I got this idea from off a Tumblr writing prompt from unwritingwritersblock. And well what was suppose to be maybe two or three chapters, is probably going to be tons tons more. oh well~ Just hold on and enjoy the ride!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.
Morning coffee. That's the first thing Lucy needs to drive out the dreary sleepiness currently engulfing her body. She glanced at the clock. 7:20. She had just enough time to pick up a cup, and then make it to her classes. With quick feet she grabbed a lone jacket to fight off the morning chill, and headed off. Soon enough the unique scent of coffee beans wafted its way under her nose, and made her worries disappear. The usual barista took note of her arrival, and winked. His orange hair seemed to come to life with the early morning light shining on his locks. The girl currently ordering seemed to be entranced by his natural beauty, her eyes wistful as she watched the man skillfully make her drink. Her change immediately went into the tip jar. Lucy approached the counter, very mindful of the glare now burning a hole in the back of her head.
"You sure know how to rake in the tips, now dontcha, Loke?" Lucy teased with a smile.
"Hello to you too beautiful. The usual?"
"Actually, downgrade it to a simple caramel cappuccino." At the raise of a lone eyebrow she explained. "I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"Accidently slept in again?" He asked with a slight chuckle while he started making her order.
"What gave it away? My bedhead or the dark circles under my eyes?" Lucy joked.
"The cute sleepiness still in your eyes actually." Loke answered sweetly, as he added in the fluffy cream.
"You aren't trying to get my change too, are you? Because tough luck for you. I'm saving up to pay off my student loans."
"Med school is expensive isn't it?" Loke cringed and handed over the steaming hot drink.
"Yeah. But it will be worth it in the end." Lucy absentmindedly answered while she was digging through her wallet in search of her card.
"Ah. ah ah. Consider this one on the house, Lucy." The blonde's fingers stopped their search as she looked up at her friend.
"Wasn't the last one on the house? If you keep doing this you'll get fired ya know?" Lucy stated.
"Oh please. As if they could fire me with all the business I bring in."
"No one likes cockiness." Lucy reprimanded as she headed for the door.
"Is it really cockiness if it's true though?" Loke asked with a smirk.
"Yes~" Lucy sung as she walked out the door. Coffee in her hand, she let the caffeine take over, the piping hot steam softening her congestion of the morning. With a quick glance at her phone, she started the short walk to her classes.
By the time lunch came about, Lucy's stomach was growling to the point it was uncomfortable. And the blazing sun pounding down on her neck wasn't helping her discomfort. She was walking on campus, wondering what she was going to eat.
"Hey Lucy!" Came a greeting from behind her. Lucy almost dropped her books as she was hugged from behind. She pried the tiny arms off of her and was met with her blue haired friend.
"Hi there Levy." Lucy giggled at the cheerfulness of her friend.
"Are you heading out to get some lunch? Might I suggest a nice mexican joint down main street?" Lucy laughed at her friends antics.
"Oh? And why are you in the mood for some spicy food huh Levy? Perhaps you want to see a certain waiter by the name Gaj-" Lucy's teasing were cut off as Levy's cold hands covered her mouth.
"Shhh! Someone will hear you!"
"I'd be surprised if there was someone on campus who didn't know about your little crush."
"Doesn't mean you can go about talking about it like it's official!" Levy's flushed face contrasted greatly with her light blue mop on her head she calls hair. Lucy fixed a rebellious stray hair on her friends head before stating,
"We both know he likes you back. It's almost sickening to see the way he looks at you. I see no reason why you guys aren't dating yet." A sigh left Levy's small frame.
"It's more complicated than that Lucy."
"Oh come on. Don't get all mopey on me now. Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Lucy put on her best apologetic smile. She knew her friend was sensitive to this topic. Levy took one look at Lucy's face and then smiled back. Laughing away her worries she responded,
"You are right. I won't let my silly thoughts ruin our lunch! Come on Lucy! Let's go eat!" The newly rejuvenated Levy grabbed ahold of her friend's hand, dragged her to their place of eating, laughing and leaving behind the previous conversation.
The rest of the day was uneventful, as Lucy diligently took notes for her med classes. Entering her apartment, she massaged her hand to rid it from its cramp as she retreated into her mind. Med classes were hard, sure but with hard work comes rewards. And Lucy, not being one to give up, grinned and beared it. She had no idea what she actually wanted to be in the department, she just knew she wanted to be in the medical industry. So for now she is taking just basic medical classes and requirements.
Setting down her textbooks on her desk, she headed to the kitchen to make a little memo note on her calendar hanging on her fridge to read up on the effects of overdosing in chapter seven. Her professor specifically told her that would be an important portion on the test. With that she resigned herself for a short nap before hardcore hitting the books. She collapsed on her bed, that groaned in protest of the sudden weight.
Her eyes slowly opened as she sat up stretching her arms high above her head. That was the best rest she'd had in awhile. A yawn left her mouth when she took a glance at her clock. She stared at the bright red numbers glaring at her for a solid moment. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked again. The offending numbers 8:10 were finally recognized. Her eyes shot wide open, as a string of incomprehensible words flew from her mouth. Her feet pounded against the wooden floor of her apartment, rushing to put on non-rumpled clothes and look somewhat decent. After skipping some parts of her morning routine she quickly brushed her teeth, and mentally cursed herself for falling asleep without setting her alarm. Her phone started ringing, the sound startling her from her thoughts. She gargled and rinsed, almost missing the sink, because of her carelessness. Caller ID told her it was her best friend, Levy. She picked up without a second thought.
"Lucy! Where are you? Class starts in ten minutes!" Worry laced through her voice.
"I overslept last night! Like big time!" Lucy half yelled into the phone. Trying to multitask, Lucy held the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she slipped on socks and shoes.
"Big time is an understatement!" Levy's sass seemed to only irk Lucy this early in the morning. She shook it off.
"I'll be there as fast as I can! I'm just now leaving."
"Okay! I'll try and stall the pr-" The line went dead and Levy's voice disappeared.
"Levy? Are you there? Levy?" Lucy looked at her phone to see the dreaded red battery flashing on the black screen. Lucy wanted to cry as she remembered she didn't put her phone to charge before she took a nap. If only she didn't take that nap. She should have put it off until bedtime and then she wouldn't be in this mess. She grabbed her normal jacket and opened the door swiftly. Or well that was the plan at least until her door seemed to hit something. Or someone.
"Ouch! Hey!" The sound of papers scattering met Lucy's ears. She looked around her door only to be met with a person rubbing their nose.
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! Here let me help you!" She dropped her own textbooks and started gathering the fallen papers. Of course she peaked at what they were. In huge bright red letters were the words Pizza Palace, and a phone number for delivery below. The person soon joined her in picking up the pamphlets.
"Look, I'm really sorry I kinda smacked you in the face with my door. I didn't know there was going to be anyone behind it." With that she finally met the person's eyes.
His eyes seemed to widen at the sight of hers. His face, tan and defined, leaned closer to hers before halting. What stood out to Lucy was his extremely pink hair. I mean yeah most of her friends have dyed hair as well, but for a guy to choose pink? Nevertheless she thought it was nice to see a guy not afraid of the supposedly deemed "girly" color. Realizing she was staring, herself, at his hair, Lucy's eyes flickered back and forth between his as she wondered why he suddenly froze.
"Uhhh, Are you okay? I didn't hit you too hard did I?"
She was met with silence on his part, as he continued his odd staring. Lucy started to feel creeped out.
"Umm. Yeah. Well I have to get going." She quickly scribbled her contact information on one of the pamphlets. "Contact me if you find out I broke your nose or want compensation or something." And with that Lucy shoved the papers she picked up, the one with her number one top, into the guy's hands. Quickly picking up her own books she all but ran to her class. The guy now gripping the pizza pamphlets, followed the girl's movements with his eyes, before shoving the one with her information in his pocket and continued on through the apartment complex handing them out.
"What do you mean I don't get my paycheck this week?!" Natsu yelled out in exasperation. The kitchen of Pizza Palace smelled of burnt bread and spices while the firebrick ovens burned with a low flame. They were closing down for the night. The store manager of Pizza Palace stood in front of the pink haired man, his small stature was everything but intimidating. He stroked his chin, white stubble scratching his small hand, as he spoke,
"You've eaten your max total, of what you call "employe benefits" this month, and then some. It's time you pay up."
"But Gramps, you told me I could eat all the burnt pizzas!" His whiny voice grated on Makarov's ears. Natsu's hand motions exaggerated his desperation.
"Natsu. You've burned almost every other pizza in order to get your greedy hands on them."
"W-what?! You know those were accidents!" A scoffed resounded in the room, the door opened to reveal a tall lanky man, dark bangs covered his eyes before he pushed them back with his hand.
"What kind of idiot burns ten pizzas in one shift?"
"Look who's talking! You are the Queen of idiots, Gray!" Natsu responded, his glare rested firmly on his coworker's face.
"You wanna say that again, Flame Fucker?" In a split second, Gray was all up in Natsu's face, his body rigid, face stone cold.
"Too stupid to hear the first time, Asscicle?!" Natsu's breath was hot against his friend's icy exterior. Gray was quick with his movements, as he grabbed the front of Natsu's shirt. In turn, Natsu raised a fist, the atmosphere tense. Just as a fist was about to collide into Gray's face, Makarov grabbed the two by the back of their collars and lifted them into the air, his height growing to the limits of the ceiling.
"You brats know better than to try and mess up my kitchen again!" Their boss yelled, only returning to normal size when he saw the fear in the two's eyes.
"Aye sir!" They both simultaneously responded after being placed back down on the ground.
"Now, Gray go on in the back and clean up a bit for tomorrow. And Natsu either get me payment for the amount of pizzas you've consumed, or you are cut off for a week."
"But-"
"Buts have nothing to do with it. Now go on before I change my mind and make you deep clean the ovens."
Natsu shivered at the memory of last time he cleaned the ovens, he couldn't get the grime out of his ears for weeks. He subconsciously picked at his ears, as he left the room muttering underneath his breath about it being unfair. His stomach interrupted his inner hissy fit, it's growl letting it's emptiness known to the world. The aroma of pizzas still stuck to the air even though they had closed half an hour ago. Natsu's mouth watered. He had to go get some more food before his belly started a talkathon. The little chime of the bell rung as he left the pizza joint and headed down the street, back to campus. The sky was bright orange, the fading sun casting long shadows on the ground. Digging in his pockets, Natsu scrimmaged for any loose cash. In one pocket he managed to find three dollars, and a few nickels. In the other he pulled out two pennies and a Pizza Palace brochure. The image of the delectable greasy cheese pizza made his stomach erupt into more pleas. However, before his mind could wander into pizza heaven, some writing caught his eye. He recalled the girl he met previously that morning. Or well met is a strong word there. All she did was whack him in the face with her door. Sure she didn't mean to, but it still hurt like hell. The dull ache in his nose made him cringe. The warmth of the sun however eased his tense muscles. He recalled the way the sun made her hair look like fresh strung gold. He could barely take his eyes off it, and when he did they got caught in her own. A spark glimmered within him, embers started slowly burning. He bit back some primal instincts, shaking his head.
An idea struck him. He pulled out his phone and dialed the appropriate numbers. It went straight to a generic voice mail. Natsu groaned. He instead sent a text. As soon as he saw it was delivered he slipped his phone back into his pocket and continued walking around campus. He couldn't wait until 7:00.
A harsh buzz interrupted her studying session. Books scattered around her desk, she tried to get back into the groove of studying before the harsh vibration broke her concentration again. Rubbing her face, she stole a glance at the clock. Just a little bit past six o'clock. Lucy took off her glasses and walked over to her night stand where the offending device laid charging. An unknown number had called and texted her. She wondered if she should check it or just go back to studying. The ache in her head begged for her to take a breather. She picked up her phone and unlocked it.
'Hey! The name's Natsu. I'm the guy you hit with your door earlier today. You know the one with pink hair. Turns out you totally damaged my nose cartilage. And I recalled you saying you'd 'compensate' me. Whatever that means. But instead of that how about you just take me out to dinner at around 7:00. Deal? Good. I'll be at your door then.'
Lucy's eyes widen at the text. She didn't she actually hit him that hard. Or did she? She was in a rush so she might not've noticed how much force she was using. She smacked her forehead, belittling herself for not being careful. And now this little deal is cutting into her study time. So much for learning about proper needle usage and disposal. Another peak at the clock sent a weird feeling down Lucy's nerves. Guilt and nerves made an awful pairing, and the stress of school seemed to want to be the cherry on top. Swiftly she threw on a decent outfit and brushed her hair and teeth. Grabbing her wallet and phone she tossed them into a random purse and mentally practiced an apology in her head.
After taking one last glance in the mirror and fixing a rebellious hair, she made a move towards the door. Knuckles whitened as she gripped the handle tightly, a sigh leaving her lips. Gathering her nerves she opened the door.
"Ugh! Damn!"
Lucy's blood ran cold as she peered around her door, a sense of deja vu developing. The pink haired man stood bent over holding his nose. Lucy wanted to cry. Rushing forward she grabbed the man's face in between her hands and tilted it back.
"I'm so sorry!" She yelped in embarrassment. He groaned, trying to resist her prying by backing up. However he forgot about the steps up to her porch and his world was tilted upside down. Of course in a desperation to try and stop his fall, he grabbed ahold of a certain blonde.
"Aaruuf!" His breath was pushed out of his lungs, her body landing on him hard. Lucy's head spun as she tried to put together what just happened. She pushed herself up, unknowingly using his chest as leverage. Natsu squirmed underneath her, uncomfortable with the pressure on his chest. This in turn caused her to fall once more.
"Would you quit moving?!" He finally stated. Lucy's head shot up, and with a quick realization she scrambled to get off him. She stood swiftly, face red as a tomato. Natsu sat up voicing his pain of not only his nose, but the unexpected fall. Lucy just watched, keeping her distance, not wanting to hurt the man anymore. When he was done with his gripeing, his eyes shot up to hers.
"Do you always greet people like this? Because I'd have to wonder how many friends you have."
"I-I'm sor-" Lucy started to apologize, only to be interrupted.
"I'm joking. It's fine." Natsu said as he got up and dusted off his pants. The dull ache in his nose still pulsed, and he started subconsciously massaging the bridge in an attempt to get rid of the sensation. Lucy saw his underlying discomfort and walked forward. Much like before she placed her hands on either side of his head, and tilted it up.
"What are you doing?" Came a nasal question. Lucy shushed him and pried his hands away from his nose. His hands were warm and calloused, she noticed. Mumbles left her mouth as she examined Natsu's nose. Bringing her face closer to his she ran a finger down the bridge of his nose, applying pressure on certain spots, until she got a response. Natsu yelped when she pressed on the sore spot on the right side of his nose. More mumbles came from her mouth. She took note of the way his nostrils flared as he breathed.
"Mind not mumbling so I can actually understand what you are saying?" Came a snarky reply. This broke Lucy out of her examining phase. She backed off, to give him some space. Natsu's face was tinted red and he was staring at her weirdly.
"You bruised your nasal cavity, your inner nasal passageway is swelling, blocking the oxygen from getting to your lungs easily, which is why you are having trouble breathing through your nose right now. I would recommend icing the right side of your nose, and breathing through your mouth for a while. If you continue to forcefully breathe through your nose, you will inflict further damage, which will allow you to be acceptable to bacterial growth and infection." Lucy's mouth moved without thought. Natsu's eyes widen at her rambling.
"What are you? Some nose doctor?" Natsu joked. Face turning red, Lucy shook her head and looked down.
"I'm just an average med student." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh yeah? Well then average med student, let's go grab some grub!" Natsu reached for her hand, only to stumble a bit. He held his head and tried to shake it off.
"Are you sure you are okay? You didn't hit you head on the ground did you?" A deep frown rested itself on Lucy's face, underlying worry settling in.
"I'm fine! The only thing wrong is my empty stomach. So let's go fix that….um...You know I don't even know your name."
"Oh! You're right. My name is Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy replied, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. The minute her name left her lips, Natsu's face broke out into a warm smile.
"Well then, Miss Luigi Heartfillier,"
"My name is Lucy Heartfillia!"
"See, the absence of substance in my stomach has messed with my comprehensive skills! We gotta go get food now!" And with that Natsu grabbed ahold of Lucy's wrist and all but dragged her down the street. He had just the place in mind to quench his never ending hunger. Lucy, shocked at first, slowly warmed up and laughed at his antics. Through her laughter though she realized she didn't know his name.
"Wait! I don't know your name!" Lucy yelled, yanking back on his tug, to slow him to a stop. He seemed appalled that she would stop him in his tracks. The emotion was fleeting though as a big warm smile spread on his face.
"Name's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel." he finished off with a wink before grabbing her wrist once more and continuing on his track. A slight twinge of warmth radiated in Lucy's chest at the sight of the innocent wide grin. Her breath caught in her throat, a bubbling feeling of envy overtaking the warmth.
"Such an easygoing smile…" She mumbled the words, that were soon smothered by the wind. She quickly tossed the odd feeling away.
They had went to the Mexican joint that Gajeel worked at, despite Lucy's protests. She had already had lunch there earlier that day. However Natsu pulled out the guilt card saying that she had most broken his nose, the least she could do was this. Lucy sighed and gave in. The minute Gajeel saw Lucy, the bunny jokes came full throttle. However Lucy could see the curious gleam in his eyes as he took in her dinner partner. Gajeel no doubt would tell Levy all the juicy details. Though it would be hard seeing as nothing much happen. They sat down at the table, and talked. Just about mundane things. Lucy was actually amazed at how she could just let the talk flow out instead of poking a fire that's low in hopes of a spark of conversation to ignite. Turns out the guy worked at Pizza Palace, and he was handing out pamphlets for it this morning. Lucy again apologized for attacking his nose, to which Natsu just laughed it off, saying it didn't even hurt. Lucy knew that was a lie. He in turned asked her if she worked anywhere. Lucy shook her head saying since she studying as a med student, she had absolutely zero time for a job.
"All this studying must be such a bore though, no?" The guy had a nice smooth voice, that flared up at the higher pitches in his sentences.
"At first it was. But you would be surprised at how interesting some of it is. For example, did you know that human hair is pretty durable, it can even survive some acids and chemicals."
"Oh yeah?" Natsu replied, liking the way her eyes shone as she retailed this information.
"Yeah. And speaking of hair…" Lucy let her eyes slide up to his, mentally willing him to finish her sentence. A throaty curt laugh left Natsu.
"You wanna know why my hair is pink?" Natsu asked while running a hand through his hair, messing up some spikes. Lucy only nodded. Natsu trapped a lock between his two fingers and looked at it thoughtfully before answering,
"It was Mom's favorite color. Or at least that's what my old man told me."
"So you dyed it because pink is your mom's favorite color?" Lucy innocently inquired with a tilt of her head. She would have thought it was because he lost a bet or something.
"Was," he absently corrected her before continuing, "I know it seems silly but I-"
"I don't think it's silly at all. If that how you want to express yourself then I think it's fine, actually, more than fine. I find it remarkable."
This caused Natsu to look up, his eyes seemingly searching her's for something. Lucy took notice of his vibrant green eyes, she couldn't identify the emotion swimming within them. A small grin creeped up onto his face.
"What makes you say that, Lucy?" Her name rolled off his tongue so smoothly, Lucy could have passed it off as her imagination. She shook her head.
"Well," she started. "A lot of my friends dye their hair, or get outrageous piercings and tattoos. And people often judge them for that, despite their lack of knowing anything about them. Nonetheless, my friends freely express themselves and love it, no matter what anyone else thinks. It's takes confidence and bravery. That in itself is remarkable. I could never do it."
She actually was enjoying herself before the food came out and Natsu's easygoing grin turned into a starving smile.
Next thing you know food was flying everywhere, left and right. Lucy had almost had some Mexican rice in her eye. And before Lucy could scrummage up anything for herself from the huge dinner plate Natsu had order, he had dump a whole bottle of fire sauce onto the entirety of the food. He continued eating after a grumble of, "That's better." came out of his mouth, along with some pre chewed food. The conversation after that didn't flow, the least thing Lucy wanted was to be wearing the dinner. What little food Lucy did consume she immediately regretted as her tongue protested the sting of spices and her nose started to run. She felt horrible. She had to call Gajeel over and ask for a glass of milk. She definitely heard a chuckle come from Natsu as she begged for the beverage. He was starting to get on her nerves.
At last the dinner plate was devoured and Lucy could have sworn she saw an inner battle in Natsu's eyes whether or not he should lick the plate clean. Thank god his temptation lost. She would have lost it if she had to sit through that. She wasn't out of the fire yet, seeing as the bill came to the table. Natsu was leisurely picking at his teeth with a toothpick, patting his expanded belly, meanwhile Lucy's eyes almost bulged out of her head at the receipt. $55.14 cents sat circled in red at the bottom of the small piece of paper. Her head throbbed. How on Earth was she going to afford this?! Better question is, why hadn't she been paying attention to what the void-for-a-stomach sitting across from her had been ordering?! She cringed as she took out her emergency card from her wallet. After receiving her card back, and with one last look at Natsu, which may or may not have been boarding on a glare, Lucy bid the boy farewell. The squeak of her chair against the floor added on to the development of a headache for Lucy. As soon as Lucy had reached the doors, his voice called out,
"Wait, where are you going?" The sound of his chair scraping against the floors was followed by the distinct pounding of his footsteps. Lucy turned around only to come face to face with him, his breath slid across her face, the aroma of his meal still abundant.
"Whoa, sorry there. I didn't mean to almost run you over." His voice lack an actual apology behind it, as he scratched the back of his head carelessly, and took a good step back.
"I'm going home. I fulfilled the deed, and now we will continue on our separate lives." Lucy opened the door, not bothering to hold it open for him as well. The sky had grown dark since their arrival at the restaurant, little specks of white could be seen in lurking in the vast inky darkness. A slight breeze carried off the sigh leaving her body. She glanced back up, the stars dim, being slightly outshined by the streetlights. Footsteps echoed hers as she walked home.
"Do you write?" a sudden voice asked behind her. She turned around to see Natsu, hands stuffed in his pockets, his face straight and steady. She had been so busy looking at the stars, that she hadn't heard his question properly, she only knew he had spoke. She looked at him questionally, tilting her head to the side so he'd know she didn't hear him.
"I asked if you write, ya know, like stories or something." he answered her silent question.
"Why would you ask something like that?" Lucy was put off by his sudden question, so she turned around and continued walking. She allow his footstep to match up to hers, as he started to walk beside her.
"Your words sometimes seem so poetic. Like you were reciting them from something you've read." Lucy looked over to see his face, but much like she was earlier, he was too busy watching the stars. She lifted her head up to join him as she answered,
"I used to write. It was a hobby of mine, but now I just study a lot." she murmured, hoping the wind would carry away her response. While looking up at the sky, she believed she could faintly make out the Great Square which was part of the Pegasus, the winged horse. She wished she had wings right now that could fly her away from everything.
"Wings aren't all they crack up to be." Natsu released a breathy chuckle as he shook his head. Lucy looked at him in shock. How did he knew what she was thinking? Did she accidentally say it outloud? Oh man, she has to stop doing that soon. To save face, she decided to ask him what he meant by that, but just before she could, he spoke up.
"So what was up with you and piercing guy back at the restaurant? You seemed to know each other."
"He is just a friend of mine."
"With the amount of glances he was sparing you, I would say he wants to be more than just a friend." A bubbling laugh came from Lucy's mouth. "You like having guys at your beck and call? You really are the princess type then, aren't cha?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.
"You got it all wrong. Gajeel is dating, or well kinda dating, my best friend. He was no doubt just looking out for my wellbeing." Lucy shrugged off his accusation.
"Whatever you say princess."
"Don't you dare start calling me that." She sent a chilly side glare in his direction. "Why are you even walking me home anyways?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's too dangerous at night for a delicate princess such as yourself."
"Are you calling me a princess because you feel that your masculinity is threatened?" Lucy let her annoyance show in her voice.
"Oh no! That's never the case." Natsu said as he mock flexed his biceps, posing ridiculously. A group of passing girls giggled. "I just know a princess when I see one." Lucy just rolled her eyes in response. Natsu continued, "So what reign are you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You know, what kingdom doth the princess hailth from?" The fake british accent made Lucy cringe.
"I was born and raised here in Fiore." Lucy answered. A look of confusion overcame Natsu's face.
"Okay. But what royal line do you descend from?" the furrowing between his eyebrows increased.
"Uhhh…My dad is Jude Heartfillia…? And can you quit it with the princess jokes?" Lucy asked. She was in no way a princess. They are so graceful and dainty. Two things Lucy can't identify as.
"Jokes?" Natsu's confusion was evident.
"Yeah. You keep making wisecracks and princess references."
'Just another block and you will be on your street, Lucy. Almost there.'
"So….you have no idea...what I'm asking?"
"You were asking where I'm from and who my parents are. Just in a weird way." A look of realization passed on the boy's face. He dug his hands into his pockets, leaning in more towards her. He breathed in deeply through his nose, his nostrils flailing. His eyes widen in awe.
"You...don't know….do you..? Oh my Edolas. You have no idea!"
"What are you talkin-" before she could get her sentence out Natsu placed his hands on her shoulders, fully turning her to face him.
"How old are you?" His face was too close, she could see the slight faded scar he had under his lip. Wait, why was she looking at his lips?! She physically shrugged him off and back away a few steps.
"I'm 20."
"What?! Normally we change in our teens!" Natsu yelled to himself in disbelief, seemingly engaging the cracked sidewalk in a staring contest as he worked over this new piece of information out in his head. Lucy was thoroughly weirded out. She almost jumped for joy when she saw her apartment complex. There was no doubt in Lucy's mind that Natsu at least was missing a few screws in his head. She sped up her walking pace, and was now a few yards away from her home. She hadn't noticed the tension in her neck and shoulders until she was about to relax at the sight of her apartment.
"Okay...well." She grasped her purse tighter around her body. "I'm home now. It was...nice talking to you. And sorry again for the whole fiasco this morning." Her rushed goodbye didn't seem to bug Natsu at all, as he was still too busy in thought to notice the offhanded departure. When her hand touched the doorknob, a warm one engulfed hers, halted her from opening it. Natsu pried her hand away from the door, and rose her hand to his lips. With a small kiss on her knuckle, Natsu let his eyes met hers. Lucy saw a strange emotion running through them. Was...was that amusement she saw in his eyes?! When he released her hand, she secretly wiped the small gesture on the side of her pants.
"I have a feeling we'll be meeting again very soon, princess." With that he started heading off into the night, leaving a very weird feeling crawling up Lucy's spine.
'Okay. That guy is super cryptic. It's creepy.' Lucy thought as she watched his silhouette growing smaller and smaller by the minute. She felt the ghost sensation of his warm hand on hers. She looked at her hand and held in a gasped. For a split second she saw a flash of pink. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Nothing but her own skin started back at her. Shoving herself through the door, she climbed the stairs to her complex floor. Oddly enough, her headache disappeared.
A/N: Well look what we have here. Another story, despite all the unfinished ones calling my name. Don't fret though, for summer vacation has started, and that means more time to write, thus more updates! At least hopefully.