Title: Rockfall
Summary: Matt and Natalie are trapped under a pile of rubble.
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
World: Post EBF4
The rumbling finally stopped and Natalie cautiously peeled one eye open. The other flew wide with shock when she saw Matt hovering over her with both eyes tightly shut. Sweat beaded on his head and his mouth parted to let out a groan. His blond hair fell across one shoulder and his arms trembled from strain on either side of the mage's head while his knees pressed against the stone on either side of her hips. Above him and pressing down on his back was a massive slab of concrete on top of which were many chunks of rubble.
Matt cracked his eyes open to look down at the girl under him, "You okay, Natz?" His voice was strained and the words clipped.
Natalie swallowed, still staring at him, "Fine, for now."
"Good," Matt said shortly, eyes squeezing shut again.
The mage stared up at his tight face. Clearly, the weight he was supporting was immense, and she wondered with a flash of fear if he could keep it up. Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, "You should have just let me get crushed."
Matt grunted and said in a tight voice, "Hardly."
"There was no point for you to sacrifice yourself too," Natalie said quietly. "I'm not important enough to throw away your life over."
"Stop it," Matt said in a tense voice.
Natalie didn't seem to hear him as she mumbled, "You could have gotten out safely. I was the one that tripped, not you."
Matt let out a soft groan and said, "Stop, Natz."
"You could have been out and beating up bad guys, instead you're going to get crushed with me," Natalie said. A choked sob burst past her lips and she murmured, "I'm so sorry, Matt."
"Natalie," Matt said sharply.
The mage flinched and shut her mouth. Matt had cracked his eyes open and was staring at her fiercely. The clear blue reflected the dim light of the lantern sticks that hung from their waists. Matt's fierce expression softened some at the tears that trickled down Natalie's face, inches from his own. He cautiously stretched his head down to brush a kiss across her forehead. Natalie's eyes widened as he pulled back and focused his attention on supporting the immense weight bearing down on his back.
Suddenly Matt spoke, "I would never leave you to die, you are definitely worth risking my life over, and I do not regret taking that risk. Lance and Anna will get us out, so don't give up. Okay?"
Natalie took in a deep breath and nodded, "Okay."
"Good, now since neither of us are going anywhere for a while, tell me a story," Matt said with a strained grin.
"A story?" Natalie repeated in bewilderment.
"Well, anything distracting will do, so long as you don't move much," Matt elaborated. "Tell a story, sing a song, tell jokes—oh wait, actually, no jokes. I might drop this if I laugh."
Natalie grinned at him and thought for a moment. After a short while of silence, she settled on a story and opened her mouth. "Once upon a time…"
"Oo, I love that start," Matt broke in with a grin.
Natalie chuckled and kept going, "There was a beautiful young woman with a beautiful voice. Many came from all over to listen to her sing, and she was beloved by all who knew her. Among the many people who listened to her songs was a young man about her age. The young man had known the woman for all his life and they were great friends."
Matt smiled as he listened to the tale, though his arms trembled under the weight of the stone.
"One day, a fierce dragon was flying past the woman as she sang and braided wildflowers, and he heard her song. Enchanted by her wonderful voice, the dragon landed before her. The woman was frightened, of course, and she stopped singing. The dragon snarled and demanded she continue. Frightened, but unable to flee, the woman began to sing once more. The dragon listened to the end of the song and decided that he would keep the lovely woman with the wonderful voice as his own. He scooped up the maiden and carried her away to his nest high in the mountains."
"What a… selfish jerk," Matt panted.
Natalie smiled at him, "Yes, he was, wasn't he? Anyway, when the woman did not come back that evening, her childhood friend became worried. He went to the hill and saw a half woven crown, but not his friend. He scoured the hill and found the dragon's footprints. At once, he knew that his friend had been taken by the dragon. He traveled back to the village and told all about what had happened, begging for aid in rescuing her, but no one wanted to fight a dragon. The man pleaded to them, but they refused to aid him."
"More selfish jerks," Matt grunted.
"The young man thought much the same. He vowed that he would save his friend, and so set out alone to find the dragon. He traveled for many days and many nights until he reached the mountains. Meanwhile, the dragon demanded the woman sing for him every morning and evening. The woman did as she was told, but every day, her voice grew more and more weary and sorrowful. Finally, one day, she stopped singing entirely. The dragon raged and roared, but he could not get the woman to sing. Finally, he decided she was useless to him. Just as he was about to breath fire all over her, the young man darted forwards."
"Yay, time for… heroic dragon slayings," Matt cheered between his pants.
Natalie grinned at him and kept going, "The young man was armed with only a sword, but he fought with the strength and courage of a hundred men. The dragon clawed, and snapped, and roared, and breathed fire, but could not kill the man. Finally, after many hours, the dragon was slain. The young man wearily dragged himself to where his friend was caged and broke the lock on her cell. The woman launched herself forwards and embraced her childhood friend. The man forgot his weariness in the joy of their being reunited. He guided her back to the village, where she once again sang beautiful songs."
Matt smiled, "Good… story… Natz."
"Thanks, how're you holding up?" Natalie asked worriedly.
"Better now, actually," Matt grunted. "They're moving the rubble off, and it's getting lighter."
Natalie started as she heard a grinding shift. She beamed as she realized that it was the sound of massive amounts of stone being moved. She wondered briefly how their friends were moving the stone. Then, suddenly, a massive log wedged through the rubble and flipped the slab that Matt was supporting off of his back. Stones and dirt showered down, and Matt heaved a massive sigh of relief as he tipped sideways to land on the ground.
Anna scrambled down to them along with Lance. Both their faces were tight with worry that dissipated when they saw their friends unharmed. Mighty Oak towered over them for a moment before vanishing with a flash of green light. Matt breathed heavily, but his face cracked into a grin.
"I knew you'd get us out," he sighed.
Lance chuckled, "Of course. Now how're you two doing?"
Natalie sat up, "I'm fine. Matt shielded me."
Anna gently prodded Matt to get him to roll over. Her hands slid over his back for a moment before she nodded, "Matt's fine, though I'll bet he's sore."
Matt grunted, "Oh, yeah, definitely. It's totally worth it save Natz, though."
The swordsman pushed himself to sit up and immediately found himself with Natalie in his lap, her lips on his. He blinked in shock for a moment, before settling into the kiss. He ignored the wolf whistle Lance gave and the giggle Anna gave. He pulled back and grinned at Natalie's flushed face.
"Do I get one of those every time I save you, now?" he asked cheekily.
Natalie laughed, "You just might."
A/N: And so ends another cliché! It was short, but I thought it was cute. :3 No real intro, but I'm sure you all can fill in some kind of stereotypical situation that would lead to a rockfall.
