A/N: I apologize for the people who were expecting GaLe moments to happen. I wanted the last chapter to be out in Christmas Eve so I'm kind of speeding up the chapters right now.

Final Favor

Natsu thought he was just daydreaming. He thought everything was not real. No way, as in no way in hell, is he seeing Gajeel with some…pipsqueak (no offence to whoever Lucy's friend is) right now. He rubs his eyes, narrowing them to take a second look at the laughing couple.

It is, without a mistake, them.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Lucy poking her tongue out while busily writing something on a piece of paper. He could almost feel bad for all the effort Lucy was doing. What would happen if she realizes that they don't need her help at all? The latter slightly squirms in his seat, lips pressing into a thin line while he thinks of something to say.

"Er, Lucy…?"

"…Yeah?" The blonde merely hums in reply, eyes still not averting from the paper. Natsu feels more nervous, hands twitching while they fumble around the book he was fake-reading (just to get into disguise, you know, they're stalking Gajeel after all).

"What would happen if the debt you owe was paid?"

This made Lucy stop writing, jerking her head upwards with a cute tilt, furrowed brows indicating that she was confused. "What are you talking about, Natsu?"

"Well…erm…what if-what if the person you were supposed to help doesn't need it anymore?" Realizing that he probably sounded stupid while explaining, Natsu adds more. "Like, you were supposed to help him pass the test or something, but then you realize that he already studied and like…aced it. If that happens, what would you do?"

Lucy places a finger under her chin, pouting. If not for the fact that she was a ghost and that people couldn't see her, Natsu would've pinched her cheeks and cooed already. "I guess I need to move on to the next one. I mean, there's nothing I can do, right?"

The pink haired teenager sighs, jerking a thumb outside the window. "Well, you might wanna see that."

Brown orbs follow the direction, only to widen in surprise when two familiar faces, laughing with arms linked together, come in sight.

"No way…"

XXX

The bus ride home was awkward (they would've walked minutes ago but since it was too cold, Natsu insisted that he should take a bus instead), quite silent considering the fact that Lucy should be talking happily right now, like she would always do whenever it was just the two of them.

But no, she was just there, floating silently with her head bowed.

'Maybe she's sad about not being able to help Levy', or so was Natsu thinking. He sends the blonde a worried glance, frowning. He didn't expect himself to be worried this much, either. Perhaps Lucy being too bright and cheerful made a big toll on him, as he was already used to her smiles and laughter, and that seeing her so dejected like this seems too…foreign.

Thousand of thoughts ran in Lucy's mind today. She was supposed to be happy for Levy, actually. They're finally together, she inwardly chants, after waiting for so many months. Yet why was she sad? Why couldn't the smiles come out, or the cheeky laughter, or even the 'congratulations'? Why did her throat feel so dry and hoarse? Why couldn't any word come out anymore?

Was it because the next favor was going to be the last?

It feels like she's swallowing a lump in her throat right now when she gulps. Shouldn't she be happy that she's finally returning to heaven? Just a few more weeks, no, days, to wait, and then she could finally leave Natsu and come to heaven, following her mother.

Natsu.

Tears could almost come out of her eyes when she hears his name. The blonde didn't expect to get close to him, actually, much more to possess feelings. She thought that Natsu was just your everyday bully, a kid acting tough but actually needs friends inside. Lucy almost chuckles when she convinces herself the first time they met that she needed to suck up, be nice, and try to at least survive a month with the 'pink-headed asshole'.

Now, they're friends.

But isn't it weird that she wants to be more than friends? Isn't it weird that she doesn't want to leave him alone and be with him forever? Isn't it weird that a dead person has a beating heart?

Natsu turned out to be very much different than what she thought he would be. He was a nice guy, after all, with feelings just like an ordinary human being. He can cry, laugh, be sad, get angry, and even understand. She thought it was cute when he was being nervous around strangers. She thought that it was cool when he set the mall on fire (as weird as that may sound). She thought that it was funny when he cringed as soon as he entered the girly shop.

She thought that it was amazing how he still helped her despite his mean comments and snarky retorts, how he claimed to hate involving in someone else's business, and disgusted faces.

She thought that it will be alright when the final favor comes. But now…it's not.

It's really, really not.

'You're being too melodramatic, Lucy.' She reminds herself, frowning. 'You shouldn't have fallen in love in the first place when you know that your target is going to Heaven.'

"What's the next favor, Luce?"

Was that a pet name?

Whatever it was, Lucy loved it because she immediately answered with a fake grin, trying to sound as happy as she could. "It's the last favor, actually! Can you believe it, Nat-chan? We're down to the final favor! One more to go! Huraaaaay!"

Natsu's brows slightly jump in surprise at this. He chuckles, relieve that Lucy is finally back to her old self. Maybe she was just a bit shocked from earlier, after all. "Really? Then what is it, then?"

Written on the corner of her paper, in scrawled elementary-like handwriting, were the words Natsu didn't expect the most.

Natsu's parents.

"My…parents?"