Commission for summylise on tumblr! I hope you enjoy, dear! 3

"I can't believe you were stupid enough to do that, man," Gray said, shaking his head at Natsu. "I mean, I knew you were idiotic, but this is crossing a line, even for you."

"Shut it, Gray! Anyway, so I hit them with a fire dragon's roar and it was all over! Those bastards didn't know what hit 'em!" Natsu said, pounding a fist into his other hand with a grin, which made Lucy flush a bit when she realized that he was looking at her and expecting a reaction. Erza just smiled softly, amazed that Natsu had the guts to do such a thing.

"Luce, you did a great job on taking out those bandits!" Natsu said, rushing over to his best friend and putting her in a headlock, rubbing her head with his knuckles. Lucy swatted his hand away and pulled his arm over his head, smoothing her locks. Cancer had spent some time putting together this hairstyle, deeming it perfect for a job out with her team. She wanted both fashion and function, and she hoped that the little pieces of hair framing her face drew Natsu's eyes to her own.

But it didn't seem to work as he continued to punch Gray in the arm and ignore Erza's glares. Lucy sighed and looked at the sun setting over the ocean, admiring the colors that encased the sun. She enjoyed looking at sunsets, and one day she hoped that she would be able to look at one with a special someone.

A whisper caught her ear in the midst of her admiration, and Lucy turned an ear to hear her name.

"That's Lucy Heartfilia, the celestial mage. She isn't as strong as the others, and I don't even think she belongs on team Natsu. She's got a nice body, though, so that's a plus!" the man was whispering to his friend, and Lucy winced, hoping that Natsu wouldn't hear it. She could deal with it herself; there was no need to get Natsu involved in this.

But her hopes were shattered quickly as Natsu's fist crashed into the man's face. A sneer as large as Erza's wielded sword appeared on his face as he held the man up by his collar.

"Don't you ever say anything like that about Lucy, bastard!" Natsu said, a growl ripping from his throat that was almost inhuman. Lucy took a step back involuntarily as Gray also charged with his ice magic, and a brawl broke out.

She stood in the middle of the walkway, wondering what happened. Insecurity and dread eased its way into her body like honey, dripping ever so slowly to fill her to the brim with doubt. Her insides seemed to have whispers of icicles inside of them, and whenever she dared a breath they froze even colder than before. She had worked so hard, so long, so fiercely to become a Fairy Tail wizard, and this was the thanks that she gets? Lucy had trained for months on end trying to get her stardresses to appear on her body and give her their power. But this was what someone thought of her, even after she saved Fairy Tail and the rest of the world from sure defeat?

Vision blurring, Lucy closed her eyes and squeezed them, trying but failing to halt the tears coming from her eyes quickly now. Lucy's breath was fast yet ragged, and she hated feeling this way. Crying was a sign of weakness to her; something her father had always taught her and would remain in her brain for quite a while.

"How do you like it? This'll teach you to never mess with a member of team Natsu!" Lucy heard Natsu's voice over her tears, but it was a hollow sound and appeared far away compared to how close her emotions felt.

Natsu looked in her direction, dropping his opponent with wide eyes when he saw she was crying. "Lucy!"

He rushed to her side, rubbing her back. "It's alright, Luce. We beat them up for you. They're not going to mess with you anymore," he said, his voice soothing and much calmer than before.

"T-thank you," Lucy heaved, and she felt Erza at her side by the strong presence to her left.

"Let's get you home, Lucy. You need some rest," Erza ordered, and still the tears fell from her eyes as Natsu picked her up and carried her bridal style. Shocked, she opened her eyes, wiping a tear from her face.

Natsu's expression was angrier than she had ever seen it. His face looked carved in stone, and a fleeting thought came that hoped that his face wouldn't stay like that. Pushing the thought away, Lucy buried herself in his chest, continuing to let the tears fall.

When they arrived at Lucy's apartment, Natsu uncovered the blankets on her bed and let Lucy sleep. She was exhausted from both the crying and from the job, but the crying made her feel more tired than 10 hours of labor ever would. Lucy sniffled, nodding her head and offering a watery smile to her friend in thanks. He grinned back, and Erza and Gray just watched as Natsu tucked her into bed.

"You have a place in team Natsu, Lucy," Erza said, her voice softer than usual. Natsu stepped back as Erza walked to Lucy's bed and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, looking at her compassionately as she could. Erza wasn't good with emotions most of the time, and much less affection, but she knew how to comfort a hurt guildmate better than Gray or Natsu did.

"Thanks, Erza," Lucy said, sniffling more. The gesture of friendship egged her crying on, and Lucy gave into the want to cry.

"I think we should leave," Gray said evenly, looking Natsu in the eyes.

"You guys go ahead. I wanna make sure she's okay," Natsu said, matching Gray's calm tone. The two looked at each other for a moment before sharing a nod of agreement, and Natsu turned his gaze to Erza.

"I'll tell the guild that you're here for the night," Erza said firmly, and Natsu nodded quickly before turning back to Lucy's bedside. He stroked her hair softly, and Lucy's cry of sadness caught in her throat when his rough palm smoothed over her head.

She barely heard Erza and Gray leave as his eyes gazed on hers. His eyes conveyed confidence in himself and her, yet they emanated a softness that could only come from him looking at her. Lucy felt safe and sound in his embrace, and soon she was asleep.

When he heard her faint snoring, a slight flush dusted his face. Her snores were softer and much cuter than any other girl that he had heard sleeping, that was for sure. Her blonde hair was still in his hand, and he lifted a few strands and smelled them carefully as to not awaken her. They smelled like sunshine and strawberries, like Lucy herself. And he had to admit that night that he loved Lucy for all that she was, and all that she'd ever be.

Natsu slowly let her head down off his lap, letting go of the stands that he gripped in his hands. With a heavy heart he made his way over to the couch, grabbing a blanket from the basket that Lucy kept them in. He threw it over himself and pushed himself onto the rough texture, wishing more and more that he could fit between the sheets with Lucy and snuggle up to her. He desired more than anything to feel her warm skin on his own.

Yet he left her asleep, happy that she was even here with him. She made a great teammate in team Natsu and a fantastic guild member.

And maybe someday even a perfect girlfriend.

When Lucy awoke, she took to her surroundings quickly, rubbing her tired eyes awake. She wasn't tired in the sense that she wanted to sleep, but the crying from yesterday had really grated on her nerves and on her looks. Pulling herself out of bed, she ambled over to the mirror in the bathroom to see mascara streaks down her cheeks and her skin looking papery thin.

A groan arose from her lips and she jumped in the shower after disrobing, washing her face and body completely clean before getting out and toweling off. She changed clothes in her room quickly, being careful not to wake Natsu from his slumber.

Padding to the kitchen to grab some breakfast and orange juice, she heard a groan and a shifting over by the couch. Natsu's head popped from underneath the bedcovers, and his pink locks were in as much disarray as the man himself. His eyes looked blurry as he yawned and tossed the covers aside, going into the bathroom. Lucy attempted not to stare at his shirtless state, but she failed in the first few seconds. It was just too tempting to not watch.

Lucy shook her head, clearing her inappropriate thoughts from her mind. She had to focus on breakfast today. She needed to get a lot of writing done, and to get Natsu out the door was going to take a lot of energy too.

She began to crack eggs into a bowl when the door creaked open and Natsu made his way over to the kitchen to grab some food.

"Good morning, Luce," he said, apparently unaware that just opening another person's refrigerator without asking was quite rude.

"Natsu, if you wanted breakfast, you could have asked," she said, making an effort of keeping the undercurrent of irritation from her voice. But it was too late, Natsu was already making a bowl of cereal for himself.

"Relax, I come in your house all the time! I even sometimes eat your leftovers without asking," Natsu said, chewing his cereal at the island in the middle of the small kitchen.

Lucy karate-chopped him on the top of his head, glaring at him. "This isn't your house, Natsu! I don't care if you come in here all the time. It's still polite to ask!"

"Jeez, Luce. Don't get your panties in a bunch," he pouted, and Lucy growled at his words. "By the way, you might wanna do laundry, your panty drawer was looking pretty sparse."

Scowling, Lucy twirled on her heel in the opposite direction, deciding to take a bath in lieu of breakfast. Ignoring her growling stomach, Lucy stripped and dunked herself in the warm water. Thankfully she had some bath salts which would soothe her annoyance with the man sitting in her kitchen.

"Luce," she heard him say from behind the door, "I'm sorry, really."

"Go away!" she shouted, and then there was nothing. Seconds later, she heard him leave the apartment.

Finally, some relief. Lucy sighed happily and began to play with the water around her like she did as a child, enjoying her bath for the first time in ages. She was glad that he had left, but it felt as if there was an emptiness in the house that wasn't there before.

Lucy ignored it and poured in more bath salts, sinking into the water with a grin. It did feel good to get into the water after a long job and partially stressful day. After she finished, she toweled off and dressed in her clothes once more, feeling refreshed and clean. But something within her felt terrible.

She was rude to Natsu. He just wanted to eat some food, yet she kicked him out like she always did. He didn't do anything wrong to her, he just wanted to eat like a normal human being. Well, a normal human being who was also a dragonslayer, and he ate more than most people. All the dragonslayers did. Even Wendy could pack it in when she really wanted to, which surprised most people when they didn't know her that well.

She pulled on her boots and made her way to the guild to apologize with a smile on her face. And she would bring some food with her.

A week later, Lucy sat eating fish and chips along with a chocolate shake next to Natsu. It was the first real meal she had eaten with the team, and they all decided to meet up at Mira's bar so they could spend time together before the next mission.

Lucy spied Natsu across the room, picking a fight with Laxus once more. The taller man pushed Natsu away with a large hand on his face, but Natsu was persistent. Finally Laxus zapped Natsu with his lightning, quite literally shocking the shorter man into not fighting for a while.

"How's it going, Luce?" he asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Lucy almost choked on her chocolate shake she had just taken a sip of. The feeling of his warm muscles on her skin was nice, and she fought a flush back. He hadn't talked to her almost all day, and this was the way he chose to greet her?

"Nothing," she said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, hoping that it would distract from her heated face.

"Ready to go on our mission?" he asked with a grin that made her head hurt. He was so handsome that it was amazing that no other girls had tried to make a pass at him.

"Of course!" Lucy answered as she got up from her seat at the bar. But before she could take a step, she heard a snicker and some whispering. Her anxiety came back, and her ears tuned into another conversation.

"Lucy's beautiful and everything, but I don't think she belongs in Fairy Tail. I mean, she's not even that competent of a mage!" a woman's voice said, soft enough to be out of earshot from everyone else but Lucy.

Except one other person heard the woman, and pressed her palms down on the table in anger.

"That's not true! Lucy is a great mage, and she's beautiful too! She is stronger than most people here, and she could face you head on and win!" Lisanna said, anger in her eyes now.

Lucy smiled at Lisanna out of thanks, and Lisanna smiled back. They had become better friends in this last year, and she found that the woman was quite smart and strong herself.

"I know I'm stronger than Lucy. And I'm positive I'm also stronger than you, Strauss," the woman said, her face smug. Lisanna's face turned into one of a smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Lisanna said, her eyes burning even brighter now, "Prove it!"

"No one says lies about Lucy and gets away with it!" Natsu roared, hearing the commotion. His fist was lit up with a flame, and even Gray and Erza were poised at the ready.

"No, guys-" Lucy began, but it was too late. The two sides of the guild were now in complete chaos, with the people agreeing with Lisanna on one side and the guildmates agreeing with the woman on the other.

"You will pay for what you've said!" Erza yelled, requipping into one of her armors and attacking a guild member on the other side. Lucy watched as everyone attacked each other, and slowly tears began flowing down her cheeks.

They were fighting because of her? Didn't they know that they were a family? And families were always supposed to stick together, even through the worst of times! What were they thinking?

Her anxiety began to seep in once more, and not because of the words the woman said. It was because she herself had thrown the guild into a mess. Singlehandedly, Lucy may have destroyed the entire guild hall and the trust of the guild members she loved. She didn't want that!

Lucy fell to her knees in tears, wondering why she was still in the guild if everyone was going to fight if she was there. It was like every time she was discussed, something came up and someone wanted to attack. But she wanted peace, tranquility, and hope while everyone wanted destruction, anger, and pain. Why was she even in this guild if everyone was going to fight over her?

She stood up with tears in her eyes, knowing what she had to do. She would find her purpose in herself, not in a guild or someone else.

Not even someone she loved.

As she looked at Natsu fighting, he didn't even turn to look at her or smile like he normally did. She knew his eyes were full of rage because of her, and she didn't like it when he turned like that.

But she liked him. She loved the way he smelled and the way he talked, the way he laughed and even the way he fought. Lucy loved Natsu Dragneel.

But maybe the best thing for her would be to never have him. And if that was the best thing for her, who was she to deny herself of it?

As she walked out of the guild hall, she didn't look back. She only kissed the tip of her right pointer finger and held up the Fairy Tail sign, signaling that she would always be there watching them even when she wasn't there to see them.

A year later, Lucy was stronger than before. She walked through the streets of Hargeon with new confidence, and her smile was brighter than it ever had been. She had learned an entire new skill: to transform into the spirits themselves and use their power. It was not unlike her stardresses, but she studied transformation magic throughout that year and was able to use even the powers of those spirits that were difficult to master.

She stopped as she saw the restaurant that she and Natsu visited when they first became friends. Her thoughts went to him and how he was doing, and she shook them away. She kept walking for a few more miles when she heard a familiar voice.

"Lucy!"

"N-Natsu?" she answered, whirling around. Sure enough, it was him.

He looked stronger than ever, and even after a year it brought a flush to her face. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore a different outfit. She smiled when he gathered her up in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alive," he said as he embraced her, and she found herself grinning too.

"Yeah, I am. How are you?" she asked, and he held her shoulders as he studied her. Her face flushed even more as he scanned her up and down for a few moments.

Then he opened his mouth to speak, and Lucy held her breath.

"Have you gained weight?" he asked, and she smacked him on the head. She already felt embarrassed underneath his deep gaze, so why did he have to go and say that? She exhaled, letting go of the breath that gave her so much hope.

"Idiot," she said, and he rubbed his head with a grin.

"You wanna go get some food?" he asked, pointing the thumb of his other hand toward the Magnolia restaurant.

She paused for a moment, contemplating her decision. "Sure," she said, a soft smile inching its way onto her face, "I would love that."

"So Ice Princess became S-Class and finally got the balls to ask Juvia out," Natsu said between tossing an entire hamburger and some fries in his mouth, "and Erza and Jellal are now a thing, I guess."

"Wow. That's amazing! I never thought that Jellal would ever ask Erza to be his girlfriend," Lucy said, daintily sipping on her orange juice as she watched Natsu eat.

"Yeah. Oh, and I'm S-Class too!" Natsu said, and Lucy cheered.

"That's great!"

There was silence in the room as Natsu chewed, and thankfully there weren't many more patrons in the restaurant. They would have been disgusted otherwise and asked to leave.

Lucy felt awkward as the conversation moved on to missions. She wanted to ask him something, but didn't feel like she had enough courage to do so. Did she really want to ask him if he ever was in love with her?

Deciding to take a leap of faith, she waited until he finished his bite. "So, did you find anyone special?" she said, taking on a teasing tone to mask her insecurities.

"No," he said nonchalantly, and her heart soared. At least he didn't find anyone!

"Well," Natsu said after thinking a moment, "not this year."

Lucy's eyes widened once she realized what he was implying. Did he really just say what she thought he said?

Her eyes dropped to her lap before she could say anything else. His eyes landed on hers, and she felt them burning into her head. She sighed as she realized she had to ask one more question.

"Natsu," she began, "did you...ever love me?"

His eyes stayed fixed on hers as he replied, and they were full of softness and passion. "Yes."

"Oh."

There was silence once more, and their meals were finished before they could say another word. Lucy looked anywhere but Natsu's eyes, and Natsu continued to look at her with the look of love.

"Did you ever love me?" he asked, dropping his eyes to his empty plate and then back up into hers.

Lucy sighed softly, knowing her answer right away. "No," she said, her voice firm.

But she lied.