Time for a new series! Hello fairies, and welcome to my new collection of nalu-centric oneshots! Sometimes, I have ideas for little mini stories that wouldn't fit into the main story I have going right now, so this is where all of those random little thoughts will go from now on. I hope you enjoy! Because school is painful and I work hard to make these oneshots as good as I can, I'll be posting one EVERY OTHER week. So, expect another chapter from me on Tuesday, March 24.

Check out the other stories on my page if you feel like it! I have one on hiatus while I work on switching things around and one that I'm in the process of editing.

Also, I'd be glad to take any requests!

All the typical disclaimers apply. The genius Hiro Mashima is responsible for the main characters and the original story, while I'm only here to input my own OCs and spins on it. And without further ado, here is story number one of 'Colliding Stars'.

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"Who are you?"

I didn't know words could hurt so much. How could those three simple words stringed into one sentence shatter my heart beyond repair?

It was just a normal job, for Mavis' sake! I went out with Natsu and Happy like always, complaining about how if they ruined this job I'd be kicked out of my apartment and have to move in with them. They both swore they'd be careful, which I didn't believe for a second. I just crossed my fingers and hoped that we could collect all of our reward without any problems for once.

We were supposed to find some witch that kept putting curses on the townspeople. We tracked her up to a little cottage on top of a hill, only a mile away from the town. She was an old lady with deep lines all over her face and wispy grey hair. Innocent. I didn't believe she was even a witch at first. She looked like someone's frail grandmother.

She put up a hell of a fight, though. Before Natsu could attack her once, she was out of her chair and in front of him.

"Disappear thy heart till confession breaks," she whispered so quietly I wasn't sure I heard it right, touched her forehead to his, and he was down. I was left to fight her with Happy's help. Luckily, whatever she did to Natsu used a lot of her magic. She was somewhat easy to beat, especially with Loke's help, and we were finished within ten minutes. Natsu was still unconscious when Happy and I crouched over him.

Guards rushed in and trapped Edna –the elderly woman- in magic dispelling runes. One of them handed me a sack full of jewels and thanked me, promising to call on Fairy Tail again if they ever need more help. I was too worried to be amazed that we'd actually completed a mission without destroying something. Loke helped me carry Natsu back to the train, as Happy was almost to the point of panicking about the dragon slayer's state and in no condition to carry Natsu's heavy body. We got him back to the guild an hour later. He still hadn't woken up. Wendy wasn't there, although even if she was, there would have been nothing for her to heal. Natsu wasn't injured anywhere that anyone could see, and his breathing and heartbeat were both normal.

He'd only gained consciousness a few moments ago, much to both my and Happy's relief, when he asked the question that froze me to my spot beside his bed.

"Natsu, what do you mean?" I laughed awkwardly, hoping his strange question was a joke even when my senses told me it wasn't.

"Natsu, that's Lucy! Don't you remember? She's on our team! She gives me fishes!" Happy said confusedly. My selfish side hoped that if Natsu didn't remember me, then he would remember anyone else either…

"Happy, I've never met a Lucy in my life," Natsu responded seriously.

"But that's Lucy! She-"

"It's fine, Happy," I cut him off, trying not to show how hurt I was. "I'll just go let everyone else know that he's awake." They didn't try to stop me from leaving. Natsu probably didn't care that the stranger was walking away, and Happy was too shocked and confused.

That damn witch must have done something bad to his head when she touched him. What were those words she said? Damn it, I can't remember! I was too preoccupied with fighting her to remember that sentence she said! She must have erased his memories of me. But why? Why only me, and not Happy too? Why not erase every memory in his head? Why only me?

During the short walk from the side of Natsu's bed to the door of the infirmary, I rearranged my face to resemble a mask of happiness. I made my mouth curve, moved my eyebrows to a glad kind of slant, lifted my cheekbones, but there was nothing I could do for the hollow look in my eyes that I hoped nobody would notice.

"He's awake!" I yelled into the hall, adding the perfect wash of relief through my words. I honestly was relieved. Even if he couldn't remember me, at least he was alive and okay.

People rushed past me and into the room to visit the dragon slayer. From the talk I heard coming from behind me, he remembers all of them. Why not me?

Maybe this is all a dream. Maybe I can go home and wake up, and everything will be fine. If not, I'll get some rest, and then research why this happened. Could there be a way to fix this? I trudged towards the door of the guild when I was discovered.

"Lu-chan, where are you going? Natsu just woke up!" Levy said, tugging on my hand.

"I'm sure he wants to see you," Cana said suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows for effect.

"I forgot something at home. I'll be back later," I said cheerfully.

"You're lying," Erza said, walking towards us. I wasn't surprised. Erza knows me almost as well as Natsu does. Did, I reminded myself bitterly.

How could he not know me at all?

"Where are you going, Lucy?" Mirajane asked. Faced with all of my closest friends, my expression slipped a little. Erza gasped silently when she saw eyes. Damn Edna for forcing me to lie to my friends. She took away his memory of me.

"I'm not feeling too good. I'm going to go home and sleep a bit. I'll see you guys later," I said, shielding my eyes with my hair. I pulled my hand from Levy's and walked quickly out of the guild, ignoring the confused and concerned looks pointed at my back. I slumped home slowly, trying to keep my mind on anything but the stupid pink haired boy who currently doesn't know who I am.

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"NATSU!" Erza stomped into the infirmary, pushing past anyone who hasn't already moved away for the S Class mage. She was followed by a storm of angry girls. Not even the master tried to stop them from circling Natsu's bed and shooting daggers at him through their eyes.

Lucy's face when she was leaving was horrible. Erza had never seen the blond look so sad in the entire time she'd known her. It was painful to see how hard Lucy was trying to look happy. She lied so her friends wouldn't worry about her. It's a typical Lucy thing to do, but that doesn't make the impact feel any better. The worst part, though, was her eyes. They were hollow and glassy, like she'd been trying to hold back tears for too long. She looked heartbroken.

'Why did she have to try to be so damn strong?' Erza cursed in her mind.

Natsu, on the other hand, looked full of life. Before Erza and the other had entered the room, everyone had been talking and laughing with him, besides Happy. He was the only other person aware of the situation. Now, not a single person made a noise. Natsu's face was white as a sheet when he noticed the look of fury on Erza's face.

"What did you do to Lucy?" she hissed at him. His face morphed into one of thought.

"That blond girl?" he asked innocently. Levy's hair stood on end. So he had the nerve to act like he didn't even know her!

"YES, that blond girl that just left CRYING because YOU!" Cana snapped. She was completely sober, which was a miracle itself.

"Who is she? Did she join the guild while I was asleep or somethin?" Natsu asked. Shocked gasps sounded around the room. Mira's face contorted into one of lethal rage as she transformed into her Demon Halphas form.

"Hold on," Master interrupted, holding out one hand to stop the demon from brutally murdering the pink headed idiot. "Natsu, do you not know anyone by the name of Lucy Heartfilia?" Natsu put a finger on his chin in thought, which also surprised everyone.

"Nope. I feel like I've heard the name before, but I got no clue who she is. Why is everyone makin a big deal about it?" he asked. Murmurs filled the room.

"Everybody out!" Master yelled. People froze in place. "You heard me! Scram!" The members scurried out of the room without question, until only the group of girls, Natsu, Happy, and Makarov were left. "Something is very wrong," Master muttered. He sat cross-legged at the foot of the dragon slayer's bed.

"Why'd ya make everyone leave, Gramps?" Natsu asked.

"Mirajane, I'm putting you in charge of trying to bring his memories back. Erza, you make sure that everything she says is actually true," Master glanced warningly at the demon take-over mage. She glanced at the floor sheepishly. Cursing silently, she mentally erased her already forming plan of telling Natsu he and Lucy were already dating.

"What am I missing? Is it that Lucy girl?" Natsu asked. Master ignored him.

"How are we going to fix this?" Happy asked tearfully. That seemed to snap Natsu into his fatherly act. He hugged his cat tightly, even though he had no idea what was wrong.

"I don't know yet. I'm going to let the others know what's happened. Don't let anyone say anything about this. We don't want Lucy finding out," Makarov said, making his way to the door.

"She already knows, Master," Erza called after him. He froze.

"In that case, Levy and Cana, go make sure she's okay. I can't imagine how she must feel right now." Erza would have laughed, if the situation were different. Even Master knows that the two are more than just friends, and he seems to understand that Lucy would be nearly heartbroken right now. "When you return, Levy, I want you to help Freed and start researching any and every possible way to reverse this."

"Who the hell is Lucy?" Natsu cried out, tired of being ignored and confused. Erza rounded on him, pulling a sword out of thing air and pointing it at his throat.

"And Erza?" Master questioned without turning around. "Remember that he just woke up. Try not to knock him out again."

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"I really hope Lu-chan is alright," Levy thought out loud. The normally drunk brunette beside her was still sober, probably setting a personal record for going so long without a drink. In fact, though Cana would never admit it, drinking at times like this left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Maybe now she'll admit how she feels about-," Cana was cut off by yelling and a loud splash. Curious, the two ran around the bend in the road to see a crowd of people forming around the side of the river that cut through town. A man in all black was discreetly trying to escape the scene. Levy's hand quickly wrote a cage around him, suspecting that whatever happened here was his fault. Even through the mages were in a hurry to get to Lucy's apartment, they couldn't ignore something like this.

"What happened here?" Cana asked, barging past townspeople. They moved aside for her willingly, relieved when they saw the guild crest across her stomach, meaning mages were here to save the day.

"Someone fell in! She's been down there for a while!" one woman cried, holding a hand over her heart. Two men on a gondola a little ways out on the water were carefully turning around, trying to steer to the wall.

"It's all okay, we'll help," Levy soothed, following the path Cana had made. She started calming everyone down as Cana slipped her shoes and jacket off. Without hesitation, she dove into the river and swam straight to the bottom as quickly as she could. The water was icy, but Cana paid no attention to that, too focused on reaching the stranger at the bottom.

The river was surprisingly clear the further down she got, allowing her to see right through it all. Cana mentally thanked Mavis she wasn't drunk right now; swimming would be much harder if she were highly intoxicated like usual.

The sight below froze her already cold bones. Cana's eyes popped open wider than ever. Lucy was lying on the sandy bottom, little bubbled of air escaping her lips. Her eyes were shut peacefully. The blonde hair around her head floated in the gently swaying water, making it form a halo around the top of her head.

Aquarius was just now appearing. She moved water away from Lucy's head, forming almost a bubble of clean air around her. Her face was expressionless. When she saw Cana, the mermaid pointed upwards. Their past arguments were pushed aside as they each took one of Lucy's arms. Cana flew back to the surface with the celestial spirit and her friend beside her. When their heads broke the surface, Cana spluttering for air, the men standing on the wall pulled both Lucy and Cana onto dry ground. Aquarius disappeared with a judgmental tsk, glancing back once slightly worriedly.

Levy and Cana stared in shock, fear, and outrage. Lucy's hair was now matted to the sides of her face, dirt and pebbles stuck in it. Her clothes were a dripping mess. Her chest was moving with her breath and heartbeat, but just barely.

"We need to get her back to the guild. Wendy can heal her there," Loke suggested, appearing crouched next to his master. His suit jacket was missing, his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His glasses glinted in the sun, hiding the worry in his eyes.

"Wendy isn't here. She went out on a job with Charle and Romeo yesterday!" Levy said. "They're not supposed to be back for at least a few more days!" Mirajane had been so proud of her match-making skills when Wendy brought over the job paper. Macao took some (Sitri Soul Form) convincing before he let them go off on their own, but it worked out in the end.

Loke didn't hesitate to lift his unconscious friend into his arms. "We can decide what to do when we get there. The others will know how to handle this," he said, taking off back in the direction the two girls had come from.

"We should follow," Cana said, pulling her jacket over her wet shoulders and sliding her feet into her shoes. She contained the shivering inside of her.

"But what about him?" Levy asked, waving her hand towards the still trapped man in black. He was banging against the bars of the iron cage, trying to break himself out. Cana's face darkened at the reminder.

"I got it," she said with deadly calm. She stalked towards the man, pulling a card out of her back pocket as she went. He shrunk back against the other side of the cage away from her. Her hand snatched the man's wrist through the bars.

"Let the wall down, Levy," she called. It disappeared silently. The man tried to bolt, but Cana's grip was steel-tight.

"Just let me go!" he pleaded. The crowd was staring in shock at the lethal looking Fairy Tail mage.

"Do you know what you did?" she asked, venom dripping from every word. He nodded, eyes wide.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No, but please don't hurt me! Let me go!" he begged, tugging against the hand that caged his wrist.

"I am Cana Alberona, Card mage of Fairy Tail. And this-," she held up the card she was holding in her other hand. She shook out the card as if she were shaking water off of it. It elongated and twisted, turning into a long, sharp silver sword. "-is a very special card. I've been waiting for the right time to use it. My obnoxious father sent it to me from his travels." He stopped struggling, realizing it was futile unless he wanted his head chopped off.

"You are so lucky I don't have Fairy Glitter right now. Have you ever had a paper cut before?" Cana asked quietly. He nodded. "This hurts much worse, I promise."

"Please leave me alone!" he cried again, pulling the other way.

"Be glad I'm sober right now. If I were this angry while drunk, there wouldn't be a piece of you left to bring back to the guild." The man blanched. "Now walk. We have a few questions for you."

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Natsu's PoV

The door burst open, interrupting Mira in the middle of her sentence. Loke rushed in, carrying that blonde girl from before, the reason I'm in here getting lectured by the two scariest wizards in the guild. My heart shuddered a little when I saw her, but I don't know why.

Even though I don't know- don't remember- her, I still feel bad for her. She was soaking wet, and she smelled like dirty water. I can barely hear her breathing, even with my super dragon slayer hearing. I felt angry when I saw the pink mark on her hand. Whether I know her or not, nobody is allowed to hurt one of my guild mates.

But this anger feels levels above how I would feel if someone hurt Erza or one of my other nakama. I feel angrier than usual. Why am I so much more protective of this mystery girl?

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"What happened?" Erza and Mira asked, rushing over to the bed Loke had set the poor girl on.

"She fell in the river walking home. Levy and Cana are on their way back. They caught the guy that pushed her in," he explained. The front of his dress shirt was wet from the dripping girl he'd been carrying.

"We need to get the water out of her lungs or she'll suffocate!" Mira said, already running out of the room. Her red dress fluttered out behind her. Natsu sat up in his bed with wide eyes, watching the mighty Titania flit around Lucy helplessly. Even she didn't know what to do right now. Loke was sitting on the bed beside Lucy's with his head in his hands.

"Juvia will help!" the water girl said, rushing onto the room and standing over her love rival. With careful hands, Juvia was able to pull the water that was slowly choking Lucy out of her. Mira rolled her onto her side as Lucy coughed and spluttered for air.

"LUCY!" the girls shrieked. Levy ran in a moment later and joined the crowd around Lucy's bed.

"What happened? Where's Cana?" Erza asked Levy.

"We don't know! We were on our way to her apartment, and we caught this guy, and Cana jumped in the water but Aquarius was already there, and—," Levy babbled.

"Natsu…," Lucy whispered, stopping the shorter girl in the middle of her sentence. Natsu's ear perked up at hearing his name from the stranger's mouth.

"Lucy?" Mira asked hesitantly.

"Please Natsu…remember… don't leave me…," Lucy choked out of her raw lungs. Erza turned around to see Natsu's reaction, only to find him standing right there. She stepped aside to let him closer, unsure of what was about to happen.

"Luigi?" Natsu murmured, letting his hand hover an inch away from hers. As if it were a reflex, Lucy's smaller hand shot out and grabbed his as if her life depended on it. Everyone in the room was silent.

"It's Lucy, stupid," Lucy mumbled. Her eyes stayed shut. Mirajane and Erza hold only had time to tell Natsu that he's the one that brought Lucy to Fairy Tail and formed a team with her. They're best friends, and he always bothers her, and she pretends to be angry, but that's just how their relationship was. They'd just started going into Lucy's past when Loke charged in.

"Don't…abandon me," Lucy cried. Mira checked to see if she was awake. No such luck. Her eyes were firmly shut, meaning she was talking in her sleep. Natsu's mouth was hanging open in shock.

"We should go see if Cana is here with that guy," Levy said, tearing everyone's eyes away from the couple. Erza nodded dazedly.

"Juvia will come also," Juvia said, following the retreating bookworm. Mira disappeared for a moment to grab a change of clothes, shooing Natsu into the closet so she could change the unconscious blonde. When she was finished, Natsu came back out and took Lucy's hand again. Erza dragged Mira out the door, but stopped Natsu before he could come too.

"I think you should stay with her right now. Call if anything happens," Erza said over her shoulder. Natsu dragged a chair over and sat beside Lucy's bed, trying desperately to remember the beautiful crying girl that was mumbling his name in her sleep.

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While strange feeling of both confusion and protectiveness swam through Natsu's mind, a more terrifying dream was plaguing Lucy's.
"Natsu…," she whispered to the shimmery outline of her beloved dragon slayer. "Please Natsu…remember… don't leave me…" The figure danced just slightly out of her reach, taunting her with the hopes of fire and warmth in this suffocating darkness. "Don't… abandon me." A tiny pinprick of light appeared in her vision, and she grasped onto it before there was a chance it could get away from her. The light grew bigger and brighter when she held it close to her heart, sheltering her and comforting her, warming her and protecting her.

"Natsu," she whispered again.

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"Just help me up," I said for the umpteenth time. Natsu shook his head again. He'd been holding my hand when I woke up, but immediately let go when I opened my eyes, rubbing the back of his neck instead embarrassedly. The first thing he said to me was that there was some guy outside that everyone thinks pushed me in the river, and he was supposed to stay in here in case I woke up.

My throat was still raw, and my lungs ached with each breath. I'd had worse, though.

"Erza will kill me if I help you," he said, flashing his toothy grin. "Sorry, Luigi." I suppressed a groan. What happened to Luce? Now it's back to that stupid name he gave me when we first met. There was not even the slightest hint of recognition in his eyes. All I saw was the kind look a stranger would give to someone on the street.

"If you won't help, I'll do it myself," I muttered. I pushed off the edge of the bed and stumbled my way over to the door, ignoring the complaining idiot behind me and the faint nausea in my stomach. I felt self conscious in the outfit Mira had changed me into. It was the same one I wore when I was invisible, the clothes she wore when she was a child. I have no idea how it fit me, but I figured it was best not to question it. The sooner I can convince everyone I'm fine, the sooner I can get home, change into clothes, and research ways to get Natsu's memory back.

"Mira?" I called out the door I opened. My gaze locked onto the man in all black standing in the middle of the guild. He was surrounded by my glaring and murderous-looking friends and family. When he saw me, a look of relief washed over his face.

"There you are, Lu!" I groaned at the nickname. "Maybe you can explain to everyone here that I-," he started, silenced a second later by a look from Cana.

"Lucy, you shouldn't be walking around! You're still very weak!" Mira tiptoed over, trying to push me back to the infirmary. She shot Natsu an angry look over my shoulder. However, I refused to budge. My blood was ice in my veins.

I ignored them all and walked up to the man I hadn't seen in years. He'd changed so much since the last time I saw him, but he was still recognizable. His short dark hair was spiked up, just like when we were kids. The black jeans and hoodie didn't suit him, he would have looked much better in the regal sky blue and gold that his mother always dressed him in.

"Cato?" I asked, hoping and praying it wasn't him.

"Lupee! I knew you'd remember me!" he cheered, pulling me in for the worst hug I've ever received. I kept my arms by my sides stiffly. In a second, a force cut in between us, forcing Cato to let go. Much to my surprise, Natsu was standing in front of me, extremely pissed off.

"Don't touch her," he all but growled. Does he remember me? Hope filtered into my body.

"How about you back off, pinky? You don't know her like I do. We are engaged!" Cato snapped. I rolled my eyes as far back as they could go into my head. Natsu turned around questioningly, wondering if he should still hit him. That's when I think I gave up on him ever remembering me. As Natsu stepped out of the way in response to me shaking my head, I bit back any tears. The Natsu I know would have beaten the crap out of this guy without a thought for even hinting that he knew me better than Natsu himself. I visibly deflated, although I tried to hide it from my friends.

The others, in the mean time, were swooning and whispering to each other, gasping dramatically over what Cato said. Tired, cranky, and annoyed, I smacked Cato upside the head with the front of my hand. He ducked to the ground and shielded his head with his arms.

"We were engaged when we were FOUR," I snapped. "Now why the hell did you push me into the river?"

"So you did do it!" Cana bellowed, whipping a sword out of nowhere and shoving it towards him. He fell backwards, avoiding the sharp object. Since when did Cana know how to use a sword?!

"I was trying to play tag with you like when we were little!" Cato sobbed. Snot was dripping out of his nose as he cried on the ground below me. "I didn't mean to, honest!"

Everyone in the guild sighed, including myself. I didn't expect Cato to be a part of some bigger plot; he was too much of a baby. He always has been. When we were kids, he was afraid of the dark, afraid of bugs, afraid of birds, and afraid of water. Hopefully, he wasn't such a scaredy cat now.

"Just go home, Cato," I ordered, patting him on top of the head.

"I can't! I came to marry you, just like we promised!" he said, standing back up to his full height (which happened to be a few inches taller than me, about the same height as Natsu). Mira got hearts in her eyes, probably picturing romantic promises of love we pledged to each other in secrete hideouts. Too bad there's only one guy I really like, and he doesn't even know me anymore.

Said guy jumped in front of me again, shoving Cato with all his strength. Cato stumbled back a few feet.

"She said go home! She doesn't love you!" he yelled. Silence gripped everyone. My face burned ten shades of red. Cato glared, puffing out his chest.

"How DARE you, commoner, place your hands on me?! Dearest Lucille, allow me to rescue you from these BARBARIANS...," Cato started, leaning around the pink-headed Salamander to stare at me hopefully. I didn't stop Natsu when he lit his fist on fire, holding it towards Cato threateningly.

"These barbarians are my family. I'm happier with them than anyone else in the world," I said proudly over Natsu's shoulder. Cato, eyes wide in fear of the blaze being pointed towards his face, ran to the doors, turning around to salute Mavis knows who.

"I will be back for you, Lu-moo-chan!" he swore fervently, bolting away before Cana or Natsu could chase him out. The entire talk left me even more exhausted than before. I guess nearly drowning takes a lot out of a person.

"I have no idea what just happened," Erza remarked. Others nodded as well. I tore my eyes away from Natsu's back to face the majority of the guild.

"Cato was my friend when we were little. Our fathers were friends, so they stuck us together while they worked. We had little crushes on each other, or something. We'd play house, kind of like how Lisanna and Natsu did. Now that I think about it, we even had our own Happy. She was a little stuffed monkey named MooMoo," I explained.

"So that's where the Lu-moo-chan came from," Levy noted.

"That was so anticlimactic. I was expecting a fight!" Gray groaned. Natsu was remaining unusually quiet.

"Let's get you back to bed. You shouldn't have gotten up in the first place!" Mira scolded, pushing me back towards the room with beds. I didn't put up a fight.

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Natsu's PoV

Mira and Erza forced both me and Lucy to stay in the infirmary over night, although neither of us really needed to. I was healing fine since I woke up, and Lucy was acting normal again. Well, other people were saying she was. I don't know if that's her normal or not.

When Cato was talking to Lucy about love, I felt really funny. I felt like my heart was being run over by a steam rolled. I felt like I really wanted to punch somebody, especially Cato. Why was I like that? I remember everything about the guild but her.

Before Mira left, she said she was curious about something. She asked me who I was with when I fought Duke Everlue, or the Infinity Clock. But, when I tried to tell her, things in my mind were hazy. I couldn't remember anyone who was there. She nodded mutely and disappeared, telling me to keep an eye on Lucy, who was sleeping.

A few hours later when everyone was gone (except Happy, who was asleep at the foot of Lucy's bed) and the room was mostly dark besides the light coming from the moon outside, I heard Lucy quietly get out of bed. What was she doing? Erza was going to kill her if she comes back and finds that Lucy went home in the night. And then she'd kill me for letting Lucy go home, even though I was supposed to be sleeping.

Instead of heading towards the door, however, she sat on the edge of my bed. Her scent was comforting. I heard her sigh sadly, and I wondered what was wrong. Was she sad because I didn't remember her? Still, I kept my eyes closed and my breaths even.

"I'm sorry. If I were stronger, I could have stopped the witch from taking away your memory. In a way, it's my own fault you forgot me." Her fingers ghosted over my hand. "I know you can't remember me, but I remember you. You brought me to this guild. All we had to do for my first mission was find a book and burn it, but we couldn't even do that properly. You saved me from Phantom Lord. You've saved me more times than I can count, actually.

"You're my partner, but you're so much more than that. If Mira were here right now, she'd be planning our wedding with those little hearts in her eyes she gets. She says I'll never admit how I feel about you, but how am I to know my heart? I read so many books about romance. How do I know I'm not just making things up in my head?

"After I ran away from home, Fairy Tail became my family. Having you forget me, you of all people, feels like being abandoned. I'm being left alone in a dark room, and my flame has disappeared, just like in my nightmare. I couldn't figure out what it meant at first. But you were there, holding my hand, and I realized. You're my flame. You keep me happy and sane. You're my stupid, idiotic, dense dragon slayer, and I really like you. You're more than nakama."

A tremor went through my heart. There was a beat of silence after Lucy's whispered confession, and then the weirdest feeling came over me.

It felt like there's been water in my ears and a veil around my eyes since I woke up. I've been hearing and seeing everything except for Lucy. She's been filtered out of my mind. But she's back now. I know who she is.

She's my weird, stupid, whiny, clumsy Celestial wizard.

She my worrying, protective, loyal, beautiful friend.

She's the one I've had a crush on for months.

When she slowly got up to return to her bed, I grabbed her wrist. She turned around in shock, meeting my eyes that were finally wide open.

"Natsu?" she questioned.

"Lucy."