The train ride began as they all knew it would; Natsu became sick instantly, and laid his head in Lucy's lap, who proceeded to stroke his head, running her fingers through his hair absentmindedly and humming a lullaby her mother sang to her when she was young. Soon, Natsu was asleep.
"Woah, how did you do that?" Gray asked, amazed. Lucy cocked her head.
"Hm? Do what?" She asked, having tuned out of the conversation.
"Get him to fall asleep. He never does that." Gray said.
"Huh? But he always sleeps. That's how Erza gets him to shut up." Lucy said, confused.
"No, I knock him out. That's different than making him fall asleep." Erza piped up. "I didn't go straight to this method, you know. We tried for months to get him to sleep; we tried everything. But nothing worked, so I ended up having to knock him out for the good of everyone." She finished.
Lucy blushed lightly. "All I did was rub his head." She mumbled.
"Juvia thought she heard Lucy-san humming also?" Juvia asked.
"Huh? Oh! I must have been humming my mother's lullaby. I didn't even realize I was doing it." Seeing the curious faces of her teammates, she continued. "My mom used to sing me this lullaby every night before I went to bed, because I was afraid of my room. It was too big, and too cold. I know it by heart now. I used to sing it to myself after she died." Lucy added quietly. "It made me feel like she was still here." Gray put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Lucy looked up and smiled, slightly teary. Erza got up and wrapped her arms around the blonde Celestial Mage and Juvia put her hand on Lucy's knee.
"We're all here for you if you need to talk. We're nakama." Erza spoke softly and kindly. Lucy smiled, leaning into the redhead's hug.
"Thank you, guys. I grew up completely alone, so you have no idea how much this means to me." She said. Erza smiled once more and let go, returning to her seat. Juvia and Gray pulled back as well, leaving Lucy with only her Dragon Slayer in physical proximity.
She gazed at him contemplatively once attention had been diverted away from them, wondering why she was the only one able to calm him. It's probably because we go on so many missions together, and I'm just a gentle person, she convinced herself.
Later, when the train had stopped and the girls were preparing to get off, Natsu woke up, startling Lucy. "Oh, Natsu. I didn't realize you'd woken up. Well, Juvia and I are getting off; see you in a few days." She said brightly.
Natsu blinked and nodded."Yeah, sure, see you in a few days." He said, his voice sounding strange.
"Is everything ok?" Lucy asked. Natsu flushed slightly and stammered out a yes. "Ok…" Lucy trailed off and began walking towards the platform with Juvia. They had just reached the step when they heard a commotion behind them. Suddenly, they saw a flash of salmon flying towards them from the window. Natsu collapsed on the platform. Happy looked concerned as he fluttered out of the window.
"Flame-brain! What're you doing?" Gray yelled from the cabin Natsu had vacated. Natsu grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"Uhhhh, nothing! I just wanted to… uhhhh… to… say goodbye again! Yeah, that's it! I wanted to say goodbye to Lucy and Juvia again before they go." He said uncertainly.
"Natsu?" Lucy asked, not buying his excuse. "What's going on? You can't stay with us; you have to go on to Yuni with Erza and Gray. You'll just destroy everything in the cafe if you have to stay the whole week." She said, hands on her hips.
Natsu's face flushed, and he looked down. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I just…" he trailed off, not able to find a reasonable excuse.
"...didn't care and wanted to get your way?" Lucy finished for him scathingly. He flushed again, but nodded, not wanting to risk her wrath. By this point, Erza and Gray had come down as well and they were all standing beside Erza's pack, which the porters were struggling to reattach to the back of the train.
"Natsu, you can't stay with them. We have to go and finish our job. Bandits, remember?" Gray prompted. "I'll let you take out more of them." He said, attempting to tempt Natsu back on the train.
Natsu scowled at Gray. "I don't need you to let me take out anyone, Stripper!" He exclaimed. Gray looked down and swore.
"Ok, where are my pants?" He cried, searching the platform for the missing clothes. Lucy facepalmed, and heard a whistle. Her head jerked up, and everyone in Team Natsu looked up in dismay to see the train pulling out, the distressed porters abandoning Erza's cart and running after it.
"Natsu! Look what you did! Now it's going to take us forever to get there." Lucy sighed. "I guess we'd better tell Mira to tell the town you guys will be late." She said glumly.
"Actually, Mira told me that she warned the town Natsu might not want to take the train, and to expect you anywhere from a day to 4." Erza said, surprising everyone there.
"Why did Mira-san say Natsu-san might not want to take the train? Natsu-san never wants to, but he always does." Juvia asked.
"She said something about lovers not wanting to separate, whatever that means." Erza shrugged, and Lucy's face heated up, remembering Mira's attempts at getting her with Natsu. But it's never gonna happen, she thought, He doesn't like me like that, and he's my nakama.
They walked towards Erza's cart, now surrounded by a new group of distressed porters, thinking a passenger was missing their substantial luggage. Erza approached, calming them down when she told them it was hers, taking it and bringing it to the rest of Team Natsu, who mounted it as Erza drove off.
After a few hours of walking, it started to get dark as Team Natsu stumbled towards the town where Lucy and Juvia's new jobs were. They came to a rough patch of road, Erza yelling back for them to keep a tight hold on the cart or else dismount so that they wouldn't be hurt. Natsu gratefully jumped off the vehicle, landing surprisingly gracefully considering that he'd been ready to retch only a few seconds before. Gray, not to be outdone, flipped off the cart, landing on his feet until Natsu pushed him down. As they squabbled, Juvia gently climbed off of the cart. "Come on, Lucy-san. You don't want to get bounced around, do you?"
Lucy jumped down just as the cart hit its first rough spot, jolting her so that instead of the intended, smooth motion, her ankle twisted as she landed and she collapsed. Lucy cried out in pain as she landed, crumpling.
"LUCY!" Natsu cried, running to her side and cradling her in his arms. She whimpered, and his jaw clenched. Her eyes rolled back, and Natsu was forced to assume she had passed out from the pain. It must have been a really bad break for it to incapacitate Lucy. The rest of the team ran to their side, and Happy's lip quivered when he saw the angle of her foot.
"That's not right, is it? Lucy's leg is all wrong!" He cried, almost wailing. He landed by her shoulder and snuggled into the gap between Natsu's waist and Lucy's arm, pushing his head underneath her hand and shoving into Natsu's stomach.
"Hey, she's gonna be ok. Don't worry." Gray said, as much to Happy as it was to Natsu. "We'll camp here, and then tomorrow we'll go into town to get her to a healer. Sound good?" He said.
Natsu nodded slowly. "Yeah, ok. I'll look after her. You guys get the camp set up." Gray bristled, but he knew there was no room for negotiation. Not when it came to Lucy. Hadn't he proved that just that morning?
Gray went off to get firewood, while Erza went into town. Happy kept circling Lucy and wailing, and Natsu wouldn't budge from Lucy's side. Juvia decided to stay and help Natsu watch Lucy, for she was worried about her friend.
10 minutes after Gray and Erza had left, Natsu's head jerked up. "What is it, Natsu-san?" Juvia asked, suddenly alert.
"There's someone nearby. I can smell them." He said, almost growling.
"It could be a trader, or a traveler." Juvia suggested, despite her unease.
'Why would a traveler be this far off the path? The only reason we are is because we're all insane." The words had barely left the distracted Dragon Slayer's mouth when the bush behind him erupted, and arms grabbed Lucy out of his arms.
"Let her go!" He shouted angrily at her capturers, memorizing their features. He was going to make them pay.
"Not until you put these on," he slid a pair of magic binding cuffs across the leafy ground, "and come with us." He hesitated, but when the man tightened his grip on Lucy's neck and she whimpered in her sleep, he gave in.
"Alright. Just… don't hurt her." He said. Suddenly, Juvia erupted from the bush, trying to surprise the man and free her friend. But somehow, he knew she was coming, and pulled out a long sleek metal rod. He stuck it into her body and clicked something on the handle. Suddenly sparks moved up and down the rod, and Juvia writhed, screaming in pain.
"Stop it! I said I'd come with you, didn't I?" Natsu screamed. The man laughed darkly as he removed the cattle prod from Juvia's half solid quivering form.
"Point taken. Let's go, dragon boy." He said, grabbing Lucy's keys, locking her hands in magic cuffs, and dragging her limp form after him.
"Wait! You said you'd let her go." Natsu said. The man laughed again.
"I lied. Now come on, or she gets it." He said, pulling out the deadly rod once again. Natsu had no choice but to growl his revenge and follow.