Chapter 7 – Though moments
Lucy was at her apartment, concentrated in writing. She had asked her boyfriend to leave her alone for the day so she could work, but she missed him already, even in the early morning. She smiled to herself to the thought. Her boyfriend. She couldn't believe she had a boyfriend, and that this boyfriend was Natsu. So much had happened, but she still couldn't get over her luck. She had realized she was in love with him after they spent one year apart but had little to no hope he would ever reciprocate these feelings. Then that crazy accident happened and they both discovered that he did have feelings for her. And he had evolved to the most perfect boyfriend she had never expected him to be. She heard a noise in her window and turned to see said boyfriend coming inside.
"Natsu, I told you, I'm…" she started to lecture him, but stopped quickly when saw his face. He was serious and seemed worried. "What happened?"
"I need you to come with me" he asked, taking her hand. "Something's wrong with Happy"
"Happy?" her face showed a great concern to match his and she looked around. "Let me just put on my shoes"
Natsu was surprised on how quickly she got ready. She really just put on her shoes and grabbed her purse, not bothering with make-up or changing clothes, like she usually did. They left and walked fast to his house. Lucy kept asking what happened, but Natsu just gave vague answers, because he wasn't sure about it himself.
They arrived at the little house by the forest and Lucy came in, frowning to see everything was a mess again, even though she had come by and cleaned just the month before. Happy was lying on the hammock, covered with a blanket, which was weird, since it was a hot day.
"Happy, what's wrong?" she asked, kneeling down next to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Sleepy" he answered, scratching his eyes. "Why did you bring Lucy, Natsu?"
"All he wants to do is sleep, Lucy!" Natsu explained. "Isn't it weird? Plus, he wants to stay covered in his blanket, and it's hot today, isn't it?"
"I'm just a little tired" Happy insisted, but Lucy could see by his face he wasn't normal. "Plus, you're always hot!"
"Natsu is right, Happy, you don't look well" the blonde determined, and put her hand on his head. "Geez, you're burning hot, you have a fever! We should call Wendy!"
"No!" Happy yelled, and covered his head with the blanket.
"He refuses to see Wendy because he thinks Charle will call him weak" the dragon slayer told, annoyed.
"But she'll make you feel so much better so much faster" the stellar spirit mage said, petting his head.
"I don't wanna!" the exceed was determined. "I'll get better on my own, now just let me sleep!"
"How stubborn!" Lucy commented.
"Tell me about it!" Natsu groaned, crossing his arms. "I don't know what to do, do you have any ideas?"
"Well, I have some medicine for fever at home, but I'm not sure they're good for an exceed…" the blonde considered, touching her chin. "What if there's something that'll make him worse, you know?"
"There's Porlyuskia-san, but I think she'll murder us for going to her for just a fever…" the fire mage said.
"It's too bad we don't know much about exceeds… Wait, that's it!" Lucy's expression lighten up as she had an idea. "The exceeds! We could ask for their help, they'll know for sure what he has!"
"Ohhhh, that's brilliant, Lucy!" Natsu smiled. He knew she would come up with something. "Happy is friends with a couple that helped them when we were at Edolas, we could go see them!"
"Perfect! It's not far, let's take Happy with us!" the blonde suggested, and they got to work. Lucy wrapped the blue cat with the blanket and took him in her arms as he continued sleeping. They made their way to the place in the forest the exceeds had been living and didn't have to walk much to find it. They asked for directions for Lucky and Marl's house and had to walk a little further, but soon were at their little farm.
"Excuse me!" Natsu shouted. From the small house came the blue female exceed.
"Oh, you're Happy's friends!" she said, acknowledging them with a smile. "How can I help you?"
"We think Happy is sick, can you please help?" Lucy asked, kneeling down and showing her their friend. "He has a fever, but we have no idea how to treat him right"
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, looking worried herself. "Honey! Come help, quick!"
"What is this fuss all about?" her husband, a white male exceed came out the door and looked at Happy. "Hmm… Let's take him inside."
"We'll wait here" Lucy informed, giving them the cat, which they carried inside the little house. After about ten minutes that felt like a lifetime to them, the couple came outside again.
"Don't worry, I think he has the flu" Marl informed, trying to calm them. "I have some very good herbs here that will take care of that fever, and I'll cook some recipes that will help him get stronger"
"Please, we beg you to take care of Happy" Natsu asked, bowing to the ground like he used to do. Lucy looked at him in surprise, and bowed too next to him.
"Y-Yes, please, we really appreciate it!" she complemented, even though she found that really embarrassing.
The couple looked at them in surprise, blinking, and at last Marl chuckled.
"Oh, you are such good friends, worrying like that" she said with affection. "We will take good care of him"
"He's not dying, it's just the flu" Lucky told them with the hands in his waist. "He'll be better in no time"
"Is it too troublesome if we wait here?" asked Natsu, as they stood on their knees again.
"You wanna wait until he gets better? That will probably take a couple of days" Marl explained, but Natsu was determined. "Well, sure, it's no trouble at all, but you should go home to rest when you're tired"
"Thank you so much" said Lucy with a warm smile. "Would it be okay if I took some notes on what you're doing? So we'll know what to do in the future"
"Sure, darling, come with me to the kitchen, it's on the back" Marl agreed, and Lucy got to her feet and walked to the back of the house, taking a pen and a notebook from her purse.
"What about you? You're just gonna pout all day?" asked Lucky to Natsu. "Come help me on the farm if you're gonna stay here!"
"Y-Yes, sir" he nodded, also standing up.
Lucy took a lot of notes on Marl's recipes and drew the herbs as she explained for what each of them was good for. After giving Happy his tea and soup, she served some for Lucy as well, even though there was no cup big enough for her. Meanwhile, Natsu got really busy helping Lucky on the farm, and the day went by quickly.
"His temperature is lower" informed Marl in the evening, and the three of them sighed. "I'm sure it'll be all gone by tomorrow"
"Thank you so much, ma'am" said Natsu with a grin.
"No problem. You should go home and rest as well" she suggested. "You're free to come by whenever you like"
"Come on, Natsu" Lucy called with a meaningful look. He hesitated, but decided to follow her. They said their goodbyes and soon the farm was out of their sight.
"I wanted to stay until Happy got better" he whined as they walked on the forest.
"I know, but we'll be a burden" she argued. "Besides, Marl-san told me there's a flower on the mountains that can make Happy get better faster"
"There is? Really?" Natsu turned to her, excited.
"Yes, I drew it, see" she showed him her notebook. "Let's go look for it tomorrow, what do you say?"
"Yeah! It's a deal!" he agreed. They went home to sleep and left the next day prepared to go to the mountains. It took them two days, but they found the flower and made their way back to the farm.
"Marl-san! We made it!" announced Natsu once they arrived. The blue female exceed came to greet them.
"How is Happy?" asked Lucy right away.
"He is doing much better!" she informed with a smile. "The fever is gone and he isn't so tired anymore!"
"We brought the flower!" Natsu told, giving her a bunch of them.
"Oh, thank you so much!" she said, receiving them. "Why don't you talk to Happy? He's on the room to the right, you can see him through the window"
They made their way to the right of the house and met Happy lying on a bed just his size with a much healthier look.
"Hey, buddy!" greeted Natsu with a wide grin.
"Hi guys!" he answered with a smile, waving to them. "Thank you so much for bringing me here! Marl-san and Lucky-san took very good care of me!"
"We're so glad to see you better!" Lucy exclaimed, tearing up. "You gave us a fright!"
"You're such a drama queen, Lucy!" he giggled.
"How dare you be so cruel, stupid cat!" she yelled, but they all laughed to see everything was back to normal.
"You think you're well enough to come back home?" asked Natsu.
"Hmm… Nah, I think I still need some time to recover" he announced, getting more comfortable in bed and winking at them. Natsu and Lucy looked at each other, smiling. They understood Happy was pretty well, but wanted to stay for a little while longer to continue to be pampered.
"Fine, fine… Then I guess we'll wait for you at home" the dragon slayer informed.
"Aye, I'll meet you there once I'm fully recovered" he agreed.
"You better get well soon!" Lucy warned him, raising her eyebrows. "You don't wanna be a burden"
"I won't" he guaranteed. "Bye-bye!"
They said their goodbyes to Happy and the older couple and made their way home, much more relaxed to know their friend was okay.
"I'm glad Happy got better even without the flower" Natsu said as Lucy opened the door to her apartment.
"Oh, about that…" the blonde turned to him, embarrassed. "I actually made that up. You were so worried, I thought you would feel better if you were doing something"
"What?!" he shouted, surprised. "So there was no need of the flower?"
"Marl-san said she would like to have some of those flowers to make a special tea, but it had nothing to do with Happy being sick" the blonde explained.
"Lucy…" Natsu sighed.
"Sorry, sorry!" she pleaded, putting her hands together. "But you have to admit the time went by faster"
"Yeah, I guess, but now I have no choice but to punish you" he said, crossing his arms.
"Punish me?" she repeated in horror. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know how the saying goes" he told her with a mischievous grin.
"What saying?" she asked, and he came real close to her, putting his hands on her hips.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" he said, instantly burning her shorts and pulling her to him.
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Natsu was eating at the guild and waiting for Lucy. They had to separate the night before because he really needed to help Happy with their house. They agreed to meet here. To give them some privacy, Happy had left on a mission with Wendy and Charle. He was pretty bored. If Lucy didn't show up soon he'd have to start a fight with someone or go bring her himself.
"Excuse me, Natsu-san" he heard a voice call him.
"Virgo?!" Natsu was startled when he saw the spirit maid. "What are you doing here? Where's Lucy?"
"Princess needs help. She slipped on the tub and twisted her ankle" she explained. "She asked me to bring Wendy-san to her apartment. She said she must be here at the guild, but I can't find her."
"Wendy left for a job in the morning, she's out of town by now" he said, worried. "I'll go help her!"
Natsu left the guild running, so worried he left his plate unfinished and didn't even bother to see if Virgo was following him. He quickly got to Lucy's apartment and climbed the window.
"Lucy!" he shouted as soon as he was in.
"Natsu" her weak voice came from the bathroom. "I'm over here!"
"Geez, how did you do that?" he came into the room and found her sitting on the floor next to the tub, with a towel doing a very poor job of covering her.
"Sorry, Princess, but Wendy-san was unavailable" reported Virgo, coming right behind him.
"That's ok, Virgo, thank you. Natsu will help me now. You can go back" with that, Virgo disappeared to the celestial world.
"Are you okay?" he asked, crouching next to her and carefully taking her on his arms, one supporting her back and the other under her knees.
"No, my ankle really hurts" she cried. "What about Wendy?"
"She left town for a job" he told her, making his way to her bed. "I'll take you to Porlyusika-san instead"
"No, it's too far away… Besides, this is a normal injury, it's nothing magical" she said as he put her slowly on the bed. "We can just go to the hospital"
"Fine, let's get you some clothes then" he said, as she was almost completely dry already. "Where do you keep your clothes?"
"There" she pointed at her dresser. "Pick me a bra and some panties in the first drawer"
"Here!" he came back quickly with red and laced bra and panties.
"No! I can't wear that to the hospital!" she shouted, blushing.
"What? They even match!" Natsu argued, not seeing what the big deal was.
"Natsu, this lingerie is for other purposes!" she tried to explain, annoyed. Her boyfriend kept looking at her in confusion for some seconds, then realization hit him.
"Ohhhh" he looked at the pieces again, this time with a silly smile.
"Just get me a white plain one!" she insisted, and he went back to the dresser. This time he came back with the right bra. Lucy put it on easily, and gave him the panties. "You're gonna have to help me with this. Try to put it on me without touching my left ankle."
Natsu kneeled in front of her holding the panties. Her right foot went easily through it, then the dragon slayer did his best to pass it around her left foot without touching it.
"There!" he exclaimed as he managed to do it. Lucy's panties were now just above her knees. She needed to get up to finish putting them on. He got up and supported her so her left foot didn't have to touch the floor. They slid the panties up her waist, Lucy holding the right side and Natsu the left. "You know, undressing you is a lot easier"
"Now get me a short and a T-shirt" she asked, sitting on the bed again.
"Wouldn't a skirt be better?" Natsu suggested, considering what they had to do to put her panties.
"No, you'll have to carry me, remember?" she argued. He came back with a striped short and a polka dot shirt. "What, this short with this top? Absolutely not"
He went to the dresser again and held high a blue shirt and an orange short, looking at her with a questioning expression.
"No"
White top and pink legging.
"No"
Black shorts and pink T-shirt.
"Okay, that's good" she approved. Natsu sighed. He was doing his best not to tell her to stop wasting time with stupid things.
Lucy put on the T-shirt quickly and they did the same maneuver for her to put on the shorts. She grabbed her purse, Natsu took her in his arms again, and they left for the hospital.
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A few hours later, they were coming back through the door. Lucy had her ankle wrapped in bandages and could walk with a pair of crutches. Natsu was carrying her purse and a bag with the medicine she would need.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, closing the door.
"Tired" she said, letting go of the crouches and sitting on the couch.
"Don't you wanna go to bed and sleep, then?"
"I'm also hungry" she informed, rubbing her belly.
"Okay, let's see what you've got" he said, going to her fridge and finding it empty. "Damn, Lucy, there's nothing here!"
"You're the one to say!" she yelled. "You always eat all my food!"
"Okay, okay, let's see…" he put his hand on his forehead, thinking. "I can go get you some food from the guild"
"No, that's gonna take too long! I'll just cook" she moved herself as to get up, but Natsu stopped her, sitting next to her and holding her shoulders.
"You can't cook like that!" he said like it was obvious. "Let me do it instead"
"You know how to cook?" she blinked, surprised.
"Well… No" he admitted, looking down. "Why don't you just tell me what to do and I'll do it?"
"Natsu…" she was worried he would trash her whole kitchen.
"Please, just give me a chance, I promise I'll do as you tell me" he insisted.
"Hm, I guess I don't really have a choice" she agreed with a smile. He grinned and helped her sit on a stool by the counter. "First thing is: wash your hands"
Lucy guided him into making a simple pasta with sausages. Even though he was a little clumsy (broke one of her bowls and burned one of her dish towels), he did everything the best way he could and they ended up with a delicious meal. After that, it was already dark and they went to bed. They were both pretty exhausted.
"Natsu" Lucy called him in a quiet voice.
"Hmm?" he mumbled in response, almost asleep.
"Thank you for taking care of me" she kissed his cheek and lay her head on his chest. Natsu only smiled and hugged her tighter before falling asleep.
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Three days after the incident, Wendy came back. Mira informed her of Lucy's condition and she and the two exceeds hurried to the stellar spirit mage's house. They were surprised when, after knocking on the door, it was answered by Natsu wearing an apron.
"Wendy! Happy! You're back!" he greeted them with a big smile.
"Natsu, the wings! The wings!" Lucy's voice came from inside, in an anxious tone.
"I know, I know, I have time" he tranquilized her. "Come in!"
"Lucy-san! How are you feeling?" asked Wendy, coming in and walking to the blonde, who was sitting at the counter.
"Hi, Wendy! I'm very well, thank you!" she answered with a smile.
"What's Natsu doing?" Happy inquired, seeing the dragon slayer mix something on the stove with a spatula.
"Fried chicken wings. He's been cooking for the past three days since I can't move too much because of the ankle…" Lucy explained. "He's actually gotten pretty good at it!"
"I'll put on some more wings, you guys are staying for lunch, right?" he said, adding some more to the pan.
"Let me see your ankle, Lucy-san" Wendy brought a chair close to Lucy and she rested her left foot on it.
"I think it's healing well, it was much more swollen" Lucy told.
"Yes, at this condition, I can heal it quickly!" Wendy said, putting her hands over Lucy's ankle. A blue light started to bright and Lucy felt all the remaining pain washing away. "There! I think it's good enough!"
"It's perfect!" yelled Lucy in pleasure, moving her foot in all directions and not feeling any pain. She stood up and found out that it could support the weight of her body like before.
"Of course it is, it's Wendy's magic!" Charle said in a matter-of fact tone.
"Thank you so much!" Lucy said, hugging Wendy.
"You're welcome!" the sky dragon slayer smiled as well.
"Lunch is ready!" announced Natsu, putting a plate filled with fried chicken wings on the table. "Good to see you back on your feet, Luce!"
"Wow, these actually look edible!" Happy said in an amazed tone, touching the wings.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" the fire mage asked, insulted.
"They smell really good, Natsu-san!" Wendy said as they all sat at the table, which Natsu had already set.
"They taste amazing too!" Lucy said as they began to eat. "Good job, Natsu!"
"What else did you learn to cook?" asked Happy.
"Let's see… Pasta, sausages, pancakes, rice, soup…" Natsu started to list what he remembered.
"All of that?! And you didn't burn anything?"
"Well, that's really a different question…" the pink haired mage looked the side.
"He did burn some stuff… And broke others… And put way too much pepper on the omelet once…" Lucy told them. "But that's okay, it's how we learn, right?"
Happy smiled as they kept talking. He would never imagine that being in a relationship would make Natsu grow up so much.
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"Happy!" Natsu called with a grin, relieved to see him. "Let's go, the mountain's gonna explode!"
"Aye, sir!" the exceed answered, flying even faster. They were at the end of a job to retrieve some treasures from a secret temple build inside a mountain, because it had been detected that it was actually a volcano that would become active very soon. During their quest, they had been separated, but everyone was coming together outside, since they felt the mountain starting to fall apart. Happy came to find Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy and Charle. "Oof, that was close!"
"What about Lucy?" Natsu asked with a frown. "I thought you were together"
"Lucy?" Happy turned on his back, looking, but there was no one around. "We were! She was right behind me when I left the mountain…"
"I'm going after her!" the dragon slayer said, trying not to panic.
"Natsu, wait!" Erza ordered. "The mountain will explode at any minute, I think it's better if we wait for her!"
"I'm not leaving her behind!" the fire mage insisted.
"She has Holorogium, I'm sure…" Wendy started, but was interrupted by the big explosion. They all were pushed back from the intensity of it.
"LUCY!" Natsu yelled, getting to his feet as soon as he could. "Lucy!"
"I'm here!" her voice came from the distance, and they all sighed in relief. "I'm fine!"
They watched as she came running to meet them, all dirty and with ripped clothes, but safe and unharmed. Natsu ran to hug her.
"What the hell happened?" asked Happy. "You were right behind me!"
"Sorry, I had to go back real quick" she explained, trying to regain her breath. "I fell and my bracelet's clasp broke! So it slipped between some rocks, and it took me some time to reach it"
She showed the bracelet Natsu had gave her, holding it in her right hand, seeming proud of herself. Natsu, however, felt his relief be replace by anger that came burning up from his stomach like his fire roar.
"You went back and risked your life for a trinket?" he shouted, and saw Lucy's smile vanish as she looked at him, surprised. "Are you crazy?"
"Well, I… I knew I had the time, and in any case, Holorogium…" she tried to explain, but Natsu interrupted her, grabbing her bracelet. "Hey, what are you doing? It's my bracelet, you gave it to me!"
"I'm taking it back, if it's gonna make you do stupid stuff like that!" he tried to get it, but Lucy held tight to her end.
"No, Natsu, please!" she pleaded, and their teammates watched as they fought for the bracelet. Erza was about to intervene when the golden chain gave way, and the pendants flew, falling from the high cliff they were on. Lucy gasped.
"Well… It' for the best, anyway" the dragon slayer said, groaning, even though that was not his intention. Lucy just kept looking down the cliff, seeming lost, her bottom lip trembling. "Let's head back!"
The way back was unusually silent. Natsu and Gray went ahead, while Erza, Wendy and the exceeds tried to make Lucy feel better. She didn't answer any of their attempts, remaining with her eyes down in sadness and embarrassment.
"That was intense" Wendy commented after they reached the hotel. She was at her room with Erza, Charle and Happy. Gray had a room of his own and Natsu and Lucy had another.
"I'm sure they'll figure it out soon" the red head assured her. "It's a just a minor disagreement. Natsu was upset because he was worried"
"Lucy seemed so sad…" Happy said without much hope.
"She'll get over it" Charle opined as well. "It was just a bracelet, they can buy another"
However, the next day Natsu and Lucy still weren't talking. They both seemed upset and looked anywhere but to one another. The train trip was like this all the way to Magnolia. After they arrived, when Natsu finally recovered from his motion sickness, Lucy was already gone.
"Welcome back, how was your trip?" Mira asked when they arrived at the guild, but her smile vanished when she saw their expressions. "Oh my, did something happen?"
"It's no big deal…" Erza shrugged. "Natsu and Lucy had a little fight"
"I'd say it was a regular fight" Gray opined.
"Really? I thought it was a pretty big fight" Wendy said in a shy voice.
"Sounds serious…" Mira looked worried.
"It's not" the red head mage tried to calm her and everyone. "They were just tired, I'm sure they'll make amends soon"
After two days, however, neither Natsu nor Lucy had appeared at the guild, and Happy told them they still weren't talking to each other.
"Natsu just stays at home, he never wants to do anything, he's completely miserable" the exceed related.
"That's it. Let's go talk to them" Erza determined. "Gray, you go talk to him with Happy, while Wendy, Charle and I will go to Lucy's"
"Why do I have to go talk to that stupid heated head?" the ice mage complained. "You go, and I'll go talk to Lucy"
"Lucy needs people to be delicate with her right now" the woman replied. "So it's better that she talks to girls"
"You, delicate?" he repeated in disbelief. Then Erza looked at him with an expression that got him on his feet pretty quickly. "Fine, fine, I'm going!"
Happy showed him the way, since Gray had never been at their house, and in about twenty minutes they were staring at a depressing Natsu lying transversally on his hammock, just letting his head hang. Gray could swear there was a dark cloud over his head.
"What the hell is the problem, Fire breath?" he asked, kicking his legs and making lose balance and fall on the floor upside down.
"What are you doing here?" he groaned with a frown.
"Erza sent me to see what's going on between you and Lucy" he informed with his hands on his pockets. "Why aren't you coming to the guild?"
"I don't feel like it" he replied, turning away. "Why do you care?"
"I don't care if you never go to the guild again, it's been really nice without you there" the ice mage rolled his eyes. "But I care about Lucy, and she's also refusing to leave her house, and it's all your fault! So, are you gonna fix it or not?"
"She doesn't wanna talk to me" he mumbled, kicking an empty can towards Gray.
"He hasn't even tried for real" Happy revealed. "He just goes to her apartment, walks in circles and leaves!"
"Happy!" he shouted, embarrassed.
"Man, could you be more pathetic?" Gray sighed, putting his hand on his face. "Go talk to her"
"What if she sends me away?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms.
"Then you try again! What's the big deal? Just the other day you were all over each other" he yelled, losing patience. Then he took a deep breath. "Listen, I'm gonna say something that is very hard for me, but I'll do it for Lucy"
Natsu turned back, still frowning, but curious about what his guild mate was about to reveal.
"You were right" he said at last, like it was physically painful to do it.
"What?" the dragon slayer blinked.
"You were right about the damn discussion" he repeated, still suffering. "Lucy acted incredibly stupid risking her life, and if it was Juvia, I would react just like you, if not worse"
"It's true, Natsu, everyone was upset because she went back" Happy agreed, trying to break the tension.
"Of course you could have handle it better" Gray spat, happy to have something to insult him with again. "Maybe not break the thing she had just risked her life for… After all, she just likes that damn bracelet so much because you gave it to her!"
"I think what Gray means is… Lucy knows she was wrong too" Happy intervened again before Natsu got too angry. "She's probably embarrassed and that's why she hasn't come to you yet. You need to go tell her you're not mad anymore"
"I see…" Natsu nodded, and they couldn't really see his expression because he was hiding most of his face behind the scarf.
"So? Are you gonna talk to her?" the dark haired mage insisted. "Today Erza sent me, so if you go on like this, she's gonna come herself, and I don't think you're gonna like it"
"… Yeah, I will" he answered in a thin voice, and Gray and Happy sighed in relief.
Later at the guild they reported all this to Erza, Mira, Wendy and Charle.
"Oh, good" Erza smiled. "See, I was right to send you, Gray, good work!"
"How's Lucy doing?" Happy asked, concerned.
"She's… Awful" Wendy told with a sad expression. "She thinks Natsu-san broke up with her"
"What? Why?" the man and the exceed asked with shock expressions.
"Because he broke the bracelet" Charle explained, annoyed. "She thinks it was symbolic, and there was nothing we could say to put some sense into her head"
"All she does is cry and sleep all day, she's a mess" the red head informed crossing her arms.
"Man, Lucy can be pretty stupid too…" Gray said, shaking his head. "But it's okay, because Flame brain will go talk to her and set everything straight."
The next day, Levy came to deliver some bad news: Natsu still hadn't show up at Lucy's, which meant she was still deep in depression.
"What do you mean, he hasn't shown? Happy?" Gray turned to the exceed.
"I don't understand, Natsu left last night and didn't come home yet" Happy told, confused. "I imagined he had made up with Lucy and spent the night with her"
"So you don't know where Natsu is?" Erza questioned, and the exceed shook his head.
"Okay, I think it's time for some heavy interference" Mira determined, slamming the tray on the table and scaring everybody. "Here's what we're gonna do…"
After the plan was settled, Happy went back home to wait for Natsu with a communication lacrima. Lily and Charle went with him to keep him company, which was good, because Natsu only showed up the next morning, looking completely exhausted and covered in leaves and mud.
"Hey, Happy" he waved after coming through the door.
"Natsu! Where have you been?" the blue exceed asked in desperation.
"Well, I…" he started to explain, but Charle interrupt him.
"We don't have time for this! Lucy's been in an accident, she's at the guild infirmary, and…"
"WHAT!" the fire dragon slayer stopped like he had hit an invisible wall, and all his fatigue seemed to evaporate as he run out the door towards the guild.
"Phase one complete" Lily said over the lacrima.
"Understood" Levy answered. She was at Lucy's apartment ever since the day before, with the excuse of taking care of her and trying to cheer her up. In reality, she was waiting for the exceeds' signal to begin phase two of Mira's plan. "Lu-chan!"
"Levy-chan, for the last time, I don't feel like going out" Lucy came out of the bathroom, thinking her friend would ask her to take a walk again. The blonde was wearing an old T-shirt of Natsu and sweatpants, and had her hair tied in a bun, with a bunch of locks falling loose on the sides. Normally so vain and cautious with her appearance, she now couldn't care less about how she looked.
"Lu-chan, Natsu has been found unconscious on the forest!" Levy yelled, and her friend froze. "They took him to the guild's infirmary!"
"Oh my God!" she shouted, suddenly alert. "I have to go see him!"
"Lu-chan, shoes!" the bluenette reminded her as she left the apartment, and the stellar spirit mage came back, putting on the first shoes she could find and running out the door again.
"Phase two complete" Levy informed over the lacrima, feeling a little guilty for making her friend worry like this.
"Good job, guys!" Mira replied from her lacrima. "Okay, the two stupid lovebirds are coming, get ready"
"Wow, I can see Natsu already" Elfman said in amazement, seeing the dragon slayer running with a cloud of dust behind him.
"Go on, Wendy, stall him while Lucy doesn't come" Mira instructed, pushing her to the infirmary. "Everyone out of the way!"
They all went sideways, leaving a clear path to Natsu to go to the infirmary, which was good, because he came in such a hurry he would probably just ran over whoever stayed in his way.
"Where… Lucy…" he panted, stopping in front of Wendy and Mira.
"Natsu-san… Lucy-san is…" the sky dragon slayer said in a thin voice, panicking. "She's… She's…"
"Natsu!" they heard a keen yell from the infirmary entrance, and Lucy came in, also out of breath.
Silence fell as they both stared at each other in confusion. Mira seized the opportunity to leave the room with Wendy, pushing Lucy inside and closing the door.
"W-What…?" Lucy mumbled, blinking.
"You guys are staying in there until you figure things out!" the silver haired woman informed. "And don't even think about escaping, 'cause Erza and I will be on the look out, and if we caught someone, they'll be really sorry!"
The two of them frowned, looking at each other again as they fully understood what was happening.
"So… So you're okay?" Natsu asked her, still breathing heavily and leaning his hands on his knees. Lucy blushed and nodded, looking down. He took a deep breath and fell sitting on the floor, hiding his face on his hands. "Thank God…"
"What about you? You don't look okay" she pointed out, since he was still all dirty and covered in leaves.
"Oh, this? It's just…" he shook his head, like it was not important. "Lucy…"
"I'm sorry!" she shouted before he could say anything, and he turned to her, surprised. "I know I was wrong, and that you must have felt I broke the promise I made of always staying by your side… But I just can't help it, I would do it again! The bracelet was so important to me, because… because it was the proof of your love for me"
She fell on her knees on the floor as well, crying. Natsu made his way to her, sitting with his legs crossed in front of her, and took one of the hands she was using to hide her face delicately.
"Lucy… Don't be silly" he said softly, and put her hand on his chest, where she could feel his heart beating. "This is the proof that I love you"
She sobbed, crying even harder, and he lowered her hand, involving it with his own and leaving something on it.
"But if it means that much to you…" he sighed, and she opened her eyes to find the remains of her bracelet in her palm. The chain was cut in two, but the pendants were all there.
"You went back to get it!" she sniffed, opening a smile and taking the pieces to her heart. "Thank you"
"Let me fix it for you" he said. She put the pendants on one of the sides of the chain and he melted the golden links to make them one again. Then she stretched her arm and he put it around her wrist again. "It's not exactly as before, but…"
"It's perfect" she assured him, and he was relieved to see she had stopped crying. "I promise I'll never risk myself like that again"
"Good" he smiled. "Don't worry, I promise I'll always find your bracelet if you lose it"
"Thanks" she said, hugging him.
"You're welcome" he replied, happy to finally feel her again against him. "Lucy, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why are you wearing two different shoes?"
Lucy let go of him and looked down. On her right foot she had a black boot and on the left, a red sneaker. She covered her mouth with one hand, embarrassed.
"Oh, I just… Levy-chan said you were at the infirmary and I got so worried…" she stuttered, and saw him grinning at her with a smug expression. "Hey, don't give me that look!"
"You love me" he teased her. "How long since you've combed your hair?"
"You're the one to say" she replied with a chuckle. "You look like you've been living in the woods for a week"
"Why don't we go home so you can give me a bath and I can comb your hair for you?" he proposed, looking tired.
"That sounds good" she agreed. "I haven't been sleeping well without you"
"I haven't been sleeping without you, period" he informed, yawning. "Happy threw a log in my head so I would get some rest"
"Natsu… I wish you'd take better care of yourself" she sighed.
"I wish you would too" he said, getting up and pulling her with him. "I guess we'll just have to take care of each other"
"Okay, so I'll start with this" she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. "Come on, we should let our friends know everything's okay"
"Right" he whispered, going to the tick wooden door and knocking on it strongly. "Hey, open up, we're ready to leave!"
The doors opened, revealing Mira and Erza and most of their friends on the back. All of them had anxious expressions, waiting in expectation.
"So?" asked Erza with a frown.
"We're back together!" Lucy announced, grabbing Natsu's hand and showing her recently mended bracelet. Everyone sighed in relief.
"What do you mean, back together?" asked the fire dragon slayer, frowning. "We were never broken up"
"Oh, well, I just mean everything's okay now" she answered, embarrassed.
Suddenly they were blind by a very strong and white light.
"The hell was that?" yelled Natsu, blinking. Lucy was rubbing her eyes on his side, also confused.
Mira had just taken a photo of them with an instant camera, and was waiting for the picture to finish printing.
"This" she informed when it was done, showing them the photograph "Is a reminder of what happens when you don't stick together"
"Wow, we look terrible" Lucy said with a sad expression. Natsu nodded, serious.
"So I'll just keep it with me for whenever you decide to act stupid again" the bartender decided, hanging the picture on the bar behind the counter.
"Why are you gonna put it up there? Everyone can see it!" the fire mage complained.
"Punishment for making us worry like that!" Erza shouted at him angrily. "And you should be glad that's the end of it!"
"Natsuuuuuuu! Luuuuuuuuushy!" Happy came flying to them, crying, and hugged the blonde like he used to. "Please don't ever fight like that again!"
"Oh, Happy, don't worry, we won't!" Lucy promised, hugging him back. "Right, Natsu?"
"Right! Never again!" he grinned, patting Happy's head.
"Oh, so Natsu and Lucy are back to normal?" Laxus asked, getting near them as a party started to take place. "Glad to know. The guild was really gloomy these days…"
"See, even Laxus noticed" Mira pointed out.
"Well, it was mostly because of Gramps…" the lighting dragon slayer explained. "There hasn't been any complaints of Fairy Tail destructing things for a couple of days, you know, he was getting worried."
They heard a loud breaking noise as a fight started to take place and the guild came back to life. Erza tried to break off the fight, but only ended up breaking more tables, and a very drunk Cana dropped empty bottles on the floor. Natsu and Lucy tried to leave, but Mira didn't let them go anywhere before she could serve them a nice meal, since both Happy and Levy told her neither of them had been eating properly since the fight.
"Natsu only ate fire and whatever leftovers were lying around in our house" said the exceed, still in Lucy's lap.
"Well, Lucy kept eating Natsu's spicy food to remember him, but never finished any meals without crying" her bluenette friend sighed.
They were both too tired to argue, so they stayed put half hearing their friends' lectures until Mira brought them several plates of food. They ate with newfound appetite now that they were together again, and soon the tension faded away as they talked with everyone. They never left each other's side, however, and Natsu's hand was always touching Lucy, as if he was afraid she would escape if he let go of her.
A few hours later, the couple was finally forgotten and left alone, and they seized the opportunity to leave quietly. Outside was already dark, and they made their way to Lucy's apartment in silence under the stars. Natsu was holding her from behind, with his arms crossed in front of her chest, and she held them with her small hands. They had to walk pretty slowly because of this position, but neither of them seemed to mind.
When they arrived, they started to take care of each other as they had agreed on the guild. Lucy wiped out all the leaves stuck on him and took him to the shower to clean the dried mud. Once she was done, they sat at the tub and Natsu untied her hair, letting the golden locks fall around her. He took a comb and passed it through her hair cautiously to untangle all the knots without hurting her. She was sitting between his legs with her back turned to him and closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of his large hands touching her hair with such care.
"There you go" he said as he combed her hair one last time with no obstacle found by the wood teeth. It was the first time either of them talk since they left the guild. "I hope the amount of hair that fell off is normal"
"It is" she assured him, leaning to rest her back against his chest. The water was still pleasantly warm because of him. He put his chin on her right shoulder and brought her closer, one hand on her belly and the other on her thigh.
"Did you really think I had broken up with you?" he asked quietly.
"N-No" she stuttered, blushing. "I was just scared and insecure... And really tired"
"I don't want you to be scared of me"
"I mean I was scared I would lose you" she explained, fighting back some tears "You're the most important person to me, Natsu. I love you"
The blonde turned to him, and he welcomed her lips on his for a deep and passionate kiss. He took her in his arms and got up, leaving the bathroom as they continued kissing and laying her on the bed, where they made love slowly and gently, enjoying the most of each other's bodies.
After they finished, Lucy fell asleep in his arms, but Natsu remained awake for some time, thinking about her words. He knew she loved him, but he had never stopped to consider that she might love him as much as he loved her. After so long, he knew all of her sides and loved each one of them. He wouldn't mind if he loved her more, there was just so much of her to love. But after this experience he was sure she loved him just as much, he would be damned if he knew why.
The thing was that Natsu was an act before think man. He had been like that all his life and his relationship with Lucy wasn't exception. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to make her his, and he kept acting around these wishes and not thinking much about them. And now he finally realize just how lucky he was that this amazing woman loved him so much. He couldn't take that for granted. If this had been an almost break up, he didn't think he could survive an actual break up.
He started to fall asleep after he set a resolution on his mind. This wasn't enough for their relationship anymore. Something really needed to change.
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