Forgotten Memories (A Gajevy Fanfic)

The Expected Encounter

Next door to Levy's house lived her best friend, Lucy. She had stayed by her friend's side throughout her entire pregnancy and helped Levy raise her children. Her house was much smaller, but she also did not have two teenagers living with her. She had a small garden she tended to when she was not tagging along on jobs with Levy and the twins. The day her neighbors returned from their job, she was weeding her flowerbed when a small black panther exceed approached to ask her about the S-class job that had been his reason for visiting the village.

"Good afternoon, Miss," a deep voice bellowed from behind Lucy, causing the woman to stiffen in surprise. "My name is Patherlily, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about this S-class job my partner and I picked up at our guild. We'd like to get more information from the client before heading out, but there isn't much information on who the client is." She knew this voice. Tears began to fill her eyes as she turned to see its owner, whose attention was glued to a unrolled scroll of parchment.

"Lily... You guys finally came!" Lucy lunged at the cat and buried him into her chest.

"Lucy?! But... We all thought you were dead!" Lily exclaimed as he struggled against her hold.

"Did you come here with Gajeel? It is essential that you did," Lucy, ignoring Lily's words, suddenly became serious and put Lily back down. Now was not the time for a joyful reunion.

"Yes, he's here. He's in town right now picking up necessary supplies," Lily replied with a suspicious expression. "What happened to you, Lucy? And why is it so important for Gajeel to be here, too?"

"Well... It's a bit of a long story, and I'm honestly not sure where to begin..." Lucy hesitated. Her excitement to see her old guild mate had jumbled her thoughts.

"How about telling me what happened to you and Levy? Is she alive, too?" Lily offered patiently as he crossed his paws in front of his chest, waiting for the full story.

Lucy nodded. That was definitely a good place to start. "Yes, she's alive, too. I'll give you the short version of it for now. We got into a terrible accident during our job from the guild. We lost our memories of Fairy Tail completely for ages. Levy still hasn't gotten her memories back. I had a nasty spill and bang my head nearly a year ago, and it all came flooding back to me.

That's why you guys are here now! I didn't want to tell Levy directly. I mean, she's happy here. I don't want to just throw all these unfamiliar memories at her and drag her back to the guild. That would put too much strain on her. Instead, I decided to send an S-class job request to Fairy Tail in hopes that you and Gajeel would take the bait, and it worked!"

Lily took a moment to absorb Lucy's rushed explanation. He looked at her desperate expression and decided to consult with his partner before proceeding.

"Wait here. I'll get Gajeel and -"

"No! Hold on! Don't tell Gajeel! I don't want him to know yet. It has to be natural when he sees her," Lucy pleaded.

"Well, we've been in town for a couple of days now, and there's no S-class monster to slay. We don't have the funds to stay at our lodging much longer," Lily explained. "I think it's better if we take you two back with us sooner rather than later."

"Stay just a few more days, please? I've got this all planned out," Lucy pleaded more. "Gajeel's getting supplies, right? So it's safe to assume that he'll be heading to the blacksmith shop for some rations?"

"Yes, Gajeel mentioned needing to replenish his bags," Lily confirmed, unsure of Lucy's train of thought. Why did that matter?

"Perfect! He'll meet Shutora. Knowing her, she'll figure it out. I just need to trust her, now," she smirked to herself. Her plan was falling into place.