This is officially my first Fairy Tail fanfic! Though it wasn't the first one I published, but at least it's up and running now.
I have to admit, it's not my best work but I got the point I wanted to get across. I wish I could have written it better but between going to class, studying, and worrying about my dog, there's only so much I can write and how well I can write. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its universe does not belong to me. I am merely doing free advertisement for Hiro Mashima.
~~FT~~
A feminine cough was heard in the early afternoon at the Fairy Tail Guild.
"Lu-chan are you okay?" a small blue-haired teen asked her blonde companion who currently occupied the seat next to her at the bar area of the guild.
"Yeah, why do you ask Levy-chan?" the blonde replied.
"Well you've been coughing quite a bit since you arrived today so I was wondering if you weren't feeling well." There was a bit of worry in the smaller teen's face.
"I did wake up with a tickle in my throat but I already too some medicine just in case. The cough should be gone by tomorrow as long as I take it easy I think." She smiled at her friend "Thanks for worrying though. You're a great friend Levy-chan."
The smaller teen blushed at the comment. "What are friend for?" she replied sheepishly.
At that moment, both girls turned their heads at the sound of one of their name's being yelled across the guild.
"LUCY!"
A pink-haired mage yelled at he stormed into the guild looking for his teammate. He stopped for a second to scan the area. A huge smile spread across his face as he spotted the person he was looking for.
"Lucy, pack your bags because I found us a job!" He gave his friend a huge grin. "You said you were short on rent money tight?"
"Yeah, I have a little more than half of it right now but I'm still short a bit." She looked at her friend enthusiastically. "So, what's the job?"
"Come on," he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her as he stated to walk. "I'll tell you on the way. We have to leave now or we'll miss the train."
"Ahh! Natsu, don't pull to hard." The blonde turned to wave goodbye to her friend. "I guess I'll see you later Levy-chan."
"Be carefully Lu-chan." She waved at her retreating friend. "I wonder if she'll be okay." She asked no one in particular.
~And then~
"Gate of the Clock, I open thee! Horologium!" Lucy quickly summoned her celestial spirit.
"'Natsu! Why didn't you tell me that we were coming to Mt. Hakobe?' she says" Horologium said as he worked on keeping his owner warm. "'You know I'm not good with cold weather!' she says."
The pink-haired boy walked a few steps in front of the celestial spirit with his arms behind his head. "Ah come on Lucy, don't get mad. Besides we were only trying to help with your rent money, right Happy?"
"Aye sir!" Exclaimed the blue feline as he flew next to his partner.
"'Anyways, what's the job?' she says." Horologium continued to follow the boy and his feline.
"Geez Lucy I told you on the train ride over here. Did you forget already?" Natsu turned back to look at the girl in the clock.
"Natsu," the little blue Exceed called out to his friend, "you passed out from your motion sickness remember?"
"Oh yeah, I guess I thought I told you. My bad Lucy." He gave his female companion a goofy grin. "Anyway, we're here to get some more of that plant we got last time before the Hanami festival."
"Oh' she says." Horologium paused for a second. "'How come the rest of the team didn't come along?' she says."
Natsu thought for a bit. "Wendy and Charle went on a job of their own and Gramps sent Erza with them to make sure they would be okay. And I think Juvia dragged Gray on a job." He paused for a second. "Plus, it's nice going on jobs with our original team once in a while, right Happy?"
"Aye sir!" The blue cat exclaimed once more.
They walked around for a bit more before Horologium suddenly stopped. "It is time. I fare thee well." The celestial clock announced before disappeared, leaving Lucy exposed to the frosty air.
"Ah, ah, achoo!" Lucy sneezed as she pulled the blanket Natsu had given her closer to her shivering body. "Damn it! Are we any closed to that stupid plant?"
Natsu sniffed the air. "I think I found it." He zoomed to the top of the hill and looked over. "Lucy I found it!" He turned to her and pointed behind him. "Hurry Lucy! The faster we get the plant, the faster we can leave!"
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one with frozen toes!" Lucy yelled back as she made her way to the boy and his feline.
Happy looked over the field of plants and spotted something. "Ne Natsu, isn't that the Winter Wyvern sleeping with the plants?"
"Bkizzardvern!" Lucy cried as she spotted the dragon like creature.
"What do we do now Natsu?" Happy sounded a little worried. "I don't think it plans on sharing his plants with us and it might still be mad at us after last time."
"We can try sneaking around it and taking the plants furthest away from it." Lucy suggested.
"That's no fun, besides," The fire mage cracked his knuckles, "I want some of its scales." And before anyone could stop him, Natsu ran towards the creature and launched an attacked the poor unsuspecting thing. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Natsu!" Both the celestial mage and blue feline yelled at the impatient mage.
"Lucy, Happy, I'll distract it and you guys get the plant." The pink-haired teen yelled as he launched another attack.
Lucy sighed as she watched her teammate go after the larger beast. "I guess that leaves me no choice. Let's go Happy."
"Aye sir!" The little blue flying cat followed Lucy as she cautiously crawled towards the plants and avoiding the airborne attacks. "Lucy, how much do you think we need?"
"I'm not sure, as much as you can carry I guess."
Just then, both Natsu and White Wyvern crash landed just above the area where Lucy and Happy were collecting the plant.
"Avalanche!" Both plant pickers yelled as they saw the oncoming rush of snow.
Happy was able to dodge the snow by flying out of the way last minute, however, Lucy was caught and swept away by the cold snow.
Natsu's head popped out of the snow first. "Happy, did you see that?! I beat it without any help from that Ice Block or Erza!"
"Natsu!" Happy flew over to his partner. "You really have to be careful about where you throw your enemies! You could have hurt someone."
The pink-haired mage looked around, ignoring the feline. "Hey, where's Lucy"
Happy casually scanned the land around them, "I don't know. Maybe she was swept away by the snow?"
"What?" Natsu scrambled out of the snow. "We gotta find her or she'll kill me for leaving her in the snow!" The fire make frantically searched for his teammate, fearing the imminent death that awaited him if the celestial mage wasn't found soon.
"Achoo!" A loud sneeze was heard not too far from where the two searched.
"Found her!" Happy flew over to where he had heard the sneeze.
Lucy slowly heaved herself out of the snow, never letting go of the plant. "I wanna go home to my warm bed!" She cried, only to be interrupted by another sneeze.
~And then~
Natsu and Happy walked into the guild around noon the next day. They both made their way to the bar where Mirajane had started working on a meal for them.
"Hey Mira, have Charle, Wendy and Erza nor returned from their job yet" I don't see Charle anywhere." Happy asked as he plopped down on the table and scanned the guild.
"No. Erza called over the Lacrimia earlier and said that the train broke down so they have to wait for it to get fixed." Mirajane set down their plates of food and the teen and his cat immediately started to dig in. "They won't be back at least until tomorrow afternoon.
"What?" Natsu's head shot up in hearing the news. "No Erza for an entire day? Do you know what that means?" He quickly looked around the guiled and until he spotted the person he was looking for. "Hey Ice Princes, did you hear that? Erza won't be here until tomorrow. I think it's time we settle that score of yours."
The half-naked man looked at his life rival. "Now you're talking Flame Breath. But we both know who will be winning this." He grinned as he cracked his knuckles.
Natsu rose from his seat. "What was that Ice Block?"
"You heard me Candle Light." Gray egged him on.
And they were both at it again. As the boys brawled it out, Levy walked over to the bar trying to avoid getting caught in the testosterone fight.
"Mira, have you heard from Lu-chan? I'm a little worried since she seemed to have a cough yesterday and she stilled hasn't come today." Levy fiddled with her hands in a worried manner as she looked for the blue-eyed beauty who was currently somewhere behind the bar.
"Oh, she called earlier today." Mirajane's head popped out from behind the bar. "It seems she caught a bad cold."
"What?" The pink-haired mage turned to look at the talking girls when he heard the news. Gray took the opportunity to punch the unsuspecting mage and sent him crashing into the bar, causing the girls to squeal in surprise.
Natsu quickly recovered from the attack, shook off the rubble, and turned to the girls. "Lucy's sick?"
"Hey, Crazy Flame Spewer, don't ignore your opponent in the middle of a battle!" Gray angrily retorted, not liking the fact that was be being disregarded.
The fire mage annoyingly turned to his opponent. "Not now Icy Minty Fresh" And turned back to the girls. "What do you mean she's sick? She was just fine yesterday."
"Well," Levy played with her fingers again, a little nervous not that she was talking to her best friend's (sometimes) overprotective partner. "She was coughing a lot yesterday but she said it was just a tickle." She hesitated to continue, not sure if it would be okay to say what was on her mind. "I think whatever job you guys went on made it worse."
There was a slight pause.
"Mira" Happy piped in, "is Lucy sick because of us?"
"Well," the white-haired beauty wasn't sure how to answer without accidently hurting the feline's feelings.
"Mira, are you sure she's sick? Maybe she's being lazy and just doesn't want to come?" Natsu tried to be optimistic.
"Hmmmmm," Mira put a finger to her chin, thinking for a second. "I highly doubt that. When Lucy called she sounded horrible and she was asking for Wendy."
"Natsu!" Happy cried. "We made Lucy sick! What do we do?" The cat turned to his partner who seemed to be deep in thought. "Natsu"?
The pink-haired mage, who had his arms crossed over his chest and face scrunched in concentration, was so deep in thought that his three companions were a bit worried about him. What if he broke something with all that thinking?
Happy broke the silence first. "Nat-"
"Happy!" The fire mage startled the poor cat with his sudden outburst.
"Wah!" The little blue Exceed gave a surprised yelp before falling to his back.
"This isn't the time to be laying around, Happy. Hurry, let's go." Natsu was nearly out the door by the time Happy got back up.
"Go where?"
"To go see Lucy of course" Natsu jogged in place as he waited for his friend. "Hurry up Happy."
"Aye sir!" The Exceed flew after his friends as they both left the guild in a rush. "Ne Natsu, do you think Lucy will feel better if I give her my fish?" Those were the last words heard from the Exceed before they were both out of view.
"My, my" Mirajane giggle. "I hope those two don't cause Lucy any trouble."
"Levy turned to her companion. "One can only hope."
~And then~
There was a knock on her door. She heard it a couple more times before she very sluggishly got out of bed to answer it. With a blanket wrapped around her overheated body she made way to her front door.
"Natsu . . . Happy . . . what are you two doing here?" She asked between coughs.
"Lucy, is it true?" Happy very sadly asked. "Did you get sick because of us?"
"Huh?" The blonde's brain seemed to be having processing information because she did not any idea what her feline was talking about.
"Levy said you weren't feeling very goof yesterday and that you got worse because you went on a job with us." Tears formed in the little critter's eyes.
Lucy crouched down in front of the sad cat as he wiped away his tears.
"If I give you my fish, will you feel better?" He pulled out a fish from his knapsack and offered it to her.
Sure Happy would often tease her, and maybe even bully her a bit but at the end of the day they were nakama and she knew that the cat cared for her. She also knew that rejecting the fish would only hurt his feelings.
"Ah, thanks Happy." She accepted the fish and game him the best smile she could muster in her weaken state. She patted the cat's head gently before slowly rising back up.
She looked at Natsu who up to that point hasn't said anything. He stood casually in front of her, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze intently on her. He uncrossed his arms cupped her face in her hands "You have a fever."
If her face wasn't already hot and red from the fever she was sure she would be blushing madly at that moment. She pulled back and hid her face behind the crook of her elbow as she had a small coughing fit. "Don't worry about it." She said once she was able to speak again. "I've been taking medicine so it'll get better soon enough. Too bad Wendy isn't here though. Her healing magic would have been really helpful right now." She turned around to a very wobbly made her way back to bed. "I'm going back to bed. You guys can stay if you want, just don't make a mess."
They both started at each other and then at the sick girl's back. "Natsu, Lucy must be really sick if she's letting us stay."
"Ah" was his only response. He didn't move from his spot near the door as he watched the sick girl's retreating form. He watched her wobble back and forth and stop. All of the sudden, she fell over.
"Lucy!" The two cried as they ran towards the fallen girl.
The little cat watched as Natsu put an arm under her neck and slightly lifted the girl up. "Natsu, is Lucy okay?"
The mage used his free hand to gently touch the girl's forehead. "I think she fainted because of the fever." He then used the arm that was on her forehead and moved it under her knees and carefully lifted her as he stood up. "Happy, go look for a bin and fill it with water. Also, get a cloth. We have to bring her fever down."
"Aye sir!" Happy zoomed away to look for the stuff Natsu had asked for.
Natsu carried the girl to her bed and tucked her in, only waiting a couple of minutes before his partner came back with the supplies he had requested. By that time, Natsu had placed a small table near Lucy's bed where Happy set the bin filled with water. Natsu took the cloth Happy had brought along and soaked it in the water for a few seconds before squeezing out the water and laying it on the blonde's forehead.
Happy stared at the sick girl in bead and then at the mage attending her. The fire mage bore a worried expression on his face as he observed the unconscious girl. The winged cat was at a loss for words.
"Happy," Natsu broke the silence "can you watch her for a bit? Ima go see if there's any more medicine left. She probably hasn't been eating right either so I'll see if I can make anything to eat so we can give her the medicine."
Before Happy could even replying with an 'Aye,' the Dragon Slayer had already retreated into the kitchen.
Natsu walked into the kitchen, head hung low in shame. He turned to face the wall and punched it causing small cracks to ripple through it. "Damn it." He cursed. How in the hell did he not notice she was sick? What kind if protection could he give her is her couldn't even protect her from a measly cold? He stayed there, fits to wall, head hung low a good while before deciding that wallowing in pity would help no one, especially Lucy. He needed to fine medicine and fix something to so that she could get better.
The Dragon slayer rummaged through different cabinets before he found the remainder of the medicine. She didn't have a lot of food left either. Well, with her being sick and since they barely returned from a mission, he understood why.
It too him a while to find the ingredients he need and a while long to actually prepare the meal.
About an hour had passed when Happy saw Natsu returning from the kitchen with a bowl of what seemed to be porridge in one hand and a sandwich in the other.
"Here." Natsu handed the plate with the sandwich to his partner.
"You're not gonna eat?" The feline asked as he accepted the plate.
"I'm not hungry besides, Lucy doesn't have any food left."
"We can share if you want." Happy offered.
"Don't worry about it buddy." Natsu patted the cat's head as he walked over to the small table and set the bowl down. "Besides, Ima try to feed Lucy some food before I give her some more medicine."
Happy took a bite of his sandwich as he watched his friend gently shake the blonde awake.
Slowly, the girl opened her eyes, a little hesitant. "Natsu?" She called out to the blurry figure in front of her, her voice a little weak and crackly for being sick.
"Hey." He smiled at her. "Do you think you can sit up for a bit while you eat?"
The celestial mage's eye fluttered closed before slowly opening up once again. "I'm not hungry though. I just want to sleep." She whined as she pulled her blanket closer to emphasis her point.
Natsu put an around the girl's shoulders and slowly lifted her up to a sitting position in spite of her protests. "You need to eat so you can take your medicine. You wanna get better right?" Once he had her sitting, he turned to get the bowl. "Otherwise how are you gonna go on jobs to get enough jewels to pay for your rent?"
"Can't I just move in with you and Happy and not worry about it?" She pouted, still looking half asleep.
Rowling his eyes, he handed her the bowl except she didn't take it. She stared at him, eyes still droopy from sleep, and unsure of what to do.
Deciding that it was probably best if he just feed her instead, she'd probably find some way to hurt herself otherwise, the fire mage grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. "Here, open up." Natsu said as he offered the girl a spoonful porridge. Lucy took the spoonful, almost instantly waking up as the food warmed her stomach.
"She liiiikes you!" The feline rolled his tongue, his mood lifted as he watched the girl eat.
Natsu sighed, ignoring his furry friend's comment and happy that Lucy was preoccupied with the food to care. "Happy, can you go get the medicine and a glass of water from the kitchen?"
"Aye sir!" The flying cat complied as he flew out of the room, his mood a little lighter than it had been earlier that day.
Pleased with the fact that the cat had left the room, Natsu concentrated on the girl in front of him who was contently taking the food as he offered it to it. "Hey Lucy."
"Hmmmm"
"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" He asked as he watched her take another spoonful.
"Hmmmm," Her gaze fell on her teammate as she swallowed. "Well, it was only a tickle to begin with so I wasn't really worried about it myself." She paused for a second. "I guess going to Mt. Hakobe without the proper clothing is what made it bad."
"So it was our fault that you got sick?" Happy made his presence known.
The couple turned to face the blue cat.
"Happy," Lucy said, a little unsettled by the fact that he had heard her comment.
"We're such horrible nakama." The little blue Exceed cried.
"Natsu picked up his furry friend, taking the glass of water and medicine in the process, and set him on the blonde's bed.
"Oh Happy," The celestial mage sighed as she tried to comfort her small friend. "It's not your fault. You guys were only trying to help me with my rent money and I never told you about the cough at all. Besides," she patted his furry head, "you're here taking care of me now right. What else could I ask for?"
The winged cat wiped his tears. "Aye!"
Natsu smiled at the interaction between his two favorite beings.
Happy had decided that he wanted to finish feeding Lucy and Natsu let him. They talked a bit more as Lucy ate before Natsu decided it was time for Lucy to take her medicine and go back to sleep. Of course, Happy had to give Lucy her medicine as well as tuck her in. I hadn't taken long before the girl was in a deep sleep once more.
"Now what?" The feline asked as he look at his pink-haired partner.
Natsu though for a second. "I think I'll go to the market. Lucy took the last of her medicine and there're hardly any food left. Did you want to come?"
Happy seemed hesitant. "What about Lucy? What if she wakes up and she needs something"
Natsu could tell that Happy still felt guilty over the whole ordeal, that's why he didn't seem to like the idea of leaving their sick friend alone.
The fire mage scratched the back of his head. "Then how about I go to the market and you watch over Lucy in the meantime?"
Happy seemed to like the idea since he agreed with an "Aye" and plopped himself on Lucy's bed.
Natsu walked towards the door. "Okay, but if anything happens you come and get me, you got it?"
"Aye."
He opened the door. "Don't give Lucy any trouble."
"Aye, aye"
The fire mage looked back one last time before he walked out, closing the door behind him.
The walk to the market wasn't a long one. He walked into a store and wondered around a bit looking for what he needed. The first thing he looked for was the medicine. At first he hadn't been quite sure what to get since every medicine claimed to be the best and/or work the fastest. In the end, he opted with asking one of the clerks for help.
As he made his way to the next store, he thought about what else he could make to eat for the sick girl. He was only good at making porridge when it came to 'sick' people food so he supposed that that narrowed down his options. The pink-hair mage sighed, wishing he could make some chicken soup like the time Lucy had made some for Levy when she was sick with a cold. He remembered how happy he and Happy had been when they found out that Lucy had set some aside just for them.
Now that he thought about it, Lucy did a lot for them. She let them stay at her house, she fed them, and she even made room in her closet so that they had somewhere to put their stuff whenever they spent the night without asking for anything in return, well, except that they didn't sneak into her home and eat her food but Natsu knew that she wasn't being serious. Then, there's also the fact that she does their laundry every once in a while, which was awesome since that meant that their stuff didn't accidently get turned into different colors.
He twitched at the memory of having to go to the guild with pink pants once. How in the hell they had turned pink, he had no idea but his so called nakama wouldn't let him live it down.
Natsu walked into the next store and gathered the rest of the items he needed. Once he had collected everything, and after countless times of debating which ingredients where the freshest, he finally paid for his groceries and walked out the store for a few more bags than he had expected. Maybe he had bought too much, he wondered. Well, better more than not enough right?
He was making his way back to the house and almost turned the corner when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Natsu!"
The fire mage turned to see a blue-eyed beauty waving at him from a distance. "Mira, what are you doing here?" He asked as she approached him.
The Satan Soul mage giggled. "Probably the same as you." She lifted her grocery bags to emphasis her point. "How's Lucy doing?"
"Well, she still has a fever but it's not as bad as it was when we first saw her today. Her cough seems like it's mostly gone too. Oh, by the way," Natsu set down his bags and shuffled through them. He pulled out a small box and handed it the Mirajane. "Do you know if this medicine is good?"
Mirajane took the box, surprised at the fact that Natsu seem so serious about his choice of medicine.
"I asked the people at the pharmacy and they recommended this one." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't get sick, besides motion sickness" he said venomously, "and when Happy gets sick I have to get him medicine from Porlyusica since he can't have human medicine so I don't really know a lot about medicine.
Mirajane couldn't help but smile to herself. He really did care for the celestial mage. "Yeah, I think this should be fine. It says that it helps reduce fevers and relief cough. It should work like a charm." At that moment, and idea struck her. "You know, what?" She asked as she handed back the boxed medicine. "I know a charm that helps get rid of fevers."
Natsu's eyebrows narrowed in curiosity. "Really?"
"Yeah, come here, I'll tell you what it is." She motioned with her hand for him to get closer. As Natsu leaned in, she put a hand to her mouth and whispered into his ear.
Natsu pulled back, not sure if he was willing to believe what the older mage had whispered to him. "That's it?"
"Yup." She smiled sweetly.
"I don't know" he cocked his head at her, "it see too easy."
"Would I lie to you?" She tried to look offended.
"I guess not." The fire mage sighed. "I'll give it a try then." He crouched back down to put the medicine back into one of the bags before picking up all of the bags at once. "Alright Mira, I have to get going now. I left Happy alone with Lucy and he'll probably start to freak out if I don't get back soon." He said as he turned to leave.
"Alright, take good care of Lucy." She waved good bye to the retreating mage.
"I will!" He yelled back as he turned to the corner.
Mirajane smiled evilly once the fire mage was out view and out of earshot. "I'm a genius."
~And then~
Happy woke up to the sound of the door opening and closing. By the time he had rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, Natsu had already walked in and was making his way to the kitchen. When Happy entered the kitchen, he saw his partner putting supplied away. "Natsu what took you so long? You were gone for at least an hour."
"I know, sorry about that." The fire mage continued putting supplies away as he spoke. "I wasn't sure about what type of medicine to get and then I met Mira on the way back." He finished putting the supplies away and faced his blue feline. "How's Lucy doing?"
Happy had flown over to the counter and plopped down by the time Natsu had asked him about Lucy's condition. "Well, she stopped coughing but her fever hasn't gotten any worse, or any better."
Hoping to have heard better news, the dragon slayer sighed. Besides giving the sick girl medicine, food, and keeping her comfortable, there was nothing else they could really do for her. The rest was up to her. "Well, there's nothing else we can really do for her except keep her company I guess." He pulled out some ingredients and started working on preparing another meal.
It was getting late into the evening when both males walked into the bedroom to wake the sleeping girl. They helped her sit up and the three enjoyed their individual meals as they talked about random things, causing the three to laugh and smile. There really was no better time than when they just sat and enjoyed each other's company. After some time had passed, Natsu had given Lucy her medicine and sent her off to sleep land once more, though she had been reluctant at first, wanting to talk with her friends a little more.
They stayed with her, watching as sleep overtook her senses and even moments after she was out of their reach and into the safety of her dreams.
Once Happy had curled up by the girl's feet, Natsu grabbed all of their dirty dishes, along with the bin they had been using earlier, and headed into the kitchen. Might as well clean the mess he made he supposed. Yes, Natsu Dragneel had decided to clean. Contrary to peoples' beliefs, he did know how to clean, he just never really bothered with it. He figured that his place was gonna get dirty at one time or another so what was the point in doing, right? And since he never bothered with it before, why start now? Especially considering how much time he had been spending at Lucy's home, he really didn't have a reason to even think about cleaning his place. After all, his place seemed to be more of a storage place now since he and Happy seemed to practically live with Lucy. Their "important" stuff had slowly gathered around the celestial mage's tiny apartment while most of his mementoes took up the space at his and Happy's place.
In the end, he knew that this was Lucy he was dealing with and Lucy was a clean freak at times so he pretty much had to clean up or face hell later. Cleaning seemed like the safer option. Besides, Lucy had cleaned his place once before so he was merely returning the favor, just this once.
He finished cleaning the kitchen, which had actually taken a lot longer than he thought it would, and was thinking about taking a quick bath ('cause Lucy had an awesome bath too) when Happy flew into the kitchen, panic written all over his face.
"Natsu!" The feline cried. "Lucy . . . her fever . . . it's worse!"
"What?" The fire mage bolted out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, the Exceed not far behind.
Natsu's gaze fell onto the whimpering girl who was more flushed than before, her pajama top was slightly moist around the collar from the sweat her body was perspiring.
"Natsu, what do we do?" The flying cat asked anxiously.
"I . . . ah . . ." He had no idea what to do. It was normally Wendy or Mira who took care of the sick. Wait, Mira? That was it! "Happy!" The fire mage suddenly turned to his friend, slightly startling the poor fellow. "I need you to go get the bin from the kitchen and fill it with water. I also need you to bring a cloth, her medicine, and a spoon. It's gonna be a lot to carry so put some stuff in your knapsack so you don't have to make two trips. You got all that?"
"Aye sir!" And with a flick of his tail, the feline was off.
"That should buy me some time." Natsu turned back to the girl and kneeled before her bed. He stared at her for a second. "Hey Lucy," he waved a hand in front of her, "you awake?" When he got no response, he slowly leaned towards her.
He heard Mirajane's voice in the back of his mind as he closed the space between him and the celestial mage. "You gotta kiss her. It'll be like you're eating the fire that's causing her fever."
Her lips were really warm, probably from the fever, and soft. He felt a warm sensation pool in the pit of his stomach and he wondered what it meant. Was he really eating her fever? Was that Mirajane's charm at work? Not sure about the feeling, he pulled back after a few moments but immediately regretted the action when he felt the loss of warmth from her lips against his. He almost made the decision to lean in again but was stopped when he saw Lucy's eyes slowly flutter open.
Had she noticed?
"Natsu?" He could see her eyes come in and out of focus "It's really warm in here."
Maybe she hasn't noticed after all. "You're fever got worse. Happy is getting your medicine."
"Natsu." On cue, the little blue cat walked in carrying the bin full with water, trying very carefully not to spill any. "A little help."
The fire mage pulled back from the bed. "I got it," and took the bin from the cat. "Did you get the rest?"
"Aye."
Natsu put the bin on the small table it had previously been on while Happy made way to Lucy's bed and climbed on, being careful not to disturb the sick girl, and took out the supplies his partner had requested.
"Alright Lucy," Natsu put his arms around the girl's shoulders, "I'm going to sit you up now."
The celestial mage nodded in response and ever so carefully the pink-haired mage helped her sit up. Since Natsu had been holding her up, it was Happy that gave her the medicine.
Lucy remembered Natsu helping her lay back down, and the cool touch of a wet cloth against her skin before she surrendered to sleep.
The next morning, she was woken up by small rays of light that shone brightly through her curtains. Happy was curled up by her feet and her favorite dragon slayer way right next to her and for once he wasn't sleeping in her bed, well, not fully at least. He was sitting down in a chair, his upper body was resting on her bed, his forearms serving as a pillow.
"Natsu." She whispered. "You guys must have stayed up all night watching over me." Tentatively, she reached out to touch him, but was stopped when she heard a knock at her door. Watching Natstu stir, she retreated her arm.
Natsu slowly rose from his makeshift pillow, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand. "Lucy?" His voice was thick with sleep as he stared for a second, making sure he was seeing right. "Lucy!" He smiled happily, his voice sounding more normal this time. "How are you feeling? Are you better?"
She was about to answer when she was cut off by another knock.
"Who could that be so early in the morning?" Happy yawned. His sleepy eyes looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was. He broke into a smile when his eyes landed on the blonde. "Lucy!" He cried as he flew to hug her. "You're all better now right?"
Lucy giggle as she hugged the little cat back. "Good morning you guys." There was yet another knock. "Maybe someone should get that?"
"I'm going, I'm going." Natsu reluctantly got up from his chair and walked to the door. As he was about to open the door, it suddenly swung open, crushing the poor fire mage between the door and the wall.
"Lucy!"
"Lucy-san!"
Erza and Wendy burst through the door, Charle flying not too far behind them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Lucy asked as they approached her. "I thought you guys wouldn't be back at least until the evening?"
"They managed to fix the train sooner than they thought they would." The red-head smiled triumphantly as she crossed her arms over her armored chest.
"There's also the fact that Erza made the poor men work through the night." Charle huffed while Wendy sweat-dropped.
Erza looked around the room. "By the way, where's Natsu?"
"Mirajane said she spent all day taking care of you." Charle suggestively said.
"Right . . . here . . ." A pained moan reached the girls.
The front door slowly closed as Natsu's body dropped to the floor.
Erza glared at the fallen mage in annoyance. "Natsu why were you hiding behind the door?"
"No . . . reason . . ." He wheezed out.
Ignoring the fire mage, Happy called everyone's attention. "So, what are you guys here?"
Charle answered for the group. "Mira said Lucy had been sick since yesterday so Wendy came to check up on her. Erza tagged along."
"How are you feeling Lucy-san?" Wendy, who was sitting in the chair Natsu had previously occupied, finally spoke up.
"Well," Lucy rolled her head around her shoulders and stretched her arms above her. "A little stiff and maybe a little drained but other than that I feel fine." She grabbed a lock of her blonde hair and sniffed it. "Oh, I could probably use a shower too."
The younger dragon slayer put her hand in front of the celestial mage and they all watched as Wendy's hands glowed with her healing magic, though she didn't last long. "It seems like you've recovered fairly well. There really isn't anything left for me to do. All you need is rest now."
"Aye." Happy's paw was in the air. "Natsu and I took care of Lucy all day and night yesterday."
"You and Natsu did?" Erza looked surprised.
"Hm, it seems that you can be reliable for a he-cat." The white Exceed complimented.
"Aye!" The blue feline yelled, completely overjoyed by the compliment from the white cat.
Erza let out a sign. "Well, it seems that we weren't needed here after all." She turned to Wendy and Charle. "We should probably leave so Lucy can get some rest."
The small dragon slayer nodded in agreement. "Happy, make sure Lucy-san gets lots of rest."
"Aye sir, you can count on me." The feline saluted.
The girls said their goodbyes and headed to the front door.
Natsu, who had recovered from the surprise attack, met them there.
"Natsu-san, I leave Lucy-san in your care." Wendy said to the older dragon slayer before walking out.
Erza walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You did good Natsu." She took another step out the door before turning back. "By the way, Mira wants to know if you used the charm."
He tried to ignore the heat the crept onto his face as he scratch the side of his cheek. "Yeah, I think that's what did the trick in the end."
"Ah, I'll be sure to let her know." She said before walking out.
Natsu had a feeling that the red-head knew exactly what the "charm" was but he knew he could trust her not to say anything, the Satan Soul mage was another story though. Shaking the thoughts away, he returned to the bedroom to find the celestial mage up and out of bed, rummaging around her dresser.
"What are you doing up?" His voice was a little rougher than he had intended it to be. "Shouldn't you be in bed resting?"
"I wanna take a bath." The blonde took out a fresh pair of pajamas and turned to face her friend. "I feel icky and nasty. I mean I was sweating almost all day yesterday. Besides, I think a warm bath will help with the stiffness."
Natsu smiled evilly. "Want me to heat it up for you?" His hands ignited into a strong, steady flame. "I can make it real warm for you."
Lucy shrieked. "Eeep! No thank you." She quickly gathered the rest of her things and rushed into the bathroom.
It didn't take long before she was sitting in the bathtub full with warm water and sighing in comfort. "Ah, this is the life." She relaxed her body and let her mind wonder, not thinking of anything in specific. She dipped a little lower, the warm water coming up to her mouth now. The warmth against her lisps reminded her of a moment from the previous night. Before her fever had gotten worse, she could have sworn she heard her name being called before she felt a warm pressure again her lips. When she came, she found Natsu looking at her intently. It couldn't be that he . . . no way! He wouldn't even know how . . . right?"
She felt her entire face flush. Hoping to evaporate any thoughts of Natsu being anywhere near her lips, she dipped her entire body underwater. Maybe that would help her clear her mind. Or maybe it was the sickness talking?
Some time had passed before she decided it was time to get out of the water. The fact that the water was getting cold and she was starting to prune really helped her decide on that.
She dried off and put on her fresh pair of pajamas. Feeling more relaxed and refreshed than before, she walkout of the bathroom fully intending to let Natsu and Happy know that the bath was free for them to use but she never got the chance to. She walked into her bedroom to find Happy curled up on her pillow and Natsu sprawled on her bed.
She sighed.
Instead of kicking them out, she walked to her closet and pulled out the extra pillow and blanket she kept whenever uninvited guest decided to spend the night (the blanket and pillow where usually for her since people seemed to love her bed). Since they helped her when she was sick she supposed that letting them sleep in her bed could be their rewards, just this once. After setting her makeshift bed, she laid her head down on her pillow and sighed one last time before drifting into a comfortable sleep.
The fire mage woke up some time later, feeling a little uncomfortable, like something was missing. While still laying down, his arms patted around the bed, looking for something. Unsatisfied with the results, he grumpily sat up and looked around, eyes half closed with sleep. He spotted the blonde sound asleep on the floor near the bed. Unhappy that he had to get up and out of the comfortable be, he crouched down near the girl and picked her up bridal style.
When was she going to learn that she belonged by his side? "Che, you think she's be used to sleeping with me by now." Gently, he set her down onto the bed and crawled in after her, making sure that he pulled the blankets over both of them so that they were both covered. His arms automatically wrapped around her waist and pulled her up against him, closing the gap between her back he his chest. He felt Happy moved from his previous spot and curl up near her stomach underneath the blanket.
Now the fire mage felt as comfortable as could be. And he was going to make damn sure things stayed that way.
~And Then~
Later that day, Mirajane was walking around the market making her daily purchases when she spotted a familiar face.
"Gray!" She called out to the Ice Mage.
"Mira?" He walked over to the blue-eyed beauty. "What brings you here?"
"Just making my daily grocery trip. Elfman wants to make dinner and he needed some stuff so I volunteered to come." The Satan Soul Mage answered sweetly. "What about you?"
"Well," Gray rubbed that back of his neck almost in shame as his gaze fell to the ground. "I came to pick up some medicine. Juvia ended up with a fever."
A small hand flew to her lips. "Oh dear, is she alright?"
"Yeah, for the most part." He gaze fell back on the female mage. "It's just that I'm having trouble bringing the fever down so I came to look for medicine."
An idea stuck her. "You know, I know a charm that works on fevers."
His eyes widen in relief. "Really?"
He didn't notice the evil spark in her eyes.
"Yeah, come here, I'll tell you."
Poor fool, if he only knew what he was getting himself into.
~~FT~~
Food For Thought:
Holding my pillow is no comparison to holding you.
Damn, that only took me forever to write!
As I stated before, I'm not very proud of this one. It's not my best work and the writing can use a lot of work but this is as good as it's gonna get. I hope you guys can still enjoy it as much as you enjoyed "Only A Dream." Now that one is much better written than this one but it's also a lot shorter.
Anywho, please excuse any grammatical errors, typos, and so on. I'm pretty bad when it comes to proof reading so yeah . . .
Ja na