. right where you left me .


"Strangers get born, strangers get buried,

Trends change, rumors fly

Through new skies,

But I'm right where you left me.

~x~

I swear you could hear a hair pin drop
Right when I felt the moment stop.

Glass shattered on the white cloth.

Everybody moved on…

I stayed there.

They expected me to find somewhere,

Some perspective, but I sat and stared."

~ "right where you left me" by Taylor Swift


Rocking back on his heels, Natsu checked the time, eyeing his phone with some guilt. He had several missed calls from Lucy, and then one from Gajeel. He made a mental note to call them back, and then perked up when he heard the soft call of his name he'd been waiting on.

"Mavis," he greeted quietly as she walked across the street to join them, her hands in her pockets. Her green eyes were soft, warm with amusement. "Thanks for coming."

Mavis hummed in response. He'd exchanged numbers with her the day before, just before Mavis had run into Lucy, and he'd fired her a quick text as he'd set out on his walk with Lucy. He wanted to meet with her in private, ask some questions that he didn't want the others to know the answers to just yet. She'd agreed to meet him, rescheduling her flight for a couple days later. He was beyond grateful for it. "What can I do for you, Natsu?"

Mavis had always known a lot of things, and despite the lack of magic…Natsu suspected she'd known more than she'd let on to Levy the day before. "Have you seen Zeref?" he asked bluntly, eyes flickering uncertainly at the mere mention of the name. When Mavis started, caught off guard by the name, he launched into a quiet explanation of what Lucy had told him regarding the man who'd been his brother in another life – a fact that he was nowhere near proud of.

When Natsu finished, Mavis frowned deeply and tapped a finger against her cheek in thought. "I know Zeref in this life. I know him quite well, actually. He comes from the same island I live on." Her green eyes drifted up to meet his warily. "It seems as if Magnolia attracts those like us…but that worries me, if he's already been digging into such matters. Zeref has not changed much. He likes to know things, just as he once did, and he's never had the best of intentions when it comes to that knowledge."

Natsu would know.

He remembered every piece of knowledge that the past gifted him when he didn't want it.

Natsu pressed his mouth into a hard line and considered what Mavis had said. "So…what is he looking for then?"

"Likely the same as you. What happened to the magic of the world. Where it went." Mavis met his gaze evenly. "How to bring it back."

Natsu wondered what would happen if they somehow managed that. Would Happy suddenly start talking like the Happy from the past? Would flames dance at his fingertips, fill him with that heat that left him so empty now? Would Lucy be able to speak with the stars again?

Would that loss that drove a wedge through them dissolve into nothing?

So many questions.

Not enough answers.

"Is that even possible?" was the question he chose to go with. "Do you think we could bring magic back, Mavis?"

"I don't know." Mavis sighed heavily. "It must have gone away for a reason. If what you told me regarding your father's letter is true, then it's likely for the best that it doesn't. It would be wise to not even look for answers. But if Zeref is seeking magic, then it would be better to find it before he does, just to be safe. Have you found any clues?"

"Igneel was donating and selling historical items to Levy's museum," said Natsu, thoughtful. "And this. He somehow…" He trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say about Igneel. He showed Mavis his scarf, letting her feel the strange material of it with surprise.

"Those are certainly scales," she murmured, brow furrowed. "But the question is are they truly the scales of a dragon? Or are they something else? Even snake scales could be altered." She tipped her head to the side, considering the scarf. "Do you know where he acquired these scales?"

"No, but it's not just that. Gajeel has a few of Metalicana's teeth, and Wendy has a feather from Grandeeney." He knew those could be altered, too. Gajeel's teeth could very easily be some kind of shark teeth, or even some other big predator, while Wendy's feather could simply be from a large bird.

But at the same time…he knew Igneel, and he knew what that scarf was supposed to feel like. He'd dreamt of it time and time again, and even then, Natsu remembered. Natsu knew what that scarf was meant to be and he knew that it was the same scarf he held in his hands, even as his old scarf from another life sat on display in another part of the town.

"We don't know where they came from," admitted Natsu, "but I know it's not something that's been messed with to look like Igneel's scales, Mavis. I would know. These are actual scales."

Mavis hummed, neither denying what he said nor agreeing with it. "I'll look into the matter," she said firmly. "Should someone with bad intentions find magic and somehow bring it back into this world…it would not go well for any of us." Mavis squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, green eyes sharp. "I'll get to work when I get home and let you know what I find."

"Thanks," said Natsu sincerely. He was glad he'd called Mavis. He'd hoped she might come up with something new where they couldn't. He frowned as his phone began ringing again, and when he checked it, it was Lucy again. "I gotta take this," he told Mavis.

She smiled warmly and waved him off. "I need to go. Good luck, Natsu. I'll be in touch." Mavis bid him a final farewell, and then turned and promptly strode off, her blonde hair rippling behind her.

Natsu watched her go, frowning to himself, and then answered the call. "Hey, Luce. Sorry, I was–"

"Natsu," interrupted Lucy, and her tone of voice silenced him immediately. "You should head home. Gajeel's there right now, and I think Levy offered to head over to help out, but–"

"What happened?" Natsu was immediately anxious and on alert.

Gently, Lucy said, "Wendy remembered. I went to your place looking for you, and she was up in the attic just ripping things apart. She's not doing too well right now."

Natsu was quiet for a long moment as he comprehended what she'd told him. And then he ran a hand down his face and groaned quietly. This was the last thing he'd wanted. He'd never wanted Wendy to go through what the rest of them had gone through. "Right," he muttered, dropping his hand so it slapped against his leg. "I'll head home. Thanks, Luce. Sorry I didn't pick up sooner."

"What were you doing?" she asked, more out of sincere interest than pushiness, he thought.

Natsu considered, for just a moment, lying to her. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he didn't want to get Lucy's hopes up. Maybe he thought she'd disapprove. But he chose not to. He wanted to keep their relationship a trusting one, and he knew that they both worried often that the other would disappear and not want anything to do with the other. So, Natsu said quietly, "I was talking to Mavis. About Zeref and what might have happened to magic. She knows as much as we do, but she's going to look into it. She…Zeref's from the same place she came from, Luce. She knows him better than we do." In this life anyhow.

Lucy didn't answer for a few moments. Finally, she exhaled softly. "Well, hopefully she finds something." She hesitated, and then asked, "I shouldn't be suggesting this with Wendy the way she is, but…do you want to do something later? We could…I don't know, grab something to eat or hang around."

Natsu's lips quirked. "Yeah. We can do that."

He could hear the thrill in her voice as she said, "Okay. I'll pick you up later then."

Despite his worry for Wendy and what Mavis might find, something in his chest settled and warmed. Because at the very least, Lucy was happy.

And that was something he cared about immensely.


Wendy had really ripped their neatly organized attic apart, thought Natsu, standing in the midst of it all with a frown on his face. Gajeel was beside him, grim-faced. He'd bickered with his cousin after getting home, but they were both on equal footing now. Wendy remembered, regardless of where they'd been or what had happened after. Now, they needed to figure out what to do to make sure she wasn't suffering. With the way Gajeel had described her reaction, Natsu got the feeling that she would lean sharply towards his way of thinking rather than the likes of Gray or Levy. He'd see if Erza could maybe make some time. Wendy had always been fond of Erza.

"Well," muttered Natsu, "maybe she found something we didn't see in this mess."

Gajeel grunted. "We ain't waking her up to ask."

Natsu rolled his eyes and nudged an empty box with his foot. "I didn't say we should."

In the silence that followed, they went to work.

In the very least, thought Natsu as he shoved some clothes back into a box, heart aching at the familiar smells on them, at least Wendy had forced them to go through what remained in the attic whether they wanted to or not. He knew he'd been procrastinating what was left of his father's things, and this was going to make him finish it.

He worked quietly, not wanting to talk as he sorted through a few things. He had to swallow the lump in his throat when he found a few things of his own – artwork he'd done for Igneel as a child, even some photos that he pocketed for later. There were some important items, too, among them, such as the paperwork for his adoption of Natsu, and a few legal documents that they'd need.

Natsu stopped after turning away from the small box he'd shoved those important papers into, and then whirled around, tearing into the box just as he imagined Wendy had done through the entire attic. "Gajeel," he hissed over his shoulder, "Gajeel!"

Gajeel glanced over from the other side of the attic, rolling his eyes. "What?" he grumbled, even as he made his way over.

"Look," he said, shoving the old ticket receipts he'd found into Gajeel's hands when he was close enough. Gajeel nearly dropped it. Grumbling, Gajeel looked at the page and began skimming through it. He blinked a few times. "You think this is where they found their answers?"

Gajeel glanced briefly at Natsu before returning his attention to the ticket receipts. "It's possible. I don't remember Metalicana taking any trips though." He frowned, flipping the receipts over as if he'd find something else. "Me and Levy'll look into it. She doesn't want Lucy seein' stuff like this until we know details."

"Why not?" Natsu was immediately annoyed with the idea. Lucy was the reason they were looking into any of this. Why shouldn't she have the right to look? He scowled at Gajeel, who lifted his gaze to study Natsu closely. After a long moment, Natsu's agitation deflated, and he knew why. "Lucy would," murmured Natsu, turning his attention back on the wreckage of the attic to briefly scan for more receipts, "go looking without stopping to think if she should." And he knew she would. She was desperate for answers. That desperation unnerved him sometimes, the intensity of it.

How strange, that in their new way of life he'd flipped places with her. Once, it would have been him diving head first without thinking into a new adventure, whereas now he was the more cautious of the two.

Gajeel pocketed the receipts, and neither said anything more to one another. They simply went back to searching the attic and what was left, but unfortunately, it didn't take Natsu long to realize that they'd likely found what was left. They'd need to start exploring other avenues for information, and he found himself disappointed with the realization. Natsu wasn't like Levy and Lucy, or even Gajeel, who amongst everything else continued to take classes to try and improve his life. He couldn't stand sitting there in a library, searching texts for information. He didn't even know where to begin looking for something else. This was what he'd been good at: rifling through things that weren't his initially.

Natsu tugged at a lock of hair as he pushed the last box into place, looking around the clean attic. Without even realizing it, they'd finished going through their parents' things, cleaning it out and donating and choosing what to keep. It was something he'd put off for years and years following Igneel's death.

Now, it was finished.

And Natsu realized he didn't know what to do.


Natsu wasn't sure what it was about the damn museum that seemed to draw them all to it, particularly when they were unsettled or at a loss, but there had to be something to it, because that was precisely where he found himself wandering in the next day. Lucy was already there; he knew she'd be, as she'd messaged him that she'd meet him at her bakery after she was done with Levy. He'd not been supposed to meet her there. He'd been supposed to help out with some stuff at her bakery and meet her after she was done with Levy, but…something called him to the museum.

So, here he was, casually waiting outside Levy's office. He could hear voices murmuring on the other side of the door. Natsu occasionally glanced over at the door and tried to make out what was being said, but gave up almost as quickly. Not only was it nearly impossible for him to hear, but it was none of his business. If Lucy wanted to share, she would. As simple as that.

Eventually, the door opened and Natsu couldn't help but yelp when Levy's cane whacked him almost immediately in the shin as she went to exit it. It scared her, and Levy shrieked, jumping and dropping her cane. "Natsu," laughed Lucy as she grabbed the cane for Levy, retrieving it from where it had fallen. Natsu couldn't tell who was more surprised – him or Levy.

"What are you doing here?" snapped Levy, annoyed. She touched her fingers to the cloth covering her eyes, ensuring they were well-hidden after her scare.

"Waiting for Luce," he said simply, wondering why Levy even asked. Everyone knew why he'd be there. Even a stranger would have likely been able to tell by the way he knew he lit up when his gaze landed on Lucy. Today was a good day, where the dreams and nightmares didn't rip him apart in confusion. She was simply Lucy, not a memory mixed with reality.

"I told you we'd meet at the bakery," Lucy sighed. "Did you seriously walk here all the way from your place?"

Natsu shrugged, folded his arms as he meandered after the pair of women. Levy led the way, cane clacking with each step as she confidently made her way through the museum she loved. Natsu sometimes wondered if Levy ever went home. "Gajeel and I were cleaning up the attic after Wendy…" He trailed off. "But we're done, so I decided to come and meet you here instead."

He didn't say what was bothering him, but he didn't have to. Lucy seemed to know immediately. She bumped her shoulder gently into his, a comforting touch that he wished for more of. While he missed the old ways far more than he'd have missed anything in this life, he missed the simplicity of what life had been before he remembered, when he'd been able to simply be himself around Lucy. Nowadays, he had a hard time figuring out how to act.

But then, he supposed, there was no reason he couldn't simply continue to be himself, even if it sometimes meant being irritable or crabby. Lucy certainly didn't stop herself from such emotions.

With that in mind, Natsu decided to hell with it. He hooked his arm playfully around Lucy's shoulders, something he'd not done in a very long time. Lucy was taken aback, but a hesitant smile appeared on her face as she arched a brow at him. It reassured him further that Lucy didn't mind, and he left his arm there as he said, "Gajeel might have found another receipt to give you, Levy. He's supposed to call you about it soon."

Levy perked up, and Lucy looked interested, but not nearly as much if she knew the full extent of what he and Gajeel knew. Natsu hated lying and hiding the truth from Lucy, but her intensity regarding magic scared him. And clearly, if Gajeel agreed, then it wasn't just him. "What kind of receipt?" asked Levy.

"He'll update ya," said Natsu, waving her question off.

"Well," sighed Lucy, "I guess we'll be off then, Levy. Do you need anything before we go?"

Levy's lips twisted into a wry grin. "Do a quick walkthrough and make sure there's no kids hanging around, would you? There's been a couple that think it's funny to try and stay past closing time, and they know I can't see them. I know they've been touching stuff they shouldn't be touching." She was anything but pleased about it, if the look on her face was anything to go by.

"Sure," agreed Natsu, exchanging a quick glance with Lucy. "We can scare 'em off."

"You take the second floor," Lucy told Natsu. "I'll take the first. It won't take too long."

Levy thoughtfully rapped her cane on the linoleum floor. "Make sure you check the darker exhibit room upstairs, Natsu. They like to hide in there most of the time."

Natsu promised to, and then after playfully squeezing Lucy sauntered off. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he found the flight of stairs that would take him up to the second floor, heart aching whenever he caught sight of a display he could recognize and remember in its full splendor. He forced himself to not stop and admire a few, particularly a knife that he was mostly sure had belonged to Erza.

Eventually, Natsu found the room Levy had mentioned, and he stopped when he heard a rustle and whispering. He rolled his eyes. Unimpressed, he ducked into it, purposefully whistling in a shrill way that would alert those hiding he was there. He cracked a small grin when the voices fell quiet. Tension thickened the air.

Natsu knew immediately where the hiding children were. They weren't very good at hiding. He could see them hiding behind a thick set of curtains that would have actually not been a bad place to hide had it been dark outside. But now, he could see them silhouetted, and it made Natsu choke back a laugh.

Humming, he pretended not to notice them at first. He meandered around the exhibit room, until he reached the curtains. With a lightning quick movement, he hauled them open and lifted a brow at the pair of kids staring at him in alarm and fear. Just as quickly, they went to bolt, but he blocked their path with ease and said, "You shouldn't be hiding in here. Place closed a while ago, you know." He was rather amused with his own comments. Hadn't he once done a lot of similar things? In both lives he lived, he'd often hidden in places he shouldn't have as a kid.

One of the kids pouted, glancing at his companion. "We wanted to see what it's like after dark," muttered one guiltily. "We heard it's cool, seeing a place like this when it's dark."

Natsu was confident he'd done something similar when he was younger. He'd likely scared the hell out of Igneel time and time again doing something like this. "Probably. But I still have to make you leave. The lady who runs most of this said you'd been touching some of the displays. They're really important, and it's not nice to take advantage of Levy when she can't see."

The kids exchanged guilty looks, and Natsu knew they'd taken advantage of Levy's blindness, just as Levy had suspected. "Now get going," Natsu told them. "Or I'll call Levy up and trust me, you're not going to like it if she lectures you."

The children decided to be wise and bolted past him, racing off to leave the building. When they were gone, Natsu sighed and ran his hands through his pink hair. When he'd come to meet Lucy, he'd not expected to have to do something like this.

It took him a few minutes to track Lucy down, and he found her studying a familiar display on the first floor, her face unreadable. At first, he was briefly amused that while he'd actually been doing what he was told to do for once, Lucy had been distracted by something, but that amusement vanished when he saw a hint of pain creeping into her gaze as she stared at those precious golden keys, as if she longed to curl her fingers around them and summon the spirits once attached to him.

Natsu wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to them, and if even feeling those keys react to her touch would have been enough to soothe the worry Lucy felt for her friends who she couldn't find.

"Alright, Luce?" he checked quietly, nudging her gently as he reached her.

"Yeah," she said. It was a lie, of course, and Lucy couldn't seem to tear her gaze from the keys. She glanced up at him finally, smiling faintly, and Natsu's chest ached for her when he saw her grief. "I'm sorry, I got distracted."

"It's okay. I found them and chased them out for Levy." Natsu frowned lightly at her. "You don't have to lie, you know."

"I'm not lying," she muttered, rolling her eyes as she turned away from the keys.

Natsu wrinkled his nose. "Sure you aren't."

She shot him a glare that Natsu ignored entirely, trailing after her as she made her way back towards where they'd left Levy. "I'm not," she retorted, and Levy perked up at the sound of their voices, her head turning in their direction.

"Did you find them?" asked Levy.

Natsu pointedly glared at Lucy and then told Levy, refusing to let Lucy drop the subject, "Yeah. I chased 'em off for you, Levy. I don't think they'll come back and bother you like that again. At least, probably not for a while."

Levy blew out a breath, irritation twisting her lips into a grimace. "I hate when people do that. It's rude."

Natsu muttered his agreement, even as he grimaced guiltily, knowing he'd definitely have done the same thing as a kid. He turned his attention back on Lucy, narrowing his eyes at her as she hastily launched into a quick conversation with Levy, determined to meet up with her at some point and see if they could work out some more information regarding what had happened to magic.

Levy shifted her weight then, uncomfortably tapping her cane once on the floor of the museum, and Natsu had a feeling that while they'd been busy, she'd probably spoken with Gajeel and had agreed it was best to keep the receipts they'd found from Lucy for the time being. Natsu felt guilty about the matter. He didn't like keeping things from Lucy like this, but at the same time…he cared more about keeping Lucy safe than his own guilt. Even if it was something that would make Lucy upset with him later.

When they figured out what those ticket receipts meant…then he'd tell her the entire truth.

"Regardless," muttered Levy, "thanks for your help."

"Ready to go?" Natsu asked Lucy, eager to get away from the danger of Lucy finding out that they were hiding things from her.

Lucy glanced once between them, signaling she'd noticed something, but shrugged. "Yeah, let's go," she agreed, and Natsu immediately began ushering her towards the doors, calling a quiet goodbye over his shoulder to Levy, who nervously shifted again, turning her face towards them as they went. When he cast a quick look over his shoulder, Natsu could see that she looked upset, as if she'd wanted to say something.

Briefly, he wondered if Levy might have had he not decided to meet Lucy at the museum early.


Natsu found that he was somewhat surprised that Wendy seemed to be more like him when it came to discovering that their past lives were long gone. Rather than facing the situation she found herself in with optimism like a few of their friends had, she curled up in bed and tried to hide away from the world instead. She was more sad than he'd been, weeping quietly and curled around Charle and the traces of Grandeeney she'd found, while Natsu had burned with fury like the flames he'd once wielded. Regardless, when he went up to check on her, he felt his heart twist with pain for her. She looked so small and young and simply hurt by it all.

He considered his options, hovering in the door of her bedroom. He raked his mind for memories of what their parents had done for them when they'd first adopted them, what Gajeel might have done to help them both when he'd gotten them out of places that had cared so little for them following their parents' deaths. He didn't remember nearly as much about Grandeeney as he did about Igneel. He recalled a soft voice singing fondly to them, whistling shrilly to catch their attention, chiding them to be more careful than Metalicana or Igneel had warned them to be.

But he didn't know what he should do to make her feel better, to maybe coax her into a better place than she was sitting in now.

The brush of fur against his leg made him jump. He grumbled at Happy as his cat glanced briefly at him before loping for Wendy's bed, hopping into it with a purr. Natsu watched as Happy playfully batted at strands of hair, bopping Wendy in the face a couple times until she reached up to gently push him away, whispering, "Stop, Happy."

Natsu's lips twitched. Only Happy would be able to drag her attention away from her sadness, even if only for a handful of moments. He considered leaving her there to mope around for a little while longer, but recalled how guilty he'd felt about how he'd treated Lucy and his family and friends during his struggle. Of course, Wendy wasn't necessarily being nasty and angry towards everyone, and she wasn't recovering from being shot, but still.

So, Natsu meandered into the room and dropped into a crouch beside her bed, so that he was at eye level. He could see the flinch that jolted her body when she let her eyes flutter open to look. He made himself smile at her, let himself pretend for just a moment that he could still eat the flickering flames he'd once enjoyed, that there wasn't an empty pit where that fire had once burned.

"Hey, Wendy," he said quietly, and she pursed her lips, burying her face in Charle's soft white fur. Charle purred, seeming to glare at Natsu warningly. Not for the first time, he wondered if their cats were the cats from the past. Surely they had to be. Why else would they have acquired oddly similar felines? He hoped it was the case. Not just for Happy, but so that Wendy could find some comfort in knowing that Charle from the past was around.

Wendy didn't respond, of course. She buried her face under her blankets of course. He heard the strangled sound she uttered, the cry she tried to have. Deciding he'd simply have to talk and hope she listened, he said, "It's not so bad, you know. Everyone's around somewhere. I found Lucy, remember?"

He was surprised when Wendy choked out, voice muffled by the blanket, "But Grandeeney's gone. Again."

Natsu felt that familiar stab of grief whenever he thought of Igneel, and how he'd not appreciated the second chance he'd gotten with him nearly enough. He knew exactly what Wendy felt like. "I know," he said quietly. "Igneel, too."

That simple statement drew Wendy's attention. She sniffled as she lowered her blanket and peered at him over it, tears swimming in her mournful dark eyes. "I miss her, Natsu."

"I know," he repeated. He offered her his hand, and Wendy hesitantly took it. He squeezed it as tightly as he dared. "But you know what I think? I think we got lucky. We got to see them again when we didn't think we would all that time ago. And on top of that, we get to see our friends again, too." He didn't necessarily believe what he was saying entirely. He still mourned the loss of his life in the past, where he felt a fire in his belly and spoke with a friendly blue cat and listened to Lucy's starlit laughter. He supposed they were lucky in some ways though.

"I guess." Wendy released a shaken breath. She released his hand in favor of wiping at her eyes. Charle purred comfortingly, and Wendy peered at her for a few moments before gathering her close. She pressed her face into Charle's fur.

Natsu considered whether or not he should tell Wendy what he was doing with Lucy and the others, but chose to not. Wendy was struggling enough, and she was still a kid, even if she remembered things that came with another life. She didn't need him to add to her troubles. Maybe one day, when she felt ready to face her new life in its entirety. For now, he simply grinned at her and asked, "Want to help me make some dinner?"

Wendy peered at him through watery eyes. "I'm not hungry."

"I know, but Gajeel's going to be. And you know how annoying he is when he's cranky because he's hungry." Natsu snickered at his own comment, which drew a ghost of a smile to Wendy's face.

After a moment's hesitation, Wendy nodded. "Okay," she said softly. "I'll help make dinner." She pushed the blanket away at last, pausing once to squeeze Charle to her chest one more time. Charle purred loudly, a comforting sound that Happy echoed. She set Charle down gently, and then rocked upright. Natsu moved back to give her room, relieved.

The pain wouldn't go away. He knew that from experience. Some days would be worse than others.

But for Natsu, today was a good day, and he wanted Wendy to learn how to have good days, too.


At last! Some plot progress with some sad stuff. The best kind.

Thanks to reviewers (vG Lol I, FairyTailxFanGirl, TheAngelicPyro, marn-marn, thelemonroll, and kayritooo!) as well as those who favorited and followed!