A/N: Gomenasai! For those of you still following me story, thank you so much. I have a lot of catching up to do with all of my fanfics. This is what I wrote before school grew to be such a time consumers. I hope you enjoy! R&R. :) 3

Chapter 8

"Damn it!" He shouted. Loke stood a few feet away from him. "What do you mean Lucy doesn't want to talk to me?"

"She doesn't. She wants nothing to do with you. Her words, not mine." His sympathy reflected in his words.

"She doesn't mean that. She'll come around. She'll listen."

"I don't think she wants to hear what you have to say."

"I didn't say anything about wanting to be with Lisanna. Hell, I didn't even know that Lucy liked me until she confessed and ran off."

"You're so dense aren't you?"

"How am I supposed to know what she's thinking?!"

Gray and Erza grabbed him as he reached towards Loke.

"Fighting the messenger isn't going to solve anything, Natsu," Erza spoke softly.

Loke turned away. "If I find out you've bothered her and she's in tears again, you'll pay."

There she stood in tears, yet this time it was because of Loki. He felt the pillar against his back as he attempted to listen in, yet he couldn't hear what they were actually saying over the music inside the dance hall.

Levy and Gajeel's wedding had gone on without a hitch. He hadn't messed up anything, no fights, nothing. He and Lisanna had danced to quite a few songs. He drank a bit with Gray and Gajeel. He even managed to snag a dance with the bride himself although they mismatched. When he found a chance to talk with Lucy, Loki had asked her to dance again. Now he was here. She was crying, yet he couldn't figure out why. Maybe he'd had a few too many drinks knocking down his comprehension skills.

He walked away, not wanting to be found out. He couldn't help but think that he was intruding on something that he shouldn't be. He walked his way back into the party. It was pretty late at this point, most of the party had left. He noticed Levy talking with Gajeel in a hushed voice, probably about the baby. Her pregnancy had been announced during the reception in a response as to why she wasn't drinking.

There had been a huge thing with this. She had Lucy and

He walked over to the bar, asking the bartender for a shot of Fireball. Gray walked over to him, punching his shoulder slightly. "You should ask Lisanna to dance some more. She's waiting for you, Flamebrain."

"Oh yeah?" He didn't even retort back like he normally did.

"Yo, Natsu?"

He set the glass down on the bar. "I really should ask her to dance with me shouldn't I?" He stood up and walked towards Lisanna, leaving Gray astonished by what he saw.

Lisanna grinned at him. "You know this is a wonderful slow song to dance to right?"

Natsu grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I really love this song. It brings back so many memories."

He took her hand and lead her out to the dance floor at the same time Lucy and Loke walked hand in hand back into the hall. The two couples began to slow dance, Lucy and Loke talking, while Lisanna lay her head on Natsu's shoulder.

"It's kind of melancholic, isn't it?"

So stop time right here in the moonlight…

"Yeah."

...Cause I don't ever want to close my eyes.

His eyes caught Lucy's for a moment, her eyes sparkling in the light. Natsu nudged Lisanna's head which she lifted. Tears began to fall from Lisanna's face. "I-I'm sor…"

He kissed her, with Lucy looking away. "Things happen. You remember the day you met Igneel?"

...With you I'm a beautiful mess.

Lisanna nodded. "You know, you're one of my best friends."

...It's like we're standing hand in hand with all our fears up on the edge.

She smiled softly at him, a slight glimmer in her eyes.

He grinned at her. "You know it."

He let her rest her head on his shoulder again as they danced. He glanced towards Lucy again, her gaze at the floor around his feet before looking back at Loke.

I'm just a sad song.

Lucy rapped on the door of Natsu's apartment door, her left hand in her jacket pocket. She took a step back, waiting patiently. From the other side of the door, she could hear someone speaking, followed by a brief cry of a little girl. Sounds like she doesn't want her parents to leave.

The door flew open, a slightly disheveled Natsu stood with his hand on the door. "Hi Lucy!" He grinned. "Thanks again for watching Kai."

Lucy giggled slightly, "Not a problem." Warily, she stepped into the main room of the apartment, Natsu closing the door behind her. "Is Lisanna here?"

"No. She's meeting me at the restaurant." He walked back towards the bedrooms, looking quickly into one, mentioning that the little girl's babysitter arrived. He then walked into his bedroom. "Feel free to make yourself at home," he shouted. "Kai is reading a book."

"Oh… Okay." Lucy set her purse down on the table next to the door. She looked around at the small apartment. A black couch with some chairs and a table behind it separated the kitchen from the living area. A flat screen sat along wall. A short hallway on the other side of the room led to the bathroom and the two bedrooms, which Natsu walked back down towards the door. "Your place is nice."

"Yeah. It's small, but convenient." Natsu picked up his jacket before standing at the door, his hand on the knob. "Kai's in her room, if you want to join her." He paused.

In that moment, Lucy took note of what he was wearing. He sported khaki pants, along with a blue polo, which contrasted against his salmon hair. His black jacket and shoes tied the look together. If only…

"Have a good evening. I should be back around ten."

Lucy nodded.

"See you." He shut the door behind him, leaving Lucy alone in the main room of his apartment.

She walked towards the door that was decorated with pink and orange flowers, most likely Kairi's room. Kai lay on her bed, a book lying in front of her.

Lucy walked into the room, and sat on the bed. Kairi looked up at Lucy before she could ask what the book was. Kairi flipped to the cover, and Lucy stared at the book. It was one of hers. The one she had published back in high school that not many people knew about. She had even signed Natsu's copy.

"Daddy didn't want me to read this, so I snuck it out of his room."

Lucy smiled softly at her. "It must be very precious to him then." She wanted to hide whatever emotion she was feeling.

Kairi held up the book for Lucy. "Can you read it to me? Too many big words."

"In a little while." Lucy grabbed the book with her left hand and set it on the side table.

Kairi noticed the ring on Lucy's finger. "Are you getting married?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Lucy nodded. "Mhm."

Kairi smiled at her, before getting off the bed and heading to the kitchen. Lucy followed behind a moment later.