Natsu was lying next to her, stroking her hair. There was a knock on the door.

"That's probably Zeref," said Natsu.

"Do you mind?" Lucy titled her head slightly.

"Nah." He rolled over and sat up.

She walked over to the door and opened it. Natsu was right— it was Zeref and standing behind him, was Aaron.

One of Zeref's servants had found Zeref and Natsu in their cells two days after Aaron and Cobra's escape. By then, Zeref had been on the verge of hysteria. Desperate to track down Lucy and Aaron, he had released Natsu, thinking he could track them down faster in his Dragon form.

This had been an extremely hasty and dangerous decision. Natsu had almost immediately lost control and had flown away. It seemed that he was no better at controlling the Dragon King form than Aaron.

Zeref had then contacted Igneel and the two of them had searched the countryside. Igneel had been alerted to their location the moment Cobra had forced Lucy to summon the First and had arrive soon after Natsu's curse was reverse. Zeref had immediately healed his brother's wounds. He also healed Cobra's wounds and released him. Lucy would have preferred to hand him over to the magic council Zeref seemed hesitant to get them involved.

Now Zeref was standing in her doorway, looking uncomfortable. "Aaron and I will be leaving soon. There are still a few servants milling around. They'll help you with anything else you might need."

"Wait," said Lucy. "Where are you going?"

"Aaron and I have created a lot of evil in this world. We're going to try and see if we can give something back to help right some the crimes we have committed."

"So that's it?".

"That's it," he said with a small shrug. "I've completed everything I set out to do. My brother has been returned to me and for that, I will be forever grateful."

She looked at Aaron who was watching her intently. "I don't think I can apologize enough for all the trouble I've caused you," said Aaron.

"No need. You are already forgiven."

"Thank you but I don't think I deserve that."

Zeref cleared his throat. "Well, it's been a pleasure getting to know you." He looked over her shoulder and spoke to Natsu. "Take good care of her, okay?"

"Yeah," said Natsu. He stood up and walked over. He stuck his hand out and Zeref shook it. "If you're ever in town, maybe we can get lunch or something. You know—I can get to know my big brother a little bit."

Zeref looked suprised but quickly recovered. "Yeah, that would be nice." He held out his hand for Lucy.

Lucy looked at his hand and instead threw her arms around him in a big hug. When she pulled back, his eyes looked bright. "Natsu, can you give us a minute?" she asked.

"Sure," Natsu touched her arm softly then left the room. "Let's go Aaron, I think we're both supposed to get out of here."

The brims of Zeref's eyes were getting brighter. When Natsu was gone, Lucy pulled him towards her and kissed him softly. It wasn't a deep kiss, but it held all the passion of a broken heart in it.

"If things had been different…" she began.

"Please don't," said Zeref. "I can't stop thinking about things being different. I just need to accept things as they are."

"I love him so much," she said.

"I know. And he loves you too."

Zeref bent down and kissed her cheek.

"Goodbye, Lucy Heartfilla."

"Goodbye, Zeref Dragneel."

Zeref turned and walked down the hallway. He looked back right before he reached the steps. "You know, I just might take Natsu up on his offer. Perhaps Aaron and I will come back for a visit in a couple years."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'd love to see how much stronger you get. I don't think you've reached your full potential yet. Now that the curse is broken, you may become one of the most powerful mages in the world."

She laughed. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I'm just happy to have my spirits back."

"You'll be ready sooner than you think. Take care."

And with a final flash of black, he was gone.

The End.

Bigdream3r: Thank you all for reading. I hoped you enjoyed it.