11 Chapter 11

The next two days flew by in a blur, and Lucy could only barely wrap her head around what had happened in such a short amount of time as she slowly packed her bags, careful not to overexert herself on Wendy's - and Charle's - orders.

Damn, that little white cat could be scary if she wanted to be, especially when it concerned Wendy Marvell.

Wendy had healed her to nearly perfection, forced to leave a few bumps and bruises under Makarov's orders. She'd apologized, but the blonde had been quick to tell her that it was fine, she didn't mind.

Lucy had spoken with Levy and Gajeel, just as Levy had wanted. Levy had looked horrified upon realizing just how badly Lucy's wounds had been, apologizing what must have been billions of times. And while the sight of the iron dragon slayer had made her shiver, Lucy had only smiled and told them it was fine, she understood that it was Jose's fault and not Gajeel's. Gajeel had muttered an apology under Levy's stern look, and Lucy had been admittedly touched when Levy handed her a ring made of iron.

"One of our other mages, Freed, carved a rune spell into it," Levy had explained as Gajeel took it from the celestial mage and set to work on resizing it with his own fingers so that it would fit hers. "It'll heat up when a mage that isn't a member of Fairy Tail is approaching."

She'd thanked them heartily for the ring - which decorated her finger even now, and then had curiously demanded why Gajeel had permanently labeled her "Bunny Girl".

His answer of "You look like a rabbit." hadn't been what she'd wanted to hear, but she doubted there was much she could do about it.

After a day of rest, Lucy had been able to get her bath in a private room in the guildhall. Mirajane had helped her under Wendy's demands, the blue-haired girl watching with sharp brown eyes as she did so. They'd dressed her in some clothes that Mirajane had fetched for her, just as she'd promised, and then had let Lucy get some more rest, relaxing in the hospital bed as she eagerly scribbled ideas for her next novel into a journal Levy had brought her.

Natsu had come up every few hours, sometimes with food (he usually brought enough food to feed several people for weeks) or Happy (she'd grown fond of the blue cat, who, for some reason, hadn't surprised her at all when he'd began to chat and fly around, teasing them) or just himself. Constantly smiling, constantly laughing, Lucy had been quick to learn that there was never a dull moment around him.

Particularly when he'd accidentally lit the sheets resting over her lap on fire.

Lucy had met a few more members of Fairy Tail in her time in the infirmary. She'd finally met Erza, who turned out to be the scarlet-haired woman, completing her knowledge of who exactly had blown up a building in Crocus. Cana had been an interesting woman to meet, and Lucy had been startled when she'd learned that the brunette could drink gallons of alcohol without feeling their effects. She'd met Levy's two teammates, Jet and Droy, and Mirajane's and Lisanna's brother, Elfman. Bisca and Alzack and their daughter, Asuka, had been fun to speak with. And, at one point, Gray had brought Juvia up so the three of them could chat again.

Juvia had taken one look at the friendliness between her and Gray and had changed from a friendly, chatty woman to a seething, enraged one, hissing, "Love rival," under her breath.

All in all, Lucy decided she loved being a member of the Fairy Tail guild.

But all good things must come to an end, so here she was, packing up her belongings. She'd be back, of course, but she didn't plan on it being anytime soon.

Sadly.

She'd already bid farewell to a few of her new friends (Mirajane, Lisanna, and Levy, she didn't want Natsu to know, honestly), reassuring them that she'd come back. She'd told the guildmaster of her plans, and he'd tried to reinforce Mirajane's offer of paying for her plane ticket when she'd explained why it might take a bit longer to move, but she'd refused. She wanted to do this for herself. She didn't think she'd proven herself enough to earn such a kind gesture.

On the bright side, however, despite the gloomy fact that she'd be going back to Crocus, Levy had managed to set up a meeting between she and the other celestial mage, Yukino. She'd told Lucy that Yukino might or might not be accompanied by another mage or two, and to not be too concerned if she was. Sabertooth was an ally, and a good one at that.

"There," Lucy sighed, patting her pockets. When she'd been in the infirmary, Natsu had taken it upon himself to go hunt down her lost phone and other belongings. He'd found them in the Rozlyn Cafe, where she'd left them - or had been forced to leave them, she supposed. He'd looked upset about something, and she'd realized why when she'd taken a look at her phone.

The surface was cracked, yes, and her blood dotted the phone, but the last sent text was easy to read. She'd reassured him that it was alright, then had tossed the phone, sighing to herself about the prices of getting a new one. Damn, she was broke for someone who was well-known globally!

So when a brand new phone had shown up on the table beside her bed, naturally she'd demanded answers from Natsu, who pretended as if he didn't know how it had gotten there, instead offering to put his number in it.

She found her phone, checked it, and then made a face. The plane she was supposed to be on left in only two hours. She needed to get going. She sent a quick text to Levy, letting her know she was heading out and to tell her she'd see her soon, and then hauled herself to her feet, grabbing her purse and suitcase.

Hauling them both to the door, tucking some hair behind her ear and ignoring sore muscles, Lucy felt a flash of guilt and stopped. Natsu had mentioned something about him showing her a spot he trained in today, and she hadn't had the heart to tell him that she wouldn't be there. So, she paused in her heading out to send him a text, making a face when she realized how blunt and harsh it was.

Hey, change of plans. Heading back to Crocus. See you when I get back.

~Luce

She didn't mean to refer to herself as "Luce", the nickname Natsu and Natsu alone had been using regularly. It just happened. Stupid one letter differences… She went to send it as she opened the door, hitting the button hesitantly. Guilt flooded her. "Sorry, Natsu," she said softly. She'd make it up to him when she came back.

Lucy spared a glance over her shoulder, taking one more look around the hotel room before closing the door behind her and beginning the long trek to the airport.

Her lips slid into a pout.

But damn did it hurt her to leave.

So many things had happened in the last few days, and so many of them were good. It had been quite some time since he'd hung around Fairy Tail's guild hall this much - usually he was working nonstop, determined to find the one who'd been missing from his life for seven years. He was friendly with his nakama, his family, and he was fairly close with almost all of them, but he'd been a little distant. He was concerned that if he grew to love them too much...they'd all disappear, too.

And then he was nearly hit by a car.

He'd been on a job with Erza and Gray - Happy had chosen to stay behind, leaving him alone with the two other mages - and they'd been told to take care of something he didn't care to remember now. They'd succeeded, and he'd used his flames to blow the building up under Erza's command because disobeying her meant your death, and then had run.

He hadn't meant to get ahead of them.

But then again, Natsu Dragneel didn't mean to do anything most of the time.

Luckily, she'd hit the breaks in time, and he'd slammed his hands on the hood on instinct, smoke rising from his hands as he struggled to keep his flames under control. He'd glared at the driver through the windshield, baring his teeth in frustration, and the insult match that had resulted still made him grin.

Lucy was interesting, and that was putting it lightly. What kind of weirdo just randomly picked up a scarf, recognized it from someone they'd seen for maybe a minute, and then returned it the second they saw them again? He'd had an attitude with her, but that went up in smoke the second she placed his scarf in his hands.

She was one of very few people to not push too hard for details about his missing father - not that he was able to answer any questions - and she didn't make any stupid comments about the fact that he had strangely colored hair. Lucy didn't mention that he was wearing a scarf every second of every day, and she'd willingly fed him as much as he'd wanted. She had her moments, of course. Natsu didn't dare question her about if her chest was soft after that first time, which had resulted in a bruise that still decorated his back from where she'd kicked him.

But he enjoyed her presence. She was fun, even if they hadn't done anything fun in the last few days. She was willing to put up with him in ways even Happy couldn't handle, and for that, he was happy.

The fact that she'd joined Fairy Tail a few days before?

He'd earned Mirajane's look for the happy and accidental destruction of a table.

So the question that had just been presented to him by Makarov after being dragged to a private corner of the building had a huge grin spreading across his face, onyx eyes dancing with excitement at the prospect of just what might happen should he agree.

"I promised Lucy a...partner of sorts to help her take jobs for financial purposes and figure out how to use her magic. I spoke with Erza and Mirajane, and they both agree that it would be a decent experience for you to have. Would you be interested in taking this on?"

"Hell freakin' yeah I'll do it," Natsu said cheerfully, pumping his fist in excitement. Flames leaped to life along his arms. "I'm all fired up!"

"Please don't burn anyone or anything," Makarov sighed, waving at the dragon slayer's fire when it threatened to lick at his clothes. "And I don't want you bothering Lucy constantly. I'm sure the poor girl's had a tough time as of recently. Give her a few days at least before you pester her to feed you again, please."

Natsu blinked, looking confused, flames dying down. "I don't pester her to feed me. She offers and I accept."

Makarov rolled his eyes. "Not the point, Natsu. I want you to be careful when you're on jobs, too. You tend to be far too reckless when it comes to the work you take, and Lucy needs you to help her through the first few jobs at least, not throw her into them headfirst with no way of knowing how to do anything. And before you take any work, I want you to see if the two of you - and Happy, I suppose. I doubt he'll be letting you leave him behind. But before you take any work whatsoever, I want Lucy to know how to use at least a portion of her magic. Is that clear?"

Natsu listened carefully, knowing fully well that he would probably fail to complete even half of what the guildmaster wanted. "Got it, Gramps," he said cheerfully.

As if suspicious that Natsu hadn't listened, Makarov demanded, "Repeat what you're not to do, Natsu."

Natsu rolled his eyes. I'm not a kid, Gramps! "Don't blow things up and help Lucy." A pause. "I'm not gonna refuse free food though. Tellin' ya now."

The small man groaned. "I should have gone with Levy," he muttered, shaking his head. Too bad she was a member of Shadow Gear, and he wasn't fond of separating teammates… Natsu frowned unhappily at the thought that Makarov had even considered partnering Lucy up with anyone but him.

His phone suddenly beeped from its place in his pocket and Natsu dug his hand into it, trying to yank it out so he could check and see whatever he'd received. Before he could look at it, though, Makarov spoke up again, surprising him.

"Levy informed me that Lucy has headed back to Crocus," Makarov informed him. "She's currently on a flight back. I'd like you to join her there-" Natsu lit up like a Christmas tree, and he held up a hand to stop any words the eager mage might spit out. "And you will remain with her until she can either control her magic completely or she returns to Magnolia. It's possible that she'll be moving into Fairy Hills, and I doubt Erza would approve of your presence there."

Natsu fight the urge to shudder at the thought. "Alright. I'll keep an eye on her." He gave a toothy grin that showed off those sharpened canines happily.

Makarov gave a small smile. "And how do you plan on getting there? There's no train, and you won't get a flight this late in the day, I can guarantee it. And I've forbidden you and Happy from flying," he added as a reminder when Natsu opened his mouth to answer.

Natsu furrowed his brow in thought, using the moment to glance down at his phone. He knew immediately that the message was from an hour or so before - magic tended to slow down such things, particularly when you were in a guild hall. The wards around it made it hard to get even short phone calls accomplished, hence the use of lacrima.

Hey, change of plans. Heading back to Crocus. See you when I get back.

~Luce

He had to fight back a grin.

"I know how I'm getting there."

What he doesn't know won't kill him...right?