Porcelain Doll
By Lottie-Blue
All it took was a wish. He knew he could change; as long as he had her by his side.
Fairy Tail. NaLu. AU.
Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima is the mangaka of Fairy Tail, not moi.
Warning: Early OOC-ness with Natsu and Lucy. Will change as the story continues.
Thank you to my lovely friend Kourtney (yes, I have friends outside of the internet xD) who agreed to proofread this story for me! :'3
Chapter 1 : Wish
Make a wish. Take a chance. Make a change.
Kaoru Dragneel lay on her deathbed, her silky red hair fanned out on the downy pillows and those golden eyes still alight with life and mirth, made the woman look like a beautiful, fiery angel descended from Heaven. A gentle smile played on her lips which contrasted with the sombre atmosphere.
"Natsu," her soft voice called.
A small, pink haired boy who looked around the age of eight, came out of his hiding place from behind the door. His fists were clenched and his dark eyes held back the tears that were threatening to spill. Despite the adults' attempts to keep quiet, Natsu Dragneel had extraordinary hearing. He moved to her bedside and clasped his mother's hand in a tight grip, in fear of losing her.
"M-Mama...please...d-don't go!" Natsu couldn't hold it in any more as tears streamed down his cheeks. He felt her hand stoking his hair and his sobbing quietened, feeling comforted by her tenderness.
"Natsu, in the attic there is a red chest. I want you to open the chest and take the white box," His eyes were full of questions, but Kaoru carried on speaking, "Promise me that you will take care of her. Lucy has been my friend for a very long time." Kaoru coughed, her breathing becoming ragged.
"Mama...?" Concerned, the little boy leaned in, fear holding him in a vice-like grip as fresh tears welled up.
"Natsu...please don't cry, a smile... has always suited you best..."
Igneel Dragneel entered the room just in time to see his beloved wife draw her final breath. Kaoru's eyes were closed with a serene expression, the grasp on her son's hand loosening. Igneel was brought out of his grief when the pained sobs of Natsu reached his ears. The pinkette was still hunched over the bend, sniffling and hiccuping. The man went to his son and knelt beside him, bringing the eight year old into a hug where they mourned together.
A few days after the funeral, little Natsu went up to the attic to search for the red chest his mother had told him about. He found it in the corner of the dusty room and with trembling hands he opened it, finding the white box. He stared at it for a moment, unsure if he should open it, but curiosity got the better of him and he slid open the lid to find...
A porcelain doll.
~Porcelain Doll~
A ten-year old Natsu came trudging up the stairs, looking worse for wear. His unruly hair was even more disheveled than usual, his clothes had been rumpled and patches of purple bruises were already forming. He threw open his door, slamming it behind him, and curled up on his bed, cloaked in his own cloud of misery. Natsu was a victim of bullying and he could do nothing about it. He felt his fingers brush against something soft and looked up to find Lucy beside him. Despite her being an inanimate porcelain doll, Natsu couldn't help but feel like that her glass, chocolate-brown eyes held warmth and kindness in them. He sat up, picking Lucy up and hugging her tight. Ever since his mother died, Lucy had been his only friend and Natsu didn't mind keeping it like that. The boy held the doll until the pain in his heart eased.
"Thanks Luce."
Even eight years later, Natsu always started with "Good morning!" to the pretty doll that sat neatly on his window sill. Natsu sighed. Alas, another school day at Fairy Tail Academy. Bullying in Fairy Tail was not a common occurrence which Natsu was quite relieved about but the eighteen year old had trouble fitting in (due to his mother's death, Natsu had built a wall around himself, closing off everyone around him) and the fact he was a transfer student didn't help. So again, Natsu was alone in the school, only able to rely on the doll his mother had given him before she departed. After he dressed into his uniform, he made his way downstairs to the kitchen where his step-sister and step-mother were preparing breakfast.
"Good morning Natsu!" Twelve year old Wendy Marvell greeted the teen with a smile, spreading jam on a slice of toast. He grunted in response before opening the bread bin and inserting two slices into the toaster. Grandine, Natsu's step-mother, appeared with her long, white silver hair pulled up into a pony-tail, carrying her medical bag. The doctor noticed Natsu standing at the kitchen counter and bid him a good morning too. Grandine and Igneel married seven years after Kaoru's death. Grandine's previous marriage had fallen apart and with her came Wendy too. Natsu didn't really mind the new additions to the family...he just never really knew what to say to them.
"Wendy, I won't be able to pick you and Romeo up today from school, I'm working a couple extra hours as one of my co-workers is taking the day off," Grandine turned to Natsu, "Will it be alright if you walk home with them?"
"Sure." Relief was clearly shown on Grandine's face as she flashed a smile.
"Thank you. Well then, I'm off. Bye kids!"
The toast popped up and Natsu grabbed the slices and shouldered his bag, checking the clock on the wall. He looked at Wendy to see she had just finished her breakfast and slipped on her shoes.
"Come on then, or else we'll be late."
~Porcelain Doll~
His day was going fine until lunch time.
"Hey Kyôka, I dare you to ask out that Dragneel boy." A cold smirk curled at said woman's lips. You know those bitchy beauties in most high school movies? Yeah, they exist. Kyôka was one of them.
"Easy, no man can resist my charms." She smugly replied, accepting the dare, her blue eyes zoning in on our beloved protagonist. Kyôka sauntered over to Natsu, who was sitting alone as he usually does and draped herself over his desk. During lunch is when the classrooms are free and there were no teachers around so obviously students liked to take advantage of their absence by using the rooms as their own hang-out spots.
"Well hey there, handsome~" In one swift movement she flicked her green hair over her shoulder, her eyes half lidded in what the girl obviously thought was meant to be a seductive gaze. Natsu looked up at her in bewilderment, disturbed by Kyôka's sudden actions. Kyôka ran her tongue over her pouty lips and crossed her arms, giving her bust more leverage. "You. Me. Date. What do you think, Natsu?~" She purred, confident in her sex appeal. Imagine how crushed she was when our beloved pinkette gave her the most disinterested look he could muster and said,
"No."
A thick, heavy silence descended on the class, everyone looking at Natsu and Kyôka. Did one of the most desired girls in the school really just get rejected? The green haired girl was frozen in shock, unable to say anything before rage flooded through her.
"What. Did. You. Say?" she asked through gritted teeth, her tone dripping with poison.
"I said no. I'm not interested." With a strangled screech, Kyôka lashed out with her perfectly manicured nails. She was absolutely seething with rage as she inflicted injuries to the pinkette who made no effort to fight back which only enraged her more. In the end, Kyôka had to be dragged away by the Student Body President.
And to end Natsu's lovely day there were now rumours that he was gay.
~ Porcelain Doll ~
Natsu decided to contemplate about life.
He had just completed his homework; allowing himself some free time to relax and think about what happened that day.
He remembered being attacked by a some crazy girl. Her attack came out of nowhere and Natsu was quite puzzled about it - what did he do to make her so upset? Natsu reached up and took Lucy from the window sill and told her about his day. Most boys his age would be mortified to talk to a doll, but the high-schooler was completely comfortable with it. He'd rather talk to Lucy than his family any day. The pinkette sat up and propped his elbow on the window sill, careful of his freshly scratched face, Lucy next to him and stared out at the dark canvas of night that stretched across the sky; decorated with billions of twinkling lights.
"It's so pretty, don't you think Luce?"
No answer of course... But Natsu didn't mind and continued to gaze up, completely entranced.
There was a streak of brilliance that darted across the open night and Natsu realised that he was witnessing a shooting star.
'Quick, make a wish!' The voice inside his head whispered. He squeezed his eyes shut, thinking of something to wish for, a hidden desire of his.
'Please, I want a real friend that I can talk and laugh with. Someone that I can rely on and that they can depend on me in return. Someone that will be there for me, no matter what.'
The shooting star had disappeared and Natsu collapsed back onto his bed, thinking about how ridiculous his wish was. But...does that mean he actually felt lonely? That his inner desire was to have someone that he could talk to? No that can't be right...he had Lucy after all. He has always been content with Lucy.
'Yeah, but she's a little doll that you've had since you were eight. You're eighteen now - you need to grow up!' A snide voice in his head remarked. Natsu inwardly growled, banishing those thoughts. He didn't need anyone else.
It didn't matter anyway though. Wishes don't really come true.
Unknown to him, his wish was heard...and answered.
Hellooooo people of the internet! How is your day going? :3 I fount Porcelain Doll sitting in my doc manager, collecting dust and I just thought I might as well comb it through with my amazing proof-reading skills (and when I mean my, I mean Kourtney's :P)
Unfortunately, I'm a bit late with NaLu week due to my complete lack of inspiration recently. I had the gist of my entries but I couldn't seem to put it into words (gotta admit though, the prompts this year were pretty challenging imo xD) So when I finally figure out what I'm going to write I'll either set it up as a late NaLu week entry or they'll be individual one-shots, so look out for that :D
I apologise for the short chapter, this is just me testing things out I guess ^.^ I'm not sure when I'll update next, but since the summer holiday is coming up I'll have more time to write.
Anyway, again, I hope everyone's having a lovely time and looking forward to the holidays! Yaaaayyy! :D
Mata aimasho!
`Lottie-Blue