Forever Yours || NALU

19. "your home is with me"

Lucy Heartfilia

"Another sleepless night for me, I guess." I sighed, staring outside of the small balcony the room provided.

Usually I would be up pass midnight like this as well. Doing work, of course. Ever since i came back to the Heartfilia Estate, there was never a time for a goodnight rest. That was just a price I had to pay to create a company from the ground up.

"Gotta give you props daddy," I smiled to myself, looking up to the stars. This was my little way to relax, staring at the sky thinking that father and mother was watching me from up there too.

I didn't realize how uncomfortably lonely it would be out here. James would always accompany me out here, talking stories about our parents and our boring and torturous upbringings.

I miss you so much James. I really wish you were here right now.

I heard the door slowly open from behind me. I turned to see Natsu, shirtless and messy. "Whatcha doing out here Luce?"

"Resting."

I turned back around facing the sky, and heard the door close again. I had thought that Natsu would go back inside. But instead he grabbed the chair next to me.

"Uh," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I like the view."

I chuckled, "you do?"

He nodded, with a slight confused face. "It's very... dark." He turned back around to look at the sky squinting his eyes to make out any figure in the black open area.

I smiled, "you don't have to stay with me out here you know." He faces me and shrugged.

"Nah, Happys snoring right now. Had to get away from that."

There was a small silence between us. "Thank you." I blurted out. Catching the attention of the clueless pink haired dragon slayer. "For not telling Happy. Or anyone else in the guild."

"About what?"

"You know," I turned away from his gaze, ears flushed red as I bit my lip in embarrassment. "My confession."

"Right..." he trailed off. "Sorry for, you know, rejecting you and all."

I laughed. "I'm just glad we're being grown about this."

"Well.. you were kinda dramatic the first time I wanted to talk to you about this."

"Gosh, don't bring that up." I giggled.

For a year now, I've always dreamt about how this conversation would go. What he would say, his reaction, if my heart could take the rejection all over again.

But it wasn't awkward at all. We were talking about this as if it was all in the past. Which it is. "I'm happy. For you and Lisanna." I smiled lightly. "You both make a great couple."

This was the first time I had said that out loud. And it didn't hurt as much as I had thought it would. Was this the first step in moving on?

"I missed you Luce." I paused. "Come back to me."

"What?"

"Come back to the guild, I mean."

"The guild huh? Maybe I should stop by?"

"No," he stated firmly. "I mean, rejoin the guild."

I giggled. Rejoin the guild? "Natsu, I'm getting married-"

"Is that really what you want Lucy?" He yelled. I flinched. Everytime we talked about my marriage with James he would always try and start a fight. Why was that. "By the looks of it, this marriage seems forced!

"It's not forced-"

"This contracted marriage, the stress of an entire company, spending your life with a single person you barely love-"

"I love James." I replied. He stopped for a second.

"Lucy, you cannot tell me this is the life you dreamt about, the home you wanna live in." He grabbed my wrists tightly and stared straight into my eyes, into my soul. "Your home is with me, with the guild."

"What are you trying to say Natsu." I couldn't breathe. My throat started to burn as my eyes became watery. "How are you going to tell me how to live my life."

I slapped his hand away, a tear running down my cheek. "My home is with James now."