When the Sun Doesn't Shine

WARNING: This does contain spoilers for the Fairy Tail movie! Continue at own risk!

Natsu had been described as many things throughout his life. He had been described as dense, hot headed, destructive, oblivious, loyal to a fault, friendly, uplifting. And he didn't deny that he was all of them on any given day.

Many people who knew him knew how much he loved his nakama, how much he put them above himself more often than not. It was why he was such a beloved friend and why he loved his friends with everything he had. But what people often realized soon after they met him was that, while he did love his nakama with his whole heart, he put a few of them above the others. Happy, Erza, Gray. They ranked at the top of his 'would die for' list. But who was at the very top of that list was Lucy Heartfilia.

It was obvious to everyone that saw them together just how much Natsu adored her, just how quickly he put her before himself, how fiercely he protected her. Since the day Natsu had met Lucy, he had decided that she was his just as much as he was hers. He promised himself he would be there for her, for every battle, every argument, every moment of happiness. Through all of it, he would be by her side.

He knew how to patch her up after a messy fight. He knew how to wipe her tears from her cheeks. He knew how to get a smile on her face when she was down. He knew how to annoy her, how to piss her off.

But what he didn't know how to do was pick up the pieces of her heart that the death of Éclair had left behind. The sound of her voice, so soft, so broken had hurt his heart and he had never felt more helpless. Her questions (Is magic good or evil?) it wasn't one that Natsu was sure he could answer. And so, he said what he knew. That Éclair had loved her, had been at peace, happy. But none of it seemed to truly work. And so Natsu was at a loss.

He knew not the hover, knew it would cause her to lash out. Lucy was a fiercely private person and the fact that she cried openly in front of him spoke to just how devastated she had been. She often hid her pain, her confusion behind sad eyes and a ghost of a smile but refused to talk about it. Natsu had never been good with words, he was better with action. As a result, he helped her the only way he truly knew how. He simply stayed by her side. He distracted her when he could, sat through the tense silences and bore the brunt of her tearful anger.

And so, when in the middle of another attempt to distract her with a ridiculous fight with Gajeel, he saw her smile. Her smile was like the sun finally coming out after a long rainy day. It wasn't a mockery her attempts had been up to that point. No, this smile was real, it was as happy as he had seen since that horrible night. And it was the sight of that smile and the smell of her without the oppressive presence of her grief, that truly made him happy.

Natsu would do anything for his nakama, that was true. But he would move Heaven and Earthland for Lucy to always have that smile on her face. Because that smile…it made it all worth it. It made everything okay.

(AN: Okay, let me start off by saying I was not at all prepared for just how sad this movie was. I knew some of the things that would happen, but no one prepared me for just how heartbreaking the whole thing was! I was not warned and I'm not sure I will ever be the same! But while I was thinking 'what the hell did I get myself into?' I was also freaking out at all the Nalu moments. I mean, come on! It was everywhere! And so in a desperate attempt at trying to deal with the repercussions of watching the movie, I had to write this. Because, let's be real, as soon as I saw that moment during the ending credits where Natsu just looks at Lucy while she's laughing, I couldn't stop myself! I really hope you guys enjoyed this and if you haven't seen the movie, do it immediately, it is fantastic! I adore you all)

Jane