Welcome back, fluff ahead to conclude the Oración Seis arc.

Clearly, any canonical arcs I play around with, may be taken out of order from the actual canon.

Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy this chapter!

~Onward!

8

-Home-

Erza stood chatting with the Rune Knight's division captain who had introduced himself as Lahar, Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit. His men were already herding the multitude of dark mages away, many of them still unconscious from the light mages' assaults. The redhead found herself answering an array of questions, that were borderline accusatory. Erza shortly reminded the captain that this quest had been approved by the council themselves, and that she and the Allied Forces had just succeeded in saving the magic world from irreversible devastation. Much to her irritation, he dismissed her points, rudely asking where Jura was instead. She reineded in the impulse to punch him in the face and explained, through clenched teeth, that Jura was away scouting for some of their missing comrades.

So when Erza heard Gray's voice breaking through the chaos outside the Cait Shelter guildhall, she spun on her heel and abandoned her disrespectful company. Ignoring the indignant shout of the captain berating her for walking away in the middle of his debrief, she made her way over to her friend. Gray yelped when she unexpectedly wrapped an arm around his neck and slammed his head into her iron chest plate in a gesture she considered a hug.

Groaning in pain, Gray reassured her, "We're okay Erza, it took some work, but Freed and I took down Midnight," he said, "I didn't expect to find Brain already defeated when we returned though..."

Erza noticed Freed already approaching the rest of the Thunder God Tribe, he had Midnight with him restrained in an enchantment. "Where'd Haru and Fire Breath get to? They made it back, didn't they?" Gray asked her.

She hummed back, a smile gracing her face. "Would you believe our motion sick Twin Dragons defeated Brain on an airship?" she asked laughing. The ice mage looked rightly awed before remembering Wendy's ability.

Jura joined her and Gray then, supporting a comatose looking Lyon. "Is he okay?" Erza asked them, cocking her head to get a look at his face.

Gray sighed and turned to look at his childhood friend. "The two of us were pulled into the same vision, under Midnight's influence... A devastating revisit to our past," Gray explained vaguely. "He'll be okay, I think he's just processing everything, in his own way, in his own time."

Erza wanted to inquire as to what had happened in his past, but she could tell it was not a conversation the ice mage wanted to, or was ready to, have. She knew that he, like most of their generation in Fairy Tail had come from pretty messed up childhoods, to say the least. Even if she didn't know the details. Gray had never shared, and she had never pressed. After all, she couldn't expect him to share when she hadn't trusted them with the details of her own past yet. She simply offered him a smile, "I'm glad you made it back unharmed," she said instead.

Erza glanced over her shoulder toward Lahar, who she imagined must still be seething at her perceived rudeness. She watched as the captain approached Freed and his team, still working on his report of the events. Freed tossed Midnight at his feet as he and his companions waved the man off.

"Well," Erza said, addressing Jura, "I think as a Wizard Saint, it's your turn to go deal with the interrogation!" Jura looked at her with pursed lips, biting back a retort before sighing in defeat. There was really no getting out of it, but she didn't have to be so smug.

He stalked away with a scowl on his face once Gray took over supporting Lyon and the two Fairy Tail mages just laughed at the stoic man's obvious displeasure. Erza noticed that Gray was watching something behind her and turned to look at whatever had caught his attention. A large cloud of dust was moving toward them quickly.

"Is that…" Gray asked, sweat dropping.

"Seems likely."

A magic mobile broke through the dust, speeding along apparently uncontrolled, and a high-pitched scream filled their ears. "What the hell—"

Random people ran screaming from the vehicle's path before it crashed right into the side of Cait Shelter. Erza and Gray cringed in unison, their eyes going huge as they looked at each other before running toward the vehicle. The back door opened, and Wendy half climbed, half fell, out of the vehicle. Her movements were uncoordinated and dizzy, she fell back on her butt a few meters from the magic mobile mumbling to herself.

"Am I… alive…" she wondered out loud as she looked around with unfocused eyes. Erza shifted her attention from the young girl to Natsu who had slumped out of the door Wendy had opened, his body sprawled over the side.

"Uh Erza?" Gray summoned.

The redhead joined him at the front of the magic mobile where Laxus was laid out sideways in the seat, his eyes swirling and looking completely out of it.

"What the hell happened?!" Erza asked incredulously.

Carla flew out of the back seat looking entirely pissed off, "Wendy's spell wore off a few miles out. Succumbing to his motion sickness, but too STUBBORN to stop the vehicle because he is an IDIOT, Laxus jus—" Erza held up a hand to cut the white cat's ranting off, stifling her laughter behind a hand. Gray was already on the ground laughing so hard he'd fallen over. Carla huffed at the exacerbating Fairy Tail mages, throwing her paws up and stomped over to help Wendy. Erza and Gray pulled the dragon slayers out of the 'death trap,' as named by Natsu's groans, and laid them out on the grass to let them recover. Wendy wouldn't be helping them this time if Carla had anything to say about it. It was apparent the cat deemed it their fault that they'd ended up in this mess in the first place.

Lahar approached, to stand at Erza's side, observing the incapacitated slayers. "I've been hearing tales of the Twin Dragons... but they certainly don't look like much to me," he muttered sarcastically, not addressing anyone in particular. "So you really expect me to believe these three are responsible for taking down the Oración Seis' master?" he asked the redhead flatly.

She briefly considered him with an unimpressed look at his tone, but only huffed out in irritation. She walked away from him again without answering and rejoined Jura who was currently speaking to Cait Shelter's guild master.

When Jura saw her walking toward them, she stated, "I don't think I've ever dealt with a council representative as insolent as that man, and thats saying something because they're ALL pretty infuriating." Jura laughed heartily, he would never admit it out loud, being aligned with the council himself, but she was absolutely right. As far as he was concerned, the bureaucratic bullshit they insisted on upholding had led them astray.

. . .

Hours of interrogation later, Lahar had finally led his enforcement unit away, much to the light mages' collective relief. They had taken Nirvana, newly sealed with a triple layer enchantment courtesy of Freed, to be stored safely at the Magic Council headquarters in Era. So with all the mission's loose ends tied up, the Allied Forces were finally free to celebrate their incredible victory over the Oración Seis. Though their win was still tainted a little with the awareness that the Cait Shelter guild would never be the same. No matter how they looked at it, there was simply no way to restore the magic power stolen from them. Only a few of their mages had been away on missions at the time, so it left Wendy as part of a guild that couldn't possibly help her grow as a mage.

"Master, what will we do?" the young girl asked, sitting next to him as they looked out over the bustling activity of the their guildmates and the visiting light mages.

"Child, look at our family... Don't you see?" he said vaguely, gesturing out to Cait Shelter's former mages who were laughing, eating and dancing with the rambunctious Fairy Tail mages. Wendy did as he instructed but didn't understand what the elderly man was getting at, she glanced at him in confusion and he chuckled in response. "Do you see any tears? Any regret? Any single one them who appears lost without their magic?"

Realization fell over her face, he was right, sure… but that didn't make it okay.

The guild master placed a hand on her shoulder, fixing her with an apologetic smile. "Our guild knew about Nirvana," he told her bluntly and Wendy sucked in a breath in surprise. He went on to explain that their guild had stumbled on to the devastating power of the weapon decades ago, and the secrets of Nirvana had been handed down through their guild masters and their senior mages over the years that followed. "We should have alerted the Council, but we were scared of the consequences of such a weapon being unleashed on the world." He paused, watching as the fire and ice mages broke into another brawl for one reason or another. 'Hm, they certainly are a lively bunch,' he mused. Breaking out of his sidetracked thought, he addressed Wendy again, "our fears caused us to hide from the world, hoping the weapon would never be discovered. But at the same time, it would be there, should we ever need it, as in the event of a magical war ever breaking out." He sighed, "it was selfish, and we paid the price."

Erza approached the two at that moment, "Wendy come join us, we can't celebrate without you," she told the girl whole heartedly, "without you choosing to accompany us, this mission would have been lost before it ever got started."

A blush covered Wendy's cheeks immediately. She turned back to the old master and he smiled back. "Go have fun with your new comrades, Wendy. All your Cait Shelter family would ever want, is to see you happy," he told her gently.

The young sky slayer got to her feet, running off to join Natsu and Lucy who were dancing among a crowd of her guildmates. Haru, Laxus and Gray were chatting at one of the tables that had been dragged outside, beers in hand and swapping stories. Sherry was hanging off Lyon, trying to coax him out of his trance, and appeared to be making some progress. The Thunder God Tribe were cheering for Freed as he danced drunkenly on a table... he probably wouldn't be happy the next morning when Bixlow replayed the lacrima video he was recording. All in all, the energy was exuberant, and Wendy couldn't help getting caught up in the fun when the stellar and fire mages spotted her and enthusiastically called out for her to join them.

The old guild master watched with a smile; Erza still stood a few feet in front of him watching the party as well. "Erza, I have a request of you, and your guild," he decided suddenly.

The scarlet mage glanced over her shoulder, "If it is in my power to grant, I will happily do so."

"Take Wendy with you."

To say she was surprised would be an understatement. The redhead's mouth worked as she tried to formulate a response, "Wouldn't that break her heart? You all are her family."

"It will likely be hard for her, true, but we will no longer be a wizarding guild. Staying with us would hold her back from her potential." Erza could tell the elder was breaking over the request, so she didn't debate him on it.

"If she should wish it, we would gladly accept her at Fairy Tail, but it needs to be her choice as well."

. . .

The party continued long into the night, and during those hours, Cait Shelter's master and Erza had pulled Wendy and Carla aside to talk with the Sky Slayer about the choice she would have to make for her future as a mage. It was decided among the senior mages that Cait Shelter would not disband, they were family through and through, magic or not. The Guild would be converted to a merchant guild, so the members could stay together and continue to find work in other ways. Of course, that meant Wendy would be welcome to stay if that was her decision, Cait Shelter was her family as well. Despite that, the elderly master had told her that he believed that staying would be discarding her future as a mage.

Wendy didn't hold the same sins as the senior mages of Cait Shelter, having never known about Nirvana, and her identity had always been more tightly bound to her magic than the rest of them. It was her only remaining connection to Grandeeney after all.

Erza had assured her that Fairy Tail would love to have her and Carla, should that be her choice. When Natsu and Haru overheard the conversation, (certainly not from eavesdropping), they'd gone barrelling over to add their approvals. A deep flush painted Haru's cheeks due to alcohols' affects and drunk as he was, he was practically a mirror image of Natsu's naturally loud and boisterous personality. Natsu's magic caused him to metabolize alcohol at a much faster rate, so he was practically sober. But as the Twin Dragons blurted how amazing it would be to have another dragon slayer join Fairy Tail, waving their arms about and shouting over one another, you'd never know it.

Wendy laughed at their antics. "Thank you everyone, can I think about it?" she asked shyly, not wanting to appear ungrateful.

The Fairy Tail mages agreed and wandered back over to the party that was starting to wind down. Various people were slumped over the tables or passed out on the ground now. The trio sat down at the table where Lucy was already sleeping peacefully, draped over the tabletop with Happy curled up against her. Gray was still awake but everything he said was punctuated with a yawn and eventually the rest of the group dozed off as well.

The next day would bring a half day's journey back to Magnolia and they were all beyond excited to be heading home.

. . .

It was still very early in the morning and the sun was hanging low in the sky when the Fairy Tail mages found themselves packing stuff into the two magic mobiles for the return trip to Clover Town. Erza was barking orders at Gray and Haru who were both plagued with horrible hangovers and moving more than a little sluggishly. Natsu felt for his fellow dragon slayer... As if traveling wasn't bad enough, he didn't want to think about how much worse it would be with Erza's driving compounded by a hangover.

The Lamia Scale mages had bid farewell before the sun was even driving away the darkness, eager to get home and hoping that the familiar space would help Lyon make more progress. Natsu and Erza were, surprisingly, already up and had waved goodbye to the foursome. Natsu had recklessly challenged Jura to a fight, next time they crossed paths, so he could see 'how he stacked up against a Wizard Saint.'

As Erza secured another of her suitcases to the roof of a magic mobile, Wendy and Carla strolled toward her. The redhead smiled and offered a cheerful good morning, "Did you two sleep okay?" she asked, knowing the events of the past 24 hours must have weighed on them overnight. She was dying to know what decision the pair had come to the night before, but didn't want to pry.

"So, Wendy! Are you ready to go? You're going to love Fairy Tail!" Erza's eye twitched as a certain pink-haired idiot lacked the ability to read the mood, or apply any tact. She rapped the back of her fist into the fire mage's head, hard, as soon as he was within striking distance. Grabbing the back of his head with a yelp, he proceeded to whine childishly, "Owwww, what was that for Erza?"

But to the knight's surprise Wendy just laughed, "Yes, let's get going," she replied. Only then did Erza notice that the light blue guild mark was missing from the girl's upper arm.

Instead of asking if Wendy was okay and keeping the pain of her decision at the surface, Erza wrapped an arm around the younger's shoulders. "Can you help me with these last couple bags?" she asked. Wendy nodded, running over to grab one of the suitcases, clearly grateful for the distraction.

With everything packed up, Erza shouted out, "Alright Fairy Tail! Finish up your goodbyes and get your butts over here! It's time we go home!"

Cheers sounded from all around the Cait Shelter guild. The Thunder God Tribe, Gray and Laxus climbed into one vehicle with Freed at the wheel. Laxus was already grumbling about how this would not be nearly as much fun as the drive up. Erza jumped up and fixed the SE plug of the second vehicle to her arm, as Natsu, Haru, Lucy and Happy got situated in the back. Wendy joined Erza up front with Carla cuddled in her arms.

As Freed and Erza pulled the magic mobiles out, they paused to sing out some last farewells to their new friends. Wendy wailed her own goodbyes, waving her entire arm as she promised to visit through tears. The guild master walked up to their idling vehicle and took Wendy's hand in his own, "We are all so proud of you, Wendy. We will be watching and cheering for you."

The small dragon slayer cried even louder, "I'll do my best!" she vowed.

As the vehicles began driving away, even in the grips of motion sickness, Natsu thrust his arm out the window with a finger and thumb extended. The other Fairy Tail mages mimicked the action one by one, as they each noticed. The newly minted Cait Shelter merchant guild cheered their farewells and waved back until the vehicles disappeared from sight.

Fairy Tail

"We're HOME!" the fire mage roared with a small puff of fire as the group piled into the guildhall in the late afternoon.

They were immediately swarmed by their guildmates, dragging each of them off in random directions to hear the stories and celebrate the crushing defeat of the Oración Seis. Wendy was surrounded with excited people right away, and Lucy stayed near her to prevent her friends from overwhelming the poor girl, like they did her, when she first joined. Erza and Laxus joined Makarov, sitting to either side of the guild master to relay the mission details and watch their Fairy Tail family dart around. Everyone spoke with animated gestures, though none so much as the Allied Forces, (mostly Natsu), who dramatically acted out the big fights.

"A few representatives from the Magic Council came by to take Angel into custody yesterday evening," Makarov informed his company. He held up three glittering zodiac keys, "we took it upon ourselves to relieve her of her keys as compensation for what she put Lucy through." The elderly man snickered evilly, and the redhead was reminded, not for the first time, that this was a truly terrifying man when anyone hurt his children.

Once she and Laxus had him fully caught up on everything that had transpired, the guild master jumped up onto the bar counter, thrust his beer into the air and yelled, "Listen up brats, grab a drink! We have once again proven to all of Fiore that Fairy Tail is the indisputable strongest guild! We have all our family home safely, and we have two brand new members in Wendy and Carla!" A large grin split the man's face as he watched all his brats take up their own drinks and thrust them forward in a collective cheers. "Tonight we PARTY!" he roared, proceeding to down his beer in a few large gulps, adding to the pink already covering his cheeks.

Predictably, his words had the Guild breaking into further chaos, with more brawls, story-telling, barrel surfing, dancing and a lot of drinking.

After an hour or so, Lucy found herself giddily polishing the new Zodiac keys Makarov had passed to her. She was hyped to summon them tomorrow, meet her new spirits and show them that not all Celestial mages were abusive like Angel. Across the hall, Natsu was encompassed in a jumbled fight with multiple others, including Erza, who's cake had been knocked from her hands when he was thrown into her. That had, unsurprisingly, prompted the two S class into an all-out brawl. The pair was riled up and exchanging blows enthusiastically, unceremoniously sending any mage unlucky enough to end up in their path, flying.

Lucy glanced up from her keys as Haru approached and took the seat next to her. "Polish those keys anymore and you'll go blind," he joked as he watched the destructive fight and took a long sip of his beer. Leaving his teasing remark unanswered, Lucy thanked him for his part in rescuing her instead. She didn't miss his subtle flinch, before his blue eyes met hers. The guilt on his face took Lucy aback, she couldn't possibly decide what he would have to feel guilty for.

But he spoke up before she could ask, "Something you should know..." he said, pausing as he set his beer down. He was avoiding eye contact now and it made Lucy uneasy. "When Gemini infiltrated the guild… Natsu was the only one that knew. Like, without a shadow of a doubt, knew, that there was something wrong about you." Lucy's eyebrows raised, she hadn't realized that anyone figured out there was an imposter. She'd just assumed that the Guild had simply responded to the ultimatum that the Oración Seis had sent. "You shouldn't be thanking me, I should be apologizing. I should have known there was something wrong too. Or, at the very least, I should have trusted in Natsu's judgement. What kind of friend am I?"

Lucy could tell he was spiralling and of course he had no reason to be blaming himself for anything. She covered his clenched fist with her hand and gave it a squeeze, "You couldn't have known Haru. I am sure you were just watching out for Natsu in your own way." Haru finally met her eyes, his perceived failure marring his expression. "Look Haru, it doesn't matter how it happened, you were part of the team that helped bring me home. Helped save all of the light guilds, as a matter of fact," she added with a grin, nudging his shoulder playfully. He still didn't appear to be letting go of his self-imposed guilt though. She sighed, "I think you let yourself get stuck in Natsu's shadow too often, comparing yourself to him, but you're different people, with different strengths. You should know, even being so new to the guild still, I can tell Natsu admires you too. I don't think he would be the mage he is, without you."

He remained silent for a moment and Lucy wasn't sure she'd gotten through to him, but then he gave her a grateful smile. Turning his hand over, he squeezed hers back, "Thanks for that Lucy. I'm really glad you're home safe, Fairy Tail really wouldn't be the same without you." She smiled back and the two continued to talk on lighter subjects, both just appreciating the energy that being surrounded by their guildmates afforded them.

As night fell on Magnolia, Lucy announced that she was exhausted, mentally and physically from her ordeal, and the Twin Dragons agreed. Taking down multiple S-class level dark mages, sustaining Drive mode to the point of completely exhausting their magical containers, two blow-out parties and way more transport than either of them would like to experience in a lifetime, had them both completely drained as well. Natsu dragged Happy away from his failed flirting attempts with the white cat, and the four made their way out of the guild, calling their goodnights over the noise.

They made their way through the streets, Happy floating overhead and raving about Carla's beauty and debating what kind of fish he should bring her tomorrow. Haru made some thoughtful recommendations, where Lucy and Natsu had just been teasing the blue cat in revenge for his constant teases. As Haru continued helping Happy decide exactly what kinds of fish might win Carla's favour, Lucy realized the water mage had an obsession with seafood that rivalled Natsu's obsession with literally ANY meat.

They reached the fork that split their paths home and Lucy stopped to pull both dragon slayers in for a group hug. She murmured a genuine thanks for the hundredth time as they all pulled away. Haru said good night and walked a few feet with Happy hovering over his shoulder, until he realized Natsu hadn't moved. Turning to face Lucy and his partner, he asked "You coming Natsu?"

"I'm going to walk Lucy home," he said, glancing at her to see if she had any objections. Lucy quickly assured him it wasn't necessary to go out of his way, but didn't put up any real protest, so he grinned and told Haru, "I'll catch you later man!"

Haru shrugged, sharing a knowing look with the blue cat, who for once, didn't sing his annoying phrases. Instead Happy launched into another discussion on how to impress Carla and Haru just waved goodbye to them before continuing home.

Lucy looked at Natsu who threw an arm over her good shoulder and beamed down at her, "Let's get you home, shall we?"

The blonde was beyond excited to crawl into her own bed tonight, but she supposed she could make a couple mugs of herbal tea and hang out with Natsu for a bit longer. Especially after learning that he'd been feverously investigating Gemini-Lucy even when everyone told him he was imagining things. Besides, it would be nice to have company after her ordeal, and she just felt safe and supported around Natsu.

Popping the key in the door, Lucy led the fire mage inside with her, and he dropped onto her couch while she set the kettle on the stove to boil. Natsu hadn't been sure she would let him come inside, having assumed she'd probably want a quiet night alone, a hot bath, a deep sleep in a cozy bed. But maybe, just maybe, she needed his presence to reassure her, as much as he found himself needing hers.

In the dead of night, with all the adrenaline from the mission gone, and without the parties to distract him anymore, everything Natsu had experienced came crashing down on him. Lucy's kidnapping, the battle, and the extremely vivid deaths of his friends that he'd tortured himself with in Midnight's nightmare void, remained in the back of his mind. Natsu was standing and moving toward her before he even realized he'd made the decision to do so.

Lucy felt Natsu's presence behind her, and then his arms slowly wrapped around her middle, pulling her into his body. His forehead dropped to her shoulder as he let out a shaky breath, "I really thought I was going to lose you," he said, barely audible. Natsu was a pretty tactile guy, he had been in her personal space since the day they'd met, but this immediately felt different, felt much more intimate. Lucy lifted a trembling hand to his head and began carding her fingers through pink locks in a comforting gesture. She felt him tense up before relaxing under her touch.

"I'm okay, Natsu, I'm right here," she reassured him, it seemed he needed to hear it though, she felt him nodding against her shoulder. Lucy turned in his embrace, bringing her hands to cradle his face and pressed her forehead to his, "we'll always be together." They stood there for a long moment, neither of them moving, neither of them speaking, the tea completely forgotten. Somehow, having only had him in her life for a couple months, he'd taken point as one of the strongest relationships in her life. Lucy had never had a friend like him, but even as she considered their friendship, she knew something was shifting between them.

Without moving to look at her, Natsu asked, "Can I… Can I stay the night?"

Gently pulling away to observe the man in front of her Lucy squeaked out, "What?" Immediately flushing a pink at what the implications could be.

"Not like that," he responded slowly, unaffected by where he knew her brain had gone, "I just…" He struggled to convey what he needed because there wasn't really a rhyme or reason to what he knew he needed. "We just got you home, and I just have this irrational fear that you'll disappear," he tried to explain, mirroring her blush a bit. "I know, it's stupid."

Lucy shook her head, "No, it's not stupid at all," she told him as she threaded her fingers through his, "in all honesty, I could use a friend tonight too. Two weeks being surrounded by enemies… not knowing what was going to happen to me… living in fear of how Gemini could be using my likeness to hurt you all… it was awful." Lucy exhaled loudly, letting her eyes fall shut as she tightened the grip she held on his hand.

The relief that washed through him was immense. "But," she added with a devious grin, releasing his hand to punch him in the shoulder playfully, "you're sleeping on the couch." Natsu eyed the small couch with a touch of distain and she laughed, announcing she was going to go take a hot bath. "Just make yourself at home... you usually do anyway," she giggled before disappearing into her bathroom.

After a desperately needed bath, Lucy had crawled into some comfortable PJs, and dropped a couple blankets on Natsu's stomach where he was stretched out on her couch. He had shrugged out of his vest and boots and had placed his neatly folded scarf on the coffee table next to him, he mumbled a thanks and watched her retreat to her bed. "Sleep well Natsu," the blonde said softly.

. . .

Lucy had honestly been worried that she would have one of the recurring nightmares she'd been experiencing while in the Oración Seis' captivity and disrupt Natsu's sleep as a result, but she'd surprisingly fallen asleep quite easily. So, when a frantic shout jolted her awake and she'd realized that it was actually her companion who was tossing and reaching for something unknown in his sleep, it took her a moment to process. She moved to his side, shaking his shoulder, "Natsu, Natsu wake up, it's just a nightmare." He bolted upright, panting with a fist against his chest and looked around wildly before taking in the worried expression on her face.

"Lucy?" he questioned, giving his head a shake.

She came around the couch to sit on the edge next to him, "Are you okay Natsu?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," he muttered.

Lucy wasn't sure if he was reassuring her, or himself. She placed a hand on his knee, holding his gaze, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He paused, considering the offer before shaking his head, "No, it's just… a nightmare I recently subjected myself to," he explained honestly. It was actually helpful just seeing the stellar mage in front of him, her presence returned his grip on reality. Natsu briefly wondered if Haru, or Gray were going to experience recurring nightmares thanks to that awful magic as well.

"Midnight's magic?" Lucy carefully suggested, she didn't want to push him too far if he didn't want to talk.

Natsu just nodded absently. She knew about the nightmare magic, though she didn't know anything of the specifics of what the boys had seen when they were trapped in their voids. Lucy placed a hand on his cheek, not knowing that it was a shocking reminder of her own death that he'd experienced in his nightmare and he flinched slightly at the touch. Undeterred, the blonde stood from her spot and wordlessly led him to her bed, momentary surprise flickered across his face, but he didn't question her. He crawled into her bed, and she curled herself into his side, pulling the blankets over them both. The soft sound of her even breathing relaxed him, and he focused on matching his own elevated breathing rate to hers. It didn't take long for them both to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The Next Morning

Haru walked into the guildhall the next morning with Happy perched comfortably on his shoulder and immediately noticed Natsu and Lucy in one of the booths along the back wall. Lucy was flipping through a copy of Sorcerer's Weekly, a mug of tea in her hand, and Natsu was stretched out on the opposite side, looking bored and letting his fire jump between two extended fingers.

The Water Slayer slid into the booth next to Lucy because Natsu was taking up all the available space on his side. Happy jumped up on the table, pulling a fish from his pouch and settled down to eat his snack. Without looking at Lucy, Haru addressed his partner, "So I noticed you didn't come home last night."

"Nope." Natsu replied popping the 'p.'

Lucy looked up from the magazine at Haru, who was now looking at her with a smug look, the insinuations all over his expression. She immediately flushed, reverting to her usual frantic denial that anything had happened, which was true mind you, but the water mage didn't seem to think so. Natsu did nothing to aid her panic, as she tried and failed to make a convincing appeal.

"Natsu!" she yelled at him, "a little help!?"

"She looooooves him!" the blue cat sang.

"Stupid cat!"

Both dragon slayers dissolved into fits of laughter, and Lucy fumed at them. Clearly, she was missing the joke, which, she lamented, she was likely the butt of. That pissed her off more, "Mind telling me what's so damn funny?" she barked.

"He knows full well that we didn't have sex, Loonie." She twitched at his bluntness and the use of 'Loonie.' He only used that pet name when she was freaking out about something that he perceived to be too silly to get worked up about.

"You better get explaining, pyro!"

Haru cut in before he could, knowing Natsu's explanation would likely be as tactless as his previous comment. "People who are… intimate," he started, elongating the word to further frazzle the blonde, "have each other's scents all over them. It's hard to miss for a dragon slayer."

Lucy looked from Haru to Natsu who was smirking and tapping his nose. Without a word, she threw her arms up in exacerbation, shoved Haru out of the booth and stomped away, leaving them both laughing at her expense.

She flopped onto a stool at the bar, dropping her magazine on the counter as she sprawled her torso over the surface and let out a loud groan.
"Oh my," Mira said walking up to the celestial mage, "what's wrong Lucy?"

"I hate boys," she whined dramatically, giving an exaggerated pout for emphasis.

Mira's eyes trailed over to their Twin Dragons, still absorbed in something apparently hilarious in the booth across the room. "But I think you and Natsu are so cute together!" she squealed, clasping her hands in front of her.

Lucy's eyes bulged, and she lifted herself from the counter to shoot Mira an incredulous look. "What is with everyone and my love life today?!" she snapped. "There is nothing going on between me and Natsu," she added for good measure, though she honestly wasn't so sure herself anymore. But the twinkle in Mirajane's eye did not disappear.

"I don't know about that, we've actually got bets going," she stated cheerily.

Lucy fixed her with a deadly look at that, "What?" she ground out flatly, between clenched teeth. "Who would be betting on something like that?!" she exclaimed louder than she meant to. Her loud exclamation had drawn the majority of the guild's attention, much to Lucy's horror. Mira simply continued to smile sweetly as Lucy dropped her head back to bar heavily, wanting to die of embarrassment.

"I must adjust my previous statement; I hate you all."

A/N. This was a fun chapter to write, I enjoy banter between Haru and Lucy… totally amusing to write. The dragon slayers being left alone to drive a magic mobile was also super fun.

So, what did you all think of the first arc? Curious, do you enjoy the action-packed chapters, or the fun fluffier chapters more? Personally, it's a total toss up for me, but I am a total sucker for some good fluff.

'Till Wednesday!

R&R

xx Loka Muse