notes: ahh i greatly apologize for how long it took me to put this chapter up! i started this story before i left for spain and wasn't able to put up chapter 4 before i left ;_; bUT it's here now! it's kind of short, but still important in the story :) there's a few more chapters left i think, so don't worry, they'll be coming soon!
Where are you even going? You're so stupid for thinking anything different. Just end this already.
Natsu found himself running to the guild. He couldn't bear this any longer. He needed to get away, but first, he needed to get Happy.
The doors to the guild flew open and standing at the helm was a tired and panting Natsu.
"HAPPY! WHERE ARE YOU?" he hollered as loud as he could. The guild was quite loud, but it quieted down when he started to scream.
"Natsu! You're back!" Happy cried. He flew over to his best friend excitedly but Natsu was serious and didn't say much.
"Happy, we gotta go. We gotta go now."
"Ehh? W-wait, Natsu, wait!" Natsu's back was already turned and he stormed out of the guild. He didn't want to see anyone's face but he knew he couldn't leave Happy back at the guild all by himself.
"Let's go, Happy. We're leaving," he told him through gritted teeth, already halfway down the path. "We're going back to our house. Our team doesn't exist anymore. We're leaving."
"Natsu, what are you talking about? Did you do something? Wait, didn't you leave with Lucy? Where is she?" Happy asked.
"Stop asking so many questions, Happy! Just come on," Natsu retorted. Happy became silent. "We're going home, okay? We're just … we're going home."
Natsu felt tears and anger mixing tumultuously inside of him - even thinking about Lucy was enough to make him go crazy. So, he rationed, he needed to get away from the guild for a while. He didn't know what else to do.
After a tiring run (and flight), the duo finally reached the forest where their house was situated in. Natsu paused for a moment to catch his breath, and he placed his hands on his knees. God dammit. Why did this have to happen?
Out of nowhere, a rustling sound from the bushes was heard. That's weird, Natsu thought. I don't live nearby anyone. Seriously, what the hell? On the defense, Natsu slowly backed towards his house but faced the bushes surrounding him.
His arms softened a bit when he heard a small squeal and heaving panting come out of the bushes. No way…
"H-hey, how come you live so far away? There's no one even here. You should probably clean out this area, it's so hard to walk! Let alone run!"
Natsu stood there dumbfounded. She seriously followed me here? How did she even see me? I swear I ran past so she wouldn't see me, but I guess she was searching since I left her standing there. Crap! Now what? Natsu's thoughts were erratic and his heart was pounding. For some reason, Lucy decided to chase after Natsu. He figured she was probably intrigued by a boy who was saying that she knew him extremely well before, but she can't remember him. But he must've tuned out the world and didn't notice her running behind him.
Finally he spoke. "L-Lucy, what are you doing here?"
"Well," she explained, "you kind of just ran off and left me there! And then as I was walking back, I saw you running, so I figured I'd follow you. What's going on here?"
Happy looked up at Natsu to see his reaction, and was stunned to see he was surprisingly calm. "I can't believe you. Even though you can't remember me, you haven't actually changed a bit," he chuckled softly.
"Eh? Seriously?"
Seeing Lucy in this state made Natsu happy. It was kind of like old times. But, he realized it probably would never be like that again.
"So… uh, I really should've planned this out better, haha," Lucy smiled. "I kind of just followed you on a whim. I don't really know why. But before I knew it, I was running."
Natsu didn't know what to do either, until it hit him what was inside his house. Lucy was probably the most important person to him, in addition to Happy, and he just thought of way that might jog her memory of him. There was no guarantee if it'd work, but it was definitely worth a try.
"Well, since you're here, I have something to show you, Lucy," he calmly said, guiding her towards his small house. Happy followed behind him.
The door to their house opened and Lucy was greeted by one of the messiest rooms she'd seen in her life. The smell didn't help, either.
"W-whoa, it's uh… it's pretty dirty," she said in a sincere tone.
"We don't usually have guests, you see," Natsu responded. "So Happy and I just kinda do what we want around here. You're our first guest in a while."
Lucy shot them a smile. "Oh, I'm flattered, then!" She was being extremely careful to not trip over the plates and clothes strewn all over the wooden floor.
Natsu led Lucy past the front table and towards the hammock which was held up from posts. "To be honest, I wouldn't have let you in here until I realized I had something that might help you remember me," Natsu told her. "But, I'm hoping this might help."
As Lucy made her way across the floor, Natsu stood proudly with Happy next to what seemed to be a bulletin board with a large amount of papers tacked to it. This has to work! It's proof that she knew me!
"Huh? Whoa, Natsu! What's all this?"
Natsu grinned wide. "This is a collection of souvenirs from all the jobs we've done together. Look," - he pointed to a paper that was clearly a job request - "this was the first quest we went on together. A-and see?" He ran over to the mannequin containing a fitted maid outfit. "You wore this on that job. That was the first time you and I and Happy worked together. That was our first successful job!" Lucy was silent throughout the entire showcase of Natsu's memories of his journeys.
"You can't tell me that you never knew me. Look! This is proof! There's proof here! We were a team, Lucy! A team!" Natsu's voice started to shake and his heart felt like it was going to burst.
Lucy's eyes softened a bit before she calmly spoke. "Natsu… you've been on so many adventures. It's really amazing that you've saved all this stuff. I know how much this must mean to you." Her voice trailed off when she saw Natsu's face fall.
" I want you to know that I'm trying my hardest to remember, but I can't. It's… hurting me, too, to know what once might've been. But I just… No matter what, I can't remember anything about you. I'm so sorry, Natsu." Tears started to fall from Lucy's face and her voice became choked.
"Lucy…"
With that, Lucy ran out of Natsu's house, and Natsu was left standing in all his dejected glory. Facing a slammed open door, his knees sunk to the floor and he felt as though his heart might burst.
"She… she really… no matter what I do, no matter what I say… she can't remember me at all…" Natsu's fist slammed into the wood, yet he felt no pain. The fire was dampened by tears that were falling without a care from his eyes. "How do I live without her? Without our team?" He searched for an answer in Happy's eyes, but found none.
after notes: hope you enjoyed this chapter! stay tuned for the next one :)
