Chapter 1:
The day began like any other, waking up in the cozy cabin I share with my best buddy, Happy. Rising before him as I usually do, I get up and begin cooking breakfast of eggs and crispy bacon, leaving a freshly caught fish for my sleeping buddy on the table for him to enjoy when he wakes up.
Letting Happy sleep in has become a comforting routine since our return from a year-long training journey across Fiore, particularly after the chaos of the war.
Unlike everyone else, I stuck to the same routine that I have followed for as long as I could remember: I wake up bright and early, do some warm-up training, and then make my way to the guild hall to meet up with all my friends.
Stepping outside, I was welcomed by the peaceful beauty of our forested home. This area had remarkably escaped the devastation brought on by the Alvarez War and Acnologia's attack, standing in stark contrast to the destruction that had affected much of Magnolia and Fiore. This tranquility served as a constant reminder of the peace we had fought so hard to protect.
As I walk to a small spot just a short distance up the hill from the rustic, cozy cabin that I have called home for most of my life, I reach the top. From this vantage point, I can see the city of Magnolia nestled alongside a large, mirror-like body of water.
I love this view. It's one of the main reasons I chose to build my home in the hills rather than down in the city where most of the inhabitants live. While I enjoy being around others, having my quiet space to train and pursue my interests is equally important to me.
After finishing my morning training with a run back down the hill, I spot Happy sitting on the sign in front of the home we share.
"Good morning, little buddy!" I say, waving as I slow my pace to stop right in front of him.
"Good morning, Natsu!" Happy smiles, jumping off the sign, spreading his wings to take a quick lap around me before landing on my head. "Thanks for the delicious fish! It was really... well... yummy!"
"I'm glad you liked it! Are you ready to head over to the guild?"
"Aye, sir!"
"Race you there!" I say, taking off towards the city with Happy flying closely behind me.
"Oh man, we should make flying illegal next time. You are just too fast, little buddy," I say, laughing as we reach the steps to the guild.
"But how am I going to keep up? I have tiny little legs, so you would win for sure," Happy complains from his now perched position on my head.
Whenever the blue Exceed gets tired, he always sits on my head so he doesn't have to walk or fly, but I don't mind. If anything, after all these years, it is comforting to have the small amount of weight nestled on top of my head.
"Alright, you can still fly, but I will for sure beat you next time, Happy," I say as I make my way up the steps to the guild hall's main entrance.
After the war, the Fairy Tail guild hall was destroyed once again, which meant we had to rebuild it yet again. Since this has happened so many times, we can do it with our eyes closed, assuming we don't get into any brawls during construction, which somehow always gets blamed on me.
The guild hall is always designed to resemble a castle. It has a central tower adorned with a large banner displaying the guild's insignia, embroidered in gold on a dark orange-red fabric. Additionally, the tower houses a large silver bell that only rings in emergencies to alert all the residents of the city. Its main entrance is flanked by large wooden doors, which have been reused from the last guild hall we built, as for some reason it survived.
I make it to the top of the stairs and, as one in Fairy Tail does, kicked the door open.
"We're here!" Happy and I proclaim, shouting so everyone already present acknowledges our arrival.
The interior of the guild features a spacious main hall with high ceilings and elegant decor. Verandas run along both sides of the second floor, leading to the infirmary, Master Makarov's office, and other rooms that are still waiting to be filled with the assortment of items we have accumulated over the many years of jobs and crises.
On the ground floor, there is a bar managed by Mira and Kinana, with tables and seats lining the length of the hall. Next to the bar, we have the request board, where any available jobs are posted. However, there is a separate section for the S-class and harder jobs, which is located on the second floor near the old man's office, so that people are less inclined to steal any (everyone still reminds me of the Galuna Island job).
At the opposite end of the hall, from the doors where I still stood, is a slightly raised stage used for announcements and performances.
One thing I can say is that over the year we were all away, Gajeel improved his guitar skills. While his singing still needs some work, it's better than listening to Happy's claws on a chalkboard, that's for sure, but honestly, not all that much better.
"Morning Natsu, Morning Happy," Wendy calls from one of the tables where I could see all my other friends had already gathered.
"Hey guys, have you picked out a job for today?" Happy asks as he leaves his spot on top of my head to fly over to sit on the table next to Carla.
"Sure did, Flame Brain," Gray says. "It's just another mission to take down a dark guild; even you can't mess that up too badly."
"What did you just say, Snowflake?" I reply, scowling.
To say that everything that happened between Gray and me during the war with Alvarez, me being the demon END and my brother waging that war, as well as our fight with Acnologia, was a lot to process for both of us would be an understatement. After everything, we reached a half-spoken, unspoken understanding that we would leave the past behind us and move forward as the people we are.
"You heard me, Ash-for-Brains." Gray stands and gets right in my face.
"Damn Popsicle Pants," I retort, also getting in his face.
"Pyro-Breath."
"Ice Princess."
"Boys, cut it out."
Both Gray and I turn to the table to face the one person we truly feared upsetting, Erza.
"Are we going to have a problem on the job today?" she asks in her usual authoritative tone.
"No, ma'am," we both reply, each with an arm over the other's shoulder in a sort of protective embrace. Whether we were protecting ourselves or each other, I don't think we will ever really know.
"Good. Now, both of you sit down so we can go over the job for today. Is that clear?"
"Aye, sir!"
"Also, Gray, please put your clothes back on."
"When did that happen?" Gray jumps around the table, collecting his clothes that have been scattered across the floor.
We then both sit down. Gray sits next to Wendy, and I quickly take a seat next to Lucy. It's funny how even though we have gotten as strong as the great Titania Erza, we are still terrified of her.
"Geez, can you not act like five-year-olds for five minutes?" Lucy smirks, making a have serious jab at me, "I mean if you think about is, technically you are, what, 400 years old."
"You know, Luce, when you say that, you are not only calling me old," I retort, sending my fellow dragon slayer a silent apology.
Since the battle between the dragon slayers and Acnologia in the dimensional rift, Wendy approached me, expressing her wish that she could have done more to help. I continue to reassure her to this day that if it weren't for her enchantments, none of us would have made it out alive. From that moment on, we developed a brother-sister relationship. So when I gave her an apologetic glance, it carried a hidden meaning, an unspoken cue for her to play along.
As I hoped, Wendy winked back.
"Sniff…Are you also calling me old…Sniff," Wendy sniffles, playing her part perfectly.
"No, Wendy, of course not. That's not what I meant," Lucy quickly tried to right her error, clearly flustered in thinking that she had hurt the sky dragon slayers' feelings.
"But if you are calling Natsu old, then that would mean I am old too, but that would make me a small old girl, or would I be a lady, a grandma!" Wendy pretended to wail, very convincingly, I might add.
"Hold on, Wendy, that's not what Lucy meant at all. She was just saying that Natsu should act his age, that's all." Erza interjects, also destressed by Wendy's reaction.
"Is that all?" I say, feigning realization. "I can do that."
I then proceed to flop onto the table and just lie there.
Everyone was confused by my display except for Wendy and Happy.
There was a brief silence before Erza finally had enough.
"Natsu, what are you doing?" she asked, sounding both irritated and concerned.
I continued to remain silent.
"He is doing what you asked him to do," Wendy quipped, stifling a giggle. "You were the ones who told him to act his age, so that's exactly what he's doing."
"What do you mean?" Gray cocked his head, confused.
"How old did you say he was supposed to be?" Happy giggled.
"400 years…" Lucy said carefully.
"Yeah, so wouldn't that mean a normal person would be dead?" Carla smirked, catching onto what Wendy and I were playing with.
"Oh, for the love of Mavis," Lucy said, giving me a nudge as I started to laugh.
"I can't believe it took you guys so long to figure it out. I guess you're not old enough to understand such sophisticated humor," I laughed, giving Wendy a high-five.
"So you two were conspiring against us from the beginning? That's so not fair," Lucy complained.
"Don't go calling people old then." Wendy and I say together while laughing.
After we finished our laughing fit, Lucy gave us a gentle lecture about how we were making everyone feel bad about the joke, to which Wendy and I agreed to not do it again, fully intending to mess with our teammates given the chance. Once that was over, we all stood up and made a plan to pack for the job. We agreed to meet at the train station in an hour to catch the first train to Wizove Town.
"Why do I do this to myself?" I ask out loud as I lay on the floor of the compartment we were currently occupying on our way to meet with our client.
No matter how many times I have traveled by train or other modes of transport, I can never fully prepare for the sudden wave of intense discomfort that hits me. To make matters worse, I couldn't even ask Wendy to cast a Troia spell as she, too, had to endure the curse of motion sickness.
At that moment, Wendy was lying on one of the seats with her head in Carla's lap. Carla had transformed into her human form to help her friend relax by running her hands through Wendy's royal blue hair.
Over the next few hours, everyone decided to get some rest, and soon everyone had fallen into a comfortable slumber.
At some point during the trip, Lucy helped me up onto a seat and placed my head in her lap. She then began to comb her fingers through my salmon-colored hair. This became a normal routine for us whenever we worked together. It had ultimately made the travel far more bearable.
Over the years we've known each other, we have grown much closer than I ever thought we would, which makes me both happy and frightened. I honestly care about Lucy more than just a friend, and despite what everyone thinks about my obliviousness, I am aware of their opinions. They believe that we like each other, and while they got me liking her, the real question is, does she feel the same way about me?
So far, the only people I have openly confided in about my feelings for my blonde teammate are Happy and Wendy. I have asked them not to say anything until I have had a chance to speak to Lucy privately about it. I promised myself that the first chance I got to tell her, which gave me a tightness in my chest, which I tried to calm as it was making me feel more sick.
At the moment, I am struggling to think clearly due to the overwhelming dizziness from the motion sickness. Despite this, I have a strange feeling that something is going to happen. I'm not sure when or what it will be, but it fills me with an unsettling amount of anxiety. Honestly, I have a nagging feeling about this job, but I can't pinpoint the source of my unease.
I decided to bury my head deeper into Lucy's lap to try and relax my anxiety, which caused her to stop petting my head.
"You feeling ok there, Natsu?" She asked quietly, as it seemed that everyone else had fallen asleep and were resting peacefully.
"Just trying to get comfortable," I say honestly. "I can move over if I'm bothering you."
"No, it's ok," she smiles as I look up at her. "You just seemed like something was bothering you, apart from the motion sickness, that is."
"I have a lot of things going through my head, that's all. The motion sickness doesn't help, that's for sure."
"Did you want to talk about it?" She asks.
I give a quick pause. All of my previously pushed-back thoughts suddenly resurfaced. My feelings for her and the anxious tug in my chest at how she would react. The strange unease I have regarding the job we were making our way to complete. Lucy was always someone I could easily confide in when something was bothering me, but this was different. I didn't want to cause her any stress at the moment. Before I could give her an answer, she patted my shoulder, indicating she wanted me to sit up.
"Let's go to get you some fresh air, it might help you with the motion sickness."
With some difficulty, we manage to get me out of the compartment without waking anyone, and we make our way to the nearest open balcony at the back of the carriage. Once we exit the carriage and step outside, I lean on the railing, letting the wind flow through my hair as Lucy gently rubs my back.
"So what's on your mind?" she asks, in a kind way that I have learned I can never not answer to.
"As I said before, a lot. I am honestly not even sure where to start." I answer, trying to take deep breaths as my head was spinning as fast as the train was moving along the tracks.
"Well, it's always best to start with the stuff that's been bothering you the longest; that way, you can get that out of the way."
"Alright then," I sigh, anxiety gripping my throat as I take a deep breath and stand a little taller to look at Lucy's face.
In the late afternoon light, her blonde hair looked almost golden, shimmering in the wind. Her brown eyes were filled with concern, reflecting her caring nature.
This is it; it's now or never. I don't think I can keep my feelings from her any longer, especially since this might be one of my only chances to talk to her alone.
I try to push back my motion sickness as I stand even taller and take hold of her hand with one of mine, my other hand still firmly gripping the railing.
"Luce, I'm not sure how to express this since it's the first time I've ever experienced something like this," I say, trying to maintain my composure. "Okay, look. Ever since we met at the port of Hargeon, you have made a huge impact on my life, and it's been a positive one. Whenever I'm around you, I feel light and carefree, as if I could stay in that moment forever. When I see you happy, I feel happy. And when I see you feeling down, all I want to do is take away that sadness just to see your smile."
I take a moment to catch my breath, lifting my head to look Lucy in the eyes. Her warm kindness gives me the confidence to continue as she listens to my anxious rambling.
"For a long time now, I have wanted to tell you this, but I've never had the right moment to say it until now. Luce, you mean the world to me, and I want to spend the rest of my life being there for you when you need me. Whether that's to make you smile when you're feeling down or to be there to help you when you need me most on a job. But most of all…"
Suddenly, I was engulfed in a tight embrace, and I felt the warmth of a pair of lips on my own.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening. Lucy, the person who means more to me than the world itself, was kissing me. After a few moments, we break apart, both blushing.
"You didn't let me finish," I say, making a slight joke to break the silence.
"I know what you were going to say," she blushes.
"Oh, but how did…" I stammer before she puts a finger to my lips to shut me up.
"Because it was what I have been wanting to say to you for a while now, too."
All I can do at hearing the words of the one I care for most is wrap my hands around her waist, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Then does that mean you feel the same?" I nervously ask for confirmation.
At this, she just rolls her eyes, and she grabs the back of my neck as she pulls me in for another kiss. This time, kiss her back with the same amount of enthusiasm she gave in the first one. After a few more moments, we break apart, panting slightly.
"Does that answer your question?" She laughs with a kind of light that I haven't seen here before. "Yes, you silly dragon. I feel the same way about you. I am so happy you told me. I was beginning to wonder if you even liked me that way."
We kiss again before the sound of the train's whistle signalled that we were approaching our destination. The moment we broke apart for the third time, I instantly remembered that I was on a train and gripped the railing even tighter and ended up leaning on Lucy.
"Sorry, I forgot about the train," I say, feeling the effects of my motion sickness hit me full force.
"Don't worry about it. I was surprised you lasted this long," Lucy smiles as she begins to help me get back to our compartment as we agreed our friends would probably worry if we didn't return soon.
"So, what are we then?" I ask between pained breaths. "Boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"I like the sound of that," she replies with a wide smile. "What will we tell the others?"
"They've been saying we would be perfect for each other from the start, so at least it would stop them from pestering us about our feelings." I pause for a moment, then add, "I'm fine with telling everyone if you are."
"I think for now, we should at least tell Erza and the rest when we get to the town. It will be dark by the time we reach Wizove Town. That way, we can use the excuse that we are tired to avoid any other potential pestering."
"That sounds like a plan. I should be back to my normal self once my feet hit solid ground, and then I can treat you to a nice dinner in town."
"That sounds lovely," she says, kissing my cheek as we reach the door to the compartment where our friends are currently gathered.
We opened the door to find that Gray and Erza were looking at Lucy and me as we entered, with looks of joy on their face. Happy, Carla, and Wendy were still sleeping soundly where we had left them.
"Hey, you guys? I just took Natsu to get some fresh air," Lucy says as she helps me sit down before sitting down next to me, still holding my hand as I rest my head on her lap, resuming the position we held before we left to talk.
"Is that all you did back there?" Erza said with a smug look and a raised eyebrow in suspicion.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy answers the question with another question.
"What Erza is trying to say is that when you and Natsu left, we… well… sort of followed and saw you two kiss at the back of the train carriage," Gray says, scratching the back of his head in an embarassed way.
At this, both Lucy and I are blushing with embarrassment. When I think back to how easily we had slipped away, it makes sense that no one had been asleep, except maybe Wendy who, like me, was suffering from motion sickness.
"Well, there goes our plan for telling them once we reached town," Lucy said, blushing wildly. "Have you guys no shame for invading other people's privacy?"
No one said anything, which answered her question.
"Well, congratulations to the two of you!" Erza says with a genuine smile.
"To be honest, I didn't think the Flame Brain had it in him to be able to confess first. Now I owe Mira 5000 jewels," Gray teased in a defeated tone.
In account of my motion sickness, all I could do in my weakened state of annoyance was light a ball of fire and gently flick in to hit Gray in the face. The slight yelp of surprise and the smell of smoke brought me some satisfaction.
"Damn it Ash-for-Brains, I'm gonna get you for that!" he snarls, his face now covered in soot.
"I'll take you on anytime, Stripper," I try to retaliate, only to get dizzy again and lay my head back on Lucy's lap as she resumes combing her fingers through my hair.
Just as I accepted that the motion sickness would prevent me from doing anything, the train came to a slow stop, causing Gray's face to suddenly pale. As the train slowed, Lucy helped me sit back up.
"I'll help Happy grab your bag," she said with an evil grin. "You go get some payback for both of us, alright."
As those words left her lips, the train came to a complete stop. The moment Gray bolted from the compartment, my motion sickness began to fade away. I quickly leaned in and kissed Lucy on the lips before taking off after the ice mage, determined to make him pay for mocking me and for betting on Lucy and my relationship.