She was... You know, that bond you have if you're twins? They were the same age, after all. And they had just felt... closer. Erza was like the over protective (not to mention terrifying) big sister he'd never had but...
He'd lost his family early in life. His father, and mother. Both gone in the blink of an eye. But he'd found someone else to take care of him, someone so fiercely protective and loving.
Then she'd died.
And then he'd come to Fairy Tail, and all had been right with the world.
Until that one mission. With Natsu rising from the pit, a bloody and unmoving Lucy cradled in his arms.
And then Natsu had laid her down, putting her head in his lap, and threw his head back.
And he wailed.
Natsu was screaming, tears streaking down his face. He had his neck buried in her neck, but her scent was overpowered by the salty smell of his tears and her blood.
Natsu didn't cry. Natsu didn't scream or slump in defeat like he was doing over Lucy's unmoving body. Erza didn't go wide eyed and collapse. Erza Scarlett was never brought to her knees by anything. Impossible. And Lucy... And Lucy didn't die. Lucy was the sunshine, starry-eyed girl who'd only just found a new family; who'd only just started living her life. That was when this new reality, the happy world he'd built up out of the ashes and ruins of his former life, had cracked.
And then shattered.
So now, as the broken shards were heating and melting and being reshaped into a whole, new creation, Gray allowed himself to lower all his defenses. This was his family, this was his friend, the little sister he'd never had, all together again. This was happening. This was real.
"You never learn, do you Gray?" Lucy asked, tearing up herself. "Put some clothes on, you big dummy," she said, halfheartedly slapping his arm. "You might catch a cold," she joked. He snorted in spite of himself, as he cried and watery eyes she looked up to the stands, where Fairy Tail was. And so, because she no longer had her trademark pink guild mark, she made an L with her finger and pointed it towards the sun. The tradition they'd always had.
It was her.
She was home.
Erza's long, scarlet, bright hair, the very thing she'd been named for, fell from her face in tendrils and even draped over Lucy's shoulders as as cried.
It was one big mess.
The games had come to an abrupt stop, and the crowd had been told they were prohibited from entering the center floor.
It was a miracle. At least, that was what most of them were calling it.
"Oh Mavis," Erza said, her tears dripping down her face, a torrent of saltwater pouring onto her lap. "Thank you." She kissed Lucy on the forehead, squeezing the blonde so intensely Lucy became lightheaded. Her ringlets of gold were shining, reflecting the sun and bouncing light off her head like a halo.
They were all crying. They were a hopeless, huge big mess, but they were one big mess all together and at this point that was all that mattered. They were all one big hot mess, but they were a family and no one really cared about all of that in the moment.
Levy was biting her thumb, sobbing into Lucy's shoulder. The angel was surrounded by people, leaning on her and sobbing and embracing. Natsu had tears of joy welling up in his eyes, and he had to physically restrain himself to keep himself from jumping on her and kissing her senseless. He kept one hand in hers though, because personal space be damned, there was no way he was letting go of her. Ever again.
"Guess those fairies really are invincible, huh?" Rogue asked softly, as he looked over the scene with gentle eyes.
Sting could only nod, watching on silently. It simply wasn't possible, no one wanted to say it, especially not with Natsu within hearing range, but it was the truth. The Dragon Slayers were all skeptical. But... Clones, copies, images of people didn't share a scent.
People were unique in smell and feel, and this Lucy... just had to be the Lucy they'd known and loved. But she couldn't be.
Miracles indeed.
Sorry I took forever to update!
-Pyro