I AM SO SORRY EVERYONE

OH MY GOD
I EXPECTED TO HAVE THIS CHAPTER DONE.
BUT LIFE HAPPENED.

I feel like I did kind of crappy on my AP Bio exam? And it frustrates me?
It's all just a long story. BUT.
I LANDED TWO SUMMER JOBS.

I hope you all like this chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters.

It probably could have been a simple reunion. When first exiting a coma, the patient should never be over stimulated.

Natsu, on the other hand, had taken the liberty of waking every person in the damn house.

The girls rushed down the stairs, wrapped in sleeping robes, about as fast as anyone can move at two in the morning. Wendy let loose a large yawn, barely alive on her bare feet. She looked up at Lucy, and gasped.

Lucy was sitting up in bed, her blond hair falling over the bandaging around her head. The green scrub Porlyusica had dressed her in the first day they had arrived was wrinkled from dormancy. She faced Wendy, Porlyusica, and Natsu, with a weak smile. Natsu felt a wash of concern; how much energy went into that face expression? A lot? A little? Was she in pain?

Seeing her awake patient, Wendy stepped forward. "Good morning, Lucy-sama!"

"Good morning, Wendy." Lucy said, though softly.

"It's good to have you with us." Porlyusica added, "But you shouldn't be straining yourself. Rest a bit more." Lucy nodded, gratefully. Her head pounded. She felt like she'd been crushed by a boulder.

Oh, wait. She had.

Natsu looked to Porlyusica. "Can I stay with her? Just for a few minutes?"

The woman considered, then smiled.

"I suppose you can."

As Porlyusica took Wendy back upstairs to sleep, Natsu reclaimed his seat next to Lucy's bed. She turned to him.

"Hi there, Natsu."

He looked at her brown eyes, and grinned. He didn't know why. The world just seemed better with Lucy in it. "Yo, Lucy. "

She plopped in her pillow fortress, and signed in relief. She stared up at the root-entangled ceiling. "I'm so glad you're safe."

He negated his gaze. "I'm-"

"Don't," she cut him off, pointing a finger directly at him, "This would be you here. What's the use of having magic if I can't protect my friends?"

"But you didn't use magic."

"There are different types of magic, Natsu." She lowered her finger, and nodded her head to the pile of meadow-that-was. "Are those for me?"
"Yeah!" he boasted, "It was a nice place. We should go there! You know, when it's not so destroyed and stuff!"

Lucy could feel her face blushing. He thought of me, she thought, savoring it like sweet berries on her tongue.

"Here," Natsu dug in his pocket, and pulled out her ring of Celestial gate keys.

She grabbed them, bringing the keys close to her breast, wanting to make up for the lost time.

"Thank you...Nats…" Lucy closed her eyes. Exhaustion had finally taken it's toll.

Natsu stood up, brought the bed cover to her neck, and left to get some sleep.

Mirajane gazed upon the drunken sea of Fairy Tail, gleefully watching as Cana beat the snot out of Elfman for reasons she probably couldn't remember herself. Erza was leaning against a support beam, trying to block out the noise. She had just finished putting in new doors to the guild, as Grey took the honor of blowing it to bits. She was trying to find ways to keep herself busy, which would explain the bags under her eyes. Her worry for Lucy had been eating at her insides for a while.

Juvia was sitting at a table, across from Grey, who had apparently "forgot" to wear his shirt. Juvia was trying hard not to explode into pieces, but lost the battle at trying to stop the blush spreading across her face. Grey gave a light chuckle. He vowed never admit it, but he really did enjoy her company. People just kind of grow on you. Juvia might have had her creepy ass moments, every day, but it was nice to be cared for.

Just then, the doors opened, welcoming the evening sunlight into the guild hall. Wendy entered, pushing her blue hair out of her face.

Everyone paused, and turned toward her.

They were expecting news.
"How is Lucy?" Erza said, straightening herself.
Wendy opened her mouth to respond, but a pair of crutches beat her to it.

Lucy walked into the hall, her blond hair in a mess. She wore a large t-shirt and sweatpants, securing her legs by long sticks. She had a patch that covered the temple of her head, concealing the healing puncture. She was panting slightly; Natsu carried Lucy some of the way, but she insisted on walking for the rest. It took a lot out of her though. Natsu walked alongside her, close, watching her carefully.

Lucy caught her breath, and looked up, smiling at Erza.

"Never been better." she said.

"Welcome back!" Makarov shouted from his seat on the bar counter, "Porlyusica does nice work. How do you feel?"
"Like I've been crushed by a boulder!" she said. She wanted to make the situation light.

"NATSUUUUU," screamed Happy, flying into his face. "I missed youuu! Did you bring fish?"

The dragonslayer peeled the feline off his face, and grinned. "Yo! I missed you too, Happy! There were no fish though, only frogs."

"Sorry we were away so long, Master," Wendy cut in. "Lucy was unconscious for a few days, and Porlyusica wouldn't let her leave until she was healed."

"My legs have seen brighter days," Lucy laughed slightly, "Wendy's magic seems to be helping though. I'd be in Porlyusica's care for a month if it weren't for her."

Erza walked toward her, and gave her a light hug, careful not to offset the balance the crutches had maintained. Receiving hugs by someone wearing armor may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but it warmed Lucy's heart just the same.

Makarov stood up, and nodded to Natsu.
"You should take a break from any requests for the time being, or at least difficult ones." he said.

Natsu looked down for a moment. Missions with Lucy were the best! But now that had to wait for now.

Wendy turned to him, squinting at the sunset in her eyes. "Would you take her home, Natsu? She should be resting. Have her see me in the morning!"

Natsu glance at Lucy, and smiled. "Yeah! Just leave it to me!"

They said their goodbyes to everyone, and with Happy trailing behind them, they left the guild.

The horror that was watching Natsu trying to operate a door. Lucy had given him the key, as she was unable to open it herself, but at the rate things were going, they might just sleep outside.
The fire mage tried putting the key one way, then the other, trying to figure out the science that was home security.

"This is so dumb!" he complained, "It's so much easier to just break into your house!"

"Normal people turn the keys, Natsu!" she exclaimed. She was not sleeping on her own steps tonight.

He did as he was told, and there was a click. He opened the door.

"Ohhhh!" he said, dumbfounded at his new discovered power of unlocking doors. He opened it, and Lucy swung herself and her crutches inside, Happy flying in after her.
The apartment had that still air scent to it, as if it too felt the absence of Lucy's recovery. The shades on the entryway windows had been pulled down, glowing with the red light of the sun, now setting in the west. Various shelves and dressers occupied the sides of the room, housing Lucy's many books and extremities.

Placing her crutches aside, their cripple of a teammate wobbled herself to her bed, and plopped herself in it's fluffy landscape.

"What a day, Natsu!" she said, beginning a staring contest with her ceiling.
"Yeah!" He took the chair that was at her desk, put it next her bed, and sat down. Natsu looked at her legs, bound to long sticks to prevent her from moving them. He pointed to them.

"Does it hurt?," he asked.

"It did," she said, still staring at the ceiling, "Wendy's magic has numbed it down."

Natsu nodded. "Yo, are you hungry at all? It's getting pretty late."

She propped herself up with her elbows, making a confused face. She couldn't cook. And somehow she couldn't picture Natsu cooking; at least not without her apartment burning to dust.

But she was hungry.

The dragonslayer noticed the face. "What! Is there a problem?"
"You...can cook?"

"Is it hard or something? You do it all the time!"
Lucy sank in her bed, and put a pillow over her face. If she was going to be burned alive, and starving, she might as well be comfortable.

Again, honestly, from the bottoms of my cold heart, I apologize for the tardiness on this chapter. Please forgive me!

I'm going to have fun with the next chapter. Chef Natsu? We'll see. xD

Thoughts, comments, things, all welcomed!

1. Least favorite foods?
2. What did/do you hate the most about gym class?
3. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? (This is so important.)
4. So, I really like Biology! My gram gave me this tank the other day, which can be used for fish, or other organisms. I already have fish! So I'm wondering what to put in it! A lizard? A cool bug? Amphibian? I want suggestions!

Thank you all for reading. :)