I need a nice long nap and a big plate of fettuccine alfredo with chicken, side of garlic bread. And a massage. (Little man took a long nap today! Enjoy the fruits of my labor.)
alice 0: When I first started, I wasn't sure where I wanted it to go. At this point, I'm still kind of on the fence about whether they'll end up being just friends or if it'll be more. Not to be coy, but I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out!
EchizenRyoma: I'm not sure who you mean by 'others', but she has no connection to the demons, dragons or the demon world, except through her contract with Natsu. Hope that answers your question!
As always, thanks for the love and happy reading!
Lucy curled further into herself as she felt a cold breeze over her already numb face. Teeth chattering, she opened her eyes to discover that it was completely black around her. After she sat up, she reached out around herself, trying to figure out where Natsu was. As she adjusted her hat on her head, she finally realized that she could hear the wind blowing fiercely outside the cave, and the cold hitting her face also contained snow.
"Natsu?"
From a distance, she heard him respond. "Just stay inside, Lucy! I'm trying to build up a barrier for the cave so the snow stops coming in."
"Great," Lucy mumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Not only did we get lost on the mountainside and have to spend the night in a cave, there's a freaking blizzard." A shiver passed through her whole body. "And my heater is outside in the cold."
She carefully scooted away from the opening of the cave, as far away as she could get, and then curled in on herself again. Her fingers and toes were numb, so she tucked her hands under her armpits and then leaned forward with her legs crossed so her torso was as close to her feet as she could get. Briefly she considered getting up and doing some jumping jacks or some other exercise, but she knew the ceiling of the cave wasn't very high and didn't want to hit her head. Instead, she did her best to keep herself warm while reminiscing about the hot bath she'd had the previous night.
By the time she heard Natsu return, she was certain her toes were frostbitten. Her teeth were chattering too hard for her to speak, so she just grunted as he called her name. "I built up a wall and covered the entrance, so until morning we won't be able to leave. It's pretty bad out there, so you should stay in here anyway, though." Lucy grunted again, her arms so numb she couldn't tell if she was still hugging herself.
"Lucy, you okay?" Something touched her arm, or at least she thought it did, and then she heard him curse. She thought she heard him mumble something about Erza, but before she could even think to ask, his scarf was being wound around her neck and he was pulling her away from the wall to slide behind her and wrap his limbs around her. As he surrounded her with his body, she could have sworn the air around her began to heat up. "Damn it, Luce, why didn't you call for me if you were this cold? At this rate you're going to get frostbite or worse."
Lucy tried to answer him, she really did, but it was hard to talk through the spasms coursing through her body. He seemed to understand, so he stopped talking and just worked on warming her up. After a while, he started to talk to her. He spoke of little things, of growing up with a dragon father. Pulling pranks on other demons and dragons when he and his father were bored. Of meeting Happy, and Wendy and Carla.
He talked about the stories his father would tell him about his mother, always different, and why she was gone. He talked about how he'd once run away to a different level of the demon realm and Happy had barely saved him from a losing battle against an ice demon. He talked about how he often felt lost when he was home, not sure what he should do with his life since he was an outcast and not wanted among the dragons or the demons.
Lucy swore that she spoke, too. She thought she had mentioned her father, and growing up with him after her mother had passed. It was possible she mentioned how he'd tried to have her brought home by a shady gang in town that had ended up kidnapping her instead and held her for ransom. He had gone quiet during that story, she thought, and the heat had increased for a while after that.
She thought maybe she'd told him those things. Things she'd downplayed to her friends growing up. A kidnapping she'd outright lied about and hidden. Her freedom, which had come not from her father learning his lesson, but out of guilt at having her kidnapped.
Or, as she found herself dreaming, maybe she hadn't told him. Maybe they had just been things she'd dreamed as she basked in the warmth that only he could provide in that cold, desolate place.
Natsu was getting antsy. Lucy had been sleeping much too long. She was usually an early riser, and while she had been up for a while during the storm, she should have woken up by now. He wasn't sure how late it was, but the sun had been up for a few hours and they needed to get moving so they could get back and not spend another night on the mountain.
He didn't care what she said. If they didn't find anything before midday, he was going to fly them around until they found the lodge. Lucy needed food and warmth, and while he had done okay during the night, he knew that he couldn't keep it up forever. Increasing his heat wasn't hard, but it did drain his magic, and it was dangerous for him to get too low.
His shoulder was twitching, and Natsu was unable to make it stop. He'd wrapped his scarf around his fist once the sun had come up, needing the contact, but the itchy feeling was only going to get worse the longer he went without it around his own neck. Added to that, her stories about her controlling father, and the men who had kidnapped her were still fresh in his mind. Ever since she'd confessed to him, he'd been a burning ball of rage, desperate to get up and do something, anything, to work through the energy that had built up inside him. He was positive he'd never been so angry. Lucy had seemed only be slightly aware of her surroundings as she spoke, most of her rambling in quiet mumbles that he had to strain to understand.
He'd understood enough, though, and now he was positively furious. Once they were back, he had every intention of calling Loke again and making every threat and promise he could to get the information that he needed to find the men that had hurt his Lucy so badly.
Natsu froze, his shoulder going still as he considered his words. His Lucy? That was an odd thought. Lucy wasn't his any more than he was hers. Sure, she was his master, but he'd had others. He could safely say she'd never been contracted to another demon, but that didn't make him hers.
Did it?
Natsu decided couldn't take it anymore. Between his thoughts and the pent up aggression, he was a ticking bomb, and if he didn't get up soon, he was liable to combust, and Lucy would get hurt if he did. He grabbed Lucy by both shoulders and shook her. "Lucy. Lucy, it's time to get up." She sighed quietly before rolling onto her side, tucking her head under Natsu's chin. "Come on, Luce. This has been fun, but it's time to get going."
He pulled her head away from his and watched as her eyes slowly opened. The barrier he'd built across the cave opening had thawed and frozen because of his heat, and the resulting ice allowed for plenty of light to fill the small space. Her chocolate eyes were warm and soft, and she seemed to stare into his soul as she slowly woke up.
As he carefully smoothed out her hair, he marvelled again at how pretty his master was. It wasn't just her looks, either, but her whole person. She was so amazing, he often found himself wishing that each day wouldn't end, because with each one that did, the end of his contract drew closer and closer. He hadn't been looking forward to that since they'd formed the contract, but he found that his reasons why had changed slightly.
As the sleep finally left Lucy's eyes, her cheeks reddened. She looked away as she quickly sat up, her hands coming up to rub at her eyes and hide her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep."
Natsu shrugged his shoulder, which had started twitching again, as he finally stood up. Jittery, he paced across the cave, stretching out as much as he could in the small space. "You were tired, it's understandable."
Lucy stretched a little on her own as she stood and walked his way. "Here you go," she said, unwinding his scarf. "I appreciate you letting me use it, but I don't want to hang on to it too long. I know it means a lot to you." Natsu had to force himself not to snatch it from her hands as he thanked her. Once it was wrapped around his neck again, he felt a little better. He wasn't as twitchy, but the rage and desire to break something hadn't gone away.
Turning towards the covered opening, he clapped his hands together. "Well, suppose we'd better get going, huh?" With no other warning, he moved forward and began to punch through the ice, slowly making his way through the outer edge of the barrier, until the whole thing was loose. With the snow build up outside, it didn't fall either way. Instead, Natsu used the ice door to push the snow away from the entrance. Once he was several feet away, he looked back towards Lucy. "I think getting down is going to be rough. I'm not even sure which way the bear's cave is from here."
Lucy forgot all about her desire to pee as she moved to join him in the open air. With the bright sun, she regretted not putting on her sunglasses right away. As she blinked through the brightness, she found herself in awe of their surroundings.
Everything was white. Every mountain and hill top, every tree, every plant, even the pines that were scattered around them were so covered in snow that their true colors barely showed through. "Wow," she whispered.
"I know. I'm really sorry-"
"This is amazing, Natsu." Natsu stopped as he looked her way, only to be floored by the smile that now dominated her face.
Lucy couldn't remember ever seeing anything so beautiful. Sure, the circumstances that had gotten them there weren't ideal, but without them, she never would have seen this sight. This beautiful, untouched, breathtaking sight. She looked his way, unable to hide how enthused she was about being there. "Thank you, Natsu. This trip was a great idea. I'm really glad that you brought me."
Words seemed to escape the half dragon as he stared at her, surprise clearly written all over his face. "Yeah…" he eventually said.
She grinned. "I'm going to grab my bag. And if you don't mind moving somewhere else, I'm going to use the cave to pee really quick, too."
"Yeah…" Natsu said, nodding slowly. Seemingly lost in thought, he drug the large piece of ice behind him as he turned and began walking down the hill. Once he was far enough away, Natsu dropped the ice and touched his hands to his face. Why are my cheeks so warm?
The half dragon looked around himself, feeling confusion settle in further. He'd become used to the feeling since he'd been summoned, but this time it wasn't because of something happening around him. He was reacting to Lucy, he was sure of it, but it was different than usual. He didn't usually think too much about his feelings, and he still found it a waste of time, but he felt… different than he ever had before.
Normally, he had two feelings about things. Either he liked them, or he didn't, and he never thought about it past that. He avoided the things he didn't like and surrounded himself with the things he did. It was an easy life, and he liked it that way. Right now, however, he wished he had someone to talk to that wasn't Lucy so he could figure out what was going on. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get the image of Lucy's smile out of his head. It was the most pure and beautiful thing he had ever seen, and all he wanted in that moment was to find some way to make her do it again. And again and again and again.
Not to mention, she'd completely erased the anger that had been building up all night. He knew the little bit he'd done to break off the ice hadn't done much to help. He'd been mad enough he wasn't sure even destroying one of the nearby mountains would have been enough to sate his anger, but her smile had erased it all in a moment. Not to say that he wasn't still angry at those men, and if he ever saw them in person, he would make them pay dearly, but the energy that had built up and demanded to be let out had disappeared in the wake of her smile.
Before he could think about it further, Lucy called his name. He turned and watched her carefully making her way down the short slope to where he sat. "So, where to?"
"We're going to stop and get the skis first," he said, his voice a little hoarse. He frowned as he stood, clearing his throat to fix it. "Then we are going to find our way back."
"You got it, captain my captain." When he tilted his head, she only smiled and saluted him. "Lead the way," she said as he continued to stare at her strangely.
He grunted in response and then leaned down to grab the ice in his now transformed hand. After he dug his long nails into the ice, he pulled it along behind him, creating a path that was easier for Lucy to walk through.
They were silent for a long while after they picked up the skis. After choosing a direction, the pair began to walk, searching for something that looked familiar. After a couple hours, Natsu stopped suddenly. He dropped the ice as he looked around, causing Lucy to look as well. "What is it, Natsu?"
"I hear something," he answered.
"You mean like people?"
"No, it's more like-" A loud crack interrupted him and the ground underneath them suddenly shifted. "Lucy, take my-"
Lucy screamed as the ground underneath her suddenly disappeared. A large crack opened up around them, as the snow and ice sheet that had been covering the ravine they were crossing began to fall. As snow and ice began to scrap at Lucy's face, she did her best to fold herself into a ball, protecting her face as well as she could. Barely a moment later, she felt something grab her around her torso and she was jerked to a stop. The snow and ice continued to rain down around her, but she felt herself remain mostly steady. When she finally felt like she was safe, she cautiously opened an eye to look around, but immediately covered her face again.
Natsu was breathing heavy as he held Lucy tightly against himself and watched the land around him settle. There was at least a twenty foot gap between where they had come from and the other side of the ravine he was hovering over, and a dozen or so stories deep. He'd never been good with distances, but he was certain the hole was deeper than Lucy's work building, which had at least fourteen stories.
"Lucy, are you okay?" His voice was hoarse again, but he didn't try to fix it this time.
She nodded, but she refused to move her hands from her eyes. "I'm fine," she squeaked.
Natsu flew them back to the other side of the gap that they had come from and set her down. Once her feet were back on the ground, she risked looking again, obviously relieved as she dropped her arms. After moving a ways away from the area of her near death experience, she wrapped around her arms around herself. "That was terrifying."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Natsu sat down as he worked on calming his breathing.
"It's not your- Natsu!" Lucy yelled, her surprise evident. "Your wings!"
Natsu grimaced, but didn't say anything as she moved forward, her hands hovering over him like she wanted to help but didn't know what to do. He knew without looking up what she saw. His wings were fully extended, covered in blood, and probably dripping onto the clothes he'd made for himself.
"Natsu, what happened?!"
"It's nothing," he started.
"Don't," Lucy hissed, finger pointed directly at his face, "lie to me. You don't lie, remember?"
"I'm not, Lucy. It's really okay. It stings, but I'll be okay in a couple minutes."
"What happened?" she asked again.
"Well, it's one of the down sides of being a hybrid. Not everything works like it's supposed to. My wings can come out and I can fold them back up, but it takes me a little time to do it. They don't just spring into action when I need them. So, when I need them at a moment's notice, they have to…" He paused, not wanting to continue but not having much choice with the look she was giving him. "They basically have to rip their way out. So it looks bad, I know, but my body is designed to let them out. It'll only take a few minutes for the slits to heal themselves back up."
Lucy carefully touched one of the wings, and when he didn't seem to be pained by her touch, she sighed. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," he said.
"But if I hadn't fallen-"
"I still would have had to save myself," he said. "Don't try to blame yourself for this, alright?"
She nodded, but didn't look convinced. He opened his mouth, intent on reasoning with her, but he froze as he heard more noises. These ones farther away, but much louder. Looking around, he finally saw what was coming and Lucy was able to watch his eyes widen in fear. "Luce, come here."
"Why?" she asked, frantically looking around.
"We have to fly again, come over here."
Lucy froze as her face became as pale as the snow around her. "Oh no. No, I can't do that."
"We have to, Luce," he said, moving forward to grab her.
"No, Natsu, I can't."
Natsu stopped and pointed behind her. "Lucy, look at that. We have to, or we're going to get stuck in it."
Lucy didn't turn at first - not until she heard it, too. Once she did turn, she found herself instinctively reaching for Natsu. An avalanche was rapidly making its way down the mountain. The noise from their near fall must have triggered it, and now they were in danger of being buried in it if they didn't get into the air.
Still, Lucy hesitated. "Natsu…"
"Sorry, but I gotta do it." That was the only warning Lucy had before she was once more in his arms and shooting up into the air. A scream tried to make its way out of her, but the speed they were rising forced the sound back into her throat. Instead, she covered her face with her hands and curled her body as close to Natsu's as she could. "Easy, Luce," he said, loud enough for her to hear him over the rapidly approaching snow. "I won't drop you."
"It's not that," she whispered.
"You gotta speak up, Lucy. My hearing is good, but not that good." The rumbling was below them now, and that knowledge further increased her panic.
"It's not that," she said louder. Her breathing became erratic and she tried desperately to ignore the sounds below her.
"Then what's the problem?" Natsu began to worry as Lucy started to freak out. She wasn't trying to get away, but her breathing and heartbeat had quickened and grown irregular. If she did start to panic and thrashed around, he was worried he actually might drop her.
She shook her head as she moved her hands, trying to block out the sounds around them as she squeezed her eyes shut and started to hum to herself.
Natsu was at a loss, but he decided that moving away from the noise would help, so he began to fly away from the avalanche. Since they had to be up in the air anyway, and she wasn't actively fighting him, he decided to do his best to search for their way back before she insisted on being put down.
It was only a few minutes before she finally spoke again and nearly surprised him enough to knock him out of the sky.
"I'm afraid of heights."
