I think I've been reading too much Soul Eater fanfic. It bled through a little bit into this. Whoops.
As always, happy reading.
Lucy couldn't seem to find her tongue as Natsu's enthusiasm continued to loudly fill the room.
"Oh, duh, I almost forgot! I suppose I should show you how to summon Happy before we go get food." Natsu moved towards the desk. "He is going to be so pumped to find out this worked out. Are any of these sheets empty? Nevermind, found one!" He grabbed her pen and started to drawn on the paper. "Wait, do you know if that Italian place as burgers? I'd love to get some pasta and a burger. I bet they'd be amazing together. Oh, and if they-"
"What," Lucy yelled, cutting him off, "in the hell is happening?"
He froze. "What do you mean?"
She waved her arm at him. "Why are you acting so different?"
"I'm not acting that different," he mumbled as he avoided her gaze.
"You went from calm, cool, collected to spaz in about half a second. It's very different," she argued. "Is this some side effect of the spell?"
"Uh, no…" He refused to meet her eyes, instead choosing to stare down at his feet. He almost looked embarrassed, with the way he ducked his chin and his cheeks pinkened. "I just… have a tendency to scare off the people who summon me if I don't keep my excitement under control. Erza suggested I try to stay calm and mature so that I would have a better chance of actually getting a contract." He beamed as he held his hands out to her. "And it worked!"
"I don't know who Erza is, but I'm guessing she probably meant to stay calm and mature the whole time, not just until the contract was set." Lucy rubbed her chest above her collarbone. The spot where the runes had entered was still warm. With a resigned sigh, she rolled closer to the desk. "Alright, I guess we should get started, huh?"
Natsu seemed to have forgotten about the paper and pen in his hands. "Get started on what? I was actually hoping to get a chance to do some of my own research before we go visit anywhere."
"Not that part," she said, waving her hand. She pointed at the materials in his hands. "That part, summoning your friend. I know we didn't make up a timeline, but I already agreed, so I might as well get it over with."
"Oh, right, Happy!" Natsu leaned over the desk to finish the picture. "Since I can't summon demons to this plane, I drew it exactly the way it has to be done. All you have to do is redraw it."
Lucy redrew the summoning circle, something that looked like a creature with pointed ears and a tail, quickly, before she could change her mind. She finished it and began to clean up the other papers, deciding she wouldn't be getting any more work done that night. After a few moments of silence, there was a shout of Natsu's name and she turned in time to see a small blue creature slam into Natsu's arms. Except for the wings and the color, Natsu's friend looked just like a small cat.
"Hey little buddy, how's it going!"
"Just fine," Happy said looking around. "Since you called me here, does that mean you finally got a contract?"
"It sure does," Natus said with a grin. He pointed over Happy's shoulder, causing him to pull away and float next to Natsu. "Happy, this is Lucy. Lucy, this is my best friend Happy!"
"He's a cat," was all Lucy could think to say.
"I'm not a cat!" The blue creature crossed his arms as he lifted his nose. "I'm an Exceed."
"I don't know what that is, but you look just like a cat." Lucy looked around and noted that not only was Plue back by Natsu's feet, but he was standing up on his hind legs to try and sniff at the flying blue creature. "Minus the wings and blue fur, anyway."
Plue trilled as he circled Natsu's feet before leaning on him again. Happy lowered himself until he was floating just about the white cat, who hopped onto two legs to rub himself against the small demon. Happy, in response, landed on his feet, wings gone and began to sniff at the white cat who rubbed against him.
Lucy glanced at Natsu, who's eyebrows had disappeared somewhere near his hairline. "Well that's new," he murmured.
When she was sure the two wouldn't start fighting, she spoke up. "Maybe we could let them get acquainted while we go get you something to eat."
"Sounds great to me," Natsu said, grabbing her hand. "Let's go!"
"Woah, wait wait wait!" Lucy pulled her hand from his grasp. "I need to change."
"Why- oh, nevermind." He gave her a smile and shooed her away. "Just be quick, I'm starving!"
Dress seems to be important to you. His earlier words banged around in her head as she went to her room to change. She pulled on her favorite red plaid skirt and a white top. Her hair was still a mess from earlier, so she quickly brushed it out and pulled it into a messy bun. As she finished, she glanced out the window, noting that it had grown dark, so she grabbed her short leather jacket after pulling on a pair of black boots. She caught the scowl in her reflection as she tugged the jacket on, and tried to fix her expression before she left her room.
As she re-entered the living room, she noticed that Plue and Happy were missing and Natsu was sitting cross legged on the floor, fiddling with his scarf as he studied the room around him. "Where did they go?" she asked when he finally noticed her and stood.
"Exploring the kitchen. Happy found some canned tuna and wanted to try it, I hope that's okay."
"I suppose so," Lucy said as she made her way towards the kitchen. Plue was sitting on his perch near the window watching Happy, who was digging in a drawer. She watched him pull out a butter knife and raised it towards Plue, who meowed back. Happy grumbled as he put it back and continued to search the drawer. "You said it was in this drawer, but I don't know which one it is…"
"Are you- are you talking to Plue?" Lucy asked as she watched the pair.
Happy looked up at her. "Of course, don't you?"
"Well, I mean," she felt her cheeks heat. "I do but it's not like we have conversations or anything. We don't understand each other."
Plue trilled at Happy who stopped again to respond. An answering meow made Happy's smile grow wide. "Oh reeeeeeaaally."
"Really what?" Lucy asked. Happy merely smiled wider at her. "Really what, cat? Answer me!"
"Nothing," Happy said as he raised his paws in front of himself. "I just think Plue and I are going to get along really well."
"That's good to hear, little buddy," Natsu said, surprising Lucy with how close he was. He grabbed her hand and headed for the door. "Let's go, Lucy. They're getting along great, see? So let's go eat!"
Lucy barely managed to grab her purse from it's spot near the door as he continued to pull her out the door. "Plue, if you can understand me, don't you dare tell that flying hairball anything private!" There was no response as Natsu shut the door and continued to drag her behind him.
"Natsu, stop pulling me," she hissed as she yanked him to a stop. She noted how nice it felt to have his hand wrapped around hers, to feel the heat from his palm travel up her arm. The night had cooled down considerably with the setting of the sun, as it usually did this time of year. She shivered a bit despite her jacket and Natsu's hand. It had been a warmer October than usual, so she hadn't had a chance to get reaquainted with the cooler evening temperatures yet.
Natsu noticed the movement and looked at her with a frown. "Are you cold?"
"Only a little, it's not a big-"
"Nonsense," he said, moving closer to her. "Here, let me help." He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her flush against his side.
Immediately, Lucy's entire body became warm and she risked smelling him as she looked up to meet his eyes. He smelt like fire and smoke, spicy, and something dark, something that she didn't have a word for. "Better?" he asked with a wide grin.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah," she answered, turning forward. He pulled her along more slowly, clearly knowing where he was going. She tried to hide her blush from him as she looked forward with her head tilted down a little.
Natsu felt great as he looked around at the human world. It was amazing how much their worlds differed, and it was even more incredible how different it was from his last visit, nearly a hundred years prior. He watched cars passing them by on the road, bright lights mixing with flickering reds at the end of the street. Lights blazed along both sides of the road, from inside shops to the tall lamps evenly spaced on the sidewalk, lighting up the streets. People laughed and walked around them, chatting with friends or spouses, some speaking into phones as they dodged the other bodies around them. Perhaps the strangest difference, and for Natsu the most unsettling, was the noise. The sheer amount of people, chatting and laughing on the streets. The buzz from the overhead lights. Music and other noises coming from inside the different shops and restaurants. The rumble of the cars as they passed by. The ringing of a cell phone from across the street. He looked up to see movement from pinpricks of discolored light in the night sky as a plane flew overhead.
Natsu tried not to scowl as his sensitive ears tried to block out some of the noise surrounding him. Instead he focused on the woman at his side, on the heat that built up between their bodies. The sound of her breathing as she occasionally blew stray hairs out of her face. The way the lights around them blinked against the shine of her blonde hair, some of which had fallen out of the tie near her neck.
"So, I think I've come up with a mostly believable story," she said.
Natsu drug his gaze from her hair to her eyes as she looked up at him. The brown of her eyes was darker now, nearly as dark as his own without the sun to lighten them. "Alright, whaddaya got?"
"You're an old friend that's come to visit. You travelled a lot because of your parents, who never seemed able to settle down anywhere, so we were never able to keep in touch. I've lived here my whole life, so it would have been easy for you to find me, if you'd had the inclination.
"Your parents passed recently, so you've been left their assets, but since you've done so much travelling, you don't really have much in the way of possessions, just funds. You've decided to do a little bit of travel with the goal of finding somewhere to settle down, but need a homebase. We were good friends while you were here, and you decided to take a shot at finding me to ask for my help, and I said yes."
"Won't your old friends know that I wasn't here? At least the ones that knew you when we supposedly met?"
"No," she said, looking away. "You were homeschooled. You lived across the hall from my apartment while you were here, which is how we became friends."
Natsu shrugged. "Alright, if you think that'll work."
Lucy smiled at him as they walked up to the door of Loke's Celestial Dining. Natsu grabbed the door before she could and Lucy led the way inside. As she approached the host's stand, she felt a little dread settle into her stomach as she saw the person standing behind it.
"What's wrong?" Natsu asked as he felt her hand stiffen. She gave him a look, something pleading and warning at the same time, before turning back to the host. A man with red hair and tinted glasses stood behind it, dressed in an impeccable black suit. He finished making a note, then looked up with an easy smile. "Good evening, and welcome to- Lucy? What are you doing here! You don't usually come on Wednesdays!" The man moved around the stand, his smile much more genuine now, as he hugged Lucy.
"Hey, Loke," she said, returning the hug. She tried to hide her discomfort as they hugged, but he pulled back swiftly and studied her face.
He studied her with a frown. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, of course," she said, smiling at him. "Just tired."
Loke glanced over her shoulder, his frown deepening. He lowered his voice so only Lucy could hear him. "Does it have something to do with him?"
"No, no, it has nothing to do with Natsu."
"Natsu? Strange name."
She shrugged. "He's kind of a strange guy." Lucy pulled away from Loke's embrace to introduce them. "Loke, this is Natsu, an old friend of mine. Natsu, this is Loke, he's the owner of this restaurant and a good friend."
"It's nice to meet you, Natsu," Loke said, reaching forward.
"Nice to meet you as well," Natsu replied, clasping the man's hand. Lucy saw Loke's eyes narrow slightly as the two shook, and she could have sworn she saw him strain a little as their hands moved. Natsu appeared unaffected, except for the way his smile widened slightly.
Loke pulled back with his usual charming smile in place as he grabbed two menus. "Well, suppose I can't keep my favorite customer waiting. If you'll follow me?"
As they made their way towards Lucy's favorite booth, she glanced around the restaurant. "Why are you manning the front, Loke? I don't usually see you out on the floor, unless it's at the bar."
"New kid called in," he answered, setting their menus on the table before he stepped back, allowing them to sit. "The usual drink?" Loke looked at Lucy with a raised eyebrow.
"I think I'll actually take tea tonight," she said with a smile.
"You got it. How about you, Natsu?" Natsu had the menu open and he had already started reading it, ignoring the pair.
Lucy sighed. "Just bring him a water for now. I'm sure he'll pick something else later."
Loke studied Natsu for a moment as he watched the other man reading. "He's rather focused, huh?" Lucy didn't say anything, merely nodded with a small smile. "In case you were wondering, my offer still stands for Friday. You didn't answer me on Monday when you were in."
Lucy's smile widened, more genuine now as she rested her chin on her fist. "My answer is the same as always, Loke. You know Fridays are our bar nights."
He raised his hands. "You could always let them go without you for once. A nice meal, just the two of us, without the usual string of pestering losers might be a nice change of pace." He smiled at her as he grabbed her other hand and leaned down to kiss it. "It's an open invitation, you just tell me when and where," he added with a wink.
As he rose to his full height, he glanced at Natsu for a moment, before smiling at her again. "You were telling me you could use a change of pace. That's all I'm trying to offer." Then he was gone, weaving through the tables towards the bar. As Lucy looked back at Natsu, she laughed quietly to herself.
She had a feeling she already had all the 'change of pace' that she could handle sitting across from her.
Edited 6/11/20
