Lucy began to stir awake, and before she had the chance to flutter her eyelids open, she knew something was different. The Celestial Mage shot up and drew in a large breath through her nose. The air smelt fresher, for some reason. And if she tried very hard, and paid very close attention, she could almost hear birds, but that could have just been her mind playing tricks on her. Sitting in the sleeping bag, inside the tent, Lucy knew deep in her gut that outside the canvas walls, the sky was a brilliant blue and white clouds speckled the azurean expanse. She could damn near feel the warm sun and gentle breeze across her neck, and her face split into a grin.
She turned to face her sleeping Dragon, sprawled on his stomach with his arms tucked under his head. Despite the various piercings and studs that adorned his face, Gajeel looked gentle in his sleep. His long, dark lashes brushed his cheeks, and his full lips were slightly parted as he breathed in short puffs. Lucy combed her fingers through his hair before lying back down to be level with his face.
"Gajy. Gajy, wake up. It's over. Wake up," she called softly, jostling his shoulder.
"No," he responded shortly in a sleepy mumble.
"No…? No, it's not over, or no, you don't want to wake up?" Lucy clarified, confused.
"No, you cannot call me Gajy," the man grumbled, opening one eye.
"Why not? It's cute! Gajy. I like it!" Lucy retaliated indignantly.
"Because I am not a nine year old girl. Call me Gajeel, Gaj, Dragon, Dumbass, Sexy, Daddy, I'm good with all those. But not Gajy, please," Gajeel shifted to his side and propped himself up on his elbow.
"You're such a buzzkill, Gajeel," Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Gajeel looked at her mischievously before launching himself at her and knocking the blonde to her back. He climbed on top of her, hovering above her body.
"I really wouldn't mind you calling me Daddy, gorgeous," he smirked, his breath ghosting over her lips.
"Fat chance," Lucy snipped back.
"But it would be…" Gajeel dropped his face until his lips just barely touched hers, "so hot," he finished.
Lucy jerked her head up, trying to fuse her mouth to his, but Gajeel teasingly snapped his head back, denying her.
"Kiss me, goddamnit," Lucy whined, craning her neck once more. Her hands went around his neck as she tried to coax his face back down to hers.
"You know what you have to do," Gajeel chuckled, his eyes twinkling.
"Kiss me… please?" Lucy tried. She knew what he was hinting at but she wasn't ready to give in yet.
"Nope," Gajeel popped his lips on the 'p'. "C'mon Luce. Don't you want this?" Gajeel continued to tease. He gently bucked his hips, pushing his growing erection into her core. He bent down and flicked his tongue over her lips, pulling away quickly when she tried to kiss him. "I really want to kiss you, but I'm not going to. I'm just gonna play with you a little until you decide to be a good girl," he purred, scraping his teeth over her earlobe and sending shivers of desire up her spine. He moved his face down, kissing her throat, while he brushed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. Lucy briefly pulled the digit into her mouth, before allowing Gajeel to drag the finger down to her breast. Gajeel dotted her face with soft kisses, being careful to avoid her mouth.
As he teased her, Lucy felt her resolve begin to crumble. Finally, unable to control her desire, she flitted her lips close to Gajeel's ear. "Kiss me, daddy," she moaned, and was instantly rewarded when Gajeel's lips came crashing down on hers. She tightened her arms around his neck, holding him in place, while he skimmed a hand up her side. She rocked her hips into his and arched her back, pushing her breasts into his chest. They kissed furiously, biting each other's lips, nuzzling each other's necks, and moaning into each other's mouths until they were thoroughly out of breath. With swollen, tender lips, they finally pulled away.
"I was just teasing, by the way," Gajeel panted. "You don't need to call me daddy."
"Good, because that's not happening again," Lucy giggled. If she was being honest, though, it had given her a bit of a thrill.
"Well, don't make any promises. But seriously, no Gajy," the Dragon Slayer reiterated, looking intently at the blonde underneath him.
With a sigh, Lucy acquiesced. "Alright, fine. Now up. We have a job to finish today. I think it's all done," Lucy bit her lip in excitement, wincing when the tender flesh protested.
Gajeel rolled off of her and was on his feet in an instant. Holding his hand out, he helped Lucy up, and together, they walked out of the tent.
A gasp left Lucy's lips when she stepped outside. It was everything she imagined, but better. The sky was a blue bluer than she thought possible. The trees were a viridian green, highlighted gold by the deliciously warm sun. A gentle breeze blew through the forest, whistling through the leaves. And there, still bound, sat a very docile, very enigmatic, very beautiful, smiling spirit.
"Gajeel, look," Lucy whispered, tugging at his hand. Then, releasing herself from his grasp she tentatively approached the spirit. The spirit just gazed at her serenely as she walked towards it hesitantly. A few feet away, Lucy stopped and raised an eyebrow, silently asking for permission. Almost imperceptibly, the spirit nodded. Lucy sat down in front of the spirit, brown eyes locked with blue ones.
"Keys, please," Lucy asked softly, not wanting to make any loud noise that would startle the spirit. Gajeel dashed into the tent and was out a second later, placing Lucy's keys into her hand.
"Virgo?" Lucy called, and when the maiden appeared, Lucy asked her to remove the chains from the spirit.
"Are you sure, Princess? Do you think Loke should be here as well? Maybe Capricorn? In case something goes wrong?"
Lucy shook her head. With absolute certainty in her voice, she replied "No, Virgo, thank you. I'll be fine. You can unbind her, and then you may return, if you want."
Virgo didn't push the matter. She made quick work of undoing her chains, and then, with a deep bow, she poofed away.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked the spirit. The being had made no movement after being untied. She simply sat on the ground and watched Lucy. Gajeel hovered a few feet away, looking at the spirit with a healthy amount of suspicion.
"I don't think she understands you," he pointed out.
Lucy turned back to look at him before returning her gaze to the spirit.
"Are you-" she started again, this time slower. Before she could finish, the spirit nodded.
Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "You understand me?" she asked with a nervous giggle.
The spirit outstretched her hand, holding it inches from the side of Lucy's face.
"What're you doing?" Gajeel growled, taking a step forward. The spirit flicked her eyes up to Gajeel, and something in her gaze stopped the man in his tracks.
"I'm okay," Lucy whispered. Then, ever so slowly, she tipped her head to the side, letting her cheek fall into the spirit's palm.
Her eyes immediately fluttered shut and Lucy felt like she had just taken a dip into the loveliest river. An inexplicable sense of calm and serenity washed over her. And then she heard the spirit.
Thank you. I am once more the river, not the poison. I am the ponds and the lakes. I had forgotten who I was. I only remember being poison.
Who are you?
I am the water in the forest. I am the water in the ocean. I am the water in the sky.
Are you the only water spirit?
No. There are more like me. And more who aren't like me, but are still conduits of nature. Just like your spirits, who are the protectors of the heavens.
You know about my spirits?
I am older than many celestial bodies. I saw them being birthed. I saw them being named. I saw them come to earth and form bonds with individuals like yourself.
Why don't you have a key? Why are you so different from my spirits?
You'll find nature is not easy to control. I cannot submit, I cannot yield. I am water. I cannot be held.
Is that why no one knows anything about you? Your kind?
Don't you know of water? Don't you know of the air and the mud and the trees and the mountains? You know us. You've always known us. We are nothing more and nothing less than facets of nature herself.
But you went rogue.
The earth shakes and the sea rises and mountains fall and trees burn. We are capable of immense destruction, when we need to. I went further than many and lost my path. I became poison.
Why? Why did you go rogue?
Because the balance tipped. There was filth in my river, there were people encroaching on my home. Trees were felled, animals were killed, I was defiled. I needed to protect my home. I became poison.
You keep saying you became poison. Did you know what you were doing?
Yes.
Why didn't you stop?
I forgot how to.
Will you do it again?
If I need to.
You can't! People will die!
It is my responsibility to maintain the balance. It is my responsibility to ensure sanctity. The lives of a clutch of humans becomes inconsequential to an ancient being that nourishes the planet. I will do what I need to do to ensure the balance between human and nature remains intact.
What can I do to ensure you don't go rogue again?
You can't ensure it.
Can I ask the villagers to move?
That will help. For now. But in a hundred years, or a thousand years, or four thousand years, if that balance tips, I will do what I must to right it.
That's very far away.
Not for me. I may rest my eyes, and when I wake, your grandchildren will be nearing the end of their lives.
Are you evil?
Is water evil?
No.
Is the air evil?
No.
Is nature evil?
No.
There's your answer.
Are you a threat?
No. I am water. I am neither good nor bad, friend nor foe. I simply am.
I'll talk to the villagers. Please, don't do anything. Give me a few days.
Take a few years if you need to. I have raged and I have battled, and now I must rest.
Thank you.
No, child. Thank you. You made me remember what it meant to be water.
Lucy sat up with a gasp. She looked around wildly, but couldn't see the spirit anywhere.
"What happened?" Gajeel asked, darting up to her and crouching down on the ground next to the Celestial mage.
"Where is she?" Lucy's voice rose with panic.
"She kind of… melted? I don't know. You put your cheek in her palm and she suddenly became liquid and seeped into the ground," Gajeel answered with a shrug.
"What? How long was my cheek on her palm before this happened?"
"Lucy, are you alright? You put your cheek on her palm like three seconds ago. She cupped your face, turned to liquid, and you opened your eyes. That's why I asked what happened."
Lucy shook her head vehemently. "No. No, no. I had a full conversation with her. We talked. For a while. At least ten minutes…"
Gajeel gently put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "It was a second. Maybe two. That's all," he said comfortingly.
"I don't understand…" Lucy stood up, pulling Gajeel up with her.
"Maybe some things are meant to stay a mystery. More importantly, you talked to her? What about?" Gajeel asked incredulously.
"Not talked, per se… I mean, it was a conversation, but she wasn't speaking. It's like her thoughts were appearing in my head. I can't explain it," Lucy said, dragging her feet back to the tent.
"What did you talk about?" Gajeel probed. Once inside the tent, Lucy curled up in Gajeel's lap, her head against his shoulder, and she told him everything.
It was late morning by the time they were done packing.
"You sure you don't want your spirits around?" Gajeel asked one more time, hoisting his bag over his shoulder.
"We stick by the river. Follow it. Nothing will attack us."
"Why are you so sure, Lucy? It feels like a big, dumb risk," Gajeel huffed.
"I'm telling you. She'll protect us. We just need to walk along the river. It anyway leads to the village, so we'll be fine."
With a roll of his eyes, Gajeel succumbed.
And rightly enough, she did protect them. Not once on their several hour hike through the North Woods did Lucy and Gajeel encounter a single monster. They hugged the riverbank, with Lucy occasionally stopping to dip her hand into the river, almost as if she was trying to talk to the spirit once more.
After an uneventful, albeit beautiful, hike, Lucy spotted the village in the distance.
"Almost there! Can't wait to sleep on a real bed! And have a shower!" she moaned ecstatically.
"And have multiple rounds of amazingly hot sex with Gajeel," the Iron Dragon Slayer mumbled to himself. "Forget about that, why don't you? It's not like it'll rock both our worlds or anything."
"What are you mumbling about?" Lucy asked over her shoulder.
"Nothing, beautiful. Just excited to be back in civilization," Gajeel replied smoothly.
Lucy practically skipped in excitement as they neared the village, and without wasting any time, she grabbed Gajeel's hand and navigated her way to the nearest inn.
"And now," she said, coming to a halt in front of the inn doors, "I believe we have things to do together." Her eyes twinkled naughtily.
Gajeel growled in the back of his throat before swooping down and pressing a heated kiss to her lips. He tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her close, and a small part of Lucy was concerned that they'd end up fucking each other right there on the street. But before this worry could mount, Gajeel pulled away with a groan and a string of profanities.
"I fucking forgot about them," he hissed, brow furrowed in irritation. Taking a step away from Lucy, Gajeel quickly combed her hair back into place. He dropped his hands to his sides right as Lucy heard a familiar voice.
"Hey guys!"
Lucy turned to see a shock of pink hair, attached to the grinning face of her best friend. Behind him were Happy, Erza, and Gray.
"You guys came!"
"'Course we did, Lucy. We were packing before Loke had finished delivering the message," Gray drawled.
"Now, how can we help?" Erza asked, jumping to action.
"By leaving," Gajeel whispered ever so softly.
"What was that, Iron Face?" the other Dragon Slayer perked up.
"Nothing, Flame Brain. Good to see you all," Gajeel tried keeping his voice as level as possible.
"Good to see you both two! It's gonna be a fun couple days," Natsu smiled, walking up to Lucy and Gajeel. He slung an arm across each of their shoulders, giving them both a squeeze.
"Missed you crazy kids." Then, with a pat on their backs, Natsu began walking towards the inn doors, talking a mile a minute. "Okay, I'm starving. Let's check in, get food, and then get down to business. Want to share a room, Luce? Nah, we'll get separate rooms. I'll end up in your room anyway, but just in case, you know. Happy doesn't like your snoring. So that's five rooms? Let's head on in!"
Lucy followed Natsu into the inn, flanked by Erza, Gray, and Happy.
"Fuck," Gajeel groaned under his breath, trudging behind the group.
A/N: Okay so this is the like billionth time I'm uploading this chapter. FF has been glitching heavily and it keeps deleting the chapter, sending out expired links, and overall causing chaos. It's been like this for three days and I'm so frustrated! Anyway, this story is also being cross-posted on AO3, so if this keeps happening, feel free to move there to read it!
Anyway, we done with the woods so you know lemons are around the corner! And I'm just thrilled because my writer brain has been very productive and on top of her shit this weekend, and it feels good to upload a new chapter without having to endure like a week of writers block! Anyhoo, I am thirsty af for all your beautiful reviews, so please, help a gal out!