Birthday Nalu oneshot for lucyheartfeelmeup on tumblr

Prompt: "sick Lucy with Natsu taking care of her"

Natsu was worried. Three days. It had been three days since he'd last seen Lucy at school. He didn't even have her phone number yet. Why not? It had completely slipped his mind; he felt like such an idiot. His worry had also made him restless and even more short tempered than usual. A fact that his friends didn't fail to miss.

"Holy shit, Flame Brain! Would you stop with the fidgeting?"

"What was that, Popsicle?"

"You heard me! And don't snap at me! If you're that fuckin' worried, ask Levy for her number or something."

"I'll- Wait, what?"

"Gray's right, for once."

"Oi!"

"You don't know her number or where she lives. The only other friend she has is the tiny one. So piss off and ask her before I have to tie you to a tree. You're driving us both insane."

Natsu scowled at them, but for once in his life, he didn't argue. He had enough sense to know that they had actually suggested a good idea, so instead of punching either of them, he shot off in search of the small bluenette girl that had befriended Lucy.

"Levy! Hey, Bookworm! Stop a second! I need to ask you something!"

"N-Natsu?" Levy froze, staring wide-eyed at the boy. She knew Lucy had recently associated herself with Natsu and his group, but she personally had never interacted with them. She had been at the school long enough to see their violence first-hand and despite what Lucy said, she was still scared of them. So what could he possibly want with her?

"Yo. Um, have you, ah… seen Lucy at all recently? She hasn't been around in a few days and, um, well…"

"You're… you're worried about her?"

She cowered again as Natsu narrowed his eyes at her and scowled. She thought he was going to snap at her for suggesting something as absurd as him caring about another human being, but she was surprised when he close his eyes and took a deep breath. He appeared to be calming himself. The scowl disappeared.

"Ah, yeah, I guess I am. I don't have her number or anything. Just because I completely forgot to ask. I thought you might. Or you might know anything."

Levy shook her head slowly, still eyeing him warily. "I'm sorry. She never gave me her number either…" Her eyebrows furrowed. "However, now that you mention it, I'm worried also. She's so good with her studies." She hummed slightly in thought. Suddenly she nodded, coming to a decision and cleared her throat. "Um, I might, though, be able to get her address… maybe."

She shifted uncomfortably under Natsu's intense gaze.

"How?"

"Um… Through the school's database…" She trailed off. "I don't really want to go into details because I'm afraid it's not exactly allowed. Please don't mention that to anyone." She chewed on her lip, gauging his reaction. She didn't think he would have any issue with it, but you could never be sure.

After a few seconds, what she was saying seemed to sink in, and he grinned.

"Woah, Levy! That's awesome! Who knew a pint-sized nerd like you was so cool? Thanks! I owe you one."

She scowled in irritation at his back-handed compliment.

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm worried about Lucy and I don't have time to check on her. I'll meet you at the front gate after school. Keep the other two far away. I can only put up with one of you at a time."

He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. No worries. Catch ya." And with that, he sauntered off.

Natsu was restless again. Though it was more from impatience this time. He had let Gray and Gajeel know that he wouldn't be walking home with them this afternoon, so they had left without him. They had figured out why pretty quickly, though he'd had to inform them that Levy was somehow getting him Lucy's address. They hadn't objected to his plan. Although they hadn't specifically stated, they had developed soft spots for Lucy and were nearly as worried as Natsu was.

Finally, he spotted Levy approaching, her pile of books hugged protectively against her chest. A number of people had been staring at him, probably wondering why he was hanging around the school entrance without his gang. They now likely had even more questions about Levy's involvement. He felt a little bad. Rumours would fly and he didn't really want to inflict his reputation on the intelligent girl. He just hoped she thought it was worth it.

"H-Hi Natsu." Her voice was small, hesitant. Apparently she'd lost the confidence she had gained during their last conversation.

"Hey. I won't keep ya. Sorry about this."

"N-No. It's okay. Like I said, it's for Lucy. Here." She handed him a small scrap of paper with an address scribbled down in some of the neatest handwriting he had ever seen.

"I'm serious, shorty. I properly owe you. Even if it's not for my sake. If you ever need anything, ask. The other guys think the same. Whether you want to be or not, you're recognised by us now. Call on any of us if you need us. Anyway, I'm probably ruining your goody-two-shoes reputation so I'll head. Thanks."

He didn't let her respond, instead turning on his heel and running away, a determined expression on his face.

"Thank you, Natsu. I'd probably rather be friends with you guys anyway…"

He nearly didn't catch Levy's final words, but he figured she probably hadn't meant for him to. He didn't know whether to curse or praise his borderline unnatural hearing. He'd think about it later.

The house was huge. Natsu had to spend a couple of moments just staring at it. He had noticed the houses getting bigger and fancier as he wandered deeper into this part of town. He knew Lucy had come from money, but this was like a whole other world. He really didn't belong here. He sincerely hoped her father wasn't home or something; he wasn't entirely sure if he could explain his presence.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself. He belonged anywhere he wanted to. This could even be fun. He might get to terrorise some snooty rich people. He nearly cackled at the thought, suddenly feeling much better, and jogged through the main gate, up to the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited.

And waited.

No answer.

Lucy had to be home, right? It occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, her family had moved away suddenly. He really hoped that wasn't the case. He rang the doorbell again, then knocked on the heavy doors. He even tried calling out. Scrunching his nose in agitation, Natsu came to the conclusion that he was out of options. He wasn't leaving until he knew what was going on. Which meant that the only thing left to do was break in. He hoped there wasn't an alarm. He didn't have time to waste disarming it.

With a hazy memory of Lucy mentioning that her bedroom was on the second floor and near a large tree, he eyed the front of the house. There. Huge tree. Perfect for helping him scale the building. He wasted no time in clambering up and peering through the window. Now he was staring at a huge, lavish bedroom. He felt a mild stab of envy. It was way better than his room. What he was hoping for, however, was that it was Lucy's room. He was assuming it was, he didn't think her father would have this much pink in his room.

His eyes settled on the bed, where the blankets looked like they were wrapped around a figure. Deciding that there was no turning back now, he jimmied open the window. He could have easily picked it if it was locked, but he supposed noone expected someone to be coming through a second story window, so it opened easily and he dropped inside.

"Lucy?" He whispered softly. If it was anyone else, he was screwed. Actually, he wasn't even sure that he wasn't in trouble even if it was Lucy. He'd gotten her address somewhat illegally. He didn't even know if she wanted him there.

A groan cause him to tense, and the figure in the bed sat up, blinking blearily at him.

"Who…? Natsu?"

He gave a strained smile. Lucy looked like shit. Her hair was a tangled mess, bags were under eyes, she looked pale and too thin. She tried to smile back but it turned into a wince.

Natsu jumped towards her as she whimpered in pain and collapsed on the bed.

"Lucy! The hell? What's wrong? What happened? We haven't seen you in days so I panicked and came to find you. I'm sorry for breaking in! Are you sick?" He squatted next to her bed, making his face level with where hers was resting on her pillow.

"You're so sweet." He scowled. Her voice was weak and quiet, and she sounded totally out of it. Besides, he was not sweet.

"Apparently I have Glandular Fever, but I didn't notice and overworked myself and so it developed complications…."

"You've seen a doctor?"

"Yeah. I'm not dying, it's okay. Just a swollen, incredibly painful liver. And spleen. And extreme nausea and exhaustion. Did you know Glandular Fever comes with chronic fatigue?"

"Lucy, I don't even really know what Glandular Fever is, but that all sounds shitty."

She groaned again and closed her eyes to try and concentrate on breathing through the pain randomly shooting through her.

"Lucy… Where's your dad? Why isn't he looking after you? Or anyone else in this house? When was the last time you ate?"

"Father is away on a business trip. He's been away all week and won't be back for another 3. He doesn't need to worry. There's noone else here. Aquarius took me to the doctor, but she's really busy and couldn't stay. I think someone might be in tomorrow."

"Your dad is an arse. Answer the last question."

"Remind me?"

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Oh.. Um… I'm not sure. I'm in too much pain to walk around and cook, and I have to be careful because my liver can't process much. So I've just been taking painkillers and sleeping, mostly…"

Natsu hung his head so Lucy wouldn't see his face. He was fuming. She was clearly stupidly sick and apparently noone cared enough to look after her. Now he was here, and she was his friend.

"Right! That settles it then. You can't get better like this. I'm looking after you. You need food, first. Where's the kitchen?"

"Natsu? It's okay. You don't have to. I'm not that important."

"Bullshit. And you don't get a say in this, anyway. You need to be back at school with us ASAP. It's boring otherwise."

He smiled as she giggled.

"Your tough-guy reputation is rapidly disappearing."

"Only around you. And if you tell anyway, I'll take my revenge."

"Aye sir!" She mimicked his common catchphrase.

He merely stuck his tongue out at her in response and walked off to make some phone calls. He was determined to look after her, but he wasn't certain he could do it by himself. He'd have to call in a few favours.

One week later found Natsu still at Lucy's house, playing on his phone while Lucy napped snuggled against him. Lucy had moved down to a room on the first floor, right near the kitchen, on the afternoon that Natsu had broken in. It had made it easier to feed her and make sure she got her medication. He had called in various friends over the last few days. Mira had come over the following day and helped him cook a bunch of meals, which had then been frozen. She had also shown him how to cook some basic things for when those meals wouldn't do. Gray and Gajeel had come over to help when Natsu needed sleep, or had to drop home, and also just to keep them company. Even Levy had dropped around with Lucy's homework. Lucy had been way more excited about this than Natsu thought she had any right to be. Who got excited about school work? And then Wendy, the greatest little sister ever, had dropped around with refills of Lucy's medication.

Throughout the entire week, however, Natsu hadn't left Lucy's side for any longer than was absolutely necessary. It hadn't even mattered that she had slept through most of it. Gray had called him a mother hen. He had tried to fight him about it (except that Lucy had yelled at them) but he hadn't really denied it. Even he could see that he was fussing. Yet he argued that if someone was sick, they got fussed over and looked after. That was how it worked. It didn't matter that he'd never really experienced that for himself, he wanted Lucy to.

Finally, though, Lucy was better enough that the doctor had cleared her to return to school. He briefly wondered if anyone had noticed her absence but then decided it didn't matter. All the people who mattered had.

He felt Lucy stir as she woke.

"Mornin'"

"Huh? Natsu, it's evening."

"Yeah, but you're just waking up. Hey! Look at this!" He shoved his phone in her face, on which he'd brought up a funny picture he had found on the internet.

After a moment, Lucy burst into giggles.

"Oh, that one's good!"

He grinned. The other thing he had made it his mission to do while she had been sick was to make sure she had kept laughing. She shouldn't have to wallow in misery the whole time. He knew how draining that could be.

"So, back to school tomorrow."

"I can't wait."

"You're so weird."

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For looking after me. I was going to protest initially, but I didn't have the energy to at all. But I'm really grateful. It's made such a huge difference."

Natsu tried not to look embarrassed. He was cool and it hadn't been a big deal. He didn't get embarrassed. His efforts failed miserably.

"Ah, it's- Um, it was no problem, really. You're my friend. Our friend. You're totally one of us. We look out for our own."

"Oh, yeah, I'll have to thank Gray and Gajeel also. And definitely Levy. But you did the most work. You didn't leave. Trust me, it means a lot."

He grunted. He didn't trust himself to say anything in response. He would probably fuck up the moment if he tried.

The next day, they were back at school. He had missed as much school as she had, but that wasn't unusual for him. It didn't seem any different, and yet, it was. He had showed Lucy a side of himself that nearly nobody every got to see. They had gotten closer than he had expected, as demonstrated by the fact that she had spent all night curled into his side. To the casual observer, nothing looked different. Natsu and Lucy interacted the same way they had before she had gotten sick, bickering, laughing, maybe touching shoulders. Natsu still seemed unapproachable and scary to the rest of the school. Lucy still was an enigma, quiet but proud, still unliked by most of the school. And yet, for those who knew them, there was something there that wasn't there before. Physical touch increased in frequency, their interactions became more normal, and they observed each other with a protective fondness that had intensified. Their friends knew. They cared about one another. Now it was only a matter of time before something came of it.