Requested by Anonymous: "Pleeeeeeeease write that Castle In The Sky AU!"
"Lucy? Lucy!" A voice woke her. Natsu's voice. "Hey, are you alright? Wake up!"
He was shaking her shoulder gently, rousing her from unconsciousness. Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes and came face to face with… flowers?
Seeing the bright colours of their petals after the blackness of the storm reassured her somehow. They'd survived. She'd held on to Natsu for dear life and now they were… where were they?
She looked to Natsu for an answer, but he was simply gazing down at her, a soft smile on his face. A smile of her own graced her features at the sight of him looking at her so fondly. His eyes shifted then, taking in the view of something behind her. She watched as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in awe.
"Look." He breathed.
Lucy pushed herself up slightly and turned to look in the direction that Natsu was facing. She drew in a breath and was sure her heart stopped.
Spread out before them was a vast expanse of lush green gardens scattered with ancient pillars and a path that led to what could only be described as a caste. The structure was huge. White walls gave way to the canopy of a giant tree. Its leaves swaying gently in the morning breeze.
The two of them lay there stunned, until Lucy finally managed to speak.
"Laputa."
Laputa. They'd made it. There was no mistaking it, she was here. Her ancestral home. The castle in the sky. The place Natsu's father had told him about.
Lucy was pulled from her stupor when Natsu tried to stand. The rope they'd used to tie themselves together went taught around her stomach, causing her to be pulled up alongside him.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Natsu laughed, kneeling back down to make it easier for her to stand.
"Wait a minute," She laughed along with him as she stood. Her fingers fumbled with the rope between them, "It's a very tight knot!"
Natsu chuckled low in his chest and Lucy suddenly realised how very close they were. Heat rose to her cheeks when she sensed him watching her. She tried very hard not to bite her tongue in concentration.
"My hands are shaking." She admitted. She was unsure if it was because they were standing on Lapucian soil or if it was because of… something else.
Natsu laughed again before taking her by surprise and scooping her up in his arms. His arms remained secure around her waist as he lifted her up and ran to a better viewpoint. She let out a cry of shock at how close he brought them to the edge of their floating island but she trusted him not to let her fall. She trusted him with her life.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they stood there and took in the view. It was so beautiful. The trees, the buildings, the sky. It took her breath away.
"We're here." She breathed into the wind, "We finally found it."
Natsu lowered her to the ground as he himself took in the view, but his hands remained firmly on her waist. Slowly, he turned to her, their faces only inches apart. Lucy looked into his dark onyx eyes and couldn't help the love that swelled in her chest. Here was this boy, who'd protected her from the moment they met without question. Who'd caught her when she fell from the sky, saved her from the army, came on this adventure with her and left everything he knew behind.
He grinned as if he knew what she was thinking. That grin she'd grown so accustomed to seeing. He let out a joyous laugh that caused Lucy to smile even wider. He drew back a little before throwing his arms around her once more, this time picking her up and spinning her in his glee.
They laughed together as they spun, Natsu hooting with joy and Lucy giggling at how happy she was. At how happy he was. At how happy they were together. Natsu let out a yelp of surprise when he stumbled too close to the edge. Lucy felt the rush in her veins as he pulled her dangling legs back over solid ground before falling to floor together and rolling in the luscious grass.
When they finally managed to quiet their laughter, Natsu pulled her in close, his arms still wrapped around her waist and hers still wrapped around his shoulders. They may have quelled their laughter, but neither of them could banish the smiles from their faces as they rested their foreheads against each other.
They'd made it! They'd made it to Laputa.
Their noses brushed before another round of laughter managed to overcome them. The two of them lay back in the grass together as they let their laughter die off. Neither of them bothered to untangle their arms from around each other as they took in the clear blue sky above them.
Lucy watched in contentment as a pair of birds flew from the trees and danced together in the sky.
"Pretty birds." Natsu mumbled.
"They must live here Natsu."
Natsu sucked in a breath as though he were about to say something before he sat up abruptly, his keen ears catching something she had yet to hear.
He pulled her up and steered her to the edge of the platform, his hand resting on the small of her back. They watched as a robot, a similar shape and size to the one that had awoken at the army's base and saved her, crossed the narrow bridge to their platform. His footsteps clanged against the stone.
"I think he must be here to meet you Lucy." Natsu guessed.
She clutched the back of his shirt tighter as she remembered all the destruction the other robot had caused, and how it had perished trying to save her.
"But I don't have the aethirium crystal."
"Yeah but- wait, I've gotta cut us loose!"
Lucy watched the robot climb the few stone steps up onto the platform as Natsu fumbled for his pocket knife. Its metal seemed rusted and aged, and its shoulders were coated with moss.
They retreated back to their kite once the robot reached the top of the stairs, but it continued to approach them. Natsu stepped in front of her protectively when it paused in front of their kite. She could feel the tense set of his shoulders as she gripped the back of his shirt.
The robot looked down at them and emitted a series of beeps. Was it… talking to them? Its long metal arms reached for their kite.
"Hey, wait!" Natsu shouted at it, "You're gonna break that!"
"Wait!" Lucy called to it, trying a more placating tone, "Please Mr Robot, don't do that! We won't be able to go home without it."
The robot looked at them and beeped again. It reached for their kite once more, but slower this time. Gently, it lifted their kite. The robot redirected its gaze to the grass, and Lucy leaned forward to see what it was looking at.
"It's… it's a bird's nest."
Behind her, Natsu leaned forward too. She could sense him smiling.
"So that's why he's here."
The two of them looked up to the robot and saw the birds flying around its shoulders, tweeting happily. It must be his job, she realised. To take care of them. Natsu voiced his similar thoughts. She was glad the eggs were alright.
The robot set there kite down with care, before it turned to them and emitted more beeps.
"It says to follow him." Lucy guessed as the robot turned to walk away.
"How do you know?" Natsu raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.
"I just know that's what he said!" She smiled and ran after the robot.
Natsu followed right behind her. The robot led them across the narrow bridge and through the lush gardens. They tried to keep close, but Natsu kept getting distracted. He rushed around, inspecting strange animals and looking into ponds to find a whole city beneath the water. They almost lost sight of the robot when it disappeared into the large white building.
They rushed up the steps together, but paused at the entrance. Inside was filled with life. Green filled Lucy's vision as she stepped into the indoor jungle. She subconsciously reached her hand out, waiting only a second before Natsu twined his fingers with her own. They shared a look that made her heart pound when their skin touched.
"It's a giant garden," Natsu whispered as he gently tugged her forward, "I've never seen anything like it before. It's beautiful."
Lucy was inclined to agree. The walls were invisible, letting the natural light shine down through the canopy. Flowers of every colour bloomed all around them. Natsu's hand in hers helped her to manoeuvre over the range of tree roots that coiled around the path as they wandered through the metropolis of trees.
"I wonder what happened here," Natsu's voice broke through the bird song and the rustling of the leaves, "This used to be a city of advanced technology."
Indeed, the Laputa they were now baring witness to seemed far different than the one of legend. Apart from the robot, they had yet to run into a single soul. Nature seemed to rule over this place now, not Lucy's ancestors.
The further they walked, the bigger the trees became. Both of them marvelled at the sheer scale and size of them until they ducked under a bush and came into a clearing.
"Look at the size of that one!" Natsu proclaimed.
They strained their necks looking upwards trying to spot the top of the tree. Its base was as impressive as its height. Vines wound their way around the tree that must have been at least a hundred feet in width, perhaps more. Natsu guessed it had to be at least a thousand years old.
It was then that Lucy noticed something at the trees base. A stone monument fixed in the wood. She moved towards it, pulling Natsu close behind her.
"The robot was leading us to this place Natsu."
Once they were close enough, she could make out an ancient crest etched into the stone. The crest of Laputa, of her family. The monument stretched down onto the ground, the writing beneath the crest continuing down to the stone by their feet.
"I wish I could read what it says." Natsu frowned, mirroring Lucy's own thoughts.
Her eyes scanned the writing, hoping in vain that she would be able to decipher something, anything. Her eyes finally came to rest on six small pink flowers laid at the bottom of the monument.
"Someone left flowers." She mumbled as she kneeled down to caress the pink petals.
Natsu nudged her shoulder, nodding to her right when she looked up at him. She stood as she noticed what Natsu had nodded towards. The robot.
"Did you leave the flowers?" She asked it.
Behind her, Natsu drew in a gasp. She noticed then. This wasn't the same robot. This robot was more rusted, mossier. Its feet were cemented into the soil and grass grew up its long legs. Some smaller creatures had even seemed to make the paralysed robot their home.
"It looks like it's been frozen there forever." Natsu said softly.
Looking around, Lucy noticed there were more of them. Dozens of them sat around the base of the tree, having become one with the roots and vines long ago, their bodies coated in moss. Like quiet guardians. Protectors of the garden.
Beeping sounded from behind them, and the two of them turned to see the robot from earlier approaching them. Its long arms trailing against the ground.
It stopped before Lucy and extended its hand. A pink flower was tucked between its fingers.
"Oh, you've picked a flower for the grave." Lucy smiled at it, "How kind of you."
Natsu watched as her pale hands reached forward a plucked the dainty flower from the robots grasp. She seemed to fit in here, he thought. Surrounded by all this life and beauty. It was as if her ancestry made her a part of this place.
He wondered what it would have been like if people still lived here. Lucy would be a princess and he would just be another explorer chasing after a myth. He might never have met her.
But he had. He'd plucked an angel from the sky and they had found this place. Together.
"He must be the only one left." Lucy whispered, and he noticed a stray tear fall from her brown eyes.
She placed the flower by the others as Natsu watched a family of animals skitter up the side of the robot and rest on its shoulders. The robot beeped at them as they nuzzled into the metal. Its head spun before it turned and walked away, off to attend to some other part of the garden.
"You know what, Lucy? I bet he's not lonesome at all." Natsu told her as she stood, rubbing the tears from her eyes, "He's got plenty of friends. The animals, the birds… he takes care of them."
She turned to Natsu then. She was so grateful for his support. So grateful to have met him. When everyone else had wanted her for her neckless, her knowledge, or her heritage, he had only ever wanted to be by her side. To go on an adventure.
"Natsu-" She moved closer to him.
An explosion shook the castle and she stumbled into his chest. He held her close until the tremors subsided, and then they shared an uneasy glance.
The army was here.
