Three: A Bewitching Visit

Being sick wasn't the same as being dead. Obviously.

But Lucy couldn't shake the feeling as though she had passed on and was currently in some supernatural limbo-type place where monsters, ghosts and other worldly creatures lurked.

What made it even worse was that she clearly wasn't in such a place because she was getting this spooky feeling inside her own apartment.

Her erratic heartbeat hammered inside her chest as Lucy scrunched up like a ball under her covers. She willed her bravery to overcome her fear but it wasn't working. Lucy kept telling herself that she was a mage! A Fairy Tail mage for that matter, so why was she such a chicken?!

To be fair, she did usually go up against the bad guys and monsters in broad daylight. Taking on creepy creatures at night alone was most definitely far worse.

Wait, she didn't have to be alone! She had her stellar spirits of course! Now it was only a matter of reaching for her keys to summon them.

Suddenly, she felt pressure on either side of her. Lucy felt her mattress sag with the added weight and thought that her heart was sinking along with it. What was this thing in her room?! Did it threaten to kill her? Slit her throat? Suck her blood? Take advantage of her virgin body and silence her afterwards?

Lucy couldn't bring herself to move and only managed to squeeze shut her eyes. Perhaps she was just dreaming and if she tried hard enough, she'd just wake up. Wake up, Lucy! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!

"Lucy?"

The girl instantly opened her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?"

This voice sounded familiar. Way too familiar and especially distinctive to Lucy. She slowly pulled down her covers to find a pair of dark eyes hovering over her.

"NATSU??!!" Lucy screeched into the night as she backed out from underneath him to reach the lamp on her headboard. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Sorry, Luce...," Natsu said guiltily as he saw Lucy's pale face livid with anger. "I just wanted to check up on you. I didn't scare you, did I?"

The blonde took one look at Natsu and felt her anger dissipate, but was then angry at herself for feeling that way. He'd scare the living daylights out of her- she should be enraged but she wasn't?!

How ridiculous was she??!!

Instead of answering Natsu's question, Lucy grabbed her pillow and buried her face into it. She let out a muffled scream and just sat there next to the bewildered boy.

"I did scare you, didn't I?" Lucy heard Natsu say softly before she felt him wrap his arms around her. "You're shaking."

Little did the dragonslayer know that she was not trembling because she was scared but because he was so close.

Lucy only hugged the pillow tighter as Natsu pulled her closer, enveloping her in his body heat. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I know you're still sick. I was just worried about you."

Hearing him say those words, Lucy slowly lifted her head from the safety of the pillow and look up. She thanked her stars that Natsu wasn't looking at her but was staring straight ahead. She didn't think she could handle it if he was looking directly at her.

"You worry too much...," Lucy mumbled as she rested her head against his shoulder, the heat making her dizzy.

Before Lucy could even enjoy the security of Natsu's shoulder, the room spun about her and Lucy found herself lying on her back with Natsu's hands on either side of her again.

"No, I don't worry enough! Look at you, you're still running a fever!" Natsu snapped, his eyes boring into hers. Within a few seconds, Lucy had to avert her gaze.

"W-what's with you?" She fixed her eyes on his arm and tentatively reached out to touch it. Whether it was because she was delirious or not, Lucy found herself saying, "It's because of you that I'm sick..."

There was silence as Lucy's words hung in the air. Did Natsu understand what she meant to say? Or did he think...?

Then, there was his answer. Lucy felt Natsu shift his weight before feeling a light feathery sensation on her lips.

When he pulled away, Lucy could see that he didn't look straight at her but to the corner of the room.

"...Natsu?"

"Of course I know, idiot."

"You..."

Lucy almost asked what it was he knew but held herself back. She had to give Natsu some credit. He wasn't such a dolt to not have figured out how she felt about him judging by that kiss.

That sweet, gentle, fleeting kiss. Who knew Natsu Dragonil could be so...so...

"Hey."

"Wha?" Lucy responded absentmindedly before Natsu turned off her lamp.

"Get some sleep, Lucy. I'm not going anywhere."

Lucy took one last look at his hunched over figure sitting by her side in the shadows of the room and shut her eyes. She smiled happily knowing that he sat next to her, always being there. The girl couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

"Thanks, Natsu."

Even though it was dark, she could make out the smile in his voice. "For what?"

"For always being there."

This wasn't a dream.

And even if it there was any chance of that, she wished she'd keep on sleeping forever.

Don't wake up, Lucy...Don't wake up. Don't wake up, ever.

"Don't wake up, ever?! What do you mean, by EVER?!"

Lucy shot up and banged her head against someone else's. She barely had time to register the pain before feeling that person's lips smash against her nose for a moment before she collapsed back onto her pillow.

"Owwww...." Lucy groaned as she brought up a hand to her forehead and nose. "Wha...?" She finally managed to open her eyes to see Natsu's worried face.

"You're alive, Lucy! I knew you'd be!"

It took Lucy a good minute before she realized she had been dreaming. It took another excruciatingly painful minute for her to keep from crying that her kiss with Natsu hadn't occurred either. What she had to settle for, unfortunately, was an accidental lip press on the nose that was rather painful.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Lucy asked groggily. "Owww...I think you might have bit me on the nose..."

"Sorry, sorry!" Natsu grinned as he leaned in close to Lucy's face making sure that she was still alive. The girl pushed him back, blushing furiously. "I just came in a few minutes ago and found you sleeping."

"And you thought it'd be fun to wake me up?"

Natsu laughed, his boyish face breaking into that smile that made Lucy's heart do a slight jig despite her annoyance. "Well, Luce, I can honestly say I didn't do it on purpose and I am really happy that you're alive." Natsu plopped down next to her on the bed and put an arm around her shoulder, igniting Lucy's vivid memory of her dream.

Ignoring the ridiculousness of his statement, Lucy saw his white dragon-scale scarf falling across her knee and reached for it. The material felt surprisingly soft in her fingers and she found herself pulling it towards her.

"Eh?"

Natsu's face came closer to hers and Lucy could feel his breath tickle the skin on her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned in, his words ringing in her ears.

"Of course I know, idiot."

They were almost touching so that Lucy could feel Natsu's warmth throughout her body. She tilted her head back and gave one final tug on the scarf.

"So she did wake up! You were right, Natsu!!" A voice rang through her apartment, effectively interrupting Lucy's advancement. Happy zipped through the air and hovered in front of Lucy before landing on her lap and hugging her around the middle. "We were afraid you were going to sleep forever!!"

"W-wha...Happy!" Lucy stuttered as she felt her face burn hotly. She patted the cat's head awkwardly, finding it absolutely mind-blowing that she had just initiated a kiss.

A kiss with Natsu, nonetheless.

Somebody, please do something about this sickness in body and love!

"See? I told you she'd wake up!" Natsu grinned, completely unfazed and oblivious to what just occurred between him and the blushing girl.

Lucy recovered herself as much as she could and scratched Happy behind the ear. "Don't you worry, Happy. You saved me from a nightmare."

A/N: FT has gotten me back into Livejournal after a three year absence, what? The things NaLu does for me. Oh, by the way, I've read some comments advocating a friendship theory for the "Fateful Encounter" chapter...yeah, no. If you take a close look at the card Kana is holding up (the one with the heart), you will see the silhouettes of a boy and a girl. Under a heart. How many ways are there to interpret that?

Overreaching-- it's what I do in a series where love takes the backseat.