If Only I Lived In Dragon Years

Dedicated to my Nana. I wish I took the time to learn about all the adventures you had in your life.

Ping!

The sound of the timer summoned Lucy into the present. All morning she had been caught up in her memories, although it could be considered normal at this time of the year. With this in mind, she mentally told herself to concentrate on the task at hand and moved on to the kitchen. Shuffling slowly to the oven, she could smell the treat that had been baking for the past hour. Breaking into a trance, Lucy opened the oven and let the scent and heat hit her full in the face, knowing it would take her to a better place.

"Is it ready yet?"

"Have some patience, will you! It still has to cool down."

"Hot things are the best though, Luce. C'mon let me have a taste!"

Knowing she was going to give in one way or another, Lucy tossed the cake tin onto the table. She would have offered the dragon slayer some oven mitts, but he would just stare at her in confusion like last time. After all, it should be obvious that he couldn't be burnt by something as weak as a cake tin.

Natsu grabbed the hot metal and turned it over, watching the cake slide out and flop onto the table with obvious satisfaction on his face. Not even a moment later, he had dug his hand into the side and grabbed a handful. Before Lucy could scold him, he had shoved it in his mouth and was munching aloud in approval.

"This is the best, Luce! I think it's my favourite. cake. ever."

"You're supposed to wait till it cools down, idiot. Then we frost it, cut it up and eat it with dinnerware like normal human beings." Although she was trying to scold him, her lips had grown to a soft smile at his enjoyment.

"Nah, it's better without frosting. I like it straight from the oven, no mucking about." He looked up at her with a wide smile, not noticing the crumbs over his face and shirt.

Sitting down at the table beside him, Lucy picked at a small corner of the cake and popped it in her mouth. From that day on, she would only make cakes one way – Natsu's way.

Placing the hot cake tin in her basket, Lucy slowly made her way to the door. Shuffling through her lounge room, she maneuvered around the many books lying on the tables, chairs and floor. Most bore her name, proof of her success as an author in the adventure romance genre. Her stories were mostly fiction however, as she liked to keep her most exciting stories to herself, ensuring they were a secret from the world. Making her way to the doorway, her keys shook in her hands. She steadied herself on the doorframe, looking up to see a large chunk of wood missing where her hand had found a place to rest.

"C'mon Happy! Let's go!"

"Aye, sir!"

Sprinting through the house like it was about to fall around him, Natsu headed towards the front door that leads to the main street. Happy followed, like always, flying through the air with a sheet of paper in his paws. It had their latest mission printed on it – a simple job to get a group of bandits out of a small town. Natsu insisted they leave immediately, wanting to get into a fight as soon as possible, which had led to the boyish excitement filling the whole house.

"Wait!"

Natsu grabbed the doorframe to stop himself, skidding to a halt with a crunch of the wood beneath his hand. Staring down at the chunk of wood now in his palm, he quickly considered what he could do to hide the damage. Happy flew out the door past him, shouting something about being the victor as he glided up and down the street.

"Are you both going on your own?"

"Aren't you coming with us?" he replied, wondering why the girl hadn't changed her outfit like she always insisted she had to do before they went out.

"You didn't ask me…"

"Luce," Natsu drawled as he walked over to her, "We're partners. Where I go, you go. Where you go, I complain and also go. It's a life long adventure now, I promise."

Lucy giggled at her partner's attitude as he brought his hands down on her shoulders in a sign of comfort. Only when she yelped in pain did Natsu remember that he still had the wood in his hand. He held it up guiltily, and forced a smile on his face, hoping he could charm her to not be so angry. She squinted her eyes into a murderous glare, pushed him aside and walked out the door, only to shout over her shoulder.

"You're going to fix that one day!"

Pulling the key from the lock, Lucy placed them in her basket and gradually made her way down the main street. Her destination was clear in her mind, but she still took the time to look around. The canal she used to balance on was still there, only there were no more men telling her to be careful. She didn't need their warning, as it had been many years since she had balanced on the edge in a carefree way. She had lost that desire a long time ago, and since then the water had dried up, signifying her joy also drying up to nothing.

Reaching the park, Lucy knew she was at the edge of the city. Keeping her head low, she hoped no one would recognize her. Reaching the dirt path that led out of the city, she only allowed herself a moment to look back at the cherry blossom tree, which had brought her so much joy once upon a time.

"Please Natsu, can't we sit on the grass like normal people? We can blend in!"

"Luuucccyyyyyyy, the views so much better up here! Trust me..."

Lucy stood at the base of the tree with her arms crossed against her chest, a scowl etched deep into her face. He would of given in and sat on the grass if she didn't look so adorable.

Leaning down from his makeshift seat on a high branch, he held out his hand to her. Accepting his offer, she took his hand, though only after she made sure he saw her roll her eyes.

"Do you want to see Theatre in the Park show this year or not?" he chuckled, taking pleasure in her pretend annoyance at him. Pulling her up, he was careful where to place his hands on her body as he helped her reposition herself on the branch. He'd gotten slapped before when he was helping her up a steep rocky mountain and had accidently let his hands go a tad higher then her waist. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

"Of course I do! I just wish you paid for a ticket and we didn't have to hide in a tree the whole night."

"Then it wouldn't be a date to remember."

She nearly choked as she sat down beside him, her face turning bright red as she tried to make herself more comfortable.

"This isn't a date!"

"Oh," he looked down at his hands in embarrassment. "I told Mira I was taking you out tonight and she called it a date…"

"Natsu, do you even know what a date means?" Lucy scoffed, also too embarrassed to meet his eyes, and instead looked at her feet swinging in the air.

"Well, yeah…"

"And you… don't mind?"

"No…" he stared at her and waited for her to look at him, continuing on when he knew she would be able to see the sincerity in his eyes. "I wouldn't want to go on a date with anyone but you."

Lucy suddenly decided that looking at her feet was a much safer option. They didn't have dark eyes that seemed to look right through her, and a smile that made her all mushy and brain dead.

"I- I don't mind" she stuttered.

He looked at her with confusion. Had she finally accepted the branch seat? Or did she mean-

"I only want to go on a date, with you… I mean, if you mean it and-"

Her thoughts came to a halt as his warm hand wrapped around hers.

"I mean it… Now c'mon the show is about to start."

Lucy was glad for the interruption, not even bothering to hide her glee as he pulled her closer and wrapped an arm around her waist. She didn't remember what the show was about that year, but she knew it was the best date she had ever been on - even if it was in a tree.

Continuing down the dirt path, Lucy knew she would come to a river soon. There was a small bridge, although it wasn't necessary anymore. The water had also dried up years ago, as the water was pumped to the larger cities where most of the population now resided, allowing most people to walk right through the gully.

Lucy ran her hand along the tree trunks as she walked, ignoring the pain in her knees. When she came to the dried up river, she had to place her basket down and catch her breath. She was earlier than usual, so she would allow herself a few minutes rest. Slowly getting down onto her knees, she lent over and fell onto her backside. She would think about the difficulty of getting up when she had to, but for now, she could dwell on her memories of the once present river.

"Pull it in! You gotta fight it!"

"I'm trying!"

"Harder!"

"Help me then!"

Natsu took the invitation and wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist from behind, placing his hands over hers. In one fluid motion, he picked her up and took three steps back. Lucy squealed in surprise as a fish broke the surface of the water and tried to break free of the trap.

"Natsu, it's going to get away!"

The rose haired teen placed the golden hair teen back on the ground and let go of her, running down to the waterside and shouting instructions as he stepped into the muddy river.

"Pull it in, Luce! I'll unhook it here!"

"Okay!"

Taking a moment to pretend his arms were still around her, Lucy closed her eyes and pulled the chipped fishing rod higher into the air, taking another two steps back. Only when she heard the boy cheer did she know she had successfully caught her first fish. She threw the rod to the ground and ran to be by his side.

"Natsu! He's tiny!"

Natsu snorted in laughter as he held the fish into the air.

"Gheesh, to think your first fish would be a guppy…"

"It's not a guppy!" Lucy pouted, crossing her arms across her chest. Her pout broke when she took in the sight of the 'almighty dragon slayer' holding a fish smaller than his hand in the air with a look of mock concentration, causing her to break into laughter as well. "Do you think Happy will even want it?"

"Hmm," Natsu continued pretending to be inspecting the fish very closely, with one hand on his chin. "Happy does enjoy a hearty meal… Yeah, this thing has got no chance."

"Oh stop it," Lucy scoffed, leaning over to grab her proof of success from the boy's hands.

Suddenly, the fish started squirming, flicking water onto their faces.

"Ahh, Natsu, it's still alive!"

Natsu brought the fish closer to her face, taking delight in her squeals of 'gross' and 'get that thing away from me!'

"Of course it is," he explained carefully. "And you know, since he's so small, it's tradition to kiss it before throwing it back."

"There is no way I am kissing that thing!" she retorted, stepping away from him with her hands up as a shield between them.

"Aww, c'mon Luce, just one kiss!" he begged, as he brought the fish closer to her.

"Not gonna happen. No Natsu, no- stop- AHH!" Lucy took off running, but it only took a few short seconds before the dragon slayer had caught up to her, tackling her to the ground, fish still in hand.

"I'm not kissing it!" she announced, flailing her hands in front of her face. "Just get it away from me!"

Natsu grabbed one of her flailing wrists and pinned it to the ground above her head. He leaned closer to her face and pleaded in a soft voice.

"But he'd be so lucky getting a kiss from you…"

Looking into his eyes, Lucy felt a moment of weakness coming. Sneaking a look at the fish, she decided that it wouldn't be that bad. She could always wash her face 10 times in the shower later that night. At least Natsu couldn't tease her about not keeping to tradition. She would show him.

"Okay, but make it fast."

She closed her eyes tight, knowing she would back out of it if she saw its scaly face coming closer to hers. Counting aloud in her head, she waited for the cold, wet kiss that was sure to come.

Unexpectedly, something met her lips. It wasn't cold and wet like she had expected, but warm and soft. Peeking through her eyelashes, she saw that it was Natsu's lips pressing against hers. Although this surprised her, she was more surprised that she was in fact reciprocating the kiss and wanting more.

She moved her free arm and knotted her fingers in his hair, causing a growl from the back of his throat. The kisses suddenly grew deeper and more impatient, gaining desperation with each passing moment. Lucy really hadn't thought about how far she would go - especially in the middle of a forest. Was she that sort of girl? Suddenly, the pressure on her lips was gone and her eyes met with Natsu's flushed face, his eyes alive with excitement. He got up from the ground, picking the fish up and throwing it into the river before offering his hand to help Lucy up.

Only when they were walking back to the fishing rod did she hear him mutter something about a lucky fish under his breath.

Tearing her eyes away from the dirt river, Lucy decided that it was time to move on. She rolled her body so she was on all fours, and used the basket to hold onto as she pushed herself onto her feet. She ignored the cracking of her knees, back and hands as she stood up. There was no point in focussing on the pain. It would only slow her down and today was a day where she would not be slowed down.

Shuffling once more along the path, Lucy decided to take the small bridge across the river. She might fall if she went in the gully, and she didn't want to risk being unable to get up.

Following the path deeper into the forest, she came across a familiar brick home. She wiped the tears that were trying to escape, deciding to take a moment to look in. The small sign was gone, being overtaken by vines long ago. The door was stiff, but Lucy was determined and would not be beaten by a door that hadn't been used in a year. Using her shoulder as a barge, she pushed it open. Dust filled the room and her lungs, causing a coughing fit. Only when it settled could she look around and see the contents of the time capsule, which was once considered a home. In the main room, there was a hammock tied in the corner. The colour was unrecognizable, and all she could make out was the layer of mould, which had overtaken it. Supressing a giggle, Lucy wondered how many nights Natsu actually slept alone there. If she weren't there with him, he would be at her home, waiting for her in bed to scare her.

Scanning the room once more, she saw the wall was covered with completed mission and their descriptions. They were faded and unreadable, but she knew each of them were a separate memory. Her maid outfit was also still intact on a mannequin, but with many large holes where many small creatures had decided it was fit to be dinner.

Overall, the home was still recognizable as the hideaway where she spent many nights in her youth. Many times she had only been there to clean it and make it suitable for human life, but other times they had been there alone and completed other 'dangerous' missions together. Happy never quite understood why he was told to go to Wendy's those nights. She would of apologised to Happy, but the conversation would of gone down a route she really didn't want to visit. Sighing, Lucy leant against the doorframe and closed her eyes.

"Natsu, I have to go."

"Just one more."

"Natsu, I have. To. Go."

"Just. One. More."

"For goodness sake Natsu, I have-"

Silenced by his lips, Lucy had no choice but to give him exactly what he wanted. Her mind grew foggy, and her legs began to return to their jelly state when he finally let her breath again. Her head was screaming 'STAY!' but she knew she had to go home. Thinking of all the chores that would be waiting for her when she got home, Natsu stopped her thought process dead in its tracks.

"I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you."

Shocked at his choice of words, Lucy questioned him with her gaze.

"You mean, like marriage?"

"What? No, that's not it!"

Lucy's heart fell to the bottom of her stomach. She should of known it was too good to be true. Since when had Natsu ever been the 'textbook romance' kind of guy? He probably thought raising a few kids in a tree house was the ideal future.

"Igneel told me that when you found your life mate, you'd never want to live without them." Running his finger slowly across her palm, Lucy watched the boy bury his blushing cheeks into his scarf. "And I know for certain you're my life mate."

"Oh Natsu," Lucy whispered, "I love you."

"Hey?"

"Love, silly. Not wanting to be without someone for the rest of your life? In the romantic world, we call that love."

"Oh," he mumbled, "Well, I love you Luce."

"And I love you too, Natsu."

Natsu yet again stole another kiss, before Lucy walked into the darkness towards her own abode, with her heart overflowing with happiness.

Pulling the door shut behind her, she suddenly felt a pain in her chest and through her left arm. The basket was getting heavier, but she knew she would be at her destination soon. Making her way through the forest, she continued on the path until she got to a grassy clearing. The pain in her chest became more pronounced, and her head began to spin. Knowing she had made it to the right place, she sat on the ground and waited for her to catch her breath and for her head to stop spinning.

The grass felt itchy beneath her pale skin as she lay down. Closing her eyes and concentrating on her breathing, she remembered another time she had been in this same clearing.

"No!" she screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. "You can't leave! You promised a life long adventure! You promised!"

The bitter tone hung in the air, as Gray held a thrashing Lucy around the waist.

"Let go of me you stupid ice maker! And get back to the damn spirit world!"

Loke ignored the words as he appeared, holding her arms so Gray could dodge her fists and let go of her waist. He grabbed on to her other arm firmly to support Loke, where he would be less likely to receive a fist to the head. As she wriggled and squirmed against their grasp, tears began flowing down her cheeks.

Everyone in Fairy Tail was gathered in the grassy clearing, to farewell one of their own. Erza stood beside Master Makarov, begging for another way. Gajeel held Levy, who cried into his chest. Wendy held a wailing Happy as he sobbed in her arms, with disbelief staining her face. Even the members who didn't seem that close to him were in pain, staring at the ground in obvious defeat. None of them wanted to be there, but they had all accepted in their mind that there was no other way. All except one.

"Please don't go! I need you… I need… you… Natsu…"

Giving into the pain that flooded through her body, she fell to her knees. If she curled into a ball, the pain would stop, right? Suddenly realising that there was no longer any pressure on her arms, she curled up, before looking up into his eyes where she would beg for him to reconsider.

He stared back at her with discernible pain in his eyes. He didn't know what he could do. This seemed to be his fate, and there was no way he could change it now. Maybe things would have been different if he hadn't been the one to defeat Acnologia. But as he had been the one to deal the final blow, the large amount of magical energy in the air had transferred to the next strongest body. Maybe if he hadn't been so strong. Maybe if he stayed at the guild more often and didn't go on so many missions, things would be different.

He looked to his Master, unable to decide for himself what he should do next. Makarov only nodded, indicating that his time was up.

Allowing himself one last look, he saw Lucy, still weeping on the ground. Her facade was red and blotchy, her hair a mess and tears saturated her face. Still, she was the most beautiful girl he had and would ever see.

Turning around slowly, he began walking away from his family with slow and heavy steps, only stopping when he heard her whisper past her tears.

"I'll always love you, Natsu…"

Part of him wanted to run back to her. Hold her close and wipe away all her tears. Another part, however, knew that he could only bring her pain and had to let her live her life.

With this in his mind, he spread his wings far from his body and brought them down against his back, taking off into the air.

Only when he was flying above the clouds did he let the tears escape. The hope of a future with Lucy was gone, but she would be all he would think about for the rest of his days. Letting out a roar of agony, he beat his wings harder, hoping to escape the pain that would now encapsulate his entire being.

"Why does he have to go?" Levy whispered, "If we hid him he could stay close to all his friends, right?"

"If he stays in one place, he will be too easy to find. People won't give up until he's dead," replied Gajeel, his voice soft but strong. Even he would miss the annoying dragon slayer, who was like a brother to him in so many ways.

"But he's not bad! He would never hurt anyone!"

"People think he's become Acnologia the second or some crap. They'll never listen. It's all right though; he'll still be around… We just won't see him anymore."

Everyone began to slowly leave the clearing. Gray and Erza stood beside her, waiting for their broken friend to get up from the ground. Only when the sun disappeared did they leave her alone, allowing her to cry by herself, until the sun rose the next morning.

She opened her eyes. The sky was clear and blue, just like that day 60 years ago. It was easily the worst day of her life.

Somehow, she had made it through the following year, although many people wouldn't of though she existed at that time. The days were painful and the nights went on forever.

Happy lived with her for a few months, and they would cry themselves to sleep together. Only when Happy allowed himself to grow closer with Charla, did he leave her to move in with Wendy and the white exceed. Every few weeks Lucy would find a fish on her doorstep – the silent promised assuring her that Happy was still thinking of her, even after all this time.

She somehow learnt to survive on her own. For many years, she used Cana for inspiration of her secret habit. Drinking straight from the bottle, she would look around her living room at the photos lining the wall. Some were involuntary couple shots, evidence that Mira got hold of the camera and forced the reluctant pair to hold each other around the waist and smile (it was a lot easier than going head to head with the She Devil). Others showed the dragon slayer as Lucy liked to remember him, with his grin taking up three quarters of the frame and herself of Happy in the background, trying to steal the camera from his hands. Sometimes she would even read the love letters he wrote her. Granted, they were very simple and there were only two in existence - but a small barren part of her heart still warmed up when she read them. She kept them in the back of photo frame beside her bed, which held a picture of his smiling face. When she felt lonely enough, they seemed like their secret conversations to each other, which could somehow ignore the thousands of miles between them. During those late night talks, she would pray to God in hopes that her true love could actually hear her.

The pain would fall like rain from her eyes, as she was finally drunk enough to let go of her pride.

She would never let anyone see her in that state, as she thought being strong meant never losing her self control, or her mask, as she liked to think of it. People had begun to stop asking her how she was going when she forced a smile on her face. They turned to asking about her day, and her pursuit of writing novels instead of him, and how she was coping with the loss. Part of her wanted to scream at them, tell them that they shouldn't live life so happily. The other larger part knew she should just grin and bear it.

Lucy was suddenly brought forth from her depressing thoughts when a gust of wind caused her hair to whip across her face. Tracing her fingers across her face to deter the stray hair, the green grass suddenly became concealed by shadows. Fright paralysed her body for a moment, until she realised who it could be that was causing the darkness. Looking up into the sky, Lucy's face broke into a smile at the sight of the large creature about to land next to her. A roar echoed throughout the land as the creature greeted her for the first time in a year. Euphoric wasn't even a good enough term for what she was feeling, which had been the same every time, since the first time she found him again.

The ground shook as its large claws and feet landed beside her, with Lucy finding herself squeezing her eyes shut from the impact. Only when the ground stopped shaking and the impromptu tornado ceased, did she look back at her soul mate in the form of a large, crimson dragon.

"Natsu!" she shouted, as she got onto her knees and began shuffling over to his side. Her head felt dizzy and light, but she ignored it, putting it down to excitement or simply getting up too fast. When she wrapped her near transparent arms around one of his front legs, she felt at peace for the first time since he flew away from her last year. Feeling his warm scales against her cheek almost completely wiped away the year of loneliness she had endured, but a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that this would only last for a day.

Breaking apart from the one sided embrace, Lucy stared into his eyes for the first time in a year.

Natsu returned her gaze with his large green eyes and barred his yellow teeth into what could only be explained at a dragons attempt at the boy's signature grin. It seemed like some things never changed, not even after 60 years.

Before filling the air with questions, Lucy turned her attention to her basket and the gift inside. As if expecting it, Natsu licked his lips in anticipation. Surviving off the land wasn't exactly the tastiest option, so any chance to enjoy the woman's cooking was worth celebration. When she turned the tin upside down, he salivated to the sound of the cake flopping to the ground. Only when she removed the tin did he devour it in one gulp, causing a fit of giggles to escape Lucy – further proof that some things just don't change.

With the welcoming gift now resting happily inside Natsu's stomach, the dragon nudged the older woman with his nose. She had learned to read his behaviour the first time they had met again after his departure from the guild, and his nudging after cake signalled that he wanted to hear all about her past year's adventures.

The hours passed as Lucy filled the dragon in on all that had happened in the last twelve months. She left out the parts about her crying herself to sleep and Wendy being worried about her diminished "aura", and instead told him about how she had been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her writing and about the interesting magic of the mages entering Fairy Tail. She admired that although he couldn't sit beside her and communicate like he use to, she still understood him through the snorts erupting from his throat, the swishing of his tail, the tilt of his head and the expression of his eyes. It may have been like the days when the rose haired teen would make her laugh by reading aloud a hilarious story of his own creation that he was 'writing' down, but it was still nice.

After taking a deep breath, the white haired beauty brought up the topic they had both been avoiding. The question that Natsu despised but Lucy thought about every night when she couldn't sleep.

"So, have you done it yet?"

Natsu averted his eyes and huffed, obviously not pleased with the choice of discussion.

"C'mon Natsu, it's been sixty years. It's about time you shared your magic with someone else."

Again, an unimpressed huff filled the air.

"Just think about it. You might find training a dragon slayer to be really fun." She stared into his eyes to gauge how much further she could push the conversation. "Besides, it would make me feel a lot better knowing that you're not going to go crazy from loneliness…"

Natsu rolled his eyes, signalling that she had delved into drama queen territory. Taking it as her hint to move on, the old woman retrieved a bottle of water from the basket, hoping to aide her worsening headache. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she tried to open the sealed plastic lid, which proved impossible. Only when Natsu watched her wrestle with the lid for a full minute did he reach across with his large claw and pierce a hole in the plastic barrier. Smiling in thanks, she began drinking from the bottle, allowing Natsu a moment to gather his thoughts.

He wanted to speak to her. Wanted her to hear his voice. Then he could tell her that she was stubborn, and didn't need to do everything herself. Then he could lecture her on the importance of asking for help once in a while. Then, he could have an actual conversation with her…

In his mind, he knew that the years were finally getting to her. He only had to look at her to see the effects of 60 years on her fragile human body. Her hair, once bright and golden like the sun was now white, resembling the clouds that so commonly covered the sun, to hide its glow from the world. Her skin had wrinkles and age spots all over, looking nothing like the once pale, creamy smooth skin he had run his fingers over so many times. Her hands had become skinnier and obviously weaker. Even her lips had grown thin and pale. The most painful change for Natsu however were her eyes, which were once brown, bright, and full of life. Now, as he stared back at her, they resembled mud, with little to no joy radiating from behind them.

Lucy began talking again, explaining what he had missed in the past year. Juvia and Gray were now great grandparents to 4 lively children, Erza had finally given up her title of Fairy Tail's master to a new leader and Wendy was still teaching students magic, in hopes that the next generation would focus more on healing than fighting.

As she continued talking, Natsu nuzzled his nose into her thigh. He had to concentrate to make sure he didn't breathe fire on her, but it was worth it to be this close. Knowing that her scent had not changed over the years brought comfort to him, and as the hours passed he returned the appropriate expressions to her stories. During this time, he didn't dwell on the need to turn back time, to do things differently so he could remain human with her. He didn't think about throwing her onto his back and stealing her from this land. He just listened, and enjoyed being with her. She had always been so good at telling stories, after all.

"Oh, I can't believe I haven't told you yet!"

Raising his head in alarm, the dragon stared at her, begging for her to continue.

"Happy and Charla have finally had an egg! No one knows when it's gonna hatch, but he's pretty excited." Lucy waited for a chuckle to erupt from his throat, or even an attempt at a smile to appear over his large teeth. After all, they had spent many hours in their youth together teasing the blue exceed about when he was going to settle down. All she was greeted with, however, were two wide eyes of surprise, so she continued on. "Happy is technically an 'adult' in the exceed world now, not some crazy adolescent like he was with you… But he wants to be an amazing father, like you were to him…"

With this, his large green eyes softened. He really did miss spending time with his adopted son – although he much preferred the term 'brothers'. Even though he hadn't seen him in 60 years, he knew the blue exceed wouldn't forget about him. Again, images of the past flooded his mind about what he could of done to change the future they had all been given, so he could be an old man, alongside his friend in his greatest adventure yet.

A shiver escaped Lucy's body, reminding Natsu of how late it had become. Nuzzling her closer, he flinched when he felt how cold her skin was against his scales. Carefully, he covered her lower body with one of his wings, concentrating on not putting too much pressure on her frail body.

"I'm just going to take a quick nap…" Lucy explained quietly, closing her eyes against the pressure of the pain in her head. "Don't leave without saying goodbye…"

The dragon nodded, making a silent promise that he would not leave her. Against his wing, her felt her breath as she whispered, "I love you, Natsu." He imagined what he would be like, opening his mouth and declaring his love to her. Telling her that she was the only one for him. How he could whisper stories in her ear.

But for now, he would just concentrate on her chest rising and falling beneath his wing and the calmness it brought him.

It was a welcome contrast to the feelings he had endured during the year after he left the guild.

Closing his eyes, he could still remember flying over the land. He saw more of the world than he even knew existed at that time. And with the anniversary of his departure was coming up, he decided to return to the clearing near Magnolia to try and find her scent in the air. He had decided that he would have to hide in the forest all day to risk being seen over the cities, choosing the clearing as his nest for the day. And if he were lucky, the night would come with dense cloud cover, allowing him to risk flying near her house to smell her.

When he approached the clearing in the early morning, he had to question his senses. Surely he couldn't smell her scent already. It had to be a trick his mind was playing, giving him what he so desperately wanted. However, as he approached the clearing from above, he saw a head of hair contrast against the green grass. His first reaction was to fly higher, to escape the person. They would only want to attack him and he really didn't want to hurt anyone, even if it was to escape.

Suddenly, his mind clicked into gear. The person's hair was so light, like the sunshine he had felt the past year. And the scent. Together. It had to be her.

As he descended to the ground, he heard a high pitch scream. Landing with a thud, he looked over at what thankfully appeared to be a young woman. She had her arms shielding her face and her legs wobbled, looking ready to give out at any moment. When she peeked out from between her elbows, Natsu gave her his best smiled, teeth barring and all. Her arms left her face and went for the leather pouch on her skirt.

"Stay away from me you bea-"

Natsu rolled his eyes at her. The brown eyes of the girl widened, before welling into tears.

"Natsu, is it really you?"

Internally he was screaming. YES! YES YES YES! Knowing she wouldn't hear him, he nodded his head in an exaggerated manner. She'd just have to learn to read his body language.

"Oh my gosh, Natsu…" Lucy bawled into her hands, shoulders rising with each sob. Natsu trudged behind her and wrapped his wing softly around her. It might not be like the hugs he could offer in the past, but it was as close as he could get.

After crying herself dry, Lucy asked him question after question. He couldn't answer them all, but did the best he would with his expression. Then she went on telling him everything he had missed the past year. She told him positive things, but he could always tell when she was lying.

When she finally ran out of conversation, the sun had set with a chill in the air. He slowly got up, knowing that he couldn't spend forever with her. She hadn't eaten all day, and the tears would cause exhaustion on her body. He didn't like the idea of her sleeping in the clearing alone, so he made a mental note to fly by her house tonight to make sure she got home safely. He would look for a light, or her scent. Anything.

Noticing that he was stretching his wings, Lucy broke into another round of tears.

"You're really leaving again, aren't you?"

Natsu had no choice but to nod. As much as he'd love to put her on his back and fly away, his life was not meant for her. He would go weeks without eating at a time, and spent the majority of his time in the most isolated areas of the earth. She simply wouldn't survive.

"Meet me again?"

Tomorrow? He couldn't. It wasn't safe for him to be in one spot for too long, especially when it was so close to the city. He swayed his head from side to side, hoping she wouldn't beg him.

"I mean… This time next year…"

Noticing that he didn't sway his head, she ventured on.

"This day next year… We'll meet in this clearing… I'll even bring cake?"

He nodded his head, bringing her close to tears again. Only this time he hoped they were happiness. He owed her so much after leaving her to live her life alone. He really didn't have a choice but to agree to her idea. And he was excited.

"This will be our lifelong adventure!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Like you said, remember? This really doesn't have to be goodbye!"

He couldn't help but grin back. She was just too damn beautiful when she smiled like that.

"I love you so much, Natsu!"

Watching her wipe the tears from her eyes, he imagined that she could hear his thoughts.

Yeah, I love you too, Luce.

Opening his eyes, he noticed how dark it had become. He could still see perfectly throughout the night due to his dragon senses, but the colours always changed slightly. He would now have to force himself to get up, waking the sleeping Lucy in the process. There would probably be a tearful goodbye, and he'd circle back in the sky during the night to make sure that she got home safely.

However, his heart stopped when he concentrated on moving his wings.

Her chest wasn't rising up and down anymore. There was no sleepy groan as he moved carefully beneath her body weight.

The light from his life was gone. Extinguished.

He let a tortured roar out into the air, and for the second time in his life, could feel his heart shattering into pieces.

.

.

.

The sun broke over the horizon, causing the dragon to stir. After a night of whimpering, he had fallen asleep by concentrating on the warmth of her body. Now, as the new day greeted him, he felt her body against him, cold as ice.

He couldn't comprehend him feelings. Part of him wanted to fly away and never return. Another part of him wanted to fly into Magnolia and destroy every home, with hers being the only exception. If the only thing in his life that granted him a little bit of happiness had been torn away from him, why did other people deserve happiness in their life?

He would be forced to live the length of her life times a hundred due to his body. The body he now despised more than ever. Why couldn't they of had the life they dreamed of having together? Why couldn't she live alongside him for the rest of his life? Why couldn't she live in dragon years?

Pushing his depression aside, Natsu began the miserable task of digging a grave. Her body would remain in this very clearing, where she had experienced the best and worst times of her life. He would never forget her. He would return on their day every year, and remember all the times they had together. Their love would still continue.

When her body was laid to rest, he stared at the empty picnic basket. The simple object that had brought him happiness over the years now fuelled his anger. Beating his wings against his body, he took off into the air. Although it tore him apart to do it, he wanted to leave before he only remembered this place for his anger.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, he flew away from the town of his family. With the purpose of his life now gone, he knew he would have to find a new one to fill the void. He would fulfil her wish, so he would not be consumed by loneliness. It was the only thing he could do. She would just never know his true reason for choosing now to do it.

He would find someone to train as a dragon slayer, in the hopes that one day they would live up to their name.

AN: Thank-you so much for reading this story! It was depressing, I know! Boo! Hiss! This story gave me major writers block for a few months, but I wanted to get it done before uni started again! Part of me just wanted to make Natsu able to talk (like Igneel and the other dragons), but I knew it wouldn't be anywhere near as sad if they could just sit there and have a chat (does that make it slightish-AU?). Sorry for any errors! I didn't spend much time proof reading. So thanks again for your time!

EDIT: LuckyLifeSmile wrote a lovely review and suggested that I write another chapter about Natsu training a dragon slayer and telling him about Lucy in the progress. I am not against the idea and have ideas going in my head about what that may entail, so you should probably know that it's very possible there will be a second (and FINAL) chapter in the future. (Not for a while though... Thanks university!)
Oh and I'll still be sticking to the theme of tragedy so maybe don't look forward to it that much :P