A/N: Early Chapter, yay!
Chapter Fourteen - I Need You
Lucy woke up to a loud bang coming from her kitchen. She sat up in bed immediately, looking around the room. She relaxed when she found Natsu was gone, meaning he was most likely the culprit of the loud sound, rather than a burglar.
She groaned and got up, following the loud sounds coming from the kitchen. She walked in the main room to find him stuffing his face in the kitchen, something she had become accustomed to. He turned round to look at her, a piece of burnt toast shoved in his mouth. He smiled around the toast, stopping all other actions when he saw her.
"Hey, Rushie!" He said, his words muffled. She sighed and walked around the counter to assess the damage.
"Morning, Natsu" She said, giving him a soft smile when she realised he hadn't broken anything this time. "You know if you just woke me up I could have made you breakfast" he shrugged.
"I was gonna go back to bed after I finished" he said after he finished his mouthful.
"Why?" She laughed, finding it hard to imagine that he was still tired after such a long sleep.
"Cause you were still sleepin'. I dunno, I like sleepin' next to you" he smiled and went back to raiding her fridge.
"Aww, you're like a puppy" she joked, giving him a scratch on the head to add to it.
"Mmm, I like that" he said, closing his eyes and dropping his hands to his side, pushing his head further into her hand. She immediately went red and pulled her hand away.
"Y-you're weird!" she spat out and he frowned at her.
"Why did you stop?" he asked, ducking his head to encourage her to continue.
"Because it's weird!" she said.
"But you do it for Happy!" he whined.
"He's a cat!"
"I don't see the difference!" he said, pouting.
"There is a big difference. You can ask anyone!"
"Fine" he moped, going back to the food half-heartedly.
"I think I'm just going to go out for breakfast…" Lucy sighed.
"Let's go to Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted, perking up a bit.
"They do breakfast?"
"They do for me!"
"Why am I not surprised?" she sighed, walking over to her room to get changed.
When she came back through into the lounge, fully dressed, Natsu was still just in his boxers.
"Uh, Natsu, where are your clothes?" she asked. He looked down at himself and shrugged.
"I left them at home when I came over last night" he said nonchalantly.
"How are we supposed to go out of the house like that?! Do you at least have some shoes?" she asked, knowing she was in a losing battle.
"Nope"
"You're useless…" she sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.
"Hey! At least I remembered my underwear!" he argued.
"I really hope that doesn't mean what I think it means" she cringed and went red.
"Whatcha talkin' about Lucy?" he asked, confused.
"Nevermind, let's just get to yours quickly so you can get changed"
"Okay" he smiled as she took her bag and her keys, pulled on her boots and made her way to the door.
She opened the door, trying to be as conspicuous as she could be with a half naked man following her around. She quickly locked the door as soon as they were both out and dragged him out of her apartment. When they were on the street she dropped his arm, trying, in vain, to disassociate herself from him.
Natsu seemed to have noticed her reluctance as he grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers, so he could lead her to his house.
Lucy couldn't help but go bright red at the stares they were receiving. Some were shocked, some outraged, but a large majority - mostly women - just stood and ogled Natsu's, admittedly impressive, chest. Natsu dragged her along seemingly unaware of the attention he was getting.
He swung their joint hands in between them and looked genuinely happy. Lucy assumed that the promise of breakfast was putting him in a good mood.
They had gone the majority of the way before Natsu said anything.
"Can I stay with you again tonight?" he asked.
"Natsu! You've stayed with me every night after...that evening. Don't you think we should spend some time apart?" she asked. She had begun to notice he had been very needy with her since they had that dream. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
"I don't want to leave you alone…" Natsu said, his face suddenly serious.
"Nothing is going to happen to me" Lucy sighed. As much as she appreciated his concern, she felt a bit annoyed at his babying.
"But if something does and I'm not there th-" she put a finger over his mouth.
"Nothing is going to happen. I just want to have some time to myself! Is that too much to ask?" she complained.
"But, Lucy!"
"Not 'but's. I just need one night"
He shut his mouth and frowned, dropping her hand and leading her around his apartment until they got to an open window. He hoped through.
"Just wait at the door. I won't be long" he said, his voice lacklustre. He was obviously annoyed.
She did as he said, walked back around to the door. It took Natsu about five minutes before he opened the door, fully dressed. He had a tight black t-shirt on that showed off his muscles and a pair of low-hanging grey sweatpants that somehow made Lucy redder in the face than when he was just in his boxers.
"We still goin' to Fairy Tail?" he asked, his eyes narrowed as he seemed to have caught her looking over his outfit.
"Uh, yeah!" Lucy said, snapping out of her trance, trying to sound light-hearted and bubbly.
"Let's go then" he said, waiting for her to move so he could get out. "Come on, Haps!" he called through the door, a small blue cat dashing out before he locked up.
Natsu led the way, having a quiet conversation with his cat as he walked ahead of her. It made Lucy feel a bit bad for insisting she needed time alone, but she'd be damned if she let him sleep in her bed for the rest of her life. Though she had a sneaking suspicion that it would end up that way anyway.
She watched Natsu with a smile as he became more animated in his conversation, describing what had happened this morning to Happy. His laugh always had a way of cheering her up. She was actually in pretty high spirits by the time they got to Fairy Tail.
Natsu pushed through the main doors and went straight to the bar, Lucy trailing behind. They sat down next to each other at the bar and waited for Mira to notice them.
"Morning, Natsu, Lucy" Mira said, smiling. "What can I do for you?"
"Just breakfast, Mira" he said. "I'm just gonna talk to Gajeel, I'll be back when it's ready" with that, he walked off leaving Lucy and Happy behind. Lucy frowned, debating whether to just tell him he could stay. She didn't like it when Natsu was sad. It a hundred times worse when it was her fault.
"Someone's in a bad mood" Mira said, raising an eyebrow at Lucy.
"Don't remind me. I feel bad enough already" she sighed, looking over to Natsu who was arguing with Gajeel.
"Lover's quarrel?" Mira teased.
"No! He just wanted to stay over again and I just want some time alone" Lucy groaned, placing her head on the bar.
"Again?" Mira questioned.
"He's been really needy ever since we came back from our mission. He won't give me any peace and he just follows me around like a lost puppy"
"Natsu's just very protective"
"As sweet as it is, I do need some time to myself!"
"Maybe you should spend your days alone and just let him stay with you in the evenings"
"I don't know..."
"Just think about it. You know it means he won't stay grumpy" Mira said convincingly, dropping a plate full of food in front of her when she lifted her head.
Natsu soon came bounding over to the bar when he smelt the food, digging in before Lucy had a chance to say anything to him. She was not enjoying the cold shoulder. She resigned herself to eating her food and watched him in silence.
She finished quicker than Natsu, as he was on his third plate.
"How much do I owe you, Mira?" she asked, thinking that paying for breakfast would make him a little less mad at her.
"Nothing. As long as you think about what I said" Mira said, giggling at her own evil plans. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Maybe you're right anyway" Mira gave her a huge smile and left them to it.
"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked, spitting food everywhere. His curiosity seemed to be stronger than his will to stay mad at her.
"It doesn't matter. Can we talk after you finish?" she asked. He nodded and continued devouring his food.
As soon as he finished, he pushed his plate away from himself and turned around in his seat to face her, his eyes searching her face.
"I know you're annoyed with me. So I'll make you a deal" she said. He narrowed his eyes but nodded. "You can stay over" his face lit up. "IF" he crossed his arms, looking at her suspiciously again. "You let me spent the rest of my day ALONE. That doesn't mean you can sit in my apartment while I do other things. It means you go back to your own home and you don't see me until its time for bed, okay? AND REMEMBER YOUR DAMNED CLOTHES THIS TIME" she shouted the last part as he already seemed to happy to listen to her.
He jumped off his bar stool to give her a massive hug.
"I promise" he said. "But does it start now? I mean, do I have to leave?"
"It starts when I leave Fairy Tail. I'm coming back here at six so don't come and annoy me. My dad is already worried about me as it is" she sighed and he nodded.
"Hey, Lucy, Dumbass!" Gray shouted, making his way towards them. He sat down on the bar beside Natsu and ordered a drink from Mira. He started drinking it as they continued their conversation.
"What's up, Gray?" Lucy asked politely, smiling.
"The usual. How's life with the idiot?" he asked, teasing Natsu.
"Testing" she said making Gray laugh.
"Oi! Stop teaming up against me!" Natsu snapped. "Lucy was mean enough this morning" he frowned.
"How?" Lucy asked.
"You wouldn't stroke me!" he whined. Gray spat out his drink and Lucy turned bright red.
"WHAT?!" Gray managed to shout in between choking.
"Well she started and then she stopped even though I said it felt good" he pouted.
"Lucy?" Gray asked, his voice strained through stress.
"NOT LIKE THAT YOU PERV! HE MEANS STROKING HIS HAIR, LIKE THIS!" She shouted, placing her hand on Natsu's head and stroking his hair. Natsu sighed.
"Mmm" Natsu said, his low voice sounded almost sexual.
Lucy snatched her hand back as Gray laughed.
"I HATE YOU GUYS!" she shouted, getting up from her seat. "I'm leaving! Remember, Natsu. No bothering me today" she said firmly before leaving a confused Natsu and a laughing Gray.
It was finally time for Lucy to meet her father.
She turned up at Fairy Tail just before six o'clock and was glad to see that Natsu had stuck to his word and was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Mira! Could I have a table in the back? My father is coming and we need a place to talk"
"Sure thing, Lucy" Mira said, walking around the bar to lead Lucy to a secluded table at the back.
"You're the best, Mira!" Lucy gushed.
"I see you're letting Natsu stay over again" Mira said, leaning over a chair to talk.
"Well I guess you were right" Lucy laughed and Mira seemed content.
"I'm never wrong" Mira winked and sauntered off back behind the bar.
Lucy slumped back in her seat and waited for her father to turn up, wondering what she was going to say to him.
"Lucy?"
She turned around at the sound of her voice to find her Father standing behind her. She watched him as he took a seat across from her, looking around the bar when he was sat.
"Hi, Dad" she said.
"This place is...interesting"
"This is where I work, Dad. All my friends work here too" she explained, trying to not get annoyed with him straight away.
"Well I'm sure it's lovely then" he said, turning his attention to her. "Lucy. I hope you took into consideration what I said the other day. I know you seem to be happy here. I just hope you'll consider letting me be a part of your life again"
"Dad, I never wanted to push you out of my life. I just wanted to be free. I didn't want to be trapped in that mansion any more. I didn't want money to be the only thing people saw in me. I didn't want to marry some stupid spoilt brat who would never love me. I'm happy now. I have friends who love me for just being Lucy. Not for being the rich Heartfilia heiress. If you can accept that and you can still love me for it then I don't see a reason that we can't be a family again"
"I'm sorry Lucy. I didn't mean to make you unhappy. I guess I got caught up in the money. If you can forgive me for being such a fool, I hope we can start over. I know it's what your mother would have wanted" he said, Lucy smiled, and got out of her seat to hug her father.
"I know. I miss her everyday" she said, clinging tight to him.
"So do I" he said.
When they finally separated, they decided to spend the rest of the evening talking about Lucy's new life. A few of her friends came over and introduced themselves.
"This is Levy, Dad. She's really clever and she's loves reading just like I do"
"It's nice to meet you" he said, shaking Levy's hand. "Thank you for looking after my daughter"
"I think you have to thank Natsu for that one. He's the reason she's with us now" Levy said.
"Ah! That's the pink-haired man who was half naked in your apartment this morning!" he said enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up in recognition. Lucy blushed when Levy raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that idiot was Natsu" Lucy groaned.
"Where is he? I want to thank him for looking after my daughter!" He said, searching the bar for a flash of pink hair.
"He's not here right now. Lucy told him to leave because he was being overprotective" Mira giggled.
"Lucy!" Her father complained. "Why would you send him away if he's just trying to protect you?! I like the sound of this Natsu, despite the fact that he seems to have a tendency to sleep in my daughter's bed. You should call him back!" he cheered. Mira laughed again.
"I'm not calling him back, plus I don't have a way of contacting him anyway. I'll just pass your message along" Lucy said, hoping it would sate her father.
"You make sure he gets it" he smiled then looked at his watch. "I'm afraid I have to go back to the mansion, Lucy. I have a lot of work to do still. Make sure you come to visit" he stood up and hugged Lucy before making a motion leave. "It was nice to meet you all" he nodded to her friends.
"It was nice to meet you too…"
"You can just call me Jude. Jude Heartfilia" He smiled, and left with Lucy to the door.
"It was nice seeing you, Dad" Lucy said, giving him another big hug before he gave her a nod and disappeared into the night.
"LUCY!" Levy called, running up behind her. "Are you rich?" she asked.
"Not really. My dad is"
"Wow! That's kind of cool" Levy said and Lucy sighed. "But I think I like the Lucy that works for herself" Levy beamed at her. Lucy's heart swelled and she gave Levy a massive hug.
"You're amazing, Levy!"
When Lucy got home it was dark outside but Natsu was nowhere to be found. She decided to get ready for bed anyway, slipping under the covers when she was done and turning the lights out.
The house felt very empty without Natsu's presence and she was starting to feel glad that she had invited him to stay the night. As strong as Lucy was, she was still a little afraid that those dreams would come back to haunt her. They seemed to be gone since she was sharing a bed with Natsu, and now it was her first night sleeping without him.
She closed her eyes and tried to will away her uneasiness. Although it took a while, she was eventually able to calm her heart rate down enough to let the long day take it's toll and the waves of exhaustion finally lull her into a restless sleep.
She was going to die, wasn't she?
She opened her mouth to speak but her voice came out barely more than a whisper.
"Natsu" she croaked, clawing at her burning throat as she breathed in the last of the air in the room.
"Lucy?" he asked, desperately clinging onto the hope that this wouldn't be the end for her.
"I have to tell you something important. You have to listen" she wheezed, a coughing fit overcoming her after.
"What is it, Luce? You can tell me anything!" he tried to assure her, she could tell her could hear her trouble with breathing.
"I lo-" she started but that was it. That was all the time she had left. All the air left in her lungs.
She blacked out, only hearing Natsu desperately call her name before she lost consciousness.
She woke up and took in the biggest breath she could, sitting up despite the dizziness it bought her. She coughed heavily, her lungs not used to being full again. Her mind was spinning; she was very confused. She was no longer in the room she was before. Where was she?
"LUCY!"
She turned around just in time to see Natsu and Happy lunge at her. She collapsed back on the bed with Natsu holding her tight and Happy crying into her shoulder.
"We thought you were going to die!" Happy cried. Lucy tried to lift an arm to comfort him but Natsu had wrapped his arms tightly around her whole midsection.
"It's okay, Happy" she said with a loving smile. "I'm here now, I won't leave you"
Happy cried harder into her arm, soaking the gown she had on. She quickly realised that she was in a hospital.
Her heart ached at the sight of her two best friends clinging to her so desperately. She had almost lost them. That thought was unbearable to her.
"Lucy" Natsu murmured into her chest, his grip increasing around her midsection until it was almost painful.
"Natsu" she sighed. He raised his head from from her, his face looking gaunt and his eyes red. The sight felt like someone had stabbed her. He looked ill. He had lost his usual happy glow, he looked sad and utterly defeated. She pulled at her arms until he loosened his grip enough for her to release them and proceeded to hug him back, just as tight as he had her.
"I need you, Lucy. You can't leave" he said, his voice hoarse. He put his head back on her chest, seeking her warmth.
"I'll never leave, Natsu. I need you too" she swore, raising one hand to softly stroke his hair.
"Lucy, I lo-
Lucy woke up breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face.
"Lucy! What's wrong? I'm here!" Natsu shouted, dropping his bags to rush by her side, enveloping her in a big hug; comforting her as she continued to silently cry. "Shhh" he said soothingly, one hand stroking her silky blonde hair.
Her tears stopped but he took a few more minutes to hold her tight before he pulled away to look her in the eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his face wrinkled in concern.
"I just had another dream, that's all" she said, trying not to worry him, but her breathing hitched from all the crying.
"It's not just another dream if it makes you cry, Lucy" he said sternly.
"Just promise you won't leave" she said, echoing what Natsu had said to her in the dream.
"I'll never leave, Lucy. I need you" he said sincerely. Lucy's heart raced as she realised his words had matched hers.
"I promise I won't shout at your again! You can stay here as much as you like!" she cried, still worried.
"I might just have to move in here" he joked, trying to lighten the mood. She just ended up laughing and crying at the same time. He panicked. "I'm really not sure what to do here!" he said, his voice high-pitched from his worry and uneasiness.
"It's okay" she assured him. "I'm okay"
"We'll find out what this is, Luce. I swear"
"Thanks, Natsu"
"I think I have to thank you. I mean my life was kinda boring before you came, ya weirdo!" he teased. Her crying and laughing stopped and she gave him a big smile.
"Thank you"
"Stop thankin' me, weirdo!"
"But I want to!"
"Well I don't want you to!"
"Well too bad!"
"Can we sleep now?" he asked, sighing.
"Yeah" she replied, slipping back under the covers, watching him as he threw off his clothes and dived into bed next to her in just his underwear.
"Goodnight, Natsu" she said as he shuffled up next to her, wrapping an arm around her body.
"G'night, weirdo. Sweet dreams" he said, kissing the back of her head before he settled on the pillow.
It wasn't long before they both drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading! And, as usual, thank you for all the reviews/favourite/follows! I hope you enjoyed it :D