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Natsu took a deep breath, staring at the door. "Lucy..."
His heart raced with fear, worry, guilt, hope, and a million other feelings he'd buried for ten long years. He swallowed hard, keeping his cloak tight. He had to hide as much of his changed, almost inhuman look as he could from the people passing by. He didn't want to scare anyone with how he looked now. Magnolia looked different. Of course, it did. Ten years had passed. It was also home to Fiore's strongest guild... the guild he used to call home. It looked bigger than ever. He wondered if he'd see the same friendly faces if he ever dared to go inside again. He didn't have the courage to step in, not after leaving for ten years. He especially didn't want his friends to see what he'd become, or rather, what was left of him.
Lucy's place was different too. She didn't live in that same small apartment he remembered destroying every day. She had her own place now. Good for her. She deserved the best. He'd kept up with her novels whenever he passed through a town. He was glad she was living her dream.
Natsu gripped the door handle. Another wave of hesitation washed over him as he looked at his hand, covered in dark red scales, wrapped around it.
Would Lucy even want to see him again? Especially after he left her without a word, not once, but twice, and this time for a whole decade. Hell, he didn't even know if this was really her house. It could be anyone's. If it was her house... would it just be her house? Or would he open the door to find her with a husband and kids? That thought alone gave Natsu a pang of regret he didn't let himself feel. He was the one who left, after all. She shouldn't have to wait for him for ten years... But if Natsu did open the door and see Lucy with someone else, with a family, he knew he'd long to be in that man's place.
Taking a deep breath, Natsu slowly turned the handle. He knew if he walked away now, he'd regret it forever. The thought of never seeing Lucy again tore at him inside. He needed to see her, just one more time.
Inside, Lucy was putting books back on her shelf. The sound of her door opening made her spin around fast, a book clutched in her hand, ready to defend herself.
But it wasn't a stranger standing there. No matter how much time had passed, he could never be a stranger to her. She saw that familiar messy pink hair, hidden under a worn-out cloak. The book fell from her hand with a soft thud. Lucy's hand trembled as she brought it to her mouth, letting out a quiet gasp. A mix of old memories, sadness, and a flicker of hope filled her heart. Finally, breaking the heavy silence in her home, she whispered his name, her voice soft and unsure, "Natsu...?"
"Is it really you? Have my prayers... have they finally been answered?" Lucy whispered, her eyes searching the cloaked figure. It had to be him... right? Ten years. Ten years of believing Natsu would return. Ten years of watching her friends move forward, building families, while she felt stuck, waiting for him.
Her hand trembled, still raised to her mouth, as silence hung heavy in the air. She watched Natsu take a hesitant step back, his hand reaching for the doorknob behind him, as if he might vanish again. "Is it truly you standing there," she pleaded, her voice barely a breath, "or am I just dreaming one more?" Lucy couldn't bear it if this was another cruel trick of her mind. This time, it felt too real. Natsu was back... her Natsu.
Natsu's jaw tightened. He knew he should leave, turn and run, but hearing her confess to dreaming of his return twisted his insides with guilt. His scaled hand slowly rose, reaching for the hood of his cloak. He pulled it down, finally revealing himself fully to Lucy. His face, marred with patches of scales and raw skin, his pink hair pushed aside by small, budding horns. For the first time since entering, Natsu met Lucy's gaze. The mesmerizing brown eyes he'd pictured every time he closed his own. They were older now, filled with a deeper maturity, and at this moment, shimmering with unshed tears.
As Natsu's gaze finally broke away from hers, Lucy's hand dropped from her mouth. "You look different..." she said quietly, taking in his changed appearance. His face was older, etched with lines she didn't recognize. Scars and wounds marked his skin. She took a step towards him, but Natsu flinched, stepping back until he was pressed against her door.
Seeing this, Lucy's brow furrowed. The way his hand gripped the doorknob made her heart ache with fear. It looked like he was going to leave her again. When Natsu's eyes met hers once more, she spoke, her voice soft but filled with concern. "Your eyes... they look so tired. And your form is lighter..." she said, her voice tinged with sadness as she noticed his lean frame, now partially covered in scales. But most of all, she said, her voice heavy with sorrow, "and your smile... it's torn." The cold, distant look on Natsu's face shattered her heart. It was like he'd forgotten how to give that big, goofy grin that always made her feel better, no matter what.
"Natsu... is it really you, my love?" Lucy asked, a fragile hope clinging to her voice, barely masking the deep sadness beneath. She longed to run to him, to close the distance between them, but she was terrified he'd bolt, disappear again like a phantom.
Hearing Lucy call him "her love" crashed over him like a tidal wave of the past. He gritted his teeth, his fist clenched tight at his side, and he refused to meet her gaze. His eyes darted around the room, landing on random pieces of furniture, anything but her.
Lucy opened her mouth to speak again, to reassure him, but Natsu cut her off, his voice rough and low. "I am not the man you fell in love with."
Lucy stared at him, confusion clouding her face. But... she would always love him.
"Lucy, I am not the man you once adored." He couldn't bear to hear her speak those words of love again, not after everything he'd become. "I am not your kind and gentle Natsu... And I am not the love you knew before."
Lucy wanted to scream, to yell at him that he was wrong, that he was the same Natsu she'd always known! But she was frozen, her heart hanging on every word he spoke, each one a painful blow.
The silence stretched, thick with unspoken pain. Finally, Natsu's voice, raw and strained, broke it. "Would you fall in love with me again if you knew all I've done? The things I cannot change?"
His gaze flickered to hers, a desperate plea hidden beneath the harshness. He wasn't asking for forgiveness, but for some impossible understanding.
He looked away again, his voice dropping even lower. "Would you still love me the same?" The question hung in the air, heavy with the weight of ten years of darkness, of battles fought and lost within himself.
He finally met her eyes, the raw honesty there almost unbearable. "I know that you've been waiting, waiting for love..." His voice cracked, the word catching in his throat. It wasn't a statement, but an accusation against himself, an acknowledgment of the pain he'd caused her, the love he felt he'd stolen.
Lucy looked at Natsu, her surprise twisting into a deep sorrow. Her head tilted slightly, a silent question in the movement, and she spoke, her voice barely a whisper, "What kind of things did you do...?" A knot of worry tightened in her chest. She couldn't imagine Natsu doing anything truly terrible, but the pain in his eyes... it terrified her.
Natsu flinched at her question, as if the words themselves were a physical blow. He finally looked at her, his gaze dark and haunted.
"Left a trail of red in every village. Discarded all my friends like objects I could use," he said, his voice a low growl, each word a shard of glass.
He took a shaky breath, his shoulders slumping. "Hurt more lives than I can count on my hands."
He looked back at her, his expression a mix of anguish and a desperate, twisted hope. "All these sacrifices... all this pain... to finally reunite with you..."
His voice cracked, and he pleaded, his eyes searching hers. "So tell me, Lucy... would you fall in love with me again? If you knew about all the things I've done?"
Natsu's voice dropped, a pained whisper. "The things I can't undo." He looked away, the weight of his past pressing down on him, crushing him. "I am not the man you once knew." The words were a final, desperate attempt to push her away, fueled by the crushing guilt of knowing she had waited, waited for him , for a love he felt he no longer deserved.
But Lucy, her heart aching, had heard enough. A new strength hardened her gaze, her voice shifting. The soft, sorrow-filled tone was gone, replaced by a stern resolve. "If that's true," she said, her voice firm, cutting through his self-deprecation, "could you do me a favor?"
The change in her voice snapped Natsu's head up. He finally met her gaze, truly seeing her for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He took in her appearance: older, yes, more mature, but breathtakingly beautiful. And around her neck, his scarf. His most treasured possession, the one he'd left for her before vanishing, was wrapped tightly around her. A fresh wave of emotion crashed over him - longing, regret, a flicker of something he dared not name.
Seeing she had his full attention, Lucy continued, her voice still trembling slightly, but firm. "Just a moment of labour that would bring me some peace." Her hand, still shaking, rose. The familiar pink emblem of Fairy Tail, a mark they both shared, was visible on it as she gripped the white scarf at her neck, holding it tightly, as if it were a lifeline.
Suddenly, Lucy's hand tightened, and she ripped the scarf from her neck, her eyes hardening with a harsh resolve. "See this scarf..." she said, her voice tight. "Could you come over here and take it?"
She held it out to him, the white fabric trembling slightly in her grip. "Use your magic on it and burn it. Leave no remains."
Natsu was stunned. Lucy's words hit him like a physical blow, shattering the fragile hope he'd been clinging to. Tears welled in his lifeless eyes as he listened to her request, the idea of destroying the scarf an unbearable pain.
"How could you say this...?" Natsu whispered, his voice cracking with shock and heartbreak. "I cherished that scarf my whole life. I left it for you to keep when I disappeared."
He took a step forward, his hand reaching out, then pulling back. "It was a symbol of our love... everlasting."
His gaze searched hers, pleading. "Do you realize what you've asked me? This scarf... it was made from Igneel's scales. It would take more than just my fire to destroy it. It's nearly indestructible." The scarf, a testament to his bond with his father and his feelings for her, was now being offered as a sacrifice.
Lucy's voice rose, cracking with desperation. "Only the Natsu I loved would know that," she declared, her eyes blazing. "So I guess that makes him you."
Natsu looked at her, stunned. He watched as she took another step closer, her determination unwavering. "Lucy—" he began, but she cut him off, her voice gaining strength with each word.
"I will fall in love with you over and over again," she vowed, her voice ringing with fierce certainty.
"I don't care how, where, or when," she continued, her gaze locked on his.
"No matter how long it's been, you're mine," she insisted, her voice filled with a love that defied time and change.
"Don't tell me you're not the same person," she pleaded, her voice softening slightly, but still firm.
"You're always my Natsu, and I've been waiting... waiting," she said, her voice catching.
"Lucy—" Natsu tried again, but she overrode him, her voice filled with years of longing.
"Waiting," she repeated, her voice thick with emotion.
"Waiting for you..."
Suddenly, Lucy surged forward, dashing towards him. Tears streamed down her face as she threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly. She didn't care about the cold, rough feel of the scales against her skin. All that mattered was that he was here, her Natsu, finally home.
A warmth Natsu hadn't felt in a decade bloomed within him, chasing away the coldness that had clung to his heart for so long. He placed a hand, trembling slightly, on Lucy's head, his fingers threading through her golden hair, and embraced her back with a tenderness he thought he'd lost. "Natsu... how long has it been...?" she murmured against his chest, her voice thick with tears of joy and relief.
"Twenty years," he whispered back, the word a soft echo of the pain and loneliness that had stretched between them.
The dam of years finally broke, and in a moment of perfect, shared vulnerability, they spoke the words that had been held captive for so long.
"I love you."
They said in unison, their voices overlapping, a single, powerful declaration to each other.
As their lips met, it wasn't just a kiss, but a reunion of souls. It was the taste of home, of forgiveness, of a love that had weathered the storm and emerged, scarred but unbroken, stronger than before. It was a promise whispered on the edge of forever, a new beginning forged in the fires of the past. In that embrace, in that kiss, they found their way back to each other, and the world outside faded away, leaving only the enduring flame of their love, burning brighter than any fire Natsu could ever command.