Hey everyone! Sorry about not updating for a while, I've been dealing with some things. And this is something that I've stored for a while and I thought, why not? I haven't posted an angst in a while. And there'll be more to come! ;) This is based off what I thought would happen if Natsu and the guild were told he was END, not using what actually happened in the manga.

Disclaimer: All characters used in this belong to Hiro Mashima, as always.

Enjoy!

If someone were to walk past Fairy Tail today, they would have to do a double take and perhaps look inside because it was an unusual day to say the least. They wouldn't hear the loud crashing and deafening yells of a brawl or the laughter that accompanied it. It would be silent from the outside but if they were to look in the doors they would hear a faint sobbing.

Lucy and Happy sat in a corner of the hall, far from everyone else as they awaited the news they dreaded to hear. The sobbing came from Happy as he could only voice his confusion and concern. Lucy held him close to her chest, offering what little comfort she could. While Happy had no problem crying aloud, Lucy held her despair in, preferring to cry in private. Instead of voicing her own sadness, she attempted to sooth Happy by murmuring reassurances and joyful memories.

Soon the melancholy pair were joined by more of their friends. They had grown weary of sitting and waiting and watching the pair look so down. Granted no one was in high spirits at the moment but a few took it harder than all the rest, those two especially. These few were now all sitting together, hoping to offer comfort by closeness. Where Lucy and Happy had sat alone, Gray, Erza, Lisanna, Mira and Wendy (with Carla of course) now gathered around them. All held sombre expressions and Lisanna and Wendy had red eyes from crying. No one offered any kind of verbal consolation opting for physical comfort instead. Everyone had some form of contact with someone else. Lucy still held Happy to her chest while Lisanna had an arm around Lucy's shoulders. Mira was stroking Lisanna's hair while she was resting her head on Erza's shoulder. Erza had her head upon Mira's while Gray had a comforting hand on Erza's other shoulder. Wendy was hugging Gray's waist while he had a protective arm around her, something Juvia didn't mind so much as she watched from a close distance. Carla was hovering next to Wendy, her face concerned but not as shattered as her companions'. All this formed a sort of semi-circle that everyone else in the guild sent pitiful glances towards.

What felt like hours later but was in actuality only ten minutes, the master's office door creaked open and a weary looking Makarov stepped out. Scanning the dejected faces of his 'children' he let out a deep sigh.

"Lucy, Happy. Please come here." He called.

The aforementioned wizards broke away from their friends. They all made a move to follow but were stopped by Makarov. Hesitantly they all returned to their positions reforming the semi-circle.

Lucy and Happy quickly made their way to Makarov who, while burdened with grief, managed a small smile which Lucy returned, though not without struggle. Makarov lead the pair into his office and shut the door. At the first sight of pink Lucy stifled a sob and had to hold Happy back from flying towards it. There sat in front of them, his back facing them, was their partner and best friend. Makarov walked slowly towards him and laid a hand on his shoulder. The master muttered something to him to which Natsu nodded. Makarov walked back over to Lucy and they watched as Natsu slowly pushed himself out of the chair, his arms portraying the effort as his muscles bulged and stretched. As he walked towards them he was the very image of despair. His shoulders were hunched, his steps slow, his head hanging down, refusing to meet their eyes. Makarov cleared his throat, turning to Lucy and said,

"Would you look after him tonight? I think he needs to be with you two. And don't worry, he's not any danger… yet."

A small growl slipped past Natsu at that, followed by a whimper and then he folded in on himself even more. Lucy flinched at his reaction, tears swimming in her eyes, while Makarov merely sighed. Blinking away the tears and trying to adopt a cheery tone Lucy replied, never taking her eyes off of Natsu.

"Of course! Come on Natsu, I'll make us some dinner, your choice."

Natsu nodded and followed her out, not making a sound and not meeting her eyes. Makarov watched wearily as the generally cheerful trio walked silently away. This new information was a heavy burden to Natsu and the guild but he knew if anyone could lighten it, it was those two.

Throughout the walk home Lucy tried to keep conversation light to lift everyone's spirits. When they had walked through the guild hall before, Natsu had grown tense as the air was thick with pity, concern and what felt like mild fear from their guild mates. As soon as they had exited the building Happy had flown to Natsu's arms, whimpering and cuddling into him. Natsu's immediate reaction was one of shock before a small smile graced his tired features and he reached a hand up to stroke Happy's fur. Lucy watched this exchange with her own sad smile. As she began balancing on the edge of the canal, Lucy began to talk.

"So for dinner I was thinking I could make spaghetti? And Mira taught me how to make fire chicken the other day so I could make you some of that Natsu. Sound good?"

A small nod is all she received.

"Okay fire chicken it is! Oh and I have a salmon for you Happy. So that should be enough I think. Do we want dessert? Natsu?"

She turned to see an almost indiscernible shake of his head. Lucy sighed softly as her apartment came into view. Natsu's silence was unnerving and if he was going to be like this then it would be a long night. When they reached her apartment she was again confused by Natsu as he followed her through the door rather than jumping to the window.

Once inside, Lucy set about making dinner, humming to herself as she cooked. While she was in the kitchen Natsu sat at the table, stroking Happy's fur as he ate his fish and watching Lucy's every move. Soon enough dinner was ready and as they ate Lucy once again found herself talking to no one. Not even Happy could respond as he had fallen asleep.

"So I was thinking tomorrow, why don't we go fishing? Happy was so upset today I think it would be nice to do something for him, yeah? Then maybe we could take a mission, just a short one, my rent's due in a few days and I haven't paid it yet. And I thought..."

"Why aren't you scared of me?"

Caught off guard by the quiet interruption Lucy looked up from her plate in shock.

"W-what?"

"I said, why aren't you scared of me?"

His voice was rough from being silent so long but as he continued to speak, his voice cleared and grew louder.

"Natsu…" she began but he interrupted her again.

"No Lucy. Everyone is scared of me now. Surely you could tell. I don't blame them, heck, I'm scared of myself! So why aren't you? I get Happy but why you? I'm a monster Luce, a demon. Why aren't you scared?! WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME?!"

In his frustration Natsu had stood up from the table. In response to his rant, Lucy stood as well and walked towards him. In that moment Lucy saw how vulnerable and scared he truly was. His eyes were wide and glistening from unshed tears, his face pale, his breath short and erratic and his whole form was trembling. Lucy smiled gently as she moved right in front of him. Still smiling, she reached a tender hand up to his face and placed it on his cheek. Immediately he closed his eyes and leaned into the gentle touch.

"There's nothing to be scared of." She whispered.

With that she left to go clean the dishes and get ready for the night. When she had finished and was about to get into bed, she saw Natsu standing where she left him, eyes wide open now and mumbling incoherently. Lucy sighed.

"Natsu, come here."

Snapping his blank stare to Lucy, he stalked towards her, stopping in front of her, still standing while she sat on the edge of her bed. Reaching for his wrist, Lucy tugged him onto the bed next to her. Natsu slumped, as if he had been held up by a string and someone had just cut it, and failed to meet Lucy's eyes again. Moving to hold his hands, Lucy urged him to talk.

"Natsu. What's wrong?"

Natsu's voice was soft yet firm as he answered her, his voice increasing in volume and urgency as he continued.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! Lucy, you know what's wrong! I-I'm a, a, a demon Luce! I'm Zeref's brother! I'm 400 and something years old! It's because of me that your mum died! I'M A DEMON! A MONSTER! Gray's job, given to him by his dad, is to destroy me! I could destroy the guild, I could kill everyone! I could kill you!"

His eyes widened in shock at the realisation, his stomach churning as though he was on a train in his fear.

"I, I could kill you! No…NO! I don't want to! I can't!"

Natsu was close to hysterical now, standing up and backing away from her, one hand over his mouth to try and keep himself from revisiting his dinner, before tripping over his feet and landing on the floor. Once on the floor, he curled into a ball and began rocking back and forth, whispering 'no' over and over, eyes open yet unseeing. Lucy stood slowly and made her way over to him. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and knelt in front of him

"Natsu?"

No response.

"Natsu, look at me."

He slowly met her gaze and Lucy smiled, laying her other hand on his cheek again.

"Luce I, I can't hurt you. I'm supposed to protect you. That's why I left. So I could get stronger, that way I'd never lose anyone again. I would never lose you. But now…I have to leave Luce. I don't – I won't hurt you. Please Luce, I'm too dangerous, I…"

"Stop right there. You listen to me Natsu. You may be E.N.D but you are still Natsu. You're still my best friend and no matter what you say, I won't let you leave again. That will hurt me more than anything."

Seeing only genuine feelings and absolute honesty on her face, Natsu grew more confused than ever.

"Why? Why are you still not scared? I could kill you Lucy! I…I…"

Lucy held onto both his shoulders and then pulled him into a hug, threading her fingers through his hair. In her comforting embrace Natsu finally let his tears fall.

"Do you want me to be scared of you?"

"No, but…"

"Then I won't be. I don't care about all that Natsu. Like I said, you're still Natsu and you're still my best friend. If and when the book is opened or destroyed, we'll work it out. But for now all we can do is hope for the best and stick together. We'll just carry on like we always do."

"Lucy…"

"Mmm?"

"I'm scared." He whimpered.

Lucy smiled and pulled him closer, letting her own tears slide down her cheeks. Her restraint had finally snapped after holding back all her worries for the whole day. When Natsu had finally admitted his worries she allowed herself to let go. Natsu, feeling her tears drip onto his neck, drew his arms around her and squeezed tight. In that moment he couldn't be more grateful for the woman he held in his arms and how much she did for him. The thought made him smile gently and he slid his fingers through her golden locks.

As they both held each other, an unspoken promise was made. They would always protect each other and not anyone, nor anything could break their bond. A bond made of cherished friendship and a deep, unyielding love that had not yet seen the light of day, biding its time in the depths of their hearts. Right then they knew that, somehow, they would make it through whatever life threw at them, all its troubles and strife, all its joy and good times, they would see it all. All they needed, and would ever need, is each other.

So, what did you think? Please let me know in your reviews! They seriously give me motivation. There will be a second part to this so...I'll try and get that up ASAP but you know me, it could take a while. I will try though! See you later! :D