User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 457: Naked Battle, Review./@comment-95.51.118.58-20151019180255/@comment-1776824-20151020010517

But Fairy Tail is Lucy's home. Unlike the other kids who lost their parents at a younger age, Lucy grew up with a family and was neglected; she never really had a parent that showed her affection from a young age onward, and when she ran away from home, she found people who actually cared about her, and she found solace and joy in being around people who outwardly gave a shit about her. And when she cut her father off, she effectively removed any leftover aspects of her old life from her being and resolved to simply depending on Fairy Tail. After Tenrou Island, when Lucy came back and she found out her father died and that he actually just blew total ass at expressing how he felt towards his daughter, she realized that she truly was alone...except for Fairy Tail. These people are all people Lucy can relate to, and she lost everything in her life rather later on compared to everyone else. Lucy more than anyone else was probably the most shaken because to her, her only other family was gone, hence why she spent a year gathering info on where they all went: those she loved and accepted, and those that accepted her for her effectively vanished; so when they all came back together and said, "Welcome home, Lucy," what was she supposed to do? Say, "K thanks?" Lucy got back her surrogate family and re-established all the bonds that have given her the resolve to stand on her feet and be proud of being Lucy Heartfilia.

Lucy is more complex a character than you give her credit for, anon... I would've been more curious if Lucy didn't cry when FT was brought back. :/