Lucy Heartfilia smiled as she stared at the entrance to the college she would be attending for the next few years, Fairy Tail. She may have picked it because of its name, or maybe it was the mascot. Fairy Tail had chosen a dragon as it, possibly to draw in more guys with a name some might feel was to girly or kidish. Why was a dragon so important to her? It reminded her of the last summer she had felt like a kid, the last summer her mother was alive. Okay so it was more than that.
The year her mother died her father had been distraught and left the business runnings to his underlings and shut her out. During that year the underlings ran the business into the ground and ran off with the money, putting them deep in debt. But that summer before, when her mother was still alive, they had spent at the beach house that her mother had loved. She sighed, someday she wanted to live there, to buy it back, just to have a bit of her mom in her life.
She had a few things, that had been her mother's, each of them precious, but she remembered how a lot of their happy moments had taken place there and how her mother never stopped smiling the whole time she was at the house. But there was something else that had happened that summer, it was the year she had met Natsu Dragneel. They had been fast friends, he didn't mind playing with her, one of their favorite things to do was make sandcastles and use their toys to act out medieval scenes.
Natsu's favorite had been a red dragon, he loved to pretend to have it breathe fire at the towers, or sometimes it was the dragon protecting the castle, but no matter which it was, his dragon always protected Lucy's main toy. Just like he protected her the time some bullies started teasing her in the town nearby. The memory washed over her, she had just exited the bookstore with another book about the stars, when she ran into Fukuro.
He had sneered at her and called her a bookworm. She tried to ignore him as usual, but for some reason, this time he grabbed her book. Lucy had begged for him to give it back, but he was taller than her and held it just out of her reach as he laughed. Suddenly a fist met his chin and he dropped the book, Lucy catching it with ease and pulling it to her chest to keep him from grabbing it again. Natsu stood and front of her and told Fukuro if he didn't want another punch to leave. Surprisingly, the bully actually listened to him and Natsu turned and gave Lucy a smile.
Besides Natsu, that was the year they had adopted Michelle Lobster, the daughter of her mother's best friends. Her parents had died in a car wreck earlier that year and it had been in their will for Layla to take their daughter in if she was willing. Of course Layla had been and had easily convinced Jude to go through with it. If it hadn't been for Michelle, Lucy didn't know how she would have made it through those first few days after losing her mom. She never made Lucy feel bad about crying over one lost parent when she had lost both, something Lucy appreciated more then she could have ever said.
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She hadn't seen or heard from Natsu since that summer, her life had been so crazy since then. Once her father started living again, he had thrown himself into his work, working hard to pay off the debts he owed and get his family back to where they had been. The name Heartfilia was starting to finally be associated with them again, something she wasn't too keen about. She was glad to be in Magnolia for school, it gave her that distance from her father that she desired.
Michelle had come with her and they had gotten an apartment together, Lucy bringing her little dog Plue along. Michelle had also enrolled in Fairy Tail, taking the culinary program that it offered and a few business classes in case she opened a restaurant somedaey. Lucy was majoring in business to appease her dad, but it was her minor in creative writing that she was most excited about. Lucy dreamed of being an author one day. And once again she had to shake her head, she had to get moving or she would be late for her first day of class.
She sighed, knowing it was one of her business classes, but she got her feet to get moving towards the building that housed it. Lucy had to use her phone to pull up a map of the campus, she had been unable to make it to the Orientation Day and had no clue where everything was. Michelle and herself had gotten a late start and had only barely got their apartment together last night so there had been no time for exploring the campus to get acquainted with the layout. She hoped Michelle was able to find her classes easily.
If she thought about it, Lucy was a little jealous of Michelle. Michelle was getting to follow her dreams of being a chef someday, while Lucy was wanted by her father to take over the business. The thought caused Lucy to frown, for it brought up one of the many arguments she and her father had had. Before Michelle had announced her intentions to be a chef, Lucy had tried to tell her father that she wasn't interested in the business, that maybe he should see if Michelle was, but he had said that it wouldn't do as Michelle wasn't a true Heartfilia, had even kept the last name of Lobster. Lucy had pointed out that the Lobster name was just as important at one point as their own, but her father would have none of it.
Lucy found herself at the door to her class and she entered, taking an empty seat near the back and on the aisle. She hadn't really looked at her seat mate before she sat, but once she had her things situated, she turned to introduce herself just as he did. Both stared at each other in surprise, before the boy said "Luce? Is that you?" "Natsu?!" They were about to say more when the professor started talking. "Meet me after class." Natsu whispered, before they both turned their attention to the front, or at least tried to.
XXX
Lucy and Natsu exited the building together after class and made their way to a bench not too far from it. Neither had another class scheduled for that morning, so they decided to sit awhile and catch up. Natsu knew that had happened with her mom and the family business, how could he not since he was from the same class level they had been at the time. He wasn't sure how to start up a conversation with her, but he didn't have to. "How's Happy doing?" she asked, earning a smile from Natsu as he loved his Russian Blue Cat. "Happy is doing great, I'm surprised you remember him since I got him only a few days before you left the beach house."
Lucy smiled and said "I remember everything from that summer, well pretty much everything. It was the best year of my childhood. I gained Michelle as a sister and you as a friend." She didn't add it, but Natsu also knew that was the last year her mom was alive and therefore everything about that year would be important, especially the presence of her mother. Natsu had been adopted by his father, Igneel. Later Igneel had married Grandeeney, bringing her daughter from a previous marriage with her.
Natsu had tried to get Wendy to change her last name to Dragneel like her mom had done, but Wendy had said she liked it when people called her Miss Marvell, made her feel like a superhero she would say with a wink. Igneel had also adopted Natsu's older brother Zeref, but he rarely saw his brother these days. He had basically become the black sheep of the family, though his girlfriend, Mavis, had gone to Fairy Tail University and had suggested that Natsu might like it. Natsu would have to thank her for the advice later, it had led to him seeing Lucy again.
"Still interested in the stars Lucy?" he asked. "Oh yes, I've thought about taking some astronomy courses, just for fun, but I feel I've already got a lot on my plate, maybe next semester. What about you? Do you still sing?" she asked. Natsu blushed and said "Actually you're the only I ever sang for. If I'm alone or whatever I do still, but you were my only audience." Lucy looked at him and shock, replying "Really? You were so good even then, I remember you saying you wanted to be a singer when you grew up."
Natsu rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, but since Zeref isn't really business material dad really wants me to take over for him someday. He's done so much for me, I don't know how to tell him I'm really not that interested in it." Lucy nodded and looked out over the campus as she said "I get it, I'm pretty much in the same boat, though why I care about what my father wants me to do I don't really know. Maybe it's the memories of how he was before Mom died…" she trailed off and Natsu didn't force her to continue, he got it.
Over the next hour they discussed various things about how life had been. They were happy to learn they were actually in the same apartment complex, in the same building even. Natsu was just a floor below them, having brought Happy with him. His apartment was a bit bigger and he shared it with two of his friends from back home, Gray Fullbuster and Gajeel Redfox, the last of whom had brought his cat called Lily with him. "Actually, I'm supposed to meet them and a couple other friends for lunch. Want to come with me?" Natsu asked.
"Sure, we can pick up Michelle on the way if she wants to come too." Lucy answered with a smile. Natsu barely remembered Michelle, she had joined the Heartfilia family only in their last week at the beach and he had been pretty preoccupied with Happy at that point. Still he had a picture with the three of them and Happy that Igneel had taken and he thought he might be able to recognize her from it. He was wrong, Michelle had changed a lot since he last saw her, but her friendliness was something he did remember and that hadn't changed at all.
The three chatted about the first impressions of Fairy Tail and the walk to the cafeteria passed quickly. "Wow Natsu, you're already making time with the ladies?" said a guy with black, short hair. Natsu growled and said "Shut up Gray. Actually Lucy is an old friend of mine and this is her sister, Michelle." "Would this be the Lucy we've heard so much about?" asked a girl with red hair. "I hope its all good things." Lucy said with a laugh as Natsu nodded.
Then Natsu said, "Allow me to make the introductions. Everyone, this is Lucy Heartfilia and Michelle Lobster. Lucy and Michelle, this is Gray Fullbuster, Gajeel Redfox, Erza Scarlett and Levy McGarden. We're waiting on a few others, but they should be along shortly." Greetings were exchanged, as well as explanations of the sister's different last names, as Natsu's other friends joined them. First Juvia Lockser arrived, followed by Jellal Fernandez. Finally Loke Asad joined the group.
"So this is the famous Lucy, so nice to finally meet you." Loke said, causing Lucy to both blush and role her eyes, he said it so dramatically it made sense that he was there for theater. Levy was majoring in Creative Writing so it was possible she and Lucy would have some similar classes and she was already getting along great with her. Lunch passed quickly and they all made plans to meet again the next day for it. Natsu and Lucy had very similar schedules and their next class was the same as well, so they headed off, not in any rush since it didn't start for another hour. The class after it Michelle would be joining them, so they used this time to catch up some more, before Lucy asked, "So what made you choose Fairy Tail out of all the other schools out there?"
"My brother's girlfriend, Mavis, she attended Fairy Tail a few years ago and she thought it would be a good fit for me. How about you?" Natsu said, returning the question to her. Lucy blushed and said "You have to promise not to laugh!" Natsu raised an eyebrow but did as she asked. "Well besides the name, it was the mascot that drew me in. It reminded me of our friendship, all those times playing in the sand, you and your favorite dragon toy and how you always protected me, whether in play or for real." She said softly, not daring to look up at him.
Natsu nearly stopped walking, he remembered that toy, in fact he still had it for the sole reasons of his memories of her, his best friend for a summer. It was currently sitting on a shelf in his apartment even, too cherished to leave behind. Lucy, thinking his silence meant he was trying to keep from laughing blushed harder, worried that their friendship had meant more to her then he could possibly understand. That is, until he said "I brought it with me, it has so many memories attached to it." She looked at him and he smiled down at her.
"I'm glad that we got to meet again Lucy, I've always wondered where you ended up. I kept trying to find you, but typing in Heartfilia just brought up the old family business and later the new ones." he said, "I missed you." "I missed you too, Natsu." She said with a smile, before entering the door he held open for her.
XXX
After classes were done for the day, Natsu, Lucy and Michelle walked home from school together, Natsu inviting them to stop at his apartment to see Happy. Both girls agreed, remembering the cute kitten and they couldn't wait to see how he looked now. As they entered Natsu's apartment, Happy pounced on Natsu's feet, happy to see his friend home again. "Oh my gosh, he's as cute as I remember him." Lucy said, putting a hand out towards Happy, who sniffed it and Michelle's. Almost as if he remembered them, Happy rubbed up against their legs purring, earning grins from all three of them.
In fact when they took the seat Natsu offered them on the couch, Happy curled up on Lucy's lap, purring as she pet him. "We can't stay too long, I have to go walk Plue, my dog." Lucy said, though the thought of disturbing Happy or leaving Natsu so soon made her a little sad. "I can do that for you Lucy and I've got some stuff for culinary class to work on, perhaps I can bring it down when I'm done and then we can all work on our business class stuff together." Michelle offered.
Lucy smiled her thanks at her sister and said "Sounds good to me, is it okay with you Natsu?" Natsu shrugged and said "Sure, but don't be surprised if most if not all of the others you saw at lunch are here when you get back, we all got apartments here and so I don't know who will be stopping by." "That works out great actually, I have a lot of things to test and I was worried about the food going to waste. Maybe I'll sent up a thing where if you guys give me X amount of money and fridge space I'll cook your meals for you." Michelle said.
"Wow that would be awesome, would you be up to it?" Natsu asked, which Michelle smiled back and said "Well I want to open my own restaurant someday and be it's chef, so I'll call it good practice. I'll let you guys know the night before if I can't make supper the next night for some reason, sound good?" Natsu nodded and Lucy said "We'll tell the others about it as we see them for you Michelle, or you can just announce it at dinner, Natsu can text them all to come I'm sure." Natsu was already pulling out his phone to do just that as Michelle hollered out her agreement.
After she left, Natsu and Lucy worked on the work from their first two classes, finishing it rather quickly. "So Lucy, what do you really want to do that you're holding back on because of your dad? Does it have anything to do with your Creative Writing course?" Natsu asked, reaching out to give Happy a chin rub. Lucy nodded and replied "Yes, I want to be an author someday. Who knows, maybe I can do it on the side while running the family business."
Natsu smiled and said "Well I think that if you can write the stories half as good as you can make them up on the spot, like we did when we were kids, I think you will do great." Lucy smiled her thanks, then the door opened and the first wave of Natsu's friends arrived, making themselves at home while waiting for Michelle to join them. Lucy's phone went off, it was Michelle asking for help carrying things. Levy and Erza volunteered to help too, as did Juvia who ran into them as they were on their way out. Soon the girls returned with Michelle and lots of food.
Everyone dug in and gave their compliments to Michelle, saying how amazing it all was. They quickly agreed to her suggestion of money and fridge space, all sitting down to budget and give out any allergies they may have so she would know what not to fix for them. Michelle herself was, ironically, allergic to any seafood, minus a few types of fish. Lucy smiled around the room, already comfortable in Natsu and his friend's company. This school year was looking up already.
I looked up names that meant lion/had lion in the name and Asad was one. I did this since Loke/Leo didn't have a last name and Loke Leo (my original plan) looked weird to me XD so for my story Loke's last name is Asad.
Also the Michelle Lobster in this story, I picture her being Lucy's doll/Imitatia's version of Michelle Lobster, not the Michelle found by Gildarts and Laki in the hospital/real Michelle Lobster.