•••

Natsu realises who Lucy is after all this time, and they have an emotional reconciliation, (the prev chapter) however something was wrong and before she even realises it, his breath was thinning and he had passed out.
Lucy cursed herself for getting happy and getting lost in the moment, forgetting about the true nature of the spell, and that what had been done cannot be undone.
Unfortunately and fortunately, that was the moment when the rest of the team natsu arrives at the scene, and tho it stops the villain from doing anything(I forgor his name), they are mortified to see natsu's state. He looks like a lifeless body in Lucy's arms.

What do you think you've done!? Was what their reaction was, the spell already in effect, making their memory hazy and them confusing Lucy's identity. This obv did not help the matters at all.

Flash forward, their sights shift to winston(GOT HOS NAME), and a fight ensues.
(I'm not sure how to write fights so imagine an epic fairy tail fight here with the bg music and everything that)

"dammit! You better have answers for us when we get this over with Lucy!"

Momentarily shocked at her own words, erza loses focus, confusion still clouding her mind which winston tries to take advantage of, but his attack is blocked by gray.

Long story short, the fight is intense, the team isn't at its 100% because of the confused state, and little by little winston realised that. He drops hints to get them to lose their focus, much like with natsu, but having enough, Wendy just screams and unleashes a powerful wind attack that knocks him out. (Like a desperate cry of help, like a traumatised child).
The result is a huge explosion, the dungeon breaks down and there's rubble everywhere.

Everyone is kinda shocked(in a like blank state you see after traumatic events in movies) before regaining their senses. Team natsu runs to an unconscionable natsu in a Frenzy, Wendy just plops down on her knees still staring ahead in a blank state and shock, and Lucy stares at the back of her head( in a similar way too). This was kind of a wake up call for her, showing her how much damage she'd actually done.

In this moment, it was like she was invisible to gray, happy, erza and Carla and she takes that as a sign for her next step.

Sorry, I'm so sorry was all she could breathe and it wasn't even heard over their own cacophony. A part of her is still adamant, and she unwillingly gives in, slipping a blue ribbon in happy's bag.

"It was not your fault, it was not your fault" Wendy was almost chanting it like a spell, before breaking down.

However, Lucy ignores it, gets up, takes a look back, and leaves.

What has been done cannot be undone.

•••

(This was the end of chapter 25)

•••

A couple of years have passed, Natsu was walking home from the guild, looking more glum then ever.

Happy questions why, he always gets like this during this time(nearing Lucy's birthday). Actually he did too and so did everyone in the guild, but he could never understand why, and natsu always felt it the most.

Natsu was twirling with the blue ribbon he had around his wrist as he was walking home, something of no significance he found in happy's bag, but it gave him a huge sense of comfort for some reason.

For some reason he decided to want to go to the train station today, and mid way he changed his direction, much to Happy's annoyance.

The both of them pass by the magnolia library, and a familiar blonde passes by, with a shining blue ribbon. Almost instinctively, natsu goes after the person, stopping them by grabbing their wrist. 

A pretty young woman with brown eyes looks back at him, smiling in confusion. He's confused too , because he could swear he's seen her somewhere before, and at the same time he's in awe of how charming she looks(cue the stuttering). Happy teases him, and the girl laughs and asks if he's free for lunch. They go, have a good time, and roam around in the city, finally sitting by the river ledge in the evening.

"You seem very familiar"

"Is that so?". The woman twirls her hair with a slight smile. "I get that a lot."

"Like as a compliment? That's a weird compliment."
She chuckles, petting the sleeping cat in her lap "who knows"

They sit in silence for a while, before she decides to break it.

"You never asked my name."
"I forgot."
"You forgot to ask a person you just met their name?" She laughed, amused. "What if I'm an evil mage here to harm you? Or a thief here to steal all your mora(LAMALALA GENSHIN IMPACT)?" She gestures with her hand mockingly.

Natsu scoffs "you never asked my name either. What if I'm a big bad guy kidnapping pretty girls?"

"You think I'm pretty?"

"You're missing the point" (unamused, like oblivious natsu style)

"I know who you are." She laughs. "You're the great salamander. That's why I asked you to lunch. I wanted to hear all about your great stories."

"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Are you a mage?"
She dangles golden keys in front of his face with a smug smile.

"A pretty strong one, yup."
"You should join fairy tail."
"Are you in it too?"
"Yup! We can go on adventures together!"

"I'll think about it."
"Are you here to stay?"
She gives him a sad smile. "I just came here to check."
"Check what?"
"Just stuff"
"You love talking in riddles, don't you?"
She scoffed, looking at him with one eyebrow raised, "you think these are riddles? The bar's really low."
"Why won't you tell?"
"Because I can't."
"Hm" was all he said, before sighing and looking at the sunset covered skies.
"You should come"
"I just told you-"
"You'll like it." He cut her off. "I'm taking you there"
He would probably never do it. Ever. Especially not with someone he just met. But he put his head on her shoulder, holding her hand. Something told him that if he hesitated, she'd never be in his reach.
She'll run away. Again.

For Lucy it was different. All those feelings that she thought she'd moved past came rushing back. It was the same touch, the same love, the same him. The same her.
The last two years had been a rollercoaster. She'd accepted that it was all over. It was not her fault, but it won't be the same. The memories were all lost. And she was at peace with that.

But then why does he have to come and disrupt it everytime. Every single time.

Maybe, just maybe..

She interlinked her fingers with his, leaning to his side too. "Okay. But you're helping me look for a place to stay."

Maybe she doesn't need to retrieve her old place anymore. Maybe she can just make a new one.

"I think I just might have the one for you"

Maybe, that was the answer all along.

"Lucky"
"What?"
"My name's lucky."

Natsu smiled. "Welcome to the guild lucky!"

Maybe this was the beginning of her peace after all.
"My lucky."

•••

(End of epilogue)

Okay I realise this was all over the place lmao, and obv I couldn't go into much detail but Lucy went through the five stages of grief lmao. She had finally accepted that old her was no more, and when she finally got the same love back without forcing another personality or hiding, she realised that the spell wiped her memory, she can always make new ones. Restarting isn't easy, but the fact that she has that will says a lot.
Obv this didn't come across as emotionally as I wanted it to, or hoped it would(its a shit summary💀) but atleast you get the idea. I never wanted things to go back to the way they were since, the damage that's once been done cannot really be undone. It shows. This ending went through so many changes lmao, (i think in the first two he gets his memory back from the Firestone she gifted and chases after her to get her back, and (2) she just gives up and goes away, with her sending him letters and him reading it but never having a return address to send replies to, and eventually they both just live their life like that) I think it was always in my subconscious and it changed with the way I grew up. And this is what I came up with!

(These endings basically coincided with my state of mind lmao💀not telling how, it's a talk for another time)

Anyway, I hope you liked this! I didn't abandon this story, but I do want to leave it behind tbh. And I didn't want to keep you guys hanging so here's the ending summary. I realise it's written in a rather chaotic way lmao so I'm💀💀hf<3