Chapter 9: Fairy Nail

When Natsu finally got back to the house (after he got some chips), was text, Lucy. She had been overjoyed and scared to find that he had found himself a pet- and a puppy, no less- and was slightly concerned for the puppy's health. As Natsu has trouble taking care of himself, no less another living thing.

But, after he showed her all the goods and supplies he gathered from the pet shop and its employees, she went from slightly concerned to worried relief. After that, they discussed how is shopping job went: Lucy was anxious to find out the Flare thing, but she enjoyed the chaotic shopping Natsu went through- especially the part about the pretzels. She joked how easily distracted he really could be sometimes.

It was soon getting late though, as it was 5:00, and Lucy needed to leave for work soon but she'll see him later. Natsu texted her goodbye and left his phone in a safe place where Happy couldn't get it.


Lucy was rushing wildly to get her jacket, as Juvia ran to fetch her purse. Compared to the relaxing mood of Natsu, they were much more chaotic than their friend. Once Juvia showed up with Lucy's purse: the blonde quickly grabbed it, viciously threw on her jacket, and pecked her cheek. She ran out to the car, and in a split second, was gone.

Juvia sighed with relief, it was tiring to get Lucy to work. She relaxed on the couch, before hearing a piano ding. The blunette knew they had no random piano in the house -she wasn't as stupid as Natsu- so she, with the grace of a predator, looked around for the source. And found it to originate with Lucy's phone.

It was small but it was still in great condition. Juvia lingered her finger over the home button. The phone lit up with excitement after realizing someone was holding it, and showed off its pretty Fairy Nail wallpaper- from the old season, mind you. It mostly centered on Lusha and Nakku, Natsu and Lucy's favorite characters. Juvia usually didn't watch anime with Lucy, as she found them -like Erza- to be unfunny and very, very too overdramatic. But she found the characters adorable though, hugging each other and smiling with the biggest, most cutest each could muster.

Then, the wallpaper suddenly shut off and she was brought back to reality and found her finger touching the button ever so slightly. Shocked at herself, she pulled her finger away from the button and wouldn't dare to look herself in the eye like an appalled, old-fashioned lady.

But she felt her eyes linger on those smiling faces, finding it hard to believe they were that genuine. She shut off the phone and placed it down on the table, planning to ask Lucy what was happening between Erza and Natsu; after Natsu texted Juvia what was Erza's choice of clothes, she felt herself grow even more suspicious. It would have to wait until later, though.


Lucy sighed as she sat down for the first time in five hours, her sweaty serving cloth draped around her shoulder. The diners have been bustling with customers as it was Friday night and many boisterous teens enjoyed harassing the waiters for food and them. The blonde had promised to her coworkers that she would kick their ass, but she knew that was as fake as the eyelashes she wore as Lusha.

Thank goodness she was done with work, or else she might collapse on the spot. With all her might, she rose from the plush seat and made her way to the lockers to grab her purse. Lucy went into the bathroom to change into comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt, as she tied her hair into a messy bun.

Then, realizing she had no phone, dug around in her purse. After not finding it, she immediately went back in and thrashed around her things into a giant rainbow mess. "Fuck," Lucy whispered, cringing. She would have to get to Natsu's a bit late tonight and miss a part of the movie, but that was fine. She could easily call Juvia from her car and tell her to grab the phone.

Lucy exhaled quietly, nodding to herself. She threw her purse over her shoulder and ran out to her car. With violent force, she stepped on her petals and sped over her cute little house.

With the breath of a god, she called to Juvia: "Honey, may you please grab my phone?" The blonde cringed, realizing she may have awoken the neighbors- and then left Juvia to deal with them alone. And the neighbors had Karen tendencies, such as yelling at kids on their block for "pedaling too loud". Juvia came bounding out with an unfulfilling smile, handing her phone to her, and pecking her cheek. She drove away quietly.

The drive to Natsu's was only five minutes long, which was a much nicer drive than to work. After stepping up the rough stones that decorated the pathway, she knocked on the door- and in an almost immediate response, Natsu opened the door.

"Hey, Luce! What's up- ew, you smell." Natsu exclaimed. Lucy punched him playfully, just softly touching his skin. "You idiot, I just came from work! What do you expect?" She huffed. Natsu pretended not to care, and held open the door, letting her put her stuff down. Then, once that was all done, she was lead gallantly to an array of popcorn, six bags of Candy, and two bottles of soda- all on a fancy table with a navy blue drape. Underneath the table sat Happy, who looked up Ro the food with an immeasurable amount of glee.

"Ooh, you finally did get Coke! See, I have good taste!" Lucy said with a smug smile, holding the heavy bottle in her hands. "I did it because you wouldn't stop asking me for it, Luce. Oh, and, I also got Snowcaps because I knew how much you liked them." Natsu said nonchalantly, lazily gesturing to the bag adjacent to the large popcorn bowls.

"Sweet!" Lucy cheered. She walked up to the sweet buffet and grabbed her designated food, and grabbed a seat on his old, leather couch. Happy jumped up with Lucy as well, and Natsu sat on the far side of the couch. Happy laid in the middle, curling up to sleep.

With a quick click of the button, an upbeat song started to blast from the speakers as the duo bobbed their heads to the beat. They drank along with their popcorn, as the first episode played.

--

Sobs filled the room as Lucy crouched in a fetal position as her body vibrated with violent tears. Natsu held her close as he started to tear up as well- just much more humorously.

"No, please! Mariam, we gotta leave!" The TV said as it displayed an anxious girl hanging onto disembodied arms. The scene changed to the aforementioned Mariam- who was amusedly smug and holding her hands behind her back. "Now, Serena? I find it hard to believe that this is the best time to leave this very safe building." She smiled. Serena backed up against the wall, her hands out in front of her. The screen turned black.

Curious as to why it stopped, Lucy poked her head out of her haven. Her face morphed into horror quickly as she saw the black screen. "No, you gotta be kidding me! I don't care this is a horrible show, you can't leave me hanging!" Lucy smashed her face into the couch, screaming mutely. Natsu exhaled calmly, still disappointed like his friend.

"Is there anything we can put on, like a new TV show?" Natsu said, tiredly. Lucy tried to think but it was hard with her current state. She nodded no. Natsu breathed a puff of silence and tried to interrogate his brain. When he came up with nothing, he sighed as well. "We could put on Fairy Nail again," Lucy asked. Natsu and Lucy shared a smile.

Because it was already saved on the TV, Lucy only had to click a few buttons to be able to get it on. Before either knew it, Japanese music came blasting out and the duo hummed along in their tired, weakened state. But both shifted in their moods as Nakku and Lusha popped up, strikes their pose, and introduced their friends.

"You know, even though we watch this every single time I'm over, I still always find new Easter eggs. Like, look at Wella"- pointing to a navy blue-haired woman in the back- "Her shirt is all black with white writing. I looked it up last week and it's Deathnote in Japanese. Like how cool is that!" Lucy gushed. Natsu nodded along accordingly, impressed. "We need to do a full cosplay group with this as we did for Harry Potter. It'll be fun to see Wendy dress as Ezra." Lucy suggested. Natsu hummed in approval and turned his sights to a dark, red-head in the back of the scene when Nakku and Lusha are fighting the Demon King.

She wore large, bulky armor and majestic as a horse when she galloped into battle against one of the Demon King's lackeys. The woman charged head-on and sliced off the person's head with a clean swipe. Then, went off to the next with the same swipe. Natsu found her movements mesmerizing and she danced her way through. Once she was done with the massacre, she threw herself over to the Demon King as the duo performed their ultimate move, Cherry Heart.

Lucy looked over to see him glued to the screen, following his line of vision to the red-haired woman. She smiled slightly, feelings never change. "So you like red-haired woman, huh?" Lucy mused. Natsu turned back to her with an embarrassed face. "No, I don't. You do." She gasped amused. "Sure, sure." Lucy rolled her eyes, with a great smile.

And it's done, hope you all enjoyed it! Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a great day/night! Bye~!