The sun began to set in Magnolia, leaving a beautiful hues of orange, purple, and blue coming in the windows of Fairy Tail. The guild hall was nearly empty this evening. As Mirajane looked around, she only noticed Wakaba and Makao in their usual spot. There were a couple other mages scattered around the guild. However, it was a far cry from being 'full' in the guild hall. Several wizards were either out on a mission, or have gone home for the night.
Since Lucy and the gang haven't been hanging around, many of the guild members find themselves turning in early.
Almost two weeks have passed since Loki burst through the doors of Fairy Tail. The ones who witnessed that day weren't sure what to make of it, especially since nothing has been said afterwards. Several wizards were beginning to worry about the Celestial Mage. She's become the topic of discussion at many tables throughout the guild hall. The idea of a search party has been thrown up in the air several times.
However, the ones who know anything about Lucy's return have been away on their specified jobs. The teams that went to gather information have been gone since the meeting day.
Canna is the only one who's spent any time at the guild. While there, she makes sure to keep busy with her true love, the keg usually attached to her hip. Tomorrow was her day to scout Lucy's apartment. The Celestial Wizards had some business of their own to attend to.
"Man… The Guild Hall's been empty lately!" Lisanna mentioned as she sat at the bar. Her sister, Mirajane stood across from her, cleaning a glass.
"I can't remember the last time there was a fight in the man hall." Wakaba chuckled from his seat at a table.
"Right?" Makao laughed. "I feel like it's been weeks since we've had to clean this place up."
"You Ssss-should enjoy…. It while you can!" Canna slurred.
"It is that time of year." The she-demon grinned. "Everyone's taking on a lot of work so they'll be chosen for the S-Class Trials." Mira put the glassware away, finishing the rest of her bar tasks.
"I can't believe it's here already.." Canna hiccupped, nearly falling off the stool she was on. The card mage had a particular distaste for the Trials. This would be her fifth year of being chosen without actually claiming the title.
The doors of the guild hall opened. Everyone turned their heads to see a white cat fly in, along with a Sky Dragon Slayer.
"Hey Wendy!" Makao hollered as he waved hello.
The young bluenette smiled at the older wizard, waving back. As Wendy looked around the guild hall, her eyes widened at how empty it was. Thankfully, the person she wanted to speak with was in the room. The duo walked towards Black Steele and Levy.
"What's up, pipsqueek?" Gajeel chuckled, looking at the smaller Dragon Slayer.
"I actually had a question for the two of you." Wendy glanced around the main floor of the guild hall. "Can we speak in private?"
"We were just about to go see Gramps upstairs." The Script Mage commented.
"We'll follow you up, this shouldn't take long." Carla mentioned it from beside her best friend.
The Iron Dragon Slayer nodded, leading the way. Everyone else looked towards the group skeptically, except Canna and MIrajane.
"What do you think that was about?" Wakaba raised a brow.
"I'm not sure…" Makao admitted. "It was weird though, right?"
"Do you boys need any more to drink?" Mira interrupted the two of them, bringing a pitcher of beer in each hand.
As the four wizards make their way to the second floor, Wendy begins her line of questions. "How did the mission go?"
"We've got some interesting new intel… Why do you wanna know, short stack?"
"Lucy's worried…"
Gajeel and Levy both stop at the top of the stairs. The script mage turns, and glances at the Sky Dragon Slayer.
"She's worried that Dico is going to come after the guild…" The young woman's face got considerably more worried as she noticed the other two didn't seem shocked. "I mean, Lucy went undercover, there's no way they know who she is, right?
Black Steele takes a deep breath, not sure what to say at this point. He looked towards his partner, who was doing her best to keep her features expressionless.
"When did she tell you she felt this way?" Levy questioned.
"It was the first night that I was at her apartment." Wendy confided in her friend.
"The poor girl seemed pretty shaken up about the entire experience." Carla sighed.
"But she's wrong, right Gajeel? I mean, they wouldn't come after Lucy, would they?" The Sky Dragon Slayer questioned worriedly.
"Well.. We need to let Gramps know what we found out, before Levy and I do anything else." Gajeel began. "But afterwards, I think we should pay Blondie a visit."
I wonder what Natsu's up to there… The Celestial Mage was lounging in a loveseat, her head laid in her hand as she flipped through the channels on the television. As she looked towards the Dragon Slayer's kitchen, Lucy noticed it was slowly becoming dark outside. Her eyes widened as she began to wonder how so many hours slipped away without her noticing.
I bet it's dinner time… Where has the day gone?
In the weeks that Lucy's been home, she's taken a lot of time to heal. Natsu has been an extremely important part of it. Every step of the way, the Dragon Slayer's assisted in the healing process. Since he's been through a loss before, the pink haired wizard knew all the right things to say.
Each night the young blonde woke up from a nightmare, Natsu was there to offer comfort. Lucy wasn't sure what she would do without him.
In the early hours of this morning, Lucy decided that staying in her apartment probably wasn't the best place for her. She hated the unsafe feeling that she was getting. It was almost as if the Celestial Mage were being watched.
Although she didn't leave her apartment very often, the times she did Lucy noticed she was looking over her shoulder. She could feel her stomach tighten, warning her that danger was near. Unsure if the feeling was anxiety from her experience, or an actual threat, the young blonde told her partner about her suspicions.
After some deliberation, Natsu and Lucy decide to spend the day at his place. The Dragon Slayer helped his partner get a bag packed while the young woman spoke with Virgo and Loki. The duo stopped by to see how the Celestial Mage was doing. The Maiden seemed especially worried about her friend.
"Are you sure you've packed everything?" Virgo began digging through the suitcase Natsu just finished packing up. "You can't forget her favorite-
"Virgo!" Lucy couldn't help but laugh at how over the top she was being. "I'm sure I've got what I need. It's going to be fine." The Celestial Mage took a deep breath. "I just want to get some fresh air. I feel cooped up in my apartment."
The Maiden sighed, glancing at Lucy. "If that's what you wish, Princess. Is there anything I can do to assist you?"
"No thank you." The young blonde smiled at her friend. "If there's anything you can do, it's take a day to yourself and relax, please. You've done so much for me, that I'm afraid I'm exhausting you." As Lucy spoke to Virgo, she couldn't help but notice Loki's serious demeanor as he and Natsu began to converse.
"Oh no, I couldn't-
"You're going to. It's an order."
The Maiden took note of her friend's demeanor, Lucy looked as though she meant business! Virgo groaned but nodded in agreement.
From the moment the young blonde stepped foot into the Dragneel home, she felt completely at ease. Natsu and Happy have made Lucy feel perfectly at home. They started their day with a fishing trip. There was a place near the Dragon Slayer's house, one of the blue Exceeds favorite spots. Once they caught enough for lunch, the trio headed back to the house and began preparing their meal.
The rest of their day seemed to blur past them. Lucy remembers doing some training outside, but other than that, she's been staking claim to the right half of the love seat. Feeling a certain blue exceed lean against her tiredly, the Celestial Mage smiled. She allowed Happy to lay on the blanket in her lap.
I wonder what Natsu and Loki were talking about earlier.. It looked like it was pretty serious. The young blonde thought as she glanced towards the kitchen once again. She knew her Celestial Spirits have been keeping a close eye on her lately. Since her return to Earthland, Lucy will occasionally sense the Lion and the Maiden here at the same time.
"What are they doing all the way out here at this time of night?" The blonde heard Natsu mumble from his stance near the stove.
"Is someone here?" The Celestial Mage raised a brow.
"I can smell that rustbucket coming from a mile away." The Fire Dragon Slayer raised his voice, almost as if he weren't only talking to Lucy. Noticing the windows were open in the kitchen, the young blonde rotated in the loveseat. She watched as the door of Natsu's home flung open.
"Yeah well you're not exactly a rose garden yourself, Salamander." Black Steele grumbled as he walked into the pink haired wizards house. Right behind him, stood Lucy's best friend. The moment that Gajeel walked through the threshold, Levy was pushing him to the side and running towards the loveseat.
"LU!" The bluenette screamed, startling the blue exceed in the Celestial Mage's lap. Happy quickly flew out of the way as Lucy was bombarded by her best friend. Levy's arms wrapped around the young blonde, squeezing her tightly. After nearly a year apart, the script mage was just happy to see her best friend in one piece.
"Levy! It's so good to see you!" The Celestial Mage embraced the bluenette tightly. A rush of emotion began to overtake Lucy, causing tears to appear. "I've missed you so much."
"It's been too long, girl!"
Out of the corner of her eye, the blonde observed the two Dragon Slayers make their way back out the front door. However, before she could ask where they were going, Lucy caught a glimpse of her best friend for the first time in months.
"What?! When did you get all of these piercings?!" The Celestial Mage gasped, taking Levy's face into her hands, giving her a thorough look over. "And your hair, it's a different color blue!"
The Script Mage was unable to stop the laughs that escaped her. "A lot's happened since you've been gone, Lu!"
"Well it sounds like someone needs to catch me up! Starting with your beautiful new look." Lucy grinned. She had a feeling these piercings were influenced by a certain Dragon Slayer. The two of them have been trying to hide their feelings for each other since she could remember. Did the two of them finally have a much needed conversation?
The bluenette giggled, running a hand through her thick locks. The blush that arose on her cheeks rivaled the color of Erza's hair. "Well… Gajeel asked me to go on a mission with him. Little did I know that he actually had other plans. He took me to sooo many bookstores! I got all of my favorites for the 'client'. Turns out, the real client was me."
"That's the cutest thing!" Lucy grinned, happy for her best friend. "I know there's more, you're leaving out the juicy details!"
Unable to hide the smile on her face, Levy's bright features lit up the entire room. "After we had a little disagreement on buying me so much stuff, we stayed out of town the rest of the weekend, he insisted."
The bluenette began playing with one of the earrings in her ear. It's become one of her new habits. "The first night in the hotel… Gajeel and I finally had that talk we've been needing to have for over a year! He confessed his feelings to me, and mine to him. We performed the Unity spell that night." Levy giggled, the sensations of that night coming back to her. "I've never felt so complete, Lu. I didn't know this was the missing piece of my puzzle."
"I'm so happy for you, Levy." The Celestial Mage smiled brightly.