"Is…is that?"

"Oh my god…." Lucy breathed out. "I think it is."

"No way," Natsu unconsciously tightened his grip on the blonde's hand.

They'd just come back from their little walk around town, and they'd returned to find the salmon haired boy's house not as vacant as he'd thought it would be. The unfamiliar car parked near the mail box had been the first clue, and the two figures standing on his home's front porch, clearly waiting for an answer at the front door, were a clear sign that he wasn't going to get the relaxing, solitary afternoon he'd been planning with Lucy.

The salmon haired boy had just barely set foot on the path to his front door when there was suddenly a furl of scarlet hair as one of the figures whipped to face him, accompanied by an angry screech of, "Natsu Dragneel!"

His hand slowly slipped from Lucy's as an unexplainable feeling of sheer terror washed over him, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped and shrunk back into himself, hesitantly beginning, "Er…Erza?"

The woman all but launched herself off of the porch at him, stomping towards him and planting her legs wide as her hands found his shoulders, her tone accusing as she roared, "You and Gray go and nearly get yourselves killed, and then you ignore all of my texts and calls?!" Her hands clenched even tighter on his shoulders, "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

Natsu instinctively leaned backwards to distance himself from the woman, his eyes wide. Anything he might want to say in response got caught in his throat on the way up, his chest tight with fear, but also surprise and awe. Of course she was yelling at him, and there was no doubt in his mind that the look on her face was more than enough to scare the shit out of anyone. But there was irrefutably concern mixed in with the anger pooled in her irises, too, her worry obviously the motivation for her outburst. He'd never been particularly close with the Erza of the Ishgar Dynasty, but it was blatantly obvious to him that she held the Natsu of this time quite dear.

His eyes quickly darted to the side before snapping back to her face. He was unsure of how to respond, so he settled for mumbling, "Uh, I'm…sorry?"

"You better be," her features held firm for a moment before her expression was overcome with affection, her sudden change in emotion accompanied by the shifting of her arms as she tugged the salmon haired boy into a crushing hug.

Natsu yelped as his head was not-so-gently smashed against the redhead's chest, her arms winding around his neck and holding him hostage. It was a bit hard for him to breathe, and being so close to someone that wasn't Lucy was a foreign feeling. The blonde was the only girl he'd ever hugged before, and even if he wasn't hugging Erza back, it was still strange to have someone to show him such affection.

He supposed the times really had changed, and that it was okay for one to openly show their care for their loved ones without fearing that their relation would bring danger or harm.

"Careful, Erza," another voice called, one that was painfully familiar to Natsu. It belonged to the person that'd been standing on the porch with Erza, though now it sounded like they stood on the sidewalk just behind the scarlet haired woman, "He's still hurt."

The redhead pulled back with a gasp as if she'd just remembered what had happened to salmon haired boy, her hands returning to his shoulders as she bowed her head in deep regret and repentance, "My apologies. Please, strike me for my carelessness."

"I…what?" Natsu stuttered, taken aback by how different this Erza was from the one of his time. He'd never seen her display such theatricality, and to hear her offer a chance at smacking her was something he'd never imagined he'd witness. He shook his head when she clenched her features as if in preparation for receiving the blow, "No, I'm…I'm not gonna hit you." He adopted his usual bright smile, "Besides, I feel fine. Just a little bit sore."

"That's good to hear. We were worried about you."

Now that his head was free from Erza's tight grasp, Natsu turned his focus to the person who'd spoken, finding the blue haired man standing only a short distance from them, leaning against the railing of the porch's steps. Although he'd already known who it was that accompanied the scarlet haired woman, Natsu's heart jumped as he got his first good look at this time's Jellal, his mind suddenly overflowing with memories of the only one of his brothers that had stayed by his side from when he'd started living in the place again to when he'd been enthroned.

He was eternally grateful for Jellal's undying loyalty, though he certainly hadn't shown it, especially when Erza had taken the leap that ended her life. Although he knew that the red head's end had been of her own volition, he still felt somewhat guilty for her death. He'd been the one to draft the tenet that had empowered her to deliver her message by suicide, and in his panic to solidify his power at the beginning of his reign, he'd done little to comfort his brother in the aftermath.

He did a quick look over of his brother, finding that he looked just as sturdy and wise as he ever had, though the somewhat messy blue mop of hair was definitely a new style. The salmon haired boy's eyebrow ticked a little in annoyance when noticed that the Jellal of this time was a bit taller than his past self (were all of his brothers taller than him in this period?!), and that he was a bit more physically built. And of course, the component of his former brother's appearance that he couldn't ignore was the maroon tattoo on the right side of his face, spanning both above and below his eye.

In their past lives, the mark been forced upon his face by his mother and grandfather for the sake of declaring him to be a member of the royal lineage of the conquered country of Seven even though his father was the ruler of Ishgar. Natsu had found familiarity with him for that reason, both of their faces forcibly marred by their mothers when they'd been too young to do a thing to stop it. Unlike his salmon haired brother, however, the thirteenth prince had always taken pride in his lineage despite how it'd been forced upon him, and therefore he'd bore his tattooed face proudly.

Natsu wondered what significance the mark held to the blue haired man now, and that if the reformed country of Seven to the east of their modern country of Fiore had anything to do with it.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Erza's sudden inquiry pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to find her with her brows furrowed in concern, "There's a weird look in your eyes."

The salmon haired boy just grinned back, "Yep. Totally fine. I'm just happy to see you guys." Remembering how he was supposed to be acting, as an afterthought, he added, "I may not be able to remember much, but I know that you guys are my friends. And that makes me happy."

A warm giggle suddenly sounded out from behind him.

Erza's eyes shifted to girl who'd been silently standing at the start of the path to the porch during their entire conversation, her voice polite and lacking it's former firm edge, "Excuse me, but…who are you?"

"Oh," the blonde jumped a bit as everyone's attention suddenly turned to her, her hand lifting in a hint of a wave as she took a few steps towards them with a soft smile spread across her features, "I'm Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," the red head gripped her hand in a firm handshake, smiling just as favorably as the blonde, "I'm Erza."

"I know."

Natsu resisted the urge to face-palm at Lucy's response, and the blonde looked like she was mentally kicking herself for her lack of eloquence. This was the first time she'd met one of the modern reincarnations of their friends from the Ishgar Dynasty, save for her encounters with Laxus and Gildarts earlier. She hadn't had the chance to talk much with Laxus given the pounding headache she'd had at the time, and when she'd run into the palace astronomer's doppelganger she hadn't yet remembered the past. And now that she thought about the things he'd said and the way he'd acted, she was absolutely certain that Gildarts was just like her and Natsu, that he'd somehow found his way into the future. She'd have to hunt him down later, both for the sake of her curiosity and for Natsu's sake too, since she knew how much the salmon haired boy had counted on the astronomer in their past life.

Regardless, the fact that the dear friends she'd lost and left behind were now here in this life too, whether they had their memories of the past or not, was a hard thing to comprehend. It was difficult not to settle back into the habits she'd formed with them in the past, and she knew that growing accustomed to the people they were in this life would take some time.

At least she had Natsu here with her to combat the strange feeling, and she knew they'd both be relying heavily on one another as they continued to accept the past and adapt to their lives now.

"So Lucy, how do you know Natsu?" Erza snidely endeavored. She hadn't missed the fact that the pair had been holding hands upon approach, and her inner obsession for anything involving romance was slowly crawling its way to the surface.

"Oh…" the blonde scrambled for an answer. Although she was sure that people like her and Natsu were normally called boyfriend and girlfriend, they hadn't officially declared themselves as such. Though admittedly, she wasn't sure Natsu knew that such a thing had to be done or if he even knew that such terms existed. But the confused mess of things that was hers and Natsu's love life aside, she didn't know how well this times Erza knew Natsu, and therefore introducing herself as his girlfriend could get tricky. She opted for a simpler answer, one that wouldn't seem too suspicious, as she gave the red head a pleasant smile, "We're just friends."

A massive grin spread across the scarlet haired woman's features, her voice a strange mixture of rage and unadulterated joy as she screeched, "Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend, you idiot?!" And suddenly, Natsu's head was slamming back into Erza's chest as she wrapped her arms around him once more, her voice singsong as she professed, "I'm so happy for you!"

Lucy stared at the display with wide eyes. Were they really that obvious? Or was it just that she was a horrible liar? Or maybe Erza was some super psychic feelings reader or something?

Regardless, the blonde was happy to have the fact that her and Natsu were together out in the open. She thought they'd have to hide their relationship for a while given the fact that this time's Natsu had had no interaction with her whatsoever, so his sudden devotion to her, a complete stranger, would undoubtedly raise suspicion among his family and friends. But Natsu had told her that the him of this time had an apartment on the east side of town, and based off of the redhead's lack of suspicion, she supposed that he must've had his own, independent life just like any normal twenty five year old would.

Her worries set at ease, Lucy took advantage of the fact that this time's Erza and Jellal didn't know her, acting like the newcomer they thought she was and prying for the information that both she and Natsu desperately wanted to know. She gestured with her hand between the two, her voice somewhat hesitant as she began, "And, are you two…?"

"Engaged," Jellal finished, a small but proud grin on his features.

A bright grin broke out across Lucy's features, her heart soaring and threatening to burst out of her chest. The Jellal and Erza of Ishgar had never gotten the chance to marry, and the idea of witnessing their romance finally come to fruition in this time made her want to burst into tears.

"Really?!" Natsu's forced himself out of Erza's hold, looking between the two of them with wide, excited eyes, a massive grin on his face, "That's awesome!"

Lucy didn't miss the brief look of sorrow that flashed across Erza's features at his reaction, knowing it must've hurt the red head to see the salmon haired boy react as if he was hearing the news for the first time. His apparent memory loss had to be hard for all of his friends and family to accept, and she couldn't imagine what they'd all felt as they heard the news.

Of course, such wasn't the case, but the reality of the situation wasn't any less grim. The Natsu they'd known was gone, though none of them knew it.

The blonde swallowed heavily at the thought, immediately deciding in her heart that one day, she and Natsu would have to tell their friends the truth. It was only fair, no matter how hard that truth would be to hear.

But she tucked the resolution aside for the moment, forcing her bright smile back onto her face as she fought to revive the positive atmosphere, "When's the wedding?"

That set Erza off, the red head babbling on and on about the details seemingly without end as Jellal watched on fondly, adding in his own comments every now and then. Their love for each other was blatantly apparent in each of their voices and gazes, and Lucy and Natsu both observed the pair with an overwhelming, fuzzy feeling of warmth in their chests.

Jellal and Erza had deserved a happy ending, and now, it seemed that they were finally going to get it.


"So…that word Erza said earlier…'girlfriend'…what does it mean?"

Lucy's cheeks warmed as she lifted her head to stare at the boy she was entangled with on the bed, shifting in his hold so she could look at his face better. They'd practically ran to collapse on his bed the moment Erza and Jellal had left the home, both of them curling up on the small mattress and somehow finding a comfortable position in the cramped space. Natsu was on his back with Lucy tucked into his side, though their lower halves were a mess of intertwined legs.

They hadn't been given many chances to simply lay beside each other before due to the restrictions of Natsu's status as King, so the salmon haired boy was happily taking advantage of every moment of intimacy with the blonde that he could get. They hadn't cross the line into sexual territory just yet, although they had done a bit of making out earlier, both of them just content being in the other's presence.

Lucy bit her bottom lip, unsure of how to explain the modern term in a way Natsu would comprehend, "Well, girlfriend means…I guess it's kind of like the step before fiancée. It's means that we're a couple."

His brows furrowed as he hesitantly questioned, "So…your my girlfriend and I'm yours?"

Lucy sputtered, her head falling forward onto his chest as she burst into laughter, "Oh god Natsu, did you not notice the word girl?" She snorted, albeit somewhat unattractively, but she was too amused to care, "Last time I checked, you're definitely male and that makes you my boyfriend."

Natsu's cheeks flared in embarrassment, hurrying to defend himself as he stammered, "I…well, I don't know how you modern folk work! I've seen some crazy stuff! I've learned not to make assumptions based on what I know about you crazies!"

She chose to ignore his humorous use of the old-fashioned word 'folk' as she giggled, "Yeah, but gender's been around since the beginning of time, silly." Her tone became teasing, "Thought you would've learned to tell the difference by now with how you were gawking at my chest when we walking around town earlier."

"I-I was not!" His cheeks matched the hue of his hair, "And stop laughing!"

"Nope!" she childishly poked her tongue through her lips. "My girlfriend's just too funny, so I can't stop." She pushed herself off of his chest and scooted to kneel towards the bottom of the bed as she took a jab at his comforter, "You'll have to make me, dragon boy!"

The moment the words 'make me' slipped through her mouth, the atmosphere in the room shifted, and the pleasant moment they'd spent together unintentionally turning into something a lot more daring and fiery.

Realizing what she'd done, Lucy gulped, beginning to feel hot upon catching sight of the vicious smirk spread across Natsu's lips as he sat up, all traces of his earlier embarrassment gone and a low chuckle that sent shivers down her spine slipping through his lips, "Challenge accepted."

Despite her former drive to win their little jab battle, the blonde felt like she might melt into a puddle, and she did nothing to escape him as he dove for her, grabbing hold of her wrists and shoving her backwards. He pinned her arms above her head, his weight settling onto her hips in the best way possible. His lips were on hers before she could even process her sudden change in position, but she wasn't complaining, kissing him back with just as much force.

They'd only made love once in their past life, and while Lucy was a firm believer that craving for sex wasn't always a necessary step in showing love, she certainly did have the desire to indulge in the act with the salmon haired man as many times as fate would allow, not because she lusted after him but because she loved more than anyone else in the entire world.

She wasn't even sure if sex was on the former king's mind at the moment, but she certainly hoped it was, and with the way he was kissing her, it definitely seemed like they were heading in that direction.

Natsu suddenly pulled back and to her chagrin, she involuntarily let out a small whimper of disappointment, his hands slipping from her wrists and a victorious smirk settling on his features as he stared down at her flustered face, satisfaction in his voice as he taunted, "Am I enough boyfriend for you now, Lucy?"

"Shut up and keep kissing me, you idiot," her now free hands shot forward to bury in the collar of his shirt, tugging his mouth back to hers.

He chuckled against her lips but complied, because after all the years they'd spent apart, how could he refuse a request from his queen?


"Well, someone's excited."

Natsu glanced to Wendy as she giggled at him, or, more specifically, at how he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his hands tucked into his red sweatshirt as his eyes shot from place to place.

He huffed out a quick breath, his focus turning back to the moving stairs that his sister had called an escalator, "Actually…I think 'nervous' is a better word." His parents would be coming down the moving stairs any minute if what Wendy had said was correct, and despite how excited he'd been on their drive to the airport, his heart had sunk into worry and fear upon stepping into the building. Seeing Igneel and Grandeeny over video was one thing, but he really didn't how he'd react to seeing them in person.

The bluenette's brows furrowed, her voice losing its teasing lilt, "Why? It's just mom and dad."

"I'm nervous because it's them," he grumbled, uncaring of the fact that his sister wouldn't fully understand his anxiety. Once he saw them, would he even be able to speak? He hadn't been able to say much the last time they'd talked, and he was sure that it'd be worse when they were actually standing before him, undeniably there and not just some image on a screen.

"You don't have to be," Wendy hummed softly, smiling gently as she looped one of her arms through his so she could give him an affectionate tug. "Even if you don't remember much about them, they're still your mom and dad. They'd give the world for us, and you losing your memory isn't going to change that."

Natsu's gaze fell to the floor. It seemed too good to be true. His video chat with them a couple nights ago had seemed like a dream, and even while it'd happened he'd had a strange sense of hopeful denial. He wanted so desperately for it to be true that he told himself his expectations were astronomically high; that there was no way the former King and Queen of Ishgar could hold such care for him, even if it wasn't really them.

Any incarnation of his mother surely had to despise him with the same animosity she'd held for him up until her death. And his father had always been more devoted to his throne than to his children, and despite his obvious care for them, his country had always come first. Surely such kingly devotion wouldn't fade, even if it had been over a thousand years.

"Oh, here they come!"

Natsu's gaze slowly drifted upwards at Wendy's sudden exclamation, his eyes going wide as he caught sight of his parents, their eyes similarly finding him and Wendy in the crowd as the bluenette raised her hand above her head in a wave.

Tears immediately surfaced in Grandeeny's eyes. She all but ran down the escalator and weaved through the crowd towards her children, leaving her husband behind to cart their luggage all on his own.

"Oh, Natsu!"

The salmon haired boy stood completely still as she flung her arms around his taller frame, the woman hugging him so tight that his breathing was slightly hindered. He didn't do anything to attempt to ease the passage of air into his lungs though, still in awe as he stared down at the top of the blue hair of head that was buried in his chest.

It was real. She was real. And so was her concern, the quivering of her frame against his giving her crying away. He could just barely hear her sobs over the bustling of the crowds in the airport too, and he realized that it'd been stupid of him to feel so afraid of seeing her again. Regardless of whether not she cared for him, he should've been overjoyed at the opportunity to reunite with his dear mother, whom he'd relentlessly cared for despite her loathing of him. But now that he knew she undeniably cared for him, he felt himself nearly melting inside, the frigid anxiety in his chest dissolving into warm tingles.

He gently wrapped his arms around her quivering frame in return, swallowing heavily in a vain attempt at easing his tightened throat, his voice somewhat shaky as he breathed out, "Hey, mom." If he hadn't been so sad and happy and relieved all at once, he would've been embarrassed at the way his voice cracked on the word 'mom,' but his thought were too occupied with other things, namely how amazing it felt to have her show concern for him.

She pulled back and her hands found his cheeks, gently cupping his face as she looked him over with the utmost worry in her gaze, "You're not still in pain, are you?"

He shook his head, blinking away his tears as he gave her a watery smile, "I'm okay."

"That's my boy! Enduring the pain with a smile on his face!"

An arm was suddenly slung around his shoulder and he slightly curled into himself under its weight, his gaze slowly sliding to the owner of the arm, who stood on his left. Vibrant red hair greeted his gaze, along with a sharp, tanned jawline that donned an X shaped scar at its center.

His eyes went wide again. Never had he heard Igneel speak so jovially, nor had he seen his father smile so brightly.

He felt the man's chest rumbled as he let out a deep chuckle, tightening his grip on his son and pulling him into something akin to a head lock as he used his other hand to ruffle his salmon hair.

"Dear, be careful!" Grandeeny halfheartedly scolded her husband, her hands immediately going to his forearm and trying to free her son.

Wendy just giggled as she watched her parents fuss over her older brother, happy to note that she'd been right to assure him of their care for him.

For Natsu, time seemed to slow as he watched his sister laugh, his eyes sliding to their mother as she fretted for his freedom, the warmth of his father's arm still curled around his shoulders.

Upon waking up in the modern world and seeing the bright whiteness of the hospital room around him, he'd thought he was in the afterlife. Of course now, he knew that such wasn't the cast, but for a moment, he wasn't sure that he was really alive again, because he felt that this truly was heaven.

The universe really had given him an irreplaceable gift in the form of another chance at life, and a bright smile spread across his face as he thought over how blessed he was that this was his family, and with them, he could spend the rest of this life.


AN

Gaaahhhh it's been too long. I'm sorry, but also kind of not just because of how insanely busy I've been. If you can afford to, don't work and go to college at the same time, kids. It's not fun...but the semester's over in a month, and then I have all of December off of school so it'll officially be writing time! Of course my other fic Save Me takes priority since I've dedicated myself to a consistent update schedule, but we're actually already about half way down with that one, so I'll be finding some time to work on this one too, I promise!

Good news though, I think I've finally decided where I want to go with this story in terms of giving it a climax (It won't be anything too dramatic though, I promise). I did want this story to have some substance after all, instead of it just being a Nalu fluff fest, although there will undoubtedly be an ungodly amount of Nalu fluff in this thing still. I just wanted it to feel more like an actual story where the characters still grow and develop rather than everything being solved so pleasantly. There will be one more main hardship that they'll face (along with smaller ones as they continue their work to accept the past). We'll still get to see all of the Nalu and other ships, but we've got an actual cohesive story-line now. I've even been hinting their kinda final struggle in chapters already ;)

But hey, at least we got Erza and Jellal now! And Grandeeny and Igneel are finally home too!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and thanks so much for reading! It's been over a year since I started Scarlet Heart, and to know that people still love that story enough to care about this sequel makes me so happy! Your support is what keeps me writing, even though it may take me a bit! I'll try my hardest to make sure that there isn't as big of a delay before the next chapter!

Thanks again!