Piece by Piece

Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. No copyright intended. I do own the story line, because I made that all up with my brain.

Natsu's P.O.V

I look up at the night sky and sigh enjoying the night air. I just couldn't settle down for the night, I had to go for a walk there's way too much crap on my mind to let me chill the hell out. Happy was starting to get annoyed by me getting angry for no particular reason as I tried to lay down for bed, and I don't blame him. There really is no reason for me to act out that way but I'm just irritated at myself because the one thing that I can't seem to get out of my mind is none other than my ex girlfriend, Lisanna Strauss. I know that it has been 6 months since our break up but it's still hard for me sometimes, if only she'd feel the same but no, she doesn't. She's too busy having her happily ever after with Bixlow to ever really pay attention to me. Yeah, sure we stayed "friends" , if you even want to call it that, for the guild's sake but underneath the exterior, we can't stand each other anymore. We didn't necessarily end things on bad terms, we both had mutual ground for breaking things up. She's a jealous kind of girl, I swear, I can't even remember how many times Lisanna would bitch at me for hanging out with Lucy. And my problem, I am way too oblivious to like everything. I didn't understand what got her panties in a wad, she'd always accuse me of shit with Luce, which is stupid cause she is my best friend and nothing more. I'd always tell Lisanna that too but it was no use sometimes, she'd still think something was up between us. But that shit stopped right as soon as Lucy started dating Sting, about 3 months after Lisanna and I got together.

Funny how that works. Anyways, I don't really know what all happened with me but when I first saw Luce kissing Sting after the 6 months they've been together and Sting was moving his hands up her shirt to cop a feel, in public might I add for everyone to see, it just pissed me off to no end. I had to refrain from kicking the living piss out of him for even daring to touch her like that. Lisanna saw the whole thing, she dragged me out of the guild that day to get away from Sting before I kill him, she demanded an explanation to why I acted that way. I had thought that maybe I did that cause he was publicly groping my best friend, humiliating and degrading her and that shit isn't cool but when Lisanna stood there waiting for an answer, the words died on my tongue. When I couldn't give her one, she told me that we needed to go on a break from each other. And well, that's the end of that, we never got back together, technically broke up right then and there. She found comfort in Bixlow of all people which makes little sense since they've barely talked to each other before, but I guess life's crazy like that. The unexpected can happen at any point in time. And well me, I've been dealing with it in my own way, Luce has helped me through the brunt of it and even though she is with Sting, she continues to be there for me. Even if he complains about cutting time off from him, she doesn't care, she tells him to shut up most of the time and is there for me. Her loyalty as my best friend is something that I admire, I repay her with that same fierce loyalty tenfold.

Even in times like these when the break-up still bothers me some, she's there for me. I honestly don't understand why it still bugs me but it does, I mean it's been 6 months, I have gotten a lot better than how I was but I feel like there's something deeper that's bothering me. Not even about the break-up with Lisanna but the reason behind it, I don't know, I'm just wandering around confused by my own mind. That's why I'm actually headed towards Luce's house right now, there is a shortcut through the park to get to her place and that's where I'm at now. I know it's late at night but if I know anything about Lucy, she is probably up cuddling up to Sting on her couch watching movies, besides she won't mind an extra visitor. Hell, I'd show up un announced before Sting ever came into the picture, I'm sure it'll be fine now. As I get closer to the park, I can see two silhouettes of people, a man and a woman and from the sounds of it they are in an argument. I look around me and see other passerby's looking in their direction, shaking their heads at the lover's quarrel. I heard the woman yelling and my eyes widened in recognition as I got close enough to see the said woman dressed in nothing but her pajamas, a black tank top and hot pink shorts, her golden blonde hair tied up in a messy bun with flip flops on. Her eyes showing nothing but pure disbelief and anger. I know that woman anywhere, it's Lucy. I was wrong, she is not snuggling with her boyfriend watching movies, what's happening before me is anything but. I hid behind a tree that's about a few feet away from them so they don't see me, I want to know what's going on, I'm worried about her. I've rarely seen Lucy this pissed off and when she is, I fear for the other dragon slayer's life that her anger is directed at.

"Say sorry all you want Sting, it doesn't change what you've done, what you both have done. I trusted the both of you with my entire heart, without a single doubt. How could you have done that when you claim to be so in love with me?! Who are you lying to?! Me or yourself!"

What is she talking about? What the hell did Sting do to betray her so badly?! I saw him try to go near her but she backed away. I could see the tears she's fighting back, it's all written on her face, Luce isn't one to hide her emotions. She lets you know how she truly feels, all you have to do is pay close attention, that is, if you care about her as much as I do. I don't like seeing her this hurt, I'll teach Sting a lesson but I need to hear more so I can know just the right kind of pain I should put that son of a bitch in.

"I know this is hard for you, it is for me to. Believe it or not, I just wanted you to know and understand why things happened the way they-"

She got more pissed off and held up a hand, cutting him off from whatever he was going to say. I can see how irritated and furious she is every time he talks to her. She then got in her classic Lucy Heartfilia pose, letting him know just how angry she is, arms crossed on her chest, lip out in an angered pout, hip out to the left. I have to admit she looks cute when she's pissed off but not so much if you're on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Oh I understand perfectly. What we had was epic but your just not feeling it anymore, am I right? Did I miss something?!"

He tried to take her hands in his and she wiped them away, getting more pissed off at him daring to touch her. I don't blame her, I'd do the same shit. Am I seriously hearing her right? He's breaking up with her. What the hell is he thinking?! Here he has this amazing woman standing before him and he wants to leave her?! God damn, he must be a special kind of stupid.

"Lucy, it's not like that!" He yelled back at her, getting mad himself.

Lucy just threw her hands up in the air, annoyed at him and took a breath before yelling at him once more. Oh no, this could be bad.

"Then please Sting, tell me what it's like?! I've had enough of your excuses. You don't want me anymore, fine! You want her now instead? By all means, have the bitch! I'm done with this conversation."

She yelled finally, waving him off like he is disgusting to her and tried to storm off, stomping away still fuming mad. To anyone else they would just see a couple in a heated argument and the man saying something that he shouldn't have to piss the girl off but me, I see through that mask she's putting on. Inside she's about to break. Now, I understand why. He cheated on her. I end up clutching the tree too hard and break off a chunk of bark, then follow them a little way, I see Sting catch up to her and pull her back to him. Lucy's cheeks are puffed out in anger as her brow furrows, Sting's brow is furrowed to but his gaze softens as he sees what I see. A tear managed to escape Lucy's eyes.

"Lucy, don't walk away when I'm talking to you. I don't want to lose you completely, your still very important to me."

She laughed bitterly at him, "Then you should have thought about that before you did what you did."

"Lucy, please, I just want to be friends again." He pleaded.

She cried even more, losing control of her emotions, "I can't be just friends with you."

Her voice was so broken it caught Sting off guard, he let go of her and just looked at her dumbfounded. I watched as she just turned and ran away leaving him there to look like the idiot he is. I crossed my arms and just watched as he started to slowly walk away, my head was down until he passed me without paying attention.

I scuffed, "Seriously Sting, how much of a complete and utter moron are you?"

He turned around to see who is talking to him and when he saw me, I saw him twitch in irritation.

"Natsu? What the hell are you doing here? Wait, don't answer that, you're always around like a damn fly on the wall. Look I don't have time for whatever bullshit you are just dying to say to me. So just leave me alone."

I uncrossed my arms and spit at the ground. I walked up to him so we were face to face and I squared up as he did so first. I'd love a fight with this asshole but right now Lucy needs me, she means a hell of a lot more to me than this piece of shit in front of me.

"Hey, I'm not going to start anything. Whatever bitch you fucked behind Lucy's back is your business. But let me tell you this, don't you dare come crawling back to her once your done using up your little play thing. Because I know for a fact you will probably get bored and try coming right back to Luce, I strongly caution you against that, that is if you value your pathetic life." I said, my voice low and dangerous with a hint of utter hatred for this man.

Sting breathed through his nostrils in anger, "Careful what you say, Natsu. Don't want to end up dead before you can get to your precious Lucy."

That's it, I punched him square in the face and sent him flying.

"How fucking dare you disrespect her like that?! I thought you loved her!" I screamed in anger as I ran to throw another punch.

"I do fucking love her! But shit got complicated and I ended up making a mistake with Yukino! Everything is so fucked up and confusing right now, I thought ending things with Lucy would be the right thing to do, before I could hurt her anymore than I already have. I think that I've fallen for Yukino now." He explained through angered tears as he catches my fist in his hand.

"Yukino?! Her best gal pal besides Levy?! Are you fucking serious?! What the hell is wrong with you Sting! There is a line you do not cross, and you just jumped and hopped into bed with it." I said totally dumbfounded on how he could have cheated on Luce, with one of her best friends nonetheless.

He grunted in anger and threw his arms up, a trait he picked up from Luce no doubt. "It didn't happen like that, Natsu!"

"I do not give a shit how it happened or why it happened. I just know that you undeniably broke my best friend, you shattered her heart like it meant nothing to you. What do you have to say for yourself?!"

He put his head down, "There's nothing to say, I know what I've done is unforgivable. I just love her so much, I couldn't lie to her anymore. I never wanted to hurt her."

"Yeah well, you did." I said, stating the obvious, just to make him feel more like the bastard that he is.

He sighed, "I know."

I sighed and shook my head, "What's done is done. Just get out of here, I need to go check on her."

He nodded and started to walk away but before he could get far, I yelled back to him.

"Oh and Sting!"

"Yeah?!" He asked, turning around to face me.

"Don't ever let me catch you around her again." My voice laced with warning.

Sting just nodded, gulped a bit, knowing just how serious I am and then took off. Hopefully back to Crocus, far away from Magnolia and more importantly far away from Lucy. After making sure that Sting is long gone, I ran over to Lucy's, hopefully she isn't taking this too hard. I got there in about 5 minutes and the first thing I hear is a heart wrenching scream and sob coming from her window. My own heart clenches as I know that pain, granted I didn't feel as badly as Lucy did but I still know what it's like. I'm quick to climb up my way up the tree to her bedroom window, knowing how just by instinct after doing it so many times before, then jump through her window and what I see, shocks me. Her apartment is literally trashed and this time I didn't do it, her bed is bare of sheets, just a mattress and box spring lay there naked as shreds of the cloth make their way out of her bedroom to the living room like a trail. I see her lying there curled up in a ball, clutching on to what looks like a piece of Sting's shirt that he must have left behind. There are picture frames with broken glass littering her living room floor, the couch cushions are brought up and thrown every which way, shreds of clothing and sheets everywhere. Oh Lucy.

"Luce?" I said quietly, touching her shoulder and squatting down next to her.

Her sob immediately stop as she looks at me in shock, unaware that anyone else was here.

"Oh Natsu. I didn't know you were here."

She sits right up and wipes away her tears furiously, she stands up a little shaky, I reach out to catch her but she doesn't take my arms to steady herself. She notices the state her home is and blushed in embarrassment, then quickly starts to pick up the shreds of cloth.

"I'm sorry about the mess, I was just um-" I cut her off by just taking her hands, making her let go of the cloths.

I pulled her into a hug, "Hey, I already know. I was on my way over to talk about a problem I've been having, I took my usual shortcut through the park and I saw everything."

She pulled out of the hug, wide eyed. "Oh I-I'm sorry you had to see that."

She bit her lip, ashamed at her behavior earlier. I shook my head at her, letting her know that it's perfectly alright with how she acted.

She nodded then pouted, "Oh, well, enough about me. What was your problem?"

I watched as she tried to collect herself again to give me her full attention as my best friend but I noticed that lip quiver and those tears threatening to break the surface.

"Don't worry about it, Luce. I'm here for you now, so get your stubborn little ass over here and use me as your personal tissue."

I told her arms open for a hug, she tried to smile but failed as she just came over to me and started to cry once more. Her knees became weak and she almost fell over but I picked her up and carried her to bed, I laid her down on her mattress and took off my coat so she can use it as a makeshift blanket for now. I got into bed beside her and pulled her up to me, my back leaning against her headboard as she lays curled up in a ball between my legs, my arms holding her in place as she cries her heart out on my bare chest. After what seems like hours upon hours and my chest is successfully drowning in Lucy's tears, she stops crying all together and grows quiet, exhausting herself.

"Natsu?" She says, her voice hoarse from all the screams and sobs.

"Hmm.." I ask, eyes closed as I rest my chin on the top of her head.

"After everything that he and I have been through, I can't find where we went wrong. I just don't understand what I did wrong."

I hug her to me tighter, "You did nothing wrong, Luce. Sting is just a jerk that can't see past his nose."

She laughed a little, "I can't argue with that. He's always being...stupid."

I know why she paused, her mind is going down memory lane, I did the same thing when Lisanna broke up with me. I shook her a little to get her attention, she looked up at me. Her once beautiful honey brown eyes now red and puffy from crying so much but even as she is wracked with so much pain, she still looks as beautiful as ever to me.

"Hey, if it counts for anything, I totally pushed the asshole in the face on your behalf after you ran home."

She laughed at that, her usual upbeat melodic laugh, a little scratchy and hoarse than usual but it was still there. I smiled knowing the fact that even in her darkest moments, I can still manage to make her laugh and smile.

"I bet you ruined that pretty boy face of his." She commented with a giggle.

"You know it, Luce. I rearranged his stupid smug face, just for you." I chuckled along with her.

She giggled again and then after a bit the laughter died down as she hugged me a little tighter, getting lost in her thoughts again. Noticing her change of mood, I immediately became concerned

"What's wrong, Luce?"

She shook her head a little, "Nothing it's just, can you stay with me tonight?"

I looked at her a little shocked, it's been forever since I stayed overnight with her. Noticing my confusion she sighed.

"Please Natsu, I don't want to be alone." Her voice was quiet but I heard her anyways.

I hugged her, "Of course, Luce. I'll stay right here, I promise."

She nodded at me, giving a small thank you before snuggling against me to let sleep come. It wasn't long before the exhaustion of the night kicked in and she fell fast asleep on me. When I was sure that she had fallen asleep, I got out of bed carefully not to wake her. I draped my coat over her body and knelt by her bedside and wiped away her tear stained face and brushed away the stray hairs getting in her face. I then kissed her on the forehead and quietly left her bedroom, closing the door behind me. I then sighed as I looked at the disaster of her living room, then got started cleaning everything up. I grabbed a trash bag from under her kitchen sink then started to pick up all the shredded cloth and pictures, their frames and carefully picked up every shard of glass on her carpet. I tied the bag up and put it next to her front door, I then put the cushions back on the couch and dusted off the couch before I vacuumed the remainder of her living room. Satisfied with how I managed to clean up her place, I sat down on the couch with a sigh. Damn it, looks like I'm gonna have to dig into my food money that I have stashed away to buy Lucy some new bedding. But I don't mind, I'll help her in any way that I can and she knows it. She has always been there for me, even when I never asked her to be, it didn't matter, I can always count on her.

And I'll make damned sure that she can always depend on me, we have always been this way with each other. It's not going to change just because we've had a few relationships and bumps in the road, we are still the best of friends. That is something I value more than anything, no one has really constantly shown me that I can count on them, that's why she's so special to me. Lisanna couldn't understand that, I don't think anyone but Lucy can, in all reality. That doesn't matter though, as long as we're on the same page. Thinking about how she handled the situation with me when Lisanna broke up with me, she laid right into Lisanna about hurting me the way that she did. Just like how she was there for me, I'll be here for her to fix the damage that Sting has done to her, every step of the way, no matter how long it takes. Sting is going to wish that he never broke her heart but I'm just going to sit back and let karma give him what he deserves. I won't even have to lift a finger.

End of Natsu's P.O.V