Does Love Last Forever?

Chapter 5

Lucy had to admit, it was nice getting back in a somewhat-normal routine. The mission went pretty smoothly and they soon had pockets full of money returning to Magnolia. As the days passed, she fell more into her normal routine and other than the absence of her once-best friend and mate, she started to feel better. Honestly, if he had not gone on the training mission, and she had to face him each day, she didn't know what she would have done. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave her guild - her family - but would she have to if he was still around? She didn't know.

It had been two months since he had rejected her and left. She still didn't have an explanation why and although she probably didn't want to hear it, she still wondered what happened to make him reject her so. What could make Natsu that cruel, that unfeeling? Sighing, she stared up at the ceiling, watching the rising sun cast shadows and beams across it. She started to stretch, but then her stomach seemed to roll. Suddenly nauseous, she ran to the bathroom, her hand over her mouth.

After getting sick, she felt better and thought back to what she had eaten the night before. The girls had gone out to a new restaurant in Magnolia and she had gotten seafood. Could that have made her sick? She made her way to the kitchen and nibbled on some crackers, which seemed to soothe her stomach. Maybe she should take it easy today. She grabbed her notebook and a pencil and propped her pillows up on her bed, finally setting in to work on her novel. It had taken awhile for her to feel like writing once again, and at first, the stories had been very depressing. Lucy found that using her writing to work through her feelings and depression helped, and was able to use some of it to begin a new story.

Feeling better after a couple of chapters, she decided to get dressed and go to the guild. Obviously it had been something she ate and once it was out of her system, she would be better. Smiling to herself as she hugged Pluu in her arms, she entered the guild hall, waving to those that called her greetings.

"I didn't think you were coming today, Lu," her friend Levy called out, waving at her. At first, it had hurt to see Gajeel and Levy together, but Lucy had slowly pushed the feelings of jealousy away, grateful that the iron dragon slayer made her friend so happy.

"There's a job over there that has a reward of a silver key," Gajeel informed her. "You should go take a look at it."

Smiling her thanks, Lucy got up and made her way over to the job board where she soon found herself flanked by Gray, Erza, and Juvia. "Did you find something interesting?" asked Erza, looking over the board. She soon found the job that had interested Lucy. "Hmm. A silver key, eh? Also a 1,000,000 reward. What do you guys think?"

"Juvia is willing to go anywhere with Gray-sama," Juvia cooed, latching on to Gray's arm. Lucy smiled at the couple. Gray had finally admitted his feelings for Juvia and although she still tended to be a little, er, overbearing with him, it had never made Lucy feel awkward. In fact, it still amused her - although she was grateful she was no longer addressed as "love rival."

Wendy's voice sounded behind them. "Sorry guys - I'd go, too, but Chelia asked me to meet her at Lamia Scale for a joint mission."

"It's okay, Wendy. Tell all of them hello from us," Lucy smiled fondly at the blue-haired mage.

"Will do!" Wendy promised, then she and Carla left for their journey.

"I don't think we need anyone else, anyway," Gray said, looking at the small group. "With Lucy's spirits and star dress, it's like we have a powerhouse all our own! Plus, we don't have to split the reward," he joked.

Lucy's lips curved again. Gray was always trying to compliment her - telling her she was a strong mage or a good cook or talented in some other way. Thank goodness Juvia didn't see it as a rivalry! Lucy guessed he did it to make her feel better and, yeah, it worked.

"So we set off tomorrow? Meet at the train station at 10am?" Erza asked the group, and they nodded in agreement. She took the flyer to Mira to get stamped, then bid the group farewell. Knowing Erza, she was heading home to pack her own supply train!

Lucy spent a little more time at the guild before heading back to her apartment. Her stomach had felt fine the rest of the day, but she still ate a bland dinner, not wanting to be sick for the mission. She wondered what spirit belonged to the silver key.

The next morning, everyone met on time and they boarded the train with no issues. Gray was about to make a comment about it, then thought better. Lucy had been acting "normal" lately and he didn't want to bring up anything that would remind her of Natsu. Not to mention, Erza would probably kill him! The entire guild was very cognizant of not bringing up Natsu when she was around. They had all been in shock of his rejection of Lucy and abrupt departure to train. The Master had remained tight lipped about the whole matter and had not given his opinion about any of it, though many wondered what he thought.

Gray remembered the day Natsu had come into the guild, soon after he and Gajeel had returned from the Council's mission. He had on a black cloak - similar to the one he had worn when he had left after their battle with Tartaros - and had gone straight up the steps to the master's office. Happy had accompanied him. After a while, they had come back down, Happy clearly looking upset, but had left with Natsu. Neither one had said a word to any other guild member. When asked about it, the Master had announced to everyone that he had granted Natsu permission to leave to train for a year. Then, the whole news about Lucy had come out a few days later. He was still angry at his friend at what he had done and how he had hurt the one person he swore he would never harm. Gray had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Natsu and would ask him when he returned - after he gave him a beating first, for Lucy.

They reached their station and got out, Erza somehow lugging a whole cart full of supplies with her. Lucy breathed in the salty air, realizing they were near the sea. She closed her eyes, feeling the warm sun on her skin. Maybe, if there was time, they could go to the beach? She mentioned as much to Erza, who looked at her and nodded. Juvia squealed, clapping her hands together and mentioning shopping for a new bathing suit, giving a sideways glance to Gray, who gulped and turned red.