Sorry, this took way too long.
"I can't believe it's summer already," Lucy sighed. Her normally neat blonde hair was picked up in a sloppy ponytail. She dragged her feet on the concrete sidewalk. Lucy lacked any makeup on her face, and her usual cute boots were replaced with old flip flops. It was too hot to try to look pretty.
Natsu however, seemed entirely unbothered by the heat. He had his scarf wrapped around his neck as usual. They were getting odd looks because of it.
The two of them were walking to Natsu's dorm after the last class of the year. The stupid pink haired boy wanted to go to Lucy's place but she refused, saying it was too hot to walk all the way over there.
"Oi Lucy, if I gave you a another piggy back ride would you stop making that ugly face?"
"WHAT UGLY FACE!?"
"The one you make when you're grumpy..... It just got uglier," Natsu informed her.
"GAAAAHH WHY DO I EVEN TALK TO YOU?! MUCH LESS DATE YOU!? NOW MOVE! ITS TOO HOT TO BE YELLING AT YOU OUT HERE!" Lucy grabbed his hand and yanked him away, ignoring the usual flutter in her stomach when they make contact. Dating didn't seem to make it go away.
Maybe I am weird like Natsu says, she thought rolling her eyes.
Little did she know Natsu had the same reaction.
"So what are we even gonna do here?" Natsu asked scratching his head.
"We're going to play Mario Kart, and you're going to get obliterated," said Lucy.
"Awwww but I wanna play Super Smash Bros," Natsu whined.
"Hush," Lucy told him, "you always beat me and that and I want to win today."
"Hey that's no fair!"
"Do I have to make it fair?" Lucy growled raising a shaking first. Natsu yelped and shook his head quickly. Even Natsu was smart enough to know when his life was on the line.
They played Mario Kart.
Lucy won every time.
"I don't even understand how this is possible," Natsu whined, "I mean shouldn't a blue turtle shell hit you at least once in fifteen races? This is breaking the rules of probability."
Lucy snorted, "What do you know of the rules of probability? Besides, I'm just a beast at Mario Kart. Accept it. Your life will be easier."
"But Lucyyyyy, this is totally unfair. Every time I was in first I would have a blue turtle shell hit me right before I crossed the finish line!"
"Boo hoo, so sad. I pity you," said Lucy dryly.
Natsu pouted and Lucy crossed the finish line in first place. Again.
Natsu who was close behind in second, got hit by the blue turtle shell that was originally coming for Lucy, and ended up in fifth.
"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Natsu roared shooting to his feet in an instant, "DID YOU FUCKING SEE THAT?!"
Lucy was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Oh my god Natsu," Lucy said still cracking up, "You have the absolute worst luck in this game."
"MARIO KART! I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Natsu screamed, jumping up to attack the TV.
"Nastu what are you-"
"AHHHHHH! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!"
"NATSU NO! DON'T ATTACK THE TV!"
Lucy tackled Natsu to the ground.
"Lucy! Let go! I must get revenge!" Natsu shouted squirming underneath her.
"No way!" Lucy replied, not even loosening her hold on her boyfriend.
"Gaaaah! Lucy! Let me do what a man must do!"
"Women are wiser than men! And I said no!"
Natsu was still trying to wriggle out from her iron grip. She let out a noise of annoyance and pinned Natsu's hands on either side of his head, trying to give herself more of an advantage.
Natsu was still struggling but then he suddenly froze as if he realized something.
"Hey, Lucy?"
"Yes, Natsu?"
"Isn't this a very sexual position?"
Lucy blinked, looked at her hands pinning Natsu's wrists to the ground, realized she was sitting on top his rock hard stomach, then looked back to Natsu.
"Oh yeah. It is."
"......"
"......"
"Isn't this the scene where we're supposed to start making out?" Natsu asked.
"What are we? Some cliche romance fanfiction for some anime?"
"We could be."
"Natsu, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know."
"......"
"......"
"Should we be making out now?"
"Do you want to?"
"No, I want you to get off of me."
Lucy laughed and obliged, nimbly rolling off her best friend.
"YES! NOW I CAN FINALLY FULFILL MY TRUE PURPOSE AS AN AVENGER!" Natsu yelled, jumping up to his feet and charging at the TV.
"WHO ARE YOU, SASUKE!?" Lucy shrieked.
All in all Lucy felt like this whole situation described their relationship perfectly.
Years passed and seasons changed. Lucy's father contacted her a few times, and Lucy made it clear she was never going back to him. Their group of friends kept getting closer and closer. Lucy's last few years of high school were easily the best ones of her life. She had so much fun with all them, it was so ridiculous how happy these people could make her. They hung out basically every weekend, ate lunch together at school (except for Erza, Cana, and Jellal who graduated before the rest of them), and they were such a tight knit group that they were known as "FTA's Strongest Team" because anyone who messed with one of them suffered dire consequences.
Lucy hasn't been lonely in years, in fact the concept was so foreign to her now that she had forgotten what it felt like to actually feel lonely.
She graduated with tears shining in her eyes and the happiest smile on her face. Mira gave Lucy a warm hug and told her that she would always be welcomed at Fairy Tail Academy. To be honest Lucy wasn't completely sure she wanted to leave.
Now that Natsu could no longer stay in the dorms, he had moved in with Lucy for a brief time.
Lucy had never had a more stressful house guest.
The two of them had to haul boxes filled with manga and video games and whatever more nerdy stuff the boy owned and dump them in various places amongst the apartment. This was only temporary because her place was way too small to house the both of them.
Natsu knew he had to tell Lucy about his demons. They had been dating for years now and he knew practically everything about her. He just wasn't sure how to go about it. To be completely honest he didn't want to talk about his past. Natsu's hands clenched into fists remembering the fire and the pain of his families death. He swallowed hard. Natsu wasn't sure if he could talk about it.
So, having no clue what to do, Natsu went to Gray for some help.
"Just tell her you idiot," Gray had told him. "She loves you and because of that she at least deserves that much."
Natsu had protested, saying her didn't know how to talk about it but Gray had been unrelenting and eventually kicked Natsu out of his apartment because Juvia was coming over.
She loves you.
Natsu just couldn't get those words out of his head.
"GAAAAAH I HATE TALKING ABOUT EMOTIONAL STUFF!" He shouted out loud, ripping his hands harshly through his hair. Lucy of course, decided to walk into the apartment right at that moment.
"What emotional stuff?" She asked, her eyebrows rising inquisitively.
Well I guess now is as good a time as any, Natsu thought sitting up to look at his girlfriend.
"Come here and sit," he told her, patting the couch next to him. Looking confused, Lucy sat where he told her to.
"My whole family is dead."
Lucy blinked.
Natsu always felt being blunt was easiest.
"My parents died in a fire I caused. It was an accident of course, I knocked over a candle onto a carpet. My older brother Zeref managed to get me out of the house quickly but my parents were upstairs. They didn't realize there was a fire until it was too late. Our smoke detectors weren't working for some reason. I think they were broken. Worst timing huh?" Natsu let out a humorless laugh.
"My mom and dad died because of me. They would've been better off without me born."
Lucy opened her mouth to say something but Natsu cut her off.
"My brother died from sickness. It was hard for the two of us, jumping from foster home to foster home, but at least we had each other. That ended for me all too quickly. He died of some disease. I don't remember what it was called, I never cared to learn. All I wanted was my brother out of that hospital room. It never happened."
Natsu's eyes looked up and locked with Lucy's. He didn't look away.
"After that I was sent back into foster care. Alone. I only lived about a week at each house because I would cause trouble. I set fires, started fights, failed all my classes in early elementary school until fifth grade rolled around. That's when Gramps found me. You've heard about Gramps right?"
Lucy nodded. "Gramps" as Natsu and Gray called him, was the actual principal of FTA. He ended up leaving to travel the world entrusting the school to his grandson Laxus. Lucy had never met him, but she always heard good things about him.
"Despite being a misfit kid who couldn't do anything right he took me in, and for the first time since my brother died I felt the warmth of someone who actually cared. I met Gray that year and we hated each other with a burning passion but I wasn't alone."
Natsu smiled gently and said, "I know the fire wasn't really my fault but I'm always going to have guilt following me, no matter what anyone tells me. I still grieve over them, and I miss my brother so much sometimes it hurts. But they are my past and this is my future."
Natsu grinned at Lucy, "You are my future!"
Lucy sucked in her breath.
"I love you Lucy!"
Suddenly the girl felt like she wanted to cry.
"I love you too Natsu."
She tackled him in a hug and they stayed in each other's arms for as long as they could before they finally had to part. But neither of them were concerned with this because they only had one bed in the apartment after all. Natsu had to admit that he loves cuddling and Lucy was always up for a snuggling session.
Levy found Natsu sitting on a park bench with a small black box in his hands. He was fiddling it with it nervously as he watched kids throwing bread crumbs to squawking ducks in the pond. With a smile the petite girl plopped down next to him.
"Hey Natsu," Levy greeted him breaking him out of his reverie.
"Oh hi Levy," said Natsu looking over at the girl with a little surprise.
"Weren't you supposed to be on a date with Gajeel?" He asked her.
Levy blushed a little and said he'd found a black kitten in an alley and he ran off chasing it, leaving Levy to walk herself home.
Natsu laughed and patted the girl on the back.
"He wants a cat that badly? Wow," commented Natsu still laughing.
Levy laughed too.
"He's jealous of you and Happy," she said giggling, "Speaking of which, how is your cat doing?"
"Happy's great! He loves Lucy's place and he claws up all her furniture it's the funniest thing," Natsu said remembering Lucy chasing the blue cat around the apartment unable to invoke her wrath on the feline.
Levy grinned imagining a similar scenario playing out in her mind.
"Hey, Levy?"
"What is it, Natsu?"
"How does one propose to someone?"
Levy tried not to choke.
In the end Natsu didn't propose, deciding to wait for them to settle into their adult lives more. More years passed and before he knew it he was 27 and Lucy was 26. They had both moved into a bigger apartment together. Natsu had opened an incredibly successful gym with Gray and Gajeel. Erza and Jellal became local police officers, dealing out justice around the neighborhood. Lisanna and Cana were roommates now. Lisanna had opened a small cafe where Juvia worked. Cana was currently a bartender in one of the more expensive bars in town. Lucy however wasn't doing so well.
Right now she worked full time at Levy's bookstore but as much as she loved Levy this wasn't what she wanted to do.
At home her trash can was filled with scrapped ideas and stories and pens that had ran out ink or broken. She was halfway into her first real book and she was stumped. Her writing just wasn't the same anymore. It was endlessly frustrating.
Meanwhile she felt like Natsu was keeping secrets. Nothing major, she just could tell he was hiding something and every time she asked he would avoid the question. It was annoying her.
What Lucy didn't know was that Natsu had two surprises for her.
One was something he had thought he had lost in high school, but he had found it in one of the boxes still left unpacked despite the fact that they had been living in their current apartment for years.
The second was the small black box he had held in his hand that day when Levy met him on the bench. Even after all this time he had kept it, waiting for the right moment.
That night when Lucy came home looking frustrated, Natsu decided he should give her the first surprise.
"Oi, Lucy!" Natsu called making his way over to the kitchen where Lucy was chopping furiously at some onions.
Poor onions.
"What do you want?" She snapped, harsher than she meant to. Hurt briefly flickered across Natsu's face and Lucy sighed and put down her knife.
"I'm sorry Natsu, I'm just really frustrated right now. I shouldn't take things out on you."
Natsu brightened at her apology.
"It's alright! I've got something for you." He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of his room.
"Go look at what's on my desk."
Lucy curiously made her way over and stopped when she saw multiple worn notebooks. What caught her attention was that the books were technically backwards. You'd have to read them from right to left, manga style. Natsu pressed the notebook labeled Volume One and said, "Open it."
Lucy opened it. She gasped as she realized that this was meant to be the cover page. The title was Fairy Tail in bold red letters. She looked down at the picture below and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. There was Natsu, turned into a manga character on a page right in front of her eyes. He held a walking stick and had his hand up to his forehead as though he was searching for adventure. A ridiculous blue cat hung off the walking stick and Lucy could only presume that it was supposed to be Happy. Then she looked and saw herself and her grin got wider if that was even possible. Bags and suitcases were piled behind her as her eyes looked up directly at the reader. Lucy laughed a little when she realized her character was dressed exactly the same way when Natsu had first met her in real life. She flipped the page and and gawked. It was incredibly well drawn, almost professional.
It started with a picture of a rather large building.
Speech bubbles read: Ultear! This is an important meeting. Would you please stop playing?
But there's nothing else to do! Isn't that right Siegrain-sama?
Lucy flipped the page and choked.
"IS THAT JELLAL?!"
Natsu laughed at her reaction and said "Yup. Come on bring that to the kitchen so you can read and I can watch your reactions while I cook."
Natsu finished the job of chopping the onions while Lucy read his manga. She laughed hysterically at the fact that he'd given himself motion sickness to which Natsu has replied smugly "My character would've been too OP if I hadn't." Lucy rolled her eyes and said "But you just had to add Happy as a talking cat hm?"
"What? I thought it was a cool idea!"
Lucy snickered and kept reading.
"WHY IS MY ENTRANCE TO THE STORY ME TRYING TO SEDUCE A MAN TO LOWER PRICES!?" Lucy shrieked. Natsu laughed and dodged her punches.
After Natsu finished cooking and they ate, the lovers moved to their shared bedroom. Lucy sat propped up with pillows. The lamp on her side of the bed was turned on so she could read Natsu's manga.
Natsu laid down on his side with his head resting in his hand. He was perfectly content to watch Lucy as she read, mesmerized by the way the dim light highlighted the angles of her face. He observed the way her face changed slightly as she read, listened to her soft giggles as she approached a humorous part, and laughed when she complained about something being "incredibly outrageous" with her character.
At that moment Natsu couldn't have been happier.
He thought of the small black box that was hidden in the drawer on his side of the bed.
He thought of the sparkling ring inside of it, what it meant and why he bought it.
Then he realized that he had time.
He had forever.
Because Lucy is his forever.
And they will spend an infinity together.
Death won't stop them.
They are stronger than death.
Natsu grinned.
If this was a fairy tale then Lucy would be the princess who got tired of waiting for her prince to come so she ran away on her own and stumbled into a dragon. Somehow, against all odds, the princess didn't need a prince because she had a stronger protector by her side. Sure, he was a little odd but the princess knew the dragon would fly to the ends of the earth for her. To her that was the only thing that mattered.
This isn't your typical fairy tale. No, this is about a dragon and a princess.
This is their Fairy Tail.