PROMISE ME FOREVER

Summary: Natsu and Lucy were childhood friends. Lucy was the daughter of the richest business tycoon in Fiore while Natsu was a commoner's son. Seven years after, they switched roles because of what happened seven years ago. Now, Natsu is the owner of the biggest computer company in Fiore while Lucy became a common housewife living with a frail daughter in the slums. What happened seven years ago and why does Natsu hate Lucy so much?

Author's Notes: Hi guys! I'm back with a second story for you guys. Hope you support this story as much as you supported my first fanfic. Send me back your reviews okay? Thanks! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

Chapter 1: Where We Are Now

On a bright sunny day, two children, both age five, were running through a field full of sweet smelling Gardenias. A girl with vibrant blonde hair that reached her shoulders ran through the field. Her pink dress flowing through the wind as her laughter filled the air, cheeks tinged pink from mirth. Following close behind her, a boy with unruly spiky pink hair chased her and had an equally huge grin plastered on his face as he tried to catch the girl in front of him, his own laughter mixing with the girl's own laughter.

The girl grew tired and she fell down in one fell swoop with her back on the green grass of the plains while trying to catch her breath. The boy stared at her and she looked at him with a smile which was gladly returned by the boy. He sat down beside the girl and watched as her chest filled her lungs with air.

"I swear Natsu, you are the most energetic kid I have ever known," Lucy said as she heaved heavy breaths of air.

"That's because I'm the only kid you know around here," Natsu replied.

"True," Lucy grinned and they both laughed. Lucy sat up after catching her breath.

"I wish we could always be together," Lucy said distantly as she looked straight ahead to the expanse of the plains watching the grass and flowers dance with the wind. Natsu looked at Lucy with a blush staining his cheeks.

"O-of course! Why wouldn't we be?" Natsu uttered nervously. Why am I nervous? Natsu thought.

"Nothing. You're just so fun to be with so I want to be together with you always," Lucy said and turned to face Natsu giving him a smile that rivaled the brilliance of the sun.

Natsu tooth-grinned and said, "Then from now on I'll always be by your side, Luce." He extended his right hand with his pinky raised up.

The blonde replied with a smile and extended her left hand connecting her pinky with Natsu's and they pinky swore on this promise.

"You promise?" Lucy innocently asked.

An older Natsu looked stern and happily replied, "I promise."

The bright atmosphere turned dark and Natsu saw an older version of Lucy still holding her pinky together with his and Natsu widened his eyes.

"Natsu... I'm sorry," the older Lucy said while tears ran down her eyes.

Natsu woke up sweating profusely. Large beads of sweat drenched his face and his body.

Another nightmare. Why do I keep on getting that nightmare?

Natsu irritatedly scratched his head and sat up his bed clutching his head with one hand and took the digital alarm clock from his bedside table using his free hand. The clock read 5:45 AM. He groaned. Recently, he's been having these nightmares waking him up every morning. He put the alarm clock back to his bedside table after turning off the alarm on it. He silently nagged himself on why he even had to buy an alarm clock when he obviously didn't need one since his nightmares have done that to him for the past seven years already.

I'm 15 minutes too early to wake up this time. I guess that's better than last time, Natsu inwardly thought. Last week, he had woken up at 3 in the morning and was not able to go back to sleep which made him very much irritated throughout the day. He decided to get up from his bed, tossing the white linen sheet aside that covered his waist. He only wore his loose pajama pants when he sleeps as it made him much more comfortable. He walked straight to his kitchen while stretching his arms out flexing his muscles to wake him up and scratched his bare stomach before opening the fridge that held all of yesterday's groceries.

Something purred from his right pant leg and he glanced to his feet and saw that his cat, Happy had already woken up and was greeting his master a good morning. Happy is a blue California Sprangled Cat with black eyes. Natsu reached down and scratched his chin and he purred loving the attention.

"Good morning Happy," Natsu greeted. The blue cat 'meow-ed' and wagged his tail in a slow 'S-like' motion to show his appreciation.

Natsu took the carton of milk from the fridge and the cold plate of bacon and eggs and put it in the microwave oven. He checked his phone to see his schedule for the day and after hearing the customary 'ding' of the microwave, he stood up to get his breakfast and munched on it while drinking the milk directly from the carton.

He never bothered to clean up after himself since he had a regular housekeeper coming in when he's off work to do those for him. He went straight to the bathroom and stripped his PJs to take a shower. Happy followed him to the bathroom and settled himself on the pile of dirty laundry in the hamper. Hot water started to cascade down Natsu's lean frame as he combed his wet hair and raised his face to let the water wash away the stress from his face. His mind went back to that nightmare. He never wanted to refer to it as a dream because for him, it is his most hated memory of all time. But at the same time, he cherished that memory because as much as he hated to admit it, that was the happiest childhood memory he has of his first love.

"Lucy..." Natsu's eyes widened as soon as he uttered the name subconsciously. Almost immediately, his sad contemplating look changed to a fiery scornful gaze that could burn the bathroom tiles in front of him.

I vowed never to be bothered by that stupid memory - no nightmare! - ever again. That is down in the past already. I'm not the same kid seven years ago, Natsu thought. He shook his head vigorously to rid his mind of the useless thoughts forming on his head and continued to finish his bath.

Fairy Tail Corporation is a fresh computer company specializing in software programming and mass hardware and gadget production. The company was established seven years ago. It started out as a small business that was supposed to go bankrupt but miraculously survived after acquiring support through a loan from Lisanna Strauss of Strauss Fashions and through adamant efforts made by Natsu, the company survived. They gained reputation and recognition slowly but surely until they were finally able to surpass a former large-scale company and bought it off completely.

The former owner of Fairy Tail Corporation, Makarov Dreyar, passed the company over to Natsu Dragneel since he had no relative who can inherit the company except for Laxus Dreyar who waived his rights since he didn't like the idea of managing a company on his own. At the time, Natsu was a green horn but was very aggressive in learning new things. Makarov took a liking to him because of his tenacity and determination and believed that the kid had a future in running the business. As soon as the old man retired, Natsu took over. He was confronted by various controversies to kick him out of the company but he was able to endure and triumph from them all and soon enough he was able to win the respect of everyone from the country. He showed them what he learned from the old man and was able to surpass the expectations of his superiors.

Now age 23, he is seen as the youngest and most successful businessman in the business world. He is also hailed as the top bachelor of his time even surpassing famous male models around or even younger than his age. That is why there is no surprise that female office workers from his company swoon over his presence even taking stolen pictures of him in the office. Dressed in a navy blue coat and matching pants with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath with the top button undone and his father's scarf around his neck, he strode through the floor of his office and like any other day, he ignored the lovestruck girls and just walked straigh to his office.

His secretary and long time friend Erza Scarlet glanced from her laptop to Natsu and stood up to properly greet her boss.

"Good morning Dragneel-sama," Erza bowed and fixed her glasses after straightening herself up.

"Good morning Erza. Can you brief me on my schedule today? And I need the minutes from yesterday's product meeting as well," Natsu asked.

"I'll bring them over your desk," Erza said and curtly bowed to excuse herself.

Natsu proceeded to his office. His office is located at the top floor of the 70-storey building that housed over 350,000 workers of Fairy Tail Corp. It was designed that way so that when he needed a quick escape, he can easily hitch a ride from his private chopper on the landing pad of the building's rooftop. He rarely uses the elevator of his office building as he prefers to seclude himself from the office workers to avoid causing unnecessary ruckus from his fangirls and some fanboys.

He went straight to his polished mahogany desk and started his desktop PC to check the emails from their clients and his colleagues. Erza went in bringing with her the documents requested by Natsu and set them on his desk. Erza discussed with Natsu his schedule for the entire day. He listened to her detailed explanation and his mind wandered about as she was speaking.

"...after your lunch meeting with the board about the new software..." Erza continued on but stopped as soon as she noticed Natsu not paying any attention to what she was saying, "Is something wrong?" Erza asked.

"Huh?" Natsu asked after being dragged back from his thoughts.

"You weren't listening," Erza blatantly pointed out. Natsu sweat dropped. Whenever Erza acts like that, he remebers their days in University where she would always scold him from slacking off. He chuckled with the thought.

"Is something funny Natsu?" Erza said irritatedly.

"Sorry. It was nothing. I just remembered a memory when we were in Uni," Natsu apologized.

"You know I can't get back at you at work but once my shift ends I'll kill you, you know that right?" Erz threatened, malice oozing from her sharp eyes through her glasses.

"Sorry, sorry... I was just trying to recollect my thoughts," Natsu said while scratching his cheek with one finger.

Erza dropped the death glare and sighed. She knew that when Natsu acts like this, it will only be around her and Gajeel since they were students in the same University back in college. Also, she has been noticing that he seems so distant and streesed out the past few months.

"Natsu, is there something bothering you?" Erza asked, concern laced in her voice.

"N-nothing, what makes you think that?" Natsu said trying to avert Erza from his problems.

"Do you think I'm stupid not to notice you've been zoning out recently? I know something's wrong with you. You're voice shook when I asked you and your fingers keep on tapping our desk when I asked you that. You only do that when you're nervous or trying to hide something. So spill," Erza stated. Natsu looked down on his fingers saw that they were tapping on his desk but failed to notice when he started it. Heck he wasn't even aware he was doing it until Erza pointed out for him. He stopped his fingers and looked sheepishly at Erza. Erza wasn't wavering at all and was looking straight at him waiting for an answer. She really did look intimidating when she crosses her arms...

...like a BOSS... Natsu thought.

He sighed utterly defeated and started to talk.

"Well, it's really nothing. I guess I'm just tired, didn't get enough sleep I guess..." he trailed off.

"Is it the dream again," Erza more stated than asked. She hit the bullseye.

"...yes..." Natsu sighed again and looked down at his hands that were clasped together.

"It's the same nightmare everytime but they became more frequent and lengthy this time," Natsu said and clasped his hands tighter to release the anger starting to build up in him. Erza dropped her arms and approached Natsu to put a reassuring hand on his own. He looked up to meet Erza's eyes that returned a soft look on her. Natsu had told Erza about the dream along time ago. He discussed it with her and Gajeel because they have been noticing his changes long before and they had to torture him to just get the information out from him.

"You'll pull through. I know you can because you always do but maybe it's time you learned to forgive and forget. You being hung up on the past might be the cause for those so-called 'nightmares' of yours," Erza quoted with her fingers.

"You know I can't just -

"I'm only suggesting this to you but it's your call if you'll follow. Remember you can always speak with Gajeel or I about it but not at work. We don't want the predators swooping in on this and use it against you," Erza warned, "Also I have a friend who works as a therapist. Maybe she can help you."

"Oh God no... Now you're telling me I'm crazy," Natsu face-palmed as he said this and Erza smirked.

"That's the Natsu I know," Erza said, " Now I think you better prepare for your meeting today. I left the documents you were asking for on that folder so you should be set up for it. Excuse me Dragneel-sama," Erza bowed signalling for them to revert back to boss and secretary.

"Thank you Erza," Natsu smiled and Erza returned the gesture with her own smile before completely exiting the office.

"All right, time to work,I'm fired up," Natsu said to himself as he buried himself on work forgetting about the nightmare and his worries for the meantime.

In a peaceful part of the city of Magnolia away from all the hustle and bustle of the city, was a small rundown house. It had fences to cover the small piece of land that the owner owned but was slowly falling apart due to termites and the weather. The house was as decent looking as the rest of the neighborhood just that this one had more do-it-yourself repairs that weren't really that impressive but manageable. There was a small apple tree that had a swing on it and adjacent to it, a blonde woman aged 22 dressed in a peach colored dress with a white half-apron on it was hanging her week's laundry on the makeshift clothesline that her male neighbors helped her build. She hung the last piece of clothing which was her daughter's red dress on the clothesline. She wiped the bead of sweat forming on her forehead with her arm and brushed a stray bang to go behind her ear while she loosened her hair that she had previously tied in a bun.

"That takes care of those," The woman said, seemingly proud of her work. She had been doing a lot of house chores all by herself for the past 7 years and until now, she still gets amazed and proud of herself after finishing them.

"Still marvelling at your work I see," a blonde man with a scar on his right eye said smirking at the other blonde.

"Well what do you expect? I haven't done this sort of stuff for the first 15 years of my life! Of course I'll be proud of every little chore," the woman said while smiling at the man.

"To think that you didn't even know how to use an oven before let alone a stove for that matter," the man retorted snickering at the memory of the blonde woman with her face covered in black from the smoke coming off from her burned eggs a few years back. She was just a newcomer to the neighborhood and was oblivious to house chores so the neighbors decided to help her out when possible. The time she burned her breakfast caused an alarm to the entire neighborhood because black smoke was coming out of the windows of the house so they assumed a fire only to find the blonde girl holding a pan of burned eggs and her microwave with a whole piece of chicken stuck in it.

"Cut it out Sting," The woman blushed after getting teased and pouted. Sting just laughed.

"Mommy!" another blonde girl called out. She ran straight to her mother's waist and hugged them as soon as she entered the wooden gate. She smiled at her mother and her mother smiled back at her.

"Welcome back Natsuki," the woman replied.

"Natsuki-chan!" a blue-haired girl called out. She ran and stopped in front of the three.

"Hi Lucy-san, Sting-san," the blue-haired girl greeted.

"Hello Wendy," Lucy greeted.

"Yo!" Sting said as he raised his hand to greet Wendy.

"Wendy-chan, I was first," Natsuki cheered.

"I'll run quicker next time," Wendy declared then the two girls laughed.

"I'll see you tomorrow Natsuki-chan. Poluchka might be looking for me already," Wendy explained.

"Alright Wendy-chan, bye," Natsuki replied.

"Bye Natsuki-chan," Wendy waved. She ran out the gate and before going home, she stopped to wave goodbye to the adult blondes, "Bye Lucy-san! Bye Sting-san!"

The two waved and Wendy ran back home to their home across the street.

Natsuki, aged seven, had black eyes and blonde hair that reached her shoulders and tied in a ponytail. She wore her white blouse and red skirt from school with her pink backpack slung on her back.

"Mommy what's Sting doing here?" Natsuki asked as she looked up at her mother with an inquisitive look.

"Visiting," Sting answered for Lucy.

"Mommy can you play with me? We don't have homework this weekend," Natsuki asked.

"I'm sorry honey but I need to prepare dinner now," Lucy said apologetically. Natsuki's face went down looking depressed from her mother's response.

"I'll play with you kid," Sting said while pointing a thumb on his chest while grinning like a maniac.

"Umm..." Natsuki was a bit hesitant for a moment because she really wanted to play with her mother. She played with Sting in the past and he was a good playmate. It's just that she wanted to spend more time with her mother now since she is getting busier with all the jobs she's been juggling.

"Natsuki, you can play with Sting for the meantime. Mommy has no work tomorrow so I'll play with you all day," Lucy said seemingly reading through her daughter's thoughts. Her daughter beamed and she quickly ran to grab Sting's hand and drag him in the house.

"H-hey slow down," Sting said as he was unceremoniously dragged in the house.

"You're too slow Sting!" Natsuki said as she giggled.

"Stay for dinner Sting," Lucy called out.

"You bet," Sting said as he flashed a smile to Lucy and swept Natsuki off from her feet and ran inside. Laughter was heard inside the house and Lucy just smiled at the sight.

"Seriously, these two are crazy," Lucy said and went back inside closing the door behind her.

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