He had just arrived in the living room when he let himself collapse onto the couch, his body sinking into the upholstery with a satisfied sigh. The silence of the cabin was pleasant, almost absolute, broken only by the distant chirping of nocturnal insects outside.
Natsu rested his elbow on the arm of the couch, ready to truly relax for a few minutes before heading to the guild, as he had promised Juvia. His plan was to have dinner there and talk a bit with his predecessor's companions, gradually trying to fit in. In any case, the former owner of his body had already retreated deep into his soul alongside Igneel, asking him to take care of Fairy Tail—something he had already decided to do while exploring that world and others in search of adventure and growing ever stronger.
That was when he heard it.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound echoed sharply against the wooden door.
He froze for half a second, one eyebrow slowly rising.
"Who could that be at this hour…?"
He stood up without hurry, walked to the door, and turned the knob.
The moment he opened it, he came face-to-face with one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life—second only to Juvia. Memories from his predecessor surged almost automatically in his mind. He had always known she was beautiful. He had always known that. But this… this far surpassed anything he had expected to see again.
Lucy stood there, panting, illuminated by the light spilling out from the house the instant the door opened. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was partially tied back with a ribbon in a small side ponytail on the right, while the rest fell loosely, softly framing her face. Her dark brown eyes—sometimes giving the impression of natural black—shone intensely under the light, filled with anxiety, relief, and an emotion she was struggling to contain. A few strands clung lightly to her forehead and neck, where tiny beads of sweat still glistened from her hurried run.
Though her face was stunningly beautiful, with perfect features that surpassed any model or actress from his previous life, what inevitably drew the eye was her body. The white blouse she wore, with its generous neckline, rose and fell with her heavy breathing, molding perfectly to her full, firm breasts—the fabric stretching just enough to outline every soft curve. They seemed slightly larger than Juvia's, a realization he couldn't help but linger on a little too long, since in his mind he'd love to compare them properly with both women naked…
But that was just his perverted side talking.
Her impossibly slim waist looked sculpted to be wrapped by hands, flaring out into wide, rounded hips that her short blue skirt barely contained. The pleated hem danced just inches above her soft, shapely thighs, revealing smooth, pale skin that caught the golden light from inside the house.
The wide belt accentuated her waist even more, pulling the skirt down just enough to reveal a tantalizing sliver of flat stomach between the blouse and the skirt line. Her celestial keys jingled softly with every small movement, but this time she wasn't carrying her usual magic whip. She probably hadn't been on a mission earlier. She must have rushed back to the guild… and very likely run into Juvia on the way, learning of his return. Given how close she had been to his predecessor, it was only natural she'd come straight here—the sweat made it clear she had run the whole way.
Being able to take in all of this in a single glance was only possible thanks to his [Thought Acceleration] skill, which truly lived up to its name. Still, one persistent doubt formed in his mind: was what she felt for him really just "friendship"?
His predecessor's memories surfaced again, reminding him of countless moments when she had shown something dangerously close to romantic interest. Yet she herself had never admitted it… and of course, there was the infamous, almost absurd "innocence" of the old Natsu.
It was irritating, in a way. His predecessor had enormous potential to win over nearly any woman around him… but he had been absurdly oblivious.
He looked at Lucy.
She was breathtakingly beautiful…
So beautiful that, if he didn't have his predecessor's memories and didn't know about that near-ridiculous innocence of the old Natsu, he could easily believe the guy had been gay. After all, how does someone spend so much time beside a woman this gorgeous without ever showing the slightest hint of desire? To him, that only made sense in manga.
Even though this was the real world, and there had indeed been countless situations where his predecessor felt awkward around her, he had simply never known how to properly interpret that "emotion"—which he now recognized as desire… and even a touch of love. In the end, he had just been far too innocent.
Setting that aside, he deactivated [Thought Acceleration] so the world would stop feeling a thousand times slower.
And he barely had time to react.
"NATSU!!!"
Lucy practically threw herself at him.
Before he could say anything, she was already clutching his scarf, gripping the front of his shirt tightly, eyes wide and brimming with tears—pure relief mixed with barely-contained panic.
Then, suddenly, her shoulders began to tremble.
Her eyes filled completely with tears.
And without warning, she punched him hard in the chest.
"YOU IDIOT!!!"
The impact didn't move him an inch, but the emotion behind it was unmistakable.
"You disappear for two weeks, everyone loses their minds, Juvia comes back to the guild alone, and you just decide not to show up?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
She kept hitting his chest, now with less force, her voice breaking.
"I thought you'd done something stupid… I thought you'd gotten hurt… or worse…"
Her words faltered for a moment.
Then, with no more resistance, she hugged him for real, burying her face in his shirt.
"You idiot…"
Natsu stood frozen for two seconds, clearly unsure what to do with this sudden flood of emotion.
Then, somewhat awkwardly, he raised his arm and placed a hand on her back.
"I'm okay, Lucy. Really."
She slowly pulled her face away, still holding onto his shirt.
"You promise?"
He smiled.
"I promise."
Lucy blinked several times, trying to dry the stubborn tears that kept rolling down her cheeks, and finally let go of his shirt, stepping back while hastily wiping her face. Her chest was still heaving irregularly, but the relief was now visible, softening the tense lines on her beautiful face.
Only then did she really look at him.
And something inside her tightened.
Natsu's expression wasn't the usual one. There was no wide, carefree grin, no loud energy she knew so well. He didn't exactly look sad, either.
He looked… calm.
So calm that it felt strange.
Lucy swallowed hard.
For some reason, that calmness on his face squeezed her heart in a quiet way. An uncomfortable memory flashed through her mind: Happy.
Was he still blaming himself?
Was he keeping everything bottled up alone?
She opened her mouth, ready to say something—anything…
"Natsu, I—"
"Come in. I think you need some water after running all the way here. We can talk better inside, too…"
His voice came gently, cutting her off before she could finish.
Lucy hesitated for a second, surprised by the calm tone, but eventually nodded. She stepped past him into the cabin, her steps still a little unsteady. The door was carefully closed behind her.
The interior was… different.
Everything was tidy, organized in a way she had never seen in his house before. Well, Romeo had taken care of the place during the seven years they were gone, and since Natsu returned, he had seemed so drowned in sadness that he barely messed anything up. Still, part of her had expected him to have gone back to normal by now—to have at least made a little mess. That would have been a sign he was truly back to his old self.
But there was no mess anywhere.
That only reinforced the strange feeling tightening in her chest since she first saw him.
She turned just in time to see Natsu calmly picking up a glass from the table and pouring water, moving slowly, as though he existed on a completely different rhythm from the rest of the world.
Lucy watched him in silence.
That expression… it didn't match.
When he walked over and handed her the glass, she finally noticed something else that should have been obvious: her throat was parched. Really parched. Only now did her body seem to register that she had run the whole way without stopping.
She took the glass with both hands and drank a long gulp, nearly finishing it in one go. The cold water scraped down her throat, bringing instant relief.
"Sorry… I didn't even realize I was thirsty."
"I figured."
He gestured toward the couch.
"Sit."
Lucy obeyed, sitting down slowly. The exhaustion was finally catching up with her legs.
Natsu sat beside her casually, resting his forearm on his thighs, staring ahead for a moment as if organizing his own thoughts.
The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable.
But it was heavy.
After a few seconds, he spoke:
"Sorry for worrying you."
Lucy immediately turned to face him.
"What…?"
"We've always been partners. I knew you were the one most worried about me, but my head was so full that I just ignored everything and needed to get out to clear my thoughts. That wasn't fair to you, Lucy… So I'm sorry."
Lucy stayed silent for several seconds, her eyes still fixed on him.
Surprised was an understatement.
He was looking straight at her with that calm, serious expression… and it made her heart leap unexpectedly.
Since when did he talk like that?
Since when did he apologize like this?
She clearly remembered that, before, Natsu only truly apologized when he was terrified of Erza. It had always been clumsy, half-shouted, half-forced… never like this. Never calm. Never this sincere…
This wasn't just different.
This was… strange.
Deep in her chest, the feeling that had been building since she saw him suddenly expanded, spreading an involuntary warmth. Her stomach knotted slightly, and she recognized—almost annoyed with herself—the butterflies appearing without permission.
She swallowed hard.
"Natsu…"
Her voice came out softer than intended.
He finally turned fully to look at her. There was no dodging in his gaze, no joking, no deflection. Just complete attention on her.
"I really am sorry, Lucy."
Hearing her name spoken that way—no laughter, no shouting—hit her square in the chest.
She felt her face grow warm.
"You… you never used to talk like this."
He blinked once, as if only now noticing his own tone.
"Maybe I should have talked like this sooner… Sorry about that. I was never very good with words. But that was immature of me…"
Lucy fell even more silent after his words.
The way he said it—without hurry, without shame, without trying to dodge his own mistake—was something that simply didn't fit the Natsu she had always known.
It made her heart beat faster in a strange way.
"Immature…?"
She repeated softly, as if tasting the word.
Natsu looked away for a moment, running a hand through his pink hair in a distracted gesture.
"I always was. Just doing whatever I wanted, going wherever I felt like, leaving without thinking much about the people left behind worrying. I thought that was freedom… but now I see it was selfishness too."
Lucy felt a tightness in her chest.
Not pain.
Something deeper.
She had never heard him talk about himself like that.
"You're not selfish like that…" she said, almost in a whisper. "You always saved everyone. You always ran ahead to protect others."
He gave a small smile, but this time it wasn't entirely happy.
"Saving people in battle is easy for me. The hard part is dealing with things like this."
He lightly touched his own chest.
"I made you worry. And that was wrong. That's all."
Lucy bit her lower lip gently.
The butterflies in her stomach hadn't gone away.
If anything, they were fluttering even harder.
"You… you've changed."
He looked back at her.
"Changed?"
"A lot." She emphasized firmly, though her voice remained soft. "It's not just the way you're talking. It's the way you look at things, the way you move… everything feels different to someone who's known you for so long…"
For a second, Lucy thought he would dodge it—crack a joke, yell, change the subject like he always used to.
But he didn't.
"Is that bad?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"N-no! I just…" She hesitated. "It's strange. But it's not bad."
A short silence settled between them again.
This time, it wasn't heavy.
It was charged with something more intimate.
Lucy took a deep breath.
"I was really, truly scared, Tariff. After what happened on Tenrou Island… with Happy…" Her voice cracked for a moment, and she bit her lip, looking down at the floor. "He died right in front of you, and you… you were destroyed. You stayed in bed for days, not eating, not talking to anyone. More depressed than I'd ever seen you. And then you disappear on a mission with Juvia, without telling me properly, and you're gone for two weeks? I thought you'd done something stupid—like going after Acnologia alone or worse. Don't do that again, okay? We already lost Happy… I can't lose you too."
The words spilled out before she could stop them.
By the time Lucy realized what she'd said, it was too late.
Happy's name still hung in the air like something too fragile to touch.
She kept her gaze down for a few seconds, heart pounding, waiting for Natsu's reaction. Deep inside, she still feared that wound would reopen… that he'd fall back into depression like before.
But none of that happened.
Natsu's expression barely changed. It just grew a little more melancholic and serious. He nodded slowly.
"Happy… he was like a brother to me. But I'm dealing with it now. I'm not going to do anything stupid like running off to fight Acnologia or the old Grimoire Heart that killed him. I don't think he'd want that… Like I said, I went on the mission to clear my head. I won't do anything reckless. I promise. We'll move forward… for the guild, for him."
Relief washed over her like a delayed wave.
Lucy tried to hold it together—she really did. She tried to keep her breathing steady, to act like everything was under control… but the moment she realized he was truly okay, both physically and mentally, all the emotions she had been suppressing with work and daily life since Tenrou Island simply overflowed.
Her breath caught.
Her eyes burned.
And before she knew it, silent tears were already streaming down her face.
"I… I'm so glad…"
Her voice came out weak, broken.
She brought a hand to her eyes, trying to discreetly wipe them, but it was no use. The crying was insistent—not from immediate pain, but from the built-up tension, the fear she had carried for days without realizing how heavy it truly was.
Natsu watched her for a few seconds.
When he saw her shoulders tremble slightly, he leaned toward her and, with a gentleness that didn't match the old Natsu, gently pulled her into a soft embrace.
No force.
No rush.
Just firm enough to let her know he was there.
Lucy's body responded instantly.
She stiffened for half a second—surprised by the gesture, the tenderness, the completely different way he touched her—and then melted.
She buried her face in his chest, fingers automatically clutching his shirt as if grasping for something solid to hold onto.
Natsu's warmth enveloped her.
The familiar scent brought an immediate sense of safety so strong her legs nearly gave out. She knew she wouldn't be able to stand up from the couch right then.
The tears now flowed freely.
She wasn't entirely sure why she was crying so much.
Maybe for Happy.
Maybe for the fear.
Maybe because she finally realized he was really there.
Or maybe all of it at once.
Natsu rested his chin lightly on top of her head.
One hand stayed steady on her back.
The other slowly, almost imperceptibly, stroked her hair in a calm, soothing motion.
"You were suffering just as much as I was…"
Lucy felt her heart skip a beat.
Yes. She had been suffering. Even while forcing herself to smile, to work, to pretend everything was normal, trying to convince herself that things would eventually get better… the truth was that a part of her had remained broken since the day Happy died and shattered everything they had been together. She had to be strong to support the Natsu who was hurting far more than she was…
She had never admitted that out loud. Not even to herself. Because if she did, she might have fallen apart completely.
But now, in that calm, comforting, solid embrace—with Natsu holding her as if he understood exactly where it hurt—all her inner walls crumbled without resistance.
Her breathing faltered again, this time not from panic, but from an overwhelming wave of emotion.
"You just deal with it differently," he continued, voice low. "Burying yourself in work. Keeping busy so there's no time left to feel."
His fingers pressed a little firmer against her back in a protective gesture.
"But it's okay to cry, Lucy. Happy was your friend too… and everyone else's in the guild. We all carry the loss in our own way."
Her body trembled slightly.
She had never said that out loud.
She had never stopped to think about it so clearly.
And yet, he had seen it.
He had understood.
Lucy slowly pulled her face from his chest, still clinging to his shirt. Her eyes were red, cheeks wet with recent tears.
She looked at him in silence for a few seconds.
Her heart was beating far too fast.
"You… noticed that about me?"
He nodded gently.
"I did."
That hit her hard.
Lucy felt her face flush.
Her stomach flipped.
The butterflies came back with full force.
He really had changed.
If she couldn't feel the warmth of his body so close, couldn't smell that familiar scent, couldn't hear the steady beat of his heart… she would swear this was all a strange dream.
"Since when do you notice things like that…?"
She murmured without realizing.
Natsu gave a small smile.
"Since I started understanding people's feelings better."
And he pulled her back into another embrace…
The hug lasted a few more seconds.
Lucy didn't want to leave it.
She didn't want to pull away.
And that made her even more nervous.
Gradually, the tears stopped.
Her breathing calmed.
But her heart kept racing.
She pulled out of the hug, bringing her hands to her eyes to wipe away the remaining moisture, trying to hide the blush on her face.
"You really are okay…"
She said more to herself than to him.
Natsu watched her for a few moments.
"I'm still working through it," he admitted. "But… I'm alive. And I won't lose myself in it."
Lucy took a deep breath.
The relief finally settled in her chest.
She knew, deep down, that it would take time to get used to this calmer, more aware, more mature Natsu.
But he was there.
And that was enough.
She looked up at him once more.
And despite the tears, she ended up smiling.
"Welcome home, Natsu…"
Natsu was a little surprised by her words, and his heart was filled with a gentle sense of belonging. Before his eyes was his old partner, worried about him despite all the changes, despite the fact that he was now a different person from the old Natsu, and despite so many things still left unsaid. Even so, she still welcomed him back.
He smiled softly and said:
"I'm back, Lucy…"
______________________
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