p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"strongPreviously/strong/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emstrong"Lets go visit her Wendy!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist and started going down the stairs, pulling the confused blunette. "Oi Laxus! You're in charge while I'm out! I'll be back later, just call me if anything happens!" he called out as he and Wendy made their way to the hospital, leaving a dumbfounded crew behind./strong/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"strong~Present~/strong/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Beep. Beep. Beep./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"That was all the patient heard all day. She closed her eyes and groaned. She was so bored, all day for the past few weeks. She often woke up in the middle of the night due to nightmares as she recollected that frightful night./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~Flashback~/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"em"Wendy! Wendy!"/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI ran downstairs only to trip and tumble down. I hit my head on the tiled floor, making my head spin but I got up and continued looking for her. I called out her name and almost cried when I heard her voice call out for me. She was in the kitchen./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emThe fire was there. It was roaring and I could hear her cries and coughing. My heart started racing./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emShe was prone to being clumsy but she loved to cook. I don't know what happened, but all I know is that I pulled her out from underneath the table and ran outside with her./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"em"Charla! We have to go back for her Lucy!" I almost shook my head and told her no, but the look on her face told me other wise. I put her back on the ground, shaking and kissed her forehead./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"em"You stay her Wendy, I'll bring her back."/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI ran back inside, cursing under my breath as I felt the heat as soon as I entered. "Charla! Charla!"/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emCharla loves Wendy and she's with her everywhere. So if Wendy was in the kitchen, she should be there. I tried to calm my nerves, coughing and I ran into the kitchen. I saw her. The frightened cat was curled in a ball and shaking./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI picked her up and just as I was about to get out, I heard the ceiling creak. I looked up and my eyes widened. I tossed Charla towards the front door and was soon covered with debris, letting out a scream as I felt the weight and I could feel bones break./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI only prayed that Charla made it to Wendy and I soon felt tears make its way quickly down my cheeks. I wasn't going to make it. I wasn't going to see my sister grow anymore. I won't be able to help her and comfort her in her time of need. I wasn't going to see my friends anymore. I'm never going to fall in love. I was gonna leave them all. I just... I just hope I made them happy./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI could feel blood running down my face from my forehead and my vision was fading. I closed my eyes, accepting the obvious outcome when I heard it. A males voice. Help? Will I be saved?/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI used all my power to call out, but my voice was barely over a whisper. I don't know how long I waited or how he found me but I suddenly felt a bunch of the weight off of me and I was in the strong arms of a man. The pain was unbearable. He gave me his mask and I had to resist coughing out the fresh oxygen./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~End of Flashback~/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"After that, all I remember is passing out and waking up in the hospital. The road to recovery is going to be a long one and I don't know how long I'll be locked up in here. Despite my body's pain, I wanted to move and do thing, I'm not one to simply laze around./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sighing loudly, I look at the clock and frown. Wendy should be here. She said she was going to Erza's place after asking me how to make my 'famous' macaroons. Its been almost 2 hours since then./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Wendy, where are you?"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Here I am Lucy-nee!" I squealed as she poked her head inside, hearing my heart monitor beep quickly before slowing down./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I soon smiled and laughed, using my eyes to gesture her to come closer. She almost ran over and gave me the lightly hug before pulling away and smiled widely./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Lucy-nee, I want you to meet Natsu-san. He was the firefighter that I told you about. You remember right? The one-"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""-the one who saved my life. Yes, I remember Wendy." I gave her a soft smile and as soon as I felt eyes on me, I looked up and saw the most exotic male I've ever seen in my entire life./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He had tanned skin and a well built body that was evident due to the simple, short sleeved black shirt he was wearing. I could see it hug some of his biceps and chest before it hung loosely near his abdomen. He had normal blue jeans but for some reason I couldn't help but mentally take pictures at how well they look on him./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Letting my eyes wonder up, I caught sight of his perfectly sculpted jaw that was clean shaven before seeing his mouth. They formed a pretty large smirk, revealing a sharp canine that was similar to Wendy's and I finally let my brown eyes connect with his deep evergreen colored eyes. I felt my heart beat a little faster and my cheeks heat up. It wasn't until I heard Wendy giggling that I looked away and at my little sister./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You know Lucy-nee, its pretty obvious how you feel already. Your heart monitor gave it away. "/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Great. Just great. Now the sex god of a man is gonna probably think I'm some creep. Should I blame it on the medicine? No no, Wendy is too smart and I'm pretty sure he is too./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be in the cafeteria onee-chan." Without even battling an eyelash, she was gone and he and I were alone. I kept my face hidden behind my bangs as I looked down, shyness overwhelming my body./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It felt like an eternity but before I knew it, he was in the chair that was stationed next to my bed and he smiled. "So, this is the heroic lady that saved her sister and her cat Huh?"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His voice almost had me swooning. It was slightly deep with a bit of a boyish tone that fit him perfectly. Realizing that he asked a question, I finally looked up and tried to keep my face as stotic as possible. Afterall, I am a woman not a schoolgirl anymore./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I wouldn't necessarily call me heroic, that's too big of a title. You... You're the hero. Thank you for saving my life. I could never repay you enough for what you've done."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His smile softened and his chest rumbled a little as he chuckled. "The fact that you're alive is more than enough. You're sister was the one that told me to go back. She's a special girl."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"My heart filled with joy as I heard someone talking nicely about Wendy. We stayed in a slightly odd silence before he cleared his throat. "So, what's the damage? I mean, I can see a look bit of it but there has to be something else." I opened my mouth to answer but he got up and went opened the door, calling for a nurse who came by./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was my long time friend and nurse, Mira. Her long white hair was tied up in a high ponytail. "Ye- Natsu? What are you doing here?" Wait, Mira knew him?/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey Mira, I'm visiting a patient, I think her name was Luigi or something." I glared at the back of his head and heard Mira laugh. Their voices got quiet and he came back in with a clipboard. He whistled and his eyebrows shot up and he gave me a quick one over./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You're a real trooper there Luigi-"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""-Lucy-"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""- and I'm happy to know that you're gonna make it." His words and sincere smile made my mind blank for a second. I honestly don't know how long it had been, but he and I were simply staring at one another. The silence wasn't weird or awkward. A knock on the door had broken us from our trance and we both looked and saw Wendy, who had a sly smile. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Sorry to interrupt nee-chan, Natsu-san, but Erza-san said that its almost time for your bath so we're gonna have to go. I'll be back tomorrow Lucy-nee!' she said as she walked over and gave me a getle hug. Honestly, sometimes it feels like she's part of the air, I barely felt it. Then again, I'm all bandaged up./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"As she walked to the door, Natsu stood next to my bed while looking away from me... bashfully? Is he getting flustered? IS THAT BLUSHING I SEE?! /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So uh, Lucy... I was wondering if it's alright if I stop by again. I mean, I wanna get to know you. You seem like a pretty cool person and I know I'm rambling but I think this would really connect us and- what's so funny?" He asked as he finally looked at me./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I couldn't help it, this was too much. My laughter bounced off the walls for the first time since my incident and I didn't want to stop. Sadly, I did and I panted for air, the beeps from my heart monitor accelerated. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm sorry Natsu... It was just so weird! You're this big, macho firefighter and you're all shy over little ol' me" I said after I caught my breath and sent him a playful smile. He smiled, taking a step closer to me. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Let's just say little ol' you left a good impression on me. So, what do you say?" /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I exhaled softly, smiling. "I would love to see you again Natsu." It felt so natural saying his name, just flowing off the top of my tongue and in all honesty, I loved it. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I felt a weird sensation in my stomach as he laughed. It was childlike, playful and filled with nothing but pure joy. His eyes closed and his mouth hung open, showing those perfect teeth of his. "That's a relief... Now then, I gotta get going. The guys down at the station are gonna kill me for suddenly leaving. I'll see you around Luce" he exclaimed as he jogged out the door. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I could see him meet up with Wendy and he ruffled her hair. He's pretty good with kids from what I can tell so far. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Natsu... Goodness, he was something else and I briefly met the guy! But... "I'm happy I did." /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emstrong"Lets go visit her Wendy!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist and started going down the stairs, pulling the confused blunette. "Oi Laxus! You're in charge while I'm out! I'll be back later, just call me if anything happens!" he called out as he and Wendy made their way to the hospital, leaving a dumbfounded crew behind./strong/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"strong~Present~/strong/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Beep. Beep. Beep./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"That was all the patient heard all day. She closed her eyes and groaned. She was so bored, all day for the past few weeks. She often woke up in the middle of the night due to nightmares as she recollected that frightful night./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~Flashback~/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"em"Wendy! Wendy!"/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI ran downstairs only to trip and tumble down. I hit my head on the tiled floor, making my head spin but I got up and continued looking for her. I called out her name and almost cried when I heard her voice call out for me. She was in the kitchen./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emThe fire was there. It was roaring and I could hear her cries and coughing. My heart started racing./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emShe was prone to being clumsy but she loved to cook. I don't know what happened, but all I know is that I pulled her out from underneath the table and ran outside with her./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"em"Charla! We have to go back for her Lucy!" I almost shook my head and told her no, but the look on her face told me other wise. I put her back on the ground, shaking and kissed her forehead./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"em"You stay her Wendy, I'll bring her back."/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI ran back inside, cursing under my breath as I felt the heat as soon as I entered. "Charla! Charla!"/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emCharla loves Wendy and she's with her everywhere. So if Wendy was in the kitchen, she should be there. I tried to calm my nerves, coughing and I ran into the kitchen. I saw her. The frightened cat was curled in a ball and shaking./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI picked her up and just as I was about to get out, I heard the ceiling creak. I looked up and my eyes widened. I tossed Charla towards the front door and was soon covered with debris, letting out a scream as I felt the weight and I could feel bones break./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI only prayed that Charla made it to Wendy and I soon felt tears make its way quickly down my cheeks. I wasn't going to make it. I wasn't going to see my sister grow anymore. I won't be able to help her and comfort her in her time of need. I wasn't going to see my friends anymore. I'm never going to fall in love. I was gonna leave them all. I just... I just hope I made them happy./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI could feel blood running down my face from my forehead and my vision was fading. I closed my eyes, accepting the obvious outcome when I heard it. A males voice. Help? Will I be saved?/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emI used all my power to call out, but my voice was barely over a whisper. I don't know how long I waited or how he found me but I suddenly felt a bunch of the weight off of me and I was in the strong arms of a man. The pain was unbearable. He gave me his mask and I had to resist coughing out the fresh oxygen./em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~End of Flashback~/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"After that, all I remember is passing out and waking up in the hospital. The road to recovery is going to be a long one and I don't know how long I'll be locked up in here. Despite my body's pain, I wanted to move and do thing, I'm not one to simply laze around./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sighing loudly, I look at the clock and frown. Wendy should be here. She said she was going to Erza's place after asking me how to make my 'famous' macaroons. Its been almost 2 hours since then./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Wendy, where are you?"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Here I am Lucy-nee!" I squealed as she poked her head inside, hearing my heart monitor beep quickly before slowing down./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I soon smiled and laughed, using my eyes to gesture her to come closer. She almost ran over and gave me the lightly hug before pulling away and smiled widely./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Lucy-nee, I want you to meet Natsu-san. He was the firefighter that I told you about. You remember right? The one-"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""-the one who saved my life. Yes, I remember Wendy." I gave her a soft smile and as soon as I felt eyes on me, I looked up and saw the most exotic male I've ever seen in my entire life./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He had tanned skin and a well built body that was evident due to the simple, short sleeved black shirt he was wearing. I could see it hug some of his biceps and chest before it hung loosely near his abdomen. He had normal blue jeans but for some reason I couldn't help but mentally take pictures at how well they look on him./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Letting my eyes wonder up, I caught sight of his perfectly sculpted jaw that was clean shaven before seeing his mouth. They formed a pretty large smirk, revealing a sharp canine that was similar to Wendy's and I finally let my brown eyes connect with his deep evergreen colored eyes. I felt my heart beat a little faster and my cheeks heat up. It wasn't until I heard Wendy giggling that I looked away and at my little sister./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You know Lucy-nee, its pretty obvious how you feel already. Your heart monitor gave it away. "/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Great. Just great. Now the sex god of a man is gonna probably think I'm some creep. Should I blame it on the medicine? No no, Wendy is too smart and I'm pretty sure he is too./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be in the cafeteria onee-chan." Without even battling an eyelash, she was gone and he and I were alone. I kept my face hidden behind my bangs as I looked down, shyness overwhelming my body./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It felt like an eternity but before I knew it, he was in the chair that was stationed next to my bed and he smiled. "So, this is the heroic lady that saved her sister and her cat Huh?"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His voice almost had me swooning. It was slightly deep with a bit of a boyish tone that fit him perfectly. Realizing that he asked a question, I finally looked up and tried to keep my face as stotic as possible. Afterall, I am a woman not a schoolgirl anymore./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I wouldn't necessarily call me heroic, that's too big of a title. You... You're the hero. Thank you for saving my life. I could never repay you enough for what you've done."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His smile softened and his chest rumbled a little as he chuckled. "The fact that you're alive is more than enough. You're sister was the one that told me to go back. She's a special girl."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"My heart filled with joy as I heard someone talking nicely about Wendy. We stayed in a slightly odd silence before he cleared his throat. "So, what's the damage? I mean, I can see a look bit of it but there has to be something else." I opened my mouth to answer but he got up and went opened the door, calling for a nurse who came by./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was my long time friend and nurse, Mira. Her long white hair was tied up in a high ponytail. "Ye- Natsu? What are you doing here?" Wait, Mira knew him?/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey Mira, I'm visiting a patient, I think her name was Luigi or something." I glared at the back of his head and heard Mira laugh. Their voices got quiet and he came back in with a clipboard. He whistled and his eyebrows shot up and he gave me a quick one over./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You're a real trooper there Luigi-"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""-Lucy-"/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""- and I'm happy to know that you're gonna make it." His words and sincere smile made my mind blank for a second. I honestly don't know how long it had been, but he and I were simply staring at one another. The silence wasn't weird or awkward. A knock on the door had broken us from our trance and we both looked and saw Wendy, who had a sly smile. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Sorry to interrupt nee-chan, Natsu-san, but Erza-san said that its almost time for your bath so we're gonna have to go. I'll be back tomorrow Lucy-nee!' she said as she walked over and gave me a getle hug. Honestly, sometimes it feels like she's part of the air, I barely felt it. Then again, I'm all bandaged up./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"As she walked to the door, Natsu stood next to my bed while looking away from me... bashfully? Is he getting flustered? IS THAT BLUSHING I SEE?! /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So uh, Lucy... I was wondering if it's alright if I stop by again. I mean, I wanna get to know you. You seem like a pretty cool person and I know I'm rambling but I think this would really connect us and- what's so funny?" He asked as he finally looked at me./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I couldn't help it, this was too much. My laughter bounced off the walls for the first time since my incident and I didn't want to stop. Sadly, I did and I panted for air, the beeps from my heart monitor accelerated. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm sorry Natsu... It was just so weird! You're this big, macho firefighter and you're all shy over little ol' me" I said after I caught my breath and sent him a playful smile. He smiled, taking a step closer to me. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Let's just say little ol' you left a good impression on me. So, what do you say?" /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I exhaled softly, smiling. "I would love to see you again Natsu." It felt so natural saying his name, just flowing off the top of my tongue and in all honesty, I loved it. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I felt a weird sensation in my stomach as he laughed. It was childlike, playful and filled with nothing but pure joy. His eyes closed and his mouth hung open, showing those perfect teeth of his. "That's a relief... Now then, I gotta get going. The guys down at the station are gonna kill me for suddenly leaving. I'll see you around Luce" he exclaimed as he jogged out the door. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I could see him meet up with Wendy and he ruffled her hair. He's pretty good with kids from what I can tell so far. /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Natsu... Goodness, he was something else and I briefly met the guy! But... "I'm happy I did." /p