.

.

"You had a hold on me, right from the start

A grip so tight I couldnt tear it apart

My nerves all jumpin actin like a fool

Well your kisses they burn but your heart stays cool"

-Bruce Springstein "Fire"

(:)(A)(:)

Ignite

Chapter #5: Heat

(:)(A)(:)

His stomach lurched painfully as the ship rolled over what must have been a particularly nasty wave and he groaned pitifully. Yesterday he would have told anyone who asked that there was nothing worse than being forced onto any kind of transportation, but he'd be eating his words now. Being on the water during a full fledged storm while his world was busy simultaneously crashing around him was way, way worse.

He was both physically and emotionally miserable.

Happy gave him a sympathetic pat. "Look on the bright side! At least we're already five hours in!"

After some (admittedly sluggish) math, Natsu groaned. He was beginning to feel a whole new round of cold sweats creeping on. "That means we have another seven hours ..." Uhg, just kill him now. Erza in full blown rage stage would actually be a really welcome sight right about now. She could just knock him out and just toss him off the boat when they got to shore. Then he wouldn't have to deal with the motion sickness or the emotional baggage currently weighing him down.

Another rough jerking of the boat and Natsu found himself vomiting into the waste basket next to his cot. Again. By the end of the day he'd probably be reduced to dry heaving. As it was, the only thing that he was hurling now was stomach acid. That shit burned his throat on its way up, but he knew the pain in his gut would be worse once there was nothing left to upchuck. He moaned pitfully, collapsing back on his cot and huddling in the sheets until only his face peeked out. Stupid ship. Stupid motion sickness.

Stupid dream.

Happy's voice eased him from his thoughts. "Hey Natsu?" The dragon slayer grunted in response and the Exceed recognized it as a sign to continue. "Are you ok?"

He groaned, his eyes shutting and his body curling into itself as he fought off another wave of nausea. Happy had to be kidding. Did he look like he was ok? "I'll be better once we get off this floating hell they call a ship." Physically at least ... he was going to have to figure out a whole other solution for his emotional torment.

"You've just been acting weird since we left the village..." Happy responded softly, the words tainted with an anxiety that wasn't normal for his carefree friend.

Natsu pried his eyes open, more than a little unnerved by his friends stare. "I have?"

Happy nodded. "Aye. You've been really quiet." His head tilted and his little nose scrunched in confusion. "And you're kinda ignoring Lucy and I don't get it."

Ignoring Lucy? He wished. It was hard enough just keeping his eyes away from her, let alone ignore her. Sure, he had been avoiding looking at her (which he supposed was what Happy was referring to) but only because seeing her made that stupid dream come to mind. Even when he wasn't watching, he was all too aware of her. Whether he wished it or not, his other senses seemed to focus on her to the point of obsession. He couldn't even take a breath without lingering on her scent and his ears were caught on even her softest sighs. He just about jumped out of his skin when she had accidentally brushed her shoulder against his while departing the village.

He hid a grimace, an anxious fluttering in his stomach that couldn't be blamed on the ocean alone.

There were only a few things that gave him that anxious, sweat inducing, panicky feeling. In fact, he could list them all on one hand: transportation, Lucy's wrath, Gildhart's super-crazy-make-you-shit-your-pants magic, and Erza...

Just Erza.

There were other things - like the fear of never finding Igneel or making Lucy cry - but those didn't make his hands clam up or his heart race. They were more like worries - things that made his heart feel heavy when he thought about them too much but didn't make him break out in a cold sweat.

That dream though ... that dream scared him more than everything else combined.

He had woken up drenched in sweat, heart pounding against the wall of his chest, and an obvious problem straining against the fabric of his pants. Immediately his eyes had sought Lucy from across the room and was relieved to see that both she and Happy were still asleep and mercifully oblivious as the world as he knew it crumbled around him.

He'd never had a dream like that, never. Quite frankly, he didn't ever want have another one like it again either, especially if it concerned his partner. The woman who he knew would probably shit a brick if she ever found out he'd had an erotic dream about her. Worse, she'd probably feel some bizarre need to treat him like all the other suiters she had turned down - still friendly but always just a little bit more distant. Like she was afraid of giving some kind of false hope or something.

Natsu didn't hold any delusions about the fact that him and Lucy were just friends (even if he did he would snuff them out quickly and efficiently). He just wasn't her type. He always overheard her squealing about how some guy or another was tall, dark, and handsome. Occasionally she met them at the library and she would gush to Levy about how they had such similar taste in books. Other times she daydreamed with the script mage about finding a handsome mage who was "considerate" and a "perfect gentleman".

Natsu knew he was none of those things. He was only average in height, his hair was pink, he hated reading, and books to him were really only worth their kindling. He knew damn well that there wasn't anything about him that even whispered 'gentleman'. Considerate? Well, sometimes he tried to be but he always seemed to get distracted.

Even if he ignored all of those facts, pretended that maybe the kind of guys she was attracted to weren't his complete opposite, he knew there was no way she saw him like that. He was sure of it.

When Lucy found someone desirable she was obvious about it. She flirted, batted her lashes and bestowed coy smiles to the guys she deemed as 'hot'. Sometimes he could even hear a difference in her voice - she would talk in a higher pitch with a tone that seemed sweeter and thicker than caramel and giggle even when the loser's jokes sucked. There had been approximately zero incidents of her acting like that around him in the entire history of their partnership. No hair twirling, no flirtatious winks or amorous smiles, nothing.

Which was ok - good even. Because doing something like that with her ... everything would change between them.

Natsu didn't want that. He didn't want things between them to turn awkward and strange and different. Which it would. He knew it would. That's what happened after people had sex. He saw it at the guild all the time. Elfman and Evergreen seemed to fight more than ever and Cana (even after spending weeks getting the poor bastards' attention) would be indifferent and totally drop the guys she slept with. Bisca and Alzack were, well, married so he guessed that kinda changed things automatically. But even Mira and Laxus had changed since they started humping each other like rabbits. They used to chat with each other on a fairly regular basis before, but now their only communication at the guild was through shared glances and (on Mira's end) secretive little smiles. They didn't seem to talk at all anymore.

Natsu didn't want to stop talking to Lucy. He didn't want to stop doing any of the things they did together. She was his best friend aside from Happy, and he refused to mess that up just because his body decided that now was a good time to hit puberty. He wished he had dreamt about someone else - anyone else. Lucy was too special to him, too important, to want like that.

He wouldn't act on these new found urges. He couldn't. Not with her.

Then again, maybe that was part of the problem. Wasn't Macao always bitching about how the girls you wanted were always the ones out of reach or something like that? He'd have to evaluate that a bit more later. Maybe when Happy wasn't staring at him and he didn't feel like he was going to regurgitate a few of his organs.

He forced himself to grin despite his troubled thoughts. "Don't worry little buddy! I was just dreading the trip back is all," he lied, hoping that the excuse was good enough to convince the feline. Really, it wasn't that much of a stretch - had it not been for the panic he felt over that dream he was sure that the journey back to Magnolia would have been at the forefront of his thoughts.

Happy nodded, a relieved little sigh passing his lips. "I guess Lucy was right then. I was scared you might be sick but she said if you were you'd be coughing and stuff."

He burrowed himself further into his sheets. The pillow and mattress smelled like old fish but the sheets were clean enough. "Dragons slayers don't get sick, remember?" he boasted weakly. It was true though ... he couldn't ever remember getting sick the way Lucy and the others did. No fever, no cough or runny nose. Well, other than that time he ate the Etherion, but he didn't think that should count.

"But you're sick now."

Natsu scowled. "That's different." Motion sickness was a whole other kind of monster. It wasn't the same at all.

His friend just giggled, patting his thigh in what was suppose to be a comforting gesture (Natsu just thought it seemed to just add insult to injury). "At least Lucy's here to take care of you! Erza would have just knocked you out!"

Natsu flinched, recognizing his friend's words to be nothing but the truth. The blonde had been rather accommodating. She had even bought a charm from the village before they left (unknown to him until they stepped into port) with her own jewel to help ease his motion sickness. The charm certainly helped - Mavis knows he wouldn't be having a conversation with Happy now without it - but it sure as hell didn't make it all go away either. Judging by the guilty grimace she had on her face before she left their temporary room, Natsu suspected she was probably feeling bad that the travel time was so long.

He should probably tell her that it wasn't her fault or something, but the way she was pampering him was kinda ... nice. Even though he was still miserable, he wasn't as miserable as he would have been without her help. Lucy was a good friend. Like, really good. She was the best.

Which is why there was no way in hell he was going to let that dream fuck it all up.

The door to their cabin opened with a rusty groan from the metal hinges and Natsu managed to summon the energy to look up to see his partner walk in with a tray of food balancing on her hip. Her simple tank top and shorts were wrinkled and her expression was weary. Looked like even she was being affected by the rough waters. "Well, I got us some food. Tried to just grab anything that I thought might help your stomach at least a little ..."

Happy perked, his tail swaying and his bright eyes evaluated the food as she swung the door closed. "You brought fish right?"

She cringed, and Natsu thought she looked just a little nauseas at the thought. "Uh, no. Sorry, but this boat smells enough like rotten seafood as it is."

Huh. Good to know it wasn't only his nose that was being offended.

His eyes fell from her face to the tray in her hands. She really shouldn't have bothered. Nothing in the history of food even stood a chance of staying down when the (stupid) boat was rocking the way it was. Still, she looked so hopefully optimistic that he couldn't find the energy to completely shut her down, especially when she looked so guilty for putting him through all this misery (some of which she wasn't even aware of). Besides, his eye did spy one item on the tray that at least sounded somewhat appealing.

"Hand me the chocolate milk," he mumbled, his arm already untangling itself from the sheets in order to retrieve the carton. In the small room, it hovered between them expectantly.

She gave him an odd look, eyes darting from his miserable face to the carton of milk and back again. "Really? I would have thought milk would make your stomach worse - I really only grabbed it because of Happy."

The blue Exceed merely stared up at her. "Oh, Natsu likes it because it tastes like hot chocolate when it comes back up."

The dragon slayer ignored her disgusted look in favor for reaching for the bucket beside the bed (again). Once he felt like he could talk without spewing intestinal fluids all over his partner he murmured a weak, "what he said," into the metal bucket.

"That is ..." she shook her head, her complexion starting to take on a greenish tinge. "I really didn't need to hear that." She sent Happy an almost pained look that seemed borderline begging. "Keep that to yourself next time, ok Happy?"

Said cat saluted. "Aye aye Lucy!" he chimed enthusiastically, before hopping off the cot and padding over to the exit. "I'm going to go get some fish!"

Sighing, she opened the door for him. "Just don't bring it back here - eat it out in the kitchen. I wasn't kidding about the smell." The Exceed hummed his consent before leaping eagerly through the open doorway.

Lucy was just about to close it when his blue head popped back in and gave her a sly look. "You'll take real good care of Natsu, won't you Lucy?"

Almost immediately, her cheeks pinked. "Get out of here you stupid cat!" she growled, slamming the door.

For a moment the two of them listened in awkward silence as Happy's tittering laughter faded. It took a good ten seconds before Natsu realized that being alone with Lucy probably wasn't the greatest thing for his sanity at the moment. Even when he didn't join in the conversation, the blue Exceed's presence created a sort of buffer for the dragon slayer's newly discovered hormones. What was it Wakaba always called it? A cock block? Yeah, one of those would be good thing to keep around for the unforeseeable future.

He cleared his throat, the silence in the room suddenly becoming too stifling. Plus, if she didn't say something soon he was going to end up ogling her chest (damn it, did she have to wear those skin tight tops?) despite the war raging in his stomach. "I don't get it."

He really didn't though. He could tell by Happy's drawn out tone and Lucy's blush that the cat had just implied something embarrassing but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how the blonde taking care of him was something either of them should feel flustered about.

Lucy groaned, plopping down on the cot across from him and holding her head in her propped hands. "Uhg, just ... forget about it."

Still curious, but not having the energy to push the matter, Natsu settled into a pout. " ... Can I still have the chocolate milk?" he asked weakly.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry." She placed the cool carton in his waiting palm before grabbing a roll from the tray for herself. Tearing off little pieces, she slowly picked at the bread in what Natsu knew was probably an attempt at calming her own stomach.

He sat up with a grunt and let the sheet slip off his shoulders and into his lap. As he opened up the carton and took a large swig of the chocolate flavored beverage he could feel Lucy's evaluating gaze. When he brought it away from his lips he met her eyes curiously. "What?"

"Is the charm helping?" she asked, nodding pointedly to the woven red yarn tied around his wrist.

Natsu held it up, his eyes tracing over the woven strands and lingering on the flame shaped emblem that he suspected was made from some sort of shell. He grinned at her. "Sure is. Thanks Luce."

She smiled back, bringing her knees up and hugging them against her chest. "I'm glad. It won't last forever, but the village healer said that it should at least last us until we get back home."

Damn, it had an expiration? That sucked! "Shoot, I would have bought a whole bunch if I knew that," he grumbled weakly. How many times had he been screwed over because a battle took place on transportation? And, sure, the charm wasn't even half as effective as Wendy's spell but it would certainly be a handy thing to have in case the youngest dragon slayer wasn't around.

Lucy scoffed lightly, "You would have used up all your reward money if you did."

He blinked in surprise. Exactly how much had that little charmed piece of yarn cost her? He opened his mouth to ask but before he even managed to utter a syllable the ship rocked violently and he bit back a groan. His stomach was twisting uncomfortably but he bit the back of his hand to stifle the nausea. After a moment it seemed to work, the pain in his hand distracting him from the bile churning in his stomach.

Lucy, apparently, wasn't so lucky.

She stumbled forward, reaching the little metal bin just in time to lose her meager meal. Natsu stared down at her in mild shock, because holy crap he wasn't the one puking his guts out this time around. When she remained there for a few moments longer than she needed to Natsu gently prodded her shoulder. "Luce? You ok?"

She moaned, her head lifting and giving him a glassy eyed look. "Hey Natsu?"

He swallowed thickly. Was it weird that he still thought she looked cute even though she was hovering over a bin full of vomit? He had a feeling that it probably was.

"I think we're going to need a bigger bucket."

Happy probably would have found her blunt assessment hilarious, but Natsu - well acquainted with this particular brand of misery - didn't find it so funny. He pat her on the back, very much like the way she always did for him when he dealt with his motion sickness on the train, and silently offered her the carton of milk with his other hand.

She grimaced, giving the container a disgusted (yet thoughtful) look, before taking it from him and chugging it down.

AN: Well, hopefully I didn't completely gross you all out on this one but, uh, the couple that pukes together stays together? Or something?

For those of you that don't feel like you're going to vomit (I wouldn't blame you FYI), here's an equally gross background fact for you. That chocolate milk bit? Totally inspired by my father. He dives for abalone but has a stomach made of jello and gets sick every time he goes out on the water. Chocolate milk is his solution.

Yummy.

Also, I have another NaLu one shot out titled Love Bleeds The Color Red if your in the mood for something a bit heavier. Not even sure how the hell it came about but I'm actually a bit proud of it (funny how that always happens).

As always, thank you for your continued support! And please remember to drop me a line or two about what you thoughts on this chapter (I eat up reviews like Natsu eats fire food - hungrily)!

We have a conversation/lecture from Cana to Natsu coming up next so stay tuned! ;D