Just a cute story. Maybe I'll turn it into a multiple chapter fic, I'm not sure about that yet.
Hope you enjoy!
She was lying if she said she enjoyed it here. Every single day was the same, and they were only getting more and more boring. The books that she had brought with here, she had read them all several times and they no longer provided any kind of entertaintment.
Sighing, she picked up the trail of food that the nurse had left there. Automatically, a smile came over her face. It was her favourite nurse. He was very young, an intern actually, but skilled nevertheless. He knew what he was doing when it came to treating the patients with kindness, or making the younger patients laugh with his silly tactics.
On auto pilot she grabbed the bowl of cereal and started eating mindlessly. The cereal- Fruit Loops that were probably two years old, judging from the taste- were happily swimming around in the milk that was slowly but surely getting coloured from the Fruit Loops.
She'd have to remember to thank her nurse, since he was probably the one responsible for bringing her something different that the awful tasting bread and old cheese, with dirty butter. No offense to the hospital, but they sure as hell to work on their food. Or maybe just work on the food they offered for the long term patients here.
The head chef of the hospital was a fairly young woman that went by the name of Mirajane. Her hair was almost white and here eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue Lucy had ever seen. Mirajane was a very kind woman that wanted to do something for the patients and therefore decided to work as a chef. She had heard stories from when her younger sister Lisanna was in the hospital and she vividly remembered how her sister would always complain about the horrible food.
Lucy sighed, maybe she should ask Mira to make her food from now on. Although she wasn't sure they were going to give it to her anyway.
Apparantly, having terrible lungs also meant having a terrible stomach and being punsihed with terrible food. Oh, what a wonderful life she lived.
She sighed once more, before nestling herself a bit more comfortable in her hospital bed and starting to read a book again. She curled up to her side, her pillow under her head and one of her arms resting on the bed. Her golden hair fell in front of her eyes and she would simply push it back, never missing a beat in reading her story. Soon, she was lost in the magical world of Harry Potter again and she would imagine herself being among one of the Hogwarts students. At least then there would be magic to fix her terrible lungs, she thought bitterly.
In the middle of the bath that Harry was taking- his first one in four years, mind you- nurse Natsu came in. Lucy was so caught up in her story and Moaning Myrtle who was once again being very touchy about the fact that she was dead, that she didn't notice him entering.
"Reading again, Miss Heartfilia?" he asked her, opening the curtains so the sunlight could enter her room and so she could look outside. Small beams of dust were dancing in the sun, and little kids were playing a game of tag outside. The pair could hear the laughter from the kids as one of them was tagged.
Lucy looked up. "Well yes, what else am I supposed to do here? It's not like I can start my very own fighting club here, not when you keep refusing to fight me anyway," she said as she adjusted herself to sit up again.
Natsu only laughed at that. He had a deep laugh, very pleasant. Almost as if the sun itself had found a way into his voice. His skin was sunkissed, and he was obviously well built. The most outstanding feature, however, was his hair. Salmon hair- not pink, thank you very much- that was spiking up in every single possible way but still in a stylish matter. Or at least, that was how Lucy felt about it.
"Miss Heartfilia, you know I can't fight you. Not when I'm here to adjust you pillows, anyway." He walked over to her bed. "Could you please lift up your head?"
Oh dear, his voice. Lucy could listen to it all day long and never get bored from hearing it. The warmth that in it, together with the small hint of mischief made it amazing. Not to mention his eyes.. She could drown in those eyes. Always so bright, so full of life. She lifted her head and held her hair up with her hands so that he could easily adjust her pillows.
"Thank you, Natsu," she sighed happily as she sank back into her pillows. "They're very comfortable now."
Natsu lifted an eyebrow. "I sense some sarcasm there."
She only smirked, saying, "I wouldn't dare to be sarcastic to you, oh amazing nurse Natsu."
"Damn right!" he said, flexing his muscles. "I mean, have you seen these babies? Don't tell Bixlow I said that though, he'll get mad that I used his catchphrase or whatever, and I really don't want him to give me a talk about his babies. I don't think my brain could survive the mental damage he would give me with that." He shivered, and Lucy laughed.
"Thanks for that very entertaining thought. I will now never have a peaceful night of sleep again after you just told me how much Bixlow loves to give people talks about his love for his babies," she giggled. "Besides, he also gave me 'the talk' once. I was talking with my best friend on the phone and she was screeching in my ear about how cute her new kitten was and that he was her new baby. Unfortunately, Bixlow heard me and now I try to run for the hills as soon as he comes in."
Natsu cocked his head to the side. "I can imagine him doing that. Well, is there anything you need, Miss Heartfilia?" he asked her, and she waved her hand in an annoyed matter.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Nurse Dragneel, that you should just call me Lucy? It's only fair, isn't it?"
He grinned.
"Very well then, Luigi. Is there anything I can do for you?"
A vein throbbed on her forehead. "It's Lucy, you idiot! Honestly, how on earth did you end up working in a hospital? If you keep being annoying, I'll ask if I can have Gray back as my nurse!"
Lucy had quickly learned of the rivalry between Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. It was pretty hard to miss, since they would yell out insults to each other until surgeon Gildarts or doctor Erza stepped in. Usually, it was Erza that stopped their fights, but she wasn't afraid to use a little.. force to make the two shut up. It was a good thing they knew how to patch themselves up.
"Like hell! I don't want that Popsicle Princess to take you back as his patient!" Natsu yelled and the nflinched as he heard another voice behind him.
"What's that I hear? Does Lucy prefer my company over yours?" Gray Fullbuster came in to Lucy's room with a cocky smirk. And he had all the reason to be cocky. Nurse Gray was a tall man, with raven hair and a well toned body. Everyone in the hospital knew since he had the habit to suddenly loose his clothes when he was working. But he always shrugged it off with the words; "Helps me concentrate." And since Nurse Gray was good at what he did, no one really had a problem with it.
"Why don't you go check up on Juvia, Nurse Gray? Last time I heard her yell out 'Gray-sama!' has been over three hours," Lucy smugly said, making the nurse jump up.
"What the-? I don't even want to know what this is about. Anyway, I was on my way to check on her when I heard Flame Breath her insulting me, so I had to step ny to say hello. Couldn't let a day go by without allowing him to see my beautiful face. Such a shame he burns so hot, whereas I have the more cool demeanor. But I guess he'll get over himself. See ya, Lucy." The nurse walked out, smirking to himself.
Gray wouldn't lie when he said that Juvia Lockser scared him a bit, but in all fairness, she was a very nice girl. She also loved to swim, which was ironically why she ended up here. She was going for a swim in the ocean when she suddenly saw a tiny body. Not hesitating, she quickly swam up to it and found out that it was a young girl by the name of Wendy Marvell. Juvia used all of her strength to swim back with the two of them, but she was exhasuted when she finally reached the beach.
She had enough energy to call 911 and ask for an ambulance, but after that, she passed out. When the ambulance arrived, Juvia was barely alive. There was so much water in her lungs and she was barely breathing. Things were looking very grim when suddenly she made a full 180. Now she was recovering hard, learning how to swim again.
He smiled when he thought of the brave girl. The girl she had rescued, Wendy, wanted to be a doctor when she was old enough and Wendy couldn't thank her enough. She would step by almost every day to express her gratitude. But Juvia would wave it all away, saying it was her duty and that she was glad she was able to save such a beautiful soul. The two had bonded quickly and Wendy looked up to Juvia, whereas Juvia adored the small girl and her determination.
Gray also admired the determination from both girls, which is why he would usually check up on Juvia. Even if she was a pain sometimes. He opened the door.
"Juvia?" He asked.
The answer came in the form of a high pitched scream of pure happiness.
"Did you hear that Luce? He just insulted me? Now I ask you, is that okay? I don't think so," Natsu stated, walking over to her bed and pulling out a chair from underneath it.
"Uuhm.. Not to be mean or anything, but shouldn't you be.. Maybe, I don't know, let's say, check up on some patients?" Lucy asked, Harry Potter forgotten in her hands. "And no, the only thing I heard was Juvia screeching just now, which means Gray is in her room currently."
"Nah," he grinned, " 's okay. Besides, I'd like to chat with you a little longer. If you want me to fight you, I gotta know your weak points!" He grinned and Lucy could only shake her head at his logic.
She put away her book, adjusting her hands in her lap. "Alright, so what do you want to know? Hang on, don't you already know a lot about me? We've been talking every day these past two months you idiot."
He crouched, smiling. "Well yes, but thetre still are things I don't know. I mean, I know what you're going to do in college, the name of your best friend and how much you love the Zodiac. But I don't know basic things like your favourite colour or so. So, for starters, what's your favourite food?"
Lucy giggled at that. "That is a different question than I was expecting. But my favourite food is pasta, especially the one with a lot of meat in it. Gods, I'd kill for that. If anyone can get me that one, I'll worhip the ground they walk on." She sighed, trying to remember the taste of her pasta with cheese on top.
He smirked. "So, if I get you that pasta, you'll worship the ground I walk on? That is a very interesting thing you just said there, Lucy." She lifted an eyebrow, to which he only smiled.
"I'll worship the ground you walk on if you finally fight me," she said, burying the back of her head further in her pillow.
"Maybe later I'll fight you," Natsu said thoughtfully. "For now, I'd like for you to ask me a question if you don't mind."
She internally groaned. "What is this, twenty questions?" she asked him, giving him a nasty look that said 'I'd rather not do this again, I've done this one with all the nurses already and I will take you down if you even try.'
"Perhaps. But why not think of it like this? If I fight you, that way I know your weak points!" Lucy mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like "you already said that you big idiot" but he only smiled and continued. "For startes, now I know that if I decide to bring some home made pasta, I will have the advantage!"
Lucy pretended to think about that for a while, and then said, "But what if I deicde to bring some hot food with me into this battle?"
Seconds later, she was doubling over and holding her stomach while trying not to look at Natsu's dumbfounded expression as he yelled out things like "But HOW do you know that?", "If you even dare to, I will throw that pasta to the ground", and "You will never catch me alive!"
She wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes from laughing so much, still giggling. "Okay okay, I won't do that. And to how I knew, it's not hard to figure out when Gray keeps going on and on about how you put tobasco sauce on every thing you eat," she explained, watching his expression return to his normal, relaxed grin.
"But," she went on, a smile on her face and a finger held up in the air, "if you even dare to drop the pasta, I will be the one who ends you. Is that clear, Mr. Dragneel?" she threatened.
Natsu cringed in his seat, why the hell did she have to look so damn intimidating when she was saying such a thing? Had Erza taught her some tricks? He had to ask her some day, he reminded himself before he remembered that the day after today was her last day in the hospital.
"Okay okay, so I won't drop the pasta. Can you stop being so damned intimidating? It's scary," he muttered, trying not to shiver at the serious threat she just made. "So, it's your turn to ask the glorious me a question now, isn't it?" he asked her, grinning while pointing at himself with his thumb.
Lucy tried not to blush at the way his entire face lit up when he smiled like that. "Hmm.. I think I have one. I know I asked before. but that wasn't serious. This time, I am seriously curious about the answer, though," she said, lost in her thoughts for a moment.
Natsu waited with patience for her question, mentally preparing himself. What could she ask him? If he had a girlfriend? If he ever thought about doing the nasty with Gray- not that he had, nope nope nope. If he ever fell in love with a patient from the hospital? If she asked him the last one, he would be in serious trouble, simply because he couldn't lie.
"Why did you end up working in a hospital?" The question threw him off and he blinked a couple of times, trying to progress what she had just asked him. She took his silence the wrong way and started making excuses.
"I'm so sorry! It is a very personal question and I am so sorry for being out of line there! I seriously don't know what the hell came over me! I will never do it again! No worries, you don't have to answer that question, I am sorry for invading your personal thoughts! I don't even want to know anymore! Well, i do but I didn't mean to get so personal and I really am so so-" "Stop that." He had grabbed her wrist and looked her in the eye, a serious look on his face.
"I don't.." she managed to say in short, ragged breaths and she tried to find out what to do with herself.
"Don't worry, Luigi." "It's LUCY!" "Yeah yeah, whatever," he waved it off, "I don't mind you asking it. It's a pretty normal reason, I guess. My dad- he got really sick seven years ago. I was fourteen years old and trouble, that I tell you." He laughed at the memories, before starting to count on his fingers. "I stole food from the kitchen once. I used to set off fireworks every other night and the police would get really, like really annoyed with it because they knew they couldn't stop me. I also started to make my own fireworks shortly after that, because Igneel loved fireworks so much and he wanted to see something beautiful before he died. I also fought a lot with Gray, and I was just as surprised as everyone else was when he decided to also work at a hospital. Actually, Erza, him and I all went to the same high school. Erza wasa couple of years above us and she always beat the shit out of us when we fought. Continuing, I used to take home stray cats and Dad would get so pissed off at all the cats in his home, so in the end he managed to convince me ti find good homes for them all except one, I could keep that one. His name's Happy, and he's a real pain in the ass sometimes. Eats only the finest fish and nothing else. But yea, as I said, Dad got really sick. I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what. So then I thought, why not try to become a surgeon? So that's what I did, and here I am!" He grinned, but that grin quickly faded as he saw the tears in her eyes.
"Oh no no no! Don't cry Luce, please don't! I didn't mean to! Gosh, why am I so stupid sometimes? I should have never told you that, I am so sorry for making you cry and I promise I will never do it aga-" A hand caught his wrist. "Stop that," she said as she smiled up to him.
"I'm tearing up because it is a beautiful story, and because I had to giggle when you told me about your cat. Happy was his name, you said?"
"Yup!" he grinned back, relieved that it wasn't his fault.
"A nice name. It matches you and your personality," she mumbled, suddenly feeling tired.
"Are you tired, Lucy? You should sleep then. You know, you don't have to stay awake and listen to my stories." Natsu checked the clock and saw that it was nearly one in the afternoon, which meant that she had gotten her medicine and they were kicking in, making her tired.
"I like 'em," she managed to say before falling asleep, her head hanging slightly to the side. Natsu got up, put the chair back underneath the bed and adjusted her pillows once again.
"I'm glad you like them, Luce," he said before leaving the room.
A soft breeze came in, refreshing the air in the room and making Lucy sigh in contentment as she dreamt about her and Natsu, telling each other silly stories and seeing who could make the weirdest face while eating ice cream. She smiled once more, before completely surrendering to the dreamworld and all the promises they made to her.
The next time she awoke, it was morning again. Lucy yawned, feeling a lot better than she did yesterday. She wondered for a while why she felt so good, before remembering today was the day she would finally get out of the hospital. Immediately, she felt happy and energetic before coughing again. Damn it, she still wasn't completely okay. But good enough to be released, apparantly.
It left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. On one hand, she was extremely happy she got out of the hospital, especially with her college starting soon and all. Lucy had doubted for a long time on what she wanted to do, before finally settling on speech therapy. It might seem like an odd choice, with how bad her lungs could be, but she wanted to help people that had problems with speech and communication after they had had an accident. And after staying here for a long time, she decided that this was the hospital where she wanted to work.
She had been in and out of hospitals her entire youth, but this was the one she loved going to. All the nurses, doctors and surgeons were very kind and there was this familiar atmosphere that she loved.
But on the other hand.. Leaving the hospital meant she would no longer see Natsu every day. She sighed. She really had it, didn't she?
"Only I would manage to do such a thing," she mumbled to herself, before getting up. She would still have to use a wheelchair for the first couple of days, since walking would require too much effort and that could backfire on her lungs. Not that she minded.
When she finally got up, she moaned happily. Gods, she had missed stretching her legs and standing on them. She was allowed to walk short distances and every day she was allowed to walk longer. Today, she was allowed to walk for nearly 30 minutes.
She sighed happily as she noticed the nurses had left her clean clothes that she could wear. And not just ugly clothes or nightgowns, no, real clothes. She walked over to them and picked them up. Judging from the style, it had been Levy that had left them in the care of the hospital. Only Levy would choose an outfit that was so frilly. A pastel tank top with flowers on it, and a pair of light blue jeans shorts. Notthat she complained.
She walked over the shower and felt nothing but pure bliss as she felt the warm water relax her muscles. She reached for her shampoo and felt glad they even had her favourite brand of conditioner there. She'd have to thank Levy for doing so much for her.
After the long and very refreshing shower, she slipped on her normal clothes and a pair of flip flops. After she was fully dressed and had untangled her hair, she made her way over to her wheelchair and sat down in it.
That was when she noticed a cup of coffee standing next to her bed.
Curious, she wheeled her way over there before grabbing it and drinking it.
"Ah, I've missed coffee so much. Now let's see.. Who is it from?" she asked herself, examining the cup carefully.
She screamed as she saw the message on it.
All it said was, "Fight me?" and underneath it his number.
She would not lose contact with Natsu! She would stay in touch with him! She somehow had managed to seduce him with here drooling and terrible lungs, if he decided to do such a thing.
She held on to the cup as if it was here lifeline and quickly wheeled herself out of the room, into the elevator.
"Come on, come on! I haven't got all day! Well, technically, I do, but come on!" she groaned and complained when the elevator took too long to arrive. When she finally heard the 'ding' soung, indicating the elevator was there, she wheeled herself in, pushed the button and closed the doors.
No one was gonna come with her. Nope. She would hog the elevator all to herself. No regrets there.
When she finally was downstairs, she sheeled to the reception, asking if they maybe had her phone. Of course, she usually had it with her on her room, but for some reason the hospital decided they wanted her phone for her last night in the hospital.
Finally, finally she had her phone. She quickly unlocked it and went to her contacts, carefully typing over the number Natsu left on her coffee cup.
"Morning, Luce. Ready to fight me now?" Natsu's voice cut through the air.
Lucy happily wheeled herself around, facing her favourite nurse.
"Sure as hell am! I'll win this one though!" she said bubbly.
Natsu only laughed. "We'll see about that. First, how about I wheel you out of here and take you out on a proper date before I decide to fight you? And besides, you'll have enough opportunities to fight me when I am also studying speech therapy next year." He grinned as she was starstruck.
"You ain't rid of me just yet, Luce! Now let's go! Let's go into the wild world where we can fight each other, and fight together! You ready?" He grinned at her.
"Hell yes!" she exclaimed happily.
"Then let's go!" he yelled, wheeling her out of the hospital, both laughing as loud as they could.
Oh, I love Natsu being Natsu and him and Lucy being silly together.
Hope you enjoyed, and leave a review on your way out! I'm curious about your opinions on this, and whether or not I should continue ^^
Bringmethekawaiisenpai out!