"Look Happy," Natsu said, pointing to where their guild flag flew proudly, "It looks better than ever!"
"I thought you didn't like it when the guild changed," Happy asked.
"All we've lived is change buddy, I think I'm over it," Natsu said, eyes shining, "Where should we go first?"
"I want to see Lucy," Happy said immediately. He loved Natsu, but while they were on a team with Lucy, Happy's family had gotten bigger, and he had felt that hole the entire trip. Natsu wasn't always the best to trade quips with. Don't get him wrong, Natsu was good, just not as good as Lucy. Nor was he as soft as Lucy was.
"Sounds good," Natsu replied, eager to see the girl he thought about every day, "Lucy is probably at the guild, let's say hi to everyone there first."
"Umm, are you sure Lucy isn't going to be angry with us?" Happy asked nervously. It had never felt right leaving a letter, but both of them knew it was the only way they would be able to leave her behind.
"Lucy is tough as nails, she might hit me a little, but she'll have gotten over it," Natsu assured him. The celestial spirit mage was one of the strongest people he knew, of course she would have been fine.
"Hey everybody! We're back!" Natsu shouted as he kicked open the door. He took a moment to appreciate the differences he could find in his friends. Levy's hair was longer, Erza was wearing new armor, Cana was wearing a shirt, Gajeel had gotten his hair cut, Droy had lost weight, Nab was handing a job to Mira, and Laxus was sitting in the middle of the room instead of to the side. Gray wasn't there because a fist wasn't currently being shoved in his face, but he would find that bastard later.
Everyone had turned to look at him when he burst open the door, "Welcome back Natsu," Lisanna said. There were mixed reactions from his guild mates, he guessed Lucy had told them how he left her. Still, he could smell her in the building, and that was all he really cared about at the moment. He would make it up to everyone else later.
"Where's my partner?" Natsu asked as he walked in and sat at the bar next to Mira.
"Who?" she asked pleasantly.
"Lucy? My partner? Geeze Mira, it's only been a year."
"I'm sorry, under your definitions of partners, you aren't supposed to leave the other behind. It had me confused," Mira said carefully. Ouch, Natsu hadn't been expecting that from the sweet girl.
"Look, I really need to see Lucy. The sooner I make it up to her, the better," he begged.
Mira hesitated and looked up at the second floor before answering. "Sorry, the guild master is in a meeting all afternoon with an important client. I can pass on a message," she said. Now Natsu rolled his eyes.
"I don't want to see Gramps," Natsu explained carefully, "I want to see Lucy. Will you just answer my question?" Why was Mira being so…not understanding?
"Please Mira?" Happy begged. Mira looked conflicted, but Cana answered him after chugging from her barrel and slamming it next to him.
"Geeze, didn't you pick up a Sorcerer Weekly while you were away? Lucy is guild master you idiot. It was all over the news after we won the Grand Magic Games last month," she said, eyes gleaming. For some reason he got the impression that she wanted to hit him, but he couldn't pay attention to that compared to her news.
"Wait, Lucy is Gramps? Where's Gramps?" Natsu asked, looking around, as though expecting the old man to wave a beer mug at him from a table.
"He retired and disbanded Fairy Tail," Mira said. "Lucy refused to let that happen, turns out she couldn't stand losing you, Happy, and Fairy Tail. So she saved the only one she could. We voted her guild master a little after that." Mira explained, glaring at him. She thought for a moment about adding Aquarius to the list, but that was something Lucy should be allowed to decide if he should know.
Natsu might have told Happy he could process change, but this was too much even for him.
"But Lucy isn't S-class," He murmured, trying to figure it all out. Cana snorted.
"She is now; she gave the complete running of the trial over to Erza, Mira, Gildarts, and Laxus. She won with me as her partner. You should have seen her destroy Evergreen. Seriously, mentioning you was the biggest mistake of Ever's entire trial." Cana was looking at him, and he was sure she wanted to punch him, and Natsu felt nervous for the first time since coming into the guild. Lucy didn't lose her cool, not like Cana was suggesting.
"When can I see her?" Natsu asked, this wasn't in the plan at all. At that moment Lucy entered the main room, laughing and shaking hands with an elderly woman.
"Wasn't that woman screaming about suing Fairy Tail for destroying her house?" Cana whispered to Mira, who nodded.
"I'm so glad to have finally met a sensible wizard," the woman said, shaking Lucy's hand one last time before leaving.
"Can't wait to do business with you again Noel!" Lucy called after the woman, smiling. As soon as she had exited the guild, Lucy turned stony. She marched over to Gajeel and pulled him by the ear down to her level. He nearly chocked on his fork.
"You were hired to get rid of her child's animated iron toy and you destroyed her house! Just because she calls Pantherlily dirty doesn't give you the right to destroy other people's property. Grow up!"
"Nobody is allowed to go around insulting my cat." Gajeel growled back.
"Fine, don't let any bad guys insult your cat, but leave magicless old ladies their opinions, it's all they have. As punishment, guess who is going to be a part of the rebuilding crew? Good thing you got all that experience with the guild hall. And Pantherlily, since you didn't do anything wrong, feel free to do what you like. The client claimed she would never have said that about you if she knew you were an Exceed." Natsu was expecting a fight to break out right then and there. No one bossed Gajeel around like that, especially over something as silly as one house being destroyed. Instead Gajeel grunted and nodded.
Natsu started laughing then, his Lucy was guild master and shutting Gajeel up, scolding him for doing the same things the two of them had done for years. Granted, they hadn't ever destroyed an old woman's house, but still.
"Something funny… Natsu?" Lucy turned to face the returned fire mage, and the most disturbing part was that Natsu couldn't figure out what she was thinking. He had always been able to read Lucy like an open book, and know exactly how to respond. A second later Loke was at her side, tugging on her arm so that she was behind him.
"Lucy? What's wrong?" Loke demanded searching for a threat. Then his eyes landed on Natsu and he relaxed his battle stance, but wrinkled his nose.
"Oh, it's you," he said disgustedly, then turned from him and back to Lucy, "Come on Lucy, he isn't worth it. You still have some work to do."
"I-I," Lucy stuttered, Loke forced her eyes to meet his by grabbing her face, and she gained confidence, "You're right. I-I still have those interview requests to go over," she said, then turned, rather mechanically, and started walking back to her office.
"Come on Lucy," Natsu complained, "I'm gone for a year and I don't even get a 'welcome back'?"
Lucy stopped walking, and the entire guild was watching the drama, some quick bets were being made in the corners. "Welcome back Natsu. I'm the guild master, Mira is still assistant. When you take a job report to her. I have work to do." Lucy said, without turning to look at him. Happy started crying then, he flew over and gave Lucy a hug. At first she seemed surprised, but as Happy kept crying about how much he missed her and all her fish, she relaxed. Natsu finally saw an expression he was familiar with, Lucy's motherly side.
"Shh, Happy, it's okay, I'm here. Now come on, you didn't think you could just come back after a year and have nothing change, did you? A lot can happen in a year." Happy wouldn't let go of her, so she threw an apologetic look over at Natsu and went into her office with a crying Happy and an annoyed lion spirit.
"Okay, what?" Natsu asked. Laxus felt the need to step in.
"Lucy was broken when you left, she held together through sheer willpower and guts. Those first two months Lucy broke down more times than I care to remember. I'm guessing she cut you out of her life in an act of self-preservation, so leave her alone."
"Like Hell am I going to leave her alone," Natsu growled. Suddenly Laxus and Erza were towering over him. It was a bit more difficult since his growth spurt, but it still wasn't a very cheering sight.
"I know you were not just threatening to add emotional turmoil to our guild master," Erza threatened, a sword in hand and the devil in her eyes.
"Hey, I have saved Lucy's life and emotions far more times than you can even imagine. It's not fair that she's mad at me for taking time to myself," Natsu argued, though it sounded hollow in his own ears.
"Let's see if that year was worth it," Gajeel grinned from his seat, suddenly aiming a punch at the other dragon slayer. A brawl broke out, and for a moment, Natsu forgot Lucy and just enjoyed the feeling of being with his nakama again.
Of course, that meant that the brawl had to be calmed by Loke and Capricorn, which wasn't very fun because they seemed to take extra pleasure in throwing him out, several of Loke's punches seemed unnecessary, but he knew exactly where he needed to go.
Lucy's apartment was almost exactly as he remembered it, especially from his view perched on the window sill, which Lucy kindly left open for him. There was less meat in the fridge and less fish in the freezer, and the curtains had been changed again (he wondered who had ruined them this time) and the writing desk was still a disorganized mess. A quick peek showed that Lucy was currently writing something called 'Epilogue', whatever that was. Though there was something different. Looking around, he finally figured it out, there were no more pictures of him and Lucy together, or any of him at all.
That was… discouraging. He flopped on her bed and took a moment to appreciate her special smell, it was part the body wash she always used, part celestial magic, and part Lucy. Of course, being surrounded by her smell made it much more obvious how much he stank from the road. So he took a shower while he waited, and then accidentally fell asleep on her bed when she still wasn't back.
Loke and Erza both promised that even Natsu wouldn't be stupid enough to try and break into her apartment after all this time, but Lucy had her doubts. Still, if she had to face him, her apartment by herself was how she wanted to do it. Loke had already broken through his gate once, and he was under strict orders not to do that again just because she saw Natsu. Natsu was a member of her guild and she needed to be able to look at him without feeling the need to break down in sobs, anger, or confusion. Natsu left her a note, just like her father, just like her mother, so she categorized him with the dead. He didn't deserve any part of her after leaving her broken like that.
Lucy hesitated when she noticed her window was open, but then remembered she had left it open to clear out the smell of bleach she had used to get out Wendy's blood stains from the past couple of days. This morning was the first day she had let the girl go back to Fairy Hills, with strict orders to spend another day resting. Wendy was probably going to be so excited Natsu was back, when both he and Gray hadn't given any indication of what they were up to, it was hard on the sky dragon slayer. At least Juvia sent a note to Gajeel and Lucy once a month, so they knew Gray was alive and their general location.
Everything looked to be in place, though she had lost the habit of noting everything's special spot when she had stopped having weekly intruders. It was quiet. She had sent Happy to Wendy and Charla about an hour ago. Still, she treaded carefully, only to find her bathroom door open and a fire dragonslayer sleeping on her bed.
He looked just like he always did when he was asleep, peaceful, though there were more scars and his hair was a mess. Natsu had been a back sleeper, she remembered, but he was sleeping on his side now. Probably to minimize the rocks under him while camping.
No. She wasn't doing this, she was going to be worse than angry at him, she was going to be apathetic. Lucy was an S-class guild master of the most powerful guild of Fiore, and she wasn't going to let him mess with her any more. It didn't matter what Happy said about Natsu talking about her in his sleep. She had given him the power to break her, and he used it, there is no reason he wouldn't just up and leave again, and she couldn't risk that.
She was strong, but not that strong.
"Oi, Dragneel," Lucy said harshly, pulling her quilt out from under him, leaving him sprawled on the floor at her feet.
"Lucy," Natsu whined, rubbing the part of his head that hit the floor, "Why did you do that?"
"Because I don't want you in my bed or in my house," she said blankly.
"I don't understand, I'm your partner, what changed to make you hate me?" Natsu asked, hurt.
"You changed Natsu," Lucy said, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards her window, "You left me alone, and I can't risk you ever doing that again, now out."
"How did I leave you alone?" Natsu demanded, stopping her from tossing him out the window. "I left you a note, you've had everything else. I know how strong and independent you are, what changed?"
"I lost my oldest friend, my best friend, and my guild in one shot. Now get out, I can't do this," she said. Lucy left him standing by the window while she went to the bathroom to shower. When she came out in a towel, he was gone. She didn't know what she expected from him anymore, and was proud of herself for only crying a little bit that night.
The next day:
"Natsu, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked hesitantly after opening her door to find the dragon slayer waiting for her.
"Well, you've decided that I can't be a big part of your life because I might leave you. But I've decided that I don't want to ever leave you again. So, we seem to be at an impasse," he said, smiling at his own use of the word. Lucy forced her features into a poker face.
"Let me guess, you are going to stick by my side until I change my mind," Lucy asked, "I will sic Erza on you."
"I prefer to think of it as a compromise," Natsu said. "I just want to be here Lucy, give me the chance to prove to you that I won't leave you again." Lucy looked at him, searching for honesty, and found the subtle differences that the year had given him. Longer hair, more muscle, another inch in height over her, a small scar on his face just in front of his ear, and a little tanner than when he left her. He seemed honest, but that didn't matter.
"You left me like my dad did, like Gildarts leaves Cana, with a note. I don't think you understand how much I don't trust you right now," she said.
"I think you are underestimating how much I missed you," Natsu shot back. Okay, this argument was ridiculous.
"You are banned from my apartment, Levy is coming by this afternoon to set the barrier, but as your guild master I can't stop you from interacting with me." Lucy turned then and walked to the guild, resisting the urge to walk on the retaining wall like she always does. He didn't get to see that part of her anymore.
"I'll take what I can get," Natsu said, walking beside her, quiet for a minute, before he started talking, "you know when I was gone, about six months in, I started panicking because I couldn't find the constellations you pointed out to me. We were up in the mountains and there were too many stars for me to find the specific ones. It was like sleeping under a million lamps. I left the next day, went to the nearest library, and read an entire book on constellations. I memorized the color of every star in the Andromeda constellation and all the ones on your keys. I could always find them after that." Natsu trailed off in memory, and Lucy refused to respond.
"I also decided to start working on my mind while I was at that library. I bought a book of riddles, a book of crosswords, and a book of Sudoku. Happy was in charge of the book of riddles and I almost went mad when I was stuck on one for two weeks, but Happy was vicious about it. I wasn't allowed another riddle until I solved the first one. I traded between doing Sudoku and crosswords at night."
Lucy almost let the surprise on her face show, she would have never guess he included his brain in part of the training, but she kept the façade. Natsu wasn't going to get to her, not with sweet stories, not with interesting stories, not even when his cat flew to give her a hug as soon as she walked through the doors.
"Lushi!" Happy said, "does this mean you've forgiven Natsu?"
"No." she said, ignoring the heartbroken look on the cat's face, "Now I'll be in my office making sure all my paperwork is done so I can go to the guild master's meeting tomorrow."
"We still going out tonight?" Lisanna asked.
"Of course, I'm trying to get it finished early, so no more bodies flying through my office." Lucy scolded with a small smile, bringing a laugh from several members who were there for that incident.
She set Happy next to Lisanna and went into her office. Using a light pen to activate the runes that would block out noise, she regretted that there wasn't a spell that could stop her from thinking about Natsu.
He walked her home, and she half expected him to crash her girl's night out, but he kept his distance. She did forget to get Levy to put on the Natsu repellant runes, and there may have been a moment where she crashed on the floor drunk and someone put her on her bed, but she couldn't remember. Lucy had more alcohol than she usual that night.
The next morning, a wonderful headache cure later, (there was a new girl in the guild, an eleven-year-old potions prodigy, Lena, and Erza was currently teaching her knife fighting to shore up her physical weaknesses) and Lucy had her bags packed for her weekend in Clover. At least she knew Natsu wouldn't follow her there, it would involve voluntarily getting on a train.
"Hey Lucy," Natsu told her at the station, ticket in hand.
"You're willingly getting on a train?" Lucy asked, skeptical, "I'm not taking care of you."
"I don't get motion sick anymore," Natsu told her, grinning, "It was Igneel inside me that got sick. A creature used to flying couldn't stand being carried by transportation inside another piece of transportation. That's why when I flew with Happy or another friend I never got sick."
Lucy was suddenly imagining the grand dragon that raised Natsu, his cheeks full of throw up and stumbling around all because Natsu got on a train. She hurried onto the train, hoping he wouldn't see her smile. All the private compartments were full, so she ended up sitting next to Natsu in the main area. Determined not to talk to him, she turned to the woman with two kids sleeping on her sitting next to her and started up a conversation about what the woman thought of the Grand Magic Games this year.
"Oh, they are so exciting to watch, but now Tamara here wants to be a wizard. Fairy Tail is her favorite, and she was so scared about that rumor that they weren't going to be competing this last year," The mother said, stroking her daughter's hair.
"Fairy Tail is my favorite too, I'm glad they were able to pull themselves together. Does your family have any experience with magic?" Lucy asked, smiling, covering her hand because she wanted a normal conversation.
"We've hired them on occasion for things, special décor and finding lost items, but my family has been avid architects for as long as I can remember. Still, Tamara doesn't have the patience for architecture, so maybe she will fulfill her dream of being in Fairy Tail one day. I just wish it wasn't so dangerous," she said, frowning.
"I agree, the price of being able to use magic is really high, but hopefully it won't be so dangerous in the future." Lucy said, "All the biggest dark guilds are gone, and the small ones are practically non-existent. If she joins a good guild, especially Fairy Tail, you can be sure they'll make sure no one hurts her." Lucy confided.
"I suppose you're right, from the way they act during the GMG, each member might as well be their sibling. Still, a mother worries, you know? Do you have children?"
"I understand, worrying is part of becoming a mother," Lucy agreed, watching the mother and daughter, "I don't have kids, but I'm excited for when I get the chance to be a mother. My mother died when I was young, so I don't know how good of one I'll be, but that hasn't stopped me from doing things before," Lucy joked, eliciting a laugh from her new friend.
"Of course you'll be a great mother Lucy," Natsu said, joining the conversation. "You care about everyone around you so much, yet you don't let them do anything bad for themselves either. Plus the way you take care of Happy? It's obvious." Lucy turned to glare at him, but the woman commented first.
"Oh, are you her boyfriend?"
"No," Lucy growled, "he is a nuisance."
"She's my partner," Natsu tried to clarify.
"No I'm not, stop saying that!" Lucy demanded. The girl laying on her mother's lap, Tamara, woke up and Lucy instantly felt guilty.
"What's going on mommy?" she asked, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She seemed to be blinking a lot, then she let out an excited shriek.
"You're Lucy of Fairy Tail!" she yelled.
"Shh," Lucy said, putting a hand over the little girl's mouth, "there are other people sleeping." Indeed, because it was so early in the morning and a long ride to Clover, many people had been catching a few extra minutes of shut eye.
"But you're so cool! You beat everyone in puzzle game so that Fairy Tail would get to choose their challenge first. And even though most people had never heard of Shritshrome's guild Pheonix Talon, you still treated them like a worthy opponent and everyone saw you warning your members about them and studying them. Plus the year before you were so brave, taking so many hits so that your team would stay in the competition. You were so good people had to cheat to beat you. They didn't get caught, but anyone with eyes could see that was what happened."
"Aww, thanks," Lucy said, blushing.
"Oh, I feel like such an idiot right now," Tamara's mother laughed, "I recognize you. You've grown out your hair a bit and aren't dressed up, but it's obvious. You're the guild master of Fairy Tail then?"
"Yeah, I'm heading to Clover for a guild master's conference."
"Can I join Fairy Tail?" Tamara asked stars in her eyes.
"Sorry, we only take younger members under extraordinary circumstances. You wouldn't want to make your momma sad by moving to Magnolia right now, do you?" Lucy said awkwardly.
"But at home they make me do math and stuff," Tamara complained.
"You need math, how else are you supposed to figure out what kind of house you want to build with your money from the Grand Magic Games and wizard jobs? Or how to spend that money at all?" Lucy explained back. That set the girl thinking, and her mother mouthed "thank you".
"Okay, once I learn the math and stuff, then can I join Fairy Tail?" she asked. Lucy pretended to think over it hard.
"Do you love your family?" Lucy asked seriously.
"Yes."
"Do you promise to always defend the name of Fairy Tail and everything that it stands for?"
"Yes."
"Do you live every day to the fullest? Always working hard for the happiness that you want while being happy taking the path to get there?"
"I promise," the girl was practically vibrating with the intensity of her oath.
"Do you like strawberry cake?" Lucy asked this question with the same seriousness as the others.
"Yes!" she yelled. Lucy relaxed then and smiled at the girl.
"There you go, you learn enough to make your momma proud, show up at Fairy Tail and we'll see about getting you one of these." Lucy said, pointing to her mark. The adults could swear that Tamara had died and gone to heaven.
"Oh, I'm so excited, where should I get my mark? Why did you get your mark on your hand? I think I would get distracted and spend all day looking at it," Tamara said, practically jumping in her seat.
"I do get distracted sometimes," Lucy admitted, admiring her right hand, "but I wanted it that way. I wanted something that I could always see and remember who I am. Plus I'm a writer, and I call on my friends with this hand. I like to keep everything important to me in one spot."
Tamara nodded seriously. "Why did you put yours on your shoulder?" Tamara asked turning to Natsu. He examined his own mark, thinking deeply about the question.
"I was one of those extreme circumstances kids who joined when they were really young, so I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time, but I like it there. I can protect everyone with this arm, and my mark is the last thing the bad people see after I make them go away. I did it for Fairy Tail, for the people I care about." Natsu said the last sentence staring at Lucy, and while Lucy wasn't going to yell at Natsu in front of her fan, she wasn't going to let him get away with something like that either, and glared.
Tamara was looking at all the different parts of her body, trying to decide where she wanted her future mark. She stared at her brother, sleeping sitting up on her mom's other side, and smiled.
"I know where I want it, right here," and she pointed to the back of her neck, "Jack was telling me about how that's the weakest point on the human body, that hurting it can do all sorts of terrible things to you, but if I have my Fairy Tail mark right there, it'll be like my family is protecting my weakest point," she said smiling, proud of her logic, and Natsu and Lucy just loved it.
"I think that's a brilliant choice," Lucy said, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Now, you can't come until you've made sure your mom is going to be happy without you, okay?"
"I promise." Tamara said, smiling at her mother.
They spent the rest of the train ride with Tamara and her brother, who woke up a little while after, answering their questions about what it was like to be a wizard.
They got off at the end of the day and Lucy just rolled her eyes when Natsu followed her to her prescribed hotel.
"Okay, so I'm going to go to the conference room and register that I'm here, you do whatever you want," she said and checked in at the conference's front desk. The guild masters weren't actually doing any meeting things or party things until the morning, so she returned early after grabbing a bite to eat from the hotel, only to find Natsu sleeping on the floor. Tip-toeing around him, she got herself ready for bed. Tucking herself in, she listened to his steady, quiet breathing, and tried to keep the scar of her emotions in her mind. Natsu wasn't getting anything from her.
"Hey Lucy, how's it going?" The guild master of Quatro Cerberus asked as Lucy and Natsu entered. Lucy didn't know how Natsu got the security to let him through, but she still hadn't been able to shake him. The only reason she hadn't kicked him out herself was his promise of absolute silence in all matters guild. Her spirits would be more than happy to make him leave if he uttered anything, but she didn't want to show weakness in front of the other guild masters by being unable to keep one of her own out of an official meeting. Pretending like he was supposed to be there, that would be a sign of power.
"Great, the jobs are filing in and my family is stepping up to the task," Lucy commented, grabbing a soda before other new-comers could drink them all.
"I hear you got some new blood in as well. Keeping up Makarov's tradition of letting in anyone who thinks they can handle it?" He teased.
"Only way to do it," Lucy smirked back, "who am I to say someone doesn't have the guts? If they can't handle it, they leave, and if they can, they belong there anyway. You should see some of the stuff our newest kid can do; her alchemy is off the charts. I think she'll get along great with our new stone make mage."
They chatted while Natsu kept his promise of keeping quiet, and Master Bob came over to talk to Lucy about Fairy Tail as well.
"So wonderful for you to have your handsome boys back," Master Bob said, eyeing Natsu, "You don't think that a year would be enough time for them to be willing to join a new guild, do you?"
Natsu turned pale and scooted away, while Lucy just laughed. His entire demeanor changed as he stopped and let himself watch Lucy laugh. It was a sweet sound, loud and full of emotion, and he hadn't heard it in far too long.
"You know the rules," she said, "it's all up to the wizard whether they are willing to switch guilds. Still, my boys were raised by Fairy Tail, they've been marked by this guild for more than half their lives, and I doubt they will welcome any offers." Natsu felt a little bud of hope in his chest. He was still Lucy's family, she wouldn't, couldn't ever completely turn on him, and that gave him all the time in the world to try and make things right with her.
Master Bob sighed good-naturedly, "I suppose having a pretty young thing like you as guild master isn't helping my case. I'll just have to wait for you to get married before trying again." He winked at Lucy and she blushed while rolling her eyes.
"Hey, every woman in Fairy Tail is beautiful, we would have more modeling shoots than Blue Pegasus, if we ever manage to stop destroying cameras. If you're waiting for them to all be taken, you'll be waiting a long time my friend," she said taking a gulp of her drink.
"I suppose even longer if your new additions prove to grow up half as beautiful and passionate as you and yours did." Master Bob said, making Lucy blush even more.
"Don't forget powerful," and new voice said, an arm being slung over Lucy's shoulder and drawing her close, "Fairy Tail beat us all once again in the GMG. They still won't admit who their master strategist is so we can lure them away and give everyone else a fighting chance." Sting had arrived, and Lucy laughed and hugged him back.
"I've only ever told you the truth about our strategist," Lucy joked.
Sting rolled his eyes, "You expect me to believe that your first guild master's spirit directs your strategies? Give me some credit Lu." It was only then that Sting's nose recognized the burning embers smell on her that had been missing for the past year. He looked over Lucy's shoulder and grinned, "Oi Natsu! Your back!" Sting said, releasing Lucy to grab forearms with his friend. "So supposedly you're five times stronger if you've spent every day for over the past year training. You up for a rematch?"
"Name the time and place," Natsu said, grinning.
"What are you doing here anyway? One would think you started your own guild if it wasn't for the mark on your arm," Sting asked.
"Natsu is being a persistent bug," Lucy said, drawing Sting away, "He's upset that I don't consider him a partner and is trying to get me to forgive him by not leaving me alone until I do. Please ignore him. Now come on, the business for today is starting." Sting groaned and let Lucy lead him to a large table in the center of the room.
"Okay, first we will be taking attendance and recounting current standings and statistics among the guilds before stating business to be decided. As a reminder, we will announce an item of business and then anyone with statements to make regarding the announcement will be given a chance to speak. We will then vote on if we are ready to take a vote. If ¾ are ready, we will vote right there. If 3/4ths majority claiming they are ready to vote is not achieved, we will continue onto the next topic of business and revisit it after a three hour period. An item of business must have a 2/3rds majority to pass. This cycle will repeat until 8 o'clock at night and masters will be dismissed until we re-convene tomorrow morning. The conference will end when all items of business are voted on to the satisfaction of the Council."
It all sounded rather boring and tedious to Natsu, but he promised Happy that he wouldn't give up until Lucy agreed to be their partner again. It was all things like S-class quest approval, what clients are allowed to appeal to what guilds, (there was a lot of grumbling that Fairy Tail took too many clients away from their home guilds, but Lucy didn't let it bother her) how to deal with immediate/emergency requests, and a bunch of other boring technical stuff he didn't care about. He spent the time watching Lucy and Sting instead. They seemed to have developed a system for keeping each other awake, usually Lucy to Sting by stepping on his foot, but there was at least twice in this first meeting that had Sting flicking paper at Lucy.
It was interesting to note that Fairy Tail, though smaller in numbers than many of the other guilds, kept equal to everyone on jobs completed and revenue garnered, and even topped the most requested statistic.
Then came the final item of business that held everyone's attention.
"The Magic Council is requesting that all guilds create criminal records of their members and allow the Magic Council to conduct a thorough investigation of the members with records. This has been decided as the prime course of action to prevent any future dark guilds from being created." Before the supervisor could even ask who had something to say on the topic, Lucy reacted.
"I object whole-heartedly," she demanded, standing up and slamming her hand on the table.
"Guild Master Lucy, please wait your turn," the coordinator said, annoyed.
"This shouldn't even be on the table, so your rules are void," Lucy answered, glaring fierce enough to get him to shut up; it shut everyone else at the table up as well. It was a hardened glare, a blade of steel forged in passion and tempered in experience. The switch was as immediate as it was unexpected.
"There is no reason why those who have had crimes in the past and repented should be dragged in front of a magic council. It's just as much a power play as a preventive measure by the Magic Council to show they have power, and it will do nothing good to drag up past for those who have repented. There is very little chance for people who repented from a dark guild to go and form a new one. The best course of action is to show that legal guilds are better than dark guilds by showing mercy and leaving the penitent in peace."
"Who in your guild are you looking to protect?" a muscled man six seats down from Lucy asked. Natsu then realized that they were seated according to standings, Lucy and Sting were next to each other at the head, Master Bob near them, and Lucy was practically yelling in the face of the moderator. Lucy glared at the questioner.
"I am protecting everybody that has asked me to by joining my guild. I'm not the only one. Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, and Saber Tooth all have members that would be put through undue stress and emotional turmoil if this request is passed, not to mention it will hinder our mages from taking jobs to make their livelihood."
"It sounds to me," the same man drawled, "that Fairy Tail is far more concerned with keeping their guild at the top of the rankings than making sure no more dark guilds form. You are protecting everybody you say? That would be a serious toll on your numbers." Natsu wanted to punch him.
"Are you implying that Fairy Tail and myself are not concerned with dark guilds forming?" Lucy asked, seething.
"Merely that you are more concerned with the top spot than the safety of Fiore, after all, if you are fighting this hard, it must be some of your strongest members you are protecting," he said condescendingly.
"I would fight this strongly for the member that joined last week," Lucy stated, "And as one who has suffered great personal cost to defeat not one dark guild, but all three guilds of the Barum Alliance, and as the only guild master here who can say that with full confidence, let me assure you that keeping dark guilds from forming is a top priority. Fairy Tail takes great care in assuring the repentance of members who have once strayed to darker paths and I will not let disrupt the lives of my family to dredge up the worst parts of their pasts out of a misguided sense of justice."
"Please seat yourself Guild Master Lucy, no one is trying to accuse Fairy Tail of a love of dark guilds, correct?" The coordinator glanced around the table to see if anyone was willing to make that accusation.
"In all honesty, how could Miss Heartphilia know that her guild members are feeling? It doesn't take much to turn the famous Fairy Tail fires of passion. Was it not a former Fairy Tail guild master who founded and headed Grimoire Heart?" A different lady added skeptically, she wasn't as young as Lucy and Sting, but younger than many of the guild masters in attendance.
"Precht started Grimiore Heart after leaving Fairy Tail, his quest was the one magic," Lucy said, glaring at the woman, "That path led him to Zeref and destruction. Precht had no previous criminal record that I am aware of, he was spotless. There is no evidence of condone this action." Lucy still hadn't sat down, and now Sting was standing next to her.
"Saber Tooth backs Fairy Tail on this motion. Those that have repented and left the past in the past should be allowed to keep it that way. Unless the magic council can prove they have broken law since re-instatement, the Council should not be allowed to disrupt stable guild life."
Suddenly everyone else was standing up and arguing and the moderator was desperately trying to regain order. Finally the security team Natsu was standing next to moved into action and the guild masters had a freezing spell laid on them.
"This is the worst behavior I have ever seen at these meetings, I certainly expected better from you Guild Master Lucy," the moderator said, looking down his nose at her. Lucy used that moment to lunge forward and snap her teeth at the official, only going a couple of inches, but doing enough to scare him into emitting a girly shriek, which left all the guild masters chuckling.
"Despite this disorder, that was the finial item of business. We will have a recess of three hours, discuss what you need to and we will re-convene at 4 o'clock." The spell was lifted and Lucy made a point of straightening her outfit and looking unruffled.
"Dang, that's my girl," Sting said, pulling Lucy in to give her a nuggie, "Tough as nails and fierce as fire."
"Sting!" Lucy protested, "Stop it!" He released her and went to get a drink. Lucy walked over to Natsu then.
"So, I'm surprised you didn't jump in and start shouting," she said casually, taking a position near him.
"I learned my lesson when I interrupted Erza's meeting with the Magic Council, you guys usually have some hidden politics that I could have badly messed up." Natsu explained, "You wouldn't have appreciated the gesture, and it looked like you had it under control. Up until the mob of course, I was right beside you when you were frozen, and you looked angry enough to make it easy to come back here."
"That's…really mature of you," Lucy said, surprising herself.
"Who was the hag that knew about Hades anyway?" Natsu asked, wrinkling his nose.
"Ugh, Madame Dubois, she's the guild master of Mermaid Heel and still holds a grudge at Fairy Tail for beating Kagura, twice now. I didn't help anything by tricking her at the most recent GMG. I was actually surprised she sided against me though, Milianna would get dragged away by the Council for questioning if this went through."
"Why would Milianna be under investigation?" Natsu asked. Lucy looked at him, confused.
"She kidnapped Erza, helped Jellal set off an etherion blast, and used magic offensively against non-magic users," Lucy answered.
"Who else do you think would be effected by this Lucy dear?" Master Bob asked, joining the conversation. Lucy thought for a moment.
"Sting's Lady would be questioned for associations with Tartarus, Lyon Vastia could be charged with illegal demon transportation and black magic, as would several of his friends in Lamia Scale, and of course, half of Fairy Tail would be hauled in for questioning and clearance." Lucy informed her good friend, accepting a drink from Sting, who had joined the conversation, "Blue Pegasus has no one with criminal records that I am aware of, but I assume I can count on your support none-the-less?" she hinted.
"I believe so Lucy, I think people who were once full of darkness and have seen the light are the least likely to be going around causing trouble," Master Bob stated.
"That's good to hear," Sting said, "If we can convince old Baba of Lamia Scale, then we have four of the ten on our side."
"Ten what?" Natsu asked. Lucy decided to let Sting explain, though Natsu was technically breaking her rules.
"The voting, the top ten guilds have three votes for every other guild's one, and if over half of the top vote greatly opposed, the council can do didly squat. The magic council as it is doesn't have enough power to fight off that many prominent mages." Natsu looked at Lucy, still confused.
"By greatly opposed, we mean violently opposed," she clarified, "And the council will have to drag our members away over my corpse, so that's a safe bet to our vote. Sting, you go convince Baba of our plan and then have her talk to Dubois. That Lady hates everyone but respects Baba for some reason. Bob, you and me will gauge the feelings of everyone else. I will also be making a motion to vote on this issue first when we reconvene."
"Sounds like a plan. You know, I bet you're the secret mastermind behind you Games strategies," Sting hedged, but Lucy just smiled secretively.
"Natsu, you get yourself a drink and continue to keep quiet, this is a delicate matter and it wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to call foul on you being here," Lucy said, already eyeing a nearby group of guild masters. Natsu mimed zipping his lip and headed to the drinks table.
It was fun for him to watch Lucy work. She may have never been meant for life alone in a stuffy mansion and winning money off of people, but it would be a lie to say she had no merchant blood in her. She worked the room, casually joining in conversations and asking people about their lives before starting to sell her ideals. She seemed to know something about everyone there, even engaging Twilight Ogre's Master in asking about how his daughter was liking her new job as a waitress.
Not to say she didn't get heated with people, she randomly knocked a couple of people's heads together after they said something about Lucy herself being dragged in front of the council, but it wasn't a big as it could have been from the Lucy Natsu knew.
She came back to him after an hour of working and slumped at his table. He pushed some food towards her that she gratefully ate.
"How do you know so much about these people?" Natsu asked after she scarfed half the plate and started to slow down. She looked at him questioningly and he just tapped his ear.
"Ugh, I forgot about that stupid dragon hearing of yours. Let me guess, you trained that too? Master Bob actually coached me on a lot of the guild master's personalities and lives, I spent the entire weekend before the second conference memorizing the fact sheets he had Hibiki send me. I was so awkward and nervous the first time I was at this thing, he took pity on me. Plus Fairy Tail was his old guild, he couldn't let an incompetent master destroy it."
"You weren't incompetent Seventh," Mavis said, appearing at their table, "you were nervous and showing it like you show all your emotions. Master Bob wouldn't have helped you if he thought you couldn't do it."
"Hello First, what brings you here?" Lucy asked politely while Natsu grinned. He bet none of the other guilds had a super smart child ghost helping them out, proving once again that Fairy Tail was the best.
"The guild heard that Natsu had followed you out here and sent me to make sure you hadn't killed him yet, or to tell them if you had started making out," the girl said casually. Lucy choked for a second on a piece of fish and Natsu had to pound her on the back before she could talk again.
"That stupid Mira," Lucy muttered before directing her attention to Mavis, "well as you can see, Natsu is not dead, nor are we together. Stick around if you want. Sting still doesn't think you exist, so feel free to haunt him if he isn't talking business." Mavis laughed.
"He is so fun to tease, I think I'll do just that," she said and skipped off giggling. Lucy groaned.
"Back to work, though why I work for those morons I don't even know."
"One more thing before you go," Natsu said, grabbing her hand to stop her. She glared at their hands, him grabbing hers like so many times before. Natsu realized it was the first non-violent physical contact they had had since he had returned and let go with a small blush.
"Sorry, um, who in our guild are you trying to protect?" he asked, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"You're joking," she said and watched him blush even more when he shook his head.
"Gajeel and Juvia could both be charged with kidnapping and abuse of magic power," she started ticking incidences off her fingers, "Laxus and his team have a huge black mark for holding hostages and nearly killing the entire city of Magnolia, Erza has helped Jellal too many times to be legal, and before Bisca joined she was a complete crook."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Natsu said sheepishly.
"It's okay, you were supposed to. They have completely redeemed themselves and are considered just as trust worthy as every other member of the guild. That's how it should be, and it will stay that way if I have to fight them for it." Lucy glared at where the council representative was watching from afar, and Natsu felt the need to change topics as she furiously ate the last of his food.
"What's Jellal been up to?" he asked.
"That's another reason to fight this, Fairy Tail is known to have close ties with the independent guild Crime Sorcerie. If we dance to the council's tune on this, then soon enough we will be helping them take out Jellal and his guild. All of them belong locked up according to the Council, and Fairy Tail won't let that happen. They've been chasing any sense of Zeref they can get, according to Meredy's last letter they swore they were right on his tail."
"Right. Now you go fight for Fairy Tail," Natsu said, and Lucy gave him a true smile. Then of course she remembered she was supposed to be mad at him, but Natsu gave her until the end of the trip before he was completely forgiven. She went back to circling and Natsu could swear she was glowing. She looked so happy, not as happy as when they were off on adventures together, but happy. Watching her though, he started to notice something new. Her hands would constantly flutter to her keys, as though reassuring herself with their familiar texture. There was a time when someone asked Lucy about her ten golden keys, and Lucy's face broke for a fraction of a second. He didn't know what that meant though.
Lucy was beautiful, but she was also broken. Natsu could only imagine how much more she showed when he first left. Lucy wore everything she was feeling on her sleeve, the trick always had been being by her side when things happened so you could see it. Then and there, he promised himself again that he would be able to see those precious feelings of hers whenever he could. If she kept shutting him out, putting up walls barbed with spikes of her shattered self, he would sit there and run his fingers along the points, bleeding with her until she was well enough to let him in again. Lucy was worth it.
"You're Fairy Tail's Salamander," the buff guy that insinuated Fairy Tail was pro dark guild had come up to Natsu and started speaking. This was the guy Natsu had wanted to punch the most, and was waiting for a lovely opportunity to present itself.
"I am," Natsu said pleasantly.
"You're guild master is already here, you need to leave," he threatened. Natsu was raised by a dragon and after all the other crap he had happen in his life, this guy trying to threaten him was hilarious.
"Sorry, I have talked with the security team and the moderator. They both agree that as long as I keep my mouth shut during sessions, I can watch over my guild master."
"Do you think she is in danger?" the guy asked.
"Possibly, it wouldn't be the first time," Natsu answered vaguely, "I think you have better ways to spend your time than interrogating me. The session begins again in thirty minutes." The man tried to leer at Natsu, he had three inches on the dragon slayer, but Natsu let his most dangerous smirk show, and the guild master was the first one to back down.
"Know your place," he growled, walking away. Natsu let out a laugh, no one would believe for a second that Natsu had lost that battle. He noticed Lucy looking his way when he laughed, and made sure to shoot her a harmless smile, saying he hadn't messed up anything for her. He saw her turn bright red and look away for some reason, hopefully there wouldn't be anymore yelling, it wasn't even his fault.
A gong rang out and the guild master's re-assembled at their seats.
"We will now re-open the session. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?" the moderator asked.
"Fairy Tail would like to put forth the motion that item 37 be voted on first," Lucy said confidently.
"Saber Tooth seconds the motion," Sting said next to her, looking bored. As bright as Lucy shone in this arena, Sting dimmed. He was meant for battle, board rooms shut him down.
"Alright, anyone opposed to the motion by Fairy Tail?" The councilman asked. He honestly looked like he would rather be anywhere but there. No one opposed the motion. First they voted to see if people were ready to vote, then guild masters all raised their hands according to their vote on the actual motion, and Natsu was surprised to see how even the results were.
"Without a 2/3rds majority, we can't come to a final decision, this will be re-visited at the third session," the moderator droned and the guild masters voted on the other eight items of business, all coming to a clean resolution, before another recess was called.
Lucy was irritated, she knew that the only reason she didn't have more support against the council was because the other guilds wanted to see Fairy Tail fall. Especially Madame Dubois. She claimed that Milianna had nothing to hide and would not suffer for a few days spent with the magic council. Everyone else was just jealous that Fairy Tail and Saber Tooth were run by the youngest and the newest guild masters, and didn't care about that actual matter at hand. Lucy had been playing this game for the entire time she had been master, but that didn't make it any better.
"Relax Lucy," Master Bob told her as she got herself a beer. She hadn't had alcohol all day, but felt the need for it.
"You don't understand exactly how many of my nakama they could get with this. We don't turn people into bunnies after they've come to us, we let them be themselves, teeth and all," she hissed, "I won't let them hurt my family."
"You think there is corruption in the council," Master Bob realized.
"I'm not willing to bet my family's lives on them having no association with Zeref, he and his followers have twisted he council to their desires too many times before. We still don't know where that bastard is and I do know that he isn't finished with Fairy Tail." Lucy said sourly.
"I agree Seventh," Mavis said at Lucy's elbow. Lucy nodded, to show she heard her first master, making sure not to freak out the others.
"How are we going to work the vote this time? I tried my best shot," Lucy asked Master Bob.
"We need to focus on the lesser guilds, the ones who won't have a chance to seize power even if Fairy Tail loses half their people. Do you know who I'm talking about?" Master Bob asked. Lucy nodded and idly fingered her keys, only to hear a screeching noise that made her flinch.
"What the?" Lucy said, grabbing the ring from her belt. Where she could normally hear the peaceful sounds of the River of Stars, or any of her spirits that wanted to talk to her, there was only static.
"Problem?" Master Bob asked, Lucy nodded and held the keys tightly between both her hands. She could make out someone's voice, but she couldn't understand the words. Natsu was by her side in an instant.
"What's wrong?" he demanded, searching for threats. People had started shifting away from the group, not liking the weapon in Lucy's hands.
"Static," Lucy said, surprised, "I'm going to call Crux, find out what the hell is going on." She walked over to a corner of the room and took a powerful summoning stance, "Open, gate of the Southern Cross," she said calmly, she could just call his name at this point, but that was no fun and no good for getting other mages to take her seriously. Natsu was next to her the entire time.
"Yes Miss Lucy?" her spirit asked, appearing easily.
"Glad to see you're okay Grandpa Crux," Lucy said with a gentle smile, "I'm hearing static from the Celestial World, is there a problem over there?" Despite Lucy stepping off to the side, she had garnered a small crowd that pretended not to be watching.
"Static? Let me see what I can find," and he proceeded to fall asleep.
"What kind of spirit is that?" someone complained, "he fell asleep on you." Lucy glared at the offender.
"I don't tell you how to split yourself Dopple, don't tell me how to deal with my spirits. He is currently searching the entirety of information available about the celestial spirit realm and communication between there and here. Show respect to my friends." Lucy was glaring at him, and he still looked disgruntled, but it didn't last long.
"AHHHHHHH!" Crux shouted, scaring everyone but Lucy into flinching a step back. Even Natsu had been startled into a fighting stance.
"There are no difficulties in the celestial realm that would make cause the disruption. There are however, several unstable time spells that would irritate the border between realms and disrupt cross-realm communication."
"Is there any way to track the wizard?" Lucy asked while everyone else was still recovering.
"I believe the static sound will get louder the closer you physically are to the caster Miss Lucy," Crux said.
"Thank you Grandpa Crux, I'll see you next week for tea if not sooner," Lucy said. The cross bowed and disappeared back to his home.
"Well crap," Lucy sighed, "it's already pretty loud, which means that the caster is in Clover, and we can't allow a bad time spell to be completed, ugh."
"Hey Lucy, I hear you have some drama, do we need to split?" Sting asked eagerly. Lucy looked around the room weighing her options.
"No, one of us has to stay here at all costs, and only I can track the mage down. I think Natsu and I can handle the crisis in under three hours, but if not we can't risk two tens being gone when the vote comes up again," she said, then faced Sting to make her words heard, "I need you to keep explaining why people who have renounced their wrongs should not come under investigation. I need to leave now or parts of reality might start to collapse."
"Why do you get to leave the meeting to beat people up?" Sting whined.
"Hey, this is just as important." Lucy ruffled Sting's hair, "Imagine what Minerva would do to you if she found out you let the Magic Council get away with taking her in for questioning." Sting shuddered and batted Lucy's hand away.
"You've made your point. Go save the day again, be back in time to make the speech." Lucy nodded and turned to a grinning Natsu.
"You ready partner?" he asked, Lucy rolled her eyes, but he could see the smile she was fighting.
"One time emergency thing," she qualified. He grabbed her hand and they raced out of there, Lucy letting out a half-protest-half-laugh in response.
A/N: there, I hate writing my OTP fighting, but it's starting to get better. Am I the only one that thinks Lucy would be a great Guild Master? (plus she would be number Seven, and that's legit.) Yes? Whatever, I think she would, though she would also miss adventures with her team. Without that option, this is like the next best thing. Hope you guys are still reading this far.