Fragile

The water that filled the bathtub rippled as drops fell from the faucet. Everything was still except the rattling window above. The spring winds howled against the small apartment. The blonde haired mage layed still, her arms resting on her chest, her breaths short and relaxed. Her long blonde, silky locks of hair draped past her shoulders, covering her slim upper-body. Her head was lazily positioned against the edge of the hard porcelain. The serene woman mumbled in her sleep, and her feet that were laid on the other end of the tub moved slightly when she began shifting.

"Luce, hurry up! What's taking you so long?"

The peacefulness of the celestial mage's bath-nap was interrupted rudely. She jerked awake suddenly, and accidentally hit her head on the edge of the tub in the process. She cursed to herself loudly, and sat upright. "Natsu, you idiot! I'll be out in a second.."

In the other room, Natsu was sprawled across Lucy's bed. "Tch, who's she calling an idiot.." he remarked to himself, snickering childishly. He'd been waiting for what felt like years, or so he told himself in an annoyed tone. If she kept this up, they'd have a late start to their mission of finding the others.

Lucy sighed as she finished draining water from the tub. The bathroom was clouded in steamy dew and the small mirror that hung on the wall was covered in fog. She felt the difference in temperature when she opened the door, now fully clothed. At the sound of Lucy's footsteps, Natsu stood up, yawning.

"Took you long enough," the pink-haired mage commented, smirking. She glared at her fellow mage, and placed her hands on her hips defensively. He chuckled, knowing he was annoying his fair-haired friend. She had to admit, even after one year of not seeing Natsu, he was still the same old idiot. Thinking of that, her eyes drifted to the large board that stood in the corner of her bedroom. It stood as a reminder of the loneliness she experienced during that year-long absence from Natsu and everyone else.

Though, she still hadn't found the other guild members. A somber look appeared on her features and the fire-mage standing before her rubbed his neck in confusion.

"Luce, I was just kidding. I wasn't trying to upset you," he stated, feeling guilty. Maybe he was being a bit too annoying.

A stray tear fell from her eye and she quickly wiped it away, surprised herself that her emotions had gotten the best of her all of a sudden. "Shit, Luce, I'm really sorry! Please don't cry," he expressed frantically. Noticing him freaking out, Lucy's attention was diverted from the board.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," she spoke with a small, reassuring smile on her face. His eyebrows furrowed and if he was guessing right, something else was bothering her. It was hard for him to believe her since her eyes were getting watery. He looked behind himself, wondering what she was staring at a moment before. He balled his fists when he looked at the board. It was covered inch to inch in information, details, pictures, newspaper clippings, and the like. He turned back to look at Lucy wiping her eyes again.

"We'll find them Luce, I swear, we will. We'll bring Fairy Tail back together," he spoke with such determination, it made Lucy only well up with more sadness. She didn't want Natsu to see her like this; this weak part of her that broke down crying without a moment's notice.

Her chest felt constricted and her vision was blurred from the pools of tears forming in her puffy eyes. How was she supposed to explain what she was feeling?

"I'm fine..I just got overwhelmed for a second," she tried to brush away her reaction once again, but Natsu obviously wasn't buying it. His arms were crossed and he looked at her as if he was examining her, probably trying to make sense of the blonde falling apart in front of him.

"It's just been a long year for me, that's all," she continued, trying to appease his obvious curiosity.

"Luce, I'm sorry I wasn't here. If I had known I wouldn't ha-

"Don't, Natsu," her face turned serious. There was a hint of anger in her features and Natsu was even more confused than before. She sucked in a deep breath before continuing on what seemed like the beginning of an angry rant.

"If there is one thing I don't want to hear, it's a damn 'sorry'. Honestly, did you even look back when you left? You couldn't imagine the loneliness I felt when everyone just up and left me, Natsu. It's not just something a sorry can fix," her tears were falling rapidly at this point, for she lost all control of her emotions. She was on the border of sobbing, her voice cracking and adopting a distressed tone.

The stare she was giving him made him go quiet. He had no inkling of what he should say next. This was awkward for him, to say the least. He never would've guessed a confrontation like this would be presented to him after a year of being away. When they were reunited at the Grand Magic Games, things seemed fine. Lucy was happy.

Wiping her tears away angrily, she tried to walk past him, making no eye contact. Without a second thought, Natsu reached towards her and grasped her wrist, not even looking.

"Hey.." he started. Not having the willpower to snatch her arm away, she just looked down, biting her lip.

"Lucy, you know I never would have left if I knew it would cause you so much pain," he had regret welling within him. He didn't like this..feeling. He hated himself for making her like this. He was supposed to protect her. That's what he always promised to do.

"I tried to go after you..but I was already too late. You and Happy were already gone. Damn you, Natsu. How could you just leave me?" her tears returned and she openly sobbed, her body shaking. She held her hand to her chest and grasped her shirt tightly.

He turned towards her and the pain was evident in his eyes. He never meant to cause this. Looking up at him, her cheeks were stained with tears and her features were contorted. She let go of her shirt and in a split second, her hand made contact with his face as she slapped him with all the power she could muster. His eyes widened in shock.

The tender flesh stung and changed to a shade of pink. Her joints seemed to move on their own when she began beating his chest with her fist. Looking down the whole time, each punch harder than the last. He didn't dare to move. He knew that feeling. The feeling of a sadness so consuming, you couldn't control anything you said or did.

"You left me just like my father, Natsu! Why does everyone always leave? What did I do to deserve this?" she cried. A new level of guilt fell onto him, like a weight was placed on his shoulders. He thought back to when Lucy found out her father had passed. He saw her break down, he saw how much pain she felt; how the guilt plagued her. After that day, she never talked about her father again.

The punching slowed, and finally it stopped. They stood there, her hand resting on his chest. His gaze set upon the crying woman.

"Lucy.."

Natsu pulled her towards him, grasping her as tight as he could. She didn't struggle against it. Everything ached within her; her mind, her body, and especially her heart. Her heart ached so badly she thought it might explode.

"I know it's selfish of me, but it hurts so much..I was alone, Natsu. I didn't have a home to go to. Fairy Tail wasn't here," Lucy clutched the rose-haired man's shirt. His hand laid on the back of her head while his head buried itself between her blonde locks and her shoulder.

Her arms winded around his neck stiffly. Her voice was almost too low to understand what she was saying. It was a good thing he was a dragon-slayer.

"I missed you," she whispered in a sad tone. He smiled against her neck and breathed in deeply. He knew that as long as he was in this world, he would protect Fairy Tail; he would protect Lucy's future. The heaviness he felt before was starting to disperse. These feelings that accumulated during the past year had slapped him in the face, literally.

He pulled away briefly to look at her. She was smiling but her crying hadn't stopped. Just then, he lowered his forehead to rest against hers. It was nostalgic to him. He remembered doing this to the future Lucy, as well. Her hand found its way to his cheek and she cried more, but this time they were happy tears.

"I missed you too, Luce," he whispered back, his eyes closed.

With that, he moved back only to place a small kiss on her forehead. They looked at eachother with great meaning in their eyes. "Igneel would have been proud of you, ya know," she smiled proudly at the fire-mage, her hand still on his cheek. A goofy grin played on his features and he rubbed his head shyly.

'I found my way home, Mom.' Lucy thought to herself, an overbearing amount of relief filling up inside her.