Hey guys, for those who read the update I would like to thank you for waiting I am finally publishing this chapter and finishing this story after all this time. It was such a joy to write but there was just so many ideas to be implemented. It has been a pleasure and I hope you guys like it, and it satisfies you guys. If not, I'm sorry. It was really hard writing the ending and that was one of the main reasons I took so long. Please read and review, I love you guys! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

Chapter 31: End Part II

Erza sprinted towards the explosion and stumbled to the ground. "Jellal!" she screamed as she crawled towards the smoke-filled area. The sprinkles were already putting out the flames. So, the water made it harder for her to move. There were people sprawled on the ground around her, she searched for a familiar head of blue hair. The people around her were groaning and some screaming. She ignored it and kept searching.

A few feet from her she saw his body; his hair was covered in ash and was barely distinguishable, but the water was starting to wash it off. "Jellal" she yelled again and crawled towards him.

When she reached him, she checked for a pulse. Relief flooded her as she felt a steady beat. She scanned his body for any injuries but there weren't any severe ones, just some scratches. "Can you hear me? Jellal wake up" she murmured and stroked his cheek.

He didn't move, she sighed and looked around. There was a big hole in the hospital wall where a room used to be just ahead of her, the blue sky and streets could be seen. There were fire trucks and police cars outside.

The explosion must have just blown him backwards and knock him out, she thought. She scanned the scene again and saw all the destruction one man had caused, a hospital, where people were supposed to get better was in utter chaos.

She heard voices and clattering behind her, she turned and saw more hospital staff and fire fighters coming towards them.

"Are you alright miss?" one man said and helped her stand. "Yes, please help this man" she ordered. "I am Erza Scarlet of the FTBI. You two, please come with me" she yelled and pointed at two officers. She led them back to her old room and pointed at Lucas.

"This man is responsible for this mess. Please arrest him and keep him there until further notice" she ordered. The two cops listened to what she said and grabbed the man and started carrying him away.

"We need to clear this hospital as soon as possible; we don't know how much explosions could go off. We have a team on it but could you please help us get as many civilians out as possible?" a fire fighter asked her, she nodded her head and they went to work.

Rogue sat in the hospital waiting room patiently. He was silent as thoughts raced in his head. Sting was currently in surgery, and he could die at any moment.

"Where's my son?" a voice yelled as an older man came rushing into the room. Rogue stood up to calm his uncle and told him what was happening. Weisslogia sat next to him in silence, taking in what was happening.

"What happened to him?" Weisslogia asked, looking at Rogue expectantly. Rogue sighed and told him "Well we were supposed to meet at a bar and grab a few drinks, but Yukino wanted to get something to eat so I tried calling him and let him know, but he never answered. Then I got a distress call from the bar we were supposed to meet at, one of our comrades betrayed us and attacked them. This is all my fault; I should've been there to help him" and the man clenched his hand in guilt.

His uncle grabbed his clenched hand and shook his head "If you were there, maybe you could've prevented some of this, but you also could've been in the same state as Sting, or worse you could have died. Sting will understand when he wakes up; this isn't your fault Rogue". This made Rogue's eyes water, he could only hope that his cousin would survive this.

They sat in silence as the waited for news on Sting.

Lucy cried as Natsu roared in sorrow, she closed her eyes as the sight of Grandine's still form lay there. The man that was holding the knife to her throat was now frozen and had a look of uncertainty on his face. All of Zeref's men stared in shock at the scene.

"Take the body out of here" Zeref ordered, but none of his men moved. "Now!" Zeref yelled at them. They all flinched and started moving slowly.

"I'll fucking kill you" Natsu roared at Zeref, he shook angrily in his chair. Tears were no longer coming down; his face was pure rage. Zeref smiled at him then looked back at his men and shot one of them in the head since they were moving so slow.

"Look now you have two bodies to clean, so get moving" he yelled and kept the gun raised. They stared in disbelief at what happened, one of them leapt at Zeref angrily. He shot him in the head and dodged another man's attack. They all attacked their leader, "You're always treating us like we're expendable, we're done taking orders from you" one yelled as he fought his former leader.

The man holding Lucy let her go and leapt at his former leader too. Lucy stared at the scene in shock and saw one of the dead body's had a knife in their hand. She wiggled towards it and almost got smashed as Zeref was defeating his men with ease. She maneuvered her body so the knife would be behind her, she felt around for it and was able to grab it, and she started cutting at her restraints.

While this was happening, Natsu was also trying to get out of his restraints. Each time he moved he would get more of his mother's blood on him, it hurt him so much, but he had to get his revenge.

Zeref was still fighting his former men. There was only two remaining who weren't putting up much of a fight.

Lucy was finally able get her hands free from her restraints, and she cut the rope off her legs and ran towards where Natsu was.

Grandine's body made her freeze but Natsu's voice snapped her out of it. She cut the ropes off and released him. "Release my dad and get him out of here" he ordered, she stared at him and he gave her a reassuring look "Go" he whispered, and she went to Igneel.

Just as the last follower was killed by Zeref, Natsu leapt at him and tackled him to the ground. Catching the man off guard, they flew to ground and Natsu started punching Zeref in the face but Zeref hit him with his gun making Natsu fly off of him. They both rolled and recovered and Natsu ran at him and knocked the gun out of Zeref's hand and tried to punch him.

Lucy released Igneel and tried to wake him up, but he must have been heavily drugged because he didn't stir at all. So, she did her best to drag him to the door, her wounds ached but she knew as soon as she got Igneel outside she would come back to help Natsu.

Zeref easily dodged Natsu and punched him in the stomach, making the agent cough but he recovered, and head butted Zeref's face, making him stagger with a bleeding nose "Someone's angry" he smiled before Natsu charged at him again.

The agent tried punching him again but Zeref dodged and grabbed his fist and flipped him. Natsu landed with a gasp as the air was knocked out of him.

"You're too predictable from your rage" the evil man commented and got ready for another attack. But he noticed the door was open, and he ran outside. He saw Lucy carrying Igneel down the hallway by the stairs. He grabbed the knife from his side and aimed, "Stop" Natsu roared and tackled him just as he threw the knife.

It flew through the air quickly and cut Lucy's arm. Making her cry out in shock and fall down the stairs with Igneel. They rolled down and landed loudly at the bottom. She clenched her arm as blood came out and saw a cut, she looked up and she could hear the two men fighting upstairs. She grabbed Igneel and dragged him outside and lied him down on the grass, she checked for any men outside and saw none, so she ran to where they were fighting.

When she got upstairs, they were both in the hallway and Zeref's back was facing her. Lucy ran and jumped on his back, trying to put him in a choke hold. She was almost successful but was able to reach under her grasp and flip her over, the blonde landed loudly and cried out in shock. She could barely breathe.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled and crouched by her to protect her. She raised her hand to let him know she was okay, as her breathing became normal. "Lucy, go check if one of his men had a phone and call for back up" Natsu ordered as he helped her up. "Oh no you don't" Zeref growled and leapt for them.

Before Zeref could grab Lucy, Natsu punched his face, making Zeref stagger. He looked up at the pink haired man, what he saw shocked him. Natsu's face much calmer than it was before, he was serious now. "Go" Natsu said, Lucy ran to the room.

"Fuck" Zeref roared. The real fight had begun.

As Lucy scrambled into the room, the smell of blood overpowered her senses. Grandine's body still lay there with the other dead men. She looked away and started looking through the pockets of the dead. The third body she searched finally had a phone. Lucy dialed the number of the FTBI and told them what she knew, and then she noticed the gun that lay on the ground.

Natsu dodged and threw another punch but Zeref caught his fist and pulled him forward and kneed his stomach. Natsu grunted but flew his head back, catching Zeref by surprise and knocking his head to the side. Natsu fell to the ground and recovered as Zeref staggered a little and clenched his jaw with a smile on his face as he glanced at the knife that lay on the floor near the stairs.

At that moment, Zeref bolted for the stairs and Natsu ran after him. Just as Zeref reached the stairs and grabbed the knife, Natsu tackled him. They flew down the stairs as they fought, but they broke through the railing and flew to the ground.

Wood was all over the ground as the two men scrambled to get up, Zeref still had the knife in his hand. Natsu eyed it warily.

Zeref leapt at him with the knife, he swiped by his neck but Natsu jumped backwards. He kept up his assault and kept swiping at Natsu, who dodged carefully. Zeref changed his attack and went for a thrust, trying to stab Natsu. The agent was able to grab his hand as Zeref kept pushing it closer and closer. Natsu had to concentrate on keeping himself from being skewered, Zeref smiled as it got closer to his skin. Natsu yelled and pushed it back, making his opponent stagger backwards. Natsu took the chance and thrust kicked him to the wall.

Zeref flew back into the wall and had to quickly dodge as a fist flew at his face, he looked as Natsu's fist was imbedded in the wall where his head previously was. The agent ripped it out and kneed Zeref in the stomach, making him gasp. Zeref raised the knife, and Natsu narrowly dodged being stabbed in the stomach, the knife grazed his side as he dodged.

Natsu flew to the ground and clenched his side; Zeref recovered and was going to attack but he was stopped by Lucy, who was pointing a gun at him. "Stop right there, drop the knife" she yelled and cocked the gun. Natsu stood up and sighed with relief.

Zeref glared at the blonde women and did what he was told. "Now get on your knees and hands behind your head" she ordered and watched as he listened. Natsu walked past Zeref and stood by Lucy's side. She noticed Natsu was clenching his side as he walked towards her, "You okay?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the criminal before her. "I am now" she heard him respond.

Lucy glared at the dangerous man in her sights "The FTBI are on their way, it's over Zeref" the blonde women yelled, what the man did next surprised them. He started to laugh.

"Foolish women, your time has run out" he mumbled, and pulled his shirt sleeve back and showed his watch. "What? Just put your hands up or I'll shoot" she ordered warily as she thought about what he had said and Natsu got ready. Zeref smiled as he crouched on the ground "3, 2, 1. Die" Zeref murmured and he quickly grabbed the knife and threw it at them as Lucy shot him in the chest. She heard Natsu gasp in surprise next to her then yell, "Lucy".

Before she could react, the house started to explode.

Lucy screamed as she was thrown by one of the blasts. All the rooms in the house exploded and the house was on fire as smoke filled the air.

She barely stayed conscious, as she recovered from the blast. "Natsu!" she yelled but started to cough from the rapid smoke filling the room. She staggered up and looked around the blazing living room, she saw Zeref's still body thrown to the side, she checked the body for a pulse but there was none. She stood up and her eyes still searched for her boyfriend. She called again and started to walk slowly around to find him, the flames were everywhere, and it was starting to get harder to breathe. "Lucy" she heard a voice call out.

She heard it and looked towards the sound and saw Natsu clenching his side and holding onto the wall near the staircase. "Natsu!" she screamed and ran towards him. He began to fall as she went to him, she caught him and lied him down gently, and examined him. His breathing was labored and blood coming from his mouth, her eyes widen as she glanced down and saw a knife in his right abdomen. The wound was bleeding profusely. "No" she whispered as tears sprang in her eyes. She wasn't able to kill Zeref in time, he got Natsu and it was her fault.

She ripped a piece of her shirt and pressed it on his wound, his face contorted in pain. He was breathing harder and started coughing more, but he spoke "I got myself hurt again, I couldn't even dodge it. But I finally got to avenge my mom and my birth parents. We got justice for all the shit that bastard put us through. Thank you for killing that bastard, Lucy. Don't feel…" but he stopped as he began to cough.

"Natsu just stop talking for now, it's going to be okay. Help is coming, hang in there" she cried as her hands became red with blood. "I'm losing too much blood Lucy. Please get out of here. Get my dad away and wait for help outside. Leave me" he murmured weakly. The flames were growing wilder and everything was painted orange as it raged through the house.

"Shut up, don't say that" she cried as tears came down her face. He groaned as she tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too much. Natsu looked at the tear eyed woman above him and smiled, "Please Lucy" he whispered through his labored breathing. She shook her head and kept crying.

"I won't leave you so don't you dare leave me Natsu, I can't lose you. Please, keep breathing" she murmured. He grabbed her hand that was on his stomach and shook his head. They looked at each other for what felt like hours. "I love you" he whispered and smiled. "I love you too" she cried as she stared at the wonderful smile that captured her heart. "I'm sorry, Lucy" he murmured as the final explosion went off, and it went black.

"You're safe now" a voice said to her as her eyes were barely open, someone was rushing her in a gurney outside and sirens could be heard.

"Natsu" she mumbled before it went black again.

"She needs her wounds tended to; she has a survival able wound. But the man is critical. Make sure he is sent to surgery, STAT" someone said as fast-moving bright lights above her blinded her. She was moving fast on something, then it went black again.

"You made it Lucy, keep fighting please" a female voice said in a trembling voice to her. It's Cana, she sounded so sad. "But Natsu's still in surgery, they're doing everything they can. Please wake up". Lucy couldn't move or open her eyes, she wanted to scream out and wake up, but her body wasn't ready, so it went dark again.

"How is she going to react when she wakes up? What if she doesn't wake up?" a female spoke softly. It was Cana again, and react to what she thought. "Don't say that Cana, we just have to hope for the best" another female voice said. It sounded like Erza; she must have woken up. "Lucy, please" was the last thing she heard before it went black again.

Her whole body ached. She willed herself to open her eyes and this time her body listened, and they opened. The blond had to blink a little to focus her vision, she looked around and saw a clean hospital room and to her right was a brown-haired woman sitting on a chair next to her. To her left was nothing, but her arm had an IV in it.

She opened her mouth to speak but her throat was really sore, and it hurt everywhere. Lucy tried moving her body, but it was really hard. "C-Cana" she was able to whisper softly and sat up slowly. Everything was still groggy, and her body really hurt. Lucy examined her body and saw she was all patched up, then all the memories flooded back to her. Natsu, where is Natsu, was all she thought as her body started shaking.

"Lucy, calm down. You've been sleeping for about three days now. The doctors said you should take it easy; you suffered a head injury and your body is pretty banged up so try not to move so much" Cana said to her, as she stood up to give Lucy some water.

She drank it "N-Natsu, w-where?" was all Lucy was able to get out during her state. Cana's face immediately became sad, that reaction to the question was all she needed. "No" the woman whispered. "No" she said again as tears came down.

"Calm down Lucy, he's alive but…" Cana trailed off. Lucy looked up at her with hopeful eyes but waited for her to finish. "He's in a coma, and the doctors are saying his chances of waking up are very slim…I'm so sorry, his injuries were really bad" she finished while looking down sadly.

Lucy looked straight ahead in shock; she was still trying to process the news. "Lucy, I am so sorry" Cana said again and touched her friend's hand. Lucy squeezed Cana's hand as much as she could.

"G-get everyone. I-i need to t-tell them what happened" Lucy spit out as she wiped her tears and started to drink more water to clear her throat.

Erza sat down in the waiting room with her fingers entwined with her fiancé's, who was all patched up and would make a full recover. Jellal looked at her smiled and squeezed her hand lightly, they were both waiting on news for Natsu and Lucy.

"Still nothing?" a familiar voice said as a man walked over to them.

"Nothing yet, where's Juvia?" Erza asked as Gray sat next to them.

He was all patched up and could go home when he wanted. "The doctor wanted to check on her again before she is released" Gray responded but sighed and looked towards the hospital rooms.

"Good to hear" Chief Makarov said as he also waited for any news on his agents. He was very concerned about them, but he really wanted to know what had happened to Zeref.

Everyone had gone to see Natsu, after his surgery and were informed on his status. They left him alone with Wendy and Igneel, and now they were just waiting on news about Lucy. Gajeel and Levy got to go home so they wanted to shower and get some stuff and come back, so they were coming back at any moment.

The agents sat there in complete silence, no one was in the mood to talk as they waited for any news. But Erza broke it "One man was able to do this to all of us" she said sadly.

But they were all snapped out of their sad state when Cana came walking out "Hey guys, Lucy's awake and she's ready to tell us what happened" she said and gestured for them to come. Everyone stood up and walked towards the room quickly.

Wendy held her brother's hand gently, she stared with teared eyes at his calm face. He was connected to a ventilator. Every breath being taken or given to her brother could be heard on the machine. He was all patched up, his burns were severe but the wound on his side had made him lose a lot of blood. The doctor had told them that he had actually died on the table during surgery, but they were able to bring him back. So, this machine would have to breath for him for the time being.

Wendy's mind was racing. Her mother is nowhere to be found and her brother was in a coma. She began to cry again, her father hugged her from behind and whispered comforting words.

Igneel had no recollection of what happened after he and his wife were taken by a black-haired man. He remembered waking up an ambulance with his injured son next to him. Grandine was nowhere to be found and it worried him sick.

He stared at his son's solemn face but had to look away. Happy memories started to flood his mind of his wife and his children. He was so worried about Grandine, he was just praying she was alive somewhere and would return to them soon.

Wendy was still shaking and crying in his arms, he held her tight. "It'll be okay Wendy, but please no more crying for a little while" her father murmured. She nodded and tried her best to stop.

There was a knock at the door. They turned around to see Chief Makarov. "Sorry to interrupt but I think you should be present while Lucy tells us what happened at that house" he said sternly. The Dragneels could only nod as they followed the small man to the other room.

Lucy sat on the bed calmly as everyone came into the room. The doctor was checking on her to see if everything was okay. The doctor gave her the okay and would come back later. As he left, everyone that needed to listen to what had happened was finally in the room.

Everyone gave Lucy a hug and asked how she was, she could only smile at them for her emotions were overpowering. She started to cry when Wendy came into the room and hugged her. She held Wendy tight as they both cried.

Chief Makarov cleared his throat "Lucy, when you're ready please tell us what happened" he said sternly. Lucy let go of Wendy and wiped her tears and nodded.

She told them everything that happened after she had been taken but hesitated to say this "Igneel and Wendy, I am so sorry. Grandine was killed by Zeref. I'm sorry" Lucy cried as she watched them take in that information. Wendy immediately starting crying and she fell to the ground. Erza crouched down and rubbed her back. Igneel stood there in shock.

"N-No you have to be kidding. Oh god" he cried. Lucy could only nod as he looked down in shock. He started crying and put his hands over his face. Everyone in the room lowered their heads in sadness, Natsu's family grieved.

"I-I can't hear anymore right now. Excuse us" Igneel murmured and grabbed Wendy and left the room quickly. Everyone watched them go with sympathy.

Lucy went on to finish the story "I shot Zeref before the explosions went off, and I found his body to confirm his death. Everyone was dead in that house. We were the only ones left. I thought we'd one and we let our guard down. Zeref was able to throw a knife at Natsu as his timed explosions went off. It's all my fault, I should've shot him. Why didn't I shoot him? Now Natsu is…" Lucy cried as more tears came. Everyone shook their heads, and Erza spoke "No Lucy. Don't say that. No one blames you or ever will. You killed the man that did this to us. We should be thanking you". The blonde cried and shook her head.

The chief put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry for what you two had to go through in order to bring that man down and with such a price".

She nodded her head and proceeded with another question "What happened after we blacked out?".

The chief cleared his throat "After we got your call, we rushed over and found the house in flames. The ambulance arrived with us and put Igneel out of harm's way. Everyone with abled bodies rushed in to get you guys out. We found the both of you in the house and got you to the hospital. Natsu's condition was critical and was rushed into surgery. You were less critical and just needed to be patched up. Your head wound was of concern, but you seem to be alright" he explained to her.

Lucy took a big breath in "Thank you, but I would like to be left alone for bit if that's okay" she said quietly. Everyone nodded and hugged her before leaving their fellow agent alone. She watched them go as her room was now vacant.

"I need to see Natsu…" she whispered. She called her nurse into the room with her call button. Her nurse walked in and asked Lucy what she needed. "Am I allowed to visit another patient? It's my boyfriend, Natsu Dragneel" she asked her nurse.

"Yes, but you're only cleared to move by wheelchair since your leg is still injured and you will need to take it slow. Would you like me to call someone to assist you?" her nurse asked. "Yes, please" Lucy answered.

Her aide wheeled her into the Natsu's room, Lucy asked if she could be left alone with her boyfriend and the aide complied and told her to call when she was ready to go back to her room.

Lucy wheeled close to his bed. He was intubated and on a ventilator. He was all wrapped up in bandages, and he had all kinds of medications on his IV pole. She watched the rise and fall of his chest as the machine was giving it, the rhythmic beeping and breathing was almost soothing. She stroked his face as more tears begun to fall. He was in a coma and couldn't even breath on his own right now. Images of his usual strong and funny self poisoned her mind as she stared at the Natsu now.

"I'm so sorry, Natsu. This is my fault; I should've been faster. It should be me lying there" she whispered as she stroked his soft hair. She leaned over and kissed his head, "I-I can't do this without you, please just wake up". Lucy gently grabbed his hand and kissed it. She sat there and watched him "Grandine, please don't take him" she cried as she put her head down on the bed.

She felt a gentle squeeze on her hand.

ONE YEAR LATER

Everything was back to normal. Work at the FTBI was running as usual as there were still criminals to be taken down. Everyone was taking their time to heal and recover from the events that happened that day.

Erza was sitting in her office, typing busily. Her wedding ring could be seen on her ring finger, she stopped typing and stared it happily. Fond memories of the ceremony flooded her mind, and their honeymoon was wonderful. It happened so fast and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, Jellal was back on another undercover job and she was back to leading her division as captain. Erza sighed and stood up and went to find Gray to ask him about the case he's working on.

Gray was sitting at his desk on his computer. He was taking a break from work to look for open apartments for Juvia and himself to live. They wanted something close to work and had at least two bedrooms. He was so concentrated that he didn't hear Erza walk in. She stared at him expectantly and cleared her throat. Gray jumped and shut his computer screen quickly. Erza looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What are you up to on there?" she asked.

He looked at his captain with fear, "Nothing, just taking a small break" he murmured. Erza shook her head, "Any luck on apartments?" she asked with a crooked smile, she knew his situation. Gray scratched his head with guilt, "No, but I finished my work" he said trying to reroute the conversation.

His captain put her hand out expectantly, Gray scrambled to get the folder that had his completed paperwork. "I was able to catch the arms dealer, but some of his men escaped so I'll be on the lookout for any leads on their locations" he reported as Erza looked over it. His captain nodded his head, "Good work, I'll look into it as well" she said curtly then started walking out of the room. "Today's the anniversary" Gray said, making Erza stop. She nodded her head and walked out.

Erza walked down the hall and received a call from the chief for her to report to his office. She headed down and bumped in Gajeel on the way. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. "How're you holding up Gajeel?" the captain asked the man with a smirk. He glared at her then sighed, "She doesn't stay asleep for more than a couple hours at a time. I gotta hand it to Levy though, she's doing great" Gajeel said with a fond smile. Erza smiled, "Well congratulations on your baby girl, you guys are going to be fine" she said and left the exhausted man to himself. Gajeel nodded in response.

The scarlet-haired woman made her way down to the chief's office, she opened the door to find a blonde woman and the chief waiting for her. The blonde woman smiled and greeted, "Hey Erza".

Erza smiled and hugged the blonde tightly, "Welcome back Lucy" she said as they hugged. Lucy smiled and they separated. The chief nodded his head at Erza, "So Lucy was able to track down the rest of Zeref's followers on her undercover mission these past few months and had them arrested. It seems the case is officially over" the chief said. Erza nodded and smiled at her friend, "Well done" she replied.

Lucy nodded and smiled, the chief and Erza questioned the blonde woman a bit more before excusing her for the day. Lucy made her way to the parking lot. She got in her car and drove away.

She drove to the market and bought a bouquet of flowers, then she made her way to a house. Lucy parked her car in the driveway and grabbed the flowers and made her way into the house. She opened the door with her key and walked in. A blue cat greeted her happily, "Hi Happy, I'm finally home" she said and pet the cat.

The blonde woman put the flowers down on the counter then walked upstairs and into the bedroom. She heard the shower running, this made her smile and she walked into their closet and changed her clothes into something more casual. As the woman walked out, the shower stopped. Lucy sat on the bed and waited.

A man with pink-hair walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. There was a nasty scar on his muscled body, an old puncture wound on the left side of his stomach. He had a big smile as he saw her and kissed the blonde woman on her lips, "Welcome home, I've missed you" he said and hugged her tightly. "I've missed you too" Lucy said and kissed him again. "Were you able to complete the mission?" he asked as he walked into the closet to change.

"Yes, the case is officially closed" Lucy replied, she looked down awkwardly then waited for a response from the closet. It was silent for a while, "Hey Natsu" she called but there was no response. Feeling concerned, Lucy got up and went to the closet. She found him sitting down with only in his jeans in the closet, his head was down.

"It's been one year since that day, the anniversary of her death. It took a whole year to finally finish it" he whispered. Lucy nodded with a sad expression. She looked at her boyfriend then closed her eyes and sat next to him on the ground. "It's an anniversary of her sacrifice for her family" she whispered and put her head on his shoulder. She felt him nod his head, "Let's go meet my dad and Wendy" he said, he kissed her head and stood up. Lucy sighed and watched him grab his shirt and walk out of the room.

She went downstairs and grabbed the flowers and followed him. They got in the car and drove in silence to the cemetery. Lucy looked through the window as they drove.

One year ago, Natsu was in a coma which he awoke 3 months later. He acted like everything was fine and as soon as he recovered, he went straight into his work. He later asked her to move in which she did, and they went on with their daily activities like usual. But Lucy could see it, Natsu had his days. Some days he was fine then there were some he seemed off or sad. And it didn't help when she was sent on a long undercover mission, so Lucy had to rush to finish it in order to make it today.

They parked their car and walked towards the clearing of the cemetery where they met with his family. Natsu and Lucy, walked up to Igneel and Wendy and hugged them tightly, they were holding a bouquet of flowers as well. Then they made their way in greeting Natsu's two uncles, Weisslogia and Skiadrum and their sons.

A blonde man made his way to them, "Hey Natsu" Sting greeted and hugged him tightly, Natsu smiled and hugged back. Rogue did the same. "How are you doing?" Lucy asked, after hugging Sting. He smiled at her, "Just some awesome battle scars are left" the blonde man replied. Lucy smiled, Sting had barely made it out of surgery that day and he had a long recovery process, Rogue helped him through it, of course. It's nice to see he hasn't changed a bit, she thought happily.

"Let us go" Igneel said then led the way. They walked through the field of graves and stopped in front of one. It said Grandine Dragneel, beloved mother and wife with the dates of her birth and death. They placed their flowers in the pots near the grave and cleared off any dead leaves and grass.

"Hi honey" Igneel muttered as he crouched down and touch the stone. "I miss you, and we're doing the best we can at home without you" he continued and began to cry. Wendy crouched next to him, "Hi mommy, dad is doing really good on his own" the little girl said with a smile. Wendy hasn't cried much since that day; she might've done it for her dad's sake. Natsu placed his hand on both their shoulders, "Yeah mom, you'd be so proud of him. Wendy is doing great with school and I'm still working hard" he said out loud with a light smile.

The rest of them, stood to the side with sad smiles on their faces. Lucy's eyes were watering, she was getting flash backs of Grandine's last moments. And watching such a loving family go through this, broke her heart. But they were strong, especially when they're together. Lucy walked up to be next to Natsu who smiled at her as she placed her hand on Wendy's back. The little girl turned and smiled at the blonde. "Yeah mom, we miss you so much, but you'd be so proud of us and not have to worry at all" the little girl muttered and hugged her dad, who was silent still.

"Our kids are awesome, Grandine" Igneel said as he wiped his tears. He kissed his hand then touched the stone. "We'll come back soon" he whispered and stood up and walked away. His family watched him leave. The rest of them payed their respects and followed Igneel. They said their goodbyes and left the cemetery shortly after.

Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand as they walked to the car. She smiled at him, then said, "You okay?" and squeezed his hand lightly. He looked at her with shy smile and nodded. She smiled back and they got in the car.

He started the car and drove in silence, Lucy looked out the window as he drove. She was surprised to find the car was slowing down and pulling over to the side. "Natsu?" she said and looked at him with concern.

His hands were shaking, and his eyes were filled with tears, "I feel like it's my fault that she's gone" he murmured and bagged his head on the steering wheel. Lucy's eyes widened, "No, no, no Natsu. Don't say that" she murmured and stroked his hair. "I miss her so much Lucy, everyday" he murmured, his head still down and tears were falling on to his lap. Lucy nodded her head, "Me too" she whispered.

The woman reached over and grabbed his face in her gentle hands, "Stop blaming yourself" she said loudly, her heart ached at his sad expression. He closed his eyes and turned away, "I can't".

Then Lucy got angry, shocking Natsu. "That's enough! She gave her life so you could live yours. I feel grateful every day to your mom for saving our lives and making you the man you are today. I love you Natsu, but I need you to be the strong man you've always been. It will take some time to heal but I know you can with time, so stop blaming yourself" she said and closed her eyes, tears started going down her cheeks.

Natsu's eyes softened at her words, he grabbed her face to wipe her tears. "I'll try Lucy, it will take more time. Thank you for being so patient" he murmured and kissed her softly. She smiled from his gentleness. "Let's go home" she murmured, he nodded and drove the car.

They got home, showered, and changed their clothes. Lucy sat on the couch with a big sigh, "It's so good to be home". Natsu sat next to her, "It's good to have you home, it was lonely here" he complained and grabbed her in a hug. She smiled and pecked him on the lips, "I know, me too" and stared into his onyx ones. "Feeling better" she asked quietly. He breathed in loudly, "Yeah, I think it was just harder while you were away" he whispered.

The blonde nodded her head, "Sorry, I was trying to make it quick, but things got complicated" she admitted and kissed his cheek. He smiled, "It's okay" and he got up. "Let's cook some dinner" he said and stood her up. Her eyes widened from the sudden movement. He led her to the kitchen and started preparing what he had bought for her return home. He had a big surprise in store for her.

The pink-haired man grilled some steaks and poured some wine for the both of them. It was a nice homemade romantic dinner, Lucy was overjoyed. "This is really good Natsu" she said as she dug into her steak. As she sipped her wine, she eyed her boyfriend strangely. He seemed nervous and fidgety after they sat down. He saw her staring and smiled as he ate his food. Lucy shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating.

As they were enjoying their meal, Natsu stood up "I'll be right back" he said then went upstairs. Lucy's nodded and followed him with her eyes as he left the room, "He's acting weird" she said out loud.

He came back downstairs shortly after and sat back down in front of her. "Everything okay?" she asked him. "Yes" he said curtly. She raised her eyebrow and he smiled at her. "Okay" the blonde replied and went back to her meal. Natsu reached into his pocket and felt for the familiar velvet material of the box. He was so nervous. "Is something wrong?" her voice said, interrupting his train of thought. He jumped up nervously, "Uh no, why?" he muttered.

Lucy stared at him cautiously, "You're acting weird, what's wrong?" she repeated. He just shook his head, "Nothing, I swear" Natsu said with a light smile. The blonde rolled her eyes and stood up with her empty plate, she put it in the sink and grabbed more wine.

She sipped her glass and stared at her fidgety boyfriend. She noticed he wasn't eating as fast or as much, it worried her. Lucy opened her mouth to say something else but stopped when Natsu stood up suddenly. She looked at him with surprise.

He walked up to her, he grabbed the wine glass out of her hand and put in the counter. "Natsu?" she said but he just shook his head. Then what he did next, almost made her heart burst.

Natsu got on one knee and reached into his pocket to grab a small purple velvet box. Lucy's eyes began to water, and her hands went on her mouth in shock. He opened the box, showing a dazzling diamond ring. It was beautiful.

"Lucy Heartfilia, I have had the honor of getting to know you these past years. You are the most kind, loving, and caring person I've ever met. You have been with me through thick and thin as a friend and girlfriend. You are the love of my life, and I would like us to be together for the rest of our lives. Lucy, will you marry me?" Natsu said sternly, he wasn't nervous anymore. His eyes were so calm and soft, he stared at her intently.

Lucy began to cry and could only nod her head and say, "Of course idiot" she mumbled as he got up. He grabbed her with joy, "Yes!" he yelled and spun her around, making her laugh. He put her down and grabbed the ring from the box. Lucy stared as he grabbed her hand and placed the ring on her finger. She held it up with a big smile. "I can't believe it, did you get this while I was away on my mission" she said as more tears of joy came down, she had thought their relationship was on edge from the trauma they've been through when she left.

He nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to surprise you when you got back home. I went with Erza and Gray to pick it out, they were very helpful. I know you think I'm unstable with my emotions, but I've realized that you're the only thing in my life that keeps me stable. I knew I wanted to be with you forever" he said with a big smile. Lucy nodded, "I'm so happy" she whispered.

Natsu smiled even bigger and kissed her, "You're going to be a Dragneel soon" he whispered. Lucy smiled widely, "Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Natsu Dragneel" she said and hugged him tightly. He grabbed her head and kissed her passionately. Lucy leaned into the kiss willingly, she could feel so much emotion in the kiss. They kept kissing as Natsu grabbed her to pick her up, he began to walk upstairs with her straddling him.

They made it the bedroom, he set her down gently. "I love you" he whispered and caressed her cheek. She leaned into his warm touch, "I love you too Natsu" she murmured. He leaned in to kiss her again.

THE END

Thank you guys for everything, it's been awesome. Fairy Tail is amazing.

P.S.- If you didn't read the update message. I revised every single chapter and added some new content that made the story flow smoother. Enjoy!