Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail or any of it's characters
Lucy was going to die, or at least that's how she felt when she opened her eyes at five in the morning. Her head was pounding, her throat dry, and her stomach . . . she didn't even want to think about her stomach. She was so uncomfortably hot and the room was spinning. Lucy pushed herself away from her blankets, and the man snuggled into them, and fell ungracefully on the floor. Unable to pull herself upright she crawled on hands and knees in the direction of the bathroom.
"Where are you going?" She turned back to see a groggy Natsu looking at her like she was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. Her head was screaming in pain, his voice hurt, looking at him hurt, she needed to get to the bathroom.
So she moaned the only response she could get out, "No." She continued her crawl hoping she had been able to get her point across. She had to get to the bathroom now.
When her hands hit the white bathroom tiles she finally got a little bit of relief. They felt so fantastically cool beneath her hands and knees that she just flopped on the floor, grateful that she had scrubbed in here just a few days prior. She rested for a few glorious seconds and then her stomach lurched. With a speed she didn't think she had left in her, Lucy lunged to the toilet just in time for her stomach to empty all of its contents. This was awful! How did Cana drink like this all the time! Her villainous stomach tried to empty itself again. When the nausea disappeared the pounding headache returned. Lucy began to cry.
"Oh Luce," came Natsu's sympathetic voice from the doorway. He disappeared for a second and came rushing back in with the glass of water and the pill she had ignored the night before. He knelt next to her holding it out to her like a gift. "Here take this, it will make it better."
"Go away," she mumbled, he was too awake, too loud, his smile was too white! She rested her head on her arm, keeping her eyes squeezed shut and attempted to push him out of her space.
He laughed lightly at her feeble attempt and pushed the water back in her face. "Drink the water Luce and take the Motrin, or . . . I'm gonna start singing,"
"Nooo Natsu nooo," she moaned, pushing the water away again.
"You gotta drink Lucy," he tried one more time.
"Go to hell," she hissed out, and then sobbed into her arm because the talking hurt too much! Why wouldn't Natsu just leave her alone?
It started quietly, but Natsu made sure to put his lips right next to the ear that wasn't buried in the soft skin on her bicep. "Puff the Magic Dragon . . . "
"No no no no no no," Lucy moaned, trying to burrow further into her arm.
He started gaining volume, a sadistic smile on his face, "and frolicked in the autumn mist . . ."
Lucy quickly lifted her head. Giving Natsu a furious look she snatched the pill and the glass. She threw the Motrin in her mouth and took a deep gulp of water, then shoved the glass back in his hand, never breaking eye contact. She could tell Natsu was trying hard not to laugh, he was a bastard.
The headache hit her with a vengeance and she fell to the floor clutching her head, palms putting pressure on her eyes. "Why are you so mean to meeee?" she sobbed loudly.
He lay down on the floor so they were face to face and gently pushed the hair from her face. "Oh Luce, I can't help it, it's so much fun," he said gently. He chuckled when she sobbed again. "Drink more water, small sips. I'm gonna go find something to eat!"
Lucy wanted to yell at him, but she couldn't make any more than a whimper. She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes, praying for the pain to stop.
Jellal opened his eyes to Erza sitting on her side of the bed, tugging on a pair of leather boots. It was still dark out; he wondered where she would be heading out to. Surely she wouldn't leave him here alone if she regretted last night. The Erza he knew would have woken him and kicked him out, clothes in hand.
She still hadn't noticed his stirring; he needed to get her attention. "Hey," he ventured groggily, hopeful her response would be a good one.
His heart leapt when she turned and smiled, "Good morning." She looked so beautiful in the dim glow of the bedside lamp. Did she have to leave so soon?
"Where are you . . ." Jellal didn't finish his question because when he went to pull his left hand to rub his tired face it was met with the sharp edge of the metal bracelet holding it back. "What the?" He looked up to see that Erza had, in fact, chained him to her bed. He turned to her for an explanation.
She smiled sweetly at his confused expression and kissed his lips gently. "We have to talk, but they just brought someone in that I need to speak with immediately. Don't worry I'll be back in a few hours." She stood and grabbed the shoulder holster from where it hung on the bedframe, pulling it over her arms.
"You can't be serious," Jellal tested the strength of the handcuffs by pulling hard, resulting in nothing but a sharp pain to his wrist. Undeterred he tried again and again, leave it to Erza to use the real thing.
Erza pulled on a blazer, completely covering her holster. She pulled her hair out loose from the jacket, letting it cascade down her back. She headed over and, looking in the mirror over her dresser, she pulled the fiery tresses into a tight pony tail on the back of her head. "Break the bed and you will regret it," She warned without even looking away from her task.
"Erza," Jellal growled. "You can't leave me like this! I'm just supposed lay here until you return? How am I supposed to go to the bathroom?"
Erza put her finger to her lips thoughtfully then disappeared into the hall. He heard her make noises in the kitchen. When she returned she was toting an empty Gatorade bottle. She set it on the bedside table next to him. "Here, this should be big enough."
Jellal was incredulous, she couldn't be serious. He dropped back onto the pillow hard, rubbing his tired face with his free hand. "Erza," he groaned.
She straddled him and put her face close to his. "Well I can't exactly count on you to wait for me now can I?" It was a low blow, but he knew he deserved it. He closed his eyes and let out a sad sigh. It wasn't the first time, and it probably wouldn't be the last, that he wished he could change his past. Then she took him by surprise, falling towards him and kissing him passionately, causing his whole body to come alive. It was official, she was completely insane, but for some reason it only made him want her more.
She pulled away quickly, a mischievous grin on her face. "I'll be back. If you do manage free yourself, make sure you're here." Erza hopped off of him and placed a small key on her dresser. With a wave she was out the door.
"Erza!" Jellal yelled after her. He was furious. How could she abandon him chained to a bed? He heard the front door slam; she was really going to leave him like this. He took a deep breath to calm himself and looked up at the bedframe. He would be here when she returned but that bedframe was coming apart. There was no way he was using the Gatorade bottle.
When Natsu got back to the bathroom, Lucy was dead to the world, snoring like a congested boar. He stood there for a moment, just taking in the sight of her sprawled out on the tile floor and chuckled. Natsu knew he wouldn't feel right just leaving her there. He placed one arm under her knees and wrapped the other around her back. Heaving her up he grunted, "Ooof, you're so heavy when you're asleep Lucy!" He laughed at his own joke and brought her back to her room.
He placed her gently back in the bed and when she whimpered again he crawled in next to her, wrapping her tightly in his arms. He shushed her like she was a sick child, stroking her hair until she feel back into a deep sleep. Natsu kissed her on the head and smiled, falling back to sleep himself.
Gray didn't know what he was doing. He raised his hand to knock and dropped it right back down, blowing out a breath. He shouldn't be here, he really didn't want to encourage Juvia's behavior, but for some reason when he was out grabbing a sausage biscuit this morning, he doubled his order and drove straight here. He knew she was going to wake up alone and hungry, probably a little big queasy from trying to keep up with Cana, and he felt bad. Gray also knew though Gajeel lived with her, he wasn't coming back any time soon. Once Levy looked that ogre's way, he couldn't see or think about anyone else. Juvia was going to need someone.
What he wasn't sure of was whether or not that someone should be him, which was why he had stood outside her townhouse's front door for the past fifteen minutes, raising and lowering his hand. He didn't really want to encourage her over the top demonstrations of love, they made him uncomfortable, but he did like her. She was beautiful and when she calmed down she was actually pretty good company. Really he was a lucky guy to be the object of her affection, as annoying as it was. He groaned and leaned his head on the door, why did bringing this stupid biscuit feel like a wedding proposal!
The door was suddenly flung open, causing Gray to stumble. He threw his hand up instinctually looking for something, anything, to grab in order to stop his fall. What his hand found was soft, and extremely inappropriate.
"Gray-sama," said Juvia in quiet surprise.
He looked up at her and noticed her red flushed cheeks. He then realized what he had grabbed was her breast. Making an extremely unmanly squeak , he bounced away from her. Gray hid his face with his free hand in embarrassment. "Crap, sorry. Oh god, I'm so sorry Juvia!" He wondered for the millionth time why he felt so awkward with her. Who falls over and reaches for a woman's breast? He was such a doofus!
Juvia touched his arm lightly and gave him a smile. "It's okay Gray-sama, Juvia knows it was an accident. Does Gray-sama want to come in? Juvia was just putting on some coffee? Or perhaps Gray-sama prefers tea?"
"Coffee is good, that sounds great." Gray said, gaining composure. He followed Juvia into her home. He remembered thinking last night how pleasant and warm it felt, despite the cool color palette. Last night Gray wasn't able to get a word in edgewise, Juvia had sobbed about anything and everything, and then passed out of the couch. After placing a blanket over her, he had quietly slipped out the door.
Juvia led him into the living room which was now spotless, showing no signs of their late night. She motioned for him to sit at the couch. "Juvia will go get the drinks. Does Gray-sama want sugar or milk?"
"Black is fine." When Juvia went to the kitchen, Gray tossed the bag on the table. He sat down hard and leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. What the hell did he want, why was he here?
"Is Gray-sama okay? Are you feeling a little hungover?" Came Juvia's hesitant voice.
He attempted to smile, knowing it probably looked more like a more like a grimace. "Nah, I'm fine. I don't know how you are doing so well though. When I left you here last night you had just finished being a crying mess!"
Juvia frowned and sat down next to him setting the coffee on the table. "Oh no, Juvia is always good about her water! I made sure to drink plenty through the night and before bed. Juvia never has bad hangovers."
Gray picked up his coffee and leaned back, sipping the bitter beverage and enjoying the way it warmed his throat. "You probably already ate but I brought you a biscuit." He motioned to the bag on the table.
Juvia looked at him with a surprised expression. She pulled the bag towards her and pulled one of the paper wrapped sandwiches out. "Gray-sama got this for me?" Juvia held it up in front of her and her lip started to quiver.
"Yea, look I'm sorry if you don't like those, I didn't know what to get . . ." Gray scratched his head and looked at the blue-haired woman sitting next to him. He saw that tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "Juvia, I can go get something else if it's that bad."
"No! Juvia is so sorry!" Juvia fell into Gray's lap sobbing. "Juvia ruined New Year's by drinking too much and now Gray-sama brought her breakfast! Juvia doesn't deserve Gray-sama!"
Gray couldn't stop his instinctual response of recoiling from her over-the-top display, but on reflection of what Juvia said he felt the overwhelming desire to comfort her. He stroked her hair and then lifted her chin so that she looked at him. "Why in the world would you think you wouldn't deserve someone like me? If anything it's the other way around!"
"Oh no!" Juvia sat back and put her hand to her mouth, "Gray-sama is so perfect, so smart and so handsome. So nice to Juvia."
"I'm definitely not perfect Juvia," Gray countered, feeling uncomfortable with her praise. "Really you're the one who could do better. You shouldn't waste your time with a dumb, blue-collar ass like me. There are probably tons of guys out there who are interested in you; guys with degrees and good jobs, guys who could actually take care of you." By the end of his rant he was so worked up he was practically panting. He didn't want to feel this way, he was angry at himself for his outburst. He dropped forward, hiding his face in his hands.
Juvia touched his back gently, "Gray-sama is too hard on himself. Gray-sama is smart, Juvia doesn't need to see a degree on the wall to see that. Gray-sama does have a good job, you're the best heat and air guy in the area, Juvia would bet her life on it. Most of all, Juvia doesn't need to be taken care of, Juvia takes care of herself. Juvia is a strong, independent woman," she gave him a wink. "Juvia doesn't want any other guy; Juvia wants Gray-sama and Gray-sama only because to Juvia you are perfect, just the way you are."
Gray lifted his head and looked at her. She was completely out of her mind but her smile was like sunshine. That thought made him think maybe he was insane now as well. Suddenly he didn't understand why he kept fighting this. She was everything he ever wanted and yet he rejected her because it seemed so easy? Why couldn't the good things in life be easy for once? He had to work so hard for everything else he had in his life; maybe fate was finally cutting him some slack.
He didn't try to hold back anymore, he gently pulled her towards him and kissed her sweetly like she deserved. He could feel her smile when she kissed him back. When he pulled back he chuckled, caressing her surprised, happy face. "Well Juvia, what do you want to do today?"
When Natsu woke up again, sunshine was pouring through the window. He stretched and looked down at Lucy. She was still snuggled up against him, but her face was pensive and she stared out at nothing, chewing on her lip. Cana's warning about Jenny from the night prior came to mind, but he thought surely Lucy wasn't still stuck on that. Natsu still had trouble believing Lucy could have been bothered by Jenny's advances at all.
"Good morning," he tested, kissing her on the top of her head.
She flinched, "h . . .hey." Damnit, she was definitely upset.
"What's wrong Luce?"
"Oh, nothing, really. I guess. Did we? Last night?" she looked up at him so confused that he couldn't help but laugh.
"You really don't remember? No Lucy, you were so drunk you didn't even make it into bed before passing out."
She sighed in relief, "Thank goodness."
"You don't have to be so relieved!" he sarcastically defended himself. "You know, some people would consider me a really good catch!"
He just barely caught her mumble of "I'm aware." Shit, definitely bothered by Jenny's flirting or maybe she was having second thoughts about him? She didn't act weird when he picked her up last night; she spent the entire beginning of the evening with him. He struggled with how to react, insecurities warring in his head.
"What's that Lucy?"
"Nothing," she grumbled as she slid out of bed. Lucy grabbed a hair tie from her bedside table and she threw her hair up in a messy bun. She walked across the room and pulled open her dresser, taking out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Lucy avoided glancing his way when she said quietly, "I have to go over to work to get some prep work done for opening back up tomorrow. There should be some muffins still on the counter or some cereal in the cabinet, feel free to help yourself before you go."
Natsu's heart dropped. He was losing her; she was pulling away from him. "Don't be silly Luce, I'll drive you. It's still a winter wonderland out there." He sat up placing his feet on the floor, his eyes burning a hole in her back trying to get her to turn and look at him.
Lucy's head dropped, "No, really Natsu, I can walk. The exercise would be good for me."
Natsu frowned, but kept his voice light, "It's not a problem. I'll come help you even, I'm a quick learner! I want to spend more time with you; I really missed you the last couple days!"
"No Natsu," he heard her sniffle, was she crying? "I just, I just can't today okay? Thank you so much for getting me home last night, but I just, I just need to do today alone okay?"
Like hell he was going to leave her alone. Her shoulders were slightly bouncing now, she was definitely crying. He walked over to her with purposeful strides, grabbed her by the arms and turned her, forcing her to face him. Her face was already red and streaked with fallen tears. He gently wiped her left cheek, "Lucy, what's wrong?"
Lucy firmed her jaw, "I saw you Natsu, I saw her Natsu."
He wiped the other side, "Who did you see Lucy?"
"Stop pretending you don't know what I'm talking about!" she shouted, batting his hands away. "The blue dress! That slut with the blue dress, who was practically sucking on your ear!" She pushed him away and stormed towards the kitchen.
"Lucy! Calm down! That was just Jenny!" he said following her out of the room.
She turned to face him, fury in her eyes. "Just Jenny! Just Jenny! And what am I when you're with her Natsu? Just Lucy?" she shrieked at him.
"Of course not!" Natsu retorted.
"Well, what am I supposed to think Natsu? I go to the bathroom for ten seconds and I come back and this woman is all over you! How am I supposed to interpret that?" She was talking wildly with her hands, her fury causing her tears to flow more freely. It was breaking his heart.
Natsu tried to grab her, needing her to pay attention, needing her to listen, but she pulled back. "Lucy you need to listen to me!"
Lucy threw the clothes on the couch and furiously stormed into the kitchen. She spilled coffee grounds all over the counter while trying to put them in the coffee maker and she banged the pot extremely loudly when she set it on to brew. "I guess I don't have a right to be angry really, we didn't say we were monogamous. But did you really have to throw her in my face! In that dress no less after you convinced me to change!" she ranted on.
"Shit Lucy, calm down. You aren't letting me speak!" Natsu groaned and rubbed his face.
"Well maybe I don't want to hear the stupid excuses again, maybe I'm tired of going through this, maybe. . ." she started sobbing into the counter.
Natsu came up next to her and rubbed her back. He spoke softly, "Lucy, Jenny is a client. Remember I told you about her earlier in the week? The one with the closet?"
Lucy's head popped up, "What? She's the one on the bed in the lingerie?"
Natsu gave her an exaggerated nod.
"But. . . she's so. . . she's so beautiful!" Lucy exclaimed.
Natsu thought this was a strange reply and raised his eyebrow. "Well I guess so. . ." he said, unsure of the correct response. Was this a test?
Lucy frowned, "It's just when you told me some client propositioned you, I imagined some old lady in a garter belt. "
Natsu's eyes practically bugged out of his head before he doubled over in laughter, "That would have been hilarious! I definitely would have told you if it was an old lady. Unfortunately it was Jenny. Not funny, just awkward. "
"But . . . she looks like a model," Lucy looked at him with her face twisted in confused.
Natsu closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. "I don't know what that has to do with anything," he said softly. "She's not you Lucy. That's all that matters to me."
Lucy started sobbing into his shoulder; Natsu pulled her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "Why are you crying now?"
"I just don't know if I can do this! A woman whispered to you and I accused you of sleeping with her!" She looked up at him, her lip still quivering. "You don't deserve that Natsu; you deserve someone who can trust you. Why am I such a mess?"
"Lucy, it's okay. You can't ignore the fact that someone you cared about deeply hurt you. I know I can't expect you to be able to trust me one hundred percent right off the bat, but I'm willing to stick around until you can. I just need you to talk to me when you're upset about something." Unable to help himself he added, "Drinking with Cana is never the best way to handle your doubts."
"Tell me about, I still feel awful," Lucy pouted.
"Speaking of which, I would definitely brush your teeth before we go . . ."
Lucy threw her hands over her mouth. "I didn't!"
"You don't remember crawling on your hands and knees to the bathroom this morning?" Natsu's grin widened.
Lucy's eyes became big as saucers, "No, I didn't!"
Natsu put his lips next to her ear and murmured, "Or purring into my throat at the bar last night?" When she squeaked in dismay, he pulled away and laughed, "I'm starting to think drinking turns you into some sort of perverted cat. You were such a weirdo last night."
"Natsu!" she whined, exasperated with his teasing. Lucy shoved him lightly and ran to the bathroom to remedy her breath, grabbing the clothes on the way.
Natsu breathed a sigh of relief and helped himself to the freshly brewed coffee. He took a sip and then set about cleaning up the mess of grounds on the counter.