Lucy swiftly ran her fingers along her body, checking to make sure she had everything she needed. The amulet that hung from her neck, her whip and knife, her keys. She nodded when she'd finished checking the pouch that hung at her hip, filled with emergency supplies that she might need, although she'd never thought to use them. She double-checked her bags, too, mourning the loss of some of the clothes that had been lost to Natsu's flames and Acnologia's attack in the Pergrande Kingdom. She missed those traveling clothes. Her new ones were sturdier than they'd been, but less comfortable.
A muzzle touched the back of her neck and scared the daylights out of her, but Lucy hid her shock and instead smiled brightly at the stag. "Hello, Salutem," she murmured once more, having already greeted the cheerful animal several times as she waited for Natsu. He'd vanished into the guildhall to let Gildarts know they were heading out to meet their clients at the edge of Magnolia. She was pleased they were taking mounts; she'd been told that Natsu had been considering making her walk until Mirajane had said otherwise.
Thanatos was ready to go, too, much to Lucy's amusement. The sharp-toothed equine was eyeing her arm with longing, as if he longed to tear a chunk out of it. She made sure to keep Salutem between them both.
After what seemed like forever, Natsu finally came out and together, they led their mounts through Magnolia to the designated meeting place. Natsu explained the basics for their job, noting the different people, their clients' self-employed protectors, and why they were heading to Kunugi. The eldest of the daughters accompanying the group was apparently going to be married, and the group had received a few thinly veiled threats in recent days by letter.
They found the group of clients and bodyguards in the outskirts of town, waiting for them. When they spotted Lucy and Natsu approaching, they all paused and straightened, watching with interest. Natsu cocked his head in a rather suspicious manner that had Lucy sighing heavily and throwing him a warning look. He was not going to sit there and make their clients uncomfortable for no reason.
"You must be Natsu and Lucy," said the man who must have been the father of the three girls. He offered a pleasant grin that Lucy returned with a warm smile. "I've heard good things about your work," he added with a nod at Natsu, "and hope that you'll prove the rumors true. We requested you specifically for that reason."
Lucy shot her partner a frown, curious. He'd not mentioned that little fact. Natsu ignored her, instead cocking his head and sounding rather professional as he asked, "We heard that you were getting threats...what kinds? What are they for? Who are they from?"
The man's wife stepped forward, tucking her arm under her husband's. Lucy watched as the woman curiously swept her gaze up and down Lucy, and then Natsu - where they lingered for an uncomfortably long moment. Lucy's frown deepened when she gave a shockingly bright smile, her eyes shining with interest. Lucy couldn't say she liked that look, though she hastily shoved back what she knew to be jealousy - mostly because Natsu was peering at her with immense interest, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Some enemies of ours," drawled the wife, patting her husband's arm. "They are jealous that our daughter acquired the engagement they had been seeking, and have sent threats against her life." Lucy glanced at the oldest of the children accompanying them for confirmation. She nodded, although a bit stiffly, as if she wasn't happy about something. She looked like her mother, Lucy noted to herself. Almost identical, albeit younger.
In fact...all of the girls did, with only minor differences here and there. The youngest of them, a young girl who looked to be about twelve, was frowning unhappily about something. The others were blank-faced.
Strange, but Lucy was used to strange now, so she didn't question it, instead turning her attention on Natsu when he nodded slowly. "Should be easy enough," he muttered, and Lucy nodded her agreement. Natsu could put up with something like a meager threat so long as they didn't send anything too dramatic and crazy. "We'll deal with it if anything happens."
The woman beamed at him and Lucy's discomfort only grew when she suddenly released her husband in favor of touching Natsu's arm with a wide, charming smile. "Thank you. I'm sure my daughters will feel quite safe with you to keep an eye on us all."
Wow, thought Lucy wryly when her oblivious husband merely agreed. Natsu, confused as to why someone was touching him, awkwardly sidled back a few steps to stand closer to Lucy, glancing at her for an explanation. Lucy's lips twitched; poor Natsu didn't seem to understand what was going on, nor did Lucy feel inclined to explain it to him. Not while there was a bit of annoying jealousy curling deep in her gut.
"Come," said the man before them to his wife, "we should be on our way. We don't want to spend more time on the road than necessary." He led her and their daughters away, and Lucy saw the youngest throw them a worried look. Lucy gave her the brightest smile she could to offer some reassurance, but the girl only frowned deeply, as if Lucy's attempt had made her more anxious.
"What'd she have to touch me for?" grumbled Natsu as Lucy and her partner turned and headed back for their waiting mounts. Lucy didn't miss how he stopped beside Salutem, clearly intending to help her up, and she accepted that help with gratitude. Salutem was too tall for her to get on without help, anyways, and she felt a stab of equally annoying satisfaction when she realized the wife was curiously watching as Natsu gripped her by the waist and hoisted her up.
"I think you've got an admirer, Natsu," said Lucy, not missing the wife's annoyed scowl. She wasn't concerned after a few moments of thinking it over; Natsu was smart and clever in many ways, but when it came to this...he could be as oblivious as the wife's husband.
Natsu shrugged, checking on Happy in his basket, and then clambered onto Thanatos, who was sniffing at Happy's basket hopefully. All it took was a sharp look from Natsu to stop Thanatos from so much as thinking about eating his familiar. Grumbling, Natsu told Lucy, "I don't need admirers. I don't even want them."
"What about me?" prompted Lucy with a mischievous grin. "I'm an admirer."
Even as Thanatos started forward, Salutem cheerfully prancing beside him, Natsu considered desperately how to respond to such a statement. Lucy thought there might have been a hint of red in his cheeks as he spluttered, "Well...you don't count! You know that."
She could feel the warmth of fondness curling in his chest. He liked what she said, even if there was embarrassment that was flooding him, too. It was the embarrassment that had her teasing, "Do I?" Her smile widened when he gawked at her, horrified when he realized what she was doing.
"Lucy!" he hissed, baring his teeth at her, and she felt like her cheeks would split when she felt that warmth sharpen into piercing, flaming heat that told her he didn't actually mind her teasing. In fact, there was a hint of delight that was filling her now, as if he liked it. She wished she could take that heat and curl her fingers around it. She wanted nothing more than to hold it to her and never let go of it.
Natsu's annoyance was replaced by an expression she couldn't place as she felt those desperate talons suddenly rake through her soul. Had he been an actual full-sized dragon, Lucy could have imagined him pinning her beneath massive claws, caging her against the ground with no chances of escape. She could barely breathe beneath the pressure of it. But it loosened a moment later, and Lucy fondly let her own soul brush against his.
Distantly, Lucy wondered if other dragons and Marked Ones felt that way.
It was rather nice to be on a normal job, and even her usual panic about the time ahead was dulled over the course of a few hours. For the first time in a while, Lucy felt like she could truly breathe. She found that Natsu was enjoying himself, too, though he was getting antsier with each passing hour, eager to fight something. She wondered if there would ever be a day in which Natsu could survive without fighting.
His enjoyment vanished when they stopped for the evening, however. It was while Salutem was drinking from a bowl she'd found that she felt it spark into shock and then fury and annoyance. Thinking something must have happened, Lucy patiently looked around for him after ensuring that Salutem was cared for. It didn't take her long to find him; he'd been caring for Thanatos, feeding the carnivorous equine with a scowl on his face.
Careful not to get too close - he was always more aggressive when eating - Lucy kept her attention on her partner. His eyes blazed with rage - a rage that was normally reserved for when Gray was unusually serious about being rude and hurtful. "Natsu?" prompted Lucy. "What's wrong?"
Natsu snaked an angry look over his shoulder towards where the family they were escorting had gathered. "Someone tried to tell me off for playing around with the mistress of the house. I didn't do anything. She was the one who was touching me - again." He bristled, as if what he was saying was angering him further. "I don't like when people touch me."
Lucy knew that wasn't entirely true, but didn't bother to correct him. She was allowed to touch him after all, and she did so regularly. Her lips twitched as he suddenly disguised his aggrivation with a childish pout, even as true anger simmered in his chest. Gently, she said, "I'll have a word with the lady of the household and warn her off for you."
Natsu only grunted, grumbling as he finished up with Thanatos. Natsu stopped to gather Happy up in his arms, and then began walking towards the fire that had built with Lucy trotting along beside him. The youngest child of the group was waiting, her hands shaking as she offered them bowls of food. "Thank you," Lucy murmured, taking her own. Natsu grabbed his.
When they'd settled down, Lucy scarfed her food down, starving after a full day of traveling. She should have been used to it by this point, but...it was still tiring. Enough so that when she'd finished, the heat of the fire and a full stomach made her eyes droop with exhaustion. "This is nice," she said softly to Natsu, and he glanced at her, curious. "It's calm, and easy, and we're not constantly thinking that we're going to be torn to shreds by something big and nasty. It's a possibility, of course, it always is...but when's the last time we did work like this? It's nice."
Natsu eyed her with a cocked brow, fairly amused with her. "I guess so," he said. "Still kind of boring though."
"You think everything is boring," complained Lucy. "At least we don't have a dragon on our tails right now…" She paused to think it over, rocking back a little as she yawned. "Where do you think Acnologia went? There's been no more sightings of him...I wonder why he's stopped actively searching. You'd think he'd try harder after the Pergrande Kingdom…"
Lucy paused when a flicker of what she thought might be fear curdled in her chest. Natsu's fear. But when she peered at him inquisitively, he only rumbled, "Who cares? As long as he's not bugging us."
"Natsu-" Lucy was cut off when he suddenly shoved her shoulder with a light push. She squealed quietly when she hit the ground on her back, stunned.
"Go to sleep," he said roughly. "I'll keep watch tonight."
She frowned at him and wondered once more what it was that had happened that she couldn't remember in the Pergrande Kingdom.
The next few days of travel went similarly. Natsu grew increasingly irritable with each one that passed, as apparently Lucy's gentle warning to the mistress of the house did nothing for his situation. It meant that Natsu was at increasing odds with just about everyone but the wife. At one point, Natsu had told her he was going to go back to Magnolia, regardless of payment or Lucy asking him for more patience, and it had taken Lucy promising him a good meal and reminding him that they only had to deal with the chaos until they reached Kunugi. The way back would be easier and much more pleasant.
"We should reach Kunugi the day after tomorrow, around mid-day," Natsu told Lucy one evening, a rare smile curling over his lips. His eyes lazily watched the family, locking onto the youngest daughter and the wife as they hissed at one another, just within his range of hearing. His eyes narrowed a little, and Lucy frowned at him in turn, wondering what he was thinking as irritation rose in her chest. He jerked his chin in their direction, sliding his gaze back to Lucy. "Now she's getting onto the kid for not doing something right."
Lucy sighed heavily. Natsu had been finding every little thing about the couple that headed the family, looking for things to complain about. Lucy couldn't blame him after watching the woman's husband berate him for "playing around with his wife," but honestly. Couldn't he take the high road and just ignore it all? Then again, it was Natsu she was looking at. "I'm sure it's fine," she soothed, fighting the urge to shake her head.
The pair sat there in a peaceful silence for a few moments, Lucy playing with the keys that jingled softly in her hands as she did so. It was peaceful again, she thought with a small yawn. Very peaceful, and quite comforting to have her partner there beside her. She briefly leaned into his shoulder, liking the warmth his presence brought. Natsu's attention was immediately locked onto her, his own emotions roiling in his chest as he tried to figure out why she was doing so without suspicion.
After a few moments, Lucy asked quietly, "Natsu, what happened in the Pergrande Kingdom that you're not telling me?" She'd tried asking before, but he'd snapped viciously at her. It was a risk, asking it again, but she wanted to know.
"It's nothing," he told her sharply, refusing to answer properly. He nudged her away from him, not wanting her to touch him at the moment. Lucy let him, frowning slightly.
"For someone who hates liars, you've been lying about it quite a bit," she said pointedly, and he snaked her a dark look.
"And you've got stuff you're not telling me either," he retorted in an icy tone that told her to leave it alone unless she was willing to spill her own secrets.
Lucy winced. It wasn't just 'stuff' she was keeping from him, after all. "Point taken. Still, if it bothers you that much, Natsu, you can talk to me about it. You know that, right?" That was where she'd been going with the conversation, she lied to herself. Not prying. She'd simply wanted to help him...which wasn't entirely a lie, but she knew that it hadn't been her initial intentions.
Natsu eyed her out of the corner of his eye, judging the emotions curling through his gut. "Yeah," he said finally, "I know. Thanks, Luce," he added as an afterthought, and Lucy felt a swell of warmth rise in her. She couldn't decipher who it belonged to, but she wrapped it around him regardless. She could have sworn he purred like Happy for a moment; as it was, he leaned back into her. A moment later, nosy interest crossed his face as the youngest daughter stormed away from her mother, scowling.
Her mother tried to call her back, but the girl threw a rude gesture over her shoulder that made Lucy snort under her breath with laughter. "I like her," she muttered, hiding her smile behind her hand so no one would notice.
Natsu snickered his agreement, and then flopped onto his back when the mistress of the house's eyes turned on them. He looked like he was heading off to sleep, but Lucy knew that he was faking it, his entire body still with alertness. He was trying to escape her before she became a problem. Fondly, Lucy reached over and kissed his forehead fondly, earning another brush of warmth. She rose to her feet, however, figuring she'd see if she could help the annoyed child - and keep an eye on her, too. Lucy knew for a fact that no one had gone with her.
Lucy wasn't surprised as Happy trotted along beside her, willing to bet that Natsu had sent him with her. Lucy doubted he'd be able to do anything should issues arise, but still, she liked his company enough to scoop him up. She rubbed her cheek against his; Happy purred loudly in pleasure.
Lucy found the youngest daughter some distance from the camp. She was grumbling under her breath, settled under a massive oak tree. She yanked at grass around her, face furious and eyes blazing. For a moment, when she looked up, Lucy wasn't sure she was actually human. But the anger vanished, replaced by shock. "Miss Lucy," rasped the girl, shooting to her feet. "What are you-"
Lucy waved her off, and the girl hesitantly settled again. Lucy dropped to sit beside her, very aware that the girl was eyeing her nervously. Shaking off her previous thoughts, Lucy asked, "Everything alright?"
The girl fidgeted with her clothes, her eyes burning with emotion. Finally, she said, "No. Mother is insisting upon something that I strongly disagree with. I'm not even sure my father knows what she wants, and it's…" She made a small gesture with her hand to express her frustrated annoyance. "I'm sure you and your guildmate have noticed, but my mother believes herself to be the apple of everyone's eye and believes she should get what she wants, regardless of the rest of us. Take my sister for example. She doesn't necessarily want to move so far from home, but what can we do?" The girl shrugged with a heavy sigh. "She's cried herself to sleep every night since the engagement was announced."
Lucy nodded thoughtfully, neither disagreeing or agreeing. Natsu had heard the crying throughout the night and had expressed his own frustrations with it, although his annoyance had nothing to do with any concern for why the girl was crying, only that he wanted it to stop. Lucy scolded him long and hard after that conversation, but she didn't think he understood fully why she'd done so even days later.
"Finding yourself far from home is rather rough," admitted Lucy, fighting the urge to laugh at her own words. Her situation was completely different. She'd been hurtled through time like a frisbee, and then shoved at one of the most dangerous creatures to have ever existed - only to find that the Demon King wasn't merely a monster who killed mercilessly, but someone that was so mixed up with complicated emotions that he didn't know what to do with himself half the time. "But sometimes new places turn out to be more of a home than the old one, and she is marrying for love, right?" The girl nodded. "Her husband-to-be will help her. Don't worry. She'll be happy, I'm sure." Lucy kindly smiled and patted her head.
The girl's eyes swam with tears that began to arise in her eyes. "Thank you, Miss Lucy."
"Anytime. Now, come on, it's not safe out here…"
A somewhat chill, cute chapter once again. Love writing these. Makes it even better when it comes time for what I've been writing recently. ;)
Thank you for all the kind comments. They truly made me feel better. :)
Thanks to reviewers (Sele de la Luna, AthomeinFairytail, Uchida Akira, Sydneste, valerioux, 52dreamer52, Guest #1, Meow Orbit, Guest #2, madaraswife, itsxoi, stranger1999, Lissuin, Alexia Colette, AnimusLunari777, BeautifulSamurai, raohyuga 18, and FairyTailxFanGirl!) as well as those who favorited and followed!
