"Natsu...Natsu, Natsu wake up..."

Someone whispered in my sleep. Their fingers running through my hair. Who is it? Who's doing this?

I open my eyes and see a blurry figure.

"Erza?"

I rub the sleep from my eyes, it was her!

"Erz-!" My yell was cut short by her hand on my mouth. She didn't want anybody waking up it seemed. This was to be a secret. She took my hand and led me out of the bed, and past the sleeping nude form of Grey. We tiptoed past Lucy's room, and down the hallway, floorboards creaking at our every step. We reached the front door of Lucy's apartment and left, our shoes remained inside.

It was out here, under the moonlight that I noticed what our situation was. Ezra was wearing a short white dress, probably an ex-quip, and I was just in my pajama bottoms. "Erz-" I began but was cut short again, not by her hand on my mouth, but the fact that her hand had not left mine. Not one prone to displays of affection, this was a very veryserious matter. She had been acting strange since we returned from the tower of paradise. No body else had noticed, not Lucy, not Gray, not even the old man, but I had. I was the one that saved her in that tower. I noticed that she was different. Different how? I'm not quite sure. But here on the banks of the river, underneath the moonlight, I had a feeling that this would be the begenning.

She pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "We're going to go outside of town, not far, but far enough that they won't find us till daybreak. I'll explain everything there Natsu. And what I want-no-need from you." Her every word accompanied by a puff of warm air that caressed the folds of my ear. I barely heard what she said.

Without another word, she turned and we walked. Side by side. Hand in hand. Under the moonlight on the banks of this river that flowed out of town. The silence broken only by the rustle of our clothes and the whistle of the wind through the nooks and crannies of this town. It wasn't long until we were out of town. We still travelled along the river, the stone banks in the town had faded away to a grassy slope, in the middle of which ran the river. The grass underfoot tickled our feet and found its way between our toes. The feilds beside the river turned to forest as we walked. And Erza in front of my kept walking. As soon as we could see that the grass carpet in front of us gave way to a dirt floor she stopped. There was still grass here. She sat on the slope of this river, pulling me down beside her. I opened my mouth to speak but words had left me. Here was where I saw Erza as though I were seeing her for the first time. No armour, no guarding herself, although she was wearing that slip of a dress, she was as naked as the day she was born.

We sat there for a while, Erza looked at the sky, and I at her. It seemed that she was coming to terms with something, she was ready for the world, but all I saw was how beautiful she looked. She turned to me.

"Natsu. When we were at the tower of paradise. You saved me, and I never thanked you for it. Wait let me finish. You saved my life Natsu. You found all the peices of me in that worldwind. You put me back together, and thats when I realized. That there was something missing in me before. And when you carried me back to our nakama I found what was missing. It was you Natsu. You who were always there for me. Always looking out for me, always looking for me, at me, in front and behind me. You who cheered me up when I was down, even though my face didn't show it, and nobody else knew. Natsu...I love you."

"Erza... I love you, stay by my side."

"Stay by mine Natsu"

"Forever, Erza, Forever."

"And beyond Natsu."