Found & Forgotten

Epilogue

"So let me get this straight," Lucy held up her hands to pause Mirajane's explanation. "Shin Uchu's Master was the one holding me and Levy in the dungeon. And Leiko was his father?"

"That's right." Mirajane nodded. "I still can't believe Master Makarov thought he was a trustworthy contact!"

"It seems he has an extensive network of informants," Erza commented. "I doubt we've even heard of half of them."

"Still, trying to use the very informant who's ordering the attacks on your guild...!" Mirajane trailed off, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I'm just glad it's all over," Levy chimed in. "Now that the court proceedings have been fully settled it feels like we can finally stop thinking about it!"

"Only took them 7 months to decide how to punish the various guild members," Lucy commented, with a wry smile.

"Well we all know the Council is useless." Erza told her.

"Hey look, the boys are here!" Levy exclaimed, jumping up to run and greet Gajeel with a kiss on the cheek.

"And they have food," Mirajane smiled.

"They'd better have brought strawberry cake," Erza muttered to herself.

Lucy let out a merry laugh at that comment, leaning her head back and smiling as she felt the warm sun on her face. It'd been, as she'd said earlier, 7 months since Fairy Tail had defeated Shin Uchu. Most of the dark guild were safely under lock and key now, with only a few members who were deemed non-threatening by the Council escaping jail. The SunSphere had stayed very much destroyed by it's own power, and everyone harmed by the guild or the beginnings of the ritual had now recovered, including Angel and Yukino, who were very happy to be reunited with their keys when Lucy paid them a visit in hospital.

A pair of warm arms encircling Lucy derailed her train of thought, and she opened her eyes to see a mop of pink hair and a carefree grin. Lucy returned Natsu's smile with a fond one of her own and leant up to give him a quick kiss.

"Hey, Luce," he greeted. The nickname still never failed to send a shiver through her.

"Natsu," she replied with a wink, shifting a little as he sat so he could put his arm round her shoulders.

Over the past months, Lucy and Natsu had been gradually building up their relationship again. The entire guild had been very supportive of them, especially Levy, though Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that that was just because Gajeel had finally worked up the nerve to ask her out after the final battle with Shin Uchu, and she wanted someone to talk relationships with. Not that Lucy minded; she loved the close friend she'd found in Levy.

Despite having never recovered her lost memories, Lucy had found a home with the Fairy Tail guild, who made her feel welcome when she had nowhere else to turn. As Natsu had proclaimed when it became apparent that her memories were not returning, 'we'll remember them for you!' and sure enough, every Fairy Tail member had at least one, often more, story to tell her. Lucy had taken to constantly carrying a notebook and pen around with her in order to record every old memory she was given, so that she'd not forget again. A few of the stories she still couldn't quite believe, especially Loke's. Despite the fact that the entire guild backed him up, she still couldn't quite believe she'd spoken directly to the spirit king in order to save him.

Shaking her head to throw the thoughts off, Lucy turned her attention back to the here and now. Watching Levy and Gajeel in a poking match, Gray laughing with Panther-Lily and Mirajane, and Erza savouring the strawberry cake she'd been brought, she reminded herself to not get caught up in old memories whilst she was making new ones. She was incredibly lucky to have met such amazing people, and she ought to enjoy every moment to the fullest.

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Hai, Luce?"

"Arigato, for bringing me to Fairy Tail." Lucy saw his puzzled look and elaborated. "This...this is my family now. I wouldn't be who I am today without this guild. And it's all thanks to you dragging me along with you in Hargeon, so you lead me to believe. So thank you."

She smiled cheekily at him, and his response was to lean down and kiss her, sending small thrills running through her.

"I'm grateful everyday you came with me," he told her.

"So am I," Lucy smiled and kissed him again.

Leaning her head on Natsu's shoulder, she listened to her friends' laughter, feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin, and the body heat radiating off Natsu where she touched him.

"So am I," she echoed.

Sooo, the story is at it's end! I almost can't believe that after all this time it's finally finished. I worked out the other day, I've been writing this story for over three years!

I want to say a huge thank you to anyone who stuck with me over all that time, and thank you also to anyone who commented or voted. This is the first full length story I've finished, so it's quite an achievement for me.

I will at some point go back through and edit all of the chapters, just to tidy up typos and mini plot holes. If there's something you see that needs fixing, don't hesitate to point it out!

I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Let me know what you think in the comments :)

Have a wonderful day!

~AA