Scars

Confessions And Explanations

Lucy woke up to a face (and mouth) full of salmon pink hair.

She blinked blearily and rolled over into Natsu's heat, groggily closing her eyes again and attempting to force her mind back into sleep.

Something poked at her in her head, complaining about something, but she couldn't make out what it was trying to say.

And then, suddenly, everything clicked.

She spat the offending strands out of her mouth and struggled upright, panic making her chest tight and her breathing fast. Why was Natsu here? He was supposed to be outside, guarding her window and listening to noises in her apartment to make sure she was okay!

Hey eyes scanned the window bricks as she heaved herself out from underneath that lazy, snoring lump of a mage. She was a little upset at how used she'd grown to living under the artificial lights of her apartment, staring at bricks day after day and wondering if it was sunny or if it was raining, but the scarily-accurate image of the brickwork she had in her head matched the one in front of her perfectly.

Natsu hadn't come in that way.

As she started to scan the rest of her apartment, Lucy's eyes were drawn to a certain sheepish but proud-looking lion spirit.

Leo rubbed at his suit-clad arm and smiled nervously. "Hello, Lucy," he said carefully, glancing at the door. Lucy looked at the door too.

Every single one of her industrial-strength locks were undone.

She looked at Leo again, her brown eyes narrowed in fury. "You let him in."

Leo winced at the ominously quiet accusation. "Yes." He admitted, bracing himself a little. "And -" he cut himself off.

"And what?" Lucy asked, voice flat and monotone.

"And he went over to the guild hall and got a couple of other people to come over." A voice said from behind her.

Lucy shivered. She hadn't heard that voice in days. It was deeper than she remembered, but that might just have been the fact that Natsu's mood was so sombre.

The celestial mage turned around slowly, closing her eyes as she went. She didn't want to look at Natsu's face, didn't want to see the pain there - the hurt she'd hidden from him, the disappointment she'd screwed up so much, the smugness of I got you, mouse, the pride of being the one to catch her, the anticipation of being the one to take her back to the master to get kicked out. She didn't want to see it, if it was going to be the last time she got a good look at his face. She didn't want to look.

"Luce?" Natsu asked. His voice was a little lighter, a little more concerned. "Can you open your eyes?"

She felt warm hands on her arms, near her shoulders. Natsu's skin was so much hotter than hers or Leo's. His hands were calloused, too, and she was sharply reminded that he lived in a house in the woods. She vaguely remembered seeing a fireplace when she'd cleaned it - he probably went out and collected wood every couple of days. She wondered if he ever got carried away karate-chopping wood and accidentally got too much, and then still tried to take it all back in one trip. She wondered if he ever let Happy carry anything. She wondered if he'd already messed up her hard work cleaning, if he'd added any new slips of paper to the missions board.

She opened her eyes.

Natsu's face was worried, hurt, disappointed, and proud - but not quite as she had imagined it to be. She thought the mix of emotions would be sharp and cold, wanting the prize bringing her in would no doubt get him, but they weren't: they were warm and soft, concerned for her welfare.