AN: Hello and thank you for reading. I'm so sorry it's been so long since Ilast updated it! There was a lot of moving and Trauma, and by the time I deceid to get back to my story, I forgot all about the plot. I had to re-read it a few times to spark my memory. I think I have it now, here's hoping anyways.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not belong to me, it belongs to Hiro Mashima

When the End Comes: Memories

By lightning-storm

Lucy looked at her companion in surprise. For sometime now they had traveled in silence, and she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. It was not like Natsu to seem so pensive. That was more Gray's thing.

Natsu was loud, rude, and troublesome. He loved to fight, and he loved to protect people in his fight. He was always the one cracking jokes, emptying the fridge with his voracious appetite,and leaving everyone with a smile on his face. His name meant summer after all, and right now he wasn't acting very summer like. He had been like that ever since they left the city as a matter of fact.

"Natsu? Are you okay?" she asked simply, concerned about his uncharacteristic silence.

"Hmm..." asked her pink haired companion, clearly in some kind of daze.

"Natsu?" she asked again with no response. It was then that she noticed him looking at a large clock tower. As Lucy looked up she noted that it looked strangely familiar.

"That's the clock tower you broke once." spoke the small blue exceed.

"Yeah," answered Natsu, once again in daze, "It's great that they fixed it, but it makes a really weird boundary line now."

"Hmm?" Lucy looked on in astonishment. This was definitely not in the typical characteristic of Natsu. He almost sounded thoughtful.

"Maybe I should destroy it again."

Lucy widened her eyes in surprise. She knew that Natsu being thoughtful was too much to ask. Damn that boy for dashing all her hopes. "Oh no you don't!"she cried automatically, smacking him over the head with a newspaper.

"Arg! Screamed Natsu in frustration, "There's not enough action here! After all that training too, and those guys at the Grand Magic Games, what a joke! How did they even manage to win anyways! Where are Gray, Erza and Laxus when I need them, " he shouted, "Punching the air as he did so."

"Um well.." started Lucy. "I-"

"Lucy!" screamed Natsu, causing the blonde to jump back momentarily, "How about you for now! Fight me!"

A wicked grin started to form on her beautiful face, just what she was thinking, but of course she couldn't tell him that, not so excitedly anyway.

"No way." she teased, "Is what I'd like to say to you, but I've been doing a little training myself too." And she immediately peaked the interest of the salmon haired man.

"Oh?" he asked, a little excited now.

"Of course." messing with the keys in her pouch, "I doubt I'd be able to beat you at your best but..." Natsu tensed, something catching his attention far off, unbeknownst the the blonde beauty, "Would you like to have a sparring Match?"

"Wait!" cried the young man, immediately blocking with his hand. With uncharacteristic speed he twirled around and blew fire between her legs.

"Eek!" Cried Lucy, desperately trying keep her small skirt from blowing up. How dare he! What the hell was wrong with that boy?! Was he trying to give her a third degree burn or something. "What the hell was that about!?" she screamed, infuriated by the smug grin upon his face.

"Don't worry about it" He laughed gleefully.

Lucy wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or insulted, maybe a bit miffed. She chose the latter.

"I've become quite strong too you know!" she defended.

"Forget it." he smirked again, "I've lost interest."

"Why you!" Running in to attack him anyways, she was immediately caught and pushed away. Now she was really angry.

"Maybe another day," he whispered, a twinkle of joy in his brown eyes. Man had he missed her.

That night they found a nice little inn to stay at. Feeling a bit relaxed they had a bit of ale and began to talk about the different things they had experienced throughout the year.

"Natsu was like...Dammit! Why can't I recognize anything anymore.? And I Was like, Well Natsu...it was over 16 years ago after all." laughed the small exceed as he thought of the priceless expression on his companion face when he brought that out.

"Haha. Very funny pal. How was I supposed to know it would have been destroyed and buried by Ivy! I could hardly see or smell anything. " he shouted. "Can rocks and trees even become that brittle or decayed in two decades!" Natsu thought, thinking about the walls that were crumbling piles of dirt and the hollowed out trees that seemed to have been like that for at least 100 years.

Lucy listened intently, decayed, brittle? She may not be a science whiz, but she knew enough to know that that sort of thing didn't happen in less then 20 years, maybe 50, but 20? Besides, couldn't Dragon Slayers sense things up to 25 years later or something. She thought she read that in a science magazine somewhere.

"Apparently!" screamed the small exceed as he rolled over, laughing.

"Yeah yeah,". Grumbled Natsu, turning his head to blonde bombshell,"What about you Lucy, you went into modeling? How did that happen? You're so chunky" he teased.

Lucy's contemplation was effectively silenced as she heard Natsu's comment. Huffing, she attempted to surprise the dragon slayer with her left hook but Natsu caught it easily, a smirk in his handsome face. "I am not!" she cried.

"Kidding," Natsu winked, and Lucy blushed brightly before lowering her hand into her lap.

"W...well," she stuttered, remembering her decision to go to the capital once the guild disbanded. It was too painful to stay in a place filled with so many memories. It was when she was about halfway there that her excitable boss came to meet her. Thinking of his over exaggerated positive attitude, and bright blonde hair, it was strange to see him at the verge of tears when they met up

"It was rather funny, but as I was going to Crocus Jason ran up to me and started started begging me to tell him it wasn't true, that Fairytail wasn't really dis-" Lucy covered her mouth in horror as something unexpectedly crossed her mind. "Oh my god!" she cried out, "Jason!? "

"Hmm?" question Natsu and Happy.

"I was supposed to write an article about the Grand Magic Games!"

Natsu perked up, remembering his farewell to the blonde editor, 'Oh yeah' he thought, Lucy didn't know about that. "Oh," he said, "About that, I don't think you really have to worry."

"What do you mean I don't have to worry!" she cried out, "He doesn't know-" cutting off her next phrase she looked over her pink haired friend. Noticing the mischievous gleam in his eyes, "What did you do Natsu?"

"I just informed him of the importance of getting guild back together." Natsu spoke smugly, "He was more than willing to listen...in fact he even wished us well."

"But the article-"

"He'll take care of it..."

Lucy flushed in embarrassment, of course he would do something like that, this was Natsu after all.

"Oh well in that case..." started Lucy, a slight hint of red on her cheeks, and she explained the whole story of how she had become a model, and then gotten the job for the news.

"On my last day Jason insisted that I stay as one of their models,"

' Your amazing Lucy! Please continue to model for us from now on!'

Lucy balked at the memory, "However, despite how nice that was, I explained to him how I always." Lucy paused, "At first Jason wasn't to happy to see me go, but once I explained how it would benefit his magazine if I was on team he heartily agreed." Lucy paused, thinking of that situation, "From then on I became a journalist, but every so often, particularly if money is tight, "I 'll still do a modeling shoot here and there!"

"Really?" shouted her blue companion, and Natsu smirked, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"In that case," he suggested, "How about giving us a private viewing?"

It took about three seconds for Lucy to put his words together. "WHAT!" screamed the blonde bombshell, "Hell no!" With that she kicked the two perverts out of her room.

"Dammit." Natsu groaned out as got up out of the rocky rubble and rubbed the top of his head, that actually almost hurt. "What did I do?"

"Well-" started Happy, not quite sure how to explain the possible implications to that sort of thing, at least in Lucy's head.

"She said she still did modeling every so often, so why would it be such a problem to give us a private showing!"

"Well you know how Lucy is," shrugged Happy, "she can be really weird when it comes to this sort of thing!"

"That's for sure," exclaimed Natsu, a bright look on his face, "but it's not like she hides much from us anyways." The two considered Lucy's wardrobe, or lack there of carefully, and grinned at one another. "How about we go back inside and mess with Lucy some more," Natsu looked and the blue exceed readily agreed.

"Aye!"

Natsu smiled internally as he thought of what had just happened. Lucy had indeed gotten stronger. So strong in fact, that when she had kicked him he could almost compare it to the physical power of the scarlet haired warrior he was itching to challenge. Now that he knew that, he was much more eager to challenge the blonde beauty, but not yet. First he would see how their new found relationship would play out. Natsu smirks as he sneaks back in the window of their little inn. Watching her as she flushes her face with water, Natsu smiles. Here goes nothing.

To Be Continued...

Sorry if it seems short, but I thought this seemed like a good stopping point. Next chapter goes back to our beloved villain so stay tuned!