Stay With Me

Chapter 22

I'm so sorry this chapter is late! Volleyball wouldn't give me a break and my school is suddenly giving me these huge assignments... Anyway, enough with the excuses!

This is my last chapter! Yay! And I would like to dedicate this chapter to AnnaWolf2001 for being so encouraging and keeping me excited to write! Thank you!

Also, I'll be writing another story shortly after this one. It'll either be Disastrous Love or Project Heartfilia and I'll have to decide which one I wanna start. And yes, they will be NaLu stories. Now to the story! ENJOY

Natsu and the others sat outside of the infirmary as Porlysukia inspected Lucy's body.

Natsu sat in the far corner, slouching with his head in his hands. He choked as he forced the building tears not to shed. And his hands shook as he recalled the exact moment he knew he had lost her. Images of her lively body flashes through his mind. Being alive one moment and then gone the next. Her lifeless picture flashed and he squeezed his eyes shut as a single tear trickled down his cheek. He had lost something dear to him that he knew he could never get back...

Gray walked over with his head hung low and his hands in his pockets. He looked at Natsu with his red and puffy eyes and took a raspy breath in. "Natsu-" He tried to say, but Natsu cut him off.

"Don't." He said simply with his hand raised, signaling to go no further. Gray stopped and looked at Natsu with a disappointed expression before turning away and going the opposite direction.

Natsu rubbed his temples and then ran his fingers through his hair. He breathed heavily before abruptly standing up and placing his palms on the wall.

Erza gave him a sympathetic look. She, too, held in years that were trying to escape. Erza then walked over to Natsu and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. She was about to say something before he shrugged her hand off and pinched the bridge if his nose.

"Just leave me alone!" He snapped, startling some of the other people. Erza walked away disappointedly.

A few more hours passed with no word from Porlilyusika and members started to get uncomfortable with Natsu's presence. His dark aura frightened them, even Erza...

But, finally, Porlyusika walked out with her usual expressionless face, but it showed a hint of sadness.

"It seems Lucy has been poisoned." She said as she watched everyone's now shocked gaze turn to her. "It's a poison called the Manryō poison." Her expression turned sad. "It means death."

Everyone gasped and others looked in horror. Only, Natsu... He looked cold. He didn't say anything and he didn't react like the others had. He just stood there.

Porlysukia spoke up, explaining more about the poison. "The symptoms are, first; you'll experience internal bleeding, abdominal pain and external bruising. That all happens right away. Second; the bruising will get worse, you'll have sudden bursts of pain and swelling. Finally; You will sweat heavily, become numb and then... In every case, die..." She said.

"B-but, how could I have missed something like that?" Wendy asked, tears streaming down her face.

Porlysukia sighed. "This poison is undetectable with magic, or, anything else really. You can only know you have it by it's taste. Or by experiencing the symptoms that happen later." She said and Wendy only wiped away her tears. "The average amount of time someone has to live when they get the poison is three to four days. But Lucy's wound looks at least a week old. She got a little lucky..." She finished and started to walk out of the guild.

"Wait." Natsu said and stopped Porlysukia in her tracks. "If... If we would have known she had this Manryō poison... Would we have been able to save her?" He whispered.

Porlysukia sighed again. "Unfortunately, no. There is no known cure for it. She had no chance of surviving..." She said and closed the door slowly, and softly.

Natsu took a step towards the infirmary door that held Lucy's body, but thought twice about it and turned to go sit in another corner. But not too far away.
~~~~~~

Lucy just laid there. As dead as a doornail. Lifeless. Motionless. And absolutely no sign of awakening.

But then, something extraordinary happened.

A bright golden light shown from her arrow wound and only got brighter.
~~~~~~

Mira slowly made her way to the room Lucy was in with her head hung low.

"What are you doing?" Natsu suddenly asked.

Mira looked at him sadly. "I-I was just going to see Lucy-" She tried to explain but was cut off by Natsu's snarl.

"Don't touch her." He growled, and Mira looked at him shockingly before turning away.

A few minutes passed by before a glow seeped under the door of Lucy's room. It caught Natsu's attention and he looked at it puzzlingly.

"Lucy?" He murmured under his breath. He slowly stood up and stalked towards the infirmary. He carefully wrapped his hands around the door knob and twisted it so it would open.

He peaked inside to see Lucy... Glowing. The light that emitted from the room caught the attention of the other guild members.

Natsu walked inside, shielding his eyes from blinding light. The glow got brighter and brighter until all they could see was white
----

When the light disappeared a few minutes later, Natsu looked up and saw a still motionless Lucy laying in her bed. Everyone stood there, confused on what just happened.

People started walking away when nothing was happening. Except for Natsu. He stayed. In fact, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He smelled something different about her. Something... Alive.

Natsu slowly started walking his way towards her bed. Towards her lifeless body. He stopped next to her and sat down in the chair next to her bed. He reached out for her hand and held it. He marveled as he noticed her hand fit perfectly in his. As if they were meant for each other.

He bowed his head as a tear fell down his face. "Im so sorry..." He whispered over and over again. "Im so, so sorry."

The room was silent. Until something happened Natsu didn't see coming.

Lucy's chest rose as she gasped for air. She turned to the opposite side if Natsu and started coughing from the sudden relief.

Natsu sat there in disbelief. "L-lucy?" He choked.

Lucy turned back on her back and breathed heavily. She glanced at Natsu and immediately calmed down. She smiled at him. "Natsu..." She said happily and slung herself onto him into a tight hug.

He stuffed his face into the crook of her neck, completely happy. He thought he'd never hear her beautiful voice again.

They disconnected and put their foreheads together.

"I thought I'd lost you." Natsu whimpered.

"I know..." Lucy said. "I did too..."

Natsu placed his hand on her cheek and gazed into her eyes.

Lucy smiled. "How about," She said, biting her lip, "We try that kiss again. Only, no goodbyes."

Natsu let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding until now. "sounds good." He said and they leaned in closer.

Their lips connected and they stayed like that for who knows how long. They could stay like that forever for all they cared.

The important thing is... They knew they had each other.