"Dammit, Natsu!" Lucy groaned. "I told you that we were going the wrong way! But of course you insisted we go this way!"
"Don't worry, Luce!" an encouraging fire dragon slayer assured. "We're not lost or anything. We're just... taking the scenic route!"
Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia were on their way back to their guild, Fairy Tail, when then decided to take a short cut through a forest- one they've never been in before. Unfamiliar with the environment, it was easy for them to lose track of what direction they were supposed to be going to get home. They had been wandering and searching for their way for quite awhile, and both of them knew they were lost.
"Don't you think it's a little too late for us to be taking the scenic route?" Lucy sighed, one hand holding her head, the other gesturing towards the sky which was colored a deep blue.
"Sure but... Hey, Lucy, I've been wanting to go camping for a long time. Let's do it!"
"Tonight?!" The celestial mage looked up at her partner. "I really don't want to sleep in the middle of a forest without a tent or sleeping bag. Besides, I'm so sore from that mission!"
"Lucyyyy!"
"...Well we're not going to be able to make it home tonight anyways. Let's find a good spot to sleep before it gets too dark."
"Alright!"
He's just relieved that he didn't have to admit we're lost because of him , Lucy thought. She knew she was right because of the evil grin Natsu made when he thought she wasn't looking.
The two continued to wander, searching for an open area to sleep for the night. It took about 30 minutes for them to find a large, mossy patch spread out on the earth. The gentle sound of rushing water indicated that a river was somewhere near by.
"Perfect," Lucy said, walking towards the mossy patch. She sat down on it and took off her shoulder bad that she'd been carrying. "At least this spot is pretty soft."
Natsu smiled and sat down next to Lucy. "Wow this is pretty comfy," he agreed. Lucy turned her head to look at her friend and froze. Her teammate frowned. "What's wrong, Luce?"
"Um, well..." she struggled to get out. She looked at how close Natsu was and looked around him to see how big the moss patch was. "This is a pretty big patch if moss, but... I don't think it's big enough to fit two people."
The dragon slayer blinked. "Well I'm sitting here next to you, aren't I? We both fit."
Lucy sighed at clueless Natsu. I guess if it doesn't cross his mind how close we'll be sleeping, he won't try anything. Besides, I trust him. He's my best friend. He's more than... No. Lucy stop it. The mage shook her head as if all the thoughts would shake out of her head. She promised herself she wouldn't think like that. It was better to push these feelings away and act like she had no feelings rather than jeopardize her friendship with Natsu.
"Luce?"
"Never mind." Lucy stood up, grabbing her bag. "I'm going to get ready for bed."
"Okay."
"I'm going to find that river I hear and get ready there. Don't follow me."
"Sure." Natsu laid down on the ground, closing his eyes and folding his arms behind his head.
Lucy made her way to the river by listening for it, the sound of rushing water growing louder and louder as she drew closer. When she arrived, she walked to the edge and knelt down onto her knees and opened her bag, retrieving her night clothes and necessities for hygiene. She washed her face in the river, brushed her teeth and changed into her night clothes. When she was finished, she put her stuff into her bag and grabbed it, but paused and looked at the rushing water beside her. She peered into the river, searching for her reflection in the dark.
"Forget about it, Lucy," she told her reflection once she could barely see it. "You have no feelings. You do not love Natsu. Not like that, at least." Lucy was so concentrated on talking to herself that when a loud snap of tree branches sounded, she spun around and gasped in fear that maybe Natsu had followed her and heard what she said. However, all she saw was a small deer looking right back at her, alarmed by her reaction, and it ran away. She exhaled, relieved, and then realized she wasn't holding her bag anymore. Where was it?...
"Oh no!" Lucy exclaimed as she saw her bag being carried away by the river. She must have flung it into the river when she reacted to the deer! "My gate keys are in there!" Obviously, Lucy couldn't just lose all of her keys she'd been collecting for so long. She couldn't lose some of her dearest friends, so she ran after her bag and jumped in the river when she had caught up.
The water was freezing, and Lucy shivered, grabbing her bag. She climbed out of the river in haste and dropped to her knees when she escaped the chilling water. "That was... a close one..." she panted. For 5 more minutes, Lucy remained unmoving, processing what had happened and the consequences. She'd managed to successfully drench herself- and her spare clothes- when she would be sleeping in a cold, dark forest without a warm blanket or tent.
"Dammit," she muttered and finally got up.
Natsu had his eyes closed still when Lucy made her way back to him, but he could sense her presence and opened one eye. Noticing her condition, Natsu opened his other eye and sat up, staring at her. For starters, she was only wearing a tank top and small shorts for sleeping in. Next, she was completely soaked! There was no way she could be warm. This caused a worried look to form on Natsu's face.
"What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay"
"Y-yeah," Lucy answered, sitting down next to her friend. "I'm fine. I dropped my b-bag in the river and went t-to go get it." Natsu noticed she was shivering and frowned.
"You weirdo," he answered. "What were you thinking?"
"A-all my k-keys were in there! I couldn't j-just let them float away!"
"You should've yelled for me and I would've gone in to get them."
"Natsu... I w-wouldn't want you t-to do that in my place."
Natsu smiled softly, grateful for his friend being so kind. His smile was an unfamiliar one to Lucy. It was more mature. She admitted to herself that she'd noticed him growing up some (after all, they were 20 now), but this smile made him look more mature than she'd ever seen him. It was the smile of someone understanding and kind. It was a caring smile. It made Lucy go red in the face.
"Well maybe I would want to do that in your place. Besides," his smile turned into a grin. "I'm a fire mage! I warm up fast."
Lucy was surprised by the first half of Natsu's words. Well maybe I would want to do that in your place. Who was this boy? No... man. Where was the childish Natsu she met so long ago?
"I'm gonna start a fire for you!" Natsu exclaimed, getting up to gather stray branches.
"M-make sure it's n-not a forest fire," Lucy responded, unable to sound sarcastic because she was still pondering over Natsu.
After some time, a fire was finally going, thanks to Natsu's branch gathering and fire magic. He once again sat down beside Lucy and took in her facial expression. Her eyes were closed and a quivering frown was on her face. He looked up and down the rest of her body to notice all of her limbs shaking.
"Lucy?" he asked softly.
Lucy's eyes flew open and she looked at Natsu, embarrassed.
"S-sorry you had t-to see me like that," she said. "Don't w-worry about me. I-I'm fine!" Lucy gave a smile as big as she could make in her condition, but Narsu could see that the smile didn't reach her eyes. It was an attempt of her being strong for Natsu.
"Luce," Natsu, said slowly. "you're freezing. You aren't fine. I don't want you to get hypothermia."
"W-well there's n-not really anyth-th-thing I c-can do..."
"There's always something." Natsu looked at her, unsure if he could say what he was thinking. "I know this might seem... uncomfortable or awkward but..." Lucy stared at him wide eyed, afraid of what she was sure he'd say next. "The clothes you're wearing are making you colder and..." Natsu looked away, his face red. "You probably should take them off." He looked back at her, afraid of her reaction.
Lucy gulped. "Y-you're right..." She looked down and the ground and both of them were silent for a few minutes.
Finally, Natsu turned around, giving Lucy privacy. He couldn't believe he was going to be sleeping next to Lucy while her clothes were off! Sure, he'd had some dreams where that happened after... certain events, but those were just dreams.
Suddenly, Natsu got an idea. He took off his scarf and silently handed it back to Lucy without turning around.
"W-what's this for?" she asked.
"To cover yourself up top in case I look over at you on accident or for any other reason." He laid down and shut his eyes as he heard Lucy take her clothes off. "Good night."
"N-night... Th-thank you." Even though it didn't sound like it in her voice, she really really was thankful for Natsu. She was glad that she was in this situation with him rather than any other guy. He respected her, cared for her, and even though she wasn't aware, he loved her.
The crackling of the fire Natsu had made was the only noise to be heard, yet somehow it made the night more silent. Said mage was taking deep breaths, indicating he was asleep, but the breathing sped up some and his eyes opened suddenly. He found himself looking up at the sky which was covered by few trees, and forgetting Lucy's condition, he looked over at her. Natsu breathing hitched in his throat when he saw Lucy, almost completely naked. The only things she was wearing were Natsu's scarf, which was wrapped around her breasts and tied in the back, and panties, which were still wet from the river. Natsu couldn't help but stare at her peacefully sleeping, on her side facing him. He watched her chest slowly rise and fall, and he had the urge to reach out and touch it.
Don't be a pervert, Natsu! the dragon slayer told himself, although he couldn't look away. He finally noticed how Lucy was still shivering in her sleep, and wondered if he should do something about it. I don't want her to get sick... The girl's shivering increased as a slight breeze caused all the leaves on the trees surrounding them to blow in the wind. Okay. I'm doing this for her own good.
Natsu moved himself closer to Lucy and put his arms around her in an embrace, pulling her body to his. This caused the celestial mage to flutter open her eyes, waking up.
In any other circumstance, she would have freaked out and shooed Natsu away, but she realized his intentions to keep her warm. It was a caring, yet embarrassing, gesture, but silently Lucy enjoyed being so close to her best friend whom she knew she had feelings for. For the first time, she didn't fight her feelings. Instead, she moved herself closer to Natsu so there was absolutely no space between the two, and putting her hands on his chest, she drifted back to sleep.
Natsu's eyes widened as he looked down upon Lucy. He was surprised by her actions, yet he too couldn't help but enjoy their closeness. Slowly, he lifted his hand to put it on the back of the girl's head, and he softly stroked her hair.
"Goodnight, Luce," Natsu whispered. For a second, he could've sworn he saw a slight smile appear on Lucy's face, but he brushed it off and closed his own eyes to enter dreamworld.