Every time I watch the anime I always wish Lucy would've been angrier at Natsu for leaving or at least had more of a reaction than she does. So here's my take on it!

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Lucy Heartfilia laid in bed in her apartment in Crocus and stared at the ceiling. It had been a year since her former guild had defeated the demon guild Tartaros and since Fairy Tail's master had disbanded the guild instead of rebuilding. It had been a shock to them all when he'd announced it especially when he'd done so just a few days after it was all over. They'd all been recovering from their injuries both physical and emotional when the announcement stunned them all.

Lucy rolled over in the bed with her back to the open window. The setting sun should've been a beautiful sight to her, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Her former guildmates had all scattered after Master Makarov disbanded the guild. Some went on training missions, some to join other guilds or some to just recover and lick their wounds. Lucy found she couldn't stand to stay in Magnolia without the guild or her guildmates. Especially her team – Erza, Gray, Wendy, Carla.

And Natsu and Happy. A tear slid down her cheek as she thought of the letter Natsu, her best friend and partner, had left on her coffee table. He and his Exceed friend Happy had left on a training mission. He hadn't bothered to say goodbye either. Just left the note. She'd gone through a rush of emotions over those first couple weeks. Despair, anger, frustration and an all-encompassing sadness at not having her best friend with her every day like before especially when she'd needed him the most. The heartache is what consumed her most of the time now. His leaving had made her face what had been there for a while now – she loved Natsu Dragneel. And he'd left her behind to deal with the pain of the war with Tartaros and losing her spirit Aquarius alone. No one knew about Aquarius and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to say it out loud.

Lucy had left Magnolia for the capital city of Crocus once everyone else had left the guild behind. Somehow she'd convinced Jason at Sorcerer Weekly magazine to give her a chance as a writer and while she enjoyed the work, it wasn't the same. She missed going on missions, the noisy guildhall and Natsu's crazy ideas.

Lucy stood from the bed and pulled on the shorts she'd dropped to the floor earlier that day. Perhaps some fresh air would shake this melancholy feeling that had taken over today. It didn't always consume her, but sometimes it crept back and pulled her under. She pulled her door shut behind her and locked it. With her sandals slapping against the pavement, she exited her building and walked across the street to lean against a stone railing that overlooked a park.

"He'll come back right?" Lucy whispered to herself as she watched a couple on a bench in the park. Nearby, a mother was trying to persuade her daughter that it was time to go home while a man walked a dog not far behind them. Everything seemed so normal and yet she felt so out of place and out of sorts.

"There she is!"

"Hey Lucy!" Two familiar voices called from behind her.

Lucy froze knowing exactly who was calling her name. Standing behind her, looking the same as the day he'd left, stood Natsu with Happy hovering over his shoulder. The only difference was a bandage going up Natsu's arm and his hair was longer than usual. Giving her that signature smirk, he was waving at her as if he hadn't been gone with no word at all for a whole year. Frowning, Lucy stalked over to Natsu and smacked his shoulder.

"Hey! What gives Lucy?" Natsu asked stunned.

"You idiot!" Lucy screamed not noticing his protest and causing a few nearby strangers to stop and stare. Despite that she continued to hit him one blow after the other. "You giant idiot! How could you?"

"Whoa Luce stop," Natsu managed to gently grab hold of her wrists to stop the assault she'd waged on him and looked down into beautiful brown eyes filled with sadness, anger and something he was afraid to name. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Are you kidding?" She asked visibly deflating as soon as he'd grabbed her wrists. "You left. You just left."

"Yea, but I wrote you a note. I told you we were going," Natsu replied with a confused look. Happy shook his head and decided it best to leave the two alone. He'd tried explaining to his friend that they should've waited for Lucy instead of leaving the note, but Natsu just didn't get it. Happy fled to the building they'd seen her come out of and sat on the steps out front.

"Oh sure. A note," Lucy ripped her arms from his grasp and glared at him. "You couldn't have at least waited to talk to me in person? And I haven't heard from you since. Do I really mean that little to you? Do you have any idea what this last year has been like?"

Natsu looked down at his best friend as the excitement of seeing her again faded. Taking a good look at her, he realized she wasn't exactly the same Lucy he'd left behind. Her hair was longer which seemed to suit her better and she looked like she'd lost weight. Her curves still filled out the shorts and tank top though and he tried to keep his eyes from falling to the cleavage and midriff exposed. Her eyes kept pulling him back in and reflected a sadness and anger he wasn't sure what to do with along with dark circles peeking through her smudged make-up. Had Happy been right all along? Did he do this all wrong?

"Lucy, what happened?" He asked as he reached up to try and cup her cheek only for her to pull back and glare at him with a fire he'd missed in her eyes.

"You're kidding right?" Lucy chuckled bitterly. "You left me behind, Natsu. When I needed you."

Natsu stubbornly shook his head. "I had to go. Igneel died in front of me and he was the most powerful being I know. Even he couldn't defeat Acnologia. How could I expect to keep you and our friends safe from him if my dad couldn't. I had to get stronger."

"I get that Natsu, but why couldn't you take me with you? Or at least say goodbye in person not with a damn note. Not after everything that happened," Lucy asked. The fight was beginning to leave her the longer he stood in front of her. She wanted to stay mad at him. But she couldn't.

Natsu shrugged his shoulders as he looked lost to explain. "I needed space, Lucy."

"From me?" Lucy looked up into his eyes as tears began trailing down her cheeks at that statement.

"No. No, that's not what I meant," Natsu reached out for her again and this time her fading anger didn't put up walls to stop his hands from cupping her jaw. He swiped her cheeks with his thumbs. "The only parent I've ever known was killed in front of me after he'd left me for years and suddenly reappeared. I was numb. I needed to go to process that and get stronger so I could protect you and everyone else."

"You took Happy though," Lucy whispered. That's what hurt the most she'd realized after thinking about it too much in the last year. They were a team – she, Natsu and Happy – and yet he'd only taken Happy with him. "Do I not mean anything to you?"

"Lucy," Natsu dropped his forehead to hers with his hands still cupping her jaw. "You know you mean more than that."

"Then why? After everything we've been through? Why did you leave me behind when I needed you," Lucy asked reaching out to grip his vest tightly in her hands. The anger was gone now and in its' place was the creeping sadness she'd left her apartment to escape from.

"You're mine Luce," Natsu whispered shocking her to her core. "And I protect what's mine. I had to leave you to get stronger so I could do that. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

Lucy looked up into his eyes and saw the sincerity and anguish at the knowledge that he had done so. "I know."

Natsu saw the forgiveness in her eyes. Relief flooded him knowing they would be ok because not having her at his side was not an option. He'd meant what he said. Lucy was his and he was going to make damn sure he protected her next time. Using the hands still cupping her jaw, he brought her lips to his own and kissed her like he'd been dreaming of the last few months. Being away from her had been the hardest thing he'd had to do. Lucy kissed him back as his love erased the sadness she'd been running from completely.

Behind them, the people who'd stopped at her raised voice fanned themselves at the romantic scene and moved on while Happy sighed in relief that she hadn't held onto the anger. He and Natsu were both tired, hungry and in desperate need of a real shower. Pulling back, Natsu dropped his hands from her jaw and circled her waist as he buried his head in her shoulder. Lucy wrapped her arms around his back and clung.

"I missed you, Luce," Natsu whispered against her shoulder.

"I missed you too, Natsu," Lucy whispered back. "Welcome home."