A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with this bad boy. It's been a while, so I thought I should ease my way back into things with a... softer entry. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Minutes turned into hours.

Hours turned into days.

Days turned into weeks.

She opened her eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling for a long time, before slowly rising out of bed. Her eyes drifted throughout the room before landing on the calendar- each day he'd been gone was crossed out with a red 'X'. Upon further study, she realized that today made it three weeks since he'd been gone- that meant twenty-one days, five hundred and four hours, thirty thousand, two hundred and forty minutes.

Well, more like thirty thousand, two hundred and forty-one minutes now.

She frowned. No wonder she was feeling his absence today.

With a sigh, she walked into the bathroom and began to fill up the tub. She would deal with it the way she always did- by stepping into a hot bath and letting her problems evaporate off her like the steam from the water. Within minutes, the tub was full, and she removed her top and underwear before stepping into the steaming water, barely flinching at the heat. Once she was fully inside, she submerged herself in the water for a long moment before coming up for air and smoothing her hair out of her eyes.

She let herself sit in the bath for a long time, her thoughts scattered and unfocused. Time seemed to be moving so slowly and quickly at the same time- three weeks had already flown by, yet every day within those weeks had been an absolute chore to get through. "I should have brought a book in here," she said aloud, then sighed. How much time had she wasted in here? Was it even a waste if she wasn't doing anything else? She didn't know, but more importantly, she didn't know if she cared.

With another heavy sigh, she decided it was time to get out. She sluggishly rose from the bath and drained the water before wrapping herself in a towel. That dreaded creeping feeling of boredom rose in her chest- maybe a little writing would help. She dried off, pulled on a simple top and a pair of underwear, just like before, then settled in to start writing.

She had just placed her pen on the page when the door barged open.

"Lucy?"

She immediately rose to her feet and rushed to meet him. Finally, he was back. He let his things fall to the floor as he examined the bandages on his side and winced after touching them experimentally, before looking up and giving her a boyish grin. She rushed forward and pulled him into a tight hug, refusing to let go even when she heard his pained groan.

"Lucy, that hurts," he complained, and she slowly pulled away. "I'm sorry," she said, a giddy feeling beginning to fill up her chest. "I just missed you." He laughed a little. "Me too, Lucy."

She looked him over, and stared at the copious amount of bandages on the side of his chest before looking up at him and asking, "What... happened?" She reached out and ghosted her hand over his side, and he flinched. "Nothing much. I almost got stabbed, hence the bandaging." She looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Well, don't be so casual about it," she replied, and he shrugged. "It's no big deal."

She chuckled despite herself. "Maybe to you," she replied, then gently nudged him in the direction of the sofa. "Go sit down. I need to clean it." She walked off to get fresh bandages and antiseptic when he said, "Wait what? Why? It's fine!"

"How long have you been hurt?" she replied, and he paused. "I don't know, maybe a few days?" She shook her head and sighed. "That's not good, Natsu," she replied. "You could have an infection." She threw some antibacterial ointment and gloves onto her pile, gathered the supplies, and sat next to him on the sofa.

"Okay, let's see," she murmured as she pulled on the gloves, then leaned over and slowly peeled off the used bandages. He hissed in pain, and she looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I'll be really fast, I promise." Once she was done, she examined the skin carefully. It wasn't oozing anything, and she sighed in relief. "You got really close, Natsu. I'm gonna wash it out, put some antibacterial ointment on it, and put fresh bandages, okay?" He nodded and took a deep breath. "Alright."

She worked quickly, trying to minimize his discomfort as much as possible. She washed out the wound with antiseptic, frantically apologetic with every pained groan he let out, then applied ointment, before quickly and carefully bandaging it. She gathered the wrappers and used bandages and put them in the trash before removing her gloves and shoving those into the trash as well. She then washed her hands and dried them off before plopping herself next to him.

He gathered her into a hug, and she squeezed him tightly as they held each other. "Does this hurt?" she breathed, and he nodded. "Yeah, a lot, actually. But it's fine. You literally made me feel better." She pulled away and peered at him with a grin. "You made my day when you walked through the door," she murmured, and he smiled a little. "That's good to hear," he responded. She laughed and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"What? Why? It's still light out," he protested, though he allowed her to lead him to their room. "Because I've been sleeping alone in an empty bed for three weeks, Natsu. It's been lonely," she replied, trying to disguise the creeping sadness she felt with a playful smile. "If I'd known, I would have come with you. Maybe you wouldn't have been so reckless."

He gazed into her eyes for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry you were alone. And I wasn't being reckless." She smiled and reached up to touch his face gently. "I'm not anymore," she replied, then smirked and said, "And you're always reckless." He made a face at her and she stuck out her tongue at him in response. "Come on, let's just talk," she said, and she took his hand and squeezed it lightly. "We don't have to sleep. I just want to be with you, like old times."

"Like old times?" he responded. "It's been only three-" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. He sighed and said, "Okay, okay, fine, you win." She let out a gleeful giggle. "Okay, let's go." She tugged on his arm, and when he grunted in pain, she gasped and said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," he said, his voice strained as he gripped his side. "Maybe if you had come, this wouldn't have happened." She shrugged and said, "Maybe, maybe not. But we shouldn't worry about that now. Let's go."

He began to detail the happenings of his mission, including all the stupid mistakes he'd made and the ridiculous comments his teammates made about them. "Yikes," she said as she flopped onto the bed and blew her hair out of her eyes. "It doesn't sound like it was a lot of fun." He shook his head as he tossed his clothes aside and changed into fresh pants. "No. In fact, it was uneventful until, well, this." He gestured vaguely at his chest, and she looked over at him. "Well, I'm glad you were safe," she responded. "That's all I care about."

He flopped onto the bed beside her, then cursed. "That was a mistake," he whispered, and she sat up. "Will you really be okay?" she asked, concerned. He nodded but didn't move. "I'll be fine. As long as I don't move." She laughed and said, "We both know that's impossible." He eyed her and said, "Come on, have a little faith." She grinned at him. "I'll start having faith when you prove me wrong." She patted the space next to her and said, "Come on." His eyes flicked between her and the empty spot next to her, then he let out an exaggerated sigh and said, "The things I do for you..." She chuckled. "I'm trying to help you here," she reminded him, and he conceded with a nod. "Good point."

She leaned over to lay in his lap and closed her eyes as his hands worked through her hair gently. "So what'd you do while I was gone?" he asked, and she shrugged. "I hung out a lot with a lot of people. Went to events, parties, all that. It got super repetitive and boring, you know? And it didn't help that literally everyone I wanted to hang out with decided to go on a spontaneous weeklong trip to the beach."

"Without you?" he asked, and she nodded. "I didn't know they left until a few days after they were gone. So I was just here, doing stuff." She purposely downplayed the reality of being completely and totally alone- she didn't want him to worry about her more than he already did.

"Lucy..." he murmured, and she closed her eyes and sighed. Unfortunately, it seemed he'd already noticed. "It's fine," she said quickly. "Besides, you're back now, right? So we can make up for lost time." His hands paused in her hair for a moment, then he said, "You're right." He then abruptly yawned, and she looked up at him. "What happened to it 'still being light out'?" she asked, and he shrugged. "It is what it is, I guess. I guess I must've gone harder than I thought." She sat up and tossed the sheets aside before slinking into bed. He followed suit, and she whispered, "I missed you. So much." He leaned over and pulled her into a hug, before pressing his lips against hers gently. "I missed you too. And I know you're lying about how you really felt."

She gave him a small smile. "I didn't think you'd notice," she said, and he sighed. "We've been together for a while. I can tell when you're not being honest." She locked eyes with him and said, "I know. But I can tell you about that another time, okay?" He observed her for a long moment, before yawning widely. "Okay. But another time has to be tomorrow." She nodded. "Okay."

She didn't know when she slipped into sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she scanned the dark room slowly, taking note of the moonlight that cascaded through the window before noticing the arm that was draped almost protectively over her waist.

He was back. Finally.

The thought filled her with giddiness, and she beamed brightly. His skin was warm against hers, and she carefully intertwined her fingers with his, wincing slightly when he twitched and his arm tightened around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she asked with a quiet chuckle, then continued, "No. Well, yes, but no. I can't sleep. I'm just... thinking." She paused, then said, "I didn't mean to wake you up, by the way."

"It's fine," he replied gently. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, and she shrugged as she turned to look at him. "Mostly about you... and me. And us." Her thumb rubbed against his knuckles gently. "It's not important. I was just looking for an excuse to hear your voice again."

He laughed lightly. "But you hear it all the time." She gave him a small smile. "I know."

She watched his eyes flutter shut for just a moment, then slowly reopen again. "Wait, is that my shirt?" he murmured, and she glanced down at it and nodded. "Mmhmm. Why do you ask?"

"You always steal my clothes," he whispered, and she grinned brightly. "Well, that's because they look better on me than you." He laughed aloud, then said, "Go to bed before I perform my pelvic sorcery on you and make you go to bed."

It was her turn to laugh. "You're not doing any type of pelvic sorcery with that injury." He nodded as his eyes drifted closed. "You're right," he yawned and pulled her closer. "Go to sleep, Luce," he whispered, and she hummed. "Fine," she said finally. He let out a soft sigh, and she pressed her lips against his cheek.

"Will you sleep now?" he murmured, and she nodded. "Yeah, I will. We both need to rest up because tomorrow, I'll be performing my pelvic sorcery on you."

"Wait, what?" he asked, and she chuckled. "Go to sleep," she whispered, and he pressed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. "Will you sleep now?" she asked, smiling softly, and he nodded. "I love you," he murmured, and she opened her eyes to gaze into his amidst the darkness. "I love you too," she whispered. "And I'm glad you're back. And okay. Well, mostly okay."

He chuckled as she turned onto her side and he pulled her closer. "I'm glad to be back," he murmured into her skin, and she smiled but didn't say anything to him, eventually feeling his breathing even out.

Twenty-one days, five hundred and four hours, thirty thousand, two hundred and forty minutes. She smiled despite herself, silently promising herself that she would go with him next time. She'd spend those three weeks together with him.

I hoping and praying that this isn't the absolute worst thing I've written. I hope you liked it!