A bit angsty ish I guess? Please enjoy~
"Are you comfortable?" The voice surprised her, despite the fact that they had been speaking for a few minutes now. She just felt so sleepy.
"Yeah, I'm comfortable." Her voice was quiet and her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned her head back and took in a deep breath through her nose. Her senses were assaulted by the smell of campfire and nature. All of her favorite smells in one.
"Lucy…"
"I'm just resting my eyes," she whispered, "Can you tell me a story, Natsu?" She felt the arms around her tighten fractionally and she sighed. "It doesn't have to be a long one. How about the time when we first met? Or when you dug up that Sakura tree so that I could see it even though I was sick?"
"Yeah, sure. I can do that Luce. But you know I've never been good at telling stories, you've always been the one to tell the interesting stories." His voice sounded strained. As though he was struggling to keep a smile on his face.
"I just want to hear you talk," Lucy admitted sheepishly, "You could talk about what kind of fish Happy caught yesterday and that would be good enough for me." The silence that followed her words was long, at first… she couldn't help but wonder if he'd fallen asleep.
"I want to hear you talk." At first, Lucy wasn't quite sure she had heard properly because he began to speak of the time he first realized that his feelings for her might be more than the feelings he had for everybody else in the guild. He then went on to talk about how excited he always got whenever Lucy agreed to tag along on the missions that Natsu picked.
He loved her sense of adventure, he was sure to tell her that.
As he continued to speak, Lucy began to feel herself drifting.
She felt so warm despite the crisp autumn air that surrounded them, she had Natsu to thank for that. He had always been so good at keeping her warm.
She felt relaxed despite how much suffering she had gone through the past few months.
Lucy hadn't been surprised when she learned that she was sick. Her mother's weak constitution had been passed onto Lucy it seemed, something that part of her had always known would happen.
"Lucy!" Natsu shook her from her musings and her eyes fluttered open, she found herself looking right into Natsu's damp eyes. "I'm not ready," he whispered, "I know it's selfish… but I'm. Not. Ready." She could feel him shaking as he spoke and her heart ached for him. She wanted to tell him that everything would be okay, she wanted to tell him that he needed to remain strong. Igneel was still so young, he would need his father to be there for him.
She wanted to say so many things, though she couldn't find the words.
"I know," he whispered shakily, "I know that you have been having a tough time… I know that it really isn't fair for me to ask anything of you. But we need you here Lucy, I can't do any of this on my own… you know how big of an idiot I am. Wendy said that she would learn what she needs to in order to make you healthy again. So please… please don't give up now."
Lucy knew he was right.
Natsu would have a really tough time taking care of both Igneel and himself on his own, though Lucy also knew… that he would never really be on his own. He would have the entire guild and their support, he would always have the guild.
Though she knew this, she nodded.
"I'm gonna keep fighting," she promised, "I won't stop until I can't fight any longer. Even then…" she trailed off and she smiled, "I'm a Fairy Tail mage, I'm not gonna give up. I just… I am so tired right now, maybe I'll just sleep for a little while. Then we can go back home, Wendy said she'd be back today, right?"
Natsu smiled down at her, the relief in his eyes made her smile in return.
"Yeah, get some sleep Luce… I'll keep you nice and warm.
Lucy didn't need any further permission, she fell asleep in his arms so quickly.
Natsu Dragneel… it was funny how he could manage to both stress her out with a few of his antics and make her feel so completely relaxed during these moments.
