Nursing Natsu

Chapter 15

"Oww.." Gosh.. My back hurts so bad... How long has it been this tense? "Sorry." Natsu sympathized, cautiously pulling Lucy up from her window onto the roof. He wrapped his arm around her lower torso as reassurance and guided her to the peak of the shingles. "You good?" "Yea.. I think so.." Lucy shrugged as Natsu let go. Really.. What is wrong with my back.. Lucy groaned silently in pain as she pressed her fingers into the small of her lower back. "Your back okay?" "Huh?." Lucy snapped up to see Natsu crouching then sliding to prop himself against her chimney, "Did ya hurt it?" "I... I don't know..." Lucy felt along the tense muscle once more, but this time mostly in deep thought. This is it.. My time to ask him everything.. To finally have my questions answered.. So why can't I speak?.... "Hey, are you okay?" Natsu leaned slightly in the direction of Lucy's gaze in attempt to get her attention. She croaked, and being flustered she refused to meet his gaze as she turned to admire the moon fresh from the sky's nursery. It's night.. I didn't even notice.. Seemed like the sun was still full of life as I was walking back from the guild.. But here it is.. The moon.. In all it's glory.. Lucy began to tear up a little. ".. Luce?.." Came a concerned voice. The sky is so calm... The tides and even the people seem so mellow.. So relaxed.. So why is it that i'm so anxious?.. So panicked?.. Could it be that... "Lucy." she heard as the hand she trusted most grasped her wrist, and whose owner stole her glance. ..I'm afraid?.. A tear broke free, and Natsu immediantly engulfed her delicate face in his tense hands. "Luce.. Hey.. What're you cryin' for?"
His tone was more smooth than the abyss of the sky itself, and his thumbs were even more so as they effortlessly wiped away her fallen tears. "... Natsu..." was all she could manage. "I'm here." he rapped his hands around the back of her neck and gently nudged her to fall into him. " So please, talk to me." I missed this so much.. Even though it only happened once.. Not even that long ago.. Lucy eased her breathing as she laid sprawled against Natsu's familar torso. I could lay like this forever.. Natsu...... She smiled slightly, until realizing that he hadn't said a word. I can't.. Even if what i'm about to yolk from him could ruin what he's come to trust from me.. I can't just lay here... It took Lucy every force within herself to pry from what she considered to be her eternal salvation. She sat back on her heels as they supported her from either side of the roof, "Natsu." She glanced up in hidden defeat. "What happened to you."
A few minutes, long and agonizing, she waited as he used the full moon as Lucy did, to bid out time. Careful not to disturb any mental progress he was hopefully making, she simply stared. His gaze was unforgiving, jaw was set in stone, his hair seemed to fall perfectly, since it blocked the remaining pieces that Lucy needed to complete her puzzle. She didn't mind. Despite the fact that she was about to get some answers, all she could do is stare. Natsu.. I know you don't see these kinds of things but.. Does the night ever keep you awake? Does it just stay so silent that you can't help but think? And think..... And think..... She fell into his gaze, both figuritively and literally. She blushed at the sudden contact before he closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't reopen them after.
" I guess there's no keeping this away from you." He chuckled slightly, "About three years ago, Happy and I were keeping tabs on the dark guilds in the area, like at the bar and places like that. We were looking for trouble but, apparently trouble found us." He paused to swallow," A bartender, one who we had never seen before, pulled us into the back alley, and well. He said I reminded him alot of someone he knew." Natsu's face tensed as he bared his teeth in complete disgust, " He said that he knew my father." No way.... "He knew Igneel?" Lucy unintentionally blurted. "Not Igneel." Natsu breathed, almost in annoyance. It took Lucy several minutes to piece this together. Not Igneel?.. But that's Natsu's father.. The one who raised him.. Taught him everything............ Lucy glanced up shyly at Natsu, to find he had been watching her for awhile. Lucy pieced her thoughts carefully, "When you were little.. Igneel found you.. But before that............ Natsu.... Did you...." "Yea, I met my real.. Father." Natsu cringed in frustration. With that reaction.. It couldn't have been good... Lucy looked up at Natsu once more, only with a pleading face as if to say "continue?" Natsu drew a breath through his nose and turned to once again admire the moon, "So we followed his instruction, Happy put us on a train to hell knows where, I was busy trying to kill myself with all the god damn motion. But we arrived at the village, it was pretty small and out of the way, lots of trees and wildlife. And then Happy led us with a map the old guy at the bar had given him. And..." Natsu began to battle with himself to continue, "He was there." Natsu didn't say anything else. I can't believe.. He actually... "You met him.... And what was he like?" Lucy asked encouragingly.
".. Worse than any dark guild we've clashed with." They both sat in silence, Lucy's gaze lazily fell to the shingles, she thought about how strong they were and how much they must have endured over the years. How they reminded her of Natsu, solid and sturdy, but crack under the right pressure. Hoping to change the tone, Lucy asked another question, "What happened to you.. Natsu?" Lucy glanced at his wound, which appeared to be doing a little better. Natsu simply stared into the abyss of nothing. Until," I asked him a few things, what happened to me, where mom was, and he... He just........" Natsu's lip trembled slightly before growing tight from his livid baring teeth, " He said I was a mistake, that I should never have been born, he didn't want a son, that asshole didn't faze me though, even as he beat me to a pulp, but then.." Natsu gulped his dry throat' ".. He blamed it on my mother. How it was her fault. And she had died a few years after I was born....... And... I think.... I think..." Natsu grew incredibly tense, "I think that bastard killed her." Natsu growled in deep disgust, voice echoed deeply, breath grew ragged, he had clutched his hand to his face and began to hyperventilate from pure madness, raging heartless hatred. Natsu hey..... This isn't isn't like you.... You're... Lucy carefully rested a hand on his shoulder, he tensed, and his hand slowly retreated from his face, he wore an expression as if he had just killed a man. You're scaring me.. The only difference was that his breathing had calmed down slightly. Lucy shifted forward inbetween his bent spread legs and corked her head to fit up into his deadpanned gaze. Natsu... I'm so sorry... You don't realize how much it pains me to see you like this.. I can't believe a father could be so ungrateful for what he was blessed with.. I would complain but my father can't compare.. I can't believe someone as wonderful and amazing as you could arise from such blasphemy... I'm sure your mother loved you very much... Just because that piece of shit never appreciated you doesn't mean that there aren't others that love you now... Happy and Erza and hell even Gray.. The entire guild loves you and so do I..... I.... I love you.... Natsu...... Is what she wanted to say, but all she could manage was a pitiful smile and a tear-stained face. Somewhere in her mental confession she had cupped her delicate hand around a small majority of his upper-jaw. The tables turned as Lucy tamed the wild beast, Natsu stared down at her confused, and a bit concerned at her sudden state, "Luce.. What's the matter?.. Is it something I said?" Lucy began to bawl into the rooftop,"Idiot..." she soaked. "Did you just.... Call me an idiot?!" Natsu got slightly offended. Lucy just cried more, her tears trailing either side of the roof in small streams. ".." Natsu gently pulled at her forearms and she weakly fell into his shoulder. "Natsu.... I....." Lucy sobbed harder into his comfort, he had pulled her to perfectly conform to his body, and caressed her back. She didn't know how, but she could've sworn she felt a small smile control his face, not his usual million dollar grin, but just a smile, a smile that melted her. "Hey, Lucy, thank you, you mean the world to me, I hope you know that." He hugged her and stroked her hair as she cried herself out. A fading whisper reached her, "Don't you dare pity me." Lucy felt Natsu's tough yet gentle fingers calm her doubts, " I'm just fine as long as I have my partner."
Seems like they had spent hours on that roof, the moon was now overhead and the air grew colder, it nipped at Lucy's skin and made her shiver, Natsu held her closer. Natsu, why the hell are you like this.. I'm okay.. Really.. I just.. "Missed you..." she whispered. Natsu chuckled slightly, "So you finally woke up huh?" Did I.. Say that out loud?.. Crap...... And what is he talking about?.. I didn't fall asleep.... Did I?... As if to read her mind Natsu responded, "You passed out after crying for awhile, you should really get some more sleep, you need it." Natsu hummed petting her silky blonde hair. "Vanilla.." Vanilla...? Lucy jumped back in a jolt, nearly breaking Natsu's nose, "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
"Why were you smelling me you weirdo!?"
"You smell nice?? What's the point of smelling good if there's no one to smell it?!"
"I smell good because I like to keep clean!"
"Well you aren't very clean now!"
"...eh?"
Lucy looked down and admired the sweaty mess that resembled herself, the only items remaining in tact were her clothes and hair.
"WELL... Y.. YOU...!.."
"SHUT UP! I'M TRYIN TO SLEEP!" came a distant echo. They stared at each other and burst out laughing. Natsu chuckled, "Geez, look what you did Lucy." Lucy joked and got in his face, "Oh what I did? You're the one who was a perv and decided to smell me." Lucy giggled. "Well.. I mean.. You do.. Smell nice.." Natsu pouted slightly "Hm?" Lucy looked up curiously, Natsu had a slight blush across his cheeks, and he leaned back seeming a little uncomfortable at the lack of space, as he glanced down at her with wide deep-green eyes. He looked unbelievably hot. Shit.. What're you doing Lucy... Lucy smiled at the roof and backed up as she blushed deeply in embarrasment. "Haha.. Sorry I uh..." Lucy flustered with her words as she slowly scooted away, which Natsu didn't allow as he stopped her with a gentle grip on her shoulder. "I um...." She looked up innocently and tearing up slightly, "I'm so-" she froze as Natsu leaned his forehead against her's, "Luce, don't be sorry." For somereason, his serious expression didn't seem to match the energy in his eyes as they stared into hers leisurely. Stop it Natsu.... You teasing me like this... I can't take it....... "..but.... I...." "Don't." He shut his eyes and smiled. Lucy breathed unsteadily. "Natsu... I...- " Natsu rolled his forehead down her's and embraced her, gently, slowly, passionately. His defyingly tough lips melted into hers as he suckled on the sweet smell and taste of vanilla. He kissed her, and at last, Lucy was able to breathe.