Magnolia General Hospital

Shelter

I stretch my legs out and scrunch up my nose. I reach over to grab the alarm clock on my side table to see the time when my hand hits more bed. Suddenly, I’m jolted awake and I quickly rise to a sitting position, my hands stretched out behind me for support. I catch my breath as I recall the events of the previous night. I wasn’t at home, I was at Natsu’s. I spent the night at Natsu’s. I had spent the night in the same bed as Natsu and even worse, I had never slept better. I watched Natsu pass the bedroom door throwing a quick glance inside. When he saw I was awake his face broke out into a huge grin. He bounded into the room wearing a pair of jeans and a loose white tee-shirt. He hopped onto the bed and sat cross legged and still smiling.

                “Morn’in sunshine!” he continued to grin.

                “Morning, what time is it?” I asked as I scratched the side of my head.

                “Just after one in the afternoon,” he said so simply. “You had a long night,” his smile faltered slightly. “Come on, time to be a doctor!” His head cocked to the side with his closed eye grin. I couldn’t help but smile back.

                “I think I just need a day off, sorry,” I looked down at the sheets I clutched in my hand

                “Hey,” I heard the springs jostle as he moved on the bed. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. “No bruise, no foul,” he was on his one hand and knees. “It was my fault anyways, I’m sorry,” I could feel the blush flushing my face. I watched his features change as he saw me blush. He leaned in closer but stopped himself, “You confuse me sometimes,” he breathed out. “Well, the bathroom is just through those doors over there, feel free to utilize it,” he sat back and brushed his hand through his hair, he brought it back in front of his face, he examined it, “I guess I just might need a shower too, anyways, those doors,” he pointed again, “Enjoy!” and he left the room. I unclenched the sheets and let out the breath I had been holding.

                I grabbed my duffel bag from the floor and raked through it. I grabbed some soap and shampoo and conditioner, pulled out some clothes and laid them on the bed. I brought the toiletries into the on suit bathroom and turned on the shower. I gave it a minute to heat up them stepped in. The heat washes over my body, fully waking me up. I try not to take too long, washing my hair and body only takes a few minutes. When I place my hand on tap to turn it off, I freeze. How long do I have to stay here for? How long am I going to be tortured for? I shake the thoughts from my head and turn off the water. Quickly, I scrunch my hair in a towel to try to dry it. Once my hair stops dripping, I wrap that same towel around my body and step outside the bathroom. He’s in the room, his back to me, rummaging through his dresser drawer. Shirtless. He pulls a white tee over his head and I immediately start to blush, and try to return to the bathroom but stumble over my feet. He hears me and turns around and his face turns beat red.

                “I, um, I’m done, I guess,” I stumble on my words.

                “Ya, okay, well, thanks, I guess, um, I guess I’ll head in there,” he points to the bathroom, “and you know, take a shower,” he rushes past me and quickly closes the door. With not knowing how long he’s going to take, I rush to pull on my clothes. My legs aren’t completely dry but I try to pull on my jeans and they get caught on the moisture causing me to fall. I land on the floor with the sound of a train crash. “You okay out there?” He yelled through the door.

                “Yup, just fine!” I yelled back. I heard the water shut off. Shit! I pull my pants up, hoping on one foot and throw my huge sweater on over top of my bra. Just as he comes through the door, I’m buttoning up my jeans. He’s wearing his jeans, held up by a belt, the white shirt and is rubbing a small towel against his head to dry his wet hair.