Author's Note: 12/20/2016 YOOOO Waddup. Okay so hi guys. Last time I updated I was ending my freshman year in highschool. Now I'm in the middle of the junior year. I'd like to thank those who had followed through with this story. Enjoy this long awaited chapter haha.
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and It's characters belong to Hiro Mashima
Chapter Fourteen
Weeks passed and days went on, leaving an agonizing feeling within Natsu's chest. He felt eager to know the date of Lucy's surgery date, but he remembered what happened when he asked Lucy.
The two were hanging out at the Dragneel household, playing video games along with Wendy, the Friday of the same week. When Lucy snuck into the kitchen to search for snacks, Natsu had followed behind. Lucy poked her head into a cabinet and dug around inside. Unbeknownst to her, Natsu stood right behind her, ready to scare her.
After she had found the perfect thing to munch on - a bag of Doritos - , she turned around to face a mischievous grin. Her heart nearly popped out of her chest due to shock. Natsu broke into laughter, while the blonde pouted on. She spun on her heel to leave, then she was stopped.
Even though he was still in mid-laughter, he caught her shoulder and made her face him. Natsu's face was close to hers and he was still chuckling under his breath. Not even an inch away...
"Your face is suddenly red." He asked while feeling slight heat rise to his own face. "I probably made you upset."
The blonde stayed silent, but her facial expressions showed no signs of anger. He dismissed any reasonable thoughts to the change of color in her face and continued to pester her.
"Anyways, I want to ask you something important."
She tilted her head to the side and motioned with her hand to tell him to continue.
"When's your surgery date?"
Lucy held her index finger to her lips lightly and made a "shh" sound to indicate a secret. Then slid out of the kitchen to rejoin Wendy.
And that frustrated the hell out of him.
It was now Wednesday, May 21st and he was still very frustrated about not knowing the date of her big event.
Natsu busied himself with homework, until his phone beeped. It was a text from Lucy.
From: Lucy
To: Me
I'm not going to school tomorrow. Tomorrow's my surgery.
He held his phone in his hands, fingers hovering over the keys. The words he wanted to convey wouldn't come up correctly every time he typed. His hands began to feel sweaty and he eventually decided on not replying. However, after 23 minutes of mental contemplation, Natsu decided to stick with a reply.
From: Me
To: Lucy
What time?
From: Lucy
To: Me
I'm scheduled to be operated at one pm. It's a minor surgery, but the anesthesia will make me sleepy for the rest of the day.
From: Me
To: Lucy
Oh. I see.. When can you leave?
From: Lucy
To: Me
I'll be able to leave when the stitches are more secure and the doctor checks my voice.
You'll visit right?
From: Me
To: Lucy
Of course.
The following morning Natsu woke up earlier than usual. With the school not being far away nor so close by, the teenager usually woke up at 6:30. However, it was only 5:30 and the sun still hasn't gone up. In a haste, he put on jeans and threw on a red jacket over the black tee shirt he had slept in. Natsu snuck past the room of his sleeping sister and to the bathroom. While the male would usually gel those pesky frontal bangs back, it seems his bed head did the trick for him. All there was left to do was to wash his face and to brush his teeth.
In the kitchen, Natsu prepared Wendy breakfast and a note: "Went ahead of ya really early. Have a good day! Love ya sis!" After grabbing his scarf and car keys, the teenager headed for the Heartfilia residence.
Jude Heartfilia was rudely awoken to the sound of the doorbell ringing. Clad only in his pajamas and a bathrobe, the man stumbled down the stairs to the front door. He peered through the peephole and saw familiar pink hair. Still quite tired, Jude opened the door.
"Good mornin', Mr. H!" The teenager chirped. Jude groaned and walked away from the door. Natsu followed the elderly man into the kitchen. He sat in a stool at the kitchen counter and watched Jude make coffee.
"Good lord, why on earth are you here at this hour? It's 6 in the morning. Shouldn't you be just waking up?" Jude asked as he served a cup of Joe to the pink haired male. In reply, he showed a cheeky grin while holding a plastic bag containing a lunchbox.
"Enter quietly. She's still sleeping."
"Thanks!"
Jude stood behind the counter, mug in hand, as he watched his daughter's companion hop up the stairs. The elder let a sigh escape his lips. He sipped his coffee and looked at the picture of him and his late wife nostalgically.
"Teenagers..."
His firm hand gripped the doorknob and entered Lucy's bedroom. The painted walls were dimmed eerily due to the seeping sunlight coming through the closed blinds. Natsu peered at the bedroom's typical tidiness, how everything was tucked away or placed in a certain way so it would fit perfectly in a certain crevice. However, the tidiness stopped at the bed.
The girl herself wasn't as proper looking in her sleep. Her body huddled itself in a corner of her bed with the furry comforter over her chest, but left her arms bare. She laid on her side while her legs were gathered to her chest. Blonde locks were strewn about the pillows and some pieces covered her face. Her eyebrows were slightly drawn together and her lips in a set line. She looked serious, but serene. Although with the string of drool falling out, it almost made Natsu to chuckle.
The male pulled out the chair from the desk and set it beside the desk. He placed the plastic bag on the nightstand that held her diary within. Slowly, he bent over Lucy's sleeping form and outstretched an arm to wake her. Grasping her shoulder, he whispered, "Hey, Luce."
She muffled a groan.
"Psst. Wakey wakey."
She shook off the hand holding her shoulder and moved the covers higher to block out Natsu. He let out a sigh. Natsu tried to remember a trick to wake up Sleeping Beauty that Levy taught him once. In the firmest voice he mustered up, he said,
"Lucy."
With that command, she shot up. The covers fell off her wrapped form and revealed her pajamas, an oversized band shirt and fluffy pants. Lucy's face had attentiveness written all over. This time Natsu actually laughed. However, Lucy chucked a pillow at him. As he laughed, Lucy pulled the blanket to cover her cold arms.
"I came by to say good morning and have breakfast with you, but no, I get pillowed." The male teased while seating himself in the chair. In reply, Lucy pouted and began to search for something in the covers of her bed. She pulled out her phone from the covers and began to type.
Sorry sorry. Good morning!
Natsu smiled at her. Then she started flailing her arms and pulled the covers over her face. Seconds later, her phone came out of the sheets.
Wait go outside so I can change a bit. I look gross.
As her hand backed away to return to the underneath of the covers, Natsu grabbed her slim wrist. He reached up to remove the blanket that covered her face.
It was so funny to see her so different looking. Whenever they were hanging out, Lucy was so beautiful looking. So proper and pristine. Her clothes were never wrinkled compared to his own and she never looked messy. But here he was, looking at her with all of her elegance put away.
Natsu's already present smile grew from ear to ear. He ruffled her hair and stood up to grab the food he had prepared. Lucy groaned like a corpse in response.
"You're too harsh on yourself, you know. Everyone looks a little messy in the morning, but you still look good. Totally rockin' that bedhead, Luce." Natsu sat down back in the chair as he continued to lecture. He opened up the container that he opened and revealed four, medium sized blueberry muffins. "It's homemade."
Lucy scooted herself near Natsu to look at the food in the container. She made a slight "O" shape with her mouth. The blonde looked up with a puzzled look and pointed at herself. In reply, he rolled his eyes and simply pushed the container towards her. When she bit into the muffin, her doe eyes widened.
"S-so goo-d. W-wenn-dy m-mak-e?" Crumbs spilled as she grumbled out.
"Nah, I did." Natsu swelled with pride when she gave him a thumbs up and continued to eat.
"Wait a minute. Hold still." Lucy's body tensed as Natsu leaned towards to her. His cold fingers brushed against her cheekbone, causing a shudder to run down her spine. Then she felt at ease with his hand comfortably cupping her face. His thumb grazed the area near her upper lip.
"You have crumbs." Natsu chuckled. His cool touch left her face, leaving Lucy slightly displeased. It must of shown on her face because Natsu looked at her worriedly. Lucy just brushed it off with a question.
Don't you have school today?
"Yeah I do, but I don't have to leave yet. My phone alarm hasn't-" Natsu's sentence was cut off by the sound of his alarm playing. 7:10, it read. "Now I do."
As Natsu stood up to leave, Lucy grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. She showed him her phone.
I can walk you out.
"I can manage. And we'll visit. See ya."He replied. The teenager moved away from the bed and out the bedroom. Lucy sat in her bed, slumped against the pillow and muffins in lap. She sat up and put the three remaining muffins on the night stand.
Suddenly, the door opened again and Natsu entered hesitantly. He went to the side of her bed again and hovered over her. Natsu's hands once again found their way to cup her face. The male's face was pink as he closed up the gap between their faces. Then he planted a gentle kiss on her left cheek, the right, and then her forehead. His hands released her faced and walked towards the door again. But he stopped in the door frame and turned around tentatively.
"That was the kiss my mom gave me when I was a kid. She'd give it before something "major" happened, like a school play. Uh, good luck, Luce." He said and disappeared once again.
As she heard his footsteps go down the stairs, Lucy pulled the covers to her face and slumped into the comfy mattress. She just couldn't help but smile as she drifted off to sleep once more.
7:20 AM
The group stood around a big tree beside the math department before the school bell rang to begin the school day. It was around fifteen minutes before the would ring and everyone was already complaining on how they could already feel the warm air. However, in the group filled with Gajeel, Juvia, Cana, Lisanna, Levy, Erza, Loke, Gray, and newcomer, Jellal, there was a certain pair missing. Lucy had already informed everyone of her surgery schedule and was wished luck by her friends. Although considering the fact Natsu was usually the first out of everyone to show up at school, it was a bit weird. His tardiness didn't last long though.
The lad was practically skipping when he showed up on campus. His cheeks were all rosy and his ever-present smile was brighter than before. Everyone gave him skeptical looks, to which he ignored delightfully. Erza crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at him.
"You're awfully giddy this morning." She said.
"Indeed, I am." Natsu hummed.
"Well?"
"I just payed Lucy a little visit. Just to drop by."
As the last words fell from his mouth, scoffing or muttering emitted from the group. Then the bell rang.
8:00 AM
Only thirty minutes into the school time and he couldn't wait to go home already. Natsu stared at his history teacher, who was thundering about how great Shakespeare was and how Romeo and Juliet was the best love story in time. But that was absolutely irrelevant to his own grade and the class itself. His fellow classmates looked at the teacher with dull expressions. Seven more hours.. He thought. Just seven.
9:15 AM
Lucy had hit the snooze button for what had felt like the millionth time. With her eyes half closed, she yanked the cord by her bed and opened up the blinds. Sunlight flooded the art gallery that was her bedroom. As the blonde sat up in bed, she recalled the dream she had of Natsu visiting her before her surgery. He had even given her breakfast and good luck kisses. But when she shifted her gaze to the closed muffin container on her nightstand, she realized his visit wasn't just a dream.
Lucy stumbled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her blonde hair didn't cascade down her shoulders as they usually would, but her hair was pulled up into some sort of lazily made ponytail at the top of her head. A bead of sweat ran down her temple as she wondered if she had looked like this when Natsu was present. The thought left as quick as it came and was replaced by another thought. Lucy smiled wide at herself and gave her reflection a thumbs up. Alright! Let's have the best day and hopefully a successful surgery!
10:05 AM.
Mathematics class frustrated Natsu in every single way. It wasn't that he was bad in calculus or anything. In fact, he held a ranking for top five in the class grades. He just found the subject easy and not challenging. It was another uneventful class to him.
Meanwhile, Gray stared at him across the room with his jaw on the desk. He couldn't help, but wonder how could Natsu already be finished the book work that was assigned only moments ago. Natsu's head was resting above the desk and faced downwards with his arms shielding him from the room's light. All Gray could see was Natsu's salmon hair and translucent thoughts of Lucy.
10:45 A.M.
The living room was usually quiet in the morning. However, the slight murmur from the television interrupted that cycle. When Lucy crept down stairs after preparing herself, she had found her dad asleep on the couch with Birdman playing on the T.V.
Instead of waking up the elder, she went straight into the kitchen and prepared her dad breakfast. She recalled seeing a half empty mug of coffee on the table beside the couch, so she didn't bother making another cup. After cooking, the blonde sat next to her father on the couch and woke him. He woke up with a startle and the bags under his eyes seemed to droop further downwards.
However when Jude saw the breakfast prepared, — three pancakes, stacked them neatly, and drizzled it with syrup— his stern look turned cheerful. He took the plate into his lap and cut out the first piece of pancake. Jude lifted the fork into the air like a warrior's sword in midst battle and bellowed,
"For the success of my only daughter's operation!"
12:00 P.M.
Psychology was the class he looked forwarded to the most. Natsu felt like happy receiving information about things he didn't understand, in other words, emotions of other people. He couldn't really read anyone as well as Lucy or Erza could. But today was one of those days where his focus for anything had disappeared. Mrs. Smith's rambling about the types of anger was empty static in Natsu's ears. The only thing he heard was his own thoughts.
Onyx eyes stared at the clock and time never went any slower. He felt worried and he couldn't understand why or what made him feel this way. Lucy was only undergoing a minor surgery, so why did he feel so affected? Natsu's head ached to know what he wanted.
Then it came to him like a baseball to the mitt.
He needed to tell Lucy.
12:45 P.M.
The hospital wasn't the most comforting place to be for Lucy. The halls offered a lonely feeling along with the strong aroma of medication. This combination would typically give Lucy a deep feeling of sadness as she would be reminded of her late mother. Her head would be filled with the memory of herself in the stretcher beside her mom being rushed to the emergency room. She remembered how the glass was stuck in her mom's beautiful features, how the doctor had told her dad and her that Layla wouldn't make it, and how they had covered her body in the white blanket after her passing. Yet, Lucy was able to sit in the waiting room with her dad along with those memories pushed aside.
The blonde girl fiddled with her thumbs as a way to release her building energy. Lucy no longer felt the anxiety that she had carried for almost a month, but newfound excitement. It had been so long since she had heard her own voice, and she would have forgotten how it would sound if it weren't for the home videos. Thoughts of what she might sound like with her new voice filled her head. Would she sound overly high pitched? Or would it sound somewhat deep and monotonous?
"Ms. Lucy Heartfilia?" Lucy looked up at the nurse who had called. "Are you ready?"
As she stood up to go, her father clamped down a hand on Lucy's shoulder. Jude drew her in for a hug and sent her off with a pat on the back.
It's time.
Waiting Game
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