Fear of Loss
Natsu Dragneel awoke in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and his body hot enough to the point where it was nothing short of a miracle that prevented the blanket he was sleeping under from burning up. Natsu looked around, and then down at his fiancée, Lucy, who was still sleeping soundly, though she took the blanket off of her body due to the excess body heat produced by Natsu. Natsu sighed in relief, realizing that they were both still in Lucy's apartment and that Lucy was still alive.
Natsu, ever since they were able to defeat the Alvarez Empire in their epic war, had been having nightmares about Lucy. The nightmares centered around the Warrior Queen of the Alvarez Empire's Spriggan 12, Dimaria Yesta. From what Lucy had told him, Dimaria had her tied up in a chair, and threatened to kill her after gouging her eyes out. Natsu didn't remember much about his time as END, but the image of blood pouring out of Lucy's head with her not moving at all was burned into his mind. These nightmares centered around Natsu being forced to watch as Dimaria gouged Lucy's eyeballs out, and he'd often wake up before she stabbed Lucy in the throat.
Natsu walked to the living room, sat on the couch, and put his face in his hands, trying to steady his breathing. He had no idea why he was having these nightmares; Natsu saw Dimaria get beaten, saw the entirety of the Spriggan 12 get beaten, and the fact that Fiore had won the war. He could barely sleep this past week because the second he fell asleep, those visions of Lucy getting tortured always entered his mind. While he was wallowing in his fear, he heard some footsteps coming up from behind him, revealing Lucy, who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Natsu, what're you doing up?"
"What're YOU doing up?" Natsu countered, putting a smirk on his face, trying to make Lucy think that nothing was wrong with him. But judging by the raised eyebrow and hands on her hips, Lucy did not buy Natsu's false bravado and sat down next to him. Natsu tried to wipe the sweat off of his face and forehead as Lucy put an arm around the back of Natsu's neck, her face contorted into a worried frown.
"I noticed that you weren't in bed and went to look for you. You've been acting really strangely this past week, Natsu. Are you doing alright?" Lucy asked. Natsu looked at Lucy and wanted to tell her that he was doing fine, but if there was one thing he couldn't do, it was lying to Lucy, especially since Lucy was able to tell Natsu was lying just by looking at him. Natsu sighed and nodded before leaning the side of his head onto Lucy's shoulder.
"I've…just been having nightmares."
"Nightmares? About what?"
"About…you. I've been having nightmares about you getting tortured and almost getting killed. And the worst part is that I couldn't do anything about it, and I felt so…useless," Natsu admitted, not even being able to look Lucy in the eye. Lucy leaned in and kissed Natsu on the side of the head, running her hand through the pink hair that was flowing over her shoulder. Natsu looked at Lucy through his peripheral vision, feeling slightly calmer when he saw the comforting and concerned smile on Lucy's face.
"Natsu, I'm sorry you were going through all of this by yourself. I know what you're feeling because I honestly felt the same way when I felt how cold you were in your coma. I…really thought you were going to die," Lucy confessed, leaning her head to the side, causing her cheek to squeeze against Natsu's head.
"You don't have to feel bad, Lucy. I didn't want to worry you, that's why I didn't want to tell you," Natsu responded, looking up at Lucy's concerned face.
"Natsu, we're a couple. It's our job to worry about each other. Worrying about each other means that we care, and you shouldn't feel bad about telling me something you need help with," Lucy explained. Natsu sighed before sitting back up, causing Lucy to move out of the way to prevent their heads from colliding.
"I guess you're right, but…I'm really not sure that I can go back to sleep," Natsu admitted, once again running his hands over his face. Lucy patted Natsu on the back before walking over to the closet next to the kitchen. Lucy arrived back into the living room with a big yellow blanket in her hands, and before Natsu could ask what Lucy was doing, she sat back down next to Natsu and put the blanket over the both of them.
"Then we can sit down and watch some shows until we fall asleep," Lucy offered. Natsu smiled at her and nodded before Lucy turned on her Lacrima TV, and the two spent the next hour watching TV, with their heads leaning against each other, with Lucy's head nuzzling against Natsu's shoulder. After an hour of watching Lacrima vision in each other's company, the two began drifting off to sleep, with Natsu's sleep being nightmare-free, especially when Lucy's chocolaty scent was flowing into his nose, helping him relax, as her scent made Natsu know that Lucy was alive, well, and next to him.