Chapter Fifty-Two: Walkathon

Lucy waved goodbye to Virgo as the maid drove away. She dropped her off on the outskirts of the park, so Lucy had to walk around to find out where she needed to go. She cursed herself for not asking Natsu beforehand where they were to meet up.

Before heading into the park, Lucy did one final glance over herself. She wore a light blue polo shirt with 'HK' embroidered over her left breast. Normally she would wear it with most of the buttons undone, but today she could only spare two.

Otherwise she risked someone seeing the hickey on her shoulder.

The thick collar did well to hide it, but she kept her hair in a low pony tail, hanging over her right shoulder as well. She hoped that would be enough coverage to hide Natsu's mark while also letting people see she was wearing the Pokémon earrings he got her.

A smile crept over her lips at the thought of Natsu marking her. When first meeting him she never thought he'd be capable of doing something so intimate, at least not with her.

Lucy felt cool air brushing against her lower thighs and shins. She wore a pair of light jean shorts because the weather channel said it would get hotter later on. It was only morning when she arrived.

Lucy didn't bother putting on any make up today since she was bound to sweat. With her wallet in one back pocket and her phone in the other, Lucy was ready to go.

She took a step forward to begin her journey through the park. People flooded the area within the first twenty minutes of Lucy walking. She didn't know how many of them were there to walk and how many people were just spectators or family members.

Lucy looked up at a sign, realizing for the first time what the walkathon was for. It was for diabetes. She nodded as she turned her gaze away from the sign. She was about to give up and just text Natsu to see if he was there yet, but she stopped when she caught a flash of pink in her peripherals.

She quickly turned to see if she could spot it again, but to her dismay it was gone. She followed where she thought the person would have gone, but that only resulted in her getting turned around a few times.

Finally frustrated enough, Lucy pulled out her phone to call the boy in question. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Yo!"

"Hey!" His voice put a smile on her face. He sounded so carefree and happy. "Are you here yet?"

"Yup!"

"Great! Where are you?"

"Awww," he groaned, causing Lucy to cock her head. "What fun would it be if I just gave you the answer?"

That certainly confused her. "Huh?"

"It's fun watching ya walk all over the place. You look kinda lost."

"What are you-" She cut herself off when she realized what he meant. "Have you been following me?!"

"...Maybe..." he drawled.

"I think you mean yes! Where are you?!" Lucy turned in a circle, looking for any signs of her boyfriend. She ignored the odd looks she received during her search, eyes narrowing when she still couldn't find him.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," he teased.

As much as she loved Natsu's confident tone, she was growing impatient. "Uuuurrrgg," she growled, tempted to hang up the phone. "How long have you been following me?"

"Hmm..." She doubted he was really thinking about it. "A few minutes? It's really funny. You should see your face right now. You look really cute."

Her eye twitched as she curled her free hand into a fist. "Flirting isn't going to get you out of this, Natsu," Lucy warned as she continued looking. "How can you even see me if I can't see you?"

"I dunno," he chuckled.

Despite her growing aggravation, Lucy felt a warmth from his laugh. She could just imagine him wearing a devilish smirk, a sharp canine poking out from his lip.

"Natsuuuuu," she whined, prepared to beg if she needed to. "Where are you?"

His chuckling stopped for a moment, only to resume as he said, "Man... And I thought you were cute before."

She huffed into the phone, but that didn't seem to get him to reveal his location. In a -sad- attempt to get him out, Lucy said, "Too bad you won't come out. I was really looking forward to sneaking a few kisses with you." She smiled when she heard his quick inhale, all traces of laughter gone.

With a pout, Lucy said, "Guess I'll have to be all alone... No one to hold my hand... or hug me... No one to fend off creepy guys..."

She heard nothing on his end, so she added, "Natsu... Where are you? I just really wanna spend the day with you." She hoped honesty really was the best policy. It seemed to work, because she heard his voice a second later in real life.

"I'm here!"

Lucy, as well as some other people, turned to see Natsu standing next to a rather large man. He gave her an uneasy smile as he cupped the back of his bare neck. "H-here," he repeated, softer that time.

She took a moment to look over him before cocking her head. His white scarf that normally hung loosely around his neck was now tied around his head, causing his pink hair to stick out more than usual. The rest of his outfit looked normal though. He wore a simple grey shirt, tan cargo shorts, and tennis shoes.

Lucy hung up her phone and crossed her arms over her chest. Natsu sauntered over to her, his own phone slipping into his side pocket. His smile turned sheepish as he said, "H-hey."

Lucy couldn't stop the giggle from escaping. She sighed with a smile, holding her arms out to the boy. "Can I just get a good morning hug?" All traces of her earlier frustration melted away when she saw his green eyes light up.

"Yeah!"

Despite him being eager, Natsu never made it to her arms. Instead he was yanked backwards and on the ground in less than a second.

"There you are!"

"What the hell?!" Natsu tried scrambling to his feet, but he was dragged back down before he made any progress. "Let me go!"

"Nuh uh!" a very familiar voice said as he put Natsu into a loose choke hold. "Lucy said we get to hang out, so I'm chasing in now!"

Natsu turned his head to the side, seeing a mess of blond hair behind him. "Sting?!"

"We're here too," Rouge said, though he stood off to the side. Yukino and Minerva were beside him, laughing as they watched Natsu struggle in Sting's grasp.

"G-get the hell off me!" Natsu tried to stand, only to be yanked back down again.

"Come on!" The pout in Sting's voice didn't go unnoticed. "Just fight with me for a few minutes?"

"You wanna fight?!" Natsu roared as he managed to flip around. He pinned Sting to the ground, trying to punch the boy's face, but he was blocked each time.

"Yeah! Like that!" Sting hollered back as he rolled on the ground, taking Natsu with him.

Lucy stood there with her mouth hung open and her arms outstretched. Seeing as she wasn't getting her hug, she lowered her arms to her side. "Huh..." She hadn't expected that to happen. She didn't even know Sting and his friends would be at the walkathon.

Lucy was about to ask Natsu if he was okay or needed help, but she stopped herself once she heard him laughing.

"Man! You punch like a kid!" Natsu chuckled as he slammed a fist into Sting's side.

The boy laughed with him. "I'm pulling my punches! You wanna go all in?!"

"Try it!"

When Lucy determined Natsu wasn't in trouble, she relaxed. She remembered Sting saying he wanted to hang out with Natsu in return for her favor, but she thought he meant going to the arcade or eating. She didn't think it would involve fists.

Casually lifting her phone, Lucy set her device to record the little show. By then people moved out of the way, giving the boys a chance to wrestle on the grass without getting hit in the process.

Lucy tried not to giggle or move the camera too much as she recorded. Natsu pulled at Sting's hair while the latter tugged on Natsu's ears. She thought their 'fight' was a bit ridiculous, but as long as Natsu was smiling she was happy.

"Hey," someone said beside her, startling her.

Lucy looked over, seeing the deep voice belonged to Gray. He kept his eyes trained on Natsu as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

'At least he's fully dressed,' she thought as she stopped recording. "Good morning, Gray."

"How long have they been going at it?" he asked, letting out some air through his nose when Natsu jabbed Sting in the chest.

"Umm, not too long." Lucy slid her phone into her back pocket when she realized she wouldn't need it for a moment. "Where's Juvia?" She looked around them, but the blue haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

He shrugged as he said. "I dunno. Haven't texted her today." His eyes narrowed for a moment, but Lucy doubted it had anything to do with Natsu's fight.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, not knowing if she was overstepping any boundaries. Her and Gray rarely spoke, but she liked to think they were still friends.

Gray nodded, but the strain in his jaw made Lucy think he wasn't okay. "Everything's fine."

Lucy signed, knowing she wouldn't get much more out of him. She turned to look back at Natsu's fight, seeing he was on top again. 'Does that mean he's winning?' She had never been in a fight before, but it looked dangerous. 'Hope he doesn't get hurt.'

"There is something I wanted to talk to you about," Gray said, startling her once again.

"Yeah?" Lucy couldn't imagine what he would want to talk to her about, or why he looked so serious all of a sudden. She felt a cold chill run down her back, but she ignored it in favor of looking normal.

Gray paused for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "If you're ever going to say anything to Natsu, today would be a good day to do it."

She cocked her head, confusion clear on her face. "What do you mean? Say what?"

He surprised her when he allowed himself a small smile. "I know you like Natsu."

"What?!" Lucy's jaw dropped. "H-how would you- Why would you think that?"

Gray shook his head, laughing to himself. "Juvia told me. That girl really can't be trusted with a secret."

Lucy's shoulders fell. Groaning, she asked, "Who else knows?"

"I tried to stop her from telling other people, but she already told Erza. I'm not sure if Jellal knows."

Gray ran a hand through his raven locks, a bit of dark blue shining under the sunlight. Lucy always assumed his hair was black, but up close she could see it had a blue tint. She wondered if it was natural or not, but she didn't have a chance to ask him when he spoke again.

"She even told me about the shopping trip at the mall." Gray laughed a little harder as he confirmed what she already knew. "Natsu's favorite colors are definitely red and black!"

Lucy didn't doubt her face changed into a dark shade of red. She thought back to the lingerie she bought at the mall not too long ago. She hadn't had a chance to wear it yet because she couldn't summon the courage to take them out of her dresser after she put them in the first time.

"Is there anything she didn't say?" Lucy couldn't keep her irritation from tinting her voice.

Gray shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Nope."

Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Great." She lowered her head as a sigh tumbled through her lips. "Just great."

"I dunno how long I can keep her quiet. She's already tried to tell Natsu a few times, but I managed to stop her." Gray idly kicked his shoe against the grass. "So, like I said earlier. If you're gonna tell him, you should do it today."

Lucy looked upwards, seeing the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Today would be a good day for a confession, but there was only one problem. Lucy already confessed. Gray just didn't know that.

Not wanting to ruin their secret, but also not wanting to deny her feelings for Natsu, Lucy said, "I'll ask him out when I'm ready." That was the truth. At that moment she wasn't ready for an official relationship, but once she was she would ask him out.

Or say yes if he asked her out. Either way worked for her.

Gray nodded when he got all the proof he needed. Deep down Gray didn't really care when Lucy told Natsu about her feelings, he just wanted to know if she had any towards his friend. The last thing he wanted was Natsu getting his hopes up, only to be crushed when Lucy rejected him. If she said she didn't like him as more than a friend he planned on telling her to let him down easy. He didn't know if Natsu could handle that emotional pain.

"You don't have to worry about Natsu," Gray said, pulling out his phone when it started vibrating. He took one glance at the caller ID before slipping his phone back into his pocket. "He definitely likes you."

Lucy had to bite her tongue so she didn't speak too soon. She didn't want to sound too eager. "How can you be so sure?"

Gray shrugged, dipping his hands into his pockets again. "He's never acted this way around a girl before."

Lucy let her gaze fall to the ground as she bit back a smile. She liked the idea of Natsu acting differently around her than other people. She could only guess it was the same way she acted around just him. She told him things she didn't want to tell other people. She wondered if he did the same, but there was almost no way of knowing without asking him.

Gray's voice startled Lucy out of her thoughts. "I also wanted to apologize again."

Lucy blinked, not following. "What do you mean?"

"When we first met, I was really rude to you." Gray grabbed the end of his shirt. For a moment Lucy thought he was going to take it off, but he surprised her by quickly shoving his hands in his pockets. "I know I was just trying to protect Natsu, but you didn't deserve it."

Lucy smiled, heart warming at the apology. Truthfully it hurt the way his friends treated her in the beginning, but she understood they were only doing what they thought was best for Natsu. "Apology accepted."

Gray nodded, taking a deep breath as he allowed the guilt he felt to slip away. "Thanks. I still wish I would've been nicer though. I mean you turned out to be really good for him. It's nice seeing him so happy."

"Was he not happy before?" The question left her mouth before she could think it over.

"Not really," Gray admitted, kicking at the grass absentmindedly. "I mean, he was happy around us, but now he seems happier even with us not around. I don't really know how to explain it. I'm just glad he's smiling more."

Lucy didn't know if she should ask, but she ended up doing it anyway. "How do you know if he's happy when you're not around?" It seemed like a valid question to her since they wouldn't be able to see him to gauge his mood.

Gray let out a small laugh before saying, "I have a couple of my friends keeping tabs on him." When he saw Lucy's eyes widen, he quickly added, "Not in some kinda weird way! They just occasionally tell me how he acts in their classes. Usually they only told me when Natsu left or seemed extra upset, but lately they've only told me he looks better."

Lucy looked over to where Natsu was at. He was shaking hands with Sting, a bright grin on his face. "I'm guessing he doesn't know people are watching him?"

Gray sighed. "No. They don't talk to him, and I trust them. It's just I don't want him trying to put on a show if he knows someone's watching. Can you not tell him?"

Lucy didn't like the idea of keeping something like that from Natsu. She wanted him to trust her, and what Gray was asking her to do felt dishonest. "I don't know..."

"Please?" Gray stepped into her line of vision to get her full attention. "They don't talk to him or anything. Half the time I have to remind them to even check because they forget." The pleading look on Gray's face was the thing that broke Lucy's resolve.

"Fine, but I don't like the idea."

Gray could live with that answer. "That's fair enough."

Before he could say anything else, Lucy stepped to the side so she could see Natsu. He was now walking towards her, clothes ruffled and dirty with a twig or two sticking out from his spiky hair. He had a large grin of his face as he waved goodbye to Sting and his friends.

"Did you have fun?" Lucy asked, her hands interlocking behind her back as she tried to keep herself from giggling at his disheveled appearance.

"Surprisingly yes," he nodded, feeling energized after his 'fight' with Sting. It felt similar to how he felt after horsing around with Gray, or how he used to wrestle with Gajeel. It was fun, even if he got his clothes dirty.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, finally noticing Gray was standing beside Lucy.

Gray smirked, giving the girl a knowing look before saying, "Lucy and I were just talking. No big deal."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu cocked his head. "What about?" His tone held only curiosity seeing as Lucy and Gray normally didn't talk one on one.

Gray opened his mouth to answer, but stopped when he saw a familiar girl standing near a snow cone stand. "Gotta go," he said, turning on his heel to walk in the opposite direction. "I'll see you guys later!"

"What was that about?" Natsu asked with a raised brow.

Lucy turned her gaze away from Gray's retreating form before looking back at Natsu. "I'm not sure."

Not a full minute later, Juvia came up to Natsu and Lucy. "Hello you two..." Juvia's pale face looked abnormally bleak as she asked, "Have either of you two seen Gray? He... he won't answer his phone?" Her voice matched her expression, bland.

Lucy furrowed her brows, but chose not to comment on Juvia's mood. "Yeah, he just went that way." She pointed in the direction where he went. Her finger fell when she noticed a discarded shirt on the ground. "I guess he stripped again?"

"Thank you," Juvia said with a soft tone, walking past them to collect the shirt before heading away. "Have a good day..."

When Juvia was far enough away, Lucy hummed. "That was weird..." She hadn't seen Juvia look so apathetic before.

"They're fighting," Natsu offered as he dusted off his clothes. He quickly checked the items in his cargo pockets, making sure they didn't get crushed during his fight.

"Fighting? How can you tell?" She wondered how she hadn't picked up on it herself. It would explain why Juvia hadn't been talking about 'her beloved' as much in art class. Lucy was too thankful for the change of pace to think it was strange until then.

"Jellal told me. Gray's mad 'cause Juvia's forbidding him from going to Loke's party."

Lucy was about to ask if going to a party was really worth fighting over, but then she realized she wouldn't like to be treated like that either. She was used to her father forbidding her from doing things. "I guess that makes sense. I hope they work things out. Juvia looked pretty upset."

"Yeah." Natsu nodded as a frown surfaced on his face. "Me too. They never really fight."

A silence fell between them as they both thought about Gray and Juvia's situation. Lucy's thoughts ended a lot sooner than Natsu's since she didn't know the couple as well. To fill the void, Lucy let out a soft laugh. "You want to know something funny?"

"I could use that," he nodded. He didn't exactly like talking or thinking about problems, whether they were his or someone else's.

Lucy couldn't stop herself from smiling, unaware that the action melted Natsu's heart. "Gray told me today would be a good day to confess to you."

Natsu laughed right along with her. "I guess it would be. Weather's nice," he smirked. "And nothing's more romantic than walking for the cure."

Lucy smiled at his joke. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning." She enjoyed when Natsu was happy around her. Like his smile, his mood was contagious.

He scratched a little at his scalp. "Think so?" He had to admit, he was already having a pretty good morning. He got a good night's sleep, a hearty breakfast, a fun fight, and now he was going to spend his entire day with his girlfriend.

Lucy nodded, then looked around. "So, when does the walking begin?"

Natsu pulled out his phone to check the time. "We still have an hour before it starts. Do you wanna go look around? Over by the start line there's a ton of booths set up. We can go check 'em out?"

"Sure," Lucy said, holding out her hand without even thinking.

Natsu didn't hesitate to take her hand, tangling his fingers with hers before he pulled her along. He felt great, but his excitement came to an abrupt end after they took three steps. At that moment a woman turned around, smiling when she recognized him.

"Natsu! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Natsu took one look at the woman in front of him before jolting. "Lucy! Run!"

Lucy blinked, confused for a second before she felt him jerk her hand. "What?!"

He didn't get far. Natsu barely made it two feet away before the woman grabbed his arm. "Not so fast! Is that any way to treat your elder?"

Natsu let go of Lucy's hand as he yelled, "Save yourself! Go get Gray! Please!"

Lucy had no idea what was going on, or why a woman with long black -almost purple- hair was holding onto Natsu's arm. A second later the woman had her arm around his torso, keeping him secure while she gave him a nuggie.

"Huh?" Lucy's shoulders fell, not understanding what she was seeing.

"Ultear! Let me go!" Natsu tried to squirm out of her grasp, but she wouldn't let up.

"No way! I haven't seen you in ages! I'm not just going to let you go that easily!" Ultear laughed as she pinched Natsu's cheek. "Awww! You're so cute when you try to run!"

"Gah!" Natsu swatted her hand away from his face before trying to escape. "Lucy! Go get Gray! Tell him his sister won't leave me alone!"

Instead of running off like Natsu asked her to, Lucy peered at the woman. "You're Gray's sister?"

Ultear looked up, eyes widening a bit as if finally realizing Lucy was there. "Oh, hello? Who are you?" She refused to let Natsu go, even when he began trying to worm his way out of her arm.

He really had to get over his fear of hitting girls. The amount of times he'd been captured by them was embarrassing.

"I'm Lucy," she said, lifting a hand to grab her arm. She felt a little uncomfortable watching another female hold Natsu, but she tried not to let her jealousy spike. It didn't help much. Lucy had to bite her inner cheek as well to keep calm. "Ummm... Can I ask what you're doing to Natsu?"

"Oh this?" Ultear looked down to see Natsu going dead weight. She fell a little, not expecting him to be so heavy. "Really punk?"

She dropped him, letting him crash on the ground. Natsu didn't hesitate to scamper to his feet, rushing to Lucy's side before using her as a human shield. He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Don't come any closer!"

Ultear laughed, holding her belly as she tried not to double over. "You're too funny. Lucy was it? Don't pay him any mind. This is just how we have fun."

"How you have fun!" Natsu accused, putting both hands on Lucy's shoulders, barely peeking around her body at the woman who enjoyed teasing Natsu and Gray for years. It wasn't nearly as bad as the kids from school since it was normal 'older sister' type teasing.

She didn't purposely try to cut him down. There were sometimes when they all had a truce going and would get along, but more often than not Natsu and Gray were hiding from Ultear.

Ultear ignored Natsu as she looked Lucy up and down. She smiled, not bothering to whisper as she said, "You're a cutie. Are you Natsu's girlfriend?"

"Ehh," Lucy sputtered, eyes wide and lips parted. "I-I-"

Ultear stepped closer, inwardly laughing when Natsu shrank down behind Lucy. "I only ask because you two look good together. I apologize if I'm stepping over any boundaries."

Natsu grumbled to himself, but Lucy could barely make out what he said. She thought he said something like, "That's funny coming from you," but she couldn't be sure.

Ultear sighed when she saw she wasn't getting any answers. "Anyways, I need to find my bandmates. They should be around here somewhere." She was looking for them when she found Natsu.

"You're in a band?" Lucy asked, cocking her head. It took her a moment to remember a conversation she had with Natsu over texting where he said Gray's sister was in a band. "Oh, I remember now. It's a metal band?"

Ultear nodded as a smile graced her lips. "We're playing tonight, along with some other bands. You should come check it out. It's only ten bucks a ticket, and all the money goes to charity."

Lucy found herself smiling at that idea. She hadn't been to a concert before. She didn't know if she liked metal, but she was willing to give anything a chance. "Yeah, we'll be there."

"We will?" Natsu asked, finally standing up. He made no move to leave his spot though, feeling more secure behind Lucy. He doubted Ultear would attack Lucy like she attacked him.

"I think it sounds fun," Lucy said, giving him a bright grin.

Natsu couldn't stop his heart from racing at the sight. He muttered something incoherent, then shot Ultear a look. "They're letting you guys play metal here?"

Ultear shook her head, pouting as she put her hands on her hips. "No. We have to stick with cover songs since there'll be kids there. Just some classic rock, nothing too extreme."

Natsu laughed a little. "And here I thought you could only scream into a microphone."

Ultear scoffed, eyes narrowing at Natsu -who was now resting his head on Lucy's shoulder. "We can play other things, and I don't scream for all our songs!"

Lucy ignored the heat flaring in her cheeks at Natsu's bold move. She thought since they were in public he would stick to only hand holding or hugging, but he had one hand on her other shoulder while his free hand fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

She zoned out of the conversation, trying to focus on keeping her erratic heart under control. She suddenly felt very awkward, as if she didn't know what to do with herself. 'Do I put my hands on his? Do I leave them where they're at? Should I be smiling, or would that give away our secret?'

While Lucy stressed over trivial matters, Natsu and Ultear launched themselves into a debate over her singing abilities.

"You always sound like your screaming!"

"I do not! You're just a twerp who doesn't understand music! I sing great!"

Natsu tightened his grip on Lucy's shoulder. "That's news to me!"

It looked as if Ultear was about to blow a gasket. "Why you little-"

"Ultear! There you are!" a man yelled, grabbing her attention.

"Shit, there's the drummer," she muttered under her breath. She turned her attention -and her death glare- back to Natsu. "I'm not through with you!"

"Yeah yeah," Natsu grumbled, his hand by Lucy's shirt smoothing against her waist. It was a subconscious decision. He didn't even notice when she took in a sharp breath after he touched her. "Go run along! You'll need all the practice you can get!"

Ultear's eye twitched. "I can't wait for the next time we're all under the same roof again! I'll make sure you learn to show some respect!"

Natsu shivered, his bout of confidence overshadowed by fear. He believed she would bring him -and probably Gray- some pain the next time they were all together. He made a mental note to not stay at Gray's house over the summer in case Ultear came home when school let out.

With one last glare, Ultear turned to walk away, leaving Natsu and Lucy alone again. "Whew!" He dropped his head on Lucy's shoulder, sighing, "That was a close one!"

Lucy would have responded if not for the fact that her brain was barely functioning. Her whole body felt warm from being that close to Natsu. She swore she could already feel herself sweating despite not walking yet.

"Hey Luce?"

He poked her cheek when she didn't say anything. He moved, furrowing his brows when he saw her finally breathe. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," she nodded, hand going up to cover her sporadic heart. "Just feeling a little warm." She pretended to fan herself with a hand, but she stopped when she felt how shaky it was.

Giving up on acting normal, Lucy changed the subject in the hopes that he wouldn't pick up on her weirdness. "So that was Gray's sister?"

"Yeah," Natsu groused, folding his hands over his stomach. "She's a pain in the ass. Do you know one time she tried to give me a swirly?! All because I accidentally burned her doll's hair off!"

Lucy cocked her head, finally getting over her wild emotions. "Doll? How old is she?" The woman who was pestering Natsu certainly didn't look like the type of person to still play with dolls, at least not at that age.

Natsu seemed to understand what she was getting at. He shook his head as he explained. "This was a long time ago. I think it was before middle school? Maybe a little after?"

"Oh, so you've known her for a while." Lucy felt jealousy twist her gut, but she didn't want to let Natsu know she felt that way. She wanted to appear confident and in control of her emotions, even if that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"I guess. Me and Gray always avoided her if we could though. That's why I don't go over to his house that much." He frowned when he realized that wasn't exactly true. "Well, I go over there more now, but that's only 'cause she lives in Hargeon. That's where she goes to college."

As they walked around the park, Natsu told Lucy a few stories about growing up around Ultear. Lucy found herself giggling when Natsu said the girl chased him and Gray down the street one time because they accidentally broke her CD player. Apparently they were too scared to go back so Gray stayed at Natsu's house for half a week before Gray's dad brought him back home.

Natsu was halfway through a new story when Lucy stopped him. "Wait, I thought Gray said he was adopted?"

Natsu shook his head, not minding the topic switch. "He is, but not like me and Wendy. After Gray's mom passed away, Gray's dad met this woman named Ur. They hit it off and a couple years later got married. Ur adopted Gray legally so he's technically not a stepson, but he still kinda is. It's weird."

"Oh." Lucy nodded her head, understanding what he meant. Igneel and Grandeeney adopted three children who weren't theirs, while Ur adopted what was going to be her stepson since Gray's dad married her. "I guess that makes sense. I never really thought about adoption that much before I met you."

Natsu chuckled, finger scratching his cheek as he avoided her gaze. He always felt more nervous when he knew he was about to tell her something private, something he kept only to himself.

And this was definitely one of them.

"I umm... I-"

Lucy turned to him, seeing his green eyes searching left and right. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he said, voice strained. "I'm a-actually c-considering..." He stopped himself, swallowing hard in hopes that it would clear his throat. "I wanna adopt when I get older..."

Lucy's eyes widened for a moment before softening. "That's really cool!"

Natsu jolted a little, surprised by her reaction. "It... is?"

"Well yeah!" Lucy held his hand a little tighter. "I think that's a really great thing to do."

Natsu barely fought off the blush that threatened to consume his face. "Thanks... I mean I wouldn't do it until I was older and stuff... I wanna live a little first..."

Before he could wonder if that was selfish, Lucy untangled her hand from his so she could wrap it around his arm. She gently rested her head on his shoulder, voice quiet so only he could hear her. "I think that's a good idea."

Natsu had no control over the blush that spread on his face and neck, but he didn't really mind. He just enjoyed the closeness as they walked around.

However, Natsu should have been used to his rotten luck. He didn't get to savor the moment for long before Lucy ripped herself away from his arm, one of her hands grabbing his wrist to jerk him away.

Natsu yelped, but that didn't stop Lucy for a second. She pulled him behind a booth for face painting, her face flushed and her chest rising and falling rapidly. He opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, but she beat him to it.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot!"

Natsu stared at her with a raised brow, wondering what came over her. "Forgot what?"

Lucy groaned, dropping her head as she explained. "Virgo said there would be a booth, but I forgot. I just saw Capricorn."

"Who?" Natsu stole a peek around the booth. It took him a few seconds, but finally his eyes landed on the booth in question. It had to be the one she was referring to since it had her real last name in the title. Over the booth was a large sign with bold letters.

Heartfilia Corps.

Natsu nodded as hid again. "You don't want them to see you?" He saw two people behind the booth, but he didn't get a good look at them. The best he could see was an older gentleman with snow white hair.

Lucy shook her head. "It's not that. I just didn't want him seeing us together. What if he tells my dad?"

Natsu ignored the slight pang in his heart. He knew Lucy didn't mean anything malicious when she said she didn't want to be seen with him, but it still hurt to hear. "I guess that'd be bad..."

Lucy nodded. "I can't let my dad find out like that. I'm sure it'll be a lot worse coming from someone else than me."

Natsu had to rub over his heart to dull the ache. He didn't know if Lucy was trying to make him feel better, but it wasn't working. The way she said it sounded like it would be bad if her father found out either way, making him realize more and more how unfit he was to date Lucy.

She was an heiress, and he-

Well he was a nobody. It was as simple as that.

The two teens avoided that area, deciding to walk towards the start of the trail. Natsu had to check in a little before the walkathon started, so he did that while Lucy stood off to the side.

She felt relaxed after putting some distance between her and the booth Capricorn was at. She didn't realize her words hurt Natsu, so in her mind she was in the clear. 'Virgo said to stop by the booth... Maybe I can do that later...' She could ask Natsu if he'd wait with one of their friends while she swung by to make an appearance.

After Natsu signed in and turned in his pledge sheet, they gave him a laminated piece of paper with a number on it. He looked at it, seeing it read '527'. He secured it to his shirt with the safety pins they provided before padding his way over to Lucy.

She was sipping on a drink that she bought from one of the stands. As soon as she saw Natsu, she held it out. "Do you want some? It's pink lemonade."

Natsu hesitated before nodding. "Sure."

Now that he already made out with Lucy a few times, the indirect kiss didn't feel as crazy to him anymore. He smiled at himself, remembering how worked up he got over sharing her drink the first time. He nearly panicked from the idea of indirectly kissing her.

If only he could go back and tell his past-self things worked out pretty well, at least that was how his present-self felt.

Deciding to hang out around the start, Natsu and Lucy spent their time chatting until more people crowded around. Natsu smiled when he saw Wendy walk up to them, her friend right beside her.

Natsu raised a brow when he noticed Wendy was holding Sherria's hand. Once his little sister saw his gaze, she released her hand. Natsu chuckled to himself, waiting for the girl's explanation.

"It's just so we don't get lost," Wendy answered the unspoken question.

Natsu shrugged. He could get behind that answer, but for some reason he thought maybe there was something else going on. The faint blush surfacing on Wendy and Sherria's cheeks were enough to make him suspicious.

Not wanting them to think anything was wrong, Natsu turned to Lucy. "You know, Wendy's really smart. We should probably listen to her." He slid his hand down her arm before tangling his fingers with hers.

Lucy beamed up at him, squeezing his hand. "That sounds like a great idea!"

Wendy hesitated before reaching over, taking Sherria's hand again. "Okay," she whispered, trying to look anywhere but at her brother or his girlfriend.

Natsu didn't know if there was anything going on between the two girls, but he chose not to comment. He knew Wendy was smart, so she wouldn't get herself into trouble. Plus he knew Sherria was a nice girl. It didn't matter to him if they were just friends or more, as long as his sister was happy.

A few more people joined their group. Gray and Juvia were finally standing side by side although they weren't talking. Erza and Jellal were stretching behind the group. Levy and Gajeel came up, but Levy was getting a piggyback ride from her boyfriend. Even Sting and his friends came by, but they talked more to themselves than anything.

They all talked and joked until a voice over a microphone cut them off.

"Good morning Magnolia! How's everyone doing today?!"

The question was followed by cheers, everyone seemingly in high spirits to walk for a cure. They listened as the announcer spoke about the walkathon, when it was started, how much money they raised last year, and what their goal for today was.

Lucy stayed quiet as she soaked in the information. She was excited to walk with Natsu, even if she had no pledges of her own. She was there to motivate Natsu so he could beat his record from last year. The idea of giving some of her father's money to charity made her heart warm.

It was one of the first times the thought of spending money made her happy.

"Alright! On your mark!"

Natsu squeezed Lucy's hand as they went to the starting point. There were a lot of people lined up already, so they were towards the middle of the crowd.

"Get set!"

Natsu flashed her a smile, his sharp canines shining bright in the sunlight. Lucy sucked in a breath, wondering how she got so lucky to be with him. Her heart started pounding wildly before they even began.

"GO!"


Thank you for every favorite and follow! And thank you to those who reviewed last time: Leahcar-Soutaichou, samiraahmed12, Moon Stone Tiger Lily, Lodemai04, Lucy Dragneel, TSG1996, Tenma360Warrior, superfreakerz, anazpoyo88, SakuraStar1862, SmirkedySmirk, FairyTailxFanGirl, Guest, ThatOneFriend-3, Celestial Anime Goddess, MuffinMalonez, LadyPugtato, PrincessSarahDragneel, Shunakoo25, Guest, IMSHOOOKPT2, sthokatrina, Animemama328, MayraLilacBunny, ThayetJade, FairyTailLover04, zerophelia, Edo-Salandria, IronicMelody23, Ashnmarley, Switchlolly007, Snavej, Abdltf, BloodRedRubies, Fangurll, FlameDragonHime, Nalu4life63(x2), Eimeren914, Anime-is-my-addiction1, lovesmoonpie15, and TarasinShadowblade(x2) and turtle3334!

Up next, Chapter Fifty-Three: Lucy's little adventure

Natsu's number is '527' because at the time of posting this chapter, that's where the manga is right now. Let me know whatcha think of this chapter! :)