Alrighty, so the deal is that I was at my grandparent's house without the old computer I write the chapters for "With Our Love Comes Patience" and was really in the mood for practicing some angst/hurt/comfort writing. I then got this idea in my head to write something about the events after Tartaros, seeing as so much has happened already. WARNING: THAT MEANS AT THIS POINT IN TIME THE ANIME HAS NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE MANGA ELEMENTS IN THIS STORY AND THE REST OF THE A/N!

I guess you could say I was inspired by how utterly crestfallen and alone Lucy looked in chapter 406 ;w; she's keeping it all inside because she doesn't want to bother anyone about such a traumatic event and my heart bleeds for her... Honestly, I've tried to keep the beginning of the story as broad as possible since, well, who knows what sensei will slap us all in the face with next. I've filled in the blanks as best as I could, but keep in mind that these are just guesses as to what might really happen in future chapters. Oh, and I also haven't edited as seriously as usual, please excuse that, because I hate, hate, hate writing on my phone.

Without further ado, I do not own Mashima-sensei's theory deflating work Fairy Tail, nor the title of the story, which is actually the name of a The Killers song because I am very unimaginative with these sorts of things.

It was finally over.

Their trials and tribulations with the Tartaros crisis had reached an end. All members of Fairy Tail stood stock still as one by one they felt their enemies subsiding.

"It's over," Warren thought telepathically, regaining a bit of composure as he shouted, "we did it!"

It started as a ripple, like a drop of water thrown into a puddle, and soon enough became a tidal wave of joy, relief and excitement. Fairy Tail was once again in a riot. There was hugging and cheering, hooting and hollering, smiles and tears all mashed together in a turmoil of emotions.

Natsu's cheering was one of the loudest that could be heard, despite all that had happened to him in the past couple of days. He was reunited with his adoptive father and told the truth about years and years worth of mysteries, only to have Igneel go into hiding again out of injury and necessity, for the world was not yet ready to take kindly to a dragon so soon after the Eclipse ordeal. Even still, the fire mage's conscience was light knowing that his father was alive and the reason for his abandonment all those many years ago. Though he didn't mention it to anyone, and hardly let his own mind dwell on it either, a weight was lifted from Natsu's heart when Igneel said (during a rare tender moment) that the last thing he wanted to do was leave him as child and, most of all, he regretted making Natsu feel alone.

After a sufficient amount of time was left for congratulations and eager celebration, Makarov issued the order that they should returned home, since they had the injured to take care of, their party supplies of food and alcohol were in the guild headquarters and he had a headache's worth of Magic Council paperwork to fill out about the mess they got themselves into. There were many, however, that were too tired and exhausted of magic to make the trek immediately, hence Makarov admonished that they had an hour to rest.

Those in better condition helped nurse others' cuts and wounds with the limited equipment a few had brought with them. When Laki finished disinfecting and wrapping Natsu's major injuries, he stretched and walked around with a spring in his step and boyish grin on his face, intent on finding companions to share his happiness with. First he saw the ice princess and gave him a fist-bump for a job well done, then proceeded to initiate a petty fight with him before a blindfolded Erza asked them what they were doing in her usually sadistic manner. For a temporarily blind woman, her senses were as sharp as ever. Next, Natsu met up with Carla and Wendy, who were in the process of telling Happy how they deactivated the first Face bomb. Giving Wendy a brotherly pat on the head, he wove his way through the multitudes of mages gathered together, even stopping to chat with the members of Sabertooth that had joined them, until his mind 's eye began searching among the crowd for the singular face he hadn't seen yet.

His curiosity of her whereabouts grew instinctively, as if his subconscious already knew something was amiss. When Natsu asked a few people about it, everyone gave him a different answer, which didn't help at all. Extracting himself from his nakama, he began quickly searching the area, not with panic or worry, but with the simple and inexplicably natural need to find her. It was unlike her to be by herself during such a proud and jovial event instead of with her friends, her family, anyway.

At last he found her, standing on the edge of a cliff a few hundred meters from the crowd, watching the sun set over the hill-plagued horizon. The orange rays cast bright light over her, tinting her clothes and skin and changing the color of her blond hair into that of gold. Her arms were crossed tightly over her stomach, making it seem like she was holding herself, while the immobility of her body told Natsu her mind was elswhere. He didn't know if she realized it, but he could always tell when she spaced out. She could sit daydreaming in the same place for hours and not budge an inch, even if the world crumbled and erupted around her.

Lucy's hurt, he thought. It wasn't just physically, but emotionally as well. Nats expected something terrible had happened during her solo fight, considering the condition he and the others found her in, though he was so caught up with the events centering himself that he hadn't registered the depth of his partner's pain at all. He could smell no tears, meaning she was still keeping her emotions bottled up inside, whether in fear someone might see her and sadden them at such a happy hour or from cold, numbing shock he couldn't tell. Both seemed probable in her case.

His own selfishness infuriated him. Most might not condemn the actions that led to him being oblivious to Lucy's feelings till now, yet he could make no excuses for himself. A nakama in need always came first. Natsu wracked his brain for something to do, something to say. The situation reminded him of Jude Heartifilia's death, and thereby his lack of experience with anything remotely close to comforting people. It was when he blurted without thinking for those two pompous women to shut their yaps that Lucy finally smiled and told them she was alright, or that she would be at least. So Natsu emptied his mind and let his instincts take over, as was more common for him than thinking things through.

His feet began moving before he knew it, swiftly and silently, and in an instant he was behind her. His muscular arms crossed over her stomach in the same way Lucy's did, his hands covering hers where they rested right above her hips. Natsu felt Lucy jump in surprise but quickly relax when she realized who was holding her.

"Natsu, it's you!" she whispered, clearly trying to keep her voice from wavering. In a false, cheerful tone she said, "I thought it was another demon. It's not like you to hug people like this."

The dragon slayer said nothing. Instead, he lowered his forehead so that it comfortably rested on the back of her head. He felt her body temperature rise momentarily and noted her hair gave off the refreshing smell of the ocean.

"Oi, N-natsu! What's gotten into you?"

True, his methods were unorthodox and beyond the level of intimacy they'd had as friends so far, though he figured as long as she kept talking, something good ought to come out of it eventually.

"What's wrong? Have you lost too much blood?" She continued, concern edging her voice now.

Still he remained ever silent.

"Hey, don't act like we lost-" Lucy shakily took a breath. "Lost-"

And so it began. He felt a drop of moisture on his forearm, then another, then another. Soon he heard a choked sob as the tears steadily flowed from her eyes. The patched up dam she hurriedly put together burst in a million different places, leaving nothing behind to shield her from the torrent of raw emotion pouring out of her. Before long, her entire body was shaking with exertion and the only things keeping her standing were Natsu's strong arms supporting her.

"I lost her, Natsu, I lost her!" She managed between hiccups. By this time the fire mage turned the blonde around and hugged her close to him. Lucy bunched fistfuls of his tattered shirt in each hand, desperately fighting to regain control of herself, but it was all she could do to manage, "Aquarius was the only friend I had when I was alone! She stood by even after my mother gave her key to a spoiled brat like me. She's always helped me, always, and now I can never see her again! She's gone," Lucy sobbed, "she's gone!"

Natsu tightened his grip on her, his gaze turning dark and contemplative. The pair stayed as they were until Lucy cried herself dry, and even then the fire mage didn't let go. Silence wrapped around them like a comforting blanket.

Eventually, Lucy mumbled, "I'm sorry, Natsu."

"For what?"

She squirmed in embarassment. "I got snot on your chest and I probably ruined your good mood..."

"What, are you kidding me?" Natsu took Lucy by the shoulders and held her at arm's length, making sure to brighten his features beforehand. "Why would I care about something like that?" The small, genuine smile she gave was answer enough. It was amazing that something as simple as her smiling face could make his spirits soar higher than a bird in flight. He'd have to think about what that meant later. For now, he seized her by the wrist and said, "Losing someone isn't easy, but at least let us help you get through it." Being the man of action he was, Natsu began tugging Lucy in the direction of the guild members packing themselves to leave for home.

Lucy freely let herself be dragged along behind him. Her eyes regained their natural sparkle as she comically shouted, "Aye!"

It was on that very day that Lucy realized something infinitely amusing. She had unwittingly fallen for the most oblivious romantic that life had ever thought of bringing into existence.

Man, this story is a mess of poor editing, OOCness and fickle whimsy but for something short in a fit of boredom it's alright. I thought at first that it might be more dramatic if Lucy just whispered Natsu's name and burst into tears, but then I thought naaah, may as well keep Lucy in character even if Natsu's all over the place. On a side note, that last paragraph was thrown in there because I find it interesting how, for how dense he usually is, Natsu always knows the right thing to say. Alright, maybe not all the time, but close enough. Not my proudest writing thus far, though thank you for reading anyway and I'd love to hear your comments! I'm pretty sure that I'll come back and edit this properly at some point in time and maybe add some more depth to it once we know how the Tartaros arc actually ends.

Until then!

~Luclipse