Forget Me Not- NaLu

Laugh Alone

Chapter 17- It's Better To Cry With Others Than Laugh Alone

"Listen." They both listened as Natsu's eyes widened.

"I can't tell what it is," Lucy said. "It's too faint." Natsu's eyes widened as he looked at Lucy.

"It's-" The wall farthest to them, opposite of the key hole, started to shake. The wall seemed to be withdrawing into the ceiling, letting loose old debris and dust. Lucy covered her face with her arm, coughing as the dust and rocks scratched her lungs.

When things had finally been able to settle, Lucy heard what Natsu had been hearing. When she first noticed it, they were soft thuds, almost undetectable. But with the awkwardness in the air, she was willing to concentrate on anything else. Yet she could now hear talking of two people.

When the dust had settled, Lucy looked up. There, standing with a shocked look and a torch in hand, was Erza and Gray.

Lucy immediately stood and walked over to them, a flustered Natsu hot on her heels. Lucy smiled at us. "How did you find us? I almost thought we were goners."

"Wendy and Gajeel are waiting above. We didn't even know you guys were missing." Gray said.

"There were several trick rooms, set with traps and false information. We didn't know this would be an actual room. How did you get here?" Erza asked.

Lucy pointed up at the hole. "Booby trap, we had to dig our way out and got stuck here. But, you're just the man I'm looking for." Lucy said to Gray. Gray blushed slightly.

"What?" He and Natsu said in unison. Lucy grabbed Gray's arm and lead him to the key hole.

"Think you could make me a key?" She asked. Gray, perhaps still a little flustered, nodded.

"Might take a minuet or two." Lucy nodded.

"Ok, we'll regroup and come meet you in a minuet." Gray, already concentrating on the task at hand, didn't say anything.

Lucy, Erza, and Natsu went through the new doorway and went up the stairs. Turns out, the chamber was full of traps and trick rooms. It was like it's own maze- no, more like labyrinth. Lucy and Natsu had slid down three floors from the room they were previously at.

As Erza lead, Lucy hung behind. Natsu, noticing her discomfort, fell behind also. "Lucy, are you okay?" She wanted to tell him the truth. Like feeling a breeze wasn't easy enough, or with the obvious trap. But she didn't want to tell him that. He didn't need to know her every little problem, she'd manage on her own. She already appreciated his words from earlier, and she didn't want to make it seem as though she was rapidly losing faith and hope. Was that true? Maybe. But Natsu didn't need to know.

She gave him her best fake smile. "It's okay, I'm fine. Just thinking." He looked unsure of wether she was telling the truth or not. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Warmth spread throughout her entire arm as she smiled, this time for real.

"You'd tell me if anything was wrong, right?" Natsu asked. She didn't want to lie. But, she'd felt like a horrible friend if she told him her true feelings and place a burden on his shoulders. Nor did she want to lie. Either one made him worry about her, but they all needed to concentrate on worrying about Levy. By the time they'll probably access the information, it'd be sun rise and Levy would have only a week left.

She decided not to answer, but that wasn't right either. So she got on her tippy-toes and kisssed his cheeck. "Natsu, thank you for making me stronger." He blushed a bright red as he attempted to say something.

It came out as; "um dum oh huh." And he nodded. Lucy smiled and quickened her pace, catching up to Erza. Regretfully, she also tore her hand away from Natsu.