Something had happened the day before to Natsu, and Lucy knew it for a multitude of reasons. For one, she'd felt it, that confusion and anger the day before. She'd been chatting with Juvia, waving at Gray as he left, when it had happened. Secondly, the first thing he'd done upon coming back to the guildhall a few hours later had been to go to Makarov's office, something that had quieted the guildhall and interested everyone. Thirdly, he'd spent the rest of his evening talking with Lisanna. They'd chatted late enough that Lucy had gone to bed in the room Mirajane had sent her to within the guildhall before he'd probably finished, a little envious. She missed talking with him like that.
Now, he was finishing off with immense self-inflicted frustration, longing, and uncertainty - staring at Lucy occasionally from where he remained in the very same bar seat he'd been in the night before. Happy had ditched him the moment Lucy came downstairs, purring in greeting, and Lucy had greeted the blue feline warmly. He had a special place in her heart, that cat. Without him...Lucy wasn't sure what she'd have done during her time away from Magnolia.
Eventually after she'd eaten breakfast, Lucy made the decision to approach him. She was tired of the staring and everything else, and knew everyone else was watching them. Including a sharp, eagle-eyed Mirajane, who thought she could fix whatever trust had been lost between them.
"Alright," she sighed, sliding into the seat beside him. She was careful not to touch him. "What is it? You keep staring at me, and it's a little creepy, if I'm being honest."
Natsu pressed his mouth into a hard line, searching her gaze warily. "I ran into a pooka yesterday," he finally said, and that frustration and uncertainty vanished like smoke dissipating in the air. Lucy wondered why he'd not just approached her like he normally did. Then again, she struggled with figuring out if she could go to him for things like she had before, too. Her impatience disappeared. He'd merely been lost as to how to come to her with information...but, at the very least, he'd wanted to tell her.
"A pooka?" Lucy was confused. She'd not yet heard of those despite almost three years of mythical education.
"Shape-shifters. You can tell what they're going to do by their colors; black ones mean mischief and misfortune, and white ones mean good luck and kindness," Natsu fired off without hesitation before continuing his tale. "I ran into one, and that one turned out to be a couple dozen. They've surrounded Magnolia. The one I spoke with said they're attracted to some kind of black magic. I don't know what the source is, but...they told me that they'd not go into town, but if someone went into the trees…" He grimaced, and Lucy did, too. It was on the shoulders of whoever went into the woods at that point. "Makarov's sent out a warning to the town, so hopefully there won't be any idiots who go out. Especially 'cause it said that there are other mythics coming."
Gooseflesh prickled at her skin. "What kind of other mythics?"
"I don't know." Natsu looked bothered by that. When it came to situations like this, he tended to know a lot. But now… He clenched his jaw, clearly having a suspicion but refusing to admit it aloud.
So, Lucy did. "Acnologia," she said softly. "Do you think it's him?"
"It kept talking about how it wanted to devour that magic, and how the magic wanted to devour it in turn," admitted Natsu, tracing his finger idly along the bar to engrave more of the demonic language into its surface. The action settled him a little. "Yeah. It's probably him. He's probably just sitting out there waiting."
Lucy huffed softly, tapping her fingers on the bar. "We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose." She rocked back in her seat as Happy jumped onto the bar, prowling along until he could settle on the surface between them. Lucy reached out and scratched his chin; Natsu uttered a greeting, too distracted to focus much more on his familiar. After a few moments, Lucy said, "Did you not want to tell me?"
He shot her an angry look for the suggestion. "No," he said, insulted. His temper flared. "Why does everyone assume I don't want to tell you things like that? Just because you lied to me doesn't mean I'm going to do the same."
Lucy winced, his words cutting her like knives. "Sorry," she muttered.
He glared at her for a few moments before jerking his gaze away from her. He dragged Happy to him, digging his fingers gently into his fur to keep him grounded. "You make everything weird. I didn't know how to tell you. I even had to ask."
"I make everything weird?" Lucy gaped, annoyed. "You're just as much at fault, Natsu. You're the one who couldn't handle being around me for longer than necessary and wandered off into a pooka-infested forest, if you can recall."
Smoke shot from his nose and he rumbled a low sound of anger. "At least I'm trying to figure it out," he retorted. "You just sit there and talk about the weather with Gray and Juvia."
Lucy scowled, ready to fire back a comment, but suddenly paused, frowning. Understanding shot through her. That was why he'd chatted for so long with Lisanna. He'd sought her expertise when he couldn't go to Lucy. While that was somewhat painful for her to realize, she supposed he had a point. He'd been trying to not necessarily fix what had broken between them, but had been attempting to figure out how to work around it.
Putting a hand over her face, Lucy sighed heavily, tired. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "You're right." He didn't puff up with triumph like she expected, for she ever so rarely admitted such a thing in situations like this. Instead he merely grunted, not pleased that he had been right at all. "Look," she said, dropping her hand and not caring about the sting of pain that shot through it when it struck the bar. "We need to sit down and talk. Not with other people, but with each other. We need to sit down, and be honest, and figure out how this is going to work, because if we keep this up, it doesn't matter that we're both working towards the same goal. We're going to lose. We can't be what Layla and Igneel were, or Acnologia and Anna. Or people are going to die again. And not only that...I've got your Marks, Natsu. We're going to be tied together until further notice. We may as well make it not so hard to deal with."
Natsu puffed out a cloud of smoke. "So talk," he muttered.
"I'm not having this conversation now," she retorted. "Look at Mira; she's eavesdropping already." She shot the silver-haired mythic a dark look, and Mirajane grinned, flushing in embarrassment. It was very clear she'd been listening in.
Natsu wrinkled his nose, studying Mirajane in annoyance, and then just to piss her off, began carving more ancient symbols into her bar. Mirajane glowered at him for it, annoyed. "Fine," he muttered, huffing again. "We'll talk tonight. And you can tell Loke to stay out of it. I don't care that he started it; it's none of his business."
Lucy nodded her agreement.
It was nerve-wracking, having to sit there all day and anticipate what would likely be a very frustrating and emotional conversation. Lucy had chewed her lip raw by the time most had left the guildhall. Natsu was nowhere to be found, but Lucy got the feeling he'd gone upstairs to wait in the room she was using. She might have procrastinated a little by helping Mirajane and Lisanna wipe down tables. Even if she'd been the one to decide this was something they needed to do, it didn't mean she wanted to.
Eventually, there was nothing left to do, however, and Lucy forced herself to bid those lingering a good night. Mirajane flashed her a comforting smile, knowing what she was going to do, and apparently she'd told Lisanna. The younger Strauss gave her a kind look and a thumbs up.
Stars above, how embarrassing to realize everyone knew what you were going upstairs to suffer through.
Natsu gave her a sharp, accusing look when she slid into her temporary room, Happy perched on the bed he leaned against, right beside his head. He chirped a greeting as Lucy kicked the door shut behind her and locked it, not wanting anyone to interrupt them. "I know, I know," muttered Lucy, not bothering to apologize. She was too nervous now to do so.
She settled in front of him, spine straight, and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. Her fingers brushed the keys she carried, and they were gentle in their searing heat, comforting and reassuring her. She was doing a good thing, even if she was likely going to hurt at some point during this conversation.
After a few heartbeats of awkward silence, Natsu said firmly, "No lies." She met his gaze, unsurprised. "No more lies. I don't care if it's about what you ate for breakfast. No more lies."
"No more lies," agreed Lucy willingly, sighing softly in relief. She could do that. "Not an excuse, but I didn't lie about anything else. Only that. I tried not to do it with anything else, Natsu."
"Doesn't matter now. No more lies." His eyes burned into hers, and she nodded again.
Reasonable.
The conversation continued in such ways, and as time passed, the awkwardness faded. Both were serious in what they discussed, working out kinks that had formed with care. Natsu was pleasantly (and surprisingly) gentle but firm about what he wanted from her, and Lucy gave him the same respect. By the time some clock out in the town rang midnight, the awkwardness was gone entirely. There was no lingering uncertainty, no hesitation. They had agreed on the same things: no lying, they would discuss things before making choices that affected one another, anything big that happened was to be told to one another before even Makarov or another Keeper, and, with shocking playfulness, they'd agreed on shared custody of a purring Happy.
They readdressed more serious matters, too, such as what Natsu would do if what the Fates and the Dullahan claimed were true happened, and what Lucy would do if she found herself in Acnologia's clutches. Natsu was to do everything in his power to not destroy Crocus - an easy decision on his part - and Lucy had pleasantly surprised him by saying with sincerity that she'd trust he'd show up to help no matter what. He'd even gone so far as to hesitantly apologize for what he'd done to her apartment - what he'd done to her during his fit of rage. She'd forgiven him, of course, but both knew it would be a long, long time before she didn't trust his flames without pause.
And then, of course, Natsu took the conversation in an entirely different direction and shocked the hell out of her, turning things awkward again.
"I can't kiss you anymore, right?" He was eyeing her critically, thoughtful, and Lucy couldn't tell if he was questioning the obligation to do so or if he wanted to do it and wasn't sure if he was allowed to. That had been his biggest struggle, she'd found; he wanted to interact with her like they once had, or at least attempt to, but his lack of knowledge on what was acceptable had prevented him from doing so.
Her face burned a brilliant red, and a hint of a smirk tugged at Natsu's mouth. "I don't know," she admitted, rubbing her burning cheeks as if it would soothe away the heat that had sparked. "I guess that's up to you." She loved him; she'd said it aloud, still willingly admitted it. She loved him fiercely and didn't think she'd ever care so much for anyone else if she really did lose him. If she survived, that was. She stoked that burning, searing flame that had been so oddly quiet for the last few months, silently showing him her opinion. If he wanted that type of relationship, she was all for it, awkwardness and all. But if he didn't...if he wanted to just remain companions and nothing more...that was okay, too.
She loved Natsu, and would take whatever he'd give her, if only because she couldn't imagine life without him anymore.
Natsu was quiet for a long moment, debating how to go around such a thing. Lucy wondered what he was thinking; he felt calm, wasn't angry at all anymore, and even the sadness that occasionally shocked through her was gone.
Finally, he surprised her again. "I've never loved anyone."
Lucy blinked, remembering their conversation in Yukino's cottage. This was turning out to be rather similar.. "Of course you have. You loved Igneel and Zeref, Natsu. Their betrayals wouldn't have hurt so badly if you didn't."
He considered that for a few seconds. "So that means I loved you, too, right?"
Her heart missed a beat, and he shot her a curious look, entirely unsure of what it meant. His brow furrowed at the pain that briefly raced through her. Past tense. "I don't know," she repeated. "That's up for you to decide. I...can't tell you what you feel, Natsu."
He furrowed his brow. "You have before."
"That's entirely different," she protested, but he glared at her accusingly, rather childlike for a moment as he silently declared otherwise. Biting her lip, she said, "Maybe you did love me." Fighting back her reluctance to admit it to him, she told him honestly in a shaking voice, "I know I still lovey you."
He stared at her for a long moment. She thought a ghost of a smile crossed his feature. "Weirdo. What kind of idiot loves a demon?" he declared almost fondly, and she gave a choked-sounding laugh, fighting the tears that had begun to gather in her eyes for some reason. Why was she crying?
Natsu furrowed his brow, showing the same confusion. "Don't cry," he huffed, looking unhappy with it. "Why are you crying?"
"Good question," Lucy murmured, hastily wiping at her eyes.
He debated what to do, studying her uncertainly again, and then shrugged to himself. "Well, stop," he muttered, mockingly cross. He startled her when he reached out and pushed her hands away so he could brush the tears away himself. It only made it worse, and a small sob fled her at the familiar warm touch. The burns he'd left the last time he'd been close like this seared on her skin, but she didn't care.
Lucy lurched forward, slamming into him. Natsu grunted, wincing as he knocked his head awkwardly against the end of the solid wood bed frame he leaned against. "Watch it, Luce," he muttered, and she only cried harder. He huffed, smoke puffing out in frustration. Everything he was doing only made it worse. Normally, it would have made it better.
Still, he found himself settling fully for the first time since the start of the year. He tucked her close to him and buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of pure Lucy. She slid her arms around her neck, pressing her own into his scarf-clad throat as his fingers wove into gold. He hated the way his own eyes started burning. He'd missed this kind of thing with her. As angry as he'd been, she was still Lucy, and he liked the way she felt against him, the way her touch burned, the way she fit perfectly beneath his chin. Even more so, he liked the way she was Lucy.
Lucy's fingers remained tangled in his clothes and scarf as they lingered like that for some time. When she'd finally calmed herself to a functional level, she forced herself to sit back a little, reluctant to let go of him. She didn't know when she'd get to do such a thing again.
At least, Natsu didn't seem bothered by the proximity. He even settled back against the bed, letting her linger there, half in his lap. His fingers remained just barely touching her skin. Happy was still perched by his head, purring loudly in a pleased manner, as if he was relieved that they were interacting in such a way.
Lucy took a shaken breath, feeling a lot lighter than she had in some time. "Sorry," she croaked.
He grunted, rolling his eyes, and then glanced at Happy when the blue feline crept down onto his shoulder and then into Lucy's lap. She buried her fingers in his fur, murmuring something even Natsu couldn't catch to the familiar. He watched them for a moment in silent thought, and she felt the burn in his chest that wouldn't die down.
A few moments later, he rumbled, "Hey, Luce." Her gaze slid to his, rimmed in red. "Want to take some work tomorrow?"
Her lips twitched. They really ought to start working on a plan for the end of the year, but...it would be good for them, to relearn how to really work together. "Sure," she agreed. She gently dumped Happy from her lap, and the familiar watched curiously as she rose to her feet on shaky limbs. When he was confident she was alright, he chose to wander off, slipping through the cracked door. "We can take a short one, one that's not far from here. So long as there aren't any ghouls."
"No ghouls," Natsu agreed with a grimace. He suddenly grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. "We can take Salutem. Should be healed up enough since Wendy's been tending to him."
"...Salutem?" echoed Lucy, startled. "He's okay?"
"Brought him through the Portal myself." Natsu looked immensely proud of himself, enough so that Lucy couldn't help the soft laugh that spilled from her. His eyes watched her intently as she stepped forward and bent at the waist, hesitating only a moment before taking his face between her hands and tipping his head back.
The kiss was far gentler and sweeter than any other she'd given him, and her fingers tangled lightly in his hair. He quite literally purred like Happy, talons latching into her soul and pinning it in return, as if he was intending to bury himself there permanently. She would have been okay with that, thought Lucy as his hand slid up to trap her there, cupping the back of her head.
When he let her pull back, she smiled breathlessly at him, her eyes shimmering with love and warmth. "Hey, Natsu," she murmured, a hint of nerves lilting her voice. His gaze burned into hers as he waited. "Would you stay? Tonight?"
The burning desire in his chest grew, and a shark-like grin appeared on his face. Her fear that he'd refuse, that he'd do something as cruel as laugh at her, went up in smoke, and relief flickered across her features. He didn't fully understand any of it, whether it be the craving in his chest or the delight in hers, but he got the feeling that he didn't need to this time. "Every night. I'll stay every night if you let me."
Her face burned, but she still kissed him again.
And this time, she didn't pull away.
The moment everyone's been waiting for! Hope you enjoyed it. ;) We won't go back to the same level of trust and what not, but it'll be more present from here on out!
Holy hell, we're heading into the end of Part IV. Next chapter marks the start. You guys are gonna have FUN.
Thanks to reviewers (Bookwork129, stranger1999, zizi08, Guest #1, Sydneste, SistershoOk, BeautifulSamurai, AthomeinFairytail, nerdalertwarning, valerioux, Lissuin, FT-NXL, Sele de la Luna, TigerArrowgirl, guest #2, Uchida Akira, Kaisha00, itsxoi, madaraswife, and Jcat007!) as well as those who favorited and followed!