Last chapter! Oh my gosh! I'm crying! It's been, what, half a year since I started this? My very first story is coming to an end! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

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Ravens and Fairies, Dragons and Princesses (Ch. 36)

It took Natsu a few moments to realize where he was at. When he did, he felt pain around his middle. Flinching as he sat up to look down at the bandages wrapped around him, he remembered what had happened and gasped.

"W-what?! I-I-"

"Ssh! You'll wake Lucy!" Someone hissed and he jerked his head to the side to see Layla.

"L-Layla!" He exclaimed – this time quietly – and then turned to the other side of him to see Lucy.

She had her head against his forearm and her hand tightly in his. Lucy's blonde hair flowed out beautifully around her and glowed a beautiful gold as the sun shone through the window onto her. Natsu smiled at the scene as he took his other hand and ran his fingers through her hair. Lucy hummed in her sleep at the feel and Natsu chuckled…It was a sight he thought he'd never see again.

Speaking of which…

Natsu turned back, with a confused look, to Layla, who was smiling. "I thought I was dead…H-how am I still alive?"

"You're lucky you are. Miss Porlyusica, at the time, didn't have the right tools to save you," Layla sat down on the edge of one of the beds on the other side of Natsu. "However, when we looked, we were able to find the right medical supplies in time. After the dagger was out and the bleeding stopped, Wendy was able to heal you up. You've been asleep for a week."

"Ivan," Natsu suddenly said. "What happened to Ivan? Where is he?"

"He's been arrested by the Magic Council," Layla smiled. "There's no need to worry, Natsu. We won the war. The only thing anybody's been worried about is whether or not, you'll live."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to worry anybody."

She giggled, "its okay. You're alive and that's what matters."

There was a small silence as Natsu continued to run his fingers through Lucy's soft hair with a smile on his face before Layla spoke again:

"I heard about what you did."

He turned back to her again, "huh?"

"I'm talking about jumping in front of my daughter to protect her," the widowed queen gave him a wide, sincere smile. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"It's no big deal, Layla. I would've done it with or without my promise to you."

"I know, but it still means a great deal to me."

Another small silence past before Natsu spoke again, "you should've seen her. She was amazing. She used a spell I've never seen before…and she took down a powerful foe."

"I heard all about it from Happy. She used Urano Metria; it's an ability type spell for Celestial Wizards. It's pretty advanced. I'm proud of her."

"I am too."

Lucy moaned and stirred in her sleep, drawing Natsu and Layla's attention to her.

"It looks like she's about to wake up," Layla commented, standing up and walking to the door. "I'll go tell the others that you're awake and doing okay, but I'll keep them out of here so you two can have some privacy."

"Alright, see you later, Layla."

Layla smiled one last time before waving and shutting the door on the way out.

Natsu then turned his attention back to the blonde who stirred even more. "Luce?"

"N-Natsu…" She snuggled against his forearm before flickering her eyes open and shutting them while moaning because of the light.

Natsu chuckled as he moved some of her blonde hair out of her face, "good morning, Lucy."

Lucy turned her head to look at him with a soft smile, "good morning, Natsu…wait," her eyes widened as she sat up quickly, "N-Natsu?!"

He flashed the goofy grin Lucy thought she'd never see again. "Yo Luce! It's good to see you!"

Lucy gritted her teeth as tears flooded her eyes. She looked away as a sob escaped her mouth, but before Natsu could comfort her, she spoke first, "N-Natsu…you…you idiot!"

Receiving a slap to the cheek, Natsu's eyes widened in surprise, "Owwwww….Luce-"

"You idiot!" She repeated, standing up now and towering over him. There were tears spilling down her cheeks. "How could you do that to me?!"

"I was protecting you," Natsu quickly argued back.

"I don't want your protection if it's going to kill you!"

At first, he thought he heard her wrong, but then it sunk in. With a low growl, he grabbed her by the forearms, pulling her to him. Lucy squealed in surprise and fought him at first, but ended up letting him pull her onto him where she was straddling his hips. They were so close, their noses were nearly touching and Lucy couldn't tear her red, teary eyes away from his angry ones.

"I am a dragon slayer," Natsu spoke sternly. "Fire doesn't work on me. In my lifetime, I've gone up against iron, lightning, poison dragon slayer magic; I've overcome wind and ice magic. I've taken guys down that were double my size. I even defeated a god slayer that used the same element as I do. You can't kill me as easily as you think and even if you could, I'm not leaving you or Fairy Tail anytime soon."

In the silence, Lucy still couldn't manage to look away as his words sunk in. She couldn't speak at first because her mouth was dry as it hung open in surprise. However, she was able to manage a quiet whisper: "I-I didn't know…"

"Well, now you do," he replied with his eyes still stern. It seemed like they bored into her fragile soul.

"I-I…" She finally ripped her eyes away and looked at the floor as her voice broke and more tears began to roll again, "I really thought you were going to die…"

That was when Natsu's eyes softened, "Lucy…" releasing his hold on her forearms, he slid his hands up her neck into her hair behind her ears, redirecting her eyes back to his before planting his lips onto hers.

Lucy melted immediately as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As Natsu wiped her tears away with his thumbs, she smiled against him in bliss. She didn't think she would be able to kiss him like this again and she loves the way his scorching lips would take hers over. She never got tired of it each time they kissed.

They parted after a few kisses and stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Natsu broke the silence:

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" He threw his head back in pain, "I can't take it anymore! Get off me! It hurts!"

"You idiot!" Lucy exclaimed, not moving, "you're the one who pulled me onto you!"

"Lucy, it hurts really badly! You're so heavy! Please get off!"

"Hey! I'm not heavy!" She slapped him again, earning another "ow" before climbing off of him.

Natsu gasped dramatically for breath when Lucy stood up. "Phew! Just lost a hundred-fifty pounds…"

"Are you kidding me?! Do I look like I'm a hundred and fifty?!"

He glanced at her before rubbing his bandaged stomach to soothe the pain, "I'm sorry, I mean two hundred."

"THAT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE!"

He blinked blankly, "…two-fifty?"

"OH MY GOSH! JUST SHUT UP, NATSU!"

He laughed at her pouting face, "I'm just messing with you, Luce!" He laughed again –this time louder – before adding under his breath, "It is so much fun irritating you."

"Wow, I'm so glad you find pleasure in that," she pouted again before turning to walk away, but she didn't get very far when two toned arms wrapped around her waist.

"And where do you think you're going?" Natsu asked as he nuzzled his face against her back.

"To get Porlyusica and Wendy," she stated like it was obvious, which it was.

"No way!" He pulled her onto the bed again, earning a squeal in surprise from the blonde. "You're staying here!"

"You didn't learn your lesson the first time?!" She exclaimed as she felt her back hit his bandaged chest.

"Whoever said you were sitting on me again, Weirdo?"

She shivered at his voice in her ear before she felt herself hit the covers and the blankets lazily thrown over her. Natsu snuggled against her back, humming contently and Lucy found herself smiling.

"Oh and by the way, fifty-seven."

She raised an eyebrow as she turned around to face him, "what?"

"Fifty-seven," he said as he snuggled into her neck and planted a few kisses on her skin, secretly loving the way she shivered when he did so. "That's the final count of all the ravens I took down."

"O-oh," she giggled, "including Flare, I got forty-three…great job, you beat me."

"You know what? I change my mind: Flare's worth thirty points, not twenty."

"You still beat me."

"I say you win."

"And why is that?" Lucy giggled as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Because you were amazing when you were fighting Flare! I knew you were strong, but…dang!"

She giggled again.

"I'm proud of you, Lucy."

Lucy smiled brightly before hugging him, "thank you, Natsu."

As Natsu found himself drifting off, he heard the three words he loved to hear come from her mouth:

"I love you."

And before he faded from reality into dreamland, he was able to reply:

"…I…love you…too…"

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Well there you go. That was the last chapter. Of course, I still have the epilogue to do. That'll probably be up tomorrow or the next day. After that, I'll give you an update on what I'll be doing next. I hope you enjoyed!

-zEllie