Okay. So look. I know saying, 'oh, they got together off camera' is probably really annoying for some of you, but I don't know how to write romance, okay? It didn't fit into the story anywhere, and it's not the point of this fic anyway. Also, I have a draft that I will post in Extras if you really so desperately want to read how they got together in this fic. It's not good writing, and it genuinely doesn't make any sense in any context as I wrote it before, during, and after a major plot rewrite, but I'll post it if anyone asks.

You might be wondering why I had them get together at all. It's 'cause, well, they're supposed to be together. It's, ya know, the plot. And I needed a natural progression, rather than just saying in an even more awkward, random place "oh, they're engaged now hahaha." Deal with it. Read a different fic if you're looking for NaLu fluff. I totally don't feel bad about this. No guilt here. Nope. Hahaha. (pleaseeeee im sorryyyyyyyyyyy)

—– —- —

"Luce-"

"-said I'd-"

"-stay-"

"-fine! I can-"

"-you-"

"-don't want-"

"-until me-"

"-said I was-"

"-Zeref-"

"-meanie!"

"-back?"

Lucy stared at her now boyfriend Natsu—they had gotten together the day after Aki and Zeref had been released from the hospital—squatted in her window frame, and Aki, wiggling furiously, slung over his shoulder. "…what?"

She wasn't even mad, what with the shock of him barreling into her window and their intertwined voices. She wasn't sure they had spoken English, or some language only Dragneels could understand.

Aki wiggled ever more violently, truly spamming the Flail move, beating her fists ineffectually against Natsu's back as he shouted over her, "CAN AKI-KI STAY WITH YOU 'TIL WE'RE BACK?"

She blinked, then, understanding catching up, slapped the top of Natsu's head. Aki looked delighted, but it turned sour as Lucy ranted, "How dare you just catapult into my closed window! I don't have a replacement! Aki-chan might get chilly staying here just because you didn't want to even throw rocks at it before jumping!"

Natsu hung his head. "Okay… next time I'll throw rocks-"

Lucy grabbed Aki's hand and shoved Natsu backward. Hearing him hit the pavement with a satisfying yelp, she glanced round at Aki. Or, tried to. She blinked. She had brought her in, right?

"LUCE!"

She was knocked flat onto her face as Natsu flew through her window, Aki squirming in his arms once more.

Growling, she got up, prepared to kick him until he got the idea, but found herself, not fully straightened, face first with a very annoyed, miniature ex-immortal, who currently looked like a very angry hamster. Natsu, it seemed, had deemed to use her as a shield? Glaring at him, he tilted his head, apparently confused.

"Will you take her?" he asked, sounding as bewildered as she felt.

Aki crossed her arms fussily, still dangling.

"Oh. Of course." Lucy took her.

"Don't let her go!" he shouted as she made to set the girl down.

She stared at him, Aki swinging her feet, trying to reach the floor. "Why not?"

"She'll try to run away if she gets the chance," he said, and Aki scowled. "I've been chasing her for hours."

"I'm fine! Let me go! I-" Aki stopped wiggling as Natsu glowered down at her.

"Zeref-nii said there might be side-effects, and Porlyusica isn't here, so stay here with Lucy."

Aki—Lucy nearly dropped her in shock—shook her head, sticking her tongue out.

"See?" Natsu said to Lucy. "You know how Zeref said there might be long term effects from the demon thing?" Lucy nodded. "He and I have to do this job, but we don't want to leave her on her own."

"What about Nii-chan?" Aki demanded. "You were under the effect, too! And Lucy!"

"You already know, Aki-ki! Zeref-nii said Aki-ki was under it the longest," he added to Lucy, "then him and Gray, and Erza. I wasn't exposed all that long, and you were barely under it at all."

"Can't you just take her with you?" Lucy asked, sympathetic to Aki's cause. "I'd be happy to take her, but Aki-chan would be more comfortable with you guys."

Aki had perked up, but Natsu sighed, shaking his head. "It was a special request for Zeref. He didn't want to go alone, but the request said that if he brought anyone it could only be boys. Aki-ki would kill us if we skipped it-"

"I would!"

"-so we can't bring her. She has nightmares sometimes-"

"OI!"

"-and normally she can go to Porlyusica if we're not around, but-"

"I'm not bothering Lucy!" Aki snapped. "I'm f-"

She was cut off as Lucy squealed, glomping her fiercely. "This'll be great! We can have a sleepover!"

Aki stopped struggling, but still shook her head. "I don't want to-"

"Pleeeaaaaaase?" Lucy wheedled, staring into Aki's eyes with her own shining ones.

Aki, faced with ruining something by saying no, staved of the inevitable. "I'm fine on my own…" she muttered.

"But I want to have a sleepover!" Lucy said eagerly. "It'll be really fun! And I don't want you to be on your own if you're in danger from that spell."

Aki wriggled halfheartedly, uncomfortable. "I'll bother you-"

"It'll be fine!"

She looked away, muttering, "Natsu-nii-chan already said it… I don't want to bother you in the night-"

"Bye-bye, Natsu!" Lucy said happily, shoving him to the window once more.

He waved, already halfway through. "Thanks, Luce!"

"No, Lucy, really, I'll be f-"

Lucy gave her best excited eyes, and Aki quailed. "Aki-chan, I want a sleepover, and Natsu doesn't want you alone, and you," she spoke over her as she started, "don't want to be alone, either."

Silence. It hadn't been a question, and Aki couldn't convincingly deny it.

"Aki-chan, why don't you want stay? Natsu said you had nightmares, so it would be nice to have someone there, right?"

Aki pouted at the floor. (Lucy was still holding her by the armpits, facing her.) "If I do have a nightmare… I'll bother you… and wake you up…" She grimaced.

"That's it?"

She didn't answer.

"Please stay."

"That's not fair, Lucy!" she whined, wriggling. She was replaced on the floor, but Lucy knew as well as she did that she wouldn't run now.

"You can have the bed-"

"SOFA!" Aki almost screeched, leaping onto it and peering over the edge like a protective pug. "I'll take the sofa!"

Lucy… beamed at her? "Wonderful," she said, clapping her hands and moving to a cabinet.

Aki stared at her, bewildered, then, slowly, put the pieces together. "You tricked me!"

Lucy turned, smiling innocently. "What do you mean, Aki-chan?"

She scowled.

—–

Toward bedtime, stars shining through the window, Lucy stared at her pillow, lost in thought.

"Are you okay?"

She jerked, looking up. Aki, hair still wet from her shower, was standing in front of her, wearing black and white pajamas.

"Mn," Lucy said sadly, nodding.

"Try again."

Lucy blinked, then raised her eyebrows. "You're one to talk."

"Yeah, well…" Aki sat beside her on the floor, leaning back against her bed. "You are upset, maybe I can help."

Lucy watched her, then looked down at her hands. "I was thinking," she started, every word weighing heavily in her mind, "about what we were talking about back in the infirmary…"

Aki didn't speak.

"About… about END."

"I thought you seemed to realize," Aki said softly. Lucy glanced up; Aki wasn't looking at her, rather, staring up at the star filled sky. She looked almost peaceful. "You're too good at putting things together."

"Is it true?" Lucy whispered, needing confirmation, an assertion that couldn't be explained away.

Aki smiled sadly, meeting her eyes and tilting her head. "Is what true?"

Lucy blinked, but Aki waited patiently. Finally, she whispered, "END is, is Natsu?"

Aki's eyes filled with pain. "END…" she breathed. "It stands for… Etherious Natsu Dragneel." Lucy's hands jumped to her mouth, but Aki was speaking quickly, "It doesn't change anything about him, though. He's still himself. He just also has the tools of one of our demons. He isn't just a machine, or a living p-pawn," she said painfully. "He is his own person, unlike the rest of them."

Lucy shook her head, hands still pressed over her mouth. "No, I just- I didn't- I never thought-"

"Because he is more than just something we made," Aki murmured forcefully. "He isn't something we created from nothing. He's no abomination of" —her voice cracked, but she continued steadily— "My making. He is human. He is real. He is himself, not an extension of My demented mind- My- ou-our demented mind…-minds-"

She paused, frowning slightly, shaking her head to clear it. "He existed beyond his book," she continued, looking down, away from Lucy and the night sky twinkling with stars far too bright for her. "… we merely brought him back."

"But-" Lucy choked, "but what does that mean for Natsu?"

Aki chuckled hollowly, leaning her head back to grin crookedly at the ceiling. "It means absolutely nothing. Nothing will happen; nothing is predestined to wither. If only because we were brought back from insanity before it could," she added in self-disgust.

"What-"

"We had horrible plans, Lucy," Aki breathed, resting her face in her knees. "You say we're not at fault, but sometimes I think it's only because you don't know the extent of what we did… what we planned…" She quivered slightly. "You have no idea, Lucy…"

Aki squawked as Lucy wrapped her arms around her. Looking up with wet eyes, she saw that Lucy was crying, too. But her eyes were determined, filled with the fire of the night sky.

"You and Zeref are good. And whatever your plans were, you brought Natsu back to life." Her voice cracked, and she smiled earnestly. "He- he-" She broke off, flushing. After a moment, she finished quietly, "He's the most important person in my life. He means so much to me; I don't know what I'd have done if I hadn't met him that day… So thank you."

Wide eyed, Aki didn't speak for a minute, staring over Lucy's shoulder. Slowly, somewhat uncertainly, she returned Lucy's hug. "I," she said, voice wavering, "knew I could tell you… I knew you wouldn't doubt him for one second." She chuckled wetly.

Lucy shook her head. "I would never doubt him over something like this."

Aki nodded vaguely, then jerked, pulling back to look incredulously up at her, squinting. "What would you doubt him for, then?"

Lucy shrugged, grinning. "I have to say, though, Aki-chan, I can see why knowing Master's grandfather wouldn't be a crazy thing, now."

Aki laughed, nodding. "By the way," she said abruptly, looking serious, and Lucy tensed.

"What now?" she asked warily, not really wanting to know. "Don't tell me Gajeel is my cousin or, or that Erza is your parent's sister with a bad case of memory loss."

Aki beamed, shaking her head. "You're not so much taller than me anymore."

—

As they had anticipated, Lucy was woken by a broken cry and a small thump. She got out of bed hurriedly and ran to the sofa to find Aki crying on the floor, crouched forward on her knees, clutching her head, blood running over her fingers.

"AKI-CHAN!"

She took Aki's face in her hands, ignoring the other's feeble struggling and shouts as she examined the area. Glancing at her coffee table, she saw blood, there, too. She got up and hurried to the bathroom as Aki whimpered, grabbing her first aid kit and rushing back.

As she sat down beside her, reaching for her head, Aki lurched upward, hitting Lucy's hand. She cowered, scooching herself backwards. Feeling the sofa, she started trying to squeeze under it. When Lucy touched her, she shouted and scrambled backwards.

"Aki-chan! It's okay! You're safe!"

Seeing her about to hit the dresser, Lucy grabbed her, and Aki screamed. "Get off! Get off! Stop!"

"Aki-" Lucy broke off as Aki's foot found her face. It didn't hurt all that much, but it did manage to shock her into letting go, and Aki scrambled away on her hands and knees.

"Nii-chan!"

"Aki-chan," Lucy started carefully, crawling after her. "Aki-chan, you're-"

"W-where am I?" she whimpered, pressing herself into the space under Lucy's desk.

"You're at my place, Aki-chan," Lucy said patiently, inching closer. She took it as a good sign that Aki didn't become more panicked, and reached out again.

The second her hand touched Aki, she shrieked, "No! Stop! Please! Nii-chan!"

Lucy pulled her out easily and hugged her. "Shh, shh, Aki-chan, it's-"

"No! Stop! I'm sorry! Please- I c-can't- see- hear you! I'm s-s-sorry! Please don't hurt me!"

Lucy stared down at her in bewilderment. "Aki-chan-"

"Please don't hurt me! I'm s-sorry! I-! Nii-chan! Da-" Her breath caught, and she stopped struggling.

Lucy started rubbing her back. "It's alright," she soothed. "You're safe. It was a dream."

Aki made a couple choking sounds, and Lucy tilted her back. She looked petrified, and pained. Lucy picked her up and placed her on the bed, then brought over the first aid kit.

She was perfectly capable of wrapping a bleeding head, even if she needed to take her to the infirmary as soon as she had calmed down, and wasn't too worried about it. Aki seemed to be fine, if her fighting was any sign.

Aki had rolled onto her side, her cheek resting in a slowly broadening circle of blood. Now in the moonlight, Lucy could see that she was smaller than she had been when cursed, almost like a certain prodigy from the past…

—

You: I'm so glad I chose this fic that has NaLu tagged and I can't wait for Scar to write them getting together in her

｡.:* style *: .｡

Me: Yeah about that...

Yes, the potential aftereffect of Doriate's Law of Retrogression is to be turned younger and lose your memories for a while. No, that is not cannon. Yes, I did it anyway. No, I have no plans of giving you respite from my evil writer raccoon paws. Yes, you will continue reading this story anyway because trust me, the plot and angst gets /good/.

also seeing as I warned all of you multiple times (I type, totally not projecting my anxiety about this decision as I desperately try to justify myself) that I don't do romance, the fact that I didn't write it this time just means that I'm disappointed in both of us.