AN: I'm tired. Too tired to read through this and see if it warrants a T-Rating. I'm pretty sure there are some curse words, so I'll leave it the way it is.
Summary: The battle is over, but there's a gaping hole in Lucy's chest and no one seems to sense the gap.
Genre(s): Angst
Rating: T
Pairings: Nalu/Gruvia/hinted gajevy
Words: 982
Warnings: Character death.
Day 1: Silence
The battle was over. All around there were celebrations.
Everyone was cheerful and a huge party was thrown right outside of the Fairy Tail guild hall for all the guilds. There was happiness, cheer, and an overall light feeling over everyone. Couples had gotten together left and right at a dizzying rate.
Lucy looked at Mira, elated from seeing so many couples getting together. She saw Juvia crying and hugging the man she loved for so long, him caressing her hair and smiling down at her. Levy and Gajeel were both sitting next to each other and burning red from Cana's teasing.
Lucy was the only one, sitting with a sleeping blue cat, that wasn't happy. Nobody seemed to notice the absence, caught up in their own happiness. Lucy didn't have the heart to tell anyone.
"Hey, Lucy." Shit. "Why do you look so upset?" Lucy looked up to see Gray, his new girlfriend right by his side, also looking concerned.
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just tired." Gray nodded, not seeming to believe her, but not prodding any farther.
"Do you know where Natsu is, I haven't seen him." A chord snapped in Lucy, and the tears she had been holding back released with a sob. Juvia ran the small distance to her friend.
"Lucy-san what's wrong?" Juvia kneeled in front of the small chair her friend was sitting on.
"He-he-he's gone." Lucy sobbed out. Juvia hugged the girl, not knowing what else to do.
"What do you mean?" Gray asked, his tone revealing a twinge of horror.
"Can you tell Juvia and Gray what happened?" Lucy nodded. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" Juvia knew it would be difficult for Lucy to speak with the loud celebration all around her.
Another nod. "Gray-sama, can you go get Erza-san?" The dark haired male ran off, still trying to process the information that his best friend was 'gone'. "Lucy-san, do you want to go in the guild?" Another nod. "Okay, let's bring Happy with us." Lucy scooped up the blue cat and went into the guild with Juvia.
XXX
Lucy calmed down, as much as she could, and was seated in front of Gray, Juvia, and Erza's curious eyes.
"Natsu is dead." Lucy sniffled, looking down. The whole atmosphere of the room was heavy and silent, contrasting very much with the upbeat party outside.
"What do you mean Lucy?" Erza asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, that's not a funny joke."
"I'm not kidding, Gray." Lucy tore her eyes away from her boots and straight into her friend's dark eyes. "He's gone." The tears Lucy had been trying to hold back fell free again.
"Please explain…how." Lucy took a deep breath, casting one pained expression in Gray's direction.
"Natsu…he was END." Juvia was the first one to gasp, looking over at her beloved in fear of his reaction.
"No way. He couldn't have been. Natsu was human. I know. I grew up with him, he was my best friend damn it!" Tears, of anger or sadness not even he knew, fell down Gray's cheeks.
"Gray, even he only just found out."
"No, this is bullshit! He can't be that demon, he just can't." The lukewarm September air turned cold.
"Gray, I heard it straight from Zeref's mouth." Juvia's hand subconsciously tightened around Gray's at the mention of the black wizard, remembering how easily he was able to kill a person.
"Lucy, maybe it would be best if you just explained everything without interruptions." Erza glanced at Gray from the side.
"Alright, so the three of us went to fight Zeref," Lucy motioned at the sleeping blue cat next to her, "and Zeref said something to Natsu like 'I knew you'd be back, but you can't stop me now' and Natsu said he'd definitely stop him. Zeref asked if it was worth the sacrifice."
Erza nodded for Lucy to continue, while Gray still had an uncertain look on his face. Juvia was trying to keep her focus on Lucy's story while also worrying about Gray.
"I asked what sacrifice Zeref was talking about, but Natsu ignored me and started to fight Zeref. He told me to stay out of it, that he didn't want me to get hurt, and Happy was crying. I asked Happy what was happening, but he only said that Natsu was going to die. I interrupted his fight with Zeref and asked him what was happening."
Lucy paused for a moment, but picked up her story again.
"Zeref began to speak, first introducing himself as Zeref Dragneel. He explained that Natsu was END, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, and that he was his little brother from 400 years ago. He said that Natsu died in a fire when he was young, and Zeref brought him back to life in the form of a demon."
Lucy explained the battle, and how in the end Natsu won, but lost his own life as a result.
"I'd like to go home now." Lucy could feel the tears pricking her eyes, so she walked away from the group as fast as she could, practically running away from the guild hall. Past the boisterous party and into the cold, empty streets of Magnolia.
The quiet was deathly and left Lucy alone with her thoughts. Her best friend, the one she loved, was dead now? No, Natsu couldn't die. They both had so much left to do, it couldn't all end now.
A sob released itself from Lucy's throat as she walked somberly through Magnolia to her apartment. The guild's festival could be heard even when she entered her small apartment.
Lucy was expecting Natsu to be in her home when she arrived, but a familiar disappointment seeped into Lucy's chest.
That night Lucy found that quiet tranquility didn't quite fit her apartment, and it was much better suited being invaded by a certain pink haired dragon slayer.
