He offered his home to Happy and Lucy, which they gladly accepted.

He'd had zero plans for that night other than them staying in the master suite he'd made for Lucy previously. He was going to stay in a spare room.

But, with Lucy having her memories, he refused to leave her side other than to bathe, which he'd teasingly accepted causing her to blush again.

Oh, how he'd missed flustering her! Her light did funny things when she was embarrassed.

Happy was more protective of Lucy this time as she was his "mother" figure. Natsu had grinned as Happy insisted that he watch the door between the two rooms.

He talked to the young Exceed for a while, both agreeing that Lucy had to be kept safe. They were both her protectors.

Happy liked that about Natsu. He didn't treat Happy like a kit. Natsu knew the Exceed was strong and fierce when needed.

Happy knew he could trust Natsu to protect Lucy and Natsu knew he could trust Happy.

To Happy's great amusement, Natsu was all for teasing Lucy and they started as soon as she left the bathroom.

Lucy had stared at them for a moment, flashing back to their previous lives. When she came back to herself, she started crying again and rushed over to her boys and held them close.

Happy told her she was weird per Natsu's stories of teasing her before. She tried to laugh and sob at the same time.

Natsu grinned ear to ear, partly because she was once again blinding him.

They eventually settled into the bed Natsu had picked. It was the same as Lucy's had been before just bigger.

Natsu cuddled her close, wrapping himself around her. She snuggled into him as well, finally feeling like she was home. Happy slept by their heads for a while before moving to the foot of the bed.

Lucy woke the next morning with Natsu sleeping on her stomach and Happy on top of his head. She giggled at her favorite boys and ran her fingers through their hair or fur.

She was concerned with Natsu's age and life expectancy though. Why would he want to be with her if he was going to outlive her? Why put himself through all this just to make her happy? She really didn't understand.

He got Fairy Tail back together for her. He had deliberately done things at a certain time to make sure everyone was there by the time she got there. He'd made sure Fairy Tail existed for them to come to. He'd made sure his brother was on the right track. All of it with the purpose of getting back to her.

She loved him even more for it, but she didn't understand why she was so special to him.

400 years. He could be anywhere else with anyone else doing whatever he wanted, and he'd chosen her. Was she really worth it? Was she worthy of his devotion?

No. She was a spoiled brat before, she still was now. She still had a temper. She still hated swamps and anything to do with Vulcans. Stupid leeches and perverted monkeys were out to get her, she just knew it.

If Natsu could read her mind, she was positive he'd be rolling on the floor by now.

She knew he would also scold her for her negative thinking. He'd never been angry with her, but he really didn't like it when she got down on herself.

Natsu and Happy stirred from their spots, with Happy digging his claws into Natsu's head accidentally as he stretched. Natsu took it in stride and grinned up at Lucy, brightening her dim thoughts. Gods, did she love the goofball.

After breakfast, Happy flew off to the guild to spend time with the pretty cat. "Maybe she likes fish, too!" Lucy and Natsu laughed, it was good to know that somethings just weren't going to change.

As promised, Natsu spent the rest of the day explaining everything starting at the final fight with Zeref that sent them back through time. They both agreed that being born was possibly the strangest thing they could remember.

She laughed when he tried to explain his parents' wondrous failure at trying to get him married. They hoped the girl, who Natsu tried to remember her name but came up short, lived happily. Natsu hadn't seen her afterwards so he honestly didn't know.

He told her about his parents and their deaths. He promised to take her to their graves soon. He had to show her off! They would've loved her.

He had every intention of introducing her to Zeref, officially. He wasn't worried. Zeref was a gentle soul by nature so the fact that he was given a death curse had driven him nuts before. With Natsu combating it with him, he'd been able to keep himself sane and generally happy.

He told her all about the dragons again, which she mostly knew already. This time there was better information, and no one was searching for them because they already knew where the dragons were.

He told her about the Ethereals and specifically his tribe. He told her he was going to take her one day. She'd protested about the volcano, but he assured her it wouldn't harm her.

He was absolutely intoxicated by her at this point. He'd held her close in his lap, nuzzling her to reassure her when needed. He'd also taken to kissing the top of her head but quickly moved to her temple which was easier to reach.

She sighed into him, smiling but still hesitating.

They hadn't kissed yet. She wanted to. He wanted to. She knew he wanted to, and he knew she wanted to. But he also knew she was still worrying over their age difference and how he was going to outlive her, by a long shot.

He was getting there. She wasn't going to kiss him until she knew. He wasn't done yet. He was saving the best for last.

He told her about his and Zeref's journey to set the future as close to right as they could get it. To do things better and make sure no one suffered for their mistakes. It couldn't always be helped in some cases, but the damage had been lessened significantly.

They wanted Acnologia dealt with before Zeref and Mavis died. They knew when he would show up. Now, they had to wait him out.

Natsu finally started talking about Ethereal demons and their mates. Lucy had tensed as Natsu was not hiding his intentions. She knew what he meant. She was his mate and that was why he'd come for her.

Upon hearing that he would only have one for his entire life, she'd been incredulous.

"How is that fair? I'm a human! I won't live 10,000 years! I won't even see the next 100 years!" she cried hopelessly. She loved him and wanted to be with him more than anything, but this was only going to break his heart in the long run to only have love for such a short time in his long life.

He smiled at his adorable mate. It was a conversation all the Ethereals had had at some point. Now it was his turn.

"Weirdo," he grinned.

"Natsu!" she whined back. Why did he always have to do this? Make light of her feelings as though she was worrying over nothing. This was serious!

He nuzzled her again, smiling as she instinctively melted back into his embrace. He left his forehead against hers as he told her softly, "You're worrying too much."

"No, I'm n-" she tried to fuss before he interrupted her.

"Yes, you are. Do you think I'd be telling you that you're my mate if I was going to outlive you by that much? I could never hurt you like that."

She opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. She was so confused; she couldn't help the tears that fell.

He trailed kisses all over her face before stopping at her lips. He nuzzled her again. "I really hope you're in love with me," he said softly, "because you're going to be stuck with me for a very long time."

He paused for only a moment before finishing, "Ethereal demons' mates live for as long as their mate does." His signature grin got wider as she finally understood.

She looked into his eyes as her tears fell again. They could be together. They were going to be together.

Their lips finally met.

**** Greetings, Y'all! OMG! The fluff in this chapter... Oh well. It was fun. I'm not usually a fan of this much mushy stuff. Anyways! I hope y'all enjoyed it. I'm going to see if I can get the next chapter up tonight or tomorrow. REALLY hoping I can get it done tonight though. Y'all be careful and have fun!