ATTENTION:

Hi. I suggest reading my one-shot Guilty before you continue. It is acting as a prologue. This is an AU story with elements of the manga thrown in.

Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, sexual encounters, coarse language, angst, near-rape in one chapter that I will give fair warning to, substance abuse, everything under the bloody sun, perhaps. Rated M.

GENRE: Will be a mix of Romance, Drama, Mystery, Angst, and a touch of Horror. Crime, too. Nearly everything.

Bred-In-The-Bone

The morning of the final day of the Grand Magical Games was muggy, full of smog and humidity that made Lucy's clothes stick to her body even after she showered. She dressed as thinly as possible, choosing a plain white tank and a pink skirt that was short enough that if her father were alive to see it he'd have a few more grey hairs.

First she said goodbye to Plue, picking him up and squishing him tight to her chest before dismissing him, then she grabbed a pair of black flip flops and shoved them on her feet. Her celestial keys found home on her hip, alongside her pen and notepad. Her apartment keys went on a thong around her neck. Dressed and mostly ready, she grabbed a croissant from a bag on the counter to eat along the way.

Outside under the blazing golden rays of sunlight, Crocus was indifferent to the heat, a riot of colour and voices as people rushed to the stadium to see the finale. Though it was too hot for it, Lucy hurried through the crowd, pushing past sweaty onlookers to get to Sorcerer Weekly's head reporter's side. Guards waved her through the stadium's entrance. She took the outer concrete stairs two at a time, stretching her legs as far as they would go. Sweat pricked on her brow. She swiped away impatiently and dodged around a woman with her baby, and beside her a man sneaking sips out of a flask. Lucy rolled her eyes, bemused. Drinking was allowed in the stadium, but it was way too expensive. Add to that it was barely nine in the morning.

On the top most level, she spotted Jason leaning against the banister, eyes glued to the arena. He barely flinched when she rushed in like a whirlwind and mimicked his stance like she'd been there the whole time.

"Hey, Jason."

"Did you get that down, Lucy?" he asked instead of saying hello. "They just announced the lineup for today's fight."

"Y—yes." Lying wasn't something she did easily, but this was something she could recover from. She fumbled out her notebook and deciphered the guilds' sigils on the large lacrima screens. There was no Fairy Tail this year. A weight settled in her chest. Being in this stadium all week had been near torture, but this last day was the hardest of all. Fairy Tail's victory had been a night to remember. Would she open her mouth to make a complaint, though? Not her, not Lucy Heartfilia, even though she was near-drowning in memories. All she could see was Natsu when she looked around. Was he okay? She hadn't been able to find any sign of him throughout the whole year. Did he forget about her? Was he ever coming back? Did he miss her?

Lucy shook her head violently to shake clear her thoughts. Way down below the fight had started and she hadn't written a single word. Biting her pen into paper, she started scribbling down details just like Jason taught her.

Only moments later the final member of Dullanhead fell heavily to the ground. Skull Millione had won, as Lucy had predicted. Tucking her notebook back into her pocket, she made a face, screwing her lips to the left. "That was uneventful."

"Are you kidding me? It was so cool," Jason gushed.

Lucy decided that he was easily bought. "Yeah. Listen, I better get back to my apartment if you want me to type all this stuff up for next week's issue. You don't need anything else, do you?"

Jason smiled brightly. "Hiring you on as a reporter was one of the best decisions I've ever made, Lucy. You've really grown into the position. I'll see you tomorrow for the Grand Magical Games celebration party, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Smiling, Lucy turned to leave, but paused, hands pressed together as if in prayer, paralyzed by the hush that overcame the stadium.

A voice rose and fell throughout the arena. "I challenge the winning guild!"

Lucy's heart knotted in her throat.

"Who is that?" Jason asked sharply. Lucy could barely stand to turn around, afraid she was imagining things, but she couldn't not, either. She summoned her courage but moved like a rusty tinman. Way down below, beyond the sea of heads, a cloaked figure stood in the middle of the arena, facing the remainder of Skull Millone.

"Stand up and fight me," said a cloaked figure. The voice was gravelly, harsh, different than the last time Lucy had heard it, but familiar. Her chest tightened. As if in confirmation of her discovery, the figure smashed his two fists together, igniting a brilliant flame that sparked hot and engulfed his body. The heat expanded, encompassing first the lower floors of the stadium, and then grew higher and higher, hotter and hotter, until Lucy felt it all the way on the top floor. The sun had nothing on Natsu Dragneel.

His cowl fell back, revealing rose coloured hair that was too long and pinker than Lucy remembered. Looking at him so far away, her world boiled down to one simple fact: Natsu had come back.

"Lucy!" a small voice called. Lucy whipped around and lifted her gaze. Happy soared on pale wings, swirling around and around overhead, gradually coiling down to land gently on the wall before her.

Lucy made her mouth work. "Happy... you're back." She expected to sound more excited, but she barely dared to believe it was true.

"Aye," the cat said. "We looked for you at your old apartment, but there was some old guy living there... and Fairy Tail… the guild hall was still destroyed. We couldn't find where Master put the new one, so Natsu decided to come to the Grand Magical Games, thinking everyone would be here."

Lucy didn't have the heart to tell him that there was no guild anymore. Clutching her hand to her chest she turned back to see Natsu's flames explode in a way they had never before, burning with an intensity that was difficult to fathom. Everything was melting, the sand under his feet out there, the stadium, her goddamn clothes. The fire burned hotter still. People began yelling, rising from their seats and clearing the area when the heat became too much. Skull Millione was long gone.

"Let's get out of here, Lucy!" Jason called from steps away. He didn't wait to hear her response, moving as fast as his feet would take him. Lucy took a step back from the melting concrete, worried about her skin and her hair and her eyebrows.

"Hey, Natsu!" Happy yelled above the din. "I found Lucy!"

Natsu's head snapped up, his flames dying around him as his eyes locked with Lucy's across the stadium. "Lucy?" Though he was far away, Lucy saw his lips move around her name. Her heart fluttered with something strange.

"She's right here!" Happy pointed like Natsu was blind. "Come on, Lucy, let's go say hi." He leapt into the air and grabbed her under the arms without waiting for permission. She was airborne before she could draw breath. She squealed in protest and wrapped her arms around her chest to keep her clothing just where it should be. It was a losing battle.

"You've gotten heavier!" Happy cried with effort.

"Shut up, Happy, and put me down!" Lucy squabbled. She didn't dare thrash about, for fear of Happy dropping her, or her shirt giving up the ghost. Wouldn't that be embarrassing in front of the man she hadn't seen for a year?

Happy ignored her and flew over the stadium seats with an ease that belied his earlier complaint. Lucy's stomach protested with nervous energy. She had dreamed of seeing Natsu, but now that the moment was here, she didn't know what to say. How do you bridge a year-long gap? With idle chatter? With all the things she wanted to say before he left but didn't? Her night with Gray came back to haunt her. Shame made her blush.

Happy dropped her lightly on the ground mere steps from Natsu. The dragon slayer looked at her with an odd expression on his face.

Nervously, Lucy tucked her bangs behind her ear. "Natsu..." she began.

The strangeness fled his eyes. "Yo, it's been awhile, hasn't it, Lucy?"

She stumbled on words, flabbergasted. "You disappear and come back after so long, and that's what you have to say to me?"

Natsu smiled impishly and closed the distance between them in two sure strides. Lucy clutched tightly to the tattered remains of her shirt, afraid to move an inch, and allowed him to embrace her. He smelled like warm summer days and hot sand. He smelled like home.

The reunion was short lived when the stadium filled with the King's guard.

Half an hour later, Lucy, wearing a new shirt, a light blue tank, waited impatiently outside the throne room. Her hands were clenched tightly, and her mind was snagged on one particular idea: she really, really hoped that the King forgave him for burning down the entire stadium because she couldn't even imagine letting him go a second time. It would break her.

As if on que, the two guards manning the doors pulled them wide, allowing Natsu to swagger through, a free man, his mischievous smile intact. Happy skipped along at his side. "Ready to get going, Luce?"

"They let you go?"

"Yep. As a thanks for saving Crocus last time." He winked. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Lucy hesitated, biting her lip hard so it wouldn't quiver. "If you're planning on leaving again just go ahead and do it right now."

"Lucy, what are you—"

A chasm of hurt opened in her chest and all kinds of emotions—too many for her to name—came rushing forth. His note, the page it was written on crumpled, the words smeared from the hours and hours she'd spent looking at it. "You know what I'm saying," she rushed on, afraid of losing momentum. "You left me. You just up and left, without a second thought as to what that would mean, as to what that would do. I've been all alone all this time, and then I couldn't find you. I thought you were dead, Natsu. Dead. And then you just show up and challenge the strongest guild in Fiore like it's no big deal. You walk into my life again like it's no big deal! Well, it's a big deal to me!" Lucy paused, her cheeks flaming with an embarrassed flush. She hadn't meant to say all of those things, but they were true, every last one of them.

"Uh oh," Happy muttered from steps away.

Natsu, face flaming, shot a look over his shoulder to where the guards were watching them curiously. Embarrassed, he turned his back to them again and took Lucy by the shoulders, guiding her towards the exit. "Let's… find somewhere more private." He thought maybe she'd pull away, but she didn't, her feet clopped along in tandem with his. Happy raced ahead to push open the doors. The sun was still blazing hot, welcoming them into the castle gardens.

Lucy waited until they'd found a bench near a hedgerow before she finally found the courage to pull out of his grasp. Natsu didn't look at her while he threw himself down onto its wooden surface and scrubbed his face. Happy clambered up beside him, sitting exactly like a person might.

"You're right," Natsu said finally. "I shouldn't have left you, Lucy. It wasn't fair, but it was something that I had to do. After Igneel... I just needed to get my head straight."

Igneel. Lucy worried on her lip. "I could have been there for you."

Natsu clenched his fist tightly. "Lucy I—" He paused, seemingly at a loss as to how to continue.

Lucy sighed. "Come on, I'll show you my new apartment, then we can get some dinner. My treat." She forced a smile.

Natsu lifted his gaze. "Yeah?" It was a word spoken tentatively. It was then Lucy realized he'd been nervous about this meeting.

"Yeah." Reaching out she grabbed the dragon slayer's hand and pulled him up. His skin was rough and callused, exactly as she'd remembered it. Her fingers lingered on his a touch too long, but gods, it was tough to let him go.

A toothy smile came to his mouth. "Man, I'm starving!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy yipped from the bench.

"Have you heard from anyone else?" Natsu asked; his hand still nestled in Lucy's. "We checked the guild—how come Master didn't rebuild it where it was?"

"Natsu…" She didn't know how to say it delicately. "Master disbanded Fairy Tail."

It took several long seconds for Lucy's words to percolate through, but when they did, Natsu's chest seized. "What?"

"It's gone," she clarified. "Everyone went their own separate ways."

"No," he disagreed. "That can't be—"

"Yes. The reason why my apartment was occupied by someone else is because I moved. I had to. I had to work," she said, as if she needed to justify her actions.

"Why—" Didn't you make everyone stay? Natsu let the question fall short, knowing the blonde wouldn't appreciate it. He sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck."

"Yeah," Lucy agreed.

Natsu's dark orbs found hers. "Do you know where everyone else is?"

Lucy was too aware of Natsu's hand still in hers. The contact seemed intentionally intimate. She didn't let go, unable to just yet. "I've been keeping tabs on them every so often... it helps that I'm a reporter now, but I haven't seen any of them since they left."

"Well, we can't just leave Fairy Tail disbanded, that's my family. We'll have to get everyone back together again," Natsu said with a resolve that Lucy couldn't mirror.

"Natsu..." she began, unsure of how to say the things that were bothering her. She tried again. "Natsu, if they wanted to come back, don't you think they would have? I think everyone's following their own path, now. I don't know if they need Fairy Tail anymore."

Natsu brought his brow down incredulously. "Of course they want to come home, we're family. Everyone needs a family."

"Yeah, but—"

He continued, ignoring her. "This is all that old man's fault. Once I find Gramps, I'm going to kick his ass."

"I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Dumb ones," Natsu muttered.

Lucy sighed. "Come on, let's get going."

Moving through Crocus was still a nightmare, the streets choked with people. Lucy, used to the bustle of everyday life here now, navigated with an ease that surprised the dragon slayer and his feline companion.

Coming up on a tall brick building stained black from factory smoke, Lucy announced, "This is it!" From her pocket she produced a silver key. "You can stay here until you decide what you're going to do, I guess. The couch is always open." She opened the door. Beyond was a modest apartment: A long purple couch, a scratched and stained coffee table, a refrigerator that grumbled and groaned in the excessive summer heat, and an overflowing bookshelf.

Happy came in first, leaving Natsu lagging behind. "Won't your boyfriend be mad?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and said, "Help yourself to the fridge, but try not to clean me out. Everything is more expensive in the city."

"Ohhh! Lucy, do you have any fish?" the cat crooned, salivating.

Lucy pulled her brow down in a scowl. "Do I look like a bloody cat?" she said hotly. "If you want fish you'll have to go get it yourself."

"Awe, don't be mean to the little guy, Luce. He's just happy to see you, right Happy?" Natsu asked, coming in finally and closing the door behind himself.

"More like hungry to see her," Happy countered. "I'll stock up if there's a river nearby."

"On the east side of town," Lucy said. She checked her watch. "I have to transfer over some notes, so you'll have some time if you want to go now."

"Awesome. Coming, Natsu?"

Natsu looked at the bathroom longingly. "Maybe next time, little buddy. I need a shower, too." He picked at his clothes for emphasis.

"OOOH, you just want some alone time," Happy crowed, moving towards the window. "I get it."

When Natsu got red but didn't contradict him Lucy's heart fluttered. The dragon slayer asked, "Can you grab me some clothes while your out?"

"What do I look like, your cat servant?" Happy asked.

Natsu gave him a reproachful look. "Come on, Happy, please? Don't make me go out like this." His clothes were badly sewn together. "Please." What the hell else were best friends for?

"Fine," Happy grumbled.

"Thanks, buddy." Natsu dug through his tattered pants for a few bills and shoved them at the cat. "Nothing fancy, just some pants and a shirt."

"And new shorts, too," Happy said decidedly. "No girls are going to want to see you in the ones you're wearing."

Natsu opened his mouth to protest but the cat was already magicking his wings into existence and taking to the air. The silence that followed in his wake was deafening. Natsu blew out a breath.

"Well, he hasn't changed," Lucy said to lighten the mood.

"And neither have you," Natsu said. "I missed you, Lucy."

A blush crept up her neck. "I missed you guys, too."

Natsu nodded once, sharply, as if he'd had enough of intimacy. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go clean up."

"Yeah. There's a clean towel in there," Lucy offered.

He smiled softly and found the washroom.

Happy returned just as Natsu got out of the bathroom, shirtless and beaded with water. He was much broader than before, and he had a few new scars. Lucy's fingers itched to touch them. She clenched them tightly together instead of obeying that random want, eternally grateful that he couldn't read her mind.

"Here, Natsu." Happy dropped a grey bag at his feet. Natsu rummaged through it, coming out with a plain green T-shirt and a black pair of jeans. "Thanks, little buddy."

"You owe me," Happy said as he padded over to the couch and clambered up. From the bag on his back he produced a silvery fish joyfully and began eating it.

Lucy watched with despair as scales and pieces of bone dropped on the cushions. "What are you, a savage?"

"I'm a cat."

"A cat that's about to ruin his dinner," Lucy muttered.

"Nope, Happy's always hungry," Natsu said.

Lucy glanced at him and saw that he was just yanking his pants on beneath the towel. Her cheeks got hot. She found somewhere else to look. "Geeze."

"Wow, Natsu. Lucy's boyfriend is going to beat you up for stuff like that," Happy said gleefully. "You can't just take your clothes off."

"I'm putting them on," Natsu clarified.

"Gods. You two really have been off the map, haven't you?" Lucy said, staring out her open window. It was unlikely anyone would be able to see Natsu from up here, but still. Did he not have any shame? "Some creep is going to see you, Natsu. And take pictures."

"Oh, do you have a camera now, Lucy?" Happy teased.

"Alright," Lucy fumed, turning around. "Enough, you perverted little feline." From the corner of her eye she saw that thankfully Natsu was dressed.

Happy grinned from the couch. "You're too easy, Lucy. I have to tease you."

"Let's just go," Lucy said.

"I'm starving," Natsu crooned, rubbing his stomach. Lucy almost groaned. The last time Natsu had that look in his eye when she offered to buy him dinner, he almost bankrupted her.

"Don't eat too much. I don't make as much as a reporter as I did as a mage."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu said, practically running for the doors, Happy hot on his heels. Lucy came slower, taking a moment to cherish her good fortune and find her keys.

The city was still hotter than hell, and still in a hum about the Grand Magical Games. Every so often, someone would say, "Did you hear? Salamander is back! I wonder if Fairy Tail is going to come back, too, now?"

Natsu smiled toothily and nudged Lucy when he heard those people, but the blonde still wasn't convinced.

The restaurant she had chosen was cluttered with people, but there was a small table near the back. They had to wait a few minutes for their waitress to appear. Natsu took that time to tell Lucy of all the adventures he and Happy had while he was away. He talked animatedly, using his hands and his fire to accentuate his stories. Lucy laughed, each pealing sound ringing with a note of bitterness and sadness that the dragon slayer noted but didn't know how to fix.

Their food arrived. Natsu spoke around mouthfuls, with Happy chiming in every so often, adding depth to the stories. Lucy listened intently as she ate, the feeling in her heart bitter-sweet.

"Now that I'm back, we can start doing jobs together again," Natsu explained as he gathered his final bite onto his fork, even though half of his meal was eaten with his hands.

At first Lucy smiled, imagining that. Then she sobered, reality coming up on her. "I have a job here, Natsu."

Natsu couldn't be dimmed. "So? Just tell Sorcerer Weekly that you're done. Jason will understand."

Lucy bit her lip and held back her retort. She wasn't sure if she wanted to stop being a journalist. She finally had an opportunity to write and have people read her words. Could she give that up? To avoid answering, she flagged down their waitress.

"The bill, please," she said when the girl shuffled over.

"Right away, Miss." The woman took out a notepad and scribbled some numbers on it. Her presence helped dispel some awkwardness. "Here you go."

It was just as expensive as Lucy anticipated. She dug through her pockets for some money, resigned.

"Thank you, come again!" the woman chirruped.

"I can't afford to anymore," Lucy complained.

"We'll pay you back, right, little buddy?" Natsu prodded Happy.

"No you won't," Lucy said. "Let's be realistic."

"One day," Natsu told her.

Nope, not likely.

The sun had finally set, but it was only slightly cooler. Lucy still sweated. Natsu, of course, looked to be right in his element. The heat never bothered him. The blonde filed that away as another reason to hate him as she opened her stuffy apartment. Both Natsu and Happy rushed by her in a race to get to the couch. Happy made it first, stretching out and popping out his belly. Natsu kicked off a pair of well-worn boots, then flopped down beside him, nearly launching him off.

"Hey!" the cat complained.

"I'm beat!" Natsu exclaimed as he stretched. He looked at Lucy through a lock of pink hair. "Thanks for dinner." He almost sounded shy.

"Thank you, Lucy!" Happy mimicked, extracting his tail from under Natsu's ass.

Lucy closed the door and locked it, then went to her linen closet. "I had a good time. It was good to see you two again." She returned with blankets. Natsu and Happy had worked out an agreement, it seemed, one that ended with the cat sleeping by the dragon slayer's feet.

"It's a good thing you showered, Natsu," Happy said.

Natsu grunted, his eyes already closed. Lucy threw the blankets at him. He caught them adeptly with his face.

"Thanks, Lucy," he said in a muffled voice.

"You're welcome. Stay out of my room," Lucy told them.

Happy picked up his head. "What's in there?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Deviant things you shouldn't be looking at."

Happy's eyes got wide. "Really?" Even Natsu pulled the blankets back to look at her.

"What do you think?" Lucy asked blandly.

"I'd believe it," Happy said.

"And I'd let you," Lucy replied. "Now stay out." Turning, she left them to their own devices, first going to the washroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, then returning to her bedroom to change, leaving the door open a crack in case they needed anything. From her pajama drawer she chose a pale pink nighty and yanked it over her head, then fell into bed. Her mattress was soft and comfortable beneath her body.

Sleep came faster than she thought possible.

Natsu lay awake for a long time, listening to Lucy's soft breathing. Happy had fallen asleep nearly as soon as his head touched the pillow, but not the dragon slayer. He was edgy. This was not the reunion he had imagined. In his mind, whenever he returned, Mira would be at the bar of the new Fairy Tail, Lisanna at her side, smiling. Lucy, Gray and Erza would be sitting at a table talking animatedly, laughing and planning their next job. They should have been there, happy to see him when he came back, not spread across the continent walking their own paths, or writing goddamn articles for a man that couldn't string a sentence together. He clenched his fist tightly, thinking of his guarded friend. The shadow behind Lucy's eyes hadn't escaped his attention, nor did the way she avoided his invitation to work with him again.

For the hundredth time he wondered if he shouldn't have asked her to come along. He looked towards her room, heart heavy. It had been hard to leave her behind. He didn't imagine it would be hard to come back to her, too.

Before he knew what he was doing his feet were beneath him. Down at the other end of the couch, Happy didn't stir, totally exhausted from all of their travelling. Quietly he tiptoed to her room and pushed the door open. It was dark inside, but he could see her sprawled out on her bed, blankets pushed down over her plump breasts. He tried not to stare.

"Lucy?"

"Mm," she muttered.

"Hey." Natsu closed the door mostly and came all the way into the room to her bed. It smelled different than he remembered. She'd changed her shampoo in the last year. It sort of made him sad, but on the other hand he liked the new citric smell. He sat, the mattress sagging and groaning, and touched her hand. The skin was smooth and soft. She sighed on contact, the sound gentle. Encouraged, Natsu whispered, "Can we talk?"

Lucy mumbled, "It's late."

"Yeah, but—"

Lucy said, "In the morning, okay?"

Feeling defeated, Natsu let the silence stretch. Lucy relaxed again, her breathing evened. The dragon slayer looked towards the door, both knowing what he should do and what he was going to. Her pillows were soft under his head, new, if he had to guess, while her blankets were older, well loved and well used. He closed his eyes.