Understanding My Heart

Chapter 12

She was dreaming again... Some part of her knew that. Lucy was standing in a lush, green field under the shade of a large cherry tree. The soft pink petals were waving softly in the breeze as she walked over to the trunk and sat down. She inhaled the sweet aroma and sighed in contentment, letting her eyes shut as she relaxed. She felt at peace.

Lucy heard the footsteps approaching, but didn't open her eyes. She didn't need to. She knew those footsteps and that slight cinnamon scent better than anyone.

"Natsu," she breathed, smiling slightly.

"Hey Lucy," said the pink haired mage, not able to help the smile that spread across his face. She looked so beautiful sitting there under the tree's shade, the breeze catching her long blonde hair and causing it to glimmer in the warm sunlight.

He sat down next to her and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her sweet lips. He could feel her smile into the kiss and return it eagerly. There was less urgency in this kiss, less primal need. It was just a greeting.

"So you do remember," said Natsu, breaking away. She still didn't open her eyes but she nodded at him.

"Of course I do," she teased. "How could I forget?" She leaned on his shoulder and sighed again, loving the warmth of him and the faint cinnamon smell of his skin. She could stay there forever and be happy to do so.

"I wonder why we don't remember everything from these dreams when we are awake...?" she wondered aloud. She felt Natsu shrug, then felt his warm arm slid around her shoulders to hold her close against him. She smiled at that and snuggled into his embrace.

"I don't know Luce," he said, his curiosity taking a back seat as she got closer to him. Nothing really bothered him when he was with her. All his cares seemed to drift away.

They sat in silence for a long time, the gentle sounds of nature calming Natsu and bringing a sense of peace to his being.

He grumbled a little when she sat up and looked at him, obviously still intent on figuring out why they had no memory of what was said in their dreams while they were awake. He attempted to pull her back into his arms, not wanting to have his brief time with her interrupted with thinking.

"Come on Natsu you must be a little bit curious," she pushed. Natsu just grumbled again and shuffled around so his head was lying on her lap. She gave him an exasperated look, but it was mixed with a loving smile. "You really are stubborn, you know that?" she chided, threading her fingers through his soft hair and stroking it gently. She giggled when she heard him purr in contentment.

"It really is strange though..." she muttered. "I can clearly remember everything from that last dream while I'm here, but when I'm awake it's like some of the dream is distorted and I can't remember anything that we actually said. I read somewhere that in your dreams you're more in tune with your true feelings... Maybe there's some kind of block on our waking memories and emotions that keeps up from remembering the dreams in their entirety..." she mused.

Natsu grunted at her words.

"So what you're saying is that we're being dumbasses while we're awake?" he said, chuckling a little. His face split into a grin as she laughed. He really loved the beautiful sound of her laughter.

"Well that is definitely a more blunt way of putting it," he heard her giggle. Her fingers continued to thread through his hair, making his scalp tingle. He really couldn't stop the purrs of enjoyment from rumbling out of his chest.