Chapter 7 – The End

The sun streamed in through the window, its bright light slowly waking her from her slumber. Stretching her arms above her like a cat, she sat up before looking to her side. Empty. Her heart faltered for a second. Had this all been a dream? She had remembered falling asleep by his side after the events of the night before, but where was he now?

With a frantic hand she felt beside her, feeling slight relief at the remnants of warmth he had left behind, confirming that she had not, in fact, been dreaming. But panic settled in. Had he left her again?! After all they had conveyed to each other the night before, he would leave her just like that?

No.

He wouldn't.

She trusted him.

She swung her legs around and quickly got dressed so that she could head out to find him. This time, she would not merely stay in one place and wait. This time, she would drag him back here by the ear if she had to. Because he was hers.

And she was his.

But as soon as she put on a set of clothes, she heard noises from outside. She wondered who it might being seeing as it was only the crack of dawn. Looking out her window, she saw a large group of castle soldiers standing outside of her apartment, on guard and ready to burst inside.

She turned when she suddenly heard his voice again, noticing the way her heart warmed in relief that he was still here.

"Man, did they stiff us out already?" He said with annoyance, his hand reaching to scratch the side of his head. After seeing what she had done to track all of their nakama over the past year while he had done nothing, he knew he just had to do something as well. She had worked so hard just to find them, and he knew that if he helped make her wish come true, she would smile bright again.

And he just learned how much he loved her smile.

Thus, early this morning, he had made a quick trip over to the castle, to make his own contribution to the cause of reuniting their guild again. He won't let her research go to waste. It was time to find their nakama again.

"Aye!" Happy added in with a smile.

She fumed inside. "This is your doing?!" Who was she kidding. Of course he would do something like that.

As much as he found that he kind of liked how she looked when she was mad, he figured it was time to go. He suddenly grabbed her hand, sending a deep warmth up the length of her arm. "Time to haul ass Lucy!" There'd be plenty of time to cause her to recreate these faces another time. But just for him though.

"What the hell did you do?!" She screamed when he burst through her window, cradling her in his arms. As much as she would like to appreciate how nice it felt to be held within his arms, as though she wasn't held enough the night before, she was too caught up in the adrenaline of running away.

"How did I get sucked up into your shenanigans?! You can put me down now!"

As much as he didn't want to let her go, he obeyed, placing her down before grabbing her hand again as they ran from the soldiers. He noted how perfect her hand felt in his own.

"What did you do Natsu?!"

He turned back to face her with a wide grin. Her heart skipped another beat. "I raised the beacon for Fairy Tail's revival. In the place where it would stand out the most. If you're going to do it, go big or go home!" He figured the castle would be good enough of a spot. Though the castle guards didn't seem to think so. But they didn't matter. He was willing to do anything to bring them back together again. Anything to make her smile.

As much as she wanted to believe that this was happening, that their guild was finally going to be put back together, she still had her reservations. "That's the least of my worries! Even if you say you want to revive Fairy Tail…"

He knew what she was thinking, but he had faith in the both of them. "We can do it if we just believe. We are going to gather everyone up…and bring back the guild!"

And just like that the passion she had lost for her guild in the past year had completely reignited just from hearing his words. Her heart filled with such a soothing warmth that she could barely concentrate on moving her legs to run anymore. She didn't know what it is about him that made her feel like this. Maybe it was his boyish behaviour, his courage, his love, his passion. But whatever it was, she would never let it go. Not again.

He turned back to face her with a radiant toothy smile, one of her favourites. "Come on!"

With tears welling in her eyes, she nodded as they continued to run. "Yaa!"

She didn't know where they were going, he didn't know where they were headed, but at this moment they didn't care.

Because for him, she was willing to follow him anywhere.

Because for her, he was willing to take her anywhere.

Even if it was to the end of the world.

As long as they were together.

A/N: END. And there we have it. Short, but sweet, I hope. This was just what I hoped their interaction would have been like. Nalu Week 2016: Climax.