Natsu's eyes suddenly popped open and stared at the ceiling. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the cobwebs of his very sleep-addled brain. What time was it? The night came back as he noted the bed a short distance away. His eyes found the clock and saw it to be almost noon. A hand tiredly scrubbed his face. His stomach loudly protested at being ignored for so long and Natsu stood. They had all totally slept through breakfast and he was quite starved. He looked over to a chair that Happy was still passed out in and decided to let his friend continue sleeping. Happy woke up as many times as he had and also lost a lot of sleep.
Natsu headed to the corner of the bed and blatantly stared at its sole occupant. Lucy looked haggard and exhausted. She didn't even twitch in the minutes that he watched her. There were slight stress lines on her brow. His lips pursed, brow furrowing. He knew he should probably wake her and have her take her medicine, but she had put in some good hours since dawn. He really didn't want to wake her if he didn't have to. Despite doctor's orders, he decided to go against them. The medicine must have done its job if she had slept so much so far. Definitely an improvement.
His stomach protested again, but he was fairly transfixed at the end of the bed. His eyes had locked on her face, almost unable to look away. Her breathing reached his ears; extremely slow and light. She almost seemed to not even be breathing. He knew if he left Happy here to be there for her then he could rest easier than if both of them left. Still, he didn't like the thought of not being here if she ended up in the bathroom again. Happy was really small and could only do so much.
He found a scrap of paper and jotted a quick note, leaving it near Happy and grabbed the room key, along with some jewels. He told himself he wouldn't be long and gave Lucy one last look before quietly shutting the door behind him. He mentally crossed his fingers that she would remain sleeping while he was gone.
He hurried to the main entrance, heading right to the desk for information. One quickly sketched map later and he was out to the nearest restaurant. The whole time he jogged there he tried to remember exactly what Lucy could and could not eat. He vaguely remembered something about soup and no meat. 'Light food? What does that mean?' He scanned the entire menu once he got there; finally asking for help from the waitress. He ordered a few of her recommendations and threw in a few fish for Happy.
After chowing down as quickly as possible, which wasn't any different than how he normally ate, he hurried back to the hotel. He doubted he was gone even an hour or so. He paid for a second night upon insistence of the clerk that they already owed another day. He grimaced at the amount of reward money they were using and hoped that Lucy wouldn't be too mad about it when she got better. If things kept up, they'd have to go on another mission just to make up for this one!
Natsu slipped into the room and instantly searched out the bed. Lucy hadn't moved at all since he left and he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He noticed Happy sit up and headed over. "Did I wake you? How have things been?" He almost whispered, setting the bags on the table.
Happy's head shook. He matched Natsu's hushed voice, eyes alighting on the fish Natsu set out. "Lucy has been asleep since morning. Should we wake her? Isn't she supposed to take her medicine by now?"
Natsu plopped on the floor next to Happy's chair and faced the bed. His head shook. "We should probably let her sleep a bit more. She's really worn out because she's been up half the night." And so had they. Another reason why he didn't want to wake Lucy is because he could understand a little of what she was going through. They were all exhausted. He watched Happy go for his fish and listened to breathing from Lucy as it mixed with Happy's chewing. "We'll wake her in another hour. She'll be really hungry I bet."
Happy nodded in agreement. He watched Natsu head over to his makeshift bed and settle in. "Natsu?"
"There's not much we can do till she wakes up so I'm going to catch some more sleep. Are you planning on staying up?" Happy nodded, tearing into his second fish. "Wake me if she gets up or it's been an hour."
"Aye sir."
0101010101010101010
At long last, Lucy's eyes fluttered open. Her half-opened eyes stared at something across the way before finally giving a slow blink. Minutes passed as she finally identified the wall in her sleepy brain. Slowly sitting up and mentally checking her nausea, she was really relieved that she seemed fine. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief and looked around. The room was heavily shadowed with...sunset? Or was it sunrise? How long had she been asleep for?
As her eyes finally adjusted, she noticed a lump in one side of the room. 'Natsu?' She noticed slight movement and edged off the bed. She was careful in standing to be fully sure that she wouldn't lose all the ground she had made. She slowly walked over to Natsu's side and sat. She took note of Happy in a chair a short distance away. Her eyes watered through a gentle smile as she watched them sleep, listening to quiet snoring. She didn't know how long they were out for, but if this was evening then Natsu had slept through dinner and who knew what else.
Her heart welled up and she couldn't stop the tears that followed. He had been so patient and gentle with her the entire time...even at the cost to himself on a few occasions. Most times he never said a word when he helped her and she didn't have to tell him what she needed. The first few times he just seemed to know what to do. Lucy wasn't all that surprised though. She had been Natsu's partner for a few years now and there were so many things that they communicated with just a look. Natsu was often times the dumb brawler, but when it came to serious situations he held his own.
She wiped away the tears, but left the smile, and stealthily took his hand. Even asleep, Natsu was warm down to his fingers. Her fingers curled around his as she tried to pour every ounce of gratitude into her touch.
Natsu soon stirred with a quiet groan, jolting when he noticed Lucy in front of him. He sat up quickly and took in the darkened room. A hand rubbed his eyes to try and wake up. "Lucy?! What's wrong? Are you gonna puke again?"
Lucy grinned and shook her head. "I'm feeling much better now. I don't think I'll do that anymore."
He relaxed and smiled. "That's a relief. What time is it?" He started as he spotted the clock at eight. "Hey Happy! You were supposed to wake me up in an hour! It's well past that!" His foot reached out and kicked the chair, rudely waking his friend.
Happy gave a shout at the blow and sat up. "Eh?! Lucy? Natsu? What's going on?"
Lucy's brow furrowed. "Don't be mean to Happy, Natsu! It's not his fault that you overslept."
"Yes it is! I told him to wake me in an hour to wake YOU up to take your medicine! It's eight! I even went and got you food too!" Natsu went to point where he still smelled the soup, but failed. He looked down in confusion to see Lucy's hands attached to his. He stared at her with a raised brow. "Why are you holding my hand?"
Lucy felt her face heat up as she snatched her hands back. "Uh! Um...well...you see..." She stared at the fists in her lap before subtly eying Happy. He would probably hold this over her head, but she wanted to say this before the mood changed. "I just...I...I...was just trying to convey my gratitude for all your help..."
He bypassed commenting on how weird her action was. He sat up slightly disgruntled and faced her. "You've been apologizing and thanking me ever since we got here. I told you to stop saying those things to me!" He flashed her a grin, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "We're partners and friends, aren't we? You've taken care of me plenty of times. We're here for each other, right?"
"Natsu..." Her eyes teared through a smile. Her hand covered his softly.
Happy hummed in that all-knowing way and she jumped. Reality crashed back as he ruined the mood. "Maybe you should just hug him..."
She yanked her hand away from his a second time, face burning up again. "A – anyway! You said something about food right?" She stood as quickly as possible and looked around.
He also stood and lit the lamps so they would have some light with their food. Natsu noted that he hadn't brought any dinner for himself or Happy. "What do you want to do Happy?"
Lucy sampled the soup, finding it to be just as good cold. "I'll be fine here by myself so why don't you both go get some food. Oh and we need to go talk to the clerk! We only paid for one night!"
Natsu waved her off. "Already took care of it. I only did another night so we'll see how you feel in the morning."
Lucy nodded, taking another spoonful. "Maybe I'll get a shower too while you're out."
He blinked. "You don't want help again?"
She flushed to her ears and down her neck. "No! That was special, got it?! Don't go making a habit out of it!"
"Natsu, what is Lucy talking about?"
"While you were gone last night -" Wham! Natsu fell to the ground from a direct hit in the nose with the object that she had hurled his way. He looked to Lucy. "What are you doing?!"
"Don't talk about that!" A finger whipped in front of his face. "Ever! You understand?!" Anyone but Happy!
He merely nodded. Lucy MUST be feeling better if he felt impending doom creep up his spine. THIS was their norm and he took the ominous look in a positive light.
A hand went to her aching head. Even this little activity was still too much. "Ah geez...just go eat before everyone closes down. Don't come into the bathroom without knocking first, okay?"
"Aye sir!"
When the door clicked, voices quickly fading, silence swarmed upon her ears. It reminded Lucy of the solitary dinners she used to eat when she was a child and she had to force herself not to run after the pair and join them. "It's not like when you were at home idiot." Slurp. "They're just going to be gone for an hour or two. Better to get in the shower before they get back."
The thought of her last 'bath' came crashing down, as did the mortification. Her face turned a lovely shade of tomato as she covered her face with her hands through a groan. If Natsu opened his mouth that easily when Happy asked a simple question, he would spill to anyone at the guild that approached him about why they weren't back after such an easy job. She was going to have to make him promise to keep this between them asap!
Lucy ate and drank what she could before hurrying into the bathroom. The hot water was great on her tired body and it was a shame to get out. She was feeling a little dizzy as she dried off and knew she overdid it a bit. She tried to drink more water, knowing her headaches were due to dehydration from not having drunk anything for an entire day. She took a medicine pouch and sat on the bed to towel-dry her hair.
The door clicked open minutes later and stopped only a few inches. One of her brows rose as she sat and stared, wondering what was going on. The towel didn't stop its brisk movements.
"I don't hear anything, do you?"
"You don't think she died, maybe?"
"Happy!"
"Hmm...maybe she left then?"
"What?!" The door swung wide as Natsu marched in. Their eyes locked for a second before Natsu noticed the towel that happened to be mostly draped down her front and took an instinctive step back. "Ah! I didn't see anything!"
Lucy tried not to smile and put the towel in front of her face when she failed. "It's okay. I'm fully dressed." She went to the bathroom to get a dry towel and wrapped her hair up to get more water out. "How was dinner?"
Natsu eyed the empty soup bowl and put a fresh one next to it. "We brought you some more food. Eat up while it's still hot."
"I'm sorry Natsu, but I'm not too hungry after all the water I just had."
"But we even hurried back after we got this so it wouldn't be cold this time!"
She smiled softly and got off the bed. She just couldn't refuse such thoughtfulness a second time. "Well...maybe just a little..."
Natsu beamed and pulled the chair out. "Now you're talkin!" He left her to the food as she sat down and went to his 'bed' to recline.
She had to admit that it smelled good. Even though she wasn't really hungry enough to eat the whole thing, Lucy still had more than she imagined she would. "This is really good!"
"Right?"
After telling herself to quit, Lucy took the towel out and found her hair almost dry, but definitely needing a good comb-through. She started on her bangs before a sly smile popped up with a great idea. She looked over to find Natsu taking his shoes off. "Hey Natsu?"
His eyes met hers. "Ah?"
She attempted a sugary grin and batted her eyes, even if she already knew he was impervious to such feminine tactics. "Could you come here and comb my hair for me please?"
A brow arched. "Hah? Why?" he sat up and took in her form. "Are you still too weak to do so?"
"No..." She couldn't lie; it was something she hated. "Just this once? Please? I won't ask you again."
He gave her an openly perturbed look at the mere thought of having to do something so stupid when she could do so herself. He didn't even comb his own hair! Finally, his eyes closed with a put out sigh. He stood, still not looking happy, and walked over. "Just this once!" He echoed, snatching the comb from her.
She nodded, nearly beaming, and made room for him to sit behind her. Who didn't love having their hair combed? She always loved it when her nanny did so and that had probably spoiled her. She quickly realized that Natsu definitely wasn't her nanny though when he practically yanked her hair out of her scalp from the get-go. She tactfully stopped him and gave him a few subtle pointers as her headache started up again. The strain marks around her eyes only lessened as Natsu's touch got better.
He refused to enjoy the soft feel of Lucy's hair and the pleasant smell of her shampoo as he worked. He didn't mind having to do so much for her up until now because she had been really ill; more than he had ever seen her. He had wanted to help her in any way that he could. This? This was just taking advantage of his good graces now!
Natsu was having to keep readjusting his stance as Lucy kept leaning against him more and more. She was making it difficult to do anything properly. By the time he was finished, he was pretty much supporting all of her weight with her back practically covering his entire torso. Not that she was heavy. Lucy was always seriously underweight in his opinion. It was a good thing she was much shorter than he was or their position wouldn't have worked.
His fingers ran through her hair a few times without snagging and he nodded in satisfaction. The hand holding the comb tapped it on her head a few times. "Okay...all done. You can get off me now." Silence. He blinked, head tilting to see her face. His ears picked up slow breathing and he became aware of the rise and fall of her torso against his.
"Lucy fell asleep a while ago Natsu."
He met Happy's grinning visage, still sitting on the bed with a sleeping Lucy leaning against his chest. Fell asleep...? One eye twitched. A vein popped on his forehead. What?! He gripped the comb, feeling it bite into his palm. His first thought was to wake her up...whether to shake her or just sit back and let her fall onto the bed. But the events of the last few days crashed back and he stopped himself. Something like this shouldn't have put Lucy out that easily...maybe... 'She must still be sick...' She didn't need to push herself; there were no battles that they were fighting and he was here for her.
He tossed the comb near her bag and gradually adjusted his position so that he could get out from under her. He easily handled her slight weight as he gently laid her on the bed. He didn't want to wake her since she apparently still needed rest. He managed to somewhat cover her with the blanket they had been sitting on. He stepped back and looked at her, making sure he hadn't woken her up. Lucy looked so peaceful and there was even a hint of a smile on her face. Before he could stop himself, a hand reached out and softly removed an errant chunk of hair from her cheek. She stirred a tad at his touch and he jerked his hand back.
He remained frozen in his stance before her as she resettled and was still again. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief and headed to his bed. He got comfortable and hoped Lucy was well enough for them to set out tomorrow. He was starting to get antsy to move again, but he had been enforcing patience for her sake.
0101010101010101010
Lucy awoke with the dawn. She sat up and stretched, feeling even better after an uninterrupted night's sleep. Dare she think that she was almost back to normal? Her head ached just a little and she figured a lot more to drink would help that. Everything else seemed fine, but she took one last envelope just in case...and because she had already paid for it.
After slipping from the bathroom in fresh clothes, Lucy spied Natsu and Happy still asleep in the corner. Checking the clock, she suddenly came up with a great idea. She grabbed the room key, along with some jewels, and slipped from the room. She headed for the main area, reporting to the clerk that they'd be leaving today and getting a check-out time along with directions. She hurried to the nearest restaurant and placed a huge breakfast order, knowing it wouldn't go to waste. She summed Taurus to help her carry it all and hurried back to the hotel.
She stopped Taurus outside the door and thanked him for his help, hoping they hadn't woken Natsu and Happy. Lucy wanted to surprise them with a huge breakfast set-up. However, she didn't even get the key in the lock when it was thrown open to reveal an annoyed, yet upset Natsu.
He put on the brakes before he mowed Lucy down. He smelled food, but disregarded it and focused on her. His anger reared and blended with the worry he felt upon seeing her bed empty and Lucy nowhere in the room. He and Happy practically tore the place apart to see if she had left a note, but there was none. "What's wrong with you?! I thought you were still sick! What are you doing going off by yourself for?"
She was unprepared for what confronted her. The anger in his eyes and the harsh way he grabbed her wrist took her by surprise. Why was he so furious? What happened while she was gone? Her mouth opened to rebuke him, but proper words wouldn't form. "I...I...was..." She held up one of the bags. "Breakfast." She finally stated.
Natsu finally took note of the four other bags on the floor. "Happy and I could've just gone out again like last night ya know." He huffed, arms crossing.
She pouted and clutched the bag, eyes fixed on it. Her surprise had felt almost ruined at this point, but she refused to let the idea go. "That's not the point...I wanted to do something nice in return for all you did for me."
He sighed and bent down to get the bags at her feet. "Are you still going on about that?" He held the door open for her, eyes rolling. "I told you to stop apologizing and thanking me for this! I'm happy to help you!" He put the bags on the table and watched her start pulling stuff from them. The smells started getting to him and his stomach growled. He leaned in a bit from behind her despite how annoyed he was. "...What did you get anyway?"
Lucy couldn't fight her smile. "Just let me finish and you can see for yourself."
Happy floated into view. "Do I smell fish?"
She chuckled and separated their breakfasts. She swiftly finished and stepped back with a sweeping hand. "Ta da!" She pulled Natsu's chair out, eyes watching his face as he almost started drooling. She had eaten with Natsu enough times to know that he had a few favorites in everything he wolfed down and she picked out those dishes that the restaurant offered. A knowing smile crept up. "Forgive me?"
"Huh? Sure."
She pressed her lips together when he shot her a questioning look. "How about we eat? I also have us set to check out in a few hours."
"You're feeling well enough to travel?"
Lucy beamed at Happy. "Yep!"
Natsu smiled and dug in, the last hour of worry totally forgotten. It was nice for them to be able to eat together again. When he went out by himself, it was boring and lonely. Even when Happy went with the next day, it still wasn't the same with only two people. This was how it should be: the three of them together.
Both mages were mentally ready and glad to head home. It had been a weird few days and they were both ready to get back to the guild. Lucy even agreed to travel until they got back. She'd rather be tired than sick again. Despite how much she pushed herself the last five miles and how much she wanted to rest, when they crossed the main road leading into the city, everything melted away to excitement. It was good to be home!