It was finally the end of Levy's shift and Natsu was bouncing with excitement over the prospect of finally leaving the most-ridiculously-boring-place-ever and getting to go home to see Lucy. Levy wasn't as happy as Natsu, not having had a proper moment to do her own research all day.
Levy was grabbing her purse as she headed for the door. Freed had already said goodnight, leaving Levy to lock up. Gajeel had finished putting up the new shelves and he waited for her patiently so that she would not lock up alone.
"Thank you for waiting, Gajeel," Levy said, setting the security alarm. They both went out the door, Levy locking it promptly, "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I really don't understand why you put up with the way Freed treats you though."
"I'm done here in 2 days," Gajeel shrugged, "I guess I figure there's no point in starting anything."
She glanced at him, trying to read into his face. He looked so intimidating, piercings and long, dark hair. He had a perma-scowl on his face, yet he was kind and gentle.
"How did you get to be on probation, Gajeel?"
He scoffed, kicking at the ground, "I told you. My cousins did something stupid and I was busted with them."
She cocked her head and squinted her eyes, "You know I don't believe that, right?"
They made eye contact. Is he blushing?
Levy's cab arrived, breaking the moment.
"I guess…that's my cab," Levy said slowly.
"Do you have to go?" Gajeel asked, "I mean, go if you need to, but being that I'm almost done working at the library and I probably won't see you around much…"
"What are you suggesting?" Levy took a step closer to him. She knew Natsu was anxious to get home and could practically feel his cold gaze on her neck.
"Coffee?" Gajeel's face lit up with hope.
Levy smiled prettily, "Yeah. Let me tell the cab to go."
Gajeel's face beamed as she leaned into the cab, telling him thank you, but she wouldn't require it. As she walked back to his side, she whispered, hoping Natsu would hear.
"I'm fine, Natsu…you can go home."
Natsu stared after Levy as she went with Gajeel toward a coffee shop not far from the library. Now what was supposed to do? He was told – by Erza – to follow Levy. If he returned without her, there'd be hell to pay. Plus, what did they really know about Gajeel? What if he wanted to hurt Levy?
He grumbled to himself. He just wanted to go home to see Lucy. But he followed after Levy and Gajeel anyway, kicking as the ground as he went.
As Lucy walked home from work, she paused to really take in the beauty of the area. The ocean was so still, it looked like glass. She watched a group of ducks, all walking in a line, quacking out their conversation to each other. Natsu was right. There was so much beauty in the little things she took for granted every day.
Natsu. At the very thought of his name, Lucy snapped out her reverie and headed for home. She wanted to see him. Everyday that passed, she found it harder to be away from him...and morning interludes for 20-30 minutes weren't enough. Natsu had brought her walls down. Well, almost all of them. She still hadn't confided in him about her Dan dilemma…but she was trying to. For the first time in her life, she felt like someone really cared about her…other than Levy, of course. Since she seemed to be on a stroke of good luck, maybe Dan would stay away this time.
She was walking by a gift shop when she paused, stepping back to look again at something she through the window. On impulse, she entered the store, purchasing the small ornament. She wanted to show her appreciation to Natsu for being so amazing all the time. She had the gift shop wrap it up in a small box.
Lucy skipped the rest of the way home. She was excited because she knew Natsu would love her gift.
She knocked on his door before even stopping at her apartment. There was no answer. When she went into her own apartment, Levy wasn't home either. Her face fell for a moment, but she figured soon everyone would probably come home all at once. She would take the opportunity to write while she was alone.
Lucy went into her room, extracting the book that she kept her novel in. The average person looking at it wouldn't catch on that it was hollow. It was perfect for hiding her masterpiece. Levy knew that Lucy was an aspiring writer and often encouraged her to go public and publish one of her creative works. But Lucy had accepted that couldn't happen. Not as long as Dan followed her. She settled for writing her books in secret. So far, she had around seven complete novels. She was writing a series about a guild of people with magic powers. She relished in their adventures, loving the intricacy of creating and developing each character. Her favourite was the Dragon Slayer that she'd named Dragion. He was a fire user and his character kept getting more and more complicated. She was enchanted with this world and quickly lost herself, not even realizing two hours had passed and still no one had returned.
After finishing a new chapter, Lucy put her novel away and stood up, stretching. She stared at her bed for a moment, gulping slightly. She reached between the mattresses and felt for her keys. Panicking at first, she realized they weren't exactly where she'd left them. She was sure she'd placed them toward her pillow! She lifted the mattress quickly, breathing a sigh of relief as she spotted more toward the middle of the bed.
How strange...how did they get there?
She picked them up gingerly, leaning against her bed as she sat on the floor.
"It's better now, Mama," Lucy said out loud, stroking the shiny surfaces of her keys, "Levy and I are still on the run, but we've met some good people: Natsu, Gray and Erza. Gray and Levy like each other, but they haven't gotten together yet. Erza is a bit of a control freak…but she's got a good heart and she cares about Levy and I, even though we've just met. And then there's Natsu. I wish you could meet him most of all. He's sweet and gentle. And kind, and innocent…he's amazing. And he likes me. Not just likes me. I really see myself falling in love with him, Mama," she paused, "I'm already most of the way there. I've never felt so safe and protected. I really wish you could meet him."
She put the keys back where she found them and called Plue to her. She should take him out for a walk. He should need to go outside fairly soon. Plus, if she took him out now, maybe he wouldn't leave her something to step in come morning.
Erza watched in silence. She liked Lucy. A lot. And the more time she spent watching Lucy, the more it occurred to her how much she wanted to see Lucy and Natsu together…even though that was not going to be the outcome. Erza felt her heart lurch. She resolved to approach Makarov before this was over and beg him for another solution.
Gray had been all over Onibus. He knew his options were getting shorter and it looked like he was going to go home, telling them he'd failed to track Dan and Samuel. Sighing heavily, he noticed he was passing a pub. Warring with himself, he decided it couldn't hurt. A good, stiff drink was just what the doctor ordered.
He saw them as soon as he entered the pub. The dark red hair of the tall man and gleaming balding head of the other man was difficult to miss.
Gray was in solid form, so he took a table a small ways from the two men, asking for a rum and Coke, then settled to watch the two men that had stalked and scared two of his good friends for years.