Hey Guys,

As promised, chapter 17 is here. My plan is to get chapter 18 half done before I leave later this week and then finish it late next week when I return so perhaps there will be a chapter next week, but we'll have to see. If I get really inspired, maybe 18 will be done before I leave midweek, but I can't guarantee it.

As always, enjoy!

- Singed

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Lucy

Lucy had just settled back into her seat, ready to begin letter seventeen, when Natsu gave a great shout.

"Haha, a big one!" Startled, Lucy looked over to see Natsu pulling on his fishing rod, winding on the reel to bring the line back in. Or rather, he was trying too. This fish must have been a monster for Natsu to be having such trouble.

Lucy watched for another moment or two, neither the fish nor Natsu gaining any ground. Suddenly, Natsu gave a mighty larch forward and almost fell into the water, but was able to catch himself in time.

"Natsu!"

"I'm good Lucy, though if you could maybe find some way to keep me grounded, that would be great." He said through his teeth. Lucy reacted without thinking and called Virgo.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Could you sink Natsu a bit into the ground, so he stays in place while he reels this fish in?"

"Of course," Virgo bowed and disappeared into the ground. Suddenly, Natsu yelled in surprise as two hands came up from the soil, wrapped around his ankles and pulled him down until the ground was up to his mid calves. Lucy nodded and ran over to Natsu, who was still no closer to reeling in the fish.

"What else can I do?"

"Well, if you knew how to speak fish, maybe you could go down there and reason with the guy." Lucy frowned, not in annoyance, but because Natsu had just given her an idea. She called upon her water dress and dove in. She swam quickly because even though the dress gave her the ability to hold her breath longer and swim faster, she still had limits. She grabbed onto Natsu's line and used it to show her to the fish. Down, down, down she swam where the water grew dense, dark and cold, yet she still couldn't find the fish. She was quickly running out of air and she was about to turn back when she saw it. The thing that was attached to Natsu's hook. His hook was firmly secured to a porous rock that made up the bottom of the river. Natsu may be the strongest man she knew, but not even he could move such a large piece of rock trapped under so much water with nothing but a fishing hook and line.

Kicking furiously, now in need of air, Lucy went to the very bottom, grabbed onto the hook and pulled it free. In the process, the hook latched onto her dress and suddenly she found herself racing towards the top of the water at a much faster rate than she could have swum.

Bursting from the water, flying into the air, she was greeted by a great yell of triumph from Natsu as she fell into his waiting arms. She took a couple of deep breaths, then pushed her hair out of her face to see her fiance smiling like crazy.

"I've caught a lot in my day, but this is by far my favorite catch." Lucy slapped him good-naturedly and slid out of his arms. Virgo, who was still there, held out some dry clothes and Lucy accepted them before Virgo disappeared.

"Well, I guess if I had to be caught by anyone I'm just glad it was you." Lucy marched off into the trees to gain some privacy while she changed. When she returned, Natsu was back to fishing.

"What did happen to the fish Luce?" He asked as she settled back in.

"Nothing. There was no fish. Your hook was caught on the bottom of the river." Natsu nodded and turned his attention back to the water. Lucy squeezed a few more drops of water out of her hair and then turned her own attention back to her seventeenth letter.

Piece 17 - Our Team

Natsu,

It goes without saying, but we really do make a great team. I know that I complain about you a lot and sometimes I say things like I should have been a solo act or joined forces with someone else, but honestly, you and I are perfect together. Obviously, in more than one form. The truth though is that I didn't really realize how good of a team we were until we were on Tenrou.

I'll admit, it was kind of fun to be partnered up with someone new for a change Cana's fighting style was completely different and she can kick butt when she really focuses and there isn't too much alcohol in her. But, even from the beginning, I will admit that I missed being with you and that I was a little hurt when you didn't choose me for your Tenrou team. I mean, I knew why you chose Happy. You guys probably had a pact or something from years before and you guys had been a team longer, so knew each other's moves just as well as your own, but still, it stung just a little. I also knew that this trail could take up to a week to complete, and according to the records, one time it took as long as two weeks. So, I knew I'd miss you guys something fierce. Thus, when Cana offered, or rather when I offered to be Cana's partner, I was very happy she agreed.

I mean, could you imagine if I hadn't been on that island? I wouldn't have seen you guys for seven years! I would have thought you were dead! I would have been devastated. I'm devastated now just thinking of the possibility, which is probably why it is important not to live in the past. Anyway, getting to the part that made me fall even more for you.

I suddenly found myself all alone in the woods. Cana was gone and I was worried that something horrible had happened to her when that giant pale sumo guy showed up, Kain was his name, I think. Let's just say that it was incredibly lucky for me that he was so stupid and not one of those villain types who want to take out their opponent right away. Still, even with his lack of brains and at times, lack of drive to kill me, I was done for if I hadn't run into you and Happy.

You two looked the worse for wear and I was concerned that you wouldn't have the strength to help me, but then you offered to battle with me, for old time's sake. I was surprised at how my heart stopped and then soared as we teamed up again. I really had missed you more than I realized.

The battle that followed was both impressive and oddly silly, especially when he accused us of being romantic on the battlefield. At the time we denied it, but I wonder what he'd think of us now. He'd either think I'd betrayed him or that he was the reason we came together in the first place. I suppose in some bizarre sense, he did help since he was a part of creating one of the many pieces.

The battle was memorable to be sure, but there are specifically two things that stood out to me during that fight. One, you purposely took the time to feel my butt. Don't deny it either. I know that you were trying to get to him and he was controlling me, but I'm sure that there were many other ways you could have gotten around me. Jumping over me and placing your hand on my butt was just the opportunity you needed. The reason I know it was done on purpose was because if you had been solely focused on the fight, you wouldn't have taken the extra effort to squeeze it.

However, probably the most important part was when he threatened to kill me, and you were stuck under some rocks. He was planning on crushing my head and I really worried that this was the end. Panicking, I had a sudden moment of clarity. I wasn't worried about my own life at that moment, I was worried that I wouldn't be around to be a part of our team. Who would look after you? Who would you work with? Would you or could you ever replace me? So I let my heart speak. I watched the panic grow in your eyes as I told you how much I loved being a part of Fairy Tail and being your friend. It was funny, how my panic lessened as yours grew. I wonder sometimes if that speech gave you enough of a boost to defeat Kain. I wonder if you realized that that could have really been goodbye.

I'm happy it wasn't. Of course, I could have done without being turned into a burning Lucy missile. It was a creative solution and did the job, but still. Anyway, after that, we found ourselves in even more of a pickle, but all of that is part of a different piece. Just remember, you may be a thousand times stronger than me, but you'd also probably be dead without me.

Love,

Lucy

She sealed up the seventeenth letter, just as the sky was starting to turn the yellow-orange that heralds the afternoon. Lucy wondered how much longer Natsu was going to go until with another yell he pulled out a huge fish. He smiled at her like a little boy. She smiled and stuck her recent letter away.

Natsu

Natsu sighed into the hot water of the bath. He had decided that he might be perkier if he relaxed a little first. He brought his water to a boil, just the way he liked it. He could never do this with Lucy, which meant that he needed to take advantage of these solitary nights while he could. Not that he was going to regret it too much, he was giving up something so small for the love of his life. He could deal with that trade and then some.

He could feel the heat and the fragrant bath oils relieving the stress. He wasn't sure what the herbalist put into the bath oils, but once he'd tried them at Lucy's he'd promptly stole the rest of the box and ordered a year's supply from the store. Lucy had been pretty upset when she'd found out about it, but from then on she gifted a box of bath oils to him for Christmas and she was always able to find a new scent he hadn't tried yet.

Smiling a little to himself, he knew deep down one of the things that made his relationship with Lucy so special. They were always watching each other's back, regardless of how small the situation was, and he knew that they were both willing to pay the ultimate price for each other. It was comforting to know that you've found that person, but it is also terrifying. It was the terrifying part that had kept him from saying something for years. True, he'd been pretty blind for awhile. Even when he'd admitted to being attracted to Lucy, it took him far too long to realize that his feelings went far past simply being attracted.

Sighing, he dried himself off as he rose from the water, needing neither a towel nor time as the water quickly turned to steam. He dressed in nothing but boxers and went back to the table. The lacrima was sitting there, ready to go and he turned it on as he leaned back.

Piece 17 - Our Team

"Hey Luce, I just got out of the bath. Uh, I love that scent you got me for Christmas last year. I use it whenever I'm particularly upset or stressed out. Of course, you can't tell the guys this, they'd never let me forget it."

"Anyway, I'm sure you remember that time on Tenrou when we fought that big pillow guy. No idea what his name was now, but I do remember that freaky doll he had and his obsession with you. I still want to know what you did to make him think that you two were an item. At the time, I was already angry over my fight with Ultear, but when he made his beliefs clear, I wanted to strangle that guy. It wasn't like other men hadn't been attracted to you and been plenty vocal about it, but this guy was the scum of the earth or at least part of it. How in the world could he think you'd actually be attracted to him?"

"But anyway, I'll admit that when it was announced that I'd be going to the trials that year I chose Happy out of instinct. We had been talking about battling for S-class together for so long, I just had to take him. However, if I really want to be honest, I almost chose you. I was just … uncomfortable with the thought of you staying behind and for the day and a half that I thought you wouldn't be coming was an interesting one. Every time I stopped to remember you wouldn't be there with us, I grew uncomfortable, then nervous, and finally downright anxious. It was like I knew something big would happen on that island and I wanted you with me. Of course, we all know what it was, but when Cana announced that you would be her partner, the anxiety vanished. You know, come to think of it, I never did thank Cana."

Natsu sighed and shook his head. "So much happened on that island. I mean, I finally fought Gildarts, we met Zeref without knowing who he was …" suddenly Natsu grew quiet and zoned out for a moment. When Lucy would watch this later her heart would hurt for him. He hardly spoke of his brother. The brother who had loved him so much that he'd been cursed to live forever because of his desire to bring back his dead family. His brother who had gone mad because of his immortality and created unspeakable evils and curses but also developed friendships and loves, helping to shape many of the goods in their world. Natsu may have played a major role in the final defeat and death of his brother, but a part of him, a private part of him still grieved for the brother and family he couldn't remember.

"Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. Getting back to the island. I was in the middle of fighting Ultear and it wasn't going well. I was trying to come up with a way to defeat her but I couldn't. She was just too good, too powerful. It's actually a really good thing that she eventually came onto our side. It was just as I was about to lose all my strength that you showed up with a different opponent. As I mentioned, he made me pretty angry with his treatment of you so when Ultear decided to leave, though I threw a fit, I was actually glad that I got to beat that guy up some."

"It turned out to be a pretty tough battle because of that doll. He controlled you and it seemed to give you super strength. Not that I minded all that much. I got to grapple with you and yes, you've accused me for years that I purposely grabbed your butt. Here it is, yes I did. I saw my opportunity and I took it. I denied it of course but there is no point to that now. I've already revealed to you that I had been struggling with some more lustful thoughts, and that temptation was just too much for me to handle, especially since my blood was already burning. I got kicked in the face for my troubles but I have no regrets."

"Anyway, the part that I really need to talk about, even though talking about your butt is much more enjoyable, is that last part. I was trapped and perfectly useless when you needed me most, again. My mind was racing as I saw him pick you up by the head, his scent and face finally showing his intention to kill. I had to save you! I couldn't believe that I was letting you down again! I struggled against those stones, but it was pointless, I couldn't move them. Then, you broke through my panic when you started telling me how much you loved being a part of Fairy Tail and how much everyone has meant to you. How it was the happiest time of your life."

Natsu grew silent for a moment and the chair creaked and started to smoke before he could get himself together.

"That was when blind panic turned into steeled determination. I would find a way to defeat this guy and save you. There was no way he was going to take that life from you and especially not in front of me. Luckily, that doll was still close by, and seeing that your hair was still in it, I knew I had a way to save you. So, I caused you to now attack him and I'll tell you, that revenge was sweet. Watching you beat that guy to a pulp was beautiful and that last move where you because a flaming missile was by far one of the highlights of my life. I know you didn't appreciate it much, but it was glorious and one of my better moments in finding a way to defeat an opponent."

Natsu laughed and sighed, reliving that moment a few times in his head. That one memory always put him in a better mood.

"Of course, once you caught your breath, you and Happy helped me out from under those rocks and we had to keep moving. But, you know that was by far one of my favorite battles with you and not just because of the butt thing, but because in so many ways it was a moment where we truly came together as a team and battled with true determination. I won't say that it hadn't happened before and it didn't happen afterward too, but I think that in so many ways was the most conclusive. I guess it was when I realized that I on my own wasn't strong enough to defeat every opponent, but you added to my strength and then some by simply being around."

"Anyway, I need to wrap this one up so I can get to the next one. If I don't stop now, I'm just going to keep going. See ya, Luce,"

Natsu turned off the lacrima and sighed. The bath really had him feeling better and his memory of defeating the ugly marshmallow helped to balance his unfortunate mistake from earlier. He'd definitely be able to do at least one more, maybe two. Oh, who was he kidding if he didn't hit another slump, he'd finish number twenty before he went to bed.