Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and all that noise. Only thing that's mine is the plot or whatever.
To GreekfanFT: Thank you! I'm glad I can do the characters justice. As for your concern, any character I do decide to pair Natsu with will be brought into the fold way earlier than in canon. I have a preference for Seilah as well, but I can see good dynamics coming from a few different girls that could be fun to attempt. As for your question, Natsu is strong. He has killed dragons in the past after his kingdom joined the Dragon King Festival and he served directly under Queen Irene. He is not quite Acnologia's level, nor Igneel's, but he was able to escape with his life during their fight over the Eclipse Gate. Unlike though, Natsu was unable to give Acnologia any lasting injuries and was the one to lose an arm instead. I'll try to get most of this in the actual meat of the story, but Natsu's magic will be explained a bit more in this chapter.
To mairsarmy321: Dragon God Selene is definitely an option that I like, so thanks for the suggestion!
To Khyren: As much as I enjoy NaLu in canon, I typically don't write or read fanfiction for canon pairings, so Lucy won't really be involved in any romance. I have something in mind for the whole 'END' thing (since it can't really be Etherious Natsu Dragneel), but that'll be secret for now. As for Irene, regardless of if she is the love interest or not, the plan was for her to essentially have birthed a stillborn as a result of her husband's abuse. With that, I have some ideas of how that would affect her and how Natsu could be involved eventually. So, if I do go that route, it shouldn't be too awkward or nonsensical, I don't think.
Chapter 3: Two eyes, yet only seeing half the image.
Natsu grimaced as her hand gripping his tightened its hold. Sure, he was a dragon, this shouldn't hurt all that bad, but.. well.. she's a dragon slayer, so he thinks he's allowed a little leeway.
Plus, she's got one hell of a grip.
Like shit what did they feed this girl? She was seriously strong.
Still, he would suffer through (and if worse comes to worst there was a doctor literally right there.)
"Alright, I'm going to take the bandages off now, is that alright?"
Erza gave a tight nod and Natsu's mouth fell open of a silent groan of pain. How? How did she still manage to grip his hand tighter? He was fairly certain he could feel his bones bending under her grip.
With the young girl's consent, Porlyusica began gently unwinding the bandages around her head. It didn't take long for them all to come off, they were honestly more of a precaution than anything. They didn't want anything to irritate the new eye while everything was still healing, but luckily nothing seems to have gone wrong.
The doctor— medicine— healer lady was quiet as she observed her work. She would press lightly against the skin around the eye, checking for any kind of tenderness or swelling, before making sure the eye itself was working.
It was.
That was good. Natsu liked it when the new eye works. It means Erza stops turning his hand into mincemeat with worry. He was all for it.
With one final nod, Porlyusica took a step back. "Well, everything looks to be in order. Now, just a warning, this eye is artificial, you'll be able to see out of it and all that but don't expect it to do anything special. None of your fancy little dragon magic will affect it, so don't go expecting your vision to be as good as it was."
Almost absentmindedly, Erza nodded her head, far too focused on staring around at anything and everything in the older woman's home. Unbidden, tears began forming and gathering in the corners.
Natsu immediately panicked and did his best to keep any more tears from coming. With his hand cupping her cheek, Erza could feel the rough callouses that marred their surface against her delicate skin. The pinkette tried to swipe away as many of the tears as possible, muttering a mantra of 'don't cry, don't cry, don't cry' on repeat as if that alone would stop it.
Erza, having enough, swatted his hands away with a watery giggle. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just," she shrugged and smiled, "I'm just really, really happy."
She really was.
They weren't tears of sadness, but rather those of joy. The loss of her eye had been a constant reminder of the horrible things that had befallen her on that island, and even if it wasn't perfect (which it wasn't), she felt like she'd distanced herself just that much more.
Natsu cared little for her reassurances and continued to do his best to keep her from crying as was his duty as an older brother.
It didn't take him long (though far longer than it should have taken) to notice something peculiar.
The tears only started in one eye.
"Human Grandeeney?"
A sigh.
"I told you not to call me that."
He vaguely remembers her saying something like that.
"Right. Sorry. But.. is this normal?" Natsu leaned out of the way, peering over his shoulder at the 'older' pink-haired woman.
Porlyusica observed for a moment before sighing and shaking her head, muttering something or other about 'idiots.'
"Yes, it's normal. I already told you the eye wasn't going to do everything. That is one of them."
Erza tried to follow along with their conversation but quickly found herself becoming confused. What were they talking about? Tracing their eyes back to her right eye. Gently, almost hesitantly, she reached up with her hand. Her fingers idly traced the skin just beneath it, ghosting over the surface. She certainly didn't feel anything wrong, so what had them all worked up?
"What is it? Do I look weird?" She hoped not. Miss Porlyusica had told her that the two would be virtually indistinguishable from each other, so what were they talking about? Had something gone wrong? Acting on instinct, she cupped a hand over her eye, hiding it from view and once again casting half her world into darkness.
"No, no." Natsu was quick to reassure her, smiling softly as he gently moved her hand away from her eye again. "You look beautiful, it's just.. " He trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it. It wasn't that it was a bad thing, he was just afraid of how she'd take it.
Luckily, human Grandeeney lacked all tact and just put it bluntly. "Your new eye can't form tears." A careless shrug. "You won't be able to cry from your right."
"Oh." Her face shifted uncertainly, before she simply closed both her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and shrugged. That was alright with her, she didn't mind. After all: "I've already shed half my tears anyways."
Natsu frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. He didn't want her to cry (he'd never say that), but that didn't mean he didn't want her to. Did that make sense? It made sense to him.
What he means to say (think?) is that he doesn't want her to think she can't cry. She was allowed to. Crying was healthy. If she was ever sad, he wants her to cry, he wants her to cry her heart out. It was his job to make sure that never happened.
"Great. Wonderful. You may leave now."
Such hospitality!
"You know, dragon Grandeeney was much kinder."
"Good for her. Now scram."
Natsu did.
Guiding Erza to her feet, he began leading her to the exit, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. (Sticking around the old grump wasn't exactly his favorite pass time. She really knew how to bring down a mood.)
With one last sigh, Natsu shouldered open the front door, spinning around once it was fully open, he kept it ajar by tucking it behind his back. "After you." He gave a little mock bow as Erza passed a small smile on her lips as she did.
"So.. " Natsu popped his lips in and out as he matched the younger slayer's stride on the path back to Magnolia. "How about we— "
"Oy! Annoying human!"
The two shared a look of equal confusion, an unspoken question echoing through each of their minds.
Which of us is she calling out to?
"The taller one!"
Natsu turned at the call, knowing it was to him regardless of the fact that he was not, in fact, human. "Yeah?"
"Makarov said you take care of other slayers, is that true?"
A nod.
"You know a sky dragon slayer?"
Another nod.
"Great. Give this to her." She shoved a thick book into his arms. Now, he was no Levy, but he was fairly certain this was above a five-year old's reading level.
"What is it?"
"Spells."
Natsu flipped through a few of the pages, staring down at them blankly.
Then, he turned and looked up at Porlyusica's scowling face.
Back to the book.
Back to the scowl.
Back to the book.
Back to the scowl.
"You are human Grandeeney!" He smiled, wagging one of his fingers in her face gleefully. "I knew you cared!"
"I don't. It was just a favor. This way I don't have to see you or anybody else for a good long while." She paused and stood there for a count of five, her eyebrow slowly rising with each passing moment. Eventually, she'd apparently gotten tired of waiting (at a count of four, no less) and scowled deeper. "Why haven't you left yet? I said get out of here!"
He would do just that.
But not until after he hugged Porlyusica in Wendy's stead. It was only right. The girl was a hugger. He couldn't embarrass her by not properly representing her interests.
"Thanks, human Grandeeney!"
"I never want to see you again."
"Aw! You don't mean that!"
"I do."
She really, truly does.
Natsu just smiled and waved as he head back to where Erza was waiting for him. "I know you're lying to me!" (She wasn't.) "But that's okay, I forgive you!" (She really, really doesn't care.) "Bye! I'll stop by soon so you can meet Wendy!" (Please don't.)
Returning to Erza's side, the two began their hike back to the city in silence. For a while, both of them were content to keep it that way.
Only for a while, though.
"You were going to say something."
".. eh?" Natsu turned to his companion, his head cocking to the side as he did. "What was that?" He'd been listening to the birds, he didn't make out her words.
"You were going to say something."
Hmmm. "No, I wasn't?" He was pretty sure he would have remembered that. Besides, he was focused on the birds.
Erza huffed, blowing some bangs out of her face. "Not noow, earlier!"
He blinked. "What?"
"You were going to say something before.. when we were leaving? Right before Miss Porlyusica interrupted you."
Not ringing any bells.
A sigh. "You said 'so, how about we' and then you trailed off."
Oh! "Oh!" He remembers that! "Right! How about we stop somewhere for a treat, just you and me, what do you say?"
"Where?"
".. okay."
"Great!"
This was going to be great! His plan was perfect. Today was the day he saw Erza's first smile since before the Eclipse Gate, he just knew it!
A few minutes of walking later and–
"Here we are!" Natsu grabbed Erza's hand, dragging her forward before she could stop and figure out where he was taking her. He'd only just learned what 'bakery' means the other day, but she was a smart girl. Natsu was confident that even if she didn't know what the letters meant she could figure out where they were.
A bell above the door chimed as he pushed his way in, breathing in the blissful scents with a happy smile.
There was a white-haired woman at the counter who waved as they entered. "Hello, welcome to my little bakeshop! Is this your first time here?"
"Err.. " Natsu scratched his cheek and nodded.
"Thought so." The woman smiled kindly and clapped her hands together, leaning forward over the counter. "I try to make a point of remembering everybody's name who shops here." Just the thought was enough to make Natsu's head throb. (So many names!) "So.. who might you two be?"
"Natsu." He paused for a moment or two only for nothing to happen. Turning around, he met Erza's eyes. Sighing inwardly, Natsu nodded quickly and offered the girl a small smile. "Natsu and Erza."
"Natsu and Erza." The white-haired woman nodded. "Such wonderful names! Well, if you looked just above my head," they did just that, "you will see our menu. Feel free to take as long as you need to decide and let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to answer them for you!"
The duo of slayers paled at the sight of the menu. So many words. So. Many.
Natsu, never one to be deterred, started at the very beginning. The top left of the menu.
Narrowing his eyes, he rolled the first syllable off his tongue. "Meh-meh- meht.." That sounded right, what's next? ".. tehr? Meter?" Then what? An 'I-A.' Natsu tapped his chin a few times as he thought it over. What had Levy said about those two? They weren't as easy as the other letter groupings in the word, he remembered there was something weird about the pronunciation. But what?
An elbow impacted his ribs. Natsu turned and looked at the source. "Ee-uh."
What?
"Ee-uh."
Natsu blinked. "Are you okay, Erza?"
She groaned, her face falling somewhat at his obliviousness. "It's ee-uh."
"Wha– what is that? Are you choking?"
"What? No! The sound! It's ee-uh! You were trying to read the word? Met-er-ia. The last sound? The 'i' and the 'a'? They make an ee-uh sound."
Oh.
Oh!
Natsu nodded sagely. "So, it's Meteria." He'd sworn he'd heard that word somewhere before..
.. but where?
Beside him, Erza simply sighed and shook her head despondently. "It's her name."
"Huh?" What? "It's whose name?"
"Meteria's."
"Who?"
"The nice bakery lady!" Erza couldn't help but shout. It's not like it's her fault! How could he forget already? It's been like a minute! Honestly! "She's right there!" She pointed to the woman behind the counter.
Natsu blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Following Erza's finger, Natsu turned to face the white-haired woman who waved shyly in response.
He looked back at the word on the menu.
Then back to the woman.
Back to the menu.
Back to the woman.
Back to the menu.
He read the next word. (It was far easier this time, he already knew this one!) It said 'bakery.' Meteria's Bakery.
"Ooooooh.. "
So.. that wasn't even a menu item he was reading.
He looked back to the still smiling woman. It was obvious she'd heard the entire thing but was deciding not to say anything.
"Miss?"
"Yes?"
"Do you perhaps have any.. recommendations?"
He wasn't giving up. He wasn't. He could definitely read that menu if he wanted to. He was merely just.. speeding up the process and sparing the baker any more of whatever it was she was thinking.
She seemed all too happy to oblige, humming contentedly as she twisted around to point up at the menu. "Well, my top-seller is probably just the simple chocolate-chip cookie." She waved her other than over the display case, right where the cookies were situated. "Nothing too special there, but people love them all the same. Next up, I'd have to say the cannolis, any of them really. I have plenty of flavors to match any palate. We're out of the pecan caramel for now, but I'll be sure to get a batch ready come tomorrow if you'd like one of those." Pausing briefly, Meteria turned to smile at them and give them time to digest all of that information. She tapped her chin a few times in mock thought. "Hmm.. I'd say some of my favorites are the apple pandowdies and the cinnamon scones." A shrug. "It's fairly dependent on your own tastes. Of course, there are plenty of delicious options for you to choose from, but those are just the highlights."
Natsu swallowed thickly. "A- Ah.. is— is that so?" A bead of sweat ran down his temple as he took an instinctive step back.
That was.. a lot of information. Most of which he couldn't even begin to comprehend. He'd never even heard of most of those! Cannolis? Scones? Pandowdies? What the hell even is a pandowdy?
"What would you recommend for somebody— "
A cough.
" —two somebodies, who have never, say, had a 'baked good' before?"
Meteria, bless her little heart, didn't even same phased by the question, simply nodding her head in response. "Of course. Do you perhaps have a taste for sweet things? Maybe rich foods?"
"Hurk.." Too many questions! Natsu felt sick just trying to figure out what all of these things meant, he didn't need questions thrown on top of him too! "I like boar? And.. uhm.. fish? Yeah, definitely fish. Venison isn't bad, a little gamey, but it's decent." He tacked off each new food with a finger, tallying them up on his hands. Once he'd reached his third, he decided that must be enough, and turned back to face the lady at the counter. "Are any of those sweet or rich?"
That time, Meteria did take a moment to respond, pausing briefly to control herself before letting out a careful and tempered 'no.'
"Darn." Natsu scratched his head. "Erza? Do you know what you want?"
The eleven-year-old shook her head.
Great. Wonderful, even. Just perfect.
Meteria seemed to take both of their responses in stride. "How about I pick something out for you to try? Free of charge!" Well, either she was really nice or she wanted them gone.
"Free of charge?"
The baker nodded quickly. "Of course! I can't let you leave here without at least giving you a taste of what baked goods have to offer. It would be a crime upon my name as a baker to do so!"
How nice of her. (He was just going to assume she was being nice.)
Natsu smiled brightly at the woman. "Thank you, that is very kind of you and— " He cut himself off, prodding Erza in the shoulder until she muttered a small 'thank you' in echo. Nodding approvingly, Natsu gestured for the child to go find a vacant table and started speaking again. "Thank you for doing this, Miss Meteria. You didn't need to."
For a moment, the woman stilled, one of her hands hovering just above a slice of.. something in the case. There was a look on her face, one that Natsu couldn't quite place, but just as soon as it appeared, it vanished. A smile filled in the void it had left. "My name is Alfia, dear; Meteria was my sister, but you're right. I don't need to do this, but it's what she would have done, so.." She trailed off, shrugging helplessly before leaving Natsu on his own to collect a few options.
The fire dragon couldn't help but frown as he watched her work. The way she spoke led him to believe her sister had died, but how? Despite her white hair, the woman looked hardly any younger than himself. Physically, he means. (He doubted she was several hundred years old, but he supposed anything was possible.) If he had to guess, he'd put her somewhere mid-twenties, so there weren't many ways this Meteria had passed peacefully.
He tried to remind himself that it was his business, but he never was very good at listening to others, and that included himself. So, when Alfia returned with two plates carrying an assortment of baked goods, Natsu broached the topic.
"I don't mean to pry, but—"
"But you wish to know what happened to her?" She mused, not at all seeming surprised by the intrusive question. Natsu nodded with a wince, but she didn't seem to mind. "It's quite alright, there's no need to apologize. I loved my sister dearly, but I made my peace a long time ago." She paused here, sucking in a quiet breath. Making peace and enjoying the tale were two entirely separate matters, after all. "She was sick, had been since birth." A shrug. "I always knew I was going to outlive her, it was only a matter of time before it happened."
"And you were okay with that?"
"I would hardly say 'okay' is the right word." Alfia frowned. "It sucks and I miss her, but I cherish the time we spent together."
"But if you knew you were going to have to live without her, wouldn't have been better to just.. move on before she passed?" Natsu gave her a confused look, not really understanding the woman before him.
Alfia seemed equally confused, for the first time looking at Natsu like he was an idiot. "Move on? Why would I have done that?"
"So, it doesn't hurt as much when they pass." Dropping the pretense of this being about the sister anymore, Natsu took a step forward. His onyx eyes scanned the white-haired woman's eyes as he spoke. Unlike with words, he knew how to read people and right now he wanted answers to the questions that have been warring in his mind for the past few weeks at Fairy Tail. "Wouldn't it be better to distance yourself? It would hurt less when they're gone."
"Would it?" Alfia retorted hotly. "Would it hurt less?" For a moment, the two simply stared at one another in silence, neither of them faltering for an instant. Eventually, though, Alfia's eyes flickered away, settling on the girl seated in the corner and peering around the room, trying to distract herself from their conversation. "That girl? Who is she to you?"
"My sister." To him, at least. He still wasn't sure what Erza thought of him.
"And if you never saw her again today, even if she was still alive, would you be happier for it?"
"I– "
She didn't let him finish. "You wouldn't. It's why you haven't left."
Natsu shook his head. "I made a promise to protect her, that's why I'm here."
"Is it?" Alfia slid the plates over to him, disbelievingly. She wanted to leave the conversation there, already having spoken far more than she'd prefer, but found herself pausing halfway to the kitchen. Turning back one last time, she tilted her head to the side slightly, regarding Natsu with a scrutinizing eye. "Do you love her?"
"Who?"
"Your sister."
Natsu blinked. "Of course." What kind of question was that?
"Then I'm sure you'll make the right decision when the time comes."
The pinkette watched as the woman disappeared through the door behind the kitchen without another word, frowning in thought all the while. Briefly, he glanced over his shoulder to watch Erza.
A sigh escaped his lips as he grabbed one of the plates and brought it to their table, quickly returning to the counter to grab the second. The scarlet-haired dragon slayer said nothing as he moved, nor did she start eating when her plate was set down in front of her. In fact, neither of them did. Natsu too caught up in his mind to pay the food any mind, while Erza merely ran over what she'd heard in her mind, replaying the words over and over and over again until the words lost all meaning.
Eventually, she couldn't take the silence anymore.
"You said you were never going to leave."
"What?" Natsu looked up, only hearing half of what she'd said.
"You said that you were never going to leave me."
"I'm not."
"But you want to."
"What? Erza, I–"
"You want to leave me. You just told her you did."
"I didn't mean it like that, I just said I–"
Erza cut him off. "You said that it would be better to move on, to distance yourself now, and that the only reason you were sticking around is because you made a promise." She looked at him them, finally turning away from the desserts on her plate. Natsu found his body stilling at the sheer hurt in her eyes, an overwhelming wealth of pain he'd missed until now. For her part, she kept true to her words at Porlyusica's and didn't cry, but her jaw did tremble as she choked back sobs.
Natsu opened his mouth to say something, anything and make her feel better, but before he could she was already halfway to the door.
The bell chimed once again as she threw the entrance open and raced out into the city. Ironically, she was reacting upon the same thoughts Natsu has been dealing with all of this time. When he'd spoken to Alfia, he hadn't been referring to Erza, nor any of the other slayers. He knew that was a losing battle. He loved them all with all of his heart, nothing was going to change that. He'd already condemned himself to one day outlive them, to experience that pain of loss all over again, as he had four-hundred years ago.
No, he's asking because of the guild.
Every night he spent in the infirmary he found himself reflecting on Makarov's words that first night.
'She can recover here. She'll have a family. A home.. '
'.. You can have that too, you know.'
He'd resigned himself to love and lose already, but that was with the slayers, he didn't know if he could stomach the same by inviting the guild into his heart. He just didn't know.
It was almost funny. He was one of the two original slayers who remained. Only he and Acnogologia withstood the tests of time. He was strong, regardless of the form he took. This human vessel may seal most of his power away, he may not even have access to his slayer magic, but he was strong regardless.
Yet, he didn't know if he was strong enough to stomach that much loss.
There hadn't been many he'd cared for back during the days of Dragnof. He wasn't close with anybody in particular, not unless you count a passing interest in somebody he could never obtain.
None of that mattered now anyway.
Either way, he'd experienced loss, but he'd never experienced the loss of a loved one.
He'd never lost anybody who'd he cared for like he cares for Gajeel, the triplets, and Erza.
Gajeel was an asshole most of the time. He picked fights every chance he got and Natsu was convinced the only reason the boy seemed so enthusiastic about learning to read and write was so he could scribble obscenities on the pinkette's face. But, he was also a kind-hearted boy who had about as much strength to deny the triplets anything as Natsu did. Which is to say: none at all.
And the triplets. The triplets. String, Rogue, and Wendy. Natsu didn't even know where to start with them. Their magic containers were about as tiny as their adorable little selves, yet they knew how to raise all kinds of hell. Sting and Rogue were personally responsible for starting half of the guild's brawls at this point. A thrown mug here, a shifted chair there; they were little hellions. And Wendy. Sweet, little Wendy. She'd sooner drive herself into an early hibernation than allow somebody to have so much as a papercut. She was just the sweetest little thing.
All three of them stuck by each other at all times. Hell, the first thing they did when Natsu started their lessons in reading and writing was try to plan out a team name for when they were older. (They still had quite a bit of work to do on that one, he doubted incoherent scribblings were going to stick.) Sting and Rogue were both of the opinion that they should be allowed to join the guild and start going on jobs now, but seeing as they were five Natsu disagreed. In the end, Wendy's nervousness convinced the two boys to wait a few years to practice instead. For her sake, of course. (It wasn't like they were going to get the chance anyway, but Natsu appreciated the decrease in pleas.)
Erza was quiet most days. Sometimes she'd join Gajeel for lessons with Levy, sometimes she would simply disappear from the guildhall, only to be found back in her bed in the infirmary. There was a day, perhaps about half a week after she'd been allowed to move freely, that Wendy had tracked her down, grabbed her hand, and didn't let go until they woke up side by side the next morning. That was cute.
Still, it was hard for Natsu to tell what was going on in her head. She didn't necessarily seem upset about anything, but he supposed he'd been wrong before.
Natsu sighed deeply, a warm, heavy breath slowly trickling from his nose as he did. His eyes remained on the front door even as Alfia peeked her head out of the kitchen. "Huh? What happened?"
The baker looked at the young girl's empty seat and her significantly less empty plate, frowning slightly at the sight. Sure, it wasn't her forte, but she didn't think her baking was that bad.
"She heard."
Alfia blinked owlishly. "Heard what?" She questioned.
"Everything."
"We weren't speaking very loudly." She'd made sure of it. Any normal person wouldn't have caught heads or tails of the things they were saying. She'd been practically whispering and Natsu, whether he knew it or not, had mirrored the tone of voice.
Natsu merely shrugged. "She has good ears."
Excellent ears, Alfia would say, but whatever. Who was she to judge?
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
"Huh?"
The white-haired beauty raised an eyebrow, her heterochromatic eyes – one grey and one green – narrowing as she glared down at the fool of a man seated in her cafe. "Don't tell me you were going to just let her run off?"
"Er.. "
A sigh followed by a muttered 'all idiots, men are all idiots' that Natsu was fairly certain he wasn't meant to hear.
"If she heard everything you said then she's probably thinking something like you don't care about her, not really. And your response is to not chase her down?" At Natsu's nod, Alfia threw her face down into her palms. This right here, this was why she hated talking to people. Her whole 'pleasant baker' act could only be maintained for so long. "Go after her, you idiot!"
Natsu did, not wanting to anger the scary lady anymore. Rushing toward the door, Natsu completely abandoned his untouched plate, he'd nearly reached it, but Alfia intercepted him, shoving an unmarked box into his arms.
"This was my sister's favorite, maybe yours will like it too."
With a nod, a thankful smile, and an unspoken promise to come back to pay later (perhaps when he actually started taking jobs and didn't pay for everything in precious gemstones), Natsu rushed back out into the city proper.
Turning his head up toward the skies, Natsu shut his eyes and took in a deep breath.
He found her in a field, panting atop a smoldering knoll, painted black with the soot of a dragon's fire.
Without a word, he walked over to her. He took a step past where she stood, spinning around to face her and kneeling down on the ground just before her. He looked up into her down-turned face, observing the frown on her lips briefly before his eyes traveled up higher.
Erza looked away, unwilling to meet his eyes. Instead, she asked a simple question.
"What magic can you use?"
Natsu blinked. "Uhm.." This wasn't going according to plan. He'd meant to come up here to apologize to her and reassure her that he loved her and was never going to leave. He'd assumed she was going to be upset with him, hell, he'd even been prepared for a fight!
So..
.. why was she asking about magic?
"W- well," Natsu scratched his cheek, "I know a few different kinds. Igneel taught me Fire Dragon Slayer magic, but that's been sealed away."
Erza nodded, still not meeting his eyes. She already knew all of that, of course. Natsu never explained why he'd sealed their father's magic off, but it was obviously something that bothered him so she'd never asked.
"I know the basics of Requip, but I mostly just use that to get dressed, 'cause—well, you know." He wiggled his stump around before shrugging helplessly as if to say 'what can ya do?' as if the injury was completely harmless. (As if she and other slayers didn't know he had nightmares where his grunts of pain would wake them all up.) "There are a few others that people taught me over the years as a thank you." He brought one of his hands up and started tallying them off with the rising of each finger. "Thought Projection, Fishing— "
Fishing magic?
"—and Healing." He shrugged. "I rarely use those. Don't really have much use for the first two, 'thought projection' doesn't do it for me and 'fishing' just well, well—who wants to fight with a fish?" Seriously, it is not fun. The magic would have been far more useful if it helped him catch the fish in the first place but nope. Just fish-swordsmanship, basically. "Healing was nice, but I was never very good at it." Again, he shrugged, as if he didn't possess another rare magic. "I mostly just use simple fire spells that I spice up by combining with Nullification, Dispel, and Light spells."
Erza blinked.
.. what?
How many even was that?
Fire Dragon Slayer. Thought Projection. Fishing. Healing. Fire. Nullification. Dispel. Light.
He knew so many!
That was like – Erza mentally calculated it – like seven different kinds!
It wasn't, but good on her for trying.
Natsu snapped his fingers. "Oh! Wait, sorry. There is also.. " He trailed off, focusing his magic out in the air around them.
Erza watched, blinking owlishly, as a brown magic circle exploded to life atop the ground at their feet. It flowed dimly as it spun, thrumming outward in sporadic intervals as the elder sibling focused. Suddenly, the circle disappeared and dirt flowed upwards from the ground like streams of water. The soil collected around his stump, slowly elongating into a vaguely arm-like shape.
Natsu waved once it'd finished forming, sending rock and earth scattering through the air.
"I thought I might have been able to get around ol' stumpy here with magic, but.. "
He gave a small smile as the arm crumpled like dry sand, falling back to the ground as if it never left.
"I guess I always was much better at destroying than building." He spoke quietly as he stared down toward the ground. It wasn't the dirt he was looking at though, not really, instead he was merely imagining his hand there, his fingers stretching out and grasping the air. Erza said nothing as the silence stretched on, standing quietly to the side as she watched.
Natsu shook himself from his stupor, turning his attention back to his original reason for being on this hill to begin with. "I know Seal magic as well, but I only use it for my Slayer spells. Dispel goes with that, but that works nicely with other magics. Why do you ask?"
So, nine magics then. (Ten.) All of the earlier ones plus Earth and Seal magic. Even if most of those were nothing more than a rudimentary understanding, it was impressive, nonetheless. From Rob's teachings back at the Tower of Heaven, she understood that it was possible to know more than one type, but it was rare. As uncommon as being capable of magic was, being capable of multiple was even less so.
"Can you use your Light spells to form attacks?"
"Err.. yeah?" Where was she going with this?
Nodding, Erza took a few steps backward. "Hit me."
Natsu shrugged. "Mmm'kay." A beam of light shot out from his hands, a muttered 'Arcs Ray' escaping his lips before the magic circle appeared and disappeared.
A red circle appeared in front of Erza as the light approached, the gaping maw of a dragon taking up center stage. The circle itself was slightly different from Natsu's own when it came to Igneel's art (or, at least, he remembers his being different, it had been several hundred years since he'd last seen it.) If memory serves, his circle was more.. orangey while his sister's resembled her hair in color.
From the dragon's maw, two spiraling pillars of flames emerged, expanding outward in with each twist of the helix, which.. was weird.
It was weird.
That wasn't a spell he knew.
As Natsu's attack continued on its way, he figured there was probably a reason for that—
The light smacked straight into Erza's chest, sending her back onto her ass.
—because it didn't do anything.
It sure was pretty though!
"Wow! That was really nice!" He shot Erza a thumbs up that had her scowling up into the sky as she stayed laying in the dirt. Weakly, she clenched her fists beside her, gritting her teeth as she did her best not to cry in disappointment.
The scarlet-haired pre-teen punched the ground once before forcing herself up to her feet and widening her stance. "Do it again."
"Uhh.. okay?" Natsu raised his hand, facing his palm outward toward the child. Once again, a pale yellow circle sprung into existence, spinning slowly through the air. "Arcs Ray."
The same thing happened.
"Again."
A sigh. "Arcs Ray."
More of the same.
"Again."
"One more time."
"Send another."
"Again!"
Natsu said nothing as he brought his hand up once more, not even bothering to utter the incantation before sending one more beam of light her way.
The fire that emerged from her circle was pathetic, barely even sputtering to life. It looked more like the last vestiges of a dying campfire than the torrents of inferno the proud dragons of old use to carpet the fields of man with.
As expected, the beam knocked her off her feet. Natsu had been putting less and less magic power into each consecutive spell, yet it still managed to bowl her over.
She forced herself up on shaking legs, her body covered in a fine layer of dirt and soot. Grimacing, she swiped her wrist over her mouth, wiping away the thrush on her lips as her mouth dried out. "Ag—" She heaved a deep breath. "Again."
"No."
She glared at him, a scowl overcoming her grimace. "Send another one."
"No."
"Yes! Please!"
Natsu dragged a hand down his face and shook his head. "Why, Erza? What's so important about this spell?"
"It's all I have left!"
".. "
"Everybody always leaves! Igneel left, all I have of him is my magic. Jellal left, he cast me aside after they took my eye. Rob left me."
Natsu's heart lurched as the child dissolved into a crying mess, breaking her promise to stop crying on the same day it was made. She collapsed to her knees, unable to support her body anymore. Her elbows dug into the dirt as she prostrated herself, her forehead burying itself in the soil beneath her as her tears flowed down into the dirt.
He wanted to ask who Rob was, who Jellal was, but he didn't. He couldn't.
Once again, he found his body freezing, unable to move or speak as he watched a girl suffering from the pain he could've prevented.
"Before he died— b- before he sacrificed himself to save me. Me." She spat the last word out like it was illogical. As if she didn't deserve to be saved. "He did a spell. His flames absorbed the others' spells and sent it back at them. It's all I have left." She sobbed. "It's all I have left."
Natsu sighed heavily, nodding silently to himself before plucking the desert box from the ground where he'd placed it and walking over to her.
Kneeling beside her, he gently stroked her hair a few times before pulling her head over into his lap, like he used to see Anna do with the kids.
Like a dam burst, Erza wept into her hands. Natsu continued his ministrations despite the agony tearing at his heart, wanting to provide even the most minimal of comforts for the crying child. He didn't know how long she was holding all of this in, but he wanted to do anything he could to fix it.
To make her feel better.
She'd been so happy this morning, to finally see through both eyes again. He supposed it could have just been a mask, but he doubted it.
Perhaps it was just her seeing it as one last gift from those who were gone from her.
Igneel left her with her magic.
Jellal spared her from further tortures, trading himself in her place. His actions were the catalyst for her escape from that hell, and now, with her eye restored, it was like the boy himself had saved her. She was free and the last physical reminder of her torture there was wiped clean.
That was Jellal's gift to her.
She still bore the emotional scars, she still bore the pain of betrayal, but she was whole once again. Shattered, but whole.
And Rob. He gave her his life, he gave her everything he had.
And just this once, she wanted to ask for just a little more.
If she learned this spell, his spell, she could keep him alive.
Rob, that kind, wirey, old man.
He would always be protecting her.
Always keeping her safe.
Just like he had then.
And Natsu.
Her mysterious 'protector' who claimed to be her brother, who uses the name she'd found herself too weak to claim for herself once again.
He would leave one day, she just knew he would. He would leave like all the rest of them.
She wasn't foolish enough to think otherwise.
Everybody left in the end.
This time though, this time she knew it was coming. One day he would disappear, and on that day he would leave her behind with a gift. Igneel's was magic, Jellal's was her freedom, Rob's was life and a spell, and Natsu's?
Well, she was still trying to figure that out, but she wasn't so stupid as to wait until he was already gone to find it.
Maybe his training could be the gift.
That's why she wanted him to keep going, to keep sending his magic at her, to keep going until he had nothing left to give.
His gift could be that she never needed protection again. Then it could be her who did the guarding, it could be her who took up the sword and shield and kept all those behind her from harm.
Her.
Just her.
That way she could promise to never leave somebody like she'd been left and she could keep her word.
And with this new spell, with her new Fire Dragon's Secret Art, she could do it. Rob's Rebellion was the perfect defense spell and she could do it. She knew she could.
She just needed more practice.
Just a little bit more and she could get it down. And then Natsu could leave and everything would be okay.
Everything would be okay.
"I'm not leaving you."
Natsu took a deep breath, the knuckles of his one remaining hand caressing her cheek softly and swiping away the tears that lingered on the one side.
"I'm not ever leaving you."
It was here that he sighed, consumed by disappointment with himself.
"What you overheard in the bakery—"
Erza shook her head in his lap, not wanting to think about the words that struck her heart.
"—I wasn't talking about you. Or Gajeel. Or Sting. Or Rogue. Or Wendy. I wasn't talking about any of you. I love you. I love them. Erza, I'm—" He cut himself off, wondering if he was really (really) going to tell her. He was. "I've lived a very long time. I'm not nearly as young as I look. I've watched friends wither with age as I stay forever like.. like this." He gestured to himself with a wave of his hand. "I'm old, Erza. Everybody I've ever loved I've had to bury. It— it scares me to love people. But I love you. You are my sister, my precious, little sister. You're my family. You and all of the slayers."
He shook his head.
"What I was talking to Alfia about wasn't you, it wasn't Gajeel, it wasn't the triplets. I was wondering how she could bear the pain of knowing she was going to outlive somebody she cared about, because I'm afraid. The guild represents something. That first night there, gramps said it could be a family for you, and it could be a family for me and I just— I— "
A sigh.
"I don't know if I can stomach loving all of them only to lose them. If I keep my distance from all of them, I could spare myself that pain. I can hardly even imagine what will happen if I someday lose you or the other kids. I think it will tear me apart inside."
He brushed a few scarlet bangs from in front of her eyes, tucking them softly behind her ears.
"It scares me to love, so I'm hesitant to let anybody else in the guild close to me, but there's never been a doubt in my mind that loving you was the right choice. I promise, Erza, I promise I will never leave you. Not ever. Okay? I can't prove anything and you've only known me for a little bit, but you'll just have to take my word for it. I will tell you every day if I have to, so if you ever want a reminder, just ask okay?"
Erza sniffled and nodded, tucking her face deeper into his pant leg to hide her tears from view.
".. okay.. "
"Good. Now, eat this."
She peeked an eye out, her right eye this time so completely free of tears. "What is it?"
Natsu shrugged. "No idea, just eat it. It'll make you feel better."
Sitting up, Erza frowned as the box was passed into her hands. "It looks weird." She poked the top, narrowing her eyes as a white.. thing stuck to her finger. There were little red things on the top, something she'd never really seen before, and whatever it was was a rectangle. "How do I eat it?"
Another shrug. "With your hands?"
Erza's frown deepened before disappearing. She wiped her cheeks one last time, drying the last of her tears, before jabbing her hand into the center of the 'food' and ravenously clawing away a large chunk. With absolutely no semblance of proper manners or delicacy, she shoved the piece into her mouth.
She missed.
A lot, actually.
Natsu huffed before requipping a hand towel into his hand and wiping the muck from her cheeks. Erza helped him out by leaning into the touch and tightening her core, seeing as how he couldn't hold her head in place on his own.
She chewed the little that had entered her mouth.
Tossing the towel into the air and letting it disappear in a flash of light, Natsu raised an eyebrow imploringly. "Well?"
She swallowed.
"How is it?"
"I— " She paused. Natsu thought she was taking the chance to think about her answer, but that was quickly disproven by her immediately devouring the rest of the food.
He was just going to assume it was good.
Evidently, Alfia was correct. 'Meteria's Strawberry Delight' was just what the doctor ordered.
The two didn't leave that hill for a while yet, instead taking the time to lay back and simply enjoy the sun setting over the horizon as their day came to a close.
".. Natsu?"
"Yeah?" He leaned his head to the side, peering through the grass at the child lying beside him. "What is it?"
".. tell me again."
He smiled. "Of course. I promise I won't ever leave you. Not ever."
Erza smiled and nodded.
Whew! Lots of stuff going on this chapter. A little bit of Natsu's life pre-dragonization including a crush. Way to go, Natsu. Plus, a whole lot of character development for our favorite fire dragon slayers. Natsu has made another promise (here's hoping he can keep it) and Erza is creating her own Secret Art: Rob's Rebellion which is fun.
Leave a comment if you enjoyed or if you have any questions! Hope you liked it!