AN: This chapter is going to skip around a bit. I want to wrap this up neatly, so be ready for some flashbacks to explain everything.

The Raven

Chapter Thirty: Unkindness of Ravens (Part Two)

{Honey, don't feed it, it will come back.}

A gun goes off.

Blood splatters across the side of Lucy's face: warm and wet—and for a moment she thinks she's died. Nothing hurts anymore. She can't feel anything. She can't hear anything. She can't even breathe. There's a great roaring in her ears, so loud that it rattles through her entire being, a shiver racing its way down her spine causing her hands to tremble at her sides. Her eyes stay glued to Igneel's face and all she can see is his stricken expression—his eyes alight with horror and confusion, his lips parted in a shocked little circle. Igneel's hand falls to his side, the gun slipping from his fingers in shock as blood trickles down the side of Lucy's face.

Behind her, Zancrow's grip around her loosens, his arms falling slack at his sides. The cool steel of the gun slides down her cheek slowly—almost a caress, it's so gentle. A moment later, the ringing in her ears stops and she can hear the shaky inhale that comes from behind her—the wet cough that wracks through the man behind her.

Zancrow hits the ground with a quiet thump, the cool grass muffling his descent almost entirely.

Shocked, Lucy raises a trembling hand to the side of her head, fingers prodding at her temple where the gun was pressed. Her fingers come away wet and red and sticky, but there's no hole in her skull from a bullet—no wound, no split skin, no lead and tore flesh. She stares at her hand in confusion, rubbing her fingers together slowly and smearing the scarlet spots against her skin. Some of it flakes away, slipping away from her skin completely.

It takes Lucy several long seconds to realize that Zancrow didn't fire the gun. She's alive.

She stands there in silent awe, her palms beginning to tremble violently in front of her face. From the corner of her eye, Lucy sees Igneel take a slow step forward, his gaze shifting to focus on something behind Lucy. His eyes go even wider, if that's possible, but Lucy doesn't care—because she's alive.

She's alive and Zancrow might be dead behind her. She's alive and Igneel is here and she's going home. She's alive and it's over. She's alive and Azuma might not be.

Her gaze slips sideways, eyes shifting to rest on the house she's been locked inside for several days. It's nothing special: blue, high windows, a small garden in the front yard—marigolds, she thinks. She's never been good at naming types of flowers. She knows roses and poppies and peonies, because those are what she places on her mother's grave every year. Briefly, she wonders what she might place on her father's grave now that he's dead too, deciding she'd spit on it if she ever gets the chance to.

Lucy takes a hesitant step towards the house and Igneel, not sure what she wants to run to. She needs to thank Azuma, but Igneel needs to know he's inside. He needs to know that there are bodies inside and—God, Azuma might be dead. He might be dead and this time it really is Lucy's fault. She shouldn't have run. She should have stayed and fought back and—

She lands heavily on her knees, a sob wracking her body as soon as she hits the ground. It rips straight from her throat, taking her heart with it, and Lucy can do nothing but curl in on herself as she lands on dirt and grass for the first time in days. It's wet, she notes absentmindedly, her trembling hand coming up to cover her face. It must have rained earlier.

The rain always has been a favorite of hers.

Lucy curls further in on herself, relieved and desperate sobs keep ripping out of her chest with no signs of stopping, but she can't bring herself to care. She simply doesn't care. Her fingers slide across her face, smearing around the drops of what she's come to realize is Zancrow's blood, before burying themselves through her hair, tugging on the gold strands viciously as she bites her lower lip to keep from screaming.

It's over. It's done. She's alive.

Someone drops to their knees beside her as she hyperventilates. Warm hands tentatively brush against her arm and back, fingers trembling against her. The touch is so light that for a moment she thinks it isn't really there at all. It's just a ghost—Zancrow's, her father's, Azuma's—come back to haunt her for getting them killed. She dry heaves, bile rising up in her throat, though there's nothing left in her stomach for her to throw up. The touch on her back grows firm, palms ceasing their shaking as they hold her together—firm and steady and so, so familiar.

Lucy leans into the touch, not caring who it is so long as they hold her. She collapses against them, her good arm curling around their chest as she sobs, face buried against the person's neck. In return, they curl around her completely—swallowing her whole. A warm hand wraps around her waist, holding her close to him, while the other tangles in her messy hair. Fingers stroke along her spine slowly, the touch firm, but gentle. Lips press against her temple—where Zancrow's gun had been pressed just moment earlier—moving slowly as he coos, nonsense leaving his lips as he speaks to her and Lucy fists her hand in the back of his jacket, immediately recognizing who it is she's clinging to.

"Lucy," Natsu murmurs against her skin, hands everywhere—sliding along her spine, brushing against her cheeks, fumbling against anywhere he can reach as he makes sure she's alive and real. She just wraps her arms around him tighter, nails digging into his back harshly through his thin sweatshirt, but he doesn't even flinch. Her lips tremble against his throat and she can practically smell the tears in his own eyes. "Lucy, hey, look it's me," he mumbles, gently pulling her closer to his chest. "I'm right here, okay?" His throat bobs beneath her lips and he chokes up briefly, a ragged exhale leaving him before he begins to speak once more, "I'm right here."

Lucy tries to speak, but her tongue feels heavy in her mouth and her throat feels tight and when she opens her mouth the only thing that leaves her is a sad little hiccup. She just shakes her head a moment later, burying her face against Natsu's neck and curling as close to him as possible. His fingers brush against her injured arm and she winces, a soft sound leaving her throat in protest. Natsu hushes her softly, the tips of his fingers running down her arm gently in search of a break. Lucy absentmindedly remembers that Grandine had taught Natsu and Wendy a bit of basic medical training—just incase. His fingers go all the way down her arm to her wrist, then trail back up softly, pausing at her shoulder. Natsu swears against her temple, but then wraps his arm around her back.

Someone drops down on her other side and she smells grease. Gajeel. Lucy grits her teeth and moves her bad arm as slowly as she can, reaching out for her friend with trembling fingers. He takes her hand gently, thumb brushing over the back of her palm in a slow, soothing rhythm. It hurts her arm and sends a spike of pain shooting up her shoulder, but Lucy manages to give his hand a squeeze, holding onto his for dear life. He chuckles, but Lucy finds the sound comforting despite everything that's happened. "Hey, Blondie," he murmurs, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in return. "It's good see ya again."

Lucy smiles against Natsu's throat, but doesn't answer—she doesn't think she can.

They're here. Her boys are here. She doesn't know how—or why—what the hell are they doing here?—but she's so damn happy that they are. She thought Igneel wasn't going to make in time after she called him—she thought—she thought a lot of things. It doesn't matter why Natsu and Gajeel are here or the she thinks one of them just shot a man—it doesn't matter. Not to her. She's just glad that the two of them are here with her and keeping her from falling to pieces. God, she knew she missed them, she just didn't know how much.

There's a crackling sound as either Macao or Igneel pull out their radio, speaking in low tones to someone on the other end. Lucy doesn't listen to what they're saying not understanding half of the cop jargon and abbreviated words. It's easier if she just pretends that they aren't there.

Someone swears loudly and comes closer to her—Igneel, she thinks. It must be Igneel. He stops several feet away from where the three teenagers are tangled up on the ground, wound together so tightly that it's hard to tell where one stops and the other begins in the low lighting, dusk beginning to settle over the crime scene. Igneel crouches—she can tell by the popping of his knees—but he says nothing. Natsu and Gajeel tense on either side of her, and Lucy realizes that neither of them should be here. They shouldn't even know where here is, for that matter.

Natsu shifts against her, lips trailing from her temple down to her cheek, seemingly unaffected by the blood on her face—or anything else, for that matter. He lips ghost across her cheek and jawline, touching more so than kissing her. "You're alive," he mumbles against her jaw, lips trembling against her skin. "You're alive." He places a butterfly kiss against a bruise on her cheek, touch lighter than anything she's ever felt before. "You're alive." His lips press against the corner of her mouth and then he falls silent.

He doesn't say that she's okay—because she's not. She won't be, not for a while anyway. But she's alive. She's breathing and she can feel the blood rushing through her ears—can feel Natsu's presence wrapping around her and Gajeel's rough hand tethering her to reality. She's alive, and that's all she could have asked for. That's better than being okay, at least to her. "Okay" was when her father would beat the hell out of her and leave her to cover up bruises in the morning.

She's alive. And that is so much better.

Together they all sit in silence until the screaming of sirens gets closer and closer. Red and blue lights begin to flash in the corner of her eye, but Lucy squeezes them shut, the lights irritating her sensitive vision. She's been kept in the dark for so long that anything brighter than half-dead light bulb is probably going to be painful for several days until they readjust. A frustrated sound leaves Lucy and Natsu hushes her once more, his lips soft against her skin.

"Natsu," Igneel suddenly speaks up, "Gajeel, what are you doing here?" he asks, voice low and throaty—raw, though Lucy isn't sure if it's because of him shouting earlier or something else entirely. She peeks open an eye, shifting just enough to see his face, unpleased by what she finds. There's stubble across his jaw trailing all the way down his neck, the hairs thick and darker than the one's on his head. His eyes are tired; dark bags hang beneath them, making him look older than he truly is. Igneel's lips are twisted into a deep frown, almost as if he's forgotten how to smile.

She wonders if Natsu looks the same, but she doesn't have the heart to look.

Natsu and Gajeel share a glance over her head, but she doesn't see this, too preoccupied with plucking at the fabric of Natsu's shirt, playing with a loose thread that she finds. Gajeel plays with her fingers absentmindedly, shifting them in his much larger hand. It sends a dull ache through her arm, but she doesn't tell him to stop. The pain means she's alive. And honestly, she's cringing to them a lot harder than they are to her.

"Ultear stopped by the house earlier," Natsu admits after several long seconds. Lucy's eyes go wide at the name, a small smile tugging at her lips as she realizes that Ultear kept her promise. She did it. She saved her. Natsu swallows hard and she shifts downwards, tilting her head to rest her temple against his collarbone. His hand sweeps up her back in acknowledgement, but he remains focused on his father. "She told me Lucy was here." He wets his lips. "So Gajeel and I came looking for her," he finishes softly, voice dipping into a low whisper that she has to struggle to hear.

Igneel's voice is hard and full of steel when he speaks, and Lucy can't help but flinch back at the sharpness of his tone. "So you just left?" he spits, disappointment and anger clear in his voice. Lucy freezes against Natsu's chest, the steady beat of his heart speeding up rapidly as Igneel growls at him. "You didn't bother to call me?" he snaps.

Gajeel is the only one who notices Lucy's sudden stiffness—the way her shoulders tense and how she seems to curl in on herself—and he gives her hand a reassuring squeeze. Lucy's gaze slides to the left and she looks at him for the first time in over a week. It's so little an amount of time, but given the circumstances, it feels like it's been years. She drinks him in, pleased to see that he seems to have been taking care of himself. His eyes are tired and angry, his skin a shade paler than usual, but not sickly, and a few of his piercings are missing, as if he couldn't be bothered to put them back in.

He's tired, but healthy. And she thinks that's pretty amazing, given what he's been through.

Gajeel smiles when he sees her watching him—it's small and lopsided and toothy, but it's real. Lucy smiles back as best she can, and Gajeel puts her on the back of the hand, the touch nothing more than a light tap of his fingers against hers. It's an insignificant touch, but it means the world to Lucy. Gajeel isn't a touchy person by nature, but here he is holding her hand and silently promising that she's going to be all right.

"You got here fine on your own," Natsu tells his father a bit callously, something bitter leaking into his words. Something must have happened while she was away—something bad. Lucy wonders if Natsu is mad at Igneel for leaving her alone at the precinct that day, then frowns when she realizes that must be it. She also realizes that Natsu is probably more hurt than angry—because he trusted his father to take care of her, right? Igneel was supposed to keep her safe and he unintentionally led her straight into a viper pit.

Lucy wants to say that it's unfair for Natsu to blame Igneel for that, but she can't say she wouldn't do the exact same thing. She trusted Igneel, too, and now some of that trust is gone—maybe forever, maybe just for now, but there's always going to be that little voice in her head telling her not to trust him. It's not her fault. It's not his fault. It's Zancrow's. But that doesn't make the fear go away.

A frustrated growl leaves Igneel's throat and Lucy's gaze snaps back to him just in time to see his brow pinch in anger. She's seen that look before on her father's face, and now, seeing it on Igneel's, drives the breath straight from her lungs. "That's not the point!" he barks at Natsu, still crouched down in front of the three of them. "You could have gotten yourself kill—"

Natsu cuts him off rather curtly. "Well, I didn't, obviously." Igneel reels back as if he's been slapped, but his expression hardens a moment later. The two simply stare at each other for a long moment, neither wanting to be the first to look away. Lucy has never seen either of them act like this with each other, but Gajeel doesn't seem surprised to find them at each others throats like this. Lucy wonders how bad they've been lately, but truthfully? She really doesn't want to know.

All she ever seems to do is hurt people, even when she's not there—especially when she's not there.

Lucy turns slightly, pressing her lips against Natsu's exposed collarbone in a gentle, lingering kiss. The tension leaves him in a rush, his shoulders relaxing as soon as he feels her touching him. Natsu turns away from his father, his cheek resting against the top of her head.

The fight leaves Igneel as well, a heavy sigh leaving the older male, but he says nothing else. After a moment, he stands, shoving his hands into his pockets. Lucy wonders how many rules Igneel has broken since the night began—protocol has seemingly gone out the window—but she finds she doesn't really care. She doesn't think she can handle anyone poking and prodding at her right now—let alone another cop.

She winces and Igneel shifts on shake legs, clearing his throat awkwardly. For a long moment, he says nothing at all, just looks at the three of them before his gaze drifts to the body just a few feet behind them. Several officers are milling around Zancrow, whispering amongst themselves as they wait for Gildarts to arrive. No one has dared to come up to the small group huddled together on the ground. Not even Macao, who had disappeared into the house after backup arrived. It's probably for the best "I'll call an ambulance and—"

This time it's Gajeel who cuts him off. "Don't bother," the older teen says shortly, giving Lucy's hand a quick squeeze before releasing her entirely. He shoves himself to his feet and wipes his hands against his pants to remove some of the grass and dirt. "They're expensive," he continues simply, making Lucy wince as she realizes she doesn't have any way of paying for an expensive hospital trip. Not with what she was making at the bar, anyway. "We'll take her," he finishes simply, shrugging when Lucy peers up at him curiously. "Natsu and I drove here. We parked the car a few houses down—" he jerks a thumb over his shoulder suddenly, cutting off abruptly, "—we'll just carry her to the car and take her to the hospital ourselves." Gajeel glances down at Lucy briefly. "She'd probably be more comfortable that way."

Lucy wants to nod in agreement, but can't find the energy to. The days events have begun to catch up with her and she suddenly feels utterly drained. Her entire body aches and all she wants to do is sleep.

Igneel looks like he wants to argue, his jaw clenching tightly, but then he simply nods, waving Gajeel off gently. "Fine."

Gajeel claps a hand on Natsu's shoulder, nudging his hip with his foot. "Come on, Salamander," he murmurs, keeping his voice low. "I'll drive."

Natsu nods sharply and Gajeel walks away, leaving the two of them to go get the car. After several seconds of watching the other male leave, Natsu finally disentangles himself from Lucy's arms, situating himself in a crouch before slipping one arm around her back and another under her legs. He pauses before doing anything else. "Lucy, can I pick you up?" he asks softly, lips tickling her ear. She wants to say that she's fine—that she can walk out of here by herself—but her legs feel like jelly beneath her and she's afraid that if she stands, she'll just collapse once more. Instead, she just nods, letting her head loll against his chest once more. "Okay." Lucy's eyes slips shut and a moment later she's airborne, Natsu holding her against his chest gently. "I've got you," he murmurs against her ear. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to you, I swear."

Lucy wonders what it is with Dragneel men and their promises, but decides against asking. Besides, Natsu's never lied to her before, so why should she start doubting him now?

Natsu let the door slam shut behind him, his expression blank as he made his way back through the house, heading for his father's office in the back with no hesitation what so ever. He glanced down at the address written on his palm, reciting it over and over and over until he had it memorized by heart.

Lucy's alive.

He clenched his fists and shoved open the door with little regard to how loud he was being, letting it slam against the wall harshly. A picture frame on the wall rattled, but he simply ignored it, far too occupied with riffling through his father's drawers for what he knew would help him. If he could just—

Natsu pulled the gun out of the bottom shelf, his jaw clenching tightly as he stared down at it. Holding it carefully in one hand, Natsu checked to make sure there were still bullets in the cartridge. His father hadn't used this gun for a long while, after all. Not since that one time he showed Natsu how to use it. It was only supposed to be used in emergencies, but Natsu figured this was an emergency if there ever was one.

Fully loaded.

"What the hell are you doing?" someone asked from behind him. Natsu spared Gajeel a glance, then shoved the gun into the pocket of his sweatshirt. He turned on his heel, prepared to storm passed his friend, but Gajeel grabbed his arm in a vice grip, something fearful in his gaze.

Natsu just shook him off, heading out of the office and towards the front door once again. "Come on," he called lowly, not sparing Gajeel a second look, "we're going." Gajeel stopped him again, and Natsu whipped around snarling up at him. Gajeel didn't budge at the anger in Natsu's eyes, his expression hard as he glared right back at Natsu.

"Going where?" he asked Natsu, eyes narrowing just the slightest as he glanced at Natsu from head to toe. Natsu wondered what he was seeing—how frantic he must have looked to Gajeel in that moment. Natsu knew he looked like a mess. His eyes were bloodshot from crying and he hadn't shaved in days and days. He hadn't seen the point in doing so. He must have looked desperate, because Gajeel's gaze softened before Natsu could even reply.

Natsu sucked in a shallow breath, still hardly able to breathe with the crushing weight of his lies on his chest. "To get Lucy," he settled with, jaw set in a tight line. He didn't have time for an argument—not if what Ultear said was true. He could see the question in Gajeel's eyes and continued before he could speak up. "Ultear just stopped by," he explained. "She said Lucy's alive and told me where to find her."

Gajeel's eyes narrowed at the familiar name. "Gray's sister?" Natsu merely nodded. "And she knows where Lucy is?" Another nod, this one more jerky than the first, Natsu's patience clearly having worn thin. "And you're just going to go in there by yourself," he snarled, grip tightening on Natsu's shoulder in anger, "guns blazing?" He threw his head back and laughed bitterly, disbelief clear in his tone. "You're going to get yourself killed!" he snapped.

Natsu whirled on him, snarling right back at the other male. "You gonna help me or not?" he spat, sending Gajeel the nastiest glare he could manage. Gajeel took a step back in surprise, but Natsu just turned around and started towards the door once more. "Don't try to fucking stop me, Gajeel, because I—"

"I'm not," he cut off Natsu gently, making his friend pause midway to the front door. "I'm not going to stop you," he continued, shoving his hands into his pockets and swallowing thickly.

A beat of silence. "Good," Natsu mumbled, sending Gajeel an almost conflicted look.

Gajeel shrugged, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, his gaze locked on the gun in Natsu's hand. "What about Gray?" he asked suddenly, gaze not rising to meet Natsu's for the first time in a long time. "He won't be happy if you leave him here," he noted casually.

Natsu just shrugged, his jaw tightening and teeth grinding together harshly. "Gray got shot once," he reminded Gajeel, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "I won't risk his life," he murmured, taking another step toward the door.

"But you'll risk mine?" Gajeel asked, quirking a brow at Natsu, just a step behind him. There was no anger in his tone—no accusation or hurt, just morbid curiosity, as if he really just wanted to know if Natsu was willing to risk his life to save someone else.

Natsu turned away from him, mulling over the question in his head, unsure how to answer. "You'd do anything for her," he murmured after a moment, placing his hand on the doorframe. He could feel Gajeel's eyes burning into his back. "Just like I would." He shot Gajeel a pointed look. "We're going to bring her home."

Gajeel simply nodded, a step behind Natsu. "What do you plan to do with that gun?" he asked lowly, almost whispering the question—as if it were some kind of ugly secret between the two of them. It might as well have been.

Natsu paused at the door, his fingers tracing the cool metal of the gun in his pocket. He swallowed thickly, chewing his lower lip as he fumbled for an appropriate answer. After a long moment, Natsu shrugged. He sent Gajeel the most serious look the other male had ever seen. "Whatever it takes."

"Who fired the gun?"

Natsu is drawn back to reality at the question, his gaze snapping away from Lucy's face in surprise. The officer—Rocko, or something like that—is glancing between him and Gajeel slowly, sympathy in his eyes as he then looks at Lucy. Natsu follows his eyes, staring down at his girlfriend in silence, a knot the size of a fist worming its way into his throat. He reaches out with one hand, stroking the back of her palm with gentle fingers, unable to look away from the bruises littering every inch of her.

Rage bubbles inside of him—something cruel and angry twisting in his gut as he thinks about what happened to her. He could kill—

"Who fired the gun?" Natsu sucks in a sharp breath, feeling his father's eyes on his back. He swallows thickly, teeth pulling at his lower lip as he traces a star on the back of Lucy's hand with his thumb. Slowly, he lists her hand off the hospital bed, lifting her knuckles to his mouth and merely holding them there, her skin cold against his lips.

Two days.

It's been two days since they found her. Two days since he and Gajeel drove her to this hospital. Two days since Lucy's opened her eyes. Two days since they fixed her dislocated shoulder. And two days since Natsu has said anything at all.

Every time he tries to speak he gets tongue-tied, because the one person he wants to talk to isn't awake and he wants her eyes to be open when he tells her how much he loves her. He wants to see that little light in her eyes—the love in her eyes. He knows his silence must be frustrating for everyone else, but he just can't bring himself to care.

Now, though, he might have to. The officers have finally come looking for them and he can't leave Gajeel to be the only one answering. He doesn't have anything to hide. Not from his father—not from the officers.

He just doesn't want Lucy to know.

Gajeel speaks up before Natsu gets the chance. "I did," he tells the officer. Natsu turns to him slowly, Lucy's knuckles still pressed to his lips, but Gajeel isn't looking at him, his gaze directed towards the officer. "Natsu had it," he continues, looking the officer right in the eyes. "He took it out of his dad's desk drawer, but he was shaking so badly that he couldn't pull the trigger, so I took it from him." He leans forward in his seat, gaze serious as he looks at only the officer. "I fired the gun."

The officer glances between Gajeel and Natsu briefly, then nods, standing from his seat in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. "Mr. Redfox," he says slowly, clearing his throat, "you're going to have to come with me." Panic swells in Natsu's chest, but Gajeel just waves off the order.

"I figured as much," he grumbles, snorting loudly. He stands from his own chair, kicking it backwards several inches as he does. Igneel sends his a disapproving look, but Gajeel either doesn't notice or doesn't care. Natsu would bet money on the second. "But this time I'm not fucking saying anything until you get me a lawyer," Gajeel barks loudly, glaring at the officer, lips twisted into a snarl. The officer simply nods sharply, looking mildly embarrassed.

Igneel sighs from his spot by the door, his lips pressed into a thin line. He doesn't look at Gajeel as he speaks, his gaze still locked on Natsu's back. "Self-defense of a third party, Gajeel," he reminds the teen, voice oddly loud in the small space. "You won't be going to jail for that." There's something pointed in his words—something willing Natsu to turn around and contradict what Gajeel said, but Natsu keeps his mouth shut for once, understanding exactly what the other man is trying to do.

Gajeel snorts. "Yeah, we'd all like to think that," he cackles, following behind the officer with slow, even steps. He slams the door behind him.

It isn't quiet for long. Natsu didn't expect it to be. He already knew his father is just itching to ask questions and call him a liar. Natsu supposes that's what he is now. I liar. He lied to Lucy and that's all that matters to him. God, if he take it all back—

"Gajeel didn't fire the gun did he?" Igneel asks him, leaning forward in his chair. Natsu can hear the metal slide across the tile loudly, the plastic chair squealing in protest. "Why are you lying?" his father asks him.

Natsu mulls over the question, his lips pressed into a thin line much like his father's. "I'm not lying," he mumbles against Lucy's skin, voice hoarse and crackly from disuse. And he's not lying. Not really. He's not saying anything at all.

But a lie by omission is still a lie, right?

Igneel snorts loudly, contempt clear in that one sound. His father hasn't spoken to him since Tuesday night after their clipped conversation on Zancrow's front lawn. Natsu doesn't have anything to say to him, and for a while it seemed like neither did Igneel. "You're not telling the truth," he snaps back, practically growling at Natsu as he stands from his chair. He doesn't walk towards Natsu. He doesn't do anything, just—stands their. Natsu doesn't think his father has any right to judge him. Not after what happened. "Why is Gajeel protecting you?" he asks, softer this time.

Natsu snorts loudly, anger bubbling in his throat. He bites back a snappy retort, knowing it will only make things worse. "He's not protecting me," he explains gruffly, correcting his father and trying to keep the venom off of his tongue, "he's protecting Lucy." Natsu sighs and kisses her knuckles, breathing against them to warm up the stiff joins in her hand. He stares at the heart rate monitor on the other side of the bed, watching the line jump with every breath she takes. "I've been going crazy since she disappeared and—" He cuts off abruptly, unsure how to word it without sounding exactly like the man he hates the most. "I would do anything to keep her safe," he tells his father gently, lips muffled slightly by Lucy's skin. "I would kill for her—I did kill for her," he admits to his father, swallowing down the bile rising in his throat. He doesn't regret what he did. Not even a little. "She doesn't need to know how far I'd go. I don't want her to think I'm like—"

The door slams shut as his father storms from the room without another word.

Natsu curses under his breath and sets Lucy's hand back on the bed, his own hands coming up to cover his face. He doesn't regret shooting Zancrow—killing him. And maybe that makes him a monster, but he could never let him get away with hurting Lucy. Because letting him get away—that would mean condoning it, right? Because it sure as hell wouldn't be justice. Letting him rot in a jail cell where it can reminisce those memories—there's no justice in that.

He just doesn't want Lucy to think he's a monster.

There's a shifting sound and then hands come up to cradle his jaw. He doesn't need to open his eyes to know who it is. He would know these hands anywhere—in any universe or incarnation of his life—he would know her. Natsu tilts his head slightly, pressing his lips to the palm of her hand in a ghost kiss. "I could never think that about you," Lucy tells him gently," voice barely even a whisper in the hospital room.

He shakes his head, not wanting to open his eyes again—afraid she'll disappear if he does. He sucks in a shaky breath, lips quivering against her soft skin. "Lucy," his voice cracks when he says her name and her fingers brush against his cheeks softly. "You were gone and I couldn't breathe," he admits, voice trembling. His hands come up to wrap around her wrists loosely, holding her to him in fear of her disappearing. He swallows thickly, waiting for her to tell him to leave—for her to think he's a—

"Neither could I," she breathes back, her own voice shaky.

Natsu's eyes snap open and the first thing he sees if Lucy. There are tears in her eyes and trailing down her cheeks, something like underlying fear still present in her eyes—but that's not what catches his attention.

She's smiling.

After everything that happened, she's smiling.

And suddenly Natsu can breathe again. Looking at Lucy, he thinks she might be able to as well.

AN EDIT: Fear not, dear readers! TR will be getting a three part "afterwards" in order to tie up loose ends! One about Igneel, one about Natsu, and the last about Lucy. I'm pretty sure they were the only one's to have a POV in this besides Zancrow, so I thought it would be a fitting way to wrap things up! They will be flashback heavy, so they might take me a bit longer to write, but I'll try to have the first one up on Wednesday :D

AN: Holy fuck it's actually over? I've thought about doing an epilogue, but I don't know. I don't know how else I would end this without having a hokey "everyone storms into the hospital room" ending and that didn't feel right to me. This feels right. This fic started with Natsu, Lucy, and a Raven, and that's how it ended. I had thought about having the last bit be in Lucy's POV, but most of her thoughts would just be shock and confusion and that's not what I was striving for with this ending. I wanted it to be known who shot Zancrow and I thought it would be important to see Natsu's mindset after something like that. Lucy got her bit in the first scene :)

Anyway, if I do an epilogue it will be focused on some years in the future!

It's been a wild ride guys! Please don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of the ending! It's been a long timing coming, yeah?

Be on the lookout for my next stories, I have some good one's planned, including a mafia!AU ;)

PS: if this chapter gets to 70+ reviews, I'll post the next chapter on Saturday/Sunday.