Ugh! It's been a long time since I've updated anything. I've been having a lot of struggles lately. I'm also comforting a family member going through hard times as well. So I've really just been doing homework and gaming with him for the past month to comfort him. Luckily, one of the games we play a lot, Elder Scrolls Online, gives me inspiration. I've actually started a NaLu story based on one of the quests and in the ESO world. I'm really liking it so far and almost done with the second chapter. However, I don't plan on posting it till later because I have so many stories that aren't finished on here. ^^'

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

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Where is END? (Ch. 6)

Part 1: The Misery

Natsu was the last person Lucy saw when her eyelids became too heavy; he was also the first person she saw when she found the strength to lift them again. He was asleep now with his head on the white sheets and soft snores filling the quiet room. He was still holding her hand, she noticed with a smile, and despite his opened-mouth snores, his face looked peaceful. You could almost see the wonderful dream he was having on his immobile eyelids; Lucy was glad to see this, it was so unlike her living nightmare that he would've had if she hadn't stepped in.

"Your staring is freaky, Weirdo."

The blonde jumped in her spot, blinking her bright chocolate eyes at the dragon slayer who was smirking at her.

"S-sorry," she nervously giggled, "I was just staring off into space."

"What were you thinking about?" Natsu rubbed at his eyes, yawning and sitting up.

"Oh, nothing important."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Lucy's stomach decided to speak first, causing her eyes to widen in embarrassment.

Natsu laughed at the blush in her cheeks, "If you're hungry, all you had to do was ask. I'll go have Mira bring you up something."

The celestial wizard patted at her warm cheeks to get them to become pale again, "that'd be great. Thanks Natsu."

"Stop slapping yourself," Two large hands settled on her wrists, pulling her small hands away from her face. She pouted at him.

"I'm not slapping myself, Moron. I'm patting my face."

"Oi," Natsu made a face of offence at her calling him a moron. "Stop patting your face then, Weirdo."

"Idiot."

"Blondie."

"Pinkie-pie."

"Spoiled Princess."

"Dragon Breath."

"Always-gotta-be-loud-in-the-morning."

"Eats-like-a-pig."

"Never-lets-Natsu-read-my-novel."

"Never-knocks-and-uses-the-door."

"Always-whining-about-my-rent."

"Likes-to-trash-Lucy's-apartment."

"Likes-to-fight-nude."

That one made the blonde burst into laughter, causing the dragon slayer to let go of her wrists. "Now, that one isn't true!" Lucy defended as she wiped the joyful tears from her eyes. "I never do that on purpose!"

"So you admit the others to being true?" Natsu smirked triumphantly at her.

"No, I'm not. I'm just saying that last one isn't."

"So how can you explain you flying through the sky at me while naked during the Grand Magic Games last year?"

"I told you, a dragon did that to me!"

"You expect me to believe that a dragon picked you up with his large claws, pulled your small clothes off along with letting your hair down out of your pigtails, and then flung you through the air right at me?"

"No! The dragon used a spell to make my clothes disappear!"

"There's a spell that can do that?!" His face twisted up in surprise at her comment, though she swore she'd told him this before.

"I guess so because that's what happened to me and a whole army of men!"

Natsu blinked and was silent for a moment before putting his hand on his chin and looking away thoughtfully, "I need to learn that spell."

The blonde choked on her own spit, "for what?!"

"For entertainment, of course," he blinked at her like it was obvious.

"I'm not going to be your entertaining stripper, Natsu!" She roared.

"I didn't say I was going to use it on you," The pink haired man smirked, "but if you volunteer, I'd oblige."

Her face was hot, "No way!"

"My, my," a pink and blonde head turned to the doorway where Mira stood holding a tray of food with one hand with it's brother against her cheek in amusement. Gray and Levy stood behind her, trying their best not to laugh; they were not succeeding. "You two have quite interesting arguments."

"They heard the whole thing," Lucy's pink face became a red one, but Natsu only grinned widely. He bore no shame.

"I brought you two some food and some entertainers, but don't worry, they won't strip for you," she winked at them as she set the tray on a table.

"Well, Gray might," Levy stated, walking in the room with the said man. In her arms, she held Lucy's favorite books that the blonde's eyes sparkled at seeing them.

"Hey," the ice mage groaned, "get off my case."

"Whatever do you mean?" the bookworm teased, "You just took off your shir-and there goes your pants too."

"Gah!" Gray exclaimed, looking down to see himself in only his underwear. He quickly looked around for his shirt and already-missing pants.

Lucy, Levy, and Mira laughed at his embarrassment, but Natsu, however, whined like a baby, "Ewwwww! That's not something I want to see! Ah! I think I'm blind now! Luce," he reached out toward her, "where are you? I can't find you."

"I haven't moved," the blonde giggled. "I'm still right in front of you."

"Here Lucy," Mira handed the blonde a plate of her favorite meal, receiving the small gratitude with a smile.

Levy pulled up a chair next to her bed on the opposite side of Natsu while Gray took a chair at the foot of her bed. "I brought your favorite books here along with your novel in case you wanted to write in it some more. I read your updated chapter too, I couldn't resist."

Lucy smiled at her, "that's alright, Levy. Thanks so much."

"No problem, Lu."

Mira slipped out of the room as the four chatted at played around. Gray and Natsu would bicker now and again as Levy chatted endlessly about books and Lucy's novel. The blonde found herself smiling and laughing at her goofy friends. Soon, when Happy joined the fun, everything had gotten much brighter as he cheered Natsu on during short brawls with Gray. It was in moments like these, where Lucy could forget that she was going to die soon. She could forget that she was a demon.

"You know," she suddenly spoke, causing eyes to fall on her. She smiled brightly at all of them, "I really love you guys, so much. I can't imagine my life without you all. You guys make me so happy."

Levy's smile mirrored Lucy's as she launched toward her best friend in a gentle hug. "Aww, Lu! We love you too! There wouldn't be a Fairy Tail without you!"

Lucy hoped and prayed that wasn't true, but the beautiful compliment continued to make her smile.

"Oh, Lucy," Gray rubbed the back of his neck with his face bashful from the praise, "there's no need to be so mushy; you sound like you're gonna die or something."

Her smile slightly dropped, but she didn't let it fall completely.

"Yeah," Natsu added, smirking at her. "You're starting to sound like an old lady. Shall I go get you a cane?"

Letting the hug with Levy fall apart, Lucy scowled and pointed at the pink haired man whom her heart belonged to. "Not you though; I hate you."

Natsu clutched at his heart with his eyes widening and reeling back against the chair away from her. "Ouch! Oh, the pain! Oh, I'm hurt! You cut me deeply, Lushee! I thought we knew each other!"

The fake tears caused Levy and Happy to chuckle, but Lucy just pouted, puffing out her cheek like she would always do, and looked away. "I though we did too until you asked me to be your entertaining stripper…"

"Oi, I never asked you that."

"Huh?" Happy blinked, having not being present during the argument to know about that.

"It's nothing, Happy," Lucy waved him off.

"Seriously though," Natsu continued to cry. "I thought you liked me!"

Lucy blinked, not quite knowing how to respond to that; she could see Levy wiggling her eyebrows at her and she chose to ignore it. She undoubtedly liked him and undoubtedly loved him too, not that she'd ever tell him of course.

Luckily, Gray unintentionally saved her, "Geez, Natsu, quit being a drama queen! It's annoying!"

"What did you say, Frosty?!"

"I said you're being a drama queen, Flame Brain!"

"Grr fight me!" Natsu tackled Gray out of his chair, causing the both of them to hit the floor with a thud before ice and fire flew through the air. Lucy began to laugh as the two went at it again; she truly loved her guild.

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"Natsu~!" Lucy groaned, stating the for millionth time it seemed: "I'll be fine~!"

"Are you sure?" He mumbled back, watching Lucy run around his room, packing his clothes for his trip. The dragon slayer simply sat on his bed moping, groaning, and watching things get put into his pack.

A few moments later, the blonde handed him his packed bag with his brown sleeping-mat. Lucy sighed, crossed her arms, and stared at him as he eyed the bag in his lap.

"Maybe I should just stay home with you…"

"Ugh! Natsuuu~!"

"I'm sorry!" He exclaimed, "you can't blame me for being too worried! What if you need me for something while I'm gone?"

"Natsu Dragneel," Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, setting her hands firmly on his shoulders so she knew that all his attention was on her, "I will be fine! I can take care of myself. Besides, the client asked for you, by name, specifically. You're most widely known for destruction. If he's asking for you, then that probably means you're going to be destroying something big that they couldn't do on their own."
He was still unsure, "…Maybe Happy should stay with you then."

"No, Happy is going with you. You may need him."

"You may need him."

"Oh my gosh! How many times must I say it: I'll be fine! If I don't feel good, I'll visit Wendy and take a nap. I can take care of myself," the celestial wizard rubbed her temples. She must've repeated that over a million times.

"But what if you need me?"

"You know, I have a guild full of loving friends. If I need help, I'll ask one of them."
"But-"

"Nope! You and Happy are going on this job request, Natsu. I'll still be here when you get back."

He groaned, looking down toward the ground, "fine~."

Seeing his distraught made her black heart heavy. Lucy found herself sighing once more, "look, you're going to be gone for a week. If it makes you feel better, I'll ask Mira for the client's address and I'll send you a letter in the middle of the week to tell you how I'm doing."

At this, his onyx eyes lit up, "really? You'd do that? That'd make me feel so much better!"

"I'll do it as long as you leave right now."

Natsu cocked his head to the side, twisting his gorgeous face up in a teasing smirk, "Luce, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I'm just trying to get you to the train station on time; the train leaves in ten minutes."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?" He grabbed his pack, "Happy, where are you?!"

"He's meeting you at the train station. You'd know that if you weren't flapping your gums about wanting to stay home."

"Crap! I gotta go!" Natsu swung his arms around Lucy in a quick embrace and darted out the door. "See ya in a week, Luce! You better write me that letter or else I'll assume something bad happened to you!" He left the girl there in his home.

Arriving at the guild, Lucy sat on a stool at the bar. She pulled out a pen and paper and sighed, getting a headache from Natsu's antics. Of course, she was flattered that he was worried about her, but he always has been. It just never made her heart beat faster, give her rosy cheeks, and bring a smile to her face; she wouldn't change a thing. She was happy to have both him and Happy as partners.

"What are you smiling about, Lucy?" Mira popped her bubble as she continued to clean plates in front of her. There was no one else at the bar, so of course, she would want someone to talk to.

"Hi Mira," the blonde smiled. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just thinking about Natsu's troublemaking personality. He was debating on not taking the job to stay home to watch over me because I had just gotten out of the infirmary this morning. I had to literally force him to go," Lucy sighed then, rubbing her headache away.

"Aww! It's so cute that he cares for you! He really loves you!"

Lucy scoffed and turned away, "no, he doesn't! He would do the same thing if it was his other guildmates. He doesn't love me."

"Oh come on, Lucy. Why won't you just accept it?"

She couldn't just "accept it". Lucy, too, thought that Natsu probably loved her back - maybe just as much as she loved him. It's a thought that she simply hoped wasn't true in the slighted. If he loved her, it would only hurt him more when she passes on. Sometimes, when she'd think about her death and how it'd affect her guild, she would wish that Natsu hated her so he wouldn't cry when she died. Sometimes, she'd lie to herself, saying that he did, in fact, hate her. That's why he'd break into her house and trash the place, invade her privacy and eat all her food. Lucy knew she was just lying to herself though.

Despite this, deep in her heart, she was elated that Natsu probably returns her feelings; she felt selfish for that.

"What do you mean 'accept it'?" Lucy stiff-necked. "He doesn't. I mean, he's Natsu. The guy doesn't even know what flirting is and he sends mixed signals all the time." This wasn't a lie even though Lucy internally agreed with Mira.

The barmaid sighed, "that's true, but he doesn't treat you the same as everyone else. He's constantly around you and constantly wants to be around you. He looks at you differently; he talks to you differently."

The celestial mage puffed out her cheek in a pout. "Yeah, whatever. I don't wanna talk about that right now."

Mira sighed again. "Well, alright."

There was a strange silence between them and Lucy knew the white haired model wanted to ask more. To keep her from doing so, she decided to ask her something instead: "Can I have Natsu's client's address?"

The takeover mage raised her eyebrows, "why?"

"Natsu wants me to send him a letter in the middle of the week to let him know that I'm doing okay. He said if I didn't, he'd think something had happened."

Mira said nothing, but nodded, retrieving a binder underneath the counter and flipping to the page marked with Natsu and Happy's name. She showed it to her and the blonde's eyes found the address at the bottom of the flyer. She began to write it down:

"XXXX," she muttered the address to herself as she copied it down on her paper, "SW XXth St. Onibas, Fiore-"

"At least tell me this!" Mira suddenly exclaimed, causing Lucy to jump and squeal in surprise. "You refuse to admit that he loves you, but what about you? Do you love him?"

Lucy blinked once, then twice; finally, the question sank in and she simply looked at the woman who leaned toward her, expecting an answer. "Well?"

The celestial wizard slowly began to feel her cheeks become rosy. She began gnawing at the bottom lip and glanced away from the barmaid - anywhere but her.

"…Oh my gosh. You do, don't you?" She received no answer. "You do! Oh Mavis! Oh gosh! You do! You love him!"

"Shhhh!" Lucy snapped. "Why are you so loud?!"

"How long, Lucy?!" Mira's eyes were wide with excitement and begging for details. "When did you realize it? Why exactly do you love him? When do you plan on confessing? Do you need help? Oh, I got you, Girl! I know this perfect-"

"Mira~!" Lucy whined. "My brain-box already hurts from Natsu's earlier shenanigans today. Don't make it worse."

Mira pulled up a stool from the corner then, putting down the plate and wet rag, and giving the blonde her undivided attention. Lucy looked around her to see if anyone was listening before turning back and sighing. "Please don't tell Natsu…or anyone. I want to be the one mentioning it to him. I don't want you to 'accidentally' slip a word of two to him about this conversation and then he'll assume something. Everyone would do the same thing. What is spoken here, stays here."

Mira hesitated, wanting to shout to the world already, but agreed. "Okay, I understand."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Lucy."

The blonde sighed then, looking around one more time before lowering her voice, "I think I started to like him the first time you mentioned that you thought he liked me way back when."

Mira raised her eyebrows, "I don't quite remember…"

"I think it was after the Battle of Fairy Tail," Lucy explained, "you mentioned something about it to me. I had gotten all nervous around him suddenly and he asked me to meet him late at night under the Sola Tree in Southgate Park. It turned out, he wanted me to summon Virgo to dig up a chest."

"Oh! I remember you telling me about that! That was a long time ago."

"Yeah, it was," Lucy smiled at the memory. "What I didn't tell you that day was that I got all dressed up for it and that I daydreamed about our date because that's what I thought it was."

"No way! Really?!"

"Shh!" Lucy shushed again, "yes. I'm not quite sure when I realized that I loved him though. I just woke up one day…and I did."

Mira smiled brightly and repeated her previous question, "why do you love him? I mean, we can both agree that he's really…well, Natsu." That made Lucy giggle. "But he undoubtedly has good qualities. What is it?"

Lucy looked away with a smile. "Honestly, it's the 'Natsu' part of him that I adore."

Mira made a face, "really?"

"Well, no," she nervously chuckled. "Well…yes. Haha, I love everything about him. I love the good qualities along with the bad. I love his smile, his good looks; I love that he saves me, I love the way that he'd somehow defeat his enemy at the last moment when the odds are against him and that he'd come out of the deadliest explosions with barely even a scratch. I love everything, but the main reason I'm in love with him is just…him. Just Natsu.

"I adore the weirdness. I love the way he embraces himself despite everyone making fun of him and teasing him. He doesn't care; he's unlike anybody else. We all are weird in our own right, but nobody shows it. We always hide it in our rooms with the door shut so no one would catch us and laugh, but not Natsu. He takes his weirdness and proudly wears it like a badge in public and ignores the laughs; it never brings him down, and even, sometimes, eggs him on. After all we've been through, it's never changed."

The celestial wizard came down from heaven where she spoke from her heart and looked at Mira. The woman's eyes were glazed over with unshed tears and her gentle smile showed the blonde that her words touched her. "That's…so sweet, Lucy."

Lucy didn't respond to that, but simply smiled.

"When do you plan on confessing?"

"I don't."

She seemed taken aback by this,, "what? Why?"

Lucy sputtered a lie, "I-I just…don't really want to right now…"

"Why not?"

"I…I-I like the way things are between us right now. I'm satisfied with it and don't want it to change now. Maybe later, but not now."

Mira hummed, "I guess I can understand that." She looked up then, seeing Cana waving her over for another round of alcohol. "Well, I better get back to work. I'll respect your wish not to tell anyone."

"You better not," Lucy giggled, though she was serious, the takeover wizard knew that.

"When you two walk in here hand-in-hand, I can't promise anything then. If you need help with anything concerning him, just let me know."

"Thanks Mira, I will." Lucy smiled, having finished copying the address down and stood up. She made her way home.

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Lucy took a deep breath, putting pen to paper:

"Dear Natsu,

"I'm writing this letter the day after you left for the mission which means you'll get it tomorrow. It's not exactly the middle of the week, but close enough. I'm doing just fine and even up for going on a mission. The girls asked me to go and I'll be leaving tomorrow which is why I decided to write you now. Erza, Cana, Juvia, and Levy asked me to go with them. I'll only be gone for a couple of days and I'll be back before you're done with your own mission. Don't be a worry-wart, just focus on your job and come back home safely, okay? I miss you and Happy.

"Love, Lucy."

Sighing and proofreading for errors, Lucy pulled out an envelope to write down the address when suddenly, a snapping sound rang throughout the quiet room like a gunshot. The blonde jumped in her spot at the noise and glanced around. No one was in her room - it was quite odd. Looking back toward her paper, she realized what had snapped: her pen.

The pen was completely shattered within her grasp; it didn't snap in half. It was unusable. Lucy vaguely wondered what had happened before she realized: it was her.

Taking another pen, Lucy tested her theory and squeezed; the second pen shattered almost instantly, joining the first one. The celestial wizard stared at the small dislodged pieces before scooping them up into her hands and throwing them away. She sat on her bed then, taking it in and running her fingers through her hair.

She was stronger; she completely shattered two pens with ease. Lucy had not been exercising (besides, how could you work out your hands?) so there was no way she could do that on her own. It was the demon seed - END. It had to be; it's the only logical explanation for the sudden strength. END was giving her strength that Natsu would've had.

Lucy gritted her teeth then, "Stupid! Stupid END! I hate you!"

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I'm done! I had fun writing this! I don't quite know what story I'll update next; I'm a complete mess right now…literally, you should see my room and the clothes everywhere ^^'…anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!

-zEllie