Pairings: Natsu x Lucy and other wonderful surprises. Shall be revealed as we go.

Timeline: After the GMG's arc. Give or take seven years.

Warnings: None other than mild cursing, violence, sexual themes and some gore. Perhaps a wee bit of confusion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

Authors Note: Here's the next chapter! Sorry for the late update. I was on holidays and the boyfriend's been keeping me busy. Anyways, enjoy!

XXX

Lucy gaped at Mariana, stunned. How could this woman imply she was married to such an uncouth man like… like Natsu!

"I wouldn't marry such a weirdo," Natsu stated, his dark eyes narrow. "She reminds me of my dying grandmother."

The blonde sent him a dirty look, "How would you know what your dying grandmother was like? You don't remember." They glared at each other for an uncountable amount of minutes, causing Mariana to laugh.

"You two are the perfect couple," she insisted, topping off their coffees.

Lucy scrambled to the floor in search of her ring, though it was merely a cover for her flushed cheeks. What would this woman know of perfect couples? She couldn't get along with Natsu to save her life, let alone anyone else's.

Once she found the dammed ring and slid it on her finger, she returned to the hard plastic stool. "It's not possible, Mariana. Wouldn't some kind of inclination return once you mentioned our nuptials?"

"I have no idea what you just said," Natsu said, only to add, "weirdo." He smirked at her. Lucy ignored him.

Mariana tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Perhaps. Maybe you two should kiss to see if that helps any."

Repulsed, Lucy dropped her fork which clattered against her plate. Natsu spat out his coffee. They stared at each other in revulsion.

The waitress chuckled boisterously, "Come on, you're kids. Live a little." Lucy swallowed painfully. Somehow she doubted this woman's assessment of them. She felt more like an adult than a kid with each passing second.

"There is no way in hell I am—" Natsu cut off her sentence by pressing his lips against hers. His lips were hot and unpractised. It was actually… pretty awkward. She shoved him away, wiping her lips on the back of her hand.

Although it was awkward, it did make Lucy's heart pound and her stomach to ache. The smirk on the pinkette's face was triumphant and it made Lucy want to hit him, despite the euphoric feelings she had.

A small memory did break through, though.

"Luce… I am sorry." He took her hand. "I didn't mean to kiss you."

She smiled at him, "It's okay. I liked it."

His face burned, turning away from her, "I've never done that before."

"Me neither," she confessed, her smile growing, "but I'm glad my first time was with you."

Lucy moved her lips in a poor attempt to speak, but no words could be formed. "Natsu…"

His smirk waned, as if the memory that replayed in Lucy's mind transferred to his. His black eyes grew blank, knowing that memory meant something to both of them.

Mariana must have been right. As much as it pained Lucy to admit it, she really was married to Natsu. Although more verification would have been nice, this was all they had to go on. She supposed, though, that being with him wasn't so bad.

The brown eyed woman sighed, returning to her meal. Natsu remained in a semi-frozen state, his motions languid. Lucy giggled, stabbing the spongy sausage.

Mariana grinned, wandering down the counter to help other customers, leaving the apparent married couple in silence. Lucy ate, ignoring the stoic expression on Natsu's face.

"Lucy, where do you think we're from?" Natsu asked; his voice quiet. Lucy paused in mid-bite, considering how exactly to answer him.

"I don't know," she responded, truthfully, "but maybe if we look at a map or list off the countries, something will come to us." The pinkette nodded, shovelling back the remainder of his meal. Lucy withheld her laugh. He ate like a kid!

Once Natsu swallowed, he spoke, "Enca, Sin, Seven, Bosco, Midi, Desierto, Joya, Bellum, Fiore, Iceberg…" Natsu trailed off before he could finish his rendition of the countries names.

It was as if a match was lit in their minds. "Natsu, we're from Fiore." His eyes sparkled, jumping from his seat in excitement.

"That's right! Fiore! Of course, how could I forget? Must have been all your weirdness rubbing off on me," Natsu said, to which Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. "Let's go home. Now."

Something dawned on Lucy, rebutting his proclamation, "Natsu, Fiore is weeks' worth of travel from Enca. We have to take at least two boats and so many trains or other means of travel. If we want to get home, we need months of travelling and jewels."

Natsu paled, "Then, what does that mean?"

Lucy sighed, "Either we walk there or we get a job and earn jewels to afford the travel costs." Another thought. "Or we wait for our friends from Fiore to come and find us."

He slammed his fist down on the wooden counter, causing the plates—and patrons—to jump. "Dammit, this isn't fair! How the hell did we get to Enca anyways then?"

Lucy shook her head, "I don't know." Her throat tightened. "Natsu, I'm scared. What are we going to do?"

His eyes softened, taking her hand, "I'll figure something out, I promise."

"If you need a place to stay," Mariana spoke up from down the counter, "you can stay at my home. For a fee, of course." She winked.

Natsu nodded, slapping down the jewels for their meal, "Thank you, Mariana. I'm taking Lucy with me to get ourselves jobs before we impose on you. Can we meet you back here at closing?"

"Of course," Mariana said. Natsu squeezed Lucy's hand, leading her from the diner, carrying both of their bags.

Lucy gawked at the back of Natsu's head, shocked by his leadership.

"I promise I'll always be there for you, Luce. Trust me."

XXX

Lucy yawned, barely covering her gaping mouth with her hand. Natsu stretched, cracking his neck. The couple was waiting outside the diner for Mariana. It was a less than successful day… for Natsu. Lucy was able to secure a job working for a small bookstore. Natsu, unfortunately, blew each and every job interview he popped into.

"Don't worry, Natsu, there are plenty of jobs out there," she said, hoping it would cheer him up. It did the opposite effect.

"I know," he groaned, "so why can't I get one?" Lucy patted his shoulder sympathetically, wondering what she could do to make him feel better.

Grinning, she said, "Tomorrow, while I'm at work, maybe you can try to get a job at a construction site?"

He perked up, "You think?"

She nodded; eager to keep up his good mood. Unsure of whether to kiss him or not—after all, they were married—she settled with planting her lips on his cheek. It made him smile.

"There's my favourite forgetful couple," Mariana said, exiting the diner, the scent of coffee clinging to her. She had changed from the cheerful uniform into some slacks and a loose t-shirt. She waved. "I called my husband earlier to let him know about you two. I hope you don't mind pancakes for dinner."

"Not at all," Natsu replied, his grin growing. He took Lucy's hand, once again, and followed behind Mariana, holding onto both of their bags. Lucy held tightly to his fingers, her face feeling warm.

As the sun began its decent down the sky, Lucy swallowed, this horrible, utter sense of longing filling her. She wasn't even sure what it was from.

"I love you, Lucy. You're mine. Forever."

Lucy's footsteps slowed, halting their walk to Mariana's house. The longing gnawed at her insides, begging her to remember.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Natsu questioned, having stopped to place his hands on her shoulders. She squinted up at him, forcing back the golf-ball sized lump in her throat. Inexplicably, tears watered to the surface in her eyes. "Lucy?!"

She laughed, though it came out choked, "I'm sorry, I just… I thought I remembered something. I'm okay." Lucy wasn't sure who she was assuring, her, or Natsu.

His pink brows knitted together, "Okay… weirdo…" he didn't say more. Instead, he released her and walked away.

Lucy pressed her fist against her mouth, muffling a sob. Whatever made her miserable just kept getting worse.

All she did know was that voice in her memory didn't belong to Natsu.

Ooh what's going to happen next? Sorry for the crappy chappy. I didn't want it to go on forever nor did I know when exactly I wanted to end it. I did know I wanted to get it done and posted before another dang trip I have to take. (Camping, ugh) anyways, tell me what you think in the review and I look forward to seeing you again! (Also, any plot holes you see, please, please fill me in on that so I can fix them and make sure this story stays good.)

~Emerald~