Natsu watched Lucy leave King Toma and Princess Hisui from a distance. In his hands was a random mage from Lamia Scale that he had knocked unconscious during his initial assault, but he just let the guy down before making his way outside of the main hall. No one really noticed his escape except those on the dragon council and Kai, each of them sharing a knowing glance. They had also noticed Lucy's disappearance since she was the one organizing bets so they all knew where he was going.

The dragons slayer wasn't able to say anything since he fixed himself up for a long while and came to the party late. Plus, Grandeeney and Porlysucia told him to rest up some more after Lucy had teleported everyone to their rooms to get ready. So... he ended up taking a nap. When he woke up, Happy had already left him and he could hear the celebration going underway. Natsu practically had to get ready in record time. He threw on some slacks, a pink dress shirt and just ran for the main hall. Didn't even make time to put on a tie.

When he arrived, that was when he made his big entrance. He was so caught up in the fight that he hadn't really noticed Lucy until he heard Hisui approach her and the blonde's scent went farther from the room. Following her scent, Natsu found the blonde empress and his body froze from the sight of her dress. It didn't take him long to understand the colour scheme of her dress and he couldn't help but unconsciously blush at how he and her were matching in a way.

He had followed the trail of Lucy's dress until it suddenly disappeared after she turned another corner. Looking around, he stared out a window next to him and noticed the view. After taking it in, he knew exactly where the blonde girl was going. Sticking his body out the window, Natsu began to climb up the wall until he came up to the roof. Once he got there, he poked his head up to see Lucy's back facing him as she stared into the night sky. Her arms hugging her shoulders.

Natsu quietly stepped onto the roof, walking over and then covering her eyes. It was obvious that she was lost in thought because once her eyes were covered, Lucy's body jumped in surprise as she grabbed ahold of Natsu's hands and threw him over her head. The pink headed slayer cried out in pain upon impact with the roof and Lucy's eyes nearly popped out of her socket when she saw Natsu. She immediately let go of his hands and watched as he got up with a little pain.

"Natsu!?"

"Ouch Luce! What the heck was that for!?" He asked as he rubbed his head to ease the pain and sitting up so that he could face her. "Gheez I was just trying to surprise you! Didn't have to swing me over the shoulder like that!"

"Trying to surprise me!? You nearly gave me a heartattack!" Lucy retorted before rushing to his side and checking his head for any bruises. Grandeeney and Porlyusica would have her head if she damaged Natsu any further. "I-I'm sorry though... you're not hurt, are you? I know you haven't completely recovered from the fight."

Natsu stared at Lucy with a slightly offended look, wisely ignoring how close she was while checking his head. "C'mon Luce, you know that it's going to take more than just a throw to hurt me."

The blonde laughed at his remark and nodded, releasing her hands from his head. "You've been having to remind me about things like that a lot lately. Maybe I'm still not used to having you guys back."

"We can fix that no problem!" Natsu said with a goofy grin. "Let's take a job once we get back to the guild with the rest of the team! What other way to finish one adventure by starting a new one, right?"

Lucy nodded at his suggestion, her eyes looking down before she turned her attention back to the stars above them. Her thoughts drifting back to her small little girl that she finally said goodbye to. She knew Nashi wouldn't want her to be in despair for too long, but she couldn't help but still feel sad. Yes, the blonde had finished crying her heart out but that wouldn't change the fact that it will take her long to come to terms with the reality. Yet, Lucy didn't worry. She had her nakama to help her.

Natsu looked at Lucy from the corner of his eyes, her sorrow not as bad as it was just a couple hours ago. He wondered if they had actually changed the future, that they did blow away a future in which both of them no longer existed. He couldn't help but think about their future selves at that moment. Did their present reset once the twins were defeated? Did their future selves remember going back in time? How different was the future? Were they happy? Somehow Natsu thought up those questions.

"Natsu... I know you told me she thanked me before leaving but... I need to know." Lucy suddenly spoke up, catching him off guard.

"Know what, Luce?"

"Did... Did Nashi really... smile in the end?" She asked, causing Natsu to have a flashback to Nashi's dying body, the tears, the blood, the hurt. "Was she able to leave peacefully? Was... she able to go to sleep soundly? She left without any regrets, right? Her... actual parents were by her side... right?"

The fire dragon slayer couldn't bear to hear Lucy's questions any further. Not only was it torturing for her to ask them, but it was just as torturing for him to recall the sight of Nashi's corpse. So, as a way to stop her, Natsu pulled the blonde into a tight hug. Her shaking body being wrapped in his arms. Lucy's eyes began to tear up again as more questions began to come out of her mouth, her shaking hands moving to grab onto Natsu's shirt and wrinkling it as a result. Her tears falling from her face one by one.

"Nashi... she smiled as she went to sleep." Natsu said as Lucy's sobs slowly became louder. "She was happy... because she finally got to repay her parents of their protection. She thanked us for being her nakama even in this time... she thanked you for being her mother again. She said she loved us... our future selves and us."

Lucy gnashed her teeth at the last thing Natsu mentioned, her hands letting go of his shirt so that she could wrap them around his torso. She hugged the pink headed slayer desperately, his warmth being a comfort to her while her head fit in the crook of his neck. Lucy didn't notice at first but Natsu came without his scarf so she couldn't bury her face in it like she had back on Earthland. She didn't intend to cry again but she couldn't help herself while looking up at the stars.

"Stargazing here will never be the same... without her..." She managed to choke out, breathing heavily while calming herself down.

Natsu placed a hand atop Lucy's head, caressing it in a comforting manner. "It doesn't have to be the same, Luce..." He said as her sniffles stopped to hear what he had to say. "Whenever you come here for whatever reason, bring me and Happy too... we'll stargaze with you."

"Huh?"

The blonde empress pulled back from Natsu's embrace, her blood shot eyes and tear stained cheeks on full display while he remained completely calm. "We're nakama, aren't we? If me and Happy are with you, heck even Ice Princess, Erza, Wendy and Carla too, it'll be like Nashi's here with us. Because regardless of the time, she's nakama too."

Lucy blinked twice at Natsu's words, wiping her tears away afterwards as a genuine smile finally formed on her face. He was right. After all, Nashi's memory lives on within her body. Even though she wasn't physically with her anymore, Nashi will continue to smile beautifully in Lucy's heart. "Thank you... Natsu."

The dragon slayer blushed like mad at her thanks. Lucky for him, this always seemed to happen whenever he and Lucy were on a roof and whenever it was night, so his blush was always hidden. Looking at her (seemingly) glowing face, Natsu had the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her forehead again, like he had done after resolving their second argument, but he was stopped when both he and Lucy heard a dragon flying from below and the scent of lavender.

They both turned to where the dragon was coming from and tilted their heads when Kumiko appeared from below in her dragon form. "Your majesty, Natsu... I had hoped the both of you would be here."

"And why is that, Kumiko?" Lucy asked.

"As you know, I am a dragon who controls time. I can slow any person's perception of time, accelerate it and even detect time anomalies within the threads of time."

"Yeah, but what about it?" Natsu asked this time.

"I didn't train you this dragon element, your majesty, because it is far too dangerous for just anyone besides my successor to hold this kind of power. Only someone who understands the dangers of tinkering with time shall hold my power... as they will also gain the ability to see glimpses of the past and future using these threads of time."

"Glimpses... of the future!?" Both of them exclaimed as Kumiko nodded.

"No one but Mirai and Hekima know of this fact, but I am telling this to you because of what I am about to do."

"And that would be?"

Kumiko said nothing as she breathed smoke out of her mouth, much like when Mirai showed her vision to everyone before leaving the Dragon Realm. The smoke began to gather into a single spot, building up until it was shaped into a sphere. Natsu and Lucy got up from their sitting position and walked up to the sphere, curious to see what the time dragon wanted them to see. But before an image could form on the surface of the sphere, Natsu and Lucy heard a familiar laugh come from it. Their eyes going wide.

"Though I cannot show you much, I thought that this would calm your nerves." Kumiko said as smoke stopped producing from her mouth. "When you came back, I took a peek into the distant future and found her within the threads of time." Lucy covered her mouth in shock and instinctively took hold of Natsu's hand, her grip tightening as an image appeared.

There, a little girl of six years old ran around what seemed to be a park. Kumiko had made it so that the image was solely focused on the girl, which Natsu and Lucy didn't mind. The little girl had peach coloured hair, chocolate brown eyes and a toothy grin as she ran around, her laugh being mixed in with other children. She looked absolutely happy ands her smile was so contagious that Natsu and Lucy couldn't help but smile as well whilst watching her.

All the two fairies could hear was Nashi's laughter as a weight on their chests suddenly left their bodies. Seeing her so happy, so alive, Natsu and Lucy couldn't be any more relieved and overwhelmingly euphoric in that one moment. They have succeeded. They saved theirs and Nashi's future. The two of them couldn't even bother thinking about their current relationship, which was ironic considering their relationship was essential in order for Nashi to exist, but all they could think was being able to meet Nashi in the future again.

"Kumiko..." Lucy said as she tried to suppress her incoming tears yet again.

"Thank you... thank you for allowing us to see her happy again." Natsu said for the blonde, his tears falling freely.

The time dragon nodded as the image slowly disappeared and the smoke dispersed. "I can only simply pray that you both move forward now. That little girl is the product of your experiences, strengths, weaknesses... she wouldn't want the son of Igneel and the great Athena to ever stay sad. That much is for certain."

Without another word, Kumiko began to move and flew away from the castle. Presumably back to her own island and to her own cave to get some needed rest. Leaving Natsu and Lucy to take in her words. Seeing Nashi smile, alive and back in her own time lifted the remaining depression from the two fairies' hearts. Seeing her that way motivated them and determined expressions soon formed on their faces. They will continue to fight and live on until the day the three of them will be united.

"We'll see you again soon... Nashi..."