Something that I've noticed (especially in the series, Phantom Lord) is that Lucy always gets really upset when she's witnessing Natsu being brutally beaten and covered in blood. So my head got a light bulb over it and here I am with this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

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Blood

At first, Lucy thought she could easily hold it in. She thought that after Natsu recovered, she'd get over it and go back to normal. Every time she watched him fight with all of his strength against an enemy who wanted to kill him and he was losing, she'd shake in fear and cry. His red blood mixed with his pink hair and tan skin was never a good combination and Lucy never wanted to see it. That's the way it's been for as long as she's known Natsu: she's cried, get over it after he recovered, then go back to normal. That's how it was.

The first time she watched him get beaten like that was during the Phantom Lord incident when Gajeel and he were fighting. Of course, Natsu beat him, but she couldn't help but get the shivers when she gets flashbacks of that time. When Lucy really thought about it, Natsu would've died if it wasn't for her. If she didn't summon Sagittarius, Natsu wouldn't have eaten fire and Gajeel would've killed him.

Lucy shook her head and sighed, staring at the view in front of her. She hiked up one of the mountains around Magnolia and took a seat against a tree to stare at the view. She comes up here only to clear her head and think. She would do some thinking in her apartment, but Natsu and Happy break in all the time and create a ton of noise.

Right, the reason she was up here in the first place was because of Natsu…

It wasn't his fault though. It was more of her own…but she would do it all over again. The terrible wounds wrapped in bandages around her body were worth it.

Lucy knew it wasn't a simple mission to begin with, but she didn't think it was going to be that tough. "Bring down a mercenary group of bandits in Acalypha". The reward was 500,000J. The client had warned Team Natsu that this group of bandits was strong, but being confident as they were, they brushed it aside. They couldn't be that bad…but the client didn't say anything about them being wizards.

Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Carla, and Happy were split apart in a matter of minutes to deal with goons. Lucy was the unlucky duck and got stuck with the bandits' boss who happened to be an expert at lightning magic. Lucy would rank him S-class if he was in a guild. He was tough.

The good (but creepy and perverted) news was that Lucy wasn't hurt that bad by him: maybe a few scrapes. The boss took a liking for Lucy's body and wanted to "play" with her before he killed her. He hit her a few times for the fun of it and somehow stole her keys before he decided to strip her from her clothes, but he didn't even touch her before Natsu jumped in.

Lucy was happy to see him, but the lightning mage was a lot stronger than what Lucy anticipated. Natsu was covered in blood within a few minutes as Lucy watched from the sidelines. She cried, covered her ears to block out Natsu's screams, begged to leave him alone and take her. She would squeeze her eyes shut as well, but eventually open them again.

After a while, Natsu couldn't see straight and could barely stand. Lucy was on her knees hugging the crying Happy close to her as she bawled herself.

Suddenly, it looked like the lightning mage began to mutter a spell while taking a strange position. Lucy had immediately felt the immense magic power radiating off of him as he aimed for Natsu.

She knew it…he was going to kill him…she knew it…

Yes, Natsu has survived many things that seem impossible, but whenever those situations popped up, Natsu was never this tired and bloody. That blast would kill him. He always had enough magic energy to block or keep his heart pumping, but in this state? Nope.

After losing her mom, dad, and Aquarius, losing Natsu would kill her, especially when she knew how strong her feelings for him were.

She's been able to hold back her feeling of seeing his blood before, but the more her love for him grew, the harder it was. Usually she'd have faith that he'd survive, but she didn't dwell on that thought. Lucy knew that she had a better chance of surviving that shot since she wasn't as beat up as he was, but even if that wasn't the case, she had already made up her mind. Lucy quickly shoved Happy off her and was running toward them before anybody knew it. She felt the painfully blast hit her and heard her name screamed by her two best friends before she blacked out.

Of course, Lucy had been fine. She woke up in the guild infirmary later the next day. She had plenty of painful, severe wounds thanks to that shot, but she was able to get out of bed that same day anyway thanks to Porlyusica and Wendy.

She didn't miss the fact that Natsu wasn't there when she woke up; everybody was next to her except for him. She knew he was upset with what she did, but she didn't regret it. She did survive after all, but it would still be worth it if she didn't.

Lucy was on her way home to rest when she noticed the front door open. When she peeked in, Natsu was there, looking at some of her pictures of the guild on the wall. More specifically, he was looking at one with his arm swung around her shoulders like he sometimes does out of habit. They were both grinning like idiots. Lucy couldn't remember the occasion when that was taken, but when she first saw that picture, she didn't care. She loved it.

Lucy turned her attention back to Natsu. She didn't want to face him and talk to him about it right now. She didn't want to ever talk about it. She knew she had to, but she didn't want to talk now.

That's why she's up on the mountain, looking over Magnolia with her wounded back against the tree (yes, it hurt her, but she didn't care) and her sighs continuous.

She knew Natsu was upset with her, but she'd do it all over again anyway.

"I don't think you should be leaning against that tree with those wounds."

Lucy's eyes widened and a shiver ran up her wounded back, not because he scared her, but because she knew who it was. She's only been up here for about ten minutes and he found her? He must've caught her scent and followed her.

"I don't really care," she replied without turning around to face him.

Natsu sat down next to her and put his arm around her waist, pulling her away from the tree. "I do."

Lucy gave in and leaned against him, noticing that he was much more comfortable than the tree was. There was a dreadful silence between the two and Lucy was beginning to get mentally uncomfortable with it. After a while, Natsu finally opened his mouth:

"Why?"

She remained silent as she listened to the word leave his mouth. She knew what he meant, but she didn't know how to answer.

Natsu asked again, "Why?"

Lucy sucked in a breath and softly replied, "Why do you think? Because I didn't want you to-"

"I would've been fine!" he snapped, causing her to flinch. She knew he was upset, but she didn't think he would be mad. "I was going to eat the lightning-"

"You would've gotten sick if you did that," Lucy pulled away and turned to look at him. "You know that."

"I can too eat it! I have Lightning Flame Dragon Mode."

"That doesn't mean you can eat lightning."

Natsu looked away and didn't reply back for a moment. Lucy smiled, "He can't even admit a loss to an argument? He's such an idiot…but sometimes, he's cute when he acts like that…"

"You could've died, Lucy," He said without looking at her. "You're lucky you survived that."

"Actually, you're lucky I got to you in time. Did you look at me before I jumped in front of you? I only had a few scrapes. You, however, were covered in blood." Lucy flinched as she spoke the last sentence.

"Do you remember, during the Grand Magic Games," he still didn't turn to her, "when I was preparing to fight Sting and Rogue, you said you believed in me? Do you remember that?"

"But you-"

"Do you remember that?"

"…Yes."

"Did you lose faith in me? Why did you jump in front of me?"

"I do not want to tell him the truth. It'll just lead to an awkward silence and a weird argument, but I would never lie to him either." Lucy sighed. "I didn't lose faith in you; I just didn't want you to die," She repeated.

"Lucy," Natsu finally turned to her with a serious look in his eyes. "There were many scenarios when I could've died and yet, you didn't jump in front of me then."

Their eyes were locked in a serious, silent argument. Lucy refused to back down and it seemed like Natsu did too. She was so focused on it that she almost didn't hear him speak.

"Tell me the truth. I know you would never lie to me so please don't prove me wrong."

Lucy didn't reply for a while as she searched for a way around this without lying. She couldn't think hard enough to find a way though...those onyx eyes were gorgeous and distracting. So she continued to stare into them and said, "I…hate seeing your blood. Whenever I see you fighting for your life, covered in blood, I can barely stand it."

Lucy didn't realize the words left her mouth until Natsu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why? I always end up okay in the end."

Lucy bit her lip. "I don't know…well, I do know…but…"

"…but what?"

How in the world did Lucy did get herself backed into a corner? She decided to blame his eyes. She didn't want to confess when she wasn't confident about telling him her feelings and when she didn't even know if he even remotely felt the same way toward her. Lucy bit her lip to stop her frustrated tears. "I just don't like seeing your blood, okay?!" She shot onto her feet and turned around to walk away, finally giving in to the stare battle.

"Lucy!"

She tried to stay calm as she heard him running up to her, but she continued to blink back the tears of frustration and walked down the path toward home.

"Lucy," She felt him grab the edge of her sleeve. "Why do you hate seeing my blood so much?"

Because she wasn't looking at him, it was a little easier to explain, but she knew he was still there. She bit her lip some more and refused to turn around to meet his eyes. "Ever since Phantom Lord," She chose her words carefully, "it really hurts me whenever I see your blood…and during that mission, I just couldn't take it. My feelings grew too strong to witness that anymore...I had to do something."

"What do mean by your feelings? When you see my blood?"

"Well…kinda."

"I don't get it. Nobody else freaks out when they see my blood so-"

"That's because nobody else feels the same way I do!" She trembled and kept her eyes on her feet. "You're right. You don't get it."

"Then explain it to me."

Lucy sighed in defeat, "Look…my mom died when I was young, my dad died later, and then I lost one of my closest friend, Aquarius…I couldn't stand losing someone else I love too!"

When Natsu didn't reply, she continued, "I don't know if I felt like this during Phantom Lord or not, but the reason I hate seeing your blood…the reason why I jumped in front of you…is because…I…" Lucy sucked in a breath. "I love you!"

The silence was dreadful and Lucy was afraid to turn around to see his face expression.

"…L-Lucy…"

When she finally did turn around, minutes-that-felt-like-hours later, his face was a mixture of shock and dumbfound. Lucy didn't blame him. If their roles were reversed, she'd be shocked too.

"I love you, Natsu."

Natsu was suddenly dissatisfied with his position as he shifted back and forth on his legs. He averted his gaze from hers. "Luce…I-I'm sorry…I like you…b-but not-"

"I know you don't…it's okay," She flashed him a sad smile to cheer him up. She knew he didn't want to hurt her, but neither of them could do anything if he doesn't feel the same way…and forcing him into anything was the last thing Lucy wanted. "Well, now you know…so I'm gonna head home to rest...see ya."

He didn't say anything or stop her when she started walking again. Once she got to her apartment, she turned off the lights, lay in her bed, and finally allowed her tears to flow.

She knew he didn't like her the way her like him. She knew he was going to reject her no matter how gently he put it, but still. It came out of his mouth and it hurt…more than the blast of lightning did.

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The next day was hard for Lucy to cooperate. Her mind kept replaying yesterday's confession/rejection. She tried not to think about it, but every time it replayed, her heart squeezed in pain.

Natsu didn't like her more than a friend, but she was still in love with the idiot.

"I feel like Juvia…" She muttered and rubbed her head to get the headache to disappear, but no such luck. "Ugh…I'm thinking too much."

She decided to sit down and write a letter to her mom and maybe even a few chapters of her novel. She was almost done with it. Maybe three, possibly four chapters then she was finished. If she was bored and didn't have anything else to do, then she'll probably get it done today.

The hours flew by quickly and Lucy ended up finished with her novel before she realized it. She shrugged, "I guess I shouldn't have doubted."

Lucy glanced a look at the clock: 3:30. Usually around noon Lucy would leave for the guild hall. If she decided not to go that day, Natsu and Happy would break into her house half an hour later to see why she decided to stay home.

However, neither Natsu or Happy showed up.

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Lucy's wounds were almost healed and she decided that she'd go to the guild hall. She planned on staying home for the next couple days (1: because of her wounds and 2: because of the confession/rejection), but since she finished her novel, she figured Levy would want her eyes glued to each page immediately.

When Lucy reached the guild hall doors, she froze.

Crap! What if Natsu was in there? Then they'd have an awkward moment! What if he told everyone that she told him she loved him? Then the teasing would never stop! Crap! What if-

"No," Lucy took a deep breath. She's gone up against dark guilds, demons, dragons, and many bandits on missions. Why would she cower from a bit of teasing? "Just calm down and get your butt in there, Lucy!"

With a confident look on her face, Lucy opened the doors and walked in, expecting to hear a few snickers and stares. That wasn't what she got though; it was the usual. Mira waved and said "Hi Lucy!" and a few others waved and continued what they were doing. Lucy blinked in surprise. It was like every other welcome…

…except a certain dragon slayer didn't bounce up to her and tell her about a mission.

Lucy looked around. Actually, Natsu wasn't in here at all. She felt a little guilty. Did she scare him off or something?

Lucy brushed it off and walked up to Levy who had her face berried in some kinda mystery novel (judging the front cover). Lucy smiled at her and said, "Hey Levy!"

Levy popped her head up and smiled, "Hey Lucy! How's your wounds?"

"They're almost healed."

"That's good."

"Yeah, here, "She handed the her the stack of papers. "I finished my novel yesterday and-"

"You did?!" Levy exclaimed with her eyes twinkling in excitement as her grabbed it. "Yea! Have you sent it in yet?"

Lucy laughed as she handed the girl the stack of papers. "No. I wanted you to read it first."

"Thanks! Awesome title, by the way! What genre is this again?"

"Romance."

It took all of Lucy's willpower not to laugh and slap herself. What a coincidence!

"Yea!" Levy exclaimed again and immediately opening it, forgetting about her mystery novel.

Lucy shook her head in amusement and walked toward the bar. "Hi Mira!"

Mira smiled, "Hello Lucy! Are you feeling better?"

"Much." Lucy glanced around and asked. "Where's Natsu and Happy? I figured they'd be in here."

"I haven't seen Natsu since you had woken up. He told me he was going to your house and that was it. Happy is right over there though."

Lucy nodded, mainly to herself. So he hasn't come in since they talked? She decided to go ask Happy. If anybody knew where Natsu was, it was him.

"Happy!" Lucy said when she was close enough. "Do you know where Natsu is?"

"He's at his house." The blue exceed turned from his half-eaten fish and looked up at the blonde. "Why?"

"I was just wondering."

"He's been a little upset lately…actually, more like a little guilty…"

Lucy frowned. He's upset because he turned her down? He probably feels worse than she does. An idea suddenly popped up in her head and she smiled down at the exceed. "Do you wanna go on a mission?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah."
"Um…sorry, I told Wendy and Carla I would go fishing with them later."

"Oh. That's okay. Natsu and I will go by ourselves."

Actually, that made her nervous. She was going on a mission by herself with just Natsu right after she confessed to him and he rejected her. They've been on missions alone before but…

Oh well! Has to be done! She'll just have to bear with it and hopefully he'll be able to too.

Lucy walked over the request board and scanned it. "If I was Natsu, what job would I want?…" She squealed when she found the perfect one and grabbed it. Giving a wave to Mira to let her know that she'll be gone, she was out the door before anyone could question if she should go because of her wounds.

With every step she took towards Natsu's house, the more nervous she became. This was going to be really awkward. He might not even accept the mission. Lucy glanced down at the mission in her hands. Never mind, he'll definitely accept.

When she reached his door, she took a couple deep breaths before knocking.

She heard a bit a movement, a loud thud, and a small "ow" from behind the door. Lucy bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh and quickly replayed the words she'd say to him in her head.

When the door opened, Lucy was playing with the edges of the flyer in her hand nervously.

"L-Lucy!" His eyes widened as Lucy tried not to get distracted by his bare chest. It seems like he just woke up.

"Hey," She started with a smile. "Um…how are you?"

"Uh…fine…and you?"

Lucy laughed at how awkward it got within seconds. "I'm fine. I uh…just wanted to say I'm sorry about a few days ago."

"You don't have to apologize for that."

"Yeah…but I didn't really think it through before I spoke…I understand that you don't feel the same way and I don't want what I said to ruin our friendship…so could we just forget about it and go back to the way we were before?"

She searched his eyes for any answers as he stared at her, but before she knew it, his trademark grin appeared and an "Of course!" hit her ears.

She sighed in relief and smiled. "Okay, for a second there I was getting worried!"

"Are you kidding me?! Why would I turn down a friend, especially an amazing one like you?!" He laughed.

Lucy laughed with him and blushed slightly at the compliment. "Sorry! I know!"

"What's that?" He pointed to the paper in her hands.

"Oh!" She almost forgot about that. She handed it to him. "Happy told me you weren't feeling well so I grabbed a job you might like."

Natsu burst out laughing again. "I get to purposefully destroy a village?! Awesome! I'm in!"

Lucy raised her eyebrow and took back the paper. "Um, no, you don't get to destroy a village on purpose. You get to destroy a bandit hideout on purpose. Where did you see 'village'?"

Natsu ignored her. "Let me my things real quick."

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Don't worry! I hate any sad, dissatisfying endings so it doesn't stop here. DON'T WORRY! I promise there will be nalu. I was just going to make this a short story, but it got so long I decided to change it to a two-shot. You're probably scowling at me right now, asking me why I made Natsu reject Lucy, but all my other stories were like "she loves him, but doesn't think he loves her, but then she confesses and finds out that he actually loves her back" and I wanted to take a different approach this time. Please don't kill me! *hides behind computer*

-zEllie