A/N: I forgot to mention this before, but for the preceding chapter, this chapter, and all that follow, I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its' characters. Enjoy Reading!
Chapter 2:
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, a light breeze was blowing through the trees, scattering leaves along the path that was now walked by one solitary mage. Lucy knew she shouldn't be shuffling her feet along the ground, dragging out the time it would take to get back to Magnolia – back to Fairy Tail.
Back to Natsu.
She knew she should be rushing, running even. Trying as hard as she could to get back and find out if he was okay. But the truth was, she almost didn't want to know. She was so afraid he would be still unconscious, or worse…
No. I can't think about that now. I have to try and be positive for Natsu.
However, that was a difficult thing to do. As her feet dragged across the leaves along the barely visible dirt path, her arms crossed behind her back and her keys jingling in the wind, Lucy looked to the sky in an attempt to prevent the tears from pooling around her eyes. She watched as the tops of the trees passed her by and the clouds drifted in the wind. Her chest rose and fell in a deep breath. She looked back down at her feet, crossed her arms over her chest, and continued her slow shuffling.
How could she handle it if Natsu didn't make a recovery like he usually does? What if this time, his body just couldn't take the hit, couldn't burn off the poison? She agonized at the thought of Natsu's face twisted in pain, slowly dying under the effects of the poison. It was her fault, all her fault. If only she wasn't so weak, so useless. If only she could have been quicker, if Natsu could have trusted her to knock the arrow away on her own.
Damn it! She stomped her foot to the ground, crushing her tears between tightly shut eyelids. This is Natsu I'm thinking about! I shouldn't be moping around, worrying about what could have happened during that fight. I shouldn't be dragging my feet, worrying about how I'll feel when I see him! How could I be so selfish? I'm his partner! He needs me right now!
At that, she took off running. Off in the distance, she could see the top of the train station over the trees. Magnolia, Fairy Tail, and Natsu weren't so far away now!
Back at Fairy Tail…
"Do you think he's going to be alright, Wendy?" Happy asked, worry all over his face.
"His chances are pretty good, he just needs to sleep and sweat it out now." The blue haired Dragon Slayer said, taking the damp cloth off of Natsu's forehead, shaking it out, and replacing it.
The pink haired man lay on the hospital bed inside the guild hall's infirmary, his face mostly stoic, his body sweating profusely. Wendy removed as much of the poison as she could and healed the entry wound of the arrow. Natsu's body was naturally trying to burn off the rest with his Fire Dragon Slayer powers. Whether he would make it or not was now up to him and his own pure will.
"I'm going to go update the others on how he's doing, Happy. And I'll see if anyone has heard from Lucy too, okay?" Wendy took one more concerned look at the two best friends in Fairy Tail before walking out the door, closing it softly behind her.
"Aye…" Happy responded, although he knew Wendy had already gone. He stared at his best friend, before deciding it would be good for him to leave too, to give him time to rest. And he really needed some fish!
When Lucy finally arrived at the Guild Hall, everyone was waiting for her, ready to pounce with questions about what really happened on the mission and what exactly happened to Natsu. Lucy, however, was not interested in answering questions at the time. All she wanted was to see her partner and make sure he was okay. She had made a long journey alone and had too much time to think about what happened. She didn't want to talk about it right now.
Levy, who had pestered her the most fervently, blushed in embarrassment at Lucy's response to their bombardment. Of course she wouldn't want to talk now! She needed to see that he was okay and that was very understandable. Levy always had a hunch that whatever was going on between Natsu and Lucy was a bit more than 'partnership,' but she kept that to herself – and all the other girls in the guild of course. She knew if it were Gajeel in the infirmary unconscious, she wouldn't even stop for conversation before trying to see him. She placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder, who was now on the brink of tears.
"Come on, Lucy, I'll take you to him." She said with an understanding look. Lucy gave a small smile in thanks and followed Levy to the infirmary. When Levy opened the door, Lucy gasped at the sight of Natsu laying on the bed, covered up with a towel on his forehead, looking incredibly vulnerable. She never wanted to see him like this.
"Wendy says she's done everything she can for him. Now it's all up to his Magic and his will to live at this point." Levy said, gravely. Lucy made a small sigh of relief, which caused the Script User to look at her curiously.
"If it's up to him, I guess we have nothing to worry about." Lucy said, turning to her blue haired friend with a weak smile. Levy could tell that Lucy really wanted to believe her own words, but she was still worried.
"Yeah, you're right!" she gave Lucy a wide smile and a hug, hoping that made her best friend feel a little better, then left the two alone in the room.
Lucy strode over to Natsu's bedside, observing her partner as she approached. In a way, he was kind of beautiful – more like handsome. She never really took the time to look at him, as they were always busy and she didn't want him to notice. But now, as guilty as she might feel, she took advantage of the situation and took a good long look.
His rose colored hair was draped over the towel on his head, wet and sticky. She brushed it away from his face, amazed by how soft it felt, compared to how rugged and spiky it appeared to be. As her fingers brushed over his face, she took the towel from his forehead and wiped it down his cheeks, removing sweat from his serene face. She was lost in the beauty of the way his eyelashes laid across the top of his cheeks – how his partly opened lips moved ever so slightly as he exhaled.
No one would ever see this side of Natsu but her. Sure, they would look, but they would still see his rough edges and his boisterous attitude. They wouldn't look at him the way she was; she could see underneath everything that he could be gentle, soft, and damn near gorgeous.
Lucy was no idiot. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what it means when your heart leaps from your chest at the sight of someone you care about. She knows what it means when no matter how long you spend with a person, you never get tired of them; no matter how many annoying things a person does, you can't stay mad at them. She was a novelist for Mavis' sake! How could she not know?
After this risky encounter with Maverick, she could no longer deny what her heart was feeling and her mind was telling her. She knew exactly how she felt for her partner.
She also knew that she could never tell him. It would ruin everything they've built as friends. If he rejected her, how could she live with the shame and embarrassment? How could she go on missions and act like everything was normal? If he returned her affection, and didn't reject her, what if something happened? What if they broke up? Then she wouldn't have a friend or a boyfriend. She'd be alone and miserable without him in her life.
She sat down in the seat next to his bed, reaching under the sheet to grab his sweaty, calloused hand in hers. She stared up at his face and sighed.
"Hey, Natsu. I finally made it. Sorry it took me so long. I thought you would be awake by now; you're stronger than this." She began to tear up. "I'm so sorry, Natsu. I failed you. I was so weak and so vulnerable and all I could do was stand there and let you save me." She squeezed his hand, more tears beginning to fall on the mattress beside it. "I understand if you wouldn't want to keep a lousy partner like me around. I'm just a liability and I don't know what I would do if you died because of me. I can't lose you Natsu…" Lucy sobbed.
She felt the hand in hers squeeze her fingers lightly, and her head shot up to look directly into Natsu's half-lidded amber orbs.
"Lucy…you're here…" he croaked. She grabbed his hand tighter.
"Yes, I'm right here, Natsu." She smiled at him, wiping her tears away.
"I'm not going anywhere, Luce. I'll make it through this; I can tell I'm almost out of the woods." He breathed. "I promise I will never leave you alone and I'll never want another partner. You and I belong together." He leaned his head back to the pillow, his eyes drifting closed.
Lucy, blushing profusely, said, "Natsu stay awake. You have to stay with me. What do you mean we belong together? Because we're partners? Because we make a good team?"
"Because I love you, weirdo."
Lucy's heart stopped. He didn't really just say that, did he? Was the fever getting to his head?
"N-natsu, you can't possibly know what you're saying. You have a high fever. Should I get you some water?" she stuttered as her face turned the shade of Natsu's hair. At this, Natsu turned his head in her direction, and lifted himself up halfway. With the hand that was still surrounded by her smaller ones, he reached up behind her neck and pulled her in, clumsily crashing her lips onto his.
She was frozen solid. Lucy had no idea what to do. Did she kiss him back so he knew she wasn't rejecting him? What if he was just in a feverish stupor? Would that be taking advantage of him? She couldn't decide. Before she could decide what to do, Natsu released her and flopped back down on his pillow.
"I mean it. Now, Lucy I need you to do something for me." His eyes remained closed.
"S-sure Natsu. What do you want?"
"Bring me some fish! I'm so hungry I could eat all the fish in the world!" With a fist shot in the air, he yelled, in a high pitched voice, "Aye, Sir!" before completely passing out again. He was blissfully unaware of the confession he just made.
Lucy sweat-dropped. Letting out a long breath, she realized she must have been holding it for some time. What was she supposed to do with this new information?
Knowing that Natsu was going to be perfectly fine. She grinned to herself, her heart swelling, knowing he felt the same for her. She decided to leave it alone for now, so she stood up and left Natsu to his sweet dreams.
A/N : Thank you for reading! I hadn't intended on uploading a new chapter so soon, but I couldn't help myself!
Please review! I appreciate any feedback!
