Good Things Come to Those Who Act on Wishes
As soon as she arrived at the office, she felt that there was something odd. Not that it hadn't been odd for the last few days since her boss decided to come to the office earlier than it was normal for him – but this morning, it felt even more odd than usual. If that made sense.
Natsu Dragneel seemed more determined than ever. Actually, he looked like he was about to walk into a battle and take down the world. Not that he isn't usually determined. It's just that when she walked into the office, he had looked like he was about to lead his troops to war. She had stopped in her tracks on her way through the door as he set eyes on her, but kept walking after a moment. ''Good morning.'' She greeted, a little surprized.
The man gave her a grin. ''Morning.''
Lucy blinked in confusion.
The man walked from around his desk and through his open office door towards her as she slowly put her things on her desk and was about to sit down. ''I'd like you to tell Happy once he gets here to change my schedule a bit.'' He suddenly started and Lucy stopped in her movement, too confused to tell him he could easily just call his secretary instead of telling her all this. ''Change schedule? Is that even possible?''
''Of course. It's not like they can do anything about it if I decide to do so.''
Well. That certainly was true.
Lucy didn't have enough sleep to keep her concentration up, so she forced herself to get a grip on herself. ''True.'' She opened her notebook and took one of her pens from the mug. ''So what would you like him to change?'' She didn't question why he was giving the instructions to her. And she didn't question why she was diligently making notes.
''I want the first meeting to start in an hour. The second one should follow right after. Did you receive the signed papers yesterday?''
''Yes, yes, I did.''
''Good. So, meetings first. Also tell Happy to call Miss Strauss's secretary and tell her we'll have lunch instead of dinner.'' Lucy stopped writing for a second, glancing up at her boss. He was purposely avoiding her eyes. ''After that, we need to discuss a few numbers in the funds for the project. I just need to check a few things first.'' He then looked at her. Her heart almost jumped through her throat. ''Is that ok, or did you want to leave earlier today? Pretty sure you have enough overtime to do that.''
''Um.'' she needed a moment to collect her thoughts. ''Uh… No. Not leaving earlier. What numbers are you suggesting? Should I-''
''Yes, please check the ones from March and April this year. And, uh, do you know where I put the maps with contracts from last year?''
''Third shelf on the right, behind your desk.'' She answered, more and more surprized at the man's changed mood. How did she even know where he had his papers? She wasn't his secretary. ''Right. Thanks.'' He turned on his heels back towards his office, stopping in his tracks for a second. ''How much time do you have later? It won't take that long to go through the papers, but just in case you have plans…'' He was looking at her with such intensity, she almost blushed. ''N-no. No plans.'' Which was a sad truth for a woman like her on a Friday night.
The man gave her a big happy smile that melted her knees. ''Good.'' After a moment he scratched the back of his neck, seemingly awkward and nervous and nodded. ''Right. Ok. Back to work.'' He rushed into his office, leaving behind a very confused and very overwhelmed Lucy whose hopes suddenly rose to the sky. She tried to stifle the insane feeling in her chest, but she could hardly think - even less think rationally. She didn't feel tired anymore. Was this the moment the man decided to do something about a situation?
Lucy didn't have time to think about her personal issues that day because it had been so busy, she could hardly keep up. A few invoices showed numbers that didn't appear on the actual account. And thus the financial department was in an uproar to gather all the necessary papers for a court case. Dragneel was phoning and emailing people all day, checking papers and numbers and writing reports. In the meetings, they all went through projects and finances, and other necessities, almost yelling when bumping into an issue. Lucy almost didn't notice when Dragneel disappeared for lunch because he was back less than half an hour later. She could swear the man looked like a weight just fell off his shoulders. She didn't know what to think of it. Soon after, she and a few other co-workers sat around Natsu's desk and started discussing what to do after they clean the mess up. An hour later, Lucy and Natsu were once again in a heated argument that made others pack their stuff and leave the room.
''All right! Kami-sama! We'll do it your way!'' Natsu threw his hands up in surrender, giving up after she argued what would be the best approach. She should be the director, or at least a partner – rolled through his mind and he wasn't even surprised. He fell back into his seat, while Lucy looked up, thanking the heavens he finally gave in. She felt proud of herself and couldn't help the tiny smirk growing on her face. ''Good. I will make the phone calls on Monday and we can push the project through as soon as we get all the papers.'' She started gathering her stuff, and pushed them into her bag. Natsu also gathered all his stuff and stood up from his chair the same time Lucy did. Together they walked out of the office, still making side comments about this and that regarding the project, hissing when the other said something that didn't sound right. Stepping out of the building, Lucy started wondering just what was going on. Her boss seemed to be walking her to the station. ''Hey, uh… You hungry?'' he suddenly asked and Lucy looked at him from the side.
Really? He was doing this now?
When she didn't answer right away, the man seemed a lot more nervous than he was before, pushing his hands deep into his pockets. ''I thought about inviting you for dinner to… talk. I really wanted to go to the ball with you, but… Well… There's no excuse for what I've done. I want to explain and – I want to make it right again. So, I was wondering if you'd want to go eat something. Now. If you're hungry, of course.''
Lucy was stunned. She had never seen this man, Natsu Dragneel, so nervous. He was bouncing on his heels, hiding his hands in his pockets and looking everywhere but her. It was like watching a teenager ask a girl out for the first time. ''I mean… If you don't have time, that's all right, too. Or if you didn't want to go. After last week I wouldn't be surprized-'' he kept rambling and rambling until Lucy finally found her voice. ''I'm actually starving.''
She was a desperate woman, what can she say.
Natsu stopped talking and looked at her with his big bright eyes – then smiled. ''Yeah? Me too.'' He followed her when she started walking again. ''Is there a restaurant you really want to go to? I would like to invite you. And explain.''
Lucy grinned. Oh, yes. He would be paying. ''There's a really nice place I know.''
Fidgeting, Natsu followed Lucy, almost tripping over his feet, and Lucy couldn't help but feel – well – feel a lot of things. Good things.
Happy things.
The End
(Not really, there could be a continuation, but this is where I finished the short story when I first wrote it. I have an idea how I could continue, but I'm open to suggestions.)
