Author's Note: Last chapter before the epilogue, gang! I hope you've enjoyed it so far. This should explain most of Lucy and Natsu's history with each other, though I didn't want to bog down the pace of the story with too much exposition so I left a bit up to interpretation. Feel free to imagine them as the adorable teenage dorks they probably were.
My method for deciding what other characters would appear in scenes ended up being pretty haphazard, so some folks just got bigger parts than others. Not because I liked them better, but because they just sort of muscled their way into my head. Apologies if your favorite doesn't really feature. There were a lot of them that crammed themselves into the story as it was.
Drama and fluff ahead. I struggled a lot with the scenes in this story where Lucy and Natsu confront each other about their issues. Hopefully it comes across reasonably well.
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is definitely not mine. I don't own any of the characters except the obnoxious reporter guy. I did write the song, however, so please don't steal it (though, why would you want to?).
Shout-out!: To axlorg89, my beta reader.

CHAPTER 6: SHOWTIME

August 18, X793

Lucy pulled a long breath in through her nose, lips pursed and jaw clenched. She could feel the burning sensation in her sinuses from where she'd been repressing her angry tears. There is no way I will let them see me cry!

"I'm sure you thought it was a good idea, honey, but really… Music?" A man chuckled - one of the Junelles' cronies, she knew - and gave her a condescendingly sympathetic look. "This company is about railroads, not pop stars."

She jumped on the comment. "That's the thing! It wasn't always just about rails. Heartfilia Music has a long, rich history and we can capitalize on that! People in the industry still remember the name and hold it in high regard. With just a bit of funding -"

"There's only so much money to go around, sweetheart," the Junelle's patriarch said, Sawarr sitting complacently next to him, and she grit her teeth. "We'd get far better returns on investing more in the railroad expansion project."

Grabbing one of the packets of paper in front of her, Lucy held it up. "Except we won't. We've done extensive market research and spoken to other, comparably sized labels. The figures are all right here. I gave them to you. You can clearly see that we'd see much better returns for less -"

Junelle cut her off again with an expansive wave of his hand. "Yes, yes. We all saw your pretty graphs."

Lucy glanced at Capricorn standing next to her, face flickering with desperation. "I've already put my own money into this project. I wouldn't that need much more in comparison. It's well worth the risk."

Another of the suited gentlemen looked to the extremely disinterested Junelle before clearing his throat. "It's… a very intriguing proposal. Perhaps now is just not the time…"

Frustration made her feel light headed, and Lucy had to draw several calming breaths to steady herself. Capricorn leaned towards her and whispered quietly, "We knew this might happen. Don't let it get to you."

Not ready to give up, Lucy decided to play her last card. What good was her pride anyway at this point? If they wanted her to beg, she would. "Please… This… This is very important to me. I promise that if you just give it a chance I can make it -"

"Um!" Everyone in the room jumped when Aries spoke up from the double doors at the end of the space. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but…" She glanced nervously behind her. "One of the other shareholders came and -"

"S'up guys! Sorry I'm late!" Natsu strutted in past the ram, making his way swiftly to the empty executive chair at the end of the table as Laki scurried along behind him. He dropped into the seat and spun around gleefully. "Hey, hey! This chair is pretty cool. Any chance I can take it home?"

The board members stared in shock at the very recognizable pink haired rockstar. Decked out in his most elaborate, stage worthy gear, he was unmistakable. Junelle finally broke the dumbfounded silence, and spoke slowly like he was afraid to startle the unpredictable newcomer. "Mr. Dragneel… What exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh that! Yeah." He scratched at his cheek absently. "I kinda bought a bunch of stock in this company. Apparently, like, 52 percent of it or something." Ignoring the murmuring his announcement caused, Natsu kept speaking. "Anyway, I read all that stuff that Lucy sent out, and I think it's a great idea!"

Junelle seemed to deflate slightly. "Do you now?"

"Yep! And what's more, I'm ready to put my money where my mouth is. Our contract with our record company just ran out. Which is great, 'cause they suck." He slapped a hand on the table and pointed over his shoulder to Laki behind him. The violet haired lawyer held up the hefty stack of papers in her hands. "Fairy Tail wants to be the first new gig to sign up with your label! The contract's right there. All you gotta do is sign."

The table erupted in babble. Natsu couldn't help but grin at the chaos he'd sown, particularly as Junelle tried to shout down the other, very excited, members of the board. With his charismatic hold broken, they seemed to feel free to say what they truly thought of the proposal. Looking up, the star caught Lucy's stunned, chocolate eyes and winked.

"This is excellent! What a coup this will be. And my daughter is a huge fan." One of the suited men reached over to shake Natsu's hand. "You definitely have my support!"

"Yes," another piped up. "This is an excellent idea! Well done, Ms. Heartfilia. This could very well turn the company around completely! Brilliant!"

Lucy stammered, utterly at a loss. "Uh, yes! It's… pretty surprising. Ha ha…"

Slouching in his seat, the Junelle patriarch sulked. He glared at the oblivious Sawarr who had gone up to shake hands with the rockstar as well, exclaiming that he was a great fan of the band and asking to have his tie signed. Even if he refused to support the project now, he'd simply be outvoted. Not to mention losing face with the other directors for turning down a proposal that was sure to earn them money.

"Hng. Congratulations, Ms. Heartfilia," he bit out. "It looks like you've won."

Capricorn smirked and gently touched Lucy's arm, shaking her out of her stupor. The woman smiled weakly and nodded before her spirit friend moved to speak with Laki regarding the contract. Watching the barely contained anarchy, Lucy felt a painful pinch in her stomach that had her heading for the door.

Natsu managed to disengage himself from the press of wealthy men, hanging back for a moment to watch Laki as she started to work her magic. She held court like some kind of legal goddess. His grin slipped when he finally looked away, eyes searching for Lucy's figure.

"She's quite light on her feet when she wants to be," Capricorn said. The goat nodded his horned head towards the door she had exited from. "But you might be able to catch her if you hurry."

Needing no further encouragement, the young man tore out of the room. He spotted her a ways down the hall after a few false turns. "Luce! Lucy!"

His call only served to make her speed up, but unfortunately for Lucy, Natsu's longer stride had him catching up quickly. She drew in an unsteady breath when he spun her carefully around. "N-Natsu…" She sniffled pathetically. If only Virgo was here, she could dig a hole for the blonde to crawl in. The sudden relief of the stress she'd been feeling for two months blindsided Lucy, leaving her emotions to run amok.

"Hey!" Holding her at arms length, Natsu ducked his head slightly to look into her watery eyes. "What's all this? Those better be tears of joy, right? Otherwise I'm gonna have to beat someone up. Even if it's me."

She laughed and gave him a bright, damp smile. "Yeah… They're happy tears right now. Thank you. I'm sorry... for doubting you."

He was sure he'd never felt so relieved in his life. "Awesome! So I didn't screw this whole thing up. Yay me!" Bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks, he brushed away her tears with his rough thumbs. "Now that we've got that out of the way, any chance you'll come down the studio to see everyone? They're all pretty much losing their minds right about now."

Lucy gently set a hand against his wrist, prompting him to let go of her face. "Yeah. I'll… find a way to make some time. I know how impatient you guys all are."

Beaming wide enough to make his jaw ache, Natsu nodded once. "Alright! That's what I'm talkin' about. It'll be just like old times. Everyone together and -"

"Natsu." Lucy took another deep breath, praying for steady nerves. "It's been a really long time. I… don't know that I want things to go back to the way they were."

"What? What do you mean?" he laughed uncertainly. "That's kinda crazy."

The woman carefully let go of his arm and stepped back with a sallow smile. "Let's not get into this out here, okay? Save it for some other time."

Shaking his head, Natsu let his grin drop. "No, no. We should talk about this. I don't want to leave it." Pulling on her sleeve, he ducked into one of the empty conference rooms that lined the hall. He shut the door behind them and turned back to face her, spreading his hands to indicate they were alone. "Here! Now we've got privacy. Tell me what you mean."

"It's… complicated…" she demurred, trying to step around him.

Tenaciously, he blocked the door. "Seriously. I want to know. It's okay. You can tell me anything! I already got around you refusing to let me help you." Natsu was frowning now, reaching for her arm even as she pulled back.

"Stop being so stubborn! Just spit it out already," he demanded. Seeing her like this was making him crazy. He couldn't handle whatever this barrier was between them. "Why are you hiding from me? I know you're not a chicken, so just tell -"

"Because you broke your promise!" Lucy cried. They stared at one another for a long, heavy moment.

"My… promise?" Natsu asked, voice cracking.

She covered her eyes with a soft hand for a second, before meeting his gaze again. Even if she was discomforted by the situation, Lucy wasn't going to back down now. If he wanted to know so badly, she would tell him. "Yes. You promised, over and over, that you'd always be there for me. But you weren't. You just... disappeared. We were about to finish college and had that huge fight about me going to grad school to get my MBA..."

Glancing to the side and then back to her face, the rock star had a strange set to his jaw. "You just gave up on your dream of being a writer. All because your dad told you that you had to."

The woman shook her head. "That's not how it went. It was still my choice and don't think it was an easy one for me. I hadn't really understood what the company meant to Mom and Dad until he actually started talking to me like I was an adult. Maybe I couldn't do exactly what I wanted but..." Lucy sighed. "I know you were disappointed - angry really, maybe even… betrayed, and that's always haunted me... But you just left! You ran off to do your music and never looked back at me."

"I… That's not..." Natsu's expression was nearly blank as he tried to catch up to his feelings.

"I sent you emails, texts, tried to call you… I even wrote you damned letters. And nothing. Not one response." As hard as she was trying to stay calm, Lucy could feel all the anger and sadness from years ago rushing at her like a tsunami. Combined with the exhaustion and frustrations over the last month, she just couldn't contain it. "Invitations to my college graduation. My grad school graduation. Emails about my first job… No answers."

She looked up at him then, gaze piercing. "I thought you hated me."

"What?!" he gasped, jaw hanging slack in shock. "No! I could never -"

"And what else was I supposed to think?" Lucy laughed bitterly. "Thank God I had already started to get along better with Dad, otherwise I wouldn't have had anyone." She paused, letting her eyes drift to the big window in the room. "Of course, then he got sick. Just like Mom… He just wasted away over years and there wasn't anything I could do. I sent you messages then too… I needed someone."

He watched in gnawing horror as Lucy's face suddenly crumpled. Her sob sent a spike through Natsu's aching heart. "Lucy…"

"I needed you!" she wailed. "I've been all alone, and it was like you were never even there to start with. I thought I'd lost you forever!" Her voice caught, but he didn't dare reach out for her now. "And then all of the sudden you show up out of the blue, acting like nothing had happened. Do you know how much that hurt?!"

He watched her weep into her hands for an agonizingly long moment before her heaving shoulders gradually stilled. The woman sniffed heavily and dashed the heel of her hand against her tears. "I… I loved you… I still do," she sighed, hiccupping slightly, and Natsu froze solid at her confession. "But I can't… I can't just go back. I know you have all these fond memories - and I do too - but what came after... It hurts to think about it, but I don't think my heart will give me a choice but to go forward."

"I'm sorry… I don't know why…" Natsu shook his head, feeling a stinging in his own eyes. It was like a black hole had opened in his chest. "I knew I should've replied - and I even wanted to! But… I just… I don't know." He looked agonized, one hand clutching frantically at his scarf, trying to draw some comfort from the cherished material. "I kept thinking and thinking about it all that time, but I couldn't -"

Lucy's delicate hand on his arm stopped his fumbling. Though her face was still wet from tears, eyes puffy and nose running, she still had the most gorgeous little smile he had ever seen. He was pretty sure his heart had stopped. "It's okay, Natsu. We both did and said things that hurt back then. I'm not angry anymore, just… sad. And someday I won't be that either."

"Lucy, I… I…" The words he desperately wanted to say lodged up under the lump sitting stubbornly in his throat. Coward! You spineless, useless chicken!

She gently rubbed her hand along his upper arm soothingly. "It's okay," Lucy repeated. "I don't think anyone is really to blame here. Sometimes… that's just how things are."

August 20, X793

"Lucy!" Gray wrapped his arms round the blonde's waist, picking her up and spinning around. "I can't believe it. It's been forever!" He set her down when she pinched his arm. Lucy really didn't want to send Juvia into a fit, and the bluenette was already starting to look a bit twitchy even if she was obviously happy to see the other woman.

Levy practically collided with her friend, hugging her as hard as she could, "Lu! I'm so happy to see you! This is incredible."

"I've missed you guys so much!" Lucy took in the crowd of Fairy Tail members that gathered around her while she returned Levy's rib bruising squeeze. Their smiles were infectious. "Erza!" She grabbed the stage manager's hand. "Is it true? Did Jellal finally pop the question?"

Erza smirked. "He sure did. Though it was after I ordered him to. I have no patience for dawdling." The blue-haired guitarist blushed mightily, crimson tattoo nearly disappearing into his skin.

"That's so great! And I heard Bisca and Alzack tied the knot too." Lucy gently nudged the dark haired Alzack in the stomach. "I thought you'd never pluck up the courage. Good on you, Al!"

Bisca beamed. "I'm just sorry Asuka couldn't be here for you to meet her."

Away from the mob of people, Natsu sat with his chin on the back of his hands and arms across the top of his reversed chair. Gajeel milled around along with Pantherlily and Laxus, none of whom cared over much for big crowds and sappy exhibitions. Happy had perched on the top of the Salamander's head, watching the scene with enthusiasm until Natsu gave him leave to go fly over to the raucous gathering. The pink haired star just couldn't quite shake off his glum attitude, observing with an uncharacteristic silence and stillness.

"Look what I've got," Mirajane interrupted in a singsong tone. She held a book up over her head with a big smile.

Juvia squealed in delight. "That's Mira's high school photo album! Juvia hasn't looked at it in ages!"

Lisanna dragged a table into the midst of the crowd and moved to stand next to Lucy, giving the blonde's hand a friendly squeeze, while her eldest sibling placed the book down where everyone could view. Elfman hawked over his sisters' shoulders as Evergreen pressed in next to him.

"Ah!" Lucy cried, pointing at one of the pictures. "Do you remember this? It was that play we were all in!"

Groaning, Gray rubbed the back of his neck. "Into the Woods wasn't supposed to have a flaming enchanted forest." He could recall the smell of burning plywood scenery almost perfectly.

Erza laughed heartily. "Or a half-naked prince. You and Natsu sure got wrapped up in the story. It was a good thing Lucy was able to improvise her lines."

"I think this was that car wash fundraiser for the band," Freed commented, leaning forward to study a photo. "Yes, there's Gajeel pretending he isn't looking at Levy, and Gray acting like he didn't stare when Juvia's top got all we-."

"That's not what happened!" Gray shouted, face slightly flushed and refusing to meet the woman in question's eyes. He stared up at the ceiling and unknowingly tugged off his shirt in anxious haste. Juvia smiled shyly at him in response, catching his clothing when he tossed it aside.

Mira chortled in glee. "Oh, I liked this one! Do you remember when we were putting on a show for the children's theater?"

Lucy tipped her head to look at the next page. "Yeah. The fog machine got out of control for the Peter and the Wolf number. It totally flooded the theater with that awful smelling chemical fog stuff, and no one could see a thing." Her eyes wandered to another image. "And then Natsu…" She stopped speaking at the sight of the picture of a pink haired teenager kneeling in front of a bawling child.

Picking up on the memory, Mira said, "That's right. Natsu helped that one little boy find his parents when they got separated in that mess."

"Yeah… Natsu said it was okay to cry when you're scared. That he'd be brave for the boy instead." Lucy allowed a small smile to drift her lips upwards. He'd always had such a warmth to him...

Every photo of Lucy included Natsu somewhere nearby as if it was a forgone conclusion that he would be with her. The memory of her first day of public school wormed it's way to the front of her mind, as fresh as the day it happened. Her life up until that point had been defined by what was expected of her future with the finest tutors money could buy and clothing fit for royalty, but friends had never been part of the itinerary.

She had begged and begged to be allowed to go to school with other kids her own age, but it was one of her private instructors that finally tipped the scales when he remarked to her father that the girl just wasn't developing her social skills far enough. Lucy's joy quickly melted away in the face of the overwhelming number of unknown students, many that were less than friendly to a newcomer.

Terrified and lost, she had actually screamed out loud when Natsu laid a solid hand on her shoulder to get her attention after he noticed her getting jostled in a crowded hallway. She'd been more than a little shocked when he laughed loudly and called her weird, but grabbed her arm and declared her a friend because of it. He had been the first real friend she made on her own, and he welcomed her into his warm, frenetic world with open arms. The gap in her life that he had once filled felt like a chasm now.

"Oh no!" Sticking out her tongue in a way that was contrary the poised image she normally presented, Evergreen glowered at one of the photographs. "The talent show."

Cana doubled over with laughter, gasping for breath. "Oh God! That was… the best!"

Cracking a smile, Jellal looked to his fiancé and gently draped an arm over her shoulders. "That sword fight was pretty impressive. I didn't expect you to slice right through the curtain when I parried." Erza just shook her head, amused.

"Juvia thought Gray's ice sculpture was very nice," she offered.

"It would've been fine if Natsu hadn't melted the damned thing with his fire juggling routine," the bassist grumbled. "I spent all that time working on it."

Lucy giggled as she recalled the two getting into an impressive brawl amidst the billowing exhaust from the fire extinguisher Evergreen had sprayed at them, partly to put out the smoldering fire and partly in an attempt to get them to stop. Their acrobatic maneuvers had been assumed to be part of the show and ended up winning the two rivals first place.

"Natsu seems to have always had a habit of setting things on fire," Wendy joined in. She was on the other side of the table, viewing the book upside down with open fascination. "He looks so happy with that cute little trophy."

Hey look, Lucy! I won! How 'bout you hold on to it for me?

Falling in love with him had been so slow and easy, Lucy hadn't even realized it was happening. She'd only just begun to consider how rich a romantic relationship with him could be when it suddenly combusted in a flurry of crushed expectations and hurt feelings. Where had things gotten so twisted around?

"Hah! Here's one of the homecoming dance!" Elfman poked one of the pages with a meaty finger, dragging Lucy out of her thoughts, and the others reminisced with enthusiasm about spiked punch and horrible retro disco music.

The dispirited Natsu managed to work up a colossal sulk an hour into their gathering, still not having moved. Finally Pantherlily glared at him. "Aren't you going to go over and join them? This tantrum of yours is getting tedious."

"It's not a tantrum!" Natsu spat, not liking the implication of his own childishness. "It's… a reserved distance."

"It's foolish," the black exceed snorted.

Laxus deliberately bumped the pink haired star's chair with his hip, snickering as the other man snarled and nearly toppled over. "You're acting like a spoiled brat. Suck it up, pansy. Go over there and plant one on her."

"I can't do that!" He gripped the top of the chair tightly.

The big blond shrugged. "Not like I care what you do, but this," he waved a hand up and down to indicate Natsu's rather pitiful state, "is just pathetic."

"Laxus is right. Moping around over here isn't solving anything," Lily said. "It's completely obvious she's as infatuated with you as you are with her. Or haven't you noticed how she keeps looking over in this direction?"

"Wha…?" Natsu's head whipped around to look at the object of their conversation. He had not, in fact, noticed her subtle glances. When she cast her gaze his way again, he dipped his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, well… that's…"

"I can't believe we're the ones having to give you advice. You dumbass." Gajeel seemed completely annoyed by the situation. Touchy feely was so not his scene. "You never give up this easy. What the hell is wrong with you?"

The broad shouldered sound engineer agreed. "It seems pretty weird that you're not hanging all over her until she gives in. That's what you used to do. Seems like you're getting soft." Laxus suddenly smirked. "Is that it? You've turned into a wuss!"

Natsu growled, rising to his feet. He pushed himself up slightly on his toes so he could be eye to eye with the taller man. "You take that back! You wanna go?!"

"Please. I could take you with one hand behind my back," the blond snorted. "But if you're not some sorry little weakling, then why are you hiding from a girl who's not trying to kill you? Erza on a rampage, I could see, but Lucy?"

Wavering, the rose haired star backed up a step. "That's… I can't…"

"Sure ya can," the pierced drummer punched Natsu hard on the arm, earning a glare and another snarl. "Go on. Prove you're not chicken. A real man would just go over there get 'er." Gajeel frowned. "Fuck. That sounded like Elfman."

"As shocked as I am, these two are right." Pantherlily cross his arms over his tiny chest. "You're being a coward. You have two choices. Let her go or win her heart. That is your challenge."

Natsu inhaled heavily and then bared his teeth at the three. "I'll show you! I'm not a coward..." He hesitated, taking a lingering look at the love of his life. It seriously was not fair that just the sight of her made it hard to breathe.

He'd never been sure just when their relationship had changed from best friends to breaking each other's hearts, but somehow, when they were alone, Natsu couldn't seem to put his feelings into coherent thought. Why was it so much easier spill his guts on stage, in song and in front of a thousand people, than when he was only with Lucy?

A sharp, sly smile gradually took residence on the singer's tanned face as a thought occurred to him. "And I know just how I'm gonna do it."

Makarov stared at the podium with the sort of venom only someone of short stature faced with a thing they can't reach is able to muster up. If they wanted him to talk at a press conference, why were they making it so damned hard?

As discreetly as she could manage, Erza slid a box in front of the podium and gave him a small smile. The droning of dozens of journalists began to die down when the elder man clambered up and loudly tapped on the microphone. He didn't even bother to suppress his chuckled at the way they all winced from the sound.

Letting his eyes skim over the crowd, Makarov paused to send a wink to Lucy who was standing off to the side with most of her spirit employees. The woman smiled warmly at him in response. "Alright, you people. Quiet now. I'm not one for long speeches, and don't expect me to say this twice," he said.

All eyes turned to him, and the band manager squared his shoulders. "I've been in music for quite a few years now, as many of you know. What you might not be aware of is that I got my start in this business with Heartfilia Music, which makes this a neat little circle for me."

He grinned brightly, mustache twitching. "It is my proud obligation to announce that Fairy Tail has now signed a multiyear contract with Heartfilia Music. They will be publishing our newest album next month, so buy a bunch of copies."

The next few minutes consisted of Makarov fielding questions from excited reporters. When someone shouted "Who's Lucy?!," he finally held up a hand to stop the onslaught. "I think that's enough for now. Freed and Evergreen will be releasing press documents with all the relevant details. The rest of those questions will just have to -" Looking over his shoulder, he frowned at Natsu who had somehow sidled unnoticed up to his elbow.

The star leaned into the microphone. "Actually, I'd like to handle that one, if it's okay with you." Makarov's white brows rose towards his receded hairline, but he said nothing as he hopped down from his box.

Natsu shoved the vacated crate aside with his foot and braced both hands on the edges of the podium, face serious. "Seems like everywhere I go you guys have been asking 'who's Lucy?' You've bugged my friends about it. You've bugged me. And I'm getting kinda tired of it." He cleared his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot in nervousness. "So here's the answer."

Lucy stared at him, wishing she could telepathically communicate with the pink haired man. "What the hell is he doing?" she whispered.

Inhaling deeply, the rose haired rocker steeled himself. "I could say some mushy crap about how she's my light and the only thing I need, but that's not really me. The truth is… I should've just jumped into the crowd and gone after her that night at the concert, even if it was just the slightest chance it was her. Letting her go was the dumbest thing I've ever done, and I've done some really dumb things. Letting her go twice?" He laughed harshly. "I'm pretty sure that would make me the biggest idiot around. All I can hope is that she'll give me one more chance."

Lifting his head, he looked right at the golden haired beauty that had stolen his heart all those years ago. His eyes held a fierce determination that had been missing from his being for longer than he cared to consider, and it made the woman gasp. "You want to know who Lucy is? She's the best thing that ever happened to me - the woman I love. She's Lucy Heartfilia!"

The crowd of journalists erupted into pandemonium, half of them shouting questions at Natsu and half trying to get a statement from Lucy. The blond CEO waved her hands in front of herself to ward them off while Elfman pushed his way through the throng, bellowing for them to make room. Taurus quickly scooped his besieged employer up and bodily tossed her to the incoming Strauss sibling, heedless of her shriek of indignation.

"I got'cha!" Elfman said reassuringly and hoisted the alarmed woman onto his shoulder and out of reach of the crowd. He plowed through the reporters like they offered no more resistance than water.

By the time they made it to the green room where the rest of the band had retreated, Makarov was glowering at a bowed pink head. "Did you see the scene you caused out there?! What were you thinking?"

Natsu scuffed his shoe against the ugly, burnt orange carpet and was about to answer when he spotted Lucy being gently set on her feet. His grin lived a short life when she strode over to him with purpose and fury. "That's what I'd like to know!" she snapped and jabbed him in the shoulder with her index finger. "Are you crazy?!"

"Yeah, well," the rock star said, eyes burning with the same ferocity she'd seen earlier, "I'm not taking any of it back. Because it's all true." Those words seemed to stop the blonde for a second.

"I… uh…" Lucy stammered, anger draining away while her blush was gaining full power.

Natsu grabbed her arms so she couldn't retreat. "I know I fucked up, and I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. If anyone should've been there when you needed someone, it's me." He stepped in closer, and Lucy realized she'd never seen him look so desperate before. "I swear I will do everything I can to never break that promise again. You'll get sick of me I'll be around so much! Just… Please, let me back into your life…"

Staring up at him, the blonde swallowed heavily but her tongue felt like it had been glued to the roof of her desert dry mouth. Nothing would come out, and her lips started to tremble.

"Oh, God, don't cry!" His warm palm came up to cradle her face. "I love you so much."

Lucy lurched forward and buried her face into the scarf around his neck, heart feeling like it was about to burst. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed uncontrollably, clutching at his torso. This man… Always him. "You… You magnificent idiot!"

"Good job, furnaceface. You made her cry!" Gray called from where he was standing with everyone else. They had watched the scene unfold with unrestrained curiosity.

Natsu snarled at him. "Shut up, snowman! I'm really tryin' here!" His eyes snapped down when Lucy carefully started to push herself away from his chest.

She sniffed, swiping the back of her hand under her nose, before she brought her gaze up to look into his anxious face. The two stared at one another for a long moment. Finally, she sighed. "Well?"

"Uh," he said, completely stumped. "Well what?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't you going to kiss me? I'm pretty sure that's part of the package of a flashy love confession."

Staring at her blankly, she could actually see as Natsu processed her request. His face lit up slowly but surely, grin huge and unfettered. "Whatever you want!" Bringing up an arm to wrap around her shoulders, Natsu tilted her backward before pressing his lips to hers in a sweet kiss that rapidly became smoldering.

The room filled with the heartfelt cheers of their friends. "Whoo hoo! It's about time!" Cana crowed.

"Now that's manly!" Elfman nodded, feeling like he was the expert on such things. His sisters squealed in delight next to him, Lisanna hopping up and down and clapping.

Gray shook his head. "Whoa. If you're gonna start using tongue, get yourself a room, ya pyro." Natsu responded with an extended middle finger, and Lucy turned her face into his neck, overcome with giggles. Her heart had never been lighter.

Author's Note: My original outline had Levy, Gray, and Happy being the ones to give Natsu his pep talk, but apparently Laxus, Gajeel, and Lily decided they'd be much more amusing.
Random AU Facts:
- Everyone in the actual band (not counting the stage hands and management staff) can sing rather well - except Gajeel, but he plays a mean blues guitar.
- The band members used to have periodic rap battles, but gave up because Juvia always wins.
- Lucy played the flute and piccolo in the high school band. She tried to take up violin to be in the orchestra but was terrible at it.
- Elfman and Evergreen have been on-again/off-again dating since high school. Mirajane is the only one who knows.