Natsu was thrilled to finally see Lucy again. The Lucy Heartfilia, the best of friends he had as a child, the one who was whisked away too soon because of her father's business empire. He had missed her over the years and thought about her often, about where she could be or what she was doing. They had been too young when she moved to really stay in touch. It was almost surreal to Natsu; he was going to meet his best friend again after ten years. She left when they were twelve, but they had been friends since they were young. Natsu's father had worked closely with Jude Heartfilia for a while, and that's how he and Lucy met. He remembered her mother taking them both out into their enormous estate's garden, pointing out different flowers and teaching the two of them the names. At night, they'd lay out sheets and prop themselves up to look at the stars where her mother would tell them about the constellations and how to find them in the night's sky. Layla Heartfilia was a beautiful and intelligent woman who was gone too soon, and Natsu grieved alongside Lucy when her mother passed, and she had done the same when his own father had died. In a way, it brought them closer together, losing their parents, and the two of them became inseparable. It seemed almost tragic that the two of them had been so close and yet it was all taken away so early. That's why, when Lucy managed to reach out to Natsu, he had been more than happy to meet with her.
They were to meet at a local cafe in Magnolia, Natsu stilled lived there, though he no longer lived in the house that he had once shared with his father, it held too many memories. He lived in a modest house on the outskirts of Magnolia with his little blue cat, Happy. Natsu had found himself, that morning, with a churning stomach.
"Happy, ya think I'm sick?" Natsu asked the sleepy cat who lay sprawled across the back of his couch. He did nothing but blink slowly back in response, and Natsu nodded his head. "You're right, of course I'm not. I'm probably just hungry!" He grinned and pulled on a pair of clean cargos and a white long sleeved shirt; the scarf his father had given him still hung around his neck. He shrugged on his gray vest, shoved his phone and wallet into his pocket, and was out the door, after patting Happy on the head of course.
Natsu was never one for getting into a vehicle, he had horrible motion sickness. He recalled, fondly, the times when he travelled with Igneel and the Heartfilia's. Lucy would always allow Natsu to rest his head in her lap and she would stroke his hair gently, soothing him. She did that until they started getting a bit older and her father had yelled at him saying that he shouldn't behave such a way with a lady. Lucy had apologized profusely and his own father had told him to not worry, "Jude is a very traditional man", Natsu had not understood, at the time, what he had done wrong, but he never let Lucy comfort him in front of Jude again.
Luckily for Natsu, the walk to the cafe didn't necessarily require a vehicle escort, and Natsu was more than happy to walk. There was a beautiful foot path through Magnolia, lined with trees, that led to the cafe. The cafe overlooked the sea; Natsu hadn't been there much, but Lucy had been so excited about revisiting the place that Natsu didn't offer an alternative spot. Not that he cared, he was more excited to catch up with her; it had been so long since they had spoken, it had been like a part of him had permanently drifted away.
Natsu made it to the tree lined path in no time; the air was warm and a light breeze blew through causing a few leaves to flutter down to the ground. It was nearing the end of summer and the taste of fall was in the air. Natsu shove his hands in his pockets as he walked, just enjoying the filtered sun on his face. He passed a few people walking through, most of them were couples enjoying their time together in the warmth of the day, though Natsu didn't pay too much attention to others really. He was starting to smell the sea in the air, signaling that he was almost to the cafe. His fingers brushed against the cold metal of the keychain Natsu had bought as a gift for Lucy. It was a keychain of the Fairy Tail emblem; Fairy Tail was a book series that Lucy had loved and had read them to Natsu so many times that he, too, came to love them as well.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, something stopped him in his tracks. He didn't know why, but he spun quickly to catch a view of the girl who had just passed him on the path. It seemed as thought the girl had had the same idea because she, too, had spun to meet his gaze. She wore a white tank top and stockings with a black frilled skirt. Her big brown eyes held something familiar, and her blonde hair caught the sunlight as it caught in the breeze. There was something all too familiar about the girl; Natsu couldn't forget her. Even still, Natsu found himself just standing there, staring at her, drinking her presence in. She stared back, he lips parted slightly, and her eyes wide. Natsu didn't want to break their shared gaze, but he couldn't hold himself back any longer.
"Lucy?" He breathed out, almost in disbelief, as if she would disappear again. A wide smile broke out on her face, he eyes glistening happily. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly.
"Natsu!" She cried, burying her face into his chest. Natsu was caught off guard, but managed to circle his arms around her to return the hug. "Natsu..." She murmured and sighed, pulling back from him.
"Yo." He replied, his voice coming out in an embarrassing croak. "Lucy." He grinned lopsidedly down at her and she laughed lightly, shaking her head.
"I knew I couldn't miss that hair." She tugged at a tuft of his hair and he playfully swatted her hand away. "And you're so much taller than me now!" She pouted and Natsu snorted out a laugh.
"Were you tryna' skip out on me already?" Natsu teased and her eyes widened. "You're walkin' the wrong way."
"N-no! I already have been to the cafe, I was looking for you!" Lucy explained and Natsu quirked a brow at her.
"I ain't late, am I? I coulda sworn I left the house on time..." Natsu muttered as he whipped out his phone to check the digital numbers.
"You're not, don't worry!" Lucy practically yelped. "I-I was a little bit early." She confessed, ducking her head down towards her chest in embarrassment.
"Someone's eager to see me, eh?" Natsu snickered and she playfully glared up at him.
"No way!"
"It's okay," Natsu grinned again, "I missed ya too. A whole lot, actually, Luce..." Lucy's eyes softened and tears began to well. "D-don't cry! W-what are you cryin' for?!"
"B-because," Lucy sniffed as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I-I'm a terrible friend."
"What?" Natsu scoffed, "Luce, you're the best friend I've ever had. It doesn't matter that you've been gone, it happens." Natsu smiled and gently wiped her cheek off with his thumb. She smiled tightly up at him, and Natsu felt his heart clench. It was as if all of the years that had passed between them came crushing down. "Let's go." Natsu grabbed her wrist and began gently tugging her along the path, smiling.
"Okay!"
"I wanted to stay in touch, I really did," Lucy began as they walked on. Natsu looked down at her curiously as she chewed on her bottom lip slightly. Lucy had always been a cute kid, but in Natsu's opinion, she had bloomed into almost a spitting image of Layla- she was beautiful. "I even wrote you letters, but... My father never let me send them." Lucy looked up at him with apologetic eyes.
"Why not?" Natsu asked, genuinely curious and a little hurt that her father wouldn't let her keep in touch with him. Lucy seemed to hesitate and resumed worrying her lip.
"He got really weird about our friendship when we started getting older, I guess. After Mama died he became even more overprotective over me. Even though it was you, he didn't want me to have contact with boys..." Lucy snorted and Natsu frowned a bit.
"Did he not like me?"
"He did," Lucy said quickly and sighed, "But he liked keeping me pure for potential suitors more."
"Suitors?"
"My father wanted to marry me off to one of his business partners son. He always had that idea in mind, and I guess having a male best friend would tarnish my reputation in his view." Lucy frowned and Natsu inhaled sharply.
"You can't just marry someone you just met! That's crazy!" Natsu exclaimed and Lucy just shrugged.
"It's business." Lucy poked his cheek and sighed once more. Suddenly, a feeling of dread surged up through Natsu, making him feel sick.
"Y-you didn't though, did you? Ya didn't marry one of them right, Luce?" He asked quietly and Lucy's eyes widened a bit, staring into his. But to Natsu's relief she smiled up at him and shook her head.
"No, I didn't. I'm above selling myself off, give me some credit, Natsu." She snorted and Natsu let out a shaky chuckle. "I've been fending off my father's requests since I was seventeen. B-but what about you? How are you?"
"I'm doin' fine, Luce." Natsu laughed and ran his fingers through his hair absentmindedly. "I live in Magnolia, with Happy of course."
"Ah, I missed Happy so much! Can I see him?" Lucy clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes pleading him.
"S-sure! I'm sure he'd be happy to see you," Natsu smiled.
"And what else? What have you been up to?"
"Well, I work at a local bar as a bouncer sort of, that Makarov owns,"
"Oh, he's the one who fostered you. He was always so nice." Lucy smiled wistfully and Natsu nodded. "I'm glad to hear he is still doing well."
"Yeah, he's still kickin' around," Natsu chuckled and continued. "I work there and I'm also a volunteer firefighter."
"What?! That's so cool! I'm so happy for you, Natsu!" Lucy cheered and Natsu's face began to heat up.
"Geez, calm down," Natsu ducked his head away from her, a smirk playing on his lips, "Thanks, Luce. Hey, you should stop by, too, and meet my friends."
"I would love to!"
"Ya know, I don't remember comin' here much," Natsu confessed and Lucy looked at the cafe with wide, excited eyes.
"You came with us a few times, I think," Lucy reminded him, "But I probably came here with Mama more, it was kind of like our place." Lucy smiled and pulled him along to a table on the patio, one with a view of the sea.
"Well, I'm sure it's great." Natsu smiled feeling almost honored that Lucy would want to share a place with him that was so special to her and her mother. They sat at a round table across from each other and a waiter came and took their drink orders. Lucy sighed happily, closing her eyes momentarily, the sun filtering across her face. She looked so peaceful that happiness welled in Natsu; the whole day was like a dream. "How is your dad anyway?" And with that, her eyes snapped open, back to reality, and her face fell a bit.
"He actually passed away about a month ago." Lucy whispered out to him and he felt his heart quicken.
"I'm so sorry, Luce, I di-"
"It's okay! Of course you wouldn't know." Lucy smiled at him sadly and he swallowed thickly. "It's okay, really. He was sick for a while. I do miss him, but as selfish as it sounds... I feel like I am free to really start my own life now."
"That's not being selfish, Lucy, that's just how you feel and that's okay." He told her sternly and Lucy blinked at him appreciatively.
"Thank you, Natsu..." She placed a hand over his; the gesture sent a shiver through him, it had been so long since he had felt her touch.
"H-hey, I have somethin' for ya," Natsu smirked and Lucy's eyes popped open wide in surprise.
"Wha- no way! Natsu! That is so sweet of you!" She exclaimed as he handed her the keychain. "Oh, Fairy Tail..." She studied the small piece of metal in her palm before hugging it to her chest. "It's beautiful."
"I saw it and it reminded me of you, so..." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and Lucy giggled.
"Thank you so much, Natsu..." She smiled at him, her face shining utter happiness. "I missed you so much."
"I-I missed you too, Luce..." He whispered out; he felt himself unable to look away from her gaze, as if he were frozen in that moment. "Luce, I-" Just as he was about to continue talking, she spoke at the same time.
"I'm moving back to Magnolia." The simple sentence sent Natsu's heart into overdrive, was it real life that he was in?
"What?"
"Yeah. I only ever moved away because of my father, so... I figured I'd really come home." She smiled a bit and looked at him eagerly, as if waiting for his approval.
"Th-that's great!" Natsu grinned widely, excitement coursing through his veins. "Do you have a place yet, or...?"
"Not yet, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision, but I'm looking." She tapped her chin, "It seems a lot of the places are filled up right now, but as soon as I can-"
"You can stay with me while you look. I-if you want to!" Natsu offered in a rush, and Lucy's cheeks flushed.
"Natsu..."
"Y-you don't have to, I-I was just offerin'. I have the space since it's just me an' Happy." Natsu clenched and unclenched his hands together nervously, he couldn't believe that he had actually invited Lucy to live with him.
"I'd really love that, Natsu." Lucy replied, her cheeks a rosy pink, and an excited smile on her face. "That is so sweet of you."
"You're my best friend, Luce." He grinned at her from across the table and she giggled slightly.
They finished their lunch with idle chatter about all of the places that she had moved with her father, and all of the men that her father had tried to set her up with. Natsu told her about Gray and how he'd scare off customers at the bar with his terrible stripping habit, which put Lucy into hysterics.
"I actually have most of my stuff with me in a hotel in town," Lucy informed him as they walked back along the path towards the center of Magnolia. "I can send of the rest of my stuff or go get it myself."
"Well, I'll help ya with whatever ya need." Natsu promised, smirking down at her and she smiled, shaking her head.
"You're too good to me, Natsu." She murmured, though Natsu wasn't sure that he was supposed to hear it. "Natsu..." Lucy stepped in front of him quickly causing him to stop short and look down at her with a quirked brow.
"What's wrong, Luce?" He questioned her quietly and she looked up at him with troubled eyes. The next happened quickly, making Natsu unsure that it actually happened. Lucy stood on tiptoes and quickly kissed him softly, her eyes fluttering closed, and his wide open in shock. His face burned, all the way to his ear tips, and Lucy stood in front of him shyly.
"I-I'm sorry!" She squeaked out, her hands over her face. "I-I'm so stupid, you probably have a girlfriend or someth-" Natsu cut her off by pulling her hands away from her face and tilting her chin up towards his face.
"Don't apologize," He murmured and then tentatively kissed her. She stood rigid for a moment before softly kissing him back. It was a short and sweet kiss, but there was hunger behind it. Too many years had passed between them, too many that prevented them from developing into the inevitable. Developing into what her father didn't want. "I don't have a girlfriend. How could I when all I could think of was you all of these years?" He questioned, surprising himself over how cheesy he sounded, but it was the truth.
"How could I marry someone when I always had you in my heart?" She whispered back; Lucy was always one to be a romantic, so of course she had the perfect line back to him. He smirked and rested his forehead on hers. "Do you want a girlfriend?"
"No way, girls have cooties." Natsu replied, screwing up his face in mock disgust. Lucy snorted out a laugh and playfully hit him in the chest. "Well... I suppose if it's you..." Lucy smiled widely and Natsu chuckled at her excitement. She hugged him tightly and placed another chaste kiss on his lips; Natsu wasn't sure he was ever going to get used to having her in his life again, it was too much of a good thing.
"Thank you, Natsu..."