Lucy pushed her way to the front as all of her old teammates had immediately set up a barrier between Zeref and herself.
"Let me through," She demanded. "Natsu, you idiot, what are you doing? You can't just go around punching my friends."
She grabbed onto his arm as he went in for a follow up swing, shooting him a glare that even Erza cringed at the sight of.
"This guy tried to kill me though," Natsu protested as he reluctantly lowered his arm, pouting at Lucy.
Lucy whirled on Zeref, "Is it true?"
Zeref looked away, "Well, technically, I guess, but I didn't actively try to. It just sort of exploded, you know, how it does."
Lucy sighed, "Go home, okay? I'll talk to these guys and meet you back there."
The group watched in surprise as he turned and slumped his way back down the path dejectedly. Lucy shook her head in amusement before turning back to her friends, placing her hands on her hips.
"Now, do you mind telling me why all of you are here?" She demanded.
"Lucy, do you even know who that guy is?" Gray demanded in return. "We came here when we found out where the Masters had sealed you away to save you from him. He's Zeref."
Lucy rolled her eyes, "One, I don't need saving, okay? See, look I'm fine. Two, I know who he is. We've been living on the same island for awhile now. Did you think I wouldn't happen to bump into the only other living person on the island?"
They all exchanged guilty looks before Levy spoke up.
"But history says Zeref is -"
Lucy glared at them, "I know what history says. I also know who it is that curls up beside me every night, and no matter what the books say, that's not the man I know, okay? So if you're going to stay here with us then there's going to be ground rules. First," She pointed at Natsu. "No fighting with him, got it? His magic is like mine and he can't always control it. I don't want any of you dying because you were stupid enough to pick a fight with him. Second, give him a chance."
They all blinked in surprise. Lucy was sharing a bed with Zeref? They couldn't believe it, so they immediately discarded it, turning over the second part, her rules. Just the two rules? Lucy usually had more rules than that. In unison they nodded, and Lucy's face split into that brilliant smile that she was famous for.
"Alright then, lets go to my home," She announced, leading them toward the cave.
"So you and Zeref, huh?" Levy teased softly, running to catch up with her friend.
Lucy blushed, "It's not like that."
"But you want it to be."
Her blush deepened as they neared the cave, "Shut up, Levy."
Zeref watched as Lucy led her group of friends toward him, wondering if they were here on peaceful terms. For her sake - and theirs - he hoped so. Two he recognized from the picture as Gray and Erza, and of course, he recognized Natsu. The two blunettes that were with them, though, he had no clue about. Lucy had never mentioned them before, and he felt a little ill at ease, not knowing who these two were or what their relationship was to Lucy.
He needn't have worried though. The older of the two blunettes immediately sat beside him upon entering the cave, grinning up at him.
"Hi, I'm Levy. Lulu-chan's best friend," She announced before hugging him.
The whole group froze as they watched Levy hugged the death mage. Zeref blinked in surprise before hugging her back. For a brief moment he felt her life force start to drain out of her and he almost panicked until he realized it was replenishing as fast as he was draining it and he looked up to see Lucy watching it all with a small smile. One finger moved to her lips as she winked at the dark-haired mage and he broke into a bright smile that startled the others.
As if the hug had broken some kind of barrier the rest piled around him, chattering away at him. He learned that the smaller blunette was Wendy, the resident healer and Sky Dragon Slayer. Then it was Natsu's turn and he was surprised when the pinkette poked his cheek, his brow furrowing for a moment before he grinned.
"You should smile more often," Natsu announced. "You look much less depressing when you do."
Lucy and Zeref exchanged exasperated looks at his comment before Erza announced her agreement.
"I'm Erza, by the way," She said, sitting down on the other side of the death mage as Natsu went back to sit by Lucy, one arm wrapping around her shoulder.
Zeref nodded, fighting back a pang of jealousy at seeing the Fire Dragon Slayer so friendly with Lucy.
"Yes, you are Erza and the guy who seems to have lost his shirt is Gray," Zeref said in amusement.
He laughed as Gray looked down and shrieked as he noticed that, once again, he was in his boxers. Lucy certainly painted a pretty good picture of him, from what little she'd told.
'Wait, I know how you know who I am," Natsu interrupted. "But how do you know Erza and Gray?"
Zeref pointed to the picture that sat beside the bed, "Lucy told me."
Natsu hurried over and picked up the photo that the four of them had taken so long ago. He smiled at the memory, passing it to Erza who studied it with a small smile as Gray peered over her shoulder, grinning. Lucy's answering smile made Zeref's heart leap. These were her friends, her comrades, and she seemed so happy with them around. Happier than he'd ever seen her.
Lucy watched the three of them as they studied the picture, her heart in her throat as she worried about what their reactions might be.
"You kept this?" Erza demanded, handing it to her.
Lucy nodded, a small smile on her face. "It sat beside my bed at home and I couldn't bare the thought of not having it sit by my bed here."
She was surprised when three tackled her, hugging her tightly. Even more surprising were the hot tears she felt falling on her. She pulled away, studying the three in surprise.
"You've really missed me, haven't you?"
Even Levy and Wendy, from their seats next to Zeref, nodded in agreement.
"You gotta come home, Luce. Everyone there is so quiet without you. Even the Thunder Legion and the old guys seem more down now that you're gone," Natsu explained.
Lucy shook her head, disappointing them, "I can't leave, Mavis sealed me to the island. Even if I could, I wouldn't leave Zeref here by himself. I know what it's like to be all alone and I couldn't do that to anyone, especially not someone that I cared about."