Beneath the Surface

*Um, let's just say this takes place between the 1 year gap and Alvarez Arc*

Natsu dodges another attack from the leviathan, but its massive teeth nicks his side. He rolls onto the sand clutching at the small wound, sealing it shut for now as the creature sinks below the waters of the bay.

The slayer grits his teeth against the pain. "Lucy call Aquarius! If we can get the monster onto land it'll be easier to handle."

"I—I… No, there's gotta be another way." Lucy mumbles as she scrambles to think of another plan.

She rushes over to where Wendy was coming to and helps the girl to stand. "Are you okay Wendy?"

"Yeah," the poor girl rubs the side of her head. She'd taken a pretty good hit that knocked her out cold. "Did we get it?"

The celestial mage shakes her head. "Just went back under."

After helping Gray back to his feet too, Natsu and he hobble over to the two women along with Erza. "Lucy," Natsu places his hand on her shoulder. "Why can't you just call Aquarius? You keep avoiding..."

Three sets of eyes look away. This wasn't the first time they'd watched Lucy avoid the topic, but they knew the reason, Natsu didn't.

"Don't worry, we don't need her help," Gray steps in to change the focus away from the girl who was clearly in pain. "It's okay man," he pulls Natsu back, "I got a plan."

Natsu's brows furrow, but he nods and backs off for now. This conversation may be over for now, but he was going to get to the bottom of it. Could the celestial mage and the spirit have had a real falling out? Aquarius could be temperamental and often fussy about being called, but he knew they were close because of the connection with Lucy's mother and it made no sense for Lucy to be completely avoiding the spirit.

Two days later when the team had arrived back home in Magnolia, he decides this matter couldn't wait any longer. What if the next time they were in a bind, they couldn't rely on Aquarius. Lucy had gone straight home without speaking to him and it didn't take a genius to figure out she was still upset over the mission. Part of him felt like an ass for pushing, but hey, he needed to know if there was something wrong! And based on their reaction on that beach, it made him angry to feel like their friends knew some that he didn't about her.

When he reaches her apartment, Natsu notices that Lucy's window is closed. Since when does she close her window in the summer time? So, he knocks on her door instead. "Lucy, it's me, Natsu. Can we talk?" He hears her feet shuffling along the floor, coming to a stop on the other side.

"I don't really feel like talking Natsu." Her voice is quiet but serious in nature. She exhales, "maybe some other time."

"I'm not gonna drop this Lucy. I know your upset so please, just let me in so we can talk…"

"I said I don't wanna talk about it!"

Whoa! Such a severe reaction coming from her was unexpected, but he was just as determined to get an answer! He lowers his tone. "Lucy. If you don't open this door right now, I will break it down!"

"You wouldn't!"

"I will!"

"Damn it Natsu, my landlady will kill me if you do!"

"Then I suggest you unlock the door!"

After a moment's pause, Natsu can hear the exasperated sigh she lets out, followed by the click of the lock. He tests the knob and when he finds it unlocked, makes his way inside. Where the hell is, she now?! Lucy wasn't in the living room or kitchen, but the bedroom door was closed. Are they really going to do this again? He tries that door's knob and surprise, surprise, it's locked.

"I warned you Lucy." He gives her no time to respond, simply melting the handle off and flying the door open.

Lucy jumps off the bed and beelines it towards Natsu. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She punches his chest a few times unleashing a whole lot of pent up anger that she didn't even realize she'd been harboring. "I'm not ready to talk about Aquarius!"

"But why?!" Natsu grabs her wrists to stop her from swinging, shaking her a bit to snap her out of it. "What the hell is going on? Are you two fighting or something? Just tell me! I can't help you if…"

"Her key's gone Natsu, that's what the hell is going on! Okay! Are you happy now!"

That stops him cold. "Wait, what do you mean gone? When did this happen?" He lets go of her wrists and Lucy stumbles back to her bed. Natsu follows and kneels down in front of her, but she's buried her face in her hands and refuses to look at him. "Lucy, please just talk to me!"

"I lost her…. During the Tartaros fight. Had to sacrifice her key to summon the Celestial King." Lucy reaches into her pocket and pulls out the remnant of Aquarius' key. She briefly shows him the piece before palming and gripping to it tightly. "I miss her so much. It kills me Every. Single. Time, I think about it."

Natsu sits back on his haunches, completely shocked by this revelation. All this time…. "How didn't I know…. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Sooner?!" Lucy glares at the slayer. "You fucking left right after we fought Tartaros Natsu! Without even saying good bye!" Her fists clench even harder and it takes every ounce of willpower not slap him. "I'd lost my oldest friend. I lost my best friend. I lost the guild that I love. Everything fell apart at the same time!" Tears pour down Lucy's cheeks, but she makes no effort to stem or wipe them away. She didn't care at that point. Her body and mind grew numb as she relived one of the most painful of all her memories. "I felt so alone." Her head hangs low, eyes squeezing shut. "It took me a while to find the strength to go on…. To find a reason to keep going and you know what? No matter how angry I was for you leaving…. I used that to push me past it all. Fine, if you went away to get stronger, then that was what I did too. But the pain never left me."

A palpable silence falls between them, but after a few minutes, Lucy finally gains the courage to look at Natsu again. His head is lowered so far down that she can't even see his eyes, shoulders are slumped, and his hands are clenched beside him. "Well," she prompts, "now you know why I was so angry with you. Do you have anything to say?"

It was a lone droplet hitting the ground, that made Lucy realize the slayer had heard her loud and clear.

Another droplet…. And another, but he continued to sit there unmoving. All the sorry's in the world would still be meaningless. Natsu had no idea that he'd hurt his best friend so badly and it killed him inside. He didn't even believe he had the right to ask for forgiveness.

"I don't know what else to say, except… I'm sorry Lucy... for everything. I-I didn't realize…" he exhales. "I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most and I just hope that one day we'll be able to move past this because I don't want to lose my best friend either." Natsu stands up and turns to leave. "So, I-I'll just leave you alone now."

Lucy stands up and before Natsu reaches the door, grabs him, wrapping her arms around his waist without saying a word. Yes, she was still angry… but that didn't mean she wanted to lose him too. "Don't go," she murmurs against his back. "We've both lost someone we love, and while I'm still upset, I—I need you Natsu."

Natsu squeezes his eyes shut, fighting back another wave of tears. He places a hand on hers. "I promise you Lucy, I will never leave you alone again."