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“tell me that ain’t magic.”
Natsu came into this world on the back of a dragon, he roared his way into reality and burnt a path into the stars that would both destroy and save the world. He crashed through every semblance of normalcy that the world thought it knew and he replaced it with the tale of a dragon, a demon and a fairy with an entirely human heart.
Like that dragon, he was, something that couldn’t be replicated, something that would burn as bright as the sun for as long as he lived, and then when his time came to an end, there would be a hole in the sky that couldn’t be replenished. As there will be in the multitude of hearts that he touched and lives that he saved.
Eventually, he settled down though the dragon within never went away, in the guild known as Fairy Tail. He stormed his way through the ranks and became a legend almost overnight, until half of the continent knew of Magnolia’s guard-dragon. Only those foolish enough to have not heard of the Salamander’s might, or perhaps those who were stupid enough to try anyway, crossed Natsu’s path, and they were quickly wiped out of the way. Dragons were notorious for being possessive of their treasures, well Natsu found his treasure within that guild, and with Igneel as his witness, he would protect it or die trying.
Natsu was loud. His legacy, his magic, his potential, everything about him was loud and explosive and dramatic and almost impossible to miss. He was the warmth that soothed his friends, the glue that held them together, he fully embodied the spirit of his guild and everyone knew it.
He was Fairy Tail’s Salamander, after all.
But there is another side to Natsu that only a very select few had seen, even within his beloved family. And it was something that contradicted all previous knowledge of the dragon slayer, and twisted his reputation into thin air. Much like his magic, he was often assumed to always be loud and destructive, but just like those flames that he trusted so dearly, he could also be soft and warm and healing, and he could be loving, too. This was the side that only those who his dragon force presumed utterly, and unmistakably irreplaceable had seen.
And those few who had seen that side of him were now sat all around him. As the campfire burned and crackled in the centre, providing a shell of light and safety that illuminated the clearing but didn’t disrupt the view of the stars overhead, the very same element that he would use to protect these people with from any threat. His team were sat around the fire, toasting marshmallows and telling jokes and stories.
Lucy was showing Gray the constellations overhead, Erza was scarfing down as many marshmallows as she could fit and Happy was snoozing in his lap. The tranquillity that hung over the clearing was nothing short of magic. As Natsu gazed amongst them all with no emotions short of adoration. For Erza. For Gray. For Lucy. For Happy. And for him. This was perfect.
He didn’t want tomorrow to come, he would give up his scarf for tonight and this sense of certainty and place to persist forever.
“Something wrong, Natsu?” Erza’s voice cut through the silence, as she was distorted through the heat radiating off the fire. Her words drew the attention of the stargazers, and they each gave their expected reactions.
“His brain probably short-circuited.” Gray muttered. He didn’t rise to the bait. Tonight wasn’t about fighting.
“Are you okay, Natsu?” Lucy asked, to which he offered a warmer grin than his classic one.
“Yes.” He beamed. This was the moment that he didn’t want to forget. “Everything’s perfect.”
And when they all smiled back, he forgot about all of the loss and grief and cruelty that lay beyond their shelter for tonight.