Disclaimer: As of the last twenty four hours, I still have not managed to acquire rights to Fairy Tail. Continued respect to Hiro Mashima for hanging onto it.

Rough Around the Edges

Lucy woke up to sunlight streaming in through her window. The blond mage snuggled deeper into her comforter-

Her comforter.

Lucy opened her eyes to find the bed empty save herself. Natsu was nowhere to be found. She huffed, not too proud to admit she was a bit impressed. How had he gotten away without waking her? She'd been pretty snug with him the night before. That realization stung her cheeks with warmth. She shook her head and tossed the comforter back.

Natsu was leaving today. The thought still caused an ache in her chest, but if anything else about last night was real, then he wasn't really abandoning her. She shivered at that word. She hated it. Regardless, she sauntered to her kitchen to make coffee before she got dressed to go to the guild. She lingered longer than usual that morning, hoping Natsu would at least come to say goodbye in person. When minutes turned into an hour, though, she headed out, thinking that maybe he was there waiting for her.

The sight that greeted her there was the last thing she expected, and among the last she ever wanted to see.

"What do you mean, Master?"

"You can't disband the guild!"

"Fairy Tail can't disappear!"

These, and other protests, went unheeded by Makarov. The old Wizard Saint made his final verdict clear. After a few minutes, everyone gathered went their separate ways, until only Lucy was left, still stunned and still hoping to see a head of pink hair that she never found. The celestial spirit mage stood in place, alone, for too long, before she started walking.

Lucy wandered through Magnolia without any aim or destination in her mind. Fairy Tail, her family, was gone, all in an instant. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, coming back to herself near the town's sakura trees. She remembered how she'd missed the blossoming her first year at the guild. Of course, never one to be bogged down by things like rules or common sense, Natsu had flat out hijacked one for her and sent it floating down the river by her apartment.

Natsu. Lucy wanted more than anything to see her favorite dragon slayer. He'd know what to say, and even if he didn't, he'd know what to do, because that's who he was. Lucy wondered about going to his house, but the understanding of all that was happening hit her then. He'd left. Along with the rest of her family, Natsu was gone. That realization was so shocking Lucy couldn't find any tears.

Lucy stumbled back into her apartment, feeling frustrated, saddened, and already lonely. She locked her door behind her and glared at her window, trying to dare Natsu into appearing. She sighed and stomped past her desk toward the bathroom to change into something more appropriate for sulking.

Something on her desk caught her eye. A letter was tucked beneath some of her manuscript. Had that been there before? She slit open the envelope, and immediately recognized Natsu's scratchy handwriting. She gave a slight shake of her head. How was he so sneaky?

Mornin' Luce!

I got up early 'cause, y'know, I'm heading out today. I had to make sure Happy didn't eat all our fish and food supply before we left! I didn't read any of your book, I swear! I kinda wanted to wake you up before I went, but you looked real happy and comfy and it was hard enough to get outta that bed without you still attached to me. You're a hardcore snuggler, weirdo! Ha ha, don't worry; I won't forget what I promised. You keep an eye open for any BS from Snowcone while I'm gone, okay? Keep things alive in the guild.

I miss you already.

-Natsu

Lucy laughed, blushed, sighed, ground her teeth, and bit her lip. She had been cozy the night before, that much she remembered. But two things stood out- his comment about the guild (insults to Gray were par for Natsu on any given day), and his parting words. Her favorite fire mage didn't know that the guild had disbanded. Her lower lip quivered, but she cried from warmth as much as from sadness. Because the dork was still so sweet that even without him around, she could feel his heat lingering behind with her.

Almost a full month went by before she got his first letter. She'd been practicing her magic with her spirits in between her photo shoots for Jason. Without waiting to look at whatever else might have been in her mail, she ran back into her room and tore off the seal.

Yo Luce!

She smiled. He greeted her the same way whether or not he could see her.

It's been a couple weeks, but I guess you knew that. It's so weird without you around! I mean, yeah, me and Happy sometimes did solo jobs, but all our longer quests we had you too! I keep wondering why you ain't talking or getting excited over nothing before I remember you ain't with us. Sometimes I have to stop and look around 'cause I'm so used to you having my back. It's weirder without you around, weirdo. I dunno how I feel about that. But I'm workin' hard! I can't write much more, we can only afford one piece of paper since we need the cash for food. Happy won't forgive me if I spend his fish money on anything that ain't salmon.

Still missing you,

-Natsu

It was simple, but it made Lucy smile. Simple summed up Natsu pretty well. She shook her head, how could they already be broke and hurting for money? The only explanation was that it was Natsu and Happy. She read the letter again. He was thinking about her, even when he was so far away. She hugged the letter before folding it and opening a special drawer in her desk. She laid it inside next to the note he'd left her.

Lucy worried at her lip during a brief break from modeling for the magazine. It had been more than a month since her last letter from Natsu. The dragon slayer had been diligent about his promise for the first three months he'd been away. Granted, as he'd traveled farther and farther, the letters took longer to get to her, but a month was the longest she'd ever had to wait. Why was it that she'd been left hanging for six weeks?

She distracted herself with her work as an intern at Sorcerer Magazine, but her mind kept drifting. Had he been injured? Had Happy been injured? Lucy knew Natsu would drop even training to take care of his little buddy. It wasn't inconceivable that his letters to her might lose a bit of priority. Even still, the thought stung a little more than she'd admit.

As she walked back to her apartment, Lucy wondered about another issue. Jason was working on getting her a position as an apprentice reporter for the magazine. The job would be welcome, but it meant moving to Crocus. The blond teenager knew she couldn't turn down the opportunity, but there was no way for her to tell Natsu that she'd have a new address. Lucy was so focused on trying to find a solution that she almost missed the envelope with a familiar seal on it.

Almost.

Rushing to her bed, she just about leapt onto it, tossing the rest of her mail to the floor. She took a pen from her desk and opened the envelope, pulling out two sheets of paper rather than just one. Lucy raised an eyebrow. The first one, which she read first, had familiar handwriting, but had rough, blackened edges, as if it had come in contact with flame. She smiled at the thought.

Hey Lu~cy,

Didja ever think 'bout how pretty your name is? I have.

Lucy felt heat that only Natsu could provoke crawl up her face.

It's great! Ha ha, I'm trainin' my ass off. I've gotten real hot! Training is fun. Hey, you like stories, yeah? 'Course ya do, you're a writer, weirdo! You know that story about the princess and the knight and the big dragon?

"You mean all five hundred of them?" She asked, whispering to the words on the page as if Natsu could hear her and answer.

Fuck those stories! They're boring and they all end the same- blah knight kills dragon blah knight saves princess blah knight and princess ride off and have thirty three babies blah. That's stupid!

Lucy tried and failed to contain her laughter at how childish Natsu was.

No knight could take on a dragon! And why does the knight wanna kill the dragon anyway? The dragon ain't a bad guy, he's protecting what's his! If I was a princess, which I ain't 'cause I'm a badass dragon, I'd be happier to have a dragon than some cheap knight in a tin can suit of armor!

Anyways, I'm pretty sleepy now. Guess I'll go.

Love,

Lucy looked for Natsu's signature, but couldn't find it anywhere on the charred page. She may have stared at the way he ended the letter a bit too long before she turned to the other sheet. She narrowed her eyes. The writing looked like cat scratching.

Hiya Lushi!

Oh how Lucy loved the feeling of being right.

It's Happy! Natsu's been a big meanie butt and hasn't let me write any part of his letters to you! Lushi, you're my friend too, right? But, hey, listen to this! He forgot to send out a letter to you at the last place we stopped for work!

Lucy's smile faltered a bit, but she closed her eyes and shook the negativity from her head. The dragon slayer had been good about his promise so far; it wasn't that big a deal if he forgot once or twice.

And today he ate some really weird mushrooms that are messing with him and making him act loopier than you do! He wrote a letter to you like that anyway, though, so he wouldn't forget to write it later, even though he was still so wonky that he tried signing the letter with fire! I had to take it from him to put it out.

Lucy was tearing up from laughing so hard that her sides hurt.

He probably wrote some funny stuff in that letter to you. He forgot to seal it, though, which is why I'm writing now. Hee hee! I'm so sneaky! I have a lot of stuff to tell you about when we get home. I miss the guild. But I gotta take care of Natsu since he's so stupid sometimes. He says some weird things about you when he's asleep. He liiiiikes you!

Be happy!

-Happy

Despite being alone in her apartment, Lucy covered her face with her hand at Happy's parting comment. She hadn't thought much about the more physical aspects of the night before Natsu had left or what they meant, but now that her attention had been called back to it, she wondered. Did Natsu want more than what they had between the two of them? Did she? For as blunt as the fire mage tended to be, he could be quite confusing.

Lucy slapped her cheeks with her palms. She couldn't think too much about this right now. Natsu was still working hard. She would too. Folding up the letters with her usual care, she slipped them into their special drawer and left to talk to her landlady about forwarding her mail to Crocus.

Lucy slumped into her apartment. The day had been tiring, since the Grand Magic Games were set to start again in two months and Sorcerer Magazine was conducting interviews of guilds across the region that were set to participate. The celestial spirit mage yawned, ready to fall asleep without even changing out of her clothes. Regardless, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Her posture perked a little when she saw the letter she'd left on her bed that morning. Lucy had been in a hurry, and didn't have time to read it before work started. The transition from Magnolia to receiving mail in Crocus had been smoother than she could've hoped. Each letter only took a few days longer to find her.

She curled into her sheets and, using her fingertips, broke the seal.

Luce,

She frowned a bit. Lucy had learned to read Natsu's mood somewhat through how he greeted her in his letters during the past ten months. He seemed subdued somehow.

You'll never guess who we ran into! Gildarts! Yeah, the old man just happened to be wandering 'round the same mountains we were, and it was so great to see him! We tussled a bit of course- I've gotten hella stronger! Even he was impressed. We talked for a while too, about... eh, nothing important.

Lucy pursed her lips and pouted. Natsu had a right to his privacy, but that didn't keep her from being curious.

I've been noticing the last couple weeks how quiet it gets at night out here. There's, like, nothing. I've spent more time lying awake lately. It's so quiet there's nothing to do except think. I keep thinking about Igneel. I know he'd be proud that I'm gettin' stronger, but I still miss him.

Lucy felt her eyes sting and she sniffled in sympathy.

Then I always look up and see all the stars in the sky. Makes me think about you, but I guess a lot of stuff makes me think about you. I miss you too, Luce. So fuckin' much. I'm comin' home soon, so I won't be sending any more letters. I wanna surprise you. You said you wanted me to get so strong you wouldn't know who I was, right? I can do that.

See you soon,

-Natsu

Lucy froze. She read the last few lines of the letter again. Twice. She couldn't help the watery smile creeping onto her face. She would see him again. She hugged the letter to her chest. She looked out her window and wondered; what Natsu was thinking when he saw the same night sky; what he'd do when they saw each other again.

Grand Magic Games, he thought. It brought back memories. He listened to the crowd cheer, gasp and clamor over the deciding fight of the tournament. He waited to make his entrance. The security here needed some serious improvement.

"Scarmiglione has won!"

That was his cue. He reached out with his senses to make sure he knew where she was. Her magic, though much more powerful than it was before he left, was still unmistakable. He'd never forget how it felt. He'd pulled the stunt he had planned before, and the idea of anyone else seeing her with melted clothes bothered him.

"Oh, what's this? A strange figure has appeared on the battlefield!"

He ignored the announcer and the sound of the crowd. He had to make sure his face stayed hidden. He walked right up to the five wizards still standing.

"You guys are the strongest guild in Fiore?"

He let his magic swell. The five mages in front of him didn't back down, only glowered.

"What's it to you?"

He grinned, flashing his sharp canines. The intense heat of his magic roared while he almost whispered.

"Fight me."

The stadium filled with cries of surprise and shock as clothes and even stone began to melt in his flaring heat. He let his hood fall back, slamming a flaming fist against the face of the first one to rush him. His keen hearing picked up Happy greeting Lucy. A playful chuckle escaped him while his scarf flapped in the breeze.

Natsu was back.

"Yo, Lucy!"

Natsu waved at the celestial spirit mage with his usual grin as he walked out of the castle. He'd been pardoned, of course. There was no crime in fighting during a tournament, right? Lucy looked happy, and Natsu got further confirmation when she tackled him in a hug, knocking the air out of him.

"I can't believe you," Lucy said. Natsu could feel her smiling even though her words sounded exasperated. "This is the way you choose to surprise me?"

Natsu laughed, hugging his favorite blond by the waist.

"I wanted it to be awesome," he started, before he smelled the sweat of fear nearby. Pausing, he glanced over Lucy's head. The five he'd approached in the stadium were kneeling before him.

"Sensei! Please teach us! If we worked under you, we could make a quick buck"

Natsu glared from under his pink bangs down at them. Quiet so as not to bug Lucy, he growled.

"Piss off."

The rude wizards ran away screaming. Natsu's tension waned. He didn't want his reunion with his partner to be interrupted by anything. He turned back to Lucy, grin plastered on his face.

"So," he said, a sudden grumble from his stomach turning his face sheepish. "Be honest- did you recognize me?"

After eating their fill- Lucy was the most wonderful thing to ever grace his life, and Happy agreed with him- Natsu and his partner wandered through the park in Crocus. The fire dragon slayer had warmth brewing in his belly, and not just from the food. Lucy had been impressed by his display at the stadium, which he was pretty sure meant he'd kept his second promise. He felt like nothing could bring down his mood.

Oh, how Natsu hated being wrong.

"Whaddaya mean gramps disbanded the guild," he muttered, his voice weaker than it'd ever been. A dark aura engulfed him, and he swore. "What the hell, gramps. Where is he? I'll rip out his hair! How could everyone just leave like that?"

Natsu's dark fury receded at the sound of Lucy's tinkling laugh. The spirit mage gave him a slight smile and bopped him on the nose.

"A little hypocritical, don't you think?" She asked.

Natsu cringed, but Lucy didn't see it, because she was already chatting with Happy more about their travels. The fire mage's belly wasn't harboring as much warmth. The bitter taste of guilt took up residence on his tongue.

"This is my apartment. Since you guys don't have any other place to stay, you can sleep here," Lucy said later that night. "But, no breaking things, and my bedroom is off limits!" The blond teenager yelled at Happy, who hadn't heard a word past permission to sleep in her apartment and was already clawing at her furniture. Natsu chuckled with little mirth. He kept up appearances throughout the night as they played games, talked, and caught up with each other until Lucy retired.

Happy curled up on his rollout bed on the floor, Natsu on the sofa. One leg hung over the back of the couch, and he stared up at the ceiling.

"Hard to believe the guild is gone, huh, Natsu?"

Natsu grunted agreement. A moment passed before Happy padded up to his side and poked his face. The blue Exceed was sporting a mischievous grin.

"Wanna go draw on Lucy's face while she's asleep?"

Natsu looked at his little buddy for a minute before shrugging.

"I kinda just want to sleep, Happy."

He rolled over. Happy yelped in disbelief and continued poking at the back of his neck for several minutes before he gave up. Natsu listened to him pad up to Lucy's door, sigh, then come back to lie down on his bed. The dragon slayer stared at the back of the sofa, waiting until Happy's breathing evened out to tell him he was asleep.

Natsu flipped up over the back of the couch, landing on the balls of his feet. He needed to see Lucy. He turned the handle. He pushed the bedroom door open just wide enough to allow him space to slip through before sliding it shut again.

Lucy slept with a faint smile on her face. The guilty taste in Natsu's throat came back. Had she slept that way for the rest of the last year, or did she have to cry herself to sleep from being so alone? Natsu remembered the days after Igneel disappeared before he joined Fairy Tail as a child. Though the fire mage wouldn't admit it, there had been many nights like that for him.

Natsu paced toward the bed. He sat down on the floor, his legs splayed out in front of him, and his neck turned to watch Lucy. He rested an arm on the mattress next to her. He didn't have words to describe how much he'd missed her.

His eyes were drawn toward the opposite wall, and his breath caught. A whole wall of her bedroom was dedicated to a map. On it were pinned pictures of the other guild members according to reported sightings, each pin accompanied by detailed notes. He felt a lump forming in his throat, and he bit on his knuckles. Lucy had obviously been hurting the whole time he was gone. Even though he knew that he'd left in large part for her sake, guilt that he hadn't been with her ate at him.

"Natsu?"

He froze. He dared to glance, without turning his head, toward the bed. Lucy was awake, looking down at him with eyebrows creased in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Natsu felt another surge of warmth in his chest. Of course that would be the first thing Lucy would ask him. Not why he was in her room, or why he'd broken one of her two rules, or why he hadn't been with her when the guild parted ways. No, she was asking about him. It was so very Lucy that Natsu couldn't help sitting up to hold her and press his forehead to hers.

"I'm sorry, Luce," he said, one leg bent next to her on the mattress, his other holding his weight up on the floor. "I didn't know."

Lucy pulled out of his arm, and Natsu waited for the expression of disgust and betrayal on her face. Instead, though, she held his hand and guided him onto the bed beside her.

"Sorry for what?"

She lifted the sheets for him to slide under. After a pause, he did, his large hand still held in her small fingers. He didn't lie down, though, but remained sitting up. She propped herself on one elbow to better see him.

"I thought you said we weren't allowed in your room," he said, part out of distraction and part out of genuine surprise he hadn't received a lashing for it. Lucy smiled and shifted closer to him, resting her head against his abdomen.

"That rule was for Happy, not for you," she said. He let his arm fall around her shoulders. "My favorite dragon is welcome so long as he doesn't break anything. But don't change the subject- what are you sorry about?"

Natsu felt the warmth in his chest invade his face, and he was surprised that Lucy didn't seem at all bashful. He turned his eyes from the chocolate orbs he found so endearing and looked back at the wall.

"I wouldn't have gone if I knew the guild wasn't gonna be with you," he said, tightening his arm around her. "I never wanted you to be alone."

Before he knew it, Lucy snaked her way up in his grasp and pressed her lips to his already flushed cheek. The dragon slayer looked back at her as she wrapped an arm over each of his shoulders and pulled him down on the mattress with her.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Natsu," she said, linking her thin fingers with his. "You had no way of knowing what would happen. Even if you did, you couldn't have stopped it."

Lucy propped her head up on her free hand, her gold locks falling to the pillow. A few strands hung in front of her face and tickled Natsu's neck while he looked up at her.

"I may have been alone, but I wasn't lonely," she said, leaning over Natsu and rummaging inside her pillowcase. "Because you kept your promise."

Lucy pulled out a pile of envelopes from her pillowcase and she laid herself on top of Natsu, plopping the stack on his chest. The fire mage stared at the familiar paper before glancing up at her.

"You kept all these," he asked, half overjoyed and half embarrassed. He picked up the stack and noticed that the face of each of them had Lucy's handwriting scrawled on them. One read Gildarts, another Mushrooms, and each of them seemed to have some such label. "I woulda put more effort into writing these if I knew you were gonna save 'em. I mean, I don't even remember a lot of the stuff I sent you."

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes flicked up to meet Lucy's. He adored the feeling of her hands crossed over his bare stomach and the sight of her chin resting on top of them. The disappointed look in her eyes he could do without, though.

"You don't?"

The fire mage backtracked, reaching with a tentative hand to stroke her hair.

"No, it's not that I blew off writing them, it's just," he started, marveling at how good it felt to have her hair in his hand. "I sort of remember the gist of what I said, since it was mostly about what Happy and me were doing. But I really remember thinking it wasn't fair that I couldn't ever get letters back from you."

Natsu was being honest. He had spent many nights wondering what Lucy would write back to him if she could. The celestial spirit mage pulled up his chest and placed a brief kiss to his mouth. Natsu felt a spark somehow ignite all his heightened senses in the same instant.

"I wanted to write back, Natsu," she said, rolling onto her side on top of him. Her legs brushed against his and he could feel her toes against his calves. "I thought about it a lot, because each letter meant so much to me."

Natsu went quiet, his eyes and ears trained on Lucy. He shut out everything except her scent and her body against his.

"I don't know how you did it," she said. "But each one came right when I was feeling low. You were my motivation and your writing kept me going, Natsu. I worked harder than I ever have because I knew you were thinking of me too."

Lucy paused, and Natsu didn't miss the implication she had just made. It made his heart swell in ways he hadn't felt before. As selfish as it seemed, he was happy that Lucy had missed him as much as he did her. He couldn't help smiling at the light blush that coated Lucy's face, or the way she peeked at him as if she had startled herself shy. Bursting with sudden confidence, he decided to break into something he'd wondered about for the past year.

"Lucy, did I do okay communicating?"

The beautiful blond, face still pink, glowed with her smile and placed her hands on his neck.

"You," she said, sliding her fingers up around his head into his unkempt hair. "Did so much better than okay."

Natsu breathed a little easier. Taking another gulp of air, and keeping his eyes on hers, he made his move.

"So are we in a relationship?"

Lucy's hands faltered on his scalp. The blush returned to her face with heavy reinforcements.

"Do you want to be?"

"Deflection! That was a total deflection of my question!"

"I can't answer yours until you do mine!"

"But I asked you first," Natsu pouted, barely containing a grin at how flustered Lucy was, though he didn't feel much different. "Fine, I'll change my first question and then you answer first, then me, then you again."

Lucy hesitated, but nodded, her face hidden and nose pressed against Natsu's chest.

"Do you want to be more than teammates?"

The room went silent. Natsu tried counting the number of heartbeats he could hear from Lucy, but it was going too fast, as was his own. He settled for counting the seconds between each breath Lucy took to keep calm.

"What would change?" She asked.

Natsu let his head sink further into the pillow while he thought. Lucy hadn't followed the rules they'd just agreed to, but he asked the same question of her a year ago, so he deemed it fair that he answer.

"Not a whole lot," he said, feeling comfortable enough now to hug her around the waist with one arm, his other hand mimicking the massage she'd given his scalp. "I might expect less yelling for sharing your bed, and I'll definitely be wanting more of your food. We'll have to hang out every second we can, but we do that anyway. I guess I'll want more hugs and stuff, but you're pretty good at letting me have those."

Natsu felt Lucy tilt her head and rest her cheek on his chest, her fingers curling his pink hair. His skin still tingled wherever he felt her breath.

"Other than that, I'll be doing most of the same stuff, except more so."

He waited for her response. He hoped he hadn't frightened her, but he was being honest like he always was.

"Is there something else I should do?"

Lucy's hands trailed back down his neck and pressed on either side of his head. She pushed up and let her hair dangle down over his face. She smiled.

"No," she said, leaning down toward him. "The princess will take her dragon as he is."

Natsu couldn't help the beaming grin that cracked out on his face, even if it made kissing Lucy awkward. She was smiling into it too. He was glad to see she still was when they broke apart.

"Lu~cy," he trilled, earning a giggle from his favorite wizard. He pulled her to him and wrapped himself around her. "Did I ever tell you how pretty your name is?"

"Yes, actually," Lucy said, and Natsu cocked his head. The celestial spirit mage laughed again. "But it was in a letter, and I'm pretty sure you were high off of some strange mushrooms."

"Really," Natsu said, lifting an arm from around her to scratch his head. "I don't remember that."

Lucy's hand snapped up to grab Natsu's arm and pull it back down. She snaked his arm around her waist and nuzzled her nose against his neck.

"Don't get distracted," she said, returning his embrace. "The dragon always needs to guard his princess. Same as the princess will always take care of her dragon."

Natsu felt the warmth in his chest bloom and threaten to burst from his body. He tightened his hug and kissed Lucy's head.

"Damn straight," he said, smiling. "Stupid knights have nothing on me."

Natsu sank into the mattress, melting at the feeling of Lucy's hands. The day hadn't been perfect. There were a lot of things they needed to fix, first and foremost being the reformation of Fairy Tail. But he'd set his plan in motion later, when Lucy had fallen asleep and he could slip out. He didn't really want to go anywhere right then anyway. Because there, surrounded and loved by Lucy, Natsu was home.

A/N: Sooo. Remember how at the end of the last part I said this was a one shot? Well, I woke up this morning and found a single review for Sweet Something's from an Anonymous Guest asking for more. Apparently sometimes that's all my brain needs for the creative gears to start turning. So here's the other part to this now two shot! (That's a thing, right?)

I have found fluff! I believe this is the fluffiest bit I have ever written. Hopefully it's enjoyable! If so, review! If not, let your cat take a nap on your keyboard and post whatever comes up as a review!