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Love was a very curious thing…

Of course I am in love with him, thought Lucy, before drifting to sleep. However, no rest came of it, it only threw her in the midst of confusing dreams where Lisanna was either killing Natsu, getting married to him or giving birth to Happy. Needless to say she woke up tired with a single image in the forefront of her mind: Natsu and Lisanna's intertwined fingers. She felt a pang in her chest at the memory, reminding her of her, now, clear romantic feelings for her cherry blossom haired friend.

Enduring the stabs of pain in her ribs, and the burn in her legs, she left her bed, curious to see if Natsu's hand was still in Lisanna's. I am no masochist, she thought, but I need to know. She limped to his side, and let a sigh of relief leave her mouth when she found the bed next to him empty.

It was late afternoon, and the Infirmary was quiet, because everyone was still passed out, but a few more beds were empty: Jellal's, Erza's, Elfman's, and Gajeel's too.

She claimed her seat next to Natsu, and pushed her palm against his smooth forehead to gauge his temperature. To Lucy's relief, he was just as warm as usual, which brought a small smile to her face. She let her eyes roam over his body, taking notes of how his bandages have been changed, because they weren't covered in red marks anymore, and how his breathing was drawn out, looking labored as if expending his lungs was requiring effort. With trembling hands, she reached out to hold his hand, hoping it would lend him her strength.

Touching him was relieving the pain in her chest and making her feel connected to him on some level. It made the deep ache of seeing him unnaturally still more bearable. It told her that he was still there next to her and alive. She stayed like that for a few minutes, hunching her head over his arm, praying for his speedy recovery. She missed him.

"Hey Lucy, how are you feeling?" Came Lisanna's voice, startling her. She didn't notice when the transfiguration mage came through the door.

"Good, you?" She asked politely with a smile that she knew couldn't reach her eyes.

"Am all healed up! If you are hungry, Mira has prepared dinner for everyone."

"No it's fine thank you", she declined and turned around to hold Natsu's hand tighter.

"I know you are worried about Natsu, but you need to heal quickly as well"

Lucy felt very hungry, but leaving Lisanna with Natsu did not sit well with her. Her insides were doing painful flips at the mere thought.

"I want to stay with Natsu."

Lucy wanted Lisanna to understand that Natsu was important to her, and that she was going to fight to stay by his side.

"He is strong he will recover", tried to sooth her Lisanna.

"Yeah"

They stayed there in silence, both girls occupying a chair on either side of the bed, till Madame Porlyusica came in to check on her patients. She gave Lucy another pill, and chased her out of the room to get something to eat.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?", asked Lucy, her hand on the door knob.

"His wrists were fractured from the fall, so am injecting him to keep him out and to accelerate his healing. That's not even talking about the multiple greenstick fractures along his arms and the swellings in his legs."

"When will he wake up?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"In a few more days. Don't worry, Lucy. It's better this way. He'll be in too much pain if he wakes up earlier."

Swallowing thickly, she left the infirmary for the guild hall where almost everyone was hanging out. Although sad for leaving Lisanna with Natsu, she felt her heart soar at the sight of her recovering friends talking like old times. She spotted Gray and Juvia holding hands and sharing a table with Levy who was practically sitting on Gajeel's lap. They were all in the middle of having an animated dinner.

"Hey Lu-chan!", waved Levy. Lucy waved back with equal enthusiasm despite the pain from the gesture.

"Hey guys, I am happy you are alright!", she greeted when she made it to their table. "… and realized what's important in life" she added with a wink directed towards Gray.

"Gray-sama committed suicide for Juvia", she sobbed burying her face in Gray's neck, who cringed but still patted her shoulder.

"WHAT?" screamed Lucy.

"We went through this Juvia", Gray half groaned, but his voice still held a disarming warmth that surprised Lucy. "You did as well", he added in a resigned breath.

"WHAT! How are you not in the infirmary? Both of you!"

"She healed me" replied Gray, pointing to Juvia.

"Why are you letting her out of the infirmary then?"

"I couldn't hold her down". Gray had the decency to look sheepish while saying it, thought Lucy.

"Wendy healed me" clarified Juvia.

"Thank god we are all alive and together", said Levy in a trembling voice, pushing herself closer to Gajeel than she already was.

"Yeah, so let's celebrate it", replied Lucy in an attempt to lighten the mood. Her eyes were starting to water at the thought of the pain everyone went through.

"Yeah" they hollered in unison.

"Hey Lucy, welcome back. You need dinner right?" said Mirajane who had joined them at the sound of their happy cheer.

"Yeah thank you Mira. How are you holding up?"

"Bruises here and there, it's Natsu who has it bad. Poor child."

"Yeah I can't wait for everyone to recover" replied Levy.

"That flame brain had really done it this time. His whole limbs are in disarray!" spat Gray.

"He will recover in a matter of days, I asked Madame Porlyusica" informed them Lucy cheerfully.

"I am just so thankful we are done with Acnologia and Zeref" said Mirajane

"Yeah, Juvia is finally looking forward to a vacation with Gray-sama!" Gray's blush at the declaration did not go unnoticed by Lucy, which made her want to tease him a little.

"Yeah Gray, and you better use that time to apologize to her properly!"

"Am happy for you Gray", beamed Mirajane. "Finally deciding to settle down"

"Will you stop it, you freaks?" he stomped before grabbing Juvia by her wrist and dragging her with him outside.

They all stared back at him in amusement, but Lucy knew that everyone was happy for him just as equally. While she ate, she couldn't help by feel lonely without Natsu. Moreover, every minute that passed in which Lisanna did not come back to the bar to help her sister, was filling her with dread, and increasing the overwhelming desire she was having to join Natsu.

The food started to get stuck in her throat the more time passed, so she excused herself as soon as she was done. She felt weak for giving into anxiety, but was determined to follow her heart and accept her feelings for what they were. Possessiveness. Fear. Jealousy. Love.

Much to her chagrin, she found Lisanna sitting by Natsu's bed and playing with his fingers. With the feeling of a knife stabbing her in the heart, she stepped forward. Lisanna looked up at the sound of her feet, and gave her a warm smile while removing her hand from Natsu's. Lucy's eyes didn't move from where Lisanna's hands had previously been, though.

Lisanna stayed all this time looking over Natsu, she thought. Her stomach did a few flips as a result, bringing her close to throwing up her dinner. She did not feel confident enough in her voice to speak to Lisanna, so she stayed silent. She also wanted to touch Natsu's forehead to check his temperature, but didn't trust her hands not to tremble, so she just sat there observing the rise and fall of his chest that looked just as labored as before.

"I will go home with Mira and Elfman in an hour. Do you need me to bring you something with me tomorrow?" asked her Lisanna kindly, after a moment.

"No, thank you Lisanna."

Lucy was really trying to ignore the fright she was feeling, but with no avail, because she knew the beauty used to be very close with Natsu. She even recalled him mumbling her name once, in his sleep. Her chest was hurting from the effort invested in containing her frenetically beating heart in place, and her only consolation was the prospect of looking into Natsu's eyes again, talking to him like they used to, and finally feeling at ease with the reassurance that he will always be her close friend, that he will always be her teammate no matter what. That Lisanna won't take him away from her.

"Lucy!" startled her Happy, who was flying towards her at full speed from the door of the infirmary.

"Hey happy" she greeted, hugging him to her chest with tears clouding her sight. "Where have you been?"

"I was looking for your keys with Charle. Here you go", he cried handing her back her treasure. She felt the stab of guilt overwhelming her; she couldn't believe that she forgot about her friends.

"Natsu is still sleeping. Why?"

"He needs a few days", replied Lisanna. "Don't worry Happy, he will wake up and be his usual self in no time"

"I can't wait" he mumbled, cuddled up in Lucy's chest. "You too Lucy, don't worry. Your heart shouldn't be beating this fast!"

Seeing Happy made Lucy's chest relax slightly, like some of the pressing weight came off of it. Happy was like an extension of Natsu, so having him keep her company and share her worries had her drawing in breaths a little easier.


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