This Time Tomorrow
Someone spills coffee on her skirt and nearly fritzes out her laptop so she looks up to give the idiot who wasn't watching where he or she was going with an annoyed look.
The offending party is a man who's around her age, tall with a head full of shocking pink hair. He's got a duffle bag slung over one arm and a carrier containing a small, bluish-black cat over the other. He looks a bit haggard, as if he hasn't slept for days, and even though he's giving her this huge, apologetic sort of grin, she can feel the tension settling at the corners of his lips.
"Oops! Sorry!" he says and he looks as if he really means it, so she doesn't feel as irritated anymore.
"It's okay," she quickly says as she puts her laptop on to the next chair, grabs her bag and rummages for a tissue. From in front of her, she can hear the guy shuffling in his place, his cat making screechy mewling noises every once in a while.
"Here," he says and she looks up and sees that he's taken a handkerchief out.
"Oh, it's okay, you don't have to—''
"No. Seriously. Take it. I don't need it anyway," he says as he tosses the handkerchief over to her. It lands on her nose and she gives a squeak of protest but he just laughs. "Besides, you've got stains on your skirt."
"And who put it there in the first place?" Lucy irritably retorts. He just gives her this silly, sort of grin and even though she knows that she should be annoyed by it, she isn't. The cat's making a chortling sort of meow, almost as if he also finds the whole thing funny.
"Well. Better get going," the man says. He gives her a little salute and walks away before she gets the chance to call out to him and ask him how she's supposed to give his handkerchief back.
He comes by moments later and whacks her knee with the carrier.
It happens like this: she's in the middle of reading this really great book when she hears someone flop right next to her, rattling the entire row of seats with the force of his or her weight. Before she can turn around to face the person, she hears a meow and the surface of a hard object slams against her knee. Without even hearing him talk, she can already tell who it is.
"Fuck!" she hisses.
"Oops, sorry. Didn't see you there," he says in a loud, cheerful voice.
"What're you doing here?" she demands, her eyes narrowing. Suddenly, she has the suspicion that he's trying to hit on her. It's happened once or twice before, whenever she went with her dad in one of his business trips. Although, the men who try to flirt with her are normally not this cute. They're usually presumptuous businessmen who are twice her age—it's really annoying.
"Airport's packed. This seat's vacant and nearest to my boarding gate." He then jerks his head towards a stall at the right. "And the noodles stand."
"Where are you headed?" she asks him because the same very thing happened to her earlier this morning. She arrived seven hours before her flight (at the break of dawn actually) but even by then, the airport had already been full of people and it had taken her forever to get a seat. Apparently, there's been a lot of cancelled or overbooked flights.
"Magnolia."
"Me too!" she says, excited. He's really just a complete stranger but if he's heading there as well, then that must mean he knows a bit about the city. "What's it like?"
"What? The noodles stand?"
"No," she impatiently says. "Magnolia."
"Oh." He looks at the ground contemplatively for a moment. Then, he shrugs. "Dunno. Never been there before."
"Oh," Lucy says, disappointed. To be honest, she's a bit nervous because she doesn't really know a lot about the place—she just bought the first ticket she saw posted in the airline office. "So you're going to a place you've never been to? Alone?"
She's one to talk but well. It's a completely different thing.
"No...I'm meeting someone," he says after a long pause. The expression on his face tells her that it might be someone special, a girlfriend maybe.
Then, his lips widen into a smile. "Anyways, whatever. I'm just really all fired up to get there! How about you?"
"I'm...I'm going on a vacation there," she says. She doesn't miss the way her voice trembles a little. "An adventure actually."
"Really? Cool," he says, eyes bright. The cat suddenly gives a plaintive meow and presses its nose flat against the bars of the carrier. The man turns to the cat and knowingly nods his head. "Yeah, I know. I think so too."
"Wait. Are you talking to your cat?" she says.
"His name is Happy. And yeah," the man says as he gives her a wide grin.
"And what did he say?"
"He thinks that you talk a lot."
"Hey! I'm not the one who started the conversation!" she protests.
"But you're the one who keeps asking questions."
"Fine. Then I'll stop talking."
"Naw. I'm bored anyways," he says as he slumps against his seat. "My flight's an hour away and I've already eaten burgers for lunch."
"Burgers? As in you ate more than one?"
"Oh yeah, I ate three," he nonchalantly says.
"Three!?" Lucy says, poleaxed. She looks at him, sees the tight sinews on his arms and his trim figure. He doesn't look like the kind of person who eats three burgers.
"Yeah, I know right? Real measly. Would've bought another one if it wasn't so damn expensive. Crazy airport prices," the man says as he gives his belly a doleful look.
"Well, now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry," Lucy says. Actually, she hasn't eaten anything since she's gotten here. But that's just because she's trying to scrimp on whatever money she has left in her wallet.
"Oh, you want me to get you something from the noodles stand? I was just about to head there myself," the man offers.
"But you just ate lunch!"
"I know. The noodles are for snacks," he says it as if it's the most obvious thing in the world and Lucy is an idiot for not getting it right away.
This guy is unbelievable.
"You don't have to," Lucy says as she grabs her wallet and pulls out a couple of bills. She really doesn't want to impose on him but she feels like he'll go and get her something anyways, even if she says no. So she might as well tell him what she wants and pay him too—she really doesn't like owing people.
He takes the money and slips it into his pocket before grabbing his carrier and settling it on her lap without preamble. "Here ya go. Take care of Happy for me."
The cat gives her an impish grin and she responds with a weak smile. She can't help but feel as if the cat is making fun of her and she really doesn't like the look on its face.
"You better not spill the soup on me," she says in a half-joking, half-threatening voice.
"Yeah, whatever. What do I get you?"
"Oh, anything's good with me."
He turns around but then pauses mid-way to look at her again. "I'm Natsu by the way."
"Lucy," she replies.
He gives her this adorable smile in return and she tries to pretend as if it doesn't make her insides do this little flip.
"Nice meeting you," he says before walking off, pockets in his hands.
He doesn't come back for another half hour so she spends her time writing a new story.
It's mostly about Happy. The cat has been making these weird, meowing noises that feel mostly like jabs aimed at her. Obviously, she can't tell for sure because she can't speak cat but she just knows that it is true. There's no mistaking that really smarmy grin on his face.
"What's that?"
She jumps in her seat, startled and quickly attempts to cover the screen. But she has a feeling he's already seen bits of what she's written and she feels really embarrassed. He's got two bowls of hot soup in his hands and he's staring at her laptop screen with a fixed look.
"It's none of your business!" Lucy mumbles as she tries to block his view. "And move those bowls, you might spill them on my laptop!"
"I didn't know you were a writer," Natsu says as he moves to take a seat right next to her. He ticks a brow up. "Why is Happy talking in your story? Cats don't talk. They meow."
"Don't look at me as if I'm a weirdo! You're the one who's been talking to your cat!" she defensively says.
"And Happy would never say things like that. He's not nearly half as funny in real life," he says in a matter of fact voice, completely ignoring what she's said earlier. Happy gives a meow of protest.
"This isn't even about Happy!"
"It says so write there. Happy says—''
"Okay, fine. Happy is not that funny. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she says as she snaps her laptop shut, hoping that it'll quiet him down. But he's impishly grinning at her as he hands her a bowl.
"What?"
"You think I'm handsome?"
Oh god. He really did read it.
This is so embarrassing.
"No! I didn't write that," she mumbles as she tries to force as many noodles as she can into her mouth so that she can avoid looking at him. The cat makes a rolling sort of noise with his tongue and she just knows he's making a joke right now.
"I'm pretty sure that's what I saw," Natsu says. Happy gives an affirmative meow. "Happy thinks so too."
"How would you know that!? You don't speak cat!" Lucy retorts, soup and bits of noodles flying from her mouth. "And I didn't write that you were handsome! I wrote that...that you had a hansom which is a completely different thing!"
"They both sound the same to me," he says, confused.
"A hansom is a two-wheeled carriage. And I wasn't even talking about you. I was talking about a guy named...named...Batsu," she splutters.
"Why would I bring a two-wheeled carriage to the airport?"
"Oh, forget it!" Lucy mumbles, looking away. She really should check her sides or behind every once in a while. He can be surprisingly stealthy if he wants to be.
"It seemed like a really good story though. You're a good writer," he earnestly tells her. "Your parents must be proud of you."
She can feel her cheeks redden at the compliment. "Well...ah...I'm not really a writer. It's just a hobby. But you should listen to Spetto, she acts as if I'm greatest thing that ever happened—''
"Spetto? Is she your mom?"
Fuck.
Why'd she have to say that?
Now, she's walked right into it.
"No," she says, her throat clotting up. "She's my personal maid. My mom's dead actually."
She tries to sound casual about it but her voice trembles a little. She looks at him, waiting for his reaction. Usually people gasp or awkwardly change the subject or avoid her gaze or give an obnoxiously more dramatic story about their aunt or uncle dying in a more horrific manner. Actually, she's hoping that it's one of those. She won't be able to stand it if he starts looking at her with pity.
Natsu just holds her gaze and doesn't say anything. Suddenly, her muscles relax. It doesn't feel as weird somehow, even though there's this long stretch of silence between them. He's looking at her as if he gets it, as if he understands.
"I'm sorry," he says at last.
"Don't sweat it! It happened when I was kid! I don't even remember that much about her!" she says, her smile brittle. She doesn't really want to be smiling right now but if there's one thing she's learned, smiling is the only way to get through these conversations.
"Well, that explains a lot."
"No, it does not," she says, her voice tight. "I've moved on from it, dealt with it. It happened a long time ago. So you're wrong. It doesn't—''
"I mean, it explains why you're hair is all weird. Obviously nobody ever taught you to do girl stuff," he says. She honestly can't tell if he's joking or not.
"I don't normally look like this!" Lucy indignantly retorts. It's true—normally, she's very kept together but the night before has just been so awful. And besides, she really didn't have a lot of time to fix herself up on her way to the airport.
"I was just kidding, Luigi—''
"It's Lucy! How could you even mistake Lucy for Luigi!?"
Natsu opens his mouth to respond but the speakers suddenly cackle and someone announces that their flight is going to be late by an hour. Lucy scrubs a hand through her face and leans back against her seat, completely exhausted.
"Looks like we're going to be here for far longer." He looks at her half-empty bowl of noodles. "Are you going to finish that?"
Where does he even put it all?
Wearily, she hands him her bowl. "Knock yourself out."
It's been three hours already and after several apologetic statements; someone announces that due to an unexpected blizzard, the flight will be cancelled. Everyone in the airport erupts into annoyed groans and loud screams of protests. Lucy just huffs, mildly annoyed. She is kind of irritated that it's taking so long but honestly, she's a bit relieved that she doesn't have to get to Magnolia so soon. She has absolutely no idea what she's going to do when she gets there and she's not naive enough to think that everything will fall into place, just like how it always happens in books and movies.
She doesn't know anyone there or anyone at all really (aside from the people back home) and she's only got seven hundred jewels in her wallet. Well, she has her credit card too but she can't use that, obviously. And besides, she's been having such a great time talking to Natsu. He's a little blunt and kind of weird and childish but he's one of the nicest people she's ever met.
Still, she's a little worried about the flights being cancelled today and being all moved tomorrow. Because that means she has to stay somewhere for the night and she really doesn't have anywhere to go. Also, the longer she stays, the greater the chances that he'll find her.
"This is bullshit!" Natsu angrily says. "I'm not gonna wait for the next day to get to Magnolia! I need to get there now!"
"Where are you going?" she says when she sees him grabbing the carrier and his duffel bag.
"I'm gonna go to the front desk and complain. I didn't pay for a delayed flight!" he irately says.
"I'll go with you!" she quickly says as she gathers up her things and follows him.
They go to the front desk and push their way past a crowd of people. Lucy is trying really hard to be polite but Natsu just keeps shoving people out of the way (except for kids) and whacking people with Happy's carrier or his duffle bag. When they finally get to the front, they're told that the next possible flight might be three in the morning, since the blizzard is expected to pass by twelve midnight. The two of them take the flight and squeeze themselves back to the boarding gates.
"So," Natsu says after a moment's pause. They're standing in the middle of everything, watching as people surge towards the front desks, looking angry. "I guess you'll be going home for the rest of the night."
"Oh...um...I think that I'll just stay here," Lucy mumbles, trying to sound as if she actually has somewhere to go and she's just decided it would be more convenient to stay in the airport.
He looks a little relieved, happy even. "Yeah. Same. I mean, it'd be a waste of time to leave since we're going to be back here after a few hours anyways."
"Right," she nods.
"And besides, who knows? The storm might leave faster than expected and we could get an earlier flight," he optimistically says.
"Exactly," she emphatically responds.
The two of them stand there for a while, just staring at each other and the people moving past them. Then, Happy meows and Natsu raises the carrier so it's eye level with him and he grins. Then he turns to Lucy and says, "Happy's right. You should move. You're blocking the way."
"So are you," Lucy indignantly retorts as the two of them start walking away.
They head for their new boarding gate but all the seats are already taken so they settle for squatting with about thirty other people at a corner next to a pillar. It takes her a bit of time, at first, to find the right position because even though she's got leggings underneath it, she's still wearing a skirt. And really, no matter what angle she tries out, whether its with her knees against her chest or her legs all stretched out, she's pretty sure that a bit of her, you know, is going to be seen. And it's still a little weird even though it's covered by her panties and leggings. So when Natsu piles his duffel bag and Happy's carrier at her side and sits down in front of her, she feels a little glow spreading from her chest because she knows that he did it to form a sort of cage around her.
People around them are calling up their friends, relatives, telling them about the delayed flights. She's not going to lie and pretend that she isn't jealous.
"Aren't you going to call your dad or friend or something to tell them that you're okay?" Natsu says. Happy makes an affirmative, little meow.
Lucy can feel her cheeks warming and she tries to figure out a way to answer the question without outright lying. "Oh, I'm sure my dad will be fine."
He furrows his brows, his easygoing manner faltering for the first time. "What are you talking about? He's going to hear about this on the news and he'll be worried about you."
Her eyes suddenly feel a bit hot and she swears that she's about to cry. She looks at her lap and tries to keep her voice steady. "He'll be fine. It's no big deal."
"I'm serious," he says, sounding a bit angry. "It's not good to just run off and not tell people where you are or where you're going. In fact, it's absolutely douchey."
She really doesn't like the accusing, judgmental tone of his voice.
"And I'm telling you that it's no big deal because my dad's not going to care!"she spits out.
Natsu blinks at her, looking stunned. Lucy looks away, feeling embarrassed. Shit. She's just walked in to it. Well, it's not her fault anyways. He practically asked for it.
"And what about you, huh? I don't see you calling anyone to tell them that you're okay."
His face tightens. "That's because I don't need to."
"Bullshit. What about the girlfriend you plan on visiting in Magnolia—''
"What girlfriend?" Natsu says, confused.
Okay, she should really stop jumping into conclusions.
"You know. That person you're visiting," she snaps.
His face immediately closes up with this expression that chills her spine. Immediately, she regrets asking him about it. He's looking at the floor and his fingers are curled into a fist and he looks so still that he might've been a statue.
"I am visiting someone," he finally says. "He just doesn't know it yet."
"Oh. Okay," Lucy says, deciding not to say anything else.
"I'm looking for my dad," he continues, clearly trying to sound upbeat. He sticks his chest out. "Well, adopted dad. He left when I was kid. But I'm gonna find him!"
"How?"
"I got a lead in the city. Some dude who runs a boarding house knew him. I saw it in one of the postcards. Name's Marka-Marko-Mako-something. When I get to Magnolia, I'm heading straight there," Natsu says, saying it as if it's the easiest thing in the world.
"Do you even know how to get there?" Lucy skeptically asks.
"I'll ask directions," he replies in a matter of fact voice.
"You can't just get to somewhere by asking directions! Magnolia's a big city! What if you get lost? Or get mugged on the way!?" she says, alarmed.
"Well, how else is a person supposed to get anywhere?" Natsu irritably responds as Happy gives him a supportive meow.
"Aren't you the least bit worried going to a city all by yourself without knowing a single thing about it?" Lucy says, concerned.
"Hey! Weren't you the one who was planning to go on an adventure?" he demands.
"But that doesn't mean I'm just going in to it headfirst! I actually researched!" she retorts. Which is true because after she's bought the ticket, she immediately Googled up Magnolia and spent the next few hours trying to find out everything she can about it.
"I didn't have time for that. I had to go right away. Otherwise, he might've already left and gone somewhere else," he replies.
A long stretch of silence passes between them.
"I ran away from home," she finally says. She doesn't exactly know why she says it. Maybe it's because she feels like she owes him—it's not easy to talk about the stuff that he just talked about so she might as well return the favor.
It's really funny, she thinks, that he's trying to find his dad and she's trying to run away from hers.
"So what are you going to do when you get there?" he asks. Suddenly, she's grateful that he isn't asking her why she's run away in the first place.
"Honestly? I don't know," Lucy says. She really wishes that she doesn't seem like such a mess in front of him right now. She wants to pretend that she doesn't care what he thinks about her but she knows that's not true.
Happy meows.
"Happy thinks that it's okay to not know. That's the whole point of adventures," he says.
Lucy forces out a small smile. "Thanks Happy."
The two of them don't talk anymore about it, which Lucy is really happy about. When dinner comes around, they get food from the hamburger stall and Lucy gives him the rest of her fries. Then, they watch a couple of movies she has stored in her laptop. Natsu loudly talks over most of the scenes in Like Crazy but when she puts on How to Train Your Dragon, he pays close attention to it. Whenever particularly cool flying scenes show up, he starts grabbing her arm and shaking it, yelling, "Whoahoho did you see that! Did you see what Toothless just did? I wonder if I can train Happy to do that!"
"Happy doesn't even have wings!" she replies.
Eventually, it's ten in the evening and her laptop is dead. She's feeling a bit drowsy and she wants to sleep, but she really doesn't know how to, without looking awkward. Also, it's freezing cold and even though she's got a long-sleeved shirt on, she can't keep herself from shivering. She's trying to keep her eyes open when she feels herself tip over a little bit.
Natsu carefully steadies her and she mumbles, "Sorry."
"S'okay," Natsu replies. He takes the jacket he's wearing off and hands it to her. "Here you go!"
"Oh, it's really okay—''
He shoves it to her face without saying anything more. She nearly staggers backwards and Happy makes another one of those laugh-like meows again.
"Ouch!"
"Happy thinks you look funny when you're shivering like that."
"You can tell Happy to shut it."
Happy gives an indignant meow.
"But what about you?"
"I can usually keep myself warm. You should sleep. I can look after your stuff."
Lucy flushes at his chivalrous gesture."No, really—''
"I'll wake you up in a few hours so it'll be your turn to watch over our stuff."
Oh right. Of course. She knew he was going to say that. It's not like she was assuming he would gallantly offer to let her sleep. Of course, they'd take turns.
She puts the jacket on and tries to ignore how much it has this spicy, woody sort of smell. Before she can say anything else, Natsu grabs her shoulder and unceremoniously shoves her head into his lap.
"What are you doing?"
"You're going to sleep aren't you?" Natsu says, sounding surprised and confused with the expression on her face. "You'll be uncomfortable if you sleep sitting up like that."
"You can't just shove people's head on your lap. Weirdo."
"Hey, I'm not the one who was writing stories about talking cats and dudes bring 2-wheeled carriages in an airport."
Happy makes another rolling sound with his tongue.
Lucy just glares at him before curling up on Natsu's lap. He's actually pretty comfortable and his jacket is really nice and warm.
Once or twice, she gets this really weird feeling that he's staring at her and once, when she turns to look and meets his gaze, instead of being embarrassed like any guy would, he just smiles back at her.
A nice, comfortable feeling settles in her gut and suddenly, she doesn't feel nearly half as horrible as she felt this morning.
Someone shakes her awake and screams into her ear, "Oi! Wake up!"
"Shit!" she screeches, sitting upright. When she finally manages to blink the sleepiness from her eyes away, she sees that the crowd around them is erupting into cheers and that a huge of wave of people is slowly pressing around and towards them, heading for the third boarding gate.
"What's going on?"
"The plane's here! I saw it land a while ago!" Natsu excitedly says as he points at the glass panel showing the runway at the left.
"What?" she replies, dismayed. "But who was watching our stuff?"
"Happy was!" he simply replies.
"You can't just let a cat watch over our things for us!"
"Happy's better at guarding things than any watch dog—''
"What's he supposed to do if he sees someone stealing them? He's in a carrier. And why didn't you wake me!? I thought we'd take turns!" Lucy indignantly says.
"I didn't want to bother you," he shrugs. "And I figured you were having a really deep sleep 'cause you were snoring really loud."
"I don't snore in my sleep!" she says, embarassed. "And you were watching me sleep? That's creepy."
"Come on! Let's go!" Natsu says, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up.
After the two of them gather their things up, they quickly start heading towards their boarding gate. His hand is a bit warm, too warm actually, but it feels nice and she's kind of glad that they're still sticking together, even though she knows they'll probably end up in completely different seats. Midway through though, they get separated and Lucy's not going to pretend that she's not the least bit disappointed.
When she hands her boarding pass and gets lead to her seat, she feels a bit heavy as if her legs are made out of stones. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him.
Which is really stupid because it shouldn't even matter. It's not like they knew each other for very long. And given what his personality's like, he's probably already forgotten about her. So she should really stop obsessing over this and just move on.
She stands on her tiptoes, puts her bags on the overhead bins (and tries to push away the thought that Natsu's really tall and if he were here, he'd put her bags in the bin with no problem) before taking a seat and opening her book. She's been meaning to finish it but she got sidetracked by Natsu—and oh fuck, she's still wearing his jacket. She looks down and runs her hands across the thick fabric. It's fire-engine red and black and it smells like him. She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. This is so unfair. Why'd he have to forget about it and leave it? First, his handkerchief and now his jacket.
(Idiot. He could've left something useful. Like his phone number. Oh god. No. What is wrong with her? She's normally never like this.)
She really should take his jacket off but it's cold and it's not like she can give it back to him anyways.
She shakes her head and opens her book again, trying to reel herself in. She should stop thinking about such silly things. She still needs to deal with figuring out where to go once she gets to Magnolia.
She's just about to turn to the next page when something hard whacks against her head.
"Ouch! Fuck!" she screeches.
"Oh! Luigi! It's you! I didn't see you there!" a cheerful voice says. Then, she hears a loud, happy meow.
Lucy looks up and she's torn between feeling really happy and shooting him a nasty look.
She swears, if he hits her with his cat one more time, she's going to punch someone on the face.
"It's Lucy!" she says, a little hurt that he keeps forgetting her name.
"Oh, hi Lucy! Nice seeing you again! What are you doing here?" Suddenly, he pauses as a thought comes to him. Then, in a completely serious voice, he says, "Wait. Are you stalking me?"
"Speak for yourself! You're the one who keeps following me around!" Lucy retorts, feeling extremely embarrassed.
"Huh? Naw. I came here because of this," he says, pointing at the seat number printed on his boarding pass. Lucy just glares back at him as he carefully places Happy's carrier underneath his seat. The carrier fits snugly underneath it and when Natsu asks him if he's okay, Happy responds with an affirmative meow.
"Well, so am I," Lucy points out to him as he takes his seat.
"Hey, what's that?" Natsu says, grabbing her book.
"N-Nothing!" she replies, completely flustered.
He suddenly starts giggling, his whole body shaking and suddenly, Lucy just wants to melt into her seat and die. "Pleasure Me? Ahahahahaha I never saw you for the kind of girl who's into this Luce—''
"I am not and stop laughing, the story is actually very intellectual—''
She gets cut off by a stewardess asking them to fasten their seat belts and watch the in-flight video for the safety features and almost immediately, the propellers start humming. Suddenly, Natsu stiffens and Happy gives an alarmed little meow. Natsu is suddenly gripping at the arm seat, his knuckles whitening.
"Natsu? Are you okay?" Lucy asks, worried at how quiet he's become.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he loudly says as he attempts to keep his voice cheerful.
"You're starting to look a little green," she says.
"No, I'm not—shit. Shit. Shit," he mumbles as the plane slowly starts moving across the runway.
"What? What's happening?"
Happy gives an explanatory meow.
"Wait a second. You're afraid of flying?" Lucy says. She finds it kind of hilarious that he's not afraid to bust into a city he's never been before but he can't handle sitting ina plane for three minutes.
"No."
"What?"
"I'm not afraid flying."
"Then—''
Happy meows again.
"He's afraid of moving vehicles?" she says, her eyes widening as she bends down a little so she's facing Happy. "He even got sick just by being on a parked car once?"
"What kind of phobia is that?" she asks him as she sits back up again. And holy crap, did she just talk to a cat?
"Hey, you can finally understand him hehehe," Natsu says as he squints his eyes shut. "Are we taking off? Are we?"
"Natsu, we're still on the runway," she tells him. He doesn't open his eyes though or loosen his grip and she can tell he's probably going to be like this for the whole trip.
Gingerly, she places her hand on top of his and tries rubbing his knuckles with her thumb.
Natsu suddenly starts giggling. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to make you feel better!"
"It tickles!"
"It's not supposed to! It's supposed to soothe you, baka—''
The plane accelerates. Nastu gives a muffled scream and grabs her hand, lacing her fingers with his and gripping it tight.
"Natsu, we're not flying yet—''
"Shit, shit, shit. I'm going to be sick—''
"Don't you dare vomit on me! You already spilled coffee on my skirt—''
"I'm not going to make it out of this alive. Urgh...my stomach feels...so..."
"You shouldn't have eaten all those food!" she indignantly says as she fumbles for the airsick bag with her free hand.
"I can't hold it iiinnnn..."
She needs to distract him.
She needs to distract him.
This skirt cost her three thousand jewels and she's sure she's going to have a hard time washing the coffee stains.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god..." he mumbles. The plane's nose tips upwards and his face twists into this look that makes Lucy squirm. He really looks like he's in intense pain, honest-to-god and she can't stand it. She has to distract him.
So she does the first thing she can think of.
She kisses him.
Or tries to anyways.
The plane jolts a little before she can meet his lips with hers and she ends up kissing him on the nose instead. She can't believe that she just did that but his skin feels nice against her lips and it seems to do the trick, because he relaxes considerably. He sinks into his seat, his face covered with a thin film of sweat as he breathes heavily.
"What was that?" he asks.
"What was what?" she says, trying to sound confused.
"You know."
"No, I don't," she says, anxious for him to forget about the whole thing. He was practically having a mental breakdown and she responded when she was under extreme duress so her actions can't be taken seriously.
Happy meows.
"Happy says that you have really bad aim."
"I know what he said!" she retorts, absolutely flustered.
His breathing slows when the plane steadies and he closes his eyes, sagging against his seat.
"M'tired," he mumbles.
"See? You should've woke me up," she says, gentler this time.
He leans his head against her shoulder, his hand still wrapped tightly around hers.
Happy makes another rolling, meowing sound.
"Shut it cat," Lucy snaps.
Natsu's hand is sticky and wet but it feels nice against hers so she doesn't mind too much when he doesn't let go of it for the entire trip.
It's late in the evening and there's snow falling everywhere. She's just finished getting her suitcases from the baggage counter and now, she's standing in the taxi stand, absolutely unsure of what she should do next. Natsu's right next to her, trying to keep Happy warm by snuggling him up against his chest. They're the only two people left in the empty taxi stand. They could go to the other stand, the one that's nearer to the main gate where there are more taxis. But they're staying here because she's trying to get Google maps to work on her phone so that Natsu can find the boarding house and she can, well. She can find somewhere to go.
Oh god. This is a huge mistake. She shouldn't have gone here. She shouldn't have. She's such an idiot.
"Did you find it yet?" Natsu says.
"I'm sorry," her voice cracks a little and she doesn't even know why she's only now starting to fall apart. "I'm...I'm sorry but I can't catch any internet service here. You're probably better off asking someone else."
She doesn't expect him to abruptly turn around and leave.
Fuck.
Of course he'll do that. Of course he'll just go off and leave and ignore her, just like every single person in this goddamn—
"Why are you crying, Luce?"
She blinks back at him, her face numb with the cold.
"What are you doing here?" She tries to ignore the little glow she feels in her chest at the fact that he finally, finally remembers her name.
"What're you talking about? We're waiting for a taxi, right? I just went to ask for directions," he says, looking confused.
"Oh."
"I also got you this," he says, holding out a plastic cup of hot chocolate. "You were shivering."
"This is really nice of you," she says, the little glow in her chest spreading.
"I already asked the guy where the boarding house is. He gave me some directions so I won't get tricked by the taxi driver," he says.
"Oh," Lucy says, dejected. "Well, good for you."
"Where did you want to go again?" Natsu asks. "I could go back and ask—''
"No. It's okay. I know where it is."
"But Gogol maps didn't work."
"It's Google maps. And I'll be fine. Unlike you, I actually researched."
"I'll bring you to wherever it is your going."
"I don't need you too! I'll be fine," she says. She actually wants him too but she doesn't want him to know that she has no idea where she's supposed to stay yet.
Happy meows. "Happy thinks that some serial killer might try to get to you."
"What? He doesn't think that I can take care of myself? And why would I wanna go with you? For all I know, you could be a serial killer!" Lucy says.
"But that doesn't make any sense," Natsu protests. "You're the one stalking me."
"I wasn't stalking you!" she retorts, completely embarrassed.
"Well..." Natsu looks like he doesn't believe her. "As long as you're okay with it."
"I will be," she says. "Don't wory."
The two of them stand there in silence for a while, up until a taxi rolls around. Lucy steps aside and says, "Go ahead."
"Whoa really?" Natsu says, looking skeptical.
"Yeah," she replies. She still has his jacket on but she doesn't want to remind him about that because for whatever reason, she wants to keep it for herself.
"So I guess you'll be going now huh?" she says.
"Yeah probably."
Her heart should not be falling right now.
It shouldn't.
As he hauls his duffel bag up and Happy gives one last meow, she realizes that she's not ready to say goodbye to him yet.
(Or ever really.)
"Wait," she says, when she catches the neon sign of a small diner a few blocks away from where they are. "I'm kinda hungry. Do you maybe wanna eat dinner together? My treat."
Happy gives an excited meow.
Natsu gives her a skeptical look.
"You're not a serial killer are you?"
"I'm not!" she says, flushing.
"What're you doing after?"
"I don't know," she says, saying it out loud for the first time. Suddenly, she feels heavier, like saying it makes it more real somehow.
"I thought you researched."
"I did. But—''
"Well, I am hungry. And it's free food!" Natsu says as he steps away from the taxi and Happy gives an excited meow. She's glad that he doesn't ask her about it.
The two of them start walking towards the diner and midway through, Lucy realizes that Nastu has somehow managed to grab the handle of her suitcase and now, he's the one wheeling it around. She doesn't say anything about it but she thinks it's really sweet.
"So," he suddenly says in a casual voice.
"What?"
"You wanna check Fairy Tail with me afterwards? The boarding house I mean. It's not like you have anything better to do anyways," he says.
He makes it sound like she's a boring, lazy bum who just spends the whole evening sorting M&Ms.
"I have plans," she defensively says.
"You wanna go or not?" he says, pausing mid-step.
She looks at him, watches the way his lips curve into this really adorable smile and he's just there, sort of waiting for her. And suddenly, she feels like this, him and her standing here in the middle of a city they barely know, makes sense. A lot of sense.
"Yeah, fine. Whatever," she says trying to pretend as if it's not a big deal.
Happy gives a small meow of approval and he grins at her. Then, he turns back to the diner which is only a few feet away from where they're standing. He laughingly says, "Ooohh half price on double pounders! Come on!"
He grabs her hand and pulls her along and she lets him.
(And she doesn't know it yet, but someday, this going to become a running theme between them.)
Author's Note: So this was a request on tumblr and as usual, I went overboard and got carried away, so instead of a drabble I ended up with this. The request was for a meet cute fic but I'm not exactly sure if meeting in the airport counts as meet cute. I'm also not sure if them meeting in the airport has been done before, because I'm not very active in the Nalu fandom, so my apologies if this is something that's commonplace in the fandom (I feel like it would be, they seem like the kind of couple to meet in the airport hahahaha). Anyways, if you have the time, please leave me a review. Feedback is always welcome :))