Come back to me (Nalu)

Her return

After last nights odd dream I woke up finding myself strangely ready for the day. I still didn't quite understand what all that was but I kind of felt as if today would be a good day.

Happy and I left the house, we planned on eating at the guild this morning. We were to meet up with Gray, Juvia, and Erza. The job was to transport.. Ehhh, Kill me.. some valuable art work and literature to a newly built library in a town called Veda. Hmm, if Luce was here she'd probably try reading as much as she could on the train ride. I smiled to myself at the thought.

The job goes with out a hitch, not to much disturbance. Well maybe a little.. I ah, accidentally burned down half of a land marker or something like that. Needless to say we only get a small portion of the reward. 70,000 out of the 200,000 That it was.

As we enter the guild after our long day all I wanted was food and a nap! Mira sets me up with my special meal and hands Happy over two rainbow trout. Gray and Juvia join us at our table, alls well until.. "Gray-sama.. where's your clothes?" Juvia's got hearts in her eyes as she's gawking.

I'm finishing up my meal when I get the urge for a fight. "Yeah, ice pop. What if the kids come by for another visit?" I'm grinning behind my cup as I gulp it down waiting for his reply.

Gray must have caught on to my mood, because all of a sudden were shoulder to shoulder fists in each other's face. Just like old times. "You wanna dance flame brain!" Gray spouts.

"Bring it ice stripper!" I was getting fired up for a match! If I ain't stuffing my face I'm ready to throw down! And it's been a while which Gray normally is always the one to accept.

"Ice make-" he prepares his attack as the guild doors open.. everyone stops dead silent.
.
.
.
.
L-Lu chan!" Levy suddenly yells out running over arms opened wide.

Even though Lucy was silent seeming confused she welcomed the hug. She then said an uncertain.. "blue hair.. L- Levy?"

"That's right Lu! I'm Levy!" She sobbed.

Master then hops down from the bar and walks over. "My dear child, I'm so happy to see you before us again!" Gramps was beaming with pride.

"Lushee!" Happy cries out flying straight to Lucy's chest and squeezes with a hug.

"Y-you are Happy. The blue exceed that I'm on a team with, correct?" She asked while holding him up to her face with a smile.

As much as I so badly wanted my turn in welcoming her home, I remembered that odd dream again so
I decided to hang back. Letting everyone get their well wishes and hugs first. I wanted to watch her. Take it all in. Her scent had slightly changed and her magic aura as well. But she was still lucy. It was noticeable that she still had issues with memory, another reason I hung back. I wasn't sure how ready I was to face the truth of her forgetting me.

Mira cheered for a round to congratulate Lucy's return. The start of a famous Fairy Tail party! She fond her way to the bar, the stool she always sat at. That just happened to be right next to me.

Get it together natsu!I repeated over and over in my head.

"S-so are you the one named Natsu?" She questions with a slight shyness and I nod my head in reply. Slowly we started talking she fiddled with the hem of her skirt. I told her if there was anything that she remembered and had questions about to feel free to ask me. At first it was only about jobs and how our team operated then asking about her apartment. I then had to tell her the sad truth about the land lady's passing, they turned the apartments into some kind of shop. She trailed off about her things and I vaguely caught her mentioning something about me. With that I asked.. "how much do you truly remember Luce?"

It was like her eyes glazed over as memories must have started to flash through her mind. She then stared me straight in the eyes and said.. "I always seem to e-enjoy when you called me that." In a low voice with a light blush across her cheeks, she stuttered out something close to what I was hoping to hear.

Grabbing her hand in mine I pulled her into a hug "I'm so glad your home. I've missed you like crazy." I felt my words get hung in my throat. I didn't want to cry but I knew at least one tear slipped throw.

Her body stiffened under my embrace. I realized that I probably shouldn't have done that so I sheepishly let her go. "Ah, sorry. It's just.. we ah, never mind." I grinned widely trying to cover my hurt.

We chatted more through the night, every now and then someone would join in. I was surprised on how much she remembered.. how much of us she remembered. I was caught off guard when she finally asked me about us. I guess a few drinks made this easier for the both of us as I replied. "We were in a relationship. But no one in the guild actually knew that, but.." she cut me off with "so we were hiding it?" Her face twisted into a conflicted one as she continued "why did he do that? From what I remember we were... really close" she started to trail off as I attempted to ease the worry in her eyes.

"It never really fancied me to announce it. We were always together. Everyone knew that and that's how we liked it. I'm pretty sure Gramps new and Mira suspected it, but we were happy." She then asked who's gramps and I of courses explained, then went on to tell Why I called him that. She really didn't remember me, like nothing really about me.

I offered her to go to my house since that's were all her things ended up. But she fidgeted around about it like a nervous kid. So I had Levy set her up in the girls housing on Fairy Hill. We agreed she'd come over tomorrow and look through her things. I was hoping that she'd want to stay with me.. Because right before everything happened I was trying to talk gramps into letting us go on a 100 year quest, Lucy and I had decided she'd move in her things for safe keeping during that trip anyways. So during Lucy's abstinence I added on to Happy's and my house giving her the room I knew she'd need..