Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related.

Author's Note: Enjoy! I'm trying out a newer fandom of mine. Not my best, but sure to get better with time. I plan on jumping around in pairings.


Sooner or Later: Normalcy

Character(s)/Pairing(s): Natsu/Lucy

November 2, 2010


Lucy stepped out of her bathroom, dressed in her pajamas and ready for bed. It had been a long day, almost impossibly long. Taking jobs by herself put her in awkward positions, wearing odd outfits, and putting on too much of a sweet act for her health. She missed normalcy. However, no matter how much she missed that normalcy, she needed rent money even more.

Weeks had passed since Lisanna had returned. Lucy had barely seen her partner—well, her main partner, anyway. It was odd but she didn't necessarily mind. If any of her important friends had been "dead" for years and suddenly came back, she would spend every waking moment with that person—she would probably suffocate that person with her unwavering attention and adoration.

So, when she didn't see Natsu for a while, she couldn't be jealous. She had been lonely, though, even if she wouldn't admit that out loud.

Lucy frowned. She missed Natsu's antics. She missed the feeling of being wanted, her little ragtag team of friends randomly showing up at her—

"Hey, Luce," said a cheery voice.

She screamed; she couldn't help it. "What the—"

"It's just me," Natsu said defensively, holding up his hands.

"What are you doing here at," she glanced over at the clock on her nightstand, "midnight?"

Her scandalized look did nothing to deter him. "I can't come visit?" he pouted.

Lucy moved to sit at her desk. "Don't you have better things to do? I don't know, like sleeping?"

"Maybe, but I kinda missed seeing your goofy face," Natsu said, shrugging.

She looked away, her face heating up at his words. "I think you have that backwards."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing."

There was a lengthy pause of silence.

"So, what did you want?" she asked.

Natsu plopped down on her bed, kicking off his sandals.

"Nothing."

Lucy was officially confused. Out of everywhere he could possibly be… why here in her apartment? This man addled her brain.

"Got any food?"

"Not really, but, if you want to find—"

"Can I stay here tonight?" he asked as if he didn't even ask his previous question.

She furrowed her eyebrows. She could have focused on the whirlwind of questions, but she chose to look for an underlying meaning. "Did something happen?"

He shook his head. She sat down next to him. Something about his demeanor reminded her of a child that wanted to stay in his parents' bed because of a nightmare. She couldn't shake that feeling, even if he denied anything being wrong.

"Did you have fun with Lisanna these past few weeks?"

"Yeah."

It was like pulling teeth to get information out of him.

She almost didn't want to ask: "What did you do?"

He thought for a few seconds then replied, "Walked, went to places we used to as kids, talked about a whole lot of stuff, ate…"

She frowned. "Sounds… romantic."

"How do you figure?"

She didn't want to say it, but… "That sounds like a date, Natsu."

"Huh. I've never really been on one before, so I wouldn't know."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Why would I be?"

"Nothing." He still watched her expectantly. "Nevermind. I shouldn't have asked."

"Well," he said, lying back on her bed, "I came back here. Let's go to sleep."

Lucy grumbled a bit about how improper this whole situation was, but at least Happy wasn't around to tease her. For two people who were definitely not a couple, he sure came back to her like he was hers.

She flipped off the light, glad he wasn't bugging her about food still; she walked over to her bed and sat down next to him. There was a dull glow of light from the streetlamps outside, bringing a soft light to the room; it was enough to outline his face, which she caught herself staring at. Natsu pulled off his vest but left on his scarf, even more of a comfort. He smiled at her in a way she couldn't quite describe, but it pulled her towards him. She wrapped her arms around him in an impromptu hug that she knew he wasn't going to return. When she pulled away, he was looking at her more intensely. She lifted the covers and he followed her under.