Warning: For once…no gore. No angsty dramatics. I'm here to warn you this is just a short chapter full of fluff. It came from my deep desire to write sweet, sweet physical comfort, born from reading the slow burn that is The Foxhole Court and AO3 fics of it. Now that's a form of torture.

It did not take long for the convoluted emotions that Laxus' attempt for the position of Master had created begun to die down. Fairy Tail was a guild known for taking in tragic and lost souls, so a bit of internal fighting would not bring them down for long. It also would not stop them from doing their best to swallow up the Thunder God Tribe into their mix.

With her usual sense of compassion, Mirajane took it upon herself to spearhead the movement. It was not uncommon to find Freed sitting at the bar when she was on shift. His face was persistently fixed in a moment of longing and remorse. Mirajane's never ending cheer and several drinks did much to slowly ply away the expressions, opening Freed up into talking more with others. It was clear the task would be long and arduous, but Mirajane took to it with a sense of responsibility born from the bruises still fading from Freed's body.

To most of the guild's bemusement, Elfman had decided to draw inspiration from his sister and had honed into the loudmouth Evergreen. Despite rarely having crossed paths before, Elfman's ability to roll with almost any blow left him as one of the few who could deal with Evergreen's caustic mouth and biting wit. The self-proclaimed 'fairy' did not to enjoy the 'manly' attention heaped upon her, but since she had yet to shoot him with her magic, everyone thought he was doing quite well. Cana did a lot to keep the two from murdering each other by drawing Evergreen into the fold of women in the guild, but she was also as likely to start another spat by merely saying 'sexual tension' and 'hate sex' and leaving it at that.

Between those two, the guild was still studious in not commenting on how Bickslow and Lucy avoided each other fastidiously, lest a repeat of the 'Mirajane Vs Lucy' incident happened again.

A pleasant surprise that broke upon the dysfunctional attempts at recovering from the festival was the results of Ms Fairy Tail coming through, even after its violent interruption.

Erza had taken a clear and easy lead, but Juvia was blushingly stupefied that she had taken second place – many commented it was due to the wave she had unleashed on Laxus after he had attacked Lucy and laughed at how the balls on her really proved that she Fairy Tail mage now.

Even more shockingly, Lucy had closely followed behind for third place, earning a tidy little sum that would pay her bills and get food for her rowdy boys for another few weeks. Mirajane was cheery in her bluntness when she explains to Lucy that she got votes from the Fairy's because of how badly she had obviously kicked Bickslow's ass. There had also been plenty from the civilians due to her glamorous act on the parade float – plenty of bets had been placed on when Lucy would finally realise the uptick in civilian visitors to the guild was not simply 'concerned members of the public'. Gajeel had betted on someone needing it to be spelled out for the Maiden, but Levy had risen to the challenge, confident that her close friend was more socially aware than that.

(When Mirajane slyly mentions how gorgeous Lucy had looked in red and shimmering gold, she is delighted when Lucy predictably steams with pleased embarrassment. Mirajane manages a covert picture before Lucy hides her face. She'd definitely be sliding it to Levy to permanently spell onto Lucy's fridge alongside the other 'blackmail'.)

Within a few days, everyone's wounds had healed, with Natsu and Gajeel's heightened abilities meaning that there was only some lingering stiffness by the end of the week. That did not mean that Natsu had not milked his injuries for all they were worth, prominently using them even a week later as a means of protection from Erza when she got frustrated with him. Mainly though, he had used the bandages wrapped around him in order to get more sympathy from Lucy.

By the first night, Ryos had taken the initiative to pack Sting and Lector up and head off to the Strauss siblings' house during the nights. The duo had been a little bit fragile after facing the memory of Lisanna once more and welcomed the exuberant and grounding presence of the young boys and cat. It also allowed the boys freedom from Natsu's whingy behaviour and Lucy's slowly mounting frustration.

(Ryos whispered to Sting and Lector in their shared cot in the Strauss living room that it was also to escape how sappy Lucy and Natsu had been recently)

It was noticeable to anyone who had met Lucy when she had first been brought to the guild – eyes dark and darting for every exit, the only words spoken to Natsu being bitten-off insults and a prominent personal bubble – that the blonde had really changed. That the guild had changed around her. Fairy Tail was more self-conscious of their destructive habits, and even their most emotionally dense members had begun to learn tact. After all, their aggressive honesty and dogged perusal for it was what had brought Lucy's fragility to the surface after her S-class mission. It was only due to the arrival of Sting and Lector that her descent into depression was halted.

Instead, Lucy performed an almost one-eighty emotional reversal. Slowly her trust and consequential emotional vulnerability blossomed, and everyone was aware of the weight of this change. For all his mule-headed attitude and lack of social skills, Natsu more than anyone had picked up on this and grabbed it with both hands, determined to never let go. With each passing day, Lucy was more receptive to Natsu and the rest of the guild's earnest physical affection, slackening her grip on her control and turning the reins over to her friends.

It was most likely due to this combination of Lucy's new openness and Natsu's excuse of injuries meant that the boy got away with a lot more than he already did after the festival ended. He practically laid claim to her bed alongside Happy and was constantly reaching out for Lucy to get him more food, to come scrub his back in the tub, hurry up and come to bed, idiot, it's way too late.

Lucy put up with his demanding attitude for the first day before hauling Natsu out in the early afternoon of the second day to start helping prepare dinner for them and Happy, otherwise she would kick him to the curb and there would be no bed-sharing. Wisely, Natsu took the compromise and started behaving better. In return, Lucy would go to bed on time and even allow Natsu to choose the sleeping positions so that his injuries would not be aggravated.

With the boys at the Strauss household, the two young adults and Happy found the empty expanse of the bed a nostalgic reminder of their beginnings. However, long gone were the awkward nights of trying to find their individual spaces on the bed; Natsu trying to respect Lucy's space while also satiating his innate desire for physical comfort, the dragon inside him calling for body heat and the rise-and-fall of another's chest. Now, Natsu barely paused before he slinked into the bed.

With Happy already curled up on a pillow in the corner, Lucy was free to sprawl out on her back. The sheets were at a rumpled heap by her feet, ready to be pulled up whenever Natsu found his spot. The fur quilt had been abandoned for the unnatural heat of dragon slayers, stored away for winter's chill – if it was even needed then. That left Lucy's body bare as Natsu swung himself over her, forearms holding his weight up and legs bracketing her muscular thighs as he looked down at her. The oversized shirt she wore was clearly one of his for once, rather than Gray's, evident by the scorch marks pitted across the stretched-out collar. Her bare legs jutted out in a gawky mess of tan lines and scars, athletic shorts nearly entirely covered by the shirt.

The sight of Lucy so relaxed beneath him that she would bare her scars and skin made the dragon in Natsu rumble in delight. Trust was one of the most important things to Natsu, a boy raised with the blunt honesty of a non-human parent, and to have one of his most precious nakama give it to him so freely was all he could ever want. However, his delight still could not overpower his learned desire to respect Lucy and her space.

"Is this okay?" Natsu whispered, bare torso carefully held away from Lucy's after removing his vest for sleep. His arms did not so much as tremble as he continued to hold himself up, the absurd heat from his body being the only thing to touch Lucy. Beneath him, Lucy almost seemed to hold her breath. This was the first time that their nightly routine had changed – three bodies missing and the usual spooning clearly not in the cards – but despite his intent to cause this change, Natsu had handed the decision over to Lucy, knowing how much choice meant to a woman so confined by her past.

"It's rare for you to ask for anything," Lucy murmurs back. Her eyes were nearly black with Natsu's shadow cast firmly over her, the streetlights outside the window the only source of light. "Normally you just take."

Natsu snorted out a laugh, hot air fanning the baby hairs curling at Lucy's temple. "Maybe you and Erza have finally beat manners into my head after all."

That pulled a laugh out of Lucy as well, the sound loud in the stillness of the room. "The way you ate at dinner says otherwise."

The two bickered like that for another minute, Natsu still shoring himself up and away from Lucy. Both of them were aware that something had to happen, but neither felt the need to mention how Lucy's hands clenched into the sheets by her sides, struggling to adapt to Natsu's new approach to proximity.

Eventually they ran out of steam to continue such a well-worn argument and silence crept in again. Lucy gazed up at Natsu, taking in how the streetlights sharpened his usually boyish features into the visage of something less-than-human. The faint glow in his green eyes and unnaturally sharp incisors had never made her uncomfortable before. Yet, it was now a sense of comfort and familiarity. Those eyes had never looked at her with anything but compassion and a desire to connect. They would never look to hurt her. Lucy was more than aware of that nowadays.

"Come here," Lucy breathed out, calloused hands reaching up to cradle Natsu's face. Her fingers fluttered nervously like butterfly wings when she pulled him down, slowly guiding Natsu's face into the crook of her neck. The press of Natsu's nose to the juncture between Lucy's neck and shoulder made her pause, but when the boy did nothing but breathe in her scent she began to fully relax.

In response, Natsu was just as slow in lowering his body just off-centre of Lucy. His biceps bulged with the effort, and Lucy turned her face away from Natsu to nudge it against the bend of his elbow. Taking that as permission, Natsu finally settled his solid bulk against Lucy. The way his body pressed Lucy back into the mattress gave her pause, but she showed her acceptance of the position by tugging the sheets up with her feet. Noticing this, Natsu barely moved away from Lucy's neck to pull them up around his shoulders. The sheets cocooned the two, smelling like the floral detergent Lyra adored and the combined musk of the people who usually slept in it.

"Mmmmnn, smells like home," Natsu mumbled. His lips rubbed against Lucy's skin when he nudged his head back against her neck.

"Stop that." Lucy squirmed at the foreign sensation, long hair falling over Natsu's face and making him spit out a few strands in practiced fashion. "Feels weird."

Natsu quickly blew a raspberry against her neck, his weight not allowing Lucy to wriggle away, even as she spluttered out protests. "You're weird."

When he finally stopped, Lucy mulishly nudged her sharp chin into Natsu's head. "Real mature, asshole. When are you going to get new insults, huh?" Natsu's off-centre position meant his left leg stretched out between her own legs with the other pressing against the outside of her thigh, and Lucy was quick to wrap them around the limb. With Natsu standing nearly a full head taller than Lucy her feet could only peddle pathetically at his calves in admonishment.

Her chin was more of an irritant to Natsu, and he grumbled as he twisted his arms around Lucy and settled more firmly into her. "When you finally get a bed big enough for us all I'll get new insults."

"So expensive," Lucy sighed jokingly as she mirrored Natsu's movements to put her arms around his broad back. The expanse of his bare chest eclipsed Lucy's more petite frame. Even with her shoulders bulked by sword play, it would be nigh impossible for anyone looking in on the scene to see any part of Lucy bar her face. A large part of Natsu – the part that spoke mostly in animalistic snarls and rumbles – enjoyed it that way. Only he could feel the tensile strong press of Lucy's stomach, softened merely by the thin cotton of her (his) shirt. With each of their breaths, Natsu could feel that strength press against his own stomach, and the rhythm made his thoughts fuzzy.

With the sheets over them trapped in the heat emanating from their bodies, Lucy could also feel sleep pulling at her due to the warmth of the man on top of her. She barely managed to say, "I'll think about it", muzzily turning over the well-worn thought of upgrading her bed.

Natsu replied unintelligibly, already almost completely conked out. His eyelashes fluttered against Lucy's neck, and the blonde finally gave into the desire to turn her face into the wild curls of Natsu's hair. For once the scent of smoke did not cause her heart to race, and the wild musk of the young man further pulled sleep over her.

The only sounds in the apartment were Lucy's breaths, heavy from Natsu's weight, and the rumbling beginnings of Natsu's snores.

Then—

"You two are so gross," muttered Happy, still awake in the corner.

Neither Lucy nor Natsu bothered to open their eyes. "Shut up Happy."

When Natsu and Lucy finally entered the guild on the third day, it was only due to the intervention of Andromeda. Nothing was more motivating than an angry spirit summoning themselves in your bedroom to reprimand you for wasting time on one man, and to hurry up and get out of the house.

Ryos and Sting, with an excited Lector on his shoulder, greeted the two and Happy with hugs and excitable chatter about learning how to better channel their magic, as taught by the Strauss siblings who were guiding them to the guild. The rest of Team Natsu greeted their lost two members with more exasperation, having been kept from breaking into the department for Natsu's 'health' and, more importantly, Lucy's sanity. Gray did not hesitate to pick a fight with Natsu the second he walked through the door with an arm slung around Lucy, clearly taking the declination of bandages as a cue.

As Lucy sighed and headed to where Juvia, Cana, Levy and Erza were beckoning her over to a table, she couldn't shake off the feeling that her trip to the guild was followed by someone else.

The rest of Lucy's week was devoted to attempting to distract herself from the persistent sensation of being watched. She all but threw herself into interacting with her friends, as well as watching over Natsu trying to coach an excitable Ryos and Sting in dragon slayer arts in the woods by his house.

Even her spirits attempt to keep her happiness buoyant. While getting abused by Aquarius verbally and physically in the creek near where her boys were training was fun and all, it was Lyra's gift of new clothing that made Lucy beam with contentment.

The youthful spirit had declared Lucy's usual battle clothing defunct. While they could be fixed, Lyra had turned her nose up at Lucy's request. Rather, Lyra had looked to Cancer to aid her in creating something new. She refused to let Lucy continue wearing the same thing all the time, regardless of how much Lucy claimed that 'unless it's worn down or torn to shreds, then it's still wearable!'

Of course, when Lyra presented the hard work she had put in alongside the master tailor, Cancer, Lucy was quick to stop her protests. The vest of tough lizard hide she had always bore was still functional, particularly after a quick clean and oil. It was padded underneath by a navy short-sleeved shirt trimmed in gold decal that, on closer inspection, was celestial pictographs. Black arm guards ensured that Lucy had a place to hide nifty tools like thin knives and lock pics, the reminder of her time with Jose rattling at the corners of her mind. It also covered her arms and thus offered protection from other blades with its lining of leather hidden by black cloth. Functional black shorts held up by a belt matched the leg guards that stretched from ankle to just above the shorts' edges on her middle thigh. Rounded out by her usual boots, equipment pouches and sword strap across her chest, Lucy was both comfortable and fashionable.

The gift was also welcomed as an encouragement for missions to start back up again. With Natsu fully healed up, Team Natsu could finally throw themselves back into missions. It was another possible distraction for Lucy to escape to.

However, perhaps the best diversion came from an unexpected source. A roughly written letter that came from Sherry, who Lucy had nearly forgotten in the excitement that had followed Galura Island.

The bubble gum pink stationary was scented like strawberries but failed to cover-up how awkward and shaky the writing was at times. Several words were crossed out as Sherry attempted to reach out to the girl who had befriended her, even after she had tried to kill her. Luckily for her, Lucy was enraptured by the girl's straightforward and earnest attitude, as well as hopelessly enamoured by how she dotted every 'I' with a love heart. A response was quickly penned back, Lucy almost certain that this was the beginning of something new and exciting.

Nevertheless, the bright spot the letter brought still did nothing to lower the persisting sensation that Lucy was being watched. Slowly her frustration and paranoia built, overwhelming her previously joyous attitude and raising the occurrences of Loke coaching her through burgeoning panic attacks in the bathroom. Despite her best efforts to feel her stalkers' presence with her magic, Lucy came back with nothing. It didn't help that Magnolia was still crowded with the remnants of the Fantasia festival, and thus any attempt to find the culprit by normal means was impossible.

Just as it all seemed to come to boil near the end of the week, with her friends close to asking what was wrong with her, Lucy finally meets her stalker.

It is her father. Well, Lucy's father. Dressed in rags and face wrecked with tangled hair and stress lines, but still wearing enough resemblance to the man who had attempted to hit her once that Lucy knew before he spoke.

When Jude claims to have wanted to see Lucy after losing his fortune, it all comes rushing back to the girl.

Ah, of course. The Love & Lucky incident.

It is clear to see the greed and desperation in Jude's eyes as he begs for cash from his perceived daughter. To him, she was a successful and powerful mage with plenty of wealth to her name; after all, she was her daughter. He did not bother to take in the warning signs of Lucy's eyes darkening by the hood of her eyelids, disdain creeping into the tight corners of her mouth.

There was still lingering rage within the blonde from how he mistreated the original Lucy. From how he had kept her prisoner inside the house and within his rules. The fact that he had sent a psychotic guild master after her only went to show how far he had fallen since Layla's death. There was a part of Lucy that wanted to lay into him physical and verbally on the street outside her house. To make him feel the same pain and humiliation as Lucy once felt.

But looking upon the man who was now kneeling at her feet, grasping with shaking hands at her pant legs, Lucy could only find overwhelming pity and exhaustion.

"I don't have that kind of money," Lucy answers softly. Rather, she doesn't have so much on her in such short notice. Her bills had just gone through, and she had finally ordered and paid for a king bed to be delivered to her apartment.

It would take some rearranging of her combined living and bedroom space, but she was certain that after moving her current double to another wall she could finally fit all of her boys into the house. Sting and Ryos were growing boys and soon wouldn't be able to sleep with her, so they would take the double until Lucy finally saved enough to get a house with separate bedrooms. Lucy would then take the king as she was almost certain that the double would only occasionally be used by the boys for a while longer, and Natsu and Happy were almost always over anyways.

Except that was too much to explain to Jude. How to justify that she was essentially a mother and big sister to two young boys? That a man shared her bed nearly every night, yet they were not together? It often confounded Lucy, so instead she let silence fill the air after her financial confession.

As expected, Jude didn't take kindly to these supposed lies. He began to curse her out on the street for being a heartless wench. Wary of her boys hearing from the apartment above with their superior senses, Lucy is quick to send Jude away with a few harsh words and a threat of physical or magical harm.

She watches him stagger away still muttering to himself, and wonders if she should even head after him tomorrow.

The next day dawns bright and Team Natsu has finally come back together for a mission that does not revolve around one of their personal issues. Juvia is ecstatic to be a part of something bigger than the lonely past she had left with the Phantoms, but she still clings to Gray's side. Sheltered from her youth, Juvia's lack of social skills is evident to anyone who meets her. Despite Cana's best efforts, the water user cannot stomach slicking her hair back. Instead her bangs hang into her eyes, sheltering her from direct eye contact with anyone.

As Lucy attempts to coach Juvia into talking more, as well as wrangling a pair of young boys excited for their first big mission with their sister, bad news dawns. A dark guild, Naked Mummy, is looking to attack a local merchant guild nearby. Lucy cannot help herself.

Barely pausing to thrust Ryos, Sting and Lector at Erza – the woman could be trusted to die rather than let anything happen to her boys – Lucy takes off for the outskirts of town. An excuse of something being forgotten is thrown behind her. She is not heading back towards her home though. The others are not that stupid. They race after her.

Andromeda appears in a flash of golden light and disappears with Lucy just as quickly.

Residual fear of Lucy disappearing off to her old home rises before the team's eyes. The fear tastes sour but familiar. No one says a word, but they all immediately launch themselves off in search of this Naked Mummy. Because, despite Lucy's best efforts to deflect last night, both Ryos and Sting could tell she was lying when she said she didn't know the man who had been shouting outside their window. Ryos would know Jude's scent anywhere after smelling its cloying scent sour with anger clinging to Lucy after they found her at her old home. Just a mention of this incident fans the flames of fear, and Erza is ruthless in commandeering a magic four-wheeler.

For all of them, it feels like a sharp slide backwards. A kick to the gut. Lucy had been so open lately. Progress had been made. So why was she running back to the father who had so cruelly cast her aside? Had carved chunks out of their precious guild and nakama?

But, really, it did not matter why. Lucy was not going anywhere.

Not. This. Fucking. Time.

In the end, it does not take much for Lucy to decimate the entirety of the Naked Mummy and save the hostages. While Virgo was covertly sent into the merchant guild to create pitfalls for men to fall into, Lucy could enter from the front and take advantage of openings with her fists. She could be so brazen because of the easy trust she placed in Vulp, sneaking around the edges and vanishing the hostages with illusions to safely smuggle them outside.

It barely takes ten minutes and, aside from broken benches and dented tills, there is no overt destruction of property. The only injuries are those done to the Naked Mummy members. In the anticlimactic aftermath, Lucy helps tidy up the merchant hall and even manages a friendly conversation with the Council guards that come to collect the dark guild members.

This peaceful scene is what Jude stumbles onto when he finally arrives at the guild. The merchants were huddled in a group far away from their assailants, shock blankets tucked close. Despite the violence they had just faced, the group is calm. After all, the famous Celestial Maiden had come to their aid. Some of them were even working up the nerve to disrupt the blonde to get an autograph.

Lucy was busy happily catching-up with the Council guards. The group of ten or so guards shared with the blonde the small-talk of people meeting for the first time in some time, looking to check up on how things had been. Most of the guards had been on missions with the Celestial Maiden when she had been a freelance mage, and her assistance with loading the offenders into the paddy wagons that pull up is met with glee. Even if she was now one of those Fairy Tail hooligans, she had been one of theirs first. Some of them even mused over the idea of getting an autograph for themselves. There would be numerous jealous co-workers back at the dorms who would foam at the mouth at a chance to even talk to the Celestial Maiden, let alone get her autograph. But none of the guards could work up the nerve to ask, not even the dark-skinned lady called Helia who had once spent a night speechless after working alongside the Maiden to fight a nest of monstrous, oversized vipers.

(Many resolved to ask next time. When they could stomach having that warm smile and gooey chocolate eyes directed right at them)

When the last offender is put away, Jude finally shuffles forwards to confront Lucy on why she had so clearly come to save the guild. The one he was coming to make a new life at.

Confronted in turn by Jude's face, rife with a jumbled mess of confusion and hope, Lucy pulls on a visage of earnestness. Regardless of how she truly felt about Jude, the real Lucy deserved a good relationship with her father, and she still needed Jude in the story. Even if that meant falsely claiming that she was worried about him and had come running to ensure he was safe.

After a moment, Jude's face visibly softens. It is hard to be spiteful of someone who had fought an entire dark guild to ensure your safety. With fragile hope, Jude hesitantly offers up that this guild, Love & Lucky, is where he had met her mother, Layla. That they had fallen in love and decided to name their first girl 'Lucy' after the sign that had been missing its 'k' for years.

To this, Lucy can only offer a soft smile. There is still something good buried in Jude, and she knew it would slowly grow to fruition within the next few years at this guild. He just needed time. But if things followed the worn tread of fate…After those forboding seven years he would be dead. There would be nothing left of Lucy's father than bad memories and a mysterious clock hand. She needed to say something before her team caught up to her. Needed to say several something's to ensure her plans wouldn't go astray.

Pulling Jude in close, Lucy tells him in hushed tones to look for a girl named Michele in the future; she would come to him, and he must trust her with his most precious item. He must tell her to find Lucy soon after, that she's still waiting for her.

Jude is understandable confused, but any protests go silent when Lucy places a delicate hand on his shoulder. In the years that Lucy had slipped away from his side, she has grown to near his height. Her hands are still delicate in their size, but her rough palms catch on the wool of his cloak, belaying just one of the changes he had missed. The thin scars on those hands suddenly make him unbearably sad. Who was this proud young woman in front of him? Who was Lucy, if not a Heartifilia anymore?

As if sensing the turmoils of Jude's thoughts, Lucy leans in slightly. Her words are only slightly bitter when she hopes he finds happiness here once more, and that he learns to let go of his pain and anger. She gives him a bright smile that reminds him so much of Layla, before telling him to take care and leaving back down the road.

There is a moment where Lucy has to fight back tears – because no one deserves to die, let alone this man who Lucy has never truly found peace with – but the arrival of her team burns those tears away with their blinding concern and love.

In the background looking on as several of those Fairy Tail mages throw themselves at his daughter, Jude can only feel grateful that his only child has finally found happiness of her own.

(Although, the sight of two young boys clinging to her leg and a pink-haired fellow hugging her closely makes him wonder if maybe she had found happiness a little young)

LUCY IS AN IDOL TO COUNCIL GUARDS AND MANY OF THEM HAVE POSTERS OF THE FAMED CELESTIAL MAIDEN ON THEIR DORM WALLS, CHANGE MY MIND!

Also, lads, is it sexual to give your live-in male friend permission to breach your personal bubble and lie down on you, pressing you into the mattress so that they can breathe in your scent since it reminds them of home?

It literally be like:

Natsu, respecting Lucy's boundaries but also straight-up telling her that her scent is home: u need a bigger bed

Lucy, immediately: anything for u

Also Lucy: what are we?

Honestly, I don't have an excuse for this chapter aside from bridging the gap to the next arc and also allowing me to fill the touch starvation trope that is My Kink.

Hope you enjoyed!