Author's Notes: Enjoy a bit of NaLu (fluff?) and some work knick-knacks. I'm slowly growing an attachment to some of the OC's in this chapter.
Anyway, don't forget to leave a review telling me what you think!
Natsu, Lucy, and Nashi made their way through the bustling streets of Magnolia later that morning. Nashi was resting on Natsu's shoulders, Natsu had the biggest grin on her face, and Lucy looked disgruntled. She did not want to be here, at all. It wasn't her business with what her daughter and her daughter's father did together.
On second thoughts, maybe it would be better if she did tag along. Not because she wanted to spend time with Natsu, but because she wanted to look out for her daughter. Who knew what that man had in store for today.
"Mommy! Did you really live here before?" Nashi asked excitedly, looking at the different shops and restaurants lined up on the streets.
"Unfortunately," Lucy mumbled, taking out her phone and clicking a picture of the street. She smiled to herself, clicking into the GuildMates app and preparing to post it.
Natsu looked over her shoulder. "Oh! That's right! Could ya add me on GuildMates?" he asked cheekily, popping out his hip and gesturing to the front pocket of his pants.
Lucy grumbled something under her breath, quickly taking out Natsu's phone and sending herself a request.
"Fine. Whatever," she said, clicking the post button and shutting off her phone. "You better not spam me, Natsu Dragneel."
Natsu grinned. "Ya' never know!"
"Mmph," Lucy said, biting her cheek. What was with this guy? Was he purposely trying to get on her nerves?
"Speaking of which, how is the book comin' along?" Natsu asked, bouncing slightly in order to entertain Nashi.
"Oh, that's right. You never told me what you wanted me to write about," she said, opening the notes app and preparing to type. "Tell me everything. Characters, setting, plot points, all of the minor details too."
Natsu grinned. "Okay, cool. I want you to write about a girl who ran away from home and raised a child on her own."
Lucy sucked in a breath. "Are you kidding me?! No way am I writing about something as trivial as that!"
Natsu shrugged. "Your monthly paycheck isn't going to like that answer," he pointed out.
"I really don't like you," Lucy said, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at him.
"Well, that's just the power I get with being your boss and everything," Natsu said, picking Nashi up and setting her on the ground. "We have two hours to do whatever you want, Princess Nashi of Food. Tell me, what do you want to do?"
Nashi thought about it. "Hmm… I'm not sure. What is there to do here?" she asked.
"Well, we can go on a casual stroll in the park, go grab some ice cream-"
"We literally just had breakfast! Are you out of your mind?!" Lucy screeched.
"Hey, I wasn't speaking to you, Lucy Heartfilia," Natsu said, raising an eyebrow. "Or should I say, Miss Heartfilia."
"Shut up!"
"Ice cream sounds good!" Nashi said, giving her mother a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Nashi, you are in so much trouble," Lucy said.
"No she isn't," Natsu cut in. "I was the one who suggested it, so I should be the one who gets the punishment."
"Stop that! You're so… AGH!" Lucy said, throwing her arms in the air, lifting her daughter to her waist and stomping off the scene.
Natsu chuckled as he watched her figure disappear.
…
"I cannot believe I agreed to this," Lucy groaned, picking at her chocolate sundae. Natsu smirked, taking a bite out of her ice cream.
"Mmm, chocolate. Tasty, but vanilla is obviously better," he observed.
Lucy scoffed. "Yeah, right. Keep believing," she said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Vanilla was the original flavor!"
"Vanilla is a type of flower. Chocolate is always better than flowers, keep that in mind," Lucy said.
"Oh, right. You used to tell me that when I gave you flowers. You told me that you liked chocolate way better as a romantic gift," Natsu said casually, not daring to look her in the eye.
His plan was simple. Remind Lucy about their old relationship, and she might give in and be his girlfriend once again.
"Y-y-you little-"
"Uh uh uh," Natsu scolded, looking at Nashi who was enjoying her own cone.
"You all are wrong!" she exclaimed. "Chocolate and vanilla are second and third! Strawberry is the best!"
Lucy looked at her. "What? Nashi! How could you do this to me?!"
"The real question is," Natsu said, "is vanilla the one that's second or third? Second, right? I knew it."
"You didn't even let her answer you!" Lucy complained.
"Oh come on, Lucy. No need to be such a sore loser," Natsu teased.
"You are a horrible, sickening, disgusting man. I hope you rot in hell," Lucy said, mumbling the last part so Nashi wouldn't hear her.
"Getting a little spicy, are we?" Natsu said, giving her the deadliest smirk.
Lucy looked aghast. "Gahh! I really, really, really don't like you!"
"Relax. It's all in good fun," Natsu said.
"I'm finished," Nashi said, tugging at her mother's skirt. "Can we go shopping?"
Lucy smiled brightly. "That is a wonderful idea, my sweetheart. Let's go! Natsu's paying, so buy whatever you'd like!"
"You are one sick woman," Natsu said. "But fine. I'll pay as long as I get to buy stuff for Nashi."
"Hmph. Fine. Whatever. As long as you're paying," Lucy said, furrowing her eyebrows.
Natsu grinned. This meant he was only one step closer to befriending Nashi, and winning back Lucy.
"Say, Luce?" he asked as they walked into the shopping district. "What happened between you and Nashi's father?"
Lucy stopped. Natsu could see her visibly gulp; a tear of sweat trickled down her forehead as she gave him the most calculating stare possible.
"W-why do you want to know about something like that?" she asked slowly, carefully.
"Just curious," Natsu shrugged, throwing out a coin to one of the vendor stalls and grabbing a red pepper. He bit into it and moaned in delight.
Lucy cringed. "Really, Natsu?" she asked. "Really?"
"Whaaaat?" Natsu whined. "They're good!"
"Ooh, can I have one too?" Nashi asked, taking Natsu's hand and tugging him back to the vegetable stand.
"Sure! What color? The red one is sweet, and the green one is bitter," Natsu explained. He already knew which one she was going to pick. He began to reach for the green one.
"Then the red one, please!"
Natsu stopped.
"Red? Seriously?" he asked in disbelief. "Are ya' sure?"
"Positive," Nashi said, eyeing the bright red color of the pepper in Natsu's hand. She smirked devilishly.
"Alrighty then," Natsu said. "I woulda thought you'd go for the bitter one."
"Why?" Nashi asked curiously. "I like sweet things more than bad tasting things!"
"Oh," Natsu said. "Okay." She just seemed like the type to like spicy things.
"Ohh those braids are so cute!" Lucy exclaimed, looking into one of the shops. She eyed their collections. "Nashi! Do you want one?"
"The pink one!" Nashi said happily, taking her mother's hand and entering the store.
Natsu winced. "Don't hurt my wallet's feelings!" he called after them.
"What's our budget, then?" Lucy asked as he approached them.
"Five thousand?" Natsu said.
Lucy gave him a look. "You can't get anything good in just five thousand," she pointed out.
"Fine. Fifteen thousand," Natsu reasoned.
"More."
"Sixteen."
"More."
"Eighteen?"
"Getting there."
"Thirty!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air.
Lucy smirked. "I would have given in for twenty, but thirty works too!"
"Gahhh!"
"Excuse me? How much are these braids?"
…
"I am never shopping with you again in my life," Natsu groaned, exiting the shopping district with a bunch of bags in his hands. "You wasted thirty-five thousand jewel!"
"Oh please. I'd hardly say your no-good money was wasted," Lucy said. "Besides, I'm about to go to work with you anyways. I can always earn enough to pay you back, if you'd like."
Natsu sighed in defeat. "No, nevermind. I did say I'd pay," he said.
Lucy nodded. "Good."
The two, along with Nashi, entered Fairy Tail with small smiles. The regular customers who recognized Natsu all greeted him and told them how good the food was.
Natsu grinned. "Listen up, everyone!" he shouted, clinking a nearby juice class and catching the attention of everyone in the restaurant. "I'll be closing early today at four."
All the people around them put on frowns. Some of the kids went 'Awww'.
"But," Natsu continued. "As a special treat for today, since I'll be leaving early, I'm going to take the liberty to cook each and every one of your meals."
That caused an uproar.
"Well, you're pretty famous," Nashi noticed. "Good for you, Natsu!"
"People say my cooking is the best in town, and I rarely cook the meals personally here. Whenever I do, the people are extremely happy."
"You must be proud of the restaurant you've made," Nashi observed.
"Oh, I am Nash," Natsu winked. "Now, would you like to help me for today? I have to show your mom the ropes around here, but you can assist with the food!"
"Awesome!" Nashi agreed, following him into the kitchen.
"C'mon, Luce!" Natsu waved.
Lucy sighed. She didn't have any other choice, per se.
"Well, your job for pretty self-explanatory," Natsu started. He turned around to face the blonde once they were in the kitchen. "You are the manager of waitressing. Meaning, you'll be keeping tabs on which waiter serves which table, and occasionally being a waitress yourself. Sound cool?"
Lucy nodded, taking the information in slowly. She processed her new job, and nodded.
"I'll do my best," she agreed.
"Cool. Here's the notebook you'll use for keeping records," Natsu said, handing her a thick green book with multiple names in it. "The waiters are in the lounge area. Make yourself comfortable with them, do the job, and report back to me every day with the record book."
Lucy was surprised. Natsu was acting very professional, something unlike him.
"I understand. I'll get right on it," she said, taking a pen off the counter and disappearing into the next room.
Natsu sighed, looking down at the pink-haired girl besides him.
"Hey, Nashi? Are we friends?" he asked, leaning down.
Nashi nodded excitedly. "Yes!"
Natsu smirked.
This would be easy.
…
Lucy cautiously entered the lounge area. She had been told by one of the hosts that Natsu had not put them to work yet, since that was now her job. Before she did that, though, she had to meet them personally.
She took a deep breath, seeing the many curious eyes looking at her.
"Hello," she started off strongly. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I am your new manager."
The women and men looked astounded.
"Mr. Dragneel appointed a manager for us? He's never done that before," a young girl said. She looked like she was still in her teens.
"Yes, I've been informed of such circumstances," Lucy said. "However, I do not wish this to come between you and your paycheck. You can continue doing the work you've been doing since day one, but now you'll have a second set of eyes to look over your handiwork."
The people nodded simultaneously.
Lucy coughed, opening her record book and scanning the names.
"Mina? You're on section one," she started. The teenage girl from before stepped up and bowed.
"Yes, Heartfilia-san," she said politely, before taking an apron off the rack and exiting the room.
"Hibus," Lucy started again, eyeing the blonde man that stepped forward. "Section two and three for today."
"Yes," he said with a bow, taking an apron, a small notebook for orders, and tieing his long hair into a short ponytail.
"Cool. Um… Lervis? Is that how you pronounce it?" Lucy said unsurely, looking towards a petite brown-haired woman.
"Lerv is fine," the older woman said, smiling warmly at Lucy and exiting the room after Lucy assigned her to the fourth section.
"Saran, you're on section five, six, and seven. You've been working here the longest, so three sections plus two shifts should be okay for you," Lucy said, tapping her pen on the notebook and nodding towards the dangerously pretty woman who looked to be a little younger than herself.
Saran nodded with an eye-roll. "Sure, whatever."
Lucy thought nothing of her rude behavior, turning back to her records and assigning the rest.
"Yule, you're on eight. Ikki, you're on nine and ten. And… I'll be counting on Shen for the final two sections."
Lucy smiled thoughtfully as everyone was put to work. Well, almost everyone. There was still a small girl standing there.
"Um… I wasn't assigned?" she said, looking up.
Lucy raised an eyebrow, looking back to the book.
"Hmm, weird. It doesn't say your name here. Can you spell it for me, please?" she asked.
The girl nodded. "Of course, Heartfilia. It is P-A-N-D-A," she said.
Lucy blinked. "Panda?" she asked.
Panda nodded. "Yes, my name is Panda," she said.
"Oh," Lucy said. "I like pandas."
"I don't. I don't like my name. My favorite is the flamingo," Panda said.
"Oh. I like flamingos too," Lucy said awkwardly. "Anyway, I'll go to the kitchen and question Natsu about this. Hang tight." Lucy quickly exited the room, heading towards Natsu's quarters.
"Hey, Nashi! Grab me one of those rice balls, will ya'?!" Lucy heard once she entered. Her eyes widened as she saw her daughter and Natsu throwing rice across the room to each other.
"What is going on in here?" she asked.
Someone else came up behind her. "I wouldn't question it. Dragneel-kun rarely cooks here, and when he does, it is very messy."
Lucy turned around to come face to face with a tall man with messy black hair. He shot her a wink and went back to looking at Natsu and Nashi.
"Oh, hey Luce!" Natsu exclaimed, noticing Lucy standing in the doorway with a dumbstruck expression on her face. "I see you've met Ro. He's usually the one who does most of the cooking around here."
Ro stuck out his hand to her. "Pleased to meet you," he said with a friendly smile.
Lucy took it. "Yeah, you too. My name's Lucy Heartfilia."
"Ah, I heard about a new manager around here. Welcome to the team, Heartfilia-san," Ro said politely, sticking to common Japanese courtesy by calling her by her last name.
"Just Lucy's fine," Lucy said meekly.
"No, please. I'd feel bad to call you by your first name so soon. I will take off the honorific if that suits you better."
"'Heartfilia' just sounds wrong," Lucy said. Ro laughed.
"Aye aye," he said, saluting and making his way to Natsu. "Dragneel-kun, you know how much I enjoy your cooking, but please be more careful."
Natsu snorted. "Relax, Ro," he said lazily, chopping up a few pieces of meat and putting them into the stew that was cooking.
"Natsu, can I help?" Nashi asked. Natsu chuckled. He nodded and gave her a small butter knife. Lucy gasped.
"Natsu! Don't give a nine-year-old a knife! Do you have any sense of anything?" she scolded.
"It's all good. It's just a butter knife," Natsu replied.
Lucy then widened her eyes as she remembered the reason why she was here. "Oh, right, there's a young waitress in the lounge area by the name of Panda. She wasn't on the record book list."
Natsu looked up. "Panda? Oh yeah. She usually works the morning breakfast shifts before the restaurant opens. We sometimes open early, you see, and she does all the work single handedly."
"Wow," Lucy whistled. "She's so young though."
Natsu laughed. "Don't let her looks fool you," he said. "She's almost forty years old."
Lucy blinked. "F-forty?" she exclaimed. "Wait… what?!"
Natsu nodded. "Yep. Panda's great though. I usually assign her to the extra sections, since she already finishes most of her work hours in the morning."
Lucy nodded. "Okay. That makes sense."
"Mommy! Can you please pass me that pepper from the bowl?" Nashi suddenly said, pointing towards a giant spread of vegetables behind Lucy and Ro.
Ro grinned, turning around quickly before Lucy could even move. He tossed the young girl the pepper with a smile.
"Here you go," he said, bowing his head ever so slightly, as if remembering his place. "Enjoy it."
"Cool!" Nashi exclaimed.
Lucy sighed. "Well, I better get going back to Panda. I'll see you around, Ro," she said, offering him a wave and exiting the room.
"I'll be looking forward to it, Heartfilia-san!" he called, smiling to himself and turning back to Natsu. "She is quite a nice woman."
Natsu nodded. "You can say that again."
…
Over the course of the next five hours, Lucy learnt many things about her co-workers. For example, Mina was a junior at Magnolia High School, and Hibus was training to be a teacher there. Saran had quit modeling a few years ago because of familial problems, and Lervis and Panda were distant cousins. Ikki and Yule were childhood friends, but the Yule had grown apart from his best friend in high school because of various reasons. When they reconnected a few years ago, they both found jobs together and stayed good friends ever since.
"Ikki, I heard there was a spill in your second shift. How did that go?" Lucy asked, looking up when she saw the woman enter, her long black hair flowing out behind her. She was talking to Yule, who combed back his own black hair and offered a polite bow when he noticed Lucy was talking to his comrade.
"It was okay. Yule helped me clean it up, but it didn't cause a rift in his shift," Ikki said. Lucy nodded, gesturing for her to come over. Ikki did, looking a little confused. She waved to Yule before taking a seat next to her manager. "Is something wrong, Lucy-san?"
Lucy smirked. "You seem to know Yule quite well, don't you?" she started smoothly. Ikki immediately blushed.
"I… what?" she said, with wide eyes. "Lucy-san? What is this about?"
Lucy laughed. "I'm great with this sort of thing. Get comfortable, because I want to offer you a bit of advice. It's obvious you like each other," she said, nudging Ikki and giving her a suggestive smile.
Ikki looked dumbfounded. "L-Lucy-san!"
"Now, listen closely," Lucy said. Ikki, despite her protests, had no choice but to see what this was all about. "Yule is an Aries, and you are an Aquarius. You two are practically made for each other!"
Ikki's jaw dropped. "You're an astrologer?" she exclaimed in excitement. "Stars have always fascinated me!"
Lucy grinned. "Something like that. I do know a few things, that's for sure. Anyway, Aries' enjoy hardcore activities. Keep that in mind. Yule will definitely be the one to pull the first move on you," she said.
Ikki gasped. "What? Really? Are you just trying to get my hopes up, Lucy-san?!" she said. "Is it even okay for you to be talking to me like this?"
"Oh please. This is perfectly fine," Lucy said, waving her hand. "Has Yule ever gone through some tough times?"
Ikki nodded slowly. "Yes… he suffered a lot a few months ago, with his father and everything. I didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything."
"Uh huh… is he still going through something?" Lucy asked curiously.
Ikki shrugged. "I'm not completely sure, but maybe," she said. "What are you suggesting?"
"Aries like to vent their anger out through very conventional methods. I want you to be there for Yule. I want you to offer your shoulder to him, because it is very likely that he will need that from you," Lucy explained. "He might get a little aggressive, but don't be afraid. You need to trust him, and the fact that he will never even think about hurting you."
"I know he won't. He's been my best friend for so long, it's hard to imagine him doing anything of the sort to me!" Ikki said.
Lucy nodded. "Correct. Now, I want a full report by the end of the week!" she said with a wide smile.
Ikki looked so happy, it warmed Lucy's heart to see her talent be put to use.
"Ohh thank you so much, Lucy-san! I won't let you down!" Ikki exclaimed, carefully taking her apron off and fleeing out of the room. She was undoubtedly going to go find Yule, Lucy had no doubt in her mind.
"So you're a matchmaker, huh?" a new voice cut into Lucy's thoughts. Lucy turned around to see Saran in the doorway. She offered a smile at the beautiful brunette woman.
"I wouldn't say I'm a matchmaker, but I do like making people happy with their relationships," Lucy said.
Saran scoffed. "Whatever," she said quietly, going into the opposite side of the room and looking through her notes for the day.
"Are you heading home?" Lucy asked, trying to make small talk.
"I'm going to pick up my little sister from school, and then I'll go home, thank you very much," Saran said curtly.
Lucy winced at her tone. "Oh. Alright," she decided on saying. "So, I heard you were a model?"
Saran rolled her eyes. "Stalker, much?" she muttered rudely.
Lucy did not like her attitude one bit.
"Hey, I'm just trying to build a conversation. Give me a break," she said, putting down her foot and crossing her arms. "I just wanted to talk. You're an exceptionally talented waitress. All the customers love you."
"Yes, but the one person I want to love me doesn't, but that's just how the world works, isn't it?" Saran snapped, clicking her book closed and huffing to the coat rack.
Lucy took a step back. "Mmm… unrequited love? I know a thing or two. Want to test my knowledge?" she offered kindly.
"No thank you. Loving your bo-" Saran started, but cut herself off with a scoff. "Whatever. Doesn't matter."
"Ready to go?" Natsu's voice cut through their conversation. Lucy and Saran both turned around to see Natsu standing behind them with Nashi besides his figure. He gave Saran a nod, which she politely returned with a lip bite.
Lucy rolled her eyes once she saw the pink-haired man.
"So, how did you torture Nashi?" she asked, walking up to her daughter and taking her into her arms. "Mommy is sorry she had to leave you with this stinky old man, Nash."
Natsu gasped, placing a hand on his heart. "That hurts, Luce," he teased, placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder.
Lucy could see Saran wince from the corner of the room.
She brushed Natsu's hand off with a glare.
"Shut up! Remember our deal?! Don't be so stupid and dense!" she screeched, turning on her heel with Nashi still in her hold. "C'mon, Nash. We're going to leave this old man behind and go see our friends!"
"They're my friends too! And I am not an old man!" Natsu yelled after her. He quickly turned to Saran and waved. "Great work today, Sar! I've got to go catch that weirdo! See ya' tomorrow!"
Saran tried waving back, but Natsu whisked out of the room before she could say anything.
Saran glared to herself, clutching her heart and feeling the tears surface in her eyes.
"Why, you stupid blonde! Why did you have to come when I was so close to making him mine?"
I wrote a NaLu one shot recently! Just go to my profile to check it out~ It's called 'Home for the Holidays'.