::Edited 10/20/2014::

In the beginning she wished an impossible wish. She dreamed an impossible dream. She loved an impossible man.

For a moment she was happy, she had everything she could have ever asked for. She had more than she ever thought she deserved.

If only that had been the end of her story… but there is no room for a Happily Ever After in her world.

"Lu-chan I know this is hard for you, but don't you see that you're being ridiculous!" I could hear her words, but not even Levy's common sense could get through to me at this point.

"You don't know anything!" I couldn't keep the low growl of anger from my voice. Hot tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to cry one more tear over that selfish bastard. I held onto the piece of paper in my hand, his words flowing through my head as if he was sitting right there next to me. Levy could never understand why I was this upset, I might never tell her.

What did it matter now, he was long gone, far out of reach.

"Fine, when you're ready to come back to your senses, come find me." She sniffed, and I knew that I had really hurt her feelings. Somewhere deep down I wanted to reach over to her and apologize, but my anger was stronger, so I just stared at her for a long moment.

Levy gathered her things with a soft huff, giving up the fight, before moving swiftly to a table closer to the bar.

To anyone else, Levy seemed to be yelling at the book in front of her, but I knew where to look to see the other participant in the conversation she had started. Two feet away at the bar, Gajeel was giving her a verbal lashing for fighting a losing battle; he acted angry, but I could see the concern that softened his gaze. I could just catch a few phrases as his voice lifted in his frustration. "She needs time, shrimp."

I knew it was wrong, but I hated them, I hated everyone in that moment.

Mira was watching me, I knew that she was aware I hadn't told the whole story, it was only a matter of time before the others caught on too.

I hated everything about this place, every whisper, every glance.

I wanted the memories to leave me be.

It was ridiculous, but my broken heart wasn't exactly rational.

I took a deep breath, focusing on the reason I had even come to the guild that morning.

Grinding my teeth, I read over the mission one more time, absolutely certain that it was the right course of action to move forward with my life.

I was ready to have Mira note the job in the log, hoping inside that no one would try to talk to me today. I just wanted to get to get some normalcy back in my life, and taking a job was my first step.

"Lucy!" Cana was laughing and sloshing her beer around as she wrapped her free arm around me. She swiftly plucked the paper from my hand and gave it the once over. "Oh, this sounds like fun, can I come too?" I knew her well enough to know that she wasn't really asking for permission. Her soft curled chestnut hair covered her face from view as she leaned in closer and whispered so only I could hear her this time. "Don't rush into going solo, I'll help you get over this some other way."

I wanted to be angry at her for butting into my personal life, again, but I decided that allowing Cana to try her hand at fixing me would get the rest of my friends off my back. Maybe I'd allow myself to indulge in Cana's favorite past time, it had been a while since she and I had enjoyed a friendly game and the alcohol would dull the stinging in my chest.

"Fine, you can come. Just try not to break anything, I kind of need the money for rent." I hissed back in a low tone, before heading to the bar. She gave me a tipsy salute and muttered something I didn't catch.

I shook my head, knowing there was no point to asking what she was on about.

I was still actively fighting the feeling that I needed to flee, fearing that someone else might figure me out.

Mira spotted me as she exited the kitchen, and I waved at her. Her arms were full of trays, but she motioned for me to have a seat to wait till she came back, a warm smile spreading across her features as she turned to walk away. Figures that she would be busy when I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible. I put the flyer on the bar top and leaned back with my elbows and back against the counter.

Our team was split up at the moment, everyone doing their own thing. Erza was off on guild business, for Master Makarov, and wouldn't be back for a while still. Normally the old man would have gone himself, but recently his health had been keeping him close to home. I wished that she had been here while this whole mess was happening, surely she could have fixed things, or at least she could have made me feel better about the situation. Erza would no doubt have something to say about all of this, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. She was always good at breaking through my defenses, helping me to see reason when I could only see despair.

I missed her terribly, and I wished she'd come home soon.

I let my eyes wander around, taking note that Juvia was clutching Gray's clothing to her chest, as he began to discard his boots and pants. She was chatting, a brilliant blush on her pale cheeks. When Gray made an acknowledging nod to what she was saying, Juvia grew bolder, scooting closer to the ice mage. She must have told him that he was stripping again because he jumped up taking his clothes from her waiting hands and stalked off to mope. Juvia chased after him, her hands clutching the hem of her dress as she squeaked something unintelligible.

That will never change.

I sighed internally, wondering when he would stop leading the poor girl on. Juvia deserved a proper yes, or a stern no, letting her trail along like a lost puppy was just cruel. My thoughts turned dark, a bitter taste in my mouth rising as his words bubbled up in my mind.

No, I don't want to think about that right now. I'm going to put it all out of my mind.

I actively fought back the gloom that surrounded me like a black cloud, searching the guild for something else to capture my attention, that when I spotted a rowdy group off by the stage.

Elfman and the older mages of the guild were in the middle of an arm wrestling tournament, the prize being a date with one of Elfman's sisters. Romeo and Wendy were holding up a large banner behind the bulky man, cheering as he slammed yet another opponent's hand into the table. I could hear him proclaiming that only a man strong enough to beat him had a chance with his sisters, because of course he was the manliest man in the creation of the world.

It was, of course, a one sided affair; Elfman would rather die than hand Mira or Lisanna over to anyone. It was annoying, but sweet in a way. If I had a brother, I wished he would be just as protective as Mira's little brother was.

It was sick how long the line to whip Elfman was though, a majority of the male population was ready to try their hand.

Pervy old men. I shook my head with a sigh.

The rest of the main floor was the same as always, pockets of female mages talking about the latest gossip, some with their noses in books, researching their next job.

The pin up addition of Sorcerer Weekly was spread out on a table not to far from Elfman's group, probably to entertain those who were waiting for their turns. I pinked up silently, knowing that I was one of the mages that had participated in that particular issue. I had meant to pick up a copy, but my mind had been on other things lately.

Lazily I looked towards the second floor, not expecting to see anything particularly interesting.

It was one of those rare occasions where Laxus had decided to hang around for more than a few days it seemed. He and his band of fans known as the thunder legion were lazing about, keeping the majority of the second floor unoccupied. I watched carefully, until a brilliant flash of light caught my attention.

My interest had been peaked, and I could feel a chuckle raise up my throat in amusment.

I still didn't know Laxus very well, but his mood towards the guild seemed to have changed drastically since the Grand Magic Games. He was high spirited, almost happy as he teased Mira's little sister Lisanna. She had her cheeks puffed out like a small child, hands on her hips but the blush on her cheeks gave away that she was more embarrassed than angry. She batted his hand away when he tried to get her to take a breath, but that just made him laugh harder. Silently I wondered what he had done to get such a reaction from the normally calm girl.

It certainly wasn't malicious, because Freed was cheering Laxus on, as Evergreen and Bixlow just laughed at the exchange. Were they flirting? It would be something normal people did, but wasn't he a little old for the youngest Strauss sibling?

I shook my head at the thought, since it was none of my business to begin with. The guild was calm, practically serene with out the pink haired ball of energy causing fights left and right.

Everyone's fine, except for me.

I found that I couldn't watch them anymore, so I turned to take the seat at the bar, as Mira had silently ordered me to do. My hands came to rest against the hard cold surface, and I let my mind travel.

How long has it been?

My guild mark stared up at me brightly, reminding me of the day I had finally come home. If you counted the seven years that had been stolen from us, it had been nine since the day. How had so much time escaped me?

So much had happened, we all had been through so much. I was finally happy, going on jobs with my crazy teammates, and enjoying the feeling of belonging to a family again. I had something special here, and I knew that these people would support me in what ever I did.

I had no reason to feel sorry for myself, no, I had no right to feel sorry for myself.

"What did you need Lucy dear?" Mira settled her small hand on mine, to get my attention.

I looked up into her softly smiling face, and I snapped.

"Did you know he was leaving?" I couldn't stop the hurt that seeped into my voice, I could feel my eyes gloss with tears. I fought them back, knowing that if I began to cry again, I would start to feel the emptiness that his departure left in its wake. I had no idea how lonely it would be without him in my life, how clean my apartment would be, or how full my fridge was.

These were things that I had wanted, but now they made me feel empty.

He was his own person, he didn't belong to me in anyway shape or form. Natsu didn't owe me anything, not even an explanation.

A stray tear slipped down my cheek; I swiped at it furiously. I was sick of battling between being angry and sad, I needed to do something away from this place. I was haunted by the good memories we all shared together, drowning slowly in the sorrow of knowing those days were all over.

"I wasn't sure for a while, but I suspected as much when Happy dropped off that letter." Mira answered softly. "It must have been harder for him to go this time, normally he just takes off." There was a shadow that crossed her soft eyes, one that I had never seen before. I nodded, understanding what she meant, and knowing that she was already putting the pieces together.

"He always comes back." Cana added as she slid into the bar stool next to me, her travel bag slung over one shoulder. "After all there are only so many places a Dragon can hide."

I let a smile come over my face, of course he would come back, Fairy Tail was our home, our family. No matter what happened between the two of us, this would always be where he belonged.

"So was that all you needed?" Mira asked as she took in the piece of paper that I had left on the counter.

"Cana and I are taking this job, I need to get back to work." I sniffled a bit and handed her the paper. I watched her read over the details a give me a quick look, so quick I almost missed it.

"Be careful, I want you to come home in one piece you know." She handed the flyer back, and marked us in the large book that recorded all the guild's missions. "I'll contact the employer to let him know who he's expecting."

I muttered a thank you, and Mira gave my hand a quick squeeze.

I've decided to keep going, but some things needed to be adjusted to do so. Thanks for the support guys!

::BTW Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, I in no way take credit for any of his amazing work::