UNEDITED

X

[3 months ago]

it's happening again.

for months, the two have been happy. lucy's been planning the wedding, while natsu's been job-hunting. he finally decides that it is time to get a well-paying job – he's going to have a family soon, after all.

natsu hasn't been drinking that much, either. although he hasn't quit, he did take it down a notch. he no longer comes home completely intoxicated.

however, one morning at about 5:00 am, the pink-haired man wakes up with a sick feeling in his stomach.

it's lisanna's birthday today.

although he knew that the day was coming near, he hadn't thought much about it. but now that the it was time, realization decided to slap him hard across the face.

X

lucy wakes up early in the morning. when she looks to her side, however, she doesn't see natsu.

immediately, she looks around the bedroom. he isn't there.

getting up, the blonde searches for him inside their apartment, but he's nowhere to be found. she comes back into her bedroom, and sees his phone on the night stand. a tiny piece of paper is placed near it.

don't worry. i'm fine.

X

natsu stands in front of the gravestone. it's pouring, but despite the weather, he decided to show up in a thin jumper, the hood barely covering his head. he's completely soaked.

at the moment, he feels nothing – almost numb to the pain that should be attacking his heart.

then suddenly, realization strikes him.

she's dead...

and it's all his fault.

he cries. and natsu never cries.

X

she sat in the living room. it was already nighttime – she'd usually be asleep by now. but lucy could never sleep properly without knowing whether or whether not natsu was alright. so she waited, as per usual.

when the door swung open, the blonde sees an oh-so-familiar scene. he was drunk, and she was mad.

"what the hell, natsu!" she screams.

he blatantly ignores her, stumbling into the house, soaking wet.

lucy jumps to her feet, "why would you do this to yourself?! again, even after everything was going great?!"

once again, natsu disregards her presence. he doesn't even look at her as he walks to their bedroom.

the blonde's had enough. she stomps towards him and grabs his shoulder. she subconsciously knows that it was happening... again. but she isn't thinking. she spins him around, "listen to me when i'm trying to speak!"

however, as soon as she sees his face, her heart shatters into a million pieces.

he cried. although he wasn't anymore, the tear-stains are obvious.

he looks so... dead on the inside.

lucy's shocked for a moment. she doesn't know how to react to this – natsu's never let his walls down. ever. so she went with her instinct, her hand reaching up to stroke his face. "natsu..." she whispers.

and once again, he breaks.

that night, instead of fighting, he told about that night – about how he met lisanna in university, about how he got drunk after graduation, and how he crashed into that truck.

and lucy was finally able to carry his burden.

X

the two wake up on the couch, both of them exhausted, despite the fact that it was already the afternoon.

they are silent. after their heart-to-heart discussion the previous night, all they wanted was for the atmosphere to be calm. perhaps it was time to simply enjoy the other's company.

however, as they ate breakfast, lucy tells him something that she was thinking about the night before. "i think we should go to therapy," she says suddenly.

natsu stops playing with his food and looks up. "no," he says bluntly, "that's a stupid idea—"

the blonde cuts him off, "it worked for gray and juvia, didn't it?"

and it did indeed work for them. they went to couple's therapy, and things changed drastically after the first session – in a good way, of course.

she looks at him, eyes pleading. "please, natsu..." she says. "if we want this to work, we've got to try. or else you'll end up loosing me, too.

the pink-haired man finally agrees (although, very doubtfully), and was later grateful he did.

after those sessions, everything changed. they were finally happy.

X

one more chapter yay! the last chapter is like an epilogue.

POSTED:  Saturday, 3rd September, 2016