I Thought You Meant Forever

☾Chapter 8☽

A/N I cannot, for the life of me, stay away from writing this now that I've gotten to the good part (ima feel real bad for Lucy) XD
BUTBUTBUT! OH MY LORD ZEREF(my precious cinnamon roll, Zervis for life), THIS STORY HAS ALMOST 1k READS, LIKE HUH? YOU GUYS ARE THE BEEEEST~ *kissies for everyone* THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU
XOXO ~ Vi <3 (/'･ω･')/

Third Person POV

"Lucy Heartfilia. I cannot allow any member who would hurt their bretheren to stay in this guild." Master stated grimly as he walked towards them.
"Wait, master!" Happy exclaimed, "Lucy didn't do it! I promise!"
"We were accompanying her all night!" Charle added. Lily nodded.
"You don't have to make excuses for her." The Celestial Mage's eyes almost bulged out of her skull, Master wouldn't tell her to—

"Erase your guild mark and leave."
.
Silence.
.
And then, "Wh-what..?" Lucy's voice was laced with a mixture of utter disbelief and mortification. They strung together an elegant, yet disheartening sound.
It would've been a lovely sound to hear, had it not been for the situation.
"I said, erase your guild mark and leave. Laxus was given the same punishment, this is no different." Makarov's eyes squinted slightly at the memory of his grandson.
"I-I didn't—"
"Lucy, just make this easier on yourself and leave quickly."

Tears were now streaming down her face, and there was good reason for it to be so.
"You can't do this, Master!" Happy cried out defiantly, flying defensively in front of Lucy.
"Lucy has done nothing wrong," Pantherlily took his place next to Happy.
Charle added in,"This simply is not right."
"Happy, what're you doing?!" Natsu demanded from his Exceed companion.
"Charle..." Wendy's gentle tone held sadness.
"..." Gajeel, however, did not speak a word.
He and Lily only shared a glance.

"This isn't fair! And you know it Natsu! Lucy's our friend! We love her! She's our teammate, our partner!" Happy's unrelenting determination carried into his eyes, which bore deeply into the salmon-headed Dragon Slayer's onyx pupils.
For what seemed like a split-second, easily missed, Natsu's eyes widened temporarily in recognition, but only for a nanosecond.
Afterwards, his mouth was set in a hard line, teetering on the edge of a scowl.

Lucy could do nothing more than stand there, constantly wiping her immeasurable tears.
She was truly touched by Happy's words, someone still felt that she was their comrade, a comforting thought.
Even though the other two Exceeds hadn't known Lucy for nearly as long, they still felt obligated to go against unfair judgment of their guild-mate.
The absence of sound was biting, as if it were spiting her.

"My decision is final; leave. As of this moment, you, Lucy Heartfilia, are no longer a member of this guild."
In Lucy's eyes, he did not say 'member of this guild' no. It was more than that to her.
It was like Master saying, "You are no longer a part of this family."
Fairy Tail was—is more than a guild.
It's a family.
It's her home.
It's where she belongs.. belonged.

And now, she's lost all of it. There's no longer anywhere for her to call her home.

[Flashback: Around a month ago]

"Oi! Luce!" An obnoxiously familiar voice called out to her.
"Hm..?"
"Whatcha' doin' all by yourself over here?"
Lucy was taken aback by his statement.
"I was just.. thinking about Dad.." Lucy's voice though, was unusually monotonous, there was no emotion.
"What about him?" Natsu's previous smile turned into a small frown.
He had never particularly liked Jude Heartfilia, per say, but that was because he had made Lucy sad.

"Just... I.. really wanna make up with him. He's pretty much my only family left, y'know?" She look up at her closest friend with an expression clouded in thoughts.
"That's not true, your family's right here," Natsu grinned like the big goofball that he is and pointed his thumb at himself, and Fairy Tail, "but, if it really means that much to 'ya, I'll help you out."
Lucy had smiled so strongly, it rivaled the smile she wore when her birth family was whole.

Fairy Tail had always, and will continue to be her family, but she had made it a vow to make amends with her father.
She would do it before she left this world, I'll do it, or so help me, I'd be so disappointed in myself.
Along with living up to her mother's name, having more adventures with her new family, and protecting her comrades with everything she had.. making up with her dad was now one of her greatest goals.

And she would achieve it before death.

[Flashback End]

Now... she didn't have a home at all.
She didn't know where her father was, and she was being forcibly expelled from her family..
Lucy did not notice that she was still crying, in fact, she hadn't noticed when she started.
All she knew was that, if she started to cry, she would not stop.
Her guild mark, pink, to remind her of whom had brought her to Fairy Tail in the first place.
It would always be close to her heart, even if it wasn't there anymore.

An image of a happily smiling Natsu crossed her mind; she knew of her tears.
For they blurred her vision like nothing else could.
Soon afterwards, smiling images of everyone crossed paths with her memories.
Mirajane, Bisca, Juvia, Erza, Cana, Evergreen, Laki, Wendy, Charle...
Gajeel, Elfman, Max, Warren, Alzack, Macao, Wakaba, Jet, Droy, Pantherlily...

And... Levy... Natsu... Happy.

It was almost guaranteed she wouldn't see them again.
Therefore, she decided to say anything she needed to say now.
She turned to the rest of Fairy Tail, "I love you guys... my family." Her eyes closed in a smile.
Then, she took Levy's hands in her's, despite the look of uncertainty on her bluenette friend's face.
"I'll miss you Levy... and I'll be sure to get in contact with you about my novel!"

"Lucy! I don't want you to g-go!" Happy's sobs were muffled by him jumping into Lucy's open arms.
"It's alright... hey, take care of Natsu, 'kay? And tell Aku that I hope she gets better soon." Lucy whispered into the blue Exceed's ear, making his sobs even louder.
Lastly, she turned towards Natsu, the reason she even joined this crazy, loving family in the first place.
Though, for some reason, she found it harder to fake happiness with him.

And so, her voice was but a whisper to part with him.

"Natsu?" She said hesitantly, her head tilted up slightly.
"The hell do you want?!" He snapped at her. Her heart felt as if it shattered.

Natsu Dragneel; her best friend, hated her.

"..sorry.." She scurried away, the bangs of her hair hiding her eyes, for she didn't want the pink-haired Dragon Slayer to see her tears.
As soon as she got far enough away, her knees buckled under her, causing Lucy to collapse.
"I thought.. you said forever..."

The flow of tears wouldn't stop, no matter how hard she desperately tried to keep them at bay.
"Lucy Heartfilia?"
She stood up quickly, and looked around, "Huh?"
Next thing she knew, her eyes had been blindfolded and her mouth covered.
"Mmph!" Her muffled cries faded away just as her consciousness did.

However, Dragon Slayers have very keen hearing.

A/N This chapter was longer than originally intended! But ish fine because I'm so happy! Thank you guys again for all the reads, comments, and votes! I really appreciate it! And to celebrate, if you guys have any scenes you'd like to see, flashbacks, perhaps? I could try and incorporate them into the plot. Or 'ya know, an AU of this fic, with an actual happy twist! cx
Whatever you'd like ^~^ XOXO ~ Vi <3