Chapter 13

The Heart to Forgive

Natsu went full-speed with his bike (with Gray on the back), while Gajeel (with Erza) had some trouble catching up with the pinkhead.

"Pinky, don'tcha think yer goin' too fast?" Gajeel shouted. Natsu didn't turn arouund. Well, he has to focus on the road when he's going full speed, duh.

"What if she's hurt? I don't wanna be too late to save her."

"He's got a point." Erza replied. "Well, as long as it's for the sake of friends and considering that you two are good enough at this, I'll tolerate..."

The four of them were silent during the ride, but each has their own thoughts inside. Every single one of them was worried, especially Natsu. Natsu kept blaming himself that all this wouldn't have happened if he was there to protect her. Lucy herself was strong, so her kidnapper must've been ridiculously strong.

Then he thought of the possibilities of fighting. Hell, there will be. Natsu himself was a pretty good fighter. During his childhood, he took taekwondo and boxing classes with Gray. Gajeel is a proficient mixed martial arts user with brute strength. Erza? Don't even ask. She mastered ten (or more?) different fighting arts, her favorite being Japanese sword arts. She could be the team's strongest attacker without any weapons, and even deadlier with one.

"STUPID, DON'T SPACE OUT!"

Gray yelled, temporarily reaching the bike's steer and turned it a bit to the left. When Natsu snapped out, he released the steer and let the pinkhead retake his role as the driver.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that." Natsu apologized. Gray simply sighed. "Just... thinking for a bit."

"You and thinking don't match."

Much to Gray's surprise, Natsu didn't even react. Usually he will yell at him or something like that, but he just continued driving. Gray knew this boy too well; this means that he is so damn worried that he is now trying his very best to focus.

Lucy woke up in a bed, but not hers. And the room also gave her a weird aura. Hell, she didn't even know where she is now. The last thing she remembered is that she was on the way to Levy's house with Levy herself, and suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and the world went black.

She looked around. The room was big and beautiful with purple as the dominating color, but it was...cold. She walked to the door, twisted the handle, but it was locked. She looked outside the window. It seems like she's in some kind of mansion with a garden, but not as big as hers, or more precisely her father's.

"Awake now, Princess?"

Her head reflexively turned to the source of voice. It was none other than the man that she hated with every fiber of her being,

Sting. And there's a black haired man with red eyes, but she never saw the man before.

"Rogue, I have a bad hunch. How about you check out the gates?" Sting said to the man. The man who called himself Rogue nodded and walked outside the door, closing them.

"What the hell, Sting?" She tried to clench the hem of her skirt only to find it a tad bit longer; she was wearing a nightgown now. "Who changed me, and where the fuck is my uniform—"

"Slow down, duh." He sighed. "My maids did. And your uniform... I think it's on the wardrobe. But let's not care about that now."

He walked closer to Lucy. "There's something that I want—no, more precisely, I have to tell you."

The four finally arrived at the kidnapper's lair. It was a big mansion, but nowhere as big as Lucy's. As soon as they got off and walked to the entrance, they were surrounded by ten tall men.

"One of them fit the description. Then they must be his allies." A man said.

"Well, you all came earlier than our predictions."

The four turned to the speaker. He was a man of average height—with jet black hair that covers his left eye and piercing red eyes. He was wearing some kind of cape that draped over a dark shirt and cloth waistguard. He also carried a sheathed japanese sword.

"Rogue-sama." All ten men bowed out of respect. Rogue walked closer to the gang.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Eliminate the intruders."

All men now stood, getting into a fighting stance. The gang of four followed suit with their own stances.

"What are you waiting for, huh?" Natsu exclaimed as he charged towards one of them.

Gray followed. "Shut the hell up, ash-brain. We'll settle our score later."

"Gihi." Gajeel mockingly laughed as he kicked one in the guts, but the man simply dodges.

"Focus on fighting them!" Erza warned. Well, she already took down two without even moving from her initial place.

Three minutes passed and all ten men were defeated. All that's left was Rogue. Rogue simply clicked his fingers and more men flooded the place.

"He's prolonging the fight so we won't get in. Natsu, you go inside. Lucy needs you. Gray, Gajeel and I will handle this." Erza declared. Natsu nodded, and dashed out from the so-called battlefield fast enough not to be followed.

"So, you're saying that your dad's company is in a crisis and we need to... move the engagement to next month?"

Sting nodded. Lucy looked at him with a blank expression, silently happy that he was suffering.

"But if that's the matter than you can talk about this matter formally, not by kidnapping me." Lucy replied. "For the love of God..."

"Well, I didn't say that was the only reason I brought here, right?" He said with a very innocent tone, which, much to Lucy's surprise, despite his evil heart, he could very fluently use. Lucy simply blinked, showing signs of confusion.

And it all happened in a flash.

The next thing Lucy knew was that she was pinned to the bed with Sting on top. She struggled to release his grip, but it was too tight and she hadn't been fully recovered from the effects of sleeping drug her kidnappers used to kidnap her.

"What the hell are you doing, bastard?" She shrieked, still struggling to get out. "Release me..."

"Actually, Father wants the enormous fortune of the Konzern. And for my reasons, it's different. At first I found you uninteresting. Standard rich-smart-spoiled blonde. But upon close studying... what tempting pair of racks." Lucy's eyes widened in fear. How evil can this man be? He's the worst!

Sting himself seemed to be enjoying the struggling little blondie that lay under him. He smirked evilly, but that didn't stop the girl. As he closed the already less than fifteen centimeters distance to claim her lips, Lucy can only pray. God, help me... Natsu!

As if God had answered her prayers, the door burst open, revealing a tuft of bubblegum pink hair and tanned skin. He was leaning against the doorframe while trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, you slip through Rogue?" Sting mockingly asked as he lifted his head a few inches to look at the intruder. "This is new, Rogue is known for his agility."

"Well, who cares about that now..." He said, finally regaining his composure. He stood bravely, walking closer to the blonde man. "All that matters is that you made my Lucy suffer, and I'm gonna pay you back one thousand times."

Taking a rope out of nowhere, Sting tied Lucy's hands and feet for insurance, in case she tried to run away (during his research on Lucy, he found out of her immense strength). Sting and Natsu spent five minutes on a very intense glaring contest. Natsu tried to stole a glance at Lucy, but Sting immediately charged without hesitation. Natsu barely had time to dodge, so he squatted and tried to reverse round kick the blonde.

Sting simply jumped and tried to do a flying kick, but Natsu simply grab hold of his leg and threw them to the floor.

Lucy watched in horror as the two men delivered barrages of kicks and punches. After what seemed like eternity the two of them were heavily panting on the floor. Natsu could barely stand, bruises decorated his body like tattooes. Sting, meanwhile, has proven himself as a very agile man as he was able to dodge most of Natsu's attacks. He got five bruises or so, but the bruises were very dark in color.

Lucy concluded that Sting was fast but has less power and Natsu was less fast but has much more power especially in his punches. Natsu was laying limp on the floor, as Sting slowly walked towards the now defenseless pinkhead.

Now, Lucy!

She stretched her arms and feet, causing the rope to tore apart in two. She charged towards Sting as he prepared for the last punch against Natsu.

"Fall, Dragneel!"

"YOU WON'T!"

And that's when her perfect roundhouse kick hit his gut. Sting fell to the floor with a loud thud, clutching his stomach and writhing on the floor. Lucy helped Natsu got hold of his footing. Natsu grinned in thanks and Lucy replied with a smile.

"Sting." Lucy called the man. Sting cracked open an eye. "You should learn the meaning of true love. Not by force, but by feeling it with your own being. Try finding a person that accepts you for who you are."

"I love you, Sting. I always will. No matter how the odds are stacked between us."

"Yukino, heh? I haven't seen that girl for a long time since I gave up on her for the sake of your fortune..."

"See? It's because I believe deep down you still have a heart to love." Lucy proclaimed. Natsu simply smiled at his Lucy's antics. Her kind and loving personality were some of the reasons he loved her.

"But still," She said with a more demon-like tone, brown eyes now glaring at the blonde man. "That didn't change the fact that you've hurt my Natsu." Natsu chuckled lightly. Lucy cracked her knuckles.

"Remember, one thousand times over." Natsu reminded the blonde.

"And a million for you."

Without further talk, Lucy walked towards the now standing Sting. He tried to deliver an uppercut to Lucy's neck, but Lucy easily dodges the blonde and knee-kicked him, followed with a very hard punch to the jaw, and Lucy was sure his jaw was either broken or cracked. Sting laid unconscious on the ground, marking the duo's victory.

But Lucy was nowhere near happy. Natsu seemed to notice this at the last second, so he turned over to her and tried to pull her in an embrace, but she pushed him off.

"I know... that you're still angry at me because of that incident." She spoke with a very low tone, but thanks to his enhanced hearing he was able to hear her loud and clear. "I-It's okay if you don't want to f-forgive me—"

Seeing the clear despair in her voice, Natsu forcefully pulled her into a very warm embrace. Lucy was very shocked, but she knew if she struggled even more, Natsu will just pull her tighter.

"Stupid woman, who said I was angry... He set you up, didn't he?" He asked her as he buried his face in her silky honey-scented hair. Lucy broke down in tears, but he gently stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down. Her hot tears are dampening his scarf, but he didn't care. All he cared was now he get her all to himself now.

Without much thinking, he moved his lips closer to hers, giving her a very warm kiss.

"This way your lips are sealed with mine. Think of my lips as a key and yours as a lock." He grinned playfully. "If any other men wanted to kiss you, they have to face my wrath first."

"But what if I wanted to kiss the?" She teased him. Natsu, angry, pinched Lucy's cheek.

"Not funny." He protested. Lucy simply giggled.

They exited the mansion (after Lucy changed back into her uniform, of course) and was greeted by Erza, Gray, and Gajeel. The three had seemingly defeated all the bodyguards (including Rogue) and tied them up. Deciding that they had enough evidence, Erza called the police, and they all went home.

"The master has requested your presence in his study. He wishes to discuss something important and urgent."

...Was the first sentence she received from one of her maids as soon as she got home. When she asked whether she should change or not, the maid simply said that she needs to be there fast. Lucy halfheartedly walked to her father's study and knocked the door, receiving a weak 'enter' from inside.

Her father was sitting in his desk, hands intertwined in front of his face. Lucy walked closer and stopped about two meters in front of the desk.

"I heard the news." Jude spoke before Lucy had a chance to talk. "I never thought of Jiemma wanting the Konzern's fortune all for himself. Well, at least we managed to arrest him before it's too late."

Lucy mentally scoffed. We? What the hell did you do?

"As for you..." He raised his head and looked at Lucy. "Following the events of the Eucliffe's arrest, you will be engaged to another suitor—"

"I'm afraid I cannot agree, Father."

Those six words came out of Lucy's lips bravely. Her father quirked an eyebrow, but Lucy kept her stern gaze.

"No buts, Lucy. For the sake of you, and our Heartfilia Konzern—"

"Your Heartfilia Konzern." Lucy corrected the man. "You always thought of me as the Konzern's tool, and you call forcing me into a marriage was for my sake? Don't make me laugh." she declared, voice stronger than before.

Jude was awestruck. Lucy had never stood up to him before.

"Have you ever see me not as the icon of Heartfilia Konzern, but as your daughter Lucy?"

Jude stood from his desk. "Enough, Lucy! You will stop this insolence—"

"I won't." She retorted. "Honestly, have you ever thought of what Mama will say if she saw you in this state? Forcing his own daughter to marry a man she haven't even met in her life just for the sake of money?"

The older blonde was left speechless. Lucy continued, "I used to love you. And despite how much I hate to admit it, I still do. But not as much as before. I once thought of leaving this house, but here's the deal. Will you accept the fact that I am currently in a relationship with another man, or will you stay to your decision of forcing me into a marriage? That way I'll leave to a place where you won't be able to find me."

Jude broke down in tears. How couldn't he realize that what Layla left wasn't the estate, or the company, or its fortune, but the girl standing in front of himself? He quickly enveloped her in an embrace.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. You reminded me so much of Layla, a woman with a very big heart. I neglected you all this time, and you still have the heart to forgive me. I could never atone my sins, but I will do my best to help you in any way I can."

Lucy returned the hug, and she left the room with happy tears. The burden she carried on her shoulders were now lifted, and for once she didn't have to imagine scenarios of herself knocking her father out.

"A lot happened today... guess a nap will do."

She stripped off her uniform and changed into a lightweight nightgown, and brushed her hair so it won't get frizzy by the time she woke up. She walked towards her four-poster bed and tugged on the covers, leaving enough room for her to slip underneath the warm and thick fabric.

She was reaching for a pillow when she accidentally pulled something soft.

And hairy.

And pink, a familiar shade of that.

"NATSU?! The hell you doing here?" Lucy shrieked, throwing the covers away, revealing a sleeping man. Natsu cracked open an eye and smiled sleepily at the blonde and drifted back to sleep instantly. Lucy, who hated the fact that he didn't answer his question when he was invading her privacy, smacked the sleeping pinkhead.

"Ouch!" He rubbed the sore spot in his head. "I was sleeping—"

"—In my bed, and I have the right to know why are you sleeping here." Lucy cut him off, but the pinkhead smirked. Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"I can't visit my girlfriend whenever I want to?" He whined. Lucy sighed in defeat, earning a ruffle on the hair. Lucy glared at the pinkhead.

"It's messy now." She protested, but Natsu pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair.

"There, it won't get messy by the time you wake up." He said as he used his free hand to wrap the frail shoulders of the blonde. Lucy clutched onto his shirt, feeling eternally grateful for the comfortable warmth he radiated. She soon fell into a state of slumber.

Natsu kissed her hair softly and whispered into her ear, "Sweet dreams, Luce."

A/N

I DID IT.

THE LAST CHAPTER.

2876 WORDS WITHOUT A/N.

Oh, i'm sorry if the ending was...bad. yeah, really. I swear by the name of God, if i get five complaints in the reviews i'll make an epilogue chapter.

Uhm. I updated this a little fast because I kind of got scolded by some of you readers, which got my lazy ass glued onto the armchair for hours writing this damn ending. But seriously, i'm happy that you all really followed the story from the beginning until the last.

So i really thank you all for the reviews, alerts and favorites. I can't believe it, second fanfiction in and I already got hundreds of reviews!:O without you all this chapter won't be here for the next 3 months (yes i'm very lazy and yes, i'm currently quite busy at the moment).

Okay so i'm currently working on two projects:

A Dragon and His Mate

Fairy Tail, NaLu, Romance-Drama, in approximately one week.

Summary: Believe me, you wouldn't want to steal a dragon's mate. And if you could still live and tell the tale, you must be the luckiest person on earth.

Destiny

Fairy Tail, NaLu, Adventure-Romance. multiple chapters. Alternate Timeline.

Summary: Fiore, the prosperous land. One day the King and Queen was assassinated, and a new tyrant rose. A certain prophecy's truth was discovered, so orders for killing every last one of dragon slayers and celestial mages were given throughout the kingdom. But did he knew that destiny was unavoidable? Because one day, 'they' will meet.

Be sure to check it out when it's done!