Nalu oneshot/scenario

I'm sorry..

(Not sure if the title match, but I'm not sure what to call it)

If you haven't read the 100 years quest please don't read! Spoiler ahead!

This takes place after chapter 153

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"Man, today's fight was awesome!"Natsu exclaimed with a huge grin on his face as he took a big bite of his big chunk of meat.

"It sure was",Erza agreed with a nod, a soft and relieved yet tired smile plastered on her face.

"Hm?"Natsu blinked a few times as he looked around their circle. Lucy is missing.. "Where's Luce?"He asked.

"Lucy went to bed early with Wendy I think",Gray replied without looking away from his plate of food. "I don't blame them though, today was exhausting!"

Erza nodded her head in agreement. "We should also rest soon. Afterall, we have a big task ahead of us."

Everyone nodded in agreement, even Natsu who wasn't tired in the slightest as the thought of finally searching and beating up Ignia kept him wide awake.

"I'm so excited!"Natsu giggled like a child.

"Mm, go to sleep Natsu..."Happy said half-asleep before dozing off.

"Mm.."Natsu frowned. "But I'm not tired yet!"

If Happy was awake, he'd call him crazy for still having so much energy after today's exhausting fight. Though he wouldn't be surprised either. Natsu will forever be Natsu.

"Awh, now he's asleep too!"Natsu pouted but covered happy with a small blanket nonetheless. As much as he'd love to yap with Happy, he didn't want to disturb his little cat's sleep after a tiring day like this one.

Not able to stay still for long, Natsu soon decided to leave his tent to get some fresh air and just move his body.

"Eh? Luce?"Confused on seeing his dear friend who had apparently went to bed early still awake, he approached her. "Hehe, maybe I should scare her-!"

He tip-toed to her with the biggest grin on his face and jumped from behind her. "Bah!"

"Ah!"Lucy screamed and fell from the log she was sitting on. "Natsu!!"

Instead of being amused by her reaction, Natsu froze as he saw small drops of tears falling from Lucy's eyes.

"Luce? Why are you crying?"He asked, his demeanor now shifted into a worried and serious one.

"It's nothing.."She mumbled and quickly wiped away her tears.

Natsu frowned at her obvious lie. He may not be the smartest, but it's clear as day that she's not fine! "You're horrible at lying."

He sat beside her on the ground while she purposefully looked away, avoiding her friend's worried gaze.

"What's wrong?"Natsu asked in a softer tone. A rare thing for this maniac of a dragon slayer.

"It's nothing don't worry",Lucy claimed while still avoiding his gaze.

That made him frown further as he moved in front of her. His face was now dangerously close to hers.

Lucy shrieked as her cheeks flushed red. "N-natsu-!"She extented her hands to push him away, but Natsu didn't budge at all.

"It's not 'nothing' if you cried!"Natsu said firmly. His intense gaze never left her nervous brown ones.

"F-fine, I'll tell you!"Her cheeks reddened from fluster. "But please move back.."

The latter stared for a few more seconds before he moved away. "So?"

She hesitated a bit. "I was just a bit upset about Athena.."

"Athena? But she's safe though??"Natsu said with clear confusion written on his face.

"I know! It's just.."Lucy lowered her head. "I-I thought she was gone.. I thought I'd never see her again.." Tears welled up in her eyes again. "I didn't want to lose someone again.."

His usually bold eyes softened at the sight of her tears. "Luce.."

"But she's fine now, so it's okay!"Lucy forced a smile, though her tears betrayed her. Sure, her new friend Athena is now safe. But that doesn't mean the pain of the thought of loosing her didn't hurt. Especially when she couldn't even grieve the lost of her friend earlier as she was needed in battle..

Ever since her mother passed, she'd always feared to lose the ones she loves. All those times that she almost lost her friends, Natsu, didn't help her fear either. It only got progressively worse. Even when her friend is safe now, in that very moment she could feel a piece of her heart threatening to break.

Not knowing what exactly to say to cheer her up, Natsu gently pulled her into his embrace and patted her back as comfort.

"Hiks.."Lucy sobbed on his chest as he held her, protectively even.

Seeing her cry is never a nice sight for Natsu. He hates seeing her cry. Even worse if he's at fault for it. He will never forgive himself for the time that he made her cry.

"I'm sorry.."For some reason, he had the feeling that he had to apologize. Even when he didn't really know why, he felt that it was the right thing to do.

"What are you sorry for..?"Lucy asked in between sobs as she looked at him with her tears filled eyes.

"I felt like I had to",He replied softly and carefully wiped away her tears.

Despite being confused, Lucy decided to brush it off, though she couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth blooming in her heart.

And so, the two of them hugged in silence for a couple more minutes before they pulled away and proceed to watch the stars in silent as none of them wanted to leave the other's side just yet.

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Incase anyone wondering why Natsu apologized, I just felt like it was right of him to apologize since he was the one to tell Lucy to fight when she was crying and grieving. I think Natsu would also apologize if he knew that he had hurt Lucy.