Just a little drabble before I start the story: I cannot stress how long it has been since I last wrote a fanfiction. Lemme tell you, it's been too long. Literally, years since I wrote something. So, to apologize for my absence, I shall provide a NaLu oneshot for you this particular story was based off of a drawing I saw called "Shall We Play?" by the wonderful sombraescarlata on Deviantart, look it up!

Now enough of my banter and onto some NaLu!

All characters belong to Hiro Mashima

Love is the Best Medicine

Lucy paced in her small living room, nearly wearing down a small trench in the carpet from her constant worry. Porlyusica was seated on her couch, looking quite uncomfortable as she watched the blonde pace. Luckily, she hadn't been in Lucy's home for too long. The pink-haired healer cleared her throat, bringing Lucy out of her drifting mind.

Porlyusica handed the celestial mage a bottle that was stored in her small handbag. A purple liquid sloshed inside, "This should help rid his body of the spell."

The blonde nodded as Porlyusica continued, "He is to take it twice a day, with a meal. If his fever is really bad, you may give him an additional dose, but that will probably not happen. This potion simply helps his own immune system restore itself to its proper glory, so he may rid his sickness. It is a liquid, so he must take it orally."

Lucy stared at her, her lips stung from where she had bit them with worry as she pressed them into a line. She sighed after taking in the instructions she was given, "Anything will help at this point, I still can't believe Natsu of all people managed to get sick."

The healer stood up, shrugging her shoulders as she did so, "The magic that was used on him was quite powerful."

Lucy nodded and followed Porlyusica to her front door. The blonde was ready to dismiss the taller mage when she suddenly turned to face Lucy, "Make sure you deliver it—"

"Orally. I got it." Lucy said as she shooed Porlyusica out the door. After she had closed it completely, she slid down its cold exterior with a groan. She thought that after the Grand Magic Games she may get some peace and quiet, but no. Natsu had to go be an idiot once again and ruin all of her plans. Placing her head in her hands, she thought back to the last few days.

Two days ago, there was a mission on the board that the celestial mage had to read a few times before she understood. The flyer read, "Help!" in red letters and underneath it simply said that the client was looking for someone to help them destroy some worn items in their house. Not only was the request itself a bit fishy, the huge number for the reward made Lucy raise an eyebrow. That reward could pay for her rent for months, no, years.

Something had just felt wrong though. There was no way someone would offer that much money for simply destroying a few measly items! She had already decided it was not worth the risk when a particular pink-haired dragonslayer rushed to her side. Natsu's dark eyes widened when he saw the poster. He immediately ripped it from its spot on the board.

"Lucy! Look!" He then proceeded to shove the flyer too close to the celestial mage's face for comfort, "They're offering that much just to destroy stuff?!"

She pushed the flyer out of her face, "Don't you think it's a little suspicious Natsu?"

The dragonslayer's eyebrows knit together as he tilted his head to the side. Like a dog, Lucy thought. "What do ya mean? It's perfectly fine Luce! This person must just be rich!"

A broad smile replaced his confused look, aimed directly at the blonde. The grin was toothy, reaching his eyes, and practically making Lucy's heart jump out of her chest when she saw it. She looked away from his bright gaze, recalling her recent epiphany of her feelings towards him. It had happened after the games as well, and it happened every time she thought about how Natsu reacted when her future self was killed. The way he acted towards her…it was special, and once she realized that, she could never go back.

"Well, can we go Lucy?" the loud voice of her partner brought her out of her thoughts.

She sighed softly, "I suppose."

His light chuckle made all of her doubt about the mission fade, and she too laughed as he shouted for his blue cat, telling Happy excitedly about their new mission.

"Oi, flame brain, what're you boasting about over there?"

Natsu's smile twisted into a displeased frown as he turned to Gray, "None of your business ice princess."

The ice mage was closer to Natsu now, his shirt nowhere to be seen, "I just asked a simple question flame breath. Why don't you get that charcoal out of your ears?"

Natsu was now pressing his forehead against Gray's, a vein poking out from under his pink hair, "I heard ya, you pervy popsicle, and it's none of your business."

Lucy sighed as she and Happy gathered their things. The dragonslayer and ice mage continued to argue, completely missing the entrance of a familiar redhead. Erza began showing the girls of the guild what she had earned on her most recent mission: a three tier strawberry cake, topped with the well-crafted words "You're Terrifying and Beautiful all at once, congrats!" Erza could care less about the words though. It was the beautiful cake that she was drooling over that had all of her attention.

Being so enthralled by the cake, she barely noticed a flame and shard of ice shot in her direction. Luckily the cake absorbed most of the impact, but not so lucky for the perpetrators of the accident. Natsu and Gray continued to throw punches at each other, unaware of the impending doom festering behind them. Erza cracked her knuckles as she whispered sweet vengeance for her cake under her breath, directed at the feuding pair. Instantly, they lost all will to fight, staring both pale-faced at the redhead demon behind them and her mauled cake on the table.

"Erza…." Natsu choked out.

"We're sorry…" Gray squeaked.

"We'll be taking that one Mira-san." Lucy said kindly to the transformation mage as Erza slammed the heads of the two boys together with a loud thump. Lucy sighed as she dragged her partner out of the guild by the neck of his vest, Happy following close behind them. They had to take a long train ride to the client's town, much to Natsu's distaste. Once the team arrived in the town, Natsu practically kissed the ground. The client's house wasn't too far away so the pink-haired wizard was able to walk off his motion sickness.

Lucy knocked on a large door of an enormous castle. Natsu had been right; this client was probably just plain loaded. A butler came to answer the door, and after confirming that they were the Fairy Tail wizards his master requested, led them to their master's quarters. The client was a small, shaky old man. He grinned upon seeing the team, his wrinkled features pulled into a lazy smile.

"Glad you could come. The task at hand is this way." For a second, Lucy could have sworn that she saw a dark look cross the old man's features, but she waved it off.

The team followed the client to a small room that held a single large metal table. Natsu approached the table immediately, quickly snatching up the item that laid on it. He cradled the large book in his hands before saying, "This is it?"

"Yes, that will be the only thing I need you to destroy, Salamander."

There it was again, Lucy thought, the malicious tone she had heard before.

"No problem!" the dragonslayer's lips curled into a large, toothy grin.

Before the celestial mage could stop him, because it was now that she really felt bad about this situation, the book burned bright in Natsu's hand. At first the flame was a brilliant blend of red, orange, and yellow, but right before the book was completely disintegrated, the flame turned purple.

Natsu's eyebrows knit together as the book finally disappeared. He stared at his now empty hands.

"That's weird. I've never seen Natsu's flames turn that color." Happy said slowly.

"Un." His blonde-haired partner agreed.

The client interrupted, his expression pulled into a content smile, "Must have been from whatever the pages were made out of!"

With shaky hands the old man carefully handed Lucy their reward: a large pouch full of Jewels. They thanked the man for his business and promptly left the castle, huge reward in hand. Natsu got the bigger chunk, since he actually destroyed the book, but the amount Lucy got was still more than enough to make her live wonderfully for the next few months. All was well, that was, until they boarded the train that went back to Magnolia.

Lucy and Happy knew that Natsu had motion-sickness when it came to any kind of transportation, but this time, something was really wrong. Natsu had turned completely white instead of his usual green, and when his worried partner felt his forehead, he was abnormally hot. Even for Natsu.

"Lucy…." Happy started, equally as worried as the celestial mage.

"Ne, Happy, it's just Natsu. He's fine, just a little sick from the train ride."

The blonde spent the rest of the ride rubbing Natsu's back, her worry intensified by her newfound feelings for the dragonslayer. Happy was also trying to help, using a pamphlet to fan Natsu in an attempt to cool down his rising temperature.

When they arrived in Magnolia Natsu was still a bit out of it, but to Lucy's relief, he was able to walk himself off of the train.

"Natsu, I think you'd better go home and get some rest."

There was no response from her pink-haired companion other than a short nod.

He probably shouldn't go home by himself. Lucy thought, sighing. She knew Natsu probably wouldn't be able to nurse himself back to health. He had to go to her apartment so she could take care of him.

He was quiet the whole way, and Lucy and Happy only really got worried when he wasn't begging for food. It felt as if they were being followed by an empty vessel, not their usual energetic partner. Once they arrived at her place, Natsu's eyes seemed hazy. Lucy barely got him through the doorway when he collapsed onto her.

"Natsu!" Lucy screeched, her face flushed.

Her embarrassment quickly turned into worry when she noticed his body temperature. This wasn't the usual comforting heat, it felt as if Natsu had been boiled in hot water. She looked down at him in terror, his hand was hanging, sweat poured from his body.

"Happy!" the celestial mage called to her other partner. The blue cat seemed to understand, helping her shuffle their companion into her bed.

"I've never seen him like this…" Lucy started. To distract herself from her fear, she instructed Happy to go and find Porlyusica. The blue cat hastily left her apartment, leaving the blonde alone with the very sick Natsu.

She scrambled around her place in search of towels. Once she found them she soaked them in cold water and placed them on Natsu's forehead and chest in an attempt to cool down his temperature. He initially winced when she put the towels on him, but it seemed to help, only a little. The pink-haired mage's cracked lips opened as he took in short breaths.

"Lu…..cy…."

Heat filled Lucy's veins, making her face flush once again. He was calling for her. Knowing he was definitely not fully conscious, she gently placed her small hand on his rough ones.

"I'm right here Natsu." She whispered.

Porlyusica arrived minutes later, followed by a very worried blue cat. The blonde quickly tore her hand away from Natsu's, trying to hide her flushed face. Happy barely noticed her as he rushed to Natsu's side, asking Porlyusica many questions. Lucy stood up, giving the healer her spot so Porlyusica could determine what was wrong with the dragonslayer. The healer asked many questions, and Lucy answered all of them, informing the made what had happened on their quest.

After what seemed like ages, Porlyusica determined that when Natsu had destroyed that book, a dormant spell had been released, causing him to fall ill. Porlyusica told the pink-haired partner's that the spell had weakened his immune system as well. That made sense to both Lucy and Happy. That would be the only way Natsu could have gotten sick. Porlyusica then explained that Natsu could fight off the spell by himself, he only needed a few days to build up some antibodies to this spell.

Lucy sent Happy out to get some needed groceries as Porlyusica determined what kind of cure Natsu needed.

And that's where she was now. Sitting on the cold ground, a sick Natsu in her bed, and Happy out an about running errands. Sighing, Lucy stood, deciding that she needed to stop moping and help her nakama. It would be what Natsu would do. She quickly darted into her kitchen and grabbed a small bread roll. It wasn't much of a meal, but Natsu didn't look like he wanted to eat much.

She crept quietly into her bedroom, walking over to the bed with careful steps.

"Natsu…hey…" she whispered, nudging her partner softly.

He groaned as she took off all the towels she had put on him. They were already almost completely dry and very hot. The celestial mage crouched by the bed.

"You need to eat this." The blonde said softly, waving the bread in front of Natsu's nose. She felt embarrassed when she thought of feeding it to him, but when he refused she knew that was what she was going to have to do.

Gently, she pulled off a small chunk of bread and pressed it to his chapped lips. Upon contact Natsu turned away, rejecting the food. Lucy tried again and again until he eventually parted his mouth enough for her to put the small piece of bread in his mouth. His black eyes opened a crack as he chewed slowly.

After feeding him a little more, and his eyes adjusted to the lighting, Natsu was able to feed himself. He was now in a sitting position, but he was still sweating, Lucy noticed. She stood, rewet a towel and grabbed a chair so she may sit by his side.

"What….happened…?" He asked, wincing when Lucy placed the cold towel on his forehead. She could have sworn she saw it steam a little bit.

"You got cursed by the book we destroyed." She spoke softly, acknowledging that her partner's head was probably throbbing.

"That…sucks." Natsu replied slowly, at a loss for words.

Lucy let out a quiet laugh, "You could say that." By now she had filled the lid of the medicine bottle Porlyusica had given her with a deep purple liquid. "You have to drink this." She said as she placed the lid in Natsu's hand.

He gave it a quick sniff, his face contorted in disgust. "No way. I don't need medicine."

"You have to take it if you want to get better. Porlysucia says that your immune system is down, and this is going to help it get back up so you can fight the spell on your own."

"My body is just fine fighting this off! Just give it a minute." The pink-haired mage set down the lid on the nightstand, crossing his arms.

Lucy was starting to get agitated, "Natsu, this is the only way."

"No. I can fight this thing myself."

"You can't."

"Yes, I can."

"No, you can't"

"Oh yes, I can."

"Natsu, take the medicine."

The dragonslayer continued to refuse as he laid back down, shaking his head vigorously. Natsu ignored how his head pounded when he did that, just to make a point with his partner. He could fight this. His magic and his immune system, or whatever Lucy called it, was stronger than this stupid spell. He took the towel she had placed on his forehead and turned it over, placing the black cloth over his eyes in an attempt to dull the pain as he continued to shake his head. His arms now had joined in on the refusal as he batted away any attempt Lucy made when she tried to give him the medicine.

Lucy grumbled something and her face flushed as an idea struck her. Oh, she could get Natsu to take this medicine. It would just be…tricky.

Taking advantage of the towel over his eyes, she quickly jumped on top of him. He grunted as she trapped his arms under her thighs, successfully trapped him beneath her. The sickness seemed to have weakened his physical strength as well, or maybe he was just shocked from the sudden skin to skin contact.

Lucy figured she was probably red from head to toe now, but this really was the only way Natsu was going to listen to her, so she had to give it a try.

"Okay Natsu, I'm going to ask you one more time to take your medicine."

His response was much slower now, and whether that was because of the close proximity or the illness, Lucy wasn't sure.

"No." Natsu spoke, his voice a low hum.

Lucy's heart pounded in her chest, "T-then you leave me no choice…."

There was only one other way Lucy could think of that could get the medicine into Natsu's mouth without a mess. She had to do it with her own mouth. She had read it so many times in books. Mavis, what was she thinking?

Lucy shoved down her fear, remembering that Natsu would do anything for nakama, so a somewhat-kiss wouldn't matter. Her heart squeezed when she thought that. She wanted it to matter….

But Natsu was her nakama, and right now he was not going to get better without this medicine.

Natsu was still in shock. Sure, he couldn't see and the spell definitely made his sense of smell dull, but he could feel every bit of Lucy's skin touching his own. They had never been close like this before. The skin of her inner thigh was so soft compared to his rough skin. He wondered if the rest of her skin was that soft…

Man this sickness thing was doing something perverted to his thoughts now. He figured he should probably listen to Lucy and take the medicine. Just as he was about to open his mouth to accept it, a soft pair of lips met his chapped ones. His body stiffened as Lucy transferred the medicine to him via her mouth. He barely noticed the bitter taste as he swallowed it, her lips leaving his.

It worried him that he couldn't see the expression she was making right now.

"Luce…." He began, his voice coming out a lot deeper than he intended. Natsu licked his lips slowly, tasting her strawberry lip gloss on his mouth. His lips parted, missing the feeling of hers. Suddenly he wished she had more medicine to give him.

Seriously, this sickness was making him think crazy things.

Lucy, on the other hand, was thinking the same thing as she gently touched her lips where they had met Natsu's. They were still hot.

Nakama or not, she loved how it felt when she had kissed him. Heck, she just loved him in general. Hours seemed to pass by as she stayed where she was, straddling Natsu. He remained still underneath her, nervously anticipating the next move. The front door opened, bringing them out of their moment as Lucy hopped off of him. She was out of the room before Natsu could take the towel off of his eyes.

What had just happened?

Happy flew in, greeting Natsu with enthusiasm. Without Lucy there distracting him, he began to feel ill again, and Happy called Lucy into the room as his eyes closed again. His body felt so…hot. That was weird. He never really felt hot. He never really felt anything like that kiss he had with Lucy before either.

Natsu couldn't see her, but he knew Lucy rushed into the room. She placed more cold towels on him as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, the morning light made his head pound. He really did not like this whole being sick thing. He couldn't understand how Lucy dealt with this so much. The medicine did seem to have helped though, because he could now smell breakfast cooking. He attempted to get up, but his body ached too much to move. Instead, he removed his scarf and vest in an attempt to cool down. It helped a little bit.

Lucy came into the room not minutes later, a plate of eggs and bacon in her hands. She looked amazing like that, Natsu decided. Her blonde hair was practically glowing along with her body, making her look almost…angelic.

"Natsu? Do you feel a little better this morning?" She asked, slight confusion on her face as she noticed her partner staring at her.

This illness was making him think like a pervert again! "A little bit. Is that breakfast for me?"

She smiled and handed to him, and he immediately sat up and ate it with gusto. His mouth was full of eggs when she said, "But you have to take your medicine with it."

Natsu set down the empty plate on the nightstand with a clang. He sank back into lying down as he shook his head. After how she gave him the medicine yesterday, he refused to have it any other way. He needed to know why his chest hurt really badly when he thought about yesterday. Was it the illness? How was he supposed to know? He'd never been sick before.

"You need to take your medicine Natsu."

He promptly shook his head, covering his eyes once again with a cold towel she had set out earlier.

"I am not going to give it to you the same way I did yesterday." She said softly, sneaking a peek at his well-toned chest, knowing he couldn't see her stare.

But that's exactly how he wanted her to, and he would have it no other way. He huffed, turning away from his partner.

"Natsu! Hey." She said, turning him back in her direction.

The pink-haired mage shook his head once again. He heard her sigh and shuffle around. Lucy couldn't believe she was doing it again, but it seemed it was the only way he was going to take the medicine. She just wanted him to be better already.

Carefully this time, she sat on top of him, this time there was no need to keep his arms restrained. She sat further up on his chest, his arms free underneath her. A blush crept over her as her inner thigh brushed his bare chest. After the bitter medicine was in her mouth she bent down, giving Natsu the medicine.

This time he was ready for it, and when he swallowed it, he noticed how he really did miss her lips on his. He felt Lucy starting to get off of him, and he instinctually grabbed her so she stayed there. She gasped, and he reached for the towel so he could see her expression. A gentle pair of hands stopped him from taking the towel off. That dose of medicine must have been stronger or something, because he felt a lot better now. A lot more aware of Lucy on top of him. A lot more aware about how happy that made him feel, and how much he wanted to kiss her again.

"Lucy…" His voice was a deep whisper, sending chills down Lucy's spine. "I think I need some more medicine…"

Lucy was in shock. Did he just say what she think he did?!

"We…we have to wait until your next meal." Again, she tried to leave, but Natsu's grip only tightened on her.

"I want some more right now though."

The blonde's heart was in overdrive by now, her body hot from blushing and Natsu. He wanted her to kiss him!

Natsu reached for the towel once again, but she stopped him. He couldn't see the face she was making right now. It was way too embarrassing. She figured if she just did what he wanted, he would leave her alone. The problem with that….was that she wanted to kiss him too. Slowly she bent down and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Natsu was not going to settle for that. Before she could pull away he stretched his neck to put his lips on her again. She jerked away, much to his distaste. And just when he decided he had freaked her out, her lips were back on his.

Her kisses seemed less timid this time, and much more determined. She weaved her hands through his hair as they continued to kiss. Natsu really had no idea what he was doing as he tried to match what Lucy was doing. It didn't feel like enough. Lucy tugged on his hair as she gently explored his mouth with her tongue. Natsu let out a growl as her tongue glided across the roof of his mouth. She tasted amazing, like blueberry pancakes and orange juice.

It was Lucy's turn to make a sound as Natsu mimicked her actions, grazing his tongue gently against her lips before plunging into her mouth. His hands gripped her hips as he continued to crush his mouth against hers, loving how her soft lips felt against his rough ones. They kissed like that for a while, fighting over dominance before parting, both gasping for air.

Natsu's lips parted as a soft finger brushed against them. The touch was a lot more sensual then Lucy intended, and as she slowly caressed the side of his face and his Adam's apple, the grip he had on her hips tightened. Lucy's embarrassment faded, now enjoying having the advantage against Natsu. He was shaking with anticipation as she placed a slow, yearning kiss on his lips.

Slowly this time, using the kiss as a distraction, Lucy wiggled free from Natsu's grasp, climbing off of her bed. Natsu was quick to remove the towel this time, stopping to observe her angelic face. Red danced across her cheeks as she smiled coyly at him. He sat up slowly.

"Natsu, you still need to rest."

"Actually Luce, I feel much better now."

The blonde attempted to protest as Natsu stood, taking her face into his hands.

"N-Natsu….you're still not fully recovered." The blonde avoided his gaze.

"I guess I need some more medicine…" He spoke softly as he kissed her again.

It just felt so…right to kiss her. Like everything in the world just disappeared. Like he could beat the crap out of Zeref. All of his problems faded. He felt he could do anything right now.

She pulled away, still not looking at him, "Alright, you feel better. No more medicine."

"But I want more."

Natsu leaned in for another kiss, so he could feel whole again, but Lucy stepped away from him, pain in her eyes.

"Natsu I can't give you anymore…." She paused, "Kisses."

Before he could protest she continued, "I….I can't continue to kiss you if I'm only your nakama."

This caused the dragonslayer's eyebrows to knit together. He didn't get it. She would always be his nakama. That's what he cared about the most, what was wrong with that?

"It's just that…." Fat tears began to rush down the celestial mage's face, causing Natsu to flinch, "I like you."

Without hesitation, "I like you too Luce."

Pain crossed Lucy's face, "Not in that way."

"What other way is there?" Natsu asked, officially confused.

"Natsu, this," she pulled him close again, giving him a sad kiss filled with longing, "means that I'm in love with you."

In…..love? With him?

The dragonslayer stood there for a few moments, contemplating what his partner had just told him. Lucy was….in love with him?

Lucy sighed, crossing her arms, "I knew I should have had Wendy come in and take care of you."

Natsu felt like he had a piece of lead in his heart as Lucy began to leave the room. Without thinking, which he rarely did, he grabbed her arm.

"But I don't want Wendy to take care of me." He made sure she was looking at him as he tilted her chin up with his free hand, "I want you by my side."

More tears filled her eyes, "Because I'm your nakama." She tried to pull free, but Natsu only held on.

"No" he started, his expression was puzzled once again as he searched for the right words, "No, not because you are my nakama, but because you're Lucy. There's no one else out there I'd rather have by my side."

She was silent for what Natsu felt like forever, "What does that mean?"

Natsu's expression softened as he wiped her tears away gently, "I don't know what it means to be in love Lucy, but I know that I never want you to leave my side. You are and always will be my nakama, but you are more than that. And this," he brushed his lips across hers gently, "That makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. That I can do anything."

Lucy smiled at this, wondering why she ever doubted Natsu's feelings for her. She knew that what they felt for each other was love, she just needed to give Natsu some time to understand how to be in love. In that moment, the celestial mage decided that she wanted to be the one to do just that. She wanted to be by Natsu's side just like he wanted to be by hers. They would learn how to love each other, over time. She pressed her face into his chest and he hugged her close, not feeling an ounce of sick anymore. They embraced each other for a while in silence.

"So what happens next?" Natsu asked, pulling Lucy back so he could look at her seriously.

Lucy threaded her small hand in his large, rough one. "Anything. As long as we're together."

Her favorite toothy grin was his response, "I should really get sick more often."

The end! I hope you liked it. Thank you all again for your support, and I hope you accept my apology. I would also like to thank my best friend gwynblackwolf for getting me back into writing fanfiction and Fairy Tail in general!

Reviews are most appreciated. Constructive criticism is always pleasant.

Did you like this story? Because I currently have another (lengthier) fanfiction I plan to work on for all the NaLu fans :3 coming soon~