I'm a failure guys… I forgot that my version of Natsu can fly on his own. I have gone back and fixed the parts where Happy helped him in the last chapter, but I feel dumb for forgetting in the first place. As an apology for my oversight, here's a quicker update than usual!
As always, thanks for the love and happy reading!
Natsu froze, unsure of what to do. He felt Lucy stiffen in his arms as her breath audibly left her. He had been pretty sure that Loke had passed out before he went to his room. Had one of the Exceeds woken him up? Had he made too much noise while he was looking for Lucy? What had Loke seen?
"Seriously guys," Loke said. "What's going on? A door slam woke me up and I found Natsu's kind-of-sister and a cat passed out on his bed, but no sign of you guys. And where's Levy? How long have I been passed out for?"
Thank every god and star in the sky, he didn't see anything. Lucy's relief was palpable, as she fought to keep her face composed.
Natsu felt Lucy's body loosen in his grip as she whispered, "You can put me down." He set her on her feet, keeping one hand on her back so he was ready to catch her if she fell again. Her emotional turmoil was starting to bother him. She was feeling so much at that moment, he wasn't sure how to sort through it all. Suddenly, the torrent of emotions cleared and all he felt was calm, cold nothingness.
"You weren't out long, Loke, calm down," Lucy reassured him, her soft tone at odds with her emotions. "Wendy came back because she wanted to stay here with Natsu before she has to leave Magnolia again. After she fell asleep, Levy decided she wanted to go home since there are so many other people staying here, so Natsu and I walked her back. We took a shortcut on the way back and I twisted my ankle. Natsu was just trying to help since I was having trouble walking."
"What about the cat? And where's the rest of your costume?" Loke directed his second question at Natsu.
The demon answered both, lying just as smoothly as Lucy. "Panther is Wendy's cat. She apparently snuck him along for the trip, so she brought him here so he could stretch out his legs without getting in trouble."
"Plue hasn't been bothered by him being here, so I didn't mind them both staying," Lucy added.
"As for my costume, Lucy and Levy wanted to get Levy home, so I decided to wait to finish cleaning up until we got back." Natsu really hoped that Loke was drunk enough to not notice the difference in the size of his wings. The exposed scales and horns were one thing, but he'd have a hard time explaining why his wings were so much smaller than they used to be. Luckily, his height was exactly where it should be.
Loke studied him for a moment, his eyes flashing with a clarity that made Natsu uneasy, before fogging over again. "Huh. Okay. Lucy, you got any aspirin? I think I need some before I lay down again."
"Sure, I'll get you some." Lucy took a couple steps before remembering that she needed to limp. Loke didn't seem to notice as he turned back to enter her apartment, Lucy and Natsu following close behind him.
Ten minutes later, after Loke had returned to his spot next to Cana, Lucy headed to her room, surprised to find Natsu leaning against her door jam. "I'm sorry about that," he whispered as she passed him to enter her room.
"About what?" she asked.
"I didn't make sure my door was closed all the way. Between my open window and the one we opened in the kitchen, there must have been a breeze strong enough to blow the door open. I'm sorry you had to come up with another lie tonight."
Lucy sighed. "I'm starting to think that I'll just have to resign myself to it until you guys leave." She perked up as she continued. "It's okay, though. You were only trying to help."
When she looked up, a shiver went down her spine as she saw him watching her intensely. "Luce, I won't press you to tell me what happened, or ask what you saw, even though I really want to know." He didn't react as she flinched and glanced away. "I do, however, want to know why you didn't summon me. Demons like Midnight mess with a person's mind, but are physically very weak. When I got there, your shirt was-" Natsu cut himself off, not wishing to remind her of the way Midnight had been manhandling her. "Your tag was exposed. All you had to do was touch it and reach out to me. I could have been there in an instant, so why didn't you call for me?"
Lucy swallowed as she fought her tears. "I… I forgot I was in the alley. I didn't know I was in danger until I was… until I wasn't there anymore."
Natsu sighed. He wished he understood better, but he'd never been prey to the nightmare demons. They steered clear of beings like him, demons that were so much stronger physically than they were. They would pull pranks on other demons, but never on the ones they couldn't get away from. Since they'd never tried to mess with him, he had no experience with how strong their magic was. He only knew that they created nightmares or brought up painful memories in other beings, usually humans, and consumed the negative emotions that were created by them.
"And anyway, it's not like you were the one that saved me. Erza was the one who pulled him off me. You told me so."
Natsu scoffed. "If you had summoned me, I would have had the element of surprise so I could take him out. As it was, he was threatening your life, and I couldn't risk him infecting you with his magic before I could reach him. If it had been a test of strength or speed, I could have easily taken care of him, but his magic would have stopped your heart before I could take a step.
"Plus, he was breaking several laws by being here, which is Erza's area of expertise. Demons aren't supposed to fight with each other in this world because of the potential collateral damage. By letting Erza take care of him, I got to stay out of trouble, and earn brownie points with her at the same time. So I had three very good reasons for calling her in."
"Staying out of trouble and earning brownie points with Erza are only two reasons," she corrected him.
"You forgot the most important reason," he said with a smile. "It saved your life."
She nodded, trying to smile. "I suppose that is true." Exhaustion began to weigh heavily on her as she glanced at her alarm. "I have to get up in a few hours. I think I'd like to go to sleep."
"You got it!" Natsu's cheerful smile was back, completely erasing the shadow that had been hanging over his face since he'd found her in the alley. "I'll just be in my room if you need anything. Good night, Lucy!"
"Good night," she responded as he left, closing the door behind him. She heard him jiggle it a little to make sure it was shut before walking away. As she sat on the end of her bed, she focused on the breath moving in and out of her lungs, willing away the memories that threatened her from the edge of her vision. She expected the cold to return, as it always did when her past threatened to drown her, but this time she remained warm.
She stood, frowning as she moved to take off her slippers, surprised they hadn't fallen from her feet at some point. As she started to pull off her jacket, her hands encountered Natsu's scarf where he had wrapped it around her neck. She paused, surprised, before she wondered if she should bring it back to him. She knew it was important to him, and that it did something to help him with his magic, or was it something about his dragon heritage? Damn it, she couldn't remember.
Lucy brought the fabric up to her nose, breathing deeply. The smell of bonfires filled her nose, relaxing her muscles as she laid down on her bed. Slowly, she felt her muscles relax and the visions recede as her eyelids drooped. Maybe she could keep it, she decided, just until morning. He had said he could go without it for a while, and if he really needed it, he could come ask for it, right?
Smiling, Lucy reached over to turn off her lamp before snuggling into her blankets. She pulled the ends of the scarf under the covers to help warm up the space, leaving some of the material pressed against her nose. Even though she usually couldn't stand to sleep breathing in warm air, the smell of Natsu's scarf outweighed that discomfort and she was quickly fell asleep.
In her dreams, she flew with dragons high in the sky, over towns and fields and clouds. She saw many, but only flew with one, a great hulking beast with red scales and a scarred face. With the wind in her hair, and his scales under her palms, she flew, comfortable with this strange beast she had only just met.
As they flew, they laughed together, the freedom of soaring through the sky a drug that fueled their happiness. Every time he laughed, she felt the sound vibrate through her body into her soul, and she felt safe, safer than she had in what felt like forever. Lucy never looked back, instead enjoying the feeling of the dragon flying her farther and farther from the dark clouds that always followed behind.
For a short time, a short, glorious, carefree time, she finally felt wholly at peace.
Natsu heard when the first person woke up. Listening hard, he figured out it was coming from the living room. The light steps that moved his way had to be Cana, and once he was certain she would not enter his room by mistake, he returned to his research as he itched at the skin on his arm.
A minute later, he heard the toilet flush. The noise was apparently enough to wake Wendy, as she suddenly shot up in Natsu's bed. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the room until she finally met Natsu's gaze. "Mornin.'"
"Good morning," she said, clearing her throat as she glanced around the room. "Sorry that we crashed here last night. I hadn't planned on falling asleep."
"Nah, it's okay. I think you needed it," Natsu responded, his hand moving to rub at his calf. "You apparently slept through my door banging open. I don't remember you being such a deep sleeper."
Wendy frowned. "I'm usually not."
"Carla did mention that your contract is a twenty four-seven thing. Is your contract holder not letting you sleep?"
Wendy avoided looking at Natsu as she answered. "I may have mentioned that demons don't need as much sleep."
Natsu glowered, intending to reprimand her, but before he could, he remembered he'd done the exact same thing with Lucy. Reigning in the urge to growl, he instead exhaled his frustration in a long sigh. "Carla is right. You are way too trusting." He smiled as he reached over to rub the top of her head, his other hand rubbing his knee.
"Yeah, I know. I'll be okay now though. It won't be more than a few days, a week tops, before my contract is over." Natsu closed Lucy's laptop as he turned to face Wendy, chatting with her as the sun continued to rise and brighten the sky outside. Every so often, he'd itch or rub at the tingle growing under his skin.
Both demons paused when they heard an alarm going off, followed by soft smacking noises, and then a long groan as the beeping finally stopped. "I guess Lucy is awake." He glanced over at Carla and Happy, who were still sleeping next to the pillow where Pantherlily slept. "Carla and Happy will have to stay in here, but Lily will have to join us for breakfast to help keep up the charade for Lucy's sake."
"I'm sorry again for the trouble we caused."
"Stop apologizing," Natsu said, rubbing his neck. "You know it wasn't your fault."
Wendy studied him as he continued to rub and itch at his skin. She saw the little twitches that popped up just before he'd chase them away. "Are you okay Natsu?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to-"
There was a knock at his door. "Natsu? Are you awake?"
"Yeah," he answered Lucy. "Come on in."
There was a brief conversation between Lucy and one of the people in the living room before she came in. "Good morning," she said, smile slipping just a little when she saw how many people were in the room.
Natsu gave her a wide smile. "Mornin' Luce."
"Good morning, Lucy," Wendy said. "It sounds like we may have made things worse for you sleeping here. I'm really, really sorry for the trouble we caused."
Lucy's smile widened again. "It's okay, Wendy. I'm glad you and Natsu were able to spend time with each other while you're here. I was just going to make breakfast. Would you and Lily like to join us?"
"I won't say no to food," the black Exceed said from where he was curled up, finally waking up.
"I wouldn't mind eating before I leave," Wendy said. "Would you like some help?"
"Oh no, I can handle breakfast. I can get a little weird when people try to help me cook, so it's easier to just do it myself. I can make enough for everyone, but I'm afraid Carla and Happy will have to stay back here until I can bring them some later. As far as my friends know, only you and Lily are in here with Natsu."
Carla, who had finally woken as well, yawned. "We understand. We can remain in here until it is safe to leave." Happy, curled up at her side, didn't move, seeming to still be asleep.
Natsu stood, stretching before itching at his side. "What are you making?"
"Pancakes, eggs, and bacon."
Natsu's mouth began to water, his right hand moving to scratch his other shoulder. "That sounds amazing."
Lucy laughed. "You think all food sounds amazing. Oh, I almost forgot." She pulled out a bundle from under her arm. She separated a ball of white from the purple sweatshirt she also carried. "I thought you might want this back sooner than later. I don't know if you forgot to take it back before bed or if you let me keep it on purpose, but I appreciate it. I slept much better than usual." As Natsu wrapped it around his neck, she turned to open the door, not looking at the others. "Food will be ready in half an hour or so, so be ready."
Natsu quickly changed his clothes, only glancing at his companions as he reached the door. "I'm gonna go keep her company. See you in a bit Wendy and Lily."
The door closed, leaving a suffocating silence behind him. Carla and Lily looked surprised, even more so after seeing the looks on Wendy's and the now awake Happy's faces.
Happy whispered, "Did she…?"
Wendy's eyes were as wide as his when she met his gaze. "Did he…?"
"Did they what?" Carla asked.
"Natsu doesn't take off his scarf, ever. It's his most prized possession. He's never even let me hold it," Happy said, "and he trusts me more than anyone!"
"He's always said the only reason he'd take it off was if he was dead," Wendy added. "And even then, he'd come back to haunt whoever killed him, and whoever took it. He doesn't even let people touch it while he's wearing it!"
"So, what does that mean?" Lily asked.
Both Wendy and Happy stared at the door, confusion and surprise written on their faces. It was so out of character for Natsu to allow someone to hold onto his scarf. Not only did he love that scarf because it was a gift from his father, but it helped him to keep the worst of his demon traits under control. Happy knew how much Natsu hated the darker parts of himself. He'd never met his mother, but he'd known his father. Igneel has raised him to be the best version of himself that he could be, and any time his demon side overcame the dragon one, he felt like he'd let Igneel down somehow. Happy couldn't come up with a good reason that Natsu would let a human, no matter how nice, borrow his scarf. Unless…
When the silence was finally broken, it was by Happy's quiet whisper. "I don't know…"
