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fics-n-stuff-n-stuff · 5 days

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Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox

all fairy tail characters basically - CharacterAlternate Universe - Modern with Magic Follows Fairy tail but with my own twists set in modern day Fluff and Angst Romance Friendship developing feelings

Summary

Lucy is thrown into a world she didn’t know existed. Join her as she unravels this new world full of magic that brings adventure, romance and destruction along with it.

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Just a modern re-telling of Fairy tail following its arcs with a few twists and turns along the way💞

You can also read it here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49084309/chapters/123834469

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Chapter 22

Feeling more drained than he can remember being in a long time, Natsu moved as if on autopilot.

Picking up Lucy from the bed and carrying her out of the infirmary, he started walking toward his favorite spare room in the guild.

There was a lot of noise coming from downstairs where Mira and Wendy were probably filing everyone in about what they knew, but he didn't have the strength or concentration to try and make out their words.

With how tired he felt, he didn't care what they were saying.

It was just noise at this point.

They can all wait till tomorrow.

When he walked into the room Natsu moved to the bed and carefully unfurled the covers with one hand, before laying Lucy gently on the bed and tucking her in.

As he took a step back he couldn't help but notice how unnaturally still she was as she slept, it was not the usual tossing and turning he could hear when sleeping over at her place, and something about her stillness bothered him.

Because it reminded Natsu that she wasn't just sleeping, she was unconscious. Her stillness remained him that Lucy had almost died; her body and magic were working to restore themselves.

Shaking off those thoughts before he could spiral again, and pushing down the emotions that accompanied them, Natsu moved back from the bed and walked towards the dresser.

There should be some clothes here that were his, and Wendy was right, he did need a shower.

This room was the one he used often when he was too tired to go back home after a particularly long job, but that was before meeting Lucy and deciding that her couch was much better, so some of his stuff should still be here.

Unless Gramps had someone clean it out, but they would have told him, probably.

There were a few shirts, underwear, and a pair of pants left in a drawer, and Natsu took them before moving into the bathroom, but not without looking back at the sleeping blonde one more time before closing the door.

As he moved to look at himself in the mirror, Natsu saw how bad he looked.

No wonder Wendy and Mira looked so worried back in the infirmary, and even Erza seemed to feel bad for pushing him so hard.

His skin was paler than normal, and the bags under his eyes were more prominent than ever, his hair was disheveled, and he felt like he was a few seconds away from falling over.

Natsu sighed as he moved away from his reflection and towards the shower. No use in brooding over how bad he looked, better to get clean and try to get some sleep.

He stayed under the spray of water for a long time.

Now Natsu isn't the type to spend hours in a bath as Lucy could, usually, he was in and out in ten minutes, but in this moment, with the water coming down on him,

It felt nice.

It helped him relax and clear his head.

They were home, they were safe.

Lucy was going to be okay.

Natsu was eternally grateful to Wendy and Mira for stepping in with Erza and Gray the way they did.

Being forced into telling their misadventure again, and having to tell all of the story with Lucy lying there unconscious... it was too much for him at the moment. Most of the past 48 hours still didn't feel real to him, more like a series of hazy moments and a lot of panic.

Probably because of the exhaustion.

Heaving out a sigh, Natsu turned off the shower and moved to put on his clothes, feeling more sluggish with every move he made.

All he wanted to do was sleep.

Walking back into the room, he was only half surprised to see Happy sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

Lucy was still in the same position he left her in, tucked into the bed, lying on her back, and he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"I just wanted to see if we're going home." The exceed asked as he saw Natsu exit the bathroom.

"I was planning on sleepin' in the chair. I have to be here when she wakes up." He told the blue fur ball as he made his way to the bed.

They had a lot to talk about, and Natsu had to be there the moment she opened her eyes. He needed to be there, in part to assure himself that she was, in fact okay, and because they had a lot to talk about.

The unspoken bond that has been growing between them since they met, the link he has somehow managed to create in a desperate move to save her life, and most importantly how she's never allowed to scare him like that ever again.

Happy looked at him for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay, we stay here till Lushi wakes up." The exceed said with a smile and Natsu smiled back at him.

He was glad that his little buddy would be here with them. "That's the plan, how's everything downstairs?" Natsu asked as he sat in the chair next to the bed.

It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it wasn't even close to the most uncomfortable place Natsu had slept in, so it would do.

Happy settled near Lucy's legs, folding himself in like the cat that he was before speaking. "Everyone is confused and worried, and Gray is beyond pissed that Erza let you off the hook!" He snickered as he told him about the ice prick, and it brought a smile to Natsu's face.

"Well, I'm always glad to annoy him, even when I'm not there." He said in a teasing tone as he moved to rest his head on the bed next to Lucy's hand.

"Was it scary?" Happy's asked after a beat of silence. "You looked really panicked when you got to the guild." His voice was small as he spoke, and Natsu thought about his answer for a long moment.

"It all happened so quickly." He mirrored what he said to Mira when they talked on the phone because in his mind it all happened in a flash. "And I didn't realize till it was too late."

He didn't really answer the exceeds questions, but Natsu had no more strength left in him and found himself slipping into slumber.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

As Natsu slowly woke up, the world around him felt foggy and distant, his head was pounding, and having to reel in all the sensations surrounding him was a major pain at the moment.

Adjusting his heightened senses to his surroundings after he pushed his body to the limit was worse than the usual practice.

And even though it was more his mind that was pushed than the body, it was a pain all the same.

Natsu wasn't sure how long he was asleep and was only about fifty percent sure where he was, but he knew with absolute certainty who he was with.

There were two heartbeats in the room apart from his own, and he could smell lavender with a hint of sage and fish.

Lucy and Happy.

The more he stirred awake, the more aware he became.

The ticking of the clock in the room, his friend's steady breathing patterns, the birds chirping outside, the fridges buzzing downstairs.

As Natsu focused on all the sensations surrounding him, he started to slowly reel them in, and as he was sorting through all his senses, Natsu realized with a start that there was a light, almost tingly feeling that was flowing through him, making him feel bright like he was basking in the sunshine.

It feels like when he's close to Lucy while she's using her magic.

It took him a few tries to open his eyes and when he did, he stretched out like a cat, letting out a small noise as his stiff muscles moved and cracked after being in such an uncomfortable position for so long.

As he sat up straight in his chair, Natsu looked around at his surroundings.

He was in a spare guild room, Lucy and Happy were sleeping on the bed, when he went to check the clock on the bedside table he saw that it was half past six in the morning.

Too early for anyone to be at the guild yet.

He sighed as he moved his hands through his hair, hoping to tame the ends that were sticking out in the wrong direction.

He really should've done this last night while it was wet.

After a few attempts, the stubborn hairs were fixed and Natsu turned to look at his sleeping partner.

Lucy was still in the same position he placed her in last night, it didn't look like she moved a muscle.

The only thing indicating that she was alive was the steady rise and fall of her chest and the bright tingling of her magic he could feel flowing through him.

Porlyusica said she needed rest.

But how long will she be asleep? He could feel her magic more intensely now than yesterday, and it gave him hope that maybe Lucy would be awake soon.

He needed her to wake up soon.

Moving his hand to hold hers was not a conscious act, it was driven by the usual need to touch her in any way he could.

Natsu was shocked by a spark that jolted through him as he threaded his fingers with hers, and he let out an involuntary gasp at the unexpected sensation.

Would it always be like that from now on?

Natsu wondered as he looked at their intertwined hands. Would she feel the same spark when they touched, or would it be something else?

The bigger question was how this bridge will affect them in the long run.

The old witch said to contact her as soon as Lucy was awake and Natsu had a feeling that she knew more than she let on.

Looking at the sleeping blonde he wondered what her reaction would be when she found out how exactly she was still alive.

They don't know the consequences of this new link between them, this bridge that he's managed to make in order to save her life, but he couldn't find it in himself to regret his decision.

He would do it all over again.

As long as she was still breathing, any consequences would be worth it.

Natsu started to feel a headache forming from all the questions and thoughts that wouldn't seem to slow down. He felt like he was going around in circles in his head. There were too many things that he didn't understand.

He couldn't help but notice that Lucy's hand was colder than her usual body temperature as he tenderly stroked her hand with his thumb, and he was sure that it would stay that way until her magic was back in full.

Another reminder of how close he was to losing her.

Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts Natsu let out a sigh and bowed his head.

It was too early for this much thinking, and he needed to eat before he could do any more. Mira should be coming in in the next fifteen minutes or so, and after that, he was sure with everything that happened yesterday, everyone would be coming in early today.

He had to tell them today, he knew that.

Natsu would have to be the one to relay to the whole guild what had happened to them in Sakuramori Village and the surrounding forest.

That is not going to be a fun conversation, for anyone.

The previous two days were still somewhat a blur for the fire drakon, but at the same time, it felt like he could never forget what happened in that forest, and he especially didn't want to relive it by telling the whole guild.

Sighing out loud, Natsu lifted his head to look at the peacefully sleeping exceed on the bed and smiled at his furry friend.

'At least Happy will be there to support me. Mira and Wendy too, hopefully.'

There was no getting out of it. He knew that the guild needed to know. Natsu had a feeling that he still hadn't fully grasped the magnitude of what happened with Lucy in that clearing.

The power she radiated, and the fact that she was able to mend a broken key. He still doesn't think he understands what that means, but the fact that the King of the Spirits appeared when it happened?

They didn't even know there was a king for her spirits! They barely know anything about the spirit world.

This was a big thing.

The magical power that she radiated while mending the key was bound to be felt by mages of all kinds.

They might not know much about Lucy's magic, but they do know that Zeref was the one responsible for eradicating the Spirit Summoners, and one of his demons was possessing a poor woman trying to get to a broken spirit key.

They have met a few of the dark mages' creations in the past few months, and Natsu didn't think it was a coincidence.

What would they do to get someone who can use the keys? Natsu had a feeling that this would only bring them trouble, one way or another.

His dark train of thought was cut off by a flash of light that enveloped the room suddenly and Natsu was startled for a moment, blinking a few times so his eyes could adjust to the sudden light, only to see Leo standing in the middle of the room, without a word or glance at the fire drakon, the spirit moved closer to Lucy's bed.

"Are you crazy?" Natsu let go of Lucy's hand as he shot up from his chair, making sure to keep his voice from rising so he wouldn't wake Happy. "She's still recovering from exhausting herself, almost dying so she could help you! And you being here isn't gonna help her magic replenish!"

Leo looked away from Lucy's sleeping body to Natsu, the spirit's face shifting from concerned to the same unimpressed gaze as last time. "Tch, I'm not stupid. I came here using my own magic." The spirit shot back at him and Natsu felt his fire bubbling with anger.

How the hell was he supposed to know that? And what was the spirit's problem, it was starting to piss him off.

"Why are you here then?" He decided to ask instead of picking a fight with the spirit.

Natsu had a feeling that Lucy wouldn't like that, even if the lion deserved it.

What did Natsu ever do to him?

"I came here to check on my new holder; as you said she has freed me from my curse and has hurt herself by doing it."

Leo said in a matter-of-fact tone, his gaze softening slightly as he looked back at the sleeping blonde before turning back to Natsu, his eyes hard and piercing. "I am also here to warn you Natsu Dragneel. There is danger coming her way, and no gods will help us if they succeed in their mission."

"You cannot let them get her."

The spirit's tone was grave, but that didn't mean he didn't make his distaste towards Natsu clear.

Leo crossed his hands and looked him up and down before continuing. "I cannot believe that I'm saying this, but you actually might be her only hope." There was a deprecating laugh that followed those words and Natsu was confused by this whole conversation.

What was with Lucy's spirits always speaking in riddles? It was beyond annoying and he's getting a bit pissed off at that too.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, you're not making any sense." Natsu said before the lion could go on spouting more confusing and frustrating warnings or worse, snarky comments.

He didn't understand why this spirit hated him so blatantly, he didn't do anything to him. All of Lucy's other spirits were fun and weird, just like her.

And while Natsu wasn't close with most of them, he was sure that a few liked him enough to call him a friend.

Virgo, for sure, maybe even Cancer. Not even Aquarius, with how mean and scary she is, actually hated him. At least he didn't think.

To have this supposed leader of the Zodiac hate him without having known him prior confused Natsu, but he didn't care about any of that at the moment.

"Look I don't know what you're talking about or what you have against me." Natsu said as he moved so that he was standing in front of the spirit, his eyes glaring at the orange-haired man.

He really has had enough of the spirit's attitude, Natsu was not known for his patience, being a fire mage and all, but he stuck it out for Lucy as long as he could.

But the lion needed to know where they stood. "I don't know what your stupid riddles mean or even what you're getting at when you say that some kind of danger might be coming her way. But we have to get one thing straight between us."

The spirit was taller than him by a few centimeters but that didn't stop Natsu from coming off as intimidating. Leo was under the impression that something or someone was coming for Lucy, and he's had a knot in his gut that left him on edge since their run-in with Phantom Lord, feeling like something was coming.

Maybe it was the same threat and maybe it wasn't, but either way something in Natsu's gut told him that things wouldn't be peaceful in Fairy Tail for a while.

His posture was rigid, gaze intensified as he glared at the zodiac leader, needing to make sure he understood how serious Natsu was.

"I would burn this world down into ashes if it meant keeping her safe." It was a resolute and unwavering statement that made Leo frown, and there was a look in his eye after the words sunk in that just pissed Natsu off.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" His voice was quiet, but nothing is quiet for a drakon and Natsu heard it anyway. "I hope, for all of our sakes that it will never come that." And then the bastard was gone in a flash of golden light, leaving Natsu confused, angry, and with even more questions bubbling in his head.

He let out a string of curses and raked a hand through his hair as he paced the few steps back to the chair.

'What the hell was that? Stupid overgrown cat with his stupid riddles!' Cursing the spirit in his head Natsu settled back into the chair.

"Natsu?" Happy's groggy voice brought him out of his thoughts and Natsu looked up. "Good morning bud, did I wake you?" He asked as he watched the exceed stretch.

"I heard voices, were you talking to yourself again?" The cat snickered as he asked, making Natsu throw his head back, barely suppressing a groan.

"No, one of Lucy's spirits wanted to check on her." He decided to leave it vague and shook off his anger towards the ginger spirit.

"How'd ya sleep?" Natsu deflected instead, hoping that if he kept the conversation going he could avoid questions from the exceed for now.

He really doesn't want to re-tell the story more than once.

"It was good, I had a dream I was a lord of the seas and people would bring me fish as offerings!" There was a glazed look in the cat's eyes as he talked about how many fish there were in his dream and it honestly made Natsu feel lighter.

The simplicity of it made him pretend for a moment that Lucy was still sleeping from a rowdy night at the guild and Happy and Natsu were causally waiting for her to wake up.

And it worked, for about forty seconds, and then he heard commotion coming from the kitchen and it brought him back to reality. Mira must have come in while he was talking with Leo.

And it seems that the spirit pissed him off enough for him not to realize she arrived while they were having their standoff.

But the smell of coffee and food cooking was undeniable.

"That sounds like one hell of a dream buddy! How about we go downstairs and see if Mira has a fish for you?" He asked as he stood up and his words made Happy jump into the air, white wings appearing in a flash as he made his way out the door while excitedly chanting 'Fish'.

Natsu was shaking his head and chuckling at the exceed's antics as moved to look back at Lucy.

Her skin didn't have its usual warm glow about it and he knew it would be cold to the touch. He didn't want to leave her here alone, but he also knew that if he didn't the whole guild would find their way into the room one way or another, or even worse, Erza would come to drag him out of it.

Violently.

Shuddering at the thought, Natsu spared a final glance at the sleeping blonde and resisted the urge to kiss her forehead before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

He could see from the balcony that Mira was behind the bar, with Happy sitting at one of the stools chatting away and munching on a fish.

With a deep breath, Natsu moved down the stairs "Morning Mira." He called as he pulled up on a stool - Lucy's stool - and sat at the bar.

"Good morning Natsu, did you manage to get some sleep?" The white-haired mage turned to smile warmly at him and he smiled back.

"Yeah, I, uh, took Wendy's advice and showered before passing out on the chair next to the bed." He ran a hand through his hair as he looked up to the second floor. "I think Luce would kill me if I stunk up the room." He scrunched his nose at the thought of her shrieking at him about proper hygiene.

"Good call." Mira said with a laugh as she put a plate of food in front of him.

It took him half a second to process that the food was for him (he hadn't ordered anything, but then again there was no one else but them here) and after that, it took about a half minute to process that she'd made his favorite breakfast.

And not the usual he would order nowadays. No, Mira had made him the breakfast he used to order as a kid, especially when he was sad and missing Igneel.

Natsu had almost forgotten about it. There was bacon and scrambled eggs slathered in Mira's special homemade hot sauce, a giant stack of pancakes topped with syrup, the same hot sauce, and a few bacon strips that made a smiley face on top of the stack.

There was a tug in his heart at the realization that Mirajane had remembered his favorite comfort breakfast after all these years when he forgot about it. But it shouldn't be that surprising if he thinks about it.

Mira had always been a big sister to not just her siblings, but everyone in the guild that was around their age. Even Erza, after they got over their rivalry.

And Natsu might not have always been as receptive to her sisterly love, but he always appreciated it.

Especially yesterday and at this moment.

He realized that both Mira and Happy were looking at him with weird and worried expressions and it took him a second to realize a few tears were streaming down his face.

Gods he was a mess.

"I.. thanks for the food, Mira. It's been a while since I had this. Though maybe you forgot about it." Natsu deflected his feelings once again. There was so much going on that he wasn't ready to delve into it right now.

The smile Mira offered him in return only made his heart clench. She's been a little weird since yesterday, and it made him wonder what happened to prompt this sudden shift.

Not that she hasn't always cared for him. Everyone in Fairy Tail is family. And the younger bunch basically grew up together so they were even closer.

But Natsu always put himself on the sideline. He was there and not at the same time. It wasn't till Lucy got to the guild that he really started spending proper time with them.

Not just the occasional brawl with some of the members *cough* Gray, or the more often scolding from the Master, Erza, or even Mirajane.

It was honestly a little weird for Natsu to think about a time before Lucy was in Fairy Tail.

"You're never around long enough for me to make you some. Always coming for lunch or dinner these days." She shrugged it off with a smile and pulled out a plate for herself.

Natsu shoved some of the eggs and bacon in his mouth, savoring the taste. "Well, I'm usually having breakfast at Luce's apartment when we're not out on jobs." He tells her through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, Lushii makes the best breakfast! She even made me fish pancakes." Happy added to their conversation with a nod.

"Well, I can't be mad if that's the case." Mira said as she started eating, and there was a gleam in her eyes that Natsu didn't like one bit.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

It took about an hour and a half for every guild member not currently out on a job to come in. That was probably some kind of record for them, but Natsu doesn't feel like mentioning it right now.

He doesn't feel like talking at all, really. The moment people started trickling in he felt a pit in his stomach, and it's been growing steadily since.

Wendy went to check on Lucy the moment she arrived, but Natsu didn't follow behind her. He wouldn't go back to the room until he talked to the guild.

If he went back up, he wasn't coming down till she was awake.

Now Natsu has never disliked being the center of people's attention, good or bad, but they say there's a first time for everything right?

And sitting on a bar stool as all eyes in the guild were trained on him made him feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"Now that everyone has arrived and settled, how about you tell us what the hell happened Natsu?" Erza prompted as she took a seat between Wendy and Gray at the front.

Most of the members were scattered around the tables in the room and all eyes were trained on him, with Mira and Happy sitting on either side of the bar, and Natsu was grateful for their support.

"Luce and I, we, went on a job to Sakuramori Village." He stopped as soon as he started, he didn't know what Mira and Wendy told them yesterday, but he was going to start from the beginning.

Seems like the best option.

"We were supposed to get this magical item that was displayed accidentally in a museum. But when we got there, the woman that was possessed, she's like the manager of the museum, when we talked to her she seemed unaware of our world." Natsu couldn't smell any magic on the woman that morning and wondered how or when the demon possessed her.

Leo said it's been weeks if not months, so why couldn't he smell the magic on her?

"We called Mira to double-check the job details, and while waiting for her to call us back, Luce wanted to see some of the exhibits." There was a slight quirk on his lips as he remembered how excited she was to look around the museum.

"That's when we saw the key." If it was possible to hate an inanimate object with a burning passion, Natsu was definitely succeeding.

He was kinda starting to hate the spirit attached to it too.

"It was a broken spirit key, just displayed there for all to see. Lucy recognized the constellation, and she could feel magic coming off of it so we came up with a plan to remove it from the museum. Mira helped us with a part of it." Natsu turned to glance at the white-haired mage for a second before continuing. "We managed to swap the key with a fake after the museum closed, and that's when everything started going downhill, I guess."

Natsu paused the story there for a second, taking a deep breath. "The key, it was- it had this pull on Lucy the moment she touched it." He could see several confused eyes looking at him as he said that and tried to explain it better.

"There was magic coming from the key, and it was pulling her somewhere, or more accurately, towards something. And we decided to follow it." He shook his head at the thought, there was nothing that could've stopped Lucy from following that damn key piece.

"We trekked through the forest for hours following it before coming into that clearing." The walking had felt endless, and Natsu wondered more than once if they were being led to a trap.

He was half right.

"There was a waterfall, with this rock right at the edge of it, and we found the second half of the key buried there beneath the earth in a gold box." He paused for a second to collect his thoughts before continuing, it was a wonder no one had interrupted him so far, but everyone seemed focused on his story.

"We were about to head back into town and get some sleep when I finally caught a whiff of two people coming our way." And that seemed to be what pushed Erza and a few others over the edge.

"Two people?" The redhead asked with other members backing her question.

"Yeah, I could smell what we assumed was a woman based on her perfume, and someone gravely injured and dying coming after us so we decided to stay in the clearing and wait them out instead of going back into the village and risking them following us."

Not to mention that the council won't fault them for destroying some trees, but buildings and memory-erase spells were a different thing entirely.

And when Fairy Tail is fighting, buildings are definitely going down.

"Lucy was having trouble with her spirits all day. None of them wanted to come out when she called for them and she was left with only her defensive shield spirit, so I took point, and when the Museum lady showed up it was easy to see she was possessed."

A shiver ran up Natsu's spine as he remembered the voice that addressed Lucy. "The demon knew who Lucy was and wanted her to hand the key over. I managed to knock her out and subdue her without much damage and then we were left waiting for the second person following us."

Natsu remembered the hobbling figure that approached them through the tree line looking like he could collapse at any moment.

"He appeared looking like death himself. Tattered clothes and half dead. He introduced himself as Loke and claimed that he was the one who sent the fake job to the guild hoping Lucy would come and find the key." The frown on Natsu's face deepened with the reminder of the Lion spirit, he had felt bad for the man at first.

"Loke seemed to know a lot of things, like which demon was possessing the Museum lady, and who Lucy was, said he heard a rumor of a spirit summoner in Fairy Tail and hoped they would come to collect the broken key so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands." He shook his head and wondered if it would've been better if they just left the key where it was.

The thought was gone as quickly as it appeared and Natsu shook his head for a moment, clearing his mind. He knew that Lucy could never, would never do such a thing and there was a pang in his chest for even thinking it.

"There was a lot of bullshit said, a lot of riddles and half-truths from the man. But Lucy was having none of it. And she got him to confess the truth pretty quickly. Loke was Leo." He paused for dramatic effect, but the blank stares he got in return made him realize he never mentioned what key they found in the Museum.

"Leo's key was the one that was broken, and the spirit had been cursed for killing his previous master." That caused gasps all around the guild, and he could hear several members mumbling to themselves.

"The actual story turned out to be somehow, worse." Natsu continued speaking, thinking about how it must've been for Lucy to learn the real reason behind her mother's illness and death. Even if it is a small part of it.

"How could it be worse?" Lisanna's voice carried through the crowd of mages.

"Because the mage in question was Lucy's mom." The words seemed to have stunned the guild into silence, which is a very hard thing to do, but Natsu didn't feel good about it.

He didn't feel good about any of this. It felt wrong. He shouldn't be telling them all of this, it wasn't his story to tell. It wasn't even Lucy's, but at least it was about her mother and their spirits.

Natsu resisted the urge to look up at the second floor, to the room where he knew the blonde was peacefully resting.

Unfortunately, he had no choice in the matter.

The shocked and sad looks from the Fairy Tail mages made his heart clench uncomfortably. "But it wasn't really like that. There was some kind of spell that needed to be cast, I don't really remember the details, and Lucy's mom had to cast it but, it was a forbidden spell."

The atmosphere was tense as he spoke those words, it had been tense since the first few members started coming in, but now everyone seemed on edge.

Forbidden spells were forbidden for good reasons.

"Leo helped her cast it, and if he hadn't Lucy's mom would have died on the spot. Instead, she got sick and died a few years later. But Leo's key was broken and he was left to slowly wither away and die."

There was sadness at the thought of Leo spending years slowly dying and blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault.

Natsu could relate to half of it.

"When Lucy heard the whole story, she was pretty pissed." He took a deep breath to help steady himself. "She was furious, screaming that it was unfair and wrong to punish Leo for that, demanded to know who made such a decision in the first place and she said she refused to let him die."

There was a barely noticeable shake to his voice as he continued the story, wanting to get through with it as quickly as possible.

"She, she started pooling her magic, unknowingly at first, I think. And it was like nothing I've ever seen or felt before. The power she radiated.." Natsu stopped for a moment and it was like he could feel the magnitude of it in the room.

And it was, but not in the room, it was under his skin. He could feel the gentle hum of her magic, it was a little stronger than when he woke up this morning and it gave him a little hope that Lucy would wake up soon.

Ignoring the new sensation and pushing those thoughts away, Natsu went back to talking. "All of her spirits appeared around her the more magic she channeled and she started concentrating her magic into the key, trying to fix it." The sight of it was almost too much for Natsu to watch.

It felt like staring into the sun.

"Leo was on his knees by that point, begging her to just let him die and I just stood there."

He felt like his feet were sunken into the soil and he couldn't move. Didn't know what he could do if he did. Lucy was determined to fix Leo's key and there was nothing that was going to stop her.

So he chose to support her instead.

"She managed to do it, there was a shockwave as the key mended together and I managed to catch her before she could fall, and she looked fine. A little tired maybe, but.. she was fine." The shakiness in his voice was more noticeable this time around, and Natsu didn't know if he was trying to convince them or himself.

"And then out of nowhere time literally stops, and this huge crack appears in the sky with a giant mustache man glaring at us." The words come out a little jumbled as he says them, knowing how insane it sounds, even to a group of mages.

"A giant mustache man?" Cana slurred the question slightly.

"A crack in the sky? Natsu are you sure you got enough sleep?" Macao asked that one with several members mumbling their agreements. "Did anyone check his head when they came in yesterday?" Wakaba provided that jab, and Natsu rolled his eyes at them.

"I slept just fine! And there is nothing wrong with my head." He glared at Gray who opened his mouth to comment, but Erza's elbow was in his ribs before he could get a word out.

"The King of the Spirits didn't like Lucy badmouthing and questioning his decision so he decided to come and talk to her." He snapped at them before anyone could say anything else, his fuse was short on a good day, and in these past two days, he has been rattled more than ever. It was a wonder he's managed to keep talking this long.

It was a good thing that they weren't interrupting him often.

"King? The spirits have a king?" Levy asked curiously.

"I guess yeah, and he was kind of pissed at first and then he said some stuff about how no one had managed to make a key since the first summoner and he let Leo stay with Lucy." The Spirit King turned out to be a cool dude, even with everything that happened, and this was more information they'd gotten about Lucy and her magic since she arrived at the guild.

"And I'm sure Luce can fill you in on all of it a lot better when she wakes up." He stopped for a second to catch his breath.

"Wow, so, Lucy's like, really powerful then? If she managed to do something that badass, and stand up to the King of the spirits." Happy chirped in for the first time since he started telling the story.

"Yeah bud, Luce is super powerful." Natsu said as he turned to pat Happy on the head, the exceed immediately leaning into his touch.

"So what happened next?" Gray asked, the ice mage had been surprisingly quiet the whole morning and the sound of his voice made the corner of Natsu's right eye twitch.

He took a steadying breath and forced himself to look back at the crowd and finish his tale. "It all happened so fast, but somehow it felt like I was in slow motion."

Natsu didn't know if his words made sense, that's how it felt. "One second everything was frozen and the next the crack in the sky was gone and the spirit king was nowhere to be seen. Before he left, he said something. He called me the son of Fire Dragon King Igneel."

The were several gasps and mummers around the guild at his words and Natsu decided to keep talking instead of giving them a chance to ask questions.

"I was shocked by everything that happened, and hearing him say that... I asked Leo what they knew about the dragons, and it wasn't even half a second." His breath hitched at the last word and he let his gaze fall to the floor, he couldn't look at them.

Not when he didn't know what his reaction would be to retelling them how Lucy almost died in his arms.

"Half a second and she was down. Collapsed right into my arms. I didn't even know what was happening. She was pale, so unnaturally pale. And I- I could barely feel her magic, it was fading so fucking fast." He stopped himself to catch his breath and without him noticing the movement, he felt Mira's hand cover his own shaky ones and give him a supportive squeeze.

"She was dying." He gasped out, not really crying, more like choking on his breath. Then image of Lucy pale in his arms made him feel cold.

"And, I- I didn't know what to do, so I just tried to give her my magic." He kept going, taking ragged breaths between sentences, not caring if they made sense.

It was a little cruel of them to make him do this. Not even 24 hours after it happened.

"I cradled her in my arms and willed my magic to work with her fading one and I don't know how long we were connected like that, but in the end, I could feel her magic and mine together helping her recharge."

The silence somehow enhanced the other sounds in the room and the refrigerators buzzing were almost making him dizzy for a moment. Natsu could tell half the guild was holding their breath at his words, while the other half seemed shocked and breathing heavily.

It was five seconds of silence before everyone exploded as if they all registered his words at the same time like some sort of hive mind.

"What do you mean she was dying? She's sleeping right upstairs? That shouldn't be possible!" Gray exclaimed as he jumped to stand, his shirt was lost sometime during his little retelling and now he was fumbling with his jeans.

"Gray! Your clothes!" Mira yelled at him and the ice mage scrambled to find his shirt, pants half unbuckled.

"You managed to jump-start her magic with yours?" Levy asked, sounding astonished at the mere thought of such a thing.

"I guess, I don't know what happened. It, it's..." Natsu stumbled over the words, not knowing how to explain that he knew it would work because he could somehow always feel Lucy near. Her presence, or magic, that he can tell when she's in danger.

It was weird. He knew that. And they haven't talked about it, so telling everyone without her felt wrong.

"I was desperate." Natsu settled on following Leo's steps and telling half-truths. He was desperate. "And I didn't know what else to do, I can't do healing magic. So I just, willed my magic to work the way I wanted it to." He finished with a half-shrug, gazing back to the floor.

"So, what does that mean exactly?" Erza asked.

"I feel like Wendy could explain that part better. She is the healer." He felt like he was throwing the young sky drakon under the bus in a way, but a glance at the girl told him that she was more than happy to help.

"I'm going to go upstairs." Natsu said in a final tone as he went to stand. There wasn't anything else that he could tell them that Wendy or even Mira couldn't.

And he was done talking.

His hands were still covered by Mira's and he turned to look at the white haired mage. She squeezed his hands before releasing them and offering him a small smile. "I'll bring you some food later." She whispered as he stood from the chair.

"You can't just drop a bomb like that on us and then leave." Gray yelled at him and Natsu turned to look back at his Nakama.

Maybe it was unfair, they are just as worried about Lucy as he is. But Natsu didn't care, he was drained and this conversation was over.

"There's nothing more I can tell you that Mira or Wendy don't know." He said as he made his way up the stairs. No one made any more comments his way and Natsu practically ran for Lucy's room.

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