For the love of Nalu

Chapter 12

The question

Lucy sat at the guild bar with a frown upon her usual cheery face. She hasn't seen Natsu for days, and was told that he took a mission by himself but no one will tell her what kind. It was rounding the one week mark since she last seen him and she really missed him. She couldn't understand why he would take a mission without her. They were a team, partners, lovers. Was he getting tired of her?

They have been dating for two years now, and Lucy thought that things were going great. Then out of nowhere, he announces this so called mission he was going on. She never saw the request nor did he tell her any details. When she asked a few members of the guild they either acted like they didn't know or told her that they couldn't say.

Since when was Natsu so secretive? He has never withheld anything from her before. They were always able to tell each other anything. Staring at the drink in her hand, she absentmindedly drew shapes in the condensation along the side of the glass. She isn't even sure when he is coming back. Neither he nor anyone else would say anything and she was starting to feel betrayed. Why was everyone being so secretive? What were they hiding?

"Lucy, are you okay?" Levy asked as she took the seat next to the blond. Lucy turned to her and gave her the best smile she could manage but even then it wasn't much. Levy knew what was going on and it pained her to see her best friend so upset but knew that things would get better. She just needed to believe in Natsu.

Those two loved each other so much. But without him around Lucy just isn't herself. Mirajane watched from a distance knowing that if she stayed too close to Lucy for too long then she would spill the beans. She couldn't watch her with that sad look and not scream it out to her that everything the blond is thinking is wrong. She just wished that Natsu wasn't taking so long.

Erza wanted to punish Natsu for making Lucy feel this way. But she knew in the end things would be for the best. Her friends did their best to avoid her knowing that spending time with her would only weaken their resolve to keep the secret. Levy was the only one not having trouble keeping it. But then again, she was always able to keep a secret when it was a good one.

The doors to the guild opened up, and the mail carrier strolled in. He handed out the letters to each recipient but he held one last one as he gazed around. Eyes landing on the depressed blond, he walked over to her and tapped her shoulder.

"Miss, you are Lucy Heartfilia, are you not?" He asked, still clutching the letter. She nodded her head as her eyes fell to the letter in his hand. She would recognize that chicken scratch handwriting anywhere. She only knew one person who wrote like that.

Handing her the letter the mail carrier left out of the guild. Lucy stared at the letter for a few minutes wondering what this was about. Natsu was not one to write, he hated anything to do with it. So why did he write her a letter? Why didn't he just tell her what he needed to say once he got here? Unless he was breaking up with her. Maybe he didn't want to do it face to face. Maybe he wasn't coming back but instead searching for Igneel.

She always knew the day would come would he would leave once more but she thought that he would take her with him. Was she really that bad that he couldn't even do it in person? Ripping open the letters her eyes scanned it quickly, hoping that this wasn't bad news.

Deer Lucy

I no its bin a long time sence we seen each other

and im sorry for that.

Please meat me at the gient sakura tree

at 11am.

Kay, ill see you thare.

Love Natsu.

She read the letter over and over again, not caring of the misspellings. So far at least it didn't seem to be bad news but why did he want to meet her there? It was the same spot where they confessed their feelings for one another. Why didn't he just come to the guild and get her? Levy read the letter over the blonds shoulder as the rest of the guild watched from a far.

It seemed that the first step has been done, hopefully Natsu doesn't mess this up. Folding the paper, she tucked it away in the pocket of her skirt and glanced at the time. She had an hour until she had to be there so she should probably go home and get ready. She felt a soft hand on her shoulder and turned to see Levy giving her a reassuring nod.

"Thanks Levy."

With that, she strolled out of the guild and into the bright sunlight of the mourning sun. She tried to stay hopeful, but this was so unlike Natsu. She didn't know what she would do if he broke up with her. She found tears were already forming into her chocolate brown eyes just thinking about it. They have been through so much together, and always made it through.

It seemed like nothing could tear them apart, but why is this happening now? Did something happen, did I do something wrong? She wondered as she made her way to her apartment. No Lucy, you can't think this way. Have faith in Natsu and your relationship. She kept trying to tell herself that but it didn't stop the tears that were slowly falling down her soft cheeks.

Once inside her apartment, she practically tore her bedroom apart looking for the perfect outfit. Maybe if I wore something really nice he would think twice, she thought but then scolded herself for thinking so low of him. She knew that he never liked her just for her looks. He loved her for her, that's just who he is. He was never so superficial that he would only like someone for the way they looked.

Still, she found herself wanting to look good for him anyway. Pulling out the dress that Natsu said was his favorite, she slipped into the bathroom and began to change. She remembered when she tried this on. Natsu immediately told her to buy it but in the end, he bought it for her. It was a simple red dress that fell to her mid thighs, and had no straps. Simple yet elegant is what Lucy called it. She paired it with matching red stilettos and checked the time.

She only had ten minutes to get there, so grabbing her keys, she rushed out the door. The townspeople were as joyous as ever. Some waved while others greeted her but she couldn't say much in return because she didn't want to be late. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. Nervous as hell, she finally made her way to the spot where they were to meet.

Glancing around, there was no sign of the dragon slayer so she took a seat under the shade of the Sakura tree and waited. The light breeze felt good as it swept over the grassy hill. As time passed Lucy's nervousness slowly faded and was replaced with anxiousness. What was taking him so long? It's already been twenty minutes and still no sign of him. Was he not going to show up? Did he decided to call it off at the last minute or did something happen?

Once the last thought struck her, she quickly brushed it away knowing that this is Natsu she was thinking about. It's normal for him to be late. Another thirty minutes passed and now she was getting worried. No matter how many times he was late, it was never by this much. Fear set in as she stood up and looked around, hoping to spot a shock of pink coming in her direction. Nothing.

After another twenty minutes, she decided it was time to leave. She was going to head to the guild to see if he had forgotten that he had asked her to come here and instead went straight to the guild. As she stepped out from under the shadow of the tree, she heard someone calling her in the distance. She turned around to see the familiar face of her long time best friend and boyfriend heading at a fast pace in her direction.

"Natsu!" She yelled, running to meet him. They threw their arms around each other and stayed there for a few moments. She could still feel that same love that she always felt from him and knew that there was no way that he was breaking up with her. Her heart soared at this realization then felt guilty that she ever doubted him.

"Lucy, I missed you so much!" Natsu exclaimed as he spun her around. She giggled as she looked into the eyes of the man she loves.

"So Natsu, why did you want to meet me here?" She asked after she was finally let go of. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back under the Sakura tree once again before she realized that he was holding a bouquet. He stretched out the hand holding them and waited for her to take them. Her eyes widened as she pulled them from his hand. They were so beautiful and reminded her of them. The beautiful pink and yellow flowers smelled so nice and it was the largest bouquet she has ever seen. "Thank you, Natsu."

"Your welcome Luce." She leaned in a placed a light kiss upon his lips before smiling at him. He could be so sweet sometimes, the complete opposite of what everyone thought he would be like.

"So why are we here?" She asked again, still wondering the reason behind all this. He wouldn't have wanted her to meet him here simply because he wanted to give her flowers. He turned to her, eyes full of determination that gazed into hers. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked back at him. What is he doing?

"Lucy, you know how much you mean to me. I love you so much, and I couldn't live without you. I may have been stupid in the beginning but without you, I'm like a flower without water, like Happy without fish. You mean the world to me and I want us to be together for the rest of our lives." Lucy watched him with wide eyes and a racing heart as she realized what was happening. Getting down on one knee, he pulled a little black velvet box from his pocket and grabbed her hand.

"Lucy, will you marry me?" Everything else in the world seemed to have disappeared, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was them, there, right now. Her life would never be the same without this man, and she knew it the moment she met him. It took her longer to realize just what she was feeling but she had loved him from the start. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks once more as a smile graced her glossy pink lips.

"Yes! Oh god yes, of course Natsu!" She jumped towards him and wrapped her arms around the man she loves neck. She has never felt so happy in her life and she knew that things were only going to get better. She crashed her lips against his and could feel the smile on his. Cheers erupted from behind her as she realized that the entire guild was there. They had been watching her from the start. Congrats were said all around as Lucy looked at her soon to be husband.

She couldn't believe how things turned out and if you asked her a few years back if she would have believed this would be happening, she would have instantly shot down the idea. He was everything she could have wished for and so much more. They were going to live their own happily ever after, just like in the fairy tales.


A/N: Another one down, 88 more to go. Hopefully you all stick with me on this long journey to complete this challenge. Still accepting requests, so far I have three. I still have to plan out the last ten chapters. The first 90 are either already written or at least planned out. Word count is 2,068. I know this one wasn't very long compared to the others and I really hoped you liked it. Thanks so much! You guys are just simply amazing. Next theme is 'Injury', which was a request by PARADISE.x. Thanks again, Angel.