ShannyRawr reporting for duty! So it's been a while, eh? Well, I'm back with another NaLu oneshot sort of thing. But anyway, it's just cute, ne? My mind had kind of poked the idea of a Lucy-homecoming thing, but I just bs'ed the reason why she left in the first place. Sorry. It wasn't well thought out.

Still, enjoy. ;D

Lucy stood in front of the guild; the place hadn't changed one bit. It was hard to believe she had been gone for two and a half years. Looking back on it, the whole thing was a blur. Yes, she remembered completing what she had set out to do – discover the thirteenth Zodiac key – but other than that and the painful goodbye upon her leaving, it was all jumbled.

Somewhere in the mess of memories, there was so much pain and so much fighting that she was convinced she had simply gone on an S-class mission (without permission as always). Of course, that was not true. She was alone the whole time; no Team Natsu.

Oh, Natsu; that made her smile. She had been itching to see him the entire trip. When she had announced her leaving, she had taken him aside to tell him personally and she was utterly shocked when he got angry. He wouldn't even look at her as she said temporary goodbye's to the rest of the guild.

But he had calmed down enough to see her off with tears in his eyes, waving with Happy beside him. Master had also given her the proper send-off. The whole leaving part of the 'mission' was no doubt the hardest part. But it was worth it to stand in front of her true home, ecstatic and confident in her success.

Taking in a deep, shuddering breath, she pushed open the doors; it revealed chaos. Nope, nothing had changed from the inside either. It was so loud and the crowd was so rambunctious that no one noticed her arrive. Even so, a smile crept on her face as she picked out pink hair in a group of men fighting.

The first second that he was taking a breather, Lucy ran straight towards him and held out her arms. As she leapt onto him and knocked him to the ground, she yelled, "Natsu!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on so tight she was slightly afraid she might break it. At first, Natsu was too stunned to do anything, but then he embraced her tightly back in return.

"Lucy!" he yelled back, but now it was extremely loud because the entire guild hall was silent and watching them. "You finally came back!"

He sat up, still holding her, and she wrapped her legs around his torso, sitting comfortably in his lap. She nodded into his neck, rubbing her soft golden hair against his skin. It wasn't long before she was bawling into his shoulder and Natsu couldn't help but start laughing.

Standing up with Lucy clinging to him, he walked over to a table and sat her down on it. He pulled away to get a good look at his partner. Her hair was longer now. She was slightly taller and a little bit leaner. The sparkle in her eyes still shone brightly however and other than a few details, she was absolutely the same. No doubt, she was as beautiful in his eyes as ever.

"Of course I did! I'm kind of disappointed in myself that it took me so long… but here I am!" Her smile was so bright that it made up for the tears streaming down her cheeks. "And I see you haven't changed much at all." She hinted towards the fighting and chaos.

On the contrary, he had changed. With her lack of presence, he had realized just how much he depended on the celestial wizard before him. Never before, even when Lisanna had been thought dead, had he felt that dark, gnawing pain in his chest. It only took a few weeks for him to finally admit to himself his feelings for her.

"Same ol' me!" he agreed anyway and shot her a toothy grin. It made her eyes glitter even more. "I've been so bored without you! Let's go on a mission!"

"Natsu, she just got back from a long mission herself; don't you think she would enjoy a break?" Erza put in, smiling proudly at the blonde. Lucy let out a squeal and jumped from her position to hug her teammate. The strong hold Erza embraced with was a little overwhelming but made Lucy feel at home.

"Think for once, flame brain," Gray added and Lucy pounced on him, as well. He chuckled and hugged her tightly. "Ah, finally Team Natsu is back in business."

"Yeah, I'm psyched," Lucy said happily and pulled away, stepping backing over to the dragon slayer. Subconsciously, she held onto his arm and leaned against him. From what she remembered, that ticked him off. But at the moment, he was beaming at her. Her smile grew wider. "I have never been so happy in my entire life to be greeted with chaos. That's all I need right now."

"I can do that!" Natsu exclaimed and began to pull away but Lucy held on tighter and glared at him seriously. For a moment he found himself cowering.

"Nope, you're staying right beside me," she said and laughed, perking up again. Natsu grinned and shrugged, stepping back towards her.

"I guess that's okay."

"Everyone, give me some space to get to Lu-chan, please!" Levy yelled, pushing through the big circle of people that had formed around the table she was placed on. The blunette then turned back to her friend and jumped on her, grasping oh-so tightly. It might have even matched Erza's strength.

"Ahh!" Lucy giggled and held the solid script mage in return, pulling away a little while later to smile warmly at her and the rest of the guild surrounding them. "I'm going to go unpack my things; I'll be back here soon, I promise."

Tugging Natsu along, she promptly left the guild hall and headed towards her apartment. Everything was so familiar and comforting; especially the warmth of being so close to her best friend. To be honest, she was hoping to kick it up a notch and she was excited to get the show on the road. But for now, she was just going to enjoy the scenery – this was home.

And there you have it - a very climatic story indeed (notice the sarcasm dripping). Still cute. Still R&R. If I'm nice I'll think about another chapter. But for now, use your amazing imagination(s) to figure out the ending. ~Obviously baby NaLus~

ShannyRawr, out.