It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted; but by the end of the day he knew he'd never be able to eat banana bread again
"You've crossed the line this time Natsu..." I hissed between my teeth.
"Wha..? Whadda mean?" His face turned to a concerned, puzzled look.
"I may have complained about you barging into my house before, but I've always overlooked it in the long run.. but not this time Natsu. This time.. I can't forgive you!" I had reached my boiling point. Angry tears escaped my eyes as I stepped towards him, my hands clenching into fists.
"Luce, what's wrong? You ok?" His eyes were surprised when my fist connected with his cheek. I'd never seriously struck him before. I'll admit, the punch wasn't as strong as blows he'd taken from other people, but it had all my anger and frustration behind it, and that was enough for me.
He rocked back on his heels and stumbled several paces back, barely catching himself before falling. A bruise was already forming where my knuckles had connected with his skin and he raised his hand to touch the sore.
"Get out Natsu. Get. Out."
For once he had the foresight to keep his mouth shut. He backed away, toward my window and pulled it open. With one last confused, apologetic glance he jumped out my window and onto the street below.
I sank to the floor, my knees landing solidly on the wooden boards. Tears poured down my face, and now that Natsu was gone I felt stupid for my outburst. I shouldn't have hit him. I shouldn't have yelled or sent him away. I just couldn't help it though. He may not have meant any harm, but he really had gone too far in taking advantage of my usual hospitality.
I looked up to my coffee table, at the crumbs leftover from my beautiful banana bread loaves. Sniffling, I swept them into a pile with my hands and dumped them in the trash. My feet scuffed along the floor before I sank onto my bed, defeated for the day. Closing my eyes brought back the memories.
"Mommy, mommy! What are you making? Can I have some?"
"How do you know you want some if you don't know what it is?" My mother's beautiful laugh rang in my ears.
"So what is it?" My young voice asked.
"Banana bread. Your grandmother taught me how to make it. I'm baking some to take to her gravestone today, in remembrance."
"It smells super yummy, Mommy. If I help you make it, can I have some with you and Grandma?"
The rest of my tears dried onto my pillow as my memories lulled me to sleep.
When I woke, moonlight was fighting its way in through my curtains. Everything was eerie and quiet; the noise from the street was gone and my eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness of my room.
Rubbing away the rough trails my tears had left on my face I made my way to the bathroom for a quick shower. The hot water soothed my muscles that had been cramped with anger and I soon found myself letting all of the afternoon's crazy emotions go. Deep down I knew I was still mad at Natsu, but I wouldn't lose my temper with him again any time soon.
I walked from the bathroom into the kitchen while drying my hair with a soft towel, stopping at my dresser for a pair of silky pajamas. With my towel slipping down over my forehead, I blindly grabbed the bottle of milk from the fridge and a glass from the cabinet. Turning, I tried to set them on the counter only to have my hands run into something. I carefully pushed the towel on my head back until it rested on my shoulders and I could see what was in front of me.
Two store bought loaves of banana bread, the expensive kind you didn't find at just any grocery store. A note, handwritten with rough letters and a distinctive male hand, lay next to the bread
-Lucy, I'm sorry about the bread. I didn't save a piece for you. It was really good, so I get why you're mad. This stuff looked good too. I promise I won't take any. Natsu
PS. I'm sorry I made you cry-
My first instinct was to laugh. Of course Natsu would assume I was mad because he didn't save me a piece of bread before he ate it all. Food was always that boy's first priority. And it was just like him to go out of his way to try and make up for something too; case in point, the expensive banana loaves.
My second instinct was to be mad all over again. Buying loaves that someone else had made wouldn't make up for all the hours I'd spent pouring over my grandmother's recipe, making sure to follow each step perfectly, just like my mother had showed me to. There was no way I was going to use this bread as a gift for my mother's gravestone; it would be an insult. And a gift for my mom had been exactly what I was going to do with the banana bread I'd made earlier that morning. Tomorrow was the anniversary of her death and I had planned to remember her the way she always remembered her mother. And Natsu couldn't just waltz in, eat the precious loaves of bread I'd slaved over, and then try to replace them with store bought fluff.
There was no way I was going to accept these. So I shoved them into a bag, along with the note he'd left, and resolved myself to giving them back to him tomorrow as soon as possible. Afterwards I would head into town and buy the ingredients necessary to start baking from scratch.
Thoroughly exhausted, I propelled myself towards my bed once again. I tried my best to fall asleep quickly, but my mind wandered over everything tomorrow held in store for me. Hours passed before rest mercifully came over me.
I know this chapter is really short, but I'm just getting started, I promise! Anyway, please review for me. I'm still really new here, so I would love some criticism and support! Thank you!
Note: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters!
