DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.

I got over the whole Natsu-Lisanna thing almost a year after I kicked him out of my house. He didn't visit me during that time, nor did he send any letters. Maybe he knew that I needed some time alone.

Hah. Yeah right, Natsu's too dense for that. But the thought that he was being considerate did something good for me. It got my mind off the Dragon Slayer, and back to my stories. I finally left my house after a week of cutting myself off from the world. I was getting pretty hungry, since all the food I had was either eaten or spoiled.

And no, I did not kill the love rival of the main couple in my story because of that. Not even close.

...Maybe.

I spent the next year working hard on my story. When I finally released it, it hit number one in the Romance/Tragedy genre within a week. The postman was getting pretty annoyed about how his letter bag was half filled with letters to Lucy Heartfilia, and how he had to lug around heavy boxes of gifts to me.

It was pretty funny, actually.

When I checked the boxes, I found one that was from Fairy Tail. Curious, I opened it, and found it filled to the top with letters and gifts.

From Erza, an expensive looking pink dress.

Keep working hard, Lucy, your book was awesome! Maybe you can wear this dress at a press conference or interview. It'd look great on you.

From Gray, a book titled The Hardships of Lucy Heartfilia.

I'm not one for books, but you can bet that I've read every single one of yours, Lucy. I found this when Juvia dragged me to a bookstore. I thought you'd like to see how other people see you.

From Levi, a magical pen that never runs out of ink.

I've read all your books over 10 times each, and I know I can read them another 100 times and never get bored of them. Keep on writing, Lu-chan! With this pen, you don't need to waste any money on ink. Hopefully, it helps.

From Wendy, a box of different hair ribbons.

I love your books, Lucy-san! I couldn't decide on which ribbon to get you, so I just got them all. Are they pretty?

From Happy, a book about fish.

You like books, and I like fish, so here's a book about fish! I want to see you, Lucy...

From Natsu, a picture of him and Lisanna on their wedding day.

Lucy, I love your books! Lisanna says so too! You never came to our wedding, so I'm sending you a picture. Hey, listen to this. Lisanna's pregnant, and the doctor says it's a boy! His name is Igneel, I've already decided. I hope you can come see him sometime!

I clutched the letter tightly; just how dense could he be? Taking a breath to calm myself, I pulled out a gold photo album.

Fairy Tail: The Years You Missed.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of pictures of Fairy Tail were stored inside. Pictures of couples, of brawls, of weddings, of jobs. Reedus was probably the one who drew them, I think.

On the last page was a full page picture of everyone in Fairy Tail, present time. There were members I didn't recognized, probably new members, dotted around the back, and everyone that I knew best in the front. Man, Wendy sure grew.

I flipped to the back of that page, and found the writing of Master Makarov.

We all miss you, Lucy. Won't you come back for a visit?

I was on the verge of tears at that point, and of course, another small picture just had to flutter out from the book.

It was an old picture of a grinning Natsu, me, Erza, Gray, and Happy. Then on the back, was the messy writing of Natsu.

Team Natsu has never felt the same since you left, Lucy. We miss you so much.

"Shit," I had mumbled, fat tears rolling down my cheeks, "I miss you all too."

I made my mind up that day. I made a quick call to my landlord, told her to go ahead and sell my room, grabbed my wallet, my Keys, my gifts, and a few clothes, threw it all in a suitcase, and ran out the building.

I'd kept them waiting for too long.

It took two days of train riding, walking, and dodging fans until I finally got back to Magnolia. Every step I took led me closer to the guild, and every step I took jumbled up my thoughts more and more.

What if they didn't want to see me?

What if no one was there?

What if they didn't recognize me?

What if I didn't recognize them?

I shook my head, willing all my negative thoughts to go away. No turning back now, I was already in front of the guild. I smiled nostalgically. The place hadn't changed at all.

Deep breath, calm down. Alright, Lucy, you can do this.

I didn't even need to throw the doors open, for they were slammed open by a flying Happy, desperately trying to escape a furious Erza. Before the Exceed flew into me, knocking me over, I saw a strawberry cake splattered on the floor. Figures, that's really the only thing that can make Erza this mad.

"Sor-" The blue cat's eyes widened in surprise, then began tearing up.

"Luuuucyyyy!" He wailed, burying his face into my ample chest.

Erza, being the next closest one to me, tackled me to the ground, completely ignoring Happy's squeak of surprise. She said no words, only squeezed me tightly. I smiled and hugged her back, stroking the cold armour since I couldn't exactly do the same to her back.

Next came Levi, then Gray, then Wendy. By then, it was pretty much a dogpile rather than a hug, but I didn't care. I had missed them too much to even notice the crushing weight. I mean, even Master jumped onto the dogpile. I was laughing hysterically while crying.

When the dogpile cleared, I found Natsu standing alone in front of me. I had wondered why I hadn't felt his flames after Gray's (nude) body.

"Lucy..." His eyes were a conflicting mix of happiness and sadness, hesitant to touch me after my severe rejection and withdrawal a year ago.

I grinned and threw my arms out. "Come here, you big dope."

He jumped onto me, squeezing me tighter than Erza had, if that's even possible. I laughed and squeezed back, tears working their way back into my eyes. I sure missed that familiar warmth.

"Luuucy!" He cried, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Gray proclaimed that "there was no way he was going to lose to the flame dunce", and tried to grab more of me than Natsu. Elfman shouted something about hugging me manlier, Loki somehow came from the Spirit world and declared that no one was going to take "his Lucy", and another dogpile formed on top of me again.

And I kept laughing until I got back onto my feet.

I saw Lisanna waiting in the corner, and smiled at her. I guess she realized that I didn't hold any hostile feelings towards her, so she grinned and skipped towards her husband's (Wow, did I seriously just admit that?) side.

I stepped forward to embrace the short haired girl. "Sorry I missed your wedding, Lisanna. I was kinda busy." I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Lucy. It's great to see you again."

"Yeah, about that..." I turned to face the guild. "Can I join Fairy Tail again? I'll still be writing and everything, but I want the thrill of the guild back into my life. So... Can I?"

Natsu grinned broadly. "Look at your hand, Luce."

I did, and guess what I found? A pink Fairy Tail insignia tattooed onto it. "When did this..."

Mirajane smiled from her place behind the bar table. "Master predicted that all you needed was a little break. We never removed your mark, only cast an illusion to make you believe it was gone."

The old man gave a toothy grin. "Welcome home, Lucy."

And for the umpteenth time today, the waterworks began.

Happy flew above my head and shouted, "Team Natsu is finally reunited!"

Natsu ran at me again, laughing like a maniac, and hugged me tight. Happy flew into my face, and I fell over, again. Erza and Gray laughed from above us.

I must've lost a few hundred brain cells from being tackled to the ground all day, but it didn't matter; I was finally home, to stay. I'd never make the mistake of leaving my nakama ever again.

In case you don't already know, this is a sequel to 7 Years of Love. Dang, it's difficult writing in first person. I kept switching to third person point of view throughout the story, and I must've spent an hour just fixing it.

Enjoy!