I Hate Spaghetti
"Are you sure it's okay we didn't bring Laxus?" Levy asked as she and Lucy dragged Gajeel and Natsu out of the carriage.
"It should be fine," Erza said, glancing down the road to the large open meadow where the Dragon's Breath festival was being held.
"Yeah," Lucy said, draping Natsu's arm over her shoulders and pulling him into a somewhat standing position as he muttered and groaned unintelligibly. "Sting and Rogue said that normally, two dragon slayers is enough to send the comet back out of orbit. They only asked Natsu and Gajeel to come just in case since it seems to be moving faster than last year."
"Besides," Gray put his hand on Wendy's shoulder, "We've got Wendy here! Worst case scenario, she can step up and help."
The little blunette blushed, "W-well… I don't know if I'd be very useful but…"
Lucy groaned as Natsu's knees buckled and he slumped down on her, "Why is the pregnant woman carrying the dead weight dragon slayer?"
"Hand him over," Erza suggested, holding a hand out. "Gray, take Gajeel from Levy."
They switched shoulders and then slowly headed down the road towards the numerous booths set up along the meadow.
"Wow," Lucy said with a smile, "This place is beautiful!"
"It's very mystical," Wendy agreed, clasping her hands behind her back.
"Where is the sending off going to take place?" Carla wondered, walking between Happy and Panther Lily.
"Presumably up there," Levy pointed towards a slight slope, ending in a grassy plateau and overgrown ruins. "At least, that's where Sting and Rogue are standing."
"We should go meet with them to find out the details of the night," Lucy suggested.
"Good idea," Erza agreed.
"Listen Lucy," Gray said as they started their trek towards the Sabertooth dragon slayers. "This thing is kind of important, so no dragging Natsu off to have sex somewhere private, alright?"
Lucy's cheeks flushed bright red, "L-L-L-Like I would do that! Stupid!"
Everyone exchanged a look.
"Hey Lucy," Happy said, "Are you turning back to normal?"
"Eh?" she glanced down at him.
"You've been acting kind of rational today," Levy pointed out. "I mean… besides when you thought it was a good idea to wear those shoes…"
"Now that you mention it," Lucy pressed her hand to her forehead, "My head is feeling clearer. I don't feel completely back to normal, but I do think that I'm starting to… WAHHHH!"
Everyone jumped at her sudden exclamation.
"What's wrong, Lucy?" Erza asked, sword materializing in her hand.
"THAT!" Lucy pointed across the meadow. Everyone followed her finger.
"What?" Levy said. "I don't see anything worth screaming about…"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Lucy shoved past Gray and Gajeel and sprinted down the makeshift aisle between wooden booths, arms flying above her head. "TAKOYAKI! I NEED TO EAT IT ALL!"
The group of Fairy Tail mages let out a sigh. Erza's sword disappeared, "And here I thought I would get to smite some evildoer…"
"I guess she's not totally back to normal," Happy observed, shrugging.
"Running off, drooling, at the first sight of food?" Gray muttered. "Yeah, sounds like a Natsu thing to do…"
"Levy," Erza said, "Will you Wendy and Carla go keep an eye on her? Just so she doesn't get lost."
"Honestly," Carla grumbled, wings sprouting from her back. She lifted into the air and followed as Levy and Wendy jogged off in the direction Lucy had disappeared. "Wendy," the cat called, "You better not be like this when you are pregnant!"
"Uh… I don't think you'll have to worry about that for a really long time Carla," Wendy replied with a blush."
"Alright," Erza turned back towards the hill, "Let's get these guys to Sting and Rogue."
"Are you feeling a little better now, Natsu-san?" Sting asked, crouched down next to the fire dragon slayer as he gulped down a glass of water.
He let out a satisfied sigh and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Yeah! Thanks Sting!"
The Sabertooth mage grinned proudly, "No problem! We left early this morning so that we could just walk."
"That's what I wanted to do," Natsu climbed to his feet, "But with Lucy being pregnant…"
"She wouldn't shut up about how swollen her ankles were," Gajeel muttered from where he sat nearby. "Which I don't believe for a damn second. She's barely even showing! Why would her ankles be swollen?"
"W-would you like something to drink, Gajeel-san?" Rogue asked, wringing his hands together.
Gajeel waved him off, "Nah. I'm good."
Sting stood, "Okay, so the comet is scheduled to be here at midnight. Just in case, everyone should meet here an hour before that."
Natsu climbed to his feet beside him, "What if we aren't here in time?"
"You have to be."
"Well I mean…" he scratched the back of his neck, "Don't you have a back-up plan just in case something happens to us?"
"You two are our back-up plan," Rogue pointed out.
"I'm just saying… should we have Erza and Gray show up around that time too so that—"
"Listen up, Natsu-san," Sting placed a hand on his shoulder. "Either a dragon slayer sends this comet away, or it doesn't get sent away at all."
He frowned, "What are you talking about? Is the tradition really that important—"
"It's not just tradition," Rogue denied. "It's physically impossible for any magic other than dragon slaying magic to affect the Dragon's Breath comet."
"Haah?" Natsu and Gajeel exchanged a look.
"Hundreds of years ago, there was a magma dragon by the name of Horedecio," Yukino explained to Lucy and the others as they meandered through the festival booths. "He was known as one of the most terrifying creatures to ever live in that his hatred for mankind was unmatched. He flew over the world, killing millions of humans and destroying whole countries. An entire army of dragon slayers had to come together in order to finally kill him."
Lucy popped another takoyaki ball into her mouth. She watched Yukino closely, sauce smeared across her left cheek messily. Levy offered her a napkin.
"But near the end of the battle, Horedecio took to the skies and escaped," the Celestial spirit mage continued. "He flew to the highest peak of the Montenaido mountain range, out of the reach of the dragon slayers."
"He escaped?" Lucy exclaimed. "You can't trust dragon slayers for shit!"
Yukino smiled sheepishly, "Well… they had injured him enough that he was on the verge of death. Horedecio knew there was no chance that he would survive. But his hatred for humanity was so strong that he put all of his remaining energy into breathing out an immense ball of magma into the sky. The force of the roar sent it flying out of the atmosphere, where it immediately hardened, creating the Dragon's Breath comet."
"It's amazing that I've never heard of this before," Levy mused. "I suppose my knowledge of space is a little lacking though…"
"Every fifty years it appears to a different part of Earthland," Yukino explained. "Last time I heard the dragon slayers had to send it off from aboard a ship in the middle of the ocean. They had to have Troya cast on them every two hours just in case it wore off before the comet showed up."
"So since it was created by a dragon, from its own breath, that's why it's imperative that dragon slayers are the ones to send it away?" Wendy asked.
"In the past," Yukino said, "Mages have sent powerful blasts of magic at the comet while it was still outside of the atmosphere in attempts to knock it away, but they all failed. Only dragon slaying magic has any kind of effect on it. And because of its size and speed, at least two dragon slayers are needed."
"But this year it's moving faster than usual?" Levy said.
"That's right," Yukino nodded. "That's why Sting and Rogue asked Natsu and Gajeel to help. Usually, the Dragon's Breath shows up every fifty years around the same date. But this year, it's several months early due to how fast it's moving."
"Hmm…" Levy touched her chin, "I'm going to do extensive research on this when we get home."
"It is very interesting," Yukino agreed.
"Not to mention how popular it is," Carla said. "Just look at how many people showed up to watch it!"
"No kidding," Levy winced when an overly eager festival goer rushed past, bumping into her shoulder. "It'd be really easy to get lost in this crowd."
"Let's be extra careful to not get separated," Wendy suggested, taking Yukino's hand.
"That's a good idea," Levy took Yukino's other hand and Carla perched on Wendy's shoulder. "Lu-chan, take my—" the solid script mage stared through the bustling crowd where Lucy had once stood. "Lu-chan?"
"We lost her already?" Carla groaned.
"This isn't good," Wendy said nervously.
"We should find her quickly," Yukino suggested. "She can't have gotten far…"
Carla's eyes glazed over and she let out a gasp. Everyone looked at her.
"Carla?" Wendy said gently. "Are you okay?"
The cat snapped back to reality and gulped, "It's… it's nothing…"
"Did you have one of your visions?"
"It's not worth mentioning."
"Carla."
"No really, it's nothing."
"It's never nothing!" Levy exclaimed. "Tell us one time that it's been nothing!"
Carla sighed, "Well it's definitely nothing compared to what I usually see. It's nowhere near the caliber of trouble I've witnessed in the past. That time I saw Lucy screaming in the middle of Crocus during the Grand Magic Games for example—"
"CARLA!"
The cat held up her paws, "All I saw was Lucy shoving her face into an open flame. That's all."
"WHAT?" All three girls screeched.
"We gotta find her now!" Levy yanked Yukino and they all took off through the crowd.
Lucy stared at the torch with wide eyes. The flame flickered, sending light shining over her bright face. She licked her lips in anticipation, reaching timidly out.
"Mmmm…" she moaned. "It looks so tasty…" her stomach growled. "One bite wouldn't hurt, right? I mean… Natsu does it all the time so…" She lifted the torch from where it hung on the side of a booth. "I'll just take a little taste. That's it." She leaned closer to the fire and then winced, holding it away, "Ah… hot…" She frowned, glaring intently at the delicious looking flame. "No burning. Just let me eat you, okay?" she moved it closer again and then growled, pushing it away.
"Stupid fire! Why do you have to be so hot?"
She glanced around with a scowl. "I wonder if the fire on that torch over there is less hot…" she hesitated and smacked her forehead. "Of course not. That's idiotic." She stomped off down the festival alley, dodging the crowds that passed. She received a few confused stares when she held the torch over her head in order not to accidentally set anybody on fire. "I'll just ask someone that knows a little about eating fire," she murmured as she emerged from the crowd and headed up the slight slope to the hill where the ruins sat. "There's gotta be some kind of trick to it," she decided, panting lightly as she trudged upwards.
"Natsu!" she called when she crested the hill.
Sting, Gajeel, Rogue, and Natsu all turned at the sound of her voice.
"What's up, Lucy?" Natsu asked.
She walked up to him, wiping sweat from her brow, torch held in front of her body.
"Natsu," she repeated, voice turning into a whimper.
Alarm spread over his chest and all four dragon slayers went to meet her halfway.
"Is something wrong?" he took her free hand when she reached out to him.
Tears suddenly burst from the corners of Lucy's eyes. Her nose ran and she let out a sob.
"Natsuuuuuuu!"
"What's wrong? What's happening?" All four dragon slayers started to panic.
"Are you hurt?" Sting asked.
"Where are the others?" Rogue said.
"Is there some trouble?" Gajeel said.
"Trouble?" Lucy looked at him. "Fuck yes there is trouble!"
They surrounded the blonde, glancing around suspiciously.
"Where's the shrimp?" Gajeel said tersely.
"And Yukino?" Sting added.
"Did someone attack you?" Rogue said.
"No!" she squeezed Natsu's hand tightly. He watched her closely, breathing deeply to control his worry. "No! So I was just walking along… after I got separated from the others by no fault of my own whatsoever… and then I looked over and I saw…" she choked on her sobs and turned her face to the sky, face drenched in her tears.
"Lucy…" Natsu whispered, eyebrows pulling together.
Everyone tensed.
"I saw this torch!" she looked down at the torch in her hand. "And I thought… wow! That's some really tasty looking fire!"
"… eh?"
Lucy sobbed harder, "But when I tried to eat it… it's too hot for me to get close! Why is this happening? I just want to eat it but it won't let me!"
Gajeel, Rogue, and Sting all let out a deep breath.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Gajeel growled. "You scared me shitless because you can't eat some stupid fire?"
"No offense Natsu-san," Sting said, crossing his arms over his chest, "But you need to control your woman."
"I don't know," Rogue mused quietly. "It does seem like quite the dilemma. To not be able to eat what your stomach desires…"
"Man shut the hell up," Gajeel stomped away, followed by Sting.
"Haven't you ever been hungry?" Rogue chased after them.
Natsu let out a sigh. Lucy hiccupped, staring up at him pleadingly.
"Shit Lucy," he muttered. "You had me really worried there for a second…"
"I'M FREAKING OUT, NATSU!" she shook the torch. "I want to eat this really bad! But I just don't know how!"
He let out a chuckle and stroked her hair, "Alright, alright. I'll teach you how, so calm down, okay?"
She gulped and took a deep breath.
"Are you calm?"
She nodded, wiping her nose on her sleeve.
"Okay," he smiled. "Eating fire is really easy. You just gotta trust it."
"Trust it?"
"It's really hot and scary right now, isn't it?" he asked, slowly running his hand through the flame.
"I tried to bite it and but it was too hot to get close enough to," she admitted.
"Eating fire is a little too advanced for a newbie like you," he said. "That takes a lot of practice. How about you try to drink it instead?"
"Drink it?" she eyed the flame unsurely. "How do I do that?"
"It's easy," he insisted. "Just purse your lips like this… and then suck in. Like you're sucking on a straw or slurping up spaghetti."
"Spaghetti?" she frowned. "It doesn't taste like spaghetti, does it? You know I hate spaghetti. It's my least favorite food!"
"It doesn't taste like spaghetti," he said. "It was just an example. So hold the torch as close to your face as you can without it hurting," he encouraged.
Lucy lifted the fire and moved closer to it until the heat was too much.
"Good. Now, don't go into the flame, but just slowly start breathing it in where you are. You might have to be a little forceful in order for it to catch on the air though."
She bit her lip, "I'm scared. It won't burn me, will it?"
"You have to trust it," he said. "Trust it to be warm, but not burn you as it goes down your throat. You have to welcome it into your body and accept it fully."
"Like a dick."
"Yeah, like a—wait, what?"
She nodded, "Okay. It'll be like when we have sex the first time. I'll have to welcome you into my body and accept you fully."
"No… that's not really—"
"Okay, here I go," Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She let it out and then puckered her lips, sucking air into her mouth. At first, the flame seemed unconcerned by her efforts. But then she stopped and tried again, applying more force to the inhale. The fire twitched in her direction and then flowed on the current of the air, slipping between her lips.
Lucy's eyes popped open and she clamped her mouth shut. She stared up at Natsu, "I did it!"
He grinned, "You sure did. How does it taste?"
Lucy put a hand on her belly, "Ooooo it's so warm! It tastes… it tastes good!" Gaining confidence, she sucked up another mouthful of the flames. "Mmmmm…" she finished off the torch and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Yummy!"
Natsu laughed, "You catch on pretty quick! I bet you could learn dragon slaying magic easy!"
She blushed, "Really? But… I'm not that great… I mean… I never really could use transformation magic when Mira tried to teach us that one time…"
"Yeah but now you got a little bit of fire dragon blood in you!" he pressed his palm to her stomach and smiled warmly at her.
"Oh yeah…" she smiled. "That's true! I do, don't I?"
He brightened, "I wonder if that means she's going to be a dragon slayer like me!"
"I don't know…" Lucy blinked. "How does that work? I mean… you're not born with magic. You learn it, right? I didn't know how to summon spirits until my mother taught me how."
"I didn't have any fire dragon abilities until I met Igneel," Natsu agreed.
They considered for a moment.
"Maybe that just means that she's a natural!" Natsu finally decided with a grin.
"Or maybe this is just a weird magical pregnancy side effect like how the other day I was able to not only lift, but also throw Gray across the canal when he made an underhanded comment about the size of my ass."
He laughed, "Oh yeah! That was great…"
Lucy smiled. A low rumbling sound came from her abdomen and she frowned. "I still want more…"
"Here," Natsu lit his hand on fire and offered it to her. "Try mine."
She blinked up at him. "Is it okay?"
"I'll refuel later," he said. "Go ahead."
"Alright," Lucy leaned forward and sucked the flames up, easier this time.
Natsu smiled at the tickling sensation of the flames receding from his fingertips.
Once it was all gone, Lucy leaned back, covering her mouth with a hand.
"Mmmmmmm…" she closed her eyes. "It… tastes so delicious…"
Color touched Natsu's cheeks, "It does?"
She nodded vigorously, "Your fire tastes much better than that other stuff! Give me more!"
"Here," he lit the end of the torch on fire and took her free hand. "Let's go walk around the festival together, okay? I've got a few hours before I have to be back here."
"Okay!" Lucy squeezed his hand happily and slurped at the crackling flames.
Gajeel and the others watched as they turned and headed down the hill.
"Hmm…" all three of them murmured at the same time.
"To have your woman eat your element…" Gajeel's mind wandered off on a daydream of a certain little blue haired girl chewing on a handful of nails.
"You're disgusting," Sting said.
Rogue shook his head, "Seriously, Gajeel-san." They turned and headed after Natsu and Lucy.
"Eh?" Gajeel looked after them. "What?" He scowled and chased. "It wasn't a euphemism!"
"Sure, whatever," Sting said.
"I'm serious!"
"Crap, where is she?" Levy searched through the crowd frantically, eyes darting over the faces.
"Maybe we should go ask Natsu-san if he's seen her?" Wendy wondered.
"Yeah, and get yelled at for losing her?" Levy scoffed. "I don't think so."
"I don't think Natsu-san would yell at you," Yukino said.
"You don't know rational Natsu," Levy denied. "Sure, he's calmer, gentler, and quieter, but he's also a bit of a jerk sometimes. Especially when it comes to Lucy."
"How so?"
The girls continued their trek across the festival, probing the many faces of the crowd around them with their eyes.
"Well normally, he's pretty laid back and happy, right? He doesn't really worry about anything. Ever. And sure, it's easy to get him worked up, but he was always pretty cheerful about it."
"Now," Carla interjected, "Although he is much calmer and doesn't fight or get easily riled up, he worries about everything."
"He also seems a little depressed," Wendy added. "Lucy-san wanted some alone time the other day so she told us that if he asked where she was, to not tell him. So we told him that she didn't want to be around anyone and he started mumbling and pulling at his hair and then went home to sulk."
"And there was that time he totally bit my head off because I forgot to tell Lucy to stay away from raw meat and she ended up puking all over the kitchen when she was helping Mira and Lisanna," Levy said. "I couldn't believe it. Natsu had never yelled at me before. And he chewed me out really good for that."
"I see…" Yukino pursed her lips. "So you think he will get mad at us for getting separated from her here?"
"Definitely," Levy nodded. "Either we will get screamed at, or he will run off to look for her and be late for the sendoff."
"So let's find her promptly then," Yukino quickened her pace through the crowd, pulling the Fairy Tail mages with her as Carla took to the sky and searched from above.
"I'll take the Sabertooth woman."
"Leave the little sky dragon to me."
"I guess that means I get the solid script mage?"
"Hey, hey… where's the other one?"
"Haha! Tough shit. Guess you'll have to go looking for her."
"Damn it… First I pull the short straw for the woman of the most infamous dragon slayer in all of Fiore, now I have to go search for her?"
"Hey, at least you don't have to kidnap two cats."
"I thought I told you to stop bitching about that?"
"Would you all just shut up? We have an hour until the Dragon's Breath is supposed to show up. We don't have time to sit around fighting!"
"Alright, fine, fine. Are you all ready?"
"Let's get this over with."
"Our Lord Zeref awaits us on the other side of the apocalypse."
"Let's not disappoint him, shall we?"
"It's getting kinda close to midnight," Natsu observed as he and Lucy watched a couple of performers juggle colorful balls. "I should probably be getting back."
Lucy pouted, "Do you have to?"
He chuckled, "I kinda have to."
"Right…" she sighed. "Gotta save the world."
He smiled, "But first I gotta refuel. Dang Lucy, you ate most of the fire in my belly! I'm running on empty!"
Lucy patted her stomach, "Thanks. I'm completely full now."
He stared down at her for a few seconds before lacing his fingers in hers, "C'mon, let's go find me some dinner."
They weaved their way through the thick throngs of people, moving from the center of the festival to the outskirts where people went to sit and eat their food away from the hustle and bustle. Lucy wondered momentarily where he was taking her, but as soon as her eyes fell on the massive bonfire lighting the night in the middle of the meadow, it was obvious.
They made their way to the incredible heap of flames and charred wood.
"Wait here," Natsu released her hand and stepped up close to the bonfire.
Lucy watched closely as he moved closer and closer, unbothered by the heat. He reached a hand out, running it gently through the crackling tentacles of flame for a moment. Then his mouth opened and he began to inhale. It was as if a force had completely taken over the bonfire. It bowed and stretched in his direction, unhindered as it separated from the wood and flowed fluidly between his lips. Unlike with Lucy, the flames almost seemed eager to be consumed by the dragon slayer. It was as if they knew their life on the crisping wood was short-lived. They sought to be useful, to live again in a giant burst of magical energy into the sky.
Natsu sucked up the flames of the bonfire in mere seconds, leaving nothing but embers and the crumbling structure of the wooden base.
"Hey!" someone called. "Why'd you put the fire out?"
Natsu wiped his mouth, "Sorry. Guess I overdid it." He lit his hand on fire and tossed a small flame into the base. The wood immediately caught and flames once again grew to the sky.
He turned to Lucy, who still watched him intently. He grinned, "Alright. I've got my fill. I should go back to the sendoff point."
Lucy clasped her hands together behind her back, "Yeah, I guess you should."
"What will you do now?" he scratched the back of his head.
"I guess I'll go see if I can find Levy-chan and the others," she bit her lip.
"Do you want me to help you find them first? I've got a little bit of time…"
"No," she shook her head. "I'm sure I'll find them. You should get back before Sting starts panicking."
"You're right. Be careful, okay? Don't get lost."
"I won't."
He grinned, "Make sure you watch the show, alright? I'm gonna make this comet my bitch."
She giggled, "I will."
He winked and turned towards the hill. Before he could take a step forward, Lucy grabbed his hand.
"Wait."
Natsu turned back to her, eyebrow cocked.
Lucy gulped. Her cheeks were bright red and she averted her gaze when his eyes met hers.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No… it's just…" she took a deep breath, steeled herself, and lifted up on her toes. She pressed her lips gently to his for a moment, eyes squeezed shut.
As soon as the kiss started, it ended. Lucy stepped back, face flushed. She looked away, "Good luck."
Natsu grinned and took a step after her, "C'mon now Lucy… don't get shy on me all of a sudden." He put his arms around her waist, much to her mortification. "Whatever happened to trying to jump my bones every chance you get?"
She blinked rapidly, "Sh-shut up! Stupid! I didn't… I don't…"
Natsu chuckled and lowered his head to hers once more. He kissed her sweetly and she melted against him. He pulled back slightly and stared into her hazy brown eyes.
"I'm glad to see you're returning back to normal," he whispered. "Although I can't really say I won't kind of miss your wildness."
She kissed him again and then let out a sigh, resting her forehead on his collar. "I'll start taking my clothes off in public every once in a while for you."
He laughed, "I'm sure I'll enjoy that."
She smiled.
"I should go," he pulled back.
"Yeah," she moved away reluctantly. She looked up into his face and he reached out to brush her hair over her ear absently. She gave him a bright smile, "Give that comet hell, okay?"
He grinned, "You got it."
Author's Note: Oops. It took me a while to write this. Sorry about that. I've gotten into editing videos and it's been kinda consuming my time lately. I REALLY want to make Fairy Tail amv's, but my problem is that 1) I know nothing about making amv's and 2) In order to get good quality video footage, you basically have to buy the seasons, which are EXPENSIVE. I tried to find some to illegally download... meh heh heh... but the quality is so bleh. So I've just been tinkering around on my free trial of Adobe Premiere Pro right now, learning how to do shit in case I ever do want to buy it (Not likely. 50$ a month? Fuck that) and make videos more often.
Anyway, I'm so sorry it took me forever and a day to write this. And I'm also sorry that not much happens in it. It's kinda boring, isn't it? Slow as hell. I was gonna continue it, but I just really wanted to get something out for you guys since it's been so long. Well... Austria is over at my house at the moment and she probably wants to hang or something. I dunno... why else do people come over? Besides to steal my food and alcohol? (Damn you Picole and Breufe!)
See you all later! Thanks so much for your support! I love you all tons!
Love-Moo