Just in case anyone is worried, I feel like I should clarify. My possible induction on Friday is not because of my health or safety (although my last one I was induced because of high blood pressure, and everything was fine.) There are a myriad of reasons for the decision, but it mostly boils down to my desire to not saddle her with a Christmas birthday, our limited available options for sitting for our son, and she's honestly just ready to come out. So in case anyone was worried about my health, there's no need to fear. The baby and I are in no danger, we're just ready for her to be here.
Now for the news that is both awesome and not so great: there is only one chapter of this story left. It is trending to be one of the longer ones, but I want to keep it all together so I will not be trying to break it up. I'm thinking Wednesday it will be finished and posted, but at the latest, Thursday it will be up. Along with the final chapter, I will be posting a chunk from my next story, which I am tentatively calling 'An Unusual Reminder,' so be on the look out for that. I can't wait for your guys' thoughts on this and the last chapter, so I'll let you get to it.
And in case it isn't clear, the underlined parts are the article Lucy is writing, amid memories from her travels with Natsu.
As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading.
Lucy pushed aside her notebooks and pulled her laptop forward. She just had to get it written. One more article, and she would be finished writing about her adventures with Natsu. One more article, and she could finally, actually work on moving on. With a couple of deep breaths, she placed her fingers on the keys and started to write.
Last October, I was given a unique opportunity that I was unexpectedly able to accept. I was able to forgo my work on this magazine as a fashion writer and instead write about my adventures with an impulsive, energetic, sweet man who I was friends with for a short time in my childhood. He was travelling the world, looking for a place to settle down, and he invited me to join him. By accepting, I had one of the best experiences of my life.
I heard about Japan, where vendors line the street, crowds fill the buildings, and seafood is as varied as the people who visit.
"What are you doing back already?" Lucy asked as she joined Natsu on the sidewalk.
Natsu shrugged. "Happy wasn't impressed with the food. He said seafood isn't quite the same as fish and after the live octopus, he decided he'd had enough. And while it's interesting over there, it's also very loud, and it was hard on my ears."
…
Natsu stood and dug into his pocket, pulling out a small brown bag. He took the hand closest to him and closed her fingers around it. "Here. I got you something."
"You… got me something? Why?"
"I missed having you around," he answered with a shrug. "Plus, that's what you humans do, get souvenirs when you go on trips. I didn't even need to do any research to figure that out. Every other shop over there boasted that they had the greatest souvenirs in the country. Not that I agreed, but I thought you'd like something so I got you that."
I was able to ski the slopes of Aspen, where I taught my friend the basics and up so that he would not slide down the hills on his backside. I was also briefly lost, caught in a snowstorm, and spent a night in the frozen wasteland that, come morning, revealed the most beautiful sight I've ever seen with my own eyes.
Natsu grinned as he put on his own skis. "The bunny hill sounds lame, let's do the black diamond!"
Lucy blinked at him before she squinted. "You watched videos last night, didn't you?"
"Yep!"
"So you understand that the black diamond is the hardest slope?"
"Yep!"
"Natsu, doing that one first, when you don't even know how to move around in skis, is a terrible idea."
"Of course it's not! Come on, it'll be fun! It's not like it'll kill me. Where's your adventuring spirit?"
Lucy sighed as she watched him awkwardly waddle his way in his skis towards the black diamond sign. "Natsu, please at least let me teach you-"
"See you at the bottom, Luce!" Natsu yelled as he pushed himself over the edge.
"- how to stop," she finished, moving forward to watch his descent. Almost immediately, he lost his balance and began rolling head over heels. As he hit a short flat patch, he managed to get his feet under him, but he wobbled as his skis continued to slide.
"Luce!" he hollered as his arms pinwheeled. "Luce! I don't know how to-" He was cut off as his skis tipped and he began sliding down again. "-STOOOOP!"
Lucy sighed once more as she moved forward and slowly started to follow the half dragon down the mountain. She hadn't realized he was going to be so difficult about learning, or she would have practiced with him before they left their room.
…
"Oh come on, Lucy, we went on the Black Diamond yesterday. That's old news! The guy at the lodge said there are paths all over the mountain that we can go on, so let's go find one! It'll be an adventure!"
Lucy sighed. "Natsu, I'm not so sure-"
"You're never sure, Lucy," he whined. "Come on, with me there, you have nothing to worry about! Even if there's an avalanche or a ravine or anything, I can get you out! You'll be perfectly safe!"
Lucy covered her face with a gloved hand as Natsu leaned down once more, with his pouty lips and big puppy dog eyes, right in her face. "You're not going to leave me alone until I say yes, are you?" Natsu shook his head, his lip seeming to stick out even further. She sighed, causing him to hoot and pump his fist.
"This is going to be awesome, Luce, I'm all fired up! Come on! I wanna go this way!"
…
Lucy glared at him, before she sat next to the fire. She scooted close, willing her limbs to thaw out. As she visibly shivered, Natsu stood from his spot to come to sit behind her and pulled her into his arms. "Natsu… what are you doing?"
"Trying to keep you warm, silly." He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her torso. "You're shivering. I can't have you freezing to death, can I?"
Lucy didn't even consider fighting his embrace as his warmth instantly enveloped her. Instead, she sighed and snuggled closer to him as the cold was slowly chased away.
As she watched the fire crackle, browning the meat suspended above the flames and warming her toes, she decided that getting lost wasn't so bad if you did it with the right person.
…
Lucy forgot all about her desire to pee as she moved to join him in the open air. With the bright sun, she regretted not putting on her sunglasses right away. As she blinked through the brightness, she found herself in awe of their surroundings.
Everything was white. Every mountain and hill top, every tree, every plant, even the pines that were scattered around them were so covered in snow that their true colors barely showed through. "Wow," she whispered.
"I know. I'm really sorry-"
"This is amazing, Natsu." Natsu stopped as he looked her way, only to be floored by the smile that now dominated her face.
Lucy couldn't remember ever seeing anything so beautiful. Sure, the circumstances that had gotten them there weren't ideal, but without them, she never would have seen this sight. This beautiful, untouched, breathtaking sight. She looked his way, unable to hide how enthused she was about being there. "Thank you, Natsu. This trip was a great idea. I'm really glad that you brought me."
I visited the Amazon, and saw things that scientists would argue were impossible to behold. Trees and creatures I've never even heard of, coexisting in perfect harmony, far away from human influence.
There was a pop and a large lizard fell to the ground near the tree before slinking off. Lucy wrapped her arms around herself and moved closer to the real Natsu. "What was that?"
"Mimic. They're a type of demon, but they're not particularly strong. I'll stick closer so you don't run into any more."
"Any more? How do you know there will be more?"
"Because we're almost there," he answered with a grin. "He kind of spoiled the surprise, though. I found a portal that connects this world to the demon realms. It's not easy to get through, not fully anyway, but I can use it to get you into them in a way that will allow you to visit without being in danger."
"I don't understand."
"Basically, you visit the realms as a mirage. Your body stays here and you can't interact with anything, but you can see what they look like."
"If it's so hard to get through, how did that lizard one get here?"
"Not through there. He no doubt felt the energy from it and came here to settle in this world. The guardian in the barrier between worlds will no doubt come through and collect him at some point. That's part of the reason for these in the other realms. The demons miss the feel of home and seek them out, making them easier to catch and return."
They entered a small clearing, and found themselves surrounded by strangely colored animals. There were a pair of monkeys low in the tree, both a strange red shade with solid white eyes. They screeched at the pair and then raced up the tree. Small bugs and butterflies in varying shades of red, yellow and orange floated through the air, making noises much louder than their bodies would suggest capable. A black lizard poked out from behind a blood red leaf and shot its tongue out several feet, pulling many of those bugs back into its mouth.
Lucy's mouth fell open as she realized the trees were also strange. They were a mix of red, black and a sooty gray color. When had the colors changed?
"The portal affects the area around it a little bit, too, but don't worry. Regular humans can't get in here so it's not in danger of being found." He took her hand and pulled her towards a mostly obscured cave. "You ready?"
Lucy gulped, not at all sure, but nodded her head anyway. "Sure."
With a grin, Natsu pulled her forward and they entered the cave.
This chance was cut unexpectedly short, and I'm afraid my friend has moved on to bigger and better things, I'm sure. He was forced to leave early from my abode and it will most likely be some time before he is able to return for a visit, but I don't mind.
I had some of the most fun, and most extraordinary travels, of my life while he was here. I know that I will always remember the fun we had, the laughs we shared, the memories we made, because that was the most important part for me on those travels.
While we explored and sought out a place of residence for him, saw incredible, unbelievable sights, and visited places I'll likely never go again, the one thing I took from the trip was that I am incredibly lucky.
Incredibly lucky to have a friend so amazing. Not because he paid for me to travel the world, but because of who he is.
Incredibly lucky that I was able to make such amazing memories. When I close my eyes, I can still see the smile on his face the first time he was able to stop on his skis without falling, the vast, white mountain landscape after a fresh snow, and the trees that towered over us in the jungle that I swore reached to the sky.
Incredibly lucky that I was able to spend time with someone who helped me grow as a person. Who helped me to learn what was important in life. Who helped me heal from past wounds and figure out how to move on. Who taught me what it means to be a great person and friend.
Who taught me how to love, and what it truly means to be loved in return.
When Lucy's tears finally stopped a while later, she looked up at Loke with a small smile. "He never would have let you take him if he hadn't been sleeping, huh?"
"I wouldn't have even considered trying," Leo said fervently. "I have no doubt he would have tried to kill me, and I'm not sure I could beat a bonded dragon, especially one with demon blood.
"If both halves of him had figured things out and bonded to you, I'm not sure there's a force in all the realms that could have taken him away from you, or vice versa."
...
Lucy kept her eyes on Natsu as Loke shoved her into someone's arms.
She knew it would be the last time she would see him. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew that this would be her last glimpse of the man she loved, the half dragon half demon who had completely stolen her heart.
Those glowing eyes blazed brightly out of his black scaled face as he watched her disappear, seemingly untouched by the vortex of magic swirling around him.
I love you, Luce, came the gruff whisper in her head. The words kept her warm as she became surrounded by cold ground on every side.
...
"Tell me the truth," Lucy said. "Why did he sacrifice himself?"
Loke frowned. "I told you, he did it to save you."
"WHY?" she asked again. "You're my guardian angel, right? Why did he have to save me?"
A tick started in Leo's jaw. "Because I failed."
Lucy's eyes widened. "Erza was right then. I died."
"No, you didn't. Natsu froze time before that happened. If he hadn't, though, I'm fairly certain that you would have."
Anger filled Lucy so quickly that she couldn't stop herself from reaching out and slapping Loke across the face. "You should have saved me," she choked out. "It was your job. If you had just done it right, he wouldn't have felt obligated to sacrifice himself and save my life. It's because you failed that he's dead."
Loke didn't argue, he just continued to watch her with that same apologetic stare.
"Why…" she whispered as she covered her face with her hands. "Why didn't he just let me go? It wasn't his job to protect me. It wasn't his obligation to give up his life to protect the realms."
"Stop using those words- his job, his obligation. That's not why he did what he did," Loke said. "You know that, Lucy."
"I don't know anything," she hissed.
Loke came over and kneeled next to her, taking her hands in his so she was forced to look his way. "He didn't save you because of the realms or because I failed or because he felt any sort of obligation."
Lucy tried to pull away. She didn't want to hear the words, because she knew they would break her all over again.
"Lucy, he saved you because he wanted to. He saved you because the thought of you not existing, even if he couldn't see you again, was too much for him.
"He saved you because he loved you."
I won't ever forget him, whether I see him again or not. Maybe he'll move on to bigger and better things. In fact, I hope he does. He deserves that. To live a long, happy, full life.
In the meantime, I'll still be here. Writing for this magazine, and sharing the many, wonderful things he taught me.
Because everyone should know what Natsu Dragneel has done for me.
Mira looked up, a smile on her face. "Lucy, this is amazing. I think this is a great way to wrap up your series." She set aside the pages and folded her hands as she studied the blonde. "Are you sure it's over?"
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. He's gone and I think I've had enough travelling for a while."
"Well I'm sorry to hear that. I had a lot of good feedback about your articles. Maybe you should consider writing something else for the magazine. We could collaborate a bit and see if there's something else you could work on. How does that sound?"
Lucy shook her head. "I'm good. I'd like everything to just go back to normal, if that's okay with you."
"Alright, if you insist."
"I do. Thanks Mira." Before Lucy could escape, Mira asked her one more question.
"So how long has it been since you heard from him? Is there a chance that he might still come back?"
"I'm not sure how long it's been, but I'm sure he won't be coming back." She gave Mira one more smile and then returned to her desk. She managed not to look at the little dragon next to her computer monitor, but she did look up at the calendar.
As she crossed off the date, she mentally did the math.
Twenty three days.
Twenty three days without Natsu Dragneel in her life.
And she only had a lifetime to go.
