Already kiddies! Final chappie! Ily all sooooo much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I finished it on Valentines Day for a reason :3. (Definitely not because I'm baeless and I needed to do something after I ate through all the chocolate alone.) THANK YOU FOR THE FOLLOWS, FAVORITES, AND REVIEWS, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER ILY AND ILLLLL SEE YOU LATER!
Complete nothingness surrounded Lucy. It was nothing like what she imagined nothingness to be though. Where she expected a white space where she was floating around, she was giving complete black.
Am I dead? She thought to herself as she tried to recall what had happened to her. No. Lucy reasoned with herself. She could still feel a horrible sting all through-out her body, but the most pain was located in her stomach. Lucy tried to remember. Remember why she felt this pain, why she was staring into nothing but she was conscious. But nothing came to her. All she could remember was boldness of Natsu's words, the scared worry that laced them as they rang about her head.
GOD DAMN IT! LUCY!
She would've smiled, if it wasn't for the heaviness of the muscles that was holding it down. Natsu still came for her, just like he always did. She wanted to dance and sing and scream and shout, but she couldn't. No matter how much her arms tried to move in a happy sway, they stayed still, frozen, limp, causing the urge for that happy sway to vanish.
Maybe I am dead, maybe this is like, post-dead pain or something. But how did she die? What happened? These thoughts caused her to feel worn out, and she felt herself fall from a dark consciousness to black sleep.
.~*~.~*~.
Lucy woke back into blackness at the sound of someone's voice. She was unsure who it was, or even what they were saying, but someone was saying something, mumbling, she was sure of it. As Lucy felt the sleep leave her, the words became louder, more understandable.
"You have to hang in there Lucy, you and Juvia both," The voice said. It was a girl, Lucy was sure of it. But who? "Stay strong, okay? That's all I can ask for right now." The girl whispered. So she wasn't dead, she was sure of it now. Just… Sleeping. But no, she was awake, she was able to hear this girl, wasn't she? The girl spoke again, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts.
"I wish I had been there," The girl let out a little laugh, the sound of water falling into a cool, clear stream, "Gray said that Hakai guy was lucky to be alive after Natsu got his hands on him… He went insane after seeing you on the ground, looking dead. You guys really care about each other, it's funny how you guys can't see it." She stated, her voice small soft and frail.
And that's when Lucy's memories came in like one of Aquarius' waves. The mission. Hakai. Juvia. Their 'death'. Natsu had come to save me, Lucy thought. And that girl, it must be Wendy! Lucy wanted to jump up, scream, tell everyone that she was alright. But she was frozen, her limbs too heavy to lift.
"Of course, Gray got his fair share of beating on Hakai too… He must've realized how much he cared for Juvia, seeing her look just as dead as you did. In fact, he's almost been coming in to see her as much as Natsu has been coming in to see you." Wendy stated, a thoughtful tone etched in her voice.
Lucy tried to smile again at the thought of Natsu seeing her. A lot, even. But she lay there silently, no movement, no smile. The tiring attempt made Lucy tired again, forcing her to fall into blackness.
.~*~.~*~.
"And they all lived happily ever after...The End." Mommy stated, closing the big book with a thud. She smiled down at me, just like every other time she finished that book. I jumped from her lap and began twirling about, grass tickling the bottom of my bare feet. I day dreamed of the story, where it wasn't the prince who saved the princess from the dragon, but the dragon who saved the princess from the prince. The dragon turned out to actually be a cursed prince, and the two fell in love, willing to do anything so that they could be together. This story has been my favorite ever since Mommy first read it to me. It is her favorite, too.
"The irony of it all… This one is special, Lucy, just like you baby."
A sudden thought struck me, as I was twirling under the large sycamore it came to me, making my eyes widen in excitement. I looked behind my shoulder so I could see Mommy, who was sitting lazily under the tree against the trunk, smiling at me.
"Mommy?" I whispered, trying to contain the giddy feeling by smiling and sticking my tongue in the gap where my two front teeth were two days ago .
She hummed in return, smile still resting on her fair skin.
"Are princes real?"
Mommy laughed, the bubbly sound flowing with the cool spring breeze. "They may not all live in castles or ride off in the sunset, but they're real, baby, that's for sure." My eyes widened at the thought of marrying a prince, a strong, loyal, handsome, prince, all for my own.
"I bet you'll find one, my little princess."
I grinned and started twirling again, the sound of my blond pigtails swishing filling up my ears. A prince! One just like the dragon in the story, I hope. One that despite his problems, he would still look at me with the same love in his eyes as the dragon did to the princess…
Laughter bubbled out of my throat as I grew more and more dizzy.
"I bet he'll be be brave, strong, just perfect Mommy, I know it!" I collapsed back into her lap, the world spinning in circles around me. Mommy giggled, twirling my hair in her fingers. "I bet he will, pumpk'n…." Mommy whispered as I rested my head on her chest.
We lazed there silently, watching the cotton-candy clouds drift through the blue sky. My eyes slowly began to droop, before I fell into a happy sleep, full of dreams filled with dragon princes and flaming hair…
.~*~.~*~.
Lucy felt herself wake again into darkness. Pain still flowed through her body, but she felt warm and cozy, making her want to fall asleep again, be inside that hazy dream that came from a memory of her childhood. That was, until she heard a very familiar voice speak softly to her.
"God damnit Lucy…" Natsu whispered, a warmth that Lucy assumed was his hand covered her own.
"I...I'm so sorry Luce. For the things that I said, for not getting there quick enough. For all we know, I could be the reason that you…" Natsu's voice caught in his throat, and his hand tightened around Lucy's. "Die." Lucy wanted to wake up, hug him, tell him that she was alright, that she wasn't going to die, that it wasn't his fault. But she was frozen, stuck in the darkness to tear up in her own self pity.
"The thing is… You can't! You can't die! I won't let you!" He yelled at her like a little kid, "If you fucking...die, I don't know how I will live with myself. Because… Because seeing you on the ground, back there in Nanamake... (A/N: Sorry to kinda ruin this tearful talk, but Nanamake is what I named the town where they met Hakai. You probably could have inferred that, but hey, here ya go. Continue!) When I thought you were dead… I realized that… that… I have and always will love you! And… Damn it Lucy! I need you!" Natsu choked out, words cracking and breaking. And then Lucy felt something. A cool liquid falling in drops like rain on to her arm. No… Lucy thought to herself, Natsu isn't… Crying? Yet, just like rain, the pace of the water drops began to escalate, and Lucy could make out Natsu stifling sobs.
No thoughts entered Lucy's brain. It was frozen, just like all of her muscles. And then sudden, strong love, stronger than she had ever felt before, bloomed for the man that had saved her countless times, the man who kept her warm at night, the man who was crying for her. Lucy wanted to move. She wanted to touch his skin, look into his eyes, feel his soft pink hair. She wanted to be with him. And she tried. She tried to move, to wake up, but it left her feeling even more tired than before. Her eyes began heavy, making it harder and harder to stay awake. And then warmth spread across her entire body, making it impossible for her to stay awake.
.~*~.~*~.
Light flooded Lucy's eyes, causing her hand to instinctively fly to the brown orbs. She moaned at the throbbing pain behind her eyelids, and tried to blink to get rid of it. And then she froze, realizing that her hand was resting over her eyes, the eyes that had been filled with a color other than black.
Her hand flew off her face, causing the stinging to return to her adjusting eyes. But she didn't care. She accepted the pain with open arms as she tried to get used to the light that was blinding her. Lucy rubbed her eyes, allowing her to see her surroundings despite the colorful sun spots that dotted around her eyesight. When she finally was able to see completely, she looked around and took in everything. The white walls and sheets, the color of the sun stating that it was about 10 in the morning. Everything.
Unable to share this with herself any longer, she threw the white sheets off her body and hopped out of bed. Or, at least tried to. But the second her bare feet touched the ground, her wobbly legs failed her and she collapsed to the ground in a heap.
Footsteps could be heard running up the stairs, and quiet mumbles between two people were also audible.
"Did you hear that bang?"
"Of course! Do you suppose someone has woken up?"
"Maybe it's Juvia, Lucy's not supposed to wake up for another few hours…"
The door to the infirmary swung open, revealing Wendy and Carla. Both of their eyes widened in surprise when they saw Lucy on the ground, looking at them with her doe eyes open.
"Lucy!"
"Why, welcome back-"
"Everyone at the guild will be so excited-"
"How fantastic it is to see you awake-"
"Hey, Um, guys?" Lucy interrupted in a raspy voice, due to the fact that she hadn't spoken for a week. The two shut up, listening to see what she had to say. "I'm kinda stuck. So if you could help me up, that would be fantastic." She muttered as sarcastically as she could with her scratchy throat.
"Of course, of course, how rude of us-"
"I should probably check to make sure everythings alright, you were supposed to have another day of sleep-"
"Wendy, you take the legs and I'll take the head."
"Right!" Wendy replied with determination as she dashed over to pick up Lucy.
"The guild will be so happy to see you awake, they've been a worried mess, especially Natsu…" Wendy stopped abruptly just as she had finally lifted Lucy's legs. She dropped Lucy's legs in her frozen state that landed with a thud. "NATSU!" Wendy squeaked as she started running towards the door. "I have to tell Natsu!" She yelled as she slammed shut the door.
Lucy sweat dropped and Carla tched, shaking her head while muttering something about 'unthoughtful child.' Carla's wings appeared, and she picked up Lucy by her gown. "Please excuse Wendy, she's a bit… Excited." Carla gently placed Lucy back onto the bed, and huffed. She landed back on her feet and started walking out the door. But before she left, Carla turned to Lucy, and gave her a smile.
"It's great to see you healthy, Lucy." Carla said before she walked out the door and slammed it. Lucy lay in her position for a second, staring at the ceiling, before she turned her head to see Juvia's blue eyes staring at her.
Lucy quietly screeched, and practically jumped right out of bed again. She took deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart, that the not-so-sleeping Juvia had caused.
"Juvia is terribly sorry, she just found Lucy falling out of bed… Amusing." Lucy took one more deep breath, and then she smiled. Everything was going to be okay.
Suddenly, the door to the infirmary slammed open, to reveal Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Carla, and Makarov. Natsu and Gray skidded in, Gray dashing to Juvia, and Natsu pouncing on Lucy. He wrapped his arms around her neck, to the point where she couldn't breath. His ragged breath filled her ears, and she could feel his fists tighten behind her head.
"Don't...EVER... Fucking...Do...That….AGAIN!" He whispered angrily in her ear, the words suggesting that his teeth were clenched. Master tutted, waving his index finger at Natsu.
"No swearing brat," Master smiled at Juvia and Lucy, "Today is a happy day." Lucy smiled back as Natsu reluctantly released his grip around her. She tilted her head towards Juvia. Gray was staring at Juvia with wide eyes, talking so quickly Lucy couldn't understand anything. But by Juvia's triumphant smile and constant glances towards Lucy, she knew everything.
Lucy glanced back at Natsu, who was searching her face like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Looking at that adorable expression on his face, Lucy couldn't help but burst into a fit of raspy giggles that made her throat burn, but she didn't care. "Hey, what's so funny?!" Natsu exclaimed, pouting as he searching Lucy harder. That caused Lucy to laugh even more. Seeing Natsu so much like himself made her so happy.
Lucy glanced at a leaving Wendy, Carla, and Makarov, who was shooting her a thumbs up. She looked back at Natsu as tears of happiness filled up her eyes.
"H-Hey, Lucy… Don't cry-"
"Thanks for everything Natsu." Lucy said before grabbing onto the part of his scarf that was looped around his neck and pulling him towards her. She lifted her head up, making their lips meet ever so perfectly.
.~*~.~*~.
"Well, one thing lead to another, and Daddy and I got married" Nashi's brown doe eyes widened in wonderment and excitement, "And that's how your daddy and I fell in love," Lucy sighed, showing her daughter a small smile, "The End." Her oldest who was now ten, Nashi, grinned back at her with a toothy smile that was much like her fathers. Nashi spun around, causing her thin, silky, pink pigtails to spin around in a flamboyant manner, as she laughed. Lucy laughed in return, making the one-year-old fraternal twins that she was juggling bounce slightly.
Luke, the twin who was named after Lucy due to the fact that he looked like a genderbent version of her, giggled at the movement, big brown eyes twinkling. But Igneel, who looked a lot like Natsu, just narrowed his onyx eyes.
Nashi suddenly stopped her twirling, and looked at her mother with a single raised eyebrow.
"But what about Aunt Lisanna, you can't just throw her away like that!" Nashi whimpered. Lucy bit her lip. She did forget about Lisanna. "Well, before we left for the mission, Daddy broke up with Aunt Lisanna. While we were gone, she hit it off with Bixlow, and we know how they are today." Lucy concluded, ending with a saucy wink. Nashi giggled, and continued her twirling.
Nashi smiled dreamily as she spun, clasping her hands together and pressing them against her chest. She fluttered her long eyelashes, eyes looking up dramatically towards the ceiling.
"I hope I find someone like Daddy in the future… So kind, loyal, brave… And have a story like yours too, Mommy! Full of love, complication, sacrifice!" Nashi concluded, a glint in her eye as she said the last word.
"Sure, but remember, no dating until your 40: Especially not with that ice prick's kid." A masculine voice stated from behind Lucy.
Natsu walked in with their middle child on his back, Collin, who was five. His long blond hair flopped as he jumped off his dad's back and ran over to his mother. Natsu also walked up behind Lucy and swung his arm over her shoulder, looking down at his boys. Lucy tried to scold her husband for swearing in front of the kids, but found herself just smiling at him.
"Yeah, no ice perrick!" Collin repeated as he jumped into his mother's full arms.
Nashi rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, hip jotted out to one side. "Like I would go out with that bastard." Nashi muttered, a scowl twitching on her lips. "That's my girl!" Natsu shouted, pumping his fist happily in the air. Sickening thoughts of Ur Fullbuster thinking about and touching his little girl like he did with his Luce filled his mind, and he couldn't help but suddenly match his daughters scowl. But it vanished as he picked up Luke in attempt to help his wife.
Nashi's scowl also vanished as a look of realization crossed her face.
"And that's how Aunt Juvia and Uncle Gray fell in love too, right Mommy?"
Lucy nodded, looking down at Collin and Igneel who started to fall asleep, curled up in her arms.
"You guys had the best. Lives. EVER!" Nashi yelled, dancing around their living room. Both of her parents nodded, sharing a knowing smile.
"Yup, wouldn't have had it any other way."
AND I'M DONE! I imagined Natsu and Lucy with a really big family, because that's what Natsu grew up with. I also imagined them to be that overly-intimate-in-public couple that their kids would be embarrassed of XD. But that's it. I'm going to take a veryyyy long break from this story before I get to the sequal, because my The Fault in our Fairy Tail followers deserve a long explanation and chapter. So, until we meet again, I'll see you soon loves :3 THANK YOU SO MUCH ILY!
xx