Reader x Natsu: A Twist of Fate -Part 3

Far away, the first thing you heard was the faint chatter of a crowd and the clinging of glasses. The first thing you felt was an icy sting on your forehead, followed by the soft touch of a blanket resting on top of you. You began to rise from the murky darkness of your slumber, but didn't open your eyes.

You started to listen intently to everything around you, and noticed the faint breathing of someone else in the room. You heard their quiet pacing footsteps that pause every few seconds, and start again. The steps continued in their little pattern until the door creaks open, making the steps pause.

"How is she?" you hear a girl say.

"She's still out cold..." a deeper, more comforting voice responds. It sounds worried, but you couldn't tell why in your half-awake state.

More footsteps enter the room, the new pair lighter than the other. Both approach you, and one sits down near your feet. "So she controls shadows, huh?" the girl says.

"Seems like it. I mean, I've never seen a wall of shadows before today, so..." the boy trails off.

The girl sighs in response.

You finally are awake, and the memories of the day come flooding back. You HAD to leave, but you didn't know how you could get away without anyone following you, especially with the physical state you were in. With a gulp, you slowly open your eyes to see the pink-haired boy standing right above you with a very serious look that quickly changed to a warm smile. It made your heart skip a beat, but you quickly remembered that soon he would probably hate you. You were an "enemy," after all.

"Hey! You're awake!" Natsu's smile grew to a toothy grin.

You sit up silently, laying the ice pack that was on your forehead onto your lap.

"You alright?" Lucy asked, tilting her head slightly.

You look at here for a moment, before you respond in almost a whisper, "...yeah..."

"So what was all of that about? Why are you so scared of me?" Natsu said suddenly, his smile gone as he leans in close to you.

"I'm not afraid of you," you state quietly, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Then why did you run?" he leans in a little more.

You don't know how to respond. Why DID you run?

"Geez Natsu, give the girl some space. She just woke up from fainting," Lucy interjected, thankfully. "I'm gonna go let everyone know that you're alright." You smile weakly in response.

The moment Lucy closed the door behind her, Natsu quickly turned to you. "Why did you run?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't run because I'm afraid of you..." you said again, quieter than the first time.

"I ran because... you'll be afraid of me..."

Natsu's eyes widened, and he laughs. "Why would I be afraid of you? Because you can control shadows? So what?"

"No..." you looked down at your hands, tightening your grip on the blanket as you pulled it a little closer to you. "That's not it..."

"Then what is it?" Natsu's confident laughter halted.

"I..." you sigh. "You won't be afraid of me... you'll hate me..."

"Why would I hate you?" he said, sitting down on the bed next to you.

"Because of the things I've done... and the choices I've made..." your voice cracks as you see tears fall onto the blanket.

"That means nothing to me," Natsu stated, putting a hand on your shoulder. "All I know is that you're here, and that you're a good person."

"How do you know that?! How do you know I'm a good person?! What if I've killed people? What if they were innocent people?  What if I'm evil..." your tears turn to sobs as the shadows in the room flair, sporadic like a nest of bees. You fall onto Natsu's shoulder as your cries echo through the room. He doesn't say a word as he puts his arm around you, pulling you closer.

"I know because an evil person wouldn't regret those things. You know they were mistakes," he says, his voice comforting to you. "Mistakes are things that happen to everyone, big or small."

"But... I still did it..." you hiccup through your tears, grabbing onto the arm the was wrapped around you.

"So? I've done some things I'm not proud of. Everyone has," he says, slowly wrapping his other arm around you, pulling you a little closer.

You sit there for a while, neither of you saying a word as you let the tears flow out.

---

The door to the guild burst open, and in walked a tall, menacing girl. She quickly scans the room as everyone stares at her.
"Hey! I'm looking for a girl named (f/n)! Anybody seen her?"

---

Finally, your tears slow, and you try to wipe away the remains. "I'm sorry..." you say as you stand up. You were ashamed of yourself. First of all, you told him everything you'd done. Second of all, you started crying.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Just...I need to leave..." you sniff.

"You expect me to let you leave with the state your in? And after all that?" Natsu stood and walked closer to you. "No way."

You looked up at him, the two of you watching each other's facial expressions. You didn't know how long you would have stood there if it wasn't for Lucy coming in.

"Hey (f/n), there's a girl here that's looking for you. She's kinda tall and scary looking," Lucy said, a bit worried.

"Oh... it's Angelina..." you sigh, leaving the room and looking down from the upper balcony at the impatient girl.

She quickly spotted you, and frowned, "Geez (f/n)! Where the hell have you been? I was starting to think you got yourself caught or killed."

"I'm fine," you say as you head down the stairs, Natsu right on your heels, and Lucy in tow.

"Who's she?" Natsu whispers, leaning over your shoulder.

"She's a... friend... I guess..." you whisper back.

"What do you mean you guess?" Natsu asked, taken aback by your comment. You knew he couldn't comprehend the idea of someone being a 'guessable friend.' You reach Angelina, and smile weakly at her.

"Have you been... crying?!" she says, noticing your red face.

"No," you quickly lie. "I have a bit of a fever."

"Well that's better than crying. Geez, I can't leave you alone without getting into trouble, can I?" Angelina put her hands on her hips.

"Can we just go?" you sigh. Angelina nods, and the two of you turn to leave. Or rather, you would have left, if it weren't for the strong hand that grabbed onto your shoulder.

You grab onto the hand, and regretfully pull it off.

You start to walk out the door into the cold night, only to see pink hair pop up in your peripheral vision.

"Will you just leave me alone?!" you shout, spinning towards the boy. You could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I told you I wouldn't let you leave like this," he said.

You felt a pinch in your stomach as he put both of his hands on your shoulders. "Natsu... I have to leave..."

"No!" he protested, tightening his grip on your shoulders.

You stare into his eyes, seeing a look that you'd never seen before. "I'm sorry..." you whisper, looking away as shadows shoot up, grabbing onto Natsu and pulling him away from you. "Let's go," you say to Angelina as you start to run.

You hear the fire crackle behind you, and then his quick footsteps. "Why are you running?!" he shouts, grabbing onto your hand, almost making you fall. You try to yank your hand from his grip, but he only tightens it.

"I'm... I'm..." you stutter, feeling tears pricking at your eyes. "I'm part of a dark guild, okay?!" you shout, revealing your hidden guild tattoo on your (b/p). "That's why I did all those things! That's why I'm an evil person!"

Natsu's face shifted dramatically from determination to disbelief. His grip on your hand loosened, and you quickly pull yourself from his grip, and start to run again.

This time, he didn't chase you.

***

"We need to move the guild again," you say as you reach the doors of your guild. You thought that after so much, it would feel like home. It didn't.

"Who was that guy?" Angelina raised an eyebrow.

"He's a wizard. That was a wizard guild we were just in. And now he knows we're a dark guild, so we need to move!" you shout, pointing in the direction of Fairy Tail.

"Oh crap," Angelina grabs her forehead in frustration. "I haven't even talked to any hot guys yet... fine, I'll go tell the Master."

You stood there, staring out the window, watching the stars in the sky, and the lights of the town flicker on and off. On light was move particularly fast, and getting closer.

You sigh. If only I hadn't left this morning, maybe I wouldn't feel so horrible.

You keep your eye on the moving light, watching it get closer and closer. Your eyes widen in disbelief. It was Natsu. Within seconds, he had slammed the doors open, fire trailing behind him from using it as a speed boost. He looked around the guild, spotted you, and quickly embraced you. When your mind registered what had happened, you felt your face go red hot.

"I don't care if you're in a dark guild. You're a good person. That's all that matters," Natsu whispered, hugging you tighter.

You felt your heartbeat quicken as you tentatively returned the hug. "I thought you hated me now. Everybody hates me when they learn I'm in a dark guild..."

He pulled back, his hand resting on your shoulders. "Of course I don't hate you," he smiled, his hands sliding from your shoulders to your hands.

Suddenly, you felt the ground start to shake. You were teleporting. "SHIT! NATSU, YOU NEED TO GET OUT!"

Natsu was taken a bit aback, but tightened his grip on your hands, pulling you outside with him. The moment you were outside, you turned to see the guild was gone. And suddenly everything hit you at once.

Your guild was gone. You would likely never see them again. You didn't have to do horrible deeds to feed yourself anymore. Natsu had saved you. Natsu saw the good in you when no one else did. You were free.

For the second time that night, tears poured from your eyes. But they were joyful tears. You embraced Natsu, laughing through your tears. "Thank you... Thank you!"

Natsu hugged you, pulling you close to him. Suddenly, you felt an odd sensation on your (b/p) where your guild mark was. You look, seeing it slowly fading away. You smile grew, and you looked at Natsu, who was smiling warmly at you. You couldn't help yourself. You leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. You were so happy. You were finally free.

"Thank you," you smiled.

Then Natsu did something that surprised you. He kissed you. It was just a quick peck on the lips, but you still felt your stomach flip over. You knew your face was turning red.

"Hey, I think that Gramps would be happy to take you in as a part of Fairy Tail," he grinned.

"That would be great," you laughed, leaning in and kissing him.

The two of you smiled, and started to walk back to Fairy Tail, hand in hand.

As you enter the town, Natsu smiled at you, "You know, I'm glad I ran into you this morning."

"Yeah, me too... what a crazy twist of fate..." you smile, looking up at the starry night sky as you tighten your grip on Natsu's warm hand.