Fairy Tail Fanfic

Disclaimer: I own this story.

ONE-SHOT: You're not a burden.

Natsu laughed good naturedly at Lucy's expense, whose creamy cheeks were blossoming pink. "You want me to train you? What are you talking about, you're not a burden! And you really don't need as much protecting as you think." Natsu said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Natsu! Just will you train me?"

Erza who driving the carriage to their next mission, turned to smile at Lucy from the front, "Lucy. We will train you. We just find it funny that you believe you are a burden on us, that's all."

"Last mission you saved my butt three times. More than numb nuts over there," Gray smirked, knowing just the way to fire up the dragon slayer.

"But it wouldn't kill you to train me up just a bit." Lucy pressed, "I see how you endure out there, all of you … I have nothing on that," Lucy gesticulated, eyes level to look at Natsu's sternly.

Natsu smiled softly, "None of us are meant to be the same, or have the same strength. If we all had the same strength, we wouldn't be a team. We are a team because we are different. You have strengths we need, Erza and Gray have strength we don't have and Vis versa. You see, you are strong, but if you are passionate about getting physically stronger, like, endurance running or hand-to-hand combat, I will help."

"Thank you!"

The mage they were fighting grinned wickedly at them, arms out before him, a purple glow emitting from his fingers.

Erza was off somewhere out of sight, but the sound of metal clanging was resounding over the small wooden area they were in.

To Lucy's right, where a small cluster of trees acted as a small barrier between her and Gray, Lucy could see his location by the pale blue hue that rose above the top of trees.

Lucy, Natsu and Loke formed a triangle back to back. With the leader of the Zodiacs out, it drained more magically energy then Lucy wanted to admit. If it was someone like Virgo or Aries she would have been fine, but they did have the skill that was needed to fight this particular mage.

The mage in front of them, turned his palm upwards, and done the 'come here' motion towards the trio.

Natsu obliged.

"Natsu, no!" Lucy said, flicking her whip in front of her, striking at their target. He dodged, meaning he had to move away from Natsu.

"Lucy I got this, don't worry." Natsu yelled over his shoulder.

Usually Lucy wouldn't have been so worried, but she didn't know the nature of the wizard's magic, which somehow had managed to stay reclusive. And she had the feeling something was going to go horribly wrong.

"Something isn't right!" She fretted, flicking her whip around her feet agitatedly.

"Fairy Tail are you? Your nothing but a guild of drunken fairies, I can pluck you wings off," he smirked. He didn't look exhausted, if anything he seemed amused at the three's irritated expressions.

Natsu growled, swinging a fist in the direction of the voice with a flaming hand, "I will have you down in a minute! Just stop running!"

The wizard disappeared before reappearing in another location. This time closer to Lucy. Pulling back her whip, she cracked it forward. She was rewarded with the sound of a grunt of pain as it made contact with skin. Pulling it towards her, it had attached itself to his forearm.

"Little bitch," he snarled.

Loke leapt forward, the golden ring lighting up in its brilliance. "Regulus lend me your strength –"

A purple light flew from the wizard's free hand, hitting Loke in his right arm. It went limp, instantly. Like a wet noodle.

"My fucking arm!" he cursed, giving it a small shack by moving his shoulder, "I can't move it!" Loke roared, his eyes flashing with anger. Lucy's heart dropped, guilt swelling her. It was her fault Loke was hurt because she called him out.

The whip went lax around her feet. In the time that Lucy had looked away, the wizard had gotten away.

Natsu snarled at the man. A low rumble left his mouth, more animal then human.

"That's my comrade!" Natsu's body slammed into the dark mages, knocking them both down to the dirt ground of the glad.

Moving forward to assist, Natsu was pushed off before quickly regaining to his feet.

"Forced gate closure!" Lucy demanded. Loke tried to argue but a nanosecond later he was gone. The celestial mage didn't want to hurt her friend any more than she already had.

The mage chuckled, but it wasn't happy, his eyes sought Natsu's. "I will end you, boy." Raising his arm, his hand swirled with purple flames. The mage threw it forward.

This magic … it had made Loke lose mobility in his arm, or worse, permanently made it crippled. And if it hits Natsu …

It was like it was happening in slow motion. Natsu's eyes sparked when the fire flew through the air, he could consume it and rub it in the targets face … But Natsu hadn't seen what it had done to Loke … If Natsu consumed it, it could kill him.

Natsu bent his legs, and sprang forward.

"No …" Lucy's eyes went wide, and fear pushed her forward before she realised what was happening.

Grabbing hold of Natsu's muffler, she pulled him back, almost yanking him to the ground. Grabbing him around the neck, she shielded his body with her own, taking on the force of the flames with eye widening pain.

Pain flew down her lower body. A scream erupted from her throat, almost making Natsu deaf with his acute hearing.

The Dragon Slayer fell back, his head hitting the ground, causing his vision to swim. When everything stilled, he looked at his blonde partner on top of him; tears rolling down her face in heavy streams.

"Luce …" he studied her face. She hadn't seemed to have heard him. Lucy was close to passing out. She felt weird, Natsu noticed, when he carefully rolled her beside him, heavier. Like there was dead weight.

"Natsu … get us out of here …" Natsu almost missed it if it wasn't for his hearing. Her eyes closed shut in pain and exhaustion.

The dark wizard chuckled, his laughter echoing across the small glad they fought in. Natsu whirled to face him, but another hand was up already full of fire.

"What did you do to her?"

The wizard smiled, "Why? Does she mean something to you? Well, you will find out shortly. If you survive, or, if she does."

The next fire ball wasn't aimed at Natsu, but at the unconscious Lucy. Grabbing her body carefully, he jumped away. Disgusted that a man would try and take out somebody who was already unconscious.

Laying the blonde down carefully behind a large rock, Natsu returned quickly to the man. Anger that wasn't there before him, consumed him in flames, red and black with the occasional strike of lighting in it.

"You will pay for what you have done."

Lucy woke up in her bed, the morning heat on her face. Crippling fear consumed her instantly with the last moments of the mission.

Loke … the mage … Natsu … pain exploding down her body.

Sitting up, the Celestial mage felt the drag of her lower body. A strange heaviness. The world seemed to still and tilt.

"No …" Warm tears gathered in her eyes, sticking to the lashes.

The snoring that was beside her ceased. Lucy hadn't noticed it before, but now she did. Natsu.

"Luce … Lucy! You're awake!" The male teen sat up quickly, pulling his friend towards him, gathering Lucy in his arms. Lucy noticed how careful he was with her legs. Her head fell on his shoulder, and one arm she roped around his back, the other around his neck.

"Natsu, what happened?" Dark thoughts pulled at her, but with the best of her ability, Lucy pushed them away.

"You have been out for a day. We had that weird friend of Gramps come in and check on you."

"Porlyusica?" Bad. That was very bad. Porlyusica was never called into town unless it was serious.

"Yeah, her." Natsu said dismissively, "She said –"

"Am I going to be a crippled?" Lucy's bluntly asked, cutting to the chase. The dark truth of what may be her future.

Natsu smiled tenderly, "Yes."

Heart failure for a moment, "Why are you smiling?"

"It's only for a week. You already have one day knocked down. The guy has been locked up …"

"A week?"

"Just a week." Natsu promised.

Relief flew out of the blonde. "I –I thought, I was going to be, you know, like this … forever."

Natsu turned serious. "I thought so to. Erza carried you to the carriage, she said we had to be careful with your back and neck until we have found out what happened. Then we drove back really slowly because we didn't want the rocky road to hurt you. When Porlyusica came, I thought you would be disabled. And I was scared. Really scared …" his voice dropped low.

The pyro continued, "The whole ride back was terrifying. Gray made a cast with his magic to keep your back straight too. He was freaking out."

Lucy let the words sink in.

"I guess I am lucky. But I can't help you now while I am like this, Natsu. I am useless if I can't walk. I can't do missions. If I wasn't a burden before, I am now. I can't do anything on my own!" Tears of frustration rolled down her pale skin.

Natsu winced, "You're not a burden. And I don't want to have to say that to you again. Because you are not."

"I can't move anywhere –"

The pinkette jumped up from the bed, grinning. He disappeared before coming back with a wheelchair. "Ah, one of the wheels got broken by someone who may or may not have been me … so Gray had to make the wheel out of Ice to replace it … It's just for this week. And if you don't like that, I can carry you everywhere you want!"

"I don't understand her Mira," Natsu groused, running his fingers through his hair.

Mira smiled kindly, "It's would still be traumatizing for her. Give her a day. This is the first day she is coming to terms with the close shave she had with a real disabled future. Cut her some slack."

"Why would she want to be alone, while being like this? Won't she want some company?"

"She needs a few hours to herself. Why are you rushing her, Natsu?" Placing down the drinking she was refilling, she looked intently into the eyes of the teen.

"Because I want Lucy to be Lucy, and she's not being very Lucy."

Erza patted the boy on the shoulder, "Natsu. I think you're affected by what happened as much as she is, but on another level. But you're trying hard not to come terms with what happened and move on, Lucy just needs to accept what happened, despite it being temporary. She had an eye opener on how dangerous missions can be. Sometimes we forget, and being us, and being this team, we can forget how bad they can be."

"Lucy doesn't even want to come to the guild." The pinkette pouted.

Gray stepped in, "She's ashamed. She's embarrassed. Though she has no reason to be. Lucy was brave saving your dumb ass, because if you had eaten that fire and it touched your inner organs, you wouldn't be here today. Lucy almost lost you, too."

Natsu nodded. But it was more to make them go away. Idea's circulated the males head. There had to be some way to cheer her up …

"Guys! I have an idea!"

Lucy sat in the wheelchair, carefully moving around her apartment. In the two days she had been moving around in it, she had absorbed a lot of respect for people that had to live like this every single day of their lives.

Holding a broom in her hands, she used it to prod open the cupboard above the counter, where she couldn't reach. When it swung open, Lucy angled the broom to carefully move the cereal box towards the edge where it would hopefully fall into her lap. But before it could, a muscular arm appeared over the blonde, grabbing it.

Natsu.

"Mavis! You gave me a fright. I hadn't heard you come in. Did you use the window again?" Lucy interrogated.

Natsu sweat dropped, "Of course not. I use the door now."

Lucy spied locked door with the chain still in place from where she sat, relieving a sigh. "Surrrrrre you did."

"Luce," a huge smiled spreading over his face. "I have a surprise for you!"

Lucy raised her eyebrow in question.

"Natsu, put me down or I swear to god when I can walk again I will kick your ass!"

"I look forward to it!" Natsu said cheerily.

Natsu was carrying Lucy bridal style. And many, many people stared openly at them without shame as they walked along the street.

"This is embarrassing, please, take me home." Burying her head into his chest, Natsu felt his heart flip.

"No. You're miserable at home. And friends cheer you up. So …"

Kicking open the doors to the guild, they were both hollered with cheers and greetings before turning back to whatever they were doing before. Lucy noticed they didn't stare at her or comment, but held the suspicion that they knew. Had Natsu said something to them, told them not to bring it up?

Natsu walked to the table set aside for a little privacy. Erza and Gray sat there, smiling at Lucy kindly and admiration. Pulling out a chair with his foot, Natsu sat in it, Lucy now on his lap without question.

"Lucy, "Erza started. "Natsu has come up with a little surprise for you. You have three days left of your predicament, and we will ease it. You think you're a burden like this. We are going to show you otherwise." Standing up, Erza left. Gray winked before sliding out of his seat and ambled away.

"Natsu? What surprise?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Home."

"I will take you everywhere but home. And to prove you are not a burden, I will carry you everywhere you want. So now, where do you want to go?"

"You're serious?"

"Deadly serious." His eyes twinkled, watching her expression change from surprise to hidden happiness.

The stellar mage thought about it carefully. Somewhere that wasn't too far, no place that will cost money for either of them.

It would get tiring for him, Lucy realised. Constantly holding her, maybe not at first, but over time.

"A park. We'll eat. We'll get food either here or at my place. I want to be outside …"

Natsu looked over his shoulder to where Mira was serving at the bar. Whistling to catch the take-over mages attention, Mira looked over with a knowing smile. Reaching below the counter, she pulled out a basket.

"What?" Lucy's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "How?"

"I have known you for one year, eight if you count the seven year gap, and in that time I have known you well."

Mira dropped the basket on the table in front of them, "Have fun you two."

Meeting eyes with the Dragon Slayer, subconsciously Lucy inhaled a deep breath. He had changed in front of her. He was always cute, but now there was handsomeness she hadn't seen before. How had Lucy never seen him this way?

Natsu frowned, "Is there food on my face?"

Looking away, "No. I'm just grateful you are my friend."

Chuckling, "Let's go you weirdo."

The sun was hot while Natsu laid out the blanket that Mira had packed for them. Inside were chicken and Lettuce sandwiches. Cold drinks. Chocolates. Two containers of chopped up fruit. And best of all, fortune cookies.

"Did Mira make this for us?"

Natsu hummed in response.

"So kind of her."

"Your important to her, she would do anything that would make you happy."

Lucy blushed, looking away. The park was full. Parents watching the kids. Kites in the air. The smell of barbeque wafting everywhere.

The lunch was enjoyable. Natsu wasn't erratic, he was calm. Lucy knew this was because she couldn't do anything, so Natsu was only able to sit down and talk. And somehow, if it were even possible, they got to know each other better.

"And Erza and Gray, why aren't they here?"

"Gray gets you tomorrow, and Erza the day after."

More people came and left the park, until Lucy and Natsu had out lasted everyone who was there before them. Time skipped by faster, as it always seems to do when you have fun.

Natsu carried Lucy on his back, who grinned the whole way to the library. Not an ounce of embarrassment in her.

"So how is your day so far?" Natsu asked smiling.

"Better than I would have hoped. I still can't believe you are doing this for me … I will never complain about you breaking in again!"

Not thinking through with her words, Natsu smirked, noting to hold this against her for upcoming years.

"You have a whole day to be carried around and you want to spend it in a library?" Natsu was miffed.

"A library holds thousands of worlds in them. Why would I want to be anywhere else?"

"I dunno. But it doesn't matter, because I promise to make this an awesome day, and whatever Gray and Erza have planned, it won't be better than the day you have spent with me!"

Howling with laughter, "Everything is a competition with you!"

"Of course it is!"

At the end of the day, when Natsu carried Lucy home bridal style, he couldn't help think they were in different positions. Lucy, asleep in his arms gave him time to think of what happened on the mission in detail. He would be dead if he had swallowed the purple flames, and Lucy had taken the hit for him without a care for her own body.

She was paying the price for it now.

"I will protect you better from now on," Natsu promised himself quietly.

The next morning, Lucy woke up with an arm draped around her. The bed felt warm, and she knew it wasn't the morning rays.

There was a knock at the door, and without waiting for an answer Gray let himself in. He raised an eyebrow at the recently awakened blonde, and the sleeping Natsu.

"Morning sunshine! Need me to kick the booty of the beast?" Gray joked, looking at the snoring Natsu.

"He'll wake up on his own soon enough. What's the plan today?" Lucy asked eagerly, her small bout of depression gone since she had left home yesterday.

Gray picked up on the giddy voice of him team mate. "It's a surprise. And it will beat whatever that bozo did for you yesterday," He said it good naturedly.

Natsu stirred, "Shut up ice prince or I will – fire is good." Natsu insult drifted back into his dream talk.

Gray snorted. "He must sense my presence if he tried to insult me while sleeping. I'm cooking breakfast. What do you want?"

Lucy was surprised he could cook at all. Bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast were served, and at this Natsu woke up from his slumber. The smell drifting over to the bed. He cracked an eye open.

When Lucy had bathed and dressed herself, Gray entered and carried Lucy out. It's strange to be carried by someone different, Lucy thought. After being held by Natsu all day yesterday, Lucy had come familiar with the feel of Natsu holding her.

"Don't drop her!" Natsu fretted, looking anxiously at Gray.

"Calm down Natsu, I ain't made of glass." Lucy smiled. Gray rolled his eyes, and pretended to lose grip on the blonde. It had resulted in Natsu laying sprawled on the floor, on his belly, with his arms outstretched to where she would have fallen.

"Not funny!" The Dragon Slayer snapped, "That's not something to joke about."

"I'll see you later, Natsu."

Lucy was carried on Gray's back blind folded. "So I don't get one clue to where I am being led?"

"Nope."

"Not a tiny one?"

"Nothing."

"It is one thing to no be able to walk, but another to not be able to see."

Gray sighed, "You more lively then I remember you being. Did something happen yesterday?"

"I became more grateful for having you in my life. Everyone, really."

Gray walked straight into the building, having already paid ahead for the two. Lucy noticed that the temperature had dropped, and there air almost seemed stale.

"Where – where are we?"

Placing the Celestial mage in a chair, he carefully took off the blindfold, making sure not to pull on the hair. "An ice skating ring."

"But I can't …"

"Don't worry about it. What shoe size are you?"

"Eight. But I can't skate like this." Looking down at her legs.

"I have something in mind. You think you can't do anything when you are a burden, I will show you that you can still have good experiences even when crippled, and you will see that you are not a burden. Natsu showed that yesterday that being disabled does not change a true friendship. And did he seemed burdened? No, he didn't. And I'm going to show that you can still have fun, you can still do what you think you can't. You can still have experiences."

"Gray …"

Gray left to get Ice skates and a normal chair. Putting the shoes on for her, Gray lifted the blonde onto the chair, and then lifted the chair onto the ice where it was easier to push around.

It was in no time Gray had Lucy squealing with laugher going crazy speeds. The ice mage held onto the back of the chair, and made an ice rail so the blonde wouldn't fall off. Taking fast turns, halting, and spinning, swerving, the stellar mage couldn't stop the glow of happiness that she radiated.

"I swear I'm gonna die!" she beamed, resisting the urge to close her eyes when coming close to the side of the ice ring. Gray chuckled.

Slowing down after a little while longer, he pulled the chair to a stop at the door, and lifted the Lucy (who was still on the chair) to a small space for people to sit. They ate in silence, and when it was time to leave, Gray positioned himself lower on the ground for Lucy to loop her arms around his neck, and once the stellar mage had gripped on, he grabbed her legs and carried her.

"Sorry if this is hard," Apologising, Lucy didn't want to give Gray back pains.

Gray snorted.

"You're light as hell. Don't stress about it." Carrying the Celestial mage out of the building.

"So what are you doing?" Lucy looked over her shoulder at Erza. The red haired mage pushed the wheelchair towards the guild. She would have curried her friend but she was sure that her amour would have been uncomfortable to lean on.

"Natsu showed you company. Gray showed you experiences. I wills show you physical burden."

Lucy sat in the chair, facing Erza in the training room when they arrived at their destination. And what Lucy would have deemed as something extremely crazy to lift, Erza looked at it like it was nothing.

No, this was utter madness.

"Erza, no!" Eyes wide, staring at the weight that rested on the ground in front of Titania.

"When Natsu came to us with his idea, he asked what we would all do for our day. Natsu wanted to show you that true friends will be there when there is change, whether it be physical or mental trauma. Gray claimed that he would show you that you could still go out and enjoy life, that there was still things to be experienced. When Natsu asked me what I would do, I didn't know what to think. What more could be done? And then I thought about it, I thought about our ride to the mission, you fretted that you held us back, that you slowed us down. Instead, you saved Natsu's life. So I thought to myself, Lucy, that I will show you what physical burden really looks like."

The Celestial mage had no words, but stared mouth agape at the fearless friend in front of her. Looking down at the weights in front of her, Erza leaned forward. Legs apart and grabbed the bar. Lucy didn't even what to know what she was lifting, partly in fear.

Heaving it up, the red head released a cry of pain. "T-this hurts … me," taking heavy puffs of air, "I can barely lift t-t-this!"

"Erza stop!" Lucy commanded. But Erza did not stop.

The armoured mage looked at her friend, concern and fear etched into her face, "Dose this look like a burden?" taking one large heavy pull she raised it above her head, holding it steadily, pain screwing up her face.

Nodding rapidly in hope Erza would drop it.

"This is burden Lucy! And this is not you!" She yelled, before letting it fall in front of her with a mighty clang.

"Erza! –"

"Lucy," looking levelly at the blonde sternly, "tell me what you are right now."

Staring blankly, "What? Human?"

"Are-you-a-burden?"

"N-no."

Pleased with her answer she moved to push Lucy out of the training room, and back to the main hall. In the centre of the room, Natsu on the table like a gospel preaching to any listeners that would stay. "You should have seen her!" he boosted, "I had never seen anyone so quick to save my –"Looking up to see Lucy enter the room, people followed his gaze from his silence, breaking into grin when they saw the hero of the story.

Jumping down from the table, Natsu strode over to where Lucy was, taking over from Erza with a acknowledged nod, and steered her towards a quiet corner.

Taking a seat in front of the blonde, Natsu leaned in. "What do you think?" in reference to the last two days.

"That I have the most amazing friends in the world," she said earnestly.

"I already know I am pretty magnificent –"

"- And egotistical –"

"But what do you … feel?" eyes searching her brown orbs curiously, for a sign, a signal? Something!

"That … I'm not a burden?"

With calloused hand he pulled the wheelchair closer, a surprised 'eep' escaping from Lucy. "I don't want you to ever leave my life," he spoke almost in a whisper.

Angling her head better to his own, "Good for you, I don't plan to leave it. Ever."

Rolling his eyes playfully, "Well, I guess I'm stuck with you forever." Leaning forward, he gave Lucy his first, and most awkward, kiss.

After hearing some woof whistles in the background, Natsu pulled away, waiting for the exclamation of surprise, but saw a genuine smile.

"Yep. I'm never leaving your life."