Okay…not the end. I seriously considered ending it after the last chapter, but I'm enjoying this story and I want to see it through. Hope you enjoy the next chapters

2 years later….

He could hear the whispers as he walked with Natsu down the street, but chose to ignore most of them until he heard the two teenage boys jeering outwardly.

"He's so dirty! I heard he hasn't bathed in a couple years!"

"He's turned into such a loser! Hard to believe he was ever one of the best in Fairy Tail."

Gray whirled around angrily, pushing both boys up against the wall, "AND STILL IS!" he thundered, making the boys quiver. They broke out into sweats. A fist held each of them by their shirts. Gray's dark eyes emitted his anger, "That's Natsu Dragneel," he hissed, "And he's saved Magnolia and even Fiore more times than you little shits have wiped your own asses! Show some respect!"

The boys' faces turned white, "We're sorry!"

"Gray," a gentle hand touched his shoulder, "Forget it."

Gray sighed heavily, releasing the teenagers. They scampered away and Gray once again found himself following his friend through the streets of Magnolia. Natsu was used to the whispers. He knew the people of Magnolia thought he'd lost his bravery and was now a wimp who didn't want to fight. It didn't bother him.

"They were being rude," Gray said in a dark voice.

"It doesn't matter," Natsu replied non-chalantly.

"The old Natsu wouldn't let them get away with that shit," Gray muttered under his breath.

"The old Natsu died 2 years ago with Lucy," Natsu shot back, walking ahead.

Gray kicked himself. Natsu wasn't meant to hear that comment. Sometimes Gray forgot that even with all Natsu's changes, he was still a dragon slayer and had excellent hearing.

"Another mission tomorrow?" Gray asked as they approached the guild hall.

"What for?" Natsu asked, "The grocery money from this mission will last awhile. I don't need any more jobs for a couple weeks. I'm heading to the mountains to train instead."

Gray sighed. That was the new Natsu. He worked hard enough to get grocery money and spent the rest of his time training, away from everyone. Except when he went to the library. Natsu didn't fight with his guildmates anymore. He didn't destroy towns accidentally anymore. Natsu was a changed man. And although the entire guild had wished for a less-destructive Natsu in years' past, Gray wasn't the only one who missed that Natsu. At least he had been….happy.

They entered the guild hall and, like it always did when they entered these days, the sharp contrast in atmosphere hit them full force. The guild was not boisterous anymore. Teams sat at their usual tables, talking in low voices to each other. Cana's barrel sat untouched. She'd given up drinking to go to traveling with her dad after the Celestial War, traumatized by the events. The Request Board sat unattended. It was odd not to see Nab at his post. Levy sat with Droy and Gajeel at their usual table…now Gray's regular table too along with Juvia and Erza. As they entered, barely anyone even turned around to greet them.

Perhaps Natsu hadn't been the only one to change, Gray thought to himself. It had been 2 years. The deaths of their beloved comrades Lucy, Jet, Wakaba, Lisanna, and Nab had affected the guild heavily. It was like a different guild. The events of the Celestial War, as it was now dubbed, had frightened Fairy Tail to its' very core. Fairy Tail was not invincible. Not by a long shot.

Natsu waved at Gray as he went off toward Juvia and took his designated secluded stool at the bar alone.

"Usual, Mira," he said, not even looking up.

She slid a filled tumbler of fire whiskey his way, "How's it going today, Natsu?"

"Usual, Mira," he replied solemnly.

Her face fell. Every day, she hoped when she asked that question, she'd get a different answer. She patted his hand, then left to go serve the table that had just walked in. She had a hard time smiling too. She and Elfman had had to bury their sister, Lisanna, for the second time. This time, they knew she wasn't coming back. It hurt. But both she and Elfman had moved on. Elfman and Evergreen's son was now 3 years old and Evergreen was pregnant again. Mira…well, Mira had finally given Laxus a real chance and they were getting pretty serious. She wondered what it would take to get some of the old Natsu back… or at least make him smile more.

"Soooo," she said, a smile playing on her lips, "Did you see that Mickey is back? Isn't she adorable? She's grown up so much!"

Natsu turned to look at the pretty young mage, Mickey Chickentiger, who had left the guild some time during the 7 years they were at Tenrou Island. She smiled prettily, waving her gloved hand. Turning back to his drink, Natsu downed it in one shot.

"Thank you, Mira. I appreciate the thought, but I'm not interested," he paused, thinking about the three previous attempts to set him up, "And Mira? Please stop asking women to meet me. I know it's just cuz you care, but I don't want to meet someone new and you aren't helping me move on by shoving new girls in my face."

Her mouth dropped open, a bit shocked, but then she nodded, watching him get up from his seat and disappear to the library. He needed to find his own way to move on, she realized, but after two years, was he planning to do so?

He could see Mira talking to Mickey as he left. Mickey's face fell like she was disappointed.

Natsu entered the library. It made him feel close to her when he read her books. Levy had naturally inherited Lucy's books, since she was such an avid reader too. However, sharing the pain of losing Lucy with Natsu, she had put together a secret stash of Lucy's novels for him to read in a corner of the library that nobody used. Those were his favourites. Lucy wrote amazing adventures. Sometimes they were loosely based off of their real-life adventures. Other times, they were her own creation. Natsu reached for the story Lucy had been working on before she died, a romance between a princess and her dragon. As he did, a Celestial Magic book slid off the piles of books and landed on his lap, opening to a page near the beginning of the book with a note stuck into it.

Curious, he picked it up and unfolded it.

Dear Natsu, it read.

A letter to him? He looked at the date. It was just after Hargeon.

I don't know how to thank you for bringing me to Fairy Tail! It's a dream come true! The guild is really wild and crazy sometimes, but I love it! I hope I can prove myself to be a great wizard! Thanks! ~L

He grinned to himself. Silly girl. She could have said that to him directly.

Looking back to the Celestial Magic book, he wondered if there were other notes in there. He flipped a few pages before finding the next note.

Well shit!

It started off.

I go and get myself an apartment and suddenly it's a safe haven for everyone to come and eat all my food and laze all over my furniture! Seriously…what the hell? Okay fine. I don't really mind. Honestly, the company is pretty nice. I don't feel so alone all the time. But they can't know that! I'm going to have to make a HUGE deal out of it so they get the point!

He grinned to himself. He remembered the first time he, Gray and Erza crashed her apartment. Lucy was livid. Gray and Erza had gotten the hint rather well, but Natsu refused to adhere to the rules Lucy put down. Besides, her bed was really comfortable.

He sighed. Well, it was comfortable before. He had inherited the bed. It was now at his little house in place of the hammock. And somehow, it wasn't near as comfortable as it once had been. Lucy's scent had disappeared over the first few months and now it was just a bed.

He stuck the note back into its' page and flipped forward to the middle of the book, finding another note with the date being around the Grand Magic Games.

Dear Natsu,

Today I suffered a major defeat. I would have beat that red-haired bitch if she hadn't had help from the outside. But nevertheless, I find myself thankful. Thankful because when I was feeling one of the lowest moments in my life, you came out to me in the middle of that field and made me get up. You were proud of me, despite my defeat. Sometimes I think you're a pain in the ass, but moments like those…well, I know that I've got a real friend in you. You're pretty awesome.

Natsu put the note back in the book, wondering how many of these had been written. It was obvious she did it often and he found it interesting that she hid them so carefully. He flipped to the end of the book, deciding to read only one more. These were Lucy's private notes, and although they made him feel closer to her, they were never meant for his eyes. He found another note, passing by several other notes to get to the last one in the book.

He sighed, looking at the date and realizing it was only a few days after he'd left her to train for a year after Tartaros. Suddenly, he wasn't sure he wanted to read it. When he'd left, he hadn't realized the guild would be disbanded the next day and Lucy would be all alone. The other guild members had left her, thinking naturally that she and Natsu would stay together. After he'd returned, it took months for him to re-earn her trust, even after the guild had been reinstated. He had really hurt her then.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his eyes to the page.

He told me I'd never be alone again. But here I am. Completely alone. Gray and Juvia left together today after I told them I'd be okay. That was before I knew he'd left me. Gajeel and Levy have been gone for days. A note. A fucking note. He abandoned me. He left a note that he'd be gone for a year – a YEAR – and walked away as if nothing would change. I don't know what I'll do now. I ran after him to beg me to take me with him, but as I got the outskirts of Magnolia, it occurred to me…if he wanted to take me, he would have. He doesn't want me with him. After all this time, our time together meant so little that he could just abandon me. I love him. I know I love him. But he doesn't love me if he can abandoned me like that.

A tear rolled down Natsu's cheek. Maybe he would take this book home tonight. Reading the notes made him feel closer to her. He thought about the irony of the note he'd just read. She was angry because he'd left her. Well, he knew how she felt now. Perhaps it was different since she'd died in his arms. She had no ability to control that. But ultimately, she'd abandoned him too.

LAST DEPRESSING CHAPTER – PROMISE!

(well, kinda)

From here on in, we're heading for adventure again.