Solitary Princess - Nalu ✔️

Chapter 6

Lucy was frozen in place as Natsu slowly looked up at her.

Her ears were ringing.

The silence was deafening, but all that really mattered was the boy- no, the man- in front of her.

Lucy broke from the silence, rushing to the pinkette, crying out, "Natsu!"

She gripped onto his cloak in an embrace.

Lucy wasn't sure how he would react, but she didn't really care as she held onto him, almost afraid he would disappear. This was the first good thing that had happened to her in a long time. Natsu was the first good memory she had been able to rediscover.

Natsu chuckled lightly. His voice was deep and velvety now. He returned the tight hug and bent his neck to bury his nose in her hair.

Lucy inhaled his familiar scent as she finally remembered that the scarf belonged to Natsu's father, Igneel. She was reminded of his warmth in the embrace with her lost childhood friend.

Lucy was relieved beyond all thought that Natsu had not immediately pushed her away. She didn't know what she would do if he was angry at her for abandoning him or if he had forgotten about her all together.

Lucy giggled, happiness bubbling inside her. This was how it should've always been.

They stood there, enjoying each other's warmth for a few minutes until Lucy finally pulled away, wanting to talk.

"Natsu," she said again.

"Lucy," he replied in a soft voice, gazing down at her.

"How... How have you been?" Lucy had no idea what to say as she shyly looked at him from behind her hair.

He chuckled again and replied, "As good as I could hope to be," he put his hand on her arm, "but I missed you."

Lucy looked him in the eye and smiled softly, "I missed you too. A lot." She stepped into the shadow of the tent, "What are you doing here?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow jokingly, "Well, to compete and become a general, of course."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Well, yea, but why would you want to become general?"

Natsu looked into Lucy's eyes, captivating her, "To see you- all the time- like we used to."

"I'm sorry," Lucy spoke up suddenly, "I didn't know that my father would become so cruel... I-If I knew-"

Natsu cut her off, his words holding an edge, "I know Luce, if you would've known, you wouldn't still be here," he reached out and gripped her hand, "But you didn't know. None of us did."

Lucy nodded, squeezing his hand slightly and biting her lip, "Sorry," she choked out again.

Natsu pulled her into another embrace, resting his head on top of hers.

Lucy pulled away after a moment, smiling sheepishly, "Look who's grown tall."

"Look who hasn't," Natsu stood taller, proudly looking down at Lucy.

Lucy pouted at him. As kids, Natsu was always shorter than her. She used to tease him relentlessly, "Hey, just because you've grown tall doesn't mean I haven't grown too."

He smiled softly at her, "I know. You certainly have grown."

Lucy didn't know why, but she blushed, desperately hoping the shadows would hide it. She laughed nervously, now extremely aware of how close Natsu was and how he towered a good seven inches above her.

Lucy took a deep breath and looked back at him, "How is your family?"

A shadow passed across Natsu's eyes. He quickly disguised it, but Lucy had already noticed, "They're fine. We'll talk more another time though."

"Why can't we talk now?" Lucy didn't really feel like leaving Natsu so soon.

Natsu looked away, "I need sleep for tomorrow and you need to get back before someone notices you're gone."

Lucy huffed, knowing he was right, "Could we talk tomorrow night? I don't really want to leave you just like this."

Natsu grinned his famous grin as Lucy's heart fluttered, "Don't worry Luce, I'll see you soon."

She nodded in return, trusting his words, "See you later Natsu," she turned but added, "Good luck tomorrow!"

And with that, the blonde raised her hood again, creeping back to her room.

Natsu pov:

Natsu rubbed his cheeks, willing the warm blush to go away, "Dammit, she really has changed."

The tent flap next to him opened and a dark-haired, shirtless man poked his head out, "Finally, you're d- Boy... you look like you really enjoyed that."

Natsu mumbled a 'shut up' and shoved the man out of the way to step into the tent.

The redhead woman Lucy was rooting for sat- still clad in armor- holding a steaming cup of tea. Next to her was a blonde with a strange scar over one eye. He sat across from a man with fluffy black hair who was covered in piercings.

The readhead spoke, "You seemed very fond of her."

The man with piercings grinned, "My favorite parts were the long silences."

Natsu laid down on his mat, "Yeah, yeah. Remember what you guys are here for."

The shirtless guy rolled his eyes, "Right. Win against everyone in this dumb competition but you. Y'know Natsu, this kinda hurts my pride. How could I even pretend to lose to the likes of you?"

Natsu sprang up, head steaming, "Oh yeah? Ya wanna go ice princess? I could beat ya' with both my hands tied."

"Sure flame brain, it'll be a piece of cake to beat your sorry ass." the other challenged.

They butted heads until a pair of hands gripped their necks and smashed their skulls together.

"ENOUGH." A dark aura surrounded the redhead as she towered above the two crumpled forms of the competitors.

"sorry..." they both whimpered out.

The guy with piercings rolled his eyes and pulled out a white guitar, "Everyone jus' needs to chill."

He began to strum, belting terribly.

The cries of his tentmates could be heard from miles away.