Chapter 9

Lucy sat on Levy's armchair, her head in her hands. "I can't believe that I agree to watch Natsu's daughter, and right before Loke proposed, too…" Lucy shook her head. "What did I do?"

"Maybe because you want to reconcile with Natsu?" Levy asked.

Lucy looked up. "Maybe… I mean," she said, "it's not like I never wanted my best friend back…" But he's not really my best friend anymore, is he? Lucy thought.

"Lu-chan," Levy said, leaning back against the couch. "Are you sure you still don't have any real feelings for Natsu?"

"I don't think so…"

Gajeel walked into the room at this point in time. "May I say something?"

Both Lucy and Levy looked up at him. Lucy nodded, not really sure what Gajeel would say.

"You've got a lot on your plate. You agreed on impulse. You were also fairly tipsy when you agreed. You tend to be a very open, but clingy person depending on who you're around." Gajeel paused for a moment waiting to see if she had anything to say. When she didn't respond, he continued. "You've never really wanted to be all over Loke, but with Natsu, you were restraining yourself that night. The way you look at the both of them is completely different. You and Loke has also been rocky for a few years now. It's been what, six months since you first ran into Natsu again? And our wedding was a month ago?"

Lucy nodded. "How much has Levy told you?"

"Levy isn't the only one I talk to. Natsu was one of my groomsmen after all."

Lucy started to bite the inside of her lip, wondering how much of what Gajeel said was true, and if it was true, maybe the timing on everything hadn't just been pure coincidence.

When the clock had chimed 10:30pm, Lucy began to wonder where Natsu was. He'd said he'd be home around 10, but that had come and gone. She's turned on the television, keeping the volume low even though she'd shut the door to Kairi's room.

Kairi had fallen asleep while Lucy was reading part of the book to her. Lucy had set her properly into her bed, before taking the book back to the master bedroom. It wasn't big, but looked like a decent enough size for two people to live in.

Sitting on the couch as the credits to a movie scrolled, Lucy grew aware that it was well past midnight as keys fumbled at the door. Lucy quickly moved to the door, opening it for a drunk Natsu to stumble into the room.

He looked up at her, smiling his stupid grin, before falling over onto the couch. "Sorry I'm late," he said.

"Not so loud. Kai is sleeping," Lucy responded, moving to grab her jacket off a kitchen chair.

"Mmmmm, you sh'ld stay," Natsu mumbled, "just a bit longer. In case Kai wakes up."

"She's a sweet girl." Lucy slid her jacket on. "I really should be going though." She walked towards the door of the apartment. Both leaving and staying felt awkward. She wasn't sure what to do.

"Lu-shy." Natsu sat up, staring towards the door, sadness lingering in his eyes.

Lucy had expected him to be loud and rambunctious, not quiet and sad. She sat down on the only other chair in the living room. "Is everything okay?"

"It's over." He shook his head, smiling the entire time. "Igneel's dead. You're getting married. Kairi…"

"It's okay." Lucy reached for his hand, careful not to make it seem like she was being anything more than sincere. Her ring glimmered in the light. "Do you want to talk about anything?" Why the fuck am I asking this? Why am I not leaving? She stared at the engagement ring.

"Wha'sere to talk about? You don't want to talk. I'm shocked you even agreed to watch Kai."

"Levy talked me into it," Lucy mumbled.

"Of course she did."

Lucy pulled her hand back, standing up and not liking where his mind was going. "I really should be going. I have to work on my next novel before going to sleep still. Kairi seemed to love my first one. She's also out cold. We had quite a lot of fun."

"I'm sorry." She heard his voice from behind her as she walked towards her purse and the door.

"Don't worry about being later than you intended. You've got a lot on your plate."

"Not just about that."

Lucy turned to face him, the door at her back.

He was looking at her, locking eyes. "I'm sorry about high school, if I hurt you at all. I wanted to apologize for whatever I did wrong, but Loke wouldn't let me."

"Don't worry about it," she said, her hand on the door handle. Loke didn't let him apologize?

"No." His voice grew louder. "I never said I wanted to be with Lisanna. I wanted to ask you to our junior prom. I wanted to kiss you that one time in your parent's basement. I tried to catch you after you confessed and ran off. I wanted to tell you all of these things, and apologize for whatever Lisanna told you that wasn't true. I didn't know everything until this evening. We were all stupid and immature, and I…"

With each word that he had said, he'd stood up, moving closer to Lucy, until he was right in front of her. He had banged his fist on the door when he mentioned Lisanna a second time. The smell of hard liquor hit Lucy's nose, as she thought he was going to lean in to kiss her. Instead, he laid his head on her shoulder. After a moment of silence, Lucy asked, "Natsu?"

"I love you," Natsu mumbled.

Her eyes widened at those three words. Butterflies fluttered inside her. She let him remain where he was for a moment longer, before pushing him slightly back. "You should go to bed. I need to go home now."

Natsu nodded, his eyes drooping as Lucy helped him back to the couch.

Lucy quietly left, pulling out her phone and opening a message to Levy. "I need to know everything that happened in high school. I know you talked with Natsu then and still do. I need you to tell me everything you know. Don't worry. We'll have the whole gang there then," the message said. The question is, will Natsu even remember what he told me tonight? I'm pretty sure he was beyond drunk.

A/N: Let me tell you, I have found so many plot holes that I am attempting to fix. This is what I get for posting rough draft versions of stories, but isn't that what most fanfictions are? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If anything is unclear, please message me about that particular thing and I will attempt to clear it up. Thank you all for your reviews. I've really enjoyed writing this so far. If you want to find other writings by me that I don't post on ffnet, you can find me on tumblr: tori-alexide (not spoiler free). As always, have a wonderful morning/day/evening/night no matter what time you're reading this! 3 ^_^