Too Late

Natsu awoke in a cold sweat, his entire body trembling as fear gripped his heart. It was suffocating, causing him to take in quick breaths that did very little to calm him. There were two words in his mind that kept repeating over and over like a mantra.

Find Lucy.

It took his body a few moments to respond to the message in his brain, the male leaping up and bolting for the door. Thoughts raced through his mind as he took off in a dead sprint away from his home, heading to the one place where she was. Where she had to be.

He needed to know she was okay. That she was home.

The frosty air bit his skin, but he didn't dare stop. He needed to get to her. Before he did.

This made him run even faster, tears collecting in his eyes at the thought of what would happen if he didn't get there before he did. He wouldn't let her get taken again. Never. Never ever.

The pink haired male leapt up to his best friend's window, throwing it open. He wasted no time in hopping into her apartment, looking around wildly as his breaths began to come out in gasps.

Panic and fear coursed in his veins as he looked around, trying to see where she was, but to no avail.

She was gone.

He was too late.

He failed her once again.

Suddenly a sob tore from his throat, the dragon slayer's back hitting the wall as tears raced down his cheeks. His body shook with utter shame and fear. She was gone. Probably back in the hands of him, and Natsu had been too late- too slow to stop him.

He drew his knees up to his chest, hugging them as he buried his face in his arms.

He was always too late.

"Natsu..." The pink haired male didn't dare to look up, he knew his mind was playing tricks on him. It wasn't her voice- it couldn't be.

He felt her familiar hands prying his legs apart, moving his arms away, but still he didn't open his eyes. Sobs wracked his body and he refused to let his mind trick him into thinking she was there.

"Natsu, I'm right here." Her voice whispered, gentle and soothing and for a moment he wanted to believe it. "Open your eyes and look at me. I'm right here."

He shook his head almost childishly, ignoring the feeling of her hands cradeling his face and how it felt like her body was pressed against his front.

"I-I c-ca-can't," He whispered brokenly, tears dripping onto his bare chest. "I c-couldn't g-get to y-y-you." He broke into more cries, feeling the illusion grab his hand. It moved it to somewhere soft and he nearly froze when he felt a pulse under his fingertips.

"Do you feel that?" Her voice asked, not waiting for his reply. "That's my heart. It's beating, I'm alive and I'm right here in front of you. I'm here because you saved me."

"S-Saved you...?" He allowed his eyes to slip open, and instead of seeing nothing he saw the beautiful blonde looking back at him. Her brown eyes were looing into his intensly, his hand placed over her heart.

"Lucy..." He murmured and before he could stop himself he threw his arms around her, crushing her to his chest. Another sob left his throat, crying into her golden hair. He held onto her like a lifeline, afraid if he let her go she would disappear.

"I'm right here." She said, her voice reassuring. "I'm not leaving you again. He can't get me."

Natsu nodded numbly, not daring to let her go as he placed several affectionate kisses on her head and temple.

It took a long time, but the dragon slayer had finally started to calm down, not giving her the chance to break free from his hold- not that she was trying to. His sobs had died down to sniffles and he wasn't shaking nearly as much as he was.

After a few more minutes, the male hesitantly relaxed his grip, the blonde shifting slightly so she could look up at him. He looked back down at her, his eyes puffy and red. She gave him a long look before grabbing his hand and telling him to lay down with her.

When they both were snuggled under the covers, the pink haired male grabbed the blonde and dragged her towards him. He kept her wrapped up in his arms, hearing her whisper reassuarances that she wouldn't disappear in his ear. He was silently grateful for this- he certainly needed them at this time.

He peppered small kisses to the side of her face, the blonde burying her face in his scarf. Her breaths began to even out, but he couldn't fall asleep. He needed to hear something from her.

"Promise you'll be here when I wake up?" He asked quietly, shivering when he felt her lips move on the base of his neck, capturing his skin in a feather light kiss.

"I promise." She responded. And he smiled- a celestial mage never breaks their promises.

Hey humans.

This was just an idea that came to me a moment or two ago so I wrote it down. I'm going to leave it unedited because I'm lazy af and I really want to take a nap.

One of the perks of being a dragon is that I can take naps wherever I want and no one can do anything because I'm a dragon and they're a human. So yeah, life is good for me.

Also, a bit of a backstory I suppose for this- Lucy was captured by a guy and tortured while Natsu couldn't really do anything to save her. Boom. Backstories, amirite?

Anywho, remember to keep calm and breathe fire.

-FireDragonPhia