Hello all! I didn't hear much in response to my posed question last chapter so this is the last opportunity to put your two cents in: should there be a time skip chapter at the end or not?

This is (potentially) the second to last chapter so please enjoy!


He kept walking, hoping to work his mind into figuring out how to solve this situation. He ran his fingers through his hair, lingering towards the back of his head to grasp and pull on his locks. How did this all happen?! Everything was going so well…

Natsu stared down at the ground; his eyes focus on a single spot on the pathway upon which he stood but his mind focused on her, and only her. His life suddenly felt empty… just as he had found something that made his life more than just a day to day hassle and he lost, to his own stupidity.

"Gah, I'm so stupid!" He yelled out loud as he threw his hands out to his sides.

"You got that right!" Natsu turned just in time to see a fist rapidly flying towards his face. He didn't have time to block to the approaching object, so he squeezed his eyes shut. The fist impacted him squarely on his jaw, and the sheer force of the impact sent him flying back onto the ground.

Natsu stayed on the ground, recovering from the attack he just received. He peered through his half-shut eyes to see a fuming blonde figure standing before him. He blinked a few times to steady his focus. When it returned to him, he clearly saw Sting standing in an aggressive stance, breathing heavily as if trying to subdue his boiling anger. "Get your ass up!" he yelled at the pinkette before him, but Natsu didn't move. "Stand up so I can hit you again!"

"Sting, stop!" Yukino called from a distance as she ran towards the men. Natsu leaned up onto his elbows to look at his attacker.

"Don't you think my family has been through enough?! We've already lost our mother and now we are faced with the loss of our father, but oh, that's not enough for you… you had to go and break my sister's heart!" Natsu's eyes twitched at the last statement. "I've had enough of you using my family to make yourself feel better."

"Well, I feel like shit so obviously I messed up somewhere along the way." Natsu yelled back, his jaw beginning to lightly throb. Yukino caught up to the two, but remained silent as she stood just behind her husband.

"You messed up a long time ago, the messed-up part is that it took you using my sister to realize that."

"Sting…" Yukino whispered harshly to him.

"I didn't use her!" Natsu yelled in reply.

"So posing as her fiancé to make your parents proud of you isn't using her?!" Natsu pursed his lips together and clenched his jaw. "But that wasn't enough for you… then you had to go and play with her heart."

"Fine!" Natsu yelled, causing Sting to pause. "I used her just to feel better about myself, is that what you want to hear?!" Sting's shoulders relaxed a bit, but he and his wife maintain their shocked faces. "But that was too boring, and I needed to have a little fun, so I slept with her!"

Sting's shoulders began to rise as his anger grew. His head began to tip down so his eyes could not be seen. "Oh, and she was good."

"Stop it," Sting whispered as he clenched his fists tightly.

"She melted into the palms of my hands…"

"Stop it!" Sting yelled louder, barely able to maintain his composure.

"So easy… I barely had to work for it."

"Shut your mouth!" Sting yelled as he jumped on top of Natsu and began pummeling Natsu in his face repeatedly. Sting's eyes were wide with rage, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He barraged Natsu with punches, solely motivated by the anger he had for this man.

After a few moments of fighting, Sting's mind cleared just a moment for him to realize Natsu wasn't fighting back. He glanced down at Natsu's body to see he wasn't sitting on Natsu's arms, in fact they were extended out to his sides. Sting stopped his attacks to catch his breath; still, Natsu did not move.

"Fight me!" Sting yelled. Natsu merely glared at the blonde above him through his swollen eyes. "Fight back!" Sting yelled again, this time his voice more strained.

"Sting," Yukino whispered calmly as she walked up behind her husband and placed her hand on his shoulder. Sting glanced over his shoulder at her to search her eyes for an answer for Natsu's actions. Yukino simply shook her head gently from side to side.

"Do you feel any better Natsu?" she asked, but the pinkette simply looked at her. "Have you punished yourself enough?" His eyes twitched but maintained contact with hers.

The two held eye contact until Natsu cracked, "I've been such a screw up my whole life. Nothing I ever did seemed like the right decision; I always questioned every little thing I ever did and considered how others would think about it. But Lucy… she just felt so right, she always has."

"And you're just gonna let her go?" Natsu opened his eyes in surprise and turned his head forward once more to look at the blonde, who was still sitting on top of him. Sting stared at Natsu intently, "My sister is the most precious thing in my life; she has always placed others' happiness above her own. The only times I have seen my sister truly happy… is when she is with you." Natsu's eyes continue to widen and his body began to shake. "If you really love my sister, like I know you do… you'd go after her, you'd fight for her."

Natsu laid on the ground stunned by the kind words of the man who was moments ago attacking him. "I think what my husband is trying to say..." Yukino began as she leaned over her husband's shoulder to speak to Natsu, " ...is get your ass up and go get her!" Yukino yelled sternly as she pointed over her shoulder towards the parking lot. Natsu looked between Yukino and Sting; they were once angry but now appeared to be smiling warmly at him. He glanced down at his chest to look deep within himself. What do you want? He asked himself. He looked back up at the people above him, and his eyes softened, and his body relaxed. "I want Lucy," he whispered just loud enough for the two to hear him. The two reacted by smiling even more at him. "I want Lucy," he said once more, this time louder and with more confidence.

"Well?" Sting asked as he placed his hands on his hips. Natsu looked from the smug blonde to the girl standing just behind him. Natsu raised his eyebrows and Yukino responded with a shrug of approval. Natsu glared back at Sting and gave him a smug grin just before landing a punch to the blonde's jaw.

Sting flew off the pinkette and landed on his butt. "What the hell man?!" Sting yelled as he simultaneously rubbed his jaw and his behind in pain.

"I can't very well chase after the girl of my dreams if her fat ass brother is sitting on top of me, now can I?" Natsu joked as he stood and dusted the dirt off himself.

"Why you…" Sting began but was interrupted by a phone ringing. Yukino retrieved a cell phone from her back pocket and looked at the screen before sliding the bar to unlock the phone. "Hey, Mrs. Spetzo. [pause] He is with me." She glanced at Sting. "He had his hands full." She glanced back at Natsu. Yukino was silent as if listening to the conversation on the other end of the phone.

Yukino's eyes suddenly shot open and her mouth parted, but no sounds came out. Yukino remained silent for another moment before replying, "We'll be right there." Natsu and Sting both wore looks of concern as Yukino hung up the phone, but noticed she maintained a firm grip on the phone in her hand.

She slowly met the gazes of the men before her. "Jude's in the hospital," she stated quietly.

Sting stood up in a fury, "Wh-what?! What happened?!"

Yukino turned towards her husband, "She said he suddenly collapsed right after we left so they rushed him there."

"We have to get there now!" Sting yelled as the three took off running towards the parking lot.