All My Life

Everything

Natsu didn't have to carry Lucy after school this time. She did, however, lean heavily on his arm as she walked down the front steps and past the whispering students that were gathered there. She kept walking, without acknowledging any of them, until they were far behind her. She pretended not to hear Natsu's growl at one of the louder whispers.

They made it to the end of the block before she remembered.

"Natsu, today's Tuesday, right?"

"Yeah, though it feels like it's way later in the week. Why?"

She knew what he meant. These two days felt like they'd taken weeks. She was exhausted.

"Because I forgot to tell you that I have an appointment today after school." She gave the smallest shadow of a smile at the half-surprised, half-confused look on his face. "The police officer that helped me at the station told me to call a therapist she knows and I'm supposed to go there now and do paperwork or something."

"Ok, where is it? Let's go."

Lucy fished the business card out from her bag and passed it to Natsu. She'd lived in Magnolia for the better part of a year now but she hadn't spent much time around the city outside of grocery shopping and the few outings she'd taken with Levy. Natsu had lived her as long as he could remember and knew the city far better than she did. She would have found the office eventually, but Natsu took one look at the address and was able to guide them right to it.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to, Natsu," she said as they walked up to the door.

"Why wouldn't I want to stay? Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" The word burst out of her mouth before she could stop it. "No, it's not that. I just don't know how long this is going to take and I don't want you to have to wait around here for me."

"Well too bad. I'm staying." He looked just as tired as she felt, but she recognized the determination and stubbornness in his expression. "Besides, it's probably gonna be a while before I'm okay with leaving you alone anywhere." Some of the determination was replaced by what she could only describe as nervousness and he started to backtrack. "I mean, unless you want me too, because I know that you can take care of yourself most of the time, it's just with everything that's happened I—"

Lucy hugged him. "I think it will be a while before I'm okay with being left alone too. Don't worry. I understand this time. Thank you." She knew why he was freaking out. She'd said a lot of things over the last few weeks that she regretted now, not just because they'd put her in the position for Mikael to try what he had. She'd hurt Natsu, and that hurt to think about. "Come on, let's go inside."

The office was a lot less cold than she'd expected. She'd envisioned something clinical, like a hospital waiting room, not comfortable couches, warm colors, and lyrical piano music playing from a speaker in the corner. There was still a reception desk, but in addition to the computer and paperwork, it was adorned with several small houseplants and pictures. The man sitting at the desk looked up when they entered, but she could see that he'd been drawing or doodling before they'd come in.

"Hi, you must be Lucy!" She recognized his voice from over the phone. "My name is Oliver. I'm so glad you could make it a little early today." He stood up and walked around his desk to shake their hands. "And you are?" he asked to Natsu.

"Natsu. I'm her...friend."

The hesitation pulled at something inside her. She hated that they couldn't just say they were friends without it being at least partially a lie, not just because they were married but also because after everything that had happened were they really still friends? Would they have had any relationship left after all that if they didn't live together, if they didn't have to have some sort of relationship no matter what, thanks to Natsu's brother meddling in their lives?