If there was one thing to absolutely love in the dragon realm, it would be the fact that the stars seemed so much closer than when on Earthland. Lucy was wrapped in a warm blanket and was already in her pyjamas. Her knees were brought close to her chest as she listened to the calming water flowing from the water dragons' island and the soft breeze that ran by her - as if to comfort her. It was beautiful and peaceful all in one, something that she wished would last.

The blonde empress reached her hand out to reach for any star that she'd hope would come down to her and keep her company. Lucy would always end up having either simple of very meaningful conversations there with Nashi. The two could be messing around while they ate snacks or Nashi would ask her to read her a story which would then turn into in depth conversations about the lesson being told. It was because of those times that Lucy never regretted adopting Nashi all those years ago.

Thinking about her daughter, Lucy couldn't help but think about her pink headed partner. Like Igneel said, Nashi's scent was a complete mix of both her's and Natsu's scents. She resembles the both of them no matter how much she wanted to deny it and her magic held the same strength as Natsu's and the same amount and potential as her own. But there was the matter with Vetani and whoever she was working with. They wanted Nashi, that much is certain, but why is beyond hers and the dragons' knowledge.

Lucy sighed in frustration as she leaned back and lay flat on the roof. No one, except those a part of her council and Nashi, knew where her stargazing spot was. So she was definitely surprised when she heard someone climbing from the ledge in front of her and smelt the familiar scent of ashes and pine trees. When Natsu's head peaked from the ledge, the blonde sat up again and waved at her partner with a soft smile. Not even bothering to question where he came from since her room window was right beneath her.

Natsu didn't say anything, but instead gave his blonde partner his toothy grin like he always did and pulled himself up so he could sit on the roof. Once he secured himself, he walked over to Lucy and knelt down to cross his legs so that he could sit next to her. Lucy just chuckled at how quiet he tried to be, earning an annoyed groan from the fire dragon slayer since he could somehow tell that her laugh was definitely to tease him in some way, shape or form.

"So which of the dragons decided to tell you I was up here?" Lucy finally asked while Natsu scratched his head.

"Eh... all of them basically told me, but Igneel was the one who told me to come check up on you."

The blonde rolled her eyes at the fire dragon king but decided to let it go as she wrapped her blanket tight around her. "Are Nashi and Happy asleep yet? I came here through a passageway and the window was closed so I couldn't hear anything."

"Yeah, which is surprising 'cause before you came back those two wouldn't even let me go to bed." Natsu said with an annoyed groan, though it was more like childish complaints. "She really only listens to you, y'know."

"Well that just means she likes me more." Lucy retorted with a triumphant smile, making Natsu's jaw drop for a second before they both bursted out in laughter.

"I can't even deny that one, Luce." Natsu said once he regained his breath.

It continued like that for awhile, where Natsu would tell Lucy what he, Nashi and Happy had done in the two weeks she was gone and finally told her about what happened on Tenrou Island - the first and second tests, Grimoire Heart and even Acnologia. He hadn't been able to do any of that back on Earthland because Lucy had to do paperwork when they went to the guild and when they'd go home, she'd be too tired to even stay up after dinner.

Time had gone by so fast while the both of them were sharing stories that at one point, it had already been long since midnight passed. Natsu had nearly forgotten to tell Lucy about the things he talked with Igneel back at the garden if it weren't for her joking about the things she had to do after her spar with Igneel and Metalicana and then with Gajeel and him. Natsu, before he forgot again, immediately tilted his head in confusion and raised an eyebrow so that Lucy would look at him.

"What?" She asked.

"You're not gonna stick around to train some more after the match?" He asked in a disappointed tone. "How come you're always so busy, Luce? We haven't even spent time with the team since you came back, either."

"Well, I'm busy Natsu." Lucy simply replied. "I'm still technically the fourth master of Fairy Tail, which is why I couldn't really hang out at the guild hall, and I'm the empress of this realm. I have to make sure that all dragons are safe and that they do not grow any ill intentions like Acnologia."

"The guild I get, but... doing all the stuff you're doing here is unnecessary, Luce."

The blonde's eyes narrowed at his blunt words and she crossed her arms with a stern expression forming on her face. "And how would you know the things I do here is unnecessary?"

"Dad told me that practically more than half the things you do for this place are just to keep you busy, Luce. He also told me that you never take any breaks and is worried that you might be overworking yourself."

The blonde empress couldn't help but feel offended by her partner's words. She only did what she did because there was no other way to fill the void in her heart during the seven years her nakama had been gone. Of course, she wanted to spend time with them, but everything she had done then to distract her had become a habit and it was definitely a habit that was hard to break. Lucy didn't want to admit it but Natsu and Igneel were definitely right. But her pride wouldn't allow her to say it out loud.

"I don't overwork myself Natsu, I really do have a lot on my plate!"

"Oh come on, Luce, we all want to spend time with you but all you've been doing is work work work! I want to go on missions like before and have fun with the rest of the guild and our team! You've been so busy that we don't want to go on missions unless you come with us! It's like you forgot that you're a part of the team!"

"I didn't forget the team, Natsu! The team! Left! Me!" Lucy declared as she pointed her index finger straight to his chest, as if a bullet had gone straight through his heart at her words. "Okay!? I just did what I had to in order to keep going in life! You don't have ANY idea of how much I and the others worried! All we could do was hope for a miracle!"

"Luce... I-"

"You have no idea what I felt when the magic council came into our guild and told us that Tenrou Island was gone! How I tried to keep everyone else in high spirits and then realized I couldn't do that with my current power! So, I went out to somehow prove you all were still out there! I had to do EVERYTHING alone for such a long time Natsu, so I'm sorry if I'm not the Lucy you remember!"

Natsu didn't realize that Lucy held all those emotions bottled up for so long. She had been putting up a facade for the sake of the guild since the beginning because everyone had felt loss when they disappeared. Everyone had been so happy, including her, in welcoming them back that the past seven years didn't seem like a big deal. It was when he smelled salt that he was brought out of his thoughts and realized that Lucy had began to cry. Without a moment's hesitation, he brought her in a hug as she cried louder.

"...Sorry... I didn't know it was like that... Sorry..." He finally said in a soft tone.

Lucy only buried her face in his scarf and shook her head. "No... I'm the one that's sorry..." She was able to say.

"Why should you be sorry? I'm the one that accused you for acting like you forgot about us."

She shook her head again and pulled away from the hug, wiping her tears away. "No no... you and Igneel are right... I've been keeping myself busy in order to forget about my grief and even though you all are back, it feels so surreal that I will wake up and you guys would just not be there anymore..."

Natsu blinked twice and placed his hand atop Lucy's head in a comforting manner. "Aw c'mon Luce, have a little more faith in me will ya?" He asked as he grinned at her. "You should know better than anyone that no one can really beat me!"

Lucy scoffed at how cocky he sounded before letting out a small chuckle while Natsu brought her in for another hug. "Of course, only you saying something so ridiculous like that makes my problems go away." She said as her tears finally dried. "I hope you realize that this is not gonna make me go easy on you tomorrow."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Natsu replied. "What kind of partners and best friends would we be if we held back on each other's training?"

Lucy laughed as both of them enjoyed each other's warmth and company. After calming down from their mini argument, the blonde separated from the hug and got up, startling Natsu. "Come on, it's definitely late now so let's go to bed."

"Uh... yeah, okay." Natsu replied as he got up.

"Um..." The blonde hummed before Natsu began to make his descent. "I'll try not to do pointless tasks anymore and I guess we can get the whole team to explore other islands after lunch?"

Natsu stared at her as she looked away from making eye contact, the darkness hiding her embarrassed blush. After being silent for about thirty seconds, he grinned again and let out his hand to her. "Sounds like a plan!"

Lucy's eyes widened, still a little red and glossy after crying and she smiled while taking Natsu's hand. "Yeah!"