Chapter#2: Well Then.
Lucy felt hazy. Yea that was the best word to describe it. She was having trouble chasing the sleep from her mind and couldn't quite comprehend the weight wrapped around her waist. Sighing, she turn over to her side to face the window and bumped into… something.
The feeling of another's skin caused her eyes to fly open, and she came face to face with a sleeping Natsu. Her body froze but her mind began to run mile a second. Why was Natsu there? And in her bed no less? Had Natsu been there with Canna? No, not from what she remembered. Could he have come after she was too messed up to remember what all she did with Canna? Perhaps, or maybe he came after Canna left?
She concentrated on slowing her breathing, she didn't want to chance waking the sleeping dragon slayer. Slowly she wiggled out from under his arm and slipped to the floor. She rubbed her hip as she pulled herself to her feet, thankful that she had a rug and didn't hit the hardwood floor beneath it.
She had to find Canna. She quickly and quietly found her clothes, whip, and hair tie; then slipped into the bathroom. Her frantic mind began to calm down as she was finally able to slow her breathing. Of course it was that second that she realized that all she was wearing was a pair of skimpy panties and tight tank top, and so her frantic mind and speedy heart returned.
'Alright Lucy. Just calm down and breathe. I'm sure once I find Canna this mess will be cleared up!' She was giving herself a well-deserved pep-talk. She got dressed and snuck out of her apartment. Lucy never thought she be so pitiful that she had to sneak out of her own apartment, but she'd let this one slide. What she failed to realize as she closed the door softly behind her was that a certain blue cat was resting next to Natsu, awake. And that blue cat knew for sure that those two were 'in loooove'.
~And then.~
Lucy checked everywhere she could think of, all through the guildhall and around town at every bar. Of course it was her luck that she couldn't find her at all. Finally she went back to the guild to find Mira. Mira was busy setting up the bar area when Lucy approached her.
"Hey Mira. Have you seen Canna around?" Lucy was trying to get to the point rather quickly. She hoped to get everything figured out before she had to face Natsu again.
"Oh, hey there Lucy! No, I haven't but I was pretty sure she said something about leaving for a job this morning. She probably won't be back until after you leave for your job." Mira replied, finger on her chin and her eyes toward the ceiling.
"My job? I haven't taken a job yet." Lucy replied momentarily forgetting her hastiness.
Mira looked at her slightly confused. "Did Natsu not find you last night? He headed over to your place, though I told him that you had plans with Canna."
Mira did not fail to notice Lucy's face turn beat red. "Uh, well, ya see…. I kind of don't really remember what happened last night. So I'm not sure if he told me."
"But you know that he came over? Did he leave a note?" Mira was sure she was onto something by the way that Lucy's face turned a deeper shade of red.
Mira contemplating the reason of her embarrassment finally had an idea dawned on her, drunk Lucy plus Natsu could have yielded some fun gossip. "Lu? Why are you trying to find Canna?"
"Well, I just needed some clarification on what all happened." Lucy needed to get out of there before Mira dug too far….but what was the quickest way? Then she got a great idea about getting out of it, "Well, buh bye Mira!" and off she went!
Lucy ran from the guild hall ignoring Mira's call to come back. She couldn't believe that Canna wasn't even around right now. She really needed that drinking champ of a wizard. How in the world was she going to face Natsu without even knowing what happened between them?
A defeated Lucy headed back to her apartment. It was quite possible that nothing happened. Right? She just woke up in bed partially naked with him, it could be worse. She could have been completely naked. She sighed as she summoned Plue, she definitely needed a companion at the moment.
She rambled to Plue about everything that had happened thus far and he followed along giving his usual reply. It wasn't long before she arrived back at her apartment. The sun was just peaking in the sky and she was still at a loss about what to do. 'Well I can't avoid him forever.' She thought to herself as she pushed her apartment door open.
To Lucy's surprise Natsu was still asleep but Happy seemed to have vanished. Investigating closer she saw a note on the pillow that read: 'Went to help Wendy and Carla' with a paw print as his signature. What? He can write? Since when do cats write?
A soft snore drew Lucy's attention back the sleeping dragon slayer in her bed. She really did think he was adorable while he slept, she leaned in to look him over. He turned toward her hovering figure and hugged her pillow muttering her name in his sleep.
Her face became hot as her breath caught. What was in about her pink-haired friend that caused her to become so awkward? He was the same as always, crazy fun and loyal to a fault, reckless but protective of those he cared about, and he always brought happiness to those around him.
He was a great friend who had saved her on many occasions, so why did she always get so nervous when being so close to him? She sighed to herself as she shook her head, straightening she turned and walked to her desk. She sat down to write a letter to her mom, writing to her mom always helped her sort out her jumbled thoughts.
~And then.~
Natsu slowly started to wake, stretching out a little. He rubbed his eyes and peered around the room and spotted his blond haired friend at her desk, writing. "Hey, Lucy?" he called to get her attention. She turned quickly to look at him and covered what she was writing.
"Uh, hey Natsu. You're up! You ok? Why are you here?" she didn't seem to be able to get her thoughts in order. Flustered, that's what it was. Why was she flustered? Well, he did his usual and gave her a big smile, changing the subject. Well it could be considered changing the subject or getting back to the reason he came.
"I've got this great job! We've gotta get going soon though!" He smiled happily to see his partner smile back. People thought of him as rash and insensitive but he really wasn't, he knew a good bit about soothing people and making them feel more at ease.
He pulled out the flier. "It's some sort of ar-key-logi-cal…. thing! They want to find the "Dragon's Library"! I thought it might give me some idea where Igneel went!" Natsu slaughtered archaeological.
Lucy smiled up at him seeming slightly unsure. Then her mood seemed to abruptly change, seeming almost relieved, "Well, let's get going! Just let me get my bag ready!" Her smile had a way of making him feel better. Then he remembered, he spent the entire night asleep with Lucy. He turned away as his face became hot and she walked around getting her bag together.
He studied her out of the corner of his eye. Her smile as she got ready, silently humming to herself made him feel slightly less awkward. What was he going to say to her if she asked about him sleeping in her bed? Well he'd get to that when he did, for now he has his first lead on Igneel in years.