NaLu Week - 2017

Wild

Summary: The final battle is over, the dragon slayers are back, well all except one. Lucy had no idea what to think, believing Natsu was dead for months. But when he shows up out of the blue, Lucy is certainly happy to see him, but the tension is nearly unbearable.

    NaLu

    Rating - M due to mature scenes, language, and themes

    Genre - Romance & Angst

    Word Count - 5,617 Words

       

Lucy looked around the guild hall. Where the hell was he? They had done it together, had promised that they would be there for each other, always. There was Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, Wendy, Erik, and Laxus. They were all there, all of the dragon slayers were there, but one. A single one who hadn't reappeared on the planes of this world.

A hand dropped onto her shoulder. Lucy looked up to see all six of them looking at her in worry.

"Are you gonna be okay, Lucy?" Laxus was the first one to speak. Self consciously, she nodded her head. Everyone else had gone home and changed, then met back at the guild hall. She was the only one who was still in her battle worn clothing. There were tears everywhere, barely covering her skin. She felt the warm air layering it, reminding her of how it felt when he was standing just behind her.

Gajeel looked at her, but he didn't say anything, just talked with his eyes. He will be here. They read, and Lucy nodded to him. "All of you," she spoke, "thank you for everything you did." She was surprised how well her voice carried, and how everyone stopped to listen to her. "You risked your lives to save the people of Magnolia. Most of you, this isn't even your hometown. But Fiore is vast, and being together like this, is being a united people." Lucy didn't know what came over her, and Happy had landed on her shoulder, cautiously playing with her hair. "Everyone here has given their all in order to protect, in order to conquer; and without our friendships that were made throughout the years, none of this would have happened. So, even though he isn't here, I just wish to thank Natsu for bringing me here. I want to thank him for the adventures we had, and the many he promised. I want," her voice began shaking and she put a hand on her chest to steady herself, "to thank him for being himself no matter what. For not giving in to the demon side of himself even when he thought I was dead. Even though he almost did, it means so much to me that he stayed true to himself. And those of you who showed him he could."

Lucy looked at Gray, who had his arm slung around Juvia. "Thank you for pushing him." She turned to Erza, who was holding Jellal up. "Thank you for saving them both." Then she turned to the dragon slayers who stood in front of her. "Thank you, so much, for allowing him to prove himself." A single clap began, before the entirety of those gathered were clapping. Lucy looked at the ground, and gave a slight smile, knowing Natsu would want her to.

Later that evening, Lucy walked out of the guild. Happy was on her shoulder again as they walked to her apartment. "He's not gone." The blue feline assured her, and that first day she believed him. She held Happy close as she slept, keeping the one person who knew Natsu better than herself close to her side.

But then a week passed. Lucy and Happy would wake up each day and search around for the pink-haired dragon slayer in her house. Then they would go to the guild and repeat that process. Their last stop was always Natsu and Happy's cottage, before heading back to her apartment. She still kept her hopes up, leaving the window and door unlocked. It was the second week, he hadn't come back, but someone in Hargeon had found his scarf. They knew it belonged to Fairy Tail's fire dragon slayer and brought it back, thinking he may be there. Erza had gripped it, attempting to hide it before Lucy could see. Not that it worked.