"I close my eyes, thinking there is nothing like the embrace after an absence, nothing like fitting my face in the curve of his shoulder and filling my lungs with the scent of him."
― Jodi Picoult, Keeping Faith
It was nighttime.
She didn't know if anyone was going to be there, she couldn't really be sure. Fairy Tail never really knew the meaning of 'heading home' since they all were pretty much already home. But it had been a long time… things might've changed. Gods knew she did.
Her appearance had altered. Her facial features had become more pronounced, she had grown into a more womanly body and simply the way she held herself was more mature. Her eyes seemed lighter, taking on a more bronze hue than the chocolate color they once were. She had gotten a haircut as well, her hair reminiscent of Lucy Ashley's- her Edolas counterpart -only without the side ponytail.
The blonde shook her head and smiled to herself, walking down the streets that hadn't seemed to change in the three years she had been gone. It was almost weird, now that she thought about it. She had expected there to be something new, but if she was being honest… she didn't really know what it was she had been expecting...
Heaving a sigh, she continued down the road, gazing up at the stars that seemed to shine brighter than ever. Her keys warmed at her hip, and she placed a hand over them, as if to remind herself they were there.
She felt one in particular spike their temperature, a loving grin spreading across her lips even as it burned her fingertips slightly.
The one spirit she had set out to find… she finally had her back.
It hurt her greatly to leave everyone, especially so soon after they had everyone back together. But Lucy knew that she had to do it alone- she had to find Aquarius on her own.
Of course, she said goodbye to everyone, she kept in touch with them after she left, but it was difficult. Often times she was in the middle of some heavily forested area or searching through a random cave she had found in a mountain. As much as she had wanted to, she just couldn't keep sending them letters every week as she had been. Not receiving any back due to how much she moved was also quite crappy- but she at least hoped one of her friends would appreciate the gestures.
The blonde found herself passing in front of her old apartment, pausing as she stared up at it. She wondered if someone was living there now- someone who wasn't her, of course. She at least hoped her landlady would rent it out to a person who would pay their rent on time.
A memory popped into her mind, and she smiled tiredly, letting it play.
"You don't have to go alone." He said, looking to the ground. "We just defeated Alvarez, with no small amount of sacrifice, we basically just got Fairy Tail back together… you shouldn't leave. You can't." The blonde woman was silent as she looked up to her best friend from her spot at her kitchen table. She caught his gaze, his emerald eyes locking with her chocolate ones.
"I know that I shouldn't, but I'm going to. Aquarius is out there and I need to find her. I just… I don't think I could live with myself if someone got to her before me." Lucy responded with a small sigh, standing and walking over to the male. She cupped his cheeks, tilting his head up and seeing the emotion clear in his eyes. She felt her resolve nearly break, but somehow she kept it strong.
"I'm not leaving forever." She assured quietly, trying to lock up the feelings that wanted to tumble out in her words. "I lo- I just…" She took a deep breath, his forehead suddenly pressed against hers, giving her the incentive to speak. "You know that I care about you, Natsu. I could never leave you for real. This is just an adventure that I need to go do on my own. She was my first friend- my only friend after my mother died. She wants me to find her key, she wouldn't have told me it was out there otherwise." His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her close to his chest and she played with the tassels of his scarf. Her heart was pounding against her chest and she nearly stuttered as she spoke. "I need to do this on my own."
"I know." He whispered back, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "I get it. I understand more than you know, but it doesn't make it any easier." She felt him run a hand through her hair, his fingers tangling in the golden strands and making her stomach flip. "You gotta promise me you'll come back, though. And that you'll stay in touch."
"Of course." She said, pulling away as her eyes flickered up to his with relief flooding through her. "I'll write to you guys as much as I can, I'll send postcards and souvenirs when I find them and I'll try to call you on that new lacrima Warren made and- mmpph!"
His lips were suddenly slammed against hers, her eyes rolling nearly rolling into the back of her head as her eyes fluttered closed. She all but melted into him, relaxing even as her cheeks heated up to a degree she didn't know was even possible for her body to achieve. All she felt was complete and utter bliss- all her thoughts shutting off when he moved tentatively, coaxing her mouth open and the blonde complying.
One of her hands moved on its own, settling on the back of his neck and playing with the short pink strands that resided there as the kiss deepened. The hand that he had used to run through her hair was suddenly closed into a fist, pulling her impossibly closer as his other hand settled on the small of her back.
All too soon, he pulled away, once again placing his forehead against hers as their breaths mingled in the shared air. Lucy realized that her heart acted as if it were trying to leap out of her chest, and she smiled knowing only he could ever make her feel like this. She opened her eyes to see him looking down at her with his own self satisfied smile, as if he were thinking the same thing and he knew it.
"What was that for?" She asked quietly, not breaking eye contact even when his eyes darted around, avoiding her gaze. She tried not to laugh when his cheeks began to match his hair.
"To help you remember you had better come back quick." He murmured, his eyes returning to hers. "You will, right?"
"Yeah, totally." She responded with a smile before she licked her suddenly dry lips, not missing how his eyes were immediately drawn to the action. "Do I um… get anymore before I have to leave?" He leaned down to her, his hot breath fanning across her lips and making her entire being shiver. His words were so soft and she almost didn't catch them before his mouth was back on hers with new passion.
"You get as much as you want, Luce."
A couple years ago, that memory would have made her blush a million shades of red, but now it was fondly remembered. It had been the night she had finally succumbed to her true feelings, and basically his going away present to her. It had felt right at the time and even now she didn't regret a single thing that had happened between them.
Sure, doing that the night before she left made leaving a hell of a lot harder, but her mind was made up. At least their reunion would be that much sweeter, she had thought.
Walking on, Lucy hummed a tune under her breath, glancing around as she continued down the cobblestone street. Strong nostalgia washed over her as she looked to the river she had spent so many years waltzing past. It was different, though. She was older and wiser- stronger physically and magically. Back then she was just a wannabe, a noob in the world of magic compared to those in the guild.
A smile crawled onto her lips as she spotted it. In the distance- her home standing proudly on top of the hill. It had been rebuilt, bigger and better than ever after the final battle that had taken place in the town. The place where she and Natsu did their unison raid, defeating Zeref once and for all.
Yeah, they had leveled the entire town with the attack- but everyone was fine in the end! Happy made sure to tell them how badass they were. Not that Lucy didn't already know, but the praise was nice.
Shaking away her slightly narcissistic thoughts, the blonde broke into a small jog that slowly but surely turned into a dead sprint. The lights were still on, and as she drew nearer she began to hear the telltale sounds of a party.
When she reached the door, she was panting. Adrenaline raced through her and she picked up the object of their celebration, tears clouding her eyes as a grin spread across her lips.
Juvia was pregnant.
Which also meant she was married. Which also meant she and Gray finally got together. And by extension that also meant she would no longer consider her a love rival. Hopefully.
Suddenly her eyes lit up as another thought popped into her head.
Not thinking after that, she kicked down the door before any more thoughts could interrupt her action process. She leaped in, feeling all eyes on her in a moment and she opened her mouth to speak her first words to them in years…
"Dibs on being Godmother!" She yelled, pointing to the blue haired woman whose eyes widened to the size of saucers. Not even a moment later, someone shrieked her name and she found herself being knocked to the ground.
Lucy couldn't find it in herself to be upset as Erza basically latched onto her, nearly sobbing. She found herself being surrounded by everyone, no one really attempting to remove the requip mage from her body.
From somewhere in the crowd of friends, she heard Cana shout, "This calls for more booze!" and Lucy didn't disagree. Juvia had somehow made it to her, giving her a hug that rivaled the great Titania's- who still hadn't let go of her -on the pain scale.
But still, she couldn't be upset. She didn't know how anyone could be upset with being surrounded by so much love.
Wendy was an absolute mess and so was Levy, who was clinging to Gajeel who also was looking a little teary eyed himself. Mira, Lisanna, Kinana, and basically every other girl who were members of the guild were in a similar boat. Gray had patted her on the head, ruffling her hair in a brotherly way as Elfman tore her away from Erza who was not at all happy about it. Not one bit.
Luckily, a newly freed Jellal had distracted her with some cake, though it hadn't lasted very long.
Happy had flown straight into her chest and was wailing, saying how much he missed her and such.
She greeted anyone and everyone around her, hugging and smiling so much she thought her face would split.
Even so, she couldn't help but feel there was someone missing. She glanced around for the male she knew had to be there. She could feel his magic, mixed in with everyone else's, but not as apparent. She was just so pumped up with adrenaline she couldn't even think st-
"Looking for me?"
Her heart seized at his words, and she let out a shuddering breath, whirling around as her ecstatic friends jumped out of their way. Happy even flew over to Wendy who was holding her own exceed, grins etched into their faces.
"Well, yeah." She admitted with a laugh, quickly closing the distance between them, throwing her arms around he picked her up easily, spinning around. She laughed loudly along with her guild, smiling jovially at the man she had missed so much. After a moment, he set her down and pulled her in close as she whispered something only he could hear before his lips were slammed against hers.
Cheers echoed in the guildhall as they kissed passionately, never having it felt so right before. Maybe it was the distance and the time that had ebbed away at her that made that moment so much more… amazing- she didn't know. All she knew was that she somehow loved him even more than when she left.
The blonde pulled away first, staying wrapped in his arms for a moment so she could stare into the emerald eyes she had dreamt about seeing again. After the moment, however, she was grabbing his hand and yanking him over towards Juvia to talk about her unborn child.
For hours upon hours upon hours, they talked. Lucy listened to the guild about all of their misadventures. Gray had been chosen as the next guild master soon after she had left, also beginning his relationship with Juvia around that time as well; Levy and Gajeel had started dating and then got engaged around the wintertime; Erza and Jellal had basically eloped when the latter cleared his name and went to the guild; Wendy was so proud that she finally grew in the body department; Happy had beaten his record of 'most fish eaten in one sitting' (It had been 57 and was now at a staggering 81; Mira mastered yet another demon takeover; Asuka now had a younger brother; Makarov had gotten beat by Laxus after a duel; the thunder dragon slayer had also been named one of the ten wizard saints- and so much more had happened.
They talked for nearly twelve hours straight before people finally began to pass out from exhaustion. Lucy didn't even care that she had fit absolutely nothing in about her own adventures. It wasn't like there was too much to talk about anyway, she would tell them soon enough.
Natsu had the blonde firmly encased in his arms, having her as close as humanly possible. She gazed around lovingly at her friends who meant so much to her, their sleeping faces giving her comfort as she closed her eyes.
Her family was complete now, she thought absently. The man she loved was by her side, her friends gathered all around, all her spirits back where they belonged- with her.
And nothing could have made that reunion sweeter.
:D Hope you enjoyed! (Have an amazing Fourth of July btw)
-FireDragonPhia