I am so sorry for this. The idea got in my mind, and it was the first breakthrough I had for a fic revolving around Lucy and Levy. Another sad story wasn't my initial intention.

Do you guys enjoy my darker stories? They tend to be my longer and better written ones.

The pen scratched against the paper. It was the only sound in the silent and dark apartment other than the writer's faint breathing. By her side was a cup of green tea that was already cold and a plate of uneaten fish that had been brought to her by a worried feline friend.

A greasy lock of blonde hair fell into her eyes. While pushing it back behind her ear, she idly wondered when the last time she washed it was. Softly shaking her head, she resumed writing.

Light started to creep through the crack in the pink window drapes, letting her know that she had stayed up all night again. She set the pen down in favor of rubbing the sudden onset of sleep from her eyes, jaws widening for a lengthy yawn. The smell of the fish was starting to make her nauseous, so the tired woman decided to toss it despite a grumbling stomach and the bones that were beginning to show a little too much beneath her pale skin.

To cease the pang in her belly, she filled a glass with water but only drank about half of it before it made her chronically empty stomach ache. Wearing the same gray sweat pants and black t-shirt that she had for the past week, she fell onto her bed. Brown eyes closed almost instantly to seek the comfort of sleep that she'd been denying herself, save for a couple hours each night.

Four hours of fitful sleeping left her feeling tired when she finally awoke. Despite the later hour, her curtains managed to leave her room in darkness. Not wanting to waste any more time, she forced herself to her feet, wobbling a bit when she stood. Though weary, she dragged her tired limbs back to the wooden desk pressed to the wall of her apartment and collapsed into the chair.

She scanned over the last page she wrote, making quick corrections, before resuming the story. Her hand trembled, but the words never stopped flowing. A few hours passed, and she allowed herself a moment to drink some more water and attempted to keep down a few bites of bread. Despite the ever present hunger, there hadn't been the appetite to match.

It was almost ready.

Her back hurt from how often it was hunched over while she wrote, eyes burned red, and cheeks dried out from salty tears. Page after page was written, edited, and completed, until there was no more to be done. The final word was etched upon the final page. She set down the pen and gripped the edge of the desk. Her breathing was erratic as her gaze focused on those final words, unable to believe that it was finally over.

Moving slowly so she didn't make a mistake despite her shaky hands, all of the pages were stacked and straightened. There were special wooden covers she had carved. They were simple slats, but after threading them through with the pages, they would be able to moderately protect the completed first edition of her novel.

The manuscript was put into a box that was always kept locked so that there was never the risk of someone else reading it first, not that she needed to worry. Nobody visited her apartment these days.

First thing she did after getting up was drink another glass of water. Then she pulled off her clothes, never noticing the stiffness or stench of the overworn fabric. Slender fingers combed through clumping, greasy hair, eventually giving up when she had too much trouble getting through the tangles. Digging through her closet to grab a clean pair of dark sweatpants and an orange sweatshirt, she redressed and pulled on a pair of flats.

Then she walked back over to her desk to pick up the locked box, choosing to take the whole thing to be safe. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, she opened her front door and left the seclusion of her home. Holding the safe in one arm, she held on the railing with the other to help herself down the stairs of the apartment complex she lived in.

Exhaustion and hunger left her body weak, so the blonde mage kept to the sidewalk instead of trusting her tremoring legs on the ledge along the river. She could feel the eyes of everyone around her silently judging her ramshackle appearance. She was two blocks down the road when she heard him.

"Lucy?" Lifting her eyes, she saw the surprised face of the Fire Dragonslayer. When she couldn't find the words to reply, his golden eyes quickly scanned her from head to two, pausing on the wooden box she kept clutched to her chest. Even standing, Lucy's body swayed, and her brown eyes were dull and unfocused.

Natsu walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to let her lean on him.

"You going to visit her?" he quietly asked, slowly moving them forward. Lucy nodded, and he didn't say anything more. There were still a couple hours of daylight left, plenty of time to make it there. It was an uncomfortably silent walk, as Natsu hadn't seen or spoken to her in weeks, and it was obvious that she hadn't been taking care of herself.

Her body was shivering next to him, as if she was cold, but he just tightened his hold on her, making sure she knew he was there to support her.

Minutes felt like hours until the pair arrived at the cemetery. The blonde and pinkette walked along the stone path, suffocated by the unnatural silence that only lived within a graveyard. Stopping in front of a gravestone, Natsu gently helped Lucy kneel down before stepping back. Far enough to give the illusion of privacy but close enough that he was right there if she needed him.

The cold white grave marker hadn't changed, however much she wished it had.

Levy McGarden
X767 - X796

"Hey, Levy. How are you doing?" Her voice was raspy from lack of use. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. When they slipped over to streak down her cheeks, she didn't bother to wipe them away. "I've been okay," Lucy added, feeling guilty by stretching the truth.

Though only silence answered, the blonde believed she could hear her friend talking back.

'You gotta take better care of yourself, Lulu.'

"I know, but I had to take care of something first."

'You work too hard!'

"I think you'll be glad of it this time," Lucy chuckled, a small smile forming. She placed the box in front of the gravestone. "I finished my novel."

'Took you long enough, girl! So can I finally read it?'

"You'll be the first one." A glance over her shoulder had Natsu moving closer. His eyes widened at her next request, but he placed warm hand on top of the box.

"You sure about this?" he questioned.

"I am," she nodded, life returning to her eyes as flames burst from Natsu's hand, setting fire to the wooden case as well as the only copy of her book. Lucy leaned against her best friend who had remained crouched beside her.

They stayed there until the fire stopped burning and nothing was left but ash. The sky had already turned purple, then orange, then black as the sun vanished behind the horizon. Natsu touched the charred wood to make sure that nothing was left before turning his head to look at Lucy.

Her eyes were shut, but she was breathing peacefully. There were no more tears as she smiled softly in her sleep, nestled firmly against his side. The Dragonslayer breathed out a soft sigh of relief. Lucy looked more relaxed than she had in a long time. Gently nuzzling his cheek against the top of her head, he then carefully moved her into his arms so that he could carry her home.

Ever since the job that Team Shadowgear didn't return from, the Celestial mage had begun to distance herself from her friends before disappearing all together. When she stopped visiting the guild, Natsu would drop by her apartment only to find her hunched over her desk putting pen to paper. The first few times he'd been able to get her to go outside with him, whether to eat or just get her some fresh air. As time ran on, eventually she would refuse to leave the apartment and then wouldn't even react to him.

He never took it personally. Lucy was one who loved deeply and felt strongly, so he understood why she reacted that way to losing Levy. Gajeel had been the same, though instead the Iron Dragonslayer threw himself into job after job, taking on more dangerous quests and acting far more recklessly than normal.

Golden eyes softened when they gazed at the suffering blonde resting in his arms. Eventually he had realized that he couldn't help her and had decided to take care of her in other ways. After isolating herself, she stopped taking jobs, so Natsu took extra work to cover her rent and even made sure that her kitchen always had food in it. He had no cooking ability, aside from setting it on fire, and knew Lucy wasn't going to be able to put in that much effort so it was always simple things, like sandwiches or soup. Sometimes, he'd drop off takeout from her favorite restaurant.

Lucy didn't wake up as he walked along the edge of the river, knowing it was her preferred path, or when he stepped up the stairs to her front door. It wasn't until he had sat her on the lid of her toilet and turned on the warm water in her bath that she cracked open her brown eyes.

"Natsu," she whispered sleepily.

"Hey, Luce," he responded in a matching tone. "How are you doing?"

"Better." Her head lolled to one side as she started to fall back asleep but jerked back up as she tried to stay awake. Natsu chuckled and crouched down in front of her before sliding off her shoes.

"Go ahead and sleep, Lucy. I'll take care of you," he promised. The tension left her as her body slumped over right into his arms. As dead weight it was more difficult, but Natsu managed to pull her sweatshirt up over her head and slide off the sweatpants.

Picking her up, he kicked off his shoes and stepped into the tub. While he sat on the edge, ignoring the dampness soaking into his pants, he submerged his friend into the water. Lucy's back was propped up against his legs, keeping her upright while still mostly in the bath.

The pink haired mage cupped water with his hands and poured it onto her hair, doing so multiple times until the locks were sufficiently soaked. Grabbing the shampoo within arm's reach, he squeezed a generous amount into his palm before lathering it and scrubbing it into her filthy hair. When pale pink suds covered her head, Natsu washed them away before repeating the process another two times before the golden color shined through and felt clean to touch.

With that done, he picked up washcloth and poured her fruity smelling body wash onto it. As he started running the soapy fabric along her shoulder and arm, the water had already started to cool so he added a little fire magic to heat it back up.

No blush darkened his face as Natsu cleaned her chest and along her hips and thighs, because this was the farthest thing from sexual for him. This was him taking care of his best friend when she needed him.

Natsu wrung out the cloth and gently wiped down her face, making a mental note to clean it properly in the morning after Lucy woke up. After he was content that she was clean, and smelling strongly of artificial soapy fruit, he lifted her into his arms. Water soaked his front and splashed over the edge of the tub onto the floor.

Unconscious shivers ran across her flesh when air hit her wet skin. Natsu heated his body until faint wisps of steam lifted off of them, drying and warming the pair, and went to lay her down across her bed. First he went to drain her tub before picking out a pair of pajama pants, choosing to avoid the underwear drawer that Lucy had long since banned them from opening.

The blonde had curled into a ball atop her puffy pink comforter, but Natsu had no trouble straightening her out to slide the soft, green pants over her hips. Instead of a shirt, he took off his vest and put it on her. Even though it was useless in covering her, he thought about how much being surrounded by familiar scents comforted him when he was upset.

Aside from a muttered grumble, Lucy didn't fidget much while he got her under the covers. He opened the window by the bed halfway, letting a fresh breeze replace the stale air, before sliding in next to her. In a rare show, her arms automatically wrapped around his torso, snuggling into his warmth.

It felt nice to be back with her. He breathed in her scent while running a steaming hand through her hair to dry the still damp locks until he fell asleep.

This started off really sad to write until Natsu was suddenly in it.

I've had major writing block lately, so it was nice to have a fresh idea to cram out. It was originally meant to be a Lucy/Levy, but then I thought adding in Natsu would help balance the sadness with some cute fluffiness.