Lucy knew it was nearing that time.

The leaves were beginning to wither and the letters addressed to her mother lay torn up, crumpled and scattered around her floor and the desk- abandoned and unsent.

She lay in bed that morning, letting the sunlight fall on her face and sighed.

She knew she couldn't stay in bed all morning.

Just…five minutes longer…

"Hey, Lucy!"

"Natsu!" Lucy almost fell out of bed as Natsu climbed through the window.

"Yo!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Lucy demanded.

"Visiting you- duh!"

"Lucy was going to stay in bed all morning," Happy remarked, flying in beside him. "How lazy."

"Shut up!" Lucy snapped, immediately tugging her white dressing gown tighter around her.

"I'm hungry!" Natsu yawned. "You got anything to eat?"

"There's a box of matches in the desk drawer." Lucy remarked sadistically and Natsu gave her a pained expression.

"Aww! C'mon, Lucy! You know it doesn't work like that."

"And my apartment doesn't work as a restaurant."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu chuckled. "Well guess what? Happy and I've found a quest that's just right for you."

Lucy perked up. "What?"

"And," Natsu wheedled. "You can keep the seventy thousand jewel reward."

"Really?" Lucy's eyes were practically shining. "Are you serious? Thank you!"

"And now she loves us…" Muttered Happy.

"So, can we eat?" Natsu pressed.

"Help yourself!" Lucy beamed, gesturing to the cabinet where she kept her tea and snacks. Usually she ate at Fairy Tail but luckily she had done some shopping recently.

"So, when are the three of us setting off?" She continued.

"Three?" Natsu looked up from devouring the contents of the cabinet.

"I'm not coming." Happy said, putting his little blue paws on his hips proudly. "I've got a date with Charla."

Lucy blinked. "Seriously?"

"I thought she told you to get lost?" Natsu frowned.

"She's just playing hard-to-get." Happy nodded.

"That's some imagination you've got there." Lucy said dryly.

"So," Natsu grinned. "It's just us, Lucy."

Lucy glanced at him, wondering why she was a tiny, tiny bit worried.

Alone with Natsu?

They were just friends, obviously, but…

"Well, I'm heading off to Fairy Tail," Happy said. "I've gotta find Charla before she goes off with Wendy." And, with that, he flew back out of the window.

"Poor guy." Natsu muttered.

"Kinda makes you feel sorry for him." Lucy agreed.

Natsu's grey eyes suddenly found the scattered array of paper by the desk. "Hey, what's that?"

Lucy sprang up. "Nothing!" Hurriedly, she began gathering together the pieces of paper and putting them in a pile. "Just…attempting to write, you know?"

Natsu paused. Then, "They for your mom?"

Lucy looked up. Natsu had known for some time that she wrote letters to her dead mother.

But the eyes that looked at her didn't look sympathetic or pitying.

They looked like they understood her.

"Yeah." She admitted quietly.

"Then ya can't just throw them all together like that." He laughed, kneeling down beside her and starting to gather them all up. "She'll be sad if they tear."

Lucy reached out and caught his wrist.

Natsu's eyes locked on hers.

"Can we make a stop on the way to the quest?" She asked. "Just a little one?"

Natsu knew right away what she meant.

"Sure," He said, his bangs covered his expression. "Anything for you."

Lucy's gaze snapped back on him. "What?"

"You- you're family! You're mom!" Natsu went bright pink as he fell back onto his feet and almost backpedaled into her bedside table. "Well, gotta go!" He made for the window. "See ya later, Lucy!"

"Wait, Natsu! Use the-!"

He jumped. Lucy sighed.

"Door."

xxx

"Three days alone with Natsu, hmm?" Mirajane smiled. "How interesting."

"It's a quest, Mira," Lucy sighed. "Nothing like that."

"Sure." She was still smiling.

"Good luck, Lucy." Erza nodded in her direction. "Take care of Natsu."

The girls glanced to where Natsu was chasing Elfman and Grey around the entirety of the guild hall, everything in his wake catching fire.

"See what you mean." Lucy muttered. "Don't worry; I'll make sure he takes his Ritalin."

"You're lucky, Lucy," Said a dark cloud of despair to their left and they looked over to see Juvia crouching in the corner, sniffling. "At least you get to spend time with your loved one."

*Insert longing look towards Grey here.*

Lucy stiffened. "He is not my loved one."

"Who isn't?" Bisca took a seat next to her and leaned forward slyly. "You talking about Natsu or Loke? Because they're who everyone is pairing you up with."

"I'm more of a Lucy x Natsu myself." Mira smiled.

"No way, Lucy x Loke has way more appeal!" Protested Evergreen, joining in the conversation.

"I think Lucy x Grey-" Began Bisca.

"Don't EVEN." Juvia hissed from behind her.

"I'm telling you- it's so not like that!" Lucy snapped. "I don't like any of those guys."

"Not even Loke?" Pressed Evergreen.

"Yeah," Lucy said loudly, hoping the Spirit World could hear her. "There's something really sexy about a guy that abandons you in mid-battle for a date."

Erza was bright red by this point. "Lucy…is with all of these men?"

"No!" Lucy wailed.

"Hey Lucy!" Natsu called and waved at her. "Time to go!"

The girls giggled and Lucy went pink.

"Have a great time!" Mira grinned.

"Use protection!" Smiled Bisca.

"Oh, go make out with Alzack!" Lucy shot back.

She tentatively approached Natsu, feeling a little self-conscious.

It's the writer in me, She thought. Just using it's imagination.

Still, she wished it wouldn't be quite so vivid.

It was strange, but when Natsu took her by the hand and led her out of the guild, she slowly began to relax.

Not strained and embarrassed like she was with Loke, not intimidated like with Grey, not having to hide or put on a show or anything.

Natsu just accepted her.

Yes, it really was strange, she thought. How much I can be myself around him.

xxx

And in return, Lucy thought wryly. I have to put up with this.

"I hate trains." Natsu groaned.

"Trust me, right now they're not my favourite thing either." Lucy assured him.

"We could've walked!" Natsu shivered as the train rounded another bend.

"Yeah and arrived in a week." Lucy folded her arms. "This is the best way."

"Ugh!" Natsu exclaimed and fell onto her lap.

Lucy flushed as his silky hair tickled her bare legs.

Natsu closed his eyes tightly. "It's better like this." He sighed.

Very slowly, Lucy put a hand on his trembling shoulder and marveled at the change in him. He was usually so strong, especially on the battlefield, and so toughened- it was like he could handle anything.

Lucy, on the other hand, found herself needing to be rescued and protected more often than she'd like.

Now, the roles had been switched and here she was letting him lay on her lap like you would a cat or a puppy.

"Good boy." She giggled, patting Natsu's hair.

"Shut up." Natsu mumbled, but his voice was muffled and she could feel his lips flutter against her leg.

Quickly, she dropped her hands and looked out of the window, squeezing her legs together, and trying not to think about the conflicting feelings buzzing round her like flies.

xxx

"I think Mom would like these." Lucy picked up a bunch of white and pink flowers from the venders. "They're so pretty."

"Yeah, I guess." Natsu stretched, not really a connoisseur of flowers.

Lucy turned to him. "Thanks, by the way. For letting me stop here."

Natsu grinned. "It's for your mom, right? Can't be helped, I guess."

Lucy was touched by this noble gesture. Especially as it meant taking a second train.

"Um, listen," She said. "I'm going to visit there now, so you can walk around town for a bit, if you like."

Natsu blinked. "You sure?"

Lucy nodded. "Yep."

"Well…okay, then." Natsu watched her go, a little uneasily.

xxx

Lucy walked up the path.

In her summer holidays as a child, she and her mother would come here, by the sea- usually just the two of them.

When the Heartifilias had still had all their money, another memorial had been placed within the trees, by Layla's favourite spot.

It was by no means as grand or as expensive as the one at Heartifilia estate, but Lucy thought it was better placed.

Mom would have preferred it there.

Lucy rounded another grove of apple trees just as the sky turned grey above her and she made her way slowly over to the little headstone that no one would've really found unless you knew where to find it.

"Hey, Mom." She said softly and knelt down. "It's Lucy."

The air around her smelt of rain, but Lucy didn't mind, even when it began to drizzle and cold drops splashed on her and the headstone.

"It's coming to your birthday," Lucy said. "So, I asked Natsu to make a stop. I just…I remembered our summers here, you know? The seagulls and the ice creams and getting caught in the spray. All that. I'm still a Fairy Tail wizard you know, along with Natsu. You'd like Natsu. He's very…strange."

Lucy placed the flowers on the grave.

"I miss you still. It was always hard after you died. Dad was so angry all the time and you weren't there and somewhere in the middle of it all, I ran away-" Lucy's voice cracked and her hand flew to her mouth to cover it. Now hot drops splashed on her hands.

Suddenly, she felt a little hysterical. Maybe it was that she hadn't let her feelings out in ages and she couldn't really seriously talk to anyone in Fairy Tail and everything was so weird lately…

"God, we're so messed up! For all our money and prestige, we're such a broken family! And even that's gone now. It isn't fair!"

The rain fell hard on Lucy's back, soaking her clothes and hair.

"All those years of pain- what was it worth? All we came to was this! What was the point?"

Finally Lucy dissolved into sobbing, not wanting to say anymore.

Selfishly, she wished her spirits would come to comfort her.

Loke, maybe. He could use his own power to get here, couldn't he?

Selfish bastard was probably out on the town.

No- that wasn't fair.

She was supposed to be strong.

"I'M SICK OF BEING STRONG!" Lucy screamed into the rain and the thunder replied from far away.

"I knew it."

The voice came from behind her and Lucy turned to see Natsu standing by the trees.

"Natsu…" Her hand wiped at her face. God, she probably looked a sight-

Natsu stormed towards her, pulling off his scarf and putting it around her neck. He flung himself down beside her and fiercely pulled her into his arms.

"Why the hell do you have to be strong?" He hissed, furious. "That's what I'm here for, stupid. I'm here to protect you, can't you get that through your skull?"

Lucy clung to him, hungry for affection, wrapping her arms around him wordlessly.

Natsu hugged her back, tightly.

She could feel his protectiveness welling up around her like a shield and she wasn't cold anymore.

"I'm never gonna leave, Lucy. Y'hear, me? I'm never gonna leave you alone." He whispered.

"I know." She said. "Thank you." And she closed her eyes, safe in the knowledge that, even if that piece of land they were on was to break right now and fall away into nothingness, even if suddenly danger appeared and even if some strange force tried to hurt her- he would protect her.

Everything she'd ever wanted was right here.