Fascination / Apathy:

"Wake up," Natsu said, staring at the unconscious blond lying in front of them. "C'mon, Luce, wake up!"

It was his fault. They were on a job, getting a pack vulcans out of a farmer's field. Lucy and Natsu had teamed up to chase one of the monsters towards Gray's ice prison when it turned on them. Before he could even scream for her to watch out it swatted Lucy across the face, sending her tumbling over a nearby bluff. He could do nothing by stare as his girlfriend of five years crashed to the bottom of a ditch.

"Lucy!" he'd screamed as she jumped down after her. Her face was swollen, her body limp. Screw the vulcan, he carried her back to camp where he shouted and carried for Wendy to come heal her.

Now here they were, circled around a campfire. The crickets happy chirping only continued to dampen his mood. What did they have to be so cheery about?

"She'll be okay, Natsu," Gray said, unusually comforting as he knelt down next to the fire wizard. "Wendy fixed her up well enough. We've just gotta wait for her to wake up."

"Hmph," was all Natsu said.

Gray sighed and stood up. "Soup should be done, I'll get you a bowl."

"Uh-uh, not hungry," Natsu answered.

"You've gotta eat," Gray snapped as he trudged back to the cauldron Wendy was stirring over the fire.

Natsu reached out and took Lucy's hand in his, tracing her guild mark. Gray brought a bowl and set it next to him. Natsu didn't even look at it, he just stared at the unconscious celestial wizard.

Right there. She was right there, and he did nothing!

"Natsu, eat your dinner," Erza called from behind him.

"Not hungry," he muttered.

"Not hungry!" Happy shouted. "That's not like you, are you okay!?"

"She'll be okay," Carla said. "Sitting there and staring at her won't make her wake up any sooner."

"Hmph," was all Natsu said.

Erza sighed and turned back to the rest of the team. "We still have to get rid of these vulcans, so we need to develop a new plan."

"I still say Gray's ice prison is a good way to catch them," Wendy said.

"Yes," Carla nodded, "But we've got to find a way to chase them there without putting ourselves in danger."

"Maybe Natsu and I can use our dragon roars to scare them toward the prison, that way we wouldn't have to get close."

"What do you think, Natsu?" Gray called.

"Hmph."

"Your apathy will not help you or Lucy," Erza scolded.

Natsu ignored her and instead brought Lucy's hand to his mouth, kissing her guild mark.

"Please. Please, wake up," he begged as he pressed her hand against his forehead. He squeezed his eyes closed, forcing the horrid memories of watching her bounce off the bottom of the ditch away. How...how could he have let this happen? He felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

"Please, wake up, Lucy. I promise I'll protect you and never let anything like this happen to you again, just please wake up."

Her hand was placed against his forehead began moving, one of her fingers began twirling a strand of his hair around it.

He gasped and popped his head up. She was smiling up at him, her gentle brown eyes shining up at him.

"Lucy?" he asked.

She slipped her hand out of his so she could cup his face in her palm. A wave of relief washed away the worry and tension he'd been carrying all day. The relaxation allowed a single tear to escaped down his face. She wiped it away with her thumb as she sat up.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"Lucy," he gasped as he pulled her into a hug tears stinging his eyes. "Lucy," all he could manage to croak out was her name. "Lucy. Lucy!"

"That's me," she giggled as she ran a hand through his hair.

"You scared me to death!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly.

"No, it's not your fault," he held her closer. "If anything it's mine."

"No it's not," she declared as she pulled back so she could look him in the eye. "It was an accident. It could have happened to anyone."

"But it didn't happen to anyone, it happened to you," he said.

Lucy smiled softly at him and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm fine now, though. A bit sore maybe, but I'm fine."

"Lucy!" all the others had noticed she was awake and came racing towards her.

"Hi, guys!" she called as they pounded her with hugs.

"Hey, lay off!" Natsu pushed them off. "You saw what she went through today. Be a little careful, will y-"

"Natsu, I'm fine," Lucy insisted as she stood to her feet. "Now, about these vulcans…"

She walked to the campfire, made herself a bowl of soup and got right to making a plan. Natsu and Wendy using their dragon roars, Lucy using Taurus, and Erza using her Adamantine Armor would chase the monsters to Gray's ice prison. They'd then transport them to a remote location and release them. Once dinner was done, Lucy helped Wendy carry the dishes to a nearby stream and wash them.

Natsu stared in fascination. It was as if she hadn't suffered a major injury at all. She'd just woken up from a concussion two hours ago and she was back to her normal, cheery self. How the heck had he gotten so lucky? This amazing, fascinating woman had been in his life for so many years. Somehow he'd convinced her into being his girlfriend for the past five.

Any slight change in earlier events: had he decided not to go to Hargeon that day, had he not decided on a whim to challenge the winners of the grand magic games after his year long training, had she hit the bottom of that ditch at a different angle, one that would have broken her neck, they wouldn't be here now. Of course he'd known for a while now that he loved her, but something about this. Something about watching her get the life knocked out of her and then watching her bounce back like it was nothing, planning an attack as simply as if she were tying her shoes, and now helping her friends clean up…

...How had an idiot like him ended up with such a goddess?

Lucy was bring the stack of bowls back to the camp when she noticed Natsu staring at her.

"Natsu, I'm fine," she sighed. "You can stop staring."

"C'mere," he said, voice barely more than a whisper.

She frowned in confusion as knelt down in front of him. He took her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over her cheek bones as he brought her in for a kiss. Lucy closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She sighed happily as he slowly moved his lips against hers, finger tracing the contours of her face. He was being so gentle, which wasn't necessarily odd, but a bit unusual. He was usual a bit more-ahem-eager when it came to kissing her. Not that she minded the change in approach. Though she loved it when he would nip hungrily at her bottom lip and hold her as tightly against him as he could without hurting her, she also enjoyed these softer moments. It reminded her that their relationship wasn't just a physical one, but that he did genuinely care for her.

He gently pulled his lips away from hers and leaned his forehead against hers. She smiled as she set a hand on either side of his face, enjoying this peaceful moment. That was when Natsu said something she was not expecting at all:

"Marry me."

She gasped and leaned back, staring at him wide-eyes. His eyes were soft, desperate. His face was sincere. He stared longingly at her as he took her hand in his.

"Please," he begged. "I know it's out of the blue but after today I…"

He searched wildly to find the words to express what he was feeling.

"Lucy I...I don't know what I did to deserve to be with someone like you. Really, I don't. But now that I have you I don't want to live without you. I could have lost you today and it...well...it made me realize some things." He sighed and lowered his head. "I know, I'm an idiot, and I should have realized all this sooner, and actually come up with a plan instead of just-"

"Yes."

He gasped and looked back up at Lucy who was wearing a joyfully loving smile on her face, eyes sparkling with both happiness and tears.

"What?" he asked in a whisper, almost afraid to believe what he'd just heard.

Lucy's smile widened as she repeated her answer: "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."

He let out a half gasp-half laugh as he snatched her into his arms, pressing a passionate kiss to her lips. Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she buried her fingers in his airs, melting into the kiss. Figures he'd propose on a whim! Though not entirely. They'd been together for five years now, an engagement was imminent! But Natsu being Natsu it took a literal vulcan smacking one of them upside the head to get him to realize what the next logical step was.

"Sorry I don't have a ring," he said bashfully one they'd parted.

"Oh, well, um...I might have one," Lucy blushed as she dug into her pocket.

"You do?" Natsu arched an eyebrow.

"Kinda," Lucy pulled out a folded pink handkerchief. She unwrapped it to reveal a brass ring with a tiny brass rose attached to it. It was tarnished with age, but still pretty to look at.

"This was my mom's first wedding ring," Lucy explained as she held it in her palm. "My dad got her a new one with diamonds as a gift after I was born. She once told me she liked this one better, though. When she died she left this to me. I've always kept it on me since, but I never could wear it. It just didn't feel right. But now...well," she giggled. "I guess I know why now."

Natsu chuckled as he held out his hand. "May I?"

Lucy smiled and placed it in his palm. He took her left hand in his and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

"Well, it's about time!" Gray shouted from behind them. They both started to find the whole team staring at them. Happy was beside himself, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"My best friend is getting married!" he cheered as he tackled Natsu in a hug.

"Congratulations, you two!" Carla smiled.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Wendy clapped her hands eagerly.

"So, when's the big day?" Erza asked, smiling ear to ear.

"As soon as possible," Lucy answered.

"Yeah?" Natsu asked.

"I've been waiting for you to ask that darn question for years, I don't feel like waiting any longer!" she declared, to which everyone laughed.

"Well, if that's the case they've got a million wedding chapels at Akane Beach," Gray said. "We could just pop in there on the way home, get you two hitched and be done with it. Oof!"

He winced as Erza smacked him across the back of the head. "Don't try to be all nonchalant about this, marriage is a big deal!"

"Actually, that might not be such a bad idea," Natsu thought out loud.

"Seriously?" Lucy asked.

"Why not?" Natsu asked. "It'd be less work for us. No decorating. No hiring someone to say the stuff. We just show up in a dress and a suit and we'll be good to go."

"Ugh!" Lucy face-palmed. "Men…"

"Exactly," Erza agreed. "Besides, what will the rest of the guild say? They'll all want a hand in the planning. Cana will no doubt have a say on what drinks are served-"

Oh, no! Lucy thought. Drunk Cana, that was always a disaster.

"Master will probably try and invite all of Magnolia-"

The whole town!

"-Vijeeter will want to perform a dance-"

Never a good sign!

"-and-"

"Actually, you know what? Why not?" Lucy said, catching Erza completely off guard.

"Are you serious, Lucy?"

"Sure," Lucy said. "We'll just pick up all the stuff we need on the way there. It'll be like a wedding road trip."

"But….but…" Erza protested.

"Aw, c'mon, Erza," Lucy said as she leaned against her boyfriend-no-her fiance's shoulder. "It'll be fun!"