Lucy

A Break

Suddenly, it started to shimmer and shake. Gajeel grabbed Wendy and Natsu and forced them down right before it shattered, sending pieces everywhere.

"NO!" Natsu shouted, fearing they had used too much power. He was the first on his feet, looking in the direction the lacrima had been.

"N-Natsu?" whispered a voice shakily.

"Lucy!" Wendy shouted. "We did it!" she turned to Gajeel and gave him a hug. He chuckled, patting her on the head. "Yeah, kid, we did."

They looked at Natsu, who was crouched by Lucy, laying on the floor.

"What happened?" Lucy asked, looking up at Natsu with a confused expression on her face. She looked around. "Where am I?"

"You're safe, Luce," whispered Natsu, giving her a huge hug. "You're safe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Master, you know this isn't over," Erza stated, looking around the Guild Hall at the recovering wizards. "The question is, when will he return?"

Makarov frowned. "I don't know. Like us, he's going to have let his power build back up, but as soon as he finds out the lacrima he took is a fake....it does not bode well for us."

He turned to Mira, who was standing close by. "Call in all our members that are out on jobs. Tell them it's urgent and to get here as soon as possible, if they can."

"Yes, Master," she replied, hurrying over to the communications lacrima. She grabbed Warren on her way over, enlisting his help.

"How is Lucy?" asked Erza. "I assume Natsu is with her."

"Yes. I hesitated to leave her here in the hall, so I sent her back to her apartment with Natsu and Happy. Mira gave them a small communications lacrima so that if there's any trouble, they'll let us know right away. I hope she recovers quickly," he murmured. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"Natsu, I'm okay," Lucy protested as Natsu carried her up the steps to her apartment. "I can walk."

"Look, you've been stuck inside that lacrima thing - let me just take you this far." He set her down inside her apartment. "I'm sure you'll want to take a shower," he grinned at her.

"When does she not want to take a bath or shower," Happy said, settling down on her bed.

"Happy, cut her a break," Natsu said, surprising the other two. "She's had a rough day."

"Um, ok, thanks?" Lucy answered. She grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. "Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen!" she called out as a way of saying thanks. Granted, she would have to go shopping after this, but it was worth it, she smiled to herself.

Lucy felt much more herself after her shower. Drying her hair with a towel, she emerged, dressed in pajamas from the bathroom. All the stress had hit her at once during the shower, and she was exhausted.

"Natsu? Happy?" she called, surprised to not see them sprawled on her bed as usual. There were answering shouts from the kitchen.

Shaking her head, she smiled. "I'm tired - I'm going to take a nap," she called out, crawling in her bed and covering herself with her blanket.

She lay down, thinking it would be nice to snuggle up with Pluu......her keys! Did that bastard still have her keys?!?

"Natsu!" she yelled. The fire dragon mage came running, Happy not far behind.

"Lucy! What is it?" he asked, his fists clenched, ready for a battle.

"My keys!" she said, a tear escaping her eye. "Did anyone get my keys?"

Natsu's fist fell. He sighed, then sat next to Lucy on the bed. "He didn't have them with him, but we'll get them back, Luce. Don't you worry!"

Lucy's body physically slumped, Natsu catching her in his arms. "Lucy!"

"I'm okay, Natsu," she sighed. "I'm just exhausted and worried about my spirits."

"They'll be okay," Happy said, climbing up on the bed and giving Lucy a hug. "Loke won't let the big meanie do anything to him!"

"Thanks, Happy," Lucy gave the blue cat a small smile. "You're right about that.

"Hey, Luce, why don't you get some rest, okay? We'll wake you if anything happens," Natsu told her gently.

"Natsu," Lucy began, then stopped, blushing.

He looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Um, would you mind staying with me until I fall asleep? In light of what happened, I don't want to be alone..."

"Lucy, how can you..." Happy began, but Natsu quickly covered his mouth, giving Happy a look.

"Sure, Luce," he said, climbing in next to her. He hesitated, then pulled her into his arms. "We'll always be here for you," he promised.

Happy had an "oh" face, then winked at Natsu. "Yep, we're always here for you, Lucy!" he said, settling in his normal spot at the bottom of the bed. Interesting, he thought. For once she's not kicking us out but inviting us in!

Natsu heard her breathing even out, indicating she was asleep. He pulled her closer to him, resting his head on hers. "I love you, Luce," he whispered into her hair. "I promise I'll protect you always."

Lucy stirred and Natsu stiffened, worried that she had heard him. Confessing to a sleeping Lucy was one thing....

"Natsu," she breathed out softly. "I love you, too."