A Surfers Love

Chapter 39

"Missed me that much?" Natsu asked in slight shock, as he held the sniffling girl in his arms.

Lucy squeezed him tighter, burying her head in his chest.

"But what...how...you were just drowning!" Lucy cried.

"Drowning?" Natsu questioned. He scratched his hair, humming as he thought. "I don't know what you're talking about...but I came home early to suprise you! I didn't think you'd cry this much..."

"You idiot!" Lucy yelled. "Do you know how much we worried about you? How did you get here? You were just on T.V! You'd fell off your board, and they went searching and...and then you just show up at the door."

"Woah, Lucy, calm down," Natsu mumbled softly, sifting his fingers through her soft hair, "I never said the competition was gonna be live, silly. I knew you were expecting me to come back in a week, so I left for my plane yesterday so I could get here early. I wanted it to be a suprise! I wanted you to be happy to see me."

Lucy gripped him tighter, her arms trembling as she held him. "Of course I'm happy to see you," she mumbled, "I'm so...so happy. Especially after what happened. I thought you'd..."

Natsu's eyes widened as he gasped. "Oh...now I know what you're talking about. You mean when I fell into the water?"

"Yeah...I thought...to see you here now, it's more than a huge relief." she whispered.

"Damn," he hissed, running a hand through his pink hair, "They told me they'd cut that part out. I definetely didn't want you to see it cause I knew you'd be worried. It was nothing major, I just got swept under a bit deep, but I eventually swam back to the top. I can hold my breath for a while, y'know?"

"Still," she muttered, teeth clenched, "It terrified me."

"I'm sorry," he whispered again, trying to ease her.

He lifted his head from the crown of her hair, and into the many faces filled with worry that surrounded him.

He awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry, I had no idea about this. I really didn't mean to worry you guys."

"I knew you were alright," Gray smoothly flicked out, "Wasn't even worried."

Dismissing Gray's obvious lie, Natsu perked up as he glanced around the room. "I'm alright, guys, really. Why is everyone so quiet? And Lucy, you don't have to hug me so tightly." He lightly smiled, grabbing her shoulders.

"But I want to," she pouted.

Natsu didn't deny the girl anymore as his gaze landed on her mother. She looked tadly stressed out, as she held a woman with vibrant, wavy pink hair close to her body, who was buried in her chest.

"Who's that?" Natsu whispered to Lucy, "She has hair just like me."

Lucy finally pulled away from him as she gazed into his confused, yet gentle deep green eyes, pursing her lips.

Slowly, she pulled her arms from around him.

"You'll see," she whispered, walking over to Reia.

Once Lucy reached her, she grabbed her shoulder, lightly turning her so that she faced her.

My mom took the signal as she let go of Reia, backing away.

Reia's bright azure eyes were wild and panicked as she bit on her nail, gazing at Lucy flusterdly.

"You need to talk to him," Lucy told her softly, "Wouldn't that be the best thing to do?"

"But what if he doesn't remember me? What if he hates me? What could I possibly say?" She hurriedly asked.

The blonde sent an encouraging smile, squeezing her shoulder. "It'll come to you when you see him... turn around, Reia."

She inhaled a deep breath as she placed a hand over her chest, closing her eyes. "Okay," she whispered.

Slowly she began to turn, before she was full facing Natsu. With a sudden nervousness, her eyes shot down unable to look into the face she'd thought she lost.

Natsu raised an eyebrow, curious as to why the room had become so tense.

"And you are?" He asked, with a hint of a laugh edging on his voice. He wasn't one to stay serious in situations like these. The lady's hair was striking, but he had yet to see her face.

Reia fiddled with her fingers, stilling her mind. Quickly, her head shot up, eyes shut tightly.

"I'm..." She mumbled, her eyelids slowly rising, "I'm someone you know." Now her eyes were fully open as she stared at Natsu.

Emotions rose within her as she gazed at him, her nearly gasping at the significant change from the last time she's seen him, over 10 years ago. His hair has grown longer, and his features were sharper, yet still had a boyish flare. He had gotten much taller, and was no longer small and skinny, yet know extremely healthy and muscular. Relief, guilt, sadness, happiness, and so much more washed over her, making her want to burst into tears again. Yet, she couldn't. She had to be strong for him, and make up for what she'd failed to do.

"I'm Reia," she softly stated, a small smile spreading over her lips.

Everyone took the que, and decided to give the two some privacy as they quietly exited the living room. Lucy stayed close by, yet out of sight, since she already knew the situation.

"Reia...?" The words rolled off of Natsu's tongue as he savored the feel. He'd felt it before...it was familiar. And her eyes, so vibrantly blue, with her glossy pink hair that was such a close match to his...it couldn't be...it couldn't.

But...could there really be such a coincidence?

"A-Aunt...Rei?" Natsu stuttered, his eyes widening.

Reia bit her lip as happiness flushed her face and a wide, tearful grin spread across her cheeks. That name bought back so many memories.

"Yeah," she whispered, wiping a quick tear from her eye, "You've really grown, Natsu."

Natsu slightly rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly. It was really her?

He slowly began to walk over to her, thousands of emotions swirling through his wide, olive green orbs. He hadn't seen her in years! What was she even doing at Lucy's place?

Once he reached, he quickly encased her smaller body in his arms, laughing from happiness as tears threatened to fall out of his own eyes. Her smell was still the same, relaxing even.

She wrapped her arms around the boy who stood inches taller then her, remembering the times when he was just below her waist.

"Is it really you?" He asked through clenched teeth, holding in his emotions.

"Yeah," Reia nodded, hugging him tighter, she couldn't help herself as silent tears unwillingly rolled from her eyes, "I'm sorry, Natsu. I'm so so sorry for not being there for you. I'm sorry for not staying by your side. The guilt has been eating me for years...I...I tried to get in contact but I couldn't, I'm sorry...Natsu...I'm so..."

She sobbed and he hugged her tighter, his eyes beginning to water as he heard her apology, one he had never expected to hear.

"I forgive you, dad had told me how you went out to pursue your career. I knew how much you cared for me, so I've never once felt a grudge towards you. It's just that...after not hearing from you for so long, this moment nearly feels like a dream, its surreal..."

Reia nodded her head, a sudden ease spreading over her as she heard the forgiveness she'd been craving for years. She just needed to know it was alright.

"I thought you would've forgotten about me," she muttered tearfully.

"How could I forget?" Natsu softly laughed, grabbing a strand of her hair, "You do look a lot different, but I could never forget your hair, afterall you're the only person I've ever met who has hair so similar to mines."

Reia pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her face before they dried.

She lightly smiled, twirling a strand of hair in her finger. "Yeah...it's probably not hard to tell that I look different. I cut that dangerously long hair I used to have, and I stopped straightening it. I've always hated my wild hair, but I decided to let it back out after my kin passed. They used to always tell me to stop hiding behind those flat irons," she shrugged, a soft laugh bubbling from her throat, "They were no good anyways."

"You mean mom and dad?" Natsu asked, interested by the topic of their past.

Reia laughed as his eyes glittered, leading him towards the couch. Lucy smiled, and with one last glance towards the pair, she headed over to her room.

Wide grins and hearty laughter filled the living room as the family caught up on each other's lives, as they talked about their wild adventures, Reia sharing light on her comedic childhood and success in the fashion industry. Natsu informed her of his surfing feats, and just how much he'd progressed over time.

After what felt like hours, the sun had set, and stars glistened in the sky.

The sight was quite beautiful, having two people who loved each other so dearly, reunite.

Reia bowed towards Layla, as she and Natsu stood at the door, bidding Reia goodbye.

The pink haired woman smiled as she grabbed my moms hand. "Really...thank you, Layla. If I never met you, I'm sure I never would've saw Natsu again."

Layla smiled warmly, as she squeezed Reia's hand. "I'm glad I met you, also. You'll come again, right?"

"Of course. I'll try my best to visit before I have to head off again."

Reia removed her hand from Layla's grip, turning towards Natsu as she wrapped him into a tight hug, lightly patting his back. She smiled briefly, before opening her mouth to speak.

"Lucy, can you come here for a second?"

Lucy, who had been standing in the kitchen, walked over to the three, and glanced at Reia in question.

"Thank you for taking care of Natsu, dear. It really means a lot to me." She glanced to the side, before nervously pressing her lips together. "You...truly love Natsu, right?"

Lucy's eyes widened at the question, not at all expecting it. Yet, she grinned either way. "Yeah, I love him a lot."

Reia sighed in relief, "That's great to hear. Since I'm pretty new to this, I don't really know how to feel about him having a girlfriend, nor how to approach the subject. But, as long as he's in your heart, I feel like that's good enough. I hope you and him continue your stride to happiness."

Lucy smiled as Reia held her hand out, and she grasped it firmly, shaking it.

Reia looked up at Natsu. "It was nice finally getting to see you again, Natsu. We'll keep in touch, alright?" She asked, holding her phone up.

Natsu nodded as he smiled, and Reia chuckled, slipping her phone back in her purse.

She walked towards the door, pulling it open as she stepped out into the hallway.

She turned back around one last time, sending a small wave.

They waved back, each exchanging a 'goodbye' or 'see you again', and Reia disappeared down the hallway.

LUCY POV

My mom closed the door, heading towards the kitchen. "You kids hungry?" She asked.

Natsu and I both nodded as Layla walked down the hallway to see who else wanted to eat.

Natsu smiled as he ran a hand through his hair, he turned to me with a wide grin on his face.

I laughed at the funny expression, yet felt overjoyed to finally see it again.

"I can't stop smiling." Natsu laughed, suddenly wrapping me into a warm hug.

I hugged him back, laughing along with him. "Of course not. You're happy."

He laughed some more, picking me up as he spun me around in the air.

"You're right!"

We both erupted into a crazy fit of laughter, wide smiles stretching across our faces in happiness, relief, and pure satisfaction.

Natsu gently placed me back on the ground, before ruffling my hair.

I pouted, immedietly ruffling his hair, and we began laughing again as we both tried to straighten out the messy mops on our heads.

Natsu smiled even bigger as his hands fell over his eyes.

I was about to tell him to stop grinning like a clown, before I heard a sniffle sound.

"God I'm...I'm so freaking...happy," he wiped his eyes roughly, "Sheesh, what's wrong with me?" He wiped his eyes more as silvery tears slipped down his cheeks, and he began to laugh.

"This is so uncool," he sniffled. A small, knowing smile graced my lips, before I pulled him into a hug, bringing his head town till it rest on the crook of my neck. Lightly, I sifted my fingers through his messy, yet incredibly soft locks.

"I've told you before. It's okay for men to cry. Crying shows you're human, and that you're brave enough not to hide. I've...come to accept that."

I felt Natsu's cheeks move against my shoulder, and I dug my nose into his hair.

"You're really strong, Natsu. That's one of the things I really love about you. So...cry if you need too. It'd probably we weird if you didn't, seeing what went on today."

Natsu grasped my shirt tighter. "Damn...I can't stop smiling, my chest hurts, and I feel like screaming. Yet, the feeling is so great..."

He laughed again, wiping his eyes off.

"Thanks, Lucy. You...you've really helped me out."

I smiled, warmth filling my heart at his words of gratitude. An idea suddenly popped into my mind, and I grinned widely at the thought.

"Natsu, do you wanna go stargazing?"

A/N

Hey guys! It's been a while and I really missed you. The chapter was a bit short, but hey, I didn't really want to make this too long, or it ruin the next chapter. Speaking of which, you can probably tell, but sadly, this story is coming to an end.

A year ago, when I first started writing, I never expected it to even be this long, and I'm suprised by this story's success and the amount of chapters. Depending on how the next chapter goes, it may be the last, maybe not.

I'm pretty sure I could wrap everything up, but you guys jog my memory and make sure I don't leave anything out! Thanks for reading, and tell me what you thought about the chappie. Until next time~~