She clutched the book tightly to her chest, shivering as she walked down the cobblestone path. A cool breeze tickled at her long, blonde hair. Silently, she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, stopping briefly to wipe away the tears that were once again forming on her lashes. Natsu watched her out of the corner of his eye as they continued down the road. He wanted to say something, anything, to make her tears stop, but there was nothing left to say.
"If this is too hard,"' Natsu hesitated, turning to watch her delicate expression crumple, her lip quivering. She was trying very hard to keep from crying. Natsu pulled Lucy into his arms. They stood there for a long time, tangled together. Lucy buried her face into his vest, shaking as fresh tears dampened her face and his chest. 'I should take you home,"' Natsu finally whispered, breaking the heavy silence that weighed around them. Lucy pulled away, her face set in a pained, yet determined look.
"No. I promised,"' Lucy mumbled, turning away from the pink-haired mage. 'I promised she would be the first person to-" But no more words came out. All Natsu could do was walk beside her, hating himself for not being able to protect her from the pain she was suffering.
"Okay." Was all he could think to say, before wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they marched on in silence.
Finally, they arrived. The old, stone building of the church welcomed them melancholily as they turned into the manicured gardens of Magnolia's cemetery. Lucy's footsteps softened, her pace slower. Natus's face darkened, hating this part. He reached for her hand, knowing she needed something steady to hang onto as they approached their destination.
"Wait.'" Natsu breathed, his grip on her hand tightening. 'We shouldn't be here." His eyes were a mixture of sadness, desperation and something else Lucy couldn't understand. He watched her, pleadingly, hoping she wouldn't force the issue.
"Why?" Lucy narrowed her bloodshot eyes, frowning. He looked away from her, his brow furrowing. He sensed they weren't alone; a familiar scent flooding his brain.
"Lucy, please." Natsu stared at her intently, not able to voice what he knew.
"Natsu, I gave her my word!" Lucy yelled, yanking her hands away from the fire dragon slayer. He looked stricken, torn between two equally conflicting thoughts. A sudden breeze swept past, whipping their hair in all directions. Natsu inhaled deeply, catching once again the faint smell of salt, and iron, as they drew closer to her grave.
A giant tree loomed into view; they were close. As they moved forward around the grave marker, the two mages stopped in their tracks at the sight ahead. A tall, shadowy figure with wild black hair towered over the rock of the grave they had come to visit. Lucy let out a small gasp, tightening her grip on the book held against her chest. Gajeel's back shook slightly, his hand over his eyes.
"This isn't right." Natsu spoke lowly to Lucy, whispering in her ear. His eyebrows furrowed sadly as he placed a firm hand on Lucy's shoulder. Natsu watched, horrified, as his companion broke into a run, sobbing. She collided unceremoniously with the iron mage's back, throwing her arms around his middle.
"Ga-gajeel…" She stammered, crying into his mane of black hair. All at once, the air in his lungs vanished. Gajeel placed a large, shaky hand over Lucy's smaller ones, gripping her firmly.
"Bunny girl." He growled softly, barely keeping his voice level. She laughed through her tears, smiling weakly at the nickname.
"You came to visit her today?" Lucy asked quietly, immediately regretting the words that flowed carelessly from her mouth. Upon address, Gajeel's body stiffened uncomfortably. He pried himself away from the celestial spirit mage, keeping his back to her.
"Every single day." Natsu answered for the taller man, stepping to face the two. Lucy and Gajeel both turned at his words, snapping their heads in his direction. Gajeel's expression would have been alarming to a passerby, but the shorter man stood his ground, keeping his face even as he stared into the red, fiery eyes of his friend and fellow dragon slayer.
"H-how could you?!" Lucy yelled, tears streaming down her face. "You just vanished!" She continued yelling through exasperated gasps. "The entire guild was out looking for you. We did-didn't know what to-to think!" She sobbed uncontrollably, her face scrunched into a pained grimace. Gajeel simply looked away, focusing on a distant cloud in the sky. Natsu watched them both solemnly, taking a hold of Lucy's hand.
"Lucy…" Natsu pleaded, earning a murderous look from the blonde.
"And you!" She turned, ripping her hand from the pink-haired youth once again. "You knew, didn't you?" Lucy pointed at Gajeel, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "You tried to stop me from coming here, because you were protecting him!" Lucy's nostrils flared dangerously. At this, Gajeel turned to walk away from the younger mages, his head swimming.
"You came here to see her, right?" The iron slayer interrupted them, snarling lowly, his voice breaking on the word her. He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets, hurrying to leave.
"So, you're just going to leave again?" Lucy's voice was barely a whisper. She stared at the raven-haired man as he walked on, hearing a faint whimper.
"You loved her, didn't you?" Natsu's words froze Gajeel; silence deadening the air.
"Gajeel…" Lucy touched a hand to her mouth, words failing her. For a long time, no one said anything; the silence was thick, crushing their lungs.
"What do you fucking think?" Gajeel's voice was a low, gravelly growl no louder than a whisper. Lucy's eyes widened as his words hit her. He loved her. Natsu watched the other man sadly, keeping deadly still as his eyes flashed between the two.
"She loved you, you know." Lucy spoke, her voice trembling. "She never said it out loud, even when I teased her, but she did. The way she looked at you, spoke to you; I knew she loved you."
"I doubt it." Gajeel said through gritted teeth. "How could she after what I did to her? I'm a fucking monster…"
"Dude, no." Natsu stepped forward, eyes shining.
"She loved you. It's the truth no matter what you choose to believe." Lucy spoke. "But, I can't help but think she'd be crying if she could hear you right now, Gajeel." Lucy's hands were drawn into tight fists at her sides. "If she could hear you right now, denying her love, it would just-"
"What? Kill her?!" Gajeel snapped, turning around. "She can't fucking hear me because she's already fucking dead!" Gajeel yelled, tears welling in his fierce eyes. "I couldn't save her. All I could do was watch her die. If she ever loved me, I didn't deserve it."
SLAP
Gajeel stared dumbfounded into the eyes of the stellar spirit mage, subconsciously bringing a hand to his cheek.
"Idiot…" Lucy began crying again, thrusting her book into the chest of the iron dragon slayer.
"What's this?"
"That's my promise to Levy." Lucy spoke, unblinking.
"So, why?"
"You made a promise too, didn't you?" Lucy watched as the iron dragon's eyes widened at her words.
"How did you-"
"You couldn't keep your promise, so now you're unable to move forward." No question was hidden in her words.
"I-"
"So you're just going to punish yourself for not being able to protect her?"
"Bu-"
"You're going to spend every day blaming yourself?"
"Please-"
"Gajeel!"
"..."
"You can't. For her sake, you have to be strong."
"I don'-"
"She would want you to be happy."
"Well, that's too bad."
"I wasn't able to keep my promise either."
"What?"
"I promised her she would be the first person to read my story."
"..."
"But now…"
"So, this?"
"Yeah, that's it. That's my promise. The book you're holding will never be read by her."
"So, why give it to me?" Gajeel's gruff voice faltered as he stared down at the hand-bound novel in his callused palms.
"Because we're going to keep our promises, Gajeel." Lucy's voice lifted the iron mages eyes.
"How?" All the gravel in his words, gone.
"Read it." Lucy smiled brightly, blush spreading over her cheeks. The corners of Gajeel's mouth lifted slightly as he asked,
"What's it about?" Lucy turned her back on the man, taking Natsu's hand in hers as she walked away from her book. It's in good hands.
"A fairy and a dragon."
"Heh…" Gajeel smirked fondly as he opened the tome, inhaling the familiar scent of ink and parchment. Levy. His eyes flashed up, watching his guildmates disappear. But before they were completely out of view, he cupped a hand to his mouth, yelling,
"How does it end?!" But no response came. Gajeel closed his eyes, letting the wind drift lazily through his hair. A small, gentle smile formed on his lips. He sat down, leaning against the tree opposite her grave. I guess we'll have to find out together.
"You listening, shrimp?"