"Natsu..." Lucy gasped when he wouldn't cease kissing her. "Come on, Natsu, we've got work to do."

Natsu whined. "Aww, I'd rather stay in bed all day."

Lucy chuckled. "You'd always rather stay in bed."

Natsu groaned when Lucy finally pulled herself away from him, determined not to fall under the spell of his kisses again. He stared after her from the bed as she moved to her closet and pulled out a polka-dotted dress. Lucy flushed under the gaze of his dark eyes.

"Stop staring at me!" she cried, hesitant to pull off her nightgown to get dressed.

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before," he grinned, laughing when her face burned redder.

"Well- it's different when we're in the middle of- It's more embarrassing when I'm just getting dressed!"

"Fine, fine," he responded, turning over in the bed and burying his face in the blankets. "But I like seeing you, Luce!"

Not as much as I like seeing you. Lucy felt her blush grow but something familiar tingle warmly in her stomach as the stray thought came along with the sight of Natsu's only-boxer-clad behind.

Lucy quickly loosened her nightgown, knowing her boyfriend wouldn't stay still for long.

She hummed as she pulled her dress over her head. It felt so cheap to think of Natsu as her boyfriend. They'd been dating for five years, they bought a house together... They might as well be married. She had to wonder why Natsu hadn't just proposed to her already. She would certainly say 'yes'. She probably would've told him yes even two years ago! She wanted to be his wife, she wanted to have a beautiful wedding with a gorgeous gown and all their friends and family. And then they could even start a family of their own!

So why hadn't he proposed yet!?

It made her a little frustrated.

She finished tieing the bow at her waist as she called for Natsu to get out of bed again.

"Come on, we still haven't finished unpacking all our stuff!" she told him while he groaned and climbed out of bed. Really, they'd lived here a week and the small house was still filled with boxes!

Natsu surprised her as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, leaning his head against her shoulder. He seemed... Tense, for some reason.

"Natsu, are you okay?"

"Yeah, 'm fine," he mumbled. "I just can't believe how much time I've gotten to spend with you," he laughed almost painfully.

"We're in love, most people in love spend time together," she replied, confused. Natsu just nodded before letting her go and spinning her around with one hand. He had a bright grin on his face, leaving Lucy to wonder if his melancholy from moments before had just been something she imagined.

Natsu kissed her forehead before moving away to pull some pants on, tripping over his feet as he did so.

"Come on, you dope," Lucy laughed. "Let's go make breakfast."

"Pancakes!" he eagerly shouted.

"That sounds good, let's do it!" she replied with a pump of her fist.

"Yesss!" Natsu yelled excitedly, grabbing her hand and yanking her to their kitchen, still filled with boxes while they were in the process of moving in.

Lucy opened up one of said boxes. "Do you remember where we packed the frying pan?" she asked, rifling through the contents.

"Uh... Nope."

Lucy snorted and started to pull various other dishes out. "Well I guess now's as good a time as any to get the rest of these boxes put awa-"

"Never mind, I found it!" he shouted, taking the frying pan out of the box he'd just opened. "I guess we don't have to unpack yet after all!"

Lucy crossed her arms in front of her. "We've still gotta put them away! You've gotten me to put it off for too long, Natsu! I'm sick of the boxes!"

Natsu snickered. "Hey, we had to christen the house!"

The girl flushed brightly again. "I- we didn't do it that much!"

He yanked her into him and kissed her. "Yet," he responded after pulling away, voice purposefully husky and eyes full of humor at just how easy it could be to embarrass Lucy.

Lucy's eyes were wide and lips slightly open and puckered after being surprised by his kiss. "I-" she snapped out of her stupor and stomped away from him. "Do you want pancakes or not, Mister!?" she squeaked.

Natsu laughed. "Of course I do!"

She poked his nose. "Then go get the milk off the stoop!"

He kissed her cheek before leaving to do just that.

Lucy sighed dreamily as she got the other ingredients out of the cupboards and ice box. Maybe they weren't married, but he certainly made her happy. Every kiss he gave made her feel warm and elated, even after so many years of receiving them.

"Ooh, we've still got chocolate chips!?" Natsu observed when he set the milk bottles next to the flour.

"We d- that's not an invitation for you to eat them!" Lucy scolded, seeing him pour a handful of the chocolate in his mouth.

Natsu just gave that stupid, charming grin again.

"Give me those before you eat them all," she told him with a laugh, and he complied. Lucy started mixing the ingredients together while Natsu wrapped his arms around her midsection and laid on her shoulder again.

Lucy adored his affection, but... "Natsu, you're making it hard to stir."

"C'mon, lemme hug you," he pouted.

Lucy chuckled and nuzzled against him. "I love you," she reminded him.

Natsu smiled. "I love you, too."

And while Lucy was looking at him with a smile, Natsu was dipping a finger in the pancake batter and sticking it in his mouth.

"Natsu, wait for me to cook it!"

He just snickered again, then took the bowl from her, moving to the stove. "I'll cook them, you just go sit down, okay?"

Lucy pressed a kiss to his cheek in thanks. "I'll go check the mail."

Natsu squeezed her hand before she went out the door. Lucy sighed in content happiness again as she crossed their new front lawn that was in desperate need of some grass seed, to the mailbox. Standing at the curb of the often-quiet road as she opened the mailbox, Lucy rifled through the contents.

Several bills already (we just moved in!), a flyer for a community event at the park (hmm, looks like it could be fun! I should tell Natsu...), and a letter from her mother (I wonder if she's still worried about me living with a man out of wedlock. Probably, but I suppose I can't blame her.)

Lucy slit open the envelope and smiled as she read her mother's words. The older woman had brought up concerns of Natsu and Lucy not being married, but it was less about the house and more that she wanted to have grandkids to spoil. She also brought up that they missed Lucy, out of their home for the first time, and off on the other side of town in a new house.

Lucy would have to remember to visit them soon. She missed them, too, as excited as she was to live with Natsu. Maybe she could ask Mama for advice on how to get Natsu to propose!

The squealing of tires interrupted her thoughts.

Lucy looked up to see a car careening wildly down the road.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, pain was blooming through her.

A split-second moment of clarity told her she was now on the ground and there was far too much blood around her. She heard Natsu screaming her name and his feet stomping as he ran across the lawn.

And then there was only darkness.

oOo

Lucy darted up in her bed. She ran to the bathroom, throwing up into the toilet as tears started streaming down her cheeks.

It had been just over three months since Natsu had told her everything.

"Lucy, what's wrong!?" Natsu shouted in concern as he ran in after her, the noise and sudden loss of her in their bed startling him out of sleep.

"I-" Lucy choked on her tears and coughed into the bowl. "It was-" She groaned in pain as her stomach lurched again.

Natsu leaned down and pulled her into his arms. "Calm down, Luce. You need to calm down."

Heeding his words, Lucy sobbed against his chest until she was sensible enough to talk. Her tears lasted for several minutes, and even once the last one was soaked into his skin, she still couldn't talk. She couldn't put words to what happened.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" he asked firmly.

"I... My..." Lucy gulped, "Car."

Natsu's eyes widened as the dots in his head connected.

"You died in the fifties?"

Lucy nodded against his chest.

Natsu combed his fingers through her hair to soothe her.

"He was drunk," Natsu explained. "One of our neighbors. Apparently he and his wife fought the night before and he'd run off to drink twice his weight in booze. He was trying to get back home when it happened." Lucy noted how much Natsu was shaking.

"I- didn't realize I was dreaming-" Lucy let out another sob. "It started when we were waking up. I was just there and we were so happy."

"We were," Natsu replied. "Like I said, it was the longest we'd been together since your first life."

"What happened- after?"

Natsu sighed longly. "The only reason I stuck around for as long as I did was because of your family. I figured I owed it to them to let them yell at me after I broke their trust and let you die."

Lucy didn't say anything.

"Your dad was pissed off. He screamed at me for what felt like hours about how I'd 'stolen his little girl'. Told me it was my fault you were dead. Refused to let me go to the funeral."

"He didn't let you go to my funeral!?

Natsu shook his head. "I almost went anyways, but I ran off before they had it. Just couldn't deal with everything, you know the drill with me."

"Oh, if he were still alive, I'd give him a piece of my-" a small laugh from Natsu interrupted her rant. "...How did my mother react?"

"She didn't blame me. Didn't yell at me like your dad did. I wanted her to. I felt terrible that you'd died even with me right there again. But she just hugged me. Insisted I couldn't blame myself."

"And you shouldn't," Lucy told him softly before another sob hitched in her throat and she was crying again. "The first thing I remember and it's my death..." Lucy cried, lightly hitting his chest in frustration.

Natsu kissed the top of her head while rubbing her back. "It's okay, Luce. At least you're getting them back! There are other, happier memories that might return before too long, right?"

Lucy nodded, but didn't say anything.