"Now, onto our tag team battles!"

Lucy watched politely, her arms, torso, and head wrapped with stark white bandages, that were stained with dribbles of blood. Even though her body had some serious internal injuries from Minerva's magic, Lucy had pushed past the nurses who attempted to carry her to one of the patient rooms. Lucy didn't feel like being cooped up in a stuffy hospital room.

As the announcer's explained the rules of the tag team battle, Lucy's eyes begin to feel heavy. She furiously blinked her eyes open, refusing to doze off. But, even as she tried, she could feel drowsiness attempting to overtake her.

"You okay, Luce?" Natsu asked, noticing her bleary form.

"Yeah...just sleepy," She yawned, rubbing her eyes chibi-style. 

Natsu couldn't help but notice how adorable she was acting.

"Well-If you want...you can sleep on my la-"

Lucy promptly fell over. But instead of being caught by Natsu, a pair of thick muscly arms caught her mid-fall.

"L-Laxus?!" Natsu questioned, shock leaking into his voice.

"Don't touch her..." Laxus snapped. No way in hell, Laxus would ever let a bastard like Natsu touch Lucy. She may have forgiven him, but Laxus knew it would take a lot more to convince him. He doubted anyone could sway him to forgive Natsu for what he did.

"How did you get over here so quick?" Natsu asked, with a quirk of an eyebrow. Laxus huffed.

"Look, pinky. Don't try to act like you're my friend."

"Oh, don't worry Lightning Crotch...I wouldn't dream of it," Natsu dragged out, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Don't call me that!" Laxus snarled, stalking away with Lucy tucked away in his arms. He thought about bringing her to a patient room but decided against it. He knew she would be angry if she woke up in the bleak room, that reeked of cleaning chemicals.

He quietly approached Erza and gently set Lucy down beside the scarlet haired woman. She looked up at him with curiosity, since Laxus had speed traveled all the way over to them just to make sure Natsu wouldn't touch Lucy.

"Make sure Natsu doesn't touch her," He said to Erza, before gliding away quickly.

Erza quirked an eyebrow but didn't question it. She laid Lucy's head on her lap softly.

"Our last tag team battle is...Natsu Dragneel and Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail vs. Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth!"

Laxus sighed, while Natsu grinned with excitement. Laxus stalks down the stairs, his eyes downcast. For once, he wasn't in a fighting mood.

"I'd like to make a bet..." Sting said once both Natsu and Laxus were in the arena.

"What do you have in mind?" Laxus inquired.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time..."

"The winner of this battle gets Lucy. If we win, she joins Sabertooth. If you win, I'll stop asking her to ditch your asses, and she'll stay in Fairy Tail," Sting stated.

Natsu glared at him, not knowing Sting had been trying to get Lucy to quit Fairy Tail. Laxus was just as peeved, if not more.

"Deal," Natsu said, a scowl pulling at his features.

Erza shook Lucy awake. Lucy blinked her eyes furiously and swiftly wiped away the drop of drool that was dribbling down her chin.

"Wha-?" She murmured before Erza interrupted her.

"Laxus and Natsu are fighting Sting and Rogue...just thought you'd want to watch this fight," Erza stated, watching Lucy perk up with barely concealed excitement. Erza smiled and leaned against the railing diligently.

Lucy watched intently, her big brown and blue eyes locked on the fight. She was oblivious to what their bet was, or why they were so hostile to each other during the fight, but she felt as if it didn't matter.

Natsu and Laxus would win...no matter how much they hated each other, they still were an unstoppable team. They would come through...

***************************************************

Lucy stared in the mirror, not sure why she was sparing time to look at herself. Even though she saw herself...she didn't at the same time.

Sure, the girl in the reflection had her long, golden hair, and her shocking blue and brown orbs, that seemed to stun everyone. She traced the scar running through her eye, and couldn't help but find it ugly. Lucy had plenty of scars, some new, and some old. Different missions and different mages could cause marks on her once flawless skin. She had a scar on her shoulder, that was from a mage's bomb magic. And one on her stomach, that was about the length of two paper clips. And there were many more.

Lucy got dressed in a blue miniskirt, and her blue and white blouse....her old outfit. She stared at the image, a feeling of nostalgia washing over her. She carefully tied a section of her blonde hair in a ponytail with her blue ribbon and smiled at her reflection. 

She missed being so innocent...so naive and pure. She was unaware before, and ignorant of the real evil in the world. She hadn't faced real pain. At the time, she had thought her mother's death, and her father's neglect was painful...but Lucy now knew, things could get a lot worse.

She had lived through so much, and had met so many people that she cared deeply for. But...sometimes, she could admit that she wasn't happy. The more evil side of her, the more hateful side, would sometimes question why she was even friends with anyone in Fairy Tail. Lucy always ignored it, her mind set on forgiving everyone for their mistakes.

But...it was so hard! She just couldn't...it was nearly impossible to totally forget what happened to her. It was like an open would, that had just been stitched up...it was still tender, and vulnerable.

"Lucy!" Lucy looked up from what she was doing, to see Natsu running towards her. When he saw her, his smile disappeared, and his eyes clouded over with what she assumed was nostalgia. 

Natsu felt sorrow at seeing the outfit Lucy was wearing. 

"Uh...what is it Natsu?" She questioned, uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Oh yeah! Since we won the fight earlier, we're celebrating! Come on! Laxus and I have to talk to you....!"

Lucy smiled and nodded. Natsu waltzed out of the room. Lucy took off her clothes carefully and slid into her usual black shorts and a teal tank top. She gently folded her old outfit and smiled at it tenderly.

She placed it back in the box she had taken it from and placed it back in her requip space.

She headed downstairs, taking a deep breath. No matter how much they had hurt her, she would never hurt them back. She wasn't that kind of person...No matter what, Fairy Tail was her home. She didn't have anywhere else, and she belonged in Fairy Tail. 

'Sabertooth' Lucy heard a voice whisper in her head. She shook the thought away with uneasiness. She...didn't belong there...she didn't. Did she? No! Fairy Tail was her family.

She made it down to the bar, where everyone was partying over the days' success. She smiled at her friends. Jellal and Erza were sitting together, both blushing profusely. She laughed at their adorable faces. Gray was with Juvia, who was draped over his arm in bliss. Wendy and the exceeds sat together with Gajeel and Levy.

Mirajane and Laxus were conversing in the corner, and Lisanna and Natsu were next to them. 

Lucy watched Mira and Laxus, with something akin to envy...maybe she was wrong. Maybe, she didn't belong here...Would everyone be better off without her?

Lucy made her way to a seat in the far corner of the bar. What if she didn't belong here...? She was feeling unsure, and couldn't seem to rid her mind of the image of Laxus and Mira laughing that seemed to be imprinted into her brain.

She clenched her eyes closed and tried to block out everything around her.

'Laxus said he loves you!' A voice yelled in her mind, and she nodded. He had said that...but did he really mean it? The last time a man had confessed their love to her, he had gone off to play tonsil tennis with her enemy. 

"Lucy!" She looked up in a flash and nearly cried at the sight. Laxus had spotted her, and had bought her, one of her favorite drinks (a vanilla milkshake), and was making his way over to her.

"Here," He said handing it to her. She took the glass gratefully and slurped from the magenta straw carefully. A smile graced her lips as she remembered all the times she used to drink these with Laxus.

"I noticed you finally came down. I've been missing you all night...next time try not to keep me waiting. I almost killed flame head and stripper."

Lucy giggled, her whole aura lightening with pure joy. She had been right all along...she belonged in Fairy Tail. It was her home! She belonged here, with Laxus. How could she ever think otherwise? She had made up her mind. She would tell Laxus about how she felt...and she'd do it soon.