Finished - December 16, 2021

Word Count - 2596

Music - Two Steps From Hell - Lux Aeterna

Summary:
The team comes home from a Mission and Natsu is feeling the effects of swallowing dark magic. Lucy takes him home and helps him through his sickness. In the process, Natsu learns to appreciate books for the first time.

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Even after exciting the train, Natsu could still feel his body disagreeing with him. Normally, the moment the train stopped, he would feel better. However, something else was brewing in his stomach.

Natsu and his team had finally returned to Magnolia after a very long and hard fought mission. During the battle, he had swallowed some kind of foreign flames. Now he was paying the price.

Magical flames were never very good for his body. He had trained himself to handle eating different types of magic, but it took a lot of time to build up his immunity.

However, he had inhaled black flames from his opponent, they tasted of ink and stained his throat.  Now he could feel the dark magic swirling around inside him, making his extremely nauseous.

He had spent the entire train ride laying on Lucy's lap, she was the only thing that could settle his nerves during motor rides. Even on a good day, she opened her lap to him. However, today he needed her more than ever.

Lucy could tell immediately that something was off. Instead of simply sleeping on her lap, Natsu had stayed awake and sweat more than usual. She did her best to sooth him, by running her fingers through his hair and wiped his forehead of dew.

"Job work guys." Erza retrieved her massive amount of luggage from the cargo hold.

"You too." Grey stretched.

"Do you think you'll go to the Guild today Lucy?" Erza asked her.

"Probably not, but I should be there tomorrow." Lucy answered as she gathered her own bag.

"Thats fair, we all worked hard this week. Time for some rest." Erza agreed. "But first,"

She gestured to Natsu, who lay on a nearby bench. Happy fluttered just above his head, a worried expression on his face.

"I'll take him home." Lucy sighed. "This is going to be a rough one for him."

"Good luck with him." Grey cringed.

"Thanks guys, see you tomorrow."

Lucy watched as the Erza and Grey walked away from the station. Once they were gone, she grabbed both her and Natsu's belongings. She made eye contact with Happy and joined him by the bench.

"How is he doing?" She asked.

"He looks really pale." Happy stated sadly.

"Im not surprised, he took in a lot of poison." Lucy traced the back of her fingers over his cheek, his temperature was higher that normal.

"Can you help me bring him home?"

Happy nodded and gently hooked his paws on Natsu's collar.

Lucy carried all the bags, while Happy flew with a woozy Natsu. A few miles later, they arrived at their house.

After months of begging, Natsu had convinced Lucy to move in with him. They had been dating for years, and it seemed the most logical next step. Plus, the aspect of zero rent was a huge incentive.

Together, they fixed up Natsu's house to accommodate two people, and maybe more in the future. They added an extra bedroom, bathroom and fixed the upstairs for their bedroom. It was a perfect match for them, a home. Their home.

"Thank you Happy." Lucy dropped the many, heavy bags at her feet.

Happy placed Natsu on the living room couch and dropped down, very tired. "I leave the rest to you."

"Understood." She fluffed his ears before the cat retired to his bed for a well deserved rest.

"Alright Natsu, you are going to have to help me." Lucy called out to him.

She received a hum in response.

"Lets get cleaned up, then we can get some sleep." She pulled him to a sitting position and readied him to stand.

"Come on big guy." She encouraged.

Natsu was awake, but felt very weak. He leaned heavily upon Lucy's shoulders as she lead him upstairs to the bathroom. However, he felt bad for having Lucy take care of him so much.

"It's okay Luce. I can do it." He found his balance and wobbled out of her grip.

"No no no no." Her hands grabbed him again.

"Im fine." Natsu didn't want to make her worried.

"Im sure you will be. After a nap." Lucy lead him into the bathroom and helped him wash his hair and change into his pajamas.

By this point, he was feeling much worse. The poison sinking further into his system. His head spun and throbbed, while his stomach ached and churned inside him. He wasn't able to find his balance anymore and Lucy was forced to help him walk even the shortest distances.

Lucy basically practically carried him out of the room and placed him in bed. He was so tired, the mission alone was very draining. He was desperate for rest. Therefore, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Once Lucy had taken care of Natsu, she decided to leave him alone to recover. In the mean time, she took a nice long bath. The water soothed her sore muscles and washed the many layers of dirt she had gained from their mission.

After her bath, Lucy grabbed a book and settled herself on the couch in the living room. It was nice to have peace and quiet after such a chaotic week. She took comfort in her books, it took her mind off any present worries and teleported her into a different world.

She had just finished chapter twenty one, when she heard quick footsteps coming from upstairs. Was Natsu awake already? It sounded like he ran to the bathroom.

Setting her book down, Lucy tiptoed up the stairs, not wanting to wake Natsu if he was still sleeping. However, she saw their bed was empty. In addition, the bathroom door was open.

From inside the dark room, she could hear coughing and crying. She softly made her way into the bathroom, inside she saw Natsu leaning over the toilet. He looked terrible. He was covered in sweat and his body shivered as dark sludge expelled from his mouth.

Lucy sighed as her heart tightened at the sight. She left the light off, knowing his head hurt and sat herself next to him in the dark. She lifted her hand to his back and gently rubbed his shoulders, not wanting to contribute to his pain.

His body was rejecting the dark magic he had consumed. Black, tar-like gunk rose into Natsu throat, causing him to gag and regurgitate. Goosebumps covered his skin as a chill enveloped him. He was not accustom to the cold and it was very unpleasant. He tried to raise his body temperature, but this flared up his pain. Therefore he stopped, not wanting to hurt himself.

As he continued to vomit, he heard Lucy join him in the bathroom. He felt her hand smooth over his back, her hand felt warm and comforting. She was so kind to him.

Here he was, looking like hell, feeling like hell and probably smelling like hell. Yet, she stayed by him. He loved her. He didn't deserve her compassion.

After a few minutes of gagging, the flow seemed to stop and his stomach started to settle. Natsu sat up and leaned against the wall, concentrated on his breathing. Lucy stood and grabbed a hand towel, running in under the faucet for minute. The warm cloth wiped his face for a moment, then was rung back out in the sink.

Before she returned to the floor, Lucy tied her hair up into a large bun. Natsu watched as she readied herself for work. She looked beautiful, her eyes soft and her actions slow.

She then lifted his arm over her small shoulders and lifted him to his feet. Together they shuffled out of the bathroom and back to the bed. Natsu flopped his body back on the mattress, too tired to adjust himself. Though, now that the poison had left his system, he was slowly starting to feel better.

Lucy pulled the covers back over him, which he was very grateful for.

"I'll be down stairs, just let me know if you need anything." She caressed his cheek for a moment.

Natsu nodded and watched as she descended the stairs. Lucy returned to her reading, but found that she was unable to focus. Her thoughts preoccupied by Natsu's health. She had never seen him this sick before. It hurt her heart to see him this way, he looked to be in a lot of pain. There wasn't much she could do to help him feel better, this was no ordinary sickness.

Just as she was about to close her book, she noticed Natsu coming down the stairs. He was leaning heavily upon the rail and looked very pale. She jumped up to help.

"I thought you were asleep." Lucy lead him to the couch.

"Naw, it's too quiet up there."

"Can I get you something to eat?" She asked.

"Not yet." He answered simply.

"Is there anything else you want?"

Natsu didn't answer verbally, instead he turned his body to lay ontop of her. His head resting on her stomach as his arms wrapped about her waist.

Lucy took this as his answer. He needed some Lucy time. Natsu was always very physical touch driven, he was the happiest when he was holding (or being held by) Lucy.

Natsu soaked in Lucy's calming energy and relaxed his body atop hers. She never failed to calm him down. Though his head still pounded. The unending silence of upstairs kept him awake, he needed something to focus on that would distract him from the pain.

This was when he said something that he had never said before.

"Hey Luce," Natsu called.

"Hmn?" Lucy hummed.

"Would you read to me?" He asked.

The book in Lucy's hand fell as the air was met with silence. Lucy too shocked to answer right away.

"I'm sorry, repeat that. I don't think heard you correctly."

Natsu chucked lightly, enjoying her reaction.

"I asked if you would read your book to me." He repeated.

"Are you serious?" Lucy looked flabbergasted. "This isn't one of your silly pranks?"

"This isn't a prank, I just want to listen to you read."

Lucy squinted, not entirely trusting him. However, he wasn't in any shape for a high jinx. Therefore she picked up her book again and started to read out loud.

At first, Natsu had no idea what was going on in the story, because he had jumped in the middle of the book. But slowly he started recognizing names and places. The adventure playing in his head.

Lucy's voice was soft as she read with enthusiasm. Listening to her narrate was mentally added to his favorites list. Additionally, while she was reading, her fingers absentmindedly traced across Natsu's scalp. Her hand playing with his hair and massaging away his headache.

Soon he had forgotten about his aches, now completely focused on the story. He never knew books could be so entertaining, he always thought they were just words on a page. He never understood that books could be pictures in your head. Valiant tales of Heroes and characters he would soon know by name.

After a while, Natsu could tell that Lucy was starting to loose her voice. The tone slowly getting softer as her throat sounded dry. This did not surprise Natsu, they had just come home from a great mission. Plus all the reading, she was definitely loosing her voice.

Natsu interrupted her by placing his hand over her wrist gently. This gained her attention and she stopped reading.

"What?" She asked, her tone raspy.

"Can we make some tea?" He asked innocently.

Lucy laughed, knowing the reason he asked for tea. The man never drank tea, he didn't need any extra caffeine in his system.

"Of course, I think I have some chamomile."

"That would be amazing." He thanked.

Natsu sat up from his laying position and rested his head on the back of the sofa. He was already starting to feel better.

"Do you want any honey in your tea?" Lucy called from the kitchen.

"Sure." He answered, knowing full well he probably wouldn't drink it.

Lucy poured the boiling water into two separate cups and added a spoonful of honey to each. Stirring each drink she made sure everything was properly mixed. Then she walked slowly back to the couch, careful not to spill.

"Here ya go." Lucy handed Natsu his tea.

"Thank you." Natsu took the warm mug and set it down next to him.

The room was met with a comfortable silence, Lucy sipped her drink while Natsu laid back down on her lap. The smell of the chamomile was soothing to his brain, a lovely smell. It wasn't too strong to overpower his senses, but just faint enough to relax him.

However, among this fragrance, another protruded. Natsu could smell the stench of his own body. He must have smelled terrible! The odor of the black magic was bad enough to block his senses, but now he was coated in sweat. Plus, he never cleaned himself properly after their mission.

When they came home, Lucy was kind enough to help his wash his hair, but his body still stank. As much as he hated bathing, he knew he had to wash up. Therefore, with a heavy head, he sat up and stretched out his stiff arms.

"You feeling any better?" Lucy asked, eyeing his movement.

"Yeah, a bit. I think I'm going to take a bath."

"Okay, I'll be here if you nee anything."

With that, Natsu slowly stood up and made his way across the room. Up the stairs he traveled and closed the door behind him. Turning on the hot water, he stripped off his sweaty clothes and put them in a pile on the floor.

He spent the next ten minutes rinsing away all the grime he had collected. The bath felt wonderful, the warm water heated him back up. His sickness had eaten away the heat from his body, making him feel cold. So the water brought his temperature back up to normal.

Once he stepped out of the bath, he dried himself off with a clean towel. Lucy had probably left it for him, he mentally thanked her...again.

He gathered his dirty pajamas and picked out a new pair. After he dressed himself he went to meet Lucy back downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs he saw her curled into a ball on the couch. She had fallen asleep.

A large blanket wrapped around her shoulders as the remnants of her tea sat in her hands. She must have fallen asleep unexpectedly. She looked extremely exhausted, but adorable at the same time.

She didn't have any proper rest after returning hime, since she took such good care of him. Only resting now because he said he was feeling better. She deserved her rest now.

Natsu chuckled at her weird behavior. Always thinking of others before herself. What did he do to deserve someone like her?

The bath had refreshed him and he felt mostly fine. So he took this opportunity to do something nice for her. He knelt down and picked Lucy up, blanket included and carried her up the stairs. It was his turn to put her to bed.