Hey Guys,

Sorry for the late post ... again. I had some family stuff this week and that slowed me down in both writing and editing this chapter. This week looks a little clearer of distractions, so hopefully, 2 chapters will be out by next Sunday. As always, hope you enjoy and feel free to comment and review.

- Singed

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Lucy

Lucy watched as Natsu paled and stammered out a "Yes Ma'am," to her command of making them lunch. She had tried to channel her Edolas version and it seemed to have worked, but at what cost? She followed Natsu into the kitchen, where he was scrambling to compile the items to make sandwiches. She started laughing and decided to step in when she saw him grab the baking soda and raw beef in his haste.

He turned at the sound of her laughing and she decided to reassure him. "Don't worry Natsu, we'll do it together. I was just trying something." Lucy grabbed the loaf of bread and started taking the pieces out, while Natsu continued to watch her.

"Did it work?" He asked, slowly.

Lucy stopped to think for a moment. She had wanted to feel empowered but all she felt was silly and kind of a bully. "No, not really. Don't worry. I'll be staying myself from now on." Lucy had started making sandwiches again, and Natsu had followed suit, helping to add the ingredients. When they were done, Lucy had a normal sandwich of turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and mustard with an apple as a side dish. Natsu's sandwich on the other hand was a triple stacker, stuffed with mostly meat and cheese. When they got married, she was determined to add a few things to his diet. After all, if she lost him to a heart attack instead of some world-saving crazy battle that was too much for his old bones, then she'd feel a little miffed.

"So, what do you want to do today Lucy?" Natsu asked after inhaling his sandwich.

"Well," Lucy answered, "I need to go to the bakers and pay the last deposit. You could come with me and see if the baker is willing to let you try samples again." She watched as Natsu's eyes lit up with the suggestion and he nodded excitedly.

"Then maybe we could go for a walk or something," Natsu suggested. "We could go to the woods, our special spot and I can fish while you do some reading or writing."

Lucy smiled as she rose and took his plate. She kissed him on the forehead and smiled. "That sounds like a good idea Natsu. I need a break and then …" Lucy trailed off as she got a whiff of Natsu.

"Uh, Natsu, when was the last time you took a bath?"

"Last night, why?"

"Uh, because you smell like you just ran a marathon!" Lucy quickly went to the sink and started washing the dishes to both get the chore done and to get away from his body odor.

"I did run the whole way here and I forgot to use my deodorant this morning."

"Well, before we go anywhere, you are taking a bath."

"Aww, come on Lucy!"

"No Natsu. Now go take your bath and if you do it quickly enough, I might just kiss you and let you rest your head in my lap when you inevitably fall asleep while fishing." That was all Natsu needed before he rushed off to her bathroom. Lucy sighed at how easy it was and then snuck to her writing desk. She quickly packed a bag with her writing supplies but left one parchment on the desk and one quill. She knew that she had maybe twenty minutes and that should be enough time.

Piece 14 – You let me be strong enough.

As I write this Natsu, you are taking a bath in my bathroom.

Honestly, how men can become so smelly in such a short amount of time is beyond me. But, I don't have that much time and if I'm going to get this done, then I need to stay focused. I am returning to Edolas for this letter, but this one won't be filled with my insecurities.

I'm sure you remember after we made it to the capital city how we easily found the lacrima. After all, they made such a big deal about it, how could we miss it? Anyway, I remember how angry you were. I remember how you wanted to go charging in like you always do and save our friends, our family. In all honesty, I wanted to help you. I wanted to be right behind you. I wanted to save our friends just as badly as you did.

Then, I saw the guards. In your current state, we'd be caught pretty early on and we'd fail in the rescuing. So, I instinctively grabbed you from behind and held on for dear life. I knew I wasn't strong enough, not even close. You would walk right out of my arms, breaking my hold like spider silk. I had held you back before in Oshibana Station, but at the time you hadn't been as angry, at the time the stakes weren't quite so high, at the time you had already known there was nothing you could do.

When I held you back in Edolas, I knew my strength was lacking, only you allowed it to be sufficient. You allowed my feeble hold on you to be enough to stop you from charging forward and getting us arrested so much faster. I realize that it could have been because my touch was enough to give you a split second to think, my words, whatever they were at the time, broke through the rage screaming in your mind. But to me, none of that matters because it still meant that you allowed me to be strong enough to be your anchor and your council.

After all, half of a true partnership is allowing someone else to be your equal. Allowing someone else to speak powerfully into your life. You did that for me on that day. You made me your equal in your mind and I don't even know if you were aware you did it. So Natsu, I promise, from this day forward, I'll strive to be worthy of that kind of equal partnership.

Love,

Lucy

Lucy quickly sealed the envelope and dropped it into the box as she heard Natsu moving about in the bathroom. Her time was up, but that didn't matter, so was her letter.

Natsu

Natsu took another sip of his fire whiskey and wondered if it was such a good idea. He had a pretty good tolerance for alcohol, but he often forgot how much he'd been drinking. Usually, if he got to that point, he'd just stop and be fine, but after today …, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself before he got blackout drunk and he had a lot more to record.

Picking up the lacrima again, he stared at it briefly. He could see his reflection in the polished surface. He really hadn't changed much since his first meeting with Lucy. Then again, neither had she. Her hair was longer, his was a bit shorter. Her boobs were a bit bigger and so were his biceps, but really there wasn't much of a difference. Maybe the march of time had added a few maturing marks to their faces and he had a few more scares, but that was it.

He wondered for a moment how someone could change so much on the inside and not show in on the outside. He felt so different from the boy who'd stumbled onto his soul mate all those years ago. But, he wouldn't say that he felt much like a man either. He was a man, to be sure. Gone was his lack of responsibility, but he still felt so young. He also found that he was far less self-absorbed. He'd never been what he'd call selfish, though maybe others had felt differently, he put others before himself now, and not just when there was danger, but constantly.

He wondered when that had happened. When did the slow but crucial change begin? He wasn't sure, but he knew when he'd first recognized it.

Piece 14 - You were strong enough.

"Hey, Luce,"

Natsu stopped, unsure of how to continue. "You know, I can't remember when I've been this confused. You'll know what I'm talking about, how could you not? Huh, could I have handled that situation any differently? You probably think so."

He quickly shook his head and turned his thoughts back to another time. "I'm getting off-topic though. Listen," he sighed, "have you ever looked at yourself and suddenly realized that you've changed? I'm sure you have. You are smart and so have probably seen yourself changing. It won't surprise you to learn that I can't remember doing that until Edolas. We were in the capital city, watching those jerks celebrate their victory of stealing the magic from Earthland."

"When I saw the lacrima and I realized that our friends were in there, I was so filled with rage that I was determined to beat them all up, even though I didn't have my magic at the time. The thought of getting caught and arrested never even crossed my mind. They were celebrating murder and there was no way I was going to let that slide."

Natsu took another long swig of his whiskey and continued. "Then, as if by some miracle, I felt these two slim arms wrap around my waist. Your voice quickly followed, telling me to stay strong. I can remember wondering why you were doing this. I remember wondering for a split second if you were a traitor. But whatever you did, whatever you said calmed me enough to clue me in. No, you were keeping me out of jail long enough for our mission to survive. That giving in to my urge to fight 100 soldiers was weaker than staying quiet and waiting it out."

"Most of me still wanted to go forward, I almost did, but for some reason I let you stop me. This shocked me enough, that it gave the reasonable part of me even more of a hold over my actions and I stayed put. I remember just standing there, angrier than I'd even been, with you wrapped around me and I did nothing. I looked up and for just a moment, I saw my reflection in the lacrima. I looked the same, except for the clothes. How could I look like nothing had changed when apparently everything had?"

Natsu stopped and sighed. "I still sometimes dream of that moment. It's weird though because it never changes. It's a dream so I could run through so many different scenarios. But no, it is always us, standing before the lacrima. You holding me back with fragile arms and belief and me letting you because for the first time, I wanted your fragility and belief more than I wanted my strength and action."

Natsu suddenly laughed and shook his head. "You know, hours later, after the real event, I could still feel you pressed up against me. It was like a constant warm tingle. I guess I should have realized then how much I was attracted to you, but I had a lot of other things to worry about, but that is for the next recording."

"I'll see you in a few Luce."

Natsu turned off the lacrima and just sat there for a moment. If he concentrated hard enough, he could imagine her there, with her arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. He needed that hug now more than ever, but after how the day had ended he wasn't sure if she'd give him a hug or a smack if he showed up at her door.