#wwyt

Thank you for the request, I hope you like it! :D

“What Were You Thinking?”

Rated T.

Summary: After putting herself in harm’s way to save Natsu, Lucy wakes up to an earful from the irate dragon slayer.

What Were You Thinking?

Lucy clutched her arm, watching as Natsu fought a group of bandits on his own. Even though they weren’t as strong as him, their sheer numbers alone were giving him trouble. It didn’t help that the enemy was smart enough to send their troops in waves so that one group would always follow another after being defeated.

She gnawed on her lower lip. At this rate, he was going to run out of energy. There wasn’t any fire around for him to consume, and it wasn’t like she could make any herself. With his devastating flames that could lay waste to anything it came in contact with, she was surprised that the enemies kept challenging him. They should’ve been running with their tails between their legs!

Staggering to her feet, Lucy wobbled towards Natsu in an attempt to help. She had already run out of magical power, barely even able to walk. Still, she couldn’t just sit back and watch as Natsu carried the burden on his shoulders. She couldn’t stand to see him get hurt.

Just as she was approaching Natsu, she saw one of the bandits brandish a dagger. He used his magic to camouflage into the background, allowing him to sneak towards Natsu. The dragon slayer could’ve easily been able to smell him coming, but while dealing with everyone coming at him all at once, there was no way he was going to be able to dodge.

Mustering whatever energy Lucy had left, she made a mad dash towards the bandit, throwing herself in harm’s way. She jumped between him and Natsu, wincing as the blade pierced her side. A pained cry slipped past her lips as the attacker withdrew his blade, crimson blood splattering against the pavement. Falling, the girl pressed her hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. Tears pricked her eyes as it stung.

“Lucy!” Natsu’s voice called out.

With blurry vision, she looked up to find Natsu’s body engulfed in flames. He fought with more tenacity, bringing the villains to their knees. As her eyes began to droop closed, she heard Gray and Erza shouting as they ran up to them.

Then she lost consciousness.

As sunlight filtered through the cracks of her curtains, Lucy’s eyes finally fluttered open. Groaning, she pressed a hand to her throbbing head. She moved to sit up, only to hiss in pain as she had reopened her wound.

“Lay down,” a low voice demanded. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

Looking to her bedside, Lucy found Natsu sitting in one of the kitchen chairs he pulled up to the bed. Happy was dozing away in his lap.

“Natsu!” the girl exclaimed, a bright grin bubbling up to her lips. “You’re safe! Thank goodness!”

“Yeah, I’m safe alright,” Natsu replied, his brows furrowing as the corners of his lips tugged downwards into a disapproving frown. “What the hell were you thinking, Lucy?”

“Huh?”

“Why the hell did you take the hit?”

Lucy tilted her head to the side, confused. Was he really mad at her? “I did it to save you!”

“I didn’t ask you to do that!” Natsu sneered, his voice sharp enough to startle Happy awake.

Happy glanced between the two. Their brows were slanted in anger, and after having to hear Natsu complain for the past day, he knew just what they were arguing about. It was going to get ugly. Without saying a word, the exceed flew straight out the window before he could get caught in the crossfire.

Now that Happy was gone, Lucy turned her attention back to Natsu.

“I know that you didn’t ask me to, but it doesn’t change the fact that I had to do it,” Lucy said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What makes you think you had to do that?” Natsu asked, bewildered by her answer.

“Because you were too busy fighting! You wouldn’t have noticed! If I didn’t step in, he would’ve stabbed you, probably in a worse spot than he stabbed me!”

Natsu shot up from his seat, knocking the chair back. “None of that matters, Lucy!”

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter!? You could have died!”

“You could have died!” Natsu shouted, loud enough to make Lucy flinch. His face was etched with fury as he continued, “What if you miscalculated your jump and he ended up stabbing one of your vital organs? Did you even calculate your jump? What if he stabbed you in the heart, Lucy? You’d be dead!”

Natsu panted, blinking back tears as he stared at the blonde in front of him. Her head hung low as she fisted the blankets.

“I just wanted to save you for once,” she mumbled, hot tears sliding down her cheeks.

“What?”

She whirled a tearful gaze onto him. “I wanted to save you, okay? Do you know how many times you’ve saved me? You’re such a hypocrite, you know that? Anytime there’s something dangerous, you’re always putting yourself in front of me! Or when someone is trying to hurt me, you fight them and get hurt instead!”

“Lucy-!”

“No, don’t! Did you ever stop to think that maybe I don’t want to see you get hurt? You’re my partner, my best friend, and so much more. You’re everything to me, Natsu, and that’s why I jumped in the way and that’s why I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I needed to!”

Natsu’s fists trembled at his sides. “I don’t want you doin’ that for me, Lucy!”

“And why the hell not?” she shot back, eyes shining with defiance.

“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt again!” he shouted. His shoulders rose each time he panted. The dam that kept his tears at bay finally broke. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the tears cascading down his cheeks.

Lucy’s brows shot up. “Again? What do you mean?”

Natsu’s voice shook as he answered, “Th-That time when we were in Crocus, and Rogue tried to kill you. He did kill you.”

Her lips immediately curled into a frown. That was a day she’d never forget. “Natsu, he didn’t-!”

“I tried to catch the knife or at least jump in the way, but I… I wasn’t fast enough, Lucy. Next thing I saw was your blood. I lost you right in front of my eyes because your future-self jumped in front of the way. I never wanted to see anything like that again, but here we are… And this time it’s my fault.”

Lucy choked back a sob as she shook her head. “That’s not true, Natsu. It isn’t your fault at all.” Patting the bed, she gestured for him to take a seat beside her. Once he did, she took his hands in her own, squeezing them tightly. “Let’s recount all of the times you saved me, shall we?”

“Lucy-”

“No, come on. Let’s do it. There was that time when we first met, and you saved me from Bora. Then there was that time on Galuna Island when Sherry dropped acid over the village. There was the time with Phantom Lord. Oh, and we can’t forget all of the times on Tenrou, the battle with Tartarus, the war against Alvarez, and every other moment in between. You may not have been able to save my future-self, but you’ve saved me countless of times.”

Natsu wiped his sleeve over his eyes. “It’s not good enough. I should’ve saved you back then, too.”

“You did. By defeating Rogue, you gave me my future back. Because of you, I’ve been able to share so many memories with you, Happy, and everyone else.” She squeezed his hands, giving him a wet smile. “I will always be grateful for that, which is why I really wanted to return the favor and save you for once.”

Natsu playfully scoffed. “For once? Luce, you’re savin’ our asses all the time. Too many times to even count. Seriously, you’re strong as hell.”

Warmth crept up to the girl’s cheeks, her smile deepening. “So, are we okay now?”

He slung an arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, we’re okay. Sorry about yellin’ at you.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for reminding you of what happened back at Crocus. Though, I can’t say that I won’t jump in the way to save you again. I’ll always try to save you, and I’m sure you’ll do the same for me.”

“‘Course I will. Now, c'mon. We should probably let Happy know we didn’t kill each other.”

Lucy blinked once, then twice. “Umm, in case you’ve forgotten, I can’t exactly leave bed.”

Natsu chuckled. “Oh, right. I forgot. Ehh, he’ll come back to check on us eventually. In the meantime, you wanna play some games? I can bring them to the bed.”

“Sure. But first…” Lucy leaned forward, pressing her lips against his in a chaste kiss. Pulling away, she smiled at him. “I love you, Natsu.”