Work Text:
This mission was supposed to be simple. A wealthy couple had submitted the job to Fairy Tail, a straightforward request to slay the singular vulcan that had taken up residence on a property they had just purchased. While its cave sat on the very edge of their expansive plot, the couple wanted to be rid of the beast swiftly, lest it interfere with construction efforts. As such, the couple offered the substantial reward of 750,000 jewel to entice quick action by Magnolia’s mages. Split even, the reward money would cover several months’ worth of Lucy Heartfilia’s rent. That fact alone was enough for her to jump on this job request the second it was posted.
This mission was supposed to be simple. Find the cave, enter the cave, slay the monster, leave the cave, get paid. There was, however, one little, itty bitty, teeny tiny, seemingly insignificant detail—years of mining had led to a fractured and unstable landscape that had become prone to landslides. This “seemingly insignificant” detail would have raised alarm bells in Lucy’s head, had she actually been present during the whole client debrief. Unfortunately for the blonde, a wardrobe malfunction had led to her premature exit, causing her to rely on Natsu and Happy to relay any pertinent information from the meeting’s end. Clearly, the conclusionary warning given by the couple did not appear to be pertinent information to the dragonslayer or the exceed.
This mission was supposed to be simple. Yeah, right. Nothing was ever simple when it came to Natsu.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
“Are you positive I didn’t miss anything from the client briefing?” came Lucy’s voice from the bathroom. The trio arrived at the mission site far too late in the day to start the hunt immediately, so their clients had insisted on booking Lucy, Natsu, and Happy a hotel room for the night to aid in their preparations. The plan was to start the long trek to the vulcan’s cave at daybreak to give them the best chance of returning before the day was over.
“Nah you didn’t miss anythin’, quit your worryin’ and get on out here so we can go ahead and start this job!”
Natsu’s voice was moving around the hotel room as he set to work packing up their belongings. Lucy smiled to herself at the thought—they had been travelling together for so long that it had become second nature for her and Natsu to store their supplies together in his pack. What had started as Lucy complaining about the weight of her things, and Natsu poking fun at how funny she looked while she pouted, ended with the pinket silently incorporating her stuff into his knapsack. He was, after all, physically stronger than the blonde and the added weight took less of a toll on him than it would for Lucy.
“I’ll be out in a minute!”
Humming contentedly, Lucy set to work braiding her hair as she got lost in thought. Ever since their little team had gotten together, Lucy had been able to count on Natsu, and not just when she was in peril. Sure, he had saved her from a mage using illegal charm magic to lure women into slavery the very first time they had met, and shortly after that he had literally snatched her right out of the air seconds before disaster as she fell from the Phantom Lord guild hall, and then there was that whole bit where the Thunder Legion had turned her to stone and tried to overthrow the guild. . . but Natsu had also Lucy’s back in matters of the heart. He had chased her all the way to her parents’ estate to make sure she wasn’t leaving the guild, he always makes sure she feels like she is an important member of Team Natsu, and he sent the town’s prized rainbow sakura tree floating down the canal past her apartment when she was too sick to attend the Hanami Festival herself, all so she wouldn’t miss its beauty.
They had really been through a lot, and that wasn’t counting the events of Tenrou Island, or the Grand Magic Games, or any of the countless times that someone had tried to kidnap Lucy. Just as she finished up with braiding her hair, a shrill voice cut through her musings.
“Luuuuushi, get out here and stop trying to make yourself look nice for the vulcan. We all know that never works and he’ll want to eat you anyways!”
“Shut it, cat! Or I’ll feed you to the vulcan!” Rolling her eyes, Lucy left the bathroom satisfied with how her hair had turned out. The braid was both cute and functional, serving to keep her hair from getting into her face. In one swift motion, she grabbed her belt from where Natsu had left it sitting and looped it around her hips, fastening both her keys and her whip into place. Lucy looked to where Natsu sat at the table with Happy floating nearby and all but beamed at their antics. The pinket was busy scowling at the map that had been given to them by their clients, trying to make sense of the swirling contours and undulating loops. He had taken on a greenish hue—evidently his motion sickness was also activated by topographic maps. It wasn’t enough to stop him from trying to read the map though.
The blue exceed was currently occupying himself with bothering Natsu. With one little paw clenched in a fist in front of his mouth to keep his snickering at bay, Happy used the tip of his tail to tickle into Natsu’s ears and nose or on the back of his neck. Every once in a while, Natsu would swat at him with either his hands or the map, which led to Happy darting away. Natsu would eventually try looking at the map again, only for Happy’s assault to begin once again. Lucy watched this little game of cat and mouse for about 45 seconds before giggling to herself. Happy may be a pain in the ass, but he was their pain in the ass and Lucy wouldn’t trade him for the world.
Natsu looked up at the sound of his partner’s stifled giggles, still looking a bit dazed from the mental strain. Despite the strain, he flashed Lucy one of his characteristic, toothy grins—an action that never failed to make her swoon. While her heart fluttered, Lucy mentally chastised the swoon. She didn’t know exactly when her heart started to skip beats from Natsu’s attention, just that it had made working so closely with him a whirlwind of emotions. Natsu was fiercely loyal to his guild, and he wore his emotions on his sleeve. He loved so deeply that he would race to battle for any of his Nakama in a heartbeat, no matter the danger. Lucy had been on the receiving end of his loyalty more times than she could count, but that’s just how Natsu treats his friends. She had long ago dismissed the notion that his actions could mean anything more for them. So with that, Lucy returned Natsu’s smile and approached the table.
“Here, let me take a look at that map before you puke all over it.”
Once again chuckling to herself, Lucy gently grasped the map and flipped it over. After all, it’s hard to read a map that’s upside down. She marked their current location on the map and found the vulcan’s cave, located approximately 10 kilometers away. By the looks of the terrain, the hike would take the better part of the morning. They’d be lucky to reach the cave by lunch, meaning they’d better get going soon. Lucy squinted over the map a bit more, before becoming increasingly aware of a pair of dark eyes boring their way into her. A soft pink began to dust her cheeks, resembling the hair of her observer. Lucy looked up to meet Natsu’s eyes, only to gasp slightly when she saw how intensely he was staring at her. Pink brows furrowed, onyx eyes seemingly darkening, a white fang worrying into his lip. Was it her imagination, or was he leaning closer? Her eyes widened as Natsu’s hand came up to her face, but she was quickly ripped from her thoughts when he thrust out a finger and poked a spot on her chin, one that she had attempted to cover with concealer.
“You got a pimple forming right here, did ya know?” His words broke the silence and Lucy sputtered, smacking his hand away. Happy couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled out from his little chest.
“Is that what made you take so long in the bathroom, Lushi?” The blue cat’s singsong voice rang out.
“Natsu! You’re not supposed to point things out like that, it’s considered rude and insensitive!” she didn’t say this, but it also slightly hurt her feelings. Of course he wasn’t going to kiss her, how could she be so stupid? Natsu doesn’t have a singular romantic bone in his body, combined with the emotional weight of one of those little wooden ice cream spoons. She rolled her eyes; the situation was really just a joke. Why did she have to be so emotionally attached to the fire dragon slayer who would never give her the time of day. Still, he was her friend and her partner, and she cared about him endlessly.
“Let’s just get going, guys. It’s a long hike to the cave.” Her voice came out quiet, meek.
“Finally! I’ve been waitin’ on ya to say that!” Seeming not to notice her shift in attitude, Natsu leapt up from his spot at the table, grabbed Lucy’s hand, and dragged her to the door, squeezing her hand slightly as he went.
“As ya said, ‘s more fun when we’re together!”
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
It was easy to see why their clients had been attracted to this particular plot of land—from the modest home that sat upon the edge of the property (one that would soon be bulldozed in favor of a mansion), lush meadows radiated out towards a beautiful old-growth forest. A stream danced through the meandering hills of the meadow, serving as a guide towards their goal. If the map was correct, this stream would lead them through the meadow, the forest and beyond to the clearing in which the vulcan’s cave sat. The first part of the trek would be simple, the meadowland easy to traverse. The forest, however, could prove to be difficult. The topographic map indicated that the terrain would be a lot more difficult to navigate once they had breached the forest, not to mention that the thick canopy above would hide the sun. The loss of the sun would both hinder navigation and provide the perfect hiding place for whatever monsters resided in the forest.
Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had the pleasure of the sunrise to guide them through their morning stroll in the meadows. The sky blazed overhead with brilliant oranges and reds, the sun nestled low in the horizon and rising steadily. Lucy would always consider the twinkling of stars at night her favorite source of light, but sunrise held a special place in her heart for how brightly it burned through the morning.
The trio wandered beside the spring, Natsu about 5 meters ahead of Lucy with Happy flitting through the sky between them. Natsu walked at ease, with his hands clasped behind his head. Despite how hard she tried to put the boys’ teasing out of her mind, Lucy was stewing internally. Stupid Natsu and his stupid pointing out her flaws and his stupid handsome face. She shook her head and erased the last part of her mental grievances. She didn’t need to be thinking about his stupid handsome face, she was mad at him. Lucy’s internal turmoil must have been reflected on her face, because soon she felt a small weight settle onto her shoulder. Happy had paused his back and forth between his friends, choosing to ride on the blonde’s shoulders for a moment. The blue exceed nuzzled his face into Lucy’s cheek and neck, purring softly.
“What’s the matter, Lushi? You look sad. I hope it wasn’t our teasing.” Happy looked at the blonde with big, pleading eyes, as if he was moments away from tears. The regret clearly plastered on his face chipped away at Lucy’s anger. After all, he was their little pain, and he never meant anything nasty by his jests.
“Who am I kidding, I could never stay upset you, Happy.” Lucy smiled softly and nuzzled back into his soft fur. Her eyes drifted back to Natsu, and she sighed. She couldn’t stay mad at him for too long either, but that didn’t mean she was going to stop now. Happy followed her gaze to his best friend and he suddenly leapt into the air.
“I’ll be right back!”
The blonde watched as Happy flew over to Natsu, landing on him in the same way he must have landed on her—hanging off one shoulder. Lucy took in the sight of Happy cupping his hands around Natsu’s ear to whisper to him. Though Happy was notoriously bad at whispering, the distance made it so that Lucy couldn’t hear a word of what was said. The two seemed to bicker back and forth in hushed whispers, before Happy smacked the back of Natsu’s pink head with his little paw, causing a slight snort to erupt from Lucy. With that, Happy flew back into Lucy’s open arms to cuddle into her chest. What was that all about, she wondered?
Happy stayed in Lucy’s arms for the better part of the morning, until the trio reached the tree line. It was here by the spring that they decided to take their first break, choosing to regroup for the coming change in landscape. After all, they had no idea what new challenges would be introduced once they entered the forest. Natsu slung his pack off his shoulder before rifling through it, producing water bottles, granola bars, and some jerky. He handed out the provisions to his team, flashing a toothy grin. To Lucy though, his smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. Happy opted to pass on the granola bars and jerky, which earned a look of confusion from the mages.
“There’s an area off the main spring channel back there that looked like it had lots of yummy fishies hanging out in it, I’m gonna go catch myself one or two or five!” Happy pointed excitedly back towards a spot in the spring that looked to be mostly still, and Natsu and Lucy shared a knowing look. Happy would truly do anything for a freshly caught fish. He zoomed off gleefully to the pool which sat about 10 meters away. With the distance now between them, Natsu and Lucy were left in comfortable silence.
“What were you and Happy bickering about earlier?” Lucy broke the silence, cocking her head in question. The two often had little spats, but Lucy had never seen Happy smack Natsu before. The exceed often ran to the blonde to spill everything that had happened, hoping she would take his side. This time, however, Happy stayed silent about their altercation.
“Oh, that? Nothin’ too serious, little guy was upset about somethin’ that happened before we left for the job,” Natsu ended his explanation firmly, and it was clear that he was done discussing the matter. Lucy could tell, however, that Natsu wasn’t being entirely truthful. Something seemed off about the situation. Based on how he closed the topic though, Lucy would let him have his little white lie. She might have to pry it out of him later, but for now he could keep his secrets.
Lucy returned her water bottle back to Natsu to stow away in his pack just as they heard a cry of glee from upstream.
“AHAH! TAKE THAT, FISHIE! YOU’RE GONNA GO IN MY BELLY!” Happy had somehow managed to wrangle a fish almost twice his size to the shoreline. The fish was certainly putting up a fight, however. It flailed about, fighting to get back into the water. Happy had flung his entire body on top of the beastly piscine, but it soon became obvious that the exceed was fighting a losing battle.
“I’d better go help ‘im with that one, looks big enough to feed all of us for lunch!” Natsu had neglected to pack lunch, much to Lucy’s chagrin. He assured her that he and Happy would have no problem securing something for them to eat, but the blonde didn’t have high hopes. This was the same insistence they had made on their last short mission. And the one before that. On neither occasion had the pair been able to deliver, which led to the trio slaying whatever monster they were after on an empty stomach. In spite of their past failures, Natsu and Happy would be delivering this time around. The pinket had reached the fishing hole just in time to yank the fish back from slipping away. Their whoops and hollers of success were positively infectious, and Lucy felt herself joining in on the chorus.
Joy swelled up in her heart, melting away the rest of the anger she held towards Natsu. This was how the cycle usually went—Lucy would feel a great amount of love for the slayer due to some display of affection, then he would do something that irritated her to no end, only for her anger to melt away in seconds after he did something particularly endearing. Celebrating with Happy definitely ticked the box of ‘particularly endearing’. She watched as the two dispatched of the fish and set about cleaning it, thanking her past self for remembering to stow away a small ice chest in the spirit realm. Erza had been teaching her the inner workings of her requip magic, and it wasn’t too different from summoning her spirits. Capricorn was vital in helping her hone this technique. Turns out, setting aside a small pocket dimension was pretty easy. It took her a little while to access this dimension, and quite a bit of focus, so it wasn’t something that would be useful during combat yet. Even still, it came in handy for moments like this.
Lucy closed her eyes and hovered her hands over a space in front of her. Because this was a melding of different magics, there was no incantation for what she was trying to do. A bead of sweat slid down her neck as she blocked out the world around her. Natsu and Happy had made their way back over to the celestial spirit mage, but she had remained none the wiser. She imagined the barrier between the celestial spirit realm and Earthland growing thinner and more permeable. Lucy still couldn’t perform this little trick with her eyes open, but if she could, she would see the area under her hands start to shimmer and twist. The barrier between the worlds weakened, before giving way into an opening about 2 feet in diameter. Lucy’s eyes fluttered open and she gasped slightly. It only took her two minutes this time, instead of five.
Opening her little pocket dimension was like trying to read in the middle of the Fairy Tail guild hall whilst everyone was fighting. Tables being thrown about, stray bits of magic flying towards her, yeah, keeping concentration in that environment was a feat of will. Keeping her portal open, however, took less concentration and magical energy, much like dog-earing a page in a novel to save her place before she leapt into cover to avoid being singed by haphazard flames. Lucy let her eyes flicker to her boys, and what she saw nearly made her lose concentration and access to her pocket dimension altogether. Natsu was looking at her with what could only be described as adoration. He seemed to reserve his softest smiles for Lucy, lips quirking up delicately at the corners in a way that made her swoon. His onyx eyes shone brightly, crinkling around the edges. If she could look closer, she might notice the slight flush that painted his cheekbones, but for now he kept that secret for himself. Lucy shook herself out of her daze enough to say, “Here, you guys should probably get that fish in the ice box so it keeps until lunch.”
“Yeah,” Natsu breathed his response, but he didn’t move a muscle. Happy stood between the pair, looking up at each of them in turn. He waited for a while longer before realizing that his best friend was stuck for the moment. The exceed sighed and pulled the fish from Natsu’s hands so he could deposit it in the cooler and Lucy could close her little dimension. The thunk of the cooler closing seemed to startle Natsu out of his thoughts.
“Shall we get going then?” Lucy waved her portal shut and stood, brushing her hands down her skirt.
“I guess we should,” Natsu was uncharacteristically soft spoken, seeming to choose his words carefully. Lucy sighed internally—there he went again, tugging on her heartstrings with how gentle he was around her. For about the hundredth time that day, the blonde shook her head to shift her thoughts away from the dragonslayer and his antics.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
Lucy was completely out of her element hiking through the old growth. Though the topographic map showed that the terrain was steep and sloping, it did nothing to inform them on how rugged it would actually be. Roots ranging from wrist sized to torso sized snaked their way along through the underwood, threatening to catch ankles at every step. The terrain did not appear to bother Natsu, though he’s been travelling through wilds like this for his entire life. He stepped through the brush with practiced ease, Happy along for the ride on his shoulder. The sparse light made navigating even more difficult, but it meant that only shade tolerant species could populate the undergrowth. As such, the ground was littered with the remains of trees and shrubs that could not compete with the larger trees for light or nutrients.
The whole scene was foreboding, resembling a graveyard of sorts. Lucy wasn’t sure if it was due to the lack of the sun’s warmth or the scene before her, but a chill ran its way up her spine. Maybe a tank top and short skirt weren’t the best choices in attire for this mission. The blonde hugged herself tightly, running her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to soothe the gooseflesh that had popped up as a breeze rustled its way through the trees.
The team had been trudging along through the trees for about an hour at this point. Up until now, Lucy had been able to avoid most of the trip hazards littered at her feet. However, with her arms tight around herself, her foot snagged through one of those wrist sized roots that she had been avoiding since the beginning of their forest trek. She let out a squeak and suddenly she was falling forward, flailing her arms out in a bid to catch herself. She slammed her eyes shut on instinct to protect them—yeah that was why, not to avoid herself the embarrassment of seeing herself fall—and braced for the impact of the cold ground. But it never came.
Instead, Lucy found herself caught against a firm, warm chest and encircled by tender arms. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up to find the warm onyx eyes of her partner boring into her deep, brown eyes. After Lucy had gained her footing, Natsu held her at arms’ length and checked her for any signs of injury or discomfort. Once satisfied, his eyes found hers once more and he let out the breath that he seemed to be holding into a soft smile. His hands didn’t leave her arms, which sent shivers down Lucy’s back for a whole different reason, gooseflesh cropping up once again.
“Thank yo-”
“Are yo-”
The pair spoke in unison, accidentally cutting one another off. Giggling, Lucy starts her sentence again.
“Thank you for catching me, Natsu,”
“I’ll always catch you, Lucy. Are you okay?” The blonde nods silently, caught off guard by the gentleness in his voice. Natsu and Lucy hold each other’s gaze for one, two, three more beats before the slayer’s hands leave the celestial mage’s arms and they turn to continue their journey. Happy fluttered nearby watching the exchange, giggling slightly to himself.
The trio settled into a comfortable pace despite the difficult terrain. Lucy was slowly but surely growing more confident in her steps, making the navigation much smoother. No longer on the bank of the little stream, but the team still kept it in their periphery. It was still the most solid landmark they had, despite how it meandered back and forth through the forest. The sun could still not be seen overhead, which complicated telling time. A quick graze of her fingertips over Horologium’s key told Lucy it was right around noon. Had they really been walking that long? The forest was starting to mess with her perception of time. They would have lost their way several times if not for that stream. In any case, the blonde was ready to be through with this part of the mission.
The cold breeze mixed with the quiet trickling of the stream to Lucy’s left and the amount of water she had consumed was doing a number on the blonde’s bladder. She had been trying to ignore the call of nature for as long as she could, not wanting to step away from her companions lest she lose them and hoping to relieve herself once they had reached the edge of the forest. Unfortunately for Lucy, the forest was seemingly endless, and her resolve was growing rather thin. Finally, she caved.
“Hey uh, Natsu?” Lucy called out to her counterpart who was about 5 meters ahead of her. “Could we stop for a moment? I have to use the restroom,” The blonde practically squirmed with urgency due to how long she had forced herself to wait.
“Sure, I’ll be here when ya’ get back,” the dragonslayer’s voice was laced with quiet mirth at the sight before him.
Lucy turned away from the stream to head deeper into the undergrowth, aiming to put just a little distance between herself and her counterparts. With Natsu’s dragonslayer senses, she didn’t need him to listen in on her business. She was also careful not to put too much distance between them, in case she needed his help. Especially with her unlucky history of getting kidnapped and the way the vines and tree limbs around her looked to be arms reaching out to ensnare her. The blonde cursed herself mentally. She needed to stop thinking about how creepy the woods were, especially while she was alone. Lucy walked just a touch further before selecting a bush to duck into to complete her business.
After relieving herself, Lucy stood to retrieve the hand sanitizer from her pack. Just because she had to pee in the woods didn’t mean that she couldn’t be hygienic about it. She squeezed a small dab of the product into her palms and rubbed it in before going to return the bottle to its home. That’s when she noticed the hairs beginning to stand up on the back of her neck. A twig snapped in the distance. Though it was probably just a small animal, Lucy couldn’t help the unease that settled within her gut. She opted to return to the stream as quickly and quietly as possible, now seeking to put distance between herself and her feeling of unrest.
The celestial mage worked her way back through the tangle of limbs and vines and thorns, feeling her unrest grow smaller the closer she made it to where she had left her boys. Or, where she had thought she had left her boys. Natsu and Happy were nowhere to be seen. Though she could hardly feel that original sense of unease, her senses were now in overdrive. One hand went to her keys while the other went to the handle of her whip, not wanting to call on a spirit until she knew what, or who, she was dealing with.
“Natsu? Happy?” the blonde’s voice holding a slight quiver. She had thought she was overreacting with her anxiety, but now that her boys were gone her body flew into overdrive.
Lucy stood poised for attack, listening to the quiet sounds of the forest around her and hoping to hear a response from her partners. She scanned the tree line, looking for a clue to their whereabouts but finding no sign. The hairs on the back of her neck once again stood at attention. If whoever was watching her had gotten the jump on Natsu and Happy, she was for sure in for a rough fight. Lucy was just about to unravel her whip when a figure jumped out of a nearby tree and landed directly in front of her, catching her completely off guard.
“BOO!” the celestial mage flung out her whip at the sudden intruder, noticing all too late the flash of pink hair against a white, scaled scarf. Lucy’s whip had wrapped firmly around the wrist of the figure before her, firmly around Natsu’s wrist, and the two stood at an impasse. Lucy panted with adrenaline from the sudden spook, and Natsu was rendered completely speechless from the blonde’s reaction time. Her eyes positively surged with energy and anger.
“God damn it, Natsu! You scared me!” Foul language was not typically a part of Lucy’s vocabulary, but sometimes that pesky fire dragon managed to drag it out of her. Happy floated down out of the tree behind Natsu, looking particularly guilty.
“Care to explain yourselves?” Lucy looked back and forth between the pair as she undid her whip from her partner’s wrist. Natsu had tied his scarf around his head like he does when he’s trying to be sneaky, or when he’s playing ninjas with Happy. The little blue exceed wore his own ninja mask that looked to be hastily fashioned from leaves. The sight of her boys started to fizzle away the anger and anxiety the blonde held in that moment, but she wasn’t going to tell them that yet.
“Well, we wanted to scout to see how much farther the forest went on, so I had Happy fly me up into the canopy to take a peek.” Natsu began, looking sheepish.
“Yeah, Lushi! But then when we were on our way back down, we saw you heading back and I thought it would be funny to mess with you a little bit. We didn’t mean anything by it I swear! We’re so sorry!” Happy’s voice trembled and his eyes watered, tears threatening to spill from his big, pouty eyes. And with that, Lucy’s resolve cracked.
“Oh, you guys! You just scared me pretty bad, that’s all. I thought something had happened to you.” Lucy pulled the sniveling exceed into her arms to try to soothe his tears. Natsu cleared his throat from where he was standing, scarf still tied around his forehead.
“We’re not too far from the edge, if ya’ wanted we could go ahead and eat lunch. Get us prepared for the vulcan and all that.”
Lucy flashed her partners one of her bright grins, “Lunch would be excellent, I’ll work on pulling the fish out.”
Natsu set to work readying a campfire to cook the fish on. Even though he could cook the fish with nothing but his bare hands, he preferred to slow roast it over a campfire. It helped to develop the flavors better, he always said. Lucy wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, not having had much opportunity to cook for herself growing up. She was willing to take his word for it though, he always did make the best campfire meals.
Before long, Lucy had retrieved Happy’s earlier catch from her pocket dimension and Natsu had set it to slow roast on a wind-up spit over the cozy fire he had created, making sure to set aside some raw fish for the exceed. Happy had spent the time the mages were working preparing three spots for them to sit on the ground around the fire. They always settled into this little routine when they had the chance to go on a mission with just the three of them. Sure, the rest of Team Natsu were great, but Lucy had a soft spot in her heart for missions with her original team.
To pass time while they waited for the fish to cook, Natsu and Happy began dramatically acting out Natsu’s most recent tussle with Gray. Natsu played the part of his rival, the ice mage, while Happy played the part of Natsu. Lucy couldn’t really follow what the argument had been about because the pair were hilariously bad at acting. From what she had gathered “Ice Prick” had insulted Natsu’s intelligence for the thousandth time, and then there was something about a flaming table being thrown? The celestial mage had to step in when Natsu stayed true to character and tried to start stripping, not wanting to see more than she had bargained for in the moment.
Lucy had just got up to stop the slayer from removing his clothes when he suddenly dropped his carefree attitude and shielded Lucy with his arm, sniffing the air suspiciously.
“Someone’s here,” Natsu’s words were enough to fire up Lucy’s adrenaline, hands already poised on her keys and whip.
The entire forest seemed to be holding its breath around the trio—the birds had halted their songs, squirrels could no longer be heard scampering about, and even the wind had ceased to whisper its way through the trees. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy waited with bated breath, counting the moments before their would-be stalkers showed themselves.
One by one, shapes started to take form between the trees. By Lucy’s count, there were about five bandits, and they had them surrounded. Knives glinted in some of their hands, catching what little sunlight made it through the thick canopy up above. Unconsciously, the Fairy Tail mages shifted their stances until they were back-to-back, allowing them to view all five of their nearing assailants at once. The bandit at Lucy’s 12 o’clock raked his eyes up and down her figure with a salacious grin, and oh was he going to pay for that one. He reached for something clipped to his belt, detached it, and tossed it towards the trio.
The forest breathed, and the flash-bang exploded.
Light and sound exploded out from the hand-held device, and the stimuli brought Lucy to her knees. The flashbang overloaded her senses: she was effectively blind, and the only sound that could be heard clearly was the ringing in her ears. Her vision started to return first, dark blurs moving around her. By instinct alone, she flicked her wrist and sent the end of her whip flailing out towards one of the bandits, smiling to herself when it made contact. Some bandit, she thought, couldn’t even avoid being hit by the blind and deaf girl. What kind of mage used grenades anyways? The only people who fight dirty are those that can’t win otherwise. Muffled sounds of the battle around Lucy made their way through the ringing as her hearing began to return. As her vision cleared, the blonde looked first for Natsu, only to find him striking an opponent with a flaming fist. She looked around for any other signs of magic but found none.
It hit Lucy then—the bandits weren’t mages. Of course they weren’t. And she’d bet money they were looking for an easy score. They probably thought that the grenade would have incapacitated them long enough to rob them blind, but they attacked the wrong travelers.
Once their vision and hearing returned sufficiently, the Fairy Tail mages fought with a vengeance. The bandits tried to recover, but they were no match for the now fired-up mages. The aftermath, however, was where the real trouble had reared its head. In typical Natsu fashion, the slayer didn’t look where he was hitting, and he had managed to knock one of their attackers straight into the campfire and into the meal he was cooking. The bandit screamed in agony as the flames licked over him, and he tried to snuff out the flames by rolling around on the ground, thus spreading the fire. The trio hardly spared the bandits a second glance as they fled, as they had bigger issues to deal with now. Fire was spreading quickly through the undergrowth, and it could lead to a raging inferno if they don’t snuff it out.
Despite the spreading flames, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had regained more of their carefree attitude. The Exceed was currently flying Natsu around so he could attempt to eat the flames. Unfortunately for the duo, and unexpectedly enough, Natsu couldn’t eat the flames fast enough to keep up with the spread. Lucy really didn’t want to, but it was becoming more obvious that the only way to extinguish the fire was for her to summon Aquarius. At least the stream that was serving as their guide through the forest was pristine—Aquarius might drown her if she summons her in dirty water one more time.
Lucy carefully picked her way down the ledge to the stream and placed the end of her key into the water.
“Open gate of the water-bearer, Aquarius!” She braced herself as Aquarius’ gate opened, already anticipating the scolding she was about to get from the water spirit.
“So, I see you went and started yourself a forest fire, and now you want me to clean up your mess? Tch, typical.” The mermaid spirit sneered and rolled her eyes at the blonde as she hefted her urn a little higher.
“Hey, it was Natsu’s fault!”
“Whatever, I don’t care if it was you or your little boyfriend’s fault. Same difference.”
“HE’S NOT MY BOYF-” was all Lucy was able to get out before Aquarius unleashed a deluge from the depths of her urn, effectively shutting her up and dousing the flames before they could spread further.
“Yeah yeah, don’t call me for a month. I’m going on a vacation with Scorpio, and I don’t want to deal with snot-nosed brats like you bothering me.” And just like that, Aquarius closed her gate and disappeared back into the realm of the celestial spirits.
After dealing with the fire and the carnage unleashed by Aquarius’s wave, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy set off once again. True to Natsu’s word, they weren’t all that far from the edge of the forest. It took maybe another ten minutes of stumbling through the undergrowth and tripping over gnarled roots for the group to reach the edge of the forest.
From the forest margin, it was easy to see the vulcan’s cave nestled into the cliff face. Step one: find the cave. Check. The scene was almost beautiful—the stream they had been following since the beginning had collected into a pool just before the cave entrance, swirling with enticing energy. Water trickled down the bluff on either side of the grotto, sending ripples across the pool. It would be beautiful, if it weren’t for the disgusting smell permeating out from the vulcan’s lair.
Step two: enter the cave.
The trio readied themselves, with Natsu shouldering his pack more securely, Happy tightening his knapsack, and Lucy clutching her keys. “Hey Natsu, do you mind if I handle this one? It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to kick vulcan butt, and I think Taurus would enjoy the challenge.”
“Sure thing, Lucy. I’ll be right behind you though, just in case.” When Lucy first joined the guild, she never would have volunteered to take the lead on a monster slaying job, and Natsu never would have let her. She had grown so much in such a short time, though, and she felt that her team could rely on her now.
With the blonde leading the way, the group worked their way through the clearing and into the cave. They paused in the entrance, listening for any sign that the vulcan was home. While they heard nothing, that didn’t exactly soothe Lucy’s worries. The smell was even worse at the mouth of the cave, and it’s source became evident the moment they looked around. Bones littered the cave floor, scattered remnants of the vulcan’s recent meals. And down the short corridor to the right, that looked way too much like a toilet for comfort.
The cave was surprisingly big, with the main chamber reaching around 4 meters tall at its peak. Corridors snaked out from every wall, no doubt leading to rooms of their own. The beast was not in the main chamber, but maybe he would be down one of the passages. Excluding the obvious toilet room, there were three tunnels to check. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy each took one, with the blonde summoning her bull spirit should she find their goal.
“Open gate of the golden bull, Taurus!”
“Hellooooo Miss Luuuucy! Your body mooooves me to work!”
“Oh shut it, Taurus! You’re here to slay a vulcan, not to hit on me. Pervert, sheesh.” Lucy chastised her spirit, but she laughed internally at his words. The corridor she had picked had led to a bedchamber of sorts, or at least that’s what she thought it might be. There was a nest-like area that had been fabricated from branches and leaves and the skins of the animals that the vulcan had eaten for food. Gagging, Lucy headed back towards the main chamber. Unless the boys had better luck, the vulcan wasn’t home. Clearly she had summoned Taurus prematurely, she really hoped this wouldn’t drain her magic too much. The celestial spirit mage had just reentered the main chamber when she spotted a large, dark figure lumbering towards the mouth of the cave. Great—they were about to be trapped with a vulcan between them and the entrance.
Natsu and Happy returned to the main chamber seconds after the vulcan had made its way back into his cave, carrying the limp body of a stag he had hunted while he was out. Stopping short when he noticed the mages, the vulcan’s face contorted into a devilish grin.
“Oh ho ho! Wizards make more good food than deer, something about the fight.” No matter how many times Lucy heard vulcans speak, it never got any less unsettling. No matter, she was hoping to put this fight to rest before it really got going. It wasn’t often that she got to go overboard after all. And the boys were letting her handle this by herself, having posted up out of the way.
“Taurus, you know what to do!” Lucy commanded her spirit forth, and the bull charged forward with his gigantic axe raised for attack. Quicker than the blonde thought possible, however, the vulcan leapt out of the way and towards her. He snatched out aiming to grab her, and just barely missed her waist as she twisted out of the way. For good measure, she flung out her whip and barely managed to smack the beast in his ape-ish face. Taurus was already preparing for a second try as his master dodged pass after pass from the vulcan.
Lucy may not be physically the strongest, but she had been working hard on her whip work and her agility and her combat strategy. While the vulcan was capable of bursts of speed, he wasn’t great at redirection. In the same vein, Taurus had the exact same strength and weakness, laying the basis for Lucy’s plan of attack. She would have to lure the vulcan into Taurus’s path. On the fly she began calculating routes, figuring out the directions she would need to evade to coax the beast into the trap she was setting in her mind. Mavis would be proud—Fairy Tail’s newest tactician.
The moment was nearing, and Lucy’s connection with her spirits ensured that Taurus was in on her plan. Lucy stared the vulcan down head on as he readied himself for what would be his final pass. He and Taurus started running towards Lucy at the same time, and she braced herself for her final dodge—she was going to roll right between the giant’s legs moments before Taurus body slammed him into the cave wall. At the very last second Lucy leapt into her roll, escaping the danger zone by a hair. She turned in her roll just in time to see Taurus slamming into the vulcan and the pair hitting the wall with a satisfying crunch.
The crunch might have been too satisfying, however. Cracks snaked their way out from the point of impact and up towards the cave ceiling. Dust rained down from the newly formed fissures, which kept getting larger by the second. Hastily making her way to her feet, Lucy quickly became aware of her vulnerable position. The ceiling was buckling, and she was about to get caught in the landslide.
“LUCY!” was all she heard before she felt the impact and everything went black.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
“So that’s why the clients warned us about all the mining an’ stuff that used to happen here,” Natsu was pressed nearly nose to nose with Lucy and practically laying on top of her, having tackled her out of the way the second the ceiling started to cave in. A bright red blush coated Lucy’s face at the sudden closeness to him, so bright it rivaled Erza’s hair. He was a little sweaty and out of breath, panting above her with his arms caging her in on either side. His eyes scraped over her, looking for any sign that she was hurt. It looked like the vulcan hadn’t been as fortunate as they had—a pair of feet stuck out from beneath the rubble. Step three: slay the monster. Check. Good thing Taurus could just close his own gate. Wait a minute, what did he just say?
“Natsu…did you just say that the clients said something about mining?” Lucy subtly cocked her leg back as much as she could, given her supine position.
“Yeah, it was one of the last things they said. Don’t ya remember? You shouldn’ have brought that cow guy out, he always wrecks the place.” Natsu was starting to get up, having assured himself that Lucy came out unscathed, and unaware of the coming danger.
“No, Natsu! Don’t you remember? I had to leave before the end of the client briefing! You were supposed to relay any important information! This is as good as your fault.” By the end of her chastisement, Lucy’s voice had risen to just below a shout. It was in this moment that Happy noticed a gap in the wall of rock that had collapsed. It looked like it was just big enough for him to worm his way through in search of help. He’d be the best choice to go for help, after all. Plus, he could tell that Natsu and Lucy needed some time to sort this out.
“Well, I’m not the one who brought the roof down! Yer cow is the one who did it!” Natsu’s voice rose to match the intensity of Lucy’s voice. She saw red. How could he be blaming her for this? He’s the one who usually goes overboard and tears the place apart, just look at what he did to the edge of the forest when they were attacked by bandits!
“LUCY KICK!” Lucy thrust out her heel. It connected with Natsu’s gut, forcing him the rest of the way up off her. She jumped to her feet, seething with anger. Natsu gaped at her as he regained his balance, eyes wide. Several emotions crossed the slayer’s face, from shock to confusion, and then to anger.
“Wha’ was that for?” Bringing his hands up to guard, he spoke softer this time. His voice was laced with agitation and something else that Lucy couldn’t quite decipher. His confusion only spurred her on.
“Why are you blaming this on me?! You’re the one who didn’t pick up on the importance of what the client was telling you! You always do this, Natsu, and it’s usually me that ends up picking up the pieces. Does nothing ever make it through your thick skull?! This time we’re really stuck though, because I gave Virgo the week off so she can’t save our sorry asses!” So much for step four: leave the cave. Lucy thought of all the times that Natsu had rushed in head-first without thinking of the consequences. Usually, his rash decisions ended with the pair paying for damages out of their reward money, compromising Lucy’s ability to pay rent. On top of that, his inability to stop and think before he spoke or acted had led to countless times when he hurt Lucy’s feelings, or when he scared her (like earlier today). The more she thought, the more the blonde began to twist the real reason she was angry with Natsu. Everything was getting more and more confusing when it came to the dragon slayer, and this confusion bled into her criticism.
“And not to mention, you keep making things so confusing for me and it’s starting to hurt. When you look at someone like you do, or squeeze their hand, or throw your arm over their shoulder, or press your forehead to theirs, it could make someone feel like you like her. But you and I both know that you’ve never felt an ounce of romantic feelings for anyone in your life, and you probably never will,” Lucy couldn’t stop the words from pouring out of her mouth, but these feelings had been boiling up under her skin for months. He needed to know how he had hurt her. While Lucy was ranting, Natsu had gravitated towards her, shifting ever so slightly and escaping awareness.
“And to do all those things I listed with someone, only to later point out her flaws or the pimples that cropped up on her face that morning? It’s frankly insensitive. You can’t just make me think you like me and then go on to stomp my heart into the dust! You need to realize that your actions affect the people around y-” Lucy was silenced by a pair of warm, chapped lips slamming against her own, Natsu’s hands coming up to tangle in her hair. Her eyes widened in shock before flitting closed, her own hands coming up to rest on his face. The kiss was clumsy, with teeth knocking together due to inexperience. Almost as quickly as it had begun, the kiss ended. Natsu rested his forehead on Lucy’s, eyes still closed as he untangled his fingers from her hair to caress her cheek. He pressed one more chaste kiss to her lips before pulling back to look at her. Natsu’s face was dusted with a light pink when Lucy opened her eyes.
“’M sorry I made you feel like I didn’ care,” He ghosted his lips across Lucy’s forehead. The pair finally met each other’s gaze with this declaration. From this distance, she could see the light smattering of freckles covering his cheeks. Her heart raced in her ears as Lucy let out a shaky breath, feeling the residual anger seep away from her body. Natsu had just kissed her. And, from the feel of it, he had been wanting to do that for a while. Natsu was never good at words—he often showed his feelings with grand gestures and actions. All his actions leading up to this moment might have been confusing, but there was no way that Lucy could misconstrue his kiss. He liked her, and she felt like an idiot.
“Natsu, I-I’m so sorry I lost my temper, and I yelled at you. You didn’t deserve that,” Tears welled up in her chocolate eyes, threatening to spill. She took a step back, only for Natsu to graze his hands down her arms to take her hands.
“Nah Lucy, it should be me who apologizes. I’m the one who didn’ mention the client’s warning. ‘S not your fault the roof came down, an’ I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you. I also should have been more direct with my feelings for you, instead of the subtle moves I was pullin’. It’s just, I’m not so good with words, an’ yer my partner. I didn’t wanna say anything to you, jus’ in case you didn’t feel the same w-” It was now Lucy’s turn to silence the bumbling man with her lips.
She all but leapt into his arms, snaking her own arms around his neck as he caught her around the waist. Already starting to memorize each other’s mouths, this kiss was much less clumsy than their first. Lips were moving together against one another leisurely, neither in a hurry to pick up the pace. Lucy poured years of passion and pent-up feelings into her end of the kiss, hoping Natsu would somehow understand the intensity of her affections. When he kissed her back with equal fervor, Lucy gasped into the kiss. Natsu took this opportunity to tentatively slip his tongue into her mouth, and Lucy’s tongue came out to join in the dance. Their kiss continued like this—that is, until they realized that they still had to breathe.
Chests heaving, the couple split apart once more. Lucy wondered if Natsu could hear how fast her heart was racing, or if his heart was racing just as fast.
“Wow,” the two spoke together, and then laughed breathlessly when they realized they had just said the same thing at the same time.
“In case it wasn’ obvious, I’m crazy about ya, Lucy,” Natsu whispered against Lucy’s lips.
“I’m crazy about you, too, Natsu. I think I always have been,” came her reply.
Natsu pulled Lucy in closely, curling one arm further around her waist and sliding the other up to tuck her head underneath his chin. Lucy nuzzled into his collar, taking in his comforting scent of campfires, pine, and ash. Their embrace was cut short, however, when the sound of a rumbling stomach broke the silence. Evidently Lucy’s morning snack had worn quite thin, causing her stomach to rebel. Of course, her body just had to make a weird noise when she was in the arms of her lover. Chuckling, Natsu ruffled Lucy’s hair and pulled back from her.
“Here, I’ll get a fire started to fix us some grub. We could sure use it since we had to miss out on lunch earlier. Can you grab the bedrolls?” Natsu set to work gathering up plant debris that had blown into the cave or had been brought in by the vulcan. By the time he had collected enough to make the fire for dinner, Lucy had unpacked their bedrolls and blankets. She set to work putting together their sleeping spot for the night, humming softly to herself. As she was laying out Happy’s bedroll, she was suddenly struck with realization.
“Oh my god, Happy! Where is he?!”
“Hey, ‘s okay. I saw him sneak out when you started yellin’ at me. I could still smell him hanging around though, right up until I kissed you, that is. I think we scared him into going for help. I’m sure he’ll be back come morning,” Natsu once again melted Lucy’s heart with a grin, fang catching his lip. Happy was a resourceful little exceed, Natsu was right. He would be back with help the following morning; she was sure of it. Still, Lucy wasn’t too thrilled with the prospect of sleeping in a cave. If only Virgo hadn’t been on vacation. But she could get through anything so long as she had Natsu by her side.
“Oh great, Happy’s going to tease us relentlessly if he saw us kiss,” already, Lucy was playing out scenarios of what the cat would do when he returned. He liiiiiiikes you and Natsu and Lucy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G were likely candidates for routes Happy would take.
“Nah, I think he’ll lighten up pretty quickly, especially considering earlier today he threatened to confess my feelings to you if I didn’ ‘man up and tell you myself’,” he had put air quotes around that last bit, before running a single hand through his messy, pink locks and looking down to conceal the flush that now painted his face. So that’s why Happy had smacked Natsu, it was for her sake.
The rest of the evening passed quickly after dinner. The day’s exhaustion had seeped its way into the pair’s bones, so before long, they decided to turn in for the night. Lucy lay down beside Natsu, both instinctively shifting together. Sleep came easily for the dragonslayer—Lucy listened as his breathing evened out, signifying his descent. She allowed herself to sigh quietly. Today certainly hadn’t gone according to plan, but when does it ever with Natsu? She wouldn’t change it for a moment though, never. Something about the way they had confessed was just so them, despite how sudden it had happened. Lucy supposed that this was the natural course of action, considering how long the evidently mutual pining had gone on. They would have to talk about this tomorrow, but for now they laid side by side with hands clasped under the covers. As quickly as the ceiling had caved in, Lucy drifted off to sleep.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
Tomorrow came sooner than expected, and it brought with it an unholy ruckus. It started softly at first, just the sound of voices on the other side of the cave-in. The slight noise was enough to rouse Natsu, his sensitive hearing tuning in to assess the situation. The disembodied voices were muffled behind the wall of rock, but it soon became clear that they were the voices of family—Gray and Erza. Natsu and Lucy had gravitated closer to each other in the night, the blonde unconsciously seeking out the warmth of the dragonslayer. The voices of Gray and Erza faded away as Natsu nuzzled closer into Lucy’s hair, breathing in her scent of strawberry and vanilla. A sleep-filled hum escaped the celestial mage who had just begun to stir, the sweet beginnings of a quiet morning. Well, not quite.
“ICE MAKE DOZER!” Gray’s voice was amplified now, his yell calling forth magic. The thunderous sound of rock debris being shifted about echoed through the cave, ripping away the comfortable atmosphere that surrounded Lucy and Natsu.
“THAT’S IT GRAY, KEEP IT COMING!”
When did Erza get a megaphone? That was the last thing the requip mage needed, her voice was already loud and commanding enough to Lucy. Gray called forth his ice dozer once again, tearing through another wall of rubble. Eyes groggy and sleep-filled, the pair within the cave looked at one another before looking back at the cave entrance.
“ONE MORE SHOULD DO IT, THIS TIME AIM DIRECTLY INTO THE CAVE TO PUSH THE WALL IN!”
Natsu reacted quicker than Lucy, scooping her up bridal style and leaping back just in time to avoid the rock wall barreling towards them. The two stood there—well, Natsu stood—partially shielding their eyes as the dust cleared to reveal the ice make mage who had already lost his pants in the chaos. Gray looked the pair up and down and gave a characteristic smirk and nod before saying, “Morning there, lovebirds.”
“Ya coulda warned us that you were gonna be takin’ the whole wall down. You nearly crushed us, Ice Prick!”
“Psh like you would have let me come close to hurting your crush. You’re dumb, but you’re not that dumb Flame Brain.”
The only thing that kept the slayer from lashing out was the celestial mage tucked securely in his arms. Lucy sputtered and squirmed, trying to work her way out of Natsu’s arms. Was he shirtless when they fell asleep? The blonde was embarrassed enough from being trapped in the cave all night, and now she was trapped in a shirtless Natsu’s arms (he didn’t seem to want to let go anytime soon). Erza stepped through the rubble in her hard hat and construction worker outfit: it was just like her to have a requip for every scenario. She addressed the pair cordially, but she blushed about as red as her own hair. Happy must have told them everything, seeing as there was no shock or confusion on the faces of their guildmates.
“Hey uh, Natsu? You can put me down now.” The slayer looked at the blonde still held in his arms and chuckled a bit to himself before setting her down gently, raking his fingers through his hair. Happy came soaring in through the new cave opening and launched himself directly into Lucy’s chest. “Oh, I missed you so much, Lushi! I went to go get help, are you proud of me?” Just like that little blue Exceed to melt Lucy’s heart into a puddle. The blonde’s eyes lit up as she ruffled Happy’s fur.
“I’m always proud of you, Happy.” Though she could have done without him spilling the details of her and Natsu’s private conversation before they had even figured out what it meant, Lucy still gave her praises with a kiss to the top of his head. She glanced up at Natsu to find his dark eyes already looking back at her with a soft smile playing on his lips, before turning to address the group.
“How’d everyone get here so quickly anyways? The trek from the start of the property is a long one.”
“The map of the grounds that the clients gave you wasn’t completely accurate. A new map was created after the mining operations had ceased, and some of the existing service roads were omitted from the map. I highly doubt the clients knew of the existence of these service roads, but we were able to take a carriage here.” The scarlet-haired mage stepped in to answer Lucy’s question, though her explanation caused the blonde to roll her eyes internally. An updated map could have saved the trio a lot of time, energy and trouble, that’s for sure. In any case, though, the mission was done, and Lucy was ready to collect her reward.
After clearing up the camp from the previous night, the mages made their way out of the cave one by one, only to be met by the clients. They stood side by side, a look of disappointment worn on each of their faces. The woman had her hands firmly planted on her hips while her husband had his crossed over his chest—suddenly the blonde wasn’t feeling so confident.
“Where do we even begin with you?” The woman’s voice was posh and patronizing as she glared daggers at Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. “Not only did you cause a landslide, but you charred up parts of our beautiful forest! I’m beginning to think that you don’t deserve any payment for this job, not with the damage you’ve done. In fact, I may sue for the damages.”
Lucy couldn’t stand her tone. She had heard it time and time again growing up as the Heartfilia heiress, getting chastised repeatedly for this or that without being able to speak up for herself. Only now, Lucy was an adult, and she could speak freely now that she was no longer confined to the etiquette rules of high society.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but we weren’t properly briefed for this mission! How could you not know about a group of bandits living on your property? Especially if you’ve had as extensive of surveys done on the land as you claim. Plus, that cave was one minor earthquake away from collapsing anyways. Or did you plan on suing the ground if that happened? I’m not saying we should get all of the reward, but it’s standard procedure to pay for services rendered by our guild. Reduce our reward, fine. But revoking the reward without substantial claim would make it so that Fairy Tail never accepts another one of your job requests.”
The celestial mage was tired and sore, but there was no way she was going to let a reward of 750,000 jewel be reduced to nothing without a fight. Not after the 24 hours she had just had. The pair bickered back and forth, debating legalities, damage severity, and money. Eventually, the clients conceded to dropping the reward to just 75,000, a mere tenth of what they had promised. Even still, the headache was over.
Once the clients had parted ways with the mages, Lucy deflated as she acknowledged her counterparts. Gray and Erza were readying the carriage for the ride back to Magnolia, while Natsu and Happy set about repacking their supplies.
“Will you three be accompanying us back by carriage?” Erza addressed Natsu, Happy, and Lucy. At the thought of riding in a carriage, Natsu immediately greened up and clutched his stomach. That was a good enough answer for Erza, understanding the slayer’s motion sickness.
“I think I’ll stick with Natsu and walk back, thank you though.” Lucy cast a knowing smile towards her partner. Plus, she wanted a chance to talk to him about the events of yesterday. Hopefully without the prying ears of her guildmates.
“Speak for yourself, Lushi! I’m riding back in style. I gotta go tell Carla all about the fishie I caught yesterday!” The blue Exceed wasted no time rocketing into the carriage between the mages already settled inside.
Natsu and Lucy stood side by side as they watched the carriage ride off into the day, only starting to move once it had disappeared over the horizon. They shared a smile, the tension of yesterday’s fight and the mission now lifted off their shoulders and the rest of the day in their hands.
“Can’t believe ya’ got part of our reward taken away, Loony.” Natsu chuckled lightly as he grazed his fingers along the back of Lucy’s hand, almost as if asking for permission.
“Yeah, well, can’t have you doing that every time. Sometimes I’ve got to join in on the fun.” Lucy slipped her fingers into Natsu’s hand and clasped them together gently, letting out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Maybe this could be simple—simply being together with Natsu.