It was the morning after the morning of the dream. They had traveled all day the day before to Natsu's next destination of choice, namely Akane Beach.
It was true. The week they had spent there was one of the happiest vacations he'd ever had. Erza had very much insisted on proper sleeping arrangements, so Lucy, Levy, Juvia and Lisanna had shared a hut, Erza, Mira, Wendy and Carla in another, and Cana, Bisca, Laki, and Evergreen taking up a third. The boys kind of slept wherever they wanted, regardless of Erza's carefully made plan. Some didn't even sleep in beds, just opting for the closest floor or sand dune.
He remembered the first night. They had a beach party. Lucy had been wearing a beautiful wrap-around beach dress with her bikini underneath. When the party started getting out of control, Natsu and Lucy walked the beach. What had started as a simple stroll turned into an all-nighter of talking, laughing, and swimming. He remembered how she'd clung to him in the water, afraid of what could be lurking under the water in the dark. He'd almost kissed her that night. In the end, he chickened out. Was that special to her?
The others followed behind Natsu silently as he walked the beach ahead of them, lost in his own thoughts. At one point he got excited as heard a definite, "Thump…thump…thump…thump." But then, he realized they were visiting Akane Beach during the Harvest Festival. A marching band was just down the street and what Natsu had heard was simply the beat of a drum.
"We should stay here a few days!" Levy suggested, "It's the off-season, so there won't be so many tourists."
"Oh, let's do it! It's so romantic here!" Juvia exclaimed, reaching for Gray's hand, "Can we, my love? It's been such a long time since we've had any kind of vacation."
"Go ahead," Natsu muttered, leaving them standing in the sand, "I have work to do yet...It's not here."
They glanced at one another solemnly, then hurried to catch up to Natsu.
Over the next 2 months, they visited city after city, place after place. Memories swirled around Natsu's head as he remembered why each place was special, but he never once heard the tell-tale heartbeat that they were close to Lucy's key.
Somewhere in the 2nd month, Erza had caught up to them. Natsu was painfully aware he was the sole leftover in the group of couples. Gajeel and Levy finally made it official on their visit to Matza Valley, announcing their new union to their friends.
The winter had set in. Natsu was leading the group through the mountains near Waas Forest through 2 ½ feet of snow when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Natsu?" Levy asked softly.
"We're not going to find it," he said quietly.
"Of course we are!" Erza said confidently, "We're running out of places to look. Surely we're narrowing down on it as we speak!"
"No," Natsu hung his head, "That's it. We're done."
He changed his path as he continued through the snow, not looking back at his friends.
"Natsu, where are we going?" Gajeel yelled, "I thought we were going to Cait Shelter's old grounds!"
Natsu shook his head, not responding out loud. He kept his path steady, "It's time to go home," he said monotonously, "We're not going to find it there either."
"No way!" Gray shouted, rushing ahead of the group. He placed his body in front of Natsu, pushing him back with both hands against his chest, "We've come too far! Erza is right! We've checked a lot of places and if we haven't come across it yet, then that just means we're getting closer!"
"Get your hands off me," Natsu growled.
"NO!" Gray screamed in his face, pushing Natsu back again, "What the hell, Natsu? You can't just give up! Lucy is waiting for you! You can't just decide it's too hard and quit!"
"Shut the hell up, Gray!" Natsu pushed back, "You have no idea how hard this is on me! You wanted me to quit wallowing. FINE! I'll quit wallowing! When we get back home, I'll join up with you and we'll go on missions again. And I'll be happy about it, like the awesome shithead that I am!"
"This is not just about you!" Gray sneered, pushing Natsu back a 3rd time, "We're here too! We've followed you all over Fiore, chasing this key. None of us are giving up! Who the hell do you think you are? WE LOVED HER TOO, NATSU!"
"FUCK YOU, ICE BASTARD! IT'S NOT THE SAME THING AND YOU KNOW IT!" Natsu snarled, as he charged Gray, toppling him over in the snow.
He punched his face. Gray let out a roar and flipped himself over to punch back. It was an all-out brawl now, but Gray and Natsu weren't playing. Juvia gasped as Gray head-butted Natsu, spraying blood from Natsu's nose. Natsu retaliated by smacking Gray's head into a nearby rock.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Jellal asked Erza.
Gajeel smirked mischievously, "Hell, I might even join 'em!"
Erza nodded toward the trees, signaling to leave them alone to duke it out. The group followed her, Juvia casting a worried glance behind her as she disappeared from his view.
An hour later, Gray had blood dripping down his forehead and face. He swung his fist, connecting with Natsu's jaw again. Somewhere along the line, his shirt had come off. Natsu caught the next fist, twisting quickly to lock it behind Gray's back and brought his elbow down to Gray's neck - hard. They both fell to the ground, breathing rapidly.
"You're an asshole!" Gray stated.
"And you're a fuck-tard!" Natsu shot back.
"Feel better?" Gray asked after a few minutes. Their breathing had gone back to normal. They lay side by side in the snow, looking up into the sky.
"Yeah," Natsu admitted.
"I've kinda missed pounding the shit outta you," Gray spat out some blood.
"As if you could!" Natsu said hotly.
"You're not really going to give up, are you?"
Natsu paused, starting the feel the new aches and pains he'd just earned himself, "I dunno, man. We've been everywhere. Maybe it was some kind of sick joke."
"You're so stupid," Gray laughed.
Natsu turned his head, glaring at Gray.
"Seriously Flame-Head…you piss me off."
Natsu didn't say anything, so Gray took it as his cue to continue.
"Never once did Lucy lose faith in you. Even the year you left her, as hurt as she was, she waited for you. You're what…3 months in and calling it quits? Do you even love her?"
Natsu rolled over, punching Gray's face again, "FUCK YOU! I've never loved anything or anyone as much as I love Lucy!"
Gray stood to his feet, resuming his fighting stance. Across from him, Natsu had also risen to his feet, fists aflame.
"You wanna go again? Let's do it!" Gray yelled, "I'll beat the shit out of you as many times as it takes to make you realize you're being a fucking idiot!"
"How does deciding to go home and move on with my life make me a fucking idiot?" Natsu shouted back, "Gray, we've exhausted our options! You all have lives that you deserve to live! I can't expect you to keep following me around forever!"
Gray lowered his wrist, eyes suddenly wide, "You're right – let's go home!"
"Huh?"
"We haven't checked the place that Lucy loved the most!"
Natsu's eyes widened as wide as Gray's, "Oh my Mavis…I can't believe we didn't think of that sooner!"
The boys grinned at each other widely, slapping each other on the back as they pulled each other into a tight man-hug.
"You're a great friend, Gray. Thank you. For everything."
Gray pulled away from the hug, grabbing his shirt out of the snow, "Glad to help, Man. You've been there for me too. That's why we're best….frenemies."
They walked side by side, following the footprints the others had left when they had left the boys to duke it out.
"You're still an asshole."
"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU ICE BASTARD!"
"MAKE ME, FLAME HEAD! AND BY THE WAY – POOKEY IS A STUPID, IDIOTIC NAME!"
They disappeared into the trees, completely oblivious to the sets of eyes that watched them ominously.