Phoenix

The Problem

"My, you were right. She's burning up. Perhaps a fever?"

"Ar...thur."

The doctor turned to Laxus and gave a knowing smile before mentioning, "I think she's calling for you. You better come here."

"My name's not Arthur, doc."

"Oh," the doctor looked down and chuckled nervously, "well that puts me in an awkward situation."

Laxus raised an eyebrow at the doctor before it clicked in his head. He huffed before explaining that they weren't in a relationship and that he shouldn't worry. The doctor breathed out in relief before trying to help Emi's fever.

"Say, has she gone through any stressful situations lately?"

"Like what?"

"Well it could be anything from being outside for too long to something like an emotional tragedy like death. Did anything happen lately?"

"Not that I know of. We've been traveling for a long time, and there's been no deaths."

"I see. I believe that the constant movement might have weakened her immune system incredibly. How often do you travel?"

"...Every day."

"Do you do an overwhelming amount of walking?"

Laxus stayed silent. The doctor nodded in understanding.

"You two should really consider cutting down on how much you travel on foot. Perhaps a carriage or train ride would suit you better right now. By the looks of it, she will probably be sick for a while until her body recovers from all the strenuous activity. I would suggest staying in one place for a while."

The doctor left, leaving Laxus to stare at the ground. He looked over to Emi's shaking form and noticed the sweat dripping from her forehead. He felt guilty. Anyone could probably see that from looking at his face. He placed a wet cloth on her forehead and sat beside her in a chair.

"Don't get too sick, okay brat? I don't feel like getting murdered."

He felt a weight on his hand and saw that Emi had reached over to him. He whipped his hand back as he hissed at the burning sensation. Emi's hand grasped at air before falling back onto the sheets.

"Just be okay."

---------------------------------------------

It had been a week since Emi had fallen ill, and she showed minimal signs of recovery. She was able to sit up, but she would fall whenever she tried to walk. Laxus kept disappearing during the day. Emi assumed it was for some jobs that he was able to find in the town. Emi's immune system was very weak, and she had caught a cold on top of her condition.

Laxus opened the door to the room and stepped inside.

"Let's go."

"But the doctor said--"

"I don't care. Come on, I'll even carry you."

Emi smiled weakly at the dragon slayer before forcing herself to sit up on the bed. Laxus carefully placed her on his back and held her legs so she wouldn't fall. They started walking towards the forest, causing Emi to sigh.

"Where are we going now? Are we still headed to Shirotsume?"

"You'll see."

They walked in silence before Emi realized something and spoke, "Wait. Isn't the road that way?"

Laxus remained silent as he continued walking. They eventually came to a clearing in the forest.

Emi had fallen asleep by this point, her ragged breaths against his neck.

"Hey that's your house!" Natsu shouted.

"Brat, you okay?"

Emi shifted in her sleep and weakly raised her head before stuttering out, "I'll be fine. Where...are we? I've never seen this place before."

Laxus smirked and responded, "Good. That's the point. We'll be safe here."

"What...are you talking about?" Emi asked before she started coughing.

Laxus looked over his shoulder in concern before he continued towards the house that was sitting in the clearing. Emi looked around, her eyes feeling heavy. She went to speak, but Laxus beat her to it.

"It certainly wasn't cheap, but I think that it's gonna work."

Emi's eyes landed on the house and stared at it for a minute before she seemed to understand.

"So this is..."

"Welcome home, I guess."

A bright smile appeared on Emi's face as she jumped off Laxus and immediately started to look through the windows.

"Holy shit. It's so big!"

Laxus's eyes twitched as he watched the girl move like she wasn't ill at all.

"Did you seriously fake your weakness today so that I would carry you?"

"Laxus, look at it! Isn't it great?"

He went to scold her, but she had quickly fallen to her knees and started coughing. Laxus's eyes widened and rushed over to her once again after he saw blood.

"I'm okay," Emi spoke, trying to convince him that he didn't need to worry.

He went over to the front door and unlocked it before picking her up again and walking inside.

"Hey," Emi weakly joked, "you're not supposed to carry me over the threshold like this until we're married."

"Shut up."