I got the idea for this oneshot from a song called These Streets by Bastille. And I'm dedicating it to WhiteWinterStar, who really deserves one for reviewing every chapter of Just Friends even though they must run out of things to say. I hope you like it.

Natsu Dragneel slid the rag inside the wet glass, wiping away the clear drops of water tracing their way down the rim. He didn't lift his head as the door opened and shut again. Footsteps sounded on the wooden floor, and a chair scraped against the scarred floorboards. "Natsu." The raven-haired man sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes, his fingers tracing the scar on his forehead.

"Gray." The two men stayed there in silence, avoiding each other's eyes and breathing quietly in the empty bar. "It's been a long time," Natsu said finally, setting down the last of the clean glasses. "How's the gang doing these days?"

"It's been going bad ever since you left," Gray replied, his voice low and heavy with regret. He didn't need to say anything more – Natsu understood the meaning behind his words.

Natsu stared down at the rough wooden bar counter. A puddle of water lay there, shining in the dim light. Memories slid across the surface of the water, dragging Natsu into the past...

The gang used to hang out in an old abandoned warehouse. It wasn't much, but it was home. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, and everyone else were laughing together, drinking and having a good time. Gildarts, the boss, had come in with an unusually serious look on his scarred face. He called over Natsu and Lucy, two of his lieutenants. He had a job for them and a few of the others, he said. A rival gang coming in on their territory. Natsu had grinned and cracked his knuckles, ready for a fight. Gray and Erza agreed to come along, and together the four of them had beaten the crap out of the rookie gang. They had never seen them coming.

That was when everything went sour, and that was the moment that would be imprinted on Natsu's memory for the rest of his life. Lucy sent the other two back to base first, saying she wanted to talk to Natsu about something important. Once they were gone, she didn't say a word. Just walked up to Natsu there in the enemy gang's hideout, kissed him fiercely, and shoved a knife in his gut. The last thing Natsu remembered before losing consciousness was the sight of Lucy walking away, her back fading into the afternoon sunlight. She walked with the air of a woman who had won a war at great sacrifice.

Later, Natsu found out that his younger sister Wendy came looking for him and found him dying in a pool of his own blood. She called an ambulance and managed to get him to the hospital in time to save his life.

After the incident, Natsu got a job at the bar and began saving up money. He couldn't quite escape from the woman he had loved, though. The bar was at the end of the street Lucy lived, directly on her way to the gang hideout. Every day, he passed her as she came home and he left the bar. They never spoke, never looked at each other, never made a sound. Turning their backs on each other was all they could do.

"Natsu." He glanced up from the water at Gray, who was contemplating his callused hands intently. "Do you ever wish you could come back? Undo what she did to you?"

"What she did was part of the life," Natsu replied. "I don't blame her. Power was what she wanted, and power was what she got." He stared at the top of Gray's head until his old friend lifted his eyes to meet Natsu's. "She was a true friend, Gray. After all, she never came at me from the back. She faced me head on." He sighed and picked up a wet cloth, beginning to wipe down the bar. "I have a real job now, you know? Wendy can rely on me to pay her college bills and not accidentally get killed. I'm happy here, in this bar. Life is simpler here."

Gray stood, pushing his stool back. "She wanted me to kill you," he said slowly, turning his back on Natsu and shoving his hands into his pockets. "If you said no. I think she knew you would. But that's not what she said. She said, 'do what feels right.'" He chuckled, walking to the door. "See you around, Natsu." The door opened and closed with the quiet sound of the latch falling into place. It was a final sound, a sound that said, this is the end. This war is over.

Ten minutes later, Natsu was closing the bar and heading home. He had some things to do. As he turned the corner of the empty street, a breeze carried a familiar scent to him. Vanilla and cinnamon, just like it had smelled that day and every day since. The blonde kept her head down as they passed each other, hunching her shoulders slightly. When he had taken several more steps, Natsu stopped.

"Talked to Gray today," he said conversationally, just loud enough for her to hear him. Her fingers clenched into a fist where he couldn't see, but she stopped too. "You should know it's too late for things like that, Luce." The affectionate nickname made her flinch. "Something about you," he continued, not paying attention, "Something about you won't let me forget you. Stupid, huh?" He gazed up at the cloudy sky like he could see the stars and was counting every one. "You haunt this place. I see you everywhere I go. It's driving me nuts."

"I don't know what you're saying," the blonde said unsteadily, "But you should knock it off before I get angry. I really will kill you this time."

"Aw, don't say that, Luce," he protested laughingly. "I know it's the same for you. You can't think of anything else when you're out here, right? Like there's a shadow of the past hanging over this place."

"All I think about when I'm out here is gang matters, which don't concern you anymore," she insisted, her voice shaking. "Unless I'm mistaken and you said yes after all?" The tone of her voice begged for that to be true.

"I don't want that stuff anymore, Luce." Natsu's gaze returned to the pavement, and he took a step forward. "You wanted these streets, and now you have them. You can't go back and change it now."

Lucy whirled around, tears in her eyes, fists clenched tightly. "Natsu!" He was already walking away, only his silhouette visible in the lamplight.

"Don't worry, Lucy. I won't show my face here anymore." His tone lifted a little. "I finally have enough money to move out of this town. These streets, the gang, I'm leaving everything to you. Just like you wanted."

"Natsu!" she repeated, but her feet wouldn't move. She couldn't follow him. "Natsu!" His laugh echoed through the night, and like he was some god of the sky commanding the weather to bend to his will, the clouds parted to reveal a full moon.

"This time, you can watch me walk away from the battlefield, Lucy," he said, his words vanishing into the cool air between them almost as soon as he said them, leaving Lucy with only a vague shadow of his parting words.

Long after her old best friend and bitter rival had disappeared into the unreachable distance, Lucy sank onto the freezing concrete and cried, as the full moon kept a solemn vigil over the broken world of a fragmented love.

So, what'd you think? Was it good? I banged this out in a couple of hours, so who knows. Remember to favorite, follow, and leave a review! (It's super easy, in case you didn't know – all you have to do is type in the text box just below this and then hit the button. Even if you're not logged in or don't have an account.) Love you guys!

Giselle