"I'll take a lot of this to go Huiqing. I've got to get to school early and talk to my professor about something."
"Okay Natsu, let me get you a box."
"Make it two boxes actually..." He added, eyeing the usual spread in front of him. He put almost all of it in take-out containers and quickly thanked the elderly woman for making him food. He apologized for not staying to eat it, but that he really needed to hurry. He bid a goodbye to her and Fang before heading outside at a healthy clip and straight for the university.
The morning was chilly. He ran, not affected with the exertion he was doing, but just being out in it from his job to the college made him think of Lucy and how far she had gone last night from the mansion to his place as she had. He vaguely remembered how long the ride had been from Magnolia U to her place and she had walked the whole way! He didn't know why she fled in such clothing, with nothing else in her pockets or on her person, or even shoes. He fully intended on finding out today...provided she would tell him.
There was a possibility that she couldn't. He considered that, depending on the amount of trauma she had faced. He looked ahead grimly when he thought of how much she had been given and never had to work for...and how much of it was somehow taken away. He shook his head harshly and focused more on his surroundings. He wasn't getting anywhere with all of these thoughts before he could actually find out what really happened and it would only drive him nuts if he kept this up!
He made it really early for his language class. It was his first class this semester and it wasn't until nine. He needn't run, but he wanted to catch the teacher and explain the situation while she was still in her office, also to get all of the work he needed so he could do it later. He intended on skipping today and possibly tomorrow. He wasn't going to worry about his grades much for the sake of his friend. Lucy was more important right now and the professor was going to have to realize that.
He skidded to a halt in front of the language office when he realized that if he told the professor that Lucy had run away to his place, the woman may just call the police. He knew very well last thing that Lucy wanted was the authorities finding her and thus bringing her back to her father. He bet her father had already contacted them and they were aware of such things. If she had run away for a reason, she wanted to remain in hiding for now...even at facing whatever consequences later.
He knocked on the professor's door, lie spinning its way through his brain when he walked inside her office. He explained how he needed to be off for the next few days due to his sister being extremely ill and he was the only other one to take care of her. It was only a partial lie; Lucy really was extremely ill and he really was the only one who could care for her at his place. The professor didn't question him and gave him all the information he needed, along with what he would have gotten taught in class. He thanked her profusely, hoping he would be back soon and headed out. He cradled the food containers in his hands and headed outside for his apartment.
He looked overhead as he walked alongside the multitudes. Would Lucy be awake right now? It was maybe eight and she said she was usually woken up with the dawn. He kind of hoped she would still be asleep until he could get there. He didn't want her to be alone for as much as possible, even if she was safe at his place. Thinking about what happened last night wouldn't help her if she was by herself. He was well aware of how hard it was to get past the terror of your own mind when something horrible had happened to you and he wanted to be there for her as much as possible.
01010
There were streams of light coming in through patches of dark. They were highly annoying and Lucy desperately wished they'd go away so she could go back to sleep. Blissful, ignorant sleep. What a way to pass the day, to heal physically, and to forget everything in your life. She clung to sleep as the only release from the cruel reality of the world. The second those rays of light started waking her up, her brain began engaging and reliving the last twenty-four hours despite her wishing it wouldn't. She hashed over the argument and all the words, trying to find any meaning in them other than spite and possibly hate.
At length, she reached up and grabbed the pillow to pull it off her head with a sigh. Hard eyes and a glum face greeted the morning and she squinted as light blinded her. Slowly sitting up and lightly flexing her feet brought a sharp hiss of pain and she realized she was far beyond healed. It was going to take more than one night of ointment and bandages after the abuse she put her tender feet through to heal them. Her track record of inactivity was really coming back to haunt her right now.
She silently looked around the room when the pain faded a little. She blinked as her brain recognized Natsu's bedroom and her face flared, eyes widening. She looked down to her attire, smelling him all over the clothes she was wearing. Natsu's clothes...he had worn these pants before, this shirt... She slowly picked at the t-shirt, feeling her heart suddenly thunder in her chest. She knew it only made sense that she change considering she had dirtied the previous clothes she was wearing when she showed up, but that still didn't help her imagination right now!
She harshly shook her head and looked to the window behind Natsu's bed, staring down below at the pond she had walked around with him. There was a fountain going, the one she had been so happy to see when they ate her lava cakes so long ago. She stared at it blankly, remembering such a simpler time before things had gone and gotten so messed up.
"You ungrateful wretch!"
She shivered and reached for Natsu's pillow. She hugged it to her tightly, fingers gripping the pillowcase.
"You annoying child!"
Her jaw clenched, brow furrowing just a little. He had never called her that what she could ever remember. Even with all of the rules and stipulations he had put to her life for so many years, her father had never told her such hurtful words.
"You've been wasting my time all these years!"
Her eyes teared despite herself. She didn't know why she was getting so broken up over a person to whom she barely felt any positive emotion. They had practically been strangers for years living in the same house with someone to cook their meals and another to drive them around. If she had ever felt any familial attachment to him, it had either been squashed by her personally or he had done the job himself a long time ago. She couldn't ever remember a time when her father was kind and compassionate and happy toward her. Loving? Yea right! That word never ever factored into the equation.
What was she even doing there for so long? He was father pretty much in name only. He was more of a stranger and often times she didn't know why she resided in such a place. She could have lived anywhere, with anyone else, and it would have made no difference. Except she didn't know of any other family members to run to that she had because she never saw them. The only other extended family were those working under her father that lived there or spent their days devoted to her household name.
She blinked and startled at the touch of tears trailing down her cheeks. She glared outside, mad at herself for getting all broken up over him. She should've seen this coming! If she thought back to all of the years in college, in high school even, everything had been played by his book and not hers.
"Everything I have done has been for your benefit, not mine."
She scoffed and buried her face in Natsu's pillow, wishing his words to be erased from her mind or at least she would stop hearing them. She hated him! He had never done anything for her! All the lectures, the classes, the friendships with her teachers, the rules...where was her benefit in any of that?! How was handing over a business she didn't have an ounce of interest in supposed to be for her sake?
More tears soaked his pillow. She hated feeling so pitiful over this, but given that she was now without a plan and no future, some sense of dread and anguish was warranted and okay.
She wanted to be done crying over this, but the tears weren't stopping. She was starting to shake from the recreation of all the horrible words, the sadness, and the emptiness of her life. She was alone here in this place that again wasn't hers with nothing that she owned. The silence was driving her insane and the thought of what she would do now with her life was going to start hyperventilation all over again.
Ever since high school she had been told what to do, how to act, and what to wear. She had been directed on everything, never been given the option to make her own mistakes and try new things that had nothing to do with his business. Any time she had ever done things for herself, she was reprimanded for it in some way or another. She was scared of the unknown that loomed in front of her now and she didn't even have money to buy her own clothes! She had no job, no way to buy food, no way to get a place of her own to live in. She was really screwed and she suddenly realized how dependent upon her father she had unknowingly become since she graduated high school.
There was a click in the silence and she startled when it met her ears over her sobs. She was suddenly very paranoid about being found here crying her eyes out over this. She ran to him yes, but she didn't want him to have to see her tears the second he walked in the door! She didn't even get the option to wipe her face. Natsu suddenly appeared in the doorway, stopping suddenly when he saw her. His face showed worry as he called her name in question and sat next to her on the bed.
Without saying anything else, he gently took his pillow from her and quietly opened his arms. She shuffled into his embrace and the sense of security and warmth that it brought her helped stave off her tears. He felt strong and it gave her strength to quiet her sobs. He stroked her hair in the silence, eventually resting his chin on the top of her head. She pulled away when she finally felt okay to do so, although she couldn't look him in the eye just yet.
He watched her diverted gaze, seeing how red her eyes were. His heart went out to her and he remembered why he came back here so quickly in the first place. He plopped a hand on her shoulder, giving a small smile. "I brought breakfast." He announced. He scooted back and jerked a thumb to the door. "Shall we go eat? I'm starving."
His words registered and her eyes widened, mouth opening without words. He hadn't eaten yet? It was almost nine thirty! He had been up for almost five hours without food?! If he had gone to the Chinese restaurant and taken it all with him instead of eating any of it, then run around to the university and now here, he was definitely starving! She felt bad for his kind gesture of them eating together. She wondered if he took everything with so they could eat together instead of her just eating in front of him and feeling self-conscious about it while he watched.
He watched her eyes tear and again and he sat on the bed with a sigh. "What's the matter this time? It's just food...I swear it's good. Huiqing made it herself like she always does."
That didn't make her feel any better to know that she was taking some of the food that came out of his precious paycheck! She looked to him, fresh tears lining her eyes, fists clenching. "I'm...sorry Natsu..." She whispered, eyes squeezing shut.
His head cocked to the side, utterly confused. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong."
Her head wildly shook. "Yes I did! You waited to eat with me so I didn't feel weird doing so by myself! You knew I would so you haven't had anything to eat in over four hours now! That's my fault!" Her fists went into her eyes, pressing and relishing in the pain. "I've already become a problem! I don't know how to cook, I have no money, and I can't even walk. I AM annoying! Why are you wasting your time on me? I shouldn't even be here...I'm sorry that I barged in on you!"
He couldn't stand to hear anymore. Did she already hear some of these words from her father? They didn't seem like her after the spirit he had seen show up lately. He harshly grabbed her hands and yanked them away from her eyes, getting a teary, wide-eyed look of shock. He glared at her for deprecating herself, for thinking she was useless here and shouldn't have come simply because she couldn't contribute anything financially.
"Now you listen to me!" He harshly began, getting in her face. His hands squeezed around her wrists tightly and he ignored her flinch. "You're always welcome in my home any time you need a place to go, do you hear me? I'll share anything and everything if you just ask for it! It's not going to put me out if you need my help! I told you not even that long ago that I'd help you; have you forgotten that? You're not annoying, nor are you a waste of my time. If I hear you say anything else like that about yourself, I'll bop you on the head! Do you understand me?"
She was shaking from the harshness of his kind words and the anger in his voice. She had never seen Natsu so upset ever and it was frightening to witness. She was even more scared because it was directed toward her. He was still looking at her after his question and she could only dumbly nod, feeling like he really would bop her on the head if she said another negative word.
His grip loosened on her wrists and he let go. He gave a curt nod and sat back a little. "Good, now come here." His arms opened again and tightly wrapped around her when she gingerly went into his embrace. "It hurts to hear you talk so horribly about yourself." He muttered, chin going over her head with a pout. "I know you had a hard time last night and I want you to tell me about it. Don't keep something like that inside because it's obviously eating at you. I tried to hurry home so you wouldn't be alone, but I wasn't fast enough."
She shook her head to try and deny him, but he squeezed her as if to tell her to not say or do anything to the contrary. She stilled and looked to his shirt an inch away from her face.
He sighed and rested his mouth over her hair, feeling tired in more ways than one. "How bout we go eat? I wasn't kidding; I'm really, really starving."
She nodded and they pulled away. Natsu stood and extended a hand, but she looked away with a flush. Her lips pressed together for a moment as her embarrassment heightened. "Um...actually...I still...can't walk..." She mumbled, fingers toying with each other.
Natsu looked to her feet and the bandages on them. A few red dots showed up past all he had put on and his eyes widened a little. Fingers touched his forehead with a sigh. "Alright...a quick meal and then we rebandage you." Without asking, he reached down and picked her up as he had last night and cradled her against him.
She gasped and instinctively wrapped an arm around his neck for support. Her face went red from her ears to her neck, but she struggled a little in his embrace. "C – can't we do something else?!" She stuttered. No way would she be able to fight against his strength and it was pretty much useless to try, but she still wanted some sense of decorum here!
"You're already here. Just suck it up till I get you to a chair."
"B...but -"
"Hush!"
Her back and legs could feel every inch of his muscles as they moved and held her safe. She could feel his chest against her arm and how it flexed as he twisted in the hallway to keep her feet from hitting a wall. She was utterly mortified right now, even if it was only the two of them here! Her face refused to go back to its normal shade and her heart was pounding in her chest. The hand that had wrapped itself around his neck earlier froze stiffly, but she couldn't move it away. She refused to let him know this was affecting her so badly!
He deposited her in an awaiting chair with a white take-out plastic box in front of it. She looked to it and the fork resting nearby. He plopped down in his own chair, grabbed a fork and popped the cover off his own container. "Finally! Time to eat!" He dug in without another word, practically inhaling his meal.
She looked from his horrible eating habits to her container. With a quick exhale to lose some adrenaline, she opened it and glorious smells met her nose. Her stomach took no time in proclaiming just how long she'd gone between meals. She ignored his grin and grabbed her fork. She took a huge bite and found it cold. She shouldn't have expected anything less given that he had been trucking it around all morning. She sat back and pushed the container to him, looking to the kitchen for the microwave. "Could you heat this up for me, please?"
He hopped off his chair, his own in his hands along with hers. Within minutes, the pair were chowing down on delicious, reheated Chinese food. When most of their stomachs were satisfied, he decided enough silence was enough. "So...how about you recant last night for me..."
Her fork paused midair, sauce dripping off her noodles. She stared at them in silence, eyes slowly closing and fork quietly resting on the side of the container. She was quiet for a few minutes as she gathered her thoughts and where to start.
He ate as she talked, not wanting to interrupt with the ugly thoughts running through his head. He figured if he couldn't enunciate, then he wouldn't be able to call her dad every bad word that he knew of. She started with her father's announcement of wanting to see her after dinner, arriving at his place, and ended it with the ringing of his door in hopes that he'd hear her.
He stared into the now-empty container as she picked up her fork again and slowly continued eating. Both looked solemn and the silence was deafening. His mind was reeling with this information and the amount of pain she had endured in a mere twelve hours or so. It seemed so like her father to try to keep them away from her, but he was still enraged at the threats and promises of keeping her from even going to school and cloistering her in that place for a year. She wasn't a bird to be kept in a cage!
He finally tossed the fork into the container and put his face in his hands. What a screwed up night it had been for her! He sighed and stared at the other side of the table, resting his chin on his crossed fingers. He was happy she had come to him instead of still wandering around outside without shelter, food, or water, but there was no way she could go back to school. Her father probably had alerted the police by now of her disappearance and the university was one of the first places her professors were keeping an eye out. It was sad to know that, although it wasn't her choice of a degree, she was almost done with classes and halfway done with her program. All of that hard work had been for nothing. Now, she was worse off with not being able to get a job and go to school as he was doing in order to get that experience so she knew how to proceed from here.
There was nothing else to be done about it right now and so he did nothing. There was something else much more important to tend to at any rate. He pushed his chair back from the table and looked under it to her feet. "Let's get you fixed up." He said, standing.
She blinked at him and quickly finished the last bite of food. She tossed the fork in the container to be taken care of later. "This time can I at least attempt to walk?"
He stared at her, knowing that if she had blisters it was going to hurt like hell until the fluid was drained, but he let her judge for herself. "If you say so..." He mumbled, pulling her chair back. He leaned over the table and presented a shoulder. "Just wrap an arm around me and I'll help you stand."
The experiment lasted all of the time it took for her to put pressure on her feet. He was waiting for the cry of pain and her loss of balance. He wrapped an arm around her waist and steadied them both with ease. He couldn't help grin when she looked at him quite red in the face. "Satisfied now?" She pouted and refused to look at him. She didn't answer him and he took that as the okay to carry her to the bathroom. He cradled her against him and noted how red in the face she was again. He shook his head as they shifted rooms and he sat her on the sink.
She watched him gather all of the same supplies he used barely ten hours ago. She looked around the tiny bathroom, amazed at how much had changed since she arrived. She didn't feel much better since then, but Natsu made things easier to bear. She smiled softly as she watched him work. "Thanks Natsu..." She muttered before she could stop herself.
He looked up at her and noted how she was shocked and bet she didn't plan on verbally thanking him. He smiled. "No need to thank me." He responded, getting into a cross-legged position on the floor. He put all of the supplies nearby for use and started undoing the wrappings. Her feet didn't look too pretty and cleaning them took some time...mostly because the first application of antiseptic brought such a strong jerk back and she refused to let him do anything after that. This was going to be worse than her hands and he had to bargain with her to not move. He offered to clean them with warm, soapy water instead of antiseptic, but insisted they needed to get washed off first.
She was less anxious when the heat from the washcloth was nice to the touch. The sting was obviously there, but it was way less than whatever else he was using. She rinsed the cloth out and applied more soap so he didn't have to get up and handed it back. He cleaned the other one just as gently before giving it to her to rinse again. She handed it back in time to see him with a needle in his hand ready to grab a foot. "What are you doing?!" She nearly screeched, recoiling both feet in horror.
He sighed, knowing this was going to take forever at this rate. "We need to drain those blisters of yours or they're going to keep hurting. This won't be as bad as the antiseptic that I used."
"You're going to put a NEEDLE through my skin!" She retorted, not trusting the pointy object in his hand. "Of both my feet! Hell no!"
He gave her an annoyed look. "Your feet only hurt this much because you're walking around on sensitive skin that is getting annoyed by all that fluid! We have to get it out of there! If you don't want me to do it, then take the needle and do it yourself."
She stared at the object in his outstretched fingers. She never had blisters in her life before so this was all new to her...as stupid as it sounded. He made sense, but she still didn't like it. She caved in and slowly took the needle. She positioned a foot so she could make best use of the light and peered at the first blister. She harshly swallowed and looked to him for help. He stood off to one side to direct her and not be in her light. She listened to his directions, feeling very wary about doing this, and slowly pushed the end into the dead skin of her foot.
It was the weirdest feeling and with the amount of adrenaline going through her, it was a given that she missed and poked the new skin underneath. She screamed in pain and dropped the needle somewhere. She clutched the foot and huddled against herself, shaking and eyes tearing.
He retrieved the object and put it on the sink, knowing this wasn't going to work. She wouldn't let him do so and she just messed up by herself; he was going to have to try another way. He watched her tremble for a second before putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"
"That...hurt!" She bit out through tears. She glared at him. "How are we supposed to do this without it hurting so bad?"
"There is a different way, but you're going to have to trust me on it, okay?"
That didn't sound good and when she watched him pick out a pair of clippers from his medicine cabinet, she was liking this less and less. "Let's just leave the fluid where it is. My body will fix itself in time..."
His eyes rolled. "This is the only other way I know of! I'll do one and if it doesn't work then we'll have to do as you want for plan C."
It was the last bargain, but it panned out. He cut the barest of an opening into her skin and fluid came gushing out. He put the washcloth to her foot and made sure all was gone. He looked to her in question. "Feeling okay?"
Her eyes peeked open slowly. "You're done?" He smiled and she slowly returned it. "I guess this'll work then..."
After popping a total of five blisters on both feet, cleaning them again, putting more medicine on, and rewrapping them both, he finally got all supplies put back. He gave a sudden yawn, the night and morning catching up to him. "I think I need a nap..." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
There wasn't much else for her to do except consider it as well. It would probably be a good idea to get some sleep after all of the stress and the many hours she had been up last night. She didn't know how much sleep she got this morning, but more wouldn't hurt. "I may join you, if that's okay?"
Join as in the same sleep time or the same bed? He was betting the same bed and shrugged. He was getting too tired right now to care much. His arms extended to pick her up and she was ready this time with no argument. He set her on the other side of the bed and plopped down on his side. "Ah...I forgot there's only one pillow." He mumbled, slowly getting up to grab one from his living room.
She put a hand on his arm before he got too far. "I don't need a pillow, Natsu. Your bed is comfy enough. I'll be fine."
He nodded and situated himself back down. He yawned again and clutched the pillow with his arms, smelling Lucy's hair amidst his own scent. He suddenly looked to her to find her getting comfy on her stomach. A hand reached over and gave a brief pat to her back. "I'm glad you're here Lucy. We'll figure out what to do later...let's just get some sleep, okay?"
She nodded and rested her head in her arms with a yawn. She watched Natsu's peaceful face for a few minutes. She eyed the way he had smooshed his pillow under him and the hand that stuck out from under it. She stared at the open palm for a minute, warring with herself, before a hand slowly snaked out and gingerly rested her palm over his. She felt how warm he was and smiled, but jumped when his fingers slowly closed over hers with a light squeeze...then remained around hers. He smiled for a second before his face smoothed and she knew he had fallen asleep. She let their hands stay like that and joined him.