Natsu's visit lasted a majority of the day, like his visits often did. And in that time he told Lucy all the news that was news in the guild. He told her about the new members who had joined. The old ones that had left after the fight with Phantom. He told her about Erza's attempt to go on her first date and how it had ended in disaster, when the mystery guy who had asked her out had been stupid enough to flirt with another woman in front of her.
He brushed her hair and took care of her finger nails. Trimming them and then filing them down so that they were shaped like little ovals, just like she liked then he picked up the little book that he had taken from her home because he knew it was her favorite and flipped it open and started reading aloud to her like he had every day for the past month and silently hoped that some how his voice was reaching her.
Outside the room Mira stood listening to the sound of Natsu's voice along with Erza and Gray as he finished up the chapter he was reading and then stopped. Apparently done reading for the time being.
Next he would hold her hand and beg the girl to wake up until his voice gave out. Just like he did every day. Breaking their hearts just a little more until he finally decided to leave for the night.
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A few hours later Natsu got up off of the floor and leaned over his partner and gently kissed her cheek then straitened his spine and walked away from the bed and slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
"Natsu! Are there any changes in Lucy's condition yet?" Elfman called out from across the room, his voice startling Natsu a bit before he shook his head and looked down at the floor trying to hide his pained expression as Mira came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze causing the dragon slayer to lift his head a little bit and glance at her from over his shoulder.
She gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't give up Natsu. Lucy will wake up soon enough."
Natsu stared at her for a second and made an irritated sound and shrugged her hand off of his shoulder and started walking. He wasn't giving up. Regardless of how long it took or how long he had to wait, he'd never give up on Lucy.
He was merely frustrated by the fact that she wasn't showing any signs of life aside from breathing. But tomorrow was a new day, and that knowledge always seemed to bring new hope to the dragon slayer.
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She could hear noise.
For the longest time while her mind wandered back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness, the noise was the only thing that she was really aware of. After that was the sound of a voice, a man's voice in particular, speaking next to her ear in soft whispered tones. Begging her in an anguished voice, to wake up.
His breath tickling her skin, tickling her and making her twitch.
She'd wake up if her body would stop fighting with her and let her open her eyes. She'd been trying to wake up for who knows how long and the more she tried, the more exhausted she felt. It was so...odd.
She'd never felt so weak before.
She made a weak sound in the back of her throat and tried for what seemed like the millionth time in so long to open her eyes and broke down crying when she managed to open them a little bit and turn her head a little so that she could see a bit of her surroundings. Noting the vivid yellow floral curtain hanging over the window to her left, and the beautiful pink and violet flowers laying on the bed next to her shoulder before her eyes slipped closed again.
The next time she managed to open her eyes was when a man with dark hair was standing over her bed looking at her. Their eyes locked for a second, as his eyes widened, shock and surprise flitting across his features a second before he started shouting something causing a huge commotion in the other room as her eyes drifted closed again.