The Bond 3

Chapter 16

      Nobody was saying much but they stopped talking altogether once Lucy arrived at the guild. Silently she walked up to Makarov and stopped in front of him. He saw looking at Lucy's face the longing for her husband in her eyes. He stepped aside letting the girls go through. She squeezed Nashi's hand as they walked. 

"Happy..can we do this alone? She asked him. He looked up at Lucy and said "yeah, go ahead" kindly as he stepped to the side letting Lucy open the door to the the stairs leading to the cells. "Come on baby" she said quietly to Nashi as they walked slowly down the stairs. Lucy shivered some since she hadn't been down there since the Alvarez invasion. Nashi just held tight to Lucy's hand as they walked by the empty cells. They started approaching Natsu's cell when she saw a hint of pink hair. When they stopped in front of it, her heart immediately began to ache.

 She saw plates of food stacked that looked like they hadn't been touched at all. She couldn't see his face due to him sitting off in a corner but the glimpse she got of his body tore her up. His arms had lost a lot of their muscle mass making them look small and weak and though she couldn't see the rest of him, the much smaller outline of his body gave her a clear enough picture in her head. "Natsu" she called out distressingly.

A few moments passed by as Lucy stood there with Nashi. "I told them not to let you down here" he said finally. His voice sounded empty and miserable. She was about to say something else when he cut her off. " I knew it though....soon as you woke up, you wouldn't listen to anyone and you would come down here anyway." 

"You know me" she chuckled softly. "Better than anyone" said Natsu. "Hey Iggy" he said softly. Iggy hid her face behind Lucy's leg. Feeling bad Lucy said "Nashi baby, don't hide , it's your daddy." " I don't blame her.., not after what I've done " Lucy turned her body back towards him. " I want you to go Lucy". "what?, no I'm not going anywhere" she said irritated

. Picking himself up he rushed at the bars, his hands wrapping around them. The girls involuntarily flinched having him come at them.

Seeing his face was enough to bring Lucy to tears. His face was tear stained while his eyes were deeply bloodshot and immensely dark bags under his eyes. "See , even your still afraid of me.." "no Natsu." She said her voice shaking with sadness. " Get out of here" he said with some anger. Letting go of Nashi's hand, she slowly approached the bars. 

She wrapped her hands around his that were still wrapped around them. "Lucy" "Where is your vest?" she asked noticing the only thing he had were his pants, he didn't have his sandals or his vest. Looking down, he said " I.. couldn't wear it.. it was covered in blood" Lucy also looked down knowing it was her blood that stained it. He took one hand off the bar. 

With it shaking, he brought it to Lucy's cheek rubbing it with his thumb. She took her hand and held it there. Lucy looked into his eyes with compassion and longing. "I see you still have my scarf" he said warmly. "of course," she answered back squeezing his scarf around her neck.

He was looking at her until he caught sight of her arm. His eyes followed the line of scarring to her stomach. He tried to take his hand away, but Lucy firmly held it to her face while he fisted his other hand in rage at himself. "That wasn't you". Ripping his hand out of her grip, he backed away from the bars, his face full of guilt and anger. 

"Get out of here Lucy, now" he growled. Nashi scared ran. "Nashi!" Lucy called out but Nashi was already gone. "damn it" she mumbled under her breath. " She's right go" Hearing enough, she whipped her head back to him. Tears of frustration and sadness coming at her eyes, she walked over to where the keys were hanging and snatched them. 

Stomping back, she grabbed the key to unlock his cell. " What are you doing?, no Lucy no." Refusing to listen, she twisted until she heard it unlock and threw open the door. Natsu backed up against the wall while Lucy stood there determined. " You saved me Natsu, did you forget that , the only reason I'm still alive is because of you." Taken aback, Natsu looked at her stunned. " I heard you and found an opening, I'm just glad you got the message...but even so" "Natsu.." 

"NO Lucy, I still see the wounds!, the one on your neck, the ones on your legs...DAMN IT LUCE, IT WASN'T A RANDOM DEMON THAT ATTACKED , I DID THAT TO YOU!, I NEARLY KILLED YOU" he screamed her. " You helped me though" she protested. " That spell.." OH YOU MEAN THAT NEARLY FINISHED YOU OFF!" "I knew it would work!" she snapped back. 

" That spell works with you and me, I knew you were there. .. You were right Natsu.. our connection, nobody comes even close to understanding us." " and If I hadn't been there, Lucy , you would have died for nothing!!. He slumped back down to the floor of the cell , no longer looking at Lucy. Not giving up Lucy in a straight voice but not harsh said " did you mean it Natsu...when we were married, you vowed to always be there and that you were always going to be the one for me"  Looking at his red wedding band, he squeezed the finger it was on. "Y..yyess" his voice started to choke up with tears. 

 Sighing softly, she walked over to Natsu and got down to her knees in front of him throwing her arms around him. She felt his tears on her shirt as he fought for a second before wrapping his arms around hers. "Lucy...I don't..I don't know what do" he said with fear. "we will figure it out" she said soft and confident. "No Lucy, you don't understand.." 

 Breaking their embrace for a moment, he looked at her and said "when I got checked by miss Porlyusica, she told me a remnant of that poison was still in me. Her memory flashed back to just before he disappeared , he had said "This isn't the end Lucy" "That mean's there's a chance he can come back, that's why I'm in here! , I wasn't going to take a chance of him coming back and killing you". She had never heard him sound so desperate and afraid. She took him back in her arms as he wrapped his around her again.

No longer trying to hide his tears, they covered her shirt soaking it. " Like I said Natsu, we will figure this out..together. like we always have. You are my world Natsu.." her voice choking with tears now. "Without you, I..I would be lost, there's no other way to put it". "I,I love you Luce" "I love you too" she replied. Holding each other tightly, they both closed their eyes and cried.

It was a while before either of them let go of the other but they finally did. Eyes still closed, she leaned against his forehead and whispered "Natsu..let's go please" "I don't know if I can" "Yes you can. Our guild family is up there waiting..and so is Happy" " Happy" he opened his eyes with some cheer hearing his name. 

"Not to mention your daughter" she slowly stood holding a hand out. Hesitating he said afraid "aaare you sure she will even want to see me?' " She worships you Natsu, I just think she needed time to discover he wasn't you." She smiled a very warm and beatific smile at him. "Now come on" she urged still holding out her hand. 

 Still nervous as hell inside but thankful he had Lucy, he reached for her hand who gripped it pulling him up. He stumbled forward but Lucy caught him. She threw his arm over her shoulder while he lightly said "sorry, I haven't stood on my feet for a while" "You haven't eaten anything either" she added but he didn't say anything to that. " come on, we'll get you cleaned upstairs" They slowly started to walk when Natsu said "you haven't given up on me." She smiled remembering 'nope, never gonna happen" They walked the rest of the way with radiant smiles on their faces.