Chapter 53

Did Lucy and Cana rock it for the paparazzi? Absolutely. In fact, Cana wants the photos herself. Well, at least digital copies. She knows that they'll pop up given time.

But for now, the duo has since lost the paparazzi and is chilling inside of Vermillion. At the moment, Cana is posing by copies of Elvina and taking selfies by them. She plans on posting the right one to Snapchat. Meanwhile, Lucy is looking over books.

"Hey, I can't get this the way I want it," Cana says, looking at Lucy.

Lucy turns her head to look at her. Only now does she see what her bestie is up to. She laughs. "You're ridiculous."

Completely ignoring her comment, Cana holds out her phone. "Can you take it for me?"

"First you have the paparazzi photograph us and now you want me take a picture of you."

"What can I say? I'm having a good hair day and the world needs to know. So pleaseee?"

"Only because you asked so nicely." So Lucy steps over and takes the phone, switching which way the camera is facing. "All right, I'm ready whenever you are."

Cana dramatically gestures with her hands at the books, a big smile on her face.

Trying her best not to laugh and cause camera shake, Lucy snaps a photo. Then she holds out Cana's phone for her to see.

"That's perfect!" She takes her phone back. "Thanks, Lucy."

"If you ever publish a book, remind me to do what you just did."

"Pfft, as if I'll have the patience for that. I'd rather spend my time writing songs instead." Then Cana busies herself with writing a little comment before posting it to her Snapchat Story.

"Fine, you can stick to writing songs while I write books," Lucy teases.

"Sounds like a plan!"

Suddenly, a squeal of delight causes Lucy and Cana to look towards the source.

Peeking around a shelf, Millianna has her eyes set on Lucy. Even down to the cat bell choker, she hasn't changed at all since the last time. "Ashley! Er, Lucy! Oh, whichever works best for you, hi!"

Lucy weakly smiles back. "Oh, it's you." There is a lack of enthusiasm in her voice. Of course, she remembers the last time she ran into Millianna. That was the same day she met Gray and Juvia.

"Can I have a hug?" Without waiting for Lucy to even reply, Millianna is already heading right for her.

Cana stands between Lucy and Millianna. She knows that something is up due to Lucy's reaction. Not that she can blame her. She saw the video that Millianna had posted about Elvina and Lucy's crush. The interview somewhat turned into an interrogation.

Millianna comes to a stop, tilting her head. "Hi there. I'm–"

"I know who you are," Cana interrupts, not caring if she is rude or not. "I follow your blog."

She smiles. "It's always nice to meet a fan of it!"

Cana never said that, but she doesn't correct Millianna. "Look, she's not in the mood for another interview."

In fact, Lucy isn't in the mood to be interviewed by Millianna again.

"Who said anything about an interview?" Millianna asks, feigning innocence. "I totally wasn't going to ask what it was liked getting kidnapped by a crazy person. Or, you know, if she'll write a book based on that experience."

Lucy rolls her eyes. She wants everything with Daphne to be a thing of the past. That whole experience hadn't been a great part of her life.

Cana makes a shooing motion at Millianna. "Now run along."

Millianna pouts. "How come you get to spend time with Ashley and I don't?"

"Because I'm her bestie."

"Ooo, a bestie of Ashley!" Then Millianna frowns a little bit. "I don't know if she's mentioned you are not. Who are you by the way?"

Cana blinks. It isn't often that she comes across someone who doesn't know her. It can be such a relief at times. Then she can just be a normal person.

"Cana, we might as well go," Lucy voices. "I can come back another time."

But Cana wants them to stand their ground. She doesn't want Lucy wanting to leave all because of a person. She wants Lucy to want to leave on her own accord. "Are you sure?" Cana asks, facing Lucy.

She puts on her best smile. "We can do other things."

Millianna's face lights up. "Can I tag along?"

Cana wastes no time turning towards her again and shutting her down. "No."

Frowning, Millianna clasps her hands in front of her. "Please?"

Not wasting her breath, Cana walks towards Lucy, takes her by the arm, and walks away with her.

"H-hey!" Millianna protests.

"Don't look back," Cana instructs under her breath. "If we ignore her, she shouldn't bother us."

"And if she comes after us?" Lucy asks, wondering if Millianna will do something like that.

"I'll get security. I don't play around with things like this. You see, I have a line. And if a fan crosses it, I deal with them accordingly."

"But Millianna doesn't even know who you are," Lucy points out. "She was interested in me."

"Yeah, but she was messing with my bestie. That's an even bigger line of mine."

Lucy can't stop the smile forming on her face. "Thanks, Cana."

She shoots Lucy a grin. "Besides, the only person who can mess with you is me. That position has been filled."

Now that gets Lucy to crack up. "I think you might have some competition with Natsu."

"Well, you loved me first so I win."

x-X-x

As of now, the duo is back at Lucy's apartment. The mood is somewhat sober.

"Lucy, are you sure I can do this?" Cana asks.

She nods. "I believe in you. So you can do it."

Having gotten Gildarts' number from Wendy, Cana now has it in her phone. All she has to do is press one button to call her father.

When Cana doesn't say anything, Lucy speaks up. "Cana, you can only stall for so long. You've been waiting for this moment."

With new found determination, Cana stands up from the couch and clutches her phone with both hands. "Can I use your bedroom? When I'm on the phone, I either like walking around or lying on a bed. There's no in between."

"Go for it." Then she sends an assuring smile Cana's way. "Don't forget, I believe in you."

After nodding, Cana leaves the family room.

While she waits, Lucy decides to take out her phone to text Natsu.

Lucy: Is it all right to call you?

Moment later, she is receiving a call from him. "Hey, Natsu," she answers.

"Hiya! Did you have fun with your friend earlier?"

"Some trouble found us and we handled it. No biggie since we're tough. And then Millianna found us and–" She stops mid-sentence when something crosses her mind. "Oh, my gosh! What time is it for you? I didn't even look at the clock–"

His laughter cuts her off. "You're fine, Luce. Not even ten o'clock here.

"That's not too bad I guess." To get comfortable, Lucy brings her legs up onto the couch. "So what do you think of Paris?"

"I forgot how good the food is here." The smile in his voice can be heard.

"You would talk about the food."

"I mean, everything would be better if you were here with me."

"Hey, this is your family time. You'll get Luce time later."

"Maybe one of these times I'll take you to Paris with me."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Promise?"

A smile forms on Lucy's lips. "Promise."

"Good! Just keep your passport updated."

She playfully rolls her eyes. "I'll make sure to do that."

"I'm serious."

"I know."

"Oh, and remind me to have an important chat with your old man before we take that romantic trip to Paris, 'kay?"

Pink tints her cheeks. For once, she is glad that she is talking to Natsu over the phone rather than in person. "N-Natsu!"

He cackles. "Just kidding! You're never gonna know when I have that chat with your dad."

Lucy puffs her cheeks out. "Well, maybe I'll just tell you no when you pop me the question."

He dramatically gasps. "How could you?"

"Someone has to put you in your place."

"Eh, better you than somebody else."

She laughs a little bit. "You're saying that now, but give it time."

"I doubt somebody could replace you. Ever."

"You're sweet."

"I wasn't this sappy before dating you."

"Those pajamas of mine must have sucked you right in when we first met."

Natsu laughs. "That's definitely what did it for me. Not the review you left for me."

"Definitely," she teases.

From the other end line, Lucy hears a voice in the background.

"Hey, I've been good about things so far!" Natsu argues. "I didn't get talk to her for long earlier!"

Lucy can only guess that Natsu is being asked to hang up.

With a defeated sigh, Natsu gets back to talking to his girlfriend. "Hey, Luce?"

"I take it that you have to go."

"Yeah. We have an early start tomorrow. And jet lag is a thing."

"Well, sleep tight and have sweet dreams."

"They'll definitely be sweet if you're there."

"Just imagine us in Paris."

"I'm already looking forward to that trip." The smile in his voice isn't missed. "But until then, I guess I'll dream about it."

"Je t'aime," Lucy says in her best French accent.

"Je t'aime avec le pouvoir d'un millions de soleils qui explosent dans un supernova de chatons et d'arc-en-ciels."

She laughs. "Show off."

"Only for you. But anyways, I gotta get going. Night, Luce. Sleep tight."

"Bye, Natsu." All while smiling, Lucy lowers her phone and holds it in her right hand. She can't wait to see him in person again. At least the wait will only be a week long.

By the time Cana enters the family room, Lucy is scrolling through Tumblr on her phone. "H-hey, Luce…" she says in a shaky voice.

With one look from Lucy, she can tell that her bestie has been crying. There is no hiding her. Her heart drops. "Cana…"

"He… he wants t-to meet me." Cana cries more happy tears. "He really wants to me."

"Cana, that's great!" Lucy exclaims, standing up from the couch to run over to hug her bestie.

Cana hugs back. "I'm happy right now."

"And I'm happy for you."

The two break apart so they can look at each other.

"So when does Gildarts want to meet you?" Lucy asks.

Cana sniffles back tears. "Now."

She is smiling from ear to ear now. "That's great!"

"Can I ask for a huge favor?"

"Whatever you need." Lucy is more than eager to help out her bestie.

"Can you drive me? I'm a bit shaken up and I don't want to drive…"

Lucy completely understands. "Let's put our shoes back on and leave!"


A/N: I didn't plan on bringing back Millianna, but it seemed like a decent fit. Like a reminder that she's still around XD No surprise, but next chapter will have Gildarts in it! Other than that, I dunno what'll happen haha


LaneyWritesStuff: Yay, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! And I'm happy that I added on to this original one-shot as well XD

Fairy Tail Lover: Ya know, other things… :P (Omg, fried chicken is the best. I love it. And thank you!)

Hoshi nairaida: Aww, don't cry! *hands tissues*