*A/N- Chappie 2 of the story I wrote for LFT- Secret Santa! Merry Christmas to everyone who read, followed, or favorited this story! Don't forget to review and let me know what you think! I love you all!
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"Natsu, you need sleep. Go home! If Lucy wakes up, we'll come and get you!" I heard a woman's voice say, Erza, my mind registered vaguely. I felt like my head was filled with cotton.
"The hell I will!" I heard him reply. I felt a weight on my chest that was making it hard to breathe. I cracked one eye open to see what was causing it, but my vision was blocked by a blurry mass of bright blue. I closed my eye again and slipped back into unconsciousness.
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I wasn't sure how long it had been since the last time I was awake, but it was dark. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness , listening carefully to the sounds around me. I heard a snore that could only belong to Natsu, and I could feel his hair brushing my arm. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that he was covered head to foot in bandages. I looked to my left and saw Gray asleep on a bed next to mine, and Juvia was asleep with her head on his bed. She, too, was covered in bandages. I would have panicked, waking up in a strange place, but I had Natsu by my side, so I knew I was safe.
Where am I? I wondered. I peered out of the darkened windows, but all I could see were a few trees through the darkness. I glanced around the room; there were lots of potions bottles lined up on the shelves, and the smell of antiseptic hung in the air. I must be in Porlyusica's cabin, I thought.
Natsu let out a particularly loud snore, catching my attention. He was sleeping restlessly, tossing and turning his head, as well as whimpering. As I watched him, he whimpered slightly and turned his head towards me, allowing me to see his expression. His face was screwed up like he was in pain, and he mumbled something.
"Lucy."
I looked at him piteously, feeling my cheeks flush at the realization he dreaming about me. He must be exhausted from the whole E.N.D. ordeal. I ran my hand through his hair, just to re-assure myself that his horns were gone. At my touch Natsu quieted slightly, and leaned into my hand. I could feel myself blushing even harder, and I was glad no one was awake to see it. I closed my eyes and absentmindedly stroked Natsu's hair until I fell asleep again.
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The first thing I became aware of when I woke next was the horrible pain in my back and shoulders. I whimpered, and I heard the general chatter in the room go silent. Juvia even stopped fawning over Gray.
"Lucy?" I heard a young girls voice ask. Wendy. I groaned in response.
"Lucy!" Erza exclaimed. I opened my eyes, but shut them again immediately, and I moaned again to show my displeasure. It was bright in here. I opened my eyes again, slowly this time, and the room finally came into focus. Everyone was completely covered in bandages. I probably was too, but I couldn't see myself. I looked over at Erza and was unsurprised that she wore her usual armor over her bandages.
"Natsu…" I croaked. My throat was so dry.
"Is safe," Erza said. "He wouldn't leave your bedside, not even to sleep or eat, so I had to knock him out to get him to rest." I giggled, which hurt, but I didn't cough up blood again, which was a good sign. Erza walked over to a table that had a pitcher and some glasses on it. She poured water into one of the glasses and brought it over to me, I tried to sit up, but she pushed me back down onto the bed, which hurt a lot. I gasped in pain, and Erza withdrew her hand quickly. "Wendy, I think your spell has worn off," she said.
"Okay, I'll do it again," Wendy sprang off of her stool and held her hands over me. They glowed as she murmured some spell, and the pain eased.
"Thanks," I coughed, looking at Erza for water. She lifted my head, then help the cup to my lips. I drank half the glass in two gulps before she took it away again.
"Careful, don't want to make yourself sick." She pulled up a chair and sat down. "Natsu is outside with Igneel. We trusted him to keep Natsu out of our hair for a while." Erza smiled at me, she looked surprisingly good, besides being covered head to foot in bandages. She had always been one to bounce back quickly. I returned her smile, glad she was feeling alright.
"I'll go and get him! He'll want to know that you're awake!" Wendy said helpfully, but I shook my head.
"No, he needs to catch up with his father, give him some time," I said. Wendy glanced at the others, unsure. "But I'm sure he would want us to tell him right away, he was so worried about you!"
"Well if he gets mad, just tell him it was my decision, he can take it up with me."
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Lucy," Gray said. "I've never seen Natsu as upset as he has been the last few days. He's been crying, and not just when we brought you in, but all the time. He just cries and stares at his hands for ages. He says he can still smell your blood on them, no matter how many times he washes them."
I stared open mouthed at Gray. His face was grim, and he had this troubled look in his eyes, and I knew he was telling the truth, and that he was worried. If Natsu was in bad enough shape to make Gray worry about him, then he was in bad shape. I was speechless. Of all the time I had known Natsu, I had seen him cry all of twice. Once when Igneel came back and one when, oh, yah. Once when Future Rouge killed the me from the future. I looked out the window, thinking, but raised voices outside caught my attention.
"Natsu, get back here! I told you that they would come and get you if she woke up!"
"No way in hell, Dad!" Natsu said, "Let me go! I heard her voice! I know she's awake!" Natsu cried. There were a few resounding crashes that had to be Igneel's footsteps.
"Boy, it's your imagination, again. You've done this three time now!" I giggled. It was cute to listen to Natsu argue with his father.
"SEE!" Natsu cried, as if in response to my laugh, "she laughed! I know you heard it too, Old Man! Unless in the last seven, I mean 14, years your hearing has gone bad."
"My hearing is as good as it ever was, you disrespectful runt!" Igneel said, and I laughed out loud. A disrespectful runt, was he? I had never heard anyone talk to Natsu like that and get away with it. "Oh, oh, now that time I did hear it," Igneel said, and Natsu shouted in triumph.
"See, I told ya! Now put me down before I make 'ya," Natsu said.
"What was that?" Igneel asked. He sounded halfway between irritation and amusement.
"I said put me down, you old good-for-nothin' dragon or I'll make you!"
"I see someone's just looking for an ass-kickin' today!" Igneel said, and I lost it. That has got to be the funniest thing I'd heard in a long time. I laughed so hard it hurt my many broken bones, but I didn't care, it felt good to laugh after everything that happened. Besides all of the crippling pain that is.
"Dadt, le' me 'o!" Natsu said, as if through a mouthful of food. He didn't, I thought.
He did.
"Ow, ow, ow! Alright, kid, you didn't have to bite me!" This time everyone laughed loudly. A loud thump and the sound of Natsu scrambling on the ground floated in through the open window.
"Incoming," I said, right before Natsu busted the doors down, and came flying at me.
"Lucy!" Natsu and Happy cried together. They rushed at me. I braced for impact, but Erza had other ideas.
"Settle down," she said , grabbing Happy's tail, and knocking Natsu to the floor. "Lucy's hurt, so you can't just jump on her, no matter how happy you are she's alright." I silently thanked Erza for stopping Natsu while a sound that could only be described as happy thunder shook the building. I looked out of the doors, which were now each barely attached to the doorframe, to see Igneel laughing happily.
"Well it seems that you sure have a hold on managing my son," he said merrily.
"Erza has controlling Natsu down to an art!" Wendy exclaimed cheerfully, and Igneel laughed again.
"Is that so? Well it seems I owe her then for managing him in my absence," he said, watching as Erza scolded Natsu, now for breaking down Porlyusica's door.
"She has been very kind allow us to stay in her home, and to take care of Lucy, and THIS," she gestured to the broken doors, "is how you repay her?" Natsu looked guiltily at the doors. "You are going to fix these doors as soon as possible, and give Porlyusica a full apology, do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am," Natsu said, pouting.
"Can you teach me that trick?" Igneel asked, "He's shown you more respect in one sentence than he's given me in a lifetime" He said, and Erza laughed.
"I don't think that's true, it's obvious that Natsu respects you greatly, after all, you were the only one who could keep him out of here before Lucy woke up," Erza said, and I felt myself blushing. I looked at Natsu, who was sitting with his arms and legs crossed, pouting on the floor.
"Oh come on Natsu, don't make that face. They only pick on you because they love you," I said, and Natsu perked up instantly.
"Lucy!" He exclaimed, as if he had forgotten I was in the room. He probably had. He tried to get up and scramble to my bed, but Erza seized him by the scarf, and he didn't go anywhere.
"What did I say, Natsu?" Erza scolded, looking at him sidelong, "Lucy is badly hurt, and you can't be rough with her." Natsu gulped and stood completely still until Erza looked away and let go of his scarf. He bolted to the bed, but stopped just short of touching it. Happy however, had no such restraint, and he slammed into my chest, causing a spasm of pain to shoot throughout my body. Some of my ribs were obviously broken. I tried to stop my own cry of pain so that Happy wouldn't get in trouble, but it only half worked. I didn't scream, but I made this weird strangled sound that got Erza's attention immediately.
"I said," Erza growled, seizing Happy and walking to the door while Natsu and I watched helplessly, "not to be rough with her!" She wound up like a pitcher, and flung Happy out of the open door, and he disappeared into the distance, leaving a little winking star behind. Igneel looked after him, looking slightly concerned.
"Aren't you worried he might get hurt?" He asked, staring at the place where Happy disappeared into the sky.
"No," Natsu said, "This happens all the time, he'll be back by nightfall." He grinned boyishly. "I wonder where he ended up this time?"
"He's probably crashing through the roof of Sabertooth or something crazy like that right about now," I guessed.
"Nah," He shook his head, "Sabertooth's in the other direction." He looked out the door, his eyes scanning the mountain range beyond the forest.
"What about Lamia Scale then?" I asked, "Or Mermaid Heel?"
"Well if it's Mermaid Heel then we'll never see him again," Erza said, leaning against the wall, "Miliana keep him forever."
"He'll be alright," Natsu said, stretching, "Miliana will take good care of him." He turned back and looked at me, his whole demeanor changed. His face got this terrible look on it I've never seen there before. It might've been guilt and remorse. I tried to reach out and take his hand, but pain shot down my back, and I laid my hand back down. "How're you feelin', Luce?"
"As good as can be expected, considering all that's happened." All of the sudden, I remembered Aquarius, and tears sprang to my eyes and began pouring out before I could stop them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He stumbled, "What's the matter all of the sudden?"
"My-my keys," was all I could manage.
"They're right here!" Natsu said, turning around and grabbing them off the table. He laid them in my hand and curled my fingers around them, but I just shook my head.
"N-not all," I stuttered. I couldn't bring myself to say it, because saying it made it real, and if it was real then I lost a lifelong friend. I wasn't ready to handle that.
"What do you mean? Sure they are, look," He picked them back up and began to check off spirits, and I was surprised to learn that he recognized them all by their keys. I hadn't realized he had been paying so much attention.
"Look, here's Plue, and Horologium, and Crux, and that compas guy,"
"Pyxis," I said immediately.
"Yeah, and here's Loke, and Taurus, and Virgo, and Capricorn, and Cancer, hey his looks like a crab. There's Aries, and Gemini, oh I like his, it's cool lookin'. Here's Sagittarius, and Scorpio, and Aquari-oh," he said, stopping dead when he ran out of keys. I started crying even harder. "Lucy, did something happen to Aquarius?" He asked gently, setting the keys down on the bed. I nodded, but didn't say anything, I was crying to hard to respond. Natsu scooted his chair closer, took my hand in his, and used the other to stroke my hair soothingly. If I hadn't been so upset I would have been worried about how weird and sweet he was acting.
"Lucy sacrificed Aquarius's key to save the guild," a voice said from my other side.
"Loke," I said trying to sit up, but Natsu pushed me back on my pillows. "Loke, you should go home, you need to rest after that battle, you fought hard, and you shouldn't push yourself right now," I said tearfully.
"She sacrificed Aquarius's key? What does that mean?" Natsu asked quietly.
"It means she can't summon Aquarius anymore," he said gently, "but she's not dead, she's fine, actually," he added quickly, "that's what I came to tell you Lucy." I looked up at him, sniffling.
"Really?" I said, trying to sit up again, but Natsu pushed me back down. Loke nodded.
"She asked me to tell you, and these are her words not mine," I nodded impatiently, waiting to hear her message. "She asked me to tell you to 'stop crying like a little baby or you'll never get a boyfriend'"
"Of course she did!" I said, "even when she's trying to be nice she's being awful!" I half laughed, half sobbed. "Don't tell her I said that, she'll kill me!" I said, before realizing that she couldn't hurt me anymore if she couldn't get to me. It was a surprisingly bad thought.
"I suppose she can be rather aggressive sometimes," Loke said, laughing nervously, unsure of whether or not I was going to break down again.
"Rather aggressive? Sometimes?" I repeated incredulously. "Are we even talking about the same person?" Loke chuckled for real now, seemingly satisfied I wouldn't have another mood swing.
"Well, maybe she was harder on you than the rest of us," Loke said. I snorted.
"That's an understatement."
I tried to reach up to wipe my face, but my shoulders screamed in protest, so I gave up. Seeing my struggle, Natsu reached over and used the end of his scarf to wipe my face off, which sort of freaked me out.
Why is he being so nice? Not that he had ever been mean to me, but he had never been sweet like this before. And he was using the scarf that Igneel gave him, too, and he never would have done that before.
When he wasn't looking I mouthed at Loke, what is happening? Loke just shrugged, as confused as I was, but behind him Gray's face was grim. I supposed once Natsu left or fell asleep, if that ever happened, he would tell me what was wrong.
As if Natsu acting so weird wasn't bad enough, Loke decided that the best way to make me feel better was to flirt with me. Even worse was that Loke was here on his own power, so I couldn't send him home. Natsu sat quietly at my side, which sent off all sorts of red flags, when was Natsu ever quiet, while Loke made increasingly ridiculous declarations of love and proposals of marriage. Everyone else was ignoring him. Every now and then Wendy would ooh or aah at a particularly fantastic showcase. I wished she wouldn't, it was only encouraging him.
I looked up at Loke coldly, waiting for him to finish his latest speech. He caught my eye in the middle of the most dramatic part, and he began to wind it down a bit. Eventually he sat down quietly and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I could only take so much of Loke's wild antics.
"So how is everyone? Are they recovering well? Taurus and Aries, how are they feeling?"
"Everyone is alright, Taurus and Aries are a little shaken up from what happened, but they're tough, they'll recover."
"Speaking of recovering," I said, "you should be home, resting, not using your own energy to spend time here."
"If you're so worried, just send him back home," Igneel said.
"I can't," I told him, narrowing my eyes at Loke, "He's here on his own power, so I can't force his gate closed."
"I'm fine Lucy, I've already recovered completely, it's you I'm worried about. You took some serious damage from E.N.D. Capricorn was pretty worried about you, too. He and Crux asked me specifically to come and be sure you were alright."
"Geez, I'm alright! Tell everyone to stop freaking out. I'm more worried about all of you!"
"Of course you are, it's in your nature." He said.
Loke stayed for a while longer before he left, saying he needed to get home to be sure that everyone wasn't at each others throats. After he disappeared I sighed in relief.
"Sometimes I miss when he was avoiding me like the plague, you know," I said, to general laughter. "He's exhausting," I yawned.
I turned and looked at Natsu, he looked awful. He was wrapped head to toe in bandages, much like the rest of us, but one of his feet was in a cast, and he kept running his hands through his hair and flexing his back like he still expected the horns and wings to be there.
"How are you feeling, Natsu?"
"Me?" He said, looking surprised. "I'm fine, this is nothing." I raised my eyebrows at him.
"It sure looks like something to me," I replied. He shook his head.
"No, I'm fine, but how are you feelin'? How's your back?" He asked gingerly. His face was a mask of remorse, and I knew he blamed himself for my injuries.
"This is nothing, you should see the other guy, he got his butt kicked" I said jokingly, and Natsu smiled weakly.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me! I've got a bone to pick with you, Lucy!" Gray exclaimed suddenly. Juvia looked at me and said something crazy about love rivals, which I ignored. Her eyes were red and puffy, she had been crying too. I wonder why?
"What is it?" I asked.
"'I'm not as weak as that pathetic whelp on the ground over there'," he said in a high pitch voice. He was obviously trying to do an impression of someone, but I couldn't figure out who.
"What are you talking about, Gray?" I asked, perplexed. Maybe Porlyusica had given him some weird medicine that made him confused.
"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" He exclaimed, swinging his legs over the side of his bed so he could look directly at me. "I'm talking about all that shit you talked about me when you were fighting E.N.D.!" I thought back to my battle with E.N.D. It had all happened so fast, it was sort of blurry. I vaguely recalled E.N.D. stomping on someone. Someone that was helpless, oh it was Gray! I remembered now! Gray had been on the ground, completely exhausted.
"Oh, I remember!" I said, "You were awake, then? I was hoping you didn't hear any of that."
"Well I did! What the hell did you mean by, 'I'm much stronger than that pathetic whelp!'? I'll take you on anytime!" He said, pulling his hands back into the maker magic gesture.
"No thanks," I said, alarmed. "I was just trying to protect you! E.N.D. would have killed you, so I had to keep his attention by acting cocky. I didn't mean any of that stuff!"
"Yah, sure, you know they say that when you're under a lot of pressure you show your true self! You really think I'm weak don't you!" He cried, but I could tell he wasn't really that upset about it, he was just picking on me.
"Leave her alone, Gray," Natsu said. We all turned to look at him. He was giving Gray a mutinous look. "She saved your sorry ass, so just shut up and thank her for it!"
"You want to fight you stupid pyro?" Gray said, taking on his battle stance again.
"No, I'm not going to fight someone who's half dead already!" Natsu said, and I squeaked before I could stop myself. Natsu looked down at me when I did. "What sort of sound was that Lucy?" He asked. I didn't want to tell him that what he just said was almost exactly like something E.N.D. had said to me during our fight. I scrambled to find a good explanation.
"Oh-I uh, just remembered I haven't paid my rent this month! My landlady will kill me!"
"I think she'll make an exception, considering all that's happened," Erza said, comfortingly, but now I really was freaking out, because I actually hadn't paid my rent.
"Are you kidding me? She charged me seven years of rent because she held my apartment for me while we were stuck on Tenroujima!" I exclaimed. I had really worked myself into a panic now. "I have to go on a job! I am totally broke!" I said, trying to sit up, but once again I was thwarted by Natsu, who pushed me back onto my pillows.
"Relax, Lucy, as soon as you're better, we'll go out on tons of jobs to make up for it." Natsu said.
"For goodness sakes I'm tired of laying down and talking to all you people while you are standing up!" Just then Porlyusica walked in with a basket full of herbs, looking at her doors.
"What happened to these doors?" She asked angrily, and we all pointed at Natsu, he gave me a look of betrayal, and I shrugged, which I immediately regretted, as it sent a spasm of pain down my back.
We spent the next few minutes watching Porlyusica lay into a cowering Natsu. She hadn't even looked at me, so I didn't think she knew I was awake. I decided to be a good friend and get her attention away from him.
"Erza can you hand me that water?" I asked, and she nodded, and stepped forward, but my plan had worked. Porlyusica's head immediately snapped in my direction.
"So you're awake?" She asked, and I nodded. "Good, just in time, I need to redress your wounds and apply a magical salve. I nodded again. "Roll over," she commanded, and I tried, but couldn't. The pain in my back was too much.
"Do you want me to help you?" Natsu asked quietly, and I nodded, and he lifted me, without even causing a twinge of pain in my back, and rolled me onto my stomach. I propped my chin up on my hands and looked up at him.
"How did you know how to do that so it wouldn't hurt me?" I asked.
"Because I put those wounds there, and I remember where they are at," He said. I gaped at him.
"Natsu you didn't…" I said, but Natsu just shook his head, and I let my voice trail away. I tried to think how I would feel in his shoes, but I couldn't even picture how badly he must feel. If the tables had been turned, and I had become E.N.D. and then almost killed Natsu, I would never be able to forgive myself. I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, which hurt a lot, but Natsu needed to be comforted, so I ignored the pain. He looked at it for a moment, seeming like he wanted to shrug it off, but he took it and held it in both of his, without looking at me.
"Thank you Natsu," I said, and he glanced up at me, surprised. "For helping me."
"No problem, Luce," He said, giving me a grin that was a mere shadow of his former one.
Just then Porlyusica came over and began cutting away my bandages, and it occurred to me that I wasn't wearing anything underneath them. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, and I looked at Natsu, who was watching her intently. I knew that he was just being sure she didn't hurt me, but I still didn't like it.
"Natsu…" I said, and he stopped watching Porlyusica's hands and looked at me. "Go wait outside."
"What? No!" He said, "How come I'm the only one who has to leave?"
"Well you're the only guy in here who is fit to go outside!"
"What do you mean! That good for nothing Gray is fine!" He exclaimed. Gray scoffed. He was most definitely not fine.
"Why don't you say that again Pyro?" Gray said angrily. He tried to stand on his broken leg, and nearly collapsed. Juvia caught him and set him back on the bed. Gray muttered an awkward thank you.
"Ha! You're pathetic!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Shut up." He muttered, his face turning red.
"If it's your modesty you're worried about then use this to cover yourself." Porlyusica handed me a sheet to wrap around my front. Erza stepped forward tucked the sheet around me to be sure I was covered.
"Fine Natsu, you can stay," I said angrily. He looked triumphantly shook his great head exasperatedly. I winced as Porlyusica began cutting and peeling off the bandages.
"Igneel cauterized your wounds to keep you from bleeding to death, but once you got here I had to open them again, so that I could extract the poison from E.N.D.'s claws."
I didn't respond to that, I was too busy clenching my teeth in pain. I squeezed Natsu's hand, and he watched my face, looking like he was going to be sick.
Porlyusica finished cutting the bandages and pulled them out from underneath me, tossing them into the waste basket. She pulled an ointment out of her sleeve, and removed the lid.
"This will be terribly painful, but it will help draw out the poison, and it will help you heal faster as well." She dipped a finger in and began spreading the ointment on my shoulders without any further warning. White light burst behind my eyes and I shouted in pain. It burned. I squeezed Natsu's hand tightly as my vision came back into focus. My entire back felt like it was on fire, and the pain reached down to my bones. My blood was boiling in my veins, and my chest tightened up so I could barely breathe.
Natsu reached out and placed a hand on my cheek, looking helpless. His face was slightly green and his eyes were wet. He rubbed his thumb across my cheek, and I realized he was wiping tears. "I'm so sorry," He whispered.
"It's not your fault," I said through gritted teeth. He shook his head again and I knew he didn't believe me. It went on for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes. With every new application of the ointment the pain in my back skyrocketed again. When she finally finished she looked at Natsu appraisingly.
"You want to make up for hurting this girl, right?" She asked gruffly. I started to say something indignant, but Natsu cut across me.
"Yes, of course." He said, looking up at her hopefully.
"Well then, I need you to tend to this girl, I don't have time to take care of her every need." He nodded. "We have to leave her back exposed for a couple hours, to let the poison bleed out. You must wipe down her back frequently, whenever any of the blood or poison bubbles up, to be sure she doesn't re-absorb it, got it?" Natsu nodded again. "It won't be pleasant for her, but don't be a pansy about it. If you are to gentle you might not get all of the poison, and she might die, understand?" Natsu set his face in determination, and nodded again. Thats when I realized what she was doing, she was letting him try to make up for what he had done. She knew he wasn't really at fault, but she also knew that he would never accept it, so she was helping him by letting him help me. I felt a surge of gratitude for this old lady, before she started showing him how to do it.
"You've got to wipe along the cut, not down her back or you risk tearing her flesh even more." Natsu nodded. "Try it." He took the rag from her hand and wiped it along my wound, gently, but it still hurt like hell. I winced loudly, and he stopped. "No, no, no," she said. She took hold of his hand and wiped down another one of my wounds, hard. I shouted, but she told Natsu that that was how to do it. I spent the next two hours switching between thanking Natsu and cursing him. After a while he started to get some of his old fire back, and I knew he was feeling better about everything.
"Hey Natsu, my feet are cold, would you mind covering them for me?" I asked.
"Sure thing, Luce," He said, reaching down to throw the blankets over my feet. Porlyusica looked up from Gray's wounds and started.
"You stupid child, what happened to your leg? Why didn't you say something about it earlier?" I glanced behind me as she shoved Natsu out of the way and threw the covers off me. I shouted in protest, but sighed in relief when I saw I was wearing a skirt. I shrieked again when she grabbed my foot. "Why did no one tell me the childs leg was broken?"
"Let me go," I whimpered. I tried to move my leg out of her grasp, but it was agony, so I gave up. She released me, but glared down at me like I had personally wronged her. "I'm sorry, I forgot because of everything that happened, and I haven't really moved it that much, so I didn't notice it for the pain in my back," I explained.
"Then why didn't you say anything?" She snapped, rounding on Natsu.
"I didn't know it was broken, I mean," he said, screwing up his face in concentration, "I remember her hurting it during the fight, but I didn't think she hurt it that badly, because she was walking on it." I looked back at my leg, it really did look terrible. It was all back and blue and swollen just above the ankle.
"You walked with your leg like this?" She asked me, and I flinched at the venom in her voice.
"Well, I didn't have much of a choice, I couldn't just lay down and let E.N.D. kill me!" Porlyusica grumbled something about "stupid humans" but I couldn't understand much more than that. Without any warning she grabbed hold of my leg just below the break and pulled on it, hard. I screamed loudly, grabbing onto my pillow in pain. She dropped my foot back onto the bed abruptly and stepped back.
"There, now the break's been set, so we just have to bandage it and let it heal. Where's that young girl when you need her?" She said, looking around the hut for Wendy, who had left a while ago to spend time with Grandeeney.
"Juvia will go get her!" Juvia said, leaping to her feet. She ran out the door and returned a few minutes later with Wendy and Grandeeney in tow.
"Lucy, how did that happen?" She gasped when she saw my leg.
"It happened during my fight with E.N.D.," I told her.
"Don't worry, I'll do my best to heal it," Wendy said, stepping over and placing her hands over my leg.
"Don't forget to take a deep breath," Grandeeney instructed. I looked over at her, disoriented, her voice really did sound just like Porlyusica's.
"Yes," Wendy said. She breathed deeply, and then as she exhaled her hands began to glow, and a warm, tingling sensation flooded my throbbing leg, and then it all faded, leaving nothing more than a dull ache.
"It should be a better now, but you should keep off of it for a while, just to be sure. I nodded.
"Thanks Wendy," I said. She nodded and ran back outside to sit with Grandeeney. Porlyusica came over and began roughly cleaning the wounds on my back. I buried my face in the pillow, doing my best not to make a sound. I felt Natsu's hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair soothingly. I began thinking of anything and everything in order to keep my mind off of the pain, and eventually my mind made it back to how I defeated E.N.D..
I had kissed Natsu in order to stop E.N.D., of course I had, but it felt like something had changed between us. Recently his touches had been gentler, almost tender. Of course the logical explanation for this was he was feeling guilty for hurting me and was trying to make up for it, but there had been a tiny part of me that wanted to kiss Natsu, although I never would have admitted it before, which left me wondering if there had been a tiny part of Natsu that wanted to kiss me too. Also there was this small part of me that I refused to acknowledge, just in case I was wrong, that thought that Natsu had been kissing me back before I fell unconscious. Did that mean that he liked me, or had I been imagining it?
Don't be stupid Lucy, I thought, of course he wasn't kissing you back, he was too busy fighting off E.N.D. to worry about kissing you back.
So would he kiss you back if you were to kiss him again? A mean little voice in the back of my head asked.
Everything I knew about Natsu seemed to point otherwise. I had never even seen Natsu interested in a girl, or guy for that matter. I mean, sure he's tried peeping on the girls a few times, but all the boys have. However, the tenderness of his touches recently seemed to say he might.
Natsu kept stroking my hair while Porlyusica finished cleaning my back, applied a different cream that burned less, and wrapped me back up in bandages. Then he helped me roll over again and prop up on some pillows. It was the first time that I had been able to sit up, and other than the unpleasant sensation of stretching the wounds on my back, it felt great. Porlyusica had Wendy come back in after she had checked for more broken bones. She fixed several of my ribs, and one of my wrists had been fractured, but my back had to heal naturally so I could bleed out any remaining poison, so she left it alone.
"How're you feeling?" Natsu asked, looking me up and down.
"I'm feeling good," I said, scooting over in my bed to make room for him, then patting the place next to me. "This is the one and only time," I said, smiling, "that you will be invited into my bed, so don't think it's a free pass, I had better not come home and find you asleep in my bed anymore, okay?" Natsu chuckled, and then sat down next to me.
"I ain't making' any promises, Luce, your bed is really comfortable," He said. I rolled my eyes.
"So how're you feeling, Natsu?" I asked again.
"Me? I feel fine, this is nothing! I been beat up worse than this before, and never even missed a beat." He said cockily.
"I suppose you have, you're tough Natsu, but still that last battle was one of a kind," I replied. Now that he was so close to me, I could see his face better. It looked like he hadn't slept for a week. Natsu set his arm on top of my shoulders, so that he wouldn't touch my back.
"Don't worry about me," he said, noticing me staring, "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? When's the last time you got a full night sleep?"
"Umm, I don't know, a week maybe?" He said, scratching the back of his head.
"A whole week?! Natsu you need to get some rest, you look awful!" I said.
"Don't worry about it, Luce, I'm fine."
"No, you're not! I've never seen you look this worn out! Why haven't you been sleeping well?" I asked.
"Ain't it obvious?" He responded quietly, "I've been worried about you, Luce, you didn't wake up for a few days, and I thought you might die."
"Well now I'm awake and I'm worried about you!" I said. He didn't respond to that, so I let the matter drop for now, but I intended to bring it up again later. We sat in silence for a while, not looking at eachother, just enjoying the others company. I was thinking about our kiss again, and what I should do. I couldn't just let things stay the way they were. I had no idea what Natsu was thinking, and we needed to talk about it to avoid confusion later on, or at least I did.
Later Porlyusica came over and began tending to Natsu's wounds. She unwrapped the bandages around his face and neck, and most of the one's on his arms, so he looked like a person again.
"Natsu, I'm tired of being stuck in here, will you help me outside so I can get some fresh air?" I asked once she had finished.
"Uh sure," He said, standing up and reaching a hand out to me.
"I don't think so," Porlyusica said, "You need rest to heal."
"If I don't get out of this bed and into the air I'm going to go insane," I told her, "Believe me, this will help."
"But you shouldn't put weight on your foot Lucy!" Wendy piped up, and I scowled.
"I'll carry you," Natsu suggested, and I sighed in relief. I wanted to go outside to talk to him alone, but I really did need to go out and get fresh air too.
"Yah I'll go piggy back so Natsu won't touch my back!" I said enthusiastically. Porlyusica sighed.
"Fine then, go, but don't get yourself hurt, or I won't treat you anymore." Natsu and I nodded, and he crouched down so I could climb onto his back. Erza stepped forward, like she was going to go with us, but I gave her a look that told her to stay. You can say many things about Erza, but you can't say she's not perceptive. She covered her sudden move by reaching for the water and handing it abruptly to Gray.
"Drink," she commanded. He took the cup, looking perplexed, and drank.
"Oh I'll come with you!" Wendy said, but before I could say anything Erza cut in.
"Actually Wendy, I've had this nagging pain in my back, and I was wondering if you could heal it for me," Erza said.
"Sure, Erza," Wendy said cheerfully.
