'Ello wandering fairies! Welcome, and thanks for reading my newest story! New visitors, happy to see 'ya here, but 'chu looking at the wrong chapter. It's supposed to be read front to back, not the other way around!~ (See what I did there?)

I wrote this story to take me out of my comfort zone, and to unclog my creative flow! I hope to become a great writer someday! :D

I do not own Fairy Tail, or its characters.

If you have any advice, talk away! Criticism is the honing tool of writing, in my opinion, so don't be shy!

So let's continue this path together! I hope you enjoy!

A boy with the strange pink hair stares at Lucy, she meets his gaze back warily.

Before her stood a pinkette, probably around her age, maybe older. He wore a strange sleeveless black jacket, and flowing white bottoms that were tied off right below his knees. She faintly noticed a tattoo on his shoulder before focusing on his weird white scarf that looked like scales; it didn't seem to go with what he was wearing at all. Not to mention the dangerous, almost wild facial features he had. And his pink hair stuck out in all directions.

Wait, where had she seen that shade of pink before?..

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, looking back up at the pinkette.

Natsu's POV~

Natsu blinks at the staring blonde, confused as to why she was staring at him that way. She had soft features, smoothed out of all the anger and confusion they had held a moment ago. Natsu realized they now held something else. Anxiety and fear. Her chocolate brown eyes darted from his face to the sword he gripped lightly in his right hand. Natsu starts towards her, confused of what he should do in this current situation. He stops dead in his tracks as he saw how she tenses at his sudden movement, gripping her own sword impossibly tighter, her body drawn tight.

He crouches down, biting back a moan as pain rams into his side. Natsu gently sets down his sword, kicking it far to the side for extra measure. His eyes fly back to her's, Natsu's brows pulling together in slight frustration. If only the ol' man were here. Natsu had no doubt he'd know exactly what to do and say without scaring her.

Before he could decide what to do, a warning voice interrupted him.

"Don't move", the blonde orders. "and drop the bag."

Natsu blinks at the girl, not sure what passed over his face at that moment. Dammit. He had hoped she wouldn't take notice of the satchel..

He slowly set it down, fearful for the precious item that laid inside it.

"Okay, stand up. Turn around and let me take a good look at you. Don't try anything funny!", she demands yet again.

Natsu held back a scoff. Yeesh. Talk 'bout overkill.. But he readies himself for the pain to come. Natsu stands up quickly, determined to get this over with. But Natsu doesn't expect the barely audible crack as an unbelievable pain racks his body. He doubles over, sinking like the Titanic. He duly notes that he had fallen back onto the cool grass, hashly tearing the skin on his elbows in the process. He tastes blood in his mouth, indicated he had surely bitten roughly down on his tongue.

Darkness swims in his eyes, obscuring most his vision. A piercing yelp of confusion and shock accompanies him into the lulling black, and Natsu gladly falls into its arms.

Bright light filters through a window in the petite room. He woke up warm, dry, bandaged, and safe. He felt like death.

As soon as his mind comes back to consciousness, Natsu panicks for a second, not knowing where he was. He curiously registers bright orange wallpaper. A soft, warm bed that smelled like laundry softener.

Wait. A bed?

He sits up to look 'round but the gesture was met with an explosion of pain that burst in his head. A sound much like a wounded animal burst forth from his lips before he could stop it. After a few more attempts he throws his head back down, a pout on his face. He looks down. Natsu was wearing an over-sized black t-shirt with a fiery dragon as it's design, a choice of clothing that Natsu thought was slightly ironic, since dragons were Natsu's favorite creatures.

The boy senses what was probably a couple broken ribs and a huge cut on his midsection, and possibly a gash on his forehead. Fancy that. What the have I gotten myself into now?..

He elevates his head, ignoring the pulsing throb to look curiously at his surroundings. It was a small room. The walls were a bright orange, the wooden ceiling a light brown. There was a small window to his right with white curtains drawn over it. He couldn't see the scenery outside, but he could see the yellow sunlight shining through the fabric. A warm scent passed by his nose, one Natsu immediately recognizes as supper. On cue, his stomach growls. He is overcome with hunger.

The unlucky string of events of the previous night flow back to Natsu. His heart lurches as he remembers falling at the feet of a certain weird blonde. She must have brought Natsu here. Natsu was certainly going to thank her later, he decides. He would've been surely dead if she hadn't saved him. For the second time.. He notes, indignified and slightly guilty at the constant rate this was going at.

His eyes drifted past that to find a nightstand, and the glint of a picture frame catches his eye. A wooden frame was standing above the nightstand, looking relatively cleaner than the rest of the dusty stand. Sunlight reflected upon the glass, blocking out the depicted scene.

Intrigued by the mystery presented to him, he leans forward. Wincing as pain slams into him, he slowly inches forward, arm reaching out to grab the picture from it's resting spot. Before his eyes can take in the image, the door slowly creaks open.

Natsu's hand shot out to place the frame back down, and his arm flies back at his side. He sat frozen, whipping his head around to stare straight ahead as all his senses tensed.

Lucy hesitantly opens the door, a bowl of soup in balanced in her free hand. She sees her pink-haired patient sitting up, the boy staring sharply her way. Emotions of anger and sickening dread passed through her. Her cold demeanour shatters as she sets down the soup at a nearby writing desk and she yells, "No! Don't do that!"

The boy jumps at her words, and quickly jumped back into the bed.

Lucy swiftly moves to the pinkette's side, checking his wounds with a furious scowl. She's relieved to find his wounds remained the same, looking untouched.

Lucy glares daggers at the boy, who sank deeper into the soft material of the bed. "Do you want to die? I'm surprised you even survived through these wounds, you idiot, so don't go killing yourself and waste this miracle!", she says, her loud voice laced with every last drip of venom that coursed through her being. The boy nods fastly, green eyes wide.

Lucy sighs, closing her eyes, and her next words come out soft. A look of confusion passes over the boy. "Sorry. You're pretty much almost dead, and here I am, shouting and yelling at you." She stares deep into his eyes, as if to convey her feelings of utter confusion to him. "And I know you probably have a million questions for me right now. I promise I'll try to answer as many as I can. But you need rest as of now. You've got a lot of healing to do."

The boy nods, a grim expression dancing in his eyes. Lucy notices how they then drift towards the soup, how his eyes and mouth went slightly agape as he took in the sight of his supper.

A tiny smile graces her lips, and she walks in two short strides to the bowl, carrying it off to the starry-eyed boy. Lucy leans over the bed, scooping a spoonful of the soup. "Open wide," Lucy orders.

Confused of what the blonde was asking of him, the boy slightly parts his lips. Lucy lifts the spoon towards them. A bewildered expression floods his face as Lucy began to spoon feed him.

"You can't do it yourself," Lucy explains, voice indicated she had no ounce of intention of giving up.

He reluctantly allows her to feed him. Lucy sees the gleam of pain that shows in his eyes every time he shallowed. When the bowl was completely emptied of its contents, Lucy's hands grab the empty bowl. She was prepared to leave, nearly by the frame of the door as a weak voice cuts through the air.

"Why? Why'd.. 'Ya help me back there?", the boy whispers hoarsely. Lucy's ears barely pick up on every word.

"Because. I couldn't just leave you back there.", Lucy answers truthfully, deciding she shouldn't lie to him. He seems trustable, but she wasn't going to relax one moment around this stranger, whom she had barely known.

He's silent for a moment, face unreadable. "Natsu.", he finally mutters.

"Natsu?", Lucy asks, confused.

"What's your name?", he answers back. Lucy catches on.

"Lucy," she replies, inwardly cursing herself for using her real name. Lucy should have at least gave him a fake name or alias.

"Lucy..", Natsu repeats, a smile tugging the side of his lips as he simply says. "Thanks."

Natsu sends his signature grin at Lucy, feeling the smile pull his mouth wide open. He feels a rush of triumph as he sees a crack open in her walls.

Lucy catches the contagious smile, a grin of her own pulling at her lips as she replies, "Don't worry about it." And Lucy exits the room, slowly shutting the door behind her, making her way to her own room across the small corridor.

A/N 'Ay I'm back! Just who is this strange pink haired boy? Next chapter just might tell us! Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll stick 'round for the next page in our story! ;)