Three Years Earlier...
"Lucy! Happy!" Natsu hollers, charging through the guild like a wild bull. I have just enough time to turn around before he yanks me away from my seat next to Levy. His arm locks around my waist and I'm lifted off the wooden bench.
"Natsu!" I shriek. Behind me Levy stifles a laugh and only laughs harder when I shoot her a glare over the dragon-slayer's broad shoulders. "Put me down you-" I begin to threaten but am abruptly dropped.
"Sorry Luce" my pink haired companion apologises mockingly, a grin spreading across his face. He offers me a hand and I slap it away.
"What is it?" I demand, rubbing my butt to try and stop the sting brought on by the force of which I hit the ground.
"Hm?" Natsu blinks at me in confusion and I don't bother to supress my groan.
"You called me didn't you? What was it you rushed over for?" I can see the cogs turning inside his head as he mules over my question. Somewhere a light bulb bursts to life.
"Oh right! I found a decent job for 300,000 jewels. I figured you must be behind on your rent, so let's go!"
His black eyes shine down on me as he reaches yet again to help me up and this time I take it, allowing him only to pull with enough force that I go flying into his arms. My fingers splay against his chest for a second before I heave a sigh and step back.
I shake my head softly. "I never can stay angry at you can I?"
Natsu frowns in thought. I watch him with a slight smirk until he realises the sarcasm in my words. "No, I guess you can't" he answers, his mouth relaxing into another grin that has me fighting back my own smile. Eventually I give in and grin back at him, mouth equally as wide.
"Right, let's go find Happy" I conclude. A thought hits me and before Natsu can head off I tap his shoulder, allowing him to face me again with another confused crease of his brows. "Are you sure you don't want to just go with Happy this time?" His eyes widen at my worry. "I can figure out how to pay off my rent another way. You don't have to drag me along all the time. I feel bad taking all the money for myself…"
I have a hard time meeting his eyes when I finish. I drag my eyes up to meet his and at the intensity of his gaze, I glance away.
"Natsu and Happy" he blurts out, startling me enough that I can't help but look back up. There's a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth that wants to tug it into a smile, but he seems to be trying hard to look serious. "That's how our team always was. It was always just me and Happy." He gestures to Erza and Gray seating at the far corner of the hall, "Those two are part of the team occasionally. But Lucy, you're our official third member." He lets the tug from early, slide his face into an easy smile. "If we didn't help with your rent, you'd have nowhere to go. And we can't be without our whole team, so of course you have to come with us on missions."
A tear slides down my cheek and I gasp. "We like having Lucy around" Natsu states firmly as his eyes focus behind me. When I dare my eyes to follow the direction, I let out a laugh; watching Happy glide across the room to us in all his non-existent, feline grace. "We're a team; us three." I hear Natsu say as he comes to stand beside me.
I turn sideways, looking up into his face and in answer he tilts his head slightly to look down at me, pink hair shifting with the movement. "What do you say?" he asks more softly this time.
I smile warmly with my single word answer. "Okay."
...
I didn't tell him anything more, but I think in that moment I fell in love with Natsu Dragneel.
If I'd known then what the future had install, I may have considered telling him that, but we can't know how anything will turn out. And for me, the betrayal I felt when he and Happy disappeared was all that I could remember as he now stood before me. Welcome Home I think, the wall over my heart settling firmly in place.