I have like twenty drafts of one shots but I can't seem to finish them😭😭

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Nastu returning after one year after he went on the training trip after the Tartaros arc. Little twist, Lucy not being as accepting as she was in the manga/anime at first. Aka, more hurt/comfort because I eat that shit up. Enjoy :)

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Lucy

I watched the Grand Magic Games with disinterest as I already knew who would win. I sighed, this year had been utterly disappointing with Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus and Mermaid Heel not joining.

I looked at the hand where my guildmark was placed, another course of sadness going through me.

Suddenly the arena became extremely heated. Someone in a cape walked to the battle field. "Who the hell are you?" one of the contenders asked.

"The challenger!" the mysterious man said and lit his hand on fire.

My heart did a little jump. I knew that voice. I recognize that voice. The presentators screamed loudly.

"It's him! It's really him! Natsu Dragneel!"

He took off the cape over his head and grinned. That lovely grin when he got excited to battle. "Come at me," he exclaimed, defeating the mages left and right.

I heard the soft sound of wings flapping. "It's good to see you, Lushee," Happy behind me said. My eyes softened. "Hey," I whispered, my eyes watering.

After all the participants were defeated Natsu looked my way. He smiled widely. "Hey! Long time no see, Lucy."

I couldn't hold back my tears, gripping the railing tightly. He and everyone left. They can't just come back without so much as a deserved apology. I ran away, not wanting to face him now.

Of course I should have known I couldn't escape him. He caught up with me in no time, gripping my arms tightly. "What's wrong?" he asked, still in his carefree tone. "You know we've seen worse of you. No need to run 'cause you're crying."

I yanked my arms free and pushed him. "You left. You and everyone fucking left. You don't get to walk back into my life so easily," I exclaimed, fully crying now.

His smile slowly died, and he looked at a clueless Happy. We got weird stares from everyone. Without as much as a protest Natsu embraced me and jumped towards a more secluded area.

He patted my back. "Cry it out," he said, his voice soft, understanding. "Where's everyone of Fairy Tail? Why weren't they participating?"

I gripped his shirt tightly, tugging harshly at it. Then I began to stomp my fists on his chest. "Fairy Tail disbanded. Everyone left. You left."

Happy and Natsu let out a startled gasp.

"Fairy Tail... disbanded?" Happy asked in shock. His voice broke my already shattered heart. He grew up in Fairy Tail. Natsu and him don't know better. Gosh, everyone grew up in Fairy Tail and yet they had no trouble abandoning it.

"No way did Makarov disband the guild. Why did nobody step up? Laxus could have been guild master, or Erza, or—anyone. How could they just disband it? Why did nobody fight for it?"

I pushed him. All my fight left my body. I cried. "You have no right to say anything. You were the first one to leave."

Natsu tensed up, his eyes going regretfully towards my pathetic state.

"I needed you. You were my best friends and had no trouble leaving me behind."

Happy teared up. "We thought we were leaving you behind with the guild."

I let out a humorless laugh. "Thank you for those thoughts."

Natsu clenched his hands. "We would have taken you with us if we knew," he said lowly, not meeting my eye.

"You wouldn't, and we both knew that," I said, my voice cracking. "You lost your father. Your whole life goal was gone before your eyes. I would never take away your coping mechanism, but I deserved more than a two sentence letter. I deserved so much more."

Natsu closed his eyes at the painful reminder of his father. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Lucy hadn't heard him. "I sacrificed so much in Tartaros. I sacrificed Aquarius to—"

"You did what?" Natsu interrupted her, his eyes widening. Lucy shut her mouth immediately, forgetting the guild didn't know the reason why they could move again after being trapped in alegria.

Natsu grabbed her shoulders, shaking her frantically. "You did what?"

More tears left her eyes. "You were all trapped in alegria and my spirits weren't strong enough to fight the demons. I had to summon the celestial spirit key."

"Since when do you have his key?" he asked, thinking back at all the times she proudly showed him her keys.

"The only way to summon him was to break a golden key."

"No," Happy said, finally catching on.

"You didn't," Natsu added, his heart pounding loudly. This whole reunion he planned in his head was all gone up in dust.

Lucy nodded, her tears falling freely. "I sacrificed my friend to save you all, just to get left behind. We all had scars to heal, but disbanding has to have been the worst choice ever."

Natsu embraced her again, this time more tightly. "I'm so sorry," he whispered again. Fuck, how dare he leave?

Natsu let out some own tears at the sight of his partner lose it. He felt so guilty but at the same time, he would still have gone on his training trip. He couldn't face anyone after the battle. He wasn't strong enough to protect anybody. He should have been.

If only he knew what Lucy had to sacrifice to save them.

"Don't cry," Lucy said softly, still sobbing but meeting his eyes. She wiped away his tears. "You had so many scars to heal from. I don't blame you for wanting to do it alone."

"B-but I wasn't alone. Happy was with me. You had nobody."

She shook her head, forcing a smile while her body wanted to keep on sobbing. "You and Happy have been inseparable from the start. You never leave each other's side. Don't forget I've got my spirits too," she said, forcing her voice to be firm, unwavering.

He pulled her into a hug, the tightest embrace to mankind at the moment. Happy landed on Lucy's head and lay there.

"I promise I won't leave like that again," he whispered softly. "I'm not going anywhere without you anymore."

"Please leave," Lucy said with clenched hands.

Happy's and Natsu's faces both fell from the lack of affection in her voice. They opened their mouth but she interrupted them. She looked up, her eyes ready and her voice wavering. "Just for today. Please. I can't handle seeing you right now."

Their shoulders fell defeatedly. "Let's go, Happy," Natsu said, his voice firm despite his sullen mood.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Lushee," Happy said in the cheeriest voice he could muster.

Lucy went home and cried, looking at her board where she tried to pinpoint everyone's location. She sunk through her knees and leaned against the wall. She looked at her keys, especially the one that was broken.

"You guys probably want some action again, huh?"

Although she was met with silence, she could feel them getting rusty from not using them. She held them close to her chest. "Maybe we'll go on another adventure."

She washed her face, brushed her teeth and decided to go to bed, dreading the day of seeing them again in the morning.

She woke up dus to loud stomping outside. She looked outside, her eyes widened at the sight of dozens of guards standing in front of her appartement.

"Yo, Luce," Natsu said and walked into her appartement like it was nothing. He looked as refreshed as ever, his hair short again.

She was painfully reminded to the time he didn't care about going inside through the window. Him using the door means he was scared to overstep boundaries. She clenched her hand, not willing to cry again at such little details.

Natsu who isn't breaking the rules isn't really Natsu, is it?

"What did you do?" she shrieked, pointing at the guards. He laughed carelessly. "Aw shit, they already caught us."

He grabbed Lucy and jumped through the window, effectively getting all the guards to chase them.

"Seriously," she said as she ran with them. It felt like their first meeting all over again.

He turned to her with a smile. "We sent out a message to gather everyone again!"

"Where?" she said with a quick, hopeful breath.

"At this kingdom's palace. Sounds good, right?"

Lucy gasped, not believing them. "You didn't!"

He grabbed her hands rightfully. "We're going to rebuild Fairy Tail again. Everyone following their own path is a huge mistake. The family that left you behind had time to heal. We all had time to heal, and we are only going to be stronger now."

Small tears build up in her eyes. Yes, leaving was unforgettable, but she would have no doubt that they're going to make many memories again.

Happy smiled at her. "Family is family, right? And Fairy Tail is our family."

She wiped away her tears, half forgetting about the guards already. "Yeah!" she said, her spirits going up again after a whole year. The feeling Natsu and Happy could make her feel. How Natsu made her feel...

Natsu smiled. "And when the search party is over, I gotta tell you something, all right?"

Maybe it was her wishful mind, but the way he said it felt like a future confession type of shit. She looked at his face, seriousness written all over his face even though he was smiling.

"All right," she said, praying for her heart to already heal before he did, if he did.

"Come on," he said and took her hand again, smiling like crazy.