Fairy Tail: An Aqaurius Quest

Hargeon

The train ride to Hargeon wasn't easy. Natsu's head rested in my lap while I tried to run my fingers through his hair in a weak attempt at providing some comfort for him. His hair even felt like cotton candy.

Despite the fact that he was sweating and squirming the whole way through uncomfortably, I tried to distract myself from his warmth. His hands on the tops of my thighs as he readjusted. The way his hair felt.

I decided we would go to the spot where Bora threw my keys into the ocean. I refuse to accept the fact that her key is just out there in the universe in a random place. There has to be some clue somewhere.

We decided to eat dinner at 8-Island and get a hotel. Of course Natsu gorged himself as usual. We found a hotel but the only room available was a single.

He plopped himself on the bed immediately.

"Natsu," I whined, "sleep on the floor!"

"No way Luce!  Last time I did that, it took a month before my neck turned all the way to the right again."

I might have minded more if our other guild mates were around but right now it was just us and I knew he wouldn't try anything anyways. I love my guild mates. But I hate how they gossip about me and Natsu. I haven't even figured us out but they think they already have. It makes it so awkward when they make little jokes about us. I know they mean well, but I just can't read Natsu's feelings. He never reacts to it. It could mean he either doesn't care, or what they're saying is true and he's just not denying it.

He immediately goes to sleep but I decided to take a bath before heading to sleep. It helps me sleep better after I have soaked in the bath.

The lights are off in the room so I clumsily feel around for my luggage. The slick wood of the hotel floor causes me to slip and I hit the floor with a hard    thwack. My grip on my towel loosens on the way down to the floor and I've banged my knee and head pretty hard on the ground. Natsu is as quick as Laxus' lightning. He's in front of me kneeling on the ground inspecting me thoroughly for any injuries with a ball of fire in his hand that illuminates the room. My arms reach out instinctively to cover myself but his face doesn't even twitch as he gives me a serious once over.

"Natsu! What are you doing? Look away!"

He doesn't listen to me, he just extinguishes the fire in his hand and helps lift me up.

He wasn't even phased by me. Maybe he doesn't see me that way. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong. Maybe he only thinks of me like a sister and isn't bothered by me at all. That would explain it. The thought bothers me deeply as I get dressed and he settles into the bed. I curl up in a ball next to him and try to shake the thought. I still haven't decided when I'm going to say something. I don't even know if I can anymore. All of my previous confidence has dissipated and I'm back where I started.

He rolls over in his sleep, snoring softly, and tugs me against him. I let him do it, he probably snuggles with Happy. It's probably a habit that has nothing to do with me.

Before I let sleep pull me all the way in, I can barely piece together what Natsu is murmuring in between soft snores.

"Lucy, lucy no. Please. Don't die. Don't die. I love you please," his murmurs are distressed and it hits me that when he came to while Dimaria stopped time, he probably didn't realize she stopped time. He thought I was just dead. He told me he loved me. He wasn't conscious but he said it. Clear as day.

"Natsu?" I ask him loud enough to jar him from his nightmare.

"Lucy," he answers. His eyes slightly open, and he pulls me against him tighter, breathing in my familiar scent. It relaxes him, and he falls back to sleep calmer now. After a few minutes of listening to his breathing patterns, I fall asleep too.

When we wake up, he's back to his regular playful self. He does this. He's super sweet it seems and then before you know it, he's shaking me violently to get up. It's so confusing. The worst part is, he never clarifies the things he does. So I never know if there's an ulterior motive, if it's an innocent kind gesture, or if it's because he loves me.

He held me, one could even dare say he cuddled with me. But to be fair, he's used to cuddling with his cat and it could be just an innocent habit. Or maybe he did it because he was having a nightmare of me being dead and he was holding me in said nightmare. That's also a valid speculation of why he would hold me. But then again, I woke him up. And he didn't let go, he was relieved. Probably because he realized it was just a bad dream and held me to be sure I was really there. Even still, he never let go. Just fell back to sleep immediately. What if he doesn't remember waking up at all?

It's killing me not knowing for sure. I will literally die before he tells me he loves me. And still, I wouldn't know. Love me like a guildmate? Like a friend? Love me like a soulmate? I guess I'll never know.

I know this much, the love I have for him goes much deeper than our other guildmates. What if he's not on the same page?

"Lucy wake up!" He rattles me back to reality.

"I'm up!" We pack up and start heading to the water in swimwear. We spend all day in the water. I even called Virgo to come help but we weren't able to turn anything up. Virgo informed me that every celestial spirits key has a special relation to their zodiac. It could mean anything. It could mean the water, a previous contract holder's possession. It could be anywhere and we are just blindly searching.

By the time the sun starts coming down I'm frustrated, "we'll never find it! I'll never see her again," once the realization hits, I've sunk to my knees. My oldest friend, I'll never see her again. Tears begin streaming down my face as I clench my fists in the sand. Natsu sighs but gather's me up in his arms.

"If anyone can find it Luce it's you, you're a member of Fairy Tail, and we don't just give up. A friend of yours is a friend of mine. And I won't stop till we find her again," he says with an edge of determination and encouragement.