Happily Ever After~ (Fairy Tail)

#1: Sick (Natsu x Lucy)

Mama... are you here for me...? Mama... did you want to take care of me...? Mama... did you miss me...? Mama... I didn't know-

The aching in Lucy's head made it difficult for her to analyze her buzzing thoughts. She was just barely aware of the feeling of... soft, yet oddly still... sturdy... fingers running through her silky locks of blonde hair. At once, a wash of nostalgia rained over her heart as she remembered the way her mother would brush her fingers through her hair as a sign of affection- especially whenever she felt as unwell as she did now. Even if years had passed since then, the Celestial Spirit Mage could recall the way her mother's slender fingers brushed against her forehead to see if her eyes would flicker open from their touch. And when her eyes did flutter open to meet her matching ones, they would both giggle with happiness. It was a silly childish memory, but Lucy suddenly realized how much she actually missed her mother's warmth. Come to think of it, how exactly had her mother returned to her today?

Her eyelids were heavy; so heavy that they could only flutter open as... the fingers slipped across her forehead. Groggily flinching her exhaustion away, Lucy suddenly realized that she had no idea where she was. Flying up into a sitting position, her fingers reached for the pouch where her Celestial Spirit Keys were kept. But... they were gone. "My keys!" She cried out. Well, attempted to cry out. She sounded pathetically weak, if anything.

"Lucy! You're awake!" A familiar voice chuckled. At this, she couldn't help but recall her giggles childishly mixing with her mother's elegant ones once again. Her mother wasn't here. She felt her heart sinking. Of course she wasn't here. She was... gone. She had been for such a long time...

"N-Natsu?" Lucy groaned. "Where are w-" Recognizing the fabric touching her fingers, her eyes instantly widened as she stared at him. "Natsu, what did you do?!" Once again, her thoughts blew into a dangerous whirlwind of their own as she realized that not only was she seated on a bed- but she had been resting in one that wasn't even hers. It was in Natsu's house, of all places! Which could only mean that she was in his bed! (Because, after all, he probably couldn't afford another bed after wasting all of his money on food). And that could only mean one thing...

He held his hands up. "I didn't borrow any of those clothes Erza always ogles over in your drawers. Promise," He said, solemnly. Pausing for a moment, the salmon-haired young man continued. "They look kinda silly, anyway. Who'd want them? Except for maybe Erza." At these words, she couldn't help but reconsider her sudden mania. This was Natsu she was thinking about. Did he even know what it was? Lucy's heart instantly picked up its pace as she thought of the idea. As her arms outstretched themselves so she could hug herself for comfort, she realized that her clothes had been changed. This pink T-shirt definitely wasn't the same as the blue tank top she had been wearing earlier. Wait a second... did he change her clothes?

"Natsu, did you actually..." Lucy stared at him in horror. "Did you actually change my clothes?!" The blonde screamed at him. She grabbed her pillow, more than ready to knock some sense into his head with it. He shrugged, slowly gazing into her eyes. "I don't know... I did a bunch of things while you were asleep." "What?!" She yelled. "What do you mean by-" Her breath was cut off by his own warm one decreasing its distance from hers. "For example..." As he grabbed her shoulders, Lucy prepared herself for the worst. She mentally began to rehearse how exactly she would make him suffer after he would attempt to explain his reasoning. Heck, if he even had any. Maybe she would just cut in while he would babble worthless excuses-

"I took all of the jewel you had under your pillow," He admitted. "And then I used it all to buy food... sorry." At this, Lucy exhaled in relief. She chuckled a little at her own, ridiculous thoughts. "For a second there, I actually thought y-" The blonde paused for a moment, before her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait... Natsu, you baka!" Her arms furiously grabbed his shoulders as well, and she began to shake him violently. "Breaking into my house is one thing- but this! This is just- no, you are just... you are just..." Stammering awkwardly, she began to wonder how exactly she should describe him to let him know what he had done. Then again, knowing Natsu, he'd be too clueless to understand.