A Summer's Confession
Disclaimer: If I owned FT, I wouldn't have to add this. I don't own it, Mashima does...So if you ship Natsu and Minerva now (or before...or maybe in the future), let's all pray to whoever that Mashima actually gets it that Natsu and Lucy are not meant to be! [Bitter]
A/N: So it's finally the last chapter. I hate spoiling but...I'm sorry for the ending. :(
"Huh?", Natsu asked, dumbfounded.
"Let's break up.", Minerva repeated a bit louder and clearer.
The clock ticked, and a pair of black eyes stared for a moment, before any words have been uttered.
"Ok. If that's what you want.", Natsu responded flatly, changing the direction of his gaze downwards.
"I'm not really good with these kinds of things…so if you say so, then you must be right.", he finished with a sad smile.
"Mommy, mommy!", a running three year old pink-haired girl, accompanied by a maid with cut chains on both her arms, excitedly called.
A blonde woman bent down to receive the glomp her bubbly daughter always gave her.
"Stella.", the blonde woman said, her daughter in an embrace.
"Were you a good girl with aunt Virgo?", she asked her daughter, before looking at the celestial spirit maid with a smile.
"Uh huh!", the little girl gleefully answered, shifting her head – looking at her mom then at the celestial spirit.
Virgo smiled in return, bowed, and then disappeared.
"Bye bye, auntie Virgo!", Stella was able to say as the celestial spirit disappeared.
Stella excitedly ran and entered the large building that held a banner that read "Fairy Tail". The woman was about to enter as well when a voice called out to her.
"Lucy!", a blonde man with a diagonal scar above his right eye called.
"Sting! What brings you here?", Lucy asked while giving the man named Sting a hug.
"I just got back from a mission and happened to pass by."
"I see. Are you with Rogue?"
"No, I'm actually with-…",
"Sting, hurry up. I dislike being waited for.", the voice of the woman behind him cut off Sting's answer, her hand on her waist, her foot tapping on the pavement.
"Minerva.", a tinge of anxiety mixed in Lucy's voice.
"Well, I guess we'll see you around, Lu-…"
"Mommy! I got daddy!", Stella came running outside, dragging her daddy by the hand.
The attention got directed towards the little girl and the pink-haired man. The man, noticing that his wife wasn't alone, turned his gaze towards the people she was with.
Eyes met.
"Natsu…"
"Minerva…"
...
"Minerva? Hey, Minerva!"
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?", Natsu asked, leaning forward, eyeing Minerva's face with worry.
"Y-Yes..?", Minerva distractedly answered.
"Are you sure? I can take Wendy here to let her check on you."
"I'm fine.", Minerva reassured.
"If you say so…", Natsu believed and sat back in relief.
A few seconds passed and the room was filled with silence.
"So…you were going to say something?"
"Hm?"
"Well, you suddenly called my name when I was talking so I thought you wanted to say something."
"Ah."
Minerva's face scrunched. Natsu, seeing that, waited for Minerva quietly – knowing the consequences of disturbing her first hand.
"Me imagining "that" answers that I love Natsu so much that I wouldn't be able to take it if it does happen.", she thought with a slight smile on her lips, while taking a few glances at Natsu, who was sitting quietly, looking so cute – looking around, like a little child.
"Natsu."
"Y-Yes!", he sat straight, faced front, at the sudden mention of his name.
"Do you love me?", she seriously asked, her eyes staring straight at his.
At the bluntness of her sudden question, Natsu blushed a little. Seeing Natsu blush unexpectedly, Minerva felt the weight of her question and turned a healthy shade of red as well, but she did not remove her gaze at Natsu, which made her blush redder every passing second.
Natsu, seeing the serious look on Minerva, concentrated to think. A few grunts and sighs later, he looked at Minerva and answered in his serious tone.
"No."
Minerva's mind almost became blank for a second from shock, then processed quickly. Various thoughts came into mind, failing to register Natsu's voice.
"He doesn't? He doesn't love me? I knew that part of the reason he said he did back then was because I kissed him. But I considered that that could grow if we stayed over time. I didn't want to give up on us. I was willing to become more patient, and tell him upfront if I dislike what he's doing.", she frantically thought, her head slowly lowering.
"But…but that would be useless if he…if he doesn't…love me.", her thoughts stopped for a moment.
Minerva wasn't the type of woman to give up. She'd think of the reason why she was stopped – stopped because she doesn't fail. She doesn't fail because it was simply a detour, and she'd do anything to reach her goal. So now that she's in a detour, she started thinking of why she had to take one and the next step she had to take.
"Did I become weak? I noticed that he also liked me because of how convenient my power is. Does he not need me anymore? He doesn't need me anymore?"
The question in her mind, as if a trigger to her memories, made her remember things she wanted forgotten.
"No. I'm powerful….I'm not weak.", she started uttering what she was thinking softly.
Natsu, worried that his calls weren't reaching her again for the second time today, reached for her shoulders.
"Don't…No!", Minerva screamed the moment she saw hands grabbing her.
She ran towards the dragon plushies on the floor and hugged a number, burying her face in them, while leaning on her closet.
Natsu, getting even more worried at Minerva's unusual and scared behaviour, approached the slightly shaking and whimpering woman. Upon reaching her, he knelt and grabbed her in a hug. A few minutes passed and Minerva seemingly have calmed down.
"Don't cast me aside…", she whispered.
"Minerva?"
"It's nothing. I'm fine now.", she said while trying to push him away.
"Why would I cast you aside?", he asked, looking at her.
"You said you don't love me."
"I don't."
"And you ask me why you'd cast me aside."
"I wasn't finished talking."
Hearing that, she raised her face from her plushies and looked at Natsu.
"Hm?"
"Pfft..Hahaha."
Seeing Minerva disheveled and red from crying, add in the fact that she got into "that" – whatever that was, all because she didn't listen to his complete answer made Natsu laugh.
"Stop laughing! I'm serious!", she grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her.
"I don't love you.", he said for the third time, staring straight at her.
The statement made Minerva's grip and pull on his shirt loose and weak.
"I don't just love you.", he expanded.
Minerva's face showed confusion at Natsu's choice of words.
"Loving you means that it's just the present right? But I'm sure that I'll love you in the future too."
Minerva's confused face…
"So I don't just "love you"."
slowly turned…
"I love you now and forever.", Natsu ended with a smile.
to an angry one.
"You idiot!"
Natsu was knocked out.
"'And they lived happily ever after', right mommy?", a little girl in pajamas, tucked in bed, asked her mom.
"Hm? No, dear. It was only the beginning of their story.", the raven-haired woman answered with a soft smile.
"So what..." the little girl yawned mid-way, "..happened next, mommy?", she continued, rubbing the droplets on her eyes.
"I'll tell you tomorrow. It's time for you to go to sleep."
"Okay...Good night, mommy."
"Good night."
The woman kissed her daughter on the forehead before going to bed herself.
.
"Now that I think about it, you never did tell me why and how you fell for me.", the woman, snuggled to her husband, stated.
"Do you want to know?", he asked, shifting to look at his beloved.
"I don't have to...you're already mine.", she answered in a grin.
"I love you Natsu."
"I love you...now and forever, Minerva."
And it's done. Thanks for reading my work. I'm a bit satisfied and not satisfied with it, but what the heck.
NatsuXMinerva! [that's the whole point of this work anyway :) ]
P.S. Proofreader is still busy with life so I'm sorry. It's difficult proofreading your own work. [I just noticed now that I said "not busy" on my previous chapter, but what the heck, nobody reads these notes anyway...]