Promise

A NaLu ch 507 One-Shot

Summery: All Lucy wanted to do was find her partner, everything else could wait.

A/N: This probably more a ficlet than anything. I was inspired by what Lucy could have been going through, so here is my interpretation. Hope you like it :)

-x-

Grit, dirt, and gravel crunched beneath the soles of travel worn boots as she ran towards the sound of combat. Scorched shrubbery, melted rock surfaces, and charcoal footprints indicated his path. Potent energy clung to the trees and plants, smoke clung to the air clogging her airway. Breaths escaped her lungs in quick staccatos, making up for the lack of oxygen and rapid pace. Wrath, sadness, desperation knocked on her subconscious. Natsu's emotions had a way of permeating her mind which had been confusing at first. Lucy shrugged it off as intuition or best friend benefits, but now as tears flowed at the intensity her concentration waned. Natsu was hurting, the kind she hadn't seen since Igneel died. Recalling the devastation of the room when she awoke, witnessing Dimaria's crumpled form as she muttered

"Monster, that thing, a monster…" Fear tightened her diaphragm. Surely it wasn't Natsu, her partner, her team-mate, her friend, her family, her dragon slayer. The man who had been a constant in her life since he found her in Hargeon, a runaway with nowhere to call home. A man who had a smile that lit up Magnolia, and brightened the mood of those surrounding him, who took her hand showed her the world. Natsu had disappeared leaving after defeating Dimaria. Lucy had been unbound, blood coating her eyes. The monster could only be him.

"Lucy…" Happy's voice cracked with worry. Shockwaves faltered their progression, simultaneous blasts that made her skin prickle from transitions of intense cold to intense heat. The pillars of ice rising into the sky filled her with dread. Were Natsu and Gray fighting? At a time like this? Those stupid, stupid idiots.

"We'll get there…" The softness in her tone meant to comfort herself as well because the uncertainty of what they might find ahead was tearing at her soul. Would it be Natsu or something else? Heartbeat pounding in her ears as she raced towards the blurred figures ahead, their bodies standing still in a cloud of dust. Acid coated her tongue at the prospect of being too late. A life without Natsu scared her to the core. She would protect him no matter what, even from himself. Memories of the worst nights after he left flashed in her mind's eye. Her heart clenching at the thought of the consuming emptiness being permanent. Sure, life moved forward but she existed day by day in Crocus and she didn't want to exist. Lucy wanted to live and what she knew now, is that required Natsu by her side. Natsu gave his all for her, she would do the same for him.

Dust particles cleared revealing Erza, holding the boys to her breast providing a lifeline. Tears glittered her strong face that usually held a fierce countenance, her declaration of love echoed through the ravaged area.

"I love you both with every fiber of my being." Raw emotion clogged Erza's throat making the words strangled. Never had Lucy seen Erza so vulnerable, even at the tower. The light. Blinding light, masters magic that had warmed through to her bones moments ago. Erza's tears. Lucy's mind quickly placed the puzzle pieces together, master had died. Couldn't they have a break? All they wanted to do was go on adventures, having fun and living together as a family.

Sprinting she reached out catching Natsu as he swayed, collapsing to her knees alongside him. Lucy buried her face into his hair, inhaling the musky scent that was all Natsu, soft sakura hair brushing against her cheek. Delicate hands pressed into his chest to steady his torso. The heartbeat under her fingertips an antidote to the spiral of panic that consumed her. In her peripheral, she was vaguely aware of Juvia and Gray laid out on the ground however Natsu was all she could focus on.

"Lucy…" He was exhausted and her intuition told her it wasn't only physical. She wanted to yell at him, tell him how much of an idiot he was. How scared she had been at the thought of losing him.

"You sure do know how to make a girl worry." His body battered and broken visibly relaxed, leaning his weight into her shoulder. The scent of charred fabric mingled irritated her nostrils and she couldn't help but remember his hands had just been claw-like mutations. It was a question for another time, the man lying in her arms was no monster.

"NATSU!" The flying bundle of blue fur that was Happy barrelled into Natsu who responded in kind. Their little family was together again and for a moment Lucy remembered. Memories of her two boys sailing a cherry blossom tree down the river for her. Sitting on her floor playing board games and falling asleep by her side on cold nights when the fire wasn't enough. Natsu's head lolled to the side as he passed out. Jumping into action Lucy moved to hoist Natsu onto her back, his dead weight making it a difficult task. She didn't falter with no time dwindle, his condition severe. After making a promise to protect him no matter what, she'd be damned to break it now.