.o0O0o.
(K+)
07: Names
*Lucy smiled at him, thinking how names really did reveal a lot about their owners.*
"Names really do reveal a lot about people, hm?" Lucy commented, reading through a new book as they sat by the bar.
"Hm?" he glanced inquisitively at her, as he drank from his beer mug.
"Names, Natsu," she offered, putting down her book and giggling as he put his mug down and she noticed he had a foam moustache, pointing it out to him before reiterating, "I said they reveal a lot about people."
"Oh," he replied, crossing his eyes to try to find what she was pointing at, clueless, only succeeding in making her laugh, "Really?"
"Hmmhm," she hummed, reaching at him with a napkin, making him scowl at her.
"I'm not a baby," he grumbled, embarrassed, taking the napkin from her and rapidly cleaning his mouth.
"Had me fooled," she replied, amused, picking up her book again.
"So what do you mean they reveal a lot about people?" he frowned, glancing at her book.
"Well, take yours for example," she mused, looking up at him from her book, "Natsu means 'Summer'," she stated, "it's a direct reference to your warm and wild personality. The summer is also the hottest season, so in terms of elements it might as well be related to fire." She smiled, at his surprised expression as she described what she thought of his name, "And then there's Dragoneel, which I assume is a surname Master gave you when you came to Fairy Tail, made up from 'dragon' and 'Igneel', a direct reference to your father and powers…" She trailed off, "So you see, names do reveal a lot."
Natsu seemed to ponder on what she had said for a moment before he turned to her curiously.
"Does that mean you think I'm hot?" he asked nonchalantly.
"What! I didn't say that!" she blushed, embarrassed, and looked nervously around to make sure no one had listened to his preposterous question.
"C'mon Lucy, it's okay if you do," he grinned, at her apparent mortification.
"Shut up!" she buried her head in her book to hide her blush and try to pretend he wasn't there.
"How about yours?" he asked suddenly, curiously.
"My what?" she looked at him over the edge of the book, not wanting to face him.
"Your name," he rolled his eyes, at her forgetfulness, "What does it mean?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow at his sudden interest.
"Why would you want to know?"
"Why wouldn't I?" he shot back, confused, "You know what mine means, it's only fair I know what yours means too."
Lucy sighed as he kept staring at her expectantly.
"Light." She answered simply, "Lucy derives from Lucia, a Latin name for 'light'."
"Light, hm?" he mused, intrigued, "And… Heartfilia?"
She frowned slightly at the mention of her family name but answered nonetheless.
"Heartfilia is derived from 'Heart' and 'Filis' a latin word for son or daughter," she explained, "'Heart' is commonly related to 'Love', so it should mean something like 'Beloved Daughter'?" she continued sadly, her thoughts clearly turning unpleasant.
"Lucy…" Natsu whispered, feeling guilty about bringing it up. If he knew asking about her family name would upset her that much he wouldn't have asked.
"It's okay, I'm fine," she managed a smile for him before trying to hide herself with her book again.
"You're not fine," he countered, frowning, "I shouldn't have asked."
"I'm fine, really," she tried to reassure him, "I just don't think my name relates to me at all." She explained, "At least not anymore." She added wistfully.
"Uh?" he replied, confused.
"'Beloved Daughter' and 'Light'…" She smiled sadly, looking away, "My mom used to say I was the light of her life, so…" her eyes watered, thinking of her late mother, but she blinked back the tears so she wouldn't make Natsu feel any more guilty than he already obviously felt. "Not since my mother died, I'm not."
Natsu squirmed in his stool uneasily as silence enveloped them after her explanation, thinking of a way to make it up for her.
"You know…" he began, awkwardly, "I might not be able to relate exactly, but I think it doesn't matter if your mom is dead or not."
"Natsu…" Lucy glared up at him from her lap, making him realize what he'd said.
"Wait, wait! That's not what I meant!" he quickly waved his arms defensively, "I meant you'll always be her light and her beloved daughter, no matter what." He quickly explained, surprising her. "She's dead. Okay, so what? That doesn't change the fact that she did love you while she was alive. Or that she always will, even though she's dead."
Lucy stared at Natsu silently, in amazement.
"What?" he began to feel really nervous at her silence and scrutiny.
"Who are you and what have you done to the real Natsu?" she asked suddenly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he replied, offended.
"I think that's the most thoughtful thing I ever heard you say," she admitted, still flabbergasted.
"Oi, that hurts my feelings," he frowned, picking up his forgotten mug.
"Sorry…" she smiled uneasily, "and thanks." She blushed, standing up and quickly leaning forward to hug him before he had a chance to run.
Natsu looked startled up at her, blushing, wondering why she'd done that.
"You know Natsu…" she looked down, blushing even more at his intense stare, "Thanks to you I think I've found meaning in my name again." She smiled brightly at him, before picking up her book and leaving him sitting alone by the bar, staring at her retreating back.
"Your name always had meaning," he whispered as he followed her movements across the guild with a small grin.
'Every Summer needs Light,' he added to himself.
*He had never thought of it before, but he had to agree with Lucy, when he found the meaning of her name.*
'º0O0º'
LNights: Too OOC? Ahah.
Anyways, since I'm ahead for now, I decided to add the next chapter's title and one of the POV (either Lucy's or Natsu's) at the end of the chapters, so you'll have a little preview.
So here:
.
#8
.
Memento
.
*He stared at her in confusion, wondering what was it about that gemstone dangling of a simple golden chain that had her blushing so fiercely.*
.
.
.
That's it, see ya next chapter!
