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Lucy was on her way back to her apartment. Her train had arrived back in Magnolia only a few minutes prior. The young woman had taken a simple job request in Onibus so she could get the last 10,000 J required for her rent. The day was warm. The afternoon heat from the sun made her comfortable in her light sweater even as the cool fall breeze brushed through her hair. Stray wisps of blonde wildly dance around her face and she couldn’t help the smile that was plastered on her face.
The job had gone well, really well. The client had liked her so much that he’d invited her back once a month to help in his small magic shop. The place was small, quaint, and perfect. Instead of catering to the popular demand of household tricks (e.g., the outfit color changer), the owner preferred curating odd magical antiques which he cleaned up and then sold to the passing noble or collector. Lucy had been asked to help identify some of the objects Joshua, the owner, had come across on his last expedition. Between her research skills and his experience, they were able to determine that the carved Stellian fertility goddess was, in fact, an object that had been charmed to curse men with infertility if they harmed the statue’s owner. They had both found the tiny artifact fascinating and nerded out about it for over an hour. Lucy was extremely excited to be invited back.
Now she just needed to keep Natsu away so the place didn’t go up in flames.
As she continued down the main market street of Magnolia she hummed feeling delighted. Up ahead, outside of a small diner, Lucy spotted Happy floating in place, white wings fluttering gently as if he were impatiently waiting for someone to exit the diner. Which was probably the case. Natsu was most like stopping for take-out.
As the blonde approach, the door to the shop opened and she caught the fragments of conversation as a pink haired dragon slayer exited carrying three bags of boxed up food.
“Next time bring that girlfriend of yours with, ‘eh?”
“His girlfriend?” Lucy wondered softly. She would have to ask about that. If Natsu had a secret girlfriend, as his best friend she deserved to know who it was.
“Yeah, sure,” Natsu replied as he waved dismissively at the waiter.
“I mean it, kid! She’s the only reason why I still serve your ass!” the waiter yelled at the Fairy Tail mage’s retreating form.
“Hey, Natsu!” Lucy called, gaining the man’s attention as well as her best friend’s.
“Well hey there pretty lady!” the waiter waved to her. “Good to see you’re back to keep this little shit in line!”
Lucy cocked her head to the side. She knew Natsu had crappy manners and eating habits, but he really wasn’t that bad, right? And even if she was with him, Natsu was a force of nature. Nothing besides the threat of Erza could keep the slayer in line. She wondered if Erza was Natsu’s girlfriend. If the waiter was asking for his girlfriend who kept him under control, then who else could it be? She wondered when that had happened. If Erza and Natsu were dating, why hadn’t she noticed? Neither of them were very subtle people.
Lucy smiled brightly anyway and called back, “You know it!” before she turned to face her grumbling friend. She was determined to figure out the girlfriend mystery.
“Hey, Luce! You’re back!” Natsu cheered. “I was just headed to your place.”
“Lusshhhie’s place is the best!”
“Yeah, little buddy! Your bed just ain’t the same when you ain’t in it,” Natsu grinned like a child and Lucy’s temper flared.
“You’ve been sleeping in my bed?” the girl yelled. Her face was now red and her eyes were shining with a unique kind of rage. “Go sleep in your girlfriend’s bed!” Lucy screamed. “What the hell, Natsu!”
Natsu looked at his blue-furred flying cat, eyes showing a concerned kind of confusion. Happy, however, couldn’t stop himself from the giggles that were bubbling up from his tummy and shoved his tiny paws over his mouth to stifle it.
“You’re a weirdo, Luce,” Natsu sighed.
“I’m a weirdo? You’re the one who keeps breaking into my house when I’m not there and sleeping in my bed!” Lucy heaved a breath at the end of her statement having run out of air in her attempt to reach a new pitch of screaming. Maybe the louder she got the more serious he would take her anger?
Natsu rolled his eyes and Happy had tears running down his furry cheeks from the effort of trapping his laughter. The fire mage shrugged his shoulders, ignoring Lucy’s outburst and started to head to her apartment.
Lucy watched him for a moment. She was stunned into a sort of silent awe as he ignored her outrage at his behavior. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After all, this wasn’t anything new. She had known for a while now that Natsu would stay at her place when she left for a solo mission. She wasn’t sure why, though. He had his own house, and (if that man were to be believed) his own girlfriend to torture.
The girlfriend bit was new to her, however. Her curiosity peaked again. Who in their right mind would date Natsu Dragneel? Sure he was a great friend and loyal to his Nakama, but until she’d heard the waiter declare his dating status, Lucy had been sure the man was asexual. His only interest was getting stronger and finding the next big battle to fight. She was somewhat positive her best friend didn’t truly distinguish men as different from women.
Natsu turned the corner onto her street, Happy flying lazily over his head, and Lucy realized that if she wanted a chance to be in her home to relax without the bottomless stomach of her best friend, then she would have to move quickly. Even though her solo job had not been strenuous, Lucy was looking forward to taking a bath in her wonderfully remodeled bathroom. Her Land Lady had recently taken to remodeling the whole complex, which caused a 25,000 J increase in rent each month, but the upgrades were worth it. It made her have to take on more solo jobs, but she couldn’t find anything to complain about. A bigger kitchen, a tub with jets, fresh paint, and new heating and air units. It was amazing.
Lucy was panting when she finally caught up to Natsu, passed him, and run up the stairs to her apartment. She shut the door rather forcefully and locked it.
“Why ya lockin’ the door, Luce?” Natsu’s voice came from behind her. He was already inside. Why? How? Lucy’s shoulders slumped as she slowly turned to face the dragon slayer.
“Just tryin’ to keep unwanted guest from barging in,” she mumbled.
Of course, her best friend had no trouble hearing her, his hearing more sensitive than the average bat listening to the quiet chirp of their sonar.
“Unwanted guest? Ya expectin’ company?”
“Aye! Is someone visiting for dinner?” Happy chimed in.
Lucy glared at her friends. Did it not even occur to them that THEY were the unwanted guests? “I was talking about YOU!” she yelled. “Go eat at your own home! Or better yet, go invade your girlfriend’s privacy!” She was stomping up to the duo, preparing to release an epic Lucy-Kick.
Lucy let her foot fly only for it to be caught in Natsu’s hand as he smiled disarmingly at her, “Aw Luce, ya don’t mean that!”
He had lifted her off the ground by her ankle. Her only coherent thought being that she was glad she was not wearing a towel this time. It had been none too embarrassing the last time he’d had her like this after she’d left the bath. When her towel had slipped off… Well. It had been mortifying. Natsu had acted a bit off after the incident, but only for a few hours. He’d looked haunted, which had done absolutely ZERO for her self esteem.
“Put me down, Natsu.”
Happy was rolling on the floor laughing. He paused long enough to say, “Aye Natsu, your arm must be getting tired after holding up all her weight!” Then the blue menace continued to roll around on her new hardwood floors.
The pink haired idiot shrugged and let her fall gracelessly onto the floor. Her head hit first, and then her shoulders and elbows. The rest of her thunking onto the floor loudly causing the neighbor underneath her to knock loudly on the floor, a quiet call for her to stop stomping around.
Lucy moaned in pain. “Oooww, Natsu! I didn’t mean to drop me!” So much for coming home unharmed. Well. She had made it into the apartment at least.
Slowly Lucy sat up and glared at her friend who had moved over to her dining table with his bags of food and was starting to unpack everything. There were at least three entres and four desserts that had been packaged expertly by the wait staff at the dinner he had bought from. They both frequented the place often, but she was still curious about what girlfriend he had been taking there.
“So, Natsu,” Lucy started after she stood from the floor and moved to join her friend at the table, “who's your girlfriend? Do I know her?”
Natsu had moved to the kitchen and was rummaging through her drawers to find silverware. “Huh?” he answered.
“Lucy wants to know if she knows who your giiiiirrrll ffffriend isss!” Happy sang.
Natsu looked between Lucy’s oddly eager face and Happy’s red cheeks (the cat was holding his breath in an attempt not to laugh). “Uh, sure Luce, you know her.” The dragon slayer was clearly confused by her questioning. She could tell because he was busy scratching at the back of his head.
“Is she in the guild?”
“Yeah,” Natsu shrugged. He sat at the table and opened the first container of food. A steak medium rare surrounded by mashed potatoes, steamed baby carrots, and green beans lay steaming in the container.
Lucy frowned. Natsu seemed off. If he had a girlfriend, wouldn’t he be a little more happy about it? Wouldn’t he be with her every chance he got?
“Are you gonna tell me who it is or do I gotta guess?” Lucy grumped.
“Yeah Natsu, tell her who your giiiiirlfriend is!” Happy chuckled. The cat had settled himself on the table top, a fish magically appearing in he paws. He started nibbling on the fish as he passed amused glances at his adoptive father figure.
Natsu rolled his eyes. “Ya know who it is Luce.” He sent her a meaningful look. He seemed slightly angry at her line of questioning. And for a second Lucy wondered if maybe they weren’t as closed of friends as she thought. Maybe he hadn’t told her for a reason? The only person who came to mind as a possibility was Mira’s little sister.
Lucy blinked dumbly, “Uh. Lisanna, then? Isn’t she mad about how often you break into my house at night?”
Natsu was chewing his food slowly and looking at the blonde woman like she was being a bit slow. “No, not Lisanna,” he said slowly after he swallowed his bite.
“Uh? Erza?”
Natsu put his fork down and was staring down the celestial mage with an intensity she was unable to identify. He shook his head ‘No’.
Lucy looked over to Happy who was starting to look concerned instead of amused. Did Natsu really not want her to know? Why were they staring her down like she was the enemy in battle? Maybe she should just drop it. She suddenly felt out of place in her own home. The looks the two were giving her made her feel anything but welcome.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Lucy apologized. “I’m going to get a bath. Clean up when you’re done?”
“Why are you askin’ about my girlfriend, Luce?” Natsu called as she turned to walk away.
“I didn’t know you had one,” she shrugged. “But I guess you didn’t tell me cause it wasn’t my business. I’m sorry for prying into your life, Natsu.”
“Didn’t know?” Happy murmured quietly. “How does she not know?”
Natsu stood abruptly. He glanced down at Happy looking startled. “I thought I was clear when I told her…”
“Lucy’s pretty dumb, so maybe she didn’t understand what you said?” Happy replied.
“I’M NOT DUMB, YOU STUPID CAT!!” Lucy turned and jumped at the blue feline, flailing wildly as he jumped into the air out of her reach, white wings spreading effortlessly.
“Sure you are Luuushie! How else do you not know you’re someone’s girlfriend!” the cat called as he zigged and zagged around the woman’s head.
Her arms stopped moving mid-reach. “Wh..What?” she whispered.
Natsu’s head tilted to the side in astonishment and amusement. “We’re partners, aren’t we?”
“Yeah?” Lucy answered breathlessly. “For years.”
Natsu nodded, looking at her meaningfully.
“But that’s just it, we’re just teammates,” Lucy said. “I mean, it’s not like … Just partners!”
She seemed a little desperate to prove Happy and Natsu wrong. She wasn’t dumb! No one had ever asked her to date them before besides that one guy at the bookstore and Dan Straight. And Natsu had TRICKED her into being partners. The definitely meant they weren’t … Dating. Right?
Natsu’s eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly turned down at her stuttered response. He didn’t know what to say. He thought that his actions were pretty clear. He’d even told her that they’d be together forever. What more needed to be said. Sure he thought it was odd how slow the relationship was moving, but for Luce to be so oblivious to the whole thing… Hurt.
Happy came to the rescue, “You guys have been joined at the hip since you came to Fairy Tail. Natsu had ripped apart the world in order to save you on multiple occasions. He has practically moved in with you. You sleep in the same bed every night… Lushie, how could you not know why?”
Lucy was too stunned to reply. She looked to Natsu’s strangely vulnerable expression to Happy pleading silently at her to understand. “We. You? And I? What?”
The silence between them turned awkward for the first time since they met in Hargeon. Lucy looked at her best friend. Really looked. His handsome features that she had pretended to ignore for so long seemed to stand out mocking her. His jawline that framed his face. The smile that was the equivalent to happiness in its purest state. The strong muscles of his body always tensed and ready for battle...except for the rare occasions when he was relaxed in her bed, asleep. She stepped closer to him. Going around the table so that she could get close enough to touch the man who she had apparently been dating since he had tricked her into being his partner.
His olive green eyes were gazing into her own and she felt guilt for the uncertainty that shown through. Natsu wasn’t really an emotional guy. Generally, he showed variations of joy and anger. Seeing this sadness on his face was unsettling. Was this what he was hiding from everyone the year he left to grieve his father’s death and train? Was he allowing her to seem him this way now because… because why?
She reached up to cup his cheek in her hand and said the only thing she could think of, “I’m sorry, Natsu. I will be better at this from now on, OK?”
His whole body relaxed. He smiled gently as he leaned his forehead down to rest against hers. “Good. I was getting worried that my girlfriend was gonna run away from me for a minute there.”
Lucy couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “We’re partners, right?”
“Aye!” Happy called out.
Natsu merely closed his eyes, content. “Aye,” he whispered.