a/n: this is based off of the music video Ours by Taylor Swift
-Elevator buttons in the morning air, strangers silence makes me want to take the stairs. –
…
"Can you please hold the elevator?!" Lucy frantically hollered, practically sprinting down the hallways to the sliding metal doors. She doesn't even notice the pervy janitor glancing up her skirt this time. Of course, she was really rather dreadfully late, so one could excuse her absentmindedness.
Nobody holds the door. Luckily she's just fast and generally awesome, and she manages to slide in-between the doors, stomping on a few people's toes on the way. They rustle slightly, a few pressing into the walls to make room for her, but nobody offers a 'good morning' or a 'how are you Mrs. Dragneel?' they just stand there with blank lifeless eyes. She supposes they could be afraid of her, her Father does own the company they work for.
Still, a simple sentence acknowledging that yes she was a living person, and yes they too were living people, couldn't really hurt. But instead of having a conversation, she occupies her time with watching the elevator buttons light up as they travel up floor after floor. Music used to play in here, but someone requested for it to be stopped and now it was just silence that grated on her ears like cat claws. Seriously, who the hell requests for the music to be stopped in the elevator?
As soon as the elevator reaches the Heartfilia co. floor, it's like a race to get into the office. Nobody seems to care who she is as they shove past her, causing her to drop her briefcase and all the paper's enclosed. She then spends the next five minutes holding the 'door open' button with one finger and collecting all her papers with the other hand.
It was a usual morning then.
It's another five minutes before she manages to make it to her office, which is just a fancy word for saying cubicle. Her Father thought it would do her to get some 'desk work' done if she insisted on 'marrying someone of the lower class' as he put it. There was some fancy legal reason why she couldn't quit, and why he was able to do this to her life, and that was the only reason why the usually bright and bubbly blonde stayed. It wouldn't be long before she figured out a way to get around this rule he's set her, and then bon voyage office life.
She slams her button down on the power button, and her computer makes a sound that sounds like manatee's…mating. The computer has to be at least ten years old, and it takes longer for it to boot up then it takes for her best friend Levy to read a book.
In the meantime, she shrugs off her jacket and places her briefcase on her desk, pushing back the blonde hair that's straggling from her bun. It's only nine o clock in the morning, and already this day couldn't get any longer.
A paper airplane hits her in the back of the head, and she turns around to see, Loke Stellar, residential heartbreaker, smirking at her. Lucy knows she going to regret it but she unfolds the paper anyways.
Wanna go out tonight? J
Lucy crumples up the paper and chucks it at his head. He narrowly dodges it before smiling widely at her, beckoning for her to come over. She ignores him. Just as she's ignored him everyday for the past one hundred and eighty days.
Her computer finally boots up, and she brings up the documents she was going over for her Father. They're just some boring legal shit, something about how much steel they needed for the railways or some other useless thing. She isn't really paying attention, all she's needed for here is editing some simple grammar issues that someone else really should've already fixed.
She ends up spending all morning on it, mostly because she just doesn't want to get saddled with something else to do.
At lunch, she takes her measly peanut butter sandwich and tries to find a corner of the room that is quiet and secluded. Of course, Minerva and her lackeys decide that the best bet would be to sit as close as possible to her table and gossip about her loudly.
"Did you hear that he left?"
"I wouldn't blame him, I would leave too if I was stuck marrying her."
"Her dad probably paid him off to get her off his chest. I mean such a good looking boy going to that thing?"
Tears of hot anger burn at the back of Lucy's eyes and she stuffs a couple dozen potato chips in her mouth and chews them loudly. He didn't leave because of me, she tells herself. He left because it's his duty.
Needless to say, she finishes up her lunch early. She returns to her damn cubicle early, wishing beyond belief that she could just see some sunlight. She sets her head down on her desk, but just manages to see the crazy sign her cubicle neighbor motions at her. Even in a place where her Father decides who gets to keep their job or not, she's still made fun of.
She takes out her key and unlocks her one private drawer in her office, and she always keeps it locked because who knows who might end up rifling through her things. She takes out the framed picture inside of it instead; holding it in-between her fingers like it's a precious china vase.
She remembers the day this picture was taken.
"Achoo!" she let out yet another spectacular sneeze because it was freaking winter okay and she had a cold. Not to mention she was shivering her ass off because Natsu was late and she'd forgotten her coat. Not the best start to their first year anniversary date.
She's surprised when the scarf is slipped around her head, bundling up her nose and mouth tightly. The amount of warmth that comes from the white fabric is almost intoxicating, and it smells like the pair of warm arms that wrap around her from behind.
"Hey Luce!" a familiar voice says in her ear, and she can't help the smile from spreading across her face, even if it is mostly obscured by the scarf.
Natsu never took off his scarf, it was a gift from his long missing Father and it meant more to him then the whole world. Yet he had just wrapped it around her face because she was cold.
He turns her around with his arms, and she notes how small his neck looks without it's usual scarf.
"You're late," she protested weakly, but threw her arms around him. "It's so good to see you!" he laughs, and it's a movement that she can feel reverberate all through her body.
"It's good to see you too weirdo. GRAY WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT CAMERA!"
…
She traces the way his arms are wrapped around her, the way the smile is spreading across his face as his onyx eyes look down at her. Gray really was a good photographer, even if he did have a problem with stripping.
She fingers the wedding band around her finger, and almost laughs at the fact that she got so angry with those girls in the cafeteria. They were just jealous because they had never had a long-term relationship. That's all they were.
She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she took it out, before quietly excusing herself into the hallway. Of course, she didn't really have to take it, it was just Levy and it could probably wait, but a break from work? She was not passing that up.
"Lu-chan!" Levy trilled loudly, "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" she asked in confusion.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, it's...Levy what is the date?"
"It's the twelfth of April. Duh."
"Are you outside right now?"
"Yes, and I won't be waiting for much longer so hurry up."
Lucy turned and ran back into the hellhole of an office. She walked up to her supervisor, a cranky old woman in glasses and a sweater that smelled like cat pee.
"I'm going to have to leave early," Lucy said quickly, and the woman's eyes flickered up to survey her.
"No."
"I'm sorry, but I really think I might throw up," Lucy lied, clutching her stomach for effect. The woman automatically looked wary.
"I'm taking this out of your sick days," she said, and Lucy nodded.
"I understand," and she hobbled back to her desk and quickly gathered up her things, sliding her picture back into the drawer and locking it, and turning off her computer. She didn't bother putting back on her jacket, the sun was shining now. She instead draped it over her arm and practically ran down to where Levy was parked, waiting.
The bluenette looked just as excited as Lucy felt, and yanked her blonde friend down into the car.
"I can't believe you forgot."
"I just wasn't paying attention to the date," Lucy defended herself as Lucy slammed on the gas and they took off from the office building.
"I cannot believe you Lu-chan, I have been preparing myself for this moment for weeks."
…
The airport had never looked more welcoming as they pulled in. Of course, parking was hell and they had to park as far away as possible from the actual pick-up zone. Both girls starting sprinting, knowing they were going to be late if they didn't hurry. She was sure the people who saw them fly by thought they were just late for a flight.
Of course once they got there the security guys just wouldn't let them past to the gates, no matter how hard they pleaded. They had to make themselves content with waiting by the baggage claim with all the other impatient people.
"Their flight just landed," Levy gasped, sounding more than excited. Lucy however, was rather nervous.
"We just got married," Lucy sniffled, a tear sliding down her cheek as Natsu pulled her in close.
"It's not that long Luce," he said, resting his forehead against hers.
"Come back to me."
"Always."
Those idiots must have ran here for them to get here in five minutes. She could see them now, a blend of camouflage and rosy hair and piercings and something inside her stopped. She stood stock still as they appeared at the top of the elevator, and she saw him.
His hair was tucked under a cap, but edges of it still peeked through. Idiot was supposed to keep his hair short, but she supposed that was just another rule he had broken. His onyx eyes were still bright, and when he saw her standing there, even in her bland office attire, he smiled. His smile was like the sun. That's when he began shoving his way down the elevator.
Under normal circumstances Lucy would tell him not to do that, to be polite and just wait for the stairs to slowly bring him to the bottom but at this point she didn't give a damn. She didn't care about the people giving him the evil eye, or the book that went flying over the edge and landed on the ground with a heartbreaking snap—she just didn't care. Not as long as he got to her as soon as possible.
As soon as he hit the floor, she began to run and he ran also, until they collided in the middle, his bag thunking to the floor and her papers flying everywhere. He wrapped those warm strong arms around her and then twirled her around, shrieks of laughter escaping her.
"Natsu!" she cried, tears slipping down her face as she clutched at him tighter and tighter, not wanting to let go. "My Natsu."
He buried his face in her hair, and she could smell him again, and his scarf was rubbing against her face and he was home. She was whole again.