"Hey Lu!"
Lucy looked up from her notepad to see Levy enter her office chambers.
"Hey Lev!"
"You came in very late today." She said, while she took a seat on her favourite spot on the couch and made herself comfortable.
"Gee, and I wonder whose fault is that." Lucy mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Oh c'mon Lu! So what if you drank a little more than normal?" Levy asked, laughing.
"A little more?" Lucy repeated in disbelief. "Lev, I experienced the worst hangover of my life this morning. It was way more than 'a little more'."
Levy continued chuckling, whereas Lucy just shook her head and resumed her writing.
"Ahem."
"Hm?"
Lucy glanced up again when Levy pretended to clear her throat. Levy wore a very smug expression and was eyeing Lucy weirdly.
"Soooo.."
She was quiet again, but still kept on eyeing Lucy as if expecting her to continue.
"Umm Lev? Is something the matter?"
"You tell me!"
"Huh?"
"Who was it? I want all the deets ASAP."
"Lev-?"
"Aww c'mon Lucy! I was drunk, not dead!"
Seeing her blonde friend's still confused expression, Levy sighed before elaborating.
"That boy. The one with the pink hair. He took you home right? Who is he?" Levy asked, her eyes sparkling. She was clapping her hands like an excited little child who was about to be told a very interesting story.
Lucy instantly turned red, thinking about him. She immediately started reminiscing about the incident from earlier that day.
"W-What are you talking about Levy? W-What boy?"
Levy gave her an unamused look before sighing and getting up.
"Oookay..I guess I'll be going now. Since my best friend doesn't find me important enough to tell about her special someone, I suppose I'll be sulking in my office room."
She was slowly dragging herself towards the door, muttering about her being an inconvenience.
"Such a bad friend I would've been, making her-"
"FOR GOD'S SAKE LEVY! FINE I'LL TELL YOU!"
Levy gleefully turned back, clapping her hands once again.
"I knew you'd come around Lu!"
Lucy sighed, settling back comfortably.
"He is an acquaintance of mine."
Levy once again wore an unamused expression, crossing her arms.
"Really Lu? The way he was carrying you bridal style with that gentleness screamed 'Definitely more than acquaintances' to me!"
Lucy was pink again, immediately looking down to hide her blush.
"W-Well I was drunk so I can't s-say."
"What is his name?"
"N-Natsu."
"Natsu?"
"Dragneel. Natsu Dragneel."
"Ooh that is one hot name. Now off I'll go, stalking him on social media!"
Levy waved goodbye while giving her a mischievous wink. The door closed behind her and Lucy clenched her fists.
"Natsu, you idiot! You're in so much trouble!"
The pencil holder on her table accidentally fell down.
It was a beautiful evening, the sky filled with breathtaking hues of pink and blue. A subtle yet a little chilly September breeze flew, causing Lucy's wavy blond hair to ruffle.
The whole scenery was so picture perfect and serene. Beautiful.
This is why Lucy loved walking.
Unfortunately, she reached home far too early for her liking, which left her craving for the outside a bit more.
"I'm home."
"Luuuucccceeeeee!"
Immediately she was engulfed in a hug by the flurry blue cat and the dragon slayer. As much as she was skeptical to the idea of them living with her, she couldn't help but feel content at the thought of someone being home to greet her at the end of the day.
She was so, so happy.
"Okay, you guys!"
They both had a wide smile on their faces as they finally backed away. Lucy chuckled when she saw them, amused.
"Missed me Huh?"
She bent down to pet Plue, who was trying to lick her to show its own affection.
"Not you Luce, we missed food."
A tick mark formed on her head when she heard Happy.
"Missed food huh?" She mumbled darkly. The cat visibly gulped.
"Natsu help! She's scary!"
The blonde shook her head and then sighed. She then walked to the living room, setting her bag down and looking around.
"Relax Happy. You can get down from his head now. And did you guys behave?"
"Aye sir!"
"Well then." She started, smiling slightly. "I guess a promise's a promise right? Get washed up you two!"
An hour later, the dining table was set with steaming hot food, the aroma filling the whole house. Natsu and Happy hungrily looked at it, ready to jump in, while Lucy set the final dish down.
"Let's dig in!"
She expected him to jump on his food and start shoving it down like he does, but surprisingly, he was patient today, and was using actual cutlery.
"Natsu?"
"Hm?" He asked, carefully cutting his meat with the knife and fork.
"What's up with you?"
"Huh?"
"You're so..so.."
She didn't have words to describe how she felt. She knew she should be happy, but somehow this was unsettling. Suspicious.
"Thank you for the meal!"
Lucy was wide eyed when he thanked her after. And then later, him being super enthusiastic with cleaning and helping added to her pile of doubts.
"Oh Natsu! There is something that I have to talk to you ab-"
She had just walked out of the shower, when she noticed him sleeping peacefully on her bed. She giggled.
"At least that didn't change."
Pouring herself a glass of warm milk, she leaned against the cool railing of her balcony, gazing at the stars. The breeze made her shiver, but the warmth from the milk made her feel better.
"He was there, wasn't he?"
She didn't even turn back, but Happy came out of the shadows anyway.
"Aye. How'd you know?"
"Things just don't knock themselves over on their own y'know. He's really bad at being subtle, even if he's invisible."
Happy watched a giggling Lucy and then flew up, sitting on the railing, watching the stars with her.
"Why didn't you bust him?"
"He was acting too adorably." She replied, giggling. "They are beautiful, aren't they?" She asked, after a few moments.
"Yeah. I wonder if Igneel's up there too."
"What?"
"Igneel. They say that your loved ones who have passed become stars and watch over you. I wonder if it's the same for Igneel."
"Igneel is..?"
"Yeah. It happened a while ago. He was murdered by an evil dragon."
"Oh no."
"He was crazy strong. But unfortunately, Achnologia was stronger. Natsu fought it just a few days ago himself. He eventually won, but the impact of the fight was far too much."
"Was that why he was injured?"
"Yeah. But due to your timely intervention and his speedy recovery antics, he survived."
"Not a day passes when he doesn't miss Igneel. Especially since he has no other family. He has a brother, who left him with Igneel, but he has been missing for a long time."
"I-I didn't know.."
Happy smiled sadly, looking at her.
"My sympathy and comfort is limited y'know. Through that hell of a time he had no one who could comfort him, help him out. It was a torture watching him suffer like that."
"Happy..." she whispered softly, her voice quivering slightly.
"You're the first person, who has been this close to him. He wanted to spend more time with his friend, that's why he begged to come along. And that's why he came even after you said no."
Lucy was teary-eyed now. Though she knew that she had no way of knowing about it, she still felt like a jerk. If only she'd known.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, you had no way of knowing."
"But I still feel like a jerk."
"Feeling that way won't help anyway. So why not changing how we feel?"
"Yeah.."
Changing how she felt would definitely be for the best. And lucky for her, she knew exactly how.