A/N Thanks for all the lovely reviews! They have really made my week :) Special thanks to OgaxHilda! It's really great to know that someone likes my work ^_^ Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
Chapter Nine - Assumptions
A week had gone by and Natsu was still on his mission. Lucy was feeling a little bit lonely without him, but she tried her best to fill that void with her other friends at Fairy Tail. Within that week, Lucy had become really close friends with Levy.
Levy had found out about her passion for both reading and writing and had lent her a tonne of books with a promise to read her own someday. They had spent most nights since Natsu left together, gossiping and sharing secrets they hadn't told anyone before.
Lucy had just finished her last shift for the week and was going back to Levy's for yet another sleepover.
"LuLu!" Levy greeted her at the door.
"Hey, Levy!" Lucy smiled and walked inside so they could start another sleepover.
Soon enough they had set up their sleeping bags in the lounge of her small, neutral coloured flat and had started to talk about boys.
"So how long have you and Gajeel been dating?" Lucy asked curiously, making Levy blush a little.
"Only a few months but honestly I think I've been in love with him for at least a year!" Levy gushed and Lucy squealed in delight.
"You two are so cute! I wish I had someone like that…" Lucy sighed at her lack of a love life.
"What about Natsu?" Levy said and waggled her eyebrows.
"Eww!" Lucy denied "He's my best friend!" she complained which didn't seem to deter Levy.
"That's not a bad thing, Lu" she pointed out and Lucy shook her head "Plus" Levy said with a mischievous look in her eye "Didn't you shower together?"
"Levy! I though we all agreed not to talk about that!" Lucy shouted, shaking her head trying to remove the image of Natsu's glistening body in her shower.
"You totally thought about him naked just then!" Levy accused, somehow psychically
"NO!" Lucy denied.
"So how much did you see?"
"No."
"So you didn't get to see the goods?"
"...no"
"Too bad" Levy teased. Lucy sighed and laid back into her sleeping bag.
"Even if I did like him - which I clearly don't, I mean I've only known him for a few weeks - he definitely would not feel the same way" Lucy assured her friends "I mean we had a shower together and he clearly was not interested…" Levy giggled and laid back in her sleeping bag as Lucy had.
"He maybe a little naive…" Levy said and Lucy rolled her eyed "Okay! A lot naive...but he knows his own heart. You have to trust me on that one. He's a fiercely loyal friend and he always looks out for those in need. He's a good guy, Lu" she smiled and looked at her friend.
"I know" was all that Lucy was willing to offer.
They spend the rest of the night discussing their favourite books, ignoring their earlier conversation about boys, and relaxing until they were ready to go to bed.
Lucy groaned when she woke up, realising it was a monday. She quickly got her stuff together and left Levy's with a curt 'goodbye'.
She had two days off and no idea what to do with them. Levy was working during the day and Natsu was gone. Lucy didn't want to go back to Fairy Tail on her day off so she went home and debated whether to write some of her novel.
When she got home she decided that she would rather read someone else's work than write her own. She had been suffering from bar writer's block for the past week and had no idea how to fix it.
She brushed her fingers over the books on her bookshelf and they stopped when they touched a familiar spine. Dragon's Den. Lucy laughed. That book had changed her life so much. She quickly snatched the book up off the shelf and looked at the man on the cover.
He didn't look much like the real-life version. He was just as impressive muscle-wise, which could be seen through the gold-trimmed, black vest he was wearing, but his smile wasn't as heart-warmingly goofy. He didn't have the right shade of pink for his hair, he was a bit shorter and worst of all, those shining, adventurous eyes she loved so much where not on the man she was looking at.
She sighed, not taking her eyes off the cover as she pictured it with her Natsu on it. She had a feeling it would look a lot better.
"What's that?" a familiar voice breathed over her shoulder.
"Kyaaa!" Lucy screamed, turning around and throwing the book at her home intruder. She looked at Natsu on the floor with a book on his face. Of course it was Natsu. Why would it be a burglar when it could be Natsu.
When Natsu got up, clutching the book in one hand, looking ready to ask her why she had done it, all her anger immediately dissipated. Before he could do anything, she had jumped on his chest giving him a tight hug.
He sighed and hugged her back, forgiving everything she had just done as soon as he felt her face against his chest.
"Did ya miss me, Luce?" He asked and smiled to himself, still holding her tight.
"Shut up" she mumbled into his chest, making him frown slightly "Of course I did, idiot" his face lit up again.
He looked at the book he was holding in his hands that were placed firmly around her back. He turned it over to look at the cover and chuckled again. He saw a man almost like himself on the cover.
Lucy pulled away from him, sighing softly as she did so. She tried to ignore the feeling that she should just hug him again. He was nice and warm and he felt like home.
When she saw he was observing the book she blushed.
"You miss me that much?" he smirked and her face got even hotter.
"N-no!" she sputtered "I just saw it on my bookshelf and decided to look at the cover art!" he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"The cover art that looks exactly like me!" he said cheerfully with a playful look in his eye.
"NO!" Lucy said, finding herself denying everything in a similar fashion to her conversation with Levy. Her conversation with Levy on her mind, her face quickly inflamed again.
"On a book that's main character is based on me…" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively which annoyed her.
"It's not like I was actually reading it!" she cried "Anyway" she mumbled "That guy looks nothing like you…" Natsu's ears perked up at that.
"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning at the cover.
"You look much better!" Lucy shouted before she lost her nerve and then dropped her head down. When she decided to look back up she saw Natsu's eyes were wide, his mouth agape and he was taking his turn to flush furiously.
"For a book that's based on you, it's not very like you...I like you better than that character" Lucy mumbled. Natsu closed his mouth and scratched the back of his head. "I mean, you have a better personality" Lucy smiled "and it's not like you have a girlfriend…" Lucy grumbled quietly to herself.
"WHAT?!" he shouted. Lucy widened her eyes when she realised he must have heard. "WHY DO YOU CARE IF I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?!" he shouted nervously at her.
"Why are you shouting?" Lucy asked
"SORRY!" he shouted.
"I didn't mean to offend you" Lucy apologised "I just assumed, sorry…" she said quietly.
"IT'S OKAY! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU WERE WRONG. I JUST THOUGHT…" he trailed off, still unaware that he was shouting.
"You're still shouting!" Lucy grumbled.
"Sorry" he said softly.
Lucy replayed what he had said in her head. So he was single, which made Lucy happy despite her denying it, even to herself. She thought about everything else and something caught in her mind.
"WAIT! WHAT DID YOU THINK?" Lucy shouted to him in a panic. He was quiet which did not make her feel good.
"Well, you were sayin' all that nice stuff and then you were askin' if I had a girlfriend…" he mumbled.
"I DIDN'T ASK IF YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND, IDIOT!" she shouted "Stop assuming things…" she crossed her arms and tried her best not to look completely frazzled, failing miserably.
"Sorry, Lucy" he said with a downtrodden look. He looked down and shuffled his feet. It was clear that they were both subject to the awkward atmosphere in the room.
"Anyway" Lucy said, trying to sound normal. Her voice only hitched a little. Natsu looked up at the sound of her voice but seemed reluctant to meet her eyes. "Why are you here in the first place?" with that he perked up, grinning widely, the sparkle back in his eye.
"Oh right! I almost forgot!" He went over to her bookshelf, shoved the book he was holding on a shelf and riffled through his pockets. He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it over to her. She looked down at it, confused.
"What is it?" she asked before reading the text properly.
"It's our first job as Team Natsu!" he said in delight. Lucy looked back at the paper and started to read it:
Help wanted!
Looking for a maid and a butler at the Everloo Mansion.
Reward: 200,000J
It looked pretty simple. Lucy smiled.
"But what about my job at the bar? I don't want to get fired!" She said and he smiled.
"Don't worry so much, you weirdo! I got it covered! I already talked to Mira and she's fine with it! You're still doin' a job for Fairy Tail, so it don't matter if it's in the bar or outside!" he smiled with childish glee.
"Alright!" Lucy shouted and smiled back at him. He slung an arm over her shoulder and looked down at the piece of paper with her, pleased that he was able to convince her.
"When do we leave?" Lucy asked, looking up at him.
"Tomorrow!" he cheered. They laughed together, suddenly looking forward to the next day.
A/N Finally some action is coming! :) I wanted to do a twist on their first real job together so it doesn't include illegal activities such as stealing! Sorry for bugging again :P Just thought I'd mention (like I have on my other story) that I am going to be really busy this week and next week. I'll do my best to get the chapters out on time but if not you know why.
