Chapter Thirty-Eight: Doll
"Thanks for the ride," Lucy said when Virgo came to a stop at the train station. "I'll text you when we get there, and when we get back to Magnolia."
"Good," Virgo nodded, "I hope you have fun."
Lucy smiled brightly, feeling optimistic. "I hope so too."
She climbed out of the car. Before she could close the door, Virgo said, "and no funny business with Natsu."
Lucy felt her face warm up. "I promise, nothing like that will happen."
"Good. I'm trusting you two." It was the last thing she said before adding, "see you later."
"Y-yeah." Lucy closed the door, feeling a little bad for letting Natsu kiss her now. She wasn't allowed to do stuff like that, but she let it happen anyway. If Virgo found out, she would probably tell her father, then she'd be in huge trouble.
She pushed the thought from her head. It wasn't like Virgo was going to find out anyway. Last night was a one-time thing. She didn't expect anymore kisses from Natsu, even if that thought disappointed her.
Lucy looked over her outfit once more before feeling better. She chose to wear a blue short-sleeve shirt with a thick white stripe over her chest. It was the same shirt she wore when she met Natsu. She matched it with a pair of shorts that went down to her knees and some tennis shoes. She decided to wear the earrings Natsu gave her, seeing as she loved anything dealing with Pokémon, plus they felt sentimental because they were bought by her best friend and crush.
Lucy hooked her purse's strap around her shoulder before heading to the station. She didn't want to be in a sour mood before seeing Michelle, so she forced herself to cheer up. Something Natsu saw right through when she walked up to him sitting on a bench right outside.
"What's wrong?" He asked before greeting her when he saw that fake smile once again on her face. He was worried he'd be nervous again after their kiss last night, but that thought faded quickly. He'd rather figure out what was wrong with his friend.
"Huh?" Lucy was caught off-guard, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I'm sorry I'm late. I overslept."
With her fake smile gone, Natsu relaxed. "Oh, you're fine. I haven't been waiting long." That was a bit of a stretch. He'd been waiting twenty minutes for her to show up. Luckily the train station was a Pokémon GO gym. "Besides, I've been kicking Team Instinct's ass at this gym."
Lucy raised a brow, then smiled down at him. "Is that so?" She would have to bring out her game soon and try to reclaim the gym.
Natsu laughed, "my bad. I forgot you chose that team."
Lucy shrugged. "I don't fight at a lot of gyms anyways, so it doesn't really affect me."
She looked through the large glass window to see inside the train station. "I need to go buy our tickets. You want to come with me?"
"Of course," Natsu figured she didn't even have to ask. He'd follow her anywhere. He wouldn't tell her that, not wanting to sound like some lost puppy.
Lucy reached out her hand, smiling when Natsu accepted it before pulling him up. "Let's go!"
They entered the building, Lucy already heading towards the ticket counter. Natsu was a little surprised when she ordered two tickets to Onibus. He'd never been there before despite it being so close to Magnolia. He didn't travel a lot. In fact he'd really only traveled to Hargeon, and from Magnolia to Crocus a few times, but other than that he always stayed in Magnolia. His sickness restricted a lot of travel.
Lucy paid, then grabbed their tickets. The train left in ten minutes, so they headed to their platform to wait. On the way, Lucy said, "I didn't even realize it, but we're both wearing the same shirts we met each other in."
Natsu looked down at his white shirt with salmon-colored sleeves. He smiled, "you're right. That's weird."
"Yeah," Lucy giggled, not realizing how much her laugh affected Natsu. He was suffering from taking his motion sickness medication, causing his body to feel jittery and anxious. He already knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, but it would be worth it to spend the day with Lucy. Plus he really wanted to meet some of Lucy's family.
"So what'd your parents say about you leaving town today?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.
Natsu groaned. "My dad dropped me off. I told him I was hanging out with you and your cousin today, but-"
"But he thinks you're with Gray?"
He nodded, his expression clearly irritated. Without thinking about it, he said, "I should just get a picture of you... That way I can prove you exist."
Lucy stopped, brows raised as she looked at the boy who stopped a few paces after her. "What are you talking about?"
Natsu cringed, wondering if he crossed a line. Was taking a picture of her not allowed? He panicked for a moment, knowing his medication made his anxiety worse, but it came to a screeching halt when Lucy said, "I already sent you a picture of me."
"Wh-what?" He looked at her, not sure what she was talking about.
"When I went to the wedding. I sent you a picture of me."
Natsu paled. "I... I don't know why I didn't think of that..." Suddenly Natsu felt like an idiot. He showed Wendy a picture of Lucy, so obviously he knew he had proof Lucy existed, he just never thought to show his father. "I'm an idiot."
Lucy's lips curved into a slight frown. "You're not an idiot," she said, hooking an arm around his arm to pull him to the platform, ignoring the rapid pounding of her heart when she felt the heat radiating from his body. "You're just a little goofy."
Natsu let out a breath. Goofy he could handle. He ran a hand through his hair, saying, "I'll have to show my dad when I get home."
"You will," Lucy agreed, then slowed down when they approached their platform. They both sat down on one of the benches, happy they made it before the train arrived. Lucy let go of his arm then, busying her hand by pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
Natsu glanced over, heart rate speeding up when he saw she was wearing the earrings he got her. He felt his body tingle, but he didn't know if it was from his medication or from the happiness he felt knowing she actually liked the gift.
The train arrived within a few minutes after they showed up, giving Lucy enough time to reclaim the gym considering Natsu was the only one occupying it. It also gave Natsu time to go buy two waters from the vending machine near them.
They boarded, then went to sit on one of the benches away from people. Lucy noticed Natsu clutching his stomach when the train started moving, but soon he was able to ride it without much discomfort.
"So about this whole thing with Levy and Gajeel," Lucy started, feeling overwhelmed knowing Levy might be pregnant. "It's so crazy," Lucy sighed, leaning back in her seat. "I mean, can you imagine?"
Natsu raised a brow, but he didn't look at her. "What? The having sex part, or the pregnancy part?" He didn't give her enough time to answer. "Either way, the answers no."
That sparked Lucy's curiosity. She decided to put a pin in the Levy/Gajeel discussion to further investigate Natsu's past. In the most casual tone she could muster, she asked, "you've never thought about having sex?"
Natsu felt a little heat creep over the tips of his ears. "Well, I mean I've thought about it before. I mean, who hasn't?"
Lucy swallowed thickly. She hadn't thought about having sex with someone. "With anyone in particular?"
The heat spread to Natsu's cheeks. "Not exactly... I really don't know how to describe it..."
She glanced around the train cart, seeing they were away from any eavesdroppers. "Could you try?"
Natsu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Just like, a faceless person." He cringed, "okay scratch that. That just sounds creepy... I meant like I've thought about the act itself, but it doesn't go past that, if that makes sense."
"Kind of," Lucy said. She remembered the big rumor spread about Natsu. The one where people thought he paid a girl for sex. "H-have you ever... tried it?"
"What? Sex?" Natsu finally met her eyes, "I already told ya. I'm a virgin."
Lucy gulped, the action not going unnoticed by Natsu. "I meant have you ever tried having it, but didn't?" Not only did she want to know to confirm the rumor really was false, but she was also curious herself. She wanted to know about Natsu's past for her own benefit seeing as he was the only boy to catch her interest.
His brows furrowed. He wanted to ask if she knew. If someone told her about his not-so-secret secret. "No." Natsu didn't mean to sound so cold, but he couldn't help it. "I've never personally tried having sex with anyone."
He looked away from her, eyes unfocused on the sight in front of him. "Have you?"
Lucy shook her head. "No." She brushed another blonde lock behind her ear. "I want to be in love with someone before doing... that. Does that sound stupid?"
Natsu looked at her again, this time with soft eyes. "Not at all." He slowly reached out, curling his fingers over her hand. "That's actually what I wanna do too." He could tell he was definitely blushing now. "That way I know it won't be wasted."
Lucy saw the hidden pain behind his words. His eyes betrayed the smile on his face. She placed her hand over his, giving it a gentle rub before saying, "I think we're both doing the right thing."
Natsu felt himself laugh, but only in his chest. "Yeah... Some people think it's weird though... Waiting."
"Well fuck those people," Lucy found herself saying without meaning to. She quickly placed her hand over her mouth, laughing as a blush spread over her face. "Oops, I didn't mean to sound so crude."
"You're fine," Natsu laughed, his smile finally reaching his eyes. "But I think we want to avoid just fuckin' people."
Now Lucy covered her face with both hands. "Ahhh, let's just change the subject!"
When Natsu finally finished laughing, he said, "g-good idea. Umm, what'd you do last night? After you went home?"
Lucy slowly dropped her hands, her face a deep shade of red from her embarrassment. "I almost finished all of my homework."
"Let me guess," Natsu grinned, "chemistry give ya trouble?"
She shrugged, "I'll get the hang of it one of these days."
"Until that happens, I'll be happy to help!"
"Good, I need it," Lucy sighed. "My homework wasn't so bad. I watched the Miss Fiore pageant in the background while I did it. Really helped me get through it."
Natsu felt his throat constricting. "Y-you d-don't s-say." He coughed, hoping that would help. It didn't.
"You okay?" Lucy asked when she noticed Natsu's stutter come back. He'd been doing pretty well to talk normally to her, so she worried she said something wrong. She thought back, not seeing how anything she talked about could upset him.
"F-fine," Natsu lied, grabbing his water bottle to chug half his water. It helped clear his throat a little, but it did nothing to soothe his twisting stomach. "Motion sickness acting up."
"Oh," Lucy raised her hand, then stopped. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Natsu asked, blinking at her.
She felt nervous when she admitted, "sometimes when I was sick my mom... my mom would run her fingers through my hair. It always helped me. I didn't know if it'd help you."
"Huh," Natsu couldn't say anyone tried that on him before. "I dunno if it'd help, but if you want to try?"
Lucy took that as an invitation. She slowly reached out, her fingers threading through the surprisingly soft pink locks. Natsu's eyes closed when she massaged at his scalp, then sighed peacefully as he sank further into the seat. "That actually feels pretty good," he said, not realizing how relaxing the simple action was.
Lucy smiled. She felt a little awkward playing with his hair, but it was just them right now. Technically there were other passengers, but they were like background noise to her. Lucy continued to run her hand through Natsu's hair for a few more minutes, reveling in the closeness and the gentle humming coming from her crush as she helped him through his sickness.
When Lucy's wrist hurt from being at an awkward angle, she finally pulled her hand out of his hair. Natsu said nothing, even though he wanted her to keep doing whatever she was doing. It helped relieve him, which was rare when he felt like that.
"Thanks," he said, only feeling slightly embarrassed over her doing that to him. It was a little intimate, but he trusted Lucy not to make fun of him for his sickness. "that helped."
"I'm glad," Lucy stretched her legs out a bit. They still had a while to go before they got to Michelle's town. "So I've been meaning to ask you about Bisca. Are you two close?" She saw how sweet the woman was with Natsu, and wondered if maybe he talked to her about his problems.
Natsu shrugged. "We've talked a bit." He leaned his head back so it was resting on the seat. "Nothing too personal, but she's nice. She let me hang out in her office when the nurse was busy a few times."
Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean when the nurse was busy?"
He jolted, realizing she didn't know about his random trips to the nurse's office when he felt especially anxious. "N-nothing really. H-hey, so, did you bring 'Alice in Zombieland'?"
Lucy's brown eyes lit up, easily distracted when he brought up the subject of books. "I did," she said, moving to look through her purse for a moment before pulling out the book. "Do you want to read it with me right now?"
Natsu felt a little anxious over reading with her, but he said "sure," anyway. It was better than talking about his issues.
Lucy cracked open the book, flipping to a page titled "A NOTE FROM ALICE". Natsu learned pretty quickly Lucy was a faster reader than him. She often had to wait at the end of the pages for him to catch up just so she could turn the page. He thought about lying and saying he was already done reading a part when he really wasn't, but he decided to be honest. Despite the story being from a female's point of view he found the book interesting. Especially when the first zombies made their appearance.
When the two finished their next chapter, Lucy said, "have you considered switching your medication?"
Natsu jolted a little, surprised she spoke seeing as they stayed quiet for a while. "I've tried, but this is the best I'm gonna get." He raised his hand, letting her see the small shakes going through his hand. "Makes me a little jittery, but I can handle it."
Lucy frowned, not realizing how the side effects really got to him. "What do you take?"
Natsu pulled out his motion sickness medication. It was a small bottle. If it were full it would have twenty-four pills in it, but right now he was halfway through it. Lucy asked to see it, which prompted him to hand it over. She read the label carefully, then said, "have you tried only taking some of the pill?" Lucy looked up at him. "Like half?"
Natsu raised a brow, but resisted the urge to call her weird for suggesting something like that. "I'll try that next time," he promised, knowing he'd have to do it when he wasn't going to be near her. That way if it didn't work he wouldn't puke in front of her.
The train ride continued, Natsu and Lucy shuffling through topics ranging from school to their friends. At one point Lucy pulled out a picture frame from her purse, showing it to Natsu. "This is us when we were kids."
Natsu looked at the photo, seeing two little blonde girls smiling as they swung on a swingset by each other. He easily recognized Lucy based on her facial features. He avoided commenting on her appearance. The only word that came to mind to describe the little Lucy would be 'adorable', and he absolutely loathed that word, so he remained silent.
"Cool," Natsu said, playfully leaning against her shoulder to push her body. "So you've basically looked weird your whole life?"
Lucy scoffed, then shoved the photo back in her purse. "Rude," she said, but her tone didn't hold any anger.
"I'm sorry," Natsu laughed, "I didn't mean it. You know you look cute as a kid."
"Thanks," she sighed, meeting his gaze. "I want to see a picture of you as a kid now."
Natsu slowly nodded his head. "I'll have to find some, but the earliest picture is when I was three."
Lucy furrowed her brows. "Why?"
He took a deep breath, then said, "'cause all my baby pictures burned in the fire... The one that killed my parents." Lucy was about to place a hand on his back and tell him she was sorry to hear that, but didn't get a chance when Natsu kicked out his feet and shifted in his seat. "So no actual baby pictures for you, but I do have a good one somewhere with me and my brother. It was from one Halloween where we're dressed like Romans."
Lucy decided not to say anything about the fire that killed his biological parents. Natsu clearly didn't want to talk about it, and she didn't want to push him. "That sounds fun. I went trick-or-treating a few times before." She puffed out her cheeks, "but my mom always made me dress as a princess."
Natsu could only laugh. "You don't remind me of a princess," then as an afterthought, he added, "then again, you do have the right hair for it." He picked up a lock of golden hair, not realizing how strange he was being when he twisted it around his finger. "You just need to curl it and you could be Aurora, or maybe even Cinderella if you wore it up."
Natsu was about to grab some more of her hair to pile on top of her head, but stopped when he recognized his weird behavior. He slowly let go of her hair, then brought his hand back to his lap. "Just a thought."
"Who's Aurora?" Lucy asked, a little confused.
"Oh, that's Sleeping Beauty's real name," Natsu scratched at his head. "Or at least the one in the Disney movies."
"And you know this because...?"
Natsu shrugged. "My kid sister loves those movies, so I watched them a lot growing up."
"Oh." It was all Lucy could say. She thought that was cute, Natsu watching Disney movies with his little sister. It made her heart ache, wishing she had more precious memories like that.
"Anyways," Natsu failed at trying to change the subject discretely, "how much longer is this train ride? I gotta use the bathroom."
"You can use that one," Lucy pointed at the back of the cart. "Just knock first."
"Huh," Natsu never used the bathroom on a moving vehicle. He slowly stood up, legs feeling wobbly as he thought, 'there's a first for everything'.
While Natsu went to the bathroom, Lucy pulled out her phone. They would be arriving to their destination soon, but she felt somewhat unprepared. She hoped things would go well, but she knew hope wasn't enough sometimes. She didn't want to, but she decided to warn Natsu.
When he came back, she said, "there's something I should probably tell you about Michelle."
Natsu gave her his full attention despite thinking about how awful it felt trying to use the bathroom while moving. "What's that?"
"She... She can be a little closed off..."
He cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
Lucy twisted her lips as he tried to figure out the best way to prepare Natsu. "She has a condition. After my mom passed away... Her mom c-" Lucy realized a little too late she wasn't comfortable talking about it. "Her mom c-committed... s-suicide in front of her..."
Natsu felt his arms and legs go numb. "She killed herself?" The words felt foreign on his tongue. He'd never personally dealt with knowing someone who killed themselves. Sure sometimes during his darkest moments the thought to end his suffering crossed his mind, but it was always pushed aside. Natsu just loved living too much to ever end his own life. Plus he couldn't do that to his friends or family. He could suffer if it meant they'd be happy.
"Yeah," Lucy felt a lump form in her throat. "Since then, Michelle's been a little... quiet."
"Well I can see why," Natsu didn't think he'd be alright if he saw Grandeeney kill herself in front of him.
Lucy slowly nodded, a little glad Natsu understood. "So if Michelle doesn't talk a lot, don't be surprised."
"Gotcha," Natsu said, thankful for the information. "I promise I'll be respectful."
"Thanks," Lucy let out a drawn out sigh. "Our stop's coming up."
She was right. Less than five minutes later they were getting off the train. Lucy gave Natsu a moment to collect himself. She knew riding a train couldn't be pleasant for him, even with his pills to fight off his sickness. During that time she sent Virgo a text, letting her know they arrived in town.
When he was feeling better, they started walking. Lucy knew where she was going, so Natsu just followed along. They walked a few blocks before entering a neighborhood. There they walked past two stop signs before Lucy began walking towards one of the houses.
With a bright smile, Lucy knocked on the door when she stepped on the porch. Natsu stayed behind her, not sure if he was supposed to say or do anything specific. It didn't matter in the end. Soon a man answered the door, looked down at Lucy, then said, "she's in her room."
He wore a white tank top with pajama pants. His five o'clock shadow didn't go unnoticed, just like the stains on the man's clothing. Natsu was a little surprised when the man just turned around and walked away. He didn't even bother asking who he was. He thought it was weird letting a stranger into someone's home, but this man didn't seem to care.
Lucy smiled at Natsu, telling him to follow her as she entered the house. He was right behind her, closing the door after them before following her down a hall. She went to the second door on the left, knocking three times before saying, "Michelle! It's me Lucy! Can I come in?"
She was met with silence. Natsu saw Lucy's smile dropped a bit, but she still looked determined. Lucy knocked once more, then said, "I'm coming in!"
She waited a few seconds before slowly turning the doorknob. When the door was halfway open, she slipped inside. Natsu followed, taking in the scene around him piece by piece.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the dingy window. The walls were painted a light tan, but there was nothing hanging from them, much like there was nothing hanging on Lucy's walls in her room.
He looked around the room until his eyes flitted to a bed. It was pushed up against the corner with a girl sitting on the mattress. She looked about Lucy's age, but he forgot to ask just how old Michelle was.
That was Michelle, he assumed. The picture Lucy showed him earlier looked nothing like the girl sitting on the bed. This girl's eyes were dull, unfocused on the wall as if two people hadn't just entered her room.
Lucy grabbed a seat by a desk, then pulled it closer to the bed. Natsu took a peek at the desk. It was empty. The only thing resting on its surface was a layer of dust.
There were no other chairs, so Natsu decided to sit on the ground. He didn't mind. He'd rather watch than participate at first. He didn't exactly know how to talk to Michelle yet.
Lucy seemed optimistic as she started talking. "How have you been?"
Once again, Lucy was met with silence. She didn't let that get her down. "I don't know if you know, but I moved to Magnolia. It's a lot closer to here than Crocus is. It took my father a while to agree to let me move there, but he finally did..."
Michelle said nothing. She didn't even flinch or give any signs that someone was talking to her. She remained still, even when Lucy pulled out the picture frame. "I got you something." She held it out, but Michelle made no effort to look at the photo. "I'll just put it on your desk," Lucy said, placing the picture frame in the center, hoping it would be welcomed by her cousin.
Lucy sat back down, then chewed on her bottom lip before saying, "I brought a friend with me. His name is Natsu." Lucy looked at the boy on the floor. "Natsu, do you want to introduce yourself?"
"S-sure," he made himself sit up straight. "Hi. I'm Natsu Dragneel. Pleased to meet you." He didn't bother holding out his hand for a handshake. Even if the girl was willing -which she wasn't- Natsu wouldn't be able to reach from where he sat anyway.
He wasn't surprised when Michelle said nothing. He was finding out fast that Lucy wasn't kidding when she said Michelle might be closed off.
"I brought a book," Lucy offered, pulling out the same book they'd been reading on the way over here. "I know you like reading, so I thought I'd read to you."
When Michelle didn't respond, Lucy started reading.
As she read, Natsu's eyes began to wander. They traveled from the floor to the ceiling, then over to Michelle. He didn't want to stare, but he couldn't tear his eyes away when he noticed the markings on her neck. He frowned, wondering if that was what he thought it was from.
He could see why Lucy referred to Michelle as a 'doll' now. If he didn't know she was a living, breathing girl, he would think she was a life-sized doll. Unblinking and unmoving, and somewhat unsettling.
Natsu's eyes began roaming to her face, but he froze when he saw two dull eyes glaring at him. Natsu jolted, realizing Michelle was looking at him now. Judging by the coldness to her gaze, she wasn't happy with his presence. After a few -extremely uncomfortable- minutes, Michelle finally settled to staring at her wall again.
Natsu felt like he could finally breathe when she looked away. He didn't want to admit it, but it was creepy as hell to have her watch him. He'd much rather deal with someone picking on him than have those near-dead eyes on him.
Lucy spent over an hour reading to Michelle. Even when her voice got a little scratchy she kept reading out loud, trying to include her cousin. Halfway through one of the chapters, Michelle turned her head to look at Lucy.
Lucy felt herself getting excited. That only increased when Michelle opened her mouth, speaking to Lucy for the first time in a long time. "Please..." Lucy's excitement was quickly crushed when her cousin said, "just leave me alone."
Natsu parted his lips, shocked this girl would say something like that to Lucy. She'd been trying to talk to her, yet this girl clearly didn't want anything to do with her. He looked over at Lucy, seeing the pain in her deep brown eyes.
"O-oh," Lucy felt her chest tighten. "S-sorry." She stood up, her eyes growing wet with stubborn tears. She put the book back in her purse, along with the water Natsu bought her. "Maybe next time," she lowered her head, then turned to leave the room. "It was good seeing you again."
Natsu was frozen in his seat, but flinched when Michelle turned her dead eyes to look at him again. "You too."
Natsu didn't say anything. Instead he got up quickly to follow Lucy. Anything to get away from those eyes and that monotone voice.
Lucy was already walking down the hall, saying, "have a good day Mr. Lobster," before opening the front door.
The strain in her voice was easy to detect, and it only served to make Natsu angrier. He didn't care if they were family. Michelle made Lucy sad, and that wasn't okay. He closed the door behind them, then tried to catch up to her. He wanted to see if she was alright as they walked down the sidewalk towards the train station, but she refused to let him see her face.
"I'm fine," Lucy lied, not even bothering to plaster her fake smile on. "Sorry about that. I-I thought maybe she'd really talk to me this time..."
Natsu could tell she wasn't being honest with him, or herself. The way Lucy sounded and acted was enough proof to put him on edge. He didn't know what he was supposed to do in this situation seeing as he'd never been in this position before.
Lucy didn't have to tell him. He already figured out Michelle was suffering from depression. That emptiness in her eyes combined with her overall lack of emotions was all he needed to come to that conclusion. He had no idea if there was more to it, but it was enough to go on for now.
"Lucy," he called out, a little startled when she abruptly stopped walking. He stumbled, but barely managed to avoid running into her.
"What?" She asked, voice sounding distant despite her being right next to him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He figured it was the only safe thing he could say, but that wasn't enough. Lucy shook her head, mumbling that she was fine again.
Natsu frowned, but didn't push it. It wasn't exactly his place to force information from her. Plus after the long week she had with her ridiculous 'slut' rumor, Natsu decided to give her a break. He would be there if she needed support, but he wouldn't impose.
They walked the rest of the way to the train station in silence. Lucy bought the tickets back to Magnolia, but Natsu had to do all the talking because Lucy's voice cut out as soon as she tried talking to the employee behind the desk.
With the two tickets in hand, they walked to the platform where a train would show up to take them back to Magnolia. During their wait, Lucy sent Virgo a text saying they were on their way back to Magnolia. Luckily the train showed up soon, so the two boarded. Lucy decided to sit in the very back of the cart. Natsu noted this one didn't have a bathroom, but he felt like he'd be able to hold it for the duration of their trip.
Natsu sat by the window, cringing when he realized it was probably bad for him to be there when the train took off. The only thing keeping him from voicing his concerns was the fear of upsetting Lucy further. She was in a mad mood, and he didn't want to make it worse by asking her to move.
He saw Lucy bring her arms up to give herself a hug. His heart cracked. He'd been there before, so he knew she was in pain. To try to help, he blurted out the first thing he could think of. "Wanna hang out when we get back to town?" He asked, hoping to bring her out of her funk.
Lucy slowly nodded, then finally looked up at him. He saw the tears lining her eyes, some even spilled down her cheeks. It broke his heart seeing her this way, so he did the only thing he thought might help.
He wrapped her in a hug.
Lucy didn't resist his touches. In fact she scooted closer to him until her head rested on his chest. Natsu loosened the hug, realizing Lucy wasn't going to be leaving his side. She tucked herself under his arm, saying, "y-yeah." Lucy sniffled, her bottom lip quivering. "I'd like that."
Natsu rubbed his hand over her shoulder, wondering if he was doing more harm than good. She didn't say anything, so he continued. He had no idea how much Lucy craved this. Human connection, affection, attention... It was what she desperately wanted after being ignored for so many years by her family.
Michelle was the last good thing Lucy had left when her mom passed away, and now her cousin couldn't even look her in the eyes without telling her to leave. She felt more tears flood her eyes. "I-I just want her b-back."
Natsu kept one hand around her shoulders while the other went across her chest to reach her other shoulder, effectively surrounding her with warmth. It was a warmth he was familiar with. His family was full of love, always caring about everyone else. He couldn't imagine how Lucy felt being rejected by her own family.
Natsu didn't know if Lucy was talking about Michelle or her mom, so he didn't get specific. He tried his best to make her feel better. "I think you did great."
Lucy's body racked with a silent sob. "I j-just wish it was g-good enough."
Lucy snuggled closer to Natsu, bypassing her embarrassment in favor of the human contact. It felt so nice not being a burden to Natsu. She couldn't help but stay close to him when she needed support. He was always willing to lend a listening ear or a warm hug.
"Th-thanks for coming with m-me." Lucy wanted to say more, but she struggled just to get that out.
"Anytime," Natsu promised, resting his cheek against the crown of her head since her head was still resting on his chest. He feared she could hear his rapid heartbeat.
She was making him so anxious, but he ignored his slight discomfort in order to make Lucy happy. It wasn't that he didn't want Lucy so close, he was just scared since this felt foreign to him. He'd comforted her a few times, but it never got this intimate before.
Natsu didn't think about how much he liked the girl in his arms. Right now she needed comfort, so he would do whatever he could to provide it to her. Well, almost whatever. There were some things he wouldn't do, but he doubted Lucy would try them with him, especially given her current state of mind.
They spent the rest of the train ride like that, even when Lucy's tears dried up. Lucy tucked under his arm while Natsu leaned back in his seat. He was just glad he was able to help in some way, and she was glad he was willing to be her shoulder to cry on. Figuratively speaking of course, seeing as her head stayed on his chest.
He hoped getting back to Magnolia would lift her spirits. He was already planning what they could do, and it involved a lot of walking, and a lot of Pokémon.
Thank you for all the added favs/follows! And thank you sparkla28, ThatOneFriend-3, FlameDragonHime, SmirkedySmirk, Snavej, FairyTailxFanGirl, Shunakoo25, Ashnmarley, zerophelia, BloodRedRubies, Abdltf, Soul-of-glass, Celestia28, Crimsonlink310, NaluNom, PrincessSarahDragneel, SakuraStar1862, Red-Velvet-Erza, MayraLilacBunny, MissyPlatinum(x3), enchantressXofsouls, ElementalMiko12, FairyTailLover04, DragonQ, ThayetJade, MystpopGIRL, Argo0, xXPokeFictionXx, Anon, agrestive, Animemama328, quite-a-riot, Matt427, sidjr100, Tsukimine12, Switchlolly007, Liesl, zerophelia, , Fairytail-FMA-fan(x5) for reviewing! You guys make my day!
Up next, Chapter Thirty-Nine: One Step Closer
I hope you liked this chapter. There were a few ways I was thinking of taking Michelle's character, but I ended up with this one. I think it was the best out of my choices.
Let me know what you thought! Input is always welcomed!