Trail of a Fairy

02. Clean Up

Natsu scrubbed at the pan even harder. Damn, charcoal is the worst. Grabbing a stiffer brush, Natsu attempted it again. But he stopped when he heard a knock at the door. Wiping his hands on his pants, he called out.

"I'm coming!"

Natsu opened the door. It didn't take long for him to see who it was. It was Gray. And Natsu closed the door.

"Hey!" Gray called from outside.

"Not home!" Natsu answered as he held the door closed.

"Like Hell you are!" Gray cussed. "You already opened the door. Let us in!"

Begrudgingly, Natsu opened the door. Gray walked in with a glare for Natsu. Natsu glared back. Juvia followed soon after Gray, with a smile.

"Whaddaya want?"

Gray sat himself on the living room couch, comfortably spread out. Juvia sat next to him. She was more conservative in her comfort. Natsu could already feel a vein popping.

"I said... whaddaya want, Ice Princess?" He growled.

Gray ignored Natsu's anger. "It's about Nashi."

Natsu immediately set aside his momentary anger.

"And Lucy."

Juvia saw Natsu shiver. He sat down on a nearby chair - Natsu felt as if his knees would collapse. His shoulders hunched as he looked at the ground.

"What about Nashi and Lucy?"

"Nashi is forgetting Lucy." Gray stated. He saw Natsu flinch at the thought. "He doesn't want to, but he's too scared to ask you about her."

Natsu gulped. "Really?"

Gray nodded. He stood up and walked over to Natsu. Natsu set himself up for a punch. But when Gray put his hand on his shoulder, Natsu looked up. Gray's face was still stony as usual, but there was a crack in the stone. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was a deep set frown.

"Nashi still doesn't have his dad back." Gray spoke. "It's been ten years - that's too long to be alone."

Natsu sighed, and crumpled further. He could feel the thorns in his heart, and on his hand. The flowers outside his window reminded him of that day. But he didn't want to be reminded of it.

"I'm not sure I can." Natsu cracked. "I mean - ten years. I'm not sure I'm ready to tell him everything. To remind myself of how much she meant to me."

Juvia came closer, and began to pat his head. Natsu felt the touch, and flinched. But as Juvia kept petting his hair, he calmed down. Slowly, she bent down to look Natsu in the eye. Her face was sad for him. Natsu felt the room grow darker as clouds began to gather. But it didn't rain.

"Lucy-san loves Natsu-san and Nashi-kun. Nashi-kun loves his father. Give Nashi-kun the chance to love his mother."

Natsu sighed. He looked up - barely - at a photo on the wall. It was the photo he could never walk by. The photo that Nashi loves. Even from far away, Natsu could recall the photo vividly. He shivered, and Gray and Juvia felt it. Gray pulled his hand back, waiting for Natsu to do something. Juvia leaned in, and gave Natsu a hug. For a moment, Natsu was unsure. But as he felt the arms around him, he leaned in. Natsu rested his face on Juvia's shoulder. He felt the coolness of her body, but the wetness on his face wasn't her. He had started to cry again. Gray watched as Natsu cried silently.

When Juvia let go, Natsu wiped his face. Looking up at the couple, Natsu tried a smile. Juvia smiled back, and Gray raised an eyebrow.

"So. Flamer. What are you gonna do?"

Natsu wiped his face again, and looked at the picture. "I guess I gotta find a way to help Nashi remember Lucy. "

Gray grinned, and playfully punched Natsu's shoulder. "That's it."

"Hey!" Natsu punched Gray back.

Glaring, Gray punched Natsu back - harder this time. Natsu stood up, and put up his fists. Gray followed suit. Before she knew it, Juvia was witness to another fight. She stepped back a bit. Oh, Lucy-san, if only you were here to stop them.

Later, Gray and Juvia left. Juvia had barely managed to pry Gray away from the fight. Natsu watched them leave, arm in arm. He wiped a bit of blood from his lip. Standing, he walked to the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. He carefully wiped the blood off and put some alcohol on it. Natsu didn't even flinch. There had been so many times that Lucy had done this for him. Natsu stared at the first aid kit while he thought.

The kit was a small metal box, painted bright red. But it had faded into a dull brown with patches of orange rust. On the side, it had the store's address of where Lucy had bought it. Natsu didn't even know when Lucy bought this, She just always had it in case Natsu got beat up in a fight. Running his fingers over the patches of rust, Natsu realized something.

Hargeon. She bought the first aid kit in Hargeon. He carefully put it back and headed to a small room in the house. It was the one room Lucy never cleaned because Natsu had it just how he liked it. On the walls were the posters from every job they ever took together. There were souvenirs too, from each place they went. In one corner was a shell from Galuna Island. In another, a piece of steel from Phantom Lord's base. And the most important one, was the book of E.N.D. As Natsu stared at the collection, he had an idea. Turning around, Natsu went towards the guild. He might need some help with this.