Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lucy knew introducing her boyfriend to her best friends would be a challenge from the moment she started secretly dating him. Before becoming official with Kenji, she needed to make a few assessments, pave the way so things would go as smoothly as they possibly could. 

Lucy needed to prepare Natsu for the news. She knew her partner wasn’t very fond of the idea of changing habits, so Lucy made extra effort to assure and reassure that nothing in the world would change between them if she ever found someone she wanted to spend her life with. And she also gave slight hints and not so subtle indications she was waiting for this new phase to arrive sooner than later. 

Natsu could also be quite the possessive type towards her, and Lucy knew this behavior came from a place of worrying about her well-being. All of their closest friends teased her about Natsu’s ways, saying how much he liiiked her, but she knew better. She knew him. Seeing your dear friend die or get hurt as many times as he did would make anyone more protective. 

He was intense in his signs of affection by all means, of course, but Lucy was pretty sure it was all platonic. Natsu could be a little dense sometimes, but he knew his boundaries and the boundaries of the relationship he had with her well enough, and she had evidence to this claim as well:

As in like, with the exception of a few isolated events, he never willingly tried to kiss her. Not even on her cheek. It was a small indication that Natsu was able to define that these romantic gestures were not suited for their dynamic. He also didn’t throw the word “love” around, even though she knew he loved her - and everyone in the guild - very deeply. And most importantly, very platonically. He touched her sometimes, mostly by picking up her hand, instead of more intimate places, like guiding her by her waist or her low-back, and he seemed to recognize cuddling was a bit too much even for them. 

Yes, he would break into her house uninvited, steal all her food, play with her bras and sometimes he would sneak into her bed, but all of these behaviors indicated more of his silly and prankster nature than an actual romantic or sexual intention all around. Besides, Happy was always there, so she could also point out that perhaps Natsu thought it’d be a little weird if he did those things without that stupid cat as his accomplice. 

Most people in the guild gave up on waiting for anything more to happen between the two of them altogether. And everyone was well-aware of the mutual devotion they had for each other. There was no Natsu without Lucy. And there was no Lucy without him. Everyone around them understood that, and stopped questioning their peculiar relationship. 

She wasn’t so sure if her boyfriend would get it, though, so she needed to prepare Kenji for it too. Lucy was very much familiar with how guys could act around each other if there was a girl involved. She felt a little flattered by the thought of two guys being possessive over her, but Lucy needed to stand her ground if she wanted things to work out with Kenji. She needed to make sure her boyfriend would get along with Natsu, and not grow suspicious of her partner each time he did or said something borderline insane about her. She wished for nothing more than a nice, peaceful first impression.

Lucy knew she was asking for too much as she wished for that. 

As the celestial wizard made her way to the door of her apartment, she stopped in front of it to tidy up Kenji’s peach-colored hair. 

“How are we feeling?” she asked. 

“A little nervous about finally meeting these two” Kenji replied, with a smile on his face. “They lived a lot of adventures with you.” 

“They did.” Lucy nodded. “Although if you’re not ready, we could always leave it to another day…”

“Lucy, my starlight” he called softly, his hands cupping her cheeks, which made her blush.  “I know how important this is to you. I promise I’ll do my best.” 

She felt her shoulders loosen up. 

“Thank you.” Lucy murmured, smiling back and leaning in as he gave a peck to the corner of her lips. Lucy was still getting used to all the kissing, but it was a nice change. It was nice to be wanted like that. As her bright red cheeks returned to a normal tone, she opened the door to her house. 

Lucy had called them yesterday and announced she had some very serious subject to discuss with both of them, and by the look on her face as she spoke, neither of them felt the need to joke about it. Lucy assured them that there was nothing wrong, but a few things were going to change, and she needed them to discuss it with her, so Lucy invited them to her house. 

Natsu and Happy were sitting on her couch, and it looked like she just interrupted a very heated card-game, as both of them screamed at each other mercilessly. 

“You’re a cheater, that’s whatchare!” Natsu snarked, pushing the cards away. 

“And you are a sore loser, Natsu!” Happy mocked, sitting comfortably on the cushions. 

The pair was so invested in their argument they didn’t even make much of Lucy’s entrance.  

“You think ya can fool me, uh?!” Natsu growled.

“Well, at least when I cheat I win!” Happy replied, showing his tongue to his friend. 

Lucy exchanged a knowing look with her boyfriend before turning her head again to her boys. “Sorry for the wait.” she stated, as they both turned their heads in her direction at the same time. 

Both of their expressions immediately changed. And as they stared at her and the unknown man, their faces carried a slight confusion, a curiosity. Carefully, Lucy placed her hand against Kenji’s. 

“Happy, Natsu… I-” she stuttered a little, and he gave her a tiny squeeze on her hand to reassure her, their fingers intertwined. “This is Kenji.”

Neither of the boys said anything. 

“He’s my boyfriend.” 

“Oh, boy” Happy murmured, burying himself more on the cushions. 

And after that, silence. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. Lucy has told me a lot about you two.” Kenji said, and Lucy thanked the stars that he didn't look intimidated by the silence. Perhaps because he didn’t know how uncommon of a response that was for the two loud pricks. 

Natsu took a few determined steps in their direction, and it made Lucy stop breathing for a few seconds in expectation and turmoil. Kenji also cringed by the sudden movements the dragon slayer did.

Natsu stopped right in front of Kenji, and with the most unexpected reaction, almost killing Lucy from embarrassment, Natsu sniffed Kenji deeply before making a grimace. 

“Oh, so he is the reason for that smell on you,” he said, his eyes widening at the realization. 

Lucy blushed hard.

“Don’t go around sniffing people! You behave like a dog sometimes, geez!” she almost shouted, but Natsu wasn’t listening. “And don’t comment on other people’s smells too! Gross!”

“Your scent has been on Lucy for a few weeks.” Natsu said to Kenji, ignoring her pleas.

“Yes.” Kenji answered. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while now.”

Natsu had an indecipherable expression on his face. He looked Kenji up and down, and then turned to Lucy. She stared back, gulping. 

“If you knew something was different with me… Why didn’t you say anything about it, Natsu?” Lucy asked. 

“I mean… I trust you, Lucy.” he shrugged. “If it was important, you’d talk about it sooner or later, when you were ready.”

Lucy grinned, how foolish of her to worry. 

“Of course, Natsu.”

He smiled back, not showing his teeth.

“Well… do I smell good?” Kenji asked. 

“Oh my, don’t encourage him.” Lucy pleaded, chuckling. 

“For a guy, I guess.” Natsu simply answered. “You smell pretty much like snow and grass.” 

“So, not a very strong scent, I hope?”

“...You could say that.” Natsu murmured with a snort. “...Are you a wizard?” 

“No. I’m a journalist.” Kenji explained. “I write for a weekly magazine.”

“So you write stuff.”

“I do.”

“Like Lucy does.”

“Yes.”

“What do you write about?”

“I search stories throughout Fiore. There’s a lot of interesting lives being lived in this kingdom.”

“You travel a lot, then?” Natsu asked, curious, and Kenji nods. “We travel a lot too. Me, Lucy and Happy”

“Aye.” Happy complied.  

“Do you know any magic?” Natsu keeps asking. “Any type at all?”

What was that, an interrogation?, she thought. 

“Well, I’m not very skilled at it, but I know a little of transformation magic.”

“Right.” Natsu whistled, then grinned maliciously. “Wanna fight?”

“I’d rather not” 

“Please, don’t” Lucy added. “It’s my house”

“Hands only?” Natsu suggested. “Good ol’ sparring?” 

“I’m not really trained to do that.”

“You need to.” Natsu said, suddenly serious. “So you can take care of Lucy too.” 

Kenji sighed, exchanging a look with his girlfriend. Natsu couldn’t help but recognize how similar that man was to his partner. 

“You weren’t kidding when you said he was protective.” 

Lucy shrugged, smiling lightly with a soft blush. 

“Weird face.” Happy mocked, poking at Lucy’s cheek. She pulled the cat by the ear. 

“If you make Lucy happy, that’s all that matters” Natsu informed, although he looked a little grumpy about it, like she predicted he would. 

“I know it’s a big change.” Lucy said, stepping closer to Natsu and giving him a pat on his shoulder. “We all will need time to adjust to the new things.”

Natsu rambled. “I wish he would fight me.” 

Lucy chuckled. 

“I know.”

“I’d win anyway, so whatever.” Natsu said, pouting a little. 

“Maybe next time.” Kenji replied back, which made Natsu open a challenging smile. 

“Oh, it’s on!” 

As time passed, Lucy got more confident on the idea of dating Kenji. Everyone at the guild had the opportunity to meet him, and no one had any complaints about her boyfriend. Erza commented on his nice voice, Gray on his relaxed personality, Cana complimented his appearance, and Mirajane his care with Lucy. Kenji also got along really well with both Natsu and Happy, always gifting them food and thanking them for protecting her on their missions, which she knew was the fastest way to their hearts. They also went fishing together without Lucy, and there were days she found them all playing cards in her apartment before she got home. Lucy was thankful to how understanding Kenji could be, especially when it came to Natsu. 

Natsu could have some very peculiar reactions to seeing them together sometimes. And he made it clear more than once that Kenji should keep his arms to himself while they were all hanging out with Lucy together, through verbal (“ Hands off, buddy .”) and non-verbal means. She reassured her boyfriend it was a dragon thing, all the scents mixing could annoy Natsu's sensitive nose, although she knew it was just Natsu being possessive, which, she realized, was probably a dragon thing too.

“He acts like he’s jealous, Lucy” Kenji said to her, a little annoyed by not being able to kiss her all day. 

“In a way, I guess you could say he is, but it's not like that.” she explained to him. “It’s the competitive side of him that does it. He doesn't care about these romance stuff, so don’t give it too much thought.”

“He cares very deeply for you.” 

“He cares very deeply for all of our friends, Kenji” Lucy assured, as she lay on her bed with him. “He is just that intense. Natsu is not interested in me like that, I promise you, and he doesn't even find me appealing , always making fun of me with that flying rascal of a cat.” 

“What about you, Lucy?” Kenji asked. “Have you ever been interested in him? Does the whole beastly protective instinct do it for you?” 

She laughed nervously. 

“I don't judge it, you know.” Kenji said in her ear. “He saved your ass a handful of times, hasn’t he?” 

“So did I!” she pouted. 

“I'm just saying…” Kenji brought Lucy close to his body. “If you say it's in the past, then it's in the past.”

She huffed, then rolled her eyes. 

“I may have had a teeny-tiny-little crush on him when I first joined Fairy Tail, alright?”

“Oh, and by the hundredth time he saved you, you just got bored of the heart shattering devotion and freaky fervent appreciation he had for you, I guess” Kenji joked.  

She threw her pillow on him. 

“I just realized it would end badly for me, because he’s not interested in these sort of relationships.” Lucy explained. “End of story, roll the credits.” 

“Simple like that, uh?” Kenji move the pillow, stealing from her a peck on the mouth. 

She laughed. 

“As simple as it gets when it comes to my friend Natsu.” 

And then Kenji drowned Lucy in kisses. He drowned her thoughts about it too.

She knew things were too good to be true. Lucy knew it would get to this point, and that's what she was afraid would happen that first night. To be perfectly honest, she was surprised it took Kenji that long to freak out.

Lucy left the boys alone for a few minutes as she made her way to the market to buy some fresh vegetables for dinner, something Lucy already had done before. When she was making her way back, Lucy saw her boyfriend fastly leaving her building. She knew something was wrong as Kenji sighed heavily with his hands on his face, sitting alone on the bricks surrounding the water canal as if trying to keep it together. 

She got worried sick at the sight, running to him. 

“Hey…” Lucy called, her boyfriend raised his gaze. 

“Oh, hi, my starlight” he said softly, and Lucy smiled as she heard the nickname.

“What are you doing out here? Is something wrong?” she asked, sitting by his side.

“No… of course not.” he cleared his throat. “I think I just need to get going, really.”

“What?” she blank, looking at him flabbergasted. “What the hell? Why?” 

“Nothing! I just… I remembered something.” 

“You're a terrible liar, Kenji.” Lucy exhaled. “Tell me what it is at once.”

Kenji looked to his hand, pressing them together, and his tongue sipped between his lips to water them. 

“Was it Natsu?” she asked softly, her hands reaching for him. She knew this would happen sooner or later. She knew it. 

Kenji stilled, and got really quiet suddenly. 

“What did he say, Kenji?” she asked, feeling her cheeks grow red with anger. “What did he do?” 

“I think he loves you, Lucy.” 

Her heart stopped for a moment. 

Then, she registered what he said and sighed, frustrated. That again. 

“We already had this talk.” 

“I know we did, but I don’t think it was that serious before. It's not easy competing with him, the place he has in your life, in your heart.” 

“Kenji….” she called, dumbfounded. “You’re not competing with anyone, do you hear me?”

He didn’t respond. 

“Where is all of this coming from, anyway?” she demanded. 

“I didn't know you two had a kid” Kenji murmured. 

She gasped, shock on her face as she understood his words.

“But we don't…” Then Lucy realized what he was referring to. “Oh, no. It's a misunderstanding. You see, it's not me-me. It's the other me. And the other him, by the way.”  

“Why didn't you tell me?” he asked. “You told me all about Edolas and the time you went there, but why didn't you mention you're casually married to your best friend in that place?”

“... Well, I thought it was weird to comment on it with my boyfriend, of all people.” she explained. “And they are not us. Like, not exactly, so it didn’t really matter anyway.” 

“Yeah, it's hella weird.” Kenji agreed. “Imagine my surprise as Natsu started saying he missed his kid.” 

She felt a tightening on her throat again, and she made a lot of effort not to think about pink hair and big brown child eyes looking up at her. Thinking about the existence of Nasha made her feel dizzy, so she just avoided the thought altogether.  

“It's not like that, Kenji.” 

“He can’t wait to have his. And he said that straight to my face, the bastard.” 

Lucy intertwined her fingers with his. 

“He is probably thinking I'll lay an egg for him or something” she stuttered. “Like I said, don't take what he says that seriously.” 

Kenji looked at her, and then chuckled. 

“You know what, Lucy? I think it’s you who doesn’t give the guy enough credit” he said. “I think he knows exactly what he's doing.” 

“Kenji, I know Natsu.” she repeated. “I can tell you whatever you're thinking, whatever feelings you think he has for me, it's not it.” 

“You know, I always thought it was a little weird how frequently he would push me onto the water whenever we went fishing. Now that I think about it, he was probably trying to take your scent off me.” 

Lucy chuckled, nervous. 

“Or, more likely, he was pranking you like he does to all of us!” she tried. “Seriously, this Natsu…”

“Natsu lives to make your dreams come true, Lucy.” Kenji retorted. “Helping you join Fairy Tail, teaming up, something about seeing a starry sky, a stupid rainbow tree dug up from the ground, something about promising to give you a future, and not letting you alone ever again. And that’s all he talks about with me, Lucy! You, your moments together, and not leaving your side. Ever .””

“Well…”

“I think he’s trying to subtly scare me off” Kenji replied. “And honestly? It’s working!” 

“...He’s not doing that. If he wanted to scare you off, he would’ve just threatened you.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, actually.” Kenji muttered.

She let out a giggle. 

“What I’m trying to say it’s that he’s not complicated to understand, Kenji.”

“Oh, we agree on that, then” he replied, moody.  

“...He's just very passionate about his friends.” 

“Oh, God. Lucy, you're blind .” Kenji laughed to himself. “This guy cannot be any more obvious and yet you’re still sure his adoration of you is a consequence of your friendship. Lucy, should I spell it out for you?” 

“...What?” 

Kenji grabbed Lucy by her shoulders, and shook it.

“He is in love with you, my beautiful oblivious girlfriend!” Kenji shook his head. “He's not even trying to hide it from me. He is down bad in the most common way there is. He loves you the way I love you. He loves you so much he values your happiness more than anything, Lucy Heartfilia.” 

Lucy could only stare, the idea taking her aback. 

“Kenji, I know how all of it looks. Trust me.” Lucy started, breathing deeply. “But these things are causalities of our journey together. Natsu loves me deeply, I won't deny it, I love him too. But, you see, it’s a different kind of love. He wants to make me happy, as any person wants to make their own friends happy.” 

“He goes out of his way to do it so, though.”

“That’s because he’s insane and powerful enough to make these incredible gestures without having to think a lot about it! He just goes and does it, I swear.” 

“He wants you, and I'm afraid I can't compete with the guy, Lucy. You two have baggage .”

“Oh, stop it already!” she huffed, impatient. 

“It’s true.” he pressed his lips together. “...I don’t know if I can take it anymore.”

“What are yo- are you breaking up with me?!” she asked. 

“I can't go around digging up trees like it’s nothing. I don't even know if it's possible to dig up a tree platonically.” Kenji sighed. “I can't go around making your dreams come true left and right, Lucy. I don't know if I want to compete with someone who can and will do anything for you.” 

“Kenji…” she leaned closer to him, reaching for his face and placing a kiss on his lips. “I’m not asking this of you.”

“Happy told me about Natsu’s outburst in battle too, how desperate he gets whenever he can’t save you.” Kenji said in a low voice. “How you can calm him down and make him feel present. The only person who can do so.”

Lucy put a small blonde lock behind her ear, taking a deep breath. 

“Natsu, Happy and I are family” she explained. “We are here for each other no matter what, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no space for anyone else in my life.”

“I can’t take it.”

“Kenji” she called. “There is no competition. Natsu is not in it for the prize. And there is one dream of mine that you can turn into reality and Natsu can't.” 

He stayed silent as she picked his hand and guided them to her lips. 

“We could build a family together” she said, blushing lightly at the thought. “In the most common way there is.” 

Kenji opened a sad smile to her, leaning in her direction. For a moment she thought she had convinced him. He brought her to his chest and closed the gap between their lips, giving her a passionate, intense and breathtaking kiss. 

Was it goodbye? 

“That's what I'm saying, my starlight.” He murmured against her mouth, and the look Kenji gave her made her eyes water. “I think he wants to make that dream come true for you too.” 

She needed a moment to recover from that. Lucy’s heart beat frantically inside her chest, the emotions boiling up like water in a kettle. It was hard to admit, but that thought affected her. 

“It's not like that” Her voice trembled a little. “He doesn't love me like that, Kenji. You don’t know him like I do. I know him. I- ” the words trip on her tongue, and Kenji whipped the tears off her face, which made her feel yet more miserable. “I'm saying this kind of relationship with me would gross him out. I can’t even imagine how he would be all lovey-dovey… it doesn’t suit him, anyway. He wants to hug me, not to kiss me. He wants to hold me, not to have me. He's utterly, perfectly, absolutely satisfied with our relationship as it is. He doesn't want anything else from me, I promise.” 

Kenji chuckled. 

“Oh, love. You're actually making me feel sorry for that bastard.” 

“Don’t be sorry for him!” she burst out. “Feel sorry for me! I’m being broken up with for some wrong assumption my boyfriend convinced himself is true!” 

He stood up, Lucy almost screamed in frustration and did the same as him. 

“We are here discussing what Natsu wants, but what about what I want, Kenji?!” Lucy cried. “What about my feelings?! Don’t I have any room to talk about it?”

He turned to look at her. 

“I’m terrified about what he wants, because I fear it’s all it’ill take to pull you away from me.”

She sobbed. Lucy didn’t know what else to say to appease him, she was starting to get unsettled by how certain he was about it.  

“Can’t you have a little faith in me?” she asked, the words almost not making all the way to her mouth. She almost was able to hide the uncertainty in her voice. Almost. 

If Natsu did really feel this way about her, could she really trust herself? She feared she was never going to be sure when it came to that. 

Kenji put his hands in the pockets of his pants, looking at her with an expression that Lucy could only describe as resignation. 

“It’s okay.” he said. “If I was in your place, it is all it would take for me as well.”

And she hated how she couldn’t deny it. 

She was exhausted. Lucy put one foot after the other on the way up the stairs to her apartment. She couldn’t stop crying, the tears just fell and fell and fell. When she opened the door, Natsu and Happy were eating on her couch, and she didn’t have the strength to tell them to not dirty her cushions. Lucy let the groceries bags hit the floor, her hands going to her face, and she sobbed again. 

“...Lucy?” she heard the voice of Happy, she felt his little hands reach to her legs. “What's wrong?”

When she lifted her head to face the apartment, Natsu was staring at her with a serious look. 

“What did he do?” he asked, anger building up in his voice. 

“Please, don’t” she said, tired. “He… just leave him alone.” 

And that was all she needed to say. Natsu’s eyes soften. He picked Happy up and both of them pulled Lucy close to hug her tightly. 

For a moment , she thought saddened, for a moment I really thought I could have it all. 

But as she wrapped both of her boys in her arms, Lucy felt the calming and  familiar warmth washing over her, smoothing the edges of her feelings. 

And she realized she had stopped crying.

Chapter Text

It was clear to Natsu that Lucy was unhappy. 

Ever since the day Kenji left her apartment and made her cry, Lucy's mood has drastically changed, and it was unsettling to witness it. She’s been more quiet, nagging them less, getting distracted very easily. Her hands, made for opening celestial gates, always so careful, traced the wine glass inattentively now, not realizing it would roll the glass off the table. 

 He reached out before it hit the floor.

“Oh, sorry.” she said. Happy looked at him, worried.

She's been unhappy, and it didn’t sit right with him at all.

Lucy has always known the value of her own life. It was refreshing, having someone around him which Natsu knew wouldn’t sacrifice themselves when the opportunity emerged. She was very grateful for the life she had, and he was thankful for that, because it made it easier to protect her. He knew he didn't need to worry about her harming herself, at least as he needed for so long for Gray and sometimes even for Erza. The smile Lucy carried was a visual proof he didn’t need to worry about her like that. 

So, it was not natural. Lucy being unhappy was like the sky being green, or fire burning cold. The brightness was there, but it was muted – not shining, but reflecting. Lucy’s eyes were unfocused, and it hurt to look at her when she carried that painful expression. His guts twisted inside, he needed to do something about it.

They went on a few missions together the days after her break up. Natsu thought it was a good way to distract her, to put her head back in the game. Having to worry about making money always worked well, and he was glad to notice that it wasn’t failing this time around too. She laughed and nagged them throughout the day, walking energetically around the forest. Lucy almost looked normal, happy. 

However, when the night came and things got too quiet, Natsu saw the seriousness on her face, her thoughtful expression as she leaned her head to sleep. Lucy didn’t want to eat, just went straight into her sleeping bag. Lucy was not fine, but she was trying not to worry them. Natsu knew her well enough to know both of these things at the same time. 

The only sound in the forest were the crickets, and the fire they put up cracking on the night as it cooked their meal, little flicks flowing to the sky. Happy was resting on his lap, the light of the fire illuminating them both as they watched Lucy falling asleep. 

“Natsu…” Happy called, reaching for the fish, taking it out of the fire. “Should we go after that guy?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Lucy is not okay.” Happy murmured. “What if we just kidnap him so she could talk to him and be okay again?” 

“You know, it’s not a bad idea.” Natsu agreed. “But Lucy would be furious.”

“It’s better than when she’s sad.” 

Natsu nodded, and Happy buried his face on the fish’s flesh.

“I miss Kenji, in a sort of way” Happy confessed. “He never got mad at us for spending time with Lucy, he always knew how to catch fish fast, and he was an amazing cook. Lucy doesn’t cook very well, neither do you, so I’m kinda disappointed he went away so quickly.”

“Kenji did know how to cook” Natsu lamented, glancing at Lucy. She was sleeping, completely unaware of their talk. “And he took good care of her.”

And Natsu hated to admit it, but he liked the guy too. He was a bit of a know-it-all, and wanted to touch Lucy all the fucking time, but Kenji made Lucy feel normal, something she herself told them, something Natsu knew he could never do to her. Lucy was not normal, Lucy was Lucy. She was weird, beautiful, strong and smart, and there was nothing else in the world like her, but Kenji didn’t know that, because he didn’t know Lucy like Natsu did. 

“He also knew a lot of pretty words” Happy said out loud. “I can see why Lucy liked him so much. I liked when he said things like ‘ludicrous’ and ‘parsley’, they sound fancy and unnecessarily complicated.” 

“I thought it was so lame when he did that.” Natsu replied, grumpy. “He was a show-off.” 

“You were a show-off too, always trying to fight him.” Happy retorted. “I think you were jealous because he knew words to make Lucy’s eyes sparkle all the time, and you didn’t.”

Natsu rolled his eyes. 

“Well, I think there are things more important than saying some big lame words.” Natsu continued. “I think sometimes you just gotta do something instead of saying something.” 

“In your case, you do neither,” Happy mocked, making Natsu growl.

Lucy turned her head in her sleep, the bright orange light of the fire hitting her face perfectly, her blonde hair falling across her cheeks. She looked troubled in her sleep too, Natsu noticed. This was not good. Was she missing Kenji that much? 

“Just so you know, this is your fault.” Happy said as he chewed.  

“What’s up with you today?! I didn’t do anything!” Natsu retorted, reaching for a fish for himself as well. “That Kenji guy just got all weird all of the sudden.” 

Happy grimaced in his direction. Natsu averted his gaze, focusing on eating his meal instead. 

“Was it really a smart move to mention the child from Edolas, Natsu?” Happy scoffed. 

Natsu huffed in response, still avoiding Happy’s gaze. “How should I have known he would get so weirded out by it?” 

He heard Happy sighing. 

“Listen, If you don’t want to tell her about how you feel, it’s fine, but you need to fix this.”  

“I know! You don’t need to remind me!” 

Happy finished his meal and marched to cuddle with Lucy instead. Natsu was still filled with different thoughts inside his head, distracted by the beautiful flames of the fire flickering on the air, reaching up to the starry sky as if ready to grasp it. He smiled. Fire and stars were always together like that. People didn’t get how much fire and stars had in common. They guided, they lightened the darkness, they scared people because they burned and exploded, and they amazed people because they were useful and also beautiful. Looking at the stars was comforting, feeling the warmth of the fire was too. Looking at the stars was frightening, feeling the warmth of the fire was too. 

It was a shame he was the only one who could see it. People thought Natsu was stupid, but he was good when it came to identifying patterns. 

He knew Lucy, because he knew himself. Whatever thing she was made of, he was made of. Whatever string got tied to her, it got tied to him. They were different and the same. Like fire and stars. 

“Natsu.” 

Natsu’s eyes lowered, and he caught Happy looking at him with a wry smile. 

“You really have to stop thinking too much. It does not fit you.” Happy replied, almost giggling. “Just say what you need, like you always do. It has worked until now, why would it fail just because you have more feelings?”

He sighed, standing up and making his way to them. As he adjusted himself on his own sleeping bag next to Lucy, he caught a glimpse of her scent in the air, and it warmed and calmed him down almost immediately. It was always a relief to smell her scent alone again after all these months where it got mixed up with Kenji’s. He scooped closer, the locks of her hair almost touching his nose. 

The smell of flowers and smoke. The best way he could describe it was as if he was sniffing a scented candle burning intensely. Lucy would hate to know she smelled like that, but he thought it was the nicest smell there was in the whole world, like she was made of fire as well.

As a star, in a way, she was.  

A few days after, he went after Kenji. 

Because as much as he hated to admit, Happy was right, and Lucy was happier when Kenji was close. 

Kenji almost had a heart attack when he saw Natsu standing up in the middle of his house. Natsu smiled and waved his hand. 

“How the hell…?!” Kenji jerked. “How are you…! How did you know where I lived?!” 

“I have a good nose.” 

Kenji let out a small cracked laugh. 

“Don’t do that ever again” Kenji scoffed. 

Natsu just shrugged.

“I just hate how much you talk like her sometimes,” Natsu mumbled. “It makes me question things”

“Look, dude. I don’t know what Lucy told you, but we are not together anymore.” 

“I know. I’m here to ask you to get back at it.” 

Kenji looked at him, dumbfounded. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Yeah. Whatever.” Natsu hummed, sniffing around the house, suddenly curious about the environment. “She is sad, so I’ll take you back to her.” 

“Why the fuck would you do that ?” Kenji asked. 

“She is sad.” Natsu repeated, like it was obvious. 

“You just went out of your way to drag me back because she’s grieving our relationship, like a normal person?” Kenji just blinked, like he didn’t even know what to take from that. “No wonder she thinks you have platonic feelings for her, tossing her emotions left and right for anyone willing to catch it!”  

“Whatever ‘platonic’ means, that’s none of your business!” Natsu retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

“Natsu, please don’t make me play cupid for my ex-girlfriend.” Kenji pleaded. “Please don’t make me solve things for you and her. I’m just trying to get by, and whatever the two of you need to solve, I don’t want to be in the middle of it at all.”

Natsu pressed his lips together. 

“...What if I said I don't  like her like that?” Natsu questioned. “Would that make you come back?”

“We both know that would be a lie” Kenji replied. “And it wouldn’t make any difference even if you meant it.” 

Natsu didn’t speak, but his intense gaze showed he was both confused and frustrated. 

“...Why the hell not?!” 

“Don’t make me say it.” Kenji burst out. “I actually have feelings too, you know? I couldn’t care less about your feelings for her, and if I was sure it wasn’t mutual, I’d tell you to go fuck yourself.” 

“Jerk.” 

“You're the jerk.” Kenji said back.

“You're jerkier.” 

“Seriously?”. 

“Why the hell not?!” Natsu asked again. 

“I just told you!” 

“Lucy likes me, but not like that, if that's what you're worried about.”

“My god. It's like I'm having a deja vu ” Kenji replied, emotionless. “You're both clueless. ”

“You say some weird shit” 

“I’m done, Natsu. Out of my house.” 

“I think I’ll just drag you like a potato sack to her house, I guess that will be easier than reasoning anyway.” 

Kenji took a step in his direction.

“You’re stronger. You could absolutely do that.” Kenji replied, his expression serious. 

“Yeah, so let’s go.” Natsu said, done talking. He started to make his way out.

“You’re a coward, you know that, right?” Kenji replied. 

Natsu slowly turned his head. 

“What did ya say?” 

“You heard me” Kenji said. “I'll not be some way of killing her time while you both gather enough courage to tell each other how you feel” Kenji took a step. “If you bring me back to her, I’ll make sure you’ll regret it.”

Natsu just looked at him, furious. 

“...Are you threatening me?!” he asked. 

Kenji almost yelled. “Yes, what did you think I was doing here?!” 

Then, after a small moment of silent anger, Natsu growled. 

“You’re a good dude, Kenji.” Natsu said, moody. 

“I know.” Kenji agreed, tired. “Out of my house now.”

He was sweating. Natsu assumed it was because he ran all the way to her house, but it could also be his nervousness. Just go out and say it? Just like that? 

The thing is that if Lucy wanted something more she would’ve said it by now. He's been more than clear with his intentions, has he not? And she had drawn a line on what she was comfortable doing with him multiple times. Kenji, on the other hand, seemed to believe she actually felt the same way. 

Could it be true? He knew Lucy better than anyone. How could something like this pass by him unnoticed? Kenji surely was mistaken, but Natsu wished he wasn’t.

When he started climbing up the walls of Lucy’s apartment, he suddenly heard an agitation inside. Happy crying. Lucy screaming. His heart raced, and he immediately quickened his climbing. He jumped through the window and landed on Lucy’s carpet ready for a fight. 

“Where is it?!” he asked, agitated. “What happened?”

Lucy turned to look at him, and for his relief, she looked fine, if not a little unsettled. 

“Natsu, quick! Come help me!” she asked, pulling him by the arm. 

“What do ya need?” 

“It’s Happy!” she explained, pointing to her drawers. Plue was wrapping his little hands around the handle, his tiny body hanging freely in the air. It looked like the spirit was trying to open it up. “He was messing around and got stuck!”

“Aye!” the voice of Happy muffled cries were heard. His rhythmic bangs coming from inside. 

“I tried to call some of my spirits but Virgo threatened to open a hole in my apartment, Loke gave up after the first pull and my taurus star dress would definitely break my drawers.” she explained. “So, I called Plue for moral support!”

“Get me out!” Happy screamed. “I promise I will never try to scratch the inside of your panties drawers ever again! Get me out! Get me out!” 

“You better!” she said, and brought Plue to her, holding him against her chest. “Please, Natsu. Try not to break anything!” 

“I’mma break it, it’s fine.” Natsu said, stepping closer to the drawers, and both Lucy and Happy cried. 

“Don’t!” Lucy said, her tone alerting and a little mad. “Please don’t! I love these drawers! It was so cheap and it’s brand new!” 

Natsu growled. 

“Let’s think about this together.” she said, touching his shoulder. Lucy looked puzzled, but not unhappy. Just like that, Natsu realized Lucy didn’t need his help, really. She would figure it out, he just knew. 

Lucy liked to be challenged. It was another way they were similar. Natsu grinned. Perhaps she just needed someone beside her to think it through. As Lucy petted Plue’s head and walked around the room, Natsu felt his feet moving towards her. 

He was a man of action, anyway.  

“Luce” he called, and she turned to look at him, her eyes big and curious. 

“What? What is it?” she asked as he got close.

He touched her hand above Plue’s head, lowering it.

“What?” she said again, this time in a more soft, lower voice.  

“Are you happy?” he asked. 

“Well, as soon as we figure this out…” she explained. 

“No.” Natsu shook his head. “Are you happy with me?” 

She scrunched her nose, in confusion. He got closer. Lucy blushed slightly. 

“Of course I’m happy” she murmured. “I’m always happy with you, Natsu.”

Natsu kept his eyes on her, but felt Plue disappearing into thin air around their fingers. He could get closer now, so he did. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice just a whisper. 

“I think I can make you happier .”

And for the first time ever, Lucy didn’t look like she was about to freak out because of the distance, or lack of thereof. She was all flustered, but she lifted her head just a little, her eyes almost closed all the way, so he knew what she wanted to do. He knew it, because he knew her. 

When their lips met, it was a quick, awkward touch. He was not very experienced, but she didn’t seem to care, so he didn’t either. Natsu felt a fire inside him burn like never before when he saw the sparkling, dizzying expression on her face. It made him feel something different. Her scent was suddenly so strong in his nostrils, like it was an active intoxication. He wanted to eat her up. Something he was not sure if it was good or bad, but he wasn’t afraid, because it could never be bad if it was a feeling caused by Lucy. He pulled her by her waist, perhaps too aggressively, her hands wrapped around his neck, grabbing his scarf. 

They kissed again, this time right, harder. Her taste was even better than her smell, if that was even possible. Natsu never thought Lucy could be this hot. Hot in the literal sense, almost as hot as he got. She would be able to melt him. His hands were everywhere, trying to get himself mixed up with her nice scent. She gasped as they touched her, but she didn’t look like she wanted him to stop. Lucy was searching too, getting to know him with her fingers. He squeezed her in his arms harder, and licked her lips, which made her chuckle his name. 

“You’re so weird.” she whispered, with a grin, and then showed him how it was done. Both her hands reached for his face, and she-

“...Why did you two get so quiet out of nowhere?” Happy asked, his muffled voice cutting the moment. Lucy immediately went all red, and tried to push Natsu away. But how could he let go of her now? They were supposed to be close like that at all times, he decided. He brought her even closer, making it clear he wouldn’t let go. It would be weird not to be touching each other anymore, he also decided. Natsu was a very determined man. 

“We- we are thinking!.” Lucy said as Natsu kissed her cheek, and bit it after. She cried, but it wasn’t an unhappy sound. He smelled her hair and kissed her forehead. She was extremely transparent, it was almost addicting to see her reacting to him. 

“I’m going to die.” Happy exclaimed dramatically when they didn’t say anything else. “I’m going to die and it'll be both of your faults, murderers!” 

They kept kissing. Her hair was a mess, half undone by his hands. He pulled out his scarf with a hard tug, because it was suddenly too hot with it. Lucy shivered and there was something else in her eyes as she looked at him. Something different, just like he felt. They were both fired up. Good. Their lips crashed again, in a mixture of tongues dancing, lips meeting and teeth crashing. She giggled, and sighed, and panted. And he needed to know how many sounds she could do. 

Then, Lucy suddenly stopped, and pushed him away. Her eyes widened, and a beautiful, thrilling smile lit up her whole face. Natsu felt his own cheeks glowing red this time. What does she…? 

“I know how to get Happy out now!” she exclaimed in an exciting tone. Natsu pouted, annoyed. Well, he wanted to keep kissing. Happy could hold on just a little while longer, right? But Lucy just danced around the room, completely satisfied with herself. “Oh, I’m so good. You’ll need to thank me later, you ungrateful feline!” 

Lucy reached for her keys, and called Gemini. They transformed themselves into very small insects and entered through the keyhole on the drawer.

“So, did you find out why it’s not opening up?” she asked, and after a small moment, the drawer slid open, and Happy jumped out, relieved. He hugged his family tightly.

“The cat fur was making it hard for the drawers to slide” they said at the same time, and Lucy thanked them before they disappeared into thin air and sparkles.

Lucy and Natsu exchanged a look as they caressed their cat. There was a different tenderness in her eyes. Natsu couldn't help but smile more. 

“Good to see you, buddy!” Natsu greeted beaming. 

“Yeah, right.” Happy mocked. The three looked at each other, and they all laughed. There was relief, and love, and happiness in the air. 

“....So, I assume Kenji is not coming back?” Happy asked just to strike a nerve. Natsu flashed him an angry look.

“Why would he…?” Lucy asked, then turned to Natsu, her tone changing suddenly. “Where were you, Natsu?” 

“In my defense…”

“Oh, no.”

“I was just trying to-”

“Did you bother him when I asked you not to?” she questioned, and he groaned. 

“Come on! Why do we need to keep talking about him, anyway?” Natsu asked, pulling her by her waist closer, resting his head on her neck. “I can make things for you now.”

“Finally!” Happy said, snuggling on Lucy’s chest and closing his eyes.

“I…” she bit her lip, he felt how warm was her neck, and it amuse him to imagine how red was her face. “My breakup is still very recent.”

Natsu pulled back, tilting his head in confusion. 

“I mean… Whatever is happening between us now, Natsu...” Lucy was nervous. He could see it. “Can we take things slow?”

Her hand reached for him, and then squeezed it. It was warm, and comforting. Not a rejection. She was just asking him to be patient, and he could do that. He could do anything for her.  

“Yes, we can do that.” he replied softly, because of course he would. For Lucy, he would stop time itself if it was what she needed.  “...Can I still kiss you, though?” 

Lucy chuckled and pulled him close, giving him a peck on the lips. It fired him up immediately. Yes. More.

“Sure. We can do that.” she replied. 

“Oh, Fish.” Happy muttered. “If I knew I’d be third-wheeling today, I would’ve stayed at home.” 

“Don’t be silly!” Lucy brought Happy closer, hugging him tightly, which made the cat growl. “This is your home.”

And Natsu nodded, because Lucy was right. She usually was.