Fairy Tail, its characters and locations are not my property. However I hope you enjoy reading this short story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Any comments from my readers will be greatly appreciated.
I dedicate it to you, Moon. Happy 8 years.
HairCut
"Well," Lucy thought with a hint of disbelief, "this is definitely a fitting end to a week like the one we've had."
It was still no more than 6 days since the news of the publication of her novel had rocked the guild (and just thinking that her oldest dream was going to come true still made her feel like she was floating over the worn floorboards of her apartment), and after the obligatory celebration and group fight in pure Fairy Tail style, and the consequent punishment of those involved at the hands of a surprisingly revitalized Makarov, Natsu had dragged her into something that he had dubbed "celebration job".
The mission itself consisted in the recovery of some artifacts of high sentimental value for the owner from bandits, who had acquired them in a "not completely legal" way. And in a surprising turn of events the original Natsu team (Natsu, Happy and Lucy herself) had managed to meet all the objectives indicated in the request in less than 5 days, and without having caused any kind of material damage. In fact, Natsu had made sure to personally prevent the destruction of one of the artifacts, an ancient rune-covered vase that, from previous experiences in similar jobs, should have ended up in pieces simply by being in the presence of the destructive draconian wizard.
The publication of her novel combined with the successful completion of such a delicate mission had had the unintended result of making the celestial mage's nerves more alert than they had been since the war with Zeref and Acnologia. Lucy couldn't shake the feeling that her luck was being too good, like a first-time gamer rolling dice and making multiple doubles rolls in a row.
So when the door to her apartment rang out with three powerful knocks, she'd been so startled that she almost tossed her freshly brewed cup of tea (a wishful attempt to calm her nerves) on top of herself.
'Although to be fair' she thought, frowning 'it's not like I know lots of people who bother to knock on the door to enter my house'
In the end she had answered the door with one hand around her celestial keys, ready for the fight that in her mind was inevitable. Peering through a slit, the image of his oldest companion had caused her even more stress, if that was possible.
Natsu never knocked on the door.
And yet the presence of the pink-haired wizard behind the sturdy wooden door was undeniable. And to finish the increasing list of strangeness there was the grimace present on Natsu's face. For someone who historically had so little trouble invading her apartment, the awkwardness and shyness reflected on the fire mage's face was completely out of place.
Fearing that her suspicions had been fulfilled and that something serious had happened, Lucy wasted no time in removing the chain that kept the door closed and opening it wide.
"What has happened?" It was the first thing that left her lips.
"It's okay" Natsu replied immediately, his voice with a cadence that didn't sound like him.
If anything the boy's soft, calm tone only made Lucy even more alert. Being used to her partner's hyperactive personality (and his constant pitch just a few decibels below being literally screaming), the tone change only served to highlight another of the changes that had been taking place in recent days, and what made her think that perhaps she had entered an alternate world like Edoras.
Perhaps the person in front of her was an alternate version of her partner who was able to keep a cool head.
Luckily the suspicions, no matter how crazy they sounded, helped her to keep her head away from the secondary thoughts that the deep and almost intimate tone that her favorite arsonist was using was waking up in her head, and to ignore the sensations that aroused with those thoughts.
'Control yourself Lucy' she demanded to herself.
And although the fleeting ideas had only crossed her mind for a few brief and suggestive seconds, the blush on her face managed to make Natsu's frown disappear and be replaced by a half smile.
"I need you to do me a favor," Natsu whispered, the new deep rumble adorning his voice.
That was the moment when Lucy vowed to never allow Natsu to discover that, as long as he used that tone with her, any favor he asked of her would be fulfilled as quickly as possible for the celestial mage.
"I need you to summon Cancer"
Minutes later Lucy watched in amazement as her partner's pink locks fell to the ground. Of all the possible demands that the fire mage could have made, this was the one that could have been least expected. Sitting on her bed, she watched the spectacle that was happening in front of her with wild eyes. Erza's intervention was usually necessary to convince the young man that he had to perform basic grooming rituals (Lucy suspected that the education received from being raised by a dragon did not cover the general rules of "grooming" expected in human societies), and yet it was happening right before her eyes.
Natsu was getting a haircut on his own free will.
And not his usual signature haircut. Far from it, Natsu had gotten rid of the usual strands that covered his head, and instead most of his usual pink hair had been reduced to just a few millimeters of hair that covered his scalp, the only exception being a few bangs that hung slightly above his forehead.
Feeling completely out of her element in the face of the radical change her friend had experienced, Lucy almost missed the opportunity to say goodbye to Cancer when the latter, after contemplating his work and commenting on his opinions on the new cut (and contributing a list of no less of 20 products needed to maintain optimal hair health) had excused himself before returning to the celestial plane.
Left alone with Natsu in her room, Lucy got up from the bed and walked slowly to stand behind the fire wizard, who continued to sit in front of her dresser looking at his reflection in the mirror, in front of which he seemed to have been frozen, contemplating the work of the celestial hairdresser.
The difference was even more stark after she had seen the celestial spirit describe the cut he desired using broad hand gestures to convey his enthusiasm.
"Well?" Lucy said smiling in the mirror, making eye contact with her partner "What is the reason for this sudden change?"
Natsu gave her a half smile before refocusing his attention on his reflection, turning his head from side to side slowly to observe his new cut from every possible angle.
It would have been difficult for a person with much more willpower than Lucy to resist the temptation, so the celestial witch did not feel particularly guilty when, spreading her hands, she began to caress the nape of her companion with the tips of her fingers, marveling at the silky feel of her partner's hair.
At first, at the sudden contact, Natsu had tensed his body like an animal about to run away. However, the more Lucy tried to make slow circular movements all over the nape of hir neck and the sides of his head, the more hi muscles relaxed, leaving the poor wizard basically purring at his companion's attentions.
This detail did not escape the attention of Lucy, who formed on her face a grimace of satisfaction so great that it practically shone on her face, feeling vindicated by the reaction that the magician had obtained from her when he appeared in the frame of her door with his recently discovered seductive tone of voice.
With a soft chuckle and a slight tug on his earlobe (and with a titanic effort to ignore the ragged breath that escaped the fiery wizard) she got Natsu to focus enough to answer the question.
However, she was surprised by how serious Natsu's face had become just before he began to speak.
"Do you remember that I was knocked unconscious during the war?"
The sudden question raised a series of memories of what had probably been one of the worst experiences in the young celestial mage's life. She still remembered the anguish of those moments, the feeling of Natsu's body cold against her skin (something that her whole body and mind recognized as unnatural, like dipping her hand in water and then withdrawing it to find that it was dry), the fear that she would never again hear her name leave his lips, to not see that smile with sharp fangs again, to not hear his laughter echo in the guild just after having started one more fight.
The fear of never again being reflected in the black eyes of the person who had unknowingly become the center of her world.
Noticing her throat suddenly dry and her eyes burning with the urge to cry, Lucy just nodded, hoping the movement in the mirror was enough of an answer to keep Natsu talking.
Seeing Lucy's face, Natsu conjured an uncomfortable grimace and, in an attempt to cheer up his friend, he tilted his head to the side, pressing the edge of his face against Lucy's hands, who at the sudden question had gone still.
Composing a smile, althought obviously forced, Lucy resumed her attention on her partner's head, while he organized his words trying to find the best way to explain his experience.
"It was not just any dream" he tried to explain "I went into some kind of trance, and while I was… dreaming, I was remembering things that I had forgotten. Among all those memories there was one in which my parents appeared "
"I don't remember what was talked about, or what happened that day in particular so that it has remained etched in my memory for all these years, but I do remember that my father and mother were talking, that they looked at each other as if they were the most important thing in each other´s world, I remember that I barely reached the edge of the table, and that my brother smiled a real smile, without appearing that deep down he was suffering".
Lucy listened in fascination. She had had no idea that while she was doing her best to ignore her partner's nakedness, while hugging him trying to return the heat to his body, the magician had been facing what had surely been one of the most emotional moments of which he had (now) memory.
"But what I can't get out of my head is my father's face" continued Natsu, oblivious to the thoughts of his blonde companion "It turns out that I look like him. Can you believe it? I had never stopped to consider it because I had always thought of Igneel as my only father, but I really do have a human father, and I happen to look like him. Zeref looked like my mother, they had the same hair and the same eyes and even the same skin tone. But I turned out to look like my father. He also had pink hair, and had the shape of eyes as me. "
"And this" he said, returning to the front and contemplating himself once more in the mirror "This is the same haircut that my father had in my memory."
Lucy noticed how her eyes burned with the urge to cry again. However, she was able to smile at her partner, losing herself in the reflection of his eyes.
"I like it" she whispered, in an excited voice "I like it very much. Are you thinking of wearing it always like this? "
Natsu made an indecisive noise from his throat, before purging his lips in an obvious attempt to keep a mischievous smile off his face.
"Shouldn't I have children before wearing fatherly haircuts?"
Even noticing how the eyebrows rose on her forehead and the blood flushed her cheeks, Lucy couldn't contain her own half smile.
"Oh well" said the magician, lowering her own tone of voice in a comical imitation of the tone that Natsu had used "I guess if I want to see you like this, I'll have to start working seriously"
Maybe it was the imitation, maybe the sight of Natsu's shocked face, or maybe the record time in wich the fire mage's face literally caught on fire, but Lucy's laughter echoed through the dark streets of Magnolia town.
Natsu's joined shortly after.