Chapter 67: Natsu and Erza at Long Last
The hotel room was quiet. The curtains were still drawn, but slivers of moonlight slipped through the gaps, painting silver stripes across the floor and the bed and the woman who had not moved from her chair in three days.
Erza's eyes were closed. Not sleeping, just resting. Letting her mind drift to places that didn't hurt. Simon's smile. Sho's tears. Millianna's laughter as the fireworks exploded overhead.
And Natsu. Always Natsu. The rise and fall of his chest. The warmth of his skin. The steady beat of his heart that she had listened to for seventy-two hours, afraid that if she stopped paying attention, it might stop beating.
A sound.
Soft. Barely there.
Her eyes snapped open.
Natsu was looking at her.
His eyes were open, brown and warm and so incredibly alive. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth, cracked lips parting just enough to speak.
"Hey," he whispered.
Erza's heart stopped. Then started again, twice as fast.
"You're awake. After three long days you're finally awake."
"Three days, huh?" His voice was rough, barely there. "Guess I was more tired than I thought."
She wanted to say something. A hundred things. A thousand. But all she could do was stare at him, at this impossible man who had eaten raw lacrima and transformed into a dragon and beaten a god and then slept for three days like it was nothing.
Natsu's smile widened, just a little.
"Come here."
She didn't hesitate. She rose from the chair and climbed onto the bed, settling beside him, careful not to jostle his bandaged body. Her hand found his, fingers intertwining.
"You scared me," she said. Her voice cracked. "You scared me so badly."
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize. Just... don't do it again."
"No promises." His grin was weak but genuine. "You know me. I'm not good at playing it safe."
Erza laughed. It came out wet, half sob, but it was a laugh. The first real laugh she had managed since the tower.
They lay there in silence for a while, just holding hands, just breathing together. The moonlight crept across the floor, marking time.
"Simon," Natsu said finally. "I saw what he did. I was... I was coming out of it. I saw him take that spell."
Erza's grip tightened. "He saved us. Both of us."
"He loved you."
"I know." Her voice was soft. "I didn't know. Not until the end. But I know now."
Natsu turned his head to look at her. "Are you okay?"
It was such a simple question. Such an impossible question. Was she okay? Simon was dead. Jellal was defeated. The tower was gone. Her childhood friends had left to find themselves. And she was lying in a hotel bed holding hands with a man who had kissed her before a battle and told her he loved her.
"No," she said. "But I will be."
Natsu nodded slowly. Then he shifted, wincing at the pain, until he could see her face more clearly.
"Before I knocked you out," he said, "I told you something."
Erza's heart sped up. "I remember."
"I meant it, Erza. Every word." His eyes held hers, steady and true. "I love you. Not because you're strong. Not because you're Titania. Not because of any of that. I love you because you're you. Because you never give up. Because you care so much it hurts. Because even after everything, after all the pain and loss and darkness, you still believe in people. You still believe in family. You still believe in love."
Tears slid down her cheeks. She didn't wipe them away.
"I love you, Natsu Dragneel."
The words came out before she could stop them, before she could think, before she could be afraid. They just... were. True and real and finally spoken.
Natsu's smile was the sun coming out.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
He pulled her closer, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except the need to feel her against him. Their lips met, soft and gentle and perfect. No desperation. No battle frenzy. Just two people who had found something worth holding onto.
When they finally parted, Erza was crying and laughing and smiling all at once.
"I can't believe this," she whispered. "I can't believe I'm dating Natsu."
"Believe it." He kissed her forehead. "You're stuck with me now."
"And Lucy."
Natsu's expression softened. "And Lucy."
Erza nodded slowly. "I've been thinking about that. About the three of us. About what that means." She looked at him, searching his face. "I'm... excited about it. Is that strange? To be excited about sharing you with someone else?"
"No." His hand came up to cup her cheek. "It's not strange. It's just you. You've always been able to see the big picture. To understand that love isn't something you divide. It's something you multiply."
Erza leaned into his touch. "When did you get so wise?"
"When I met you." He grinned. "And Lucy. You two made me want to be better. To think about things differently. To imagine a future worth fighting for."
He paused, his expression shifting. More serious now.
"Speaking of the future... I want to create a place for us. A home. Somewhere the three of us can live together. If you want that."
Erza's eyes widened. "Live together?"
"Yeah. I know it's fast. I know we haven't... I mean, with everything that happened, we haven't really had time to just... be. But I want that. I want to wake up next to you. Both of you. I want to make breakfast and listen to Lucy complain about her writing and watch you polish your armor and just... exist. Together."
Erza was quiet for a long moment. Her heart was racing. Her mind was spinning.
'Live together. With Natsu. With Lucy. The three of us. In one place.'
It was terrifying. It was overwhelming. It was...
"Good," she said quietly. "I think that's good. A way to move forward. Together."
Natsu's smile could have lit the entire room. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She leaned in and kissed him again. Deeper this time. Longer. Pouring everything she couldn't say into the press of her lips against his.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, the door opened.
Lucy stood in the doorway, her hand still on the handle, her eyes wide. She had been coming to check on Natsu, to sit with him for a while, to escape her own thoughts for a few hours.
She had not expected to find Erza in bed with him, lips swollen, cheeks flushed, looking more alive than she had in days.
For one heartbeat, no one moved.
Then Lucy smiled.
"Well," she said, walking into the room, "it's about time."
She kicked off her shoes and jumped onto the bed, landing between them with a bounce that made Natsu groan in pain.
"LUCY! BONES! LITERALLY BAGS OF BONES!"
"Oops." She didn't look sorry at all. She leaned over and kissed him, quick and warm, then turned to Erza. "You finally told him?"
"I finally told him."
"And?"
"And he wants us to live together. The three of us."
Lucy's eyebrows shot up. She looked at Natsu, at the hopeful expression on his face despite the pain, and laughed.
"I knew it. I totally knew you were going to bring this up soon."
"You did not."
"I DID. I've been writing it in my journal for days. 'Natsu will probably suggest we all move in together after the next life-threatening crisis.' And here we are."
Erza stared at her. "You actually wrote that?"
"I write EVERYTHING. It's research for my novels." Lucy grinned. "He's building a harem under one roof."
Natsu groaned, but it might have been from laughter. "It's not a harem."
"It's a little bit a harem."
"I don't think so," Erza said quietly.
Both Lucy and Natsu looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
Erza considered her words carefully. "I've been thinking about it. About the kind of women Natsu is drawn to. About what we have in common." She looked at Natsu. "If he wanted a harem, he would have one. He could have anyone. Mirajane is beautiful. Cana is... available. There are countless women who would be interested. But he didn't choose them."
Lucy's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So you're saying he only likes a certain type?"
"Yes." Erza nodded slowly. "And we are very different, you and I. In personality. In background. In almost everything. But there's something we share. Something that draws him to us."
Lucy looked at Natsu. At his smile, warm and knowing and a little bit amused.
"What type of women?" she asked. "I mean, Erza is so different from me. But I can tell you love us both. What is it? What do we have in common?"
Natsu's smile widened. His eyes crinkled at the corners. He opened his mouth to answer.
And then he started laughing.
Not a chuckle. Not a grin. A full, genuine laugh that shook his bandaged body and made him gasp and wheeze and finally devolve into a coughing fit that had both women scrambling to help him sit up, patting his back, bringing water.
"I'm fine," he gasped between coughs. "I'm fine. Just... laughing hurts more than I expected."
Lucy handed him water. Erza supported his back. They exchanged a look over his shoulder, equal parts exasperated and fond.
"You're impossible," Lucy said.
"Probably," Natsu agreed.
Erza pressed a kiss to his temple. "Rest now. We'll be here when you wake up."
Natsu's eyes were already closing, exhaustion pulling him back under. But his smile never faded.
"Best deal I ever made," he mumbled.
Then he was asleep, his breathing evening out, his face peaceful.
Lucy and Erza sat on either side of him, watching him sleep, their hands finding each other across his chest.
"So," Lucy whispered. "Living together."
"So," Erza whispered back.
A pause.
Then both of them started laughing, quiet and helpless, the kind of laughter that came from somewhere too deep for words.
"This is insane," Lucy said.
"Completely," Erza agreed.
"I love it."
"Me too."
They leaned across Natsu's sleeping form and kissed each other's cheeks, a promise, a seal, a beginning.
Outside, the moon continued its journey across the sky.
Inside, three people who had fought through hell itself finally found something resembling peace.
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Next Time: Back Home at Last - The News of Natsu's Women