An eye peeked open when sunlight hit it at just the right angle. Its owner groaned and rolled over, shoving that scrunched up eye under a pillow. Darkness greeted the disgruntled sleeper and the barest of happy sighs came from a pair of parted lips. There was almost a slip of consciousness back into dreamland, but the pillow was suddenly yanked off a very tousled blond head looked around with sleepy, wide eyes. This wasn't her bed and Virgo wasn't waking her up! 'Shit! What time is it?!' Lucy sat up and looked at the room, finding part of Levy's wild hair sticking out of the tip of her blankets.
The night came back to her. This was not a school day and she wasn't late for anything and her father wasn't going to ream her out for sleeping in and missing the morning. She instantly relaxed. She suddenly yawned and found a clock across the way. A hand rose to clean out the gunk from her eyes as she tried to focus on the numbers. Her fingers paused when she read the time at almost eleven. "What?!" She screeched.
Levy jolted up in bed, hand on the covers and looked around wildly. "Wha – what's going on?!" Her eyes landed on Lucy. "What's the matter Lucy?"
She pointed to Levy's clock, eyes wide. "We've slept almost half the day away!" She reported.
Levy's sleepy eyes squinted to her dresser. She stared at the red numbers and then yawned. She blinked and rubbed them. "I guess we should get up then, huh?" Levy threw the covers away and situated her legs over the box spring. She tried to tame a little of the hair in her eyes as she yawned again.
She was severely unaccustomed to waking up so late and couldn't take how nonchalant Levy was being. Never had this happened! She felt like she had missed the opportunity to do so much. She sat there on the mattress on the floor, blankets pooled around her legs, as she watched Levy bounce over part of the mattress on her way to the bathroom. She watched the door click shut, brain whirling at this new aspect she was suddenly going through. She was still sitting there when the door opened again and Levy stopped in the bedroom doorway.
Levy leaned against the drywall, arms lightly crossed. "What do you want to do for food? Feel like something breakfast-like? I know I need some serious coffee..."
She pondered the idea of food and drink. She needed something to help pick her up; coffee would be a good idea. She yawned again and pulled the blankets from her. "I could use some coffee too. You want to show me how to use the coffee pot?"
Levy raised a brow, forgetting who she was talking to for a second, and shook her head in amusement. A sudden idea came to her and her lips tilted. Oh yea...that would do... "Actually...there's a place we can go to for some coffee. And cake... That sounds like a good idea. I could go for some coffee cake right about now with some dark roast..."
She smiled at the menu Levy had already put together, but she was curious as to the place. "Sounds great. Let's get ready." She went for the closet with Levy and paused. "Hey! Why don't we invite the guys over? Or at least see if they're both conscious I suppose... If Natsu doesn't work at father's store right now, he may bite at some free food if I pay..."
Whoever answered the phone at Gray's residence took up about ten minutes flirting with her before she got an answer out of the guy. Gray was still asleep and didn't look like he wanted to wake up anytime soon and his roomie wasn't about to attempt it. Lucy finally hung up the phone, feeling thoroughly sleazed on, before calling Natsu. The phone rang an insane number of times and just as she worried it wouldn't be a good idea to call, the line was picked up.
"Mmnnmmello?"
She smiled. She instantly felt bad for having woken him up, but his sleepy voice was adorable. "Morning sleepy head." She kidded, plopping on the living room couch. There was a sleepy groan, and she laughed despite her earlier sentiments.
"I see you're a morning person..." He grumbled, flopping onto his stomach on his bed.
She scoffed. "Oh hell no! But considering that it's almost noon, I jolted awake at that." She smirked. "I thought I was late for class actually. Nothing better to cause gray hairs than that."
He snorted and threw the pillow over his head to block out the light sneaking in through the closed blinds. "So...why are you calling so early in the day? You know I had work this morning right?"
Her previous contriteness came back and she felt only a little bad at having woken him up. "We were going to out and get food and I was just wondering if you felt up to joining us. I'll pay." She knew that offering such a nugget of gold would be something Natsu wouldn't be able to resist. She didn't know exactly why he had two jobs, but if he did, there must be a need for some extra finances. He didn't ever seem to say no to free food and she hoped this would be enough bait despite however few hours of rest he got earlier.
There was silence on the other line and she knew that Natsu hadn't fallen back to sleep. He was really thinking about getting out of his apartment and meeting them somewhere so long as she would pay for something. The thought made her grin and she tried to not giggle at how easy he was to read.
"Does it have to be now?" He mumbled under the pillow.
He almost sounded like he was falling back asleep on the phone now. Lucy shook her head and jumped off the couch to see what Levy was doing. "I'm nowhere near being ready yet, but I think we may leave in the next twenty minutes or so. We're going to walk there I believe so that should take extra time too..." She peeked her head into the bathroom and finally stopped in the bedroom. "What is this place again Levy?"
"The Coffee House."
The place sounded really familiar, but she shrugged it off. "Is it near here?" She continued, ignoring Natsu for a second.
"I can give Natsu directions if need be." Levy stood and extended her hand for the phone. Lucy handed it over and walked to the closet for clothes. "Morning Natsu." Levy greeted, plopping down on the box spring. "Natsu? Hey Natsu! Wake up you dork; don't go falling asleep on me!"
She snickered and grabbed a skirt and tank top for the day, completing the outfit with a comfy pair of flip flops for the travel. She idly listened to Levy hound Natsu to get out of bed and get paper and a pen. Levy wandered out of the room as she finished changing. She put her hair up in a side ponytail and followed her friend out to find Levy hanging the phone up. "Did he get the address written down?"
Levy shook her head with a helpless shrug. "I'm hoping he did at least. He sounded like he was ready to pass out on me for a while there, but I think he's coming... He said not to wait up, but that he'd be there later. I don't want to wait too much longer though because we can walk slow and kill some time. Plus I want coffee!"
She smiled and snagged her purse off a hook by the door. She checked all of the funds and worried that Natsu was going to take a huge chunk out of them whenever he decided to grace them with his presence. Teeth bit her lip. 'Maybe he'll fall asleep and forget all about it...' She almost hoped, not wanting to be broke by the time she got home. She had a few hundred dollars, plus what Capricorn gave her, and she wasn't intending on losing it this fast!
"Okay, the time for waiting is over. The time for coffee is now." Levy playfully announced, slipping into her sandals and grabbing her keys. She checked the cash in her wallet before sticking it in a shorts pocket. She held the door open for Lucy, a hand waving her friend to hurry her up. Despite saying that they could wait for Natsu a little, she didn't want to lag for the coffee that was calling her name. Especially coffee that she knew was made by Gajeel. He was good at his job and the coffee ratio was really good...not that she would ever admit that to him though...
The walk was fairly slow as the pair pondered about what they should do for actual food later today and activities they could try. Levy suggested they could go back to the club just them, but worried that without either Natsu or Gray with, guys may hit on them and she didn't feel like fending off meat heads all night long. Lucy shrugged at that and was fairly quiet on the subject. Levy knew that her first experience had been less than hoped for due to the Natsu thing she had somewhat witnessed. Levy made a mental note to have a good discussion over coffee with Lucy before Natsu showed up.
The smell hit the pair the second the door was opened and Levy inhaled deeply, giving an appreciative hum. The place was fairly dead, which was a given considering it was now past noon and coffee was the main reason people came here. Most everyone already had their morning fix and had left. Levy waved to Lisanna and Kinana, noticing Gajeel's absence. She looked around the front for him, but figured he was probably on a lunch with the morning rush done. She somewhat pouted as she approached the counter and didn't even bother looking to the menu.
Lucy pondered over which dessert she wanted more and which coffee. Her memory was jogged and she waited till after ordering and sitting down to ask when she had been here before. She knew there was no way she would have come to this place by herself.
Levy jogged her memory and quickly changed the topic. "So anyway...about last night..." She began, cradling the hot mug in her hands. Levy took a quick drink while Lucy remembered the incident. She leaned over the table a little to try and keep her voice down. "I think I may know why you were freaking out about Natsu and I don't think it's because you were really tired."
She flushed and picked at her cinnamon roll. "Does it really look like I like him?" She asked again. Her blush increased. "What...what if he likes ME?" She didn't know why it worried her so much to have an attraction to Natsu. Was it just because she had friend-typed him? She thought he was a great person, but she didn't consider him a boyfriend and she wasn't really looking. Not to mention with all of her spare time going to school, mostly by her father's hounding, she had no time for a boyfriend.
Levy's finger rose in between them and shook a little. "Think about it Lucy. The two times you acted like that in front of him were when Natsu was pretty much shirtless and got really near you. I'll admit that Natsu is really built. He's funny and he's a really nice guy. He's also thoughtful and from what you've told me, he's kind of barged into your life in a good way. Men like that just don't exist, except to us authors in our stories." Levy picked up her fork and attacked her cake. She looked to the front for a second before leaning in close. "Between you and me...if I created a male protagonist like that...I wouldn't let him not have some fun." She grinned when Lucy flushed. "But in all seriousness; I think you were just physically attracted to Natsu because he was flashing so much skin. You don't have much guy experience in that aspect, huh?"
She looked put out and wanted to argue, but there wasn't nothing to debate. She looked at her coffee totally disgruntled, but shook her head. "No..." She mumbled, picking up her cup. She sipped it, not really wanting to get into such an embarrassing topic anymore, but her friend made some good points at least. The only two times she had freaked out like last night were when Natsu's chest was in plain view. Just thinking about it right now made her heart race. She had admitted more than once that he was a great guy in so many things. Having an amazing body was one of the many aspects about him.
It kind of made her feel better to figure out just why she had been all weirded out last night by Natsu. Rationalizing that she was just physically unused to his muscles made her feel like she could sit at the same table with him whenever he decided to arrive and not freak out again. She mentally breathed a sigh of relief and put the rest of the issue behind her. She would just have to be careful in the future.
Levy suddenly perked up and sat back in the chair. She was startled at the sudden change in countenance and looked behind her. A familiar guy came walking in from some back room and chatting quietly with the two females up front about something work-related. She looked back at Levy when she got up and headed to the front. She noted the coffee cup that Levy set on the counter for a refill. Her brow rose as Levy waved and cheerfully greeted the guy, Gajeel she remembered. A smile slowly appeared as Levy chatted more animated than she had since they stepped into the store.
The door suddenly opened and Lucy looked to it. Her eyes widened as she stood. "Hey." She greeted, sitting back down in time with the new occupant. "You made it."
"You said you'd buy. How much do you have?"
"Well hello to you too." She sarcastically returned. She mentally cringed though and worried about the true meaning behind those words. "Uh...please keep it to twenty...I still would like to use the remainder of my savings to do something else while I'm at Levy's..."
"Hmph. You're no fun. I need some serious coffee."
One of her brows rose. "I didn't peg you for a coffee drinker."
"I'm not...but when I don't get enough sleep I am. What's good?" Eyes snuck peeks at her food. "I'm having what you're eating and," Natsu looked to Levy's forgotten plate, "whatever she's got too." He stood. "For starters."
She wanted to slap her forehead as she stood with him and grabbed her purse. "Twenty!" She reiterated, stopping behind Levy. She put a hand on a shoulder to halt the conversation. "Natsu's here."
"Largest cup of regular ol' coffee that you have, plus a cinnamon roll and -" Natsu looked to Levy. "What were you eating?"
"Coffee cake."
"That too."
She wanted to cry as she handed over the bill and received much less change back than she wanted. She turned to Natsu and held the money in his face. "This is all that's left, okay? You see this here?"
He waved her off and took the ceramic cup. He looked at it for a second before taking a huge gulp of the burning liquid. He was undeterred by Lisanna's warnings and annoyed cries from Lucy. When the pieces of food were deposited on the counter, he somehow juggled everything back to the table.
Yea...it must have been the muscles because him standing so near her at the counter just now didn't make her heart go all pitter-patter! She huffed a sigh and looked to Levy helplessly. She finally shrugged and followed Natsu back, leaving Levy to her previous conversation that they had walked in on. She plopped down and looked to her coffee cup, figuring she should get a second for herself in a bit. "So...how much sleep did you manage to get?" She wondered, eying his sleepy face. She thought it looked cute, but she felt bad for him being tired for an entire day just because of her selfish requests.
"Hmm...not enough..." He mumbled, propping his head up, eyes closed. His hand went down and brought the glass to his lips. He took a huge drink, feeling the heat and taste go down his throat. An eye peeked open and looked to his table companion. "You?"
"We fell asleep shortly after we got back and cleaned up." A finger tapped her cheek. "Maybe three or so? I didn't look at the clock."
"At least you got a good, solid six hours it sounds like." His other hand moved and grabbed the cinnamon roll. "I'll just have to pass out early tonight is all." He mumbled around the food.
She wasn't happy in the slightest at his lack of table manners, although she honestly shouldn't be surprised at them by now. She went and finished off the rest of the coffee and scooched her chair back to get more.
"Get me one of those pieces of chocolate cake while you're up there."
She wanted to slam her head on the table, but resisted the urge. She looked to the table and the cinnamon roll he was still eating. "You haven't even touched your coffee cake!" She retorted, pointing to it.
He put the rest of the roll in his mouth. He finished it off and poked a finger on the cake. "Touch. Now go." He cracked, smirking through his ever-present sleepy haze.
She rolled her eyes and turned for the front. 'It was definitely the muscles!' She mentally groused, wanting to stomp her way to the counter.
She looked to the menu to get something different for her refill and find out how much the chocolate piece was going to bite into her change. She watched Gajeel shuffle out of the way of the register so that Lisanna could take her order. She got an espresso coffee blend and the cake, and also ordered one for herself as well.
"Is all you guys are planning on eating while you're here is cake?"
Lucy looked over to Gajeel and his rough voice. She didn't know what to say back, but thankfully Levy did.
"It's just that good!" Levy's hand clenched to a fist in front of her. "Feel flattered that we eat so much of it; then you don't have to throw it away and write it off as wasted expenses."
"Yea, yea." He muttered. Gajeel looked to their table for a second before meeting Levy's eyes. "So who's the new guy? Did you find him sleeping on the street somewhere?"
Levy smirked, but waved off the scenario. "No, no...he's Lucy's friend."
"Well whatever he is, he's sleeping in my shop." Gajeel's arms crossed. "I don't take kindly to that. If you don't go wake him up, I will."
That would not end well. Levy shot Lucy a look and it was returned. Lucy took her coffee and tried to juggle the cakes back to the table. She set everything down and raised a hand to jostle Natsu's arm and just barely touched his t-shirt.
"I heard him loud and clear."
She jumped, feeling trepidation start crawling in her veins at that even tone. From what she had seen of Gajeel, he was one to say what he thought at the expense of the recipient. She had yet to see Natsu more than annoyed, but she didn't ever want to see him angry. From that one sentence he just uttered, she had a feeling that might actually happen today.
No...no, no, no! She invited him out to hang out and have fun and chat, not to watch him get into an argument with some shop employee just because he was tired! She didn't know how to take responsibility for all this, considering she was the one to ask him to come here in the first place knowing exactly how he was. Her hands came out as if to ward off any bad emotions when he sat back in his chair and blankly looked to the front. She hurriedly sat back down, looking to the front when she heard Levy admonish Gajeel for his words. Lisanna joined in, but it didn't do any good.
What did she say to dispel the sudden change in atmosphere? From Levy's comments about his attitude, she had a feeling she had seen the brunt of Gajeel's sharp tongue before. She looked to Natsu when he moved out of the corner of her eye. "Natsu? It – it's okay. It's not a big deal. It's my fault for calling you here in the first place! I should have just let you sleep in. Why don't we just finish this up and head out?"
He looked to her momentarily. "I've suddenly lost my appetite. I'm sorry I made you pay for that cake and waste your money Lucy."
Gajeel humphed. "Don't go wasting perfectly good food! And don't make me clean up after you either. If you're not going to take that with you, then throw it away yourself."
Lucy's discomfort was rising. She tried to wave the tension off, but Natsu wasn't really paying attention to her anymore. "Why don't we just go Natsu?" She suddenly suggested. "We can just take this with us and have it later. Do you want to go over to Levy's place? I'm sure she won't mind! You could maybe catch another hour over there or something..." Natsu stood up slowly and she hoped he was actually going to just walk out of here. She looked to the front. "Is there any kind of to-go box we can put this in?"
Natsu didn't give Gajeel the chance to answer. His arms crossed in a subtle, male challenge as he locked eyes with the taller figure. "I'm surprised you'd frequent a shop like this Levy, considering how shitty its customers are treated. I thought you hated people like that."
Levy's attention whipped between the two, a mild look of panic on her face. What the hell was Natsu doing?! He was purposely provoking Gajeel over a comment about him falling asleep in the store and it was totally unnecessary! Gajeel was like a middle school kid who wouldn't be able to resist such a tempting offer to argue back and Levy knew this wasn't going to be pretty. Thankfully, Natsu didn't get any closer from his spot at the table, but she noticed Gajeel had inched closer in the last few seconds since Natsu had stood up. She quickly turned to Gajeel, put her hands on his crossed arms and pushed. "You stay right where you are Gajeel!" She admonished, knowing she wasn't doing much good.
Gajeel looked down at the petite hands attempting to move him back and how she wasn't even budging him. "And just what do you plan to accomplish by doing that?" He asked, brow raising. He took a sudden step back and his arms shot out and caught Levy when she started falling forward with a cry. He grabbed her by the upper arms and hoisted her out of the way.
Natsu's eyes narrowed just a little bit at the treatment of his friend. He didn't know this Gajeel person aside from the fact that he was setting quite the bad first impression right now. He knew that people were different and there were so many different personalities out there, but that didn't give one the right to snap at a paying customer! No matter if they got under your skin or not. Gajeel didn't know what they had been doing the night before and shot his mouth off before asking questions!
Lucy was suddenly in his face, hands gripping his arms and applying backwards pressure. "Don't do it Natsu! It's not worth it!" She almost pleaded.
One of his brows rose. Did he look like he was about to go take this guy out? That wasn't his intention at all. As much as he'd like to sock the all-mighty look off Gajeel's face, he wasn't about to get arrested for physical violence and ruin Lucy's fun time away from home. He snorted and raised his hands to gently remove hers and gave them a small, reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. I have no intention of kicking his ass."
"Like you could."
His eyes narrowed just a tad at the challenge. His opponent was taller and more muscular than him, which possibly equated more strength, but he was definitely one to handle long fights so long as he fought with a cool head. He still didn't want to start anything in the store and have the cops called on him though, but he couldn't resist the chin that tilted up just a little taller and his arms crossing again. "You think I can't beat you just because I'm shorter than you?"
Gajeel snorted, smirk gracing his face. "Shorter and scrawny. I could blow you over."
He smirked. "Shows what you know! I can beat you in stamina and if I outlast you, all your strength is useless."
Gajeel tossed his head, ignoring Levy's warning comments in front of him again. "Just try it!" A hand extended, fingers waving him on. "Any time you're ready."
Natsu looked to Lucy and the fearful look on her face directed his way. She had never been witness to a fight and he didn't want her to see one now. An idea suddenly crossed his mind and it was brilliant...so brilliant he decided to run with it. This would be perfect! "I'm not going to get into a fight with you and have you call the cops on my ass for starting something in here." He calmly responded, eyes still on Lucy. He suddenly grinned and pinned Gajeel with a challenging stare. "However...there is something I can totally kick your ass on...if you're up to the challenge to see if you can beat someone 'shorter and scrawnier' than you."
Gajeel smirked, his blood boiling a little. "Name your terms."
Natsu's grin turned a little more devilish. "Tomorrow night. Basketball at Magnolia City Park near here."
Levy piped up. "I know where that's at! I didn't know they had courts there."
"You can show him where they're at then."
"I already know where that is." Gajeel butt in.
That would give him enough time to rest up and prepare. "I'll be waiting there to kick your ass after you close." Natsu turned to the door to find the hours. "Eight-thirty should be more than enough time to get there." He grabbed the coffee cake and stuffed a huge piece in his mouth. He'd be damned if he was going to waste Lucy's money and let perfectly good food go to waste! He took one huge gulp of coffee and heavily clunked the glass on the table. He looked to Lucy and then their stuff on the table. "Thanks for inviting me out. It's been...interesting." He turned for the door, hand raised in a wave. "I'll see you later."
She looked from Natsu's exit to Gajeel to Levy to Lisanna in total helplessness. How had this happened?! She shakily moved to her seat and plopped down in it, head going in her hands. She idly stared at the piece of chocolate cake inches away from her nose. 'Ugh...Natsu, you idiot!'
