sorry, this is more of a drabble than a oneshot.
oh well.
Though Lucy has just stepped outside, she can already see the twinkle of her second favorite thing in the world.
Stars.
(Her friends come first, but not by that much.)
Her eyes are adjusting to the darkness as she locked the door.
They look as pretty as they do every time.
The stars help clear her mind. Maybe it's because the sky is so vast and infinite, maybe because there's so many stars and they're all so far away.
More are appearing in her vision as she heads away from the town.
(The hills give a nicer view and the town is too bright.)
It's really late. It was twelve when she left, and no one else is up. Or she assumes so anyway.
She should be sleeping, not making her way past the silent guild.
Her thoughts wander.
She's wondering if her father would've ever changed if she hadn't left.
The answer is no.
The breeze is giving her goose bumps but that doesn't matter.
Not much does, out here.
There. Billions of stars are now in sight, the Big Dipper stretching in front of her.
The stars are really pretty tonight. She chuckled lightly at the fond memory of bringing Natsu to sit with her.
'Fireflies', he calls them, holding out a hand to grab them. He knows what they really are, but it's more fun this way.
She lies down in her favorite spot, on top of the tallest hill, ten feet away from the only tree on these fields.
(She's assuming its ten feet. It's probably fourteen.)
Her mind switches from memories to ideas and just plain thoughts. It's taking things slow, mulling over if every choice was a good one.
Lucy wouldn't change anything in her life, but it's fun to imagine.
There's a repeating pattern through her thoughts, but her conscious mind hasn't figured it out yet.
Maybe she is as dense as Natsu.
Her mouth doesn't move, but her arms are reaching to the sky and she's calling to each of her zodiac friends in her head. Leo, Taurus, Aries, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius,
Even Aquarius, but Lucy doesn't think she'll respond.
Suddenly a shooting star flares and disappears behind the watery horizon.
Her eyes light up. She's seen hundreds, but they make her smile every time.
They're like Mother Nature's firecrackers.
And she loved firecrackers.
(For a brief moment, she swears she can smell a fireplace, woodsy and comforting.)
As she lays there, legs crossed, toes rubbing together (her shoes discarded beside her), hands serving as a pillow, she notices that there isn't a moon tonight. Just stars are fine; it just stuck her as odd.
She's wishing that she brought a blanket now, to lie on. Maybe because the ground is kinda uncomfortable and the grass is poking her. Or maybe it's because she's been out here for almost two hours and the lack of sleep is finally catching up on her.
A warmer breeze blows over her, and she closes her eyes. It wasn't the smartest choice as sleep swoops in and suddenly there's no option to wake up.
When she does wake up, the grass isn't grass anymore and she has a blanket.
(There's also a pink-haired heater in bed with her but Lucy doesn't want to worry about that.)
Instead she rolls over and sighs. Either that causes Natsu to wake up or he was already, but his eyes open and he mumbles something like "you were really cold…" before he's asleep again.
Lucy smiles to herself.
Though her mind and thoughts are still a mess, she's positive of one thing.
Her nakama are the best things in the world.
(The stars take a close second. But not by much.)
How did this turn into NaLu? I didn't mean for it to, but hey, shipper instincts right?
I was walking under the stars and talking to myself, and this is result.
Yup.
(I also really like oneshots, they just have so much appeal, they're quick and the feeling reaches just as well as a real chaptered story.)
I really do love stars. I'd rather stay on earth thank-you-very-much (space and the idea of it never ending terrifies me), but stars are just one of the best things ever.
