A/N: I haven't actually finished the anime yet, just fyi. I'm aware of Natsu's true past, but I haven't gotten there yet. I'm only on episode 138. Think of this story as a sort of AU, if you will.
I hope you guys will like this! My first Fairy Tail project. I hope it's not too terrible.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters within.
Lucy wasn't surprised when she came home to see Natsu asleep on her bed. It happened too often to be truly surprising, or even irritating, and Lucy had given up trying to keep the Dragon Slayer out. It never worked.
So instead of waking her friend up with a violent kick in the pants out the door, Lucy simply pulled the blanket up around his shoulders, climbed into her pajamas, and slept on the couch instead. Much simpler for the exhausted Celestial Wizard.
The first surprise Lucy did receive that night was feeling Happy's tiny paws on her arm, shaking gently, though urgently.
"Lucy, please wake up! It's Natsu!"
She heard the fear and worry in Happy's voice, and that was what truly woke her up. Sliding off the couch before she had even really opened her eyes, Lucy stumbled over to the bed. Quickly rubbing sleep crud out of her eyes, the mage stared down at Natsu, surprised for the second time that night.
"Is he..." Lucy started, unwilling to believe what she was seeing. "Crying?"
Happy nodded, paws held up to his mouth in worry, like he wanted to be stress-eating.
"Has he ever done this before?" Lucy asked, kneeling by the edge of the bed. She put her hand on his shoulder, feeling the soft tremors that rocked the Dragon Slayer's body every few seconds. Tears welled beneath his eyelids, but even in sleep, Natsu didn't want to cry. There were a few tracks down his cheeks, but not many.
Either way, it was concerning.
Happy shook his head. "No, nothing like this has ever happened before!" Tears of his own welled up in the Exceed's eyes, falling freer than Natsu allowed his to. "What's going on, Lucy?!"
"I don't know, Happy," Lucy replied quietly, sadness in her heart. Never in her life had she expected to see Natsu crying. "Have you tried waking him up?"
Happy shook his head, and Lucy gently shook the Dragon Slayer's shoulder. "Natsu," she said softly. "Hey, Natsu! Wake up."
Slowly, black eyes opened, staring at her in bewildered, hazy confusion. A hand reached up from beneath the blanket to wipe at the salt-water that now freely trickled down his face.
"Why am I crying?" Both Happy and Lucy winced at the obvious crack in his voice, but Natsu seemed not to notice. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Lucy sat back on her heels, watching as the fire mage put his head in his hands, then, as the third surprise for the night, began to shake.
"Why am I crying?" He repeated, softer. Brokenly. "Why do I feel so sad?"
Lucy's heart about broke right then and there, and, sitting on the bed beside Natsu, put her arm around his shoulders. She didn't miss how he leaned into her, like he needed the support, the warmth. But she didn't say anything about it.
"Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" Happy asked, tears in his voice. He was on Natsu's other side, clinging gently to his arm.
"I..." Hesitation, then, "A woman. I was dreaming about a woman. She had nice eyes, and a gentle voice."
"What did she look like?" Lucy asked gently.
The confused, fazed sadness entered his eyes again. "I don't-" He cut himself off. His hand rose, absentmindedly, to his hair.
"Her hair!" Natsu exclaimed. "Her hair was pink like mine!"
Lucy raised an eyebrow, hoping this was a joke. Not Virgo again.
"And no, it wasn't Virgo," Natsu said suddenly, as if reading her thoughts. He glanced over at her. "It was someone else. Her eyes were dark gray, almost black. And she was older." Silent again. Lucy let it be, and Happy, wisely, did as well.
"I think- I think she might have been..." Natsu trailed off again. Lucy waited, but didn't rush him.
"What was your mom like?"
To say Lucy was caught off guard by the seemingly random question was an understatement. At first, she floundered for words for a moment. Then, upon finding them, said, "She was warm, and caring and safe. She was kind to everyone she met, and loving to me and my dad." Lucy fell silent, then, "For the longest time, she was home."
Natsu's head fell back into his hands, and his shoulders seemed to wilt beneath Lucy's arm.
"I think the woman might have been my mom."
A/N: Please review? Let me know what I can do to make this better! More to come soon, I hope!