Wendy did what she could. Which, given the strength of her magic, was a lot.
Still, she had her limits. Once the wounds were dressed the young lady went to lay down and recuperate...and most likely get chastised by Carla.
That left Natsu and Lucy alone. She sat next to him, rubbing healing salve over his still sensitive skin. Her usual cheerful smile replaced with a frown.
"...Lucy?
"You're ridiculous, you know that?" Not looking up from her handiwork.
"What d'ya mean?"
"You always go rushing in recklessly no matter how dangerous the situation is. Do you want to die or something?"
"What? No! No way! You know I'd rather live and fight for this guild than die."
"Yeah, that's what you say." Harsh, hurting laugh. "Your actions don't always match your words."
"That battle was a fluke. I didn't know what Ignia's flames would do."
"Not just today, Natsu." Her voice got quiet, almost a whisper. "The fight against Zeref. You didn't even think. You just took off without a word trying to take on the most powerful dark wizard in history by yourself. And you could've died."
"I didn't."
"That's not the point. I...we were all so worried about you." A pause. She sniffled, then whispered something almost inaudible.
...inaudible for anyone who didn't have dragon slayer hearing, that is. Natsu heard it loud and clear.
"I don't want to lose you."
"Luce..." He reached over, touched her hand. Then winced. Damn battle injuries.
"My point is...maybe instead of rushing around like you have a death wish, you should think of something to live for."
"Maybe I already do."
Her heart stopped for a moment. Eyes widened.
"Natsu...what are you saying?"
"The same thing I said when we left on this damn quest."
"Together forever from now on...?" Tears were threatening to spill now.
"That's right." He took her hand, ignoring the pain. "We're more than just teammates. Swear sometimes it's like you're the only one who can keep me sane. Like, y'know. Today. Anyway, I think that means I love ya."
"I...I'm with you. And yes, that means I love you, you big dummy." Tears flowed relentlessly.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Natsu pulled her into his arms, not sure how else to react. This was a completely new situation for him.
"Natsu? Can I kiss you?"
"Yeah, if ya want, I guess..."
Slow, soft, sweet. Eyes slid closed. She leaned into him, while he slipped a hand over her cheek.
They were both really into it...at least until he heard something.
Lucy was whimpering.
He took one look at her face, saw the raw pink skin on her cheek, right where his hand was. Immediately lowered his fingers.
He didn't deserve to touch her, not if he caused her so much pain.
"Fuck...Lucy...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you like that."
"Shhh, dummy. It's fine. Here...you can help heal me." She held up the salve, put some on his exposed fingertip. "Go ahead."
Slowly, with more gentleness than he thought he was capable of, he stroked the salve over her cheek. She angled her head to give better access, and he kept working. She smiled, traces of sadness in her eyes.
He looked away.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't deserve to touch you. I'm...a monster."
That was when Lucy Heartfilia did something truly unexpected.
She slapped him.
"I...deserved that."
"Yeah, you definitely did. Natsu, you are not a monster. And you're NOT gonna sit here wallowing in self pity over something you can't control, either." Big, heavy sigh. "Sorry for slapping you."
"No. I needed that. You knocked some sense into me. As usual." Chuckle as he brushed a little more salve over her cheek. "What do we do now?"
"I think we need to regroup and plan our new steps. Am I right to assume you're not planning on giving up and going back home?"
"Hell yeah. I ain't a coward." Fanged grin, with traces of that usual sparkle in his eyes. Lucy couldn't help smiling.
"Now that's my Natsu."
"Well your Natsu wants his Lucy to scoot a little closer."
"And why's that?"
"It's a surprise. Come here, you." He pulled her close, kissed her, hoping he was doing it right.
Kissing was weird. Like, how did you do it without boinking the other person with your nose? And where the hell were your hands supposed to go?
At the same time...he liked it. Natsu might not have been particularly skilled, but kissing Lucy was pretty awesome. She smelled light, almost flowery, further blessing his senses with a taste that reminded him of sweet vanilla.
And she wasn't resisting. She leaned into it, one hand feathering through his hair.
Once they broke for air he rested his forehead on hers.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed something.
She shivered. Not much, only slightly, enough to catch his attention.
Impulse took over. He grabbed his scarf, wrapped it around her shoulders, pulled her close, letting her rest her head on his own shoulder.
"Natsu?"
"You looked cold."
"Ohh...Thanks."
What sounded like a content sigh eventually became an unmistakable soft snore. He let his guard down, allowed himself a smile. Slowly, carefully, he shifted down on the cot. He wanted to lay down, not daring to disturb her slumber.
Unfortunately, at that very moment, a blue flying cat came zooming through the open window and buried his face in Natsu's hair.
"Natsuuu! Lucyyyy! I was so worried!"
"Happy! Shhh!" Dark glare and a gesture at the now-stirring blonde in his arms. She opened an eye.
"Huh? Oh. Hey Happy." Yaaaawn. "Now pipe down so I can sleep."
"What happened? You two weren't makin' babies or anything were you?!"
"Why would you even think that, cat?"
"Why wouldn't I? Everyone knows you two loooooove each other."
"Ugh we can talk about this later. For now I think we all need to get some rest. It's been a long day."
Natsu knew that look on her face. That was the look she picked up from Erza somewhere along the line, the one that meant crossing her was a bad idea.
Gulp.
"Yeah you're right. We got plenty of time to figure things out." A yawn that wasn't entirely faked. Happy curled up on a nearby pillow, and Natsu curled his arms back around Lucy. Right where they belonged, he thought. "Night, Happy. Night, Lucy."
"Aye..."
"Night-night, Natsu. Sweet dreams." She brushed her mouth against his collarbone, then settled her head down.
Somehow, despite the chaos that had engulfed most of the past several days, sleep came easily. Exhaustion made for a good night's sleep, at least.
The team had a lot to think about. What was their plan of action? What was the next step? What the hell was going on with Natsu's powers? And, more importantly, what about his newfound relationship with Lucy...?
Sure, there was a lot to figure out, a lot of the usual sort of chaos they were all used to.
For now, though, a moment of peace was more than welcome.
~Fin