NaLu

Rating - M for mature ideas and themes discussed

Chapter Rating - M for themes and ideas

Genre - Fantasy & Romance

Word Count - 40,717 Words

Chapter Word Count - 1,611 Words

*L*

Lucy brought her right hand to her left wrist, and rubbed over the scars that had begun to fade. She wasn't sure what she was feeling anymore. She was insanely happy that Natsu was back, but her sudden wave of emotions just now couldn't have been good.

"Luce?" Natsu called out and the girl popped her head out of the curtain.

"What's up Natsu?"

"Can I come sit in here?" Lucy looked at him shocked but nodded. He had never before asked her permission to do something that invaded her privacy. He sat on the toilet right next to the shower and she ducked back in the shower, grabbing the body wash and beginning to lather herself in the bubbles. His voice was quiet as he spoke. "What did you mean, in the magazines?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Lucy had forgotten about the stack of magazines on her desk that she had left for Natsu until that moment.

"On the first one, you said you had to tell them you were single and I would get possessive, but we were never together?" He more asked than said any of his sentence.

"I— I don't know why I would write that Natsu." Lucy shivered, "all I know, is everything I wrote, I meant."

—

Each step Lucy made was in pain. Not physical but mental; her body was aching as well but it was her emotional state that was in turmoil. She had finished her lease in that apartment and Natsu and her left to go back to her old one. It was nearly the same. Everything was all moved in and ready for her. The only thing different, was her. She couldn't help but feel foreign in the space that had previously been her home for three years.

She had gone through so much, and lost so much during that time, that she just didn't feel right. Natsu and her had traveled here first, before going to get the rest of the guild members piece by piece, until they finally found master hiding away and forced him to take over with the threat that Natsu would become Fairy Tail's next master. That made him jump at the chance to revive Fairy Tail himself, but Lucy wasn't sure if he actually wanted to be there at that point.

Lucy sighed to herself, shaking her head. "What is it, Lucy?" A voice came from the doorway. It wasn't Natsu, as he would never use the door, and she looked up to see her brother.

"Laxus." She smiled tiredly at him. "It's nothing, what are you doing here?"

"I have a favor to ask of you."

*N*

Natsu went in through Lucy's window, pausing at the sound of another voice in her room. "I need you to stay away from Natsu." Natsu's heart clenched and he wondered what she was thinking. He heard her blonde hair raise and fall and assumed she was shaking her head.

"I'm sorry Laxus, but I can't do that. I just got him back. Besides, we're going on a job tomorrow."

"Lucy, trust me on this! You need to stay away from him, he'll hurt you." She hissed at her brother and Natsu was internally cheering her on.

"I will not stay away from him! Don't you understand Laxus?" Natsu heard a quiet sob. "He's all I have."

"No he's not Lucy. You have me, you have the guild. You have Sting and Rogue and Yukino. It's just for a few days."

"Maybe I'll try after the mission. But until that's over, I'm not going to avoid him. You really think he'd let me?" Natsu looked around the corner, seeing that Lucy was burrowed into Laxus' chest. He looked like he was desperate, and Natsu truly wondered what the reason was that he wanted Lucy to stay away from him. "It hurts Laxus. Losing him hurt. You had people around Laxus, you made other friends, but I was a loner until he came along. And then he…" She pulled away from her brother and Natsu took in a deep breath. "He welcomed me into his and Happy's team, and everything else was separate, ya know?" She shook her head, making Natsu grip his fists tight, shaking with anger at himself. "We were a team, and people joined and left, and that was okay, 'cause it was always the three of us.

"But then…" He could see her lip wobble even from how far away she was, and he grimaced. But she smiled, a dazzling smile that left him breathless, but one he knew was fake. It fell quickly, turning into a scornful laugh. "Then he left me, like I was nothing. Just like dad thought before he had time without me to reflect. I've always been nothing, to everyone."

"That's not true Luce." Natsu stepped out of his hiding place. "That isn't true. I went to train so I could get stronger, so I wouldn't be useless ever again."

"Useless? You?" Lucy shook her head, tears of anger shining in her eyes, clear to Natsu. "If anyone is useless it's me! I've always been useless! Letting myself get hurt just to have to be saved by others. Don't go telling me you left so you wouldn't feel useless! That isn't how it works. You left me Natsu! Do you know what it felt like when my mark disappeared?"

"You remember?" Laxus cut in.

"Of course I remember!" She rounded on her brother and Natsu backed into the wall, glad her temper wasn't on him at the moment. "Are you telling me that he doesn't?"

"No, when a mark is removed, normally the memories of marking are removed from either parties memory."

Lucy fell to her knees and all Natsu could do was stand there and watch. "Why me then? Why do I remember it?" Natsu watched as Laxus' eyes widened before he fell to his knees in front of his sister, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"You didn't by chance, have sex with him before he left, did you?"

*L*

Lucy could tell Natsu had frozen behind her as she nodded, just barely enough for them both to see. Laxus reacted immediately, jumping up and going after Natsu in the blink of an eye. She heard the tell tale of a fight but couldn't bring herself to move. Tears fell from her eyes as she was forced to relive the feelings she had been left with.

Her eyes opened slowly, her arms reaching for the warmth she craved. "Natsu?" She whispered as she turned on her side, a grimace and groan running through her. She slid out of the bed carefully, looking for the pink haired male. She checked the bathroom first before going to her couch. It was there she saw the note lying on the coffee table and her heart rate picked up. A wave of despair crashed over her as she imagined what it would read and she could feel her, no their mark move to comfort her, but it wasn't helping.

She opened the envelope slowly, carefully, before reading the words. Dread ran through her veins, making her feel heavy with emptiness. She was moving automatically then, her feet pounding barefoot against the ground as she ran out the door and down the street, reaching the edges of Magnolia to where she could barely see him. She called out to him then, a sharp cry of his name but he did not turn. She knew he did not wish to see her, for fear of giving in, but she couldn't help it. He could have at least said a proper goodbye to her!

Her legs gave out and she tumbled to the dirt, her knees scraping as sobs wracked her body, dragging her deeper into despair. She was alone. Again. No! She shook her head, she still had the guild, but—

A sharp cry echoed through her from the sudden searing pain that came from her shoulder. She screamed, crying out as it felt as though someone were carving a piece of her skin from her body. Her arms wrapped around her torso, protecting something she didn't understand, holding herself together the only way she could.

The girl leaned forward, her blonde hair muddying from the wet dirt as her forehead pressed into the ground. Pain, it was such pain for her to bear. The weight of it all crashed down on her and she had emptied her stomach over the edge of the road, grimacing as she stood once again. She was wobbly, her legs shaking as though she were still getting used to walking as she headed back to her apartment.

She bathed, rinsing their sins from her body along with the blood and dirt. After putting on fresh clothing and checking the mirror she noted that her mark, alive and beautiful and theirs, was gone. A tear slipped from her eye as a hand stroked her collarbone, wishing she could feel it keen to her like a babe begging for it's mother's milk once again. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, determination flashing through them. Tying her blonde hair back, she entered her room and cleared her bedsheets, burning them before placing the new ones in their place.

When she was done, she placed her belt on her waist, attaching her keys along with her whip before realizing it was early in the morning. With this realization she set off towards the guild, meeting up with everyone else to begin rebuilding the hall. Only to learn that her devastation may never end.

Hey lovelies!

And boom. Some of how Lucy was feeling when Natsu was leaving her instead, since you already saw his side. There is still a bit more in the next chapter, but it definitely was better to put there. I hope you guys will enjoy as we are wrapping it up! Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

~Rayhne