The Fallen(Nalu)

4- Reunion

I stare at him in awe, my whole body completely stuck in its shock.

The corner of his smile falls and he looks at me worriedly.

"Lucy?..."

I don't say anything and prop my hands on the ground, leaning my head up. I slowly sit up, my back screaming in protest as I do.

"Woah, Lucy, you need to stay still."

I completely ignore him and lean forward, wrapping my arms around his torso.

My fingers graze across his back only to latch on when they go as far as they can. I feel the slightly worn fabric of his shirt that he always wears. I can also feel his surprise at my actions. He tenses slightly and his hands waver in the air right above my back, unsure of what to do.

My breath releases once I feel the warmth that radiates from Natsu's body, and I close my eyes, pressing my face into his shoulder.

This is his smell, and his body. This is his warmth and everything about him that I last saw years ago. This is Natsu.

Oh, how I missed him.

I sigh and tighten my grip on the back of his shirt.

"It's been so long."

"Two and a half years."

He says it in a slightly mocking tone. I can hear the disappointment laced into his voice.

I tense up and release my hold on him, leaning back. He looks at me with a mix of concern and disappointment, and I turn my gaze away.

"Yeah."

He scratches the back of his head awkwardly.

"So...why'd you jump off of a cliff?"

I scowl at him.

"I didn't mean to...I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

He barks out an obnoxious laugh, and my mouth tilts up at the corner.

"Not paying attention to where you were going--that sounds like something I would do!"

I shuffle slightly and rest my back against the trunk of a tree.

"Yeah, yeah. It wasn't my best moment."

I wait until he finishes laughing and looks at me.

"I have a lot of questions."

He nods his head.

"I know."

I pause for a moment before speaking.

"Why are you here?"

A goofy grin spreads on his face and he chuckles.

"To help of course."

"You already said that, Natsu. How are you here?"

He taps his chin in thought and then looks at me with a mock serious expression.

"Well, you see, I took a couple of trains..got sick, threw up. I got kicked off of a train for puking on someone. Then I walked a little bit, got distracted by some restaurants, got into a couple fights, the usual. Then I walked some more, ate some more, tried my hand at the train again, should've already learned my lesson..."

He counts everything on his fingers, rambling on about all the unimportant things.

"Natsu!"

He stops his rambling and looks at me.

"Huh?"

"That's enough. You know what I meant."

He drops his act and stares at me somewhat accusingly, with an eyebrow raised.

"Well you wanted to see me didn't you?"

"...Of course.."

"So I'm here."

We stare at each other in a heavy silence for a moment, before he breaks it with his childishness.

"You should call me your knight in shining armour! The strongest guy around! Everybody cowers in the face of the great Natsu Dragneel!"

I roll my eyes and turn my gaze to the receding sunlight. Only thin beams of light shine over and through the edges of the tree tops.

"Some knight you are, showing up after the girl has already hit the ground."

He crosses his arms and pouts.

"It's called being fashionably late."

I snap my gaze to him and burst out into laughter.

"Who in the world taught you that phrase?"

He shrugs.

"Erza said it one time and then punched me after I said her clothes looked dumb. It stuck in my head after that."

I laugh some more.

"Oh yeah. I remember that. That was the week that she was going through all of her clothes and showed up late to the train station. To be fair, she did have a strange outfit on that day."

Natsu laughs alongside me.

"She can be a demon sometimes, but when she got all angry with that silly hat on, I just couldn't help but laugh more."

We both laugh and the conversation continues on until the sun has completely set and the moon light shines onto the trees.

"We should probably sleep. We can head to the next town in the morning. It's not too far."

He nods his head and we both get comfortable where we're at.

"Good night."

He lays down and shuts his eyes.

"Night."

My eyes stay open and I gaze at Natsu. His expression is relaxed and I can see the rhythmic breathing as his chest falls up and down.

Two and a half years.

That's a long time.

There's something different about him, but I can't place it exactly. It's just...not exactly the same as it was.

Two and a half years that we've kept living our lives, without ever seeing each other.

I sigh and lay on my back, gazing up at the endless night.