Welcome back!
I'm sorry for the wait but here it is! The new chapter! Hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter 4: A old friend

The members of the Tenrou team returned to Fairy Tail after they finished their training to prepare their travel to Crocus, the capital city of Fiore where the Dai Matou Enbu is going to be held. When they arrived, Lucy and Mirajane took the kids Lucy saved to Master Makarov. They walked up to the small second floor of the building Fairy Tail was using and knocked on the door of the master's office.

"Come on in." the master called from inside. Lucy opened to door and gestured the nervous kids to follow her and Mira.

"Now, who do have here?" Makarov asked.

"Master, these are two kids I saved while we were training at the beach. They were being harassed by some thugs in black suits. They were mages but I can't recall any dark Guild they might be a part of. The leader told us something about experiments and those two apparently fled from the place they've been kept hostage. We took them with us so they can find a home here."

"P-Please... Please don't send us back." the girl said, her eyes tearing up. "W-We d-don't want to- to go b-back."

"Don't worry brats." Makarov said with a smile. "If you want to join Fairy Tail, I have no objections. Mirajane here can give you your guild insignia."

"Where do you want them and which color do you want?" Mira asked them with a sweet smile.

The kids looked at each other for a moment before answering. "I take mine on the right hand. Blue, please." Tsuki said.

"Mine on the left hand. White, please." Fuyu said.

"Here you go." Mira said as she put the stamp on their hands. "You are now members of Fairy Tail. You can now take jobs from the request bord. The S-class jobs are off-limit for you, except if you are with an S-class mage or an S-class mage yourself. Understood?"

"Yes, thank you very much." they said with a bow.

"Wait a moment." the master spoke up. "There is one more thing I want to know: What kind of magic do you two use?"

"We- uh..."

"They are second generation Dragon Slayer, like Laxus." Lucy said.

"Dragon Slayer?" the master asked surprised. "What elements?"

"I'm a Water Dragon Slayer." Tsuki said. "And my friend here is an Ice Dragon Slayer."

"Hmm." Makarov said, spacing out for a few seconds and thinking over what he just heard. "You can take them down to the guild hall now." he said looking at Mira. "Lucy. Would you stay here for a moment, please?"

Lucy nodded and sat back down while Mira guided the two new guild members back down to the others. Makarov looked at Lucy for a second before he started to speak.

"Lucy. I wanted to talk with you about the guild you saved those two from. You said they didn't look like any mage in the intel about dark guilds?"

"Yes. They were all wearing dark suits with white button-down shirts and black sunglasses. They looked more like businessmen then mages, but they were definitely all mages. I could sense their magical power."

"I know." the master said, causing Lucy to look at him confused.

"The reason you don't remember a dark guild like this is because they are part of a legal guild. Requiem."

"WHAT?" Lucy cried out, clearly shoked at this revelation.

"Yes. It's true. Requiem operates at the edge of law but no one could ever get a proof on illegal activities. And because of that and the story you just told me I have a special mission for you and your team."

"A mission?"

He pulled out a small paper from his desk and handed it to Lucy.

"These are all sorts of intel that could be collected over the years of Requiems activity. I want Team Natsu to investigate on them during the Dai Matou Enbu. Since they are a legal guild they will most likely participate. Destroy the paper as soon as you have shown it to the others. Questions?"

Lucy looked at the paper and shook her head. She stood up and waved at the old man before going downstairs, looking for her friends.

She arrived downstairs and looked around just to get pulled over to a corner by Lisanna.

"Lisanna?"

"Lucy. I wanted to talk with you for a moment." she said, a serious look on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Is there something going on between you and Natsu?" she asked.

"I- We..."

"Don't try to deny it. He is more happy than I have ever seen him since I returned from Edolas. Something happened on your training, didn't it?"

"I- Yeah. We... kissed and confessed to each other. Lisanna, I-"

"Don't worry, Lucy. I just wanted to make sure. Yes, I loved him back when we were kids, but I'm over him. I saw how he looked at you at Tenrou Jima. There I knew that I would never hold a candle against you. I'm happy for the both of you." she said with a little smile.

"Thank you, Lisanna. But please don't tell anyone. We want to keep it a secret for a few days."

"My lips are sealed."

"Thank you." Lucy said again and then surprised Lisanna by hugging the white-haired mage. "And don't worry about finding love, Li-chan." the blonde said with a chuckle. "I saw a certain member of the Raijinshu eyeing you for some time now."

Lisanna blushed and quickly hugged Lucy back before she shoved her away in embarrassment. "I- I don't know what you're talking about, Lu-chan."

"I think you know exactly what I meant. See you around, Li-chan!" Lucy said, waving at the flushed take-over mage and walking over to her team.

"Luce!" Natsu shouted as he saw his new girlfriend approach them. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, minna." the blonde said with a smile. "Master gave us a special mission. We should talk about it at my home. You two should come too." she said, looking at Fuyu and Tsuki, who was talking happily with Wendy. They looked at each other confused but got up and followed Lucy.

"See you later, Wendy-chan." Tsuki said.

"Bye, Tsu-chan. Bye Fuyu-kun!" Wendy waved at them.

They walked through the town of Magnolia and to Lucy's apartment at the Strawberry Street. Once they got inside they set down in the living room Natsu threw himself down on the couch close to Lucy, causing the other mages in the room eyeing him suspiciously. Lucy pulled out the paper Master gave her and laid it down on the coffee table so everyone could look at it.

"So what is this mission about, Luce? Do we get to kill some monsters?" he asked, stars shining in his eyes.

'Cute.' Lucy thought to herself. "Sorry to crush your hopes, but there are no monsters." she said out loud, causing her boyfriend to frown.

"We have to investigate on a legal guild called 'Requiem' that operates at the edge of law. They will most likely attend to the Dai Matou Enbu where we have the task to keep a close eye on them. They are most likely also the ones behind the experiments on you two." she said, pointing at Fuyu and Tsuki."

"Good." Natsu said with a smirk. "I'm all fired up to teach those bastards that you don't do experiments on humans, especially kids."

"I agree." Lucy said with a similar smirk.

"Lucy? Gray asked. "Since when are you so eager to fight?"

"Since I got my Slayer magic back." the blonde said with a grin.

Just when Gray wanted to comment on that someone rang the door bell.

"Nani? Who could that be?" Lucy wondered as she got up and walked over to the door. She opened up but noon was there. She looked around and saw a package standing on her doormat. "Huh? What's this?" She picked the package up and went back inside. Natsu and the others looked at her as she sat the package down at the coffee table.

"Who was there?" Natsu asked.

"don't know. There was only this package. Can you see a card or something like that?"

Natsu looked around until he found a small white card on one side. "Here."

Lucy took the card and opened it. She began to read and suddenly a shocked look crossed her face.

"Luce?"

"It- thats... that's Ithildin's handwriting... "My child, here is something I think you missed very much. Don't worry. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Take care."

Lucy looked at the box for a second before she opened it and look inside. The moments she saw it's content, memories of her past came back to her, causing her to freeze for a moment. "No- No. That- That's not possible... That's..." she started crying.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked concerned. He hated it when Lucy cries. He stood up and looked inside the box, along with the others. What he saw caused him to freeze too.

Down in the box, fast asleep, laid a small, white-golden Exceed, wearing a black dress.

"S-Stella?"

"S-Stella?"

Said Exceed heard her name being called. She was confused. One second ago she was fishing out in the woods, the next second she wakes up in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar scent.

'Wait. I know this smell.' the little Exceed thought. She opened her eyes and looked into a teary face she knew all her life.

"Lucy?" she asked hesitantly, wondering if this was real. They were forced apart when Ithildin left and changed Lucy's memories and Stella wandered around the earth until now. Lucy nodded and stretched her hands out, as if to pick the little feline up. Stella couldn't hold herself back anymore.

"LUCY!" she cried out, immediately jumping up into Lucy' arms. "You're back. You're back!"

"Yes. I'm back. And I never leave again." Lucy cried, holding Stella to her chest. Stella was her only friend back when she lived with Ithildin because she didn't count him as a friend, but as he father. After 14 years of separation they were both overjoyed to see each other again.

"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy..." the cat cried repeatedly.

"Luce?" Natsu asked.

"U-uh. S-sorry. Stella, I want you to meet my friends from Fairy Tail. Minna, this is Stella. She was my only friend when I lived with Ithildin."

Gray let out a light chuckle. "Funny, isn't it. Every first- and third-generation Dragon Slayer owns an Exceed."

"Hm. You're right." Erza stated. "But allow me one question to Stella, Lucy."

"Of course."

Erza looked at the little feline who watched her with great interest.

"How could you have been with Lucy when the Exceeds were send to Earthland a few years later?"

"My egg was a test. The queen send one egg through the anima to see if it would work at all. They needed the years after that to collect the eggs and prepare the operation."

"How do you know?" Lucy asked her friend.

"I met the queen and the other Exceeds on my travels around the world." she said, looking up to Lucy before she cuddled closer to her.

"I think it would be the best to give you guys some time to catch up." Gray stated as he and Erza got up and went for the door. "See you at the guild flame-brain, Lucy!"

"Shut up, popsicle!" Natsu shouted after him before he closed the door. He turned back to the living room and saw Lucy and Stella sitting on the sofa, still hugging each other tightly. He couldn't help the silly smile that crept over his face. Lucy was happy. That alone was enough for him to make the world a bit brighter. Lucy looked up to him and saw the smile on his face.

"What's with that smile?" she asked amused.

"Nothing. You're happy. That's enough to make me happy too." he said walking over to her.

Lucy blushed and averted his gaze. "You just say these things."

"No. I mean every single word of them." he said as he leaned down and put a finger under her chin to move her head up to him. Lucy's brown orbs met his onyx ones as he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips.

"Love you, Luce."

"I love you too."

He sat down behind her and hugged her from behind, moving his hands around her small waist. Stella, who was still in Lucy's arms and looked up to her with a knowing look.

"He is it, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is it."

"Are you talking about me?" Natsu asked confused.

"Y-Yes. She asked if you were my mate." Lucy answered embarrassed.

"Am I?." he whispered in her ear which caused her to blush even harder.

"Y-yes. The only one I want to spend my life with." she smiled, turning her head to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm going to the guild. You coming too? I'm sure the others want to meet Stella."

"Sure." Lucy smiled as she got up from Natsu's embrace and walked to her bedroom to get changed while Natsu waited for her outside with Stella. As they were waiting for Lucy to get ready Natsu noticed Stella staring at him.

"Is something wrong, Stella?" he asked.

The cat looked at him seriously before she spoke. "You better watch over her. She had to go through too many after Ithildin left. If you ever hurt her in any way, I'll make sure that Ithildin isn't going to leave a shred of your body to identify you."

Natsu looked at the small feline somewhat frightened. "I assure you, I'm never going to hurt her. I couldn't. Without her, my life would have no longer a meaning. I think you know, once a dragon found his mate he stays at her side forever."

"Did you mark her yet?"

"No. I don't want to move to fast. We only confessed to each other a few days ago. I want to make it special for her."

"I like you." Stella stated. "Just make sure she is happy."

"Don't worry, I will." the Fire Dragon Slayer said with a smile.

"I'm ready!" Lucy shouted as she came running down the stairs. She looked at her regained friend as she got an idea.

"Stella, do you think you could take me over to the guild? I missed flying with you, albeit I didn't know it for most of the time."

Stella smiled just as much as Lucy as she activated her Aera magic, the angelic wings unfolding from her back.

"Race you, Luce." Natsu said with his famous grin as he started to run towards the guild.

"Stella?"

"Just like the old times." the Exceed smiled as they rise into the air.

"This way! Max Speed!" Lucy shouted while pointing out the direction of the guild.

"Aye!"

Lucy couldn't stop herself from crying tears of joy from finally being in the air again with her old friend. Albeit having her memories blocked over the course of 14 years, she still missed Stella. She just remembered now.

She looked down and saw that Natsu was already at the feet of the hill were the temporary Fairy Tail building was located.

"He is almost there! Faster Stella!" she cried happily.

Stella moved to a nosedive and got even faster than before. The doors of the guild were approaching fast and the Exceed stopped just in time to set Lucy softly down.

"Win for us!" Lucy said, giving Stella a high-five.

"What do I get for winning?" the blonde asked her boyfriend who just arrived beside her.

"Hm. What about this?" he asked with a smug grin as he leaned down and kissed her passionately on the lips. Lucy was shocked for a moment but she kissed him back after a moment. The kiss lasted for a few seconds until Stella remembered them of her presence by coughing loudly.

Lucy leaned away embarrassed but with a happy smile on her face. Natsu just showed her his signature grin again before he pushed the doors open and yelled.

"Yo! We're back!"

-:-

Wow
Lot's of NaLu in this chapter. What do you think of Stella?
As always, please review! Feedback is welcome, Flames will be fed to Natsu ;)

Until next time!

Slayer-kun