The Demon and the Angel:
Quick Note: Hey, I know I said I'd probably be doing one shots for a while, and this was originally a one shot, but once I finished I thought it'd be a pretty cool story. Because it was originally going to be a one shot, this first chapter is a bit of a summary of what happens (albeit a very long summary), and the first few chapters would just be what happens in this chapter, just more detailed. Let me know if you guys do want this to be a full on story, or if I should just leave it as a one shot.
Natsu knew her secret, she was way too easy to read, and Natsu had figured it out for himself within the first few days of her arrival in Magnolia. Lucy Heartfilia had arrived in the town on a sunny day; fitting, Natsu thought.
Before meeting her, Natsu didn't believe himself capable of having emotion - real emotion - for anyone; an unfortunate side effect of being a demon. He could fake it, sure, so well that his whole social life had become a lie, even to himself. But with Lucy he couldn't even block out a true connection to the blonde, no matter how hard he tried, and he tried hard.
Heartfilia. It was a name that almost anyone in Fiore knew, but very few knew what powers the Heartfilias controlled, other than their illustrious wealth. But Natsu knew their secrets. The Heartfilia estate had always belonged to angels, and not a single unholy foot could be set on those grounds without being burned into a pile of shining ash. The Heartfilia family was full of exceptionally strong angels, particularly Layla Heartfilia, and her daughter, Lucy. Unfortunately, - fortunately, in Natsu's case - Layla had passed away when she pushed herself too far fighting demons. Alas, even the holiest beings fall ill.
Natsu had been hiding from the heavens' armies in Magnolia, as he could hide his demonic essence well, unlike the other demons. Natsu had the ability to appear human. and therefore be sensed as human, by those with the sixth eye. However, one of his foolish comrades had come to him to inform him of the news of the eternal war (more demonic casualties, as usual), something he had ordered all demons specifically and precisely not to do. Hence, demonic activity was reported in Magnolia to a select few angels.
He was expecting someone to come, attempt to "purify the corruption", fail, then deem it as a false order, and he would continue his mission. But he wasn't expecting them to be so… stubborn.
Natsu had accidentally stumbled over the girl (before he knew of her angelic nature) while she was moving in, and subsequently broken something she had been carrying. Despite being a demon, Natsu believed himself to be a gentleman, and of course invited her to lunch, even though she deemed the broken item absolutely worthless. Lunch had been nice, not any sort of intimate interaction, just Natsu's way of apologizing, but he had let his mouth run, and accidentally invited the blonde into Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail was a group of outcasts - many of them former criminals and pirates, turned "good guy" - that Natsu had joined within a month of his going into hiding. He had mentally scolded himself for letting his mouth run without a filter, and then expected her to turn him down. But much to his surprise, she took him up on the offer. She had told him she was an outcast herself, looking for a home, and a new family, a story Natsu had believed. The thought that the blonde was anything holy hadn't even sprouted in his brain yet, but he later realized that she was just looking for her target; the next demon to die.
Once he had figured it out, he tried to stay away from her. He really did. It broke every rule of existence, an angel and a demon being friends, and maybe even something more. He hid, he didn't stay in the guild hall anymore. Instead, he stayed on the streets, or in the forest, when it rained. His disappearing act lasted almost two weeks, but they had found him. It was raining, hard, and Natsu was in the forest. He was miserable, he hadn't eaten in a few days, and the little strength he had was being executed by the rain and the cold. The entire guild had been searching for the boy since the third day after his disappearance.
Natsu had cursed the world for who specifically found him. It was Lucy, of course, who else would it be? Natsu literally had the Devil's luck, and he lacked the strength to turn down the help. So there he was, a demon being rescued by an angel.
For a while, he was being mended to in the guild hall's infirmary, and being closely watched so he wouldn't try another daring escape. And, of course, most of the time it was Lucy who was watching over him. He questioned it, maybe Lucy already knew that he was her target, and that's why she was trying to get so close to him; so it'd be all the more painful to kill him. But after a week of getting to know her, Natsu realized that it'd be worth it.
During that week, he fell in love, and every second, he hated himself for it, but he fell in love anyway, and it was sincere bliss. Natsu realized that no matter how painful his death would be, it'd be worth it. He would spend an eternity of one of hell's victims (instead of one of its rulers) in exchange for a day with Lucy. To him, Lucy was heaven.
But then, it was revealed to him. Lucy didn't know he was her target. He had confronted her about it, told her that he knew she was an angel, but she stopped him before he admitted his true nature. She told him that she was searching for a demon, the vilest of creatures, damning the world of man with suffering and corruption, so she could kill it. But Natsu was wrong, she didn't know it was him, and her words stung his heart all the more, something he didn't think he had.
But Natsu recognized the truth in her words. He knew what he was, and at that moment, staring into the eyes of a literal angel, he began to hate what he was. No, he had always hated his existence, it was just at this moment he realized it. He hated that he would always be seen as the bad guy, the one responsible for every ounce evil in the world. It stung him that there would always be someone trying to rid the world of his presence, his corruption, the suffering that sourced from his existence. But what stung him the most was the fact that he had fallen in love with an angel, and his love could never be anything more than a demon's dream. Lucy would never love him back if she found out what he was. Instead, she would hate him, and probably kill him. But Natsu wouldn't let her know. She couldn't know. Her words were true, he was selfish, so he kept it to himself, dreaming that they'd be able to love one another forever, yet recognizing the false hope.
And she loved him, and he loved her. No one else in the guild knew, no one in the world knew, really, but they loved each other. And those few weeks were indeed Natsu's heaven. He began to loathe himself more and more with each passing day, but whenever he was with Lucy, the pain seemed to disappear. When he was with Lucy, he was not a demon, and she was not an angel, they were just two lovers, holding each other so very close, as if they let go, the other would just fade away.
However, the pure bliss that had captivated Natsu had also blinded him, hid away his true goal from his mind. He wasn't in Magnolia to be human, to fall in love, and a fellow demon had reminded him of that. The other demons didn't realize Lucy was an angel, but demons couldn't fall in love with anyone, be it holy or not. So they attacked. One of Natsu's fellow demons by the name of Gajeel Redfox had attacked Fairy Tail. His strength wasn't quite as extensive as Natsu's, however close, but what he lacked in strength he made up for with his brutality, cruelty, and relentlessness.
He humiliated three members: Levy Mcgarden, and her best friends, Jet and Droy. He nailed them to a tree, and marked them with the demon's brand with their own blood. Lucy was horrified, and assumed it to be the demon hosted by Magnolia, but Natsu was even more appalled. He knew what this meant, this was a reminder. He was breaking the rules, betraying the mission.
Soon, Natsu ran away once again, and the attacks stopped. He needed space to figure everything out, and he talked with Gajeel. Gajeel abused his ability to be harsh. Although in a fight, Natsu would surely emerge on top, Gajeel's creativity in his art of gore gave him the same ranking as Natsu in the armies of hell. He abused Natsu with his words, reminding him of his mission - to regain strength and take over the town - and calling him a disgrace to all demons.
Natsu accepted his words, once again recognizing truth, but he would not accept his mission. His love for Lucy overcame his desire to satisfy hell's orders, and he knew that completing his mission would involve hurting everyone in Fairy Tail, including Lucy. He would've been able to do it, only if he hadn't ran into Lucy. He would've done it if he hadn't invited her to lunch, then recruited her into the guild. He would've been able to complete the mission, if only he had remained a demon, not alluded himself with his false dreams of being human, and fallen in love.
Natsu encountered Lucy, and he knew that the pain that was coming in exchange for his weeks in heaven was upon him. He had to tell her, or else more pain and suffering would come to the guild, and to Lucy. He had to tell her what and who he was. So he told her. He had cried, sobbed, but he told her.
"Lucy, I am so, so sorry. I love you, I love you so, so, so goddamn much. But I can't love you. You made me feel emotion, human, but I can't feel emotion. These last few weeks, spending them with you, it felt like heaven, but I can't ever even sneak a glimpse of heaven. I'm so sorry Luce, I should've told you this from the start."
Lucy was crying just as much as Natsu was. "Natsu, what? What are you saying?" She held him close, with her forehead on his.
"Let me kiss you, one last time. Please, once more." He begged her, and when she nodded he kissed her, more passionately than ever, a fire burning in his chest. He wished he could've savored that moment forever, with her lips on his, her arms wrapped around him, and his arms wrapped around her. But he broke it, and everything he had become, it broke with the kiss. The pain he felt was worse than anything, worse than everything he had to go through in hell, much worse. But he had to do it, for Lucy. "I'm sorry Luce, but I'm the one you've come to kill. I am Ethereal Natsu Dragneel, one of the five First Generation Generals of the armies of Hell. Arch enemy of the heavens, hunter of angels, corrupter of mankind, harvester of souls, and servant of Satan."
Natsu swallowed, tasting the salt from his tears, and he saw the disbelief in her eyes. He stepped away from the blonde, and removed the human disguise he had been wearing for so many months. His horns returned, breaking apart his pink hair, which had now taken on a bloodier hue. Veins of skin on his neck leading up to his jaw broke away, being replaced with the black corruption that cursed him. His vest burned away, revealing more cursed patches on his chest and stomach, and blood red wings emerged from his back. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but I am END."
Author's notes: So that's it. I know that the last few paragraphs are oddly specific in comparison to the rest of the fic, but I felt that I'd ruin the mood if I made it that weird summary style I had going on in the rest of the fic. Like I said at the beginning, I might make a full on story for this, if you guys think it's a good idea, just let me know with reviews and what not.