X792 - The day Makarov came back to Fiore

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

KEY TO HIS SOUL

Sweat coated her palms, pale skin a shade lighter, and it was easy to see she was nervous; indecision shone in those brown eyes and he hated it, watching her struggle, so with a gentle hand Bickslow pressed his palm to Lucy s lower back and helped guide her forward into Magnolia. The four of them had not been back since the sudden closure of the guild a year ago, in fact that Raijinshuu and Laxus had been among the first to leave, and even now they all hesitated in returning. Natsu's signal flare in Crocus had hit the papers and magazines, word spread that someone was trying to bring Fairy Tail back, and Gajeel's visit to Blue Pegasus solidified what they'd thought. The guild was coming back together, with Natsu at the helm of the bunch, and Erza had taken the mantle of Seventh Master.

"I bet they made it look bigger than Magnolia s remodel after the Grand Magic Games." A few chuckles followed Evergreen's statement, the Fairy Mage could tell the tension among them was high and most of it came from the petite blond walking beside her; it was understandable why Lucy was so nervous but Evergreen couldn't deny how much she d missed Magnolia and the guild.

"Of course they did, Ever, with Erza at the helm I'll be amazed it isn t a bakery." The answer was soft, barely loud enough, but the reply had all of them breaking into laughter; the tension dissolving slowly, and the Seith Mage glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. It was nice to see her finally relaxed, she'd spent most of the trip back fretting, and now they were here. Lucy paused mid step and he stayed beside her, Laxus guiding Freed and Evergreen forward to wait for the other two to catch up.

The Seith Mage wrapped his arms around her and Lucy leaned into his hold. "I'm kind of ashamed to say that I m scared." There was no reason not to be, Fairy Tail was her family and home after all, being suddenly abandoned like that had cut the blond apart on a different level than anyone else; he knew she'd forgiven them all for what had happened, for going their separate ways, but she hadn't properly healed because she hadn't seen them all in so long. It showed when Gajeel had arrived with Levy at Blue Pegasus, sure the blond had been excited to see her friend, but there was a reservation in her eyes; she held herself a bit more rigid and kept herself slightly distanced from the pair.

The stolen kiss was fleeting, tender, and it had the effect he d wanted; Lucy relaxed more, smiled a bit softer, and he slid his mask up to look at her. "You're allowed to be scared, you're allowed to be angry, hell you could even be sad. Nobody can tell you what to feel but you." Chocolate pools lightened, her body lurching into his, and this kiss was longer; this was the kind of kiss that parents shielded kids from seeing, that led to darker and more intimate things, but damn if he didn't want to say screw the guild and take her to his house here in Magnolia.

"Guys, hurry up, Evergreen s getting mad that you two can suck face but she hadn't seen Elfman yet." Laxus booming voice was followed by a feminine shriek, the sound of a fan hitting skin, and laughter from the rest of them. Lucy held Bickslow's hand tightly, his Babies floating around them, and she stepped up beside the Lightning Dragon with a grin.

In the time they had been at Blue Pegasus he had found an ancient book and made her kin, they had a blood bond that meant they were like siblings and more, Laxus had grown exponentially stronger and it was revealed that when a dragon had a bond of kin their magic would grow to protect that other person. Bickslow wasn't put off in the least as Laxus took Lucy's free hand, the Seith Mage and Celestial Mage had decided to hide their relationship from the guild for now, and instead he juggled his Babies and told raunchy jokes to keep the others smiling.

The hall came into view and instead of freezing up Lucy tugged on Laxus hand, excited at the idea of being back, and as they pushed open the doors the room fell silent; most eyes fell on the blond pair and their connected hands, the way the Lightning Dragon had seemed to grow almost softer (but no less powerful) in the year apart while the Celestial Mage seemed much more like an adult. "Lucy!" Wendy jumped from her seat and ran to the blond she viewed as a sister, ignoring Laxus' soft growl of warning as her small arms wrapped around the blonde's torso, and the Sky Dragon chirped happily as the embrace was returned.

Laxus' eyes softened at the sound, though he was more than aware of the glare that Gajeel was giving him, and Natsu of course had no tact ever. "The hell are you growlin' at Wendy for, Laxus?" His tone was curious, not like he was looking for a fight, and the tallest blond sighed as he shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." His answer was obviously not what the Fire Dragon wanted to hear but as Natsu opened his mouth to say something Lucy shook her head very gently, it was enough that Natsu caught it and knew better than to make a big deal about it, so the pink haired male instead ran over and collected his hug from his partner.

Bickslow was watching, despite nobody being aware of his gaze following Lucy around the room as she greeted and reunited with everyone, and his heart swelled as he watched the smile on her face continue to grow. As long as she was happy that was what mattered to him. "Ne, Bickslow, welcome home." He glanced at Lisanna and nodded.

The Seith Mage personally had nothing against the youngest Strauss, she was friendly and quite nice to look at, but she seemed to think that with her siblings and his teammates being together that she had a chance with him; Lisanna was a good friend but that was all she could ever be to him. "Thanks, Lis. So what's shakin'?" Her lips quirked upward, a half smile, and he was suddenly feeling wary of the woman before him.

It had to be a female Strauss thing but the pair of them were insane about love, romance, and couples. There were countless times Mira had tried to set up varying couples in the guild, including Lisanna, and before Tartaros the Animal Soul Mage had been doing the vey same. "When are you going to get a girlfriend, hm?" Her words validated his caution.

There were two options here, either start a brawl and flee in the mess or try to deflect, neither one would be that effective though. "Me? Settle down?" He could only hope to the Celestial King himself that Lucy knew what he was doing.

"Bickslow getting a steady girlfriend would be like me becoming the next Master of Fairy Tail, Lis, it's not going to happen."

Bless her amazingly huge heart, his girlfriend was a life saver, and he glanced over at her playful smirk. "I dunno, Cosplayer, why don't you date me?" He replied with a wag of the tongue, it was normal for him to act like this, and Lucy giggled while Evergreen and Freed shared a secret look.

"Hey, Luce, we forgot something. Wait here." The blond glanced at where Natsu and Happy had been standing, her expression an adorable one of surprise, and the two emerged from the kitchen with a tall chocolate cake. The blond erupted into a fit of giggles, Evergreen joining her, as Laxus and Bickslow laughed too.

Gajeel grunted as he steadied the blond when she nearly toppled into him. "What's so damn funny?" He asked, arms crossing, and Lucy only began to laugh harder now. It was Freed, who was covering his mouth to mask his own chuckling, that replied.

"When we were headed back Lucy said she would be amazed if Erza hadn't turned the guild hall into a bakery in her role as Master." Natsu and Happy blinked and chuckled.

"Why didn't I think of that!?" The redhead gasped, hands covering her mouth, and she looked at Makarov as the old man shook his head; Bickslow and Lucy were both laying on the floor wheezing for breath at this point and Happy grinned as the words tumbled out of his mouth.

"Happy Birthday, Lushy!" The Exceed even used the nickname he'd always had for her, his joy infectious, and the blond managed to stop her laughter in order to thank the destructive duo. Bickslow's gift was hidden, it was something he wouldn't reveal here in the guild hall.

The party had lasted for a near day, Lucy had fallen asleep curled between Laxus and Bickslow with the large coat draped across them like a blanket, and upon waking up she simply let herself lay there. After living near Blue Pegasus for so long the blond was finally home.

A soft snore made her glance to where Gajeel cradled Levy, the bluenette was adorable but had a snoring issue if she was forced to lay in an awkward way; but what floored Lucy was the tender expression on Gajeel's face as he watched the girl. "The hell you starin' at Bunny?" He grumbled, lifting his gaze to her, and she offered him a wide smile.

The blush that covered his cheeks was almost cute and Lucy only offered a knowing wink before motioning to Bickslow, his eyes widened a bit but he only nodded in understanding, the pair of former enemies hadn't been close per say but they knew they could depend on one another for anything. They could trust one another with their secrets.

"I guess I'll be the first to say it. Welcome home, Bunny Girl." Gajeel's voice made her chest warm, she was home, and as she lay in Bickslow's arms Lucy knew she would never be able to leave again.

There is Home~ This one is obviously prior to Hidden but after Fix. I tried to merge the descriptive writing of Fix and the broken down conversations of Hidden with this one.