Nalu Prompt 1: Wander
Somehow this was not her idea of her perfect Friday evening.
The cheap, faint light of the streetlamp only reminded her of how late it was—and this rustic little gas station didn't provide much comfort either. It was wet, no…she was wet, cold, and she had no idea where she was (but she knew with a depressed certainty that she was miles and miles away from home).
How had this all happened? How could she have sunk to these depths—Oh. Lucy glanced at the pink-haired boy sitting in the passenger seat next to her.
Yeah, that would be the reason why she was not snuggling under the covers, enjoying her quiet night at home.
Only moments ago, she had answered the door in pink puffy slippers, lazily holding a bowl of cereal.
"Natsu, it's two in the morning." She had yawned, rubbing her eyes with one hand and spooning Cheerios sloppily into her mouth with the other. "Why are you even—"
"Let me in, Luce." He gave her that annoying, irresistible grin of his. There was no answer to her question, just large eyes pleading at her to open the door.
So she did (while grumbling), knowing she could never say no to that face (that didn't mean she liked it, though).
Natsu strode in with an air of familiarity, almost as if he had spent more time in her house than she did (which was probably very true). He headed straight to her kitchen, pulling her beloved Cheerios out of the pantry and eating them straight out of the box.
"Explain yourself," She followed him inside, pointing her spoon accusingly. "What are you doing here?"
"I've…got an idea!" He announced.
Lucy gulped. This was sounding rather ominous…
"Just think about this, Luce! Imagine the two of us getting out of here tonight, just wandering to our hearts' content!" He said between noisy chews. "We could travel the world! We could just leave and never come back, you know?"
Strangely enough, it was not the first time her crazy neighbor had shown up uninvited, ready to drag her into yet another crazy adventure. The first time they had met, Natsu had climbed over her fence and insisted that she join him in egging Gray's (a rather sullen boy who lived across the street) house that night. And then there was the time they crashed Juvia's pool, and the time they shot fireworks into Gajeel's backyard, and the time…well, let's just say things ended rather unpleasantly when they raided Erza's closet.
"What are you even trying to say?" Lucy sighed exasperatedly.
"I'm trying to say…" He suddenly yanked out a pair of car keys. Her car keys. "Road trip!"
"How did you get those?" She shrieked.
"What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours. So what do you say? You ready?"
And instantly her brain shot to all the impossibilities, all the unplanned logistics. She prided herself on her logic; she was Lucy Heartfilia, queen of lists and plans and—
"So? Let's go!" Natsu whooped, propelling her towards the door.
"But we haven't packed anything! And my pajamas! I need to change—and it's two in the morning, Natsu! And what if there's an emergency? And I've got work tomorrow, and—" She babbled.
"You ruin all the fun, Lucy! Just put down your cereal, so we can hit the road!"
"Wait, no! But—let me at least grab this!" She quickly snatched an old paper map (did those even exist anymore?) off of her cluttered coffee table.
That was Natsu, barreling into her life and removing all sense of organization with his own brand of chaos.
She was sleep drunk, she was sure of it. Sleep deprivation had done her no good, if she was actually agreeing to his ridiculous request. Or maybe it was the Cheerios? Hadn't someone told her never to snack at night?
Who was she fooling? There was absolutely no excuse for why she had decided to hop into the car and turn on the ignition, fluffy pink slippers and all.
None except for the obvious reason right there.
He was to blame. Lowering her inhibitions, falling for that contagious enthusiasm of his…He was the mischievous Peter Pan dragging her off to fly to Neverland, the curious White Rabbit who led Alice tumbling down the hole to Wonderland...oh, she was going to regret this.
She was definitely feeling pangs of remorse now, as she sat there in that secluded gas station.
"I have no fucking idea where we are." She threw her hands up in defeat, still clutching the slightly damp map she had grabbed last minute. Why had she ever thought that stupid old thing would suffice? "I'm lost."
Mischievous fingers gently wrapped around hers, slowly tugging the map out of her hands.
"Then," the boy beside her drawled in that obnoxious way of his, "let's get lost together."
She could barely make out his boyish grin in the dim lighting—but oh, it was definitely there. She knew it was always there.
Natsu carelessly ripped the map into two, as if daring her to complain.
As she watched the east half of Illinois separate from the west in one quick tear, her hands instinctively reached for the wheel.
He made her do crazy things.
He made her want to do crazy things.
Wandering the world with this boy at her side…might not be so bad.
"You're on."