Hi Guys,

I hope to have Chapter 20 up either Sunday or Monday. After that, as I previously stated, the chapters may come more spread out, but hopefully not. I have a tentative schedule, but sometimes I'm just too tired to be creative. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! As always, feel free to review and comment.

- Singed

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Lucy

Swallowing, Lucy turned fully to her bridesmaids, but not before seeing the curious gaze Natsu was sending her.

"What exactly do you wish to discuss, Erza?"

"This morning, while we were showing our beautiful dresses to you, you seemed annoyed and then upset, though you denied both. I am here to clear the air. Were you annoyed and upset with us?" Erza stared her down, silence reigned in the guildhall, or at least their section of it. Natsu had stopped eating, his gaze turning darker as he watched them. For all of his goofiness, he most certainly wasn't stupid and would soon put it together. In that case, it would just pay to be honest.

"Yes Erza, I was upset this morning."

Erza nodded, expecting as much. "What exactly is the nature of your complaint?"

Taking a deep breath to even her tone, Lucy began. "I was upset that three of you made changes to the design of the bridesmaid's dresses without consulting me first. I was expecting to see all three of you in the dresses I had arranged for and seeing them so altered was quite the shock."

"I understand that surprises can be shocking, but to allow us to believe that you were angry with us is rather inconsiderate. Those dresses were beautiful on us and you made us doubt that." A shocked silence stretched, and at some point, during the heavy silence, Lucy stood, though she herself wasn't aware of it.

"I'm inconsiderate? Erza, I have been planning this wedding since the moment Natsu proposed, but more importantly, I have been dreaming about my wedding since I was a little girl. In my daydreams, all of my bridesmaids wore the same dress in the same color. I'm sorry that this is not to your liking but it is my wedding. What makes it even worse is that you never even asked me. You just did it! If I had been given some warning or time to think about it, then maybe I would have agreed to it, but no! You only thought of yourself!"

It was only after Lucy had taken a few gathered breaths that she realized she'd been yelling. Yelling at Erza, directly in her face. Lucy's erect shoulders immediately slouched and she took a step back. Her anger spent, she was on the verge of tears and she couldn't let them see her cry.

Erza crossed her arms over her chest and turned her face to the side. "If that is what you think Lucy, then perhaps I should no longer be your bridesmaid, though I can not speak for Mira or Cana."

"Erza," Mira gasped in horror. Even Cana looked angry at Erza's childish behavior. To everyone involved, they could see that Lucy was in the right. Mira and Cana were rightly ashamed of their actions and had assumed Erza would feel the same. She was always one to admit to her faults, except for this instance it seemed.

Before anyone else could speak though, Natsu stole the show. "Hold up there Erza," he barked as he jumped over the table and landed between Lucy and Erza. He was angry and protective and he was, perhaps for the first time ever, not afraid of Erza.

"I don't know what's gotten into you. Quite frankly I don't care. The truth is that you are the one who should do the apologizing, not Lucy. It is our wedding, and I want my bride to be happy. If she says you all have to wear the same dress, then you have to wear the same dress, end of discussion."

"I will not be spoken to in this manner!"

"Too bad, I just did. For once we're in the right and you're in the wrong. I don't care why you're doing this, though I have a feeling it has to do with the fact that you haven't seen Jellal in six months?" Lucy and the others gaped at Natsu. Jellal was a very sore subject for Erza and even though everything Natsu was saying was accurate, bringing him up was a low blow.

Erza worked her jaw back and forth to quell her temper. "If that is how you feel," she hissed between her teeth, "then I will not darken your special day. I'm afraid I must decline your invitation." With that Erza stormed out and Lucy sat hard.

It was ruined, it was all ruined! Erza needed to be there! She was like her big sister, she had been there from almost the beginning and she wasn't going to be at her wedding because of a dress! A dress!

"Luce," Natsu started. She glared up at him, his face worried and he reached down to help her up.

"No Natsu, don't … don't talk to me for a while. I … I need space." With that, she practically ran for the exit and before she knew it, she was home. She'd been so lost in her emotions that she hadn't even been aware of the time passing. She was happy to discover though that she'd instinctively grabbed her bag from the table when she'd left. She sat it on her couch and then went to the bathroom, where she took a nice long soak, letting her tears mingle with the bathwater. She finally stepped out of the bath when she stopped crying and the water was beginning to chill.

She made herself some mint tea with honey and sat on her bed, sipping and thinking. Originally, her anger had been towards Natsu. It was his actions that caused Erza to make her proclamation, but now that she could really think, her anger and disappointment were back on the real problem, Erza. Honestly, what was with her? She hadn't really been paying attention the last few months, but something had definitely been off with their favorite armored wizard. Lucy's attention had obviously been elsewhere, but if she'd given even a small amount of her focus to Erza, she would have seen it coming.

The small, now obviously snide comments, the lack of enthusiasm, her schedule that was magically always too full for her to help Lucy or any of the other bridesmaids during these last few months. Yep, Natsu had seen what everyone else had overlooked. Erza was jealous, plain, and simple. Not of the man of course, but of the wedding. Lucy now suspected that Erza had always assumed or at least hoped that she'd be the first married.

Sighing, Lucy stood. Took her cup to the sink and retrieved her bag. She pulled the written letters out and placed them with the others in their box and then pulled the parchment and envelope numbered nineteen out and smoothed them on the desk.

Piece 19 - You Held My Hand.

Natsu,

I'd like to start this letter by saying that I'm sorry I took my anger out on you over the Erza thing. It really wasn't your fault. In fact, as you always do, you were only interested in protecting me and for that I thank you. You have always had this uncanny ability to know just how to protect me. Most of the time, it has required your physical strength, but one of the most important times was when all you could do was hold my hand.

We had defeated Hades and were back at base camp. Cana had already told Guildarts that she was his daughter and their reunion was as heartwarming as it was surprising to everyone but me. Though I understood, having been in your shoes just weeks before. Everything appeared to be going as well as it could with so many injured when Achnologia showed up. It still boggles my mind that I thought I knew true power before I encountered him. Everything and everyone paled in comparison next to him.

The next half hour of our lives, while we tried to defeat him and then to simply stop him so we might escape or at least survive, was futile. He was doing nothing but playing with us. I remember how and when the realization of that being it, that we would not leave the island alive after all we'd been through, truly hit me. I was devastated. I have always been a little too obsessed with everything being fair and this was certainly the most unfair way for our brave guild mates, our master, and ourselves to die. We'd beaten the odds and were going to go back to report a victory though no S-Class wizard to join the guild that year when that dragon decided to come in and ruin it.

I just started crying, knowing I was about to die and not wanting the adventure to be over. In my haze of distress, I felt your gaze latch onto me, which made me cry even harder. I had just saved your life! I had just realized that I'd found the person whom I would fall for, though at the time I was thinking physically not emotionally. Anyway, out of all the deaths, imagining yours was by far the worst, including my own. That was when you stepped in and protected me from my own dark thoughts.

"Come on Lucy," you said, holding out your hand and taking mine, "we're not going out crying." It was enough of a reminder of who we were to shake me out of my head. I nodded and everyone else in Fairy Tail followed suit. We all, at that moment, knew that if our destiny was to die then and there to Achnologia, then we were going to die together, holding hands.

I remember looking up as the dragon as he charged up his breath, ready to annihilate us. I remember squeezing your hand and you squeezing mine back. Just as his destructive breath came raining down, I turned to gaze at you for what I thought was the last time. You were still gazing at the dragon. That was fine, I wanted to be able to look without you seeing. I wanted my soul to remember you on the other side as you were at that moment. The person who held my hand because he couldn't do anything more, little knowing that it was exactly what I needed. I simply needed an anchor to ride the storm on. You squeezed my hand harder just as the breath attack struck and I squeezed back. Then everything went white.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, under the trees of Tenrou Island. People were yelling, but it was an excited yell. I remember following the sounds and stumbling out of the forest into a clearing where you were with Jet, Droy, Bisca, Alzac, Max, and Warren. I was confused. How did they get here, how did we get here? Weren't we supposed to be dead? As I approached, I realized that somehow we'd survived and that we were going home. I was so happy, I practically ran the rest of the way, when I got a good look at our newly arrived guildmates. They were the same, but Droy was enormous! I thought it was a spell or a curse, but then I really looked and saw that they were all older. I knew then that something wasn't right. That we might have been saved, but at a mighty cost. I was soon proven right, but my true cost had not yet been revealed, but that is for another letter.

Love,

Lucy

She sighed and sat back. Usually, she'd still be at the guildhall at this hour. Not even thinking of her bed. But after the day she had, she was tempted to forget number twenty and just sleep. Especially since letter 20 would probably prove to be undoing. Still, she'd already cried a lot that day, what was one more bout of tears?

Natsu

The thunder and lightning continued for longer than Natsu would have thought possible. Most thunderstorms didn't last this long. He wondered if it was just a freak of nature or if it was a warning. Natsu wasn't the most perspective person on the planet, but he'd been around enough to start to learn the warning signs the universe liked to give. He didn't necessarily sense anything evil, but the storm did have him nervous.

His thoughts instantly went to Lucy and he hoped that if this storm was a warning, it was about her mood for the next day or so and not some danger she was in. He glanced at the clock lacrima and saw that it was very late. She'd definitely be in bed by now, or well on her way. Besides, without her knowledge, he'd had Freed set up an enchantment around her apartment. Anyone with ill will was not getting into her apartment. Still, he made up his mind that he'd go to see her first thing just to calm his nerves.

As the lightning and thunder continued, Natsu picked up the lacrima and started again.

"Hey Luce, do you hear that? Some storm huh, it's been going for a long time now and I'm beginning to wonder if this is warning me about your mood for the next few days. I really hope that by the morning you've forgiven me about the Erza thing. I was only standing up for you and I hope you understand that Erza was being … well very un-Erza like. Not sure what has gotten into her. I still say she's jealous, but what do I know?"

He sighed and shrugged. "I kind of wish I was there with you right now. I wish I was sleeping by your side, listening to the thunder, knowing that I could protect you. Not that I think anything is going to happen tonight, but still. I always sleep better when we're closer, like when I sneak into your bed at night, or you're in the next room or in the same building. I'm just glad that in five days I get to have you next to me always."

Piece 19 - Holding Your Hand Was All I Could Do.

"Anyway, you're probably wondering what I'm going to be talking about this time. Well, I guess I should take a step back for a moment and explain something so you fully understand where I'm coming from. Gildarts and I were fishing. He, a father figure I needed after Igneel disappeared, had always taken the time to hang out with me. In so many ways I realized that I was the son he never had and when I sometimes thought about my human parents and wondered what they were like, I always pictured his face on the dad. We were having a good time, like always, when we were interrupted by you and Cana. I was happy to see you, but I was a little confused to see Cana, especially when I got her scent. She was very sober, which was weird and she was nervous. I know you can't smell adrenaline, but let me tell you there is no mistaking it. But it's weird, it has a slightly different smell in each situation, scared, hyped, danger, exercise, nervous. Her's was reading nervousness and it was off the charts."

"It quickly became apparent to me that this was a personal conversation and that she had to tell him something important. For a moment, I was worried she was going to tell him that she loved him. That would have been awkward. I mean, Gildart's is awesome so no surprise there and Cana's attractive and everything, but still it would have been weird. So, I was both shocked and relieved when she revealed to Gildart's that he was her father. At first, I thought she might be playing a little joke or something, but the more she talked I realized that she was not trying to trick him. He was her father, which meant that good old Gildarts did have a child and he could now give his fatherly attention elsewhere."

"I was happy for the guy, but to be honest I was a little shocked when he questioned who her mother was. I knew, as did everyone else, that he got around. He was a well-liked and sought after lover and so it made sense that he would ask such a question. But when I heard him confess that Cana's mother Cornelia, had been his wife and the only woman he ever truly loved, I was, for the first time, disappointed his Gildarts. And when I say disappointed, I mean like my hero had basically fallen to mere mortal status, and maybe a little lower."

"I couldn't understand how someone I admired could just allow his wife to leave him. I remember thinking that if the woman I loved tried to leave me, I would have fought for her. I remember knowing deep down that if I fell for someone outside of the guild, as he had, and she was leaving me because I worked too much, I would have left. I would have hated it, but I would have done it, for her. Because she was the most important thing to me, even more, important than my guild. That was when I remember deciding that I wouldn't fall in love with anyone outside of the guild."

Natsu smiled at the lacrima. "I didn't realize at the time that I was already well on the way to falling for a guildmate, so I didn't really have to worry. Anyway, we made it back to camp and as we walked I remember still thinking about it. I realized that I would always be there for her, whoever she turned out to be. I would fight for her, die for her, live for her, comfort her, and always be there, even if I really couldn't do anything. Amazingly, or a joke of fate, that I ended up doing the last one just a few hours later as I watched Acnologia rise above us, ready to obliterate us with his massive powerful breath. I remember thinking about what I could possibly do. I remember wondering how I was going to save us and realized with a bitter yet clear understanding that there was nothing I could do. That was when I heard you crying."

Natsu stopped and let out a long heavy breath. "That, that moment killed me more than all the rest. I was more upset over the fact that I couldn't save you from this dragon and that you were crying than all of the wrongness we had just fought through and our impending doom. So, I did the only thing I could. I grabbed your hand and told you that we weren't going out crying. I would stay by your side until the end. I was glad to see that everyone in our group felt the same."

Natsu smiled softly and shook his head. "I felt your eyes gazing at me while I watched the dragon rise. I was tempted to turn to you, to gaze back, but for some reason, the thought of doing so scared me. I think because if I had, I might have been forced to realize my feelings for you. I might have even been crazy enough to kiss you or something like it. Still, just as the bomb dropped, as it were, I squeezed your hand as you squeezed mine and I knew that even if this was the end, I didn't want to have it end any other way." There was a short but perfect moment of silence as Natsu relieved that very brief, possibly last second of his life

"Of course, it didn't end like that, thank goodness. We all survived to live another day, we just had to wait seven years to do it. I kind of wish we didn't have to pay that price, you more than the rest, but hey sometimes you just have to take what you can get." One last loud boom shook the house as the thunderstorm wore itself out. Natsu could tell it was the last. Most of the storm was already gone, this was the tail end, but if his ears were right, and they were hardly ever wrong, another one was on its way. Yeah, he'd definitely be checking in with Lucy tomorrow.

"Anyway Luce. I have to go. I'll record one last piece tonight and then I'll be heading to bed. See you soon." He shut off the lacrima and went back to the door. Happy should have been back by now, but with the storm, he probably decided to stay where he was until it passed. If Happy wasn't back soon though, he'd have to go looking.