The air bites at my face as I run to get to work on time, I glance at my watch, dang it I silently curse as I burst through the doors.

"Not late!" I throw my coat at the coat rack and grab my apron from the hook beside it. I stop for a second to clock in before I stop beside the outline.

"Where's this going?" I look at the mess of receipts pinned above the plates. "These in the right order?" I ask Dean as he swishes a pan of veggies around.

"Uh…" He glances over and gives a quick nod "Yep, clear to go." Dean flips a burger and stirs another pan.

"Alright," I grab the tray and fill it with the dishes. Lifting it over my head as one of the newer waitresses passes underneath.

"Nice of you to join us, Natsu." Lisana playfully snarks as she maneuvers around me.

"Hey, I was here on time." I call back as the door swings shut between us. I weave through the dinner crowd and the waiters and head to the back corner where a young couple is sitting. They're out on their first date, I can tell, not because the girl is dressed to the nines but because the boy is. Over dressed for a kid, kakis and a button up, his hair arranged in the way a mom does before sending her kid off.

"Alright, your food is ready." I set the plates down. "Who got the house salad and who got the chicken alfredo?"

"Salad for me." The Girl fidgets and takes her hands away from the table to make room for the plate.

"Awesome, choice." I set the plate in front of her "salad is one of my favorites."

"Pasta here." The boy tries to speak up but his voice hasn't broken yet, I stifle a laugh.

"Good man." I set his plate down. "and I got a coke and a water."

"Coke." The boy nods his head and puffs his chest out and I really hope I didn't look like this when I went on my first date.

"Water." The girl's voice is light and whispery, kind of hard to hear even if she does speak up.

"Excellent choices, anything else I can get you two?" I look at them both as I speak.

"No, thank you." The girl smiles politely.

"Thank you, sir." The boy nods at me.

"Alright, I'll be back to check on you guys in a few." I duck out and swing back to grab more plates.

The next table is a group, they're nicely dressed but not overly dressed. I can guess who's food is who's just by looking at them. It's a weird skill acquired from three years at this restaurant.

"Looking sharp, everyone." I make small talk, the girls blush and the guys sit a little straighter.

"Can I get anyone anything else?" I ask. The group exchange looks before the girls smile and shake their heads at me.

"We're good, thanks." The dark blond bobs her head.

"Excellent, I'll be back in a few to check on you guys." I fold my hands over the tray in front of me "enjoy your meal." I spin around and nearly run, Lisana over.

"Geez, Lisana ." I gasp "my bad."

"Come, Natsu." She smirks at me "move it or lose it." She throws a smile over her shoulder before disappearing behind the VIP section. Lisana always works the VIP section, guess there are some perks to being the boss's daughter.

The night is a steady stream of customers and a blur of faces I barely remember beyond that moment. I glance table thirteen, the table with the first date at it. They're laughing and she's blushing and he's tugging at his collar every so often. I watch as he excuses himself to the bathroom, she watches him disappear before she pulls her phone out. Her face is red and a smile is stretched clear across her face. I imagine she's texting her friend. Is that what Lucy looks like when she texts me? I wonder as I stride across the room toward the bathroom.

The kid walks out just as I get to the door,

"pardon me." the kid tries to walk around me but I step in his way. He looks at me confused.

"Listen here, kid." I glance back at his date "you like the girl?" I ask. His face turns red and he rolls his shoulders.

"I mean…" he clears his throat "yeah… I think so." He shifts and glances at the girl still texting her friends.

"Then I'm going to give you the best advice you will ever hear." I point to the girl "she ordered a salad and water, she's worried about what you'll think of her if she gets anything substantial." I tell him.

"Why would she be worried about that?" The kid asks confused.

"Because girls are told to behave a certain way, it's your job to make sure she feels comfortable enough with you that she doesn't feel like she has to put on a show." I explain, he still looks confused.

"Buy her dessert." I tell him.

He blushes harder. "I can't afford that, dinner was already expensive."

"another tip." I sigh "make sure you have enough for the date you take her on, girls don't need fancy dinners, they want to feel comfortable."

"What do you even know about girls?" The kid shakes his head as if he just remembered I'm a waiter. I scoff and pull my phone out.

"That is my girl." I hold the screen out to him, feeling pride fill me. The kid glances between me and Lucy's picture.

"Dessert?" he repeats, finally "Really?"

"Make a girl feel comfortable and she'll be in love with you whether you take her out to dinner at a place like this or to the local bowling alley." I step out of his way. "Now go get your girl a dessert."

The boy nods, he still looks a little unsure but he strides across the room and takes a seat back at the table. I wait a second before I follow him over.

"How is everything?" I ask them.

"It's delicious." The boy smiles at the girl, how flushes but manages a smile back.

"Perfect, can I get you two anything else?" I watch the boy's face, he's still hesitant.

"May I show you the dessert menu?" I prompt. The boy seems to snap out of it and nods.

"oh, um…" the girl is hesitant now. The boy fidgets with his fork.

"You know what?" I take their plates. "give me just a second." I take their plates back and drop them in the sink. I swing by the dessert counter and snap two chocolate-dipped assortment platters. Lucy loves these when she comes in to visit me, and they're the thing we always give out free when we mess an order up.

"Alright, you two." I set the plates in front of them.
"I didn't order these." The boy frowns at me.

"Don't worry about it kid," I assure him "on the house, just enjoy your date."

"Thank you." The girl pipes up, her eyes are on the dessert.

"Thanks." The boy smiles, noticing the girl's excitement.

"You two enjoy." I slip back into the kitchen and snatch another plate but a laugh stops me. I turn around to find Lucy standing near the employee entrance. Her hair is damp and she's wearing her big silver hoops. I can see the bottom of her green-blue dress peeking out from her dark red jacket, she was really proud of that find, she got it from the thrift store for like three bucks. She's got her thin scarf tucked around her neck and, of course, her favorite brown riding boots on. I never cared what my girlfriends were wearing before I met Lucy. I think it's something I learned from her, noticing things, noticing everything.

"Lucy." I set my plates down and sweep her up in my arms. Her arms lock around me, I feel her chest expand against me as she smells me.

"I don't smell good, right now." I warn her. she shakes her head.

"You smell like you… perfect." She breathes the words before pulling away and smiling up at me.

"Love is not only blind in this case." Dean chuckles from the stoves. "It can't smell either."

"Jealousy is not a becoming quality, Dean." Lucy's voice is soft but it manages to carry through the bustling kitchen. Dean makes a face and stirs whatever is in the pan in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, "are you okay?" I lead her to the back corner where we take turns catching our breaths… and eating the chocolate covered fruit. I grab a plate for Lucy and hand it to her.

"Thank you." She pops a piece of pineapple into her mouth and shakes her head "everything is fine, I just got bored, I wanted to see you."

"You sure you're okay?" I ask her. She nods and glances around the kitchen.

"Absolutely." She returns her eyes to mine.

"Lucy—"

"Eh, Natsu!" Lisana calls "get a little pep in your step, we still got tables and Ty disappeared again." Lisana bustles back out through the door with three trays expertly balanced on her hands and up her arms.

"Go back to work, I'll just—"

I press a kiss to her mouth to stop her next words, I really don't want her to say go. "sit at the bar counter, eat the fruit, I'll get a cup of tea for you." I peck her lips with another kiss "but don't go, okay?" I ask her. she seems to consider it for a moment before she smiles and bobs her head "Okay," she gives me a light peck before disappearing through the doors. I grab the next set of trays and take them out to their tables. I smile and nod and rush back to the kitchen. I make a tea for Lucy, she'd want something without caffeine, but not something that's going to make her sleepy. I glance at the scarce teas we offer, it's sad considering the selection Lucy has at home. I grab a raspberry tea bag and slip it on the plate with the steaming cup of water.

"Here, raspberry." I explain, pecking her with another kiss. She smiles, she loves pecks.

"Thank you." She calls after me as I hurry to deliver the next set of plates.

I flop back into the chair beside Lucy, the young couple left happy and Lucy is content to sip on her tea. She doesn't look at all tired but something still seems off.

"So," I play with a lock of her hair "is there something you needed to talk about?"

"Oh, no." Lucy sips her tea "no, I just really wanted to see you is all." She smiles. Lucy's smiles are always so telling. I love her telling smiles. I know what each one means, this one means she's not lying but her mind is preoccupied, not unusual for her but it is unusual for her not to be more uppity.

"You sure?" I prompt "You just don't seem like yourself tonight."

"I'm a little tired." Lucy admits.

"Well, you should have stayed home and gotten more rest." I trade her hair for her back.

"No." Lucy shakes her head "not like sleepy tired like… like just tired." She shrugs and sighs and stares at her cup of tea.

"Tired?" I ask. She nods.

"Tired of…of…me?" I'm terrified of her answer. She freezes at the question, her hands still and her eyes snap up to mine, her mouth slightly gapped.

"Of course not!" she explained "why would you say that?"

I shrug "I don't know, I'm just worried about you."

"Natsu…" Lucy touches his arm "why would you ask me that?"

"I guess…" Natsu sighs "I guess it's because of…"

"My mom?" Lucy guesses.

I nod and interlace my fingers with hers. "You didn't tell me about her, Lucy, we tell each other everything."

Lucy's eyes are full of pain, he lips quivers the slightest but but she won't cry, not right now. "I didn't want to think about her… what she did, what I did…any of it." She bites her lip "I thought if I could just start over, no one knew about her, that I could live for myself." She takes a breath "It was never because of you Natsu." Her voice is firm as she says it. "it was for me, it was because I wanted to forget and the more people that knew about it the harder it would be to forget." She rests her hand against my face.

"and what about Owen?" I ask her. She stiffens the slightest bit but her conviction doesn't waver.

"same thing." She says and I know she doesn't want to say anymore or talk about this but I can't stop myself.

"You're sure it's not because you don't trust me to protect you?" The words are out there between us and I can't take them back and I don't really want to because she can't lie and I want to know the truth.

Her eyes widen the slightest bit, she's surprised and her thumb brushes just under my eye and "no." she breaths, she almost seems relieved "of course not, I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone in my life."

A breath I didn't even realize I had been holding finally leaves me and right now, everything is perfect.

I pull Lucy against me and squeeze her and she squeezes me back I love Lucy's hugs.


Dear Natsu,

I know who I am writing to now. I also know that what I'm doing to you isn't fair. Making you think that we have forever. You don't even know and you never take me for granted. I love that about you. You're so appreciative of everything I do.

I'm just really sorry that I've lied to you.

Lucy