A/N: Because I love you, I give you this two days early!
Hey, Lucy is finally getting her wish! I mean, so what if it's because some random guy is dragging her along; she's getting to cross the bridge she has been looking at her whole life, and she's finally getting to go on an adventure, right?
Well, let's see what Natsu thinks.
(By the way, his language is going to start getting progressively worse, because he wasn't raised in a palace...or around other people. So he really has no concept of what a 'filthy mouth' is...nor does he really care. Just a warning.)
Damn it all to hell. What the hell was he thinking?
Natsu couldn't believe what was happening right now. It had all started with an innocent trip to get supplies that he desperately needed, supplies that he still didn't have, and now it was an escape game with a random woman that he was practically kidnapping. A woman that he just couldn't let go.
He didn't know why he had grabbed her hand and forced her through the back alleys of the town, nor why he had pulled her across the bridge and into the forest beyond the path. He wasn't sure why he had led her deep into the trees, and he sure as hell didn't know what made him press her into a tree, her back against the bark as his body shielded hers. He was facing her, his chest pressed against hers, his hand gently over her mouth, as he peaked around the tree to spy on the guards that had, for whatever reason, deemed them important enough to follow outside the city limits.
He had never been followed this far, and the adrenaline from the chase was starting to catch up to him. Not good. He could feel his body heating, the skin on his back starting to tighten. The only thing going for him was the fact that his senses were still on overload, and he could see that the guards were starting to fall off their tail. In fact, they had started to turn in the opposite direction.
Natsu took a deep breath, closing his eyes in a small sense of relief. He opened them slowly, turning his attention to the woman he still had pressed against the tree.
She was staring at him with wide eyes, but they didn't look frightened. Curiosity was shining out of them, freezing him in his thoughts. Her hair was soft and yellow, styled on top of her head. The few strands that had freed during their pursuit were blowing softly across her face. Natsu fought an irresistible urge to brush them behind her ear, a feeling bubbling inside of him that he didn't recognize.
A throat clearing softly shocked him out of his reverie. He watched as the woman's eyes moved from his own down to the hand that was still covering her mouth, and Natsu quickly removed it. "I'm sorry. They're gone now." He had the urge to finish with 'we're safe', but he wasn't sure how she would feel about that.
He watched as she exhaled through her mouth, her eyes never leaving his. They stood there staring at each other for another handful of seconds, before she turned her head to start looking at her surroundings. Natsu stepped away from her, turning to the north and measuring how long it would take them to get back on the path. Once they were there, in about an hour's journey, what would he do? He had never brought another human anywhere close to his place, but could he really afford the time it would take to bring her back towards the town? How much time did he have left, even now? Gods, this was just getting worse and worse.
"Hey, where did you go? It's so dark, I can't see anything." Her voice, so sweet and smooth, sounded out behind him, and he turned towards her. She was a good ten feet away; he hadn't realized he was walking away from her. Just more proof that he was losing it tonight.
"We need to get out of these woods." Natsu watched as she turned towards him, following the sound of his voice. He reached out his hand and grasped hers lightly, letting her know he was back in front of her. "It's kind of a long walk. Are you going to be ok walking in dark?"
The female scoffed at him, clearly offended. "I'm not afraid of the dark, if that's what you're implying. I just literally can't see anything." She used her other hand to feel up his arm, then patted her way to his back. The skin where she touched instantly started to spasm, and Natsu squeezed his eyes shut. Damn it, not here.
He turned around, grasping her hand tightly and spinning off the contact on his back. "Just hold on to my hand and watch your feet." He realized his voice was rough, but there wasn't enough time left for him to apologize.
He heard her gasp as he shot forward, trying to stay mindful of the fallen trees and high foliage so that she wouldn't slow him down. To give her credit, she followed his pace without complaint, and only stumbled a couple of times.
Well, at least he had kidnapped a woman who was familiar with traveling through the woods. Although he was sure she wasn't used to doing so in a ball gown.
Natsu led them through quietly, his eyes honing in on the path just beyond the trees. Any second, they would break through, and then what? She didn't seem like she minded being taken away, but maybe that was just his narrowed perspective. He didn't really give her a choice, did he? And even if she didn't mind, and on the off chance that she did want to go with a strange man who was kicking the shit out of four guys who were dressed the same as she was, was he really going to bring her to his home?
It didn't seem like a good idea, especially since he had been on the cusp of his transformation for this long already. He had never gone this long holding it back before, and he could only pray to the Gods that he could hold on until she was out of his sight.
"Please, slow down." The female's voice was winded and straining behind him.
He felt a pang of remorse, but there just wasn't enough time. "I'm sorry, we're almost there." They had to get out of these damn woods.
Finally, finally, Natsu's feet hit the worn path, and he all but yanked her the rest of the way out of the woods and onto it. She fell, albeit gracefully, onto her hands and knees, and started taking deep breaths. He looked up at the stars, measuring the time that had passed by their positions, and noted that it had only taken them forty-five minutes from the time they ran out of the city until now. Wow. No wonder she was tired.
Natsu walked back over to her and extended his palm. "I'm sorry. I just can't afford to be caught. Not by palace guards. Are you ok, miss?"
Her deep chocolate eyes met his, and she took his palm, using it to help her stand. She was breathing easier now, a slight smile on her lips. "I'm fine, and stop calling me 'miss'. My name is Lucy. And trust me, I really can't afford to be caught, either." He watched as she dusted off her gown, and he couldn't help but linger on the most feminine parts of her. Her hands traveled over her breasts, sweeping over them lightly to straighten out the cloth. He followed her hands as they continued to travel down to her hips then to her knees, where she gracefully swept off the dirt that had gathered there. Once again, a feeling started to bubble up inside of him that he didn't recognize.
Before he realized what he was doing, he captured her hand and used it to bring her flush against him. She gasped, her face inches away from his. "Lucy…" He stared into her beautiful brown eyes, holding her tight against his chest.
Lucy's face started to flush, turning her cheeks a delicious pink color, and she turned her eyes away, laughing slightly. "So, why don't you want to be caught by the palace guards? Are you a thief or something?"
Natsu tilted his head, trying to bring her eyes back into view. "I was there to barter with a merchant, as an honest man. Why don't you want to be caught?" He watched as one of her strands of hair blew across her face, and he again fought the urge to stroke her cheek and tuck it behind her ear.
She peeked back up at him, her face still rosy pink. "What's your name?"
He smiled at her, grateful that she had accepted his aversion to her question. "Tell me why you don't want to be caught, and I'll tell you my name."
"Well that's not very fair."
"I'm not really that fair of a man."
She lowered her eyebrows at him and pouted her lips, and he couldn't help but smile even bigger. He wasn't sure what she was trying to do, but it was cute as hell. Eventually, she sighed, smiling once again. "My father isn't going to be too happy that I snuck out of the palace."
Natsu watched the strand of hair blow in the wind one more time, and finally gave in to his urge. He lifted his hand and brushed it across her cheek, leading her beautiful golden strands behind her ear. "And why would your father care if you left the palace?"
Lucy turned her head into his hand, closing her eyes. "Well, he's never let me out before."
He let his hand trail down the side of her neck, and his eyes watched in fascination as her mouth opened slightly at his touch. "What do you mean he's never…" His hand stopped in its path, paralyzed.
It all hit him at once. "You've never left the...your father won't be…" Natsu stepped back from her. This can't be happening. "That's why the guards followed us. You're...you're the princess?" Lucy's eyes widened, and she allowed the distance he was setting between them. Which was good.
Because a tremor of heat decided to run through his body at that exact moment, and he collapsed onto his knees.
::slowly backs away, before running and hiding behind a bush::
Poor baby didn't know the girl he 'kidnapped' was a princess.
That's gotta be good for his 'condition'.