How's life? I finally came out with chapter nine, I know! Sorry it took a while again. I was having this problem with the document manager thingy, so I had to delete the first chapter (off of the doc manager) and replace it with this one. Anyways, you probably just care about the chapter, so here you go! Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Normal P.O.V.

Lucy stood in the middle of the dank cemetery. The whole day was dreary, as if reflecting her mood. She tried to sniff away the tears, but to no avail. It was the anniversary of the day that her mother had been kidnapped. As an act of some sort of closure, Lucy and her father had buried a coffin filled to the brim with some of her mother's favorite things, and had the tombstone engraved.

If Lucy had her way, she would be spending this day with her father, but he was mourning in his own way. She knew that, but she still resented the fact that he didn't feel the need to check on her. That he didn't stop to think about her feelings. The only time he had lately, it'd been because he messed up and he cared just enough to not want her mad at him.

She sighed as it started to rain. As she started to walk away from her mother's make-do grave, she realized that although her father may not show it in the same way as others, he loved her. She thought about how he would still pack her lunches for school, and make sure that she had time off from working at the market. He was one of those people that did the little things. She was grateful for that, she just wished that her mother was still there to make her realize this sooner.

She wished that her mother was there for so many other things, too. She wished that her mother could've seen her off to her first day of school, and helped her when she had her first crush. She wished that her mother gave her her first piece of real jewelry, and her first makeup kit. That her mother would've made her attend her first homecoming, instead of skipping out to work at the market. She wanted her mother to meet Natsu, this amazing boy that had made her realize so many things, and come to so many conclusions. But, most of all, she wished that her mother could just hug her one more time. Those hugs used to reassure her so much as a child, but they were gone forever.

"Mama," Lucy whispered.

"Hey, Pops! I'm gonna go pick up our order from the market!" Natsu ripped off his server's apron. He had been working in his family's new diner all day, and he wanted a bit of a break. Not to mention that they were running low on eggs, considering that they served breakfast all day, and the eggs benedict was pretty popular. And, of course, there was the obvious reason as to why he wanted to go to the market- he wanted to see Lucy.

Just as he crossed the street to the market, he noticed Lucy walking in the back entrance. It occurred to him that it was odd, considering how she was almost always there, when she wasn't at school. Shrugging it off, he walked inside and up to the counter.

He rang the bell, and heard someone running from the back room to help.

"Sorry, I just got it," Lucy said as she tied her apron, before looking up to see who it was. When she did, she blushed.

"No problem, I haven't been waiting long." Natsu smiled at how flustered she was at the sight of him. But, just as quickly as the blush appeared, it faded from her cheeks. It seemed to him that she looked like she'd just remembered something awful. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" She hadn't been paying attention. When it dawned on her what he'd said, she replied,"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. So, um, what do you need?"

Natsu looked at her skeptically. He knew that something was up. "I just came to get the order that my dad put in for the diner."

"Yeah, sure, I'll be right back," Lucy said, turning to leave and check on the order. As she did, she tripped over a bag of flour thanks to her not paying attention again, but just as she was falling face-first, she felt strong arms around her waist.

Natsu pulled Lucy back up to her feet, but didn't let go. He looked her right in the eyes, while his were concerned but stern.

"What's wrong, Luce? And don't tell me that you're fine, because I know that you're not."

Lucy looked at her feet. "Nothing's wrong," she mumbled.

"Bullshit. I call bullshit on that." Natsu sighed, and loosened his grip a little. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"It's just-" Lucy stopped herself. It was just so hard to get the words out of her mouth.

"Just?" Natsu encouraged.

"It's, um, uh-"

"It's what, Lucy?" he coaxed.

"It's the anniversary of the day my mother was kidnapped!" Lucy looked shocked. She couldn't believe that she had just said that. She dared a look in Natsu's direction, only to find him dumbfounded. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes at her confession, so she broke free of the pinkette's grasp and ran to the back room to get his order.

By the time that she'd come back, Natsu had gotten a hold on himself, and come to terms with what the blonde had said. He started to understand why her father was never home when he dropped Lucy off at her house, and why she had just come to work.

"That'll be $176.94," Lucy said, when she finished ringing up the total.

"Lucy-" Natsu started.

"It's okay, Natsu," Lucy cut off. "I know what you're thinking. Just forget about it. It happened a long time ago, nothing to be worried about."

"I can't forget, Lucy."

"What?"

"I can't forget anything that you say to me, Lucy. Especially not this. And this is something to be worried about. I worry about you, Lucy. And, I want you to know that I'm here for you when you need me. You can come to me with anything, even if it's about me. You can tell me when you feel sad about this, or anything else, and I'll do my best to help cheer you up, because I can't bear to see you without a smile on your face. I just can't bear it."

"Natsu." Lucy ran around the counter and jumped up to hug the pinkette. He was surprised at first, but he put his warm arounds her small body, and held her tight as she cried into his shoulder.

"She never came home, Natsu! She went out for a walk, and she never came home!" Lucy sobbed.

"Shh, I know, I know." Natsu rubbed her back in circles to comfort her.

At last, she had shed her last tear, and she turned her head to look up to Natsu. She hadn't noticed at first, but he had been crying too.

"Why were you crying?" she asked.

"Because you were."

Thoughts? I tried to put in a little NaLu for you. Oh, who am I kidding? I enjoyed that part, too. I mean, I'm not saying that you necessarily enjoyed the chapter or anything- oh, I just need to shut up. Seriously, when will I learn to stop talking? Or should I have said writing? Whatever, I hope you liked it, and I'll have chapter ten out when I can.