Title: weaving gold

Pairing: Natsu/Lucy

Summary: Till death do us part – I do.

i.

They were in a restaurant that burned through their wallets faster than Natsu could burn down a building, which says a lot. It was a waste of money in Natsu's opinion, but Lucy was a sucker for these places so he gave in once in awhile. He tugs at his starched collar, hidden underneath his statement checkered scarf, and complains about how uncomfortable his outfit was.

It always confuses him why Lucy demands they wear such proper, and unbearable, clothes whenever they went on dates. And anything that confuses Natsu, he'd sought an explanation for.

And Lucy always had the same response.

"So that we'd look our best every time I remember these moments."

This time as well, they were dressed all prim and proper, the only difference between the two was that Lucy looked at home in her beautiful, simply cut white dress. She giggles at the restless pink head, and his sensitive ears welcomed the tinkering of her laugh.

He stares at her through candlelight, and watched as her eyes danced in molten chocolate amusement. Her collarbone and slight cleavage was exposed through the small V of her dress, and her body glowed under his gaze. Her brilliant smile softened her features; bright blonde hair creating shadows of a halo.

"She ignites me," he thinks, and lets out a breath.

She blushes under his intense gaze, and begins to fidget with the hem of her skirt – a habit she picked up as a child, one he has grown to find endearing. She starts to blabber as she usually did under such circumstances, and Natsu breaks out into a grin.

She relaxes and smiles in return, eyes crinkled under lashes tinged with mascara, lips soft and glossed with pink. Her silver earrings twinkle in the candle glow as she starts chattering, with Natsu responding jovially.

"And then, Jason comes over to interview us as at the guild, and he totally ignored me!"

She huffs in annoyance, and Natsu barely restrains his laughter.

"You are so weird, Lucy."

She sputters, and begins to defend herself from such slander. She raises a clenched fist in protest, but she was already breaking out into cheer. It was hard to stay angry at a grinning Natsu, especially one who said it with such innocence.

All was usual, it was the kind of date they always had – expensive food, exquisite environment, comfortable atmosphere, them.

And he would not have it any other way.

"Lucy, marry me."

The smile plummets from her beautiful face, and morphs into one of shell-shock. She drops the fork she was holding and stares at him with jaws slackened in surprise. A blush was quick to spread over her entire body, and she tries to grasp a response.

Natsu only stares at her with that grin and sits there as if he were proud of himself, eyes hopeful and not a shadow of doubt.

Lucy collects herself in the silence and finally sighs.

"What, you aren't even going to give me a ring?"

They spent the remainder of the night laughing and making a run from a rather distraught manager, which might have had his restaurant burnt to crisp due to a salamander's excitement.

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ii.

They had a simple wedding, scrumptious cake with impeccable icing, all precious Fairy Tail members showing up seated in long wooden benches, a priest politely awaiting the bride. Natsu and Lucy shared a kiss, and their bond was sealed.

Ah, if only that was what happened.

The wedding was chaotic. Erza insisted on being the priest despite having zero experience (but no one said no to Erza, ever), Cana and Makarov were drunk and tipsy, Happy dumped fish into the cake, Lyon crashed the wedding, Gray gets pissed, a fight breaks out, same old same old.

Except it was Lucy's wedding, and even if she loved all of them, there was a limit to how inconsiderate they can be.

"Mou – "

She was ready to let out a long strings of complaints to her groom in his starched, pressed suit, except, you know, he wasn't there standing beside her like he should have been.

"Natsu!"

The pink head grins at her while punching a fistful of flames into Elfman's face.

"Hey Luce!"

He had the gall to laugh, and wave. Cheeky bastard.

"This is the last straw," Lucy thinks, and is ready to stomp her feet, kick up a fuss or whatever.

Then Ichiya appears with the scent of a perfume shop, and Lucy realises she probably has to restock her straws soon because she has run out of it, and passes out.

The wedding ends with a groom in tattered clothing, a semi-conscious bride, an Erza that forces them to kiss and starts sputtering accusation of sexual harassment, and a Mirajane that smiles at them amidst the mess, and offers, "Cake?"

A very Fairy Tail ending indeed.

No pun intended.

Okay, maybe just a little. (or more than a liter)

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iii.

Lucy twiddles her thumbs, plays with the hem of her miniskirt. She rubs her exposed stomach, and nervously awaits the return of her husband, and everything in her mind was a jumble of words – a staccato of sentences, all of which were unable to express her sentiments now.

Three pregnancy kits were dumped haphazardly in the bin, all of which displayed two prominent, scarlet lines.

.

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When Natsu finds out, he does not know what to say or do. His mind fogs and his thoughts become increasingly clouded.

I'm going to become a father.

Reality crashes onto him, but his numb mind does not feel it. He sits before the teary-eyed Lucy, shock -stilled, before mumbling and nodding and runs out of their house. He needs to clear his head, he knows this. So his feet find their way to Fairy Tail, where all was rambunctious and cheery laughter.

He starts up a fight, and punches and kicks till the breath leaves him; but he does not stop.

Father, father.

Natsu thinks of a man of typical silhouette, but with extraordinary blazing pink hair. He tries and fumbles for the man's features, but his mind does not remember. Natsu thinks of Igneel, and his fiery breath that kept him warm in cold nights, his scaly body that was tough and worn, but comforting to the slight of Natsu's young self.

He imagines a child calling out to him, with arms outstretched and eager.

Daddy, daddy!

He crashes into their house, and envelopes Lucy into a hug. He rests his head on her soft tresses, and kisses the crown of her head. Lucy struggles at first, more shocked than anything by his sudden outburst, but soon relaxes in his hold.

"I'm going to be a father, Lucy. How are we ever going to break this to Happy? Can you even imagine me as one?"

His laugh is muffled in her hair, and she feels the tremble in his chest. She looks up at him, all smiling eyes and dripping tears, before mirth settles into sentence.

"Maybe you could start with fixing that door."

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iv.

There comes a time where trials and obstacles come by, and even the strongest of men cannot overcome it. And that, for Natsu, the pride of Fairy Tail, an infamous Dragon Slayer, was Lucy's insatiable crave for food and random moodswings.

Lucy has always been a picky eater, but even more so when she was pregnant. She would feel like eating tuna-filled onigiri one second, then demand for apple pie. Whenever Natsu gets annoyed and refuses, she starts to cry or throw a fit, until Natsu finally gives in and Happy flies around his head with a mocking smile.

Lucy's mood changes as fast as the wind (which Natsu never liked since it was his weakness),and it was exasperating to say the least. But then he sees Lucy having morning sickness, lurching into the toilet bowl as he held her hair back, feeling the kick of his child through Lucy's stomach, and the annoyance is fleeting.

He places his palm on the swell of Lucy's stomach, and feels a light thud, a sign of life.

"What are we going to name our child?"

Lucy wonders, placing her hand atop his, feeling its homely warmth.

"How 'bout Chappy?"

"Natsu... Did you just add a C to Happy's name?"

Natsu throws her a sheepish grin, and Lucy rolls her eyes.

"If the child's a girl, maybe we could name her Lily, like the flower. But if it's a boy..."

Lucy chews on the bottom of her lip, trying to think of a name suitable for their first born, something that he would be proud of growing up.

"Err... Licky?"

Lucy smacks Natsu with all the force a five-month pregnant woman could muster.

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v.

When he sees her giving birth to new life, it was the most devastating and beautiful thing he has seen. Her face contorts with pain every time Polyrushka says push; the grip she has on his calloused hands tightens excruciatingly.

She cries and moans in pain, beads of sweat forming, hair drenched and matted from her tears and sweat. He strokes her hair, mumbles words of comfort, doing everything he can to lessen her pain but he knows his efforts are for naught.

He says he would protect her from anyone who makes her cry, but what if that person were one of their own?

.

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Their daughter was like a little tomato, Natsu thinks. All splotchy red, swollen, and small. So tiny in his arms where he feels even a tenth of his strength would kill her, and this scares him. What if he hurt her one day? Unintentionally, a moment's lost of control – it could end her life.

But then he looks at her red cheeks, the blooming tufts of pink hair, sleeping soundly in his arms, and he thinks how something so precious could be so small. Lucy looks at him through clouded eyes, a relieved smile breaking through her fatigue face.

"She's our own little bundle of joy."

Their hands were still linked, fingers interlaced and locked together.

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vi.

Their child reached the age of three with Natsu's crazy pink hair, and Lucy's cocoa brown eyes. She was a force of power on her own – always charging head first into her father's arms, eyes burning with curiosity as she explores the wonders of the world. Not a shy child, she openly asks question as she runs through the guild, leaving a trail of trouble in her footsteps. Everyone unanimously agreed that Lily was a miniature of Natsu, and Natsu could not be prouder of that fact.

Lifting her up and resting her on his broad shoulders, he grins smugly at Lucy.

"My chromosomes were strong in this one."

Only, his words came running back and bit his nicely-shaped ass (approved by Master Bob) when Lily picks up one of Lucy's keys and summons Plue. Lucy eyes danced with mirth as she watches Natsu's ridiculously shocked expression.

"Pun... Pun!"

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"Luce... I really want a son."

Lucy lifts a brow at her husband, but goes back to writing her novel. Natsu circles his arms around the blonde, and tries to make out what she's writing. Lucy promptly snaps her notebook shut, and shoos Natsu away.

"Never look at a writer's work before it's done!" She lectures, and lightly smacks the book on Natsu's head.

"What if I just want to look at the writer?" Natsu grins cheekily, and pushes Lucy down and kisses her. The kiss was hungry, but slow. Passionate, but romantic. His hand wanders, sliding across her curves. He feels her shiver beneath his touch, as her hands roamed his broad back. His kisses fell to the hollow of her neck, hands more frantic as he pushes articles of her clothing aside. Lucy moans and –

"Lily wants kissy too!"

Their movement freezes, and Natsu groans.

"Why Mama naked? Mama want Gray? Juvia angry!"

Lucy squeals and blushes, and tries to rearrange her clothes while pushing off a reluctant Natsu.

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vii.

When Lucy and Natsu go off on a mission out of town, they could only entrust seven-year-old Lily to the guild. Which worries Lucy, and even Natsu. While Lucy packs everything Lily would need for the next two days, Natsu paces back and forth, eyebrows furrowed and expression worried.

"Would she really be alright? What if she starts to eat metal? I'm going to kill Gajeel!" Natsu growls, and Lucy looks up from her packing in worry.

"What if she starts to become a stalker? What if she starts to strip?!" Lucy is almost hysterical with panic, and starts to play with the frayed hem of her dress.

At this moment, Lily bursts in with Plue and screams, "Otoko!"

While Plue danced.

Natsu's hands burst into flames and decides then and there – Lily was going with them.

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viii

Lily grows into fine lady, with short spunky hair and a buxom body. Many of Lucy's keys have been passed on to her, and she displays powers similar to her mother's – those of light and stars that shone with the trust and love for her spirits.

But every year that Lily grows, Natsu and Lucy do not. Wrinkles start to appear, and patches of gray and white streak their hair. Time was ticking away, and so were they.

"Natsu, where's Lily?"

Natsu eyes his wife curiously.

"She just left for a mission, don't you remember?"

Lucy blinks.

"You're so weird, Luce."

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Natsu finds Lucy seating by the side of a nursery one day, drenched in the rain.

"Lucy!" He exclaims, rushing over to shelter her from the rain under his blue umbrella. Her face was pale with lips lacking its usual pink colour, and she was shivering uncontrollably.

"What are you doing here?"

"I-it's time to pick up Lily isn't it?"

Something was wrong; Lily was already thirty-five by then, happily married with children of her own. Natsu picks her up in his now frail arms, and rushes her to Wendy's.

There has to be a cure, he thinks as he speeds through the streets on foot.

There has to be, he prays.

Wendy tells him it's dementia – something that comes with age, something that comes naturally, and even the best of magic cannot cure nature.

"It's only going to get worse," Wendy tells him, tears spilling in sympathy and sorrow.

And it's downhill from here.

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ix.

Lucy begins to forget and remember at the same time. She forgets what time it is, what she had for dinner, where her home was. But she remembers the mission they went twelve years ago, she remembers they first time they met.

By then Makarov, along with Wakaba and Reedus, have all passed on. Romeo has become the 10th guildmaster, Erza has stopped going on missions and settled down with a bakery, Happy has returned to Edolas, and Gray has become a council member. Everything, everywhere has moved on forward, but Lucy's mind only backtracks and brings her further away.

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Many people come to visit Lucy, to see for themselves the state of what their nakama has become. Some leave with tears and sorrow, while others carry with them fragments of memories and stories Lucy herself have forgotten.

"Mummy...?"

Lucy's wrinkled hands reached out to the air, and tears fall to the hollows of her cheeks.

"Don't go..."

Natsu brings his hand to clasp hers, hoping to calm her down from her memories. Every time Lucy had an episode where her mind reels her back several years, it was like an endless nightmare. Only nightmares got better when you wake up, but Lucy is conscious throughout.

"It's okay, Luce. It's okay."

She never looks at him once.

Sometimes she would be brought back to the present, and she would smile at him and ask how did they end up here? All old, frail, but still together. They would reminisce the past, talk about the present she sometimes missed, and it is moments like this that Natsu finds salvation.

Lucy is home.

It gives him hope that maybe she would get better, and they would talk about everything under the moon as they grew older together underneath the blanket of night skies and stars.

Every day, he prepares darjeeling tea for her – one he knows is her favorite since young, so no matter which year she wakes up in, there would be something she can look forward to. He finds it amusing how he, who used to cause havoc, was here preparing tea with a delicate teapot and handful of tea leaves.

He brews the drink and brings it to Lucy's side.

"Morning Luce."

She turns and stares at him, eyes blank, like tempered chocolate – the kind that doesn't melt even on the sunniest of days. The aroma of darjeeling reaches her nose, and he can tell she visibly relaxes, but a guarded expression still stays in those eyes he loved so much.

"Who... are you?"

The teacup breaks, and the smell of darjeeling, floral and flourishing, overwhelms his senses.

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When Lily comes to visit, he breaks down and cries.

No matter what she forgot, no matter what she remembered, it was okay. He could withstand it, he would, for her. But please, just not him.

Please don't forget me.

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x.

Natsu knows his time has come – he could feel his magic draining away from him, and all he could muster was but a flicker of flame on his fingertips.

It's too soon; he struggles and fights, but no magic can cure nature.

So for the first time Natsu gives, and dreams of Lucy's smile, Lily as a child, and all the little memories in between. He dreams of possibilities and endless days with Lucy, Lily, the guild and counts down to ten.

"it's always more fun when we are together with everyone."

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Two days after Natsu's death, she collapsed in bed, with eyes closed and the lingering scent of burnt darjeeling shrouding her.

It is a pity that no one knew of of her last moments where she frantically calls out for Natsu, over and over again until her heart shatters from the effort, and her last breath leaves her body.

"Natsu, where are you?"

they say she died of heartbreak.

If I lay here,

if I just lay here,

would you lie with me and just

forget the world?

A/N: finally some long nalu after so long! ;w; I've probably gotten really rusty. Hope you liked it!