—i like my body when it is with your / body : interlude

He found her in a dark time.

It was the first anniversary of his father's death and Natsu was falling apart. Wendy was taking it just as badly, but she was the kind of person who accepted sympathy and distraction from her friends and family.

Natsu preferred to grieve alone. And deeply.

When Igneel died, it was like the fire in Natsu's life had been extinguished. If it had been natural causes or even disease, Natsu might have accepted it more easily.

But it had been a drunk driver. It had been some ungrateful, idiotic woman who hadn't deserved to survive. But she had. And Igneel hadn't.

It wasn't fair.

The year following Igneel's death was a rough one for Natsu. Wendy cried openly and often, and their loved ones rallied around them, supportive and wonderful. Natsu did his best not to worry them too much, pasting on a meaningless smile and suppressing his rage and sorrow, but the timer on his emotions counted down steadily.

And then he broke.

He hadn't been producing good work for a while, unable to properly blow any glass when his concentration strayed every five minutes; he was falling behind on bills; Wendy was too afraid to say anything to him for fear it might set him off; even Happy avoided him. All of the burden on his heart brought him to his knees and on that first anniversary of his father's death, he fell to his knees and cried.

He cried intermittently for days. He left his room only when his stomach gnawed on itself in hunger or when the toilet called his name. He cried a year's worth of tears in a week. He was an utter wreck.

Everyone knew to stay away. They had been waiting for this, had known it would happen eventually, and they knew he needed to let out as much of his pain as he could before he would be receptive to their care.

When it was over, he felt empty. He finally opened his door and left it open. He scrubbed his face clean and picked up the pieces of his life, though he still had no way to glue them back together. He lived like a zombie for another week, going through the motions of a normal life.

Then, it happened. He was on his way to the Strauss Cafe for work as usual - both Mira and Lisanna had given up on getting him to talk, instead just offering kind smiles and free food - when a car, windows down, radio blasting, passed by. It stopped at the traffic light and Natsu could hear the song perfectly.

Some nights the stars draw your face through the dark
But I can't reach you there, you've run too far

It saved him.

The lyrics struck at his soul, jarring him back into reality because he understood them. They were his exact emotions, spelled out and set to a haunting melody.

He spent his entire shift repeating the words he had heard so he could look them up when he got home.

That was how he found Lucy.

Slowly but surely, her music became the glue in his life, the spark that lit up the embers once again. Her music healed him, and he fell in love.

His artistic inspiration came back in waves, not all at once, and so did his emotions. Her voice in his ears, he cried himself to sleep every night for a month after he first discovered her. But it was more cathartic than painful, and Natsu knew he was going to be okay.

His friends didn't even have to ask. As soon as the thought of social interaction didn't make him want to throw up, he shoved his phone into everyone's faces, demanding they listen to Lucy's music. She was still a rookie at the time, so she didn't have many songs yet, but he loved them all, listened to them on loop.

Wendy started listening to Lucy's songs as more of a way to reconnect with her brother than anything else, but she fell in love too, and soon they both fell asleep to her voice, smiling.

They both wanted, more than anything, the opportunity to thank Lucy for saving Natsu. They just never thought they'd get the chance.

On the seventh anniversary of Igneel's death, Natsu visited his father's grave, red poppies in hand, and found a woman singing and crying a few rows away. Her song was full of pain - and her voice was almost familiar. He didn't mean to talk to her, but his body moved on its own.

She was startled and, despite her puffy red eyes and runny rose, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

On a hunch, he asked her to sing, expecting her to deny him and wanting to kick himself for even suggesting it, but she actually agreed. She sang.

And he knew exactly who she was.

It was a miracle. Those didn't come lightly, he knew, and he wanted to kill himself when she ran away from him, thinking he'd just let the miracle of his life slip away.

But she found him. And he was determined to keep her, as long as she wanted to stay.

Wendy loved her, of course, and and Lucy loved her back immediately. It warmed his heart every time he saw his best girls together, sisters in every way that mattered.

He wasn't sure, had never had such strong romantic feelings before, but he was pretty sure he was in forever-love with Lucy by the fourth time they saw each other.

When they first kissed, he was gone. Hers, completely.

The only reason he didn't confess his undying love for her immediately, like his heart craved to do, was because he didn't know how she felt about him. She was clearly attracted to him, liked him to some extent, but he was sure she didn't love him like he did her. He didn't want to scare her away by declaring his love so quickly after they became friends, but he couldn't lie and tell her he simply liked her. He wasn't going to cheapen his feelings like that - but he was still too scared to ask hers.

So he didn't say anything. She didn't say anything. Life went on. And they were happy.

The aquarium date—even though Wendy was present, Natsu firmly considered it a date—was the first explicit demonstration of Lucy's rising popularity. He was so proud of her, and so honored that it was their song that launched her into stardom.

Finally, he thought, Lucy is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

There was only one more test she needed to pass to cement her home inside his heart forever.

They ran and ran from the aquarium, breathless and laughing, when they finally stopped, Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand, looked into her eyes, and said, "There's someone I want you to meet."

He made eye contact with Wendy, who nodded in understanding.

He led them all to his and Wendy's apartment. He could tell Lucy was nervous, and he was too, but he knew Happy would love her.

She stepped inside and two cats, one blue-gray, one pure white, sauntered to the door, meowing loudly. They froze at the sight of Lucy.

Happy moved first, as Natsu knew he would. He approached Lucy cautiously, sniffing around her ankles. She bent down slowly and offered her hand. He eyed it suspiciously, then sniffed it and nuzzled into her palm, purring.

Charle strode past her indifferently, leaping into Wendy's arms.

"Don't worry, she only likes Wendy," Natsu reassured Lucy when she looked troubled.

Wendy apologized as well before excusing herself to her room.

Lucy smiled and rubbed Happy's head, laughing when he jumped onto her bent knees and found a home around her neck. She looked up at Natsu with a giddy smile and his heart thudded with a strange certainty.

"Lucy," he said.

"Natsu," she answered, laughing, and it was everything.

She stood and fell into him, Happy still curled lazily across her shoulders, and he was home.

notes: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA JK I WROTE IT

i commute between home and school every day and it's an hour each way so i ended up typing this chapter up on my phone. it was meant to be shorter anyway. here's a little insight into natsu! there was supposed to be more, but i couldn't fit it with all the back story. next chapter for real won't be written for a while, cuz i have a little rearranging to do now, plotwise, haha.

as always, enjoy and notify me of any errors you see! :D

© Copyright 2016 by The Siege