So I will be perfectly blunt here. The majority of this chapter was completed two days after the last update. I simply put it down for a bit. Take some time off. Next thing I know, nearly a month and a half has passed, I'm in College, working, and all but forgot about this story. Anyways, this chapter will mark the end of A Return Worth Waiting For. I may make a continuation in the future, but that's another time. I hope you've enjoyed the story and I apologize now if end of this chapter feels rushed.

Reference:

Talking - "Quotations"

Thinking - 'Contractions'

Flashback - Italics

Spells, Important people or objects - Bold

A Return Worth Waiting For

Chapter 10

They had arrived, finally. Wait, have they? As Erza, Elfman, and Gray were going in the direction of the 'trail' for about another hour, they found themselves at a….castle? Or what's left of one. The place was rather run down. The people who decided to call this place home really scrapped the bottom of the barrel on this one.

"Is this the place Erza?" the raven haired mage asked.

"I can't be too sure. You'd figure that the group of people, or a guild, would have a more appropriate place to act as headquarters, but looks can be deceiving. Nonetheless, we can't simply charge the place on a hunch that they actually have him here." Erza replied.

"Have who here?" asked a rather cheery voice that the group recognized but couldn't believe it.

Erza, along with the two S-Class candidates whipped their heads to the sound of the voice to see their rose haired dragon slayer casually walking with a man slightly more muscular than himself to their position.

"N-N-Natsu!?" The group exclaimed

Flashback: One Hour Ago With Natsu

"Are you sure this will really work? This seems a bit too…obvious." A certain low toned male voice asked as his and another's footsteps silently echoed throughout the darken corridors of the castle.

"Nah, are you kidding? These bastards will never know what hit them!" An apparent care-free voice answered back.

"I'm not saying it won't work. It's just…the only thing that we did is put your chains back on with them loosely on your hands, behind your back."

"It will work. Trust me. Now just act the part." The care-free voice, now serious demanded. The two of them coming to a door, clearly an entrance to a more 'lively' portion of the 'guild' they were in.

Upon coming to the door Natsu let himself go limp, closed his eyes, and had his mouth hung slightly open and let his companion drag him, to give the impression he was out cold. The room they had entered was lit up nicely, considering they were in a castle. It was apparently a room everyone simply sat in and chatted. It was all going well until a voiced called out to the 'Low Toned Male'.

"Hey Gerik!" A female voiced called out

'Dammit!' The man, now identified by Gerik mentally thought. He grunted and turned to the person who greeted him.

"Where are you taking our prize?" The female asked with a cocky smirk on her face. Gerik didn't really recall knowing this person. Though that was of no surprise to him. He preferred the isolation. The only thing that stuck out to him about her was her lack of dress. Wearing a light bandanna as a 'shirt' that barely covers her chest, showing a nearly unhealthy amount of cleavage being completed with what appeared to be the 2nd part of a bikini, albeit, also very revealing, barely covering the important bit, was also light blue. What confused him about this state of dress was if she did so because she was comfortable or was trying to drop hints to the other males that she was 'available'.

"And why are you so interested all of a sudden, let alone for a 'prize' you had no hand in earning?" Gerik harshly answered with a question.

"Woah now! No need to get all defensive!" The smirk on this woman's face was long gone replaced by a faint about of fear. She obviously didn't want to fight him.

Natsu nearly ruined his façade of being 'out cold' by nearly smirking at the conversation that was going on.

"Then you will leave me be. As for your question however, figured we could let him have some fresh air, to make him think we are not all that bad." Gerik finished with a quite fake smirk that the woman did not catch on to.

"Well, whatever! Just don't do anything stupid." The woman huffed and went back into the crowed with a certain sway of her hips.

Upon walking through the last door that led the duo outside, Natsu droped his façade of being out cold, stood up, took his chains off and walked alongside the person who 'rescued' him.

"Told ya." Natsu stated, smirking at how his plan worked.

"Hmph." Gerik grunted.

End Flashback

"How's it going guys?" Natsu asked casually as he continued walking up to his teammates. Despite his carefree attitude, Natsu himself has seen better days. For one, he was beaten and bruised all over, with a cut like wound where he was impaled to the right of his stomach. Second being his clothes; he was missing his sandals, his white trousers were torn and shredded with one legging going as high as his mid-thigh, his black sleeveless coat-like-vest was torn and cut beyond repair, and as for his scarf, it remained ominously unscathed. However, these did little to hinder him as he made his way over to his teammates. What he didn't expect however, was a sudden outburst from a certain red-head.

"YOU IDIOT!" Erza raged as she punched him, sending him 30 feet away, ending with his head being lodged in a tree trunk. Everyone just stood in shock at this, even the 'Low Toned Male' that accompanied him had rather scared look on his face as he watch Erza fume like mad as she stomped her way over to the semi-unconscious Natsu.

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong here, but, shouldn't we…you know…help him?" Gerik questioned.

Gray was the first to reply, "Nah! Let the 'Flame-Brain' get what's coming to him. It's what he gets for making her worry. Anyways, I'm heading back." He finished as he turned his back to head back to Magnolia, being followed by Elfman.

"Real men take their problems head on." Elfman boasted.

'I don't think his problem was the tree that his head was just lodged into.' Gerik thought with a sweat drop as he started to follow the trio, certain that rose haired mage's own teammate won't do any lasting damage after being reunited.

As Erza got over to Natsu, she pulled his head out of the trunk, leaving Natsu in a daze as stars seem to float around his head. Upon regaining his senses he saw the look in Erza's eyes. They promised death. Prepared for the worst, Natsu closed his eyes tightly and waited for the end. What he didn't expect was that nothing happened. When he finally got the courage to open his eyes he felt something Natsu would never forget, let alone think Erza would ever do: Embraced him tightly, yet warmly. As if he was the world to her.

"Please, don't worry me like that again." Erza pleaded. Natsu soon noticed she was sobbing into his shoulder as she kept her tight embrace on him.

"But Erza…" Natsu began but was just as quickly cut off.

"No! Promise me Natsu! I don't want to lose you. I….I….I love you too much." Erza finally confessed.

Natsu was partially confused by this. Particularly when she requested he promise not to worry her like that. It was simply a 'simple' mission gone wrong. The line of work they as mages did, sometimes meant putting their life on the line. However, he nonetheless understood what she just conveyed to him. He finally returned the embrace and held her tightly. "I understand Erza. Don't worry though, I have no plans to be taken out yet. After all, you're too important to me." Natsu explained, now taking Erza's chin with his hand and making her look at him, a small, but sincere smile forming on his face "Now don't cry, for I'll always be there for you, even if I'm not there physically, and I'll never leave you, no matter what." He finished.

Erza was speechless at this. 'Is this really Natsu? How does he know all the right things to say at these moments? But even so, it brings me comfort. Maybe I should…'

"Erza? You ok-" Natsu was cut off by Erza crashing her lips against his. His eyes widened at this. He for one never would have expected the normally stern Erza to being affectionately kissing him.

Upon retreating their faces for air and coming down from his realization. Natsu had to ask. "Erza, what was that?" He asked still somewhat in a stupor.

Erza simply turned red and huffed out her answer. "You should at least know what that meant Natsu." Apparently too embarrassed from her actions to explain what they meant despite her confession earlier.

With that, Erza simply grasped his hand tightly. "Come on. Let's go home." She stated with smile, her face still being a light shade of red.

Natsu's face formed in a genuine smile of warmth with that statement. "Yeah…" But this was not to be forever, "I HAVEN'T EATEN IN SO LONG! MIRA WILL HAVE TO MAKE ME EXTRA FOOD!"

Erza simply stood shocked at his outburst and could have sworn his mouth was spewing fire. Then she felt his hand leave hers, slightly making her already miss the warm feeling his hand brought her.

"Come on Erza. If you beat me to the guild. I'll buy you a lot of cake!" Natsu said with a toothy grin.

"Really!?" Erza asked with the look of a giddy school girl.

"Yes! But only if you beat me!" Natsu said, getting ready to race all the way home."

"ALRIGHT NATSU! YOU'RE ON! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Erza roared and took off towards home at breakneck speeds.

"But…but…That's my line…" Natsu muttered to himself realizing that he just made Erza more 'fired up' than he's ever been about anything. He soon started running towards Erza slowly catching up.

"So…Gerik…What made you want to help Natsu out?" Gray asked out of the blue.

"I simply don't agree with the way that guild goes about doing things. The way everyone is proud of how they captured the salamander in numbers and not in a fair match of skill. Especially those who did not personally partake in the capture." The tall man answered in his low gruff voice.

Before anything else was said, Gray along with Gerik and Elfman swore they could hear the ground rumbling. Unfortunately however, the trio did not get the chance to turn to the disturbance before they were trampled down into ground, with the surrounded area clouded in dust.

Gerik despite being just as unfortunate as the other two in being trampled, briefly caught eye of the Salamander running head to head with the Titania; taking note of the truly happy look on the pair's faces. 'Hmph. So that's how it is.'

The 'competition' forgotten, the pair were simply running for the enjoyment of each other's company. Natsu being happy for how Erza's personality seemed to change after the words she exchanged with him earlier into a more happy and care-free way. Erza was both happy and relieved that Natsu reciprocated the feelings despite not saying the exact words she said.

'It really has been a long, long year away from home. Though, in the end…' She started thinking with a content smile while running with Natsu, 'it was a return worth waiting for.' She finished.

And that there concluded the story. I do hope you've enjoyed it! If you ask yourself why did I end it. It's mostly due to the fact that I was sorely out of ideas of how to keep going along with the considerably reduced time I have to get on to work on the story in general (I started this story near the end of the previous school year around April). For now I think I might try my hand at other fictions and as I said above. I may try to make a continuation of the story in the future. Feel free to leave a Review. Comment or message me your thoughts or suggestions about other stories I could write about. I shall see you guys all later!