Seven Miles

Everyone was laughing and everyone was smiling, except Lucy. She didn't have her brilliant smile that she always had on. Not since they returned from the capital after the tournament.

Things were different now, they had watched her future self, the very person who had fought for the future and for their lives, die before their eyes. Lucy watched her die in her arms. Natsu had to watch her get killed, unable to do a thing. Happy had lost the mother-figure he had come to love. Wendy and Carle lost a dear friend and member of the guild. The five were never the same after.

Even when the rest of the guild was informed about what had happened and what Future Lucy had done, they were different as well. Everyone seemed to be more protective of each other, they knew that they had to stick together through the thick and thin no matter what came at them.

The one-no-the two that were most affected by the death of Lucy's future self was Lucy herself and Natsu. Lucy was self explanatory, she had watched herself die in her own arms. Seeing yourself from the future was enough to get someone going, but to watch their own selves die in front of them was too much. Even for someone who has put up with a lot in their past such as Lucy.

Now Natsu, he had watched Lucy's future self be killed before his eyes, and there was nothing he could have done to prevent it from happening. Lucy was someone important to him, someone dear to him. He would've been damned if he'd let anything like that ever happen to Lucy.

Since they returned, the guild and Wendy and Carle had tried to get on with their lives, piece-by-piece. But for the three original members of Team Natsu, more time was needed to take grasp of reality. Happy and Natsu often comforted each other when either of them had nightmares of the moment Future Lucy had died in front of them. Lucy, on the other hand, had spent most of her nights crying herself to sleep with her doll-slash-little sister, Michelle in her arms. Natsu would often come over to Lucy's apartment with a sleeping exceed with him if his nightmares were too intense for him to handle on his own and desperately needed to see that Lucy was still alive. He would be on time to see Lucy struggling to sleep because of her own nightmares of that day they knew all too well.

They would comfort each other, Natsu saying nothing would ever happen to Lucy and Lucy saying that she was alive and still with Natsu. It was something, they knew, that made their bond stronger. The strongest it has ever been since they meet on that fateful on in that port day over seven years before.

It was a regular day at the guild. Natsu was picking fights with his mouth set ablaze. Erza was happily eating her cake next to a few of the girls. The guys were preparing to get into Natsu's fight. Lucy, with her head resting on the table she sat at with the girls, was not in a particular mood to be laughing at her guild's antics or going with the mood in actuality.

The blonde mage hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a long week. Natsu hadn't been there that week on a mission that Lucy politely refused to go on with her team because she hadn't been feeling well. The lack of sleep was the culprit. Thinking that getting a few minutes of shuteye with her make-shift family around her was a terrible idea in the first place, Lucy knew that. But it was better than having no one by your side if anything happened.

After being thrown across the guild by Gray, Natsu landed beside the table the girls were sitting at. Lucy shifted her head to see Natsu's bent back looking at her with his dark onyx eyes, flashing her a look of worry in them. She forced a smile before looking away to keep him from worrying to much.

Not possible, Lucy thought. It's Natsu, he would always worry.

"Luce, you okay?"

"Mm-hm," she mumbled.

"You sure?"

"Yes Natsu."

"Okay then. Hey! Me and Happy missed you all week!" Natsu exclaimed, hoping to lift her spirits. He slid next to her at the table, placing his head next to hers on the wooden surface. "Why don't we go on a mission together? Huh? Just the three of us! Like the old days!"

"The old days, huh?" Lucy asked to herself. Before the tournament. Before my death… "Natsu, to be honest, I don't feel that well."

"Still?!" Natsu whined.

Lucy turned to face him, putting on a small, sympathetic smile. It broke her heart to see his upset face, his lips pouting, eyebrows creased, and his puppy dog eyes. She sighed before closing her eyes.

"Yeah. You two go on ahead and I'll go on the next one, promise."

"You promise?"

Her smile grew a little bit larger, he had such an effect on her. "Celestial mages never break their promises Natsu. You know that better than anyone."

He grinned, "Just checking Luce. Then, it's a deal." He leaned down to place a light, feathery kiss on her head before sliding off is seat. "Happy! Let's go on a job!"

"Right now?!" the blue cat called out.

"It'll be a quick one! We'll be back home by midnight!"

"Aye Sir!"

"Have a safe trip," Lucy said.

"See ya later Luce!"

As soon as the duo left the guild, the girls flocked around Lucy. All had grins on their faces.

"So," Levy said, breaking the group's silence. "What's going on between you and Natsu Lu-chan?"

"Nothing," Lucy said.

"Really?" Cana asked. "Because that didn't look like just nothing."

"Nothing's happening between us," Lucy said.

"Lucy, I think there's more than what you think is going on," Erza said. "Natsu and you, lately, have been getting closer. More than usual."

"It's nothing you guys," Lucy said, lifting her head slightly from the table. "Can you drop it?"

"Could it be because of what happened when they-"

The blonde cut off Lisanna by slamming her hands on the wooden surface as she stood up. She glared down to her friends. "Drop it." She turned away, walking over to Mira at the bar. She took a seat and rested her head on the bar top beside a glass of water the elder Take-Over mage placed for her.

"The cause could be what had taken place during their time in the capital palace Lisanna," Erza said, her cake looking unappetizing now that she's upset her dear friend that was an inch away from death's door.

"Oh dear," the white-haired mage said. "The poor girl."

A few hours had passed since Natsu and Happy had left and that Lucy stormed away from the girls. The blonde was still at the bar, Mira now sitting next to her on a neighbouring stool facing the rest of the rowdy guild. Lucy had managed to get some sleep with the calming words of Mira placing a noise cancelling spell on the blonde. But, after a few hours, Lucy was getting her usual nightmares.

The blonde was in a world of darkness and of red. She stood in a pool of blood, surrounded by her fallen guild mates and friends from other guilds in an endless pile of rubble. She had grasped her right arm with her left, her hand was gone…Like Future Lucy's hand was. The blonde was screaming, crying out for someone to help her. For someone she knew to tell her that they were alive and still with her.

The blonde walked passed bodies with blue hair, red hair, brown hair…She walked passed two bodies interlocked in each other's limbs, a tuff of black hair and a tuff of ocean blue hair. Her brown eyes scanned the area from a blue bodies and a head of pink hair, the only two that mattered the most in Lucy's world.

She saw them. The body of a small blue creature laid face-down in a pile of crimson liquid. The head of pink hair was hanging off a pile of rubble as the body's right arm was hanging from the side. A red Fairy Tail guild mark evident, even through the dark scene.

Lucy fell to her knees. She bent her head back, everyone was gone…Gone…No one was alive. She released an ear piercing scream into the dark sky.

"LUCY! LUCY!" Mira yelled. The older mage had grabbed the blonde by her shoulders, gently shaking her in her sleep. She wouldn't wake up. "LUCY!"

Everyone had stopped what they were doing before hand, looking at the distressed mage trying her hardest to release Lucy from whatever nightmare she was facing alone.

"What's going on Mira?!" Erza yelled, running over to her. "Lucy?"

"I think she's having a nightmare!" Mira yelled.

"Why isn't she waking up?!" Gray yelled, obviously concerned for teammate.

"I don't know!" Mira yelled. "It might be the noise cancelling spell I put on her so she could sleep! But I broke it already when she began to scream."

"This is strange," Master said, walking over to the rest of his guild.

"Master," Levy said, "what's happening to Lu-chan?"

"I don't know. She might be going into shock," Master said, placing a hand under his chin. "She told me she was having rough time this past week. The nightmares she's had since we returned home have been affecting her more recently and she hasn't been getting much needed sleep."

"How did I not know?" Erza asked herself, punching a nearby wooden pillar.

"We all should've known Erza," Gray said, his eyes downcast on the floor.

"We can't dwindle on the fact that none of us knew what was happening to Lucy!" Mira yelled, everyone turned to her. "She's been through a lot, we all know that! But right now, we need to keep her safe!"

"She's right!" Elfman yelled, lifting an arm up to the ceiling. "That's what it is to be a man!"

Everyone laughed nervously.

Lisanna turned to Master. "What do we need to do?"

"There must be one person who knows how to deal with Lucy in a state like this…" Master pondered.

"N…Natsu…" Lucy whimpered. "N…Natsu…Everyone…Don't…Don't leave…me…" The sight of Lucy and her current state was heartbreaking for the entire guild. No one was happy to see one of their favourite people in the world being like this.

"Natsu-san might," Wendy said. "They were most affected by Lu-I mean-Future Lucy's death. Natsu-san might know how to bring Lucy-san back."

Mira nodded to her younger sister, "Call Natsu on the lacrima."

"Wah! That was a good mission, huh Happy?" Natsu looked around the treetops for his flying partner. "Eh? Happy?"

"Down here." The Dragon Slayer looked to the forest floor. Happy was slumped against a nearby tree stomp. His wings were gone and the exceed looked tired. "I'm tired."

The exceed's laughed, "Let's go home then."

"Aye S-" Someone began to ring from Happy's green pack. "The guild's calling?"

"What d'ya mean "the guild's calling"?" Natsu asked.

"Mira gave me a communicating lacrima a while ago to call the guild or if the guild's in trouble," Happy said, slipping off his pack and taking out a small round crystal. Lisanna's foggy image appeared in the crystal. "Lisanna!"

"Lisanna?" Natsu asked, looking at the crystal. "What's up?"

"Natsu! Happy! Where are you?!" Lisanna asked in a worried tone. "You have to get to the guild right now!"

"We're in the forest near Clover, why?" Happy asked. "What's wrong with the guild?!"

"That's seven miles away!" Lisanna yelled.

From the crystal, the partners heard more yelling erupting from their guild mates.

"Tell them to get here! NOW!" Romeo's voice rang.

"Will they make it in time?!" Levy's voice yelled.

"What's going to happen now?!" Cana yelled.

"All the train stations are closed for the day!" Gray yelled.

"Poor Lucy-san! What's going to happen to her Master?!" Wendy yelled.

"Lucy!" Natsu's eyes widened. Did something happen to her?! Natsu's large hand took the lacrima from Happy and held it at eye-level. "What happened?! Where's Lucy?!"

Lucy's screams erupted in the background, followed by Mira's hushed words and Wendy's cries.

Natsu's hands went aflame. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO LUCY?!"

"Natsu…" Erza appeared in the crystal. The Dragon Slayer could clearly see tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Lucy's having a bad nightmare, but she's not waking up…No matter what we do!"

"What?"

"We need you to get here Natsu!" Lisanna said, she covered her eyes. Tears started slipping from her blue orbs. "Please…We-we don't know what's going to happen to her Natsu…"

"I'll be there in twenty-no-Fifteen."

Lisanna's head whipped back to face him. "Fifteen minutes Natsu?! That's impossible! You're seven miles away!"

"Trust me!" Natsu gave the lacrima back to Happy. "I'll make it!" Anything for Lucy.

"Please Natsu," Erza begged. "Hurry!" The faces of the two girls and the voices in the background faded away.

As Happy put the crystal away into his pack, the blue exceed looked at Natsu's shaking figure. "Natsu…Can we really make it in time? It's far away."

"You can't fly, can you Happy?"

"No, I used up all my magic."

"Hold on tight then," Natsu said, picking up the cat and placing him on his shoulder. "We'll make it on time. We have to protect Lucy!"

"Aye Sir!"

Natsu started running through the forest. It would take him a while, but he would definitely get home. Get to the guild…Get to Lucy.

Lucy…Hold on for me…Stay strong for me Lucy…I'm coming for you! I promise!

Lucy was erratically throwing her limbs all about. She looked as if she was in pain…Like whatever she was facing was hurting her physically as well as mentally. The rest of the guild had to standby, watching every gut wrenching move she made. There was nothing they could possible do.

Mira gently stroked the blonde's hair, hoping it would somehow calm her in her emotional state. Tears slid down the white-haired mage's face, some falling on the blonde on her lap's head. Erza was standing protectively over the blonde, continuing to blame herself for the predicament they were in. Gray sat next to Juvia, waiting for Natsu to come for the blonde. Wendy was holding Carle as Cana held the young Dragon Slayer. Gajeel had the petite blue-haired girl in his lap, her face buried in his chest. Lisanna stood behind the bar with Master sitting on a stool across from her. Tears threatening to spill.

"Stupid Natsu…" she muttered.

"Hm?" Master raised an eyebrow.

"He made an unrealistic promise…From the forest in Clover to the guild in fifteen godforsaken minutes! Impossible." She looked to the doors of the guild. It had been almost fifteen minutes since they last contacted Natsu. And Lisanna didn't think he would make it in time for her ETA.

"You know Natsu would do anything for this guild," Master said. He looked back to the blonde in Mira's lap, violently thrashing around. ""Especially for our Celestial mage, Lisanna."

"I know. But it take two hours to get from the Clover forest to here on foot. One, maybe, running. There's no pos-"

The doors were kicked opened with a flaming leg. "LUCY!" A familiar roar echoed throughout the guildhall.

"Lushie!" Happy cried.

The rest of the guild breathed out a sigh of relief. Natsu was here. Lucy was going to be fine.

As the Dragon Slayer ran over to Mira and Lucy, Lisanna stood there, amazed, that Natsu had managed to get to the guild, in what would take an hour at least, in fifteen minutes. Master was right, Natsu would do anything for the guild. Especially when a certain blonde mage was involved.

Natsu had gently taken Lucy from Mira's lap and held her in his arm. "Lucy…Luce…" he cooed. Natsu's arms slowly rocked her, trying to wake the blonde. "C'mon Luce! You promised that we'd go on a mission when we got back! Celestial mages don't break their promises! You told me that."

"Nat…su…" The blonde's doe brown eyes slowly opened, taking in the surrounding members of her beloved guild. Tears started filling her eyes and soon overflowed onto her face. "Everyone…You're okay."

"Of course we are," Mira said, placing a hand on her heart. "You scared everyone Lucy."

"I did?" She looked around for confirmation. Everyone was slowly nodding. "Oh no. I'm sorry-"

"No Lucy," Erza said, kneeling beside her. "We're the ones who should've noticed your predicament beforehand. We're the ones who should be apologizing."

"I didn't want you all to worry," Lucy said.

"Luce, look around you," Natsu said. The blonde looked up to the pink-haired man holding her.

She had noticed it, only recently though, that Natsu was maturing now. He still had his childish side, Natsu wouldn't be Natsu without it. But when there were situations like these now, the fire Dragon Slayer was more…thoughtful…More…considerable now. Lucy noticed it now, that she was falling in love with the man who would constantly be there for her.

"We'll always look out of you. We'll always worry for you, even if you don't want us to," Natsu said, placing a grin on his face. "Because you're Lucy of Fairy Tail, our Lucy, we'll always be beside you and never leave."

Everyone hummed in agreement. Lucy looked around the guild. Her family was smiling happily to her, not for the fact that she had scared them all half to death, but because Natsu was right. They would never leave her alone, and with a family like Fairy Tail who would?

"Everyone…" She looked back to Natsu. "Natsu…"

Said man rested his forehead against hers, as he did with her future self. There was no chance in hell he would leave Lucy…Like his future self did with hers. He wouldn't break that promise.

He closed his eyes. Never in my life. "You'll never be alone in this world with us Lucy."

"Natsu…" Lucy began to cry, wrapping her arms around the fire dragon's neck, clinging to him.

Natsu grinned wrapping both his arms tightly around his blonde best friend. Everyone started cheering. Some even went as far as to join in on Natsu and Lucy's hug. Makarov smiled happily at the scene in front of him.

"How about we celebrate with a party?!" he yelled.

"AYE SIR!" they all agreed.

It was the early morning hours, the sun was due to rise in a couple of hours. And the entire guild of Fairy Tail was passed out on flipped over tables, benches and the floor. A brawl had broke out in the beginning of the party and was immediately followed by a full-blown drinking party after Makarov slapped some sense into the fighters. Everyone, but one hiding away from the commotion in the back corner, was sleeping peacefully as much as they could after a wild party like that.

In that corner was Natsu sitting up properly, holding a sleeping Lucy on his lap and close to his chest. A hand was running through her smooth locks as the other held her close to him. Lucy had an arm wrapped around Happy's sleeping figure on her busty chest as her right hand rested on his toned chest. There was a pleasant smile on the blonde pretty little face, that made the fire dragon smile.

"Natsu…" Lucy mumbled in her sleep.

"Hm?" Natsu's onyx eyes peered down to his favourite person's face.

"I…love you," she whispered, snuggling closer to his warmth.

His smile grew to a larger grin. He held her tighter to him. Natsu quickly removed his arm from around the blonde, supporting her temporarily with his legs, and grabbed her right hand. He quickly placed a peck on her guild mark before pecking her forehead. His arm moved back to its original position, but had Lucy closer to him.

"I love you too, My Weirdo," he whispered back.

Natsu noticed a large smile appearing on the blonde face as she snuggled to a more comfortable position for him and wrapping her right arm around his back. Natsu smiled once more before closing his eyes and resting his head on hers.

He wasn't going to leave the blonde anytime soon, not like what his future self had done. There was no possible way for him to do so in the first place.

He wouldn't leave her, just like the guild. Natsu would always be there. And whether he was seven or seven-hundred miles away from his love, he would always run to her side. Because he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

The End