Me: Hey, guys Back with the final chapter! I made it so long only for you guys. I hope you'd like it.

Natsu: What! You're saying they'll have to read more to find out what's in her heart. It's not fair. What's in your heart, Luce?

Lucy: Shut up and let them read the chapter. Beatress wants me to clear your doubts. She doesn't own Fairytail. Only the plot belongs to her.

Me: I'm really sad that it ends here but you guys enjoy! Chapter ahead.

Chapter-7 What's in Lucy's heart?

"What's in my heart? What did you mean?" she thought.

Then, she could feel herself falling down to her knees. A tear slid down her face.

"He's going to leave me again…." She thought.

"Wait! What am I thinking? I did want him to leave. I hate him. I really do hate him. I hate him so much. He always does that to me. Why is he ever a part of my life? I really hate him" she shouted out.

"I want to know what's in my Lucy's heart"

"Why is it echoing in my mind? Why is his voice echoing in my mind? What's in my heart?" she shouted at no one in particular.

There was no one except her in the room. She was feeling lonely. A feeling of despair filled her mind. But why? She questioned herself. Nine years… she had been suffering with these thoughts.

"What do I want?" she questioned herself.

~0~

"Mommy!" shouted a blonde haired girl. She was falling down from the edge of the cliff. All the bad guys as she called them surrounded her, leaving no room for her to escape. She just stepped back and back and back and poof! She fell down from the cliff. She closed her eyes, unable to see herself be battered. However, she felt warm as she landed on something soft, not on the hard ground. She slowly opened her eyes only to meet with the onyx eyes of a certain pink haired boy.

"Are you okay, miss?" he asked.

"Leave me alone… Don't touch me…" She shouted as she struggled to get away from him, still scared that he is one of the bad guys. She didn't notice that they were standing at the edge of a small support he clung to save her. Her struggling made the situation even worse for him, making them fall together into the river below.

When she woke up, she saw the same pink haired boy taking care of her.

"So, miss, are you okay? You were not hurt by them," he asked.

Lucy broke into tears. She was so scared at that time that she didn't realize how she behaved. She wasn't like this always. He couldn't see her cry. She was way too cute for that. In order to stop her from crying, he hugged her all of a sudden. She somehow felt quite relieved. All her crying just stopped and for no reason, she began smiling. She pulled away from him only to see him blush slightly. She herself was blushing a bit.

"I'm really sorry, I struggled back then. I was really scared…" she apologized.

Their clothes were damp. She was shivering. He lit something like a campfire.

"Why were they after you? You're just a pretty cute girl to be after your life…," he said, scratching the back of his head. Lucy blushed slightly when she heard the last part. She soon shrugged it off and answered him.

"My father is a very rich man…They wanted to kidnap me and threaten him for money. Somehow, I managed to escape but then, I was caught and finally fell down the cliff. Then, you saved me. Thank you, thank you very much… for saving me," she thanked him.

"Well… you're welcome. Only a fool would not save a pretty girl as you…,"he blurted. He couldn't understand why he was behaving like that. He was never like this before. Somehow, he liked this girl very much. He mostly grew in the mountains with his foster father, Igneel. He never met any other humans. She was the first one so she was special.

Lucy blushed redder hearing him say that. Most people said that she was cute but it was only he who made her blush so much. It was a strange feeling. Though she had been living in an estate, she grew up lonely. She never had a friend. He was the first one other than her mother, who cared for her so much. She felt so happy. Their lives were so similar. That made them good friends.

"Can you take me to my home?" she asked, innocently.

"Well, you see, I'm a kind of lost myself," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh yeah, I remember, we both fell together, right? May be we both are lost," she said, feeling bad that she couldn't return home. She managed to fake a smile, not to worry him.

He saw the smile on her face. He knew it was the not same smile she had cast before but he could do nothing about it. However, he felt like cheering her up. Her smile boosted him a lot.

"Daijo obu, I'll search the entire world to take you back home safe and sound," he cheered her.

She just giggled at what he said. He couldn't understand what he said.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, rather innocently.

"You said you'd search the whole world for me. That's what made me giggle. I'm sorry but the way you said it was funny," the blonde said, continuing to giggle.

"Well… I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you…" the blonde introduced herself.

"I'm Natsu," he replied, grinning wide at her. He was happy because she was happy.

"I guess we have to sleep here for the night. We have no choice. We cannot roam out as wild animals may attack us. We'll begin our search tomorrow if you don't mind," the boy said.

Lucy seemed scared at the thought of wild animals attacking them. It was so safe back there at her home. She used to cling to her mother whenever she was scared. Now she was really scared but her mother was not around. Fear was clearly visible on her face.

"Anything wrong, Luce?" Natsu asked, worried if anything was bothering.

"Oh, nothing," She shrugged off.

Soon, he fell asleep. She, however, was struggling to sleep. As the night fell and the darkness grew, she grew more afraid of the surroundings. She could now hear different kinds of sounds that made her freak. She wanted her mom so badly. How she missed her today. Then, she saw Natsu sound asleep.

"How could he sleep so peacefully at a place like this?" she thought.

She slowly snuggled her head near Natsu's chest. The heat radiated from his body made sleep come faster. She felt so comfortable. She wasn't feeling scared of anything. Soon, she fell asleep.

Next morning, when Natsu woke up earlier than she did, he saw her so close to him, with her head resting on his chest. She was sleeping peacefully. She looked damn cute while asleep.

"How cute she is!" he thought, "Wait! What am I thinking about a girl? She's my friend. That's it"

He shrugged of all his feelings as he tried to wake her up. However, she didn't wake up. Not wanting to disturb her sleep, he decided to go get some food. He was really hungry. As he stood up, he felt a pull downwards. He looked to that direction. Lucy held his hand not letting him to go. She was still asleep. He tried to set it free but he couldn't struggle. He surely didn't want to make her up.

After an hour or so, she woke up. She found a grinning Natsu sitting by her side. She wondered why he was sitting there. Then, she saw herself holding his hand. She blushed deep red. Natsu himself was blushing. They both turned their faces away from each other. After a few minutes, they could hear their stomachs growl.

"Hey, Luce, Let's get some food," he said. Lucy nodded and they left in search of a place to eat. Thanks to Natsu being a dragon slayer, he ran in the direction from where the smell of food came. Lucy had a hard time following him. Sure, he was fond of food. That was clear to her.

They finally reached a small village. They walked through the village to find a restaurant. However, they had no money. The thought of it made sad. However, when they were about to leave, they saw a poster that read:

On the Eve of Annual celebration of Our Restaurant,

We are conducting a Dancing competition tonight!

Conducted in pairs…

Winners will be awarded a large amount of food and other supplies sufficient for a week…

People of all ages are allowed… Costumes will be provided by us…

Make sure you all enjoy today's event.

Natsu was quite excited. However, his excitement was all ruined when he came to reality. Lucy saw the sad face of her nakama and asked him what the matter was.

"It's like …uhm… I don't know how to dance and besides, I don't have a partner," he said as he kept a sad face.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to dance… and if you wish I'll be your partner…" she said smiling.

"Really? I'm so happy…"he said as he squeezed her in a hug.

They both practiced hard for the competition. She must say Natsu is an awful dancer but she must say that stubborn guy showed a good improvement by night. At the competition, everyone's eyes were on this little couple. They looked so good. Of course, in the end, they won. Natsu was so happy. He finished the entire food supply within half an hour, of course leaving some for Lucy to eat. Lucy couldn't help but smile at him.

Like this, a week passed. Soon, the day arrived when they had to part their ways. They were standing outside the large front gate of Heartphilia's. Lucy was quite happy that she was backing home. However, something pricked her heart. She was so sad to be backing home. She didn't knew why. It pained her so much.

"Okay, Luce, We had a good time. I'd like to meet you again. I'm really sorry if you were not comfortable. I'm really looking forward to meet you again. You were really cute and…. I… uhm… I'm really looking forward to meet you again someday soon… I… uh…Good bye!" he said. He turned his back to her. He didn't know why he felt like crying. He'd really miss her. She was his first friend. He'd really miss her.

"Hey, Natsu, I…" Lucy was cut off in the middle of her sentence when a maid came running outside and called out to her.

"Miss Lucy! Where were you all these days? Mistress was quite worried about you. She's sick. She wants to see you. Please hurry and come," the maid said.

Hearing that her mom was sick, she ran fast to her room, leaving the pink haired guy behind. He ran to his home where his father was waiting for him.

A few days passed. The little dragon slayer wasn't putting his heart into anything. Igneel noticed the strange behavior of his child. He rubbed his nose onto the boy's stomach.

"Looks like you found a mate already," he said.

The little boy was surprised. He never heard about anything as such before. Igneel never told him.

"What does that mean?" the boy asked, "I just feel like seeing her again and again. You should have met her. She's damn cute and good," the boy continued.

"That's what it means. When you really long to see a person of the opposite gender, your heart beats at a different rate when you see her, you cannot seem to forget her at all, you want to protect her with your life and so, then she's your mate. You should never leave her side then," the dragon said.

"I quite don't get this thing but I want to see her once again," the boy whined.

"Well, you can go to see her if you want. It's not like I'm going to stop you. Promise me that You'll always remember her. You'll never leave her alone…" the dragon gave his approval. The pink haired boy jumped in joy. He hugged his foster father and left to see his friend.

"Come back soon!" the dragon shouted.

"I wonder who that girl who has driven him so crazy is. I wish he'd always be as happy as he is now…." The dragon thought as he saw his son leaving.

~0~

"I quite didn't understand what Igneel told me that day…. Now to think of it, I now understand what he meant. It truly feels different when I'm around Lucy. I want to see her more and more. I like it when she's around. I'm happy when she's safe. I want to protect her with all my life. I love her... I truly love her… It took nine years for me to realize. I wish she could see that soon. I can't wait to get her back," thought the dragon slayer as he returned to their room. He could hear no noise from inside but he knew she was there in. He worriedly opened the door only to see the blonde sleeping in her bed. He couldn't help but stare at her.

He heard a knock on the door. He opened the door only to see the boy from room service. He brought some dresses for the 'couple' to wear. He said the Mayor wanted them to select some of these clothes to wear for the celebration tonight. He was looking forward to seeing both of them at the party that night. Natsu thanked them for the clothes and the boy left.

"Geez, they want us to come together. I wonder if Lucy will agree," he said to no one in particular. Only thing left for him to do was to wake his friend who was sleeping.

"Lucy… Wake up… We have a message from the Mayor…Hey Lucy… wake up…" the salamander whispered in a low voice. However, the blonde didn't wake up. He tried for an hour or so. Then, he didn't have the heart to wake her up. So, he thought he'd tell the Mayor that they'd be unable to come. He tried to leave as he again felt a pull backwards. He turned to the direction, only to see his hand held by Lucy's hand. It was just like when they had met. He went near her to see if she wasn't feeling well. He placed his hand on her forehead but it felt normal. However, the warmth of his hand woke her up. He jumped back startled.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"No… it was … just... waking you up….that's it…" he said. Then, he told her that the Mayor wanted them to come together to the celebration that night. He then waited for her reaction.

Surprisingly, she just agreed. However, her spirits were not lifted up. Natsu got changed as quickly as possible and left the room. He told her he'd be waiting for her down stairs. She sighed at this. She began choosing herself a pretty dress that would suit the occasion.

"I want to know what's in my Lucy's heart."

His voice just echoed in her mind. It was getting onto her. She was still confused. What was in her heart? She thought but she still couldn't get an answer. She then decided against it and got changed into a pink gown that extended up to her toes. She indeed looked gorgeous. She locked the room and left down stairs.

On reaching the ground floor, she was quite amazed. It was Natsu who amazed her. He looked handsome, more like a prince. All the women in the hotel had their eyes on him. Lucy had a somewhat mixed feelings. She blushed slightly. On the other hand, she felt her heart burning. Was she feeling jealous? She couldn't understand.

Natsu, however, had his eyes fixed on her. She was looking gorgeous in her pink gown, as elegant as a princess was. He walked up to her, extending his hand to hold hers, in a princely style. She felt a slight blush forming on her face. Her heart was racing. Unknowingly itself, she accepted his invitation, much to his surprise. A smile formed on his face. This sight broke the hearts of all the young women around them.

They walked hand in hand, all throughout the celebration. The city was beautifully decorated, well illuminated. It was the most beautiful city they had ever seen. She felt warmth she couldn't explain. For every now and then, she used to look at him and then, turn her face away, when he looked at her. It felt a kind of funny for him.

"Admit it, Luce. You still have the same feelings for me…" he thought.

However, the sad look on her face made him so worried. Why was she so sad? He couldn't ignore it, though she faked a smile many a times. He wasn't convinced that she was happy. What was that bothering her? He couldn't figure it out.

They stopped at a place. The board in front of them read "Last Dance". The people of that stall urged them to dance. They told them that they were the cutest couple they've ever seen and a dance together would make the night perfect for them. They were hesitant at first. He looked at her for any sign of approval. She shook her head.

"I guess the fate wants us together," she said in a low voice.

His eyes widened at what he heard.

"I don't care what the fate wants. I only care what you want, Lucy!" he replied, sternly, facing her. He saw her eyes water.

"Dance… like nine years before. You haven't forgotten, right? I don't have the time to teach you today…" she said, still holding her head low.

"Sure…" he said, somewhat confused.

They stepped onto the dance floor. All the eyes were fixed on them but they didn't care today. It was as if only the two of them were dancing. The world meant nothing to them. All the young men were jealous of Natsu and the young women were jealous of her. They looked so good together.

Lucy slowly placed her head on his chest, resting it there as they danced.

"What's the matter?" the dragon slayer asked.

"It's nothing… You did tell me that I could come to you if I was feeling sad, down, confused or anything right. I'm confused now… That's why…," she whispered, knowing that the dragon slayer can catch each of the words she said.

The dragon slayer remembered having said those words to her, when they were kids. He just sighed as they continued dancing to the slow tune that was being played. He just kissed her on her forehead, causing the blonde to stop. He looked at him with water in her eyes.

"Natsu…I… I…" She couldn't speak.

It started raining before she could say any more. He grabbed her hand, running back towards their hotel. He didn't know what she was about to say but he didn't want her to get sick. Lucy refused as she pulled him back. They were now standing in raining.

"Lucy, it's raining," he said.

"It's raining down your cheeks too," she said. For the first time he noticed that his eyes were wet with his own tears.

"It's raining down your cheeks too, Lucy," he said pointing out the tears in her eyes, "Let's go, I don't want us to get sick again,"

He began pulling her in the direction of their hotel. He allowed her some time to get changed back into their casuals. After allowing a few minutes for her, he opened the door to step in. He changed his wet clothes. Then, he began to think. The blonde has almost lost her smile. What was it she was crying so badly about? What was it that her eyes wanted to tell him? What was it that was in her heart?

All these thoughts were in his mind when he suddenly saw Lucy tripping by kicking against her own boots. He caught her in his arms, holding her tight, not wanting to let her go. He wanted to do this. He wanted her to be with him but sadly, she didn't seem to like it. They froze for sometime in this position. Time flew off. They didn't knew it.

Then, he felt her fist clenching his shirt tight. The grip became tighter. She rested her fore head on his chest. He was getting confused.

"Why? Why do you always do this? I hate you, you know that. Then, why do you do this? You left me nine years ago. I was crying. You knew that. You were standing right outside my room. Still you didn't come. You said you'd be there for me, right? Where were all your promises? You know how much you mean to me. You were my entire world. I never had a friend. All the love I got was from my mom and you. Still you left me. I lost my two precious things back then. You weren't there for me when I wanted you the most. I really hate you. I really really hate you. Nine years… I was alone. You don't know the tears I shed only for you. I really…" She paused.

His eyes widened. She was speaking her heart. He could feel his shirt get wet with her tears. He was speechless.

"Really, she hates me," he thought.

"But then," she continued, "Love… Love, I hate you… I really hate it. Even though I was so much hurt by you. I still want you by my side. I still don't like it when you're away. Why do you always try to get away from me, huh? You like making me cry. You make me worried. You do all sorts of things to protect me. You were there at that night. I felt your hand on my cheek. Still… you didn't show yourself…. You're so mean you know that. I was dying to see the love for me in your eyes and when I did, you want to walk away from me. You're an idiot, you know that. I really hate love. I really hate you,"

Natsu was quite taken aback from her reaction. He didn't know she'd confess her feelings in such a way. He just held her tighter and kissed her on her forehead for the second time.

"I love you, Lucy. I always longed for this day and I'm happy that you're there with me today," he confessed.

Unable to believe her partner had confessed to her, she looked at him. Then, he kissed her on her lips. As their lips met, all her confusion was driven. Now she knew what she wanted. All she wanted was he. She wanted him to be with her…. For ever.

"I love you too, Natsu," she said, as they pulled back from each other, "Never again leave me. I'd never forgive you if you do,"

"You bet I won't" he replied.

Next day, they left for the guild. Everyone in the guild was shocked as they saw the salamander and the celestial mage walk hand in hand. It was then that they realized they were a couple now. Everyone was happy for them and the guild announced a party for a whole week. The couple couldn't help but smile at their guild mates. They were so happy to be together again.

Mira was the happiest of all. She got back the most precious things- the dragon slayer's grin and the blonde's smile. Her smile was different now. It was a whole hearted one and a heartwarming one. She guessed it was this smile of hers that Natsu missed the most. However, there was one person she wanted to thank.

"Hey, Erza, Thanks for asking the Mayor to arrange something for them that sure brought them together," Mira thanked her.

"It's no problem. The thing is they are together now… and that matters most. You're happy too, I'm glad. Let's enjoy the party," Erza said as she began relishing her piece of cake.

Me: So, guys How was it? Nice? Bad? Or anything? Please do post your comments on the whole story till now. What about the ending?

Natsu: Don't forget about us. Don't forget to wish us a happy life.

Lucy: Yep, I'm glad I now understand what I want. Thanks for reading this story, guys. Though the story was crazy at times, it ended well.

Me: All's well that's ends well. Natsu say what I told you to.

Natsu: Beatress wants you give your suggestions, opinions and comments. Please do post them in the box below.

Lucy: Critics are appreciated. Don't be too harsh. I can't see her crying. She was the one who gave a happy ending to us.

Me, Lucy and Natsu: Thanks for all comments, to all those who added to their favorites and to alerts!

Me: Sadly, this is the end. But sure, soon enough I'd come with a new cute story.

Me, Lucy and Natsu: See you next time!

~The End~

Writer notes

Yep, guys, I was reading your reviews. I felt so good to know that though this Natsu was different from the one in anime/manga, you liked him. That's a great compliment.

I really happy that some one got inspired by my story for his manga. I'm looking forward to it. Please do let me know when you finish it. That would really be special one to me.

Once again My sincere thanks to all those who read this story and loved it. I'd continue writing more stories like this.

Announcement

I'm really glad that you all liked this story. Thanks for all your reviews, guys! Love you all. Well the announcement is my new story is up. It's name is Natsu's letters. Hope you'll like that too.