"There's nothing wrong with you," Porlyusica grumbled, an irritated wrinkle creasing the space between her brow. "Physically or otherwise."
Lucy and Happy, for the most part, were relieved. But Natsu looked unsure.
Porlyusica had been harvesting herbs from her garden when they had arrived, mint and cloves and rosemary that Natsu could smell from the edge of the Lilac forest. Of course, the old witch hadn't been expecting guests, but she wasn't surprised to see them standing before her old tree-house either. Wicker-basket full of fresh bundles of sprouts hanging from her arm, Porlyusica walked right past Lucy and Natsu and into her home, content to ignore them until they went away. Lucy rapped on the door, her own patience already tested and thin from a turbulent sea and a haunted friend. Natsu and Happy watched as she shouted through the door to Porlyusica, quickly explaining the reason for their visit. Minute eternities passed by as they waited, the sounds of the Lilac Forest distantly chiming above them. When Porlyusica finally opened her door, Lucy didn't miss the hefty broom she clutched in her shaking hand, or the thinly veiled shock hiding in the cataracts of her eyes.
Porlyusica shook her head and set the broom by the door, deciding she couldn't chase them off. She stepped aside, letting them file into her small home.
Laxus had shown up in the middle of Natsu's exam. The old witch had acknowledged him with only a small nod. The guild master tilted his head at her in turn. Impersonal, but not informal, the way they both showed respect. The deep connection they shared through Makarov was enough to warrant it. After the war and Makarov's death, Laxus had spent a lot of time out in the Lilac Forest, learning what he could from the old witch about the history of the guild and what it meant to be a master of Fairy Tail. Her guidance and support had proven to be invaluable.
"You didn't find anything strange?" Laxus asked.
Porlyusica shook her head as she hoisted herself to her feet, leaning heavily on a hawthorn cane. Wendy had made it for her a year ago, a gift and a necessity. The woman had been old before the war, and now it seemed like the years were catching up with her.
"It's hard to say when I'm not sure what I'm looking for. However, I sense no demonic traces, malignant entities, or other abnormalities. I've run through the routine tests and procedures. Everything comes back normal—well, normal for you, at least."
It was odd, Porlyusica had to admit, that she hadn't been able to find any hint of etherious force or other potencies within Natsu given what had happened. Neither his blood nor his auras seemed contaminated, all reacting in accordance to her serums and tinctures. She had been able to sense the demonic power during the war, no instruments or potions needed. Back then, Natsu's own etherious hadn't even fully manifested... and yet it was potent and harrowing, devastating like a forest fire that burned on the horizon that couldn't be stopped or outrun. It was hard to forget a feeling like that. Even after the combat was over, trace elements of the dark magic lingered in the young dragon slayer. It had taken him weeks to burn it all out and purify his magic once again.
But now… nothing.
"I'll say it again." Porlyusica cast a hard eye to the room. "I specialize in healing injuries caused by magic. I'm not a doctor. But, if I were one, I'd say that you have nothing to worry about, Natsu."
Lucy drooped in her seat, an anxious tension leaving her muscles as Happy breathed a tired chuckle. Laxus, for all his stoicism and stolidity, seemed relieved. Natsu, Porlyusica noticed, did not share in their consolation. His eyes were distant, seeing through the floor between his knees and fogged with thoughts that didn't seem of the cheery sort. Not that the old healer could find it in herself to care. She had done her job. If Natsu wasn't satisfied with her conclusions, that wasn't her fault.
"Now, if that's all you wanted, please get out of my-"
"Can you do it again?"
Lucy frowned, questions hanging from her lips. Porlyusica's crimson eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I can, but the result will be the same." The old mage stepped up to Natsu, leering over him. She really did not like having her time wasted. "Unless you know something I don't."
Natsu sighed, pressing his forehead to his knuckles. He could feel the eyes of his comrades on him, waiting and expecting. Something behind his heart tickled his chest: the etherious, reminding Natsu that it was still there. He had hoped Porlyusica would provide the insight he needed to explain away the dither that had chased him from the sea. That she hadn't been able to uncover what was so plainly wrong had been a surprise. He needed answers. Lucy was going to hate him for lying to her.
"It's still there," Natsu's whispered, a sour and acrid tinge to his words. "I can still feel it."
"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Laxus snapped. Lucy and Happy said nothing. He wished they would.
Huffing, Natsu slapped his hands against his knees in frustration. "The damn etherious! I can still feel it."
His words were followed by a thick suspense, so Natsu seized the silence and continued. The rough pads of his fingers rubbed against his chest, feeling the warm pulse of his heart.
"I can feel it, like... like something's broken inside. I think… something was keeping it contained. Like, as a barrier... quelling it. But something happened when we faced the Leviathan. The barrier is cracked, or weakened, or the curse got stronger, and now…" Natsu turned to look up at Lucy, her eyes shining with a regret that made his stomach twist. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Lucy."
She said nothing. Happy at least had the decency to let his shock and fear play on his face—though, maybe less of a decency, and more of a bane.
"Are you sure it's your etherious?" Porlyusica asked.
Natsu nodded. "I'm sure. It's the same from three years ago... enough of it, at least."
"How long have you been like this?" Porlyusica pressed.
"Since yesterday." Natsu dropped his eyes. "When I... defeated the Leviathan."
He didn't need to remind her of what that entailed. Hard thoughts raced behind her eyes, her brows scrunching under the weight of possibilities and uncertainties. "And have you used your magic at all since then?"
"No."
"I guess that explains why Gray reacted the way he did." Happy mumbled. Laxus twitched, glaring down at the small blue cat.
"What? Gray knows?" He growled, looming over Happy.
"No, we didn't tell him anything!" Happy crumpled under Laxus' stare. "But I think he suspects. He touched Natsu and his devil slayer magic went crazy!"
Laxus stepped back and rubbed a hand to his temple, allowing Happy to retreat behind Lucy's ankles.
"Great, this is all I need." Laxus sighed. A hand massaged his temple, ruffling the pre-mature gray hairs of his sideburns.
Porlyusica stared at Natsu, her gaze penetrating through his resolve. For all the might he exuded in the struggle of battle, he was as helpless as a school child under her stern eyes.
"If Gray was able to sense your curse and I wasn't, it can't mean anything good." Porlyusica closed her eyes, collecting her thoughts. "Devil Slayers can feel demonic components even to the faintest of traces. His perception, though, is only at the sake of his own humanity and conscience."
"I know how slayers work," Natsu scowled. "Gray didn't want to take that risk. He stopped using that magic after the war."
"And you forced it to reawaken again," Porlyusica snapped. "You took that choice out of his hands."
He had no response for that, knowing she was right.
"Enough," Laxus crossed his thick arms over his chest, impatient and annoyed. "We need to know how to fix this."
Porlyusica rolled her eyes and hobbled to her workbench, ducking under strings of drying herbs. Snatching a beaker from a burner and piping, the healer held it up for all to see. A hazy green solution sloshed in the glass.
"My potions detect abstract magics within a person." She set the beaker down and picked up a rack of phials, glowing a sickly rainbow of tinctures. "And these are specifically concocted to diagnose malignant energies. All of my techniques rely on the separation of healthy and corrupt. If I could not find the etherious, then it is because your curse and your magic have fused."
Natsu blinked, a memory of earth and lava and a hopeful, toothy grin.
"Igneel said something like that, once." Porlyusica huffed and set her phials down with a clang, her cocked eyebrow an invitation to elaborate. "It was during the war. He told me I had to choose what I wanted to be or I would die. I chose to be human. I thought that had solved everything."
"Yeah, that logic always seemed a little shaky to me," Happy muttered from behind Lucy's legs.
Natsu twisted to sneer at the exceed. "I lived, didn't I?"
His eyes moved from Happy to Lucy's knees, trailing up her body to her face. She hadn't said anything in a while. Her hand dropped to her hip to trace light circles over the fabric of her shirt, her old scar hidden beneath. He couldn't read her face, a rare instance of blankness where she was usually an open book. She simply blinked at him, seeing him but also not, lost within her own mind.
"What Igneel did for you was only a stopgap: a last resort and quick solution that was not meant to last. I doubt something as simple as that is going to help you this time. You should refrain from using your magic at all for the time being," Porlyusica said. Her cane creaked as she shambled toward a door that lead farther into her house. "Now get out. I need to concentrate. Except for you, Laxus. We need to talk."
Natsu's mouth fell open to protest, silenced by a quick growl from Laxus. "Go home, you three. Come back to the guild tomorrow, after all of this is given a chance to make sense."
Standing, Natsu watched as the Master followed Porlyusica into the depths of her library. Many of his questions remained unanswered, and simply being told to not use his magic and go home left and unsatisfied ache twitching in his mind. His body moved, pursuit in his fibers and demands on his tongue-
A hand firmly grasped his elbow.
"Come on," Lucy said, her voice stern. "Let's go."
"Lucy, we can't-"
"Natsu," she bit, a dull ire in her voice. "We need to go."
A beat of hesitation, something missing and yearning hanging in the air between them. He wasn't the only one who needed answers right now. Lucy lead him out the door, Happy following close behind.
Laxus listened for the soft klunk of the door closing, and the silence of an empty living room drifted into the library. He shook his head, and the old woman turned to him. Not for the first time, Laxus realized how frail Porlyusica had become. She trembled as she stood, as if the weight of her years and bones were almost too much to bear. There would come a time when the guild could no longer rely on her services, for her sake more than anything. That time was fast approaching, and he wasn't ready for it. Laxus gazed back into her tired, milky eyes, a feeling of foreboding creeping into his chest.
"It's bad, isn't it?"
"Probably more than we realize—more than he realizes. We need to figure out why this is happening and how to prevent it quickly."
"The Leviathan appeared four months ago," Laxus thought out loud. "Something must have happened. Had you heard anything?"
"I stay away from people and their pointless gossip," Porlyusica snapped with a dismissive flick of her wrist. "If something broke somewhere in the world, it's your problem."
Laxus' lip curled. "Gee, thanks old hag."
"In the meantime, keep a close eye on Natsu." Porlyusica pulled a book down from a shelf, flipping open the cover and rifling through the pages. "Keep him out of battle and from using his magic. Tell me if anything changes."
"You mean like if E.N.D. awakens?" Laxus asked, an irritation twitching through his face. It had been a rhetorical question, but Porlyusica stiffened to a stop. When the old healer faced him once more, her eyes were darkened with fear.
"I'm afraid to say," she said lowly. "but it's possible that he already has."
The walk back to Magnolia was tense, quiet; uneasy and anxious like a snow drift waiting to avalanche. Natsu, nervous and uncertain, trudged after Lucy as the forest gradually thinned and then ended abruptly to the grassy meadow stretching the way home to Magnolia. Glancing to Lucy, the back of her head told him nothing of her mood. No, that wasn't true—she was upset, obviously, and who was he to blame her for that? He had given her false hope, a trickle of auspicious peace that held no merit and then ripped it all away like a burning tornado. Natsu didn't know what he had been thinking, why he didn't think to tell his fiancé and best friend what was going on. She had every right to be angry.
Maybe he just wanted some hope, too.
Happy shrugged at his questioning gaze, unwilling to break the tension himself. Happy knew when to keep his mouth shut, and after three years of watching Natsu and Lucy fight and quarrel, he had learned to tell when silence was the best remedy. But Natsu was never good with silence, and if he didn't say something now, then there was a very good chance he was going to do something really stupid later. Sighing, Natsu piled words on his tongue and hoped they would make a sense.
"I think Gajeel and Levy are coming back later today," he said. "We could meet with them later. I think I still owe Gajeel a rematch."
The slight wind gently tossed Lucy's hair around her shoulders. She didn't even look at him. Natsu licked his lips, determined to see this tactic through to the end. It might not have been smart, but he wasn't a quitter.
"I heard they'd taken a job out in the Wastes." Natsu muttered. "Mira said it's a dangerous place. I bet it was a cakewalk for them."
Her head turned, a small hint of her brown eyes for Natsu and all of a sudden he was exposed, his cracks and winkles and imperfections laid bare at her feet. He pinched his lips, resisting the urge to squirm or snap. Happy watched, his gaze shifting between them like he was watching a sport, waiting to see who would fumble first. He hated it when Natsu and Lucy fought, often in frivolous squabbles that didn't seem worth the time or effort for hashing and slashing and yelling. Not this time. Now, Natsu was walking on thin ice, and just like what always happened when fire met ice, it was bound to break. So, the cat kept his mouth shut. Lucy turned back to the trail, and now the silence was even louder.
"I think… I also heard that Erza was coming back tomorrow, too," Natsu muttered. "Would be nice to say hello to her."
They had reached the edge of Magnolia, a blushing meadow marking the border between the Lilac Forest where Porlyusica lived and the city they called home. They stopped here, Lucy contemplating the two paths before them; the one straight ahead and back to the guild, or the one that turned north towards their home.
"Happy," she finally spoke. "Can you head to the guild hall and make sure everything is alright with Gray and Wendy? I feel bad for leaving them like that."
Happy wasn't an idiot—Lucy wanted to be alone with Natsu. "Sure. What should I tell them about the napkins?"
"How about that we've settled on yellow. No—sunflower, that's a color people use in weddings." Lucy laughed. "Thanks, Happy. We'll see you at home."
Happy waved goodbye and took to the air, lighting in the warm air currents. Natsu and Lucy curved north, a shortcut back to their house.
Natsu walked by Lucy's side, their legs whispering against the tall grass of the meadow. A warm spring breeze rippled through the young stalks, sending the land into motion around them. A pleasant floral scent from newly-sprouted wild flowers piqued the air with a relaxing freshness, betraying the tension between them. Natsu's mind felt numb, maybe a mechanism from his youth that wouldn't allow him to scream or cry. His eyes wandered to Lucy's face, expecting frustration and disappointment. And yet, she seemed almost serene, features soft and eyes lost in the green distance.
She looked beautiful in the full-sun of the early afternoon.
"I'm not mad at you," Lucy finally said, sighing deeply. "I promise."
He could almost always tell when Lucy was lying—she wasn't. Swallowing past the dryness in his throat, he reached and arm out to lightly touch the curve of her ribs. Lucy stepped into the touch, her arm curling around his back. Natsu was never good with words. He always preferred to let his actions speak for him. It wasn't a perfect solution. He knew he should have told her about what he was feeling. It had been fear, Natsu admitted reluctantly. It was no secret to him that some people saw him as a monster, whether they were friends or foes. He could live with that, what others thought of him wasn't his business or concern.
But Lucy, if she ever...
Something tightened in his chest. But that was foolish. Lucy wasn't as fickle as that, and it had been unfair of Natsu to believe that she was after everything they had been through. She was Lucy, after all. His Lucy. She deserved better than that.
"I'm sorry, Lucy," Natsu mumbled as he pressed his lips to her hair. Lucy hummed, her hand finding his.
"We should be hearing from Blue Pegasus soon about your suit." Lucy looked up at him. "You'll have to go in for a fitting at some point. Think you can handle that without me?"
Natsu smirked down at her. "It's just trying on clothes and waiting around for hours. Nothing I haven't practiced with you, so I think I'll be a natural."
Ah yes, Lucy remembered with a laugh. The first and only time she had ever taken Natsu shopping with her, and he still wouldn't let it go.
Their house sat silent and welcoming in the cusp of the foothills. Shady trees dappled the ground with dots of sunlight. The berry patch growing by their house was ripe for the picking, blackberries hanging plump on the brambles.
Lucy slowed to a stop on the rough path, staring at the open field around them.
"Hey Natsu," she said, eyes sparking. "When was the last time we sparred?"
"I'm not sure. Since before I proposed to you, I think."
Lucy had asked Natsu to teach her how to defend herself about five months into their relationship. One war had been fought and won, but that was no guarantee there wouldn't be another. Natsu had been delighted that she had asked. Despite Lucy's expectations, he proved himself to be one heck of a teacher. The techniques that Natsu taught her were ones of focus, balance, and control—techniques that he usually lacked in battle. When she had pointed this out to him, Natsu only smirked and said that since he had already mastered these things, he didn't have to follow them. That seemed a little backwards to Lucy, but his lessons were bearing fruit so she went along with it. Today, she was able to hold her own against Erza of all people... if only for a little while.
"Maybe we should, just for fun," Lucy said, shifting her body low, fists raised. "Whadda ya say?"
Natsu frowned, a sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind curling his lips into a frown. Since when did Lucy instigate a fight? But they had the rest of the day to whittle away. This would be a good distraction. Maybe, like him, she just needed to work out some nerves.
"Sounds great," Natsu said, loosening his scarf. Smirking, he pressed his knuckles together, a small symphony of cracks under his skin. "You think you can beat me this time?"
"You can't use your magic," Lucy quipped, returning his smirk right back to him. "I think I've got a pretty good chance."
Natsu might have been offended, but blossoming excitement rushed through his muscles. Lucy took off a moment before him, skipping around the side of the house to the small grassy field that waited there, shaded from the sun by the tree that grew through the house. Standing on either side of the open space, Natsu and Lucy squared off.
"So what are the rules?" Natsu stretched his arm across his chest as Lucy waited before him, pulling her calves.
"Dodge. No holding back, either." Lucy twisted her torso, shuddering as her body activated. A deep breath, then she settled into her fighting stance. "I'll know if you do."
"You sure, Lucy?" Natsu asked. "You usually don't like it when I go all-"
His words halted, cut short as Lucy's fist shot like a bullet for his face. The blow sailed over his nose as he lurched back, his spine creaking under the angle of his weight. Catching himself on the ground, Natsu twisted, his knee surging for her gut. Just as quickly, Lucy pirouetted away from his attack, lithe and agile, following through with the same momentum for a kick to his chest. Natsu flung his body into a hand stand, swinging his foot to knock her in the shoulder. Lucy dodged, losing her balance for a moment as her feet slipped on the grass. In that same opportunity of liminal time, Natsu flipped and righted his body on his feet once more.
Lucy came at him again, and their match continued. An up-close and personal game of tag, Natsu and Lucy danced around each other, exchanging blows and dodges in turn. There was no blocking allowed, given the rules of the duel; a game that tested awareness and speed, a bought of acrobatics and skill. Where Natsu was bigger and stronger, Lucy was flexible and quick. Her own strength had grown over the years, the fruits of her struggles and labors that proved once and for all that she was a force to be reckoned with. Natsu watched as Lucy's body coiled, the definition of her muscles creasing the skin on her arms and legs. He would be lying if he said he didn't think it was sexy.
Their brawl carried on. Somewhere within the frenzied exchange of fists and whirlwind evasive moves, a suspicious itch grew like a weed in Natsu's brain. Lucy wasn't smiling anymore, her face hardened with dark concentration, and maybe a hint of frustration. Her style had gotten sloppy, it seemed; sacrificing technique for power with every blow that gusted past him, short breaths of displacement trailing her fists. She was actually trying to fight him, he realized, with a strength meant for something bigger than a simple spar.
Lucy hadn't been lying earlier when she had said that she wasn't mad. The real truth was that she was pissed.
Just as Natsu was about to call a time-out, Lucy lunged into the air. Her leg curled like a snake, ready to strike with a heavy blow. Natsu ducked below her, watching her face for any sign of openings and gaps. Time slowed to a crawl, the sun haloing Lucy's figure like an avenging angel descending from the heavens. Natsu reached for her, a simple tap that he was certain she couldn't evade and put and end to this match before someone got hurt.
The world rushed back into place. Lucy twisted in the air, her other leg surging for his unguarded side. The kick hit hard against the bone of Natsu's shoulder, a marrow-deep pain exploding through his nerves. His feet lost the ground beneath him as the breath whooshed from his lungs.
Natsu growled as he hit the ground, grinding over the the grassy soil. Lucy grunted beside him, landing heavily on her side. For a lingering moment of tense anticipation, Natsu and Lucy huffed on the ground where they lay. Their skin glistened damply with sweat, torn blades of grass clinging to their bodies. Lucy had won, if only just barely.
"You got that move from Gray," Natsu panted as he lifted his head. "I think that's cheating."
Lucy groaned, sitting up with no trace of playfulness in her eyes. A beat of nervous silence passed, neither of them moved as they caught their breath.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lucy spoke shortly, her words clipped. "I know that what happened yesterday was scary, but this isn't a game. Maybe we could have done something—anything! I don't know, maybe somehow we could have fixed everything before it was too late. I'd expect you more than anyone wouldn't want E.N.D. to come back, so why-" Lucy twisted to Natsu, her rant cutting short by the blade of his scowl. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Natsu groaned as he sat up on his knees, rubbing his tender shoulder. "You don't get it. Dammit, I knew this was going to happen."
Lucy gaped at him, acid seeping into her words. "What exactly don't I get, Natsu?"
"Even if I had told you, there was nothing you could have done."
"You don't know that!"
"Yes, I do."
"Then explain it to me."
Natsu scowled at her tone. He didn't want to talk to her like this, didn't want to fight her with his tongue when their fists hadn't said enough. So he took a deep breath.
"You, Porlyusica, Laxus, and everyone else all talk about me and E.N.D. like we're two different people." His gaze fell to his clenched hand, lips curling into a frown. "But we're not."
She said nothing. Quiet lingered between them like a fragile tether. The trees shivered through a lazy spring wind, ruffling the grass around them and kissing their damp skin. Natsu scoffed, his own frustrations rising. In the space behind his heart, the etherious stirred.
"It's not like I go somewhere else when E.N.D. is here," Natsu spoke quickly. "I'm still here, too, but I'm not the same me—I mean they are me, but I'm… dammit! Why is this so hard to explain!"
Restless and agitated, Natsu shot to his feet and started to pace. His face was hot, eyes stinging.
"Do you get what I'm trying to say, Lucy?" His voice shook, his jaw aching and clenching his regret. "The only difference between me and that monster is the type of magic I use. E.N.D. wasn't the one that attacked you yesterday… I was…"
He couldn't continue, the soreness in his throat choking any other words he might have said. Natsu did not cry easily, yet this was the second day in a row that he found himself reduced to tears by his own fears. Lucy stood, the grass whispering beneath her. He could hear the soft falls of her feet coming closer. The wind died, and the forest and grass were quiet once more. Natsu's ears burned, heartbeat pounding.
"Then… how come you don't remember the times when… when you're not you?" Lucy asked tentatively. Her tone was gentle and even—she really was trying to understand, despite Natsu's lack of eloquence.
Natsu tipped his head toward the sky, hoping his tears would drain back into his eyes. The clouds overhead blurred.
"I can't control what my mind chooses to keep." Natsu took another deep breath, trying to steady himself. "I get flashes of things, though, like from a nightmare."
"We all have nightmares, Natsu." Lucy's gentle hand touched his shoulder. "You never told me what you saw."
"I see shadows, mostly." Natsu sighed. He turned to Lucy. The depth of her eyes swallowed his courage. "I see you, too—and Gray, and Happy, and so many others. I see the looks on your faces; the fear, the hatred, the disgust. I see your scars." Natsu's hand ghosted over Lucy's hip. "I see how you got them."
Lucy bit her lip, trying to push aside the memories that rose against her will. Even the thought of the war stirred her heart into a frantic beat, a tremble creeping into her hands.
"That's why I couldn't tell you," Natsu's voice was barely above a hush. "Not because I didn't think you couldn't help me—I was afraid you would hate me."
"Oh, Natsu..." Lucy's face tightened with sorrow, a compassion and tenderness cloaking her form.
Natsu couldn't say anything else. Lucy wrapped him in her arms. He relished in her touch, clinging to her like this was their last embrace. Her delicate fingers cradled the back of his head. Turning her face into his scarf, Lucy sighed as her lips brushed his neck.
"I could never hate you. Nothing will ever change that." Lucy whispered. "Don't you ever forget it."
Natsu heaved a sigh under her arms, something heavy and morose blowing from his teeth. Lucy looked up at Natsu's face, straightened a stray strand of hair and cupped his warm face in her palm.
"But we're in this together now," Lucy said. "No more keeping secrets, okay?"
Natsu closed his eyes and nodded. She was right, of course. They were always going to be together, he knew that. But he couldn't withhold truths from her simply because he was afraid. Life was too short to be scared. It was a miracle that Natsu had Lucy, he thought as he opened his eyes to her soft smile. What would he do without her?
"I love you," he said.
Lucy huffed a dry laugh. "I love you, too, but you're not getting off that easy. I should kick your ass for lying to me."
"You definitely kicked something." Natsu rolled his shoulder, his muscles throbbing a hot beat of agony through his arm. "What else can I do to make it up to you?"
Lucy sighed through her nose, thinking as her gaze bounced around them.
"We could pick some berries from the patch, go take a bath, and relax the rest of the evening." Lucy smiled. "How's that sound?"
"Sounds awesome."
Five minutes later, Natsu and Lucy walked through the front door of their home with maroon-stained fingers. Rooting around in the berry patch yielded more thorns than fruit, but between the two of them, they had managed to forage a modest harvest. Natsu licked his lips, his tongue already tinted violet from the few berries he couldn't help but eat. Together, they left the small field behind, the mountains in the far distance capped with storm clouds. The berries were fresh and tart, tasting like sweet spring promises.
Lucy paused in her meal, head tilted in thought.
"So if what you said is true," she thought out loud. "I guess that means that I'm also marrying E.N.D."
Lucy flinched as a small battering of berries hit her face.
A/N: I accidentally deleted my original note from 2017, whoops. Hope you enjoy the updated chapter!
EDIT: This chapter has been rewritten for content and style. - 4/23
As always, read, review, and enjoy!