It Started with a Big Mac

Chapter 25 - Epilogue

"Natsu! Listen, I know it's your last day working here, but at least try to look occupied?"

The salmon-haired teen snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at his boss. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, boss. I'll get right on it."

The old man nodded. "Good." As he turned to walk away, the man shook his head and muttered to himself, "Wow... can't believe that brat is off to college already..."

The high school graduate grinned after his boss left the room and began cleaning the grill, his back towards the door. Now what was he thinking about again? Oh yeah, Lucy.

It's been many months since the teen last saw his girlfriend in person. The last time was when he saw her disappear behind the doors of the airport. The long-distance thing actually worked surprisingly well, despite Natsu's thoughts. He could still remember the day when Lucy told him she was moving away.

Lucy blushed and looked down. "I... I have something important to tell you."

Natsu stopped poking her forehead and bent down to look her in the eyes. His heart clenched when he saw the amount of sadness and regret she held in them. "What's up?"

His girlfriend sighed and took a quick look around the fast-food place. "My grandmother took a turn for the worse. And... and myfatherandIaremovingawaytobewithher!"

Natsu scrunched up his face. "... What?"

Lucy took a few more deep breaths, her lip quivering and vision blurring. "M-My father and I a-are m-m-moving a-away t-to be with h-her."

Once Lucy said those few words, Natsu felt as though his whole world shattered. He stopped himself from falling over in shock. No, not this again. He couldn't lose Lucy. He couldn't lose her like he lost Lisanna. Lucy was more important... he loved her so much more... what could he possibly do when Lucy leaves?

But unlike Lisanna, Natsu was willing to be in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend. Normally, the salmon-haired teen hated these kinds of things. There was no telling if the other person in the relationship would be faithful, or even if the two would still have the same feelings for each other. There was no telling what could happen in these kinds of relationships. But Natsu trusted Lucy. He knew that Lucy would never cheat or do anything to harm him. And he especially knew how strong their feelings were for each other. He knew that nothing, not even separation by eight hours, would be able to separate them. Unlike with Lisanna, Natsu couldn't imagine living a life without Lucy. And so the two of them decided to be in a long-distance relationship.

For the rest of the week, Natsu spent every single minute he could being with Lucy. It wasn't until after the Fairy Tail party that Natsu had some time to spare. With the little time he had before his girlfriend departed, Natsu decided to buy something; something that Lucy would love and warn off all the other guys. With haste, the salmon-haired man grabbed whatever money he had and ran to the nearest jewelry store. Despite the weird jewelry salesman's advice on bracelets, lockets, and other strange jewelries, Natsu eventually found the jewelry piece he was looking for: a silver ring embedded with jeweled constellations. It was perfect. The teen remembered his girlfriend talking about how much she loved the stars and how she and her mother used to stargaze every night before her passing. Without hesitation, Natsu bought the ring that seemed to fit and later slipped it on his girlfriend's finger before she left. That was the last time Natsu ever saw Lucy in person.

Natsu sighed and began scrubbing vigorously on this one charred part of the grill. He and Lucy had been staying in touch every single day, just like he promised. They would text almost every minute (getting in trouble in school every now in then), call every night, and Skype every once in a while. They've always remained faithful to one another. It was hard, not being able to touch each other, feel each other's warmth, and be near each other. But they just had to make do with what they had.

Natsu missed her. He missed Lucy with all his heart. Sure, he saw her every now and then on Skype and talked to her every day, but it wasn't the same. He missed the smell of her hair, the way her eyes brightened when she laughed, and the soft touch of her skin. He wanted to hear her voice again, not through Skype or the phone, but in person. Natsu missed Lucy very much, and always had been since she left.

The salmon-haired teen grinned in success as the charred piece finally chipped away from the grill. But his smile soon faded once he saw that he had numerous other pieces to go through. Loosening his scarf slightly, he got back to work. With every text message, call, and Skype, the couple kept each other updated on the events in their lives. Lucy fit in nicely with Sabertooth. As Natsu recalled, it was a little intimidating at first, with all the smart and strong students they had, but Luce was able to make some friends and have a good time. Of course, it was nothing compared to Fairy Tail, but she enjoyed it none-the-less. Lucy became great friends with a girl named Yukino, who also had a great interest in the constellations, as well as many other people.

As Natsu popped off another charred piece, he chuckled. On the first day of school in Sabertooth, Lucy had encountered these two teens, who happened to be in the same grade. One was named Sting while the other was Rogue. Sting had tried to flirt with the other blonde, saying something along the lines of "Hey baby, you're the reason why men fall in love!" only for Lucy to stick her ringed hand in his face and say "Thank you. And you're the reason why women don't." Sting had jumped back and apologized for hitting on her while Rogue chuckled in amusement. Lucy gained two more friends that day, both of whom later introduced her to Yukino.

Lucy's grandmother also made a full recovery. Natsu didn't quite understand what exactly her grandmother had, but she did wake up from her coma within two months and since then has been recovering slowly. It was a huge relief, to say the least. When Lucy first moved, she seemed so sad and depressed about her grandmother. And whenever Lucy cried to Natsu for fear for her grandma, Natsu couldn't do anything but say soft words of encouragement. He longed to be there with her, to comfort her in her time of need. But he couldn't. After a month, the blonde seemed to brighten up, both because of her new friends and because her grandmother was getting better (despite being in a comatose state). Now, Lucy was happier and more enthusiastic after her grandma awoke and made a recovery.

Life in Magnolia was a little bit different for some people, especially for Natsu. Gray finally got the balls to ask Juvia out (to which she fainted and later agreed), Cana continued to drink heavily, Loke continued to flirt with every girl he saw, and Lisanna started dating this college grad-student named Bickslow. Natsu tried hard to enjoy himself with everyone and often found himself walking in front of Lucy's old penthouse every now and then. He even found himself walking around Cherry Blossom Park, reminiscing about his first kiss with Lucy and the chocolates she gave him. Other than that, life has been pretty much the same, except for the huge gaping hole left in Natsu's heart.

The bell in McDonald's rang, signaling a new customer. Natsu's heart lurched and his breath quickened. Could it be her? He turned around swiftly, trying not to let disappointment show on his face as a small family walked in for food. Once he took down their orders and gave them their food, he turned back around and continued to clean the dirty grill.

Natsu, Lucy, and all their friends were able to get accepted into Magnolia University, which was pretty amazing. The salmon-haired teen smiled brightly to himself. In just another few weeks, he and Lucy will be able to attend the university with all their friends. He could still remember the day he got his acceptance letter. Natsu had immediately called Lucy on Skype, who also happened to call him at that exact moment to tell him about her acceptance, resulting in the call being held back a bit until someone called earlier than the other. Eventually, they were able to tell each other the great news.

As Natsu continued to scrub hard on the grill, lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the door opening and closing behind him.

A soft, delicate hand with a silver constellation ring tapped his shoulder.

The salmon-haired man jumped and turned around, eyes widening and smile growing as his eyes landed on the beautiful blonde woman standing in front of him: his girlfriend.

"Natsu!" She smiled brightly.

Natsu smiled, letting out a laugh of happiness, and wrapped the woman in front of him in a hug. "Lucy!"

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The End.

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OMIGAWD! I can't believe I actually finished this fanfic... huh... Yeah, sorry this chapter is on the shorter side and sorry to those who wanted an extra chapter or two :( School is about to start next week, and since I'm going to be a senior, I need to focus on my college applications. I won't be able to write as much... Yup, so this is my last fanfic for a while (at least until I finish all my college app stuff). But (if my brother will ever write his part on our collab stuff), I should still be uploading one-shots on our fanfic, 'The Daily Life of a Fairy Tail Mage'... maybe.

Anyway, yay! Natsu and Lucy are back together again :) And they'll be attending Magnolia University with all their friends, ain't that sweet :P And although it definitely wasn't a main pairing (and I only mentioned it in 8 words), I made Lisanna and Bickslow a pairing.

Well, I hope that all of you enjoyed my fic! Sorry that I pretty much rushed the ending. As I said before, school... college... yada yada. Man, I still can't believe that I actually wrote 25 chapters! That's pretty cool...

Thank you so much to all those who have supported me since I uploaded the "one-shot". It's all thanks to you guys that I managed to turn that "one-shot" into a 25-chapter fic! Thank you so much :)

And last, but certainly never least, THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FAVORITED, HAVE FOLLOWED, AND HAVE REVIEWED THIS FANFIC! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING PEOPLE AND I NEVER COULD'VE DONE IT WITHOUT YOUUUUUU! (omigawd, I'm tearing up right now) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND REVIEWS AND ALL THAT STUFF! I LOVE YOU GUYSSSSS!

And I'm on my brief hiatus (that'll last for a couple months... so sorry) as of... now!