A/N: I wrote this story a while ago. I hope you like it :)
Lucy curled up in her bed and it didn't take long for her tears to start falling. Her heart hurt so much that she thought it would really break. His words were repeating over and over in her mind.
"We'll go on a mission with Lisanna. You can use the time to get stronger."
She had known that she had feelings for Natsu, but only now she realized how deep they were. All this time she had thought that it was merely a crush that would go away on its own, but now she knew better. She was in love with him. This realization was long overdue, but now was definitely the worst time for it.
When the pain in her chest got even worse she summoned Plue, who looked surprised to see his master in this state. Lucy gently snuggled him, hoping to erase a little bit of the pain, but all she ended up doing was wetting Plue's fur with her tears.
"I'm sorry Plue, but it just hurts so much. My team always saw me as a replacement and I was too stupid to realize it. Now that Lisanna is back, they don't need me anymore and the worst part is that I'm in love with the person who kicked me out of his team. Because of Natsu I got the chance to join Fairy Tail and we became partners. I really thought that he cared about me, but as soon as Lisanna was back I wasn't important anymore."
The celestial spirit didn't mind that new tears were wetting his fur and just stayed by her side until she fell asleep. With Lucy no longer awake, Plue took one last look at her and then went back to the celestial spirit world. He had to tell her other celestial spirits what was wrong with her. They all cared deeply for her and wanted to see her happy, so they would fix this.
The next morning Lucy woke up feeling exhausted. She didn't know what she should do now. Without a team she was useless and the rent was due in a little over two weeks and she didn't have any money. One step after another she told herself and dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom to take a bath. While the water began filling up the tub, she looked into the mirror. So much sadness and despair looked back at her that she averted her eyes. Now she knew why it was called heartbreak, it was really as if she was really breaking.
Taking a deep breath to keep herself from crying again, she lowered herself into the bathtub. She had to focus on what she needed to do. The rent was due in two weeks and she had to earn the money until then. Her only chance to get so much money in so little time was a difficult mission with a high reward. Surely there would be such a mission on the board, but normally she had her team with her. Sighing she got out of the tub and ready for the day. She had no choice but take whatever mission would pay for her rent.
When she arrived at the guild, she was glad that team Natsu was still on their mission. She tried to ignore the way her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of him and walked up to mission board. There was a mission that rewarded just enough money to cover this month's rent and without a second thought she took it.
The mission was to find a member of a former dark guild and get rid of him. She knew that it would take her at least one week to investigate and find him, so she left immediately.
In the end it took almost two weeks to find him. This time she would fight on her own, even without her celestial spirits. She would prove to everyone that she was strong on her own.
Back in the celestial spirit world Loke got a strange feeling. The bond between him and Lucy had grown into a strong friendship after she had saved him and he could sense that she was in danger. Without a second thought he forced the gate open, only to see Lucy getting the final hit on the man in front of her. Even though she had won the fight, she didn't look like it. Her clothes were torn with deep wounds showing under them and after her final strike Loke caught her just in time as she passed out. Looking at her worn out body, Loke knew that he had to bring her back to the guild quickly so Wendy could heal her.
When he entered the guild with Lucy still unconscious in his arms, he called out for Wendy, who thankfully wasn't on a mission. Wasting no time, he gently lay Lucy down in the infirmary in the back room and left Wendy with her so she could heal her.
When he came back into the main hall Natsu was the first to approach him.
"What happened?" The concern was evident in his voice and on his face, but that only angered Loke.
This was all Natsu's fault. When Plue had gotten back to the celestial spirit world after his last visit, he had told them what had been going on and Loke had been more than angry. How dare the dragon slayer act so innocent when he was the reason why Lucy was like this. Loke's expression changed from exhausted and worried to angry. Taking a hold of Natsu's scarf he forcefully shoved him against a wall.
"You have no right to ask that. Lucy was crying her eyes out because of you. She was so hurt by your words and now she is even physically hurt because she went off alone. You kicked her out of the team, so this all your fault. You broke her heart and you're the reason she is so hurt right now."
"I didn't kick her out of the team. I just said that we're going on a mission with Lisanna-"
"I'm not done. You called her weak and she took that to heart. Today she fought all by herself and didn't even call for us celestial spirits. She wanted to prove to you that she is strong."
"No, I didn't call her weak. She is one of the strongest in our guild. I told her to use the time to get even stronger."
"It doesn't matter what you meant with your words. The moment Lisanna came back you went on a mission with her, leaving Lucy behind. How could she not feel like she was replaced. You mean so much to her and she doesn't seem to mean anything to you. You should be ashamed of yourself."
Natsu had been holding back the whole time that Loke was shouting at him, but now he had enough. He took a hold of Loke's collar with just as much force as the celestial spirit was holding his scarf.
"I would never intentionally hurt her. She means everything to me. I love her." He hadn't meant to say the last part, but it was true. While he had been on his mission with Lisanna and the others, he had missed Lucy and that made him finally realize what she meant to him. Maybe he was really dense when it came to love, but even he couldn't ignore the feelings he had for the blonde.
When Loke was about to shout at Natsu again, they both heard a soft voice a few feet away from them.
"Is that true, Natsu?"
There, battled and broken, stood Lucy. Her clothes were still torn and she looked exhausted, but she was healed. Never had the dragon slayer been more happy to see her.
"Luce." He breathed and let go of Loke. Carefully he approached her and for the first time since they had known each other she took a step back from him. That one little movement away from him, hurt him more than if Gajeel and Gray had punched him at the same time with all their power. Loke had really said the truth. He had hurt her, unintentionally, but still.
"Do you mean what you just said?" Her voice, so soft and broken, pulled him out of his thoughts.
Natsu had pictured their reunion differently. Even though he didn't known how normal people told each other their feelings, this surely wasn't it. However their guild wasn't normal, so maybe this was how a confession was supposed to go for them.
"It's true. I was too dense to realize it, but these two weeks without you were awful. I missed you and I never want to be without you, neither on missions nor in life. I love you, Luce." When he saw her defensive demeanor lessen, he approached her and gently pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry that I hurt you. I never meant to. I was just so excited that I got my childhood friend back that I didn't realize that I made you feel like I replaced you. There is no replacement for you. You're my only partner and the only one I love."
Tears were shining in Lucy's eyes and for a moment Natsu was afraid that he had hurt her again, but then she kissed him. That was all the confirmation he needed to know that she returned his feelings. Responding to her kiss with all the love he felt for her, he swore to himself that he would never hurt her again.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)
