As Lucy made the final petal of the flowers on Wendy's cupcake, she sighed. She took a seat on the stool that had been lying vacant behind her, sore feet aching.

Finally.

Lucy didn't know why she felt the need to make each and every cupcake (two dozen in total) perfect. She took her time with creating the carefully made frosting-flowers, slowly adding each petal one at a time. The swirls needed to be perfect, and if they weren't, she would grab a spare and try again.

The small cake she had finished frosting and decorating lay in the fridge so it could keep cool. It was an extra thing she decided to make, what with all the time she had left, and to say the least, she was happy with the end results. The pastel blues, yellows, and greens matched perfectly with each other, and now Lucy just hoped that Wendy would love it as much as she did.

She undid the apron she wore from behind her back, taking it off and resting it on the chair beside her. She looked down at herself to see that splotches of frosting and batter had somehow gotten on her jeans.

Lucy groaned. "Not again!"

With another sigh, she moved from the stool to change her clothes. She may have been doing her job, but that did not mean she had to look like a mess.

Once she finished changing, she grabbed the boxes of cupcakes and the cake from the fridge, heading downstairs and towards her car so she could leave.

Balancing the cupcakes and the tiny cake in her left hand, Lucy used her right hand to knock on the door. A few seconds later, a girl with blue hair opened the door, and Lucy instantly recognized her as Wendy.

"Wendy! Happy Birthday!" Lucy said. She lowered her arms a little to show Wendy the small cake she made.

"Wow," Wendy exclaimed, "is that for me?"

Lucy laughed. "Of course!"

Wendy smiled at her, saying, "Thank you, Lucy!"

"Just wait until you see the cupcakes I have too."

Wendy moved out of the way to let Lucy in, closing the door behind her so that she could lead her to their kitchen. "You can leave them on this counter," she said.

"Where's Natsu?" Lucy asked, setting the desserts where Wendy told her to.

"He went to the store to get snacks, I think." The next thing she knew, Wendy was grabbing Lucy's hand to she lead her somewhere else. "Come on! We can hang out while you wait for him."

Before she even had a chance to decline, she was being pulled forward towards what she could only assume was the living room.

Their living room was quaint, with a few modern touches here and there. There were beige chairs and a couch, a glass coffee table, and a fireplace. There were white bookshelves on almost every wall and a few plants on their window sills. If Lucy looked close enough, she thought she could see that the books were about medicine.

Their home was very open as their living room connected to their dining room, light colors decorating that area too. There were sliding doors behind their dining table that Lucy guessed led to their backyard. The white colors made things feel calm and peaceful, and she had a feeling it was done for that exact reason.

Wendy must have seen Lucy staring at the books because right after Lucy turned back to her, she was confirming what she thought. "These are my mom's books. She's a doctor, so she has a lot of stuff for work!" Wendy said enthusiastically.

Lucy smiled. Natsu had said that Wendy was turning 12 that day. She couldn't remember much about when she was twelve herself. The most she could remember was feeling lost. It wasn't in a literal sense, of course. Lucy was just never sure about the future during that time. She didn't know what she wanted to be or who she wanted to become. It honestly must have been very annoying for 12-year-old Lucy. She was just glad she ended up finding out what she wanted to do...even if her father didn't approve of it.

With a sigh, Lucy shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about her problems; she was supposed to have her focus on Wendy. "So are you wanting to be a doctor too?" she asked, taking a seat down on the couch.

Wendy sat next to her. "Mhmm! I'm already learning a little bit of the basic stuff, but I still have a lot to learn."

Lucy's eyes widened. "That's amazing!"

"Well, I guess. I've always wanted to do the same thing as my mom," she giggled. "Some of the things she shows me can be really challenging, but I just have to keep pushing forward when I get stuck."

Lucy smiled. She was definitely a kind girl and a determined one at that. Maybe that was what everyone in Natsu's family shared; determination.

Lucy had never seen Natsu determined over important things like Wendy was now. What she had seen was Natsu determined over some of the simpler things. It was sweet, in a way. People always seemed to give up so easily when things didn't turn out the way they wanted, but Natsu was different. She didn't think he quit for anyone. She supposed some people would see it as stubborn, especially when Natsu would refuse to accept something, but she couldn't help but admire him a little.

It made her think back to the time he was going to show her an old place he used to visit, only to find that it had closed down, but that didn't stop him. Instead, it made him want to go look for the owner. When he was eventually able to track them down, it surprised Lucy, but she didn't know why. She should have known he wouldn't let a simple shop stop him from getting what he wanted.

The memory alone almost made her laugh, but she refrained, instead choosing to keep talking to Wendy. "What else do you like, Wendy?"

"I love sweets!" she exclaimed, and this time Lucy did laugh.

By the time Natsu got back, Wendy's friends had also arrived. They had quickly swarmed the girl, giving her hugs and bags with gifts in them, and Lucy was left to just sit there and smile at the sight. Wendy was already leading them to the cupcakes in the kitchen as soon as they let go of her.

Lucy let a content sigh escape her. It was nice knowing Wendy liked the cupcakes she made. Even though she had made cupcakes for people countless times by now, she still worried that they would dislike it, but now that Lucy knew she had done a good job, she supposed it was time to take her leave.

But as Lucy got up from the couch, preparing to head to the door, a voice called her name.

"Where ya goin', Lucy?" Natsu asked.

Pausing in her actions, she turned around to find him coming out of the kitchen. There was a giant smile on his face and a bag of chips in his hand. "Huh?" she said, mildly confused.

"Come on, we can go to the backyard while Wendy's hangin' out with her friends."

Lucy hesitated. There wasn't any reason for her to stay anymore. The only reason she hadn't left before was because she was talking to Wendy, and she didn't want to overstay her welcome. But...taking a little time for Natsu was never a problem. She always did have fun when she was with him. Finally making up her mind, Lucy smiled back at him. "Sure."

His own smile grew wider, much like it normally did, and he went to grab her hand. "Awesome!"

Natsu took her towards the sliding doors, opening it for her to pass through and walking through himself after he flipped a switch that would turn on lights for the backyard.

Lucy took in their backyard, finding that it was just as light as the rest of their house was. It may have only been 5 in the evening, but the sun was already setting, making the sky look a cotton candy pink. A cloud covered the sun, making the bit of warmth in the air cooler. Two benches were facing each other with a fire pit in between. It made her want s'mores as she thought about roasting marshmallows over a fire.

"Your family comes here for the holidays, don't they," Lucy asked as she continued following Natsu towards the bench.

Natsu sighed as he sat down, opening his bag of chips as Lucy sat down too. "Yeah, we do." He laughed. "Dad kinda just comes because Aunt Grandeeney's cooking is better than his or Metalicana's. Aunt Grandeeney makes us come here because she doesn't trust my dad to cook."

Lucy giggled as she turned back to look at him. "You guys are really close to each other, huh."

Natsu pursed his lips. "I don't know...I think we just became that way, really. My dad's real big on staying on good terms with family. It's not like he's actually related to Metalicana or Aunt Grandeeney, but they've stuck together since...elementary, I think. I don't know a lot about his blood family, but I'm happy with the one he chose." Natsu sent a smirk towards Lucy, mirth shining in his eyes. His eyes grew brighter, reminding Lucy of how being happy made them seemingly change color. "Did you get all that just from comin' here?" He asked, bringing a handful of chips to his mouth to munch on.

Lucy quietly laughed. "I'm not intentionally analyzing you guys, it just happens." She shrugged her shoulders as she leaned further into the bench. "I need analyzing skills if I'm going to be a writer."

Huge bouts of laughter came from the house, loud and full of life, making Lucy glance back there. "They sure sound like they're enjoying themselves," Lucy said.

Natsu laughed. "They're probably stuffin' their face with your cupcakes."

Lucy's face split into a huge grin as she said, "Hey! If they like them they like them, but I still don't understand why you don't like them."

His face scrunched up as he ate another chip, chewing and swallowing before he responded. "They just taste weird. But I can't be the only one who doesn't like popular stuff like that. Don't you?" he asked, and Lucy had to admit that he had a point.

"Of course I do," Lucy said. Then she had to put a finger on her cheek as she took a moment to think of an example. "Like...Oh! I know. Spaghetti. I can't stand that stuff." Before he could comment, she sat up straighter, adding, "But that stuff is awful! The texture is just so wrong, and it's so messy too, and don't even get me started on the sauce; it's so—"

Natsu just looked at her smug, knowing he had proved his point, and making Lucy go quiet.

Turning her head forward, Lucy rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, I get it, you're right."

"I know I am," he said.

It made Lucy laugh, and she sighed. A cold breeze blew past her, and she shivered. Yeah...it was most certainly Fall. She lifted her head higher up, seeing the leaves on the trees had turned red, yellow, and orange in the last month.

Calm washed over her again. It was something she found happened a lot when she was around Natsu, like being with him meant that there was nothing for her to worry about. She may not have understood why entirely, assuming that it was because he was always so happy but Lucy didn't think it really mattered why.

"Halloween's next week," Natsu said. He balled up the now empty bag of chips and put it to the side so he could throw it away later.

"It is, isn't it? Are you gonna dress up?" she asked, turning to face him again.

A devious smile was spread across his face, and it made Lucy worry for a second. Either he was planning something very evil, or he was planning to scare her. She wouldn't be surprised if it were both. "I'm going as a dragon king," he said, cackling afterward.

Lucy's eyes widened before they shrank. "What. Are. You. Planning, Natsu Dragneel?"

Faster than even Lucy thought possible, he put his hands behind his head and propped his leg up on the edge of the fire pit, creating the "perfect" image of innocence. "Nooothing…" he tried.

"Natsu…" Lucy said, glaring daggers at him.

All he did was burst into laughter, putting his hands up in defense as he looked back at her. "Nothing! Seriously!"

"It better be nothing," she grumbled. She pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Because if you try scaring me…"

"Aww, come on," he said, bringing his hands down and sitting back again, "I wouldn't scare you unless I knew you would be fine."

Her eyes narrowed even more as she said, "I have a hard time believing that…"

A few seconds of silence passed between them before Natsu spoke. "Hey," he said, his voice so soft that it almost shocked Lucy, "I promise I won't scare you if I know it'll hurt you."

The clouds decided then to move away from the sun, allowing for its rays to shine down on them and, consequently, Natsu's eyes. The flecks of gold that floated in the green were hard to miss, and Lucy thought maybe someone sprinkled glitter in his eyes when he was younger. There was no other way to describe them but beautiful.

Her breath hitched, and she could feel how her mouth was slightly agape. Lucy swallowed as she looked into his eyes. They were serious and held so much truth in them, she almost couldn't believe it, but she did. Because this was Natsu, and if Lucy knew anything about Natsu, it was that she could trust him. She smiled. "Okay, I'll believe you."

He smiled back, Lucy not noticing how entranced he was with her brown eyes. Not that she would have been able to notice when she was so focused on his own eyes. Warm honey and caramel, that's what they had looked like to Natsu in that moment. He thought her eyes were beautiful too, and if he had to look into them for eternity, he didn't think he would mind.

...

So, this chapter is by far the longest chapter in this story so far. Again, I truly didn't plan on it being this long, but I'm really happy with the outcome! One of the main reasons I wanted to start writing is so I could get better, and I think compared to the first chapter, this is without a doubt, better. As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoyed! Thank you to anyone who has left a review as well! It's fun reading them even when they're a few words long. So, yeah, I hope to see you next time! Thanks!

Let me just say...I can't believe I actually had to search up what Americans call their aunts and uncles for this chapter. It really isn't my fault though! I'm half Mexican and I don't think I've heard anyone call their aunt or uncle anything other than Tia or Tio. Luckily, I had Reddit to help me! Basically, I feel like with Metalicana, Natsu would totally just use his name, while with Grandeeney would have that whole Aunt thing before that. People had a lot of different ways of addressing their aunts and uncles, so I just mixed it together.

Grandeeney and Wendy's home is loosely based off of pictures from pinterest, a friend's house, Ikea, and my imagination! If I could draw, I would be drawing every single setting that has appeared in my story, but I can't so I can only describe it to the best of my abilities.

Oh! And, I'm thinking of doing just a random Halloween chapter for next Saturday. It wasn't in my plot plans, but a small derailment won't hurt me too much. I don't know what I'll do, but I'm thinking maybe trick or treating. Because no matter what anyone has said, you are never to old to trick or treat!

Lastly, before I leave this chapter alone, while, yes, green eyes are wonderful, brown eyes are so beautiful too! Trust me! I've seen one of my friend's eyes in the sunlight and it was like their eyes went from dark-dark chocolate to absolute golden hour. Now, Chapter six is done! Thanks again for reading, review if you want to review, and goodbye!