Lucy dances in her pajamas, her hair loose down her back and her face freshly washed. She smiles and lightly sings to the song, I don't know this song but I know she hums it when she's cooking dinner or washing the dishes or in the shower. She likes it but I don't know it, I should know it.

"Hey, Lucy." I hate interrupting her when she's happy like this but I've got to know.

"Hmm?" She stops humming for a second but she continues dancing.

"So, there was this guy that stopped by before…" I begin.

"Yes…" She keeps dancing.

"He was looking for you…" I don't want to come off like I'm accusing her of anything but I also don't want to scare her.

"Was it someone looking for a dog walker?" She's humming and dancing. She just looks so content.

"No, it was uh…" my fingers drum against the table, "it was just a guy looking for you, said his name was Owen." Lucy freezes, her eyes slide open and they keep opening wider until her eyeballs look like they're going to fall out.

"What?" She asks, her hands twitch.

"Owen, he said his name was Owen." I repeat. She shrinks back, her hands pull into her chest and she looks small and scared and… oh no, I did that to her.

"Lucy…" I step out from behind the table "Is it a thing?" I reach for her, but she shrinks back into the wall and shakes her head.

"No, everything is fine." Lucy's chest expands as she takes a breath, she tries to force a smile but she can't do it. Lucy's isn't good at lying or pretending she's okay. She's an open book, I love how easy she is to read but I don't think she loves it right now.

"Are you sure?" I don't reach for her again but I do inch closer. She forces her stiff arms to her side and she gives me an even stiffer smile. Her eyes are tight and there's tension in her shoulders as she stands there and tries to convince me she's okay.

"Yes, everything is great." She clicks her jaw, she's really nervous.

"Lucy, it's okay if you're not okay." I rest my hands on her shoulders and wait for her to shrink back again, she doesn't. "you don't always have to be okay."

Lucy looks up at me with her wide eyes and mixed in with her fear is curiosity and love and Lucy. She's looking at me with such intensity I think she might say it, she might tell me what's wrong. Then I see it, she tightens up and she shifts away and she looks at the ground for just a second but it was a second she broke the eye contact and that was all she needed.

"No, everything is okay." She takes my hand with her rigid fingers and stiff smile and she squeezes it for a second before she pulls her hand back and backs away.

"Lucy…" I hold my hand out but she forces another smile and points her thumb over her shoulder.

"I'm just gonna take a shower, I'll be out in a little bit." She turns and disappears into the bathroom. She didn't grab a towel or her lotion. Something is definitely wrong I think as I grab a towel from the closet and slip out to warm it up in the dryer in the basement. Hopefully that'll make her feel a little better.

I stare at the towel tumble around in the dryer, I'll make her her dessert tea, that cocoa tea she likes. I think as I glance at the door. wonder if I can make it to the store and back before she gets back. The Grab n' Go is only about a block away. I can run that. I'll go get her one of those Lindt chocolates she likes and make her her tea and put on her Imagine Dragons playlist.

I drop a couple more quarters in and sprint out the door. it's colder than I expected but the run'll keep me warm.

"Natsu!" Lucy calls for me as I bust through the door.

"Natsu?" Lucy's voice gets smaller, I must've scared her.

"It's me." I run into the kitchen and put her kettle on.

"Oh, you startled me." She does that breathy laugh she does when she's relieved. "can you bring me a towel, please?"

"Yep, I'll be right in." I grab her Paris cup from the dish drain and put her cocoa tea bag in it and take a second to not look so rushed. I take another second to fold her towel like the fancy hotels do.

"Natsu?" Lucy calls after a minute.

"Coming." I walk over with the towel cradled in my arms and inch the door open. "your towel." I extend the towel toward the shower. The shower squeaks as Lucy turns it off. She peaks her head out and a huge smile breaks out over her face. Her face brightens even more when she feels the warmth of it.

"Oh, Natsu…" she hugs the towel to her chest and smiles
"Thank you." She closes her eyes and squeezes the towel before disappearing behind the curtain again.

"I'll be in the room in a minute." I slip out and leave her alone to finish making her tea.

The tea pot is already whistling by the time I get back out to it. I grab her little bamboo tray thing out and one of those tiny bowls she likes so much and put the three chocolates in that and her tea on the other side. I grab the decorative post it notes I save for occasions like this and the brush tip calligraphy pen. She loves when I write in calligraphy.

Lucy, I love the way your hair stands up in the morning when you sleep on it when it's still wet or when you've tossed and turned more than usual.

Love,

Natsu

I stick the little note to the tray and carry it back into the bedroom. Lucy is already dressed in her favorite outfit. My shirt (my favorite shirt) and the shorts that really show off her leg. God her legs look good.

"What's this?" Lucy asks her eyes bright, she's not stiff or trying to pretend anymore.

"I thought you could use a treat." I set the tray on the bedside table and unwrap one of the chocolates. She smiles all big and looks at me like I'm so amazing for putting chocolate and tea on a tray and bringing it to her.

I hold the chocolate sphere to her lips and she takes a bite, still smiling as if this was some grand gesture. Lucy is so easy to please its almost hard not to please her.

I slide into bed beside her and hand her the tea, she sniffs it and sighs and takes a sip. Her eyes close and she sighs so long it's as if she's breathing every stress away. She takes another sip, eyes still closed and does the same thing. She peels her eyes open and leans into me and I feed her another bite.

"Thank you." She burrows into my side with her tea cradled in her hands and she's got a little bit of chocolate on her lips but I don't say anything because I like it. I like that she doesn't always look flawless because she is just so perfect at being her and that's what perfect looks like to me.

I didn't know what perfect looked like until I met Lucy. I squeeze her to my side and feed her more chocolate and she sips her tea again and this, this is perfect. I don't want this to ever stop.

"Grandma sent the annual Christmas dinner invite today." I tell her as I feed her another bite.

"Same day as usual?" She asks taking a sip of her tea.

"Yep." I feed her more chocolate.

"How is she doing, I haven't spoken to her in almost a week." Lucy looks up to me.

"A week?" I ask, I haven't spoken to her in a few weeks, maybe a month, not on the phone at least, she likes sending emails.

"Yeah we text all the time." Lucy pulls the last bit of chocolate from my fingers with her teeth.

"My grandma texting?" I shake my head "since when."

"Since I met her." Lucy chuckles "you didn't know?"

"I didn't know my grandma knew how to text." I admit "she always calls me when she wants to talk."

"Yeah, your grandma texts me during lunch and when I'm on the subway and pretty much whenever she's bored and I text her during breaks and when I've got the dogs at the park." Lucy drains the rest of her tea and sets the cup on the bedside table. She grabs her phone and shows me the screen.

Emojis and text talk litter the screen, even my grandma is using emojis fluently.

"Since when can my grandma do this?" I laugh "she never even texts me back, she just calls me back when I text her."

"At least two years." Lucy texts my grandma a kissy face and sets her phone on her side.

"Maybe she just wants to hear your voice." Lucy suggests.

"Yeah, maybe." I watch Lucy for a moment. I want to talk about why she acted like that about the guy, is he an ex? A stalker? She seemed afraid but I don't want to upset her again. She'll talk to me when she needs to or when she's ready to or… eventually. I trust her, I trust her and that's all I need to know.

Lucy reaches over and clicks the light out and we settle into bed. She curls into my side and she starts to hum another song I can't quite place.

"Hey, Lucy." I whisper afraid to disturb her peace.

"Yeah, Natsu?" She asks, pausing her humming for the second.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" I ask. She smiles softly and nods, her hair tickling my arm.

"I know." She says. "'ll tell you when I'm ready." She says, her smile tightens a little but she goes on humming her song and I listen to her hum until she drifts to sleep and then I just listen to her breath. I love how her breath feels on my skin.

"I love you Lucy." I press a kiss to the top of her head and squeeze her to my side.

Dear Book,

The Ball was AMAZING and guess what song was playing… YEP, Every Night by Imagine Dragons. I don't know if I believe in signs but that seems like a pretty strong sign. I don't know but I do believe in opportunity and he seems so great but not like he's perfect, like he's okay with himself.

Lucy

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for reading and for the comments. I'm so glad anyone has found this story enjoyable.

I hope everyone is doing great.

Owen answers coming soon

Fun fact i almost made Owen Loki but i loved Loki too much to write his character like that so I just added an oc.

I love the theories going on about Owen. It tells me how the story and characters are coming off to other readers.

Thanks so much and I will see you guys tomorrow

Your comments and time your spending on my story mean so much

XOXO