This FF is inspired by singer/songwriter Dodie Clark's song 'Arms Unfolding'.All the following lyrics are her property:Hope I'm not tired of rebuilding,

'Cause this might take a little more.

I think I'd like to try look at you

And feel the way I did before.

Oh, our fire died last winter.

All of the shouting blew it out.

You know I could live without or with you

But I might like having you about.

Yes, these new walls are pretty hard to crack,

And it might take a while until I trust you won't attack.

Oh, I apologize, but it was only self-defence;

Running away just made sense.

But here I am with arms unfolding.

I guess it isn't quite the end.

Old partner in crime, I'm going to try

To fall in love with you again.

And of course' Fairy tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Enjoy.

'Hope I'm not tired of rebuilding,'

"Fairy Tail is disbanded, and my decision is final." Master Makarov spoke to the crowd in front of him. For the past hour he'd been fighting the guild members off, each berating him with their own variation on the question 'What in earthland had prompted him to break up the guild?'

After the hour of pointless debating in the middle of the remains of what used to be their guildhall, many had begun to retreat, the crowd finally dispersing. Families and such were shifting off back to their homes, ready to pack up their entire lives- or what was left of them after Tartoros.

All but a few had left Magnolia promptly after the Master's final verdict. Those remaining, mainly long time patrons of the guild like Gray and Erza, stood in silence, either in shock or mourning of their home, like the ground had been ripped out from under them. Among these few was Lucy. Once reaching Magnolia with the rest of the guild after the battle, she'd gone off in search of her partner who hadn't been seen in twenty-four hours. After searching round what seemed like a good half of Magnolia, including the dragon slayer's house, she'd finally stopped at the guild, confused but still ready to help however she could in the rebuilding efforts. Only there wasn't an effort at all. She'd joined the congregation to hear the last couple lines of Makarov's speech. Having no chance to argue or even ask for a reason as to why the guild was splitting up, she watched the crowds depart, like a busy ocean that was suddenly left barren of water.

Giving herself time to process, she closed her eyes as if to block out the surrounding situation. Did Natsu know already? Is that why he was nowhere to be found? Fifteen minutes went by before she opened her eyes, feeling safe enough that the floodgates wouldn't come bursting open. She cast her eyes to the fallen guild hall, finally realising that she was the only one left, still there after Makarov's closing statement of dismissal and well-wishes. There was only one place she could think to go. The one place where there was always someone waiting for her, arms open, warm and welcoming. And also the one place she stupidly hadn't checked: Her apartment.

The building was a little worse for wear after all the destruction and chaos brought about by the war with Tartoros. Luckily for her though, her apartment and all its holdings were still in tact, all but the heating system. 'But that doesn't matter, right?' She thought as she approached the two story establishment. 'I have a dragon slayer to keep me warm.'

Lo and behold, as Lucy twisted the knob to get into her lodgings, the cold air that she entered into told her that the man she had been hoping for, wasn't at all there. Throwing her bags onto the sofa in a huff of defeat, she walked to sit down at her desk, ready to inform her mother of the day's shitty antics. Before she could reach for the pen and stationary paper, however, she noticed a small piece of parchment, folded and sitting idly in front of her. The outside spelling of 'Lucy' prompted her to open it, the slip of paper evidently being addressed to her. The messy, almost illegible, handwriting told her exactly who the card was from.

'Hey, Luce.' She began to read the letter, smiling at his use of the fond nickname. 'Happy and I are going to be gone for a while, just for a year, whilst we go on a training mission. Tell the rest of the guild we say "bye."

Natsu.'

A single breath escaped her as she realised that, for the duration of the letter, she had stopped breathing. With her intake of breath came tears. Liquid saturated with salt and emotion cascaded down her cheeks as she dropped the letter back onto the desk, bringing her hand to her mouth to smother the gasps and small cries emitting from her mouth. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't. She couldn't!

In the span of one hour, everyone she held dear to her had left. No one had even bothered to check in with each other before going their separate ways. Each person assumed everyone else was sorted, that everyone had a back up plan for if their guildwork ever fell through. Not Lucy. All she had- all she lived for- was the guild. Sure, she had her writing, but there was no way that was going to get her anywhere. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to now that everyone she knew and had bonded with over the past years had gone. For the first time since Lucy joined Fairy Tail, she was alone. Truly and utterly alone…

' 'Cause this might take a little more.'

Two months had passed since Fairy Tail's, surprisingly quiet, disbanding. Anyone, before the split, would have fought they'd go down kicking and screaming. But after Tartoros, what was there left to fight for?

Following the events of Tartoros, Lucy had found herself wondering. She'd visited other guilds, never staying for more than a couple days to say 'hi' to the people she cared for in those guilds. She didn't know where she was going. In truth, she was perhaps hoping that some of her ex-guildmates had ended up at one of the guilds she'd happened by to call in on. Eventually she'd found herself in Crocus, with exact mission or purpose, and still running off of the Jewel she'd managed to save before the battle.

That was until she'd run into Jason, photographer and editor for the magazine 'Sorcerer Weekly'. Being a fan of Lucy, he'd immediately offered her a small contract modelling job, which would last around three months. Having no clue what she wanted to do with her exorbitant amounts of free time, she'd graciously accepted. But nowhere along the three months had Lucy found what she was looking for. She still felt no purpose or reason to stay at her modelling job, and nor did she want to. The day after the contract had ended and she'd said her goodbyes to Jason and the rest of the 'Sorcerer Weekly' team, she once again came face to face with him at her doorstep, offering a more long term contract with the company.

He wasn't quite expecting her rejection. The disappointment evident on his face. Working with 'Sorcerer Weekly' was surely her dream job- aside from Fairy Tail. Well, it was, just not as a model. In explaining this to Jason, he'd immediately agreed: Modelling wasn't for everyone, even if they were graced with an arguably perfect body. He was seemingly interested though. Asking to see some of her writing, he'd been impressed by what she had at her desk. All she'd have to do was send in a written application and her CV, and the job was hers. He'd take her on as an apprentice journalist for 'Sorcerer Weekly'.

Finally, she had a purpose again. Not exactly a home or a family, although she did enjoy the quiet company of the 'Sorcerer Weekly' team and their morning briefings. In the now four months she'd spent in Crocus, having been at her journalist job for a month now, she'd found a new apartment a short five minute walk from her workplace. Not exactly a beautiful Magnolia Canal view, watching boats drift along the water, but it was private- more so than her Magnolia apartment- no longer having a landlord that felt the privilege to waltz in whenever and mooch through Lucy's belongings and wardrobe.

By the time the sixth month rolled around, Lucy had settled into a nice routine. Having been granted some journalist independence at her job, the celestial mage had taken to writing her own articles for Jason to offer constructive criticism as a side-job to her usual editing of articles. Winter had rolled around and now 'Sorcerer Weekly' was focused on the festive season. With fairy lights and mistletoe wreaths fancying the streets, it was difficult for anyone in Crocus to feel alone.

Contrary to the festive spirit festering throughout the city, the decorations halted once they reached the threshold of a certain apartment. For Lucy, Christmas was her favourite time of year. It reminded her of happier times spent with her parents before her Mom's passing. It was a time to be surrounded by family, but this year, Lucy couldn't help but want to separate herself from the popular seasonal festivities. After all, she had no family interested in spending the season with her.

'I think I'd like to try look at you.'

As well as the festive spirit sweeping round the 'Sorcerer Weekly' offices, a horrible cold was taking workers down one by one, and Lucy had been hit hard. Coughing and wheezing, she found it a struggle to even get out of bed to call into work sick. Even with two weeks until the big holiday's arrival, the celestial spirit mage couldn't feel more miserable. All she could do whilst bedbound was stare at the wall of her bedroom, the white canvas was covered top to bottom in coloured string attached to different inserts and photos, each a loose trace on the potential sightings of her ex-guildmates, none of which she had managed to get a hold of in the past half year. Missing from the wall was just one person.

Lucy had tracked down everyone from Fairy Tail, pinned to their exact location at least once since her departure from Magnolia. Never once in that entire time had Lucy had the courage to reach out, to write to any of them. Even Happy, who was meant to be on a one year training mission with his partner, had recently been spotted at Lamia Scale, hanging with their new guild members: Wendy and Carla. Even now, as she was looking forward to spending the holidays alone, she couldn't bring herself to even send a letter to those she once cherished.

Spending yet another day tied to her mattress, buried under a mountain of duvet and warm blankets, the last thing she wanted, or expected, was for the doorbell to ring. As far as she knew, one of two people could be at that door: Her landlord-which was unlikely considering all appliances were working and her rent was already paid for this month- or it was Jason, her boss, checking in on her, making sure she was actually ill and not just taking advantage of her paid sick leave. Assuming it was the latter, she used her little remaining energy to haul the duvet off of her pyjama clothed body, dragging the heavy blanket out of her bedroom and towards the front door.

"Hey, Jason." Lucy slurred, her throat feeling as if gravel was choking her in vengeance for using her voice for the first time in days. Having only just opened her eyes from a nap moments ago, they were taking their time to focus and adjust as they drifted towards the face of her visitor. A blur of pink met her vision just as a sharp throbbing erupted by her left temple. It was getting harder and harder to breath, she still hadn't caught her breath from the short trek over from her bedroom. Bringing a hand up to the pain in an attempt to dull the stabbing sensation, she prayed for the swaying of her vision to stop as she knew the door was still open, leaving her defenceless to whoever was there, watching as she struggled to function, having been heavily incapacitated by the flu-bug circulating throughout her system.

The next thing the blonde knew, she was being lowered onto the soft mattress of her bed. Having no clue how or why she had gotten there, she attempted to fight back, her weak limbs flailing underneath the weight above her that was pinning her down. "Lucy, hey, hey." A soft voice sounded from above her as a hand smoothed down the hair matted to her hot forehead. "Calm down. You're safe, I promise." Something about the voice was familiar. It soothed her, lulling her into a near catatonic state as she began to sleep soundly, the hand still gently running through her hair.

By the time Lucy woke up, the pain had died down to a small headache. She felt able enough to stand as the room around her, lucky enough for her sanity, had stopped spinning. Shaking off the tired feeling left over from her hibernation, she started towards her bedroom door, finding herself, for the first time in days, all thanks to the flu, hungry enough for breakfast… Or whatever mealtime of day it was.

'And feel the way I did before.'

Walking through the door into her open kitchen-living room, she looked over to the kitchen unit, only to stop in her trails a couple metres away from her destination. There, sitting at the island counter, reading and munching away at a bowl of puffed rice cereal, was the last person Lucy could ever have imagined to be in her apartment… Well, maybe not the last, but certainly the most unexpected.

"N-Natsu?..." She stumbled in speaking, the shock evident in her voice. He looked up, smiling at the short girl staring him down, expecting him to disappear any second.

"Hey, Luce. You feeling any better?" Gods, he's so oblivious. Lucy fought the urge to slap her still aching head. It was almost impossible for someone to be so dense. The 'almost' being the fire dragon slayer casually sitting in her kitchen after having disappeared for half a damn year. She'd almost forgotten what he looked like outside of the battle situations that haunted her dreams every night… Almost.

"Natsu." She spoke again, shaking less now that she'd processed how strange it was for the guy to be hanging out in her home once again. "What are you doing here? Where the hell have you been?"

"What do you mean 'What am I doing here'? What are you doing here, Lucy? Why are you all the way in Crocus? Are you on a mission or something?"

The amount of questions being thrown about was overwhelming, she couldn't help but feel light headed. Bringing a hand back to her head to once again steady herself, she backed up towards the arm of the sofa, taking refuge from her shaking legs that threatened to give way any second.

"Woah, Lucy. Go back to bed, we can discuss things later." He'd rushed to her side the second she'd started swaying. He knelt down to meet her fluttering eyes, placing his hands on both her knees. She still felt abnormally warm.

"No." She responded, struggling to get even that one negator out.

"What do you mean 'no'? Don't you wanna talk?"

"I want answers, not sleep, you dumbass."

'Oh, our fire died last winter.'

Taken aback by her unexpected insult, he shifted his hand so they were now holding the ones she'd rested in her lap. He gave them a squeeze as he thought of some way to comfort her. He knew she'd be angry when she saw him, but not this angry. "I'm sorry, Luce. I shouldn't have left so suddenly. But you have to understand-"

"What's there to understand, Natsu?!" She spat suddenly, yanking her hands out of his grip in rejection. "You left me alone. I fucking trusted you!"

"I'm sorry! I knew the guild would be there to comfort you."

"Yeah? Well they weren't." She was glaring at the floor beside them, not wanting to tear up when she was oh so angry.

"I'm confused, Luce. What d-"

"Makarov disbanded the bloody guild, Natsu. Only you would've known that if you'd fucking stuck around."

"What?..." His eyes were wide. "Why would he do that?"

"Do I look like I fucking know? I haven't heard from anyone in half a year. Everyone went their separate ways." The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. Much to the protest of her anger, she didn't stop herself from letting him wipe them away.

"That would explain the board in your bedroom. And why we ran into Wendy and Carla at Lamia Scale when we were stocking up on supplies. I didn't bother to ask why she was there, I assumed she was just visiting. Happy even stayed with them. Said he'd meet me here in Crocus in a couple days. I didn't realise you'd be here until I caught onto your sent a couple streets away."

She just shrugged, losing all will to continue the conversation. She picked at her nails, a nervous habit she'd picked up whenever she was stressed. Him seeing the board was bad enough, but why hadn't he mentioned the row of half empty bottles underneath, each potent with its contents.

"Lucy, please understand. I never meant to leave you alone. I know what that's like. I know-"

"Then why didn't you take me with you?!"

'All of the shouting blew it out.'

Lucy was sick of this discussion and he knew it. She just wanted simple answers. Something she had been craving for the dragging half year that he'd been away. So, he said the only thing he could think of when speaking to Lucy… The truth. "I couldn't protect you…"

She hadn't expected that. She'd expected some bullshit rambling in a blazè attempt to answer. In no way did she expect him to be so openly vulnerable. He was Natsu. He was strong. "W-what do you mean?" Her tears were slowly coming to a stop. They were finally getting somewhere in this heated discussion.

"Every time you're in danger, I know I'm the one that put you there. If I hadn't taken you on that mission; If we'd taken the train instead of trekking through bandit infested forests; Heck, if I hadn't brought you to the damn guild, you wouldn't have been in danger countless times, and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to fail." Now he was the one avoiding eye contact, staring at where their hands currently played with each other's in her lap.

"How did you fail, Natsu? I'm confused."

"Y-you got hurt, and I could have stopped it!" It was a rare occurrence, but the dragon slayer was definitely crying. "Gods, Lucy! It's my job to protect you. I couldn't li-"

"In what way is it your 'job' to protect me, Natsu?" She was almost insulted. Did he not think she could take care of herself? Sure, she wasn't the strongest mage, physically, but she could bloody well put up a fight with her keys and whip when called upon.

'You know I could live without or with you.'

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand, Natsu?!" She stood up, the anger now a free beast, ready to attack. "Am I too weak? Am I so useless that you think I can't defend myself?! Is that why you didn't take me with you? Am I too much of a liability?!"

"Gods! Lucy, no! I didn't mean it like that. I could never… Listen, Lucy, after your future self died, I couldn't forgive myself. Not only watching a version of you die, but seeing you so torn up and upset just wrecked me. Tenrou island, the infinity clock, watching Minerva and Flare beat you helpless at the Grand Magic Games, seeing you so distraught as you learnt of your spirits' mutiny, having to go against your celestial code as you had to force-close their gates, one-by-one. And Tartoros took the fucking cake. I can't stand by knowing I can't defend you if you need me. I know you're perfectly capable of saving yourself but it kills me to see you upset and in pain. So, I'm sorry I left you, I never wanted to be the one causing you that pain."

Silence fell over the two as the electricity of the fighting fizzled out. She understood. They both did. There was nothing left to say. Not a word could erase all the shit they'd been through the past two years -nine, counting Tenrou. Feeling exhausted and burnt out, Lucy retreated to her bedroom, hiding under the covers, her back to the rest of the room.

It only took several minutes to interrupt Lucy from her dozing off. Footsteps entered the doorway, sounding closer to her bed until a weight dipped the mattress beside her. Arms wrapped around her as a chin of ungroomed stubble rested on her shoulder.

'But I might like having you about.'

It took another twelve hours for Lucy to begin to feel as if full recovery did exist. Having finally shaken off her temperature, she'd felt able enough to walk around without the world dragging the floor from underneath her feet. Natsu wasn't far behind the entire time, constantly at hand with soup and aspirin in case of her symptoms flaring up again. After hours of small talk and casual questions [like 'How are you feeling?' And 'How's Happy been?'] the two had once again settled back into the bed, now in the midst of a comfortable conversation.

"So you guys got around then? Managed to cover most of Fiore in your travels?" The two were now facing each other, Lucy with her back to the wall and Natsu with his back to the room as they both rested an arm at each others' waist.

"No, not all. We didn't reach much of the South. Happy's fish presences tend to lean towards the northern ports." He smirked as a small giggle escaped her mouth. "I'm sure he can't wait to see you."

She smiled at this, glad to have the company of her best friends. "You said he'd be in Crocus by tomorrow, right?" He nodded in response, his fingers caressing her right hip. "I probably need to go back to work tomorrow. Sorry, Natsu. You're welcome to bring him back here, of course. Might be a nice little surprise. I can even buy some fish for him on the way home."

He'd just gotten her back but it almost felt as if he had still lost her. As much as he hated being separated from her, they weren't home. They both knew it, but neither could do much about it. Sure, thanks to Lucy's tracking they could possibly send a request around most of their ex-guildmates to reform the guild, but Lucy has a life built here. She couldn't just up and leave, no matter how much she loved and misses her friends.

"So you're enjoying your new job?" He asked, his fingers now stroking the small arm hugging his waist.

'Yes, these new walls are pretty hard to crack.'

She didn't want to lie, her job wasn't perfect. There wasn't a day that went by that she could forget how alone she felt living in Crocus all by herself. Yes, she'd lived alone since she'd run away from her Family's estate, but never had she lived in such confinement. In her time as a 'Sorcerer Weekly' writer, Lucy had been invited to many work events, including a winter party being held by her bosses at the end of the week. Never once had Lucy even considered attending. She was in no way intentionally secluding herself, she just never found herself interested in holding a conversation, even with her Spirits whom she rarely called out since leaving Magnolia. However, as little interest as she had for her coworkers, she didn't want Natsu to get any ideas about getting the band back together, so to speak. She wasn't quite ready for that, not when she'd only just gotten used to being alone. She couldn't face them. Not yet. "Yeah, I love working there." She lied, praying to any Gods that he wouldn't see through. "My coworkers are kinda like family to me."

His mood visibly deflated. Any traces of a smile were minimal as he made no attempt to maintain the mood "You've only known them a short while. You really feel that close to a bunch of strangers?"

"Says the guy that introduced me to an entire hall people I was immediately meant to consider family." She shrugged, hoping to change the subject. "I guess we just connected. Being writers and all, it's nice to have people to bounce ideas off of."

"But you can do that with Levy." His expression was borderline puppy-eyes. But what exactly was he begging for? The 'guild' he was so set on defending no longer existed.

"Levy isn't a writer. And besides, she made her choice when she left with Gajeel." Once the words left her mouth, the regret she felt was immediate. She hadn't meant to sound so vicious, but the words escaped her before she could even think.

"You really don't want to go back to the guild? But you love it there. They're your family."

"And it might take awhile until I trust you won't attack."

"Family wouldn't have left me behind, Natsu." She couldn't look more serious if she tried. Heck, she wasn't even upset. After the endless months of sleepless nights lost to tears and begging into the void for someone to save her from the nightmares brought on by Tartoros, those tears had turned to anger. Pure and bitter anger.

"It was more complicated than that, Luce. You've gotta understand that."

"No one even bothered to say goodbye. At least you had the decency to leave a letter."

"Lucy, I know I'm probably way off, and I know how important family is to you, but did something else happen that you're not telling me about?" Natsu had been through shit. Everyone in the guild had, one way or another. Losing Igneel for the second time was what Natsu had previously considered to be his worst nightmare come to life. The dragon's demise had come complete with months of nightmares, some of which still haunted him on occasion. And in Lucy's eyes he could see the same look of grief that stared back at him in the mirror every morning, the only difference being he'd had Happy to talk to throughout the mourning period. Lucy had no one.

The silence between them only made him more suspicious. She was angry, that was obvious. It took several agonising minutes of silence before Lucy finally met his eyes again. He waited for her to speak… "If you want to hunt everyone down and rebuild whatever you can of Fairy Tail, I'm not going to stop you. Just don't bring me with you. You're good at that." With that she whispered a final "goodnight" before turning away from the dragon slayer, wrapping her arms around herself and leaving him to stare at the blonde unbrushed hair running down her back.

By the time the next morning rolled around, Natsu awoke to an empty bed and a small card left on the kitchen counter with a wrapped up pack of freshly bought fish. This felt too familiar.

'Oh, I apologise, but it was only self defence.'

The letter, whilst short, got the message across efficiently.

'Dear Natsu,' it read.

'I'm at work until five and when I get back, I'm sorry, but I don't want to see you. You can take the fish I've left on the counter as a present for Happy, but I'd rather you didn't mention that you've been here or that you've seen me. Thank you for taking care of me whilst I was sick, I really appreciated it.

Yours,

Lucy.'

Countless times Natsu had disobeyed Lucy's instructions to keep out of her apartment, but this time just felt different. It felt too real. Too serious. She wasn't 'his' Lucy anymore, she'd made that very clear. The singing off of 'Yours, Lucy.' felt forced. As if she was kicking him out for the final time. The end of an era.

He had no choice but to grab the one bag he'd had on his person for the past six months that had laid neglected on Lucy's sofa. He should have known that she'd be hesitant to trust him. He'd abandoned her after all. Everyone had. But she wasn't exactly telling them the whole truth, was she?

Leaving the apartment with bag and fish in hand, he found his way towards the city centre- A beautiful fountain surrounded by refined hedge sculptures. Waiting for him, sat patiently at the fountain was Happy… And two accompanying girls. Unexpected to the fire enthusiast, Wendy and Carla had joined their exceed friend on his trip to Crocus. They all greeted Natsu, Happy and Wendy with a hug and then Carla with a courteous nod.

"Ready to go, guys?" Natsu questioned as Happy took his place on the guy's shoulder.

"Yeah, sure." The small voice of the young sky dragon slayer sounded as they began to walk in the direction of the city centre exit. "But what exactly is the plan?"

Shooting a toothy smile towards the girl, he rested an arm on her shoulder. "We are going back to the guild."

He had to hold back a laugh as he watched the expressions of all three of his companions drop. "Natsu." Wendy began, weary of how to continue. "I'm sorry but Fairy Tail doesn't exist anymore."

"Oh, I know." He let the laugh loose, moving his arm to ruffle the girl's hair, playfully. "We're rebuilding Fairy Tail."

'Running away just made sense.'

Since leaving Lucy back in Crocus, six months ago, Natsu had done exactly what he'd set out to do. In front of him stood his pride and joy: The newly rebuilt guildhall that he called 'home' at any opportunity.

The month following his visit to the big city, the two dragon slayers and their exceeds, using the little information Natsu had retained from Lucy's tracking board [although Natsu never let on to where he had received this intel, they had managed to gather quite the group. They had managed to trace almost everyone named a Fairy Tail member at the time of disbanding, convincing the good lot of them to return home to Magnolia and rebuild their old hang out.

Now, after two months rebuilding and another four spent regaining their title as 'Strongest guild in Fiore', Fairy Tail was missing only two members, both of whom were still missing. Master Makarov, the ex-guild master whose position Erza had taken on with great hesitance, and Lucy. Aside from a couple cover pictures of the absent girl on 'Sorcerer Weekly' just after the guild disbanding, no one had claimed to have seen or heard from her. Natsu, when asked if he'd seen the celestial mage along his travels, many surprised that she hadn't gone with him, stayed unusually silent about the matter, always redirecting the question somehow, often times with the convenient que of his stomach rumbling in request of food.

The six month break taken by the guild had become something of forgotten territory. Each team had reformed- minus the missing girl from Team Natsu- and missions were busily inhabiting the request board. The teams, when out on their missions, kept their eyes open for their resident celestial mage and ex-master. Whilst the guildhall was as lively as before, with fights breaking out every two seconds and tables being smashed in the midst of it all, it wasn't quite the same without the two.

Natsu, in all this time, hadn't given up hope. Of course, he respected his partner's decision to stay away from the guild, having opted out of rejoining, but that didn't stop him sending letters once a week to update her on the affairs of their friends and to. more importantly, check in on her wellbeing. She'd been angry at first for him sending the letters. She didn't want the rest of the guild to find out where she was and for the mob to subsequently drag her back. The frequency of her responses did increase over the passing weeks, after realising that Natsu had no intention of giving up on his writings.

However, the week of July 1st, the dragon slayer suddenly stopped receiving her letters. The Tuesday (the 1st) when he'd expected the scheduler arrival their continued correspondence, he'd sat at home all day, eagerly awaiting her notice. When the evening rolled around, he could tell by that time that he wasn't receiving a letter that day. This continued for the next few days, until Sunday the 6th when Natsu slouched into the guildhall, a mopey expression printed on his face. Slipping into a seat at the bar, he'd immediately laid his head on the table, ignoring the onslaught of questions from his teammates, all insistent on knowing where in hell he'd been the past couple days, having disappeared from the guild hall.

Another way Natsu had kept in touch with Lucy was through her writings with 'Sorcerer Weekly'. Articles written by a 'Miss Lucy Ashley' had become a prominent two page feature of the magazine shortly after Natsu's visit to Crocus all that time ago. Her pen name- clearly inspired by her Edolas counterpart- whilst it wasn't the most covert name to write under, it certainly did the trick of hiding her identity from those at the guild who read the magazine. Today was the day of the week on which that paper was usually published. Natsu always made sure to grab his copy, reading it cover-to-cover in the privacy of his home. And this Sunday was no exception.

Taking a break from the week's activities of moping around the guild, he sat down to read the one and only article he was interested in.

'Dear readers,'

Hang on. This wasn't how her articles usually started. She more often reviewed pieces of literature than releasing her own written works.

'As of today, Tuesday 1st July, days before this will be published, I'm no longer going to be working at Sorcerer Weekly.'

What?... Why on Earthland didn't Natsu hear about this sooner? What stunt was she pulling, stepping away from the job she was so insistent to love?

'In my short time working here at the SW offices, I have loved every minute spent at this cosy little (perhaps cramped is a better word) desk. I couldn't thank my boss, Jason, enough for this opportunity, having given me my job here out of his own good will.

I will, of course, miss the entire team here, but I have people waiting for me back home. As many of you will have guessed, my name "Lucy Ashley" is, in fact, a pen name. "Ashley" whilst still my legal middle name, is not my surname.

My name is Lucy Heartflilia. Some of you, whilst unlikely, have heard of me, not as a writer, but as a celestial mage. The guild I was so proudly a part of split up a year ago today. They did actually reform a couple months ago, but I chose to continue my work here, wanting to experience the best from both worlds.

It is with an anxious heart that I end my today's contribution to Sorcerer Weekly, singing off for the final time. I thank you all for reading and supporting me in my pursuit of a career as a writer. So, one last time, I hope you enjoyed reading and I bid you all farewell.

Yours,

Lucy Ashley Heartflilia.'

Natsu, in the hour of silence he'd spent reading the letter over-and-over, still couldn't think of what to make of the curious writing. So if she'd quit her job at 'Sorcerer Weekly', where was she planning on going now? She'd mentioned Fairy Tail in her letter, sure, but that didn't exactly mean she'd be returning, did it?

'So here I am with arms unfolding.'

He rushed to the guild, willing his feet to run faster and faster, hammering the dirt path beneath them. Bursting through the large doors of the guildhall, he stopped to look around, not even focusing on how loud he was breathing. All eyes turned to the dragon slayer as his weirder than usual behaviour caught the attention of his comrades. Sat at the bar, in what was the equivalent of the celestial mage's seat in the old guildhall, was… Levy.

The girl, whilst not the one Natsu had a particular interest in seeing, did strike his attention with the magazine she was holding, open to page three- Lucy's segment. The gentle chatter she held with Mira suggested she hadn't read it yet, or at least not all of it. Neither seemed too disturbed by his rambunctious entrance, placing it down to the usual ruckus of the guild. He approached the two girls, taking a seat beside the script mage to join the conversation that was hopefully about the article.

"Natsu, hey. What brings you here so bright and early? We've hardly seen you all week." Mira greeted him with her usual chipper smile, welcoming him to the discussion.

"Have you read that article yet, either of you?" He asked, pointing to the magazine sitting on the bartop in front of them.

"I didn't realise you had an interest in 'Sorcerer Weekly'." Levy contributed, slightly smirking at the idea of the hard-headed Natsu being into such a 'girly' magazine.

"Not all of it, just that one article. Have you read it yet?" He was eager to get to the point, wanting to see that he wasn't going crazy, that he had correctly interpreted the writing.

"No I haven't, I've only just started."

"Well hurry up and read it then." Natsu snapped, pointing impatiently at the article in question. He watched for the following few minutes as Levy's expressions showed a journey. By the end of the article she was just staring blankly at the bar, letting a small smile through her evident shock.

"What is it, Levy? What's wrong?" Queried the barmaid who had no idea as to what the two in front of her were being so crazy over.

"I'm assuming I'm correct then. She's coming back?" Continued Natsu, ignoring Mira's question, dead set on knowing the answer to his.

"Yes, Natsu. I suppose you are. But she wrote this last Tuesday, that was a whole five days ago. It wouldn't take that long to travel here, right? I'm guessing she worked at the Sorcerer Weekly main office in Crocus so it should take two days at most." Levy had sent herself into a world of her own, now muttering to herself. "Dammit, how did I not see that it was her?! The name was so obvious!"

"If she wrote under a pseudonym, Natsu, then how did you know it was her, or even to look in this magazine?" Mira butted in gently, finally catching on to the situation at hand.

"I-" He braced himself for the beat up of a lifetime, knowing that the girls would surely be mad at him for what he was about to unveil. "I knew where she was the entire time. She has been in Crocus, you're right, Levy."

"You knew this whole time and you didn't tell us?!" The bookworm looked as if she was about to explode, confirming his predictions. "What the fuck, Natsu?! You fucking idiot!" She stood up, almost knocking the bar stool over. Her fists pounded into his chest, doing little to bruise the poor guy. Gajeel, comprehending that some intervention was required, walked across to where his girlfriend of eleven months was causing a commotion and wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging her enough of a distance away so she couldn't pummel their pyromaniac guildmate. He really had a habit of setting fires, this time metaphorically.

The news of Lucy's location, broadcast by the script mage currently cooling down in Gajeel's arms, had caused quite the uproar in the guild. Natsu, was almost about to hide behind the bar, glad that Mira still remained calm through all of this. Before he could move, however, the creaking of the guild doors opening echoed throughout the guildhall, cutting through the semi-rioting.

It was as if someone had massacred the entire guild in one fell swoop. All eyes were on the doors and silence took over as they all looked to see who dared to walk into the guild in a time of uproar. Who had the guts?

'I guess it isn't quite the end.'

Only one of their own could walk in with such blind confidence. And one of their own it was. Despite the anger circulating the hall, the girl in the doorway was smiling brightly, and it lit up the entire room.

"Lucy!" Several people at once were greeting her, some even enveloping her in hugs and hi-fives as she struggled to get further than a couple metres into the guildhall thanks to the crowd. Through all the embraces and welcome homes, she was still searching through the crowd for a particular individual. She would have thought he'd be easy to spot with his bright pink hair. As she made her way closer to the bar, she finally spotted who she was looking for. He'd been staring at her silently since the moment she entered through those doors minutes ago.

As they made eye contact, she smiled again, welcoming his touch as he found the damn courage to hug her, scooping her up in his arms and spinning around as he held on tight, almost scared to let her go. In all his fantasies of Lucy one day returning to him, never could he properly anticipate whether she would still be angry at him. He knew he'd crossed boundaries last time they'd met, but most of those boundaries were foreign to him, having been established in the six months Lucy had had to build up walls around herself. He still considered himself the reason for her doing so. He was the reason she'd refused to join the guild when he'd asked back in Crocus.

It took several hours for the excitement in the guild to calm down, and it took even longer for Natsu to be able to get a moment alone with her. Once the guild members started clearing out for the night, many having gotten wasted in the celebratory afternoon, Natsu finally caught Lucy back at the bar, discussing with Mira where she was going to be staying that night. After some insisting (and pleading) on Natsu's part, Lucy finally agreed to spend the night at his, admitting that she was a little too tired to try and find a nearby hotel that wasn't already fully booked for the summer as many families liked to visit Magnolia around this time of year.

'Old partner in crime, I'm going to try'

Trudging back to his small cottage out in the woods, the two walked alongside each other, with the company of Lucy's suitcase (i.e. All her worldly belongings since travelling around so much) being pulled along by the girl. It only took them half an hours walk to reach moss covered building. They had the place to themselves tonight as Happy, as ecstatic as he was to have Lucy back, was spending the night at Wendy and Carla's, having accepted the rare invitation from the regularly snooty white exceed.

As they entered the lodgings, the suitcase was quite quickly dumped at the door, save for the pair of pyjamas and wash bag yanked out of the outer pockets by the exhausted celestial mage. Not too long after they both changed into their pyjamas- Lucy in her summery tank top and shorts and Natsu in his pj trousers and bare torso- the two settled down on the sofa to watch a film. Their viewing of the second in the Matrix trilogy was often interrupted by their busy conversation. Whilst neither were ready to address the fight they'd ended with the last time they talked face-to-face, both seemed to be comfortable with the jokey banta they had going back and forth between them. By the time the movie ended, neither were particularly tired. Their endless laughing and poking fun at each other had woken the two up from any fatigue they'd felt prior.

Watching the first Matrix, of course out of order, then took them to midnight, when Lucy finally let out a yawn as the Lacrima clock on the wall beeped 'twelve'.

"Seven Seven Seven." Lucy muttered sleepily, letting herself lean closer into the dragon slayer's side, who's hold she'd been inhabiting for the duration of their short movie marathon.The arm around her shoulders tightened it's hold, pulling her even closer into the heat source.

"Dammit, that means I missed your birthday, Luce. It was six days ago right? On the first?" He looked genuinely concerned at this, upset at the fact that not only had he left he right before Christmas, but now he'd also let her spend her birthday alone too. How could he call himself a good partner?

"It doesn't matter, Natsu. This day is more important to the both of us, it's why I came back this week. Besides, you know I'm not a big fan of my birthday." He understood what she meant, both about the date and the birthday thing. Today, the seventh day of the seventh month, nine (technically sixteen) years ago in x777, the two of them had lost a parent each, changing their lives forever. And as for Lucy's birthday, the day was no longer special to the girl. After years of physical and emotional abuse from her father in all the years following Layla Heartflilia's death, she didn't want to remember how she'd felt in all those years of solitude back at the estate.

"No offence to Igneel and your mom." Natsu started slowly, being careful not to cross any lines, knowing how precious her mom was to Lucy. "But I don't want to remember this day if it's gonna make either of us sad. I'd rather celebrate something. I want to celebrate your birthday, Luce. Please, I'm annoyed that I couldn't be there for you."

She smiled at this, closing her eyes, almost submissing to the tiredness that she was fighting away whilst in his warm, cozy embrace. She made a small grumble of disapproval as she was unwillingly shifted so Natsu could walk to the corner of the living room that held what was considered his kitchen. Pulling out a glass bottle from one of the lower cupboards and pouring a quarter of its already reduced contents into two tumbler glass, he walked back over to the sofa, handing one over to Lucy as he reseated himself back next to her, placing his arm along the top the seat she occupied.

"Cheers to you, Luce. This past year must have been hard on you and I'm so glad." He went to clink glasses but missed as she moved hers out of the way.

"Actually, Natsu, I need to apologise. My behaviour last December was unacceptable. I had my head so far up my own ass that I couldn't see that I wasn't the only one affected by the guild splitting up. I could have tried to reach out to everyone. It was mainly my own fault for not getting in touch. I'm sorry." The genuine nature of her apology shone through the small smile she offered to him.

"You had nothing to apologise for. I should never have le-"

She cut him off, having already heard his apology loads during the days they spent together in the winter. "Let's just skip to the drinking, Natsu. I'm so tired of holding a grudge. I just want to forget the whole guild breaking up thing and move on."

"But Lucy?"

"I forgive you for leaving, okay? Cheers." She clinked his unmoving glass, swallowing the dry liquid in one go, letting the warm liquor glide down her throat. He followed suit, taking the drink a little slower. He wasn't the heaviest drinker after all.

After deciding enough was enough, they both agreed it was time, after only a couple stiff drinks, to retreat to bed. Natsu, in the rebuilding of his house in early January of this year had made the 'adult' decision to include a bed amongst his new furnishings. Settling down onto the luxurious mattress, with Natsu on the left of the bed and Lucy on the right, she laid into his chest, allowing his arms to wrap around her waist, securing their intimate position.

'To fall in love with you again.'

Continuing with some small talk to lull them to sleep, the two reduced their voices to near whispers, keeping their conversation even more private, although there was no one around to listen in. For the first time in a long time, Lucy felt as if she could forget. Like it was actually possible to move on. Their chatter died down to relaxing in each other's holds. Both were at the perfect angle to see the thoughts on the other's face, sharing a gaze full of trust. It couldn't feel less stressful. Something as calm as this was so rare for Lucy. Only with Natsu had she ever felt this way. Only with Natsu had she experienced Love.

-LucaKeys