The Place You'll Remember From Here On Out

Natsu Dragneel x Reader [One Shot]

"And then, I hit him with my Karyu no Tekken!Gahaha! He shouldn't have underestimated a dragon slayer! Gahahahaha!" Natsu boasted, hands on his waist as he let out a loud laugh.

"And I didn't do anything!" Happy floated around you as you sweatdropped in response.

"In any case, sounds like you two had a good mission."

"Mhm! You should come next time." Natsu said as the two of you were walking around town,  trying to find a restaurant where you could go to for dinner.

"You know, Cana says we're suppose to get a lot of snow tonight or tomorrow." You remembered her prediction for this week's weather. "Well, I'm not surprised that it will because it's so damn cold!"

You dug your hands further in your coat pocket, keeping them tightly closed to insulate whatever little body heat your limbs could produce.

"She said that? All right! Then let's get everyone and have a snow fight!" Natsu lightly pounded his fist into his palm. "Moete kita!"

"Natsu-kun, it's a friendly snow fight, not a tournament." Somehow you already knew it was going to turn out into a huge brawl with you joining them eventually. That was just how the guild bonded.

"Anyway, aren't you cold?" You noticed his lack of winter clothing, wearing his usual vest, knee length pants, and sandals.

"Nah, I'm pretty comfy." You examined his body for a few seconds then noticed light traces of yellow and red outlining his form.

'Usotsuki! You're using magic to warm you up!' You thought to yourself, but found that his use of his fire powers were effective. You listened to him ask Happy what he was craving for dinner then suddenly stopped when you looked forward.

"__(y/n)?" Happy noticed you standing, staring into the crowd before the three of you.

"Oi, __(y/n), what's up?" Natsu walked a few steps back when he found that he was slightly ahead of you. He glanced at what captured your attention, his own eyes enlarging just a bit. The pink haired boy found your current significant other with one arm over another woman's waist. From how close they were walking together and the small kisses he was giving suggested they were more than friends. Natsu didn't know too much about your boyfriend, only that you two have been going out for quite some time.

"Hachigoro..." Natsu let out a low growl before looking back at you.

Your eyes were wide, mouth slightly opened as if you were attempting to speak but something had caught your words. Your lips then closed, forming into a slight quivering frown as a single tear fell from your right eye.

And that was it.

That was all it took for Natsu to finally burst.

"Yarou!!" The fire boy screamed loudly, surprising you out of your trance. He dashed towards Hachigoro, a flaming fist meeting with his face. He made sure to direct his punch downward so that his head met with the hard concrete.

"Ekk!" His date shrieked, shouting at Natsu yet not helping Hachigoro from his spot.

"W-w-what the hell are you doing?!" Hachigoro struggled to get himself from the floor. Natsu helped him up roughly, grabbing the front of his shirt.

"I should be asking you that! Aren't you suppose to be ___(y/n)'s boyfriend!?"

"Who's __(y/n)?!" The other woman glared.

"W-wait! Don't listen to this guy! Eheh, __(y/n) is just a friend! Yeah...a friend!"

"You asshole! How dare you play with ___(y/n)'s feelings!? Don't you know how much you're hurting her!?"

"Go get him, Natsu!" Happy cheered him on while the blue cat stayed by your side. Hachigoro looked to the the sound of Happy's voice, shocked to see you standing there.

"W-w-wait, __(y/n), I-I can explain!"

Your sad expression continued to get worse and Natsu's chest was hurting at the sight of your heart breaking into pieces right in front of him. You shook your head at Hachigoro, refusing to talk to him. You had nothing to say to him and it was clear that yours and his relationship was over. Natsu catches another tear falling from your face and he quickly looked away, kneeing Hachigoro hard in the gut. Before the dragon slayer could attack again, you called out his name making him glance at you. Your head was facing to the floor while biting your lip, a shadow covering your eyes. Suddenly, you lifted your face, wearing a huge smile that Natsu knew was being forced. He knew your true smiles because it was one of the many things about you that he fell in love with.

"I figured out where to eat! I know this great ramen restaurant and it's not too far from here! We should go because I am starving!" You decided to focus on what the three of you came into town for, not wanting to deal with the pain at the moment. "C'mon, I'm super hungry and we still have to decide which ramen we wanna get!"

You walked ahead, ignoring your ex as you controlled your pace so that Natsu wouldn't be left behind.

"I ain't done with you yet," Natsu said threateningly to Hachigoro, taking a deep breath and blasting him with fire. He dropped him to the floor, his date running from the scene at the ugly and pitiful site of your ex.

--

Throughout the entire dinner, Natsu knew you were trying hard to be strong. He admired that about you since it showed how mature you were. If anyone ever upset him, he would be raging all over Fiore causing more property damage than Fairy Tail could ever pay for. However, he knew how much you were hurting. You were pretending that your break-up didn't affect you by talking constantly about topics that were unrelated to your mood. It was obviously awkward, but no one pointed it out, feeling it would be more troublesome to openly talk about the Hachigoro incident. So, Natsu and Happy pretended with you, acting as they normally would for your sake.

When you three finished your bowls of noodles, the dragon boy walked you home. As if he would ever let you walk alone especially if it was dark.

"Well, thanks for walking me. Let's get a mission tomorrow!" You winked as you unlocked the door to your home. "Good night you, two! And don't cause any trouble on your way home. Stay safe!"

You kept your smile, giving them a slight wave as Natsu automatically said good night even if it wasn't what he wanted to say. He didn't know how to approach you about your break-up. Before he could reply the way he intended to, you were already inside your home.

"__(y/n)..." He whispered, hand on the door as he debated on knocking.

"Natsu." Happy frowned, hating to see you so sad.

--

Finally.

FINALLY you were alone. You could react the way you have been wanting to ever since you saw Hachigoro. You felt terrible for wanting time to pass quickly while with Natsu and Happy. You always loved spending time with them but right now, you wished to be by yourself. You felt guilty for wanting to ditch them along with feeling just plain terrible. Your stomach was beginning to reject the ramen you had early but you mentally forced yourself to not feel sick. Your heart was aching and pounding painfully against your ribcage as the temperature around your face began to rise. Your eyes were filling with tears, trying to control your oncoming sobs through slow and deep breathings. You eventually let yourself go, the becoming pain too much to bear. You leaned against the door, sliding down slowly as you cried loudly into your hands.

--

With or without sensitive hearing, Natsu could easily auscultate your sobbing. By the sound of your wailing, he knew how deeply hurt you were. He knew you were in a worse state than he was, but he was hurting, too. It upset him to see the girl who he cared for the most breaking down like that.

"Natsu, I know you wanna go in there, but maybe we should give her some time. We'll definitely visit her tomorrow." Happy placed a paw on Natsu's shoulder, his partner looking at him. He nodded silently, agreeing with the blue animal as he reluctantly left you alone.

Hours had passed since Natsu had arrived home, both him and Happy laying on their own hammocks for bed. Natsu was kept awake by his thoughts, worried about you. He let out a sigh, arms resting behind his head as he stared above him.

--

Your mind was exhausted but sleep didn't greet you easily as you wished it would. You were lying on your stomach, the side of your face buried in your pillow as you hugged it to your head.

'Just go to bed already...stop thinking about that idiot!'

You closed your dried and sore eyes, sniffing a couple of times before doing quiet and relaxing breathing exercises. Suddenly, the double door window was forced open, making you sit up with an alarmed look.

"Let's go." You heard a voice say.

"N-natsu!?"

"Let's go." He walked over to your bed.

"Wait, why? Where are we going? It's past 1:30 in the morning!"

"Just c'mon!" He scooped you up in his arms and jumped out the window, a gasp escaping your lips. You held onto him, afraid of accidentally falling from his arms. He took you to the forest, the spot where him and Happy usually fished.  He set you on your feet, looking into your red and irritated eyes. He frowned, knowing the source of your tears and gently placed his hands on your face. He wiped his thumbs underneath your eyes almost as if he was sweeping the tears that he knew you wanted to shed but couldn't since there wasn't any more left.

"Remember that spot in town, when we were looking for a place to eat and you found Hachigoro? That was the place where you had your heart broken," he began and he could see you try to look away, feeling embarrassed at being humiliated like that in front of him. He gently maneuvered your face back to his, forehead touching yours so that you would be more focused on him, "well, right here, is where I'll be the one to start fixing it."

"Eh?" Although you heard him clearly, you were in disbelief with his sentence. Natsu was going to repair your heart? Wait...what? Was this real?

"I said I'm going to fix your heart, so don't cry anymore, okay?"

"Wait, you know, you don't have to do this. I mean, I'll get through this so..." You were assuming that he was only saying this to lighten your feelings. You did have a crush on Natsu, but you never thought it would go any further than friends. He didn't seem interested in you like that so you just tried to put away what you felt for him.

Natsu abruptly sets his lips on top of yours, a small, surprising yelp becomes muffled in the kiss. He opens and closes his lips slightly pressing just a little bit harder each time he does so. His heart pounds as he doesn't feel you react, but you eventually return it. His tongue sneaks out to taste your lips but never invades past them. The fire boy is the one to separate the kiss, but carefully rests his forehead against yours. You see that his cheeks were red from embarrassment and his eyes remained closed, Natsu unsure if you truly wanted to kiss him back. You gave him a small smile, seeing how much he really wanted to make you happy. You let out a soft giggle, giving his nose a peck.

"Arigato." you whispered, embracing him tightly as he finally opens his eyes.

"You don't have to thank me. Like I said, I'm gonna put your heart back to how it was before. I'm doing this not only because I want to and you're my friend, but it's 'cause I like you. You don't have to respond to my feelings, but I just want you to know that."

"I'm sure you won't have to wait too long for me to respond. Besides, I think you already know my answer." You gave him a smile, Natsu feeling relief as he finally sees your true smile. That meant you were were happy again. Well, you better prepare because Natsu was going to make you ten times happier than today. He then heard you let out a soft 'oh!', seeing you holding out one hand as you looked up at the sky. He doesn't need to look up to know what surprised you, discovering that Cana's prediction had come true. It was snowing and actually sticking to the ground.

"All right! Can't wait for tomorrow's fight!" Natsu grinned, knowing who his targets were.

"Same here! But, ummm, as much as I love looking at this snow and being out here...do you think we can go back to my place, please?"

"Hm?" Natsu looks at you again, watching you hug yourself as you shiver. You were wearing house clothes that did keep you warm at home, but not for outside.

"Eheh, my bad," one hand scratches the back of his head, then goes to the front of his white scarf. He peels it off him, placing it around your neck and loosely tying the ends. You hold close the scarf, his scent stimulating your nose as you unconsciously smile. He places a quick kiss on your forehead before letting out a wide grin,

"Yosh! That should do it! Anyway, let's make some snowmen!"

"Natsu, it just started snowing so it's going to take a while for it to be enough where we could actually make something." You laughed a bit.

"Ehh?" Natsu then held up a fist at the night sky, "hurry up and snow faster so me and __(y/n) can play already!"

"Tomorrow, we can be out all you want. But right now, before I freeze to death, let's go to my house? I can make us some hot chocolate...or maybe a cup of fire for you." ^^U

"All right! That sounds even better!" The dragon slayer lifts you up in his arms again, about to run back to town.

"By the way, there is another thing you're going to have to fix." You spoke, a pair of black eyes looking down at you. "You're going to have to fix my window because I always lock it before bed and I'm pretty sure it's broken."

"Gahehe..." Natsu flashed an apologetic smile, but then received a forgiving kiss by you. Nothing was official at the moment, but you knew you could trust your feelings with Natsu.