the lucy effect

summary — who is lucy heartfilia exactly?

pairings — lucy/natsu

tags — fluff

setting — after the grand magic games

note — this is because i'm a sucker for lucycentric stories. this is sort of a drabble so it's gonna be short and sweet. this is the best i could do with a fever, woops. hope you enjoyed it. thank you! also watch out for next chapter because it's gonna be mindblowing. heh, if i do say so myself.

[ FAIRY TAIL ]

"Who is Lucy Heartfilia again?"

"Oh, you mean the one who lost twice during the Games? I think she must be really embarassed right now. I wonder if she showed her face tonight."

Lucy could hear the whispers — and no, she wasn't being self-conscious — floating around her, taunting her as if to test her patience as to how long she'd last with all the rumors and gossip.

Fairy Tail had just won back their title as the strongest guild in all of Fiore, as well as their exceedingly fancy guild hall. Everything felt like it'd been set back into place after the seven year gap. And with all the partying and the smiling, Lucy couldn't bring herself to ruin the fun just because some people said negative things about her.

But damn, she would be lying if she said that their hushed words didn't hurt.

After all, during the first day of the Grand Magic Games, Lucy lost to Flare Corona, despite it being an unjustified win for Raven Tail because of their little scheme, it didn't change the fact that Lucy was defeated. To make the matters worse, she got beaten up by Minerva, at least she managed to get a bruised, pride-crushing second place during the tournament.

Of course it broke her heart. Every one of her comrades managed to get redemption for the guild. That just goes to show how truly powerful her friends were. And then that left Lucy.

Lucy the one who needed to be saved. The one who practically ended up losing her keys or magic at the most inconvenient of times. She was the girl who got beat up whenever kidnapped, which happened a lot.

The war with the Dragons eased her mind a bit since Lucy proved herself to be a bit of use during that time. But since the public was denied the truth about anything, they focused only on the games. Which was okay, Lucy guessed.

But not for her apparently.

"Argh, I'm being selfish." Lucy groaned out loud as she slumped her head on the countertop. Her heart pounded so painfully against her chest. Why did it hurt so much?

"Are you okay, Lucy?"

Mirajane stared down at her, deep blue eyes shining with obvious concern.

Lucy immediately sat up straight. There was no way that she'd ruin this for anybody. She sent a thumbs up Mira's way and a cheerful smile.

"Of course, Mira!"

[ AND SO! ]

"Who is Lucy Heartfilia again?"

"You know, the one who's on Team Natsu. Must be hard for them to carry dead weight."

Natsu heard all the whispers. At this moment, he wished that his dragon hearing didn't exist. Every word he heard had his rage bubbling up from within. He hated every single of those whispers. If he could, he would have burned all the people who said it.

His glance wandered to Lucy. She was smiling so happily at Mirajane. If he didn't know any better, he would have easily been convinced that she was just as happy as she wanted to perceived to be.

But Natsu did know better. He saw the dullness in her smile. He saw the tears threatening to fall from her angelic eyes. The light that he had come to love about her disappeared completely.

And luckily, the guild knew her just as well as he did as well.

[ THEN! ]

"Who is Lucy Heartfilia again?"

If Lucy heard another conversation that involved her again, she would instantly leave the guild, make up an excuse like she was exhausted or something.

She expected to hear something that would slice her heart into pieces again. She expected a lot of things that involved her getting her soul torn apart, her pride getting stomped on and crushed.

What she never expected was Natsu.

"Lucy, the one who always complains on missions."

Natsu slid his arms around Lucy, taking the free stool beside her. His dark eyes glittered beautifully with mischief.

Her breath getting caught in her throat, Lucy turned to the side, not wanting to know what he was up to. "Natsu, go back to the party."

Natsu had other ideas. He instantly came to his feet and swiftly pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Lucy, the one who gets cold so easily."

Lucy's hand came to touch the spot where his lips touched a few moments ago. She didn't know what to do or think at the moment. But one thing's for sure, if this kept up, her heart was going to explode. Lucy wondered what he was planning.

"What are you doing?" She asked, out of breath.

Natsu gently tucked his fingers under her face, practically forcing her to look at him. "Lucy, the one who figures out everything so easily."

Quickly, Natsu wiped the one or two tears that fell down onto her cheeks. "Lucy, the one who wears her heart on her sleeve."

At that, Lucy stifled a laugh, wiping away the falling tears as well, still unable to keep her eyes off of him. "Natsu. . ."

"Lucy, the one who would do anything for her friends." Natsu told her, tucking a lock of golden blonde behind her ear.

"Lucy, the one who has the best pitfalls."

"Lucy, the one who gets back on her feet so easily."

"Lucy, the one with bad luck."

"Lucy, the one who has the best bed."

"Lucy, the light of the guild."

"Lucy, the weird pretty one."

"Lucy, the one with friends who care for her so damn much."

Finally, Natsu slowly leaned his forehead against hers, breathing slowly as the two inched closer. He had a content grin on his face. "Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail, the one I love."

At that moment, she didn't care what the other people thought about her. What mattered was her family supporting her. And the man she fell in love with who was right in front of her.

She got her happy ending after all.

And so with tears brimming in her eyes, Lucy flung her arms around his scarf-covered neck. "You're such a dork. Thank you," She whispered into his ear, pouring all of her emotions into the last two words.

Natsu's arms tightened around her waist as he nuzzled his nose deeper into the crook of her neck. "Anytime, Luce."

[ END ]