Work Text:
Lucy hummed as she tapped a finger against her chin as she pursued the display in front of her.
She and the rest of Team Natsu were on their way to the location to begin the hundred-year quest and happened to stop through Hargeon. Memories of first meeting Natsu flashed through her mind when they first arrived and it had set her in a good mood. Seeing that there was a fair going on, Erza had made the executive decision for them all to stop for a few hours to enjoy the wares and food of it all.
They all knew the true reason was because of the cake stand they saw in an advertisement.
“Luuuuuushi~” Natsu whined like a child with her childish nickname. “I’m bored~” His arms were crossed over his broad chest and his head was thrown back as he whined.
“Is Lucy being vain again?” Happy asked in his fake-innocent voice. “She already has a ton of jewelry.”
“Oh, can it, Happy,” Lucy scoffed with no real heat behind her words. Her long blonde hair fluttered through the air as she scanned her chocolate brown eyes across the wares with a finger still tapping at her chin.
Natsu and Happy had tagged along when Lucy announced that she was going to check out the stands. Wendy and Carla had decided to take Erza’s offer for cake tasting while Gray had gone solo to walk around the fair. At the moment, Lucy was bent at the waist looking down at all the bracelets that the stand had. They were in an assortment of gold and silver with their designs featuring the zodiac signs.
It was something that had immediately caught the celestial spirit mage’s attention and she was looking for a bracelet to represent her dear spirits. Natsu was to her side as he waited but didn’t quiet his complaints. What Lucy didn’t see was how Natsu sent any man that looked at her backside a glare so filled with venom that they went running for the hills. Even the stall owner had left to whisper behind a hand to another vendor from how Natsu had glared at him for looking down Lucy’s shirt.
Her very own guard dog – or dragon protecting a princess was a better description.
“Which one do you think I should get, Natsu?” Lucy asked as her eyes skimmed over a bracelet with the symbols of Gemini imprinted all over it.
“Nothing with that perverted lion,” Natsu answered in a bored tone.
“Loke isn’t that bad,” Lucy huffed when she looked over at the Virgo bracelet.
“He is always asking you to marry him,” Natsu scoffed. Seeing that Lucy was having a hard time deciding, Natsu coped Lucy’s position to look down at the display with her. Happy was draped over Natsu’s head and he joined in.
“He’s just a little flirty,” Lucy giggled and shook her head at the silver bracelet of Pisces that Happy pointed out.
“Luce, I’ve seen that perv with four women on his arm at the same time. He’s not just a little flirty,” Natsu rolled his eyes. As he did so, he noticed a gold bracelet that had all the zodiac signs featured around the circumference of it.
“Whatever,” Lucy giggled as shook her head with a huff of bemusement. It was funny to her how bothered Natsu got when Loke flirted with Lucy. She was never going to date Loke with their contract as master and spirit, and Loke knew it. He only did it to keep up appearances and to make her laugh at times.
A smile worked its way onto the dragon slayer’s face when came to the decision that this would be the bracelet that Lucy would love. Natsu reached down to grab the bracelet that he saw. “Hey, Luce, what do you—"
“Lucky?” a new voice cut through the din of the crowd to Lucy’s left that she faintly recognized. “Lucky Heartfilia? Is that you?”
Standing up straight, Lucy looked to her left to see who was calling her. It was a young man a bit older than her with slicked back brown hair and a suit that screamed he had money. There was smile lines around his eyes and he didn’t have the air of the stuck-up posh people that Lucy had been surrounded with for most of her childhood.
“Alan?” Lucy furrowed her brow as her lips quirked up in a polite smile. “Alan Clovercloud?”
“It is you!” the stranger’s face broke out in a wide smile as he closed the distance between them. Old habits kicked into Lucy as he reached a hand out and Lucy slipped her hand into his. He pressed a short, greeting kiss to the back of it as he bowed forward with the other arm behind his back. “You look so different, Lucky! But you still look so young!” he beamed as he straightened but didn’t let go of her hand.
“It’s what happens when you leave the rich life behind and get frozen on an island for 7 years,” Lucy laughed as her other hand came up to cover her mouth.
Natsu and Happy looked between Lucy and this new guy. The smile had slipped off of Natsu’s face to be replaced with a frown. A low growl that was barely discernable hit Happy’s ear and that exceed flicked his eyes over to see the growing frown on the fire dragon slayer’s face. The exceed decided to stay quiet in this situation as he could see Natsu’s jealously over this new face and his familiarity with Lucy.
“I had heard rumors that you had run off to join a magic guild – it seems that they were true,” Alan chuckled and looked down at the hand he was holding to see her pink Fairy Tail guild mark. “Between me and you, I’m happy for you, Lucky.”
“Why do you keep calling her that?” Natsu butted in as he finally had enough. Shouldering his way between Lucy and Alan to force the man to let go of the celestial key keeper’s hand, Natsu placed himself in the middle. He kept his arms crossed over his chest and flexed his muscles to intimidate the new guys. Happy had floated off of Natsu’s head at the jerk of movement and stayed in the air just above their heads.
“Because that’s her name?” Alan said in unsure tone and peeked around Natsu to quirk an eyebrow at Lucy. “Lucky, who is this guy? Do I need to call a patrolman?”
“It’s fine, Alan,” Lucy waved around the concern and came forward to stand at Natsu’s side. She patted a hand on Natsu’s warm and tan shoulder and felt the tension in him loosen by a fraction. “This is Natsu – my partner and the reason I’m a part of Fairy Tail.”
“And who is this punk, Lucy?” Natsu scoffed at Alan and narrowed his eyes.
“Alan is a friend of mine from back in the day,” Lucy answered with an easy smile. “Our parents were in the same social circles so we saw each other a lot during events.”
“He seems to be the friendly type,” Alan sassed as he looked at the sour look on Natsu’s face.
“Don’t mind him, he just gets fussy with new people,” Lucy huffed as she ignored Natsu’s indignant grunt and turned her full attention to Alan. “What’s going on with you?! What are you doing in Hargeon?”
“I finally took over the family business,” Alan said with pride, puffing out his chest. “Clovercloud Trading handles a lot of deals with many of the vendors here today so I came out to talk with them and create new contracts.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Lucy beamed with her hands clapped together. “Are your parents enjoying their retirement?”
“More than you know,” Alan laughed. “It was so hard to get father to pass the torch to me but now he’s saying he wished it did it so much sooner. He and mother are down by the coast right now and enjoying every moment of it.”
“Oh, that’s so great for them,” Lucy cooed. She turned to Natsu and ignored the sour look on his face. “Alan’s parents were some of my favorites of my dad’s connections. His mother always used to sneak me cookies at galas and his father was just a delight to talk to.”
“Goodie,” Natsu grumbled in a low voice with a roll of his eyes.
“I’m glad they are so well regarded by you,” Alan smiled and clasped his hands together behind his back. “I’ll have to let them I saw you the next time I write them.” His eyes turned down in the corners as his mouth fell. “I was really sorry to hear about your father.”
“Ahh…” Lucy trailed off as the mood turned gloomy. “Thank you for your worries. I wish I got to see him one last time before he passed but we were able to finally patch things up in the end. I’m thankful for that at least.”
“It is good to hear that,” Alan nodded along. “Listen, if you need anything, Lucky, you can—”
“Lucy,” Natsu growled and puffed his chest out as his annoyance was reaching a boiling point. “Her name is Lucy. If you’re such good friends, then why do you keep calling her the wrong name?”
“Natsu—” Lucy started to say with a hand on his shoulder.
“How are you her partner and not know her real name?” Alan asked in disbelief. “Lucy is her nickname. Lucky is her real name.”
Natsu scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “I think I would have been told already what Lucy’s real name. Luce, tell this punk…” Natsu trailed off and his anger tempered down when he saw the ashamed look on Lucy’s face. “…Lucy, is this guy right? Your name is…Lucky?”
“Natsu, I think this is a conversation for the two of us,” Lucy said quietly.
Natsu looked between Lucy and Alan – who was just so confused by this point – before the corners of his mouth turned down in a severe frown. “Whatever,” he huffed before turning away from them both. “Go have fun with your childhood friend. Let’s go, Happy.”
The exceed hesitated for a moment before following after Natsu as he pushed his way through the crowd. “Natsu! Wait!” Lucy called after him. She shifted from foot to foot as she looked at Natsu’s departing back. “Alan, I’ll write to you. Sorry, I have to go,” she apologized.
“It’s okay, Lucky,” Alan said with an easy smile. “It was good to talk to you a bit. Don’t be a stranger.”
Lucy nodded before running through the crowd after Natsu.
She was in big trouble this time.
“Natsu, I said I’m sorry,” Lucy groaned as she followed after the pouting dragon slayer.
Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla looked over when the missing trio had arrived at the rendezvous spot at the edge of town. The girls had more than enjoyed their time trying out many samples of cake and Gray had found a quiet spot where he had people watched while enjoying a cup of shaved ice. They all had been put in such high spirits that they expected the other three to also come back like them. They saw how Natsu was trudging his feet with his shoulders slumped, looking resolutely away from Lucy.
“Trouble in paradise?” Gray snorted with his hands dug deep into his pant pockets.
“Shut it, stripper,” Natsu hissed as he shouldered past Gray.
“What crawled up your ass and died?” Gray scoffed.
“Why don’t you ask Lucky?” Natsu grumbled with his back to Lucy.
“Who?” Erza raised an eyebrow. She looked behind the group to try and spot this new person that Natsu was mentioning.
“Natsu, can you please just let me explain?” Lucy asked exasperatedly.
“I don’t even know you anymore,” Natsu pouted and made sure to place himself on the opposite of the group from Lucy. He turned towards her and there was a mix of disappointment and sadness in his eyes. “Do I, Lucky?” he asked with her real name being hissed.
“It’s really not that big of a deal, Natsu,” Lucy said with a sigh.
“What are we missing here?” Erza asked Happy as she looked between the two mages.
“And why is Natsu calling Lucy Lucky?” Wendy asked. She held Carla in her arms.
“Because that’s apparently her real name and never told us,” Happy answered with a betrayed tone that matched Natsu’s.
“How many times do I have to apologize?” Lucy whined with her face being dropped into her hands in exasperation.
Erza’s eyes widened as she looked at Lucy in surprise. “Your name is Lucky and we’ve been calling you the wrong thing this entire time?” she asked.
“Yes and no,” Lucy grimaced.
“Your name is Lucy,” Gray frowned as he tried to make sense of what he was hearing.
“Legally, it’s Lucky. Lucy is my nickname,” Lucy answered with a shrug. “Lucky ‘Lucy’ Heartfilia.”
“No way,” Gray’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t believe it.”
“I can show you my birth certificate and the announcement in the news if you want proof,” Lucy offered. “I’m sure I have my embroidered baby blanket packed away somewhere.”
“How have we known you this long and never known your real name?” Erza asked in wonder.
“Because I didn’t advertise it,” Lucy answered with a grimace and shy shrug. “Lucky ‘Lucy’ Heartfilia is the heir to the Heartfilia Konzern and has to wear stuffy dresses and get married to another man of high society to bear him a son to continue the line.” With a huff, she turned away from everyone and hugged herself. “I didn’t want that life anymore so I dropped my old name and became just Lucy. Then I met Natsu and soon I became Lucy of Fairy Tail – and I am more than content with that.”
“Oh, Lucy…” Erza sighed.
It was no secret that Lucy had a very different upbringing than the four of them. She was pampered with all the things that money could buy and never lacked anything. If she wanted it, it could be bought. Her education was far more advanced than all four of them combined and she often showed it when needed it.
But it was so lonely and lacked the warmth of love.
Lucy had made the efforts to connect with everyone in the guild one way or another. As much love she received, Lucy returned tenfold. She was the first one to help when someone needed and would offer the shirt off of her back if she had to. There had been so many times she had fought for her guildmates just like they had for her when Phantom Lord attacked the guild for Lucy.
Lucy had put her all into becoming a highly beloved member of the guild. If someone came for Lucy or even looked at her the wrong way, the wrath of the entire guild would be on their doorstep. She was the kindest soul and a generally just amazing person.
She really became Lucy of Fairy Tail and no one else.
The fire dragon slayer dug his nails into palms and bit down on his lip. Natsu left suddenly, stomping his feet as he rushed into the forest. “I’ll go after him,” Lucy as she followed after her partner.
(Erza plucked Happy out of the air when he went to fly after them. The exceed looked up at the knight in confusion. “I think it’s better if the two of them talk this through themselves.”
“I wonder how long until they finally admit how they feel,” Gray smirked and leaned back with a hand on his hip.
“With their current streak, not for another few years,” Happy grumbled.
“I’ll need to update my bet,” Gray sighed in disappointment.
“Gray, your clothes,” Carla said dryly as she covered Wendy’s eyes.
“When did that happen?!” Gray exclaimed when he looked down to see he was down to just his underwear again.)
“Natsu, wait!” Lucy called after Natsu. He stalked easily through the trees and over the roots of the forest. On the contrary, Lucy was struggling to keep up with his pace. He was just a few strides in front of her by this point and if she reached out just enough, her fingers could brush against the back of his vest. “Natsu, would you please stoo-OOP?!” she screeched as her foot caught on a root and she started falling forward.
Quick as a whip, Natsu had turned around to cross the distance in-between them to catch Lucy. The two of them had fallen to their knees but at least Lucy hadn’t faceplanted into the dirt. “Jeez, Luce, you can be so clumsy,” he murmured.
Tears unwilling welled up in Lucy’s eyes as she heard her special nickname that only Natsu called her. It had become an unspoken rule that only Natsu could ever get to call her Luce and everyone in the guild followed suit. One time when Sabertooth was visiting, Sting had called her Luce and he had gotten stuck in the roof of the guild from Natsu’s flying punch at him.
It quickly spread to the other guilds after that that only Natsu could call the celestial spirit mage by that nickname.
Leaning forward, Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu’s waist in the hug. Natsu seemed to tense slightly at the touch before relaxing into it with a blissful sigh. He wrapped his arms loosely around Lucy shoulders to return the hug and felt the way Natsu’s nose dug into her hair.
Lucy let the two of them stay in that hug for as long as Natsu needed. She could feel the way he was breathing in her scent and didn’t fight against it. It was something he had started doing after he watched future Lucy die to calm himself down. At first she had been confused about it but Natsu as explained that smelling her scent told him that she was still there with him, that she was safe and sound with him.
Natsu tended to feel things in big ways. Whether the feeling be happiness, anger, sadness, excitement, or anything in between. So, when it was getting too hard for him to regulate himself back down from whatever he was feeling, Lucy hugged Natsu to let him breathe in her scent once again.
Being so close to him, Lucy could feel how his heart started to slow down from its rapid pace. His arms shifted around her as he pulled her closer, his arms relaxing.
“Why didn’t you tell me at least?” Natsu murmured against her hair.
Lucy sighed and ran a hand up and down Natsu’s back. “I really didn’t think of it as that big of a deal. The only people that called me Lucky were my friends that I barely got to see and their parents. My parents and servants always called me Lucy.”
“I feel like I’m seeing a whole new side of you,” Natsu heaved a sigh.
Pulling back, Lucy gently grabbed Natsu’s face to make him look her in the eye. “I’m still the Lucy you dragged from here to Fairy Tail and went on so many wacky and world-ending adventures with. When we have the time, I can tell you more about my childhood but there is nothing really note-worthy.”
“If it’s you, everything is important,” Natsu said way too smoothly for Lucy’s feelings.
Her face grew red as it heated up, even more as Natsu’ gently pulled the hand with her guild mask from his face and kissed the back of it like Alan had done in greeting before.
“Oh, by the way, I got you something,” Natsu said as he pulled away from Lucy’s hand after securing something around it.
Lucy was about to ask what it was when she saw something sparkle around her wrist. Eyes growing round, she saw a golden bracelet that looked a lot like the ones from the stand she had been looking at before. This one had all the zodiac signs etched around the edges of it with small dainty gems of all colors in-between each zodiac sign.
“Natsu, it’s beautiful,” Lucy breathed and clutched it tight to her chest. “Thank you so much.”
“Anything for you, Luce,” Natsu smiled that toothy grin she loved on him. Standing up and brushing off his pants, he held his hand out to Lucy. “Let’s get back to the others. I’m all fired up to start this quest already!”
Lucy giggled and put her hand into Natsu’s, letting him help her off the ground. “I really am sorry for not telling you sooner,” she apologized one last time with all the regret she could put in it.
Still holding her hand, Natsu started leading the two of them back to their teammates. “Eh, I’m over it now,” Natsu shrugged with his smile still on his face. “Like you said earlier, you’re Lucy of Fairy Tail now and that’s all that matters.”
Lucy’s heart grew warm at the confirmation again that she was part of Fairy Tail.
She was Lucy of Fairy Tail and that’s all she had ever needed for a name.
BONUS SCENE:
“Are you really sure that you’re not mad anymore?” Lucy fretted that night after they had set up camp.
Everyone else had already gone to bed for the night while Natsu and Lucy stayed up. They were on the edge of the camp and laying on their backs to look up at the star-filled nighttime sky. Lucy had stayed up to admire the stars like the celestial mage she is and Natsu had decided to stick by her so she could point out the constellations again to him. It had become a tradition between the two of them to enjoy the stars while out on a mission while everyone else slept.
“I’m over it,” Natsu said with a shrug. He turned his head to look at Lucy and his salmon-pink colored hair drifted softly through the air with the breeze. “Besides, whether your name is Lucky, Lucy or even Ashley, you’ll always be my Luce,” he said with his big toothy grin.
Heat flooded onto Lucy’s face at Natsu’s delivery and she looked away to hide it. Behind her, Natsu quirked an eyebrow up in confusion before shaking his head as he dismissed it as Lucy being weird again. Meanwhile, Lucy was trying to calm her beating heart.
‘Maybe someday really soon, I’ll tell him how I feel,’ Lucy thought to herself.
For now, Lucy would just enjoy the stars with Natsu by her side.