Chapter 28
On the Thursday the fifteenth, Lucy is in a slight panic. Natsu's birthday is tomorrow and she still has no idea what to get him. She does not trust herself to buy him clothes because he is a professional model. She is not sure if there is a specific video game that he wants. Actually, he really does not talk about what he wants. It seems like he is happy with what he has.
While pacing in her bedroom, Lucy realizes that she has an in. Well, something that is more like her secret weapon when it comes to her boyfriend. She scrambles for her cell phone to start texting.
Lucy: Hey! Are you free today? I need help getting a birthday gift for Natsu…
Not too much longer later, Lucy's phone goes off because of a text message.
Wendy: I'm free now if that works for you!
Lucy throws a fist into the air and gets back to texting.
Lucy: No telling Natsu what we're up to! But I think we should meet at the mall!
Wendy: Okay, sounds good!
Wendy: When do you want to meet?
Lucy: The sooner the better I think!
Then Lucy looks down at herself. It is the middle of the afternoon and she is still wearing her matching pajama shorts and tank top.
Lucy: I'll need some time to get ready though…
Wendy: No problem! Just text me when you leave and I'll leave at the same time!
Lucy: Thank you so much!
So Lucy gets to work on deciding what to wear as she stands in front of her closet. Skipping over what Natsu has stored, she focuses on her summer dresses. "Oo, this'll be great!" She grabs the hanger of a high-low maxi dress and pulls it out. The fabric is a lovely shade of pink that goes with her hair color and skin tone. Plus, the dress looks great on her figure!
Now in the dress, picking out a pair of cute sandals is easy. After applying some makeup and checking over herself in the mirror, Lucy is all ready to leave. She shoots Wendy a quick text before leaving her apartment with purse in hand.
x-X-x
Now at Magnolia Mall, Lucy is waiting by the food court entrance for Wendy. They have gone shopping before and this spot is their official meeting place.
The doors slide open, and Wendy strolls inside the air conditioned building. She waves when she sees Lucy.
Lucy smiles and waves back, closing the gap between them. "Aww, we both got the memo to wear dresses!" she comments, noticing the adorable yellow and blue dress that Wendy is wearing.
Wendy chuckles. "I guess we did!"
"Thanks again for meeting me here."
"Like I said, it's no problem! Oh, so where do you want to start first?"
"I'm hoping you can help me with that. I'm at a lost when it comes to Natsu… Do you have any suggestions?"
Wendy taps a finger to her chin while she thinks. "I guess things could depend on what you want for him. More serious or funny? Meaningful?"
"I never thought to break it down like that…" Lucy admits.
"Maybe walking around will help you. You can get ideas that way."
"I like that idea. Let's do that."
So the duo starts walking through the food court to start on one side of the upper level. Of course, they skip over the stores that are not in Natsu's taste or style. They do not bother going into the store his pictures are displayed in. He already has enough of their clothes and accessories.
x-X-x
In the end, they find two things for Natsu. The first is a sparkling white tiara that reads "BIRTHDAY BITCH" in pink. The more meaningful one is a simple black frame with three slots for horizontal photos and two slots for vertical photos. Surprisingly, Natsu is the one in the relationship who likes taking photos of Lucy or Lucy and him. However, he has yet to frame any of them.
"I'm sure Natsu will love them!" Wendy gushes as they walk through the parking lot.
Lucy smiles, feeling happy about what was picked. "I wonder if he'll even wear the tiara…"
Wendy nods. "Knowing Natsu, I'm sure he will. He might try wearing it all day even!"
Lucy laughs at the very thought. "Now that would be a sight to see!"
The duo stops by Wendy's car, and Wendy stops to face Lucy. "Thanks for inviting me out today. I had fun!"
"I did, too."
"Are you parked to far from here?"
Lucy gestures in the direction of her car. "I'm not far."
"Text me when you get home, all right?"
"You do the same. I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Bye, Lucy!"
As Wendy hops inside of her car, Lucy makes her way over to hers. By now, she is speed walking with her keys already in hand. All while trying to enjoy spending time with Wendy, Lucy was unable to help the feeling that she was being watched. She had no way of shaking it off. Of course, she did not mention a word about it to Wendy since she did not want her to worry, Or, if it came down to it, scare her.
Lucy is quick to get inside of her car, sit down, and promptly lock the doors with the push of a button. She glances around, looking for any signs of something suspicious. However, everything seems normal.
She takes a deep calming breath through her nose before exhaling loudly out of her mouth. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. No worries." She sticks her key into the ignition and starts the engine. Then she grabs her cell phone from her purse to call Capricorn before driving away.
"Hello, Miss Lucy," he answers.
"You're not here, right?" She sounds more freaked out than intended.
He seems slightly surprised. "Define here."
"Magnolia mall. Have you been following Wendy and me around for the past couple of hours?"
"I've been with your father."
Lucy checks her surroundings, seeing if some sort of vehicle is following her. "Have you had someone follow me?"
"I don't believe there's a reason for it. As a Heartfilia, your safety is a priority, but I believe your cover is low enough."
Her mind goes a mile a minute. Is she overreacting? Maybe she is over thinking things…
"Miss Lucy?" Capricorn asks due to her silence.
She gasps at his voice. "Wh-what?"
"Is there something I should be aware of?"
"It felt like… I was being watched earlier." Now she feels silly for saying it out loud.
"Where are you?" He is not taking this as a joking matter.
"Driving back to my apartment now."
"Do you want someone to meet you there? To keep you company?"
She knows he means it as ensuring her safety. "Uh, I think I'll be fine when I'm home. Maybe I just need to relax."
"If you like, I'll send you numbers you can contact if you change your mind."
She cracks a smile. "I'd appreciate that. Thank you."
"You're more than welcome, Miss Lucy."
"Hey, how is my father doing?" She did see him yesterday, but she is hopefully progress has been made.
"Much better. He has been talking about visiting you when he is released from the hospital."
"How about I visit him instead? He isn't back to being one hundred percent."
"Which is what I suggested to him."
"Do you know when he'll get out of there?"
"Next day or so the doctor believes."
"Then he'll be back to running Heartfilia Enterprise?"
"He has tried multiple times from doing that already. The nurses have scolded him repeatedly and have taken his devices away."
Lucy chuckles. "That sounds like Father."
"I apologize for ending the call now, but your father is requiring assistance."
"Tell him I say hi."
"I shall. And do let me know if you require assistance as well."
"Hopefully it won't come down to that."
"Have a good rest of the day, Miss Lucy."
"You, too!"
Lucy ends the call and places her phone inside of a cup holder. She turns on some music to listen to relax as she focuses on driving. Everything will be all right. Capricorn will send her numbers, and she will have them if she needs them.
She glances over at the two bags on the passenger seat, a small smile on her lips. She cannot wait to see Natsu's reaction tomorrow. She totally would give it to him today, but he will be working late at Makarov's Pizzeria.
Stopping at a red light, Lucy takes a deep breath. "I'll go home. Wrap the gifts. Make tea. And write." She nods to herself, liking the sound of that. "Maybe I'll check in with Yukino about things while I'm at it."
Lucy jumps when her phone goes off because Natsu is calling. She collects herself before answering. "Hello?"
"Hiya, Luce!" he greets warmly.
"Don't you have work?"
"I haven't started yet."
"So what's up?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"I just wanted to hear your voice."
"You're such a sap."
"But I'm your sap."
The light finally turns and Lucy drives forward. "I can't argue that."
"So I'm seeing you tomorrow, right?"
Lucy decides to play dumb, just to mess with him. "Wait, what's tomorrow?"
"Luce…" he scolds lightly.
"Do we have a date planned?"
"Are you being serious right now?"
"Pfft, no."
"You're so mean to meee," he whines.
"But you love me anyways."
"Yeah, I do." Then Natsu groans loudly. "Ugh, I gotta go now. I love you with the power of a thousand suns exploding into a supernova of kittens and rainbows!"
She playfully rolls her eyes at his silliness. "You're such a weirdo."
"Is that your way of saying that you love me, too?"
"You're a really big weirdo."
"Aww, you really do love me!"
Lucy laughs. "I do. I love you. A lot."
"I love you, too."
A/N Part 1: I dunno if Natsu has a canon birthday, but I made it July sixteenth since that's the middle of July/summer. Seemed fitting for him XD
A/N Part 2: Not related to CAF, but I posted the first chapter to a new FT/NaLu work called Just a Dream. I'll be posting the next chapter soon :D Anyways, it'll be more angst/drama oriented. Not my normal cup of tea when I write! Feel free to check it out if you wanna!
Guest: Woo, good timing on your part! Aww, and thank you :D
Guest: Future drama indeed :D Yeah, Natsu has been through the ringer a couple times already haha
Anon: I figured it wouldn't hurt to have some Jerza involved with this work :D
Anon: Ugh, that Dobby death… Heavy blow indeed… Ha, I'm putting Natsu through so much XD I'm having too much fun with it :P Aww, thanks for reading! (THAT I DO! And omg, you went back to see when he did propose to me haha. But thank you!)
Anonymous Guest: All the sighs! I'm glad you think so! Eh, I'm not doing too bad. I have a busy work week next week. Yay for that :P But thank you! You, too!
