Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima has a death grip on this property... uh, though I assure you, last I checked he was very much still alive.

Lynchpin

Lucy hung back. She wasn't ready for this. Rejection never sat well with anyone, but she'd known it's scathing bite too often in her childhood to just walk into another chance to meet with it. What if-

"Luce?"

The celestial spirit mage turned to see her partner eying her with concern. Natsu urged Wendy to go on ahead and closed the distance between them. He didn't say anything, but waited. Lucy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, not meeting his onyx eyes. She heard Natsu sigh.

"Nervous?"

She chuckled without humor.

"Is it that obvious?"

She peeked at him. He crossed his hands behind his head.

"I mean, yeah," he said, a gentle smile aimed at her. "I can sorta smell it."

Lucy scrunched up her nose, even while a flush ran up her neck.

"Don't be gross."

"Just saying," Natsu said, shrugging. He stepped closer and hooked an arm over her shoulder. "C'mon, Luce. Talk to me."

Lucy couldn't help smiling at her favorite fire mage. She fiddled with her hands, tugging at the hem of her skirt.

"I'm just anxious," she said, taking a deep breath. "I have no idea how the others will have changed since I last saw them. They may not even want to get back together now."

In a voice so quiet she half-hoped he couldn't hear her, she whispered.

"May not want to see me."

Lucy's face burned at the sound of Natsu laughing, the shoulder holding his arm now being used as support. The dragon slayer slapped his face with his other palm, almost cackling. The celestial spirit mage shook and glared at the ground with enough intensity to melt it.

"It's not funny," she said, tears threatening to burn her eyes. She trusted Natsu with her insecurity and he laughed? Lucy didn't know if she felt more shocked or outright angry. She gave a high-pitched yelp when Natsu's other hand clamped on her shoulder and he brought up her chin in his fingers. He leaned toward her until their noses were touching. His eyes burrowed into hers with a sudden seriousness.

"It's hilarious," he said, his words so out of sync with his tone that, were Lucy not still wrestling with anxiety, she'd have been splitting her sides. "The thought that anyone would be less than ecstatic to hear from ya after a year? That's absurd, Luce."

Lucy sniffled. Where did he keep these surprises hidden? Did he hoard them the way dragons of legend hoard treasure? Lucy swallowed, very aware of the proximity of their bodies now that she had calmed a bit.

"I mean, shit," he said, pulling his head back up from hers. "You were more than reason enough for me to come back."

Lucy let her eyes trail down again and mumbled.

"You came back for the guild," she said, skirting the toe of her boot against the pavement. "You just didn't know what had happened."

Natsu poked her forehead and gave a gentle smirk.

"I wanted to see the others, sure," he said, using the hand that poked her to pull her in for a hug. "But you were always first on my list of things to do when I got back."

Lucy pursed her lips to keep all the emotions that welled up from spilling out. She didn't resist the hug, but she also didn't return it. She just looked up at him and absorbed the sincerity of his face with admiration in her heart. Natsu's ear twitched and he sighed again.

"Look, we're still a few blocks from the spot," he started, turning toward the street Lucy had suggested for everyone to meet. "But if it helps any, I can tell you"

"No," Lucy said, tugging Natsu's sleeve. "Don't do that."

Natsu looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. Lucy kept her voice even, pulling out of his embrace.

"You can't fight every battle for me, Natsu," she said, hurrying on through the rest before he could argue. "I have to be able to handle this sooner or later."

Lucy exhaled and closed her eyes. She straightened her posture. She heard a little chuckle and her eyes snapped back open when she felt Natsu's warm hand cupping her neck. His thumb slanted up and down her cheek. Lucy glanced up to catch him smiling at her. His face expressed something between pride and adoration that made her pulse quicken more than it already had.

"There's my princess," Natsu said, stroking her cheek once more before he took her hand with his. "Whenever you're ready."

Lucy felt an overwhelming flood of affection toward her dragon. Despite the public setting, she took after Natsu's example and stemmed the flow of her sudden fondness by pecking his cheek. Without waiting to see his face change color, she beamed and pulled him along to see the rest of their family.

A/N: Whoa, we're down here already? Man! Yeah, this installment is shorter, not the shortest (omake takes that prize), but still. Partly blame college. We'll see how the pace goes from here on. Regardless, I hope it's good! If you enjoyed reading it, review! If you didn't, scrap your desktop keyboard, wait for the shipping process to bring you a new one, and then be filled with such newfound joy that you can use your computer again that you just have to type something in the review box! Shadic out!

Psyche! Review reply time!

GxSBB: Thank you for reading and for reviewing the piece! I'm enjoying this more than I would have expected too, it's like it's impossible to quit! Hopefully you continue to enjoy!

MarS (I have confirmation. I CAN use this abbreviation. Yes.): Glad it still keeps your interest! I look forward to your continued readership! (Huh. That actually doesn't create a red squiggly misspelled line. Who knew?)

SlightlyOff7: Yes, yes, wings would be quite useful in many endeavors. I can fully empathize with your desire for cookies. Perhaps we can arrange something? Thank you for reading them! I shall do my modest best to deliver on domestic scenes, I must agree they are enjoyable! Ah, please, don't let me keep you up.

Guest87 (I can't freaking see your review on the site for some reason but I got the email, I KNOW it's there!): Golly gee! You've got me flustered all over again, thank you very much! Ha ha, I'm so glad you liked the Omake! I was a bit of a mix between high on laughter and nervous that it might not fit in, but it seems I did okay! Awesome! Once again, you give me high praise- I do enjoy a romp inside the heads of beloved characters. Thank you for continuing to read and review!