Chapter Seven – In Sickness
Author's Note: I feel a million miles away, still you connect me in your way
And you created me, something I would've never seen
When I can only see the floor, you made my window a door
So when they say they don't believe, I hope that they see you and me
After all the lights go down, I'm just the words, you are the sound
A strange type of chemistry, how you've become a part of me
And when I sit alone at night, your thoughts burn through me like a fire
You're the only one who knows who I really am
That song is "Be Somebody" by Thousand Foot Krutch. I absolutely love that song. But no, it doesn't have anything to do with this chapter, it's just been stuck in my head for the past few hours.
So…I have some good news. Remember back in the first chapter when I said this story will only be from 6-9 chapters? Well…I've decided I'm gonna make it longer, considering we're only on their third day of the week. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. It was meant to be longer, at least around 2,000 words, but I completely blanked on the plan I had for this chapter. I don't remember what it was or what happened in it, but I do remember that it was good. -.- Nevertheless, I hope it's not too bad.
Lucy had gotten slightly worse as the day progressed. She was sitting in bed with her back up against the wall, and there was a pile of tissues on the floor. Her nose was red and she had small bags under her eyes. She sniffed and looked up at Natsu as he approached her with a small glass in his hand. "Here's your tea," he said, reaching out to give it to her. "It's hot." Only Natsu would be able to say that while he himself held it as if it were lukewarm. Lucy turned away to sneeze before gingerly removing the cup from his grasp. Natsu cringed. Her sneezes had gotten worse too. Instead of being a cute little chu, they were now raspy and loud. She was constantly blowing her nose. At this rate, he would have to go get her third box of tissues soon.
"Thank you," she said, her voice terribly congested and slurred. She sniffed again before lifting the hot liquid to her lips. She lowered the cup to rest in her lap. "I'm sorry that we couldn't see the rest of the festival." Natsu chuckled. She sounded funny.
"Don't worry about it," he dismissed, settling himself on his knees beside the bed and resting his arms on the mattress beside her. "I'd rather be here making you tea than out there in the blizzard." Lucy smiled softly and lifted a hand to tousle his hair, but he pulled away with a fake look of disgust. "Don't touch me with your germ-infested hands." Lucy laughed and quickly ran the palm of her hand down the side of his face. He shouted and jerked back, losing his balance and falling back onto the floor. Lucy laughed, but her smile quickly faded when her throat became scratchy and irritated. She leaned forward as she released a hoarse cough, holding a fist to her mouth. Natsu watched from the floor, his eyes full of concern. He grew uneasy when she wouldn't stop. He stood up and approached her, patting her back with his hand.
"Thank…you," she wheezed after her coughs finally subsided. Natsu rubbed her back.
"That sounded pretty bad," he said softly. She nodded.
"It felt pretty bad, doo." Lucy sniffed and reached for her box of tissues, only to realize it was empty again. She sighed and leaned back against the backboard. Natsu chuckled.
"I'll get you another one." Lucy shook her head.
"No, it's okay. I'll probably pass out soon, anyway."
"You sure?"
"Yup." She sniffed and sank further into the covers. "My head hurts." Natsu lifted a hand to her forehead, and he hummed and removed his hand.
"You have a fever," he said simply. Lucy grinned mischievously and glanced up at him.
"Too bad Gray isn't here," she teased. Natsu scoffed.
"We don't need him." He stalked over to the bathroom and Lucy could hear him rustling around and the faucet running. He came back out with a damp washcloth. He gently placed it on her forehead. "See? I'm not completely useless when it comes to a fever." The celestial wizard giggled and coughed, sighing afterwards. Natsu frowned. He wished he could do more than just put a washcloth on her forehead. He sighed looked outside. It was still snowing, but it was getting dark. He reached down and took the glass of tea from her lap, setting it down on the nightstand beside her. "You should get some rest." Lucy nodded and sneezed, groaning in pain as she recoiled deeper into the mattress. Natsu walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down, reaching for the remote to the Lacrima vision. He turned it on and turned the sound down so it wouldn't bother the blonde beside him.
As he channel surfed, he heard rustling from Lucy's side of the bed. He looked over just in time to see her position herself next to him, laying her head on his lap. The breath caught in his throat and he felt a light blush fade onto his cheeks. He stared at the side of her peaceful face, strands of her hair falling in front of her eyes. After he remembered how to breathe, he swallowed the lump in his throat and hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. It shook as she tried to stifle another cough, and her face briefly went from peaceful to pain. He gently rubbed her arm. When she finally relaxed, she snuggled into his thigh. "Goodnight, Natsu," she whispered.
"Night, Luce." She grinned and lifted her right hand to rest her fingers on top of his. Natsu smiled and lifted his free hand to brush the stray strands of hair from her face, tucking them behind her ear. He subconsciously began to stroke her hair. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly retracted his hand, the blush darkening.
Man, he had it bad.
Lucy had tried to fall asleep an hour and a half ago. But she just couldn't. And she didn't want to sit up and join Natsu in watching the show that was currently on the Lacrima vision, because she was just too comfortable with her head in his lap. She didn't know what possessed her to fall asleep on his thigh, but she couldn't stop herself. And apparently, he was probably enjoying it just as much as she was. He hadn't moved his hand from her shoulder, and he'd stroked her hair when she first lied down. She'd never seen him that concerned for her when she was sick. He'd never put such an effort into making her feel better. She was touched. She loved to see him behave that way. It was nice to know that there were other things important to him other than fighting.
It was nice to know that she was important to him.
After all, she'd been in love with him since Mount Hakobe.
Author's Note: it's not very often that I put an A/N at both ends of a chapter, but I just wanted to say this. I don't remember seeing anything like a TV in the manga nor the anime, and a TV was necessary for this chapter. So I just called it a Lacrima vision.
