Chapter 2


Lucy's back grazed the large hedge behind her, her face tilting up as Ignia moved closer and closer. He was tall and devastatingly handsome, with wild, orange and red hair and tattoos that enhanced his strong features. His body was thickly muscled with trim hips and sculpted thighs. But even more arresting were his eyes. They were a deep gold with tiny flecks of orange. Somehow, they seemed to be constantly shifting, as if a fire lived within their depths. And maybe it did.

His body moved closer, and his grin widened. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tilted her head back further. He was so close that she could feel the heat from his body, igniting something inside her belly which tightened uncomfortably.

Since coming to Magnolia, Ignia had taken to wearing more casual apparel, although his preference for wearing very little still remained. Right now, he wore a pair of fitted black pants that hung low on his hips, and a chain belt with a large star medallion hanging over one thigh. His shirt was non-existent, electing to instead wear a pair of black suspenders that, no matter how many times people told him, didn't actually count as a shirt.

But Lucy didn't care about any of that as he, yet again, stepped closer.

His hand lifted to her chin, and he ran his knuckles along her jaw. "So beautiful," he murmured, his voice deep and gravely. His fingers sifted into her hair, cupping the back of her head as he angled her neck back.

Her body was shaking, tiny tremors making her lips tremble. She swiped her tongue over them and softly bit into her lower lip. Her hands reached back and grabbed fruitlessly at the hedge, grasping tiny leaves and sharp branches that dug into her palms.

His face dipped towards her, his full lips parted. The air stalled in her lungs.

"...Lucy?"

Her breath whooshed back in a rush, making her gasp. She blinked and shook her head as if coming out of a trance and turned towards the familiar sound. "Nat..."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Ignia growled, cutting her off. He hadn't moved but his hand fell from her hair and now propped himself up against the hedge as he turned to face the intruder.

Lucy watched in silence as Natsu's mouth fell open and his eyes widened. A stricken look crossed his features and he backed away a step as if steadying himself.

Lucy placed a hand to Ignia's chest and tried to push him away. But he didn't budge. Instead, he straightened and slowly turned towards Natsu.

"Well?" he questioned further.

Natsu's eyes moved between the two of them, and he backed away another step.

Lucy moved towards him; her hand extended. "Natsu... what..." her words trailed off as he silently turned and walked away, disappearing back into the maze as quickly as he'd arrived.

She ran to wear he'd been standing but it was too late. He was already gone.

Ignia moved quietly up to her and grasped her hand. He tugged her back gently and she turned around slowly to look up at him. Her mind was in turmoil, trying to process everything that had just happened... the almost kiss, the interruption, the look on Natsu's face. Each was enough to make her thoughts run rampant. But all those things in a span of seconds, she couldn't take it all in.

"Come," Ignia said, still holding her hand. That in itself was enough to make her head spin but she didn't let it stop her as she let him lead her out of the garden and into the surrounding woods.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking down at her red gown and then at the bushes and trees surrounding her. The heals made it difficult to walk through the grass and fallen leaves, especially in the dark, but she still followed him. He didn't answer her earlier question, just continued to lead her through the trees.

A fallen limb interrupted their progress and Lucy groaned inwardly at the thought of trying to climb over it. But suddenly Ignia grabbed her by the waist and lifted her effortlessly over. Then grasped her hand once again.

Eventually they came to a clearing at the top of a grassy hill and Ignia stops and just looks out. Lucy stops as well, wondering what they could possibly be doing when she is suddenly left speechless. Right there in front of them stretched Magnolia Lake and the moonlight was casting a beautiful glow to the softly rippling surface. She can do nothing but stare.

Beside her, she can see Ignia crouching down and taking a seat. His long legs stretched out in front of him as he leaned back on outstretched arms.

Lucy remained standing though, drinking in the sight in front of her while she kicked off her heals. It was so peaceful, so soothing. She hadn't expected something like this from Ignia. How did he know it was here?

Unfortunately, the picturesque scene wasn't enough to hold her thoughts at bay for long. Her mind returned to the scene from a few minutes ago, remembering exactly how Natsu had looked when he'd stumbled upon them. He'd always been terrible at masking his emotions, and tonight had been no different. From one second to the next, he'd gone from surprise, to incredulous, and then to anguish. And through it all, she'd felt as if she'd been feeling those exact same things along with him.

But she didn't know why. She didn't know why it bothered her at all. It's not like she'd been doing anything wrong. And it's not like he'd been around much lately to even comprehend the situation he'd stumbled into.

Several months ago, he'd started disappearing, finding excuses to go off and do things on his own. At first, she'd been confused. She couldn't understand what was wrong with him. But she'd passed it off as him dealing with their friends moving on with their lives... without him.

Then that turned into hurt and loneliness after he became even more distant, leaving for weeks at a time as if purposely avoiding her. Too many nights she'd sat in her quiet apartment, tears sliding down her face. He was her best friend, her partner in almost everything. But he'd just left her. No notes, no explanations... just an occasional wave as he raced out of the guild hall.

After a time, the hurt turned to anger. But thankfully, that stage didn't last long because that was when Ignia had come along. She'd seen him in town from time to time, looking lost as he tried to figure out how the world worked around him. She'd helped him a few times, showing him the different shops and how the transportation system worked. The distraction was exactly what she'd needed. And it helped that he was so energetic and excitable. No matter what they did, it always turned into a fun time.

And ever so slowly, she'd started to forget. She forgot the sadness, forgot the pain, forgot the anger. He'd made her life exciting again, made it feel fresh and new.

As they'd grown closer, her laughter had returned, and the restless nights had lessened. They'd even gone on a job together once.

She smiled at the memory and glanced down at Ignia. He was still sitting on the grass, staring out at the water. His face was in shadow, highlighted only by the moon.

The job they'd gone on had been a quick one, something she could have easily taken care of herself. But she'd let him tag along when he'd asked, letting him see what the world of being a mage was like. And everything had gone well... that is until they'd finally encountered the monster. Ignia's body had instantly turned into blinding flames and with just a flick of his wrist, he'd incinerated the creature... and the surrounding trees and bushes.

Thankfully he was able to eat the flames before they spread. But the damage had been done.

She chuckled again at the memory, remembering the bemused look on his face when he'd turned to her afterwards. "Is that it?" he'd asked, scratching the back of his head.

Luckily the townsfolk had been so happy to be rid of the monster that they hadn't cared about the extra damage and paid her the reward. As her and Ignia had headed towards the train station, she'd stopped and held out her hand, saying 'here' as she dropped several gems into his palm.

"Your first reward," she'd said and smiled when a small grin had spread over his face, making him look like a kid who'd just received a giant lollipop.

Ignia's voice brought her back to the present. "I'm glad you're smiling again" he said, leaning back on his arms to look up at her.

Her smile widened and a warm glow filled her stomach. It was hard to believe this was the same man that had nearly destroyed the entire world, her along with it, just a few months ago. And now here he was, comforting her when she knew he was probably more confused than she was at the moment.

It was shocking how much had change in such a short time... especially for him. He'd abandoned the life he knew, moved to a new place, given up all the friends he'd had (though she wasn't sure that what he'd had could really have been called friends), and heck... he'd even bought a house.

Of late, they'd taken to spending a lot of time at his place, working to fix it up and make it semi-livable. When he'd purchased it, it had been a complete disaster... missing floorboards, holes in the drywall, burst pipes. But together, they'd made it almost look like a home.

The first time she'd gone over, she'd only meant to drop off a part that he'd ordered and had shipped to Lucy's place since he didn't have an official mailing address yet. But when she arrived, she'd somehow been roped into helping him paint his living room.

And it was then that she'd first looked at him a little bit differently.

She still remembered the exact moment that her chest had started to flutter and an answering warmth returned to her gut at just the memory. Nothing of significant note had occurred - he hadn't said anything particularly romantic or done anything to sway her that way. He'd simply made a sarcastic comment about Gray's stripping habit that had made her laugh. And when she'd turn to look at him, still chuckling, her stomach exploded with heat. He'd had on his characteristic grin that lit up his face, his hair damp at the roots, his eyes alight with humor. He'd just been standing there, shirtless, and his skin had been covered in a thin sheen of sweat with little dots and streaks of light grey paint everywhere. His thickly muscled arms had been holding a can of paint which he poured out into a pan while she watched him. Through his dark green exercise shorts, she'd been able to glean a nicely rounded ass which was plumper than she'd expected.

All in all, he was a treat to look at. And ever since that moment, she'd been finding it harder and harder to resist indulging herself.

Later that night though, she'd had a terrible time getting to sleep. Thoughts of Ignia had plagued her imagination, while at the same time, a deep sadness had overtaken her. And she didn't try to kid herself. She knew it was because of Natsu. Maybe it was because they were so similar. Or maybe it was because she'd only ever had thoughts like that about him before. Whatever it was, it had at least been lessening of late. It seemed the more time Natsu spent away, and the more time she spent with Ignia, the less the hurt would visit her.

That was until just yesterday when Natsu returned. She knew he would be coming back soon. He'd never have missed Erza's wedding. But she wasn't prepared for what seeing him again would do to her. All of the hurt and frustration from the previous months rushed back and was quickly replaced by anger. When she'd seen him walk into the guild, she'd struggled to act nonchalantly, waving to him casually as he said hello. But the moment he'd turned away, she'd quickly rushed out, not caring about the rain... and just ran.

She shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to change the direction of her thoughts. There was no point inwardly debating about it anymore. She'd already spent enough of the night thinking about it all. Now, she just wanted to relax.

Ignia was now lying down with his legs crossed at the ankles and arms folded behind his head. He was quite a sight with the pale glow of the moon creating shadows over his skin. They seemed to tell a story as they played over his chest, highlighting muscle and his bold tattoos. She decided to take a seat next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin on them. Almost immediately he sat up, mimicking her pose and turning his face towards her.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks her.

She smiles at him and then looks back at the water. She didn't want to tell him what she was thinking... it was too depressing. But she also didn't want to ignore him, not when he was looking at her so sweetly and had been so good to her.

"Stuff that I don't want to think about anymore," she answers while turning her own face towards him. She feels a fluttering in her chest when his lips crack up in a smile.

"Then let's get out of here," he suggests, getting to his feet and extending a hand. "Oh, and by the way, I got a job for us."

To be continued


Ahhhhh why is my brain like this?!

What are your thoughts? What do you think of Ignia? I'm sure he's WAY out of character but meh, I don't care. He'll regain more of his fire soon. :)