It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, one just like the day Lucy first summoned Natsu. It had been months, far too long, since the incident. Lucy wanted to believe she was better, Gray and Levy told her on an endless loop that she looked better than ever but Lucy knew deep down that she wasn't truly better.
Nobody saw the way she cried once the doors were closed, and nightfall hit. Nobody saw that part.
Lucy hissed as her toe touched the water, a hand flying out to balance herself on the side of the bathtub. She regained her composure before dipping her foot back into the steaming water. Once she stood with both legs in the water, she carefully sat until she was surrounded by a slow burn of water.
If it had been any earlier, tears would've flooded into her eyes as memories of Natsu filling her mind. But today, she sat empty minded in the hot water. As months went by, it was closing in on the 6th month since the fateful day.
Thoughts clouded her vision occasionally, but most of the time she sat, emotionless and empty. With her knees drawn to her chest, Lucy sighed. She leaned back against the bathtub, resting her head as her eyes shut.
The silence wasn't deafening, it embraced Lucy as she tried her hardest to force away any unwanted thoughts. At first, silence was the last thing she wanted to hear but now months later, silence seemed to be a comfort
To be surrounded by nothingness while your mind screams creates somewhat of a balance, Lucy supposed.
But while her mind slowly began to run wild and scream, the silence was supposed to create a peaceful balance. Today it failed her.
The sound of an object hitting water caused her eyes to open, panic filling her body as she sat up, frantic eyes immediately landing on the figure before her. Her rapid heartbeat pounded in her chest, her hand flying up to cradle her chest with her hands.
"Mavis, mom. You can't scare me like that.."
Lucy's mother stood at the bathroom door, tossing the bar of soap from the bathroom sink into the bathtub to gain her attention. "Well it's not my fault you zoned out again, I called your name like 20 times!" Lucy's mother chuckled, just her head poking into the bathroom.
"Well, what is it?" Lucy asked, slowly becoming more annoyed as her mother interrupted her steaming bath. She fished out the bar of soap, placing it on the edge of the bath.
"There's someone at the door for you. I don't think I recognize him, but he said he goes by Natsu. Do you know him? Can I invite him insid-"
Before Lucy's mother could finish her statement, the dripping wet girl reached for the towel placed nearby. "Oh my god, u-uh, yes! I'll be there in a moment!" Lucy exclaimed, nerves wracking her body.
Is this real? Is it my Natsu? How did he find me? Does he remember me?
These questions filled the girl's mind as she hurriedly dried her body and dressed in the sweatpants and hoodie on the counter of the bathroom. It wasn't what she'd want Natsu to see her in after all these months, but at this point, Lucy believed she'd wear anything if it meant she could see Natsu, it had been so long, would Natsu look the same as he did all those months ago?
She hurriedly dried her hair as best as she could before rushing through the bathroom door into his bedroom. And there he sat.
He was much paler than he was all those months ago, his body that once was constantly on display now covered in jeans and a hoodie, vans on his feet. He even wore glasses that framed his eyes. And, his eyes. They were still the brown ones that shined from the floor on that fateful day, a glimmer of red in them. They were gorgeous, maybe even prettier now than before.
"L-Lucy?" His voice was just as his memories recalled, the same voice she dreamed about hearing for months. But now, it was here, in front of her. But why?
"Natsu. H-How d-di-"Lucy stuttered, her eyes trailing up and down His body as he sat at the edge of Lucy's unmade bed. Before she could find the words and force them from her mouth, Natsu stood from the spot on the bed. His height was still quite a bit taller than Lucy's.
Natsu's hands reached out for Lucy's shoulders, "You really think I'd forget that easily?
"I-I don't know.. How are you h-here?" Lucy could hardly take in the situation, she almost felt like she'd pass out as she tried to understand the situation.
"Let's sit" Natsu guided Lucy to her own bed before sitting him down. Natsu crouched before the confused boy, eyes staring him down.
"I arrived on Earth in Crocus. My name is Natsu Dragneel, and apparently I work at a company. I'm an assistant, mostly running coffee to people who are more than capable.." He rambled for a moment, before returning to the subject, "It was hard to learn to live my life, and when I started to remember what happened before, it made a lot of sense as to why I couldn't remember earlier than waking up that morning."
Lucy's eyes never left Natsu as he rambled about his situation and how he returned to Earth. She couldn't believe that the one person who she dearly missed for months was before her, acting as though it had only been a few weeks.
Maybe I care more than she does? Lucy couldn't help but the think these thoughts.
"Anyways my memory started to come back last month. I've assimilated and met lots of friends, but one night we visited a club." Natsu cleared his throat, eyes flickering downwards as he continued, "I was flirting with this girl, and she was into it. It was going good but it felt odd. That night I had a dream about a innocent, virgin mortal."
Lucy's stomach sank at his words, in a good way. She loved the way the words 'innocent, and 'virgin, sounded rolling off his tongue in the most sensual way.
Natsu sighed before continuing. "That was the start of the dreams, eventually I started dreaming o-of our memories. The things we did together and the things I did away from you.."
Lucy's brows furrowed, "What do you mean away from me?"
Natsu clicked his tongue, reminding Lucy of his father for a moment, "When you'd leave, and I'd be alone with my thoughts until I eventually got too horny and had to summon a soul. And the way they never satisfied me the way you did, even though we never truly went that far."
Natsu's eyes flew around the room, never landing on the blonde after the words tumbled from his pink, glossy lips. They looked beyond kissable to her.
Lucy nearly teared up at the confession, confession that even though he spent all those days away and never answered Lucy's summons was all because he was in denial. Natsu was too afraid to face his own emotions so he tried to mask it and cover it up. But Lucy wasn't innocent
"I-I understand. There was so many days I felt almost jealous, but I wasn't sure of what." She paused, "Now I know."
Natsu smirked, a wave of emotions passing over Lucy as she remembered all the times Natsu made this face during their shenanigans in Hell.
"And what is that?" Natsu asked inching closer on his knees before Lucy, hands flat on her knees. Lucy's heart was beating a mile a minute, Natsu most certainly could hear it.
Lucy stuttered, "I-I guess I was jealous. I just didn't know it y-yet." The two sat in silence for a moment as they stared into each other's eyes.
There was more they both wanted to say, but they didn't speak up.
"What about your father? Is there anything we can do or is this your fate?" Lucy whispered, watching Natsu's calm expression turn to one of conflict. His slender fingers drummed on Lucy's clothed knee as he thought about the question.
"There's a few spells that can get me back there without attracting attention or needing the help of a demon. I can confront him then." Natsu replied, his voice sending chills down Lucy's back as it brought her back to the many times that Natsu's voice stirred a fire within her. It still did.
"Will you?"
Natsu thought for a moment, his head cocking to the side like a puppy. Natsu almost reached out to thread her finger's through his hair but she kept himself from doing so. She was glad Natsu had found her, but there was so many things to be said and figured out.
"What can I do? Kill him? He'll never listen to me." Natsu mumbled, looking down as he thought hard about the possibilities.
It was almost as if a lightbulb flickered on, Lucy's eyes brightening as she remembered something important. She remembered how this whole thing started, how she ended up in Hell, and how she met the demon who got them into this mess.
"The book that I used to summon you. Maybe there's something in there?" Lucy spoke hurriedly, excited. Natsu nodded, agreeing that it was a great idea.
Lucy stood from the bed before the crouching pink head, entering the walk in closet where a heavy, dark book collected dust on the top shelf. She hadn't touched it since she summoned the demon who now sat as a mortal on her bedroom floor.
She blew the dust off before handing it to Natsu, watching as he immediately flipped it open to the pink sticky note, where the spell that originally summoned Natsu was highlighted in pink.
Natsu cracked a smile, something Lucy rarely saw, "How witchy."
Silence filled the space as his slender fingers worked on the pages, tracing the lines as he read the Latin, and flipping the pages. Lucy's eyes floated up to his face and watched the concentration clear on his face, in awe that the one person who was on her mind nearly every moment of everyday for the past few months was before her, and she remembered everything. It filled Lucy's stomach with butterflies.
"I think this will work.." Natsu spoke up, his eyes widening as he reached the end of the spell. They flickered over to Lucy. They locked eyes, both of their heart strings being pulled. His eyes spoke louder than his cold, hard expression but he was still beyond beautiful.
"Now what?" Lucy hummed, distracted because of the surreal situation and the demon's, or ex-demon's, beauty.
"Now I read this out loud and hope to respawn in Hell" Natsu responded, a small smile forming as he watched the small figure before him become captivated, and watching as Lucy's pretty eyes locked on his lips.
Lucy thought for a moment as she came out of his trace, "W-What doesn't work? What if you forget me or something again?"
Natsu only smirked, a hand reaching for the soft skin of Lucy's cheek, caressing it for a moment before whispering out, "Then I'll remember you again. I won't ever truly forget, Luce"
Lucy let her lips twitch into a smile as she thought about the sweet words, but a whine still pushed from her throat at the thought of bearing another 6 months until Natsu would begin to remember her. She didn't want to do that ever again.
But nonetheless, she nodded and sat beside Natsu as he began to read the spell. His perfect Latin flowed and sounded so beautiful coming from him as he read. It was so different from the first time Lucy attempted to read Latin and summon none other than Natsu. She couldn't help himself as he sat there beside Natsu, her fingers twitching before landing on his knee.
Lucy couldn't lie and say she wasn't afraid, or nervous. She truly was terrified, all these emotions flooding in at once. Never in a million year would she think that the demon who she sold her soul to, the one who used her body for his own sexual entertainment, and then eventually was banished from hell and made into a mere mortal would be sat right beside him months later, reading from the book that got them in trouble in the first place.
It was bittersweet, the feeling rushed through her veins. Lucy's eyes lingered on Natsu, his fingertips never leaving the jean-clad knee as Natsu spoke.
Slowly, the room grew hotter and hotter. At first, Lucy thought she was going mad, before she realized her vision was blurring, and she suddenly became very dizzy. The phenomenon was all too familiar.
She shut her eyes and the fingers wrapped around her own that were pressed to Natsu's knee, reminding her that he was still by her side. When her eyes opened, they were in the place they last had been in, the dark, gigantic library. It was empty, calm compared to the hectic and heartbreaking feeling from the last time they had been there.
Natsu looked over to the smaller, worry in her eyes "Didn't think you'd respawn with me. I thought that spell would leave you on Earth. I'm really sorry, Lucy-"
Lucy waved him off while Natsu gripped harder on her fingers, "It's fine, I'd rather be here with you than to make you face this on your own." Natsu's expression was stone cold, sending shivers down Lucy's spine. She expected more of a reaction at her sweet words, but came up empty handed. Somethings never do change.
Natsu nodded before pulling Lucy into the direction of the grand double doors, peeking through the crack and looking around to be sure nobody was around before walking into the hall. The hall was just as Lucy remembered, dark and colder than the rest of the palace.
They rounded many corners, rushing to an unknown place to Lucy, but she trusted Natsu. Finally, they came face to face with a dark wooden door, golden handles waiting to be yanked on
"This should be where he is, are you ready?" Natsu asked, his face clear of any emotions, but his voice held a shushed excitement. Lucy simply nodded, not having anything else to say as her mouth dried and she became nervous.
And with that, the door was swung open, revealing a scene before him that made Lucy sick to her stomach. Her mind swam with questions, her blood running cold and she was afraid she'd pass out.
The room was large, maybe the size of Natsu's bedroom, completely vacant besides the wooden chair sat in the middle of the room, ropes wrapped around it, before wrapping around the thin wrists of none other than a struggling Natsu
Zeref stood before him, watching with & smirk as he struggled.
mhm mhm...ngl had you in the first half right? I can't drag it out too much now
Stay Safe Lilies!