Spoiler from chapter 337. Please do not read if you haven't gotten that far in the manga.

I don't own Fairy Tail, nor it's characters. Actually, I don't own anything other than the word arrangement in this fic.

Above The Rainbow

I stood behind Natsu Dragneel.

I stood, staring at the man who changed the future.

I stood there, in silence, my eyes glazing over with my own tears.

Natsu...

In the course of hours, everything changed for me. My view of him changed. He wasn't just stupid, silly Natsu anymore. He wasn't just my partner. He was more than my teammate. He was more than my best friend. He was my hero, a part of me that I will always be grateful for.

Emotion clashed and coiled inside my chest at the thought, and I finally felt the tears roll down my cheeks.

I approached him slowly, realization dawning over me, and I wrapped my arms around the man that changed my life in more ways than I could count. I had to touch him to know that he was still alive. That I was still alive. That we were all going to be okay.

"Is there something wrong, Lucy?" I heard him ask.

I shook my head, knowing that he couldn't see the action. "No... not really." My arms tightened around his waist. I muffled my sobs into his scale-patterned white scarf and breathed in his scent. I breathed in blood, dirt, fire and power. It was all Natsu. "Just... thank you."

I heard people cheering behind us, a final confirmation that this battle was really over. The dragons were disappearing one by one, along with the anxiety of the fight we knew we couldn't win. This was the hardest battle we faced thus far, and despite all of our combined forces, we couldn't defeat the dragons. We couldn't win. We didn't win.

We only survived.

It left a bitter taste in my mouth, but even so, I was still happy. Rogue had long since vanished to a future we had just saved. I knew the future me was okay. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt it in my heart. I knew she was happy. I knew she was with her own Natsu.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Happy called to us, gliding through the air with the biggest grin on his face. He also had tears in his eyes. His blue paws outstretched for a hug as he dived into the chest of his pink-haired partner.

I released Natsu and stepped away, trying to blink back the tears from my eyes. I was momentarily struck speechless when I saw the two best friends hug. The relief on their faces was palpable. We had all battled against certain death in the faces of Rogue and his controlled dragons.

And now we were free to let go of the fear of a depressing future that had been waiting for us.

I felt small fingers curl against my own, and I looked down and saw Wendy gripping my hand, her fingers interlocking mine. I squeezed her back, a gesture of comfort for both our sakes. She gazed up at me with her brown eyes and smiled.

"It's over now," she said. I nodded, smiling. Wind whipped and twirled at my blond hair and I casually slipped my unruly locks behind my ears.

Carla was right by Wendy's side, her face content. She was smiling, too.

Soon, we were surrounded by our Fairy Tail family. Cana wrapped an arm around me, Mira and Lisanna sandwiched me into a tight hug. They couldn't stop laughing, happiness etched into their pretty features. Their mirth was contagious, and before long, my own laughter was heard.

"This calls for a celebration!" Bixlow exclaimed, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

I laughed at how ridiculous that looked, but he was right. We definitely needed something right now.

"As a man, I agree!" Elfman had bandages wrapped around his head and both his arms. He bumped his chest once. "Celebrations are very manly!"

I turned to look at Natsu. He caught my gaze and grinned at me from ear to ear. His boyish handsome face immediately drew me in, and I blushed, lowering my eyes. Natsu always had an effect on me. He knew how to rile my anger and set my face on fire. Figuratively, of course. Well, almost sometimes.

There was that one time were he actually had my face engulfed in his flames.

I giggled at the memories.

Natsu ran up to me with Happy sitting at the top his head. Their eyes gleamed and I returned their enthusiasm, my own brown orbs wide.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" Natsu asked.

I clasped my hands in front of me, and nodded. Still not trusting myself to speak just yet. I swallowed my emotions from my throat, afraid if I opened my mouth, every secret, every wish I've ever made would come tumbling out.

I looked at Natsu again. The word 'hero' bounced back and forth inside my head, my heart beating faster. I looked at his pink matted hair, I looked at the blood and dirt on his face. He was covered in bruises. His clothes were torn, but he didn't seem to mind his appearance at all.

Natsu's face changed, and I noticed it the moment it happened. He came forward, his arms embracing me into the tightest hug I've ever had. I felt his hot breath tickle my neck as he inhaled and then exhale, his face buried in my hair. I closed my eyes and pushed down the heat I knew that was painting my face. My arms were pinned against his hard chest, otherwise I would have hugged him back.

"I almost lost you."

His words jabbed painfully at my chest, and I knew he was feeling the same thing I was. Something inside me had shifted when I saw myself die. I remember the blood pouring out of the body that was the exact same as mine. The paleness of the skin as I looked over the face that could have been my twin. I had died before my own eyes, and it was the most terrifying experience I had ever witnessed. It must have been the same for Natsu.

"I'm sorry."

I shook my head, frowning. "No." My voice was surprisingly stern when I thought it would crack under all the emotion I felt. "There isn't anything you should be sorry for."

Natsu pulled back, his gaze on my face. His eyes took on a look that I was all too familiar of seeing. They were hard and determined. "I'm suppose to protect you," he said, matching my frown with one of his own. "And I didn't."

I closed my eyes and smiled, laying my head against his shoulder. I sighed deeply. "Everything is alright now. We're okay."

Natsu responded by pulling me tighter against him and I greedily bask in the feeling of being safe there in his arms.

Happy fluttered around us, giggling. I heard his taunt even before he opened his big mouth. "You liiiiiiike each other!" he exclaimed. His paws covered his mouth to stifle the laughter. Immediately, I felt the anger and embarrassment rise, and I pulled myself out of Natsu's arms to attack the blue cat.

"Get back here, ya damn cat!" I yelled, fury bubbling to my face. Happy just looked on and laughed, flying higher and higher until I couldn't reach him. "When I get my hands on you, you're dead!"

He knew my threats held no truth to them, but in that moment, I felt everything was normal again. I turned back at Natsu and found him already in a heated, but playful, sparring match with Gray. Fire and ice blazing and shooting around both of their bodies. I felt pity when I witnessed Gajeel unknowingly be pulled into their brawl. Before long, iron was one of the many things being thrown around us.

I laughed, catching Natsu being tossed to the ground by both Gray and Gajeel.

Natsu looked at me and grinned, his teeth straight and white. I felt the end of my lips curving up into a smile of my own.

He always had a way of making everything all right.

That was just one of the many things I loved about Natsu.

A/N: Not sure if I should continue this. I've been itching to start a NatsuxLucy fic for a while now, and this is finally my contribution to the FT category. Hope you like. :)