Requested by Lemoncelloismyname: "PIRATE AU WHERE NATSU IS WILL FROM PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN AND LUCY IS ELIZABETH AND AT THE END NATSU STABS THE HEART AND SAILS OFF AND LUCY DOESN'T SEE HIM FOR TEN YEARS"
Part of the ship, part of the crew.
The words rang through Igneel's mind as he stumbled forward, his eyes fixed on the sword protruding from his son's chest. Natsu was gasping for air, his eyes flickering shut even as Lucy screamed at him, begged him to stay alive.
He knew what he had to do.
The key to the chest was still clutched between Lucy's fingers, forgotten in her panic. Igneel feared that his son would hate him for what he was about to do, but he was more afraid of Natsu dying.
He had thought, that if the choice presented itself to Natsu –Lucy or his father- that he would have chosen Lucy. Igneel would have told him to choose Lucy. Never did he think that he would have to make the choice for him.
Taking Lucy by the shoulders, Igneel tried to pull her away from Natsu as he lay dying. Lucy's screams tore at his heart. Her tears mixed in with the rain as he pried the key from her hands.
He scrambled for the chest, and it was then that Lucy must have realised his intentions. Her wailing stopped as she settled down in front of him slowly as he opened the chest.
The two of them looked down at Davy Jones's beating heart with utter disgust as the person they loved most in the world struggled for his last breaths. Lucy looked Igneel in the eyes and he was struck by what he saw. Sadness flooded with courage. He could see why Natsu loved her.
Together, they settled the chest on Natsu's lap. Igneel removed the heart of their enemy from the chest as Lucy retrieved the fragment of Natsu's sword and wrapped his fingers around the handle.
As Natsu drew his last breath, the blade fell.
Davy Jones let out a bloodcurdling howl. Igneel watched as the pirate who had been fighting him –Gray, he thought his name was- took a step back in surprise. His eyes quickly found them, widening at what he saw. Stumbling back what his enemy began to crumple before him.
Igneel turned his attention back to Natsu. His son was lifeless. The rain matted his hair as Lucy clutched at him and sobbed. Natsu was dead.
But not lost.
He shoved Lucy off his son. He didn't have much time. Lucy protested, about to fling herself at Igneel in her grief, but suddenly Gray was there. His arms tight around her as he insisted it was time to leave.
Igneel paid them no mind as he took the shattered sword from Natsu's hand. He wasn't sure how Lucy and Gray got off the rapidly sinking ship, but he didn't care.
Part of the ship, part of the crew.
He cut out his son's heart.
"I'm going to need the other one." Natsu laughed.
He turned to Lucy in search of his missing boot. He found it, with her foot inside. His worn leather boots had never looked so good. Her dress whipped around slender legs in the ocean breeze, revealing her creamy thigh.
A grin spread across his features as he kneeled in front of the rock on which she rested her foot. One hand lifted her knee gentle as the other removed his missing boot. The feel of her skin under his fingers captivated him once more. He couldn't help himself from leaning in and pressing a light kiss onto her knee. He also couldn't help his hands from wandering up her leg.
Last night had been his first night with Lucy.
It had also been his last.
For the next ten years he would have only his memory of their night together on the beach to comfort him as he ferried the souls of the dead.
"It's nearly sunset." His voice was hoarse when he spoke.
He looked up to see that Lucy's eyes had been closed, completely absorbed in his touch. At his words, they reluctantly opened, focusing on The Flying Dutchman that was waiting for him by the shore.
Tears shone in her eyes.
Ten years apart would be just as hard for her as it would be for him.
He pulled away from her. There was one last thing he had to do before he left, and it rested on the rocks beside him. He retrieved his jacket to reveal it hidden beneath. The chest.
The sound of his heart echoed from inside of it.
"It's always belonged to you," He smiled softly before picking up the chest and turning to her, "Will you keep it safe?"
Lucy looked as though her own heart was close to breaking, but she nodded anyway. She stepped forward and took the handles either side of the chest, her fingers brushing his as his heart beat in the space between them.
"Yes." She whispered.
An ache passed through his now empty chest as he passed the box over. He leaned in close, his forehead resting against hers as he tried his best to ingrain every moment he'd ever had with her into his memory.
When he pulled away, she looked as though she was in pain. It was time for him to leave.
He made it only a few paced down the beach before she called out to him.
Natsu turned just in time to catch her as she flung her arms around him. She was unrelenting when she kissed him. So desperate and passionate that his soul ached to be with her always. But he couldn't. His hands clutched at her as though she was his life line as their lips pressed together for the last time.
He'd count down every moment for the next ten years until he could do that again.
"Keep an eye on the horizon." He told her.
Lucy smiled at him as he turned to go. She watched until his ship reached the horizon, letting the green flash of his departing of this world sting her eyes.
Just ten more years.