Chapter 10
The next morning, Lucy wasn't as energetic as she had been the night before.
"Ugh, why does the sun have to be so bright, I feel like my head is going to explode" Lucy groaned, shuffling out of the bedroom, hand pressed to her temple. She gingerly pulled out one of the stools at the counter and sat down, dropping her head onto the cool surface of the granite.
Laughing lightly, Natsu pushed a plate with two pieces of toast, a glass of water, and a bottle of ibuprofen towards her. Lifting her head, Lucy groaned in thanks, and took a bite of the toast. Thankfully she wasn't feeling too nauseous, but she had Natsu to thank for that. He rescued her from the bar before she had any more to drink.
"Thanks for picking me up last night, who knows what would have happened if I had stayed much longer" Lucy laughed, once she finished her toast and drank the water in front of her.
"We would have come sooner, but Gray didn't want to seem desperate" Natsu said, sitting down with his own breakfast in the chair right next to Lucy.
"Oh man, it must have killed him to let Juvia go to a club without him, I can only imagine" Lucy said, biting back a smile. Gray always tried to play it cool, but he was very protective over Juvia. He was always staring down the other guys who even tried to look at her.
"Both him and Gajeel were panicked. Especially after you guys sent that one picture of the four of you." Natsu said, his eyes twinkling.
"So what you are saying is that we looked hot" Lucy said slyly, raising an eyebrow.
At this, Natsu chuckled, running his hand through his hair, making it all spiky. At this, Lucy's pulse spiked. Her eyes met Natsu's, taking the next words out of her mouth. His cheeks were slightly pink, almost matching the color of his hair. Blinking, she realized she was staring, and cleared her throat, looking away.
"I seriously don't even want to look at myself right now, I'm probably such a mess" Lucy sighed, trying to change the topic. She pushed some of her hair out of her face, trying to comb through with her fingers.
"Nah, you still look great, you just look a tad bit hungover" Natsu laughed.
"More than a tad" Lucy groaned. "I didn't even make it into my pajamas I was so drunk,"
"Oh I know, I had to help you out of your dress, it was quite an adventure" Natsu said, his voice full of mirth.
Lucy groaned again, putting her head back on the counter. She remembered Natsu helping her stagger up the stairs. She also remembered how warm and strong he felt. All her feelings from before were slowly coming back to life, and now she couldn't look at Natsu without remembering his strong arms around her, or the feeling of her lips on his. She vaguely remembered giving Natsu a sloppy kiss goodnight. It definitely was not what she imagined her first kiss with him would be like.
He was so nonchalant. How could he not feel her inner turmoil? She felt her cheeks redden when she remembered how she curled up next to Natsu once he got into bed, drawn to his warmth. Before she fell asleep, she had felt him kiss her forehead and whisper goodnight, but she had been too drunk to respond. Even worse, she had fallen asleep in her underwear. It wasn't just any old underwear, but her lacy party underwear that she wore for special occasions.
She wanted to bring up the kiss. But she didn't know how. All Lucy knew was that she had finally gotten Natsu back into her life, and she really didn't want to mess that up.
Natsu had been ball of nerves all morning. Last night had been whirlwind. When he had seen Lucy, he was sure his stomach dropped right out of him and onto the floor. She was so gorgeous, her face glowing as she danced and laughed.
But when he had seen her with another man, he had to hold himself back from doing something he would regret.
And then Lucy had kissed him. Granted it was a tiny, sloppy drunk kiss. But it was still a kiss.
And man did he want another.
Now, Lucy was sitting in front of him, her hair and makeup mussed up. It took his breath away. Lucy usually always looked so put together, and this was the first time he got to really witness this side of Lucy.
"Why don't you get washed up? I'm sure that will help you feel better" Natsu suggested, standing up and grabbing his and Lucy's plate.
As he crossed the brilliantly white tiles, he glanced back to see Lucy finally lift her head up from the counter.
"Yeah, I need to get this makeup off of my face before I start breaking out" Lucy said, standing up and smoothing out her silk robe, which had become a little wrinkled from sitting.
"I'll clean up, you go ahead" Natsu said, waving his hand at her, and leaning over the sink to rinse the plates off.
"Thanks" He heard her say. When he stood up again, he watched her walk toward the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he stood by the dishwasher trying to rid himself of his nervousness.
He was a Fairy Tail operative, something like this shouldn't scare him. Raking his hand through his hair again, he let out a long breath and walked to the couch. He might as well try to focus on something else while he could.
On the coffee table, Natsu had laid out all the files taken from Jude Heartfilia's office. He was hoping there was some lead concerning Zeref in the manila folders in front of him.
Half an hour later, that is where Lucy found him, bent over the folders and deep in thought.
She had taken a long, hot shower, washing off all the filth from the night before. Her hair had been a nightmare to comb, but now it hung around her face, damp, but untangled. Lucy had thrown on a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt, opting for comfort over cuteness today.
"What do you have here?" She asked, curling up next to Natsu, and peering over his shoulder at the folders in front of her.
Frowning, Natsu sat back up, and set one of the folders down.
"Files from your father's office" He said, eyes watching her features carefully.
Swallowing, Lucy nodded.
"Find anything useful?" She asked, reaching to pick up one of the folders.
"No, nothing yet. I hope there is some clue in here to lead up to Zeref. There has to be something" Natsu said, running his hand through his already messy hair, eyeing the stack of folders.
When he looked back at Lucy, he froze. Her face was inches from his, having leaned closer to pick up another folder.
He could feel her breath on his face. Swallowing, he licked his lips, seeing her eyes dart from his mouth back up to his eyes.
"Lucy…" He started, his face leaning closer to hers.
"Yes, Natsu?" He heard Lucy say, almost a whisper.
He reached out to rub a finger across her cheek and felt her press her face into his hand slightly.
"You kissed me last night" He said, eyes darting from her pink lips back up to her eyes. The air was thick between them, both hesitant to make a move and break the haze.
"I did." She said, raising a hand to cover his. "And i'm going to kiss you again" She breathed, leaning closer, so close that their foreheads were touching.
"Then kiss me" Natsu said, his voice rough. Their lips were barely brushing, when he felt Lucy finally push forward and press her lips firmly against his.
Natsu inhaled sharply, his hands moving to encase her face as she moved her lips against his.
As Natsu started to kiss her back, he felt her melt against him, her hands running up his chest to wrap around his neck. Her lips were soft under his, and he sighed, all the years of longing leaving his body.
He had waited so long for this moment.
When they finally broke apart, breathing heavily, Lucy bit her lip, her cheeks blushing a light pink. Natsu laughed, pressing his forehead against hers again, pulling her onto his lap fully.
"I've been waiting so long for that to happen" He said, pushing some of her wet hair away from her face and behind her ear.
Lucy laughed, burying her face into his chest.
"That is what I imagined our first kiss would be like, not that awful drunk kiss I gave you" She said into his chest.
"How about we forget about that kiss, and count this as our first one?" Natsu said, looking down at Lucy as she lifted her head back up, meeting her eyes and she grinned.
"Sound good to me" She giggled. "This one was much better anyways".
Natsu smiled at her, leaning his head down to capture her in another soft, languid kiss. As he felt Lucy's hands slide up his arms, he heard the unmistakable ring of his phone.
"Damn it" He groaned, pulling away from Lucy. Lucy just laughed, leaning back, so he could reach down and grab his phone from the coffee table.
"It's Gray" He said, sliding his thumb across the phone and bringing it to his ear. Lucy dropped her head down onto his shoulder, her lips still tingling from Natsu's kisses. She felt warm and happy and safe. Closing her eyes, she tried to engrain this moment firmly into her memory.
Natsu's arm wound more securely around her shoulders, and he hand began to trace up and down lightly as he joked with Gray.
Absentmindedly, Lucy reached down and grabbed one of the files. She flipped it open on her lap and paged through the documents inside. Inside, she found a list of his bank transactions, all his deposits, transfers, and payments from the last 10 years. With a jolt, she realized how much money her father had lost. His accounts were barely breaking even.
That must have been his motivation for working with Zeref and Phantom Lord. It's hard to keep up his type of lifestyle without having the funds.
Lucy traced the numbers on the paper, biting her lip. This might be the reason why her father had started being so harsh to her. He was always trying to set up advantageous marriages with other wealthy families. If she had agreed to marry one, her father would have been given access to her newfound wealth.
Lost in thought, Lucy didn't notice when Natsu hung up the phone.
"Gray called to tell me that the agents finished going through all the possible evidence in your father's house. He wanted me to tell you that they found his will locked in a safe behind that big picture of your mother in his office." He said, nudging Lucy's arm a little with his hand.
Blinking, it took Lucy a second to process what he had just said.
"Oh..they finally found his will?" She asked, setting the folder she held back onto the table in front of her.
"Yeah, Gray gave a copy of it to your family's lawyer, so whenever we want we can head over and go through it with him".
"Yeah, let me get dressed" Lucy said slowly, pulling away from Natsu. He nodded, letting his arm fall away from her.
Watching her go, Natsu sighed. While Lucy had been dealing with the loss of her father pretty well he didn't want her to close herself back off again, especially with all the research ahead of them.
An hour later, Lucy and Natsu found themselves in the office of Mr. Buchanan, the Heartfilia family's personal lawyer.
The office was lined with a plush red carpet, which was paired with sturdy mahogany furniture. In the middle of the room, sat a desk with two armchairs on one side, and Mr. Buchanan on the other.
"Ms. Heartfilia, it's so good to see you after so many years" The lawyer said brightly, leaping from his chair and running over to grasp Lucy's hand.
"Thank you, it's nice to see you as well" She replied. Turning to face Natsu, she gestured towards him. "Mr. Buchanan, this is Natsu Dragneel". Natsu greeted the man warmly, and soon they were swept into the plush chairs in front of the desk.
"Alright, why don't we get started, hm?" He suggested, pulling out a file from his desk.
Lucy felt her hands tremble, and she reached over the grasp at Natsu's. Without a look towards her, he wrapped his hand around hers and gave it a quick squeeze. Feeling a little more grounded, Lucy nodded at the lawyer.
"Okay, to start, the Heartfilia business was deeply in debt in afraid, so in order to pay off this debt, all the shares that would have been passed to you would need to be sold" Mr. Buchanan started, looking over the document.
"Yes, I figured as much. That's fine with me" Lucy said. She had been independent from her father for many years now, so she didn't need his money at this point.
"As for the house, that is left in your name, so you are now the sole owner of the Heartfilia Estate and all of it's amenities such as your father's cars and the staff who work there" The lawyer stated, his voice even and smooth.
Each part of the will was explained and detailed out, with Lucy confirming and making slight decisions as the list was read.
"Lastly, your father left behind a single safety deposit box in your name. It is in the Magnolia Bank. He left instructions that you should only open it if he had passed away."
Lucy looked at Natsu sharply, and he shook his head. This morning, he had glanced through all of Jude Heartfilia's accounts and holdings, but there had been no mention of a deposit box anywhere.
"And with that, we have concluded the last will and testament of Jude Heartfilia. Thank you Lucy, for coming in, and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call" He said, once again shaking both Lucy and Natsu's hand.
"I want to go see what is in the box" Lucy said, once she had Natsu were out of the office, and walking back outside to the car.
"Are you sure, it could be risky. Especially with his involvement with Zeref" Natsu said, looking down at the blonde walking at his side.
"I know, but it could be a clue!" She said, looking back up at him.
Sighing, Natsu nodded. "Okay, but I want to be with you the entire time, just in case", he said, taking her hand gently.
Lucy smiled, "Of course, we are a team" She said lightly, squeezing his hand once.
Hand in hand, they made their way back to Natsu's car, and began to make the short drive to Magnolia Bank.
The bank in question was the biggest and grandest bank in all of Magnolia. It was all white and had a single, large dome with a glass chandelier that had enough pieces to blind someone if the light hit it right.
It was a showy bank for the rich and famous of Magnolia, and was one of the best guarded banks in the country. Thankfully Lucy wasn't trying to break into it. Sure, she could have, but it would have taken some effort on her part.
After talking to the secretary at the front desk, Lucy and Natsu were lead past a locked gate into a private room with just a marble platform in the middle. Once inside, another lady brought out the box and set it on the platform.
"Just press the buzzer when you are finished" The lady said, smoothing her skirt out before leaving and shutting the door.
"Alright, let's see what's in here" Lucy said, grabbing Natsu's hand once again.
Holding her breath, Lucy reached out a hand and undid the latches, and opened the lid.
The inside of the box was covered in red felt, but nestled softly in the middle was a single envelope and a golden key.
Confused, Lucy picked up the key and studied it.
It was heavy, but had a symbol engraved upon it. One she recognized as the zodiac symbol for Aquarius.