Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. :(
When Lisanna opened her eyes the next morning, two pairs of onyx colored ones stared back at her. It took her brain a few moments to process that this meant two someones were directly in front of her face, but when that information registered, her body twitched violently in surprise. She found that she was still being loosely held by Mira and Elfman, so their bodies cushioned her before she could fall over.
"So, not all girls wake up kicking and screaming, huh Natsu? Does that mean there's something wrong with Lucy?" Happy asked as he and Natsu leaned away from Lisanna's face to settle themselves across from her on the floor.
"Nah, there's nothing wrong with her, bud. Lucy's just weird, that's all." Natsu said, answering his partner. He smiled at Lisanna. "You sleep okay?" he asked.
When Lisanna moved, she felt some slight aches and pains in her back. Falling asleep sitting up against a table certainly wasn't ideal. "I'm a little stiff." she admitted. "You?"
He shrugged. "I'm fine. I used Warren as a pillow."
Lisanna moved some more so she was sitting up straight. She looked around, taking in the scene around her. On her left side, she could see that Jet and Droy fell asleep right next to Elfman. Past Mira, on her right, she could see Warren still passed out on the floor. Gray was sleeping in only his underwear on a table bench beyond that. Suddenly, Natsu and Happy started laughing hysterically, drawing her attention back to them.
"What's so funny?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't something about her appearance.
"Well, don't look, but for some reason, on the table behind you, Max has a broom sticking out of his ass."
"A broom?" she silently mouthed, slightly horrified.
Natsu nodded gleefully. "Happy, you still got that camera in your backpack?" he asked his blue partner in crime, a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed, digging the object out of his pack. He then sprouted his wings and floating above them, took a quick picture, giggling all the while. "What do you think Natsu, should we draw on Gray's face and take a picture of that?"
Natsu was smiling evilly, considering it, when Mirajane stirred and woke up.
"Nah, some other time."
He then addressed the eldest Strauss sibling. "I'm hungry, Mira. Can you make me some breakfast?"
"Not even a good morning? No wonder Lucy kicks you out of her house all the time, if that's how you treat her when you wake up." Mira teased, yawning and stretching.
Natsu spluttered in indignation, until Mirajane stopped him. "I was just teasing." she said, getting up and heading towards the kitchen.
Other members of the guild were starting to wake up as well, so when Cana vacated the spot at the table where she had been sleeping, the three friends quickly sat down there. It was the same table that Gray lay sleeping nearby. Wakaba, Macao, and Evergreen also still snoozed away at different sides of the table.
"So, we haven't got to talk much yet. What's new with you, Natsu?" Lisanna inquired of her old friend.
Natsu looked thoughtful for a moment, then he snapped his fingers. "Lucy! She's new! She's my partner, you know." he said with a huge smile plastered to his face.
"No way. You have a real live human partner? How in the world did you convince her?" This is something that Edo-Natsu would've wanted to know, Lisanna thought.
"Natsu tricked her!" Happy giggled at the memory. "He got her believing that one of her spirits thought that we should be on the same team!"
"And when she found out that the first job we picked out needed a blonde maid, she couldn't back out of it cause she told us celestial spirit mages always keep their promises." Natsu added, a satisfied smirk adorning his face.
When Lisanna asked how they first met, Natsu was only too happy to oblige. From what he told her, Lisanna believed his story because one, Natsu was always honest when it really mattered and two, he mentioned that Lucy had saved him when he was suffering from motion sickness. She didn't think he'd lie about being sick and then being rescued by an unknown mage.
It was kind of eerie to Lisanna to hear how similar Natsu's story was to what had happened when Edo-Natsu met Edo-Lucy.
At the end of his story, Mirajane came over and not only delivered breakfast to Natsu, but gave some to Happy and Lisanna as well.
"Ah, that smells great, Mira." Gray said, now awake and sitting up from the spot he had been laying on. "Do you think you could make me something too?"
"Sure Gray, I'll be right back." Mira replied, humming as she walked back to the kitchen.
"You know, I've never heard the full story about how you and Lucy met." Gray said to Natsu. "Sounds to me like there was a lot of luck involved."
"You think so?" Natsu asked between bites of food.
"Yeah-" Gray said in a tone that suggested he thought Natsu was being a dumbass. "You just happen to go looking for a dragon inside a town, where you never should've expected to find a dragon. Instead you save a girl from someone who was using your name. After you part from her, you meet up with and save her again, this time on a boat, one of your weaknesses. Y'know, a place that you usually wouldn't go to. And then she just happens to find her lost keys in the ocean. The freaking ocean, Natsu." Gray emphasized, spreading him arms wide to point out its vast size. "She finds them and saves you with one of her keys and you take her to the very guild that she's always wanted to join. Yeah, I'd say that was pretty lucky."
"Well, I guess Lucy is lucky." Natsu replied, considering it. "Two of the jobs we've been on I didn't get paid, but Lucy got a golden key. And it was lucky that she got those keys cause we needed them soon after she got 'em." He paused, thinking for more examples. "I guess it was pretty lucky meeting up with her in Edolas. We landed in different spots, yet we ran into one another really quickly."
Natsu sat there looking contemplative. Meanwhile, Mirajane had finished cooking breakfast for Gray. Gray thanked her and the pale-haired barmaid walked away only to be flagged down by another hungry customer. Gray was about to take a bite out of his french toast when Natsu blurted out a question.
"Hey Gray, do you think Lucy's sexy?"
If Lisanna hadn't just finished swallowing her bite of food, she was sure she would be choking on it right now. As it was, her only outward reaction was her eyes bugged out a little. She could hear Happy trying to muffle his snickers.
Gray lowered the fork that he had been about to bring to his lips. His mouth, which had been partly open to receive the food on his fork, closed, forming a thin frown. "Are you fucking with me?" Gray asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Seriously, why are you suddenly asking me that?"
"Well, I was thinking about Edolas and the guys we fought and I remembered that guy that could control the rides. When we got washed away, Lucy landed in a costume changing box. And I kinda sorta got an idea to use her sex appeal to distract the guy, but it totally didn't work. Like, not at all."
"Ah, I see how it is. I knew there was no way you could be as stupid as you let on." Gray said, nodding and smirking at him.
When Natsu just looked at him confusedly, Gray explained further. "You think Lucy's sexy and you're wondering if something is wrong with you. Right?" Natsu just looked at him blankly but Gray continued anyways, rolling his eyes at the dragon-slayer. "I don't know. We know he wasn't blind so maybe that guy was gay. Or perhaps he was dedicated to his job and cared just a little bit more about stopping the guys that were threatening the kingdom he worked for. I suppose you could ask Pantherlily about it if you really care."
All four of them looked over to where said exceed still slept on, wrapped in the arms of Gajeel. It made Lisanna wonder how Pantherlily was adjusting to all of this. It had to be odd for him to suddenly go from commanding a division of soldiers to joining a magician's guild and being cuddled by a heavily pierced dragon-slayer while he slept.
"Nah, it's okay. But you never answered my question." Natsu admonished. "So, what do you think of Lucy?"
Gray, who had been trying again to eat his breakfast, let his fork fall to the plate with a clatter.
"Dammit, Natsu. What the hell, man?" Gray sighed. "You should know perfectly well what I think. You were there when Gemini copied me, not me! I had to find out what he said when Lucy pulled me aside later to have 'the talk' with me."
Natsu gave Gray a questioning glance while Happy was red-faced from trying to stifle his laughter.
Gray let out a deep breath. "You know, the 'I like you, but only as a friend' talk." In a sign of exasperation, Gray pulled his fingers through his messy black hair. "I think she's plenty attractive, Natsu. But it doesn't mean I'm after anything. Can't I just think a girl is cute without it meaning anything? Is that too much to ask?" Gray said, more to himself than the other three seated near him.
Happy burst out into hysterical laughter. "Lucy knows you think she's sexy and she still rejected you? There must be something really wrong with you if you're getting rejected by Lucy!" he managed to say between his cries of laughter.
"Says the cat who gets rejected daily by another cat, who up until now had every reason to believe they were the only two of their kind." Gray deadpanned.
Happy instantly stopped laughing. "That's just mean." he pouted, crying and flying out through the guild doors.
Lisanna ran after him to offer some comfort. She expected Natsu to follow, and when he didn't, she could hardly believe it.
When she caught up to Happy, she found that he wasn't as upset as he acted inside the guild. He stated that he just wanted to make Gray feel bad. Lisanna then got to hear all about Happy's object of affection, Charle. He swore to her that someday his lovely Charle would accept his fish and then Gray and everyone else would have to say that they were wrong—that Charle loved him too.
When they returned to the guild, there was a typical battle between Natsu and Gray taking place. Fists were flying, kicks were aimed, and insults were hurled between the two. The noise and flying furniture had woken everyone else who had been trying to sleep. Many of the male members eyed the fight, itching to join in.
"Natsu! Gray!" boomed the voice of Erza Scarlet. Instantly, the two in question sprang apart. "It's too early for you two to be at each other's throats already! When are you going to start acting like the friends I know you to be?"
Natsu and Gray just glared at each other, saying nothing.
"I'm not in the mood for your nonsense today. Stop fighting and shake hands." she ordered. They grudgingly complied. "There. That's more like how friends should act." Satisfied, she turned away from them, missing the quick, quiet, and furious fight the two had with one another.
When Natsu and Gray finished their tussle to their satisfaction, Gray went over to his still untouched and now cold breakfast and Natsu re-joined Lisanna and Happy.
"Hey Erza!" Natsu called out to the requip mage. "It's almost December. I was thinking we should go on a mission. Y'know, gotta pay Lucy's rent and all that. I was thinking something S-class if it wouldn't take too long. Whadd'ya say?"
Erza looked thoughtful for a few minutes and then finally nodded. "Alright, as long as it won't take too long, I don't see why not."
"What about you, Ice Princess? You going too?" Natsu shouted to Gray.
"A mission? Sure, count me in." Gray answered.
Natsu then ran up the stairs, presumably to peruse the different missions on display.
Lisanna was in shock. Natsu being partnered with Lucy was one thing. It hadn't really surprised her when Natsu admitted it to her earlier this morning. She could already tell that they were close and it was only natural that if Natsu partnered with anybody, it would be with Lucy. But for him to be working with Erza and Gray of all people, now that was blowing her mind.
"Natsu and Gray go on missions together?" Lisanna said incredulously. "How in the world did that happen?" Seriously, did hell freeze over at some point, because she was sure Natsu had said in the past that that was when they would work together.
"Yes, I needed their help once and we've been working as a team ever since." Erza affirmed. "It's not perfect, but what team is? Natsu and Gray have really grown up this year. I'm really proud of them. Lucy's been a great asset to the team too. She has a lot of potential and I'm really looking forward to seeing how she grows as a wizard."
"Huh, I never would've imagined it." Lisanna mumbled to herself.
Natsu then came bounding down the stairs, clutching a mission sheet. "How 'bout this one Erza? Remove a pair of nesting wyverns that are terrorizing our village and stealing our livestock." He read. "The village is pretty close by and I think two wyverns wouldn't take too long to get rid of."
"If they've got an egg or a young one to guard, they might get pretty nasty. Better get Wendy too, just in case." Erza commanded.
"I'm on it!" Happy exclaimed as he flew off in the young girl's direction. And there he stayed afterward as he tried to gain the attention of the white exceed.
Natsu and Erza then regaled Lisanna with tales of their past missions as a team while they waited for Lucy to show up. It was amazing what they had been through these past few months. Natsu and Gray really had grown up if they were taking on dark guilds and going on S-class missions with Erza. It made her a little apprehensive about how hard she was going to have to train to get back into fighting form.
After close to a half-hour an hour of this, in which Natsu's impatience was becoming more and more evident, the guild doors opened again, allowing Fairy Tail's only celestial spirit mage to enter.
"Finally!" Natsu exclaimed, shooting up from his seat and turning to look at her. His mouth fell open in shock. In fact, the entire guild had fallen silent at the sight of the blonde summoner. The reason: Lucy had the biggest bruise Lisanna had ever seen on the left side of her face. It covered from just below her eye to a little above her jaw and was the dark purple of a ripe eggplant.
Natsu rushed over to Lucy. Grabbing her head in his hands and bending close to her face to get a better look, he growled, "Who the hell did this to you, Lucy?"
"Wh-What?" Lucy stammered, now red in the face where she wasn't purple.
"Which asshole hit you in the face? I'm gonna beat the shit outta them!" he replied, angrily.
Lucy sighed loudly at him and shrugged out of his grip. "You did, you idiot." she said quietly, perhaps in an attempt to keep the conversation between themselves. It didn't matter though. The whole guild was still so quiet that everyone heard every syllable.
Everyone gasped at Lucy's words, including Natsu.
"I did not!" he declared, denying it vehemently.
"Yes. You did." Lucy shot back calmly. "You punched me so hard that I ended up in the canal last night."
The guild started to fill with angry buzzing. Lisanna could make out her brother saying 'Not a man, not a man at all, Natsu.' among all the other mutterings. Natsu was looking at Lucy with a hurt look in his eyes.
Lucy looked around at their guild mates. "Okay, calm down everyone. I know he didn't mean to do it. He was sleeping at the time."
"Lucy! Why did you make it sound like I did it on purpose!"
"Because I had a really shitty night and morning!" Lucy said, exasperated. "Every time I rolled over in my sleep and landed on it, it woke me up. And then this morning on the way to the guild, people kept stopping me in the streets, saying things like 'leave him right now' and 'there are plenty of less violent men out there'. They wouldn't believe me when I tried to explain. It was very frustrating. Someone even gave me this card." Lucy said as she handed over a small piece of paper to Natsu.
"What's this?" he said as he looked at it.
"A women's shelter. Here, give that back. I think I'm going to visit it later."
"What!?" he said as the card was taken from his fingers. "Why? I thought you said you didn't blame me?" Natsu said, a note of panic in his voice.
Lucy sighed loudly again. "No, of course I don't. I just want to help the women there if I can." Lucy said distractedly, looking around the guild. Spotting Wendy, she headed over to her. "Do you think you could do something about this?" Lucy asked, indicating her bruised cheek.
"I'll do my best Lucy-san!" The young dragon-slayer said, nodding once in determination.
A bluish-white light emitted from the young girl's hands and in a few seconds, the dark blemish on Lucy's face was no more.
"Amazing!" Lisanna breathed. She had never seen someone with healing magic. If Wendy was a regular on their missions, she was probably quite useful to them.
"Lucy! Let's go on a mission! I've found one that'll pay all your rent plus give you some extra for food." Natsu said when Wendy had finished, holding out the mission sheet to her.
"Can't we do it tomorrow? I'm still tired from yesterday and I already promised Levy-chan I'd hang out with her today."
"But Lucy, your rent..." the pink-haired boy tried to argue.
"My rent isn't due for a couple more days. Besides, your old friend just came back from the dead." Lucy said, looking over at Lisanna "I'm sure she'd love to spend the day with you. Maybe you could help her out. I know for a fact that she needs clothes and other stuff for her room."
"Are you suggesting I take her shopping?!" Natsu asked incredulously.
While Natsu tried to argue some more with his blonde teammate, Lisanna had already sprung into action. She wasn't about to waste an opportunity to spend a day with her childhood friend, especially when Lucy was giving her seal of approval. She still liked him after all, even if she now realized it wasn't a romantic type of like. A day out together could be fun and having him along to carry the things she bought for her room would come in handy.
She went over to Mirajane and asked to borrow some Jewels, promising that she would pay her back when she earned some money of her own. Mira was only too happy to comply. Money in hand, she quickly scooped up Happy from where he was sitting and rushed over to the arguing couple.
Yanking Natsu away by his scarf towards the guild doors, she called out to the blonde girl. "Thanks Lucy! I'm going to take you up on your offer!"
As they exited the guild, Natsu yelled at his female partner. "You better watch out, Lucy Heartfilia! I'm gonna get revenge for this if it's the last thing I do!"
"Bye! Have fun guys!" Lucy said with a smile and a wave.
A/N: I was really nervous writing the bit about the aftermath of Natsu punching Lucy in the face while he slept. I think instead of going back to the guild after her unexpected bath in the canal, Lucy would've went back home to change and sleep. It got me thinking what kind of reaction the townspeople would have to Lucy walking to the guild the next day with a huge bruise on her face. I'm guessing a lot of them would figure that her significant other had done that to her. And even the ones that knew she was a mage and knew Natsu, would figure that he was to blame somehow. I hope no one thought I was making light of a serious topic. I just felt that there would be evidence of that punch the next day and felt I should include that in this fic. I really do think that Lucy would want to help those women however she could. She'd probably even get some of the other Fairy Tail members involved too.
Next time: Lisanna, Natsu, and Happy go shopping!