#also nalu for once
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metriawaves · 2 years ago
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everything is for you, for you fairy tail op theme 23 - power of the dream
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celestialulu · 1 year ago
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Yknow what I really enjoyed the weird celestial spirit arc where they went crazy because Natsu was obsessed with making Lucy happy in that arc
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katebeckets · 8 months ago
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Letters N-A-L-U lol
hmm, weird letters 🤨 also i'm starting to think i should make rules to make this easier LOL
N
No Day But Today — Idina Menzel (specifically the Barefoot at the Symphony version)
New Mexico Sunrise — Kate Vogel
The Next Right Thing — Kristen Bell
The Next Ten Minutes — Anna Kendrick & Jeremy Jordan
Nobody's Side — Idina Menzel
A
I am going to assume that anyone following me knows that All Too Well (10 Minute Version) or All Too Well (2012) are always a given to make it easier on myself lol
august — Taylor Swift
Anywhere But Here — Safetysuit
Always Starting Over — Idina Menzel
Ashes and Wine — A Fine Frenzy
As Long As You're Mine — Idina Menzel & Norbert Leo Butz
L
omg does anyone call you Lulu because I want to put Lulu's Pie Song on here lmao
Love That Lets Go — Miley Cyrus (suuuuuch a deep cut LOL)
Let It Go — Idina Menzel (it had to be there)
La vie en Rose — Cristin Milioti
Long Live — Taylor Swift
Lonely Love — Alison Sudol
U
Unwell — Matchbox Twenty
Uneven Odds — Sleeping At Last
Underneath a Beating Heart — Rosi Golan
Untouchable — Taylor Swift
Unashamed — Starfield (my childhood jumping out here lmao)
send me a letter and I’ll tell you my top 5 songs!
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power-to-live · 6 months ago
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FT SHIPS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE TROPES
(that nobody asked for)
• NaLu- besties to luverss
i actually do think both of them think like this:
Man, i do like Natsu/Lucy. But i dont think he/she feels the same.
....BRO-
•JeRza-
childhood friends to lovers OR right person wrong time...
Kinda both.. cuz they liked each other when they were young, so childhood friends, but then.. jellal was ykyk by ultear and it was right person wrong time.. same situation in tower or heaven
•Gajevy- grumpy × sunshine
Levy is js a ball of happiness well gajeel is.... nonchalant... yeahh lets js say that...
But be fr, the do be the least hated couple- LIKE WHO CAN HATE THEM???...
•ElfGreen-
Fake dating then actually fell inlove
ITS TRUE THO-
in tenrou they beat mira cuz they told her they were dating😭
And in GMG they also kinda fell.....
Last vut def not least,
•GRUVIAAA-
earlier in the series it would be one-sided love, buttt in 1hyq, ITS SHE FELL FIRST BUT HE FELL HARDER,😭😭 once it gets animated istg i will not stop editing them🫶🫶
Tysm if you made it this far and stay delulu🫶
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patentedsun · 7 months ago
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You guys I'm actually crying over chapter 204.5 (which is technically an ad for a certain company we're all boycotting btw) but ignoring the actual ad THE STORYLINE WAS SO??? GOOD???? the Natsu characterization in this was INCREDIBLE (be prepared for intense 100yq hatred) and it portrayed exactly why I fell in love with nalu in the first place....
Summary and analysis below (doesn't incl all the pages btw!!)
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We start off with Lucy finding Natsu and Happy at her place, as always.
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this is followed by him being like "do you think we'll peek or something" which... 100yq natsu would have... that IMPOSTER...
Anyways while she's taking a bath, Natsu and Happy are browsing around Lucy's room and find a book that stands out. (Btw right next to this book is her diary, 100yq natsu would've gone straight for that). However they end up accidentally destroying it and start panicking. They ask Lucy if they can "borrow it" and Lucy panics at first, saying it's precious and not to touch it, but relents when they say they found it "interesting".
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fast forward, we see them worn out after trying and failing to find a replacement copy. ONCE AGAIN, they're doing this because it's something precious to LUCY. Not because they care about reading, or because the book has any value to them, but because they understand it's important to HER. Natsu (and Happy) going the extra mile for things that are important to Lucy is SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART of their entire dynamic.
continuing, Lucy walks into the guild and asks how they're finding the book, they say it's interesting. Lucy gets SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS and starts talking non stop ab the book. Happy asks her why this book is so important to her and...
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Y I K E S.
So yeah, they ultimately decide that lying isn't it and they should apologize upfront.
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this is so beautiful to me, idk like the imagery of them bowing so sincerely is so.... and like wow MASHIMA seems like natsu IS capable of acknowledging his own wrongdoings and offering genuine apologies. I'm not even talking ab the whole post tartaros situation no, I'm talking about fucking 100yq, where natsu actually physically hurts Lucy and doesn't apologize for it (AND IN FACT ITS PLAYED FOR A GAG)(IMPOSTER!!! NOT MY NATSU!!!)
Soooo Lucy doesn't take it well and runs away.
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the fact that they didn't stop their search here. the fact that they EXPANDED it to other towns to try and find her the book THIS IS JUST <3333
Anyways, Lucy returns and reveals dozens of copies of the book...
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My heart actually broke for her here because as someone who ig creates stuff as well, it really can be painful to have no audience interaction. And to have a book you wrote bomb like that...ouch... and of course she would've been excited, her best friends told her they found it interesting!!! my HEART. OUCH. and the sheer guilt on Natsu and Happy's faces here 😭 Once again, 100yq would've played this off for a gag...
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And they all start bawling (and the ad comes in so I will stop there) but YEAH. THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL??? The way she's regretful too, the way they're still trying to apologize and make her feel better I'm :(. This is what makes nalu work and it feels like mashima is forgetting that ab his own work... they're both genuinely good and kind to each other... like not to get sidetracked but there has always been goofy fanservice moments but there were also so many wonderful, emotional, complex scenes with them with depth and maturity and I just feel like that's lacking now. So reading this was like getting punched in the face srsly because wow... THIS is the natsu I know and love ugh .....
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lulushults · 14 days ago
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as a nalu stan through and through its really starting to piss me off now that literally every single couple is getting development BUT nalu.
every single ship is getting constant scenes to show they either are already together, gajevy, and how theyre thriving. or how other ships, jerza and gruvia, are starting to realise their feelings and are slowly becoming more than friends.
nalu has for sure been the ship the fandom has been obsessed with the longest, and on top of that its also one of if not the most desired ship in the entire show, so why is it that we’re living off of small looks between eachother or one saying the others name or vise versa. i understand natsu and lucy are the two characters that are the most dense with their feelings and love in general. but like…cmon.
surely its about time the two of them start to understand how they feel. even just slightly. we havent had any real nalu moments since what? like the beginning of the 100 yrs quest with the hug after natsu loses control.
one of the main reasons i love ft so much is FOR nalu and their relationship. my patience is really starting to grow thinner and thinner every time a new chapter is released or a new arc is finished and every other couple has development while nalu has none.
its clear hiro wants nalu to be his final send off, but can he atleast not begin their development sooner than later. i cant express how disappointed me and half of the nalu fandom will be if they both dont come together until the final chapter EVER of the series while every other couple has moments upon moments under their belt to celebrate once the show is done. while we nalu fans have countless of moments from the main show, and about? 3? from the spin off.
idk i hope im not the only one starting to get really fed up, im happy for jerza, gruvia and even gajevy shippers for seeing their couples finally come together. im a hard gajevy and gruvia shipper myself, it just sucks that atm im having to pretty much survive on only gajevy and gruvia and have to p much act like nalu doesnt exist because..theres literally nothing to give us hope anymore.
not to mention the nalu fandom is DYING out because of this, theres less fanfic, less fanart, less headcannons, less everything because theres nothing for us to hope about anymore. trust me i’ll be heartbroken if nalu doesnt end up becoming real. but its hard to believe it is when hiro is giving little to no attention to them anymore.
i hope im not the only one thinking like this because it realllly sucks🤷‍♀️
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bubblez-bubble · 3 months ago
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If I could I would like to talk about the very second "nalu moment" in the series that takes place in episode 2. (The first I would like to believe is him telling her he's taking her to fairy tail.)
But this moment...
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This was a major nalu moment for 2 reasons, 1 way more obvious than the other.
So let's start with the obvious.
First of all, for those who haven't made it to the grand magic games arc for any reason...
MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!
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This is how Natsu remembered this moment. Which automatically gives it points for NaLu.
If you recall, towards the end of the grand magic games arc when the dragons attacked, Lucy was targeted by future rogue. Future Lucy, however, used her body as a shield and saved present Lucy's life. We then find out that the way we initially thought Natsu would remember the moment she officially joined was not how he remembered it at all, but instead remembered it as what seems to have been one of his core Lucy memories.
But I have a theory as well.
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Here we can see that Lucy's favorite colors are pink and blue. However, unlike everyone else in the guild. Her outfit nor hair even once match her guild mark (with the exception of pajamas). Gray usually wears black pants to match his, erza wears a blue skirt to match hers, wendy wears blue in every outfit to match hers, and even natsu at least once wore red to match his, which if I'm being honest the color of his guild mark could have more to do with igneel seeing as his scales are red, but that's a totally different topic for another time. But lucy primarily wears blue and white. Neither of which is the color of her guild mark.
Why is this important?
As you may have guessed it has to do with my personal theory.
Does anyone remember how excited she was to show her guild mark to Natsu specifically? The moment she had it she ran to him to show him without hesitation.
I promise there's a reason for all these points.
Well my personal theory has to do with her guild mark, if that wasn't obvious already.
Again several times with everyone else in the guild we see them wear outfits to match their guild marks, but the only outfit lucy has ever matched with her guild mark was her pajamas.
So why did she choose a pink guild mark?
My theory is...
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Because it matches Natsu's hair!
He was the first one she wanted to show her guild mark to.
He was the one that brought her to fairy tail.
AND he saved her from bora and his men!
To me, this was her way of showing her appreciation for Natsu.
And to me this also ties in with the "natsus core memory" bit.
Another headcanon is he remembered this because this moment touched him. He was the first person she wanted to show and her guild mark is the same color as his hair. To him, seeing her guild mark for the first time could've meant the world to him. But they just met so he couldn't let her know that.
It's just my personal little theory/head-canon. But it's still so cute none the less to think that this might be a possibility.
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octorockff · 3 months ago
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So I’ve a couple of spicy Nalu prompts that I’m dying to write, but was just too lazy to flex out fully.
So imma dump some snippets here until I feel motivated enough to write lol.
**nsfw underneath**
***
Dragon-Demon!Natsu x Witch!Lucy - Accidental Aphrodisiac
“Something felt inexplicably wrong when she gulped down her newest testing brew.
Was truth serum supposed to make your body tingle all over and your nerves felt like they were on fire?
Lucy truly didn't know and had no time to think when a raucous heat suddenly flared up from the bottom of her belly, coaxing through her veins like wildfire, and pushing against her skin so adamantly that the slightest touch would have make her burst at the seam.
Just as she thought the flaring heat was a side effect from the fire lilies powder, an ingredient notoriously known for raking up travellers' body temperature when hiking through icy climate, mixed in the potion earlier, her theory was proven wrong when zaps of electric tingles sporadically shot through her nerves, bringing the blonde to her knees in quick succession.
The unbearable heat now concentrated within the pit of her lower belly, pressing against her nether regions insistently, which made slicks pooled and trailed down the curves of her inner thighs, much to the young witch's mortification. The cotton fabric of her once innocent dress also rubbed tortuously against her gradually pebbled protruded buds, shooting more pleasurable tingles down to her wet pulsing heat.
Hastily shedding off her dress and undergarment, Lucy moaned in relief as the cool air nibbled her bare form, momentarily clearing her dizzy head enough to move and crash onto the bed.
But that brief relief swiftly bit the dust when spasms of tingling pleasure once again assaulted her high-strung nerves, making her sensitive peaks hardened to the point of pain and more slick gushing out of her twitching private, gradually wetting the sheet.
Somewhere in the back of her delirious brain, a tiny part that was still coherent enough, pointed out that she may have mistakenly laced an aphrodisiac indulgent ingredient into her truth serum, a rookie mistake that would soon gravely cost her pride.
The issue wasn’t just that she was feeling horny. No, the real, big elephant-size of a problem was that she was feeling horny, and wouldn’t be able to lie her way out to save her face, courtesy to the potion effects.
Just freaking great. Can this get any worse?”
“Saliva dripped down his chin as his nose flare up to take in the wonderful, mouthwatering scent permeated the air when he parted Lucy’s luscious thighs.
“Fuck, do you have any idea how delicious you smell right now Lucy?” A salacious grin stretched widely on the dragon’s face at the blonde’s hesitant shaking “You smell like a goddamn feast that attracts every hungry fuckers out there to come and have a taste, even more enticing that you’re ovulating.”
“What?! You can smell that I’m ovulating? How?!” Blood rushed to her cheeks and Lucy was sure she couldn’t get any impossibly redder, ignoring that she was buck naked underneath Natsu’s towering form, his callous heated hand splaying her thighs opened for greedy slanted eyes to see, and more focusing on the fact that her privacy was preached.
“Tsk tsk. Didn’t peg you as such a forgetful person little miss witch, but I’m a dragon-demon remembered? We possessed a far superior senses than those of you mere human” The demon leaned closer to her face, his hands making themselves known by stroking the plush milky skin of her underthighs, precariously closed to her twitching dripping core. Scaly dragon tail wrapped around the small of her waist, preventing her from escaping his voracious, heated stare and the impish smirk stretched wide on his cocky, handsome face.
“Not just that, I can smell your arousal from miles away. Such potent scent that made me wanted to kill every bastard who dared to take a whiff of it. Tell me Lucy, is it all for me?” Her breath hitched as she watched those usual expressive hazel eyes taken on a red tinge, slitted pupils blown wide, and long tongue darted out to swipe suggestively across his supple lips.
Natsu watched in rapture as the blonde witch’s curvaceous body underneath him gave an involuntary shudder, her heart pounding rapidly at his possessive words. Though he could see that she undeniably wanted to deny the question, the way her rosy tips perked up even harder, scant inches from rubbing deliciously against his broad chest, and the imperceptible squelching sound of her wet wall clenching, producing even more of those delicious nectar, betrayed her entirely.
Oh, she was more than attracted to him alright. Had been for a while now, and he had to physically restrain himself from pouncing upon her oblivious form every time she pranced around in that tiny, tight-fitted black dress, while emitting those mouthwatering Lucy-eques smell whenever she threw glances at him which she thought he didn’t notice.
Natsu had been biding his time, waiting for his pretty little witch to stop being in denial and admitted her feelings for him. But she was too stubborn for her own good, and he was this close to jump upon and shoved his feelings onto her, his only restraint was the thought of scaring her away and leaving him heartbroken without his mate.
And seeing such a good opportunity like this fell on his laps out of nowhere, he would be fucking stupid to pass this up when her mind was being as honest as her body. If accidentally seeing her pleasuring herself and unraveling beautifully with his name screaming to the high heaven didn’t do it, hearing her admitted her desire for him would further cement his resolve to claim her cute perky ass.
“Yes..It’s all because of you Natsu. I-I’ve had feelings you for a while now.” Lucy couldn’t look at the zealous man hovering above her as words spilled out of her lips without restraint. Cursed the truth serum for pulling out all the hidden feelings for the demon-dragon which she had tucked away in the depth of her heart.
Falling for the mythical being she accidentally summoned during one of her practice was not within her intention. But who could blame her when he seemed to be the only living being who was constantly around, though solely because of his biding to the summoner, and gradually befriended the lonely witch living secludedly from civilization.
It’s also not fair when Natsu was sporting such wild, devilishly handsome look. From his strong, sharply jawline to the chiseled body and steeled abs he often liked to flaunt around in his open-flapped vest. Wasn’t demons supposed to be all gnarly looking like the stories her Mama used to scare her to sleep?
A hot hand grabbed her chin to pull her head back and Lucy suddenly couldn’t breath at the intense gaze the pinkett was directing at her, a myriad of emotions - satisfaction, adoration and lust, flashed through his red tinged hazel eyes as his chest rumbled with a loud purr.
“Good girl. That wasn’t so hard to admit right?” His thumb stroking her cheek affectionately, the action contradict with the predatory gaze he set upon her, looking like he wanted to devour her whole. “And do you know what a good girl get? A reward.”
His words punctured as a lone thick finger pushed into her tight wall till the knuckle, making Lucy gasp for air at the sudden intrusion into her fluttering channel.
“Ahh..!” God, his finger was so much thicker and reaching deeper than her measly fingers could ever do, pulling a high-pitched mewl from her lips as she wound her arms tightly around his neck.
“Damn. Just a finger in and you’re already squeezing like crazy Luce. You sure you didn’t play with yourself enough earlier?” Natsu kissed and nibbled her red-tinted ears, thoroughly enjoying himself at her sensitive and responsive reactions to his crude words, heightened further by the potion effect.
“I’m gonna prepare you throughly, stretching you wide open enough to feed you all of me. And I promise ya, by the end of this, your thoughts would be filled with nothing but me and only me, my beautiful little witch.”
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fluffypotatey · 3 months ago
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To be honest I am a huge Nalu shipper. But the thing is I want to know the difference between the way Natsu cares about his guildmates and Lucy. Like what is the obvious difference since that boy sees every as Nakama so how can we say that the wag he cares about Lucy is different?
Like even when Erza passed away? (All the way back in first season there was a segment where the guild was gathered at her grave and all) Natsu was still very reactive. Plus he was also said to be depressed even when Lisanna passed.
What's the difference between all of them and Lucy?
the fact that he stayed. the fact that before he met Lucy, Natsu wasn't one to stay in a group or even want to work with anyone besides Happy at the start of the story. hell, he was ready to just file Lucy down as "New Guildmate" once they reached Fairy Tail
but then, Lucy doesn't leave. she follows him on his mission to save Macao despite her not needing to or even really understanding everything about it. she stays and then fights with him and saves him. it's no secret that Natsu is strong and can take care of himself really well. he's been going on solo missions for years now, and no one has really stopped him, but that means he's been in a lot of sticky situations where he and Happy are on their own and have no backup. and yet, without asking, Lucy offers it
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and i think this is the moment when Natsu considers that maybe it's okay to have someone there to have his back (sans Happy)
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"but Natsu only needed Lucy for the next quest because of the requirements," well, Natsu also wouldn't have taken or even considered that quest if it weren't for Lucy, yeah? he was not a team player (in the picking job's sense) or really wanted other people to help him on his quests sans Happy. and then he goes and picks a job that caters to their team whilst ensuring that Lucy can't say no
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or maybe i'm reading too much into it 🤷🏻‍♀️
or maybe Natsu's got horrible abandonment issues that he will latch onto people so fast (Igneel & Lisanna) but also cause him to distance himself so far when left behind (his 1st time at the guild, Lisanna's death). Erza and Gray are Natsu's closet friends after Lisanna and yet they cannot reach him when he closes himself off. and then we have Lucy, who stuck by and had his back, so who is to say Natsu didn't make some contingencies to ensure whether or not she'd join him?
but maybe it's the rose, colored ship glasses i have on
because yeah, Natsu cares for all of his guildmates. the power of friendship is his biggest motivator. when we meet Natsu, our first introductions of him is defending his guild's reputation from Bora (who was using it as a guise for human trafficking) and saving Macao. and our 1st big arc (Galuna Island), where Natsu adamantly refuses to allow Gray to use Ice Shell and sacrifice himself despite how antagonistic they've been to each other. we get Natsu 100% at Erza's defense throughout the Tower of Heaven and he is even ready to defend Wendy though they only met hours ago
Natsu is a character with a bleeding heart and cannot help but wear it on his sleeve, but we don't really see him allow others to fight his battles or have his back until Lucy comes in. to be honest, i don't even think he had his heart on his sleeve until Lucy. he still has a bleeding heart (i don't think anything could stop that), but he was not ready to be open in receiving company because he was so used to it being ripped away from him
that being said: of all the characters he interacts with, he finds Lucy to be someone compatible enough for him to start going on team missions and inviting her on them (for example, his 1st S-class mission, which he stole, he went to her house to show it to her. the fact that part of the reward was a celestial key might be a coincidence, but i wouldn't doubt it as Natsu and Happy's trump card in case she refused)
but yeah, the difference is that he stayed and didn't push her away at the beginning, but instead continued to invite her along with him to the point that doing a mission without Lucy wasn't his regular anymore. compared to the rest of the guild, of whom he spent most of his childhood with, even if he spoke to no one, they would still be around and talk to him anyway. he might not invite them on job and only challenge them to fights, but the guild is his home and a constant in his life, a constant he needs (bc heavy abandonment issues).
"okay, but he still pushed her away after he watched Igneel die right in front of him. and he left the guild for a whole year, too. so what's the difference there?" you may ask.
so 1) Natsu never thought the guild would disband. he returns to Fiore after a year and is the last to know that they disbanded. he assumed, like all the other times before and while he and others were sealed for 7 years, that Fairy Tail would still be there when he returned. he assumed that his disappearance would not impact so hard because the guild would still be around and Lucy would have the others with her
which, did not happen :)
and like, so many guild members go off on jobs, quests, or even just leave for an indiscriminate amount of time (which i, personally, believe was his rationality for leaving), so him being gone for a year was nothing! right? no harm, eh? his plan was never to be gone forever :))))
2) he just watched his father die and lose any chance of having some semblance of a long term reunion with Igneel. he literally lost one of his main driving motivations for getting stronger and taking jobs. before Fairy Tail, before anyone, it was Igneel. and to learn that a) Igneel was always with him to begin with and b) he only got to see him for less than a day after 14 years of nothing......i would feel lost too ngl
man's needed space from everybody. and he also needed comfort, but Natsu has been shown not to really be the character who asks to receive comfort (and when he does receive it, it's usually when he's already emotionally compromised). he is in the habit of shutting people out after being abandoned or losing someone close to him, with his next rationale being to "get stronger" in order to prevent what happened in the past to ever happen in the future.
anyway
what makes this different? well for one, he sent the letter only to Lucy (or it's implied since no one else is shown getting one) because of how the two spend most of their time together. even the line that goes with the panel makes it sound like Natsu is unsure on how the note will be received (maybe even hesitant? but that could be my own hopes)
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and one of the 1st people he reunites with after a year is Lucy and we get such a similar parallel to the first chapter of Fairy Tail between the two as if the narrative itself is slotting them together to say "ah yes, now everything is back to normal and new journeys can begin"
but yeah, this is just a long way of saying, that Natsu does love his friends and guildmates but even when he is close to them, he kept to himself (and Happy) and sort of stayed in their orbit but always with some emotional distance because of his fear of abandonment. and then you have Lucy where he will stay for and allow her to orbit around him and he will invite to new adventures no questions asked
that's the difference
#this is 100% unrelated but reading the older chapters had me realize how Cana's hair is a lot curlier than in the anime#my girlie's waves got straightened T^T and they were so gorgeous too#also love the translator's notes at the end of each volume <3#fill me with so much joy and why they chose to go in what direction for each translation#this post is longer than i thought oops#like i was gonna leave it at 'bc Natsu stayed for her' and then be done#but no i can't just leave it there and not back it up#also me saying Natsu stayed for Lucy is not me trying to undermine his other relationships in the guild#Natsu's bonds with Fairy Tail are the very core of this story so to say that he loved any of his guildmates less would not be right#his love for Lucy is different#it started the same but shifted as the arcs progressed#his priorities with her are different than they are with his friends and guildmates despite being on a fairly even level#fun fact! i started writing this 6 hours ago. had class. got distracted w/ old ft plot while searching for manga panels. and now we're here#btw: this is not excusing Natsu's act of leaving without so much of a warning. this is just explaining his personal rationale and emotions.#ofc Lucy was right to feel upset and betrayed for being left behind by Natsu and then to be alone bc the guild disbanded. i would too!#but we aren't talking about that. we're talking about what makes Natsu's feelings for Lucy different from the rest of the guild#also sorry i got a little lazy with the manga panels after the first couple T^T and mayhaps distracted (rereading Igneel's death is sO fun!#fairy tail#natsu dragneel#nalu#fairy tail nalu#ft meta#also like how natsu loves is very open and through action#no matter whether its familial or platonic or romantic#how he shows it is the same fierce protectiveness and attentiveness#personally i see natsu's love being in equal fervor for all. none really trump over the other. they're just different
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bumblebeehug · 2 months ago
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Some of their own
Summary: Babysitting and a bit of reflection of a past encounter is just the kick Natsu needs to get started on thinking about his future. Notes: At the end. Nalu Week 2023 day 7. Prompt: New Adventures. Ao3
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For being a mom of three kids, Levy was weirdly calm. Lucy realised that as she spent time with her friend: she was rusty at the beginning, sure, she had two newborns to take care of and she was completely new to everything, but she had a very involved, very loving father to the children, and also what many people didn’t always consider to incorporate – a community that helped her whenever she asked. This community included, but was not limited to, the guild.
Currently, she and Lucy sat and enjoyed their lunch together, as Gajeel and Natsu sat one table away. Gajeel was caring for his and Levy’s latest addition to the family, Akane, while Natsu kept Kanetatsu and Kanae entertained. Though they would never admit it, and would absolutely hate to hear it – Natsu and Gajeel worked well as a team. Gajeel had all the actual parenting down, he did well with the fostering and the diapers and feeding, while Natsu had a natural talent when it came to entertaining. His skills shouldn’t be underestimated: to actually engage with the kids and play in a way that keeps the games enjoyable was surprisingly hard. Natsu, however, was a natural. He knew exactly what ideas were perfect for their preferences, Kanetatsu preferring more wilderness games (he was going through an obsession with ancient reptiles) and Kanae loved Natsu’s story-driven games. She preferred to play pretend, that she was on a mission like the ones her mom and dad went on. And of course, Natsu would be the star of the show by narrating it.
Lucy liked watching him with children. Natsu was otherwise the type of guy you’d want to keep away – having a pyromaniac with no sense of safety around a couple of toddlers wasn’t ideal, but his entire demeanour shifted around kids. She had known this for quite some time. Back when they first met she only got to see a sliver of Natsu’s persona around kids, and that was through Romeo. Still, sliver or not, she definitely saw it. A brotherly connection based on safety and trust, not wavering a second as Natsu went to save his dad from the Vulcans. And after the seven years on Tenrou Island, she got to see it again – Natsu creating an environment where Asuka could both play and learn. It wasn’t the ideal day for them to babysit, considering the fact that bandits attacked them, but not only did Natsu put Asuka’s safety first, but he also engaged her to act and help in the ways she could. Though in Lucy’s opinion the danger in that situation was way too close for comfort.
“... And I was thinking we could go check it out tomorrow after lunch?” Lucy’s attention was brought back to Levy, the scene of Natsu and Gajeel and the kids fading back into the background.
“Sorry, check out what?”
Levy smiled knowingly.
“Something other than Natsu for once.” She winked at her. “The new bookstore that opened on the square. I checked their inventory, and they’re gonna sell your book there, so I thought you’d like to say hi to the owners.”
“Oh yeah absolutely! Meet me at 1 by the fountain?” Lucy finished her drink with a sweeping motion. Levy nodded approvingly and then tilted her head.
“Hey, Lucy… Wouldn’t it be nice if you had one?”
Lucy blinked in confusion.
“A bookstore?”
“No,” Levy laughed, “a kid. It’s a lot less diapers than you think – take it from me, I had two at once.”
Lucy felt her cheeks warm up.
“Well I think I’d need someone to have it with, before I start thinking about diapers.” She let out an airy laugh. But she knew that Levy meant with Natsu. And judging by the shifting eyes Lucy could see in her periphery, Natsu was paying attention to their conversation.
“Don’t you think it’s time to start thinking about it though? We always said our kids would be as close as we are, but I’m not sure how many more I can produce before we run out of money here.” Levy giggled, but Lucy knew she was serious. It wasn’t easy being the single friend in a friend group – even harder being a single friend in a mom group.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to adopt if I’m not knocked up within a year,” Lucy joked, now being more or less desperate to steer the conversation away from the topic of babies. She did, however, pay attention to Natsu’s face. Though she only saw it in profile, she knew he had been listening. There was something in his eyes, perhaps the way they didn’t really seem focused on the task ahead of him, that revealed the many thoughts running through his head.
Their current relationship was messy. Too intimate to be friends, too friendly to be lovers. But Lucy knew she wasn’t the only one thinking about them. The last couple of years, Natsu had been more present, more grounded in their conversations. Like he was soaking up everything Lucy said or did, and savoured that information like treasure. Lucy had noticed it, but she knew that not many else had. Levy included. Because in public and at the guild, they were completely normal. Talked about missions, kept their routines, went on team missions with Erza, Wendy and Gray whenever they got the chance (which wasn’t as often nowadays – Gray’s fault, since he rarely went anywhere without Juvia). But behind closed doors they allowed themselves some secret moments. Movie nights cuddling, hugs from behind while the other’s cooking, Natsu fiddling with Lucy’s left hand’s fingers while she was reading (the right hand had to be free so she could turn pages). There were lots of moments like those, but none that could be pinned down and refused in a “I only do that with guys I’m in a relationship with!”-manner.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the cries from Levy’s youngest. As they stirred around, Levy rushing to Gajeel and Akane, Natsu picking up both toddlers on each hip to get them away from knocking over bottles and wet wipes and other miscellaneous items, Lucy found herself drawn to Natsu. She could blame it on wanting to unload him from one of the kids, but they both knew he could manage carrying them both. Lucy should have brought her and Levy’s empty dishes to Mira, to minimise the risk of anything falling down on the floor, but instead she grabbed a handful of toys from the bag Gajeel had packed, and started giving them to Kanetatsu and Kanae, letting them choose from the soft, colourful figurines.
“You want that one?” Lucy asked Kanae, not expecting an answer from her. Kanetatsu had already picked his toy – a boar-like stuffed animal. “How about we go to the library and play? I’ll bring the toys and uncle Natsu will take you downstairs, okay?”
Natsu grinned broadly and started moving towards the stairs, roughhousing them a little to keep their interest. Levy sent Lucy a thankful smile before she went back to focus on the poopy diaper. Lucy took it as approval of the impromptu babysitting and grabbed the bag and a couple of water bottles before hurrying after Natsu and the kids – even if Levy said kids weren’t as stressful as they seemed, Lucy had yet to take her word for it.
In the library, Natsu managed to get both kids to stay on the carpet. Lucy swore she had heard something about the floor being lava, but the kids seemed too calm for that to be true. She quickly sorted out the toys from the actual useful items in the nursery bag and poured them out on the carpet.
“Aunty, play kingdom!” Kanae blubbered and started clearing out a space for the characters to live. Natsu and Kanetatsu swiftly gathered round, eyeing the toys they wanted to use.
“Alright, I’ll be the princess-knight then.” She grabbed the figure of a princess with a big poofy dress. They didn’t actually have a toy that looked like a knight, so this one sufficed once she held a small, toy sword against the plush princess-hand. “Do we want to start from the beginning or pick up where we left it last time?”
When the twins were just 2 years old, Lucy had created a make believe game with medieval themes – knights, princesses, dragons, kings and queens, evil trolls under bridges etc. Ever since, Kanae swore that it was the best game ever, though Lucy knew she preferred watching Natsu’s hot pepper eating contests. Natsu wasn’t actually bothered by the chilies, but he was good at acting out different stages of spice levels. When eating the hottest one he liked setting his tongue on fire, to demonstrate how terrible it was to eat it.
That, however, was beside the point. Even if it wasn’t the absolute best game, the kids still loved it. Natsu did as well, but for other reasons. He was captivated by Lucy’s story telling. All characters in the game were so different – some reminded him of guild mates, some of her spirits, others were more like people they had met briefly on missions. It was like she knew everything about everyone she met, inside out. Their dreams, their past, their reasonings behind certain behaviours. Her ability to read people was beyond great, and that reflected in her books and games. All stories she told, big and small, were taken seriously by her.
“From the beginning!” The little girl almost shouted out her answer, but her brother was quick to protest.
“No, from the part when the dragon eats the troll!”
Lucy held in a sigh. The twins played well together when they were on the same page, but as soon as their opinions didn’t align, their heads would butt together in disagreement. Their fights would often get both loud and violent – it wasn’t hard to figure out which parent had given them that temperament.
Before the twins began their screaming contest, and before Lucy had the opportunity to defuse the situation, Natsu had grabbed the princess-doll in his left hand and the troll in his right and started shouting.
“RAAAH, your fight is pointless, the troll has already taken the princess-knight hostage! Aunt Lucy, what’s gonna happen?” He flailed his arms around to somehow demonstrate the motion of the troll stealing the queen. Lucy sent a quick glance towards Kanae to make sure she wasn’t upset over Natsu picking Kanetatsu’s storyline – with no tears in sight she put on her best storytelling voice and got to work.
“Oh no!” Lucy exclaimed in a light voice. “The troll has taken me and the amazing ninja-wizards are nowhere to be seen!” She was relieved to see the twins scramble together their characters so they could join in – they had accepted the game.
“The two ninja-wizards hurried across the continent as they heard the queen’s cries,” Lucy read in a deeper voice. “They ran through forests, rode over deserts on camels, climbed mountains and jumped over rivers that were over 20 feet wide! And with their amazing speed, they arrived in only fifteen minutes!”
***
Levy waited a moment before making a noise. She had finally gotten Akane back to sleep after cradling her for the last hour. Gajeel was currently on watch, keeping the pram moving, which gave Levy an opportunity to check in on the twins and her two friends watching them.
As she observed her best friend and her pink haired situationship, her heart ached a little. She wanted Lucy to be the happiest version of herself – she wanted all good fortune to reach her, for all her dreams and desires to come true. And she wanted her to experience that one true love. For years, Levy and Lucy had read romance novels that described all kinds of relationships. Enemies to lovers, soulmates, friends to lovers, and all beyond and between. If Levy allowed herself to brag, she would say she won the jackpot. She had found her true love, she had experienced the full story. But in a way, that wasn’t enough for her. Levy took all her relationships seriously, both her familial, romantic and her platonic ones. If a friend of hers was hurting, then so would she. Now, that didn’t mean she thought Lucy was hurting from her relationship with Natsu – the opposite, actually. She was certain that Natsu made Lucy the happiest version of herself, which was only strengthening her resolve to get the pair together soon.
If you asked anyone else about Natsu’s and Lucy’s relationship, they would claim that they were staying out of their business. Levy, however, knew that those people were kidding themselves. Everyone waited for the day they would get together, when Lucy and Natsu finally would release the guild from the tension that had been built up from the constant expectations that lay heavy in the air. It hadn’t passed anyone’s attention that they loved each other. It hadn’t passed anyone on the entire continent – the two of them were meant to be.
Still, somehow their mutual feelings went past each other’s heads. The line between what was friendly and what meant something more had been so blurred that Levy wasn’t even sure if they could tell the distinction. For all she knew, they could have gone all the way, still thinking the other one didn’t love them back. Of course, if they had done that Lucy would have told her. Everything Natsu did eventually went past Levy – unless Lucy promised to keep a secret, she would tell her everything.
***
“Hey there babysitters.” Levy’s voice startled Lucy, who had been caught up trying to storytell herself out of a corner that Natsu had pushed her into. (Being surrounded by wild boars and having no armour, plus the two wizard-ninja-characters being locked up in a cell. Plus, Natsu’s dragon character had surrounded the princess-knight with a wildfire. Surely she could manage to get out of this situation without pulling the saved-by-the-dragon-card…)
“Hey Levy,” Natsu answered, himself not as startled since he had both smelled and heard her standing by the door watching them. “Ya’ got the baby to calm down?”
“Yeah, thanks for your help. Kanetatsu, Kanae, say thank you to aunty for playing with you, it’s time to go home.” Levy crouched down with a smile, catching the kids who charged right at her as soon as she finished her sentence.
“Thanks,” they mumbled in chorus. Levy sent a smile towards Lucy who handed her the bag that contained the toys they had played with.
“Don’t forget, bookstore tomorrow after lunch.”
“I won’t, I’m looking forward to it. Be safe on your way home!” Lucy waved goodbye to her blue haired friend. When she was out of sight, Lucy turned to Natsu, who had been standing right behind her during the parting.
“So, what’s for dinner?” A big grin was plastered on his face as he looked down on her. Their height difference wasn’t very big, but when they stood this close she almost felt like he was towering over her.
“We just had lunch and you’re already thinking about dinner?” Lucy asked, baffled, as she still felt stuffed from her meal.
“Ya’ gotta look forward to life’s pleasures,” Natsu argued. Lucy just scoffed.
“Well I suppose you can pick out dinner tonight, we have to buy groceries anyways. Someone’s been eating all the leftovers I’ve been saving.”
“I don’t get that leftover stuff. How can there be food left from one night of cooking?” Natsu put his arms behind his head. They had started heading home and were just leaving the building, Lucy taking the lead.
“Normally people don’t eat four portions in one go, that’s how.” She looked back at him, slowing her pace so she could walk beside him. “Though I guess I should thank you. I don’t exactly love reheated stuff.”
“Hah,” Natsu laughed curtly, “I know ya’ don’t! That’s why I ate it for ya’!”
“Oh, as if! Don’t act like you did me a favour!” She playfully hit his arm.
The sky was just shifting from blue to orange, making the sun give off a golden shine. Natsu looked good in gold. He looked good in all colours, but Lucy found him especially beautiful, lit up by the sun as if he was one of its rays. His skin had a healthy glow, his brown complexion mingling perfectly with the sunshine. Adding his gorgeous, sculpted profile to the mixture was almost too much for Lucy. Her knees wobbled a little, and she made herself look away before she truly melted.
***
After stopping by the store, the two of them were on their way to Lucy’s apartment. She almost made a mental note of how much money she put out for the food, but reminded herself that Natsu had been the one to pay this time. It was only fair, according to him, but Lucy felt bad either way. Even if he owed her this much, she still wanted to pay for the things in her own fridge. This once, though, she swallowed her pride and let him pay. It was nice to be cared for as well – he was even currently carrying the bags for her.
Natsu loved how independent Lucy was, he really did. However, sometimes he wanted her to be a bit more selfish. Ask for more. She was always the first to offer her seat on a full train, the first to give up her comfort for someone else’s. Even today, Natsu had to argue for five minutes before being allowed to carry both of the bags. He ended up spurting out claims to “need it for passive training” even though he knew it sounded stupid – Lucy couldn’t give up without a fight. Though he reminded himself that that too was a trait he was fond of. Her spirit was unwavering, and that could be quite helpful on missions.
That woman was truly remarkable, he caught himself thinking. He would have blushed, but thankfully it wasn’t as visible on his tanned skin. Besides, as a fire wielding mage, being bothered by having a hot face would have been quite silly. But the truth remained – he was completely smitten by his friend. Always catching himself in a longing gaze, following her movements and being at her beck and call if anything were to happen. It was as if his senses had tuned in with her existence. If she smelled differently, or if her smell faded, Natsu was the first to know. If she was shivering, he felt himself drawn to her like a magnet, like he had to fulfil his job of warming her up. If she made a sound, Natsu tuned out all other sounds. He didn’t even do this consciously – it was just part of life.
He recalled the day they had. He woke up with Lucy in his arms, ate breakfast with her, washed up in her bathroom and went to the guild with her. He spent the entire day in her vicinity, hanging out with the mates she hung out with, eating beside her, having a midday nap with his head in her lap, and then the babysitting. How he loved to hear her voice, no matter the things she was saying – the chirpy, singing tune that felt as natural to his ears as the sound of birdsong. Calming even, with a soothing effect on his mind. The fact that the voice was telling elaborate stories of ninja-heroes with magic powers and villains that could create volcanic eruptions out of nowhere was only a small detail – the content of her words barely mattered as long as he could hear her speak.
After getting released from babysitting duties, the two of them had continued to spend the day together. The trip to the grocery store wasn’t exactly exciting on its own – there was uncooked food and bright ceiling lights, none of them things that Natsu spent his day longing for. However, within this unappealing territory, a secret hid. The actual content of the store never became any more appealing, but walking along the aisles with Lucy was like entering a different world. A world where the two of them could stay together like this always, doing small, mundane tasks and still feeling fulfilled. In this world Lucy would ask about toothpaste preference, what type of coffee he wanted to have in the morning, despite her not drinking coffee, and she’d tell him off for only picking snacks that fit his own tastes. But he wouldn’t mind a little scolding, because at the end of the day, it was the fact that they were shopping together that made things special. She was making small changes in her kitchen so he could feel at home – that’s the world he never wanted to leave.
Currently, Lucy was patting down her pockets in search of her apartment key. He could see them in the back pocket of her shorts, but he didn’t bother mentioning it, since she would find them soon enough. He did, however, take this opportunity to tease her a little.
“Ya’ sure ya’ wanna stand out here and let the milk sour?” He grinned when he saw her whip her head around, her face clad with a scowl.
“I literally have the key in my hand, could you be any less patient?” Natsu could just make out that she rolled her eyes as she turned back around and unlocked the door. He was first to enter, still snickering from the teasing.
“You start chopping the vegetables, I need a shower.” Lucy shivered as she thought of the abundance of toddler-drool that must have been clinging to her body the past hours. Natsu confirmed her commando with a nod and started putting the food they wouldn’t cook with in the fridge. 
By now he knew her kitchen by heart. That too was one of those things he felt fond of. To be allowed in her space, trusted with her items – not everyone had the privilege. Her team could be allowed in as guests, granted permission to make themselves at home, but it didn’t really compare with what Natsu could do in her home. He had his own coffee cup, his assigned seat at the kitchen table and in her couch, his toothbrush was allowed in the same cup as hers in the bathroom, and hygiene products had their own little designated places in her cabinet over the sink. He had a drawer in her dresser, snacks in her kitchen, a place to put his sandals as he entered her hallway. He even liked to think that she saved some space on the left side of her bed for him to cuddle up against her at night, even if she pretended to dislike it.
But it wasn’t just her apartment that he had the privilege to share with her. Not just the physical, practical stuff. She always seemed to fit Natsu into her life, whether it regarded an empty chair beside her at the guild, or an open lap for his head to rest on the train. She opened up all conversations she had, for Natsu to join. He couldn’t see her purposefully ignoring or shutting him out if he tried – but now that he was thinking about it, he also realised that it went both ways. Time spent apart from her was time spent in vain. He couldn’t enjoy himself without her by his side.
***
“Do ya’ ever wonder how Nasha’s doin’?” Lucy looked up at Natsu who had broken the silent atmosphear, her fork stuck in the air between her plate and her face.
“Edo-Lucy’s kid?” She asked, confused as to why he’d ask her this out of nowhere.
“Yeah.”
Lucy tried to understand what he was asking for, but his facial expression was vague, not serving her any clues.
“Well…” she began, putting down her fork to think. “I suppose I sometimes think of her, but I’m sure she’s fine. Lucy and Natsu are really good parents, after all.” She couldn’t help but blush when she used their names in that context. She didn’t consider herself to be naive anymore – she could handle talking about their Edolas counterparts and their lifestyles as parents without stuttering and stumbling over her words. That didn’t mean she didn’t still feel a bit affected by the implications. She and Natsu rarely spoke about relationships and intimacy with each other, so naturally her face would get hotter if he brought up a subject like this.
“Guess you’re right,” Natsu said, still seeming lost in thought.
“What brought it on? Have you been thinking about the quest recently?”
It took a minute for him to answer.
“No, it’s more like… I’ve sorta been thinkin’ of my future?” Lucy nodded a little – it was clear to her that he had been thinking hard about it. Normally he seemed so content to just live in the moment, taking life one day at a time, but she knew it wasn’t as simple as that, not even for him. He too had goals beyond just having a good next meal. “Ya’ know, ever since I reunited with Igneel I’ve tried to keep my promise, to keep looking into the future.”
He was looking down at his plate as he spoke. Any time Igneel became the topic of the conversation, he became very aware of the fact that he would never see him again. He knew Lucy could see how talking about him troubled him, and he’d rather not look straight into her eyes as he did. It would definitely open the dams and clog up his throat – right now he wanted to keep his train of thought.
“I guess I’ve just been thinking about what I’m missing.” He frowned, realising that’s not exactly what he meant. “The Edo-versions of us seemed so happy when we met them. And Gajeel and Levy have been weirdly happy ever since they had kids. So I guess I’ve been a bit envious.”
Lucy smiled. She knew how he felt, she really did. Having a big, loving family had been a lifelong dream, so seeing people achieve exactly that before she even had her first kiss riddled her with jealousy at times.
“But do you really think a baby would fill that space?” She asked. Natsu scratched his head. He had already thought about that, analysed their families to really pin-point the differences. The result? Natsu had everything that Levy and Gajeel and Edo-Lucy and Edo-Natsu had, except for kids. He had a home, he had friends, he had a loving guild, and he shared an amazing bond with someone he’d consider his life partner. There really was nothing else.
“It’s the only part that’s missing,” he ended up answering.
“Don’t you want a girlfriend first?” A wife, she wanted to add, but silenced herself.
“Why would I need one? I have you.”
Lucy blushed a little but tried to laugh him off.
“Natsu, you realise that I can’t get pregnant out of thin air, right?” She glanced up at him through her bangs. Was he pouting?
“I know how babymaking works,” he said to her, shifting in his seat. He knew he had started the conversation, but it was taking an awkward direction. Lucy looked like she finally understood what he was hinting at, her mouth dropping slightly agape.
“I... N-natsu! Are you suggesting we…?” She couldn’t finish her sentence before he abruptly interrupted her. 
“I want a child.”
Lucy shrieked. Was this man hearing himself?
“I’m ready,” he continued.
“Well, I’m not! Hold on a second Natsu, have you really thought this through?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“What’s with you? It’s not like we gotta make one right this second.”
“No kidding!”
The blush on Lucy’s face was spreading down her neck. She hurried to take a few deep breaths before Natsu sputtered out more nonsense.
“Look, it’s not that I would hate having a family with you,” she began, deliberately avoiding the dark eyes that were drilling through her. “It’s the part where you and I would make a family, that would be weird. I need romantic love to be involved in that process.”
Natsu observed her as she squirmed in her chair. Was she really this dense?
“Naturally there’d be love involved. What do you take me for?” He deadpanned.
“No, Natsu, I could only do that stuff with my boyfriend, you know that.”
Of course he knew that. He had been listening to her go on about her ideal boyfriend for years, he knew that hypothetical man inside and out.
“Couldn’t that be me though?”
Lucy frantically searched his face for any sign that he was pulling her leg. This had to be a joke – no way was this discussion happening over her dinner table on a normal Thursday.
“Are you asking me out…?” She felt herself blush harder as she voiced the thought.
“I s’pose I am,” he grinned at their odd predicament.
“Does that mean that you love me?” Lucy’s eyes were big as saucers.
“Of course I do.”
“Romantically, I mean. Not like a friend or team mate.” She cringed at her words, but she couldn’t afford mistaking him – her lifespan would actually be reduced to nothing if that were the case.
“Geez, Luigi, just what type of man am I in your mind? He seems awful.” Natsu muttered the last part, really hoping she’d counter it. Lucy, however, was still trying to register what he was doing. The man she loved was asking her out in the most Natsu-way ever, and she was just sitting there with her plate in front of her half full, feeling her jaw drop into her lap. “Of course I love you,” he clarified.
“No way.”
Natsu cringed.
“Is that your answer?”
Lucy flew up from her seat, her chair falling backwards with her momentum.
“What?! No! I mean, argh!” She grabbed her hair in frustration. “I love you too!”
Natsu’s eyes lit up.
“Really?” He grinned, standing up too to get a better look at her. She was sporting a wild blush, but her facial expression was stuck in a frustrated grimace. “You sure? You look constipated.”
Lucy would have reprimanded him if he didn’t have a point. Here she was, in the middle of her happiest moment alive, and her mouth was pressed together into a squiggly line. With a deep breath she softened her face and smiled.
“I’m sure. I really do love you.”
Natsu couldn’t hold himself away any longer. With his mouth twisted into a big smile, he closed the distance between them with a kiss. For a split second he found himself thinking that kissing wasn’t anything special, but that thought fled his brain the second Lucy kissed him back. Plush, soft lips, making movements so small they seemed more like adjustments. He loved it.
When they finally broke apart, Natsu had to ask.
“So what’s that stance on babymaking?”
Lucy giggled against his lips before mumbling her answer.
“Let’s take it one step at a time, stallion.”
_____________________________________
Notes: please pat me on the back for finishing this... it wasn't easy, especially considering the fact that i haven't felt very passionate for this prompt. but i did it! for some reason it was really hard to portray natsu? getting that perfect mixture of goofy and serious is harder than rocket science, please don't hate me if he was ooc. at least they kissed, lol
oh! and here's my crazy long motivation to gajevy babynames: Boy twin - Kanetatsu, has these kanjis 金龍 where 金 means gold, but is also used as a general term for metals. It also covers money, coins, golden colour, just to name a few. 龍 means dragon, an imaginary animal, an outstanding person, a hero. Thought that was fitting with Gajeel as a dad, but also Levy who I imagine came up with all names. Girl twin - Kanae, written with these kanjis 金恵, the first kanji being the same as Kanetatsu’s, whereas the second kanji, this one 恵, means grace, caring and compassion. Most people probably know this, but parents in Japan often use names that will sort of manifest the life for their kids, so I imagine Levy would put extra effort into these things, as it’s a symbol of what the parents are expecting from their kid as well. And then the newborn, I named her Akane with these kanjis 亜金 because I thought Gajeel would like to use the same kanji for all the kids, bc I can imagine he’d want to create a little Redfox-clan lol, and 亜 means companions, which I like as a nod towards the guild, but also to make her be part of her siblings, despite not being a twin.
(wow, what a ramble...) anyways, hope you enjoyed and i'll see y'all the next fic <3 happy october! xoxo
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kaizenproductions · 7 months ago
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Natsu does NOT have any previous experience with romantic love
This is the (better) Tumblr version of my post from Twitter. Given the format of this website, I'll add some details to what's already written.
Before starting with this, I want to clarify that the motivation to write this post has little to do with nalu itself (it will be mentioned to highlight a point though). Having previous romantic partners DOESN'T really make any ship invalid. You'll find the actual reason behind this essay under the cut below.
This is about how Natsu, as a character, is never presented or seen by others as someone who has experience with love and such idea is never hinted or implied anywhere in the canon material. This lack of experience explains why Lucy thinks he has no interest in it.
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As we will see later, Lucy isn't the only one who thinks like this... Let's get started.
Year 2024. Why writing all this? Some weeks ago I was involved in a discussion about whether Natsu was being OOC during a filler (non canon) scene of the anime where he snaps at Lucy in a way he never does with any of his friends in canon material. The discussion led to this...
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I didn't want to assume that this person was taking Lisanna as some kind of first love. At the end it turned out that was exactly what was happening. The proof? The most platonic reunion ever... with Happy reacting the same way as Natsu and comedy being included. It is important to highlight that Mashima never makes two people between whom there have been romantic feelings reunite like this, with comedy references in between that downplays the seriousness of the moment to some extent. While this post is about Natsu and his feelings, I could also mention Lisanna's reaction to this, something that proves that there wasn't even a one sided love: after noticing this Natsu is the same one from her real dimension, she doesn't start crying because of him but because of her siblings.
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Let's ignore the part where this dude started calling me and some other users "retards" because that speaks volumes for itself about his lack of real arguments. After all, he has been fighting for at least 4 years with teens over power scaling, a topic he may seem to be knowledgeable about but actually isn't so much, plus he has been banned from at least one Discord server because of his r4pe threats. It seems this individual was so obsessed with that specific thing that he said Zeref did it to Mavis and that's how August was made... That also speaks volumes about his media literacy and the fact that even if it's true that he did read the manga so many times as he claimed during this discussion, he has serious problems with reading as a normal person. When it comes to the topic of this post, the problem is that he has some influence within the fandom, at least on Twitter, so whatever he says is something that many of his followers will start repeating.
What does Mashima do when Lisanna finally comes back to her original home and she gets a proper reunion with everyone?
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After the initial shock from seeing Edo Lisanna in Earthland and the big reveal, this is how Natsu reacts.
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This isn't a reunion that suggests that Lisanna is special compared to everyone else in the guild, and particulary to those who grew around Natsu. Also, we can't say Mashima just doesn't know how to write such scene properly... because he's written it at least once (in Rave).
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The emotion you can feel in this scene, the way ONLY both lovers are on the spotlight and the rest of their friends are in the background until the end... Well, the difference is so obvious that it's ridiculous to say more. Given how well Mashima handles the emotional dimension of his characters in his mangas, the possibility that he didn't know how to depict two lovers who got separated from each for some time due to circumstances beyond their control is off the table.
Also, notice how the end of the Edolas arc depicts this.
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The difference with her reunion with Natsu and the others is so obvious that there's no need to say more.
We can also discard Lisanna as a former love interest because there's no akwardness between them once she's back to the guild. They can be seen playing together and briefly interacting from time to time, so it's not like they're avoiding each other.
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Is it implied somewhere that they had something beyond friendship? Not in any kind of canon material. Every time Lisanna is mentioned in regards to Natsu she's presented as a close childhood friend. We have, for example, her profile from one of the first chapters where she's back home and the information of the official magazine that was released 10 years ago.
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But what if they simply stopped loving each other due to being separated, as a fellow nalu shipper told me on Discord? Making characters fall out of love is something that Mashima also references (see Macao pic a bit below). It also goes against what we saw regarding Erza and Jellal, who still had romantic feelings for each other despite their antagonistic positions for many years, or against the whole Zeref and Mavis thing. In other Mashima mangas we have more couples like this. Elsie and Justice still loved each other despite being sworn enemies, and Let still loved Julia (and vice versa) when he discovered she was alive, a kinda similar scenario to Natsu and Lisanna if they had been lovers. Given that Natsu and Lisanna weren't even enemies to each other at any point and they were only separated for two years, we can't say they had something canonically and they simply got over it with no actual reference to it.
There was a very good moment to reference past feelings in 100YQ: when Touka includes Lisanna in the group of women "around Natsu".
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Instead of offering us a comment like "it's not like that anymore", Lisanna just says something that implies they're not that close. After all, Natsu is hanging out with his team most of the time since it was established.
What's the reason this fandom has been so many years discussing about this friendship? Because the first anime adaptation goes beyond that friendship and the manga omake where both of them take care of Happy's egg, something Lisanna decides to help with because she loves animals and she felt Natsu wouldn't do it properly. The first season includes several fillers that pave the way for a love triangle, presenting Lisanna as a girl who is VERY interested in marrying Natsu when they're adults. In addition, Happy is presented as their son, something that totally goes against the source material. Even if Natsu is the one who saw Happy be born and was living with him since then, Happy is never considered as his son and is always called a nakama/companion/friend.
This long thread has everything that A-1 and Satelight added in regards to Natsu and Lisanna. As we can see in the info provided in one of the first tweets, Mashima let them "edit" the story the way they wanted to and it's mentioned explicitely by both him and Ishihara (the director) that Ishihara is responsible for those additions, not Mashima. We also can't say the additions were something Mashima asked for because he couldn't include everything he wanted in his manga for some reason. This is supported by the fact that Lisanna is never presented in the manga as any kind of romantic interest after she comes back.
There's also this tweet from 2012 where Mashima replied to someone asking him whether he was involved in the story of the anime. His answer is no.
It's also important to say that these fillers aren't canon: they're not referenced in the source material (the starry key arc was, even if Mashima wasn't involved in the writing), they're not referenced in the anime itself after Lisanna comes back and they have no impact in the events of the story during and after Edolas.
Currently, thanks to Mashima's Twitter Spaces, we know two things: he revived Lisanna because some people in the anime staff liked her (Ishihara is one of them for sure), which explains why she's not very relevant and is always tied to her siblings, and he once considered to include a love triangle between Natsu, Lucy and Lisanna after Edolas, but he liked Natsu and Lucy's dynamic by then enough to not introduce such storyline. He also said Lisanna was "だめ" in regards to that triangle that never came to be, implying that she would have been the one that doesn't get the boy in that scenario.
So is Lisanna our supposed former love interest? As far as the canon material goes, no. Was she close to Natsu? Yes. Is she dear to him? Yes, just like everyone in his family, the guild, is (I can't believe I'm writing this in fking 2024). Now, what if there was someone else? The assumption that characters may have dated another (unnamed) character offscreen isn't totally crazy. After all we saw how Juvia dated Bora, even if it was a narrative tool to show that not even dates would make Juvia stop being depressed. However, we can't say there was someone else as more than a headcanon unless it's implied or mentioned somewhere explicitely. We know Macao was married but got divorced thanks to the official magazine, for example.
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When it comes to Natsu, nothing is ever mentioned.
100YQ, the official FT sequel, has several pannels that go against the whole idea of Natsu being experienced with romantic love. As I mentioned at the beginning, even others from the guild, and especifically Macao in this pannel, who knows Natsu since he was a kid, have a hard time believing he's interested in love.
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This part of the story includes a very interesting pannel that also debunks the whole idea that Natsu felt more than frienship for Lisanna before she was transported to Edolas.
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Why would Lisanna's brother react like this over such comment if Natsu and his sister had romantic feelings in the past? Easy: because those feelings never existed.
Even Lisanna is a bit surprised when Touka expresses her interest in him.
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Previous romantic experience would also mean that Natsu's relationship with Lucy would be more advanced than it is as of now, not to mention this recent scene.
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Natsu is still quite dense with romance, even when it doesn't involve him, and while he talks about his and Lucy's kids they still have a long way to go due to his total inexperience in this area as of now. Someone with past love experiences wouldn't be like this. I could say more about this but this isn't the post for it so...
Conclussion: the first season of the anime did a lot of damage that resulted in many years of discussions, fights, misogyny towards both Lucy and Lisanna. There was no childhood or teen love, no jealousy from Lisanna when she saw how close Natsu and Lucy were as a team and nothing suggests that Lisanna was more than a friend in canon material. Claiming the opposite at this point of the story is useless.
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celestialulu · 19 days ago
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zeref creating Natsu and messing with life and death gave him Ankhseram's Curse (Idk if that’s exactly spelt right) yet Lucy rewrote the book and made sure Natsu stayed alive and yet also messed with that stuff and there was no (lasting) effects
does she ever think that she might face some sort of consequences because of her messing with that yet at the same time as long as Natsu was alive and existing it wouldn’t matter to her
Lucy also getting the same curse would be so devastating but also really interesting imo
I’m so conflicted because i feel as if there would be no solution to that fate as we saw with zeref and Mavis yet I’d want a happy ending with nalu ;(
also I know i guess it’s different because zeref was the one who actually brought him back and messed more with that stuff yada yada but lucy still did mess with that side of things because Natsu shouldn’t of existed when zeref died yet lucy kinda brought him back and sort of became the author of his existence or something idk
it would be interesting if they went on missions after the war and people were mysteriously passing away randomly somehow at points until it clicks in Lucy one day and once she realises she is GONE
idk I’ve thought about this a lot over the years so just some thoughts some of it might not make sense I’m tired and it’s hard to write it to make sense like in my head lmao
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secretkittywolf · 7 months ago
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Fairy Tail ships I ship
(I don't own any of the fanart used. Credit to the original creators)
Nalu
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They're so cute!!!
I adore these two so much. I hope that they become cannon in the 100yr Quest (if they haven't already since I haven't read it)
Nali
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Besties for life!
They have such a cute brother-sister relationship and Natsu was so happy when the Edolas Lisanna was his best friend. Such a cute platonic pairing.
Gruvia
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I love them!!!
I love their relationship so much. At first, Gray couldn't stand Juvia but he soon realised how much she cared and how much he cared for her. The whole Juvia vs Gray fight in the finale made me cry, especially when they killed themselves because they didn't want to kill the other QwQ
Gajevy
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They're ship is so cute and gradual and I love it.
Yes, Gajeel did hurt her and chain her to a tree when they first met, but he's shown and proven to her how much he's changed. Their love is beautiful and I love them.
LoLu
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I have to admit, I did ship them at first, but it's more platonic than romantic now. Still a cute ship tho.
Romeo & Wendy
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Another platonic pairing. It's cute but I don't ship them romantically.
Sky Sisters
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They have such a cute friendship!
I adore the Sky Sisters friendship and I want to see more of them! I also heard that these two could be cannon, which I'd would love to know if it's true or not. So yeah, ship them platonically and romantically.
Elfgreen
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I want more of these two!!!
I want to see more of Elfman and Evergreen so badly. The tsundere and the big strong guy is so cute and the scenes in GMG were so cute.
Miraxus
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I'd love to see more of them since I ship them platonically at the moment.
Freeuxus
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I love these two idiots.
Freed adores Laxus and the dragon slayer obviously has a soft spot for Freed.
Stingue
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Light and dark. Sun and moon. Introvert and extrovert etc. I ship them so much!!!!!!
StingYu
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He's the reason why she's still a part of Sabertooth!
Sting really cares for Yukino and they're so cute together!
Graylu
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Another platonic pairing I love.
They're a couple of sillies and I need more of them being idiots.
Zervis
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Their whole relationship is both cute and sad.
Mavis cursed herself accidentally and now they're immortal together. I love them
Cancer x Gray (Gracer??? Ig??)
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Why is this the only image of these two together?!
I need more Gracer! (Sounds better than Cray doesn't it?) The whole danceoff was gay af and since I'm a multishipper, I ship them.
Bicksanna
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The fandom made me ship them. The fandom made me realise just how cute these two are.
Mirerza
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Rivals to best friends, I love them so much. I also ship them romantically on occasion as well.
Grayza
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Both platonically and romantically, these two are cute.
Benefits of being a multishipper!
Bisca x Alzack
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They're cute and they're cannon!!!
Seeing them in Edolas together was adorable and I'm glad in the cannon universe they also get together.
Ulter & Meredy
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Sisters.
They have a sister relationship and I love it. I don't see them as anything else but sisters
Meredy & Juvia
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Adorable. They became such good friends and I want more of their friendship. Please gimme more!!!!
CanLu
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I think these two are quite cute together.
I'd love to see more of their friendship!
ErLu
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Read a fanfic once of these two and I love them together!
The princess and her knight in shining armour!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAA!!!! I ship them so much!!!!!!
Gratsu
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They always make me laugh. I ship them both platonically and romantically.
Natsu & Erza
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I adore the brother-sister relationship they have.
Erza is the big sister having to keep chaotic younger brother Natsu under control (even tho Natsu is older)
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love---mandy · 1 year ago
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I was once again conversing with my friend who is also in NaLu hell and she suggested I redraw that one piece of official art, I’m pretty sure y’all know the one.
Anyway, made me realize how beefy I draw Natsu. I even tried to make him less beefy but I had enablers around me.
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beargyufairy · 10 months ago
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Just My Thoughts Pt. 10
Fairy Tail Manga Reread Version
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Ahh the very first official mission as a team. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy have to destroy a book. Of course, it’s not as easy as it seems. I love how Hiro Mashima made this their first mission because it’s almost foreshadowing the end of Fairy Tail. (Is it really foreshadowing?! I don’t know, I’m not a literary expert, I do know that this is genius.) How?! Well let me explain.
Lucy doesn’t want to destroy the book at first because she’s a fan of the author. However, as she starts to read the book, she discovers there’s a secret hidden within it. Now why does this matter and what’s it foreshadowing you may wonder. Well, looking deeper into what Lucy discovered, the book is holding secrets about a relationship between two people. In this case, it’s about a son and father, a family essentially. She’s the one who finds this out and is also the one to help break the spell (and when this happens, words come flying out of the book and changed from one perspective to another via magic). The truth about the situation between the father and son was hidden in Daybreak and twisted by time after the death of the author as he failed to communicate with his son the truth and it became corrupted in the son’s perspective as he was the one who wanted Daybreak destroyed.
Taking this information into account and how this the first mission, I think it’s very clever how Hiro Mashima demonstrates the book of END. The book of END at a glance is a demonic book that holds Natsu’s life force, his demonic powers, and connects him to Zeref, the infamous black wizard. Do you get it yet?! The book of END holds the secrets about a relationship between two people. Instead of a son and father like in Daybreak, it’s between two brothers but still a family. The book holds the secrets between Natsu’s truth and past life, a relationship twisted by the impacts of time and magic.
Aside from this, I think it’s clever how Lucy is the one to discover the secrets of Daybreak and how she is also the one to rewrite the book of END, especially since she’s filled with sadness when discovering that a simple book, bound by pages and leather holds the life of her best friend. When END is first opened up, the demonic language is displayed in red. However, after being rewritten by Lucy, it becomes golden, almost angelic if I dare say myself. The perspective is changed from Zeref to how Lucy sees Natsu or at least how Natsu is more than just words on a page.
I just love this connection. It’s absolutely brilliant!! I want to also connect this back to a former post I made about Lucy’s hair being golden and how Natsu found Daybreak which was a golden book. I would like to mention the use of the gold color to show such a connection back to the first mission and memories with Lucy is so beautiful. Maybe I’m grasping onto false hope but I love how NaLu is being colored in gold as every given chance. The plains were golden once Future Lucy found peace and who did she see first?! Natsu, of course. Another example is in the Dragon Cry movie when Natsu has flashbacks, Lucy is surrounded by warm gold light. Isn’t it beautiful?! I love them!!!
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sweetasmiele · 5 months ago
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NALU WEEK - DAY #4
SCARS
“For once, you had a great idea, Natsu! The water is amazing.” Lucy squeezed her hair to let the water out and lay down. A nice cold swim was exactly what they needed. The last quest had left them covered in dirt and ashes, but that was to be expected when your partner was the Fire Dragon Slayer.
“Fish!” Happy yelled, diving once again into the natural pool they had found in the depths of the forest.
It was beautiful. The water shimmered under the sun, and the sound of the waterfall and of the birds singing was therapeutic. Lucy closed her eyes and sighed, her skin drying under the hot summer sun.
Her moment of peace was short-lived. She was showered with droplets of water as Natsu shook himself like a dog next to her.
“Natsu!” she yelled as he plopped down on his stomach just beside her. 
“Ah, this is the life!” he commented lifting his chest to rest on his elbows.
She closed her eyes again, and only to open them a few seconds later. Natsu wasn’t speaking but she could feel his attention on her and his hand was tracing abstract shapes on her arm. 
It took her a second to realize he was following with his fingers one of her old scars. Feeling her gaze, Natsu raised his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but Lucy knew he was asking for permission to continue, and she nodded.
“That one is old. It’s from when we were looking for Macao, remember?”
Natsu's eyes were back on her scar, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed. He looked so focused Lucy was almost afraid to talk. She felt his hand move from her bicep to her elbow, his fingers touching the sensitive skin of another small scar.
“Tenrou Island,” she said immediately without him asking. She felt his hot touch linger a moment longer before his fingers moved down to her forearm. 
“That’s actually from when we got stuck in that bell after the Grand Magic Games.” she chuckled and saw his cheeks and ears coloring. 
“When you decided to get naked right in the middle of a fight?” he teased tapping his fingers on her skin, his smile turning into a smirk. 
It was Lucy's turn to blush. She squirmed under his touch, but he didn’t move his hand.
“It wasn’t my fault!” she whined, but before she could defend herself more Natsu’s smirk disappeared. His hand had reached her wrist. 
The marks from Virgo’s Fleuve d'étoiles had left a mark that went all around her wrist. It wasn’t a dark scar, it was barely there, but Natsu had seen it. 
Among all the memories she had cited, that was the most painful to revisit, so she remained silent. Natsu seemed to sense her tensing up because he moved on without waiting for her explanation.
His hands reached her waist, and Lucy’s breath caught in her throat. She felt his fingers push against her skin, suddenly much warmer than a second before. 
“That’s also from the Grand Magic Games,” she whispered, worried she would disturb his meticulous search.
“Minerva,” he growled, his expression darkening. Lucy wasn’t ready for that sudden change of mood, and she observed him quietly as his expression hardened and his eyes narrowed. 
His hand descended to her bikini, where a long scar started from her navel and disappeared under the fabric. His hand stopped right there, where the skin met the swimsuit. 
She blushed, but he didn't seem to realize where his hand was, his gaze dark and intense. 
She didn’t know if it was because it was a sensitive spot or because that touch belonged to Natsu, but each little movement, even her abdomen moving up and down, was enough to make her shiver.
“Natsu, it’s okay,” she said softly, a smile in her words. 
“No, it’s not. I don’t like it.” His gaze was fixed on his hand, still burning against her skin.
“Oh, I know they’re not pretty, but—” she suddenly felt self-conscious and tried to move away, but Natsu’s hand kept her still.
“I wasn’t able to protect you,” he interrupted her, averting his gaze, his cheeks coloring once more. 
Lucy sighed, feeling silly for having doubted him, her body relaxing under his touch. 
“Natsu, I’m a mage,” she said, “you’re also full of scars.” To prove her point, she playfully tapped a scar on his shoulder.
“It’s different,” he pouted.
“How is it different?”
“It just is.”
She gently cupped his chin and turned his head to face her, and Natsu grudgingly obliged.
“Look,” she said, pointing to a scar on her knee. “This reminds me of the first time we met. Remember? When that guy was pretending to be you?” he rolled his eyes, but she continued. 
“And this? This is from that time we ended up in Edolas.”
“And this is from when I made you and Happy those cookies and burned myself with the pan!”
Natsu finally met her eyes, a smile fighting his way out. 
“They all tell a story,” she said. “A story about me and you.”
He finally allowed himself to smile, and, for a moment, Lucy thought he looked beautiful. With his cheeks red from the sun, his cherry pink hair still wet from their swim, and his golden skin shining under the sun.
“Want to know which is my favorite?” she asked, leaning toward him, their noses almost touching.
He nodded, his eyes wide with curiosity, and for a second, Lucy could have sworn he was holding his breath.
“This one,” she pointed to her shoulder, where a series of little dots formed an arc.
“Where is it from?” he asked, furrowing his brows.
“You idiot! You bit me last month!” she smacked him on the head and jumped on her feet ready to run. Natsu was soon at her tail. 
She kept laughing and tripping, and it wasn’t hard for Natsu to catch her and throw her in the water, but she didn’t care. Her heart was full. 
Those scars were part of her and she cherished each of them, just like every moment she had shared with Natsu.
(Needless to say, she added a new scar on her knee, tripping during her run.)
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