When Lucy explained the plan she and Natsu had crafted to Makarov later that day, standing before his desk in his office while simultaneously keeping an ear out for her partner as he searched for trouble in the guildhall, Makarov furrowed his brow and nodded slowly. "It could work," he said. "You'd have to be very direct about where you open that Portal, and should you do it again, you'd have to be even more careful upon returning."
"I know," said Lucy quickly, relieved that he wasn't outright denying their idea. "Natsu suggested aiming the other side of the first Portal at the base of the mountains closest to Crocus. It would save us travel time, and we'd be able to go straight to the Eclipse Gate's Keeper and Guardians, and then Levy and Gajeel."
"There is that…I'll approve the decision," said Makarov, nodding firmly and earning a broad smile on Lucy's behalf. "On the condition that you take the last few months' paperwork to Levy. She'll need to file it, as well as update the writings she keeps on Fiore's history."
Lucy thought of the book Mavis had given her and tried not to wince. She knew what that book would read if she didn't fix the events in the next two years.
Her attention was dragged back to Makarov when he suddenly suggested, "You've not yet visited the ruins of Mercurius Castle, have you? The anniversary of the day it was destroyed and the king and queen – your parents – were killed is approaching. It is generally recommended that the ruins are avoided out of respect for Igneel on that day, but I believe it would be beneficial for you to visit it on the anniversary. Why else would your spirit friends send you in that direction at this time of year?'
Lucy blinked, caught off guard. She'd not thought of that at all. "I…I'll do that. Thank you, I didn't think of it at all. I'll let Natsu know, too."
Makarov nodded slowly, folding his hands atop his desk. "I've been meaning to ask how you're doing with his guidance. I've heard from the others that you've formed a solid team between the two of you and Happy."
Lucy shifted uneasily. She'd always hated when Makarov had questioned Natsu's ability to work with her. "Really well. He pays attention to everything and always makes sure I'm aware of what's going on, informs me if I'm lacking in knowledge about something, the likes. I enjoy working with him a lot, regardless of what we're doing. He's my best friend."
Makarov's gaze warmed at her last statement. "Good. I'm glad to hear that he's found at least one person who he listens to when corrected – and that he's found someone he can rely on in turn."
Lucy smiled in return, pleased. "I'd better go make sure he doesn't need correcting now and let him know. We wanted to leave in the next few days…preferably tomorrow, if what you said about the castle is what the spirits want?"
"Of course. You have my permission to take someone who can craft a Portal outside of town," said Makarov, waving her off. "And I'll send word ahead of you about Natsu entering the territories of Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel. Levy will ensure you're alright on Gajeel's land, while I doubt Sting and Rogue will mind at all."
Lucy thanked him one final time and then swept from his office with a thoughtful expression on her face. She paused after closing the door behind her, glancing around, and finally found Natsu at the bar, etching marks into the wood as he tended to do. As if knowing she was watching him, he used his other hand to make a gesture to indicate she should join him. Lucy rolled her eyes; he'd not even looked up from what he was writing.
Still, she slid into the seat beside him, leaning her elbows on a portion he'd done who knew how long ago. She judged the length of bar he had left to write on and said, "You're going to run out of space soon."
He snickered, still writing. "Then I'll start on the tables."
"What are you writing?" Lucy looked curiously at a portion beneath her, trying to read some of it with what he'd taught her. There wasn't much she could understand, just a few words that told her it was related to the guild itself.
"Stuff," was the only answer he gave, and Lucy sighed before addressing her meeting with Makarov. "We've gotten permission to Portal. We just need someone who can make them to go with us to make it."
Natsu glanced at her through a slit onyx eye, debating. "No we don't. You're gonna try and make it."
Lucy gaped at him as he leaned back in his seat, suddenly looking rather smug and proud of himself. "Natsu," she sputtered, "I don't know the first thing about making Portals, and I thought that there were very few people who could–"
"Yeah, but didn't you make one already?" Natsu made a semi-wild gesture to the air. "You got yourself out of the places in between that one time. I thought you'd be able to make one. You or one of the spirits."
"I mean, they might be able to," admitted Lucy, "but I'm not entirely sure I can…"
"Doesn't mean you can't try." Natsu rolled his shoulders. "Make sure you let Mira know we're heading out and taking Salutem with us. No point in stealing more than one stag for this trip, since we're going to places where people will have supplies we can borrow."
He wasn't necessarily wrong, Lucy supposed, but she only shook her head and said, "Alright, I'll let her know we're heading out tomorrow…what time are we meeting up?"
"Early. I'll be there," was all he said before he was suddenly ducking away from the bar, calling for Happy. Lucy watched him go, completely confused. They still had some self-defense work to do with Laxus, much to her disappointment, and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave her to do it alone.
But Natsu didn't bother to explain himself. The moment Happy appeared, Natsu scooped him up and was slipping out of the guildhall. Lucy sank back into that portion of her mind that was entirely his, to try and judge what was going on, but came up blank.
She'd not even told him about what they were going to do regarding Mercurius Castle.
A frown appeared on her face. Wait, where are we meeting?
Natsu didn't reappear that evening. Lucy was puzzled, though she could tell it wasn't anything bad. He was anxious about something, but something told her it wasn't a bad anxious. It was the same kind as when you wanted to do something, but were worried about what would happen if you did it. And he was determined, so focused on what he was doing that Lucy found herself locked onto whatever she was doing, whether it be eating her meal or talking with whoever approached her.
Lisanna had even made a comment about it, entertained with how closely Lucy was paying attention to what she did with her fork, and it had made Lucy so flustered that she'd stopped eating at all after that.
So bright and early the next morning, Lucy shouldered her pack of clothes and supplies that she'd packed for the trip and ducked out of her apartment into the hot, humid summer air. Thunderclouds had gathered to the west, signaling an incoming storm. Lucy was grateful they'd be gone by the time it arrived.
Natsu wasn't there yet, but Lucy was willing to bet he'd be there soon. Where else would they meet? The guildhall, she supposed, but he'd find her here if she stayed anyways. She knew he was awake, and definitely ready to go if the antsy feeling that made her skin crawl was anything to go by. Lucy chuckled under her breath.
She wasn't left to wait for long. The clacking of hooves on cobbled streets had her looking in the direction that she usually walked to get to the guildhall. She smiled warmly at the sight of Salutem's massive form, Natsu striding swiftly and purposefully down the street beside him. Happy was already in his basket, peering over the edge with wide eyes. He gave a loud yowl of greeting that Natsu silenced with a hiss, not wanting to drag people out earlier than need be.
"Morning!" Lucy said cheerfully as Salutem plunged his nose into her hands with a happy huff. She greeted the stag happily, finding herself rather fond of him, and then glanced at Natsu when he merely grunted, his lips pressed together. She studied him for a few moments, eyes narrowing a little. "What?" She paused, and then asked, deciding she had nothing to lose, "What's wrong? You've been off for a while now."
"Nothing," he huffed, furrowing his brow and telling her otherwise without needing to speak aloud. He held out a hand, and Lucy gave him her pack, watching as he tethered it securely to Salutem's saddlebags.
"I don't believe you," said Lucy firmly, folding her arms, "and until you talk, we're not going."
Natsu gave her a dirty little look that had worked previously on anyone else who started digging into his personal thoughts, but Lucy merely stared him down, simply daring him to think she wouldn't do it. Finally, he grumbled, "Fine, but only because we'll end up talking about it later anyway."
Lucy wasn't entirely sure what made him think that, but blinked when he plunged his hand into one of the saddlebags. He shuffled around a bit, and Lucy stifled a laugh when she saw his tongue poking out a little in concentration. Finally, he dragged something free and shoved it into her hand.
Lucy was caught off guard by the slight weight to it and nearly dropped it. But after a quick maneuver, she saved it and instead brought it up, letting the thick leather cord pool in her hand as she stared at the stone attached to it.
It was very much like the amulets she'd given he and Happy for a Christmas that didn't exist, though far less refined. It was a smooth white stone that hadn't been polished, but had been ground down so finely it was nearly soft. What caught her attention wasn't the stone itself, however, but the markings carved into it.
She recognized them immediately, those swirling words. They were what she'd been studying with Natsu for some time now, trying to learn how to read them. It was as if Natsu had taken some kind of miniscule tool and taken hours of his life to carefully etch them into it. Each curving swirl had been filled in, too, with some type of material that had cooled into a shiny glassy look.
"Natsu," Lucy said softly, caught off guard as she realized what he'd been so anxious about all night. She felt her chest tighten with so much warmth and fondness for the person before her that he became confused, unsure of what to think of the emotions that were suddenly filling him. "Did you–"
Looking somewhat flustered and refusing to meet her gaze, Natsu said gruffly, "Since you get into trouble all the time, you need one, too. S'a protection amulet, like this one," he tapped the one she'd given him, "but better. It's infused with my magic and most things tend to avoid me."
A smile spread across her face, and Lucy quickly put the amulet around her neck, beaming at the way it hung just below her collarbone. When it was settled, she patted it fondly, and then stepped up. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, pressing her face into his shoulder.
"Thank you, Natsu," she murmured sincerely, and Natsu blinked down at her, uncertain of what to do. After a moment, he returned the hug, his arms tightening confidently. That swell of happy warmth that always accompanied Lucy in general swamped his senses, and he found that he really liked the hug.
"You like it?" he said, faltering.
"More than anything else I've ever received," she said firmly, pulling back to give him a wide grin. "What does it say?"
He shrugged, and Lucy fought the urge to laugh at the blush that had appeared on his face. He refused to meet her gaze as he mumbled, "S'just protection stuff, since apparently I can't keep you completely safe on my own. Warns away things like spirits and ghosts, and might help with the shadow people." He paused and then finally looked her in the eye, his mouth pressed into a hard line. "So you don't have to take the potion Porlyusica talked about. That way you won't get lost in time if you end up going home."
She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, comprehending just how big of a deal this was for him. He'd always been so against the idea of Lucy going home, regardless of whether she intended to do so on her own willpower or not. This was him acknowledging that it could happen – and that if it did, he'd at least ensured she'd be safe and able to get back to where she'd come from.
Lucy blinked back the tears trying to escape, and ignored the burning in her eyes. "Thank you," she repeated softly, brushing her fingers over his arm with a fierce flash of affection for this man before her. "I don't want to go back, but thank you nonetheless, Natsu."
Pushing a smile to her face, she patted his arm a final time, and then whirled away. "Now! Let's go. If you expect me to make a Portal, then I'm going to probably need some time, because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing." She stopped beside Salutem, and then looked to him expectantly when he merely stood there. "Well? Come on! I can't get up here on my own."
It took him a moment for him to tear his gaze away from where she'd touched his arm. The skin burned as if she'd lit a flame on it. Natsu snorted loudly at the look on her face, smoke curling around his own, and went to help her with a happy grin on his face.
As they made their way through the forest that surrounded Magnolia, Natsu had to keep tearing his gaze from Lucy before she noticed, although he was sure she knew he was watching her anyways. She always knew, sometimes before he even knew what he was doing.
That little ball of warmth that had been residing where the piece of her did in his mind had grown recently. He rather liked it. Liked her. He really liked Lucy, even more so after realizing what it was like for her to not be there anymore, regardless of whether he could feel that bond between them or not.
She was unlike anyone else he'd met in his long life, and he was finding he liked such silly little things that he'd not cared about before she'd come around. Like the fact that the little bubble of happiness that she'd been feeling since he'd given her that amulet made him just as happy. He felt so much…warmth. That warmth was all he had to be able to describe it. That warmth represented Lucy, and he hoped that he never felt that heat go out.
"How far are we going?" Lucy asked, breaking him away from his thoughts, and Natsu looked down at her with surprise, chin brushing her head. She was comfortably settled into the saddle in front of him, as they'd been riding when they weren't accompanied by anyone else.
He grunted, judging the distance between them and Magnolia. They'd been on the move for hours, and he could hear her stomach rumbling although he knew she wouldn't say anything. "We can stop soon," he said, glancing back over his shoulder. Happy purred in relief.
"Good," said Lucy, squirming a little and making him roll his eyes. "Traveling takes so long here."
"Did it not in your time?" demanded Natsu in turn. She'd mentioned the thought a few times as well as a few objects that people used to get around, but had never really clarified just how people traveled two thousand years in the future in detail.
She shook her head, her golden hair flying around her shoulders and catching the light in a way that made him want to purr like Happy. "We had cars, and planes, and everything in between." He snorted loudly, having no idea what those words meant, and she launched into as detailed an explanation as she could about machinery that was used to travel around in the future.
Natsu listened intently, fascinated by what he was hearing and even excited by the idea of getting to see it even if one, it was thousands of years away, and two, he'd never be able to ride in any of it. He'd be downed within seconds of getting into any of those things. Especially the cars that Lucy described.
When they reached a far enough distance from Magnolia, however, Natsu had to reluctantly draw the conversation to an end. "Here," he said, pulling Salutem to a stop. "We'll try it here."
She nodded, furrowing her brow. "Should I summon a spirit?" she asked, touching the keys at her hip. "To help?"
He shook his head and said, "No, you'll kill yourself using that much energy." He swung off and then helped Lucy down. As Lucy fetched Happy from his basket and let him down, Natsu eyed the area critically, nostrils flaring as he took in the scents of the area. There was something bad within the trees, but it was miles off. He made a mental note to investigate, or have someone else do so if it came down to it.
Maybe he'd send Gray after lying to him.
It was always pretty funny when he did that.
"Alright," said Lucy, letting Salutem's reins drop to the ground. Salutem took a few steps away and lowered his head to graze as they worked, ears flicking lazily. "What do I need to do?"
Natsu gave her a near wicked grin, and Lucy knew without a doubt that this wasn't going to be a fun process.
Some fluff! We're heading to the Crocus area with some drama and the necromancer I mentioned a while back! ;) I'm so excited about where I'm getting with writing. It's gonna be fun.
AthomeinFairytail, regarding the fortress and Enca...fairly far! If you google "map of Fiore" you tend to find maps of the areas surrounding Fiore. You can find it to the east of Fiore on there. :)
Lissuin, regarding Lucy's progress with the language...she's somewhat along! She can understand common, simple words (ex. hello, goodbye, etc.), but as the language is incredibly difficult, it would take her decades to be capable of speaking it coherently.
Thanks to reviewers (Meow Orbit, itsxoi, stranger1999, AthomeinFairytail, nkukurichan, Lissuin, LePengwen, NaLuFireSpirit, GoldenPadfoot148, CrazyZaike, and FlameDragonHime!) as well as those who favorited and followed!