Of Burning Hearts & Metallic Roses

(Late) NatZa Week: Fear

"True love is taking the risk that it won't be a happily-ever-after. True love is joining hands with the man who loves you for who you are and saying 'I am not afraid to believe in you.'" ~Cara Lockwood

His home, his guild, everything that once was the town of Magnolia now stood nothing but ruins, rubble that signified the end was near.

He stood on top of it, inspecting every house that once stood high and mighty, every structure now nothing but rock and dust. Every tree that once stood, now nothing but ash and broken. Every smile he once knew, gone and faded.

He was glad that everyone managed to leave, evacuated the town was. There was no one and nothing else but a newly done ruin.

The pinkette sighed. He looked down onto his left arm, bloodied, most of it not his blood. It was tingly, not enough to cause him pain.

"There you are, Natsu." Another mage, a scarlet haired beauty walked towards him. She herself had some bruises and blood all over her armor.

"You think all of this violence could've been avoided, Erza?" A hint of sadness was in his tone as he looked over the destroyed town.

"I can't say it couldn't." She remembered the laughter and the people in the town, imagining it once more in front of her. She missed those days.

"I feel like this is my fault…" Natsu sat down, bringing his knees into his chest.

"This isn't your fault!" She exclaimed at him, taking a seat next to him, placing her left hand on his right shoulder.

"Well it sure feels like it," he continued to pout. "If I didn't kill Zeref, all of thousands of his demons would not have been summoned upon his death!"

"You couldn't have known at the time!" She tried reasoning with him, telling him that none of this, the release of all of Zeref's demons and their wake of their destruction was not his guilt to carry.

"I should've seen it coming though…" His palms were now embalmed into fists, angered at his own actions against his evil brother. "If I had known that his real end game was to unleash the apocalypse, unleash this hell on Earth upon me bashing his whole face in, I would've never done it."

"Natsu…" Behind those words, she could see her loved one hurting.

"A lot of good people keep dying, hoping to see a better day than this hell hole, most of our friends we've considered family are sacrificing themselves for the mess I put them in , they don't deserve any of this." His lips trembled. All his words, he's meant them all.

"They don't, but you should not put the blame on solely on yourself!" Erza continued to exclaim back at him. She knew his own words, his thoughts had cut him deep, but she knew that they were only half-truths.

"Why shouldn't I, Erza? I'm the one that killed him! I'm the one that plagued our home with these filthy mongrel demons!" Natsu had exclaimed back at her, placing boh his arms on her shoulders.

She stared into his eyes, seeing the man now believing his own half-truths. "Because…" She paused. She closed her eyes and in that moment that seem to take an eternity, she had found the words she looked for I'm the back of her tongue. "Because I believe in you."

"W-What!?"

"I believe you did what you had to do," she brought her right hand, placing it over Natsu's hand on her shoulder, as she explained. "Anybody else would've done the same thing, nothing would change the outcome of this."

"Erza…"

"Regardless of what you would've done, Zeref would've released his demons whether you would've killed him or not." She continued to tell him.

"… I suppose so…" He finally took her words into consideration. "Still, I'm the one that killed him. I'm the one carrying the burden of putting us in this hell…."

"Whether it was you or not, I still stand by you, I will never put the blame on you, never in a million years." Like he had done so many years ago, Erza placed her forehead on his, confident in the man she loves.

Her warmness was all he needed, especially in these dire times. "Thank you Erza." Their composures were back to normal.

Erza cupped his cheek, enjoying the warmness of him on her cold hand. "Well glad we sorted this out, don't want the man in my life pouting over something someone else would in his position as well."

"That and this," He placed his right hand on her steel plates stomach. "This little guy in here can't also have a father pouting about everything."

"That is right." The two shared a heartwarming smile amongst each other.

"Hey guys!" A shirtless mage yelled from a far. "Lucy, Wendy and I found more people trapped in their homes!"

The two turned in his direction, waving his right arm and hand high above his head. "I guess we should go and help with the search and rescue, hub?" Just as Natsu got up, he felt his left hand held in Erza's hand, not letting him go just yet. "Hmm, something else wrong?"

"Aren't you scared?" She asked him.

"…"

"Natsu?" She waited for a response, looking up at the man in his silent stance.

"… yeah I am," he told her the truth. "But, when I'm with you, there's nothing to fear, not even these half assed demons!" He looked at her, giving her the most reassuring smile. A smile she hadn't seen on him for a long time.

A small tear escaped, slowly strolling down her right cheek. "Then I'm not afraid either."

He helped her up. "I know this isn't our happy ending we expected Erza, but no matter what happens in our future, I will not let anyone come near you or our kid." Natsu now held Erza in his arms, in an embrace.

"Now I know I'm capable of protecting myself and our kid, but hearing those words coming out of your mouth is very reassuring." She smiled.

Natsu reached in, interlocking his lips with hers. It only lasted a couple of seconds but for them, those seconds were a life time.

They know, holding onto to each other's hands, walked towards their friends call.

Author's Note: Sorry this was much shorter than I expected. That and the fact that it's been awhile since I've last updated, sorry about that.

Anyways, that finally concludes all seven prompts for NatZa week that was back in October of 2016… yikes, took me long enough, hahaha.

Well, now I am able to start on some of those requests. Just jot them down in the reviews or send me a PM. I already got a few requests so I am gonna start on those.

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the first 7 chapters of the one shots!