.:Love for him was like a star - hopeless, but he still tried to touch them:.

He tapped his feet nervously, looking around the crowded train. This would be the first time he would see her in three years. Forced to leave on some important job, his confession had been delayed for a while - and he didn't want his first confession of love to be through an email or a phone.

Natsu smiled as he tightened his fist around the bouquet of roses, leaning down to breathe in their sweet, soothing scent. He would rush to her house like he always did, but this time he had something special for her.

Everything would go smoothly, as soon as the trouble with the jammed train door was fixed.

The speakers blared to life, announcing that passengers could exit the train. Natsu groaned with relief, sheltering the roses in his jacket, a small smile on his face, giddy with nerve-wracking excitement.

And he was quite disappointed when there was no familiar flash of blonde hair outside of the

train station. Natsu wanted her to be waiting for him, but she was probably busy - after school, life had been confusing and tiring.

And so he continued down the old but familiar street, humming "Everything's Okay" all the while.

But when the bright, beaming, familiar townhouse came into view, his face broke into an excited smile. Natsu laughed out loud as she raced down the street, not caring that the rose thorns were pricking his fingers through the plastic.

She wasn't home. That was alright. It was only two in the afternoon. She was probably still at work. Natsu smiled and sat down on the house's front steps. He would wait.

"Natsu?"

The man rubbed his eyes, grunting as he sat up, realizing that he had fallen asleep. The sky had turned into a peachy red, clouds stained crimson as the sun sank below the horizon line.

But none of that mattered. She was standing there in front of him, small mouth in an "o" of surprise, warm, chocolate-brown eyes shining in the darkness. Her shining blonde hair, somewhat longer than it was three years ago, was pulled into a messy ponytail.

Natsu stood up immediately, grin so wide on his face he felt his cheeks hurting. "Lucy! I'm back!"

Lucy nodded slowly, face breaking into a smile. "Oh, Natsu! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"

But something didn't seem right in her eyes. Natsu waved it aside, stepping closer.

"Luce...hey, I've got something to tell you! It's really important...don't make fun of me." He grinned sheepishly, a small blush dashing his cheeks.

Lucy tilted her head to the side, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, what is it?"

Natsu hesitated for a moment more before pulling out the roses, blushing but smiling all the same. And there he said it, under the darkening sky.

"I love you, Lucy!"

He expected Lucy to smile and say the three words back, or to hug him...or maybe even snap at him while flushing. He didn't mind.

What he did mind, though, was the fact that Lucy took a few steps back. "Oh...Natsu...I…"

"Yeah, I know, I must be coming on to you too rushed," Natsu said quickly. "I mean...if-if you want to think this over, I-"

"No, Natsu...I meant-I meant I'm already...well…" Lucy smiled ruefully, fiddling with the hem of

her skirt.

"...I'm already married."

Silence. A few roses drooped sadly.

Natsu's eyes widened with disbelief as he began to soak in what came from Lucy's mouth.

Lucy, the girl Natsu had been secretly falling head over heels for.

Lucy, the girl Natsu was too shy to ask out, because he was so afraid she would turn him down.

Lucy, the girl whose smile and laugh lit the candle inside of Natsu's heart.

Lucy, the kind...the kind girl…

And he'd been waiting all these years for this perfect moment.

"Lucy, wait up!"

And up came the familiar raven-haired boy. He regarded Natsu for a moment, his face breaking into a smile. "Oh, flame-head, you're finally back! How was the trip?" His navy blue gaze dropped to the roses on the gravel pathway. "And what's up with that?"

Natsu hadn't even realized that the bouquet had fallen from his hands. His heart felt slowed and painful, reminding him that it belonged to no one - that the girl he loved didn't love him back.

"I'm sorry," he heard himself say, and his feet took him away from that place.

Natsu ended up at his own house. He barged in, slamming it shut behind him, and dropped to the dusty floor under the window, wrapping his arms around his knees and hugging his legs to his chest, rocking back and forth.

And he cried.

How was it? Constructive criticism greatly appreciated :)