Natsu reveled in the satisfying weight of Lucy in his arms. How could Happy think she was too heavy? She was perfect. He clutched her tightly to his chest, feeling like his heart stopped as she laid her head onto him. He automatically responded by tilting his own head sideways to rest on the top of hers for a brief second before straightening up. He still had to get them off this damn mountain. Scanning quickly, he located the start of a path through a small grove of trees, and started off towards it.

Once he had broken through the trees, he relaxed a little bit, being careful to stay aware in case any other Vulcans had survived. He was pretty sure that he had wiped them all out in his angry rampage, though. Thinking about that brought back the fear and despair he had felt just a few short minutes ago, and he pressed a kiss onto the top of Lucy's head. "I was so scared you were gone, Lucy. I thought for sure there was no way you could have survived that fall. And then when I found your keys...I know that you'd never part from your spirits. I felt like I'd had half of me ripped away all of a sudden. I'm so glad you're ok." He kissed her head again, hard this time, feeling his eyes prickle with the released tension and sorrow. When she didn't reply, he felt panic start to rise again. Had she hit her head harder than he'd thought? Natsu drew his head back sharply and barked, "Lucy?" Once he saw her face, though, he relaxed again into a loving smile. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He slowed his steps a bit in an effort to smooth them out, and continued on, looking for a place where they could spend the night.

By the time they got off the mountain, dusk had already started to streak the sky with pink and purple tinges, and Natsu lowered his standards for a sleeping place. Any covered area in the woods would do, as long as it was far enough off the path that nobody could see them as they slept. Luckily, he found a small clearing just as the pink began to turn blood red and the purple became deep blue. He gently placed Lucy down and propped her up with her back resting against a tree. He took off his vest and spread it over her shoulders, hoping that this would compensate for his lost body heat enough that she wouldn't wake up. He sighed, wishing that he hadn't been in such a rush to leave Magnolia before they had grabbed some supplies.

He then went off in search of firewood and something to eat. However, this took him a lot longer than it normally would, as he couldn't be out of sight of Lucy for more than a few minutes before becoming frantic and rushing back into the clearing to make sure that she was really ok. Eventually, though, he had gathered sufficient firewood for the night and found a few small animals he could cook for them. He'd even managed to find some soft pine needles that he spread out for a bed, making sure that it was far enough away from the fire pit.

As he was finishing up and checking on the meat, he heard a small noise behind him and whipped around to see Lucy cracking her eyes open slowly. "Natsu...where are we?" she asked groggily. He scurried over and knelt down on the ground in front of her, reaching a hand out to inspect her head again. "Shh, Luce. Take it slowly. I found us a place to sleep tonight, we were a bit too far from home to make it back tonight. How's your head?" He stared worriedly at her as she replied, "It's ok. It's still just kinda sore from the fall..." she trailed off and turned bright red. "And...and then I...I kissed you..."

Natsu laughed. "Yeah, and I kissed you. Isn't it great?" He couldn't contain the joy he felt right then. She loved him. She had said so, she loved him. Not any other guy, but Natsu Dragneel. He grinned, and leaned in to give her a soft, loving kiss. Lucy's eyes widened at first, but then she closed them and gave herself to the kiss. By the time he drew away, she just had the beginnings of a blush tinging her cheeks.

She looked down at herself, saw his vest, and colored more. "Natsu! This is yours!" She looked up as if suddenly noticing that he was shirtless.

"Well, I wanted you to be warm," he replied. Smiling, he stood up, and reached down to lift her into his arms again. Lucy squealed, "Natsu!"

He laughed, and replied, "Nope! I'm carrying you anywhere you want to go tonight! You're not allowed to walk."

She looked up into his face with an exaggerated little pout. "Natsuuu," she whined.

He simply grinned back and replied, "Aw, come on, Luce! Just give this one to me." His voice sobering a bit, he continued, "I need it. I just need to feel you here, safe."

Lucy's face softened, and she smiled tenderly as she brushed her hand through his hair. "Oh, all right, then. Can you carry me to the food? I'm starving!"

Natsu's grin was back. "Yes, ma'am!" he replied, and deposited her gently next to the fire. He handed her some of the meat, and watched anxiously as she ate. After a while, she looked up at him, puzzled, and asked, "Natsu, what's wrong? I've never seen you not eat right away."

He shrugged one shoulder. "I just want to make sure that you can eat all right. Making sure you didn't injure your head too much."

She sighed with fake exasperation. "I'm fine! Stop worrying about me and just eat!"

He glowered as he started to bite into his own meal, mumbling, "Easy for you to say."

Her clear laugh echoed around their campsite like a bell. "I never thought I'd hear you say it wasn't easy for you to eat!"

Natsu snapped his gaze up to hers as he swallowed his mouthful of food, and glowered. "Lucy, I don't really think this is funny! Do you have any idea what it was like for me to see you go over that cliff? I watched as the woman I love more than anything else in this world was ripped away from me."

He heard Lucy suck in her breath, and her eyes widened. "You...you love me that much?" she asked uncertainly.

He allowed himself a brief half-smile. "Yeah, of course I do, you weirdo." He dropped his head so he wouldn't have to meet Lucy's eyes and continued in a lower tone, "But I couldn't do anything when you fell. I just watched and didn't do anything. I...I almost lost you." He clenched his hands into fists, furious all over again at his own helplessness to protect what he loved.

Delicate hands suddenly came into his field of vision, and rested softly on top of the angry fists. Lucy pried gently at his fingers and placed her hands in his as he opened them to her. She traced along the lines of his palms, rested her forehead on top of his head, and whispered, "Natsu, it's ok. What happened wasn't your fault. I just slipped. I should have been more careful." He started to make a noise to interrupt, but she continued. "If anything, it was mostly my fault, but it definitely was NOT your fault. In fact, I would have been in a lot worse situation if you hadn't come to save me." Her voice hitched a little. "You seem to be saving me a lot lately, actually. First that jackass last night, and now rescuing me from the cave today. I don't know what I'd do without you."

At this, Natsu looked up into her eyes. They were glossy with unshed tears, but she met his gaze without flinching and told him firmly, "Natsu, I feel the same way you do. You're the most important person in the world to me, and I don't want you to be upset or blame yourself. What matters here is that we're both ok." She blinked, and a single tear trickled out from the corner of her eye.

Natsu's breath caught in his throat. She was so beautiful. Upset enough to cry, but strong enough to make sure he was fine at the same time. He felt himself move before he knew what was happening to his body. He hooked his hand around the base of her head, pulling her roughly into him for a crushing kiss. His other hand went up and wiped away the lone tear from Lucy's face. Without breaking their kiss, he rose and swooped her up along with him, using his momentum to swing her smoothly over to the makeshift bed he had prepared earlier. He tore away from her and lowered himself gently down until he was resting above her, propped up on his elbows resting on either side of her body. She looked up at him lovingly and pulled his head down again, both of them completely forgetting their abandoned meal.

Lucy's tongue asked for entrance first, and he gladly gave it to her. She inserted it into his mouth, and probed him gently, mimicking how he had kissed her. He bore it as patiently as he could for a while, but finally growled and shoved both of their tongues into Lucy's mouth to coil and dance together.

Natsu finally ended the kiss, and as Lucy laid on the ground panting, he wasted no time in exploring her with more kisses. He traced his tongue idly down the line of her jaw, stopping when he reached her ear lobe. He licked it once, and then used his tongue to scoop it into his mouth, suckling gently. This earned a small gasp from Lucy. Interesting, he thought. I wonder what happens if I lick down lower...he released Lucy's ear and nuzzled her hair away from her neck, allowing free access to her pale skin. He pressed kisses down her neck, starting right at the joint of her jaw, lazily moving downwards, licking out with his tongue before enveloping each spot with an open kiss. He reveled in the small noises she gave as he kissed her neck. Reaching her pulse point, he remembered what had happened the last time he had kissed there. Let's see if she has the same reaction again, he thought wickedly to himself. He languidly licked circles around the pulsating spot with the tip of his tongue, relishing Lucy's long, low groan. Suddenly, he nipped the skin sharply, earning a cry from his celestial mage. The noise made his cock twitch, alerting him to his growing need. Natsu smiled into her neck. He decided that he liked that reaction very much, and repeated his experiment, pleased to get the same results.

At some time during all this, Lucy's hands had worked their way into his hair, but now she disentangled them and began to run her slender fingers down his neck and across his shoulders, gripping tightly as he gave her neck another, gentler nip. He found that her questing hands drew his attention away a bit from what he was doing, so he pulled them both up into a sitting position, hoping that her hands would move to a less distracting place so he could continue exploring her neck.

However, she disappointed him by removing her hands and drawing back from him altogether . She looked down at the ground, beet red, as she gripped the hem of her shirt.

Natsu stared at her. "Lucy! What are you doing?"

If it was possible, she blushed even more, and although she did not meet his gaze, replied firmly, "Well, it doesn't seem fair that you're the only one not wearing a shirt." Before he had time to do anything more than gape at this statement, she pulled her top over her head in one swift motion. As Natsu stared at her luscious breasts spilling over the top of her bra, he was pretty sure that his already-hard dick didn't just twitch, it jumped.

Oh, yeah. He would definitely need to take care of that later.

For now, he focused on her perfect breasts. He reached out and reverently stroked the top of one breast with a single finger. Lucy bit her lower lip in response, which just made him all the more fascinated. What kinds of reactions could he get out of her from her breasts? He traced his finger down the side of her breast, until his hand hovered directly over the center. He pressed his palm into her, and she groaned softly. He squeezed gently, and she sucked in her breath hard. He squeezed again as he ran his thumb over the top of her soft mound, and she gasped audibly this time. He grinned, and leaned in to kiss her as he continued to gently knead her breast. After a few searing kisses, he moved his other hand up and grasped both of them at the same time, a little harder. Lucy let out a soft cry. He continued to massage her with his hands, eliciting small gasps from her until she abruptly reached up and batted his hands away. Before he could react, she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, allowing it to fall off her shoulders to the ground.

Natsu gaped at her chest. He hadn't imagined that her breasts would be so...exquisite. Full and round, they curved gracefully along the sides of her body, pressing together gently in the middle of her chest. The nipples were pert, surrounded by a ring of darkened flesh.

Natsu licked his lips. They looked delicious.

He decided that first, however, he wanted to feel them. He returned his hands to where they had been before, cupping each mound gently. He lifted his hands experimentally, enjoying the weight in his palms. He dug his fingers into her skin, savoring the soft, supple flesh almost as much as he enjoyed the moans his hands elicited from his partner. Eventually his fingers trailed over to her nipples. He pinched one gently, and Lucy let out a sharp, high-pitched moan. He did it harder, earning a loader noise, and felt her nipple stiffen under his grip. He decided to try pinching both at the same time, and she cried out.

He couldn't hold back any longer. He wanted to taste her. Not letting go of his hold on her nipples, he leaned his head down to the swell of her breasts, and dragged his tongue slowly from one nipple, across her chest, ending at the other. Lucy let out a prolonged moan as he did this, and he felt her tremble a little under his touch. He then tightened his grip, and used his hold on her nipples to spread her breasts gently apart. Once he had succeeded in moving them, he buried his face in between the gap of her breasts, turned his head slightly, and bit the side of one soft mound. She let out a sharp yell, and buried her fingers into their place in his hair. Natsu kissed and nipped his way across her naked skin until he had reached her now-firm nipple. He snaked his tongue out and flicked it several times over the stiff peak, loving the sharp moans Lucy answered with. Abruptly, he latched his mouth onto her nipple, suckling it forcibly into his mouth, simultaneously grabbing the other breast tightly with his hand.

This got the best reacion he had received yet. Lucy threw her head back and called out, "Natsuuu!" Hearing his name come bursting from her, he growled into her soft skin and sucked harder, drawing more of her breast into his hot mouth, laving it with his tongue. When he was satisfied that he had paid enough attention to that nipple, he released the peak of her breast with a noisy pop, and lunged to the other one, giving it the same attentions.

When both nipples had been fully explored–at least enough for that night, anyway–he gently pushed her down so she was lying on the makeshift bed again. Her hair splayed beautifully around her head, almost glowing from the light of the moon that was just coming out. He couldn't stop himself from just staring at her a little, sitting back on his heels to take in her whole beautiful form; the silken locks at the top of her head, the bountiful curves of her chest, the slim dip of her waist, ending at the line of her skirt where he was straddling her.

He was startled out of this examination by the feeling of Lucy's hands ghosting over his bare chest. He had forgotten that he wasn't wearing a shirt, either. And usually he didn't really notice things like that, but he was extremely aware of it now, and aware of the fact that the woman he loved was tracing the lines of his pectorals like they were brush stroked painted by a master artist. When she dropped her hands down to press her palms into each of his individual abs, he growled deep in his chest. "Lucy...that's really distracting."

She smiled up at him with wicked innocence. "Oh? I'm not sure what you mean, Natsu. What could I possibly be distracting you from?"

This time his growl was full-throated as he lunged forward onto her, leaving her only time for a small yelp before he attacked her mouth with his own, bringing his hands up to knead her breasts ruthlessly. He smugly noted her voice turn quickly back to breathless gasps, instead of trying to tease him further. Natsu didn't let himself enjoy this victory very long, however, instead dropping his head down to taste her breasts again. She arched her back, pressing her flesh deeper into him, and cried out as he sucked and bit, .

After several minutes, he forced himself to tear away from his place on her chest. He had seen some other things he wanted to explore when he had been staring at her body. He smoothed his hands down her sides, enjoying the feeling as his hand dipped in at her waist. He trailed down to her hips, and gripped them tightly once he got there, as much to hold her in place as for the joy of feeling her body. Once he had her secured, he proceeded to trace his mouth down the curves of her abdomen, stopping to dip his tongue in her navel, and making sure he paid attention to both sides of her body. When he arrived at her hips, Natsu laved his tongue over the defined bone where it jutted out gently, nipping it and suckling for a little bit, before repeating this process on the other side. Lucy's fingers stayed rooted in his hair while he explored the rest of her torso, emitting an endless stream of sensual noises.

Once Natsu had finished with her hips, he pulled back far enough that he could reach his hands down to Lucy's calves. He smoothed his hands slowly up her legs, enjoying the full, feminine feeling of them. When he reached her thighs, he slid his hands beneath her legs and continued to move them upwards to cup the full swell of her ass. He started to grip it tightly, and then suddenly stopped himself.

This was it. He was officially at his limit. Natsu knew that he had to stop now, or there would be no stopping.

He groaned loudly into Lucy's stomach, then pushed himself up off of her, shifting his body from where he straddled her waist so that he was seated on the ground next to her instead. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to do so, but he looked steadily at the ground, willing himself to keep his desires in check. Lucy had almost been raped last night, he was pretty sure that the last thing she would want right now would be sex. And if he continued any longer, he wouldn't be able to prevent that.

Lucy deserved better.