. When and Where .
Oh, how she wished she could go back to when it was easy. To when it was fun. To when it was just a matter of paying her rent on time and avoiding the destruction that followed her partner everywhere he went.
To when Fairy Tail had no enemies that hunted you down and did their best to destroy you.
She swallowed thickly as she looked down at him. His bloodied head was pillowed in her lap, his onyx eyes partially shut and glazed over, one hand still trapping her palm against his cheek. She ignored the sticky red liquid that had long since stained her flesh in favor of soothingly stroking her other fingers over his forehead and other cheek despite the pain in her gut. "Hold on, Natsu," she murmured softly, "I'm sure help will come soon."
His answer came in the form of a weakened sound.
The tears finally began to fall, and Lucy sniffled, pausing to impatiently push some blonde hair behind her ear. His gaze barely followed the movement, watched as she swiped the tears away to try and hide them from him.
In celebration of three years of partnership, the two had agreed to take a job together, alone. They'd invited Happy, of course, but the Exceed had given them a smug little smile as he claimed he wanted to wait for Charle and Wendy to come back. They'd quickly picked out a job, his arm thrown around her shoulders as he slapped it down in front of Mirajane. "This one," he'd said cheerfully, giving Mira that huge grin of his.
"Are you sure?" Mira had asked,looking worried. "This one might be difficult for just the two of you. Maybe you should take the rest of Team Natsu on this one…"
"Nah, we'll be fine! Right, Luce?"
They should have listened to Mira.
Suddenly, Natsu shifted, and Lucy protested, trying to tell him to hold still. "You're...you're hurt, too," he tried to slur out, struggling past the numbness of his lips.
"It's not bad," Lucy lied, her voice barely a whisper. "Your injuries are worse, Natsu. Hold still." Not bad...huh. Lucy wanted to laugh at herself. She was barely capable of remaining upright at this point. It was only the tree she leaned back against that kept her from falling over.
The job they'd picked out had been as simple as catching a rogue dark mage. Just one.
Instead, they'd been met by a group of them. Normally, it wouldn't have been an issue, but one of them had been able to use powerful nullification magic, ridding them of their abilities. Loke had only been able to show up after they'd had their fun, and had taken one look at the pair before darting off for help.
Maybe, just maybe, she thought as she rested her head back. Natsu would survive. She just wanted him alive. She could care less for herself...but she knew that he was thinking the same thing. It was what kept her eyes open a moment later when the pain suddenly began to fade, the darkness threatening to drag her down, down, down.
"Natsu?" she whispered softly.
No answer.
She tried again, her voice hitching in despair as she forced her eyes downward. "N-Natsu?" It took her a heart breaking moment to realize that she wouldn't receive an answer ever again. His eyes had a haze that hadn't been there before. His chest no longer rose and fell. He was gone. The tears came again, this time falling endlessly.
By the time Loke returned only minutes later, a group of rushed healers close behind him, Lucy had gone to where it was easy, to where it was fun. To where it was just a matter of keeping an overjoyed dragon slayer from crushing her in an overly tight hug in a field as golden as the glory days they would never again see.
I appear to have a thing for depressing things like this. A late NaLu Week one-shot with the prompt "Glory Days". I enjoyed crying while I wrote this one. :)