A Walk in the Woods
Chapter 2
Lucy awoke to darkness and the sound of wind howling ominously through the trees. Her body felt like a rag doll, too weak to move, and not her own. The sweat from earlier had dried long ago, leaving her shivering, and chilled to the bone. If only she still had her sweater from earlier. She'd abandoned it in a bloodied heap after letting Natsu use it on his wounds.
Natsu!
With all her effort, Lucy forced her eyes open, trying to catch a glimpse of her partner who also lay motionless beside her. Her hand was still clenched around his like a vise. She stared hard at his body, watching for movement, breathing, anything that proved Natsu was still alive, but it was too dark to tell.
He could be dead for all she knew. She could be clutching a lifeless body. A sob tore out of her as she again lost hold on the world around her. She fell back into a restless oblivion filled with nightmares and terror. Her world shook and dead beasts with foul rotting flesh chased her through the night.
The next time Lucy woke, she was not as cold. It felt like something warm had been wrapped around her body, pressed close against her back and thighs. It was no longer as dark, and birds sang in the trees around her. The sun had begun to rise, a pink glow silhouetting the shapes of the forest.
She could feel her origins slowly replenishing, the magic stores naturally becoming whole once more with the passing time.
Lucy slipped again into unconsciousness, only this time she engaged in a more restful sleep. She dreamt of her guild, friendship, and warm arms around her.
Something was tickling the back her neck. It was irritating. It tussled the stray fly-aways as the base of her hairline and raised gooseflesh at the nape of her neck. She wanted nothing more than to ignore the annoying sensation but as she came closer to awareness, it became harder to bare. Finally, she groggily reached a hand behind her, slapping at whatever was causing the sensation.
"Oof!" She heard, followed by a groan. Suddenly the embracing warmth that surrounded her was gone.
"What the-Oh my gosh, Natsu!" Lucy rolled to find her source of warmth had been none other than the fire dragon. He lay on his back nursing a reddened nose and tearing eyes.
"Good morning to you too," Natsu said in a stifled voice, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"You're alive!" Lucy exclaimed, ashamed at how surprised she sounded.
"Well duh! I told you I would be fine, Luce! You think a couple of scratches could keep a dragon slayer down?" Natsu gingerly eased himself into a sitting position, using one hand to support the left side of his chest which harbored the heaviest bandaging. He did a decent job at hiding the grimace, but Lucy was perceptive and placed a caring hand on his back to aid the effort.
"Natsu, you were down for the entire afternoon yesterday. You wouldn't wake up. I thought the worst,"
"I told you I just needed some sleep," Natsu said a broad grin spreading across his face. He raised his right arm in a flexed position and rotated his shoulder, carefully working out the kinks. "Where are we by the way? And what happened last night?"
"Capricorn and I put about a six hour dent into our trip back to Magnolia. I over did it a little at the end though...I should probably contact one of my spirits to let them know I'm alright come to think of it..."
"WHAT! Lucy that's crazy! No wonder you were in such bad shape last night! You looked like CRAP," Natsu said bluntly.
"Well what do you expect!? It took all the effort I had to drag your limp ass this far!" Lucy said angrily. "And what are you even talking about!? I thought you were dead to the world all yesterday!"
"Well I woke up in the middle of the night. You were.." Natsu paused looking at Lucy strangely.
"I was what?"
"You were crying in your sleep,"
Lucy's cheeks flushed pink. She must have been more out of it than she thought, though the crying made perfect sense looking back on the night terrors she had endured. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory.
"I was probably just..shivering, I don't know!"
"Nope. You were crying. Tears, snot, the whole works really," Natsu said, picking a few stray pieces of grass off his bandages nonchalantly.
"How am I supposed to control what I do in my sleep!?" Lucy yelled, her face now beat red and practically steaming with heat. "At least I don't grope people in the middle of the night without their consent!"
"Hey! For your information, you were shivering! I didn't want you to get hypothermia! And I didn't grope you!" Natsu crossed his arms stubbornly, but immediately reversed the position in pain, having forgotten his injured chest already.
"Lame excuse!"
"I'm serious! You were turning blue!" Natsu said a little more insistently. "Lucy. I meant it when I said you looked like crap,"
"Oh, I should have just left you in the woods to die," Lucy said shaking her head and letting it fall into her open palm.
"No, you should have just listened to me when I said I needed some rest. You really did hurt yourself Lucy. I'm telling you last night was bad. You scared me,"
Lucy peeked at Natsu's genuinely concerned features through the gaps of her fingers. Why was Natsu placing so much worry on her wellbeing lately? Was this a new trend? First, his words after the demon cat incident and now this? Maybe she was over thinking things.
"Well Natsu, I think you scared me a little more," She gestured to the heavy bandaging over his torso.
"Alright, alright, I'll give you this one. Truth is, I haven't felt this bad since the last time I road a train," Natsu admitted, placing a hand over the gauze. "So thanks for getting us this far,"
Lucy smiled and grabbed Natsu's hand in her own. It was no longer cold to the touch.
"You're welcome. And thank you for, you know, keeping me warm last night," She mumbled the last part, still embarrassed. She was more and more aware that her tank top was a little revealing. It was really only an undershirt, after all. The thought of Natsu spooning her through the night especially with her wearing such skimpy clothing made her feel...well, she wasn't sure what it made her feel. Was that weird?! Lucy felt her cheeks flush all over again. She pulled her hand back quickly and tried to cover her bulging assets as casually as possible.
Just before things got too awkward, Natsu's stomach broke the silence as it gurgled loudly. "Man, am I hungry! Too bad Happy isn't here. He would probably have some fish in his pack,"
"Yeah, but like he would share!" Lucy said, over-enthusiastically, thankful that the subject had changed. "Come to think of it, I wish Happy were here in general. We could have had him fly back to the guild to send out a rescue party." Lucy said thoughtfully.
"Yup, he sure could of. Too bad he was busy slaying the ladies,"
"Slaying the-Natsu!" Lucy slapped the fire wizard's arm in disgust. "That's hardly a way to talk about Carla!"
"What! Happy's words not mine! That was the specific reason he had for going on the job with Wendy and Carla, instead of us!" Natsu said, earning an eye role from Lucy.
"Honestly, I think you two are more pig than wizard sometimes," Lucy muttered too quietly for Natsu to hear.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing," Lucy said innocently.
Natsu looked questioningly at her for a moment but his flittering mind lost interest. Short attention span as usual. "Well, since Happy isn't here, we might as well try and catch some grub on our own. We still have that collapsable fishing pole in the pack, right?" Natsu asked.
Lucy dug through their things until she found the disassembled pole. Natsu grabbed it from her hands triumphantly. "Awesome!" He swiftly rose to face the river, but unfortunately was a bit ahead of himself. Lucy watched what little color Natsu had drain from his face.
"Oh crap.." Natsu said, his eyes becoming dazed as he swayed dangerously on the spot.
"Natsu!" Lucy made an attempt to catch the fire wizard as he dropped back to the ground, but his larger body simply took her down with him in a jumble of arms and legs.
"Ow" Natsu's voice was muffled, his face deeply embedded into Lucy's cleavage. He'd fallen directly on top of her.
"Get OFF!" Lucy shrieked and roughly dislodged Natsu from her breasts so she could scurry out form under him. Natsu rolled to his back, color quickly returning now that he lay in a lateral position. Lucy could have been a bit more gentle, but Natsu's face had been pressed against her-lady parts! Her cheeks were on fire.
"Hi, my name's Natsu, and I don't need blood to function. I can just carry on my way after losing a couple liters," Lucy said, deepening her voice in a mock tone. She composed herself haughtily, snapping her bra strap back in place and glaring at Natsu.
"Sorry," Natsu panted. His face had regained full color and then some, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment to match hers.
"It's okay," Lucy sighed. "I know it was an accident, but you're clearly not fit for the job quite yet. I'll just do it and you stay here" Lucy snatched the pole from Natsu's hand and retreated quickly to the river. That had been too much. Strange feelings were already swirling in her gut regarding the fire mage and having his face planted deeply into her bosom was about the last thing she wanted to have happen. She was thankful for the excuse to be alone, finally able to calm her nerves.
Why was she nervous? This was Natsu she was talking about. 'I think of him as nothing more than a friend. He is the most platonic, insensible, non-serious...funny, kind, handsOH MY GOSH' Lucy blanched, realizing she was thinking too much again.
"Just stop thinking!" Lucy said out loud. She wasn't going crazy, right?
Lucy soon returned, with three medium sized trout. Natsu had dozed off on the grass, his face relaxed peacefully in sleep. Not wanting to wake the fire mage just yet, Lucy set about preparing a fire the good old fashioned way, with kindling and matches. The warm flames quickly cooked the fish, giving Lucy no excuse to let Natsu rest any longer.
"Hey, Natsu,"
Natsu was in a light sleep and stirred easily at her tone. "Hm?"
"Lunch is ready,"
Natsu sat up with Lucy's help, slowly this time to fend off the dizziness that had consumed him earlier. "Wow! You did good, Lucy! I'm impressed!" Natsu said, eying the three tasty fish.
"I can be pretty handy when I set my mind to it," Lucy said proudly, "I even have some leftover bread from the guild hall! It's like a five star meal,"
"Looks like it to me! Especially this grade "A" fire!" Natsu said, grabbing a burning stick from the make shift pit Lucy had built and sucking down the flames.
"Glad you like it!" Lucy smiled taking a portion of fish and bread herself.
The two ate in companionable silence for a few moments before settling into comfortable small talk. They shared so many experiences it was not hard to keep a steady conversational flow. It was seamless to speak with Natsu, even if his take on life often centered on his ability to fight those he encountered, or where to eat in each town they visited. He was simple, but Lucy liked it. She smiled and laughed at his impressions of their guild mates, even adding a few of her own.
"Lucy, do you remember the first time we ever met,"
"Mm, of course I do! That creep with the enchantment rings kidnapped me on his ship. I thought you were going to be my night in shining armor but you ended up just puking off the side of the boat!" She giggled, remembering her initial let down in meeting the fabled 'all powerful Salamander'
"Hey! I ended up being your night in shining armor once we hit dry land!" Natsu said indignantly.
"Haha, I guess that wasn't my first impression," Lucy continued to laugh, to Natsu's chagrin.
"Anyway, I've been thinking about something I never told you about that day, "
"What didn't you tell me?"
"That day, was the first time I truly forgot about-" Natsu paused, seriously collecting his words. 'Oh shit,' Lucy thought, 'he's getting deep.' Her heart quickened in her chest.
"I completely forgot about my quest to find my dad. I let the thought of Igneel slip my mind that day because all I could focus on was you," Natsu said, looking into Lucy's eyes. "You have no idea how good that felt." He admitted. "Deep down, I know I need to find Igneel someday, but in that moment, I felt like I could relax. I wasn't worried about it,"
Lucy was at a loss. She had no idea how to react. What was he saying? She half expected a love confession to follow! If she could just get her blushing face under control for once that day, things would be great!
"That's how I knew we were going to be such good friends!" Natsu concluded sincerely, a warm smile painting his lips. "It's similar to how I feel around Happy sometimes," Lucy released the breath she'd been holding. Well that was anticlimactic, and to top it off, I just got compared to his cat.
"Yeah, I thought you were...pretty cool too." Lucy said lamely, looking away and trying to flag her beating heart.
"Damn right I'm cool. The coldest! Actually, no wait, I'm hot..the hottest!" Natsu said, making Lucy snort, and relieving the tense moment.
"Feeling humble today aren't you?" They both laughed at the stupid joke disproportionately to its actual humor. They were simply enjoying the feeling of sore cheeks from smiling too hard.
"But seriously Lucy, I'm super happy you joined Fairy Tail. I think we make a good team, even just the two of us."
"Me too," Lucy said, pulling at strands of grass on the ground. She was lost in thought for a moment as she let Natsu take a few more bites of his fish and bread. He was certainly eating more slowly than normal. This nagged at the back of Lucy's mind but she figured it was okay. He was recovering from horrific injuries, after all.
"Alright, I think we better get moving," Natsu said, pushing aside his half eaten fish and bread.
"You didn't even finish your lunch,"
"I figure I'll just save it, you know, in case we aren't so lucky in the fishing department later,"
"If you say so," Lucy said, the worry returning as a fleeting shadow. This was not like Natsu at all. Still, she silently wrapped the fish and packed her bag. Once Natsu was established on his feet, they left the clearing and continued to follow the meandering river.
"You're getting pale again. And sweaty." Lucy said.
She had observed over the past few hours how Natsu had discretely slowed his pace. Every twenty steps or so he would straighten his spine strictly after realizing his shoulders were slumping forward. At first Lucy had turned a blind eye, but now Natsu looked like he was about to pass out.
"I'm good," Natsu said, swallowing hard and wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead. "Let's just keep walking. The further we move today, the faster we get to the guild,"
"I can always summon Taurus or Capricorn to carry you-"
"You are NOT summoning that pervy bull!" Natsu said absolutely. Lucy shot him a threatening gaze. "Uh, What I mean is, I don't want you depleting your magic again. If you get hurt, it will be like having two bum legs."
"I'm completely capably Natsu and you know it. Stop trying to act all tough when you need help!"
"Fine, I guess I could use a break," Natsu said stoping in his tracks and surprising Lucy at how easily he backed down.
"I'm just going to go..take care of something, " Natsu mumbled, retreating into the woods hurriedly, leaving Lucy perplexed. She waited for only a moment before racing through the brush after Natsu, hearing the distinct sound of retching.
"Natsu!" Lucy said, crouching beside her partner who was violently emptying his stomach of the undigested meal from hours earlier.
"Lucy, I don't feel too great again."
"I could have told you that. You look like crap." Lucy said, using Natsu's vocabulary. He smirked halfheartedly at the joke but clenched his eyes shut in pain, cradling his chest.
"Follow me," Lucy found herself assuming the familiar position of having Natsu draped over her shoulders. She lead him to a secluded clearing by the river and eased him down. She gave him the canteen to rinse his mouth and helped lay him back against a smooth boulder.
"I'm going to take a look at your wounds and change these," She said, gesturing to the gauze covering his chest. Natsu just closed his eyes and nodded, completely surrendering to her care.
The bandages were stained with a bit of red from the day before but had remained more or less intact. Thankfully, the bleeding had been kept under control. She gently peeled the gauze covering away to reveal the sickening scars beneath. She cringed at her uneven stitching but was more concerned with the reddened and swollen appearance to each laceration.
Worrying her lip, Lucy wet a cloth in the cold river and lightly cleansed the area. The wounds were hot to the touch, and weeping a tannish, purulent drainage that had stained the old bandages and continued to ooze lazily.
"Natsu, you're wounds..."
"I know." Natsu sighed. "They smell terrible,"
"I don't understand how it happened so quickly, but look at them," Lucy bit the back of her knuckles. "They're infected."
"Explains why it hurts so damn much," Natsu chuckled but Lucy was not laughing. Tears were quickly pooling in her eyes.
"This is all my fault, I should have cleaned them more carefully-" Lucy began hysterically.
"Lucy!" Natsu interrupted, halting her words. "Would you stop blaming yourself for everything!? NONE of this is your fault! I was the one who was too clumsy to stop that thing from lunging at you! I'm the one that let myself get hurt, and I'm the one who nearly gave you magic depletion syndrome back there! Hell, I'm even the one who picked out this freaking job. And now, I just can't stop making you cry-argh" Natsu lost track of his rant, as a slightly wrong movement tugged at the taught stitching across his chest.
"Natsu," Lucy said, a few tears running down her face. He felt just as guilty as she did.
"Okay. No more blaming. We are in this together." Lucy said quietly.
"Good," Natsu croaked and leaned back against the smooth stone in fatigue. For the next few minutes Lucy simply focused on meticulously cleaning what she could of the wounds before covering them once more with fresh supplies. Lucy turned momentarily, to grab some extra tape from her pack when she gasped in surprise as warm arms wrapped around her. Natsu had sat forward, and caught her in a hug. His muscled arms felt strong around her and for a moment, she forgot their troubles.
"Thank you, Lucy," he said, breathing deeply into her blonde locks. She cautiously wiggled lose from his grip and turned to face the pink haired wizard. He smiled down at her before she hid her face in the side of his neck and returned the embrace.