𝕙𝕒𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 「 natsu / lucy 」

☼

It was after dark. A certain blonde was curled up in the comfort of her warm bed wide awake and unable to slip into dreamland. For the last week or so the lack of sleep was starting to become a normal routine for Lucy which the dark circles under her brown orbs clearly gave away. The celestial mage glanced at the alarm clock beside her bed and released a sigh after seeing that the time was currently 2:02 am.

After Lucy witnessed her future self sacrificing her life to protect Lucy from future Rouge's attack, and her future self then dying in her arms, the celestial mage had been plagued with awful nightmares which robbed her of sleep. The incident had also taken a toll on her companion Natsu, who blames himself for future Lucy's death and believes that it could have been prevented. Even though the dragon slayer shared the same feelings as Lucy about her future self's passing, the celestial mage could not have felt more alone.

After the incident, both Lucy and Natsu distanced themselves from each other and everyone at the guild. Natsu hasn't barged through Lucy's bedroom window at an inconvenient time recently which the celestial mage felt was un-Natsu-like, but Lucy understood why and wasn't angry at the dragon slayer. Truth-be-told, the celestial mage surprisingly missed having Natsu around. Lucy wasn't sure why she wanted to be in the presence of the dragon slayer so badly, she had been without seeing Natsu for longer periods of time than this, after all.

Just when the blonde decided that she would pay a visit to Natsu later that day, Lucy could hear soft knocking coming from her bedroom window. The celestial mage observed her bedroom window curiously, wondering who would be roaming around the streets of Magnolia in the early hours of the morning before arising from her bed and making her way to the window.

The blonde pulled back the curtains and was surprised to see Natsu, with no Happy in sight. Natsu welcomed Lucy with a heartwarming grin that made the celestial mage's heart flutter and after Lucy unlocked her window, made himself inside with a relieved sigh. Lucy turned to the dragon slayer with a confused expression after turning the lamp that sat on her bedside table on so that the pair could see their surroundings.

"What's the deal, Natsu? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

A moment of silence hung in the air.

"I had a nightmare...about your future self." The dragon slayer responded while looking down at the ground, a dark shadow casting over him.

The celestial mage remained quiet, allowing Natsu to continue.

"It was exactly like things played out that day..." The dragon slayer continued. "And I couldn't save you AGAIN, I just froze up like some type of coward..."

Natsu began to sob while shaking violently and almost instantly Lucy was by his side, wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace. Natsu returned Lucy's embrace while his face was buried in her neck. Natsu let out a relieved sigh knowing that /his/ Lucy is still alive and his grip on Lucy tightened ever so slightly, afraid that if he let go the guild mate he cares most about would disappear for good.

As the minutes went on the celestial mage whispered comforting words and gently rubbed the dragon slayer's back, until he stopped sobbing. Amongst it all, Natsu found himself wondering if he'd find comfort in anyone else's embrace.

"Nah, there's no way" The dragon slayer convinced himself inwardly. "'Cause they ain't Lucy."

Apologies that it's super short! I will most likely create a part 2 for this. I hope you're all staying safe during this difficult time.