#and this might be why i struggle to find a nalu fic i actually like bc they might be too dependent on the dub

[fluffypotatey]

dub natsu and sub natsu are 2 different people

[sweetmemories2606]

Never Simple (Gruvia and NaLu) Ch 5

Bringing back this ancient fic because I finally updated after over 2 years. Here's the info to jog your memory:

Title: Never Simple

Pairings: Main: Gruvia, NaLu, Minor: Jerza, Albis, ElfEver and GaLe

Summary: What if the future had been even more tragic? On the 4th night of the Games, future Juvia shows up right after Lucy is taken by the royal army. Even more surprising, she's pregnant and the question of who the father is leads to the most unexpected answer: "It's Natsu."

Timeline: This story is set on the 4th day of the Grand Magic Games (in case no one noticed yet, I just love this arc)

Warnings: There is MATURE CONTENT in the first chapter, therefore it is M-Rated. The other ones contain graphic scenes of VIOLENCE and SUICIDE, so caution is advised when reading.

Word Count: 2.000 words per chapter.

Links: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5

I hope you'll enjoy!

                     Chapter 5: Anything For Her

The next few minutes were a mess. They were almost reaching the hideout when it was suddenly hit again with a fireball, and this time Juvia's barrier wasn't fully effective. Blue Pegasus' team and Lamia Scale's surviving members were eliminated easily and quickly. Turned to ash, to nothing.

Yukino, Alzack, Bisca and Asuka were lucky enough to get away from the mansion just before the explosion. However, the shards of glass that were sent everywhere wounded the couple; causing both parents to drop to the ground, bleeding heavily.

Yukino quickly took Little Asuka's hand and they began running away from the house. Her intent was to bring the poor child to safety before coming back for her parents. However, as soon as they reached Juvia, Gajeel, Natsu and Lucy; another fireball hit the house and the second explosion was so large that it took Alzack and Bisca as well.

Juvia remembered the horrified screams that left everyone's mouths as they watched the couple be swallowed by the flames before there was nothing left but ashes.

They were gone, just like Gray. In the blink of an eye, so unexpectedly. And they weren't the only ones either.

As the group tried to reach the location where Dorenbolt, Porlyusica and Levy were awaiting them, the dragons attacked them.

There were just a few, maybe 10, and only two of them went after the group. Natsu and Gajeel quickly turned into their most powerful forms and prepared to hold them off; managing to convince the others to keep running after a long discussion that almost got them all killed.

While Juvia pretty much dragged the over emotional and sobbing Lucy away, tragedy hit them harder than before.

They heard Gajeel's loud scream and turned around just in time to watch as Natsu was thrown hard into a tree, his lifeless body falling to the ground a moment later. Black spikes belonging to the dragon were all over his body, having drained him of magic and blood.

His death caused Lucy to completely lose it, coming so close to a miscarriage, and Juvia wasn't able to calm her down.

When Gajeel's body joined Natsu a moment later, she too entered into full panic mode. Memories of every death she had been forced to watch filled her mind and she was unable to breathe.

If it wasn't for Yukino's quick thinking and acting, they wouldn't have gotten away.

The white haired girl let go of little Asuka only so that she could reach for her keys, before summoning Libra and Pisces at the same time. While the two fish carried Lucy and Juvia, Libra held off the dragons long enough so that they could reach the escape point.

                                    ----------------------

It was a miracle that they actually managed to reach Antartica, but soon enough they found themselves in the middle of the frozen town; ruins scattered all around them.

It was cold, devastating and hopeless; but at least they were safe. They had survived somehow.

However, death wasn't yet done taking away their loved ones, as Lucy dropped to the ground seconds after they arrived.

While inspecting the blonde, Juvia realised with horror that she had been hit with one of the dragon's spikes and there was blood dripping from her shoulder.

"She's hurt!" The water mage told the others while attempting to lift the pregnant woman up, Dorenbolt quickly rushing to help her.

"Quick! In there!" Porlyusica used her magic to build a tent in record time and the two carried Lucy towards it; Yukino and Levy following them. The former held the sobbing Asuka in her arms while the latter was numb to everything around her-still processing the news of Gajeel's death.

Lucy was placed on a bed and the healer began to examine her, face paling with each passing moment.

A few minutes later, she turned to the others with horror in her eyes. "I'm afraid it's much worse than I feared."

"No." Juvia shook her head, refusing to believe it.

"The baby. Will she...She has to be okay!" The celestial wizard pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." Porlyusica sighed. "The wound wasn't as superficial as I hoped; you've lost a lot of blood and I'm afraid there's no way I could keep both of you alive now."

"Oh, no." Yukino gasped; she sat on one a chair with Asuka still in her arms.

"What will you do, then?" Dorenbolt wondered.

"Save her." Lucy spoke before the healer could reply. "Please."

"No. Don't do this." Levy pleaded, speaking for the first time since she learned that Gajeel was dead.

"There must be a way." Juvia tried, but Porlyusica shook her head.

"The only way I could save the child is to remove it, but that would only cause her death since it's too early." Tears streamed down Lucy's face.

"I can't...I can't lose her." Placing hand on top of her stomach, she cried. "She's all I have left."

"I refuse to believe that this is the end." Juvia stubbornly said. "We must save little Layla; I'm willing to do anything."

Silence fell upon them until Porlyusica came up with an idea.

"There is a way." All eyes turned to her, interested-except for Asuka, who had fallen asleep.

"What way?" Levy asked, standing up and approaching the bed.

"I know a spell that can transfer the child." Seeing their confused looks, the healer explained. "This way another person will carry her and deliver her, so that Lucy can survive."

"I'll do it!" Juvia said without hesitation as soon as she understood.

"Juvia..." Lucy turned to her, brown eyes filled with gratitude.

"This baby, your baby, has been my reason to keep living. The thought of losing her after everything I've already lost is too much to bear, so I'm willing to do anything to save both of you." The water mage sincerely told her, taking her friend's hand.

"Thank you." It was all Lucy could say before she burst into tears.

It was settled then. Natsu and Lucy's child would be transferred to Juvia, who would carry her until it was time to give birth. Then Lucy would get to raise her little girl like planned; with everyone's help. They would find a way to be happy, even after everything they'd lost.

That was their plan, but it didn't work out that way.

After the baby was removed and then placed inside of Juvia with Porlyusica's magic, the healer turned to the celestial wizard to heal her, but it was too late.

Lucy was almost gone, brown eyes barely able to keep open and she only managed to thank Juvia one more time, plead for her to keep her daughter safe and give two small vials-which had been hidden in the celestial spirit world with Loke-before passing away.

Her death marked the moment Juvia's determination, which had diminished after Gray's death, came back full force. As she watched her friend's brown eyes close and the knowledge that Lucy would never get to met her daughter sinked in, the water mage vowed to herself to find a way to go back and undo their tragic pasts.

It took 3 months, but eventually, Levy and Yukino managed to finish reconstructing the gate. They activated it using the latter's celestial keys and there wasn't much of an argument on who would cross it. Juvia had long since made clear that she would be the one to warn their friends about the dragons' invasion.

Since she was 9 months pregnant by then, right on time to give birth, the Gate's reconstruction turned out to be timely because there was a chance the baby might be born in the present and get to meet her parents like Juvia had wanted.

                                   ----------------------

                                     Present day...

"This is crazy!" Gajeel yelled once Future Juvia finished her tale.

"So we're all going to die?" Mirajane frowned.

"No." Juvia shook her head, looking at Gray with teary eyes. "I can't lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere." The ice mage wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close.

"So…so Lucy and I…" Natsu struggled to comprehend it.

"I guess congratulations are in order." Erza told him.

"I knew that you two would end up together." Cana smiled victoriously.

"I think we all did." Levy added.

"But having a baby and so soon…" Lisanna spoke. "That I didn't expect."

"I am glad that I managed to come here in time." Future Juvia smiled. "Layla deserves to meet her parents."

"Layla…." Natsu whispered, staring at her still in shock.

"So, what do we do now?" Elfman asked no one in particular.

"Now that we know what's going to happen, we must find a way to stop it." Master Makarov stated the obvious.

"But how?" Gray frowned.

"What could we possibly do against so many dragons?" Juvia wondered.

"Do you really not know where they came from, Juvia?" Cana asked her future counterpart.

"No. They just showed up out of no where on the last day of the Games." The latter replied before groaning as another contraction hit her.

"Her contractions are too close now, she needs to go to the infirmary." Evergreen said and Elfman stared at her in confusion.

"How come you know so much about pregnancy?" She shared a nervous look with Freed and Bixlow, but said nothing.

"This is not the time." Freed said.

"I can help you get to the infirmary." Juvia offered gently.

"I'll go with you." Gray quickly added.

"Why don't you join them, Natsu?" Erza suggested, but much to everyone's surprise the dragon slayer shook his head.

"No, I have something more important that I need to do." Many people frowned.

"Like what?" Gray asked, raising a brow.

"Lucy." Future Juvia answered, smiling.

"I gotta save her." Natsu confirmed a moment later.

"But how?" Laxus asked, frowning. They had already established that going anywhere near the castle was a terrible idea.

"You don't have… to worry… about that." Future Juvia said between pained groans-Gray and Juvia each held her upright as they began to lead her towards the door.

"What do you mean?" Erza was confused.

"I'm not the only one who came back." The pregnant woman answered.

"Oh, really?" Many eyes widened.

"Who else is here?" Juvia asked, curious.

"Yukino." Her future self answered. "She went to rescue Lucy while I came here to talk to you guys."

She groaned again and they knew that it was best to take her to Porlyusica immediately, so Gray and Juvia rushed her there while the others stayed behind and began devising a plan to avoid getting killed by the dragons.

                                   ----------------------

                                Inside the Mercurious...

"Who are you?" Lucy stood up quickly, getting into a defensive position.

"You can relax, Lucy." Yukino's eyes widened once she heard the voice.

"Wait, what?" The blonde stepped back, staring at the hooded figure in shock.

"How is this possible?" The white-haired celestial wizard had never been more confused.

"I know this must be confusing for you." The figure told them before removing the hood.

"Yukino?!" Lucy looked between the two women in confusion.

"You're me?" Yukino gasped.

"I've come from the future." Her twin told them.

"The future?" She frowned.

"How?" Lucy asked.

"The Eclipse Gate." Future Yukino answered before looking around, appearing nervous. "Look, we don't have a lot of time now, but I promise I will explain everything later."

"If you really came from the future…Why are you here?" Lucy frowned.

"I came to rescue you." The other woman smiled.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Yukino raised a brow.

Her counterpart reached for something inside the hood before taking out her keys. "By taking us to the Celestial Spirit World. That way we can arrive outside of the castle without anyone noticing."

"You have your keys." Lucy noted with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"I have yours too." She then noticed that there were 12 golden keys instead of just 3.

"How?" Tears welled up in Future Yukino's eyes.

"I have a feeling that you don't want to know." Her present self stated.

"Let's…Let's just go now." Future Yukino sniffled before taking out two keys; for Libra and Taurus. Within seconds both celestial spirits appeared before them and the bull-like creature stared at Lucy with such sadness in his eyes. "Miss Lucy…"

"Are you okay, Taurus?" She asked, confused.

He simply stared at her silently until Future Yukino instructed him. "Taurus, could you destroy the cells?"

"Yeah." Sniffling, Taurus nodded. "You'd better stand back, Miss Lucy."

Seeing as she was frozen in place, Yukino grabbed her hand and pulled her backwards. Once the cells had been destroyed and the two celestial wizards were free, they joined Future Yukino and Taurus outside. Then, Libra, after receiving a signal from her contract wizard, used her magic to take them to the Celestial Spirit World.

                                   ----------------------

                                 Near the infirmary...

"Ugh this hurts." Future Juvia groaned in pain, holding Gray's hand a little too tightly.

"Just take deep breaths." Her present self tried to comfort her, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"You're doing great." The ice mage said between gritted teeth, trying not to focus on the pain in his hand.

"You okay?" His girlfriend asked, worried but also slightly amused.

"Ye-Aaah." He couldn't keep himself from yelling.

"Sorry." Future Juvia offered him an apologising look while letting go of his hand. "Oh God." She then hunched over, hands grabbing at her stomach.

"That's a big one." Juvia pointed out.

"We really gotta get her to Porlyusica." Gray said, urgently.

"We're almost there." She told him before looking back at her twin.

"Ugh… Bisca never said it hurt so much." The latter complained just before her face relaxed. "Finally."

The couple struggled to hold her once she nearly fell backwards. Sharing worried looks, Gray and Juvia decided they'd better fasten their pace.

"Come on." The ice mage called while dragging the pregnant woman towards the infirmary.

They arrived a few minutes later and thankfully there were no more contractions. Once they arrived, Porlyusica, who was already waiting at the door, scolded them for not bringing Future Juvia in sooner.

They apologised while helping the pregnant woman settle down in one of the empty beds. Once she was comfortably lying against the pillows, they turned to the healer for instructions.

"All we have to do now is wait." She responded, much to their disappointment.

"How long exactly are we supposed to wait?" Gray asked, impatient.

"I'd say it will be at least a few hours before it's time for the birth." Porlyusica replied.

"Really?" Future Juvia's eyes widened. "I thought it was almost time."

"It's hard to know when the right time will be since it's up to the baby." The healer explained.

"I see." The former smiled while caressing her stomach.

"We'll stay with you until the end." Juvia told her, offering a reassuring smile.

"It's not as if we have anything better to do." Gray shrugged.

"You should get comfortable, then." Porlyusica told them. "It's going to be a long night."

[impracticaldemon]

Nalu Week 2017: Final Prompt The Lady & the Dragon

Prompt:  Intertwined by Impracticaldemon [also on FFN & coming to AO3]

Author's Note: My final submission for Nalu Week 2017! I hope you enjoyed these chapters. As always, all reviews and comments are greatly appreciated.

This story is a sequel to the previous chapter.

The Lady and the Dragon Prompt: Intertwined

Lucy became more and more impressed with Fairy Tail University as the school year progressed.  It wasn’t just that the profs were interesting—they were, but they were also a little strange—it was the way that the practical things were handled so as to leave time and energy for clubs and hobbies. For example, the student medical clinic was well-staffed and made full use of experienced nurse practitioners as well as doctors in order to reduce wait times.  The cafeteria served decent food, and while it wasn’t the gourmet meals that Lucy had grown up with, somebody obviously cared enough to make sure that it tasted good and that students with the more common special dietary needs weren’t forced to either eat the same thing each day or buy expensive food off-campus.

The best thing about FTU was that nobody was forced to participate in intramural or varsity activities, but somehow nobody got left out either.  Even the shyest students got taken in by a senior student, or by another student in their year who was either more outgoing or had some reason to already know the place well—for example, there were several students whose parents or older siblings had been at FTU in the past.

By the end of the first six weeks, as Lucy started to gear up toward midterms and pay more attention to when various papers were due, she was beginning to wonder how the place functioned—how could they afford it all without charging much higher fees? She’d heard that they had special funding from the government, but in her more creative moments Lucy imagined all sorts of things, from acting as a front for money-laundering—criminal outfits did sometimes run proceeds of crime through charities like universities and hospitals—to bizarre experiments that required an unsuspecting, yet intelligent group of test subjects. 

The truth turned out to be a little different:  FTU took in students with the potential for “magic”, like some sort of not-very-exciting Hogwarts.  Nobody actually studied magic—at least, not until much later.  So Lucy was left to wonder and speculate and come up with creative stories with working titles such as “The Mob is Running my School but I Don’t Care Because They Have Great Health Care”.  Her friends Levy (English and Library Sciences) and Ev (English and Creative Writing) were still giggling over “My Life as a Lab Rat: Year One”.

She got her first inkling of the truth shortly before her last midterm.  Naturally, it involved running into Natsu.  In fact, she had seen quite a lot of the guy after school had started, despite the fact that they were in different years and faculties. Lucy sometimes wondered if he ever attended his own classes, because he had developed a tendency to walk her to class and then stay for the lecture.  Occasionally he’d even stayed awake.

It was shortly before ten at night, and Lucy was racing toward the grocery store, hoping to pick up one of the key ingredients to successful studying:  chocolate.  Unfortunately, Natsu was moving too fast for Lucy to avoid him.  There was a muffled “thud” as the two crashed into each other, late fall outerwear reducing much of the impact.  As usual, Natsu was completely impervious to damage, and his muscular, solid build was barely rocked by the collision, but Lucy got tossed about three or four meters sideways.

“You okay?!” Natsu called to Lucy, as she struggled to get up.

Of course I’m not okay, she thought angrily, you just hit me like a ton of bricks.  Or a brick wall.  Or whatever the hell the right metaphor is.  And yet… Lucy wasn’t really hurt.  It was probably all the strength training she’d been doing with Erza.

“You should look where you’re going!” Lucy shouted back at Natsu.  

Natsu took this as a good sign—she was conscious, anyway—and he immediately went to the heart of the matter: “Look, I’d better get inside—that way at least one of us can pick up food for studying!”

Lucy watched in slight disbelief as he left her sitting where she was, scrapes and bruises and all, and rushed into the store.  He was probably right that getting to the store was the priority.  At the same time, she would have appreciated a bit of sympathy.  Natsu was like that though—as long as you weren’t dead or unconscious, you were pretty much good to go.  In some ways it was a vote of confidence.

The storekeeper was standing at the door when Lucy hobbled up.  He gave Lucy a slight smile and let her in.

“Your young man said that you probably had a chocolate emergency and could I please just wait a moment or two.”

Lucy returned the smile sheepishly and ignored the implication.  “I do actually.  When things get really tough, I like to have a nice thick bar of semi-sweet baking chocolate on hand.  It, uh, doesn’t disappear as fast and—well, there are reasons.”

“Aisle five, I’ll wait for you at the cash.”

“Thanks!”

When Lucy reached aisle five, she found Natsu staring pensively at the baking supplies.  He sniffed when she approached—something that she was getting used to—grinned toothily, and then handed her two bars of semi-sweet baking chocolate.

“I know it’s dumb, but I couldn’t remember whether you wanted semi-sweet, extra dark or unsweetened.”

“Nobody eats unsweetened, Natsu.”

“Yeah?  Huh.”

“What about you, what were you here for?”

“Oh…”  Natsu looked oddly embarrassed.  “I just thought, you know, that you might have run low on chocolate. I smacked into you outside because I was focussed on what exact type you needed.”

Lucy felt her heart-rate accelerate a little.  He’d had that effect on her ever since the first time they’d met.  If “met” was the right word.  It was surprising how often Natsu seemed to literally bump into her. A couple of times it had even been beneficial:  for example, a few days ago he’d knocked her flying just before a large piece of metal roofing had slid down on top of the spot where she’d been standing.  While Natsu’s tackles were the opposite of gentle, the sheet metal would have hurt her badly if he hadn’t forced her out of the way.

“Oh…” Way to go, Lucy.  Very articulate. “I mean—thanks, Natsu!”  Then her brain caught up with the situation and she added:  “I suppose you were going to bring it over and then pass out in my room while I studied?”

“Your bed is way comfier than mine, and I don’t have to wake up to find Gray hogging the shower.”

“So you’ve told me.” They’d been having this conversation for three weeks now.  Natsu was proving as impervious to hints, orders and outright threats as he was to bodily harm. You know, I meant to ask… “Natsu, how come nothing ever hurts you?  It’s kind of weird, in a good way.”

“Oh, most people who can channel magic are damage resistant.  I thought you knew.”

Lucy stared at him. She considered laughing, but he was obviously serious, and as unconcerned as if they were talking about the weather.  Magic?  “Magic, Natsu?”

“Come on, Luce, we’d better pay and get out of here.”

“Huh?  Natsu!”  She hurried after him, clutching the chocolate.

Not long afterward they found themselves back outside under the cold, eerie light of the late November moon.  It was as good a night as any to believe in magic.  Lucy shivered.  Natsu wrapped an arm around her without hesitation, and she relaxed as his heat began to seep into her.  He was always extra-warm, which was a good thing now that the weather was so cool.

When they got to Lucy’s dorm, Natsu stopped a few feet from the door and turned Lucy around to face him. She’d never seen him so serious.

“I tend to live my life from day-to-day, Luce,” he began.  “I don’t ask why and what a whole lot—I figure I can leave that to people like you and Levy.  But whatever happens, I’ll be there for you.  You’re the one I’m meant to look out for—and maybe vice versa.”

Lucy was startled, but didn’t protest, when Natsu pulled her into a tight hug.

“… Natsu…”

“Sometime, in the past, though I don’t really understand it, I waited for too long to do this.”  Natsu continued to hold her close against his body, so that she could feel his muscles move, even through his jacket. He nuzzled her ear, and she jerked her head back—out of surprise, not dislike.  In fact, the sensation of his warm breath on her neck was provoking sensations very different from dislike.

“Lucy?  What”—his question, whatever it was, went unfinished. Their eyes met, and then their lips.

Somewhere in the far recesses of her mind Lucy noted that there was something about a kiss that couldn’t be properly expressed on paper—although in the future she’d no doubt try again. Warm lips, warm bodies, their arms now wrapped around each other in an effort to be as close as possible.  Lucy felt something like fire run along her nerves as Natsu’s fingers brushed across the soft skin of her neck before twining in her hair.  Her eyes were closed, but for a moment that didn’t seem to matter; somehow, she saw a dragon, as huge and red as anything out of myth, outlined in the darkness behind Natsu.  Even as the vision faded, she wondered—just for a fleeting instant—what she would see if she could see herself.  One day perhaps she’d find out.

[END]

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, commented, liked and reblogged!  ♥♥♥

Tagging:  @shell-senji @nalu-natic @nalufever @unashamed-shipper @eliz1369 @naluloverforever @fury-ous @sanguine-fairy @miss-zei @sabinasanfanfic

@ftfanfics @fic-writer-appreciation

[wendychuu]

The Key To Our Future

A/N: I needed a feel better fic after this week’s chapter idk about you. :’) <3 lets be real that chapter made us all depressed (link to it on ff.net!)

Summary: Some stories endings are just the beginnings. NALU. One-Shot. Based on Chapter 538.

Pairing: Nalu

Rating: T

"Haa..haa..haa.." Lucy pants as she struggles to keep focus to continue writing in the remaining blank pages inside the Book of End.

She tries to keep her breathing normal but it is difficult due to the demonic energy draining her energy away. But nevertheless there's no giving up now, not with Natsu's life on the line, and it's up to her to save him.

Gray and Happy watch Lucy intently; making sure to be there for her for whenever she needs it along with hoping whatever she's writing is working.

"What is…"Happy comments slowly but is too stunned to continue as he moves in closer to examine the book.

"Happening to the book?!" Gray says astonishment in his voice.

After finishing a page, the letters in the book suddenly glow — as the words that were once surrounding the three of them —go back into the book.

"The letters are going back into it." Happy points out.

"With this, everything should be fine…" Lucy says tiredly. She tries to steady her breath; despite Gray cooling her off earlier she still can slightly feel the burning sensation in her body. A few drops of sweat slide drip off her face due to the heat and her breathing are shallow from exhaustion.

Happy tries his best to keep faith in her words yet finds himself in anticipation. He hopes with all his might that everything is, in fact, fine as she says. Zeref's warning about Natsu dying once the book disappears still haunts Happy's mind.

Gray silently nods not bothering to question her. He has full faith in Lucy but there is something peculiar about the entire thing. It seems too easy to just have the ability to gain access and rewrite something like the Book of End. He can't help but worry. Something still doesn't feel right.

"All our memories of him were written," Lucy assures them as she closes the book.

"Natsu's…" Lucy attempts to speak but her voice falters. She struggles to get the words out due to the small amounts of energy she has.

"The Natsu we know…" Lucy tries once more and takes a deep breath to see if that will help give her the strength to get her point across. However, little by little, it seems like no matter what she does her energy just leaves her.

"Is no demon…" Happy helps Lucy by finishing her sentence. He also feels the exact same way as her and knows that regardless of who or what Natsu is, he is always Natsu.

Lucy feels her eyes struggle to stay open and her body is unable to hold on any longer which results in her passing out.

The unconscious celestial mage falls nearly onto the floor if not for Gray being close by and catching her.

"LUCY!" Happy cries in distress.

"I thought that it would be okay since she touched that evil book for such a short while, but…" Gray thinks out loud worried about the well-being of his friend.

He knew something wasn't right.

His hair begins to stand upwards as dark marks appear on parts of his body; he gets his Devil Slayer form out to try and use some of the powers to help Lucy.

"This time I'll use this power to destroy…this demon." Gray holds on to Lucy's right hand to rid of the demonic energy that slowly has been taking over her body; exorcising it in the process.

Moments afterward Lucy regains her consciousness and coughs.

"Are you okay?" Gray asks keeping a tight grip on her; hoping he didn't hurt her.

"Thank you, Gray..." Lucy smiles gratefully.

"The patterns on her body vanished…" Happy mentions wondering how or what exactly Gray did to make them go away.

The Book of End begins to evaporate slowly.

"Look." Gray motions to Lucy.

"The book is disappearing…"

"Zeref was defeated." The Ice-Make user says with a small smile; happy at last everything is finally over.

By the time this book disappears Natsu will go… Words of worry take over Happy's mind as he stares at the book. The blue exceed is still reluctant to fully believe Natsu isn't going to disappear.

He begins to cry thinking all the negative outcomes of all of this. He feels Lucy's hands pull him into a hug as she too, shares his concern. She closes her eyes wishing that Natsu will just hurry and appear out of nowhere or tell them how he's doing.

And as if dreams truly do come true; the sound of someone walking come closer in their direction and it's no other than Natsu.

The three of them look at Natsu unable to even say anything.

No words can even describe how happy Lucy feels seeing the sight of him. Her best friend is here in person, alive, and walking towards them.

The gods have answered her prayers; it is a miracle.

She happily sobs into the palms of her hand, the closer Natsu comes.

"Yo." Natsu waves with a smile as he winks at the group.

"NATSUUU!" Happy practically explodes with joy flying as fast as his wings would take him towards Natsu.

Both Gray and Lucy cheerfully look at Natsu; the two don't say anything yet as they are just enjoying the fact he's here right now.

"It's over." Natsu declares.

"Yeah" Gray agrees.

"As expected of Natsu." Lucy laughs a little while she wipes the tears out of her eyes.

"Uaaahhh! Natsuuu!" Happy bursts into tears hugging and nuzzling himself all over Natsu's face.

"So many tears! I told you I would certainly come back, Happy!" Natsu laughs with amusement as he tries to calm his exceed partner down.

"They're not tears! It's just juice overflowing" Happy retorts.

"No, they're tears."

"Natsu~" Happy repeats Natsu's name again wanting to hug him once more. He mainly needs it to give himself reassurance that Natsu is truly here and not actually going to disappear. He starts to feel emotional at the thought once more.

"Hey…" Natsu notices and pats Happy's head as he pulls him into him into a small hug.

"I think the first also passed away."

"Eh…?" Happy moves a bit away from Natsu to make sure he heard those words right.

Gray gasps in shock.

"The first…" Lucy mutters sadly.

"But you guys shouldn't look so down..." Natsu tries to comfort them. "Because I'm not sure but, isn't this what first wanted…?"

"I see…" Gray looks down with a small smile realizing that it probably is what Mavis has been wanting since the beginning.

"Let's laugh and return to the guild with pride!" Natsu yells with much gusto.

"Yes!" Happy cheers happily.

"Yeah." Gray adds.

"Yes!" Lucy ends with the final agreement; moved by Natsu's speech tears swell in her eyes.

Natsu flashes his classic smile happy to hear his friends feel the same as him.

The three of them begin to head back towards the guild hoping their friends are there waiting for them. Gray and Lucy are a bit ahead of Natsu and Happy but occasionally Lucy looks back at Natsu to ease her anxiety and to possibly overhear what they talk about.

"Your right hand…" Happy looks at Natsu's hand noticing it seems to be burned and in bad shape.

"It's just a bit burned…" Natsu scratches the back of his head trying to play it off cool not to worry Happy. "It'll be okay, Wendy can heal it later!"

"I can see the guild." Gray affirms as he turns his head towards Natsu.

"Even so, just now I feel nostalgic about it." Natsu reminisces.

"..It's finally over." Lucy sighs with relief.

"I want to relax at home for a while…I also need to finish the manuscript to the book I was writing." Lucy declares to herself knowing that she's gotten pretty behind on writing due to the war.

"I need to apologize to Juvia properly." Gray says sheepishly. Recollections of the fight between Invel, himself, and Juvia fill Gray's mind.

"When things calm down a bit, I wanna go out on another adventure." Lucy hums optimistically.

"That's great." Gray compliments.

"I want to go too!" Happy chimes in.

"An adventure to find Aquarius Key!"

"Aye! I love that huge fish!" Happy excitedly waves his arm together.

"She's half-fish, half-person!" Gray exclaims in disbelief at Happy.

"She's a mermaid." Lucy corrects both them.

"Speaking of which, since this battle ended, is there something you wanna do?" Lucy asks Happy. She is genuinely curious to hear if Natsu has any plans or just him and Happy in general. Maybe they can come with her if they wanted.

"Aye!"

"Do you wanna announce it? Natsu~" Happy teases as he withholds a giggle.

Lucy and Gray look back wondering why Natsu didn't respond.

"Natsu?" Happy repeats his name.

But the three soon realize no one was there.

Fear stricken faces took over all of them.

How long was Natsu gone?

"Huh? Natsu where are you?" Happy tears up ready to panic at any given moment.

"Hey…stop this weird joke." Gray demands angrily.

"…" Lucy balls her hands into a fist and trembles.

"Why…"

"I should have rewritten it properly…" The blonde complains; unable to mask the regret in her voice.

All faith is lost.

Everything has been for nothing.

"U-Uguh..."

Lucy grinds her teeth back and forth as the tears silently fill her eyes. Her hands shake once more becoming clenched fists and she digs her fingers into her palms as she bites her lip quivering up.

"WHY!"

Lucy's face contorts into a terribly beautiful, yet heartbreaking expression as she lets herself fall to the ground.

"Natsu? Where are you?" Happy hastily flies looking for Natsu.

"This can't be…" Gray in denial refuses to believe this is even happening. He had watched Lucy the entire time, never taking an eye off her as she wrote in the missing letters. He watched her through blood, sweat, and tears to do whatever she had to save Natsu's life. Everything she did helped him so why...what went wrong?

"NATSUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Lucy screams letting out such a piercing cry so loud, it can be heard bellowing throughout Magnolia.

"Why! Why!" Lucy mourns smacking her hands against the hard pavement on the ground. "He shouldn't have disappeared…I…W-We…"She chokes up midway stopping herself to swallow to catch her breath. "It's not… It's not fair!" She digs her nails into her hands tightly, ignoring the developing scrapes she is giving herself.

"Lucy you gotta calm down!" Gray tries to get a grip on Lucy to reason with her but no avail. All he wants to do is comfort and calm her down; he knows out of everyone the most how important Natsu is to Lucy.

Deciding to not give up, Gray nearly gets smacked in the process of her tantrum but finally gets ahold of her and looks at her in the face as calm as possible.

"Breathe Lucy, you have to breathe."

Lucy stops for a brief moment and does what he says then quietly whimpers into his arms.

"Natsu is gone forever…" Happy says meekly joining Gray who is busy comforting Lucy. He gets in between the two of them also wanting comfort as well.

Lucy's eyes become filled with sorrow; her face stares blankly off into space as she recalls everything that has happened throughout the war.

Though there's one thing, in particular, she learned from it all, it was that was what helped her truly realize how much she loves Natsu.

From meeting Natsu the first time when he saved her from the criminal "Salamander" Bora, to him dragging her along in Hargeon and helped her join Fairy Tail — the guild she's dreamed of joining for so long — to giving her kind friends, a loving guild of a family, and new goals in life.

He saved her from poison when they went to Galuna Island.

He caught her when she was falling out of the tower as she yelled out his name being sure that he would be there to catch her.

Lucy blushes as she remembered fondly of when Natsu had uprooted the entire Rainbow Sakura tree for her specifically since she couldn't go to the viewing because she was sick.

Natsu…I…

The fire dragonslayer took her on many adventures, some were just crazy and others were fun. There were also times where things got rough but they always had each other's backs through thick and thin in the end. After all, it was more fun when they were together.

Yet the world has been so unfair and cruel to her and Natsu.

Is it so hard to just let us be happy?

Fate why must you be so cruel to us...

Lucy feels anger rise within her; she shoves herself away off of Gray to give herself some space. She places her hand across where her heart is; the place where she has been keeping her residing feelings for Natsu and stares up into the vast sky.

Suddenly a strange feeling erupts within her heart. It's a warm feeling, a familiar feeling, a strong feeling.

Lucy suddenly finds herself in a white space and across from her, there's a figure standing in front of her who appears to be running right at her.

Lucy- The voice begins suddenly then Lucy blacks out.

Suddenly Lucy feels newfound determination wiping the dry stains from her tears off her face.

"No more crying." She vows as she wobbles standing upwards to regain her posture.

"Huh?" Both Gray and Happy watch in shock at Lucy's sudden mood change.

"It's not the time to sit and cry or do nothing. We need to find him. We need to find Natsu!"

Happy smiles tearfully agreeing; satisfied that Lucy is back to her usual self again and it seems she has a plan as well.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Gray chuckles.

"We're going to look all over Magnolia; let's split up." Lucy suggests.

"But Lucy…there's only three of us we can't possibly search the entire town ourselves" Happy replies doubtfully.

"Happy's got a point there." Gray concludes.

"You don't have to worry about that." A low familiar voice adds in.

The trio all look at each other wondering who just said those words until they turn around to see Erza and behind her, the rest of the guild—including Makarov—ready to be used at their disposal.

Lucy smiles as her chin trembles at the sight of her family.

"We got your back, Lucy, you can count on us." Erza gently hugs the Heartfilia with a small squeeze.

"Yeah, girl I'm here for you." Cana places a hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"Don't worry Lucy, I can help too! I have a good sense of smell that can help track Natsu down!" Wendy beams with a twinkle in her eye as she holds onto one of Lucy's hands.

"Ay, don't go takin' all the glory kiddo. I've got smelling capabilities too ya know." Gajeel's rough voice breaks through the girls; he ruffles the sky dragonslayer's hair earning a pout from her in response.

"Love rival fear, not for Juvia has your back, you can count on me." Juvia simply states moving in closer to the group; giving Lucy a warm smile.

"We got ya Lucy." Mirajane winks with Lisanna agreeing alongside her.

"We'll bring em home Lucy." Makarov weakly gives her a thumbs up.

The rest of the guild told her similar words; all in all wanting to do nothing more than to help her find Natsu.

"Ev-Everyone…" Lucy lifts her hands to cover her mouth; feeling moved by the words of her fellow guild members.

"I…thank you."

Afterward the guild split up into different squad units.

Gajeel, Levy, and Pantherlily to the station and Book land.

Erza, Jellal, Wendy, along with Carla, to the hospital.

Laxus, Mirajane, Lisanna, and Cana to the public bath.

Juvia and Gray to Fairy Hills.

Happy decided to go check his and Natsu's house.

Makarov and the rest of the other guild members to the East Forest.

Lucy decides to stay at South Gate Park to check if there is any sign of Natsu here.

Time passes and it's getting late.

Happy's the first to come back and reports that Natsu wasn't home.

Shortly after, each group came back and shared the same news.

"I just don't know where that boy could have gone off to." Makarov grumbles folding his arms together.

"It's okay Lu, don't worry we'll find him." Levy rubs Lucy's back as she notices the blonde is beginning to lose hope.

"Are you sure you checked everywhere though Lucy?" Gray asks wondering if they missed any places.

"Erm..yeah, I hav-…WAIT!" Lucy gasps.

"My apartment!"

"Wow, how could we forget the most important place of all?" Erza says blatantly in a teasing way.

Giggles from the other guild members, especially Mirajane and Cana can be heard.

"Oh goodness…" Wendy shyly twirls a finger in one of her pigtails unsure whether to giggle with them or get embarrassed.

Lucy blushes feeling her embarrassment rise wanting to deny but knew it isn't the time.

"Come, everyone! To Lucy's apartment-"Erza shouts valiantly but is cut off by Lucy before she can finish.

"I want to go myself though!"

"Eh?"

"But Lucy are you sure?" Cana interjects.

"I'm positive." Lucy affirms trying to emphasize that she wants and needs to do this alone.

"Well, we won't force you but…let us know immediately if you need some help okay? We'll be waiting here for you." Gray pats her head.

"Thank you, Gray. In fact, thank you, everyone, you've all been a big help…I'll be back soon!" Lucy waves and then heads off into the direction of her apartment.

As soon as her apartment comes into view she dashes up the stairs hastily. Unlocking the door within seconds she bursts into the room nearly tripping over a hair brush that is on the floor.

"What the hell…when was this…?" Not bothering to question how or why it got there she charges into the depths of her room trying to check every nook and cranny for Natsu.

Checking high and low she calls his name as she searches for him. Or anything that can give him away but—she can't find him anywhere.

"Natsu...where the hell are you!"

No answer still.

Lucy's shoulders drop in resignation. She deeply lets out a sigh feeling the need to cry her eyes out all over again.

"Natsu…please…I…I can't...I can't be without you." She croaks holding her hands over her heart ready to cry at any moment.

Just as she's about to cry she feels arms hugging around her.

Lucy's heart skips a beat as she can feel hot breath against the back of her neck, leaving her to shudder and blush at the feeling.

"Lucy…" A voice whispers her name so quietly it's barely audible to hear.

"Natsu?" Lucy returns with a question of her own in the same tone as the mysterious voice. Unsure if she's going crazy she swears that the voice is Natsu's and hopes by some miracle that it is.

A moment later she hears the faint sound of what sounds like a chuckle.

Natsu's chuckle.

"Is this a dream?" Lucy softly speaks up hoping her words are as clear as she can make them. "It almost sounds like that was a laugh from Natsu."

"Hah…" She isn't sure if she can allow herself to believe this is all really happening.

"This isn't a dream though Lucy…" The voice replies in a rather stern but gentle tone.

After that Lucy can't resist anymore she needs to know if this is a dream and who is with her right now. She instantly feels her cheeks wet; her eyes widen in revelation.

Pink spiky hair.

Scarf.

Usual charcoal smell.

It's him.

"I'm truly here Luce." Natsu cups one of Lucy's cheeks with a hand lovingly. "I'm truly here and never going anywhere again."

Lucy becomes overridden with emotions and jumps onto Natsu hugging him.

"YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT! I WAS SO WORRIED! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE!" The celestial mage hugs him tightly, not wanting to ever let him go. Natsu wraps his arms around her bringing the two as close as possible, wanting to make sure Lucy is able to fully believe it's him in the flesh.

"I was beginning to fade away though but then I heard your voice and saw you, Lucy. I don't know how but I saw you and I tried to run to you but something wouldn't let me. Then I ended up here." Natsu says in a low tone.

"I heard yours too…Natsu. I was there as well actually and I knew it was you that I had seen. I was trying to reach you but I blacked out." Lucy hangs her head down. "I don't exactly get what had happened or why we were there…"

"Natsu I-I…I can't stand the thought of losing you! I can't handle it anymore."Lucy clutches her heart remembering the pain she felt in her heart during all the times Natsu was in danger. She blushes due to having admitted her feelings in a way and continues to look down on the ground in hopes Natsu can't see the expression on her face.

Unfortunately for her he wanted to see it and he lifts her chin up with his thumb; wanting her to look at him. Natsu begins to open his mouth as if he is going to answer back but Lucy is faster and springs up an issue the two have long since needed to talk about.

Feeling the air already too awkward Lucy thinks she may as well get everything out in the open while she's at it.

"Natsu…when you left for a year it was hard." Lucy states. "It nearly broke my heart when I found out you had a tumor inside of you. I thought you were going to…die" She hesitates to try to sound out the word. "I found out about you being END but I didn't care, regardless of who and what you are, you are always going to be Natsu to me. Not a demon, not a monster, Natsu."

"And if you truly disappeared from the world I would have been miserable without you…"

"…"

Natsu quietly accepts her confessions feeling warmth rise within his cheeks. He bites the inside of his cheek cursing himself for not being able to respond as quickly as he liked.

"Thank you." He blurts out suddenly.

"No one has really cared…this much about my life."

Natsu inhales deeply as if he is trying to calm his nerves down.

"I'm still truly sorry I left for that year Lucy. You didn't deserve that and it did hurt me to do so."

"It's okay Natsu, I mean, I forgave you a long time ago so don't worry about it." Lucy answers calmly.

"While I left to get stronger for everyone, including you, I wanted to try and see if I could find Aquarius' key to bring back to you Lucy, to make up for leaving like that. Of course, I couldn't probably take too much of the pain away but…" Natsu trails off.

Lucy opens her mouth slightly; awestruck from hearing those words come out of his mouth. Though now she feels terrible thinking back because of how angry she was at the time.

"Also I, um, I appreciate you being so worried and taking care of me when I was unconscious." The pink haired dragonslayer veers his attention off of Lucy so she won't see the redness of his face.

"Ya gotta laugh though how fate has put us through hell and back with each other. One of us is either going through death or a near death experience." He continues with a hint of laughter in his voice. "When I thought you had died from Dimaria, it made me go insane with rage. Life wouldn't be the same…without you either."

Lucy feels her face grow hotter hearing that all that was over her. She is touched once more yet happy at the same time. She takes a free hand of hers placing it on his —that is currently still on her cheek—beaming a bright smile—but then feels like she probably looks goofy so she tries to hide the fact she is a blushing mess.

Lucy also remembers what Happy had said earlier about Natsu having to "announce something".

"Natsu, um, earlier Happy was telling me how you had something you wanted to announce when this was all over?" She decides to be brave and ask seeing if she can get an answer.

"Uh…" Natsu loses his composure for a brief moment wanting to back away from Lucy but holds his ground keeping cool.

"I uh, I have no idea what you're talking about. Sorry." Happy now comes to mind and Natsu's face grows a more worry some expression wondering if he's doing okay.

Lucy pouts and chides herself for bringing Happy up because it just ruined the moment. She knows how much of an important part of Natsu's life Happy is to him.

Uuuugah…I still want to continue talking to you though Natsu…

As if cutting her off from her thoughts Natsu abruptly takes Lucy's hand out the door leaving her flabbergasted,

"Don't worry Lucy, I plan to make the announcement very shortly, but not right now." Natsu winks while running faster taking Lucy closer by his side so she can match his running speed.

Lucy nods agreeing but is now even more curious as to just what kind of announcement it is going to be.

They shortly bump into everyone from the guild and they run at Natsu like a stampede. Most hug Natsu crying saying they missed him. It results in creating a circle around him and Lucy, but she slips away so she doesn't get mauled.

"NATSU!" An emotional Happy leaps onto Natsu hugging him so tightly it was making it hard for Natsu to breathe.

"Never scare me again, will ya?" Gray smacks Natsu's head in a playful way.

"Hey there Natsu, looking good I see."

Natsu sees Makarov in the arms of Erza and nearly finds himself wanting to cry because he's happy that in the end, Makarov is okay.

Everyone keeps asking about how it went with the battle against Zeref or where Mavis is.

"Before I start telling stories though guys there's something I wanna do first." Natsu says with a toothy grin.

"Sorry for making you wait, Luce. The "announcement" I have to make is aimed specifically at you and only you." He walks up to her and takes a hand of hers gently; holding it as he continues speaking.

Lucy feels her cheeks glow wanting to take her hand away but as if Natsu can read her mind his grip tightens to make sure she doesn't try and escape. Unsure of what's happening Lucy decides to not resist and stays quiet.

Happy giggles and gets off of Natsu knowing exactly what's about to happen. He is the only one Natsu ever told his announcement to.

"First things first…"

"Lucy I'm sorry I'm a reckless idiot sometimes. I know I've messed up and I thank you for staying with me regardless. I know sometimes it can be super crazy and there have been quite a few times that were hard to handle. But I overall really enjoy being your friend, teammate, and partner. I love everything about you." Natsu confesses.

"And I have something special I wanna give to you."

Natsu pulls out a box and opens it in front of Lucy.

And the look on her face is worth taking a picture of.

The gift inside is the key of Aquarius.

"I was able to find it and meant to give it to you the next time Id see ya but..we were a bit awkward for a while so I waited till the time was right."

Lucy breaks down in tears of nothing but complete happiness. She just can't even believe what's happening right now. He hands it to her and she takes it holding it like a newborn baby.

She wants nothing more than to kiss Natsu and thank him as many times as she can.

"Now Lucy save the tears if you can, there's something else."

Natsu gets down one knee pulling out yet another box.

"N-Natsu…?" Lucy breathes deeply; feeling her heart ready to burst.

"Lucy…I can't imagine growing old with anyone else, nor do I want to. I know you're the only one I want to share the rest of my life with. There are many ways to be happy in life…but all I really need is you. I love you." Natsu admits with nothing but love in his voice as he starts to get emotional and caught up in the moment.

"And I know my life will never be complete without you beside me to share it. The story of our love is only the beginning. Let's write our own happy ending. Let's write our own future Lucy, let's write the future we both deserve, together. That's why…"

"Lucy Heartfilia…" Natsu sounds her name out entirely.

"Will you do me the honor of being my wife and marrying me?"

Natsu opens the box.

Inside is a gold band garnished with pink jewels in the shape of stars with a red heart in the center. On top of the heart, there is tiny little princess tiara.

Lucy has never felt her heart glow so wildly, it is filled with love and happiness, it could burst at any moment.

She breaks down in tears smiling widely jumping into Natsu's arms.

"YES!"