HEY EVERYBODY! :D Sorry I haven't updated this in almost a month! Ah, man… I feel so bad, but I've been having a lot to do lately (mainly projects and homework). I will update regularly again in a week and a half, but until then, I may or may not update. Please be patient, my dear followers/favoriters. Favoriters isn't even a word but whatever ahaha. ANYWAYS, without further ado, here is the next chapter!
Lucy opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Lucy held her breath in awe. She was on a hill, at the edge of a forest, with an entire view of Magnolia. You can see everything from up here, she thought as she scanned the whole town and stopped when she saw the old Fairy Tail building. Wow, I almost forgot how the old Fairy Tail looked like. She smiled to herself as nostalgia took over her mind momentarily. She sighed at wonderful memories she had with all the Fairy Tail members, especially Natsu.
"Hold on…" Lucy muttered, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Oh, Natsu!" She cried out. "Natsu is waiting for me while I'm stuck in this nostalgic dream! He's probably at least a little bit worried that I just suddenly went unconscious." Lucy frowned at the thought of making her husband worry and decided to get on with her dream, so that she could return to the real world as soon as possible.
Lucy was sure to keep her eyes away from the magnificent view of Magnolia as she began walking down the hill. Suddenly, she heard a small scream. She swung her head towards the direction of the forest and saw a flash of yellow falling over.
Lucy held her breath. It was her younger self.
She remembered that day. It had been a year since her mother died, her father had been treating her worse than ever before and she had tried to escape from her home once again. Unfortunately for her, she had gotten lost in a forest and a Vulcan chased after her. She got severely injured, but managed to escape from the Vulcan's view because she was so small.
"Mama," Lucy heard her younger self sob on the ground. "Mama, help me."
Lucy turned away from the sight of herself crying like that; it gave her a terrible feeling.
"Please, mama." Little Lucy sobbed louder this time, starting to hiccup between her words. "Mama, why'd you have to leave me?"
Her younger self had such a pained and despaired voice that Lucy felt herself beginning to tear up too. "Stop this! Stop dreaming!" She commanded herself, tears still gathering at her eyes. "I don't want to hear myself cry like that." She began to hit herself on the head.
"Hey, you!"
Lucy turned back to look at her younger self, who was being confronted by… little Natsu.
"Mama…" Little Lucy kept sobbing, not hearing Natsu over the sound of her cries.
"HEY!" Lucy watched little Natsu walk over to her younger self. "What are you doing?"
Little Lucy looked up at the salmon-haired boy with her tear-filled eyes. "Go away!"
Little Natsu looked angered for a split second before a softer look settled on his face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He knelt down beside the small blonde.
Little Lucy sniffed and stopped her crying enough to mumble with a shaky voice. "M-my papa… didn't like the food I made him. He got really mad at me…"
Little Natsu grinned. "Is that all?" Little Lucy looked taken aback. "Maybe he was just in a bad mood!"
Little Lucy shook her head. "He's been like that ever since my mama di-" She choked on her newly shed tears and she lowered her head so little Natsu wouldn't see.
"Huh?" Little Natsu leaned forward a bit to hear what little Lucy was trying to say.
"S-since she… died." The small blonde covered her face with her hands. Her salty tears stung the injuries that she had on her hands, but she didn't care.
"H-hey…" Little Natsu gave her a comforting pat and a warm smile. "Don't cry! Instead of crying, you can come with me and we can fix up your wounds!"
Little Lucy felt the boy tug at her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face. She realized how close he was to her and she immediately blushed and gave a small embarrassed smile.
"O-okay then." She let little Natsu pull her up to her feet, but she fell onto her knees almost instantly. "Ah… my ankle."
"Oh, your ankle's hurt too, huh." Little Natsu took a second to think before he crouched beside younger Lucy with a huge grin. "Get on my back!"
Little Lucy shook her head quickly. "I shouldn't. My injuries will get you all dirty… I'm still bleeding, you know."
"I don't care if I get dirty, if you keep bleeding, you'll die!" The salmon-haired boy exclaimed with concern. He stared at little Lucy, but she didn't move an inch. Little Natsu sighed as he picked her up with his already quite muscular arms and shifted her onto his back. He began walking towards to the town as the younger Lucy started thrashing around in protest, but stopped when she saw the worry that was shown clearly in the boy's eyes.
Little Lucy let herself relax in his arms, feeling weaker as the seconds passed. "I think I wasted too much time crying." She said quietly.
Little Natsu looked back at her. "What makes you say that?"
"I feel dizzy." She smiled weakly.
Little Natsu's eyes widened. "What?! Then we have to get you to the guild right away!" He began to run as fast as he could with younger Lucy on his back.
"Don't move so fast… It's making me even dizzier." The girl spoke quieter than before.
"But I have to!" Little Natsu yelled with determination. He felt the blonde lean her head onto his shoulder.
She smiled weakly. No one had ever cared for her like that before. The only other person who really cared was her mother and possibly some of her servants, but that was because they were all like a family. No stranger had ever treated her with that much kindness and even if they had, it was because they knew she was a Heartfilia. The stranger who was carrying her at that moment didn't know who she was, but he was kind to her anyways. But then again, the boy wasn't really a stranger. After all, they had met before.
"Thank you, Natsu."