The next morning, Natsu keeps his eye on the group chat as he eats his Froot Loops.
Jet: so what sort of embarrassing way are we gonna induct lucy to the group?
Droy: you know that we added her to the chat last night right?
Levy: You know both of you are sitting right next to each other right?
"Hey, guys," Natsu calls out. He can't see Gray, Cana, or Wendy, but that doesn't mean they're not around. At least one of them has to be awake. "What's some really embarrassing rite of passage we can make Lucy do?"
Gray drags himself into the kitchen with a yawn. Natsu doesn't even bat an eyelid at his almost-naked appearance. It's normal for him, especially in the morning when he's only half awake. "Cana's asleep. When I walked past this morning, she said something about not waking up at the crack of dawn. She's gonna be dead to the world for three more hours yet. Sometimes I wonder who the real kid in this house is."
"You're one to talk," Natsu snorts as Happy jumps into his lap.
"You wanna fuckin' go, asshole?!"
"You know I do, you -"
"- Could you two please stop fighting?" Both boys stop immediately once Wendy walks into the room, her cat Carla at her heels. Happy ditches Natsu to greet his fellow kitty. Wendy rubs her eyes, and Natsu thinks she looks a lot smaller in her pyjamas.
The two boys calm down right away, muttering apologies as Wendy pours herself a bowl of Froot Loops and Natsu's phone once again goes off.
Lucy: ...I'm gonna pretend I didn't see any of that and avoid the rest of you for the next month.
He snorts and Gray gives him a strange look.
Lucy: BUT GOOD NEWS!
Lucy: I got the apartment I applied for, my new landlord said I can move in right away!
"Who are you texting?" Wendy asks, covering her mouth as she speaks. She's very polite for a teenager, though Natsu figures he isn't the standard to look up to.
"It's the group chat. Everyone's trying to find out what we can do for Lucy's induction video for the channel and Lucy got the apartment she wanted, says she can move in right away," Natsu replies, slurping his leftover milk straight from the bowl.
Erza: Do you need any help moving in? Most of us are free today.
Lucy: It's fine! I can handle it, I don't have that much stuff, anyway.
Mira: you sure~? even if you just have to do one trip, it'd take forever, right~?
Elfman: A REAL MAN HELPS OUT WHEN HE CAN
Evergreen: Are you still drunk from last night wtf?
Natsu knows he can't stay quiet when everyone else is offering to help. That just wouldn't be fair on them or Lucy.
Natsu: COUNT US IN THIS IS GONNA BE FUN
Erza: There will be no goofing off, Natsu, we're going to be there to help Lucy.
Natsu: hey hey hey i'm gonna be gr8 it's gray u should be worried about he's the real asshole here
Wendy, who has been looking over Natsu's shoulder for most of the exchange, says, "Don't be so mean!"
Gray narrows his eyes from his spot by the fridge. "What's he saying? Is he trash-talking me again?"
"Yes!" comes Cana's voice from upstairs.
"Aaaaaaand she's awake," Natsu mutters, returning his attention to the chat.
Lucy: Well, I guess if you guys insist?
Lucy: Some help WOULD be nice.
And that settles that.
Natsu is the one who runs around the house getting everyone ready. It's usually not something he does, since Wendy is pretty much the only person in the house with an actual schedule she has to stick to, at least on weekdays. Though Natsu would never admit it out loud, she's the more responsible one of the four of them. And if they're counting the cats, then it's Carla. It's definitely Carla.
Wendy stays behind so she can study more, and Natsu leaves Happy and Carla in her care. Gray takes forever to find his belt and Cana stumbles around the apartment for a good hour before she's fully awake. They make it to Natsu's car eventually (they all agree to take it because it has the biggest boot), and Cana once again calls shotgun, which Natsu appreciates. Gray is a complete backseat driver when he's in the passenger seat, at least when Natsu is driving. He doubts there's actually anything wrong and that Gray just wants to piss him off.
When they arrive at Lucy's place, there are already several cars parked outside. Natsu recognises Elfman's, Erza's, Bickslow's, Warren's, and Levy's. He's a little disappointed that they aren't the first ones there, and not just because they have to park on the street. Cana jumps out of the car as soon as he cuts the engine and he wonders if this really is the same person who was complaining about being up before noon just an hour ago. Gray takes his time, but he leaves his shirt in the backseat.
"Oi, don't strip in my car," Natsu says, grabbing the shirt and chucking it at Gray's face, but it lands on Lucy's lawn instead.
"I'll strip where I want," Gray says, but he pulls his shirt back on anyway.
The door is already open, so they just waltz inside. Furniture is being carried all over the place, and Natsu is reminded of the day the studio came to be, when all of them were figuring out where everything went. Lucy stands in the centre of what he assumes is her old living room, organising her books as the others pack things into boxes. Erza is the one actually barking out orders, which doesn't surprise anyone, but Lucy doesn't seem all that bothered by it.
"The life of the party's here!" Cana yells as she struts into the room.
"Could the life of the party get her ass over here and help me with this computer?" Laxus drawls.
With everyone here (aside from Kinana, who has a doctor's appointment, and Alzack and Bisca, the latter of whom needs to rest a bit), they make quick work of the place, almost everything fitting into someone's boot. Whatever doesn't fit ends up tied to roofs, much to Lucy's concern. It takes a lot of reassurance for her to trust them with her belongings. Natsu would feel offended if Bickslow hadn't almost broken a bunch of old photo frames she insisted on keeping with her.
It takes forty-five minutes or so for them to arrive at Lucy's new apartment, and Natsu can admit that it isn't as fancy as her previous place. Her apartment is on the top floor, so at least she has a decent view, but the building itself is grey and plain and honestly not that eye-catching. He may have missed it completely if not for the car's GPS.
They all have to take the elevator several at a time, though some - Elfman - insist on proving their strength by taking the stairs and rope several people into have a race while carrying several boxes each. Natsu is, of course, one of the people who gives in, and in the end it's him, Elfman, Gray, Max, and Cana who run upstairs like crazy ten-year-olds. It's not the best idea in hindsight, and all five of them end up being scolded by Erza for disturbing the neighbours, even though no one has opened their doors to complain. Yet.
Once all of Lucy's stuff is set down, she gives them a bright smile and says, "Thanks, guys! I really appreciate it! I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."
"Don't be ridiculous," Levy says. "We wanted to help! Besides, you're not kicking us out already, are you? We still haven't helped you set everything up yet."
Lucy seems surprised, and Natsu chuckles as she says, "Wait, you guys don't mind?"
"Of course not," Laki says. "That's what we intended to do from the start anyway, right?"
Lucy's smile is grateful this time around. "Thanks. You guys are the best, really. Let me at least go and get lunch for you guys before we start setting stuff up. All of you deserve a break, what you want? It's on me."
"Takeaway pizzas from Yajima's," is Droy's instant answer. "Hands-down the best thing you'll ever taste."
"People have been saying that a lot to me lately," Lucy says, and her eyes quickly flicker to Natsu before she continues. "Alright, what type does everyone want? And I'm gonna need a hand carrying them all."
Natsu raises his hand like an eager grade-schooler. "Pick me, pick me!"
"You'll eat all the pizzas before you even make it back here," Gray says, rolling his eyes.
"I'll make sure he doesn't," Lucy promises, getting out a small notebook from her handbag. "So, pizza flavours?"
As they stand in the elevator, Natsu notices just how tired Lucy seems. She's leaning against the back of the elevator with her eyes half shut and her arms folded, like she could go to sleep standing up, and there is a faintest hint of dark circles beneath her eyes that are more than likely covered by makeup. He wonders if they've tired her out already.
"Long day?" he asks when they reach the ground floor. When Lucy looks at him quizzically, he clarifies, "You just look really tired, that's all."
Lucy shakes her head. "No, I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all. And when I can't sleep, I usually talk to Plue, and when I talk to Plue in the middle of the night he'll snuggle up to me and his fur gets in my nose, which makes it even harder to sleep -" She cuts herself off, laughing nervously. "Sorry. I guess it's just been such a big change in such a short span of time. I'm not really used to making choices really quickly like that."
"You're not regretting joining us, are you?" he asks with a frown.
"No, absolutely not!" Lucy quickly insists. "Quite the opposite, actually. I've, um, well, I always dreamed of at least collaborating with you guys at least once, and actually joining you guys seemed like something so far away, and then it actually happened just like that," she clicks her fingers, "and I'm still wrapping my head around it. I'm not quite sure what I can bring to the table."
Natsu slides into the passenger seat of Lucy's car (it smells like bubblegum, he likes it). "You do fashion and makeup and writing, right? That's plenty! Levy's the only one who does any story and writing stuff, and I dunno much about the whole makeup thing, but Mira will tell you that she'd love to have you join her for her videos. You're a natural, 'kay? Don't think so much."
"I'm a writer," Lucy says with a wry smile. "I always think too much."
"Well, I know how to fix that." Natsu rummages through his bag and takes out his video camera, switching it on and turning it towards him. "Vlogging! We're getting pizza!"
Lucy laughs. "Oh my god."
"We just helped Lucy move into her new apartment, we insisted, and now she's paying for our late lunch! Because she's the best person ever and deserves the world and is amazing, and did I mention the best person ever?"
"You're only saying that because I'm buying you food."
"That's not the only reason."
Lucy gives him a look that he quickly captures on camera, and she pokes her tongue out at him before focusing on the road again. "You'll probably end up stealing one of my pizza slices. I don't trust you around my food."
"Yet you took me with you to get the pizza."
"You volunteered. I'm telling Erza you're bullying me."
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
Natsu pans the camera back to himself. "You guys see this? This is hardcore anti-Natsu behaviour."
"Do you ever think that maybe there's a reason for this anti-Natsu behaviour?" Lucy says. "And to be fair, I have my reasons. Most times I've met you, you've stolen my food from me in some way or another, so why should I believe you now?"
Natsu has to think on that. He looks at the camera as though the soon-to-be audience can help him. "Uh, because you're a lovely and wonderful person whose car smells like bubblegum, so you're willing to overlook previous offences."
"My car smells like bubblegum because I smell like bubblegum."
"That's what you took out of that?"
"Yep."
"Well, still, lovely and wonderful people who smell like bubblegum overlook previous offences of their friends and face forward."
"Like you do with Gray?"
Natsu has no answer for that, and he just looks into the camera for a few moments. A sign that he's admitting defeat. "Okay, well I'm gonna go before Lucy embarrasses me any further. See you when we're having pizza!"
Lucy just laughs as he turns the camera off. They're only two or three streets away from Yajima's now, and Natsu realises he never actually gave Lucy the directions. She doesn't even have a GPS. Did she decide to just wing it without asking for help?
Which gives him an idea. Sort of. He thought it went without saying, but if Lucy thinks too much, perhaps she never thought of something so simple. "You know how you talk to Plue when you can't sleep?" She hums and nods, eyes still on the road. "Why don't you just text me about it? I'm awake at weird hours, anyway, so it doesn't worry me. Or you could just text Levy or Mira or something, they're better with advice anyway. Erza gave you all our numbers last night after the ride home, didn't she?"
Lucy pulls into the 8-Island parking lot. "Yeah, she did," she says softly. "You sure you don't mind?"
Natsu grins. "'Course I'm sure! Now, let's go get us some pizza!"
Later that night, after everyone's returned home for the night, Natsu finds himself unable to sleep. There isn't any particular reason for it. It's just something that happens to him sometimes, when it's after midnight and there isn't anything to stop him from thinking. Happy's asleep beside him, so consulting him is no good, and everyone else in the apartment is asleep. He wouldn't want to bother them, anyway, even if it's just because he wouldn't know what to say.
It's nights like these where he misses his father and his aunt, that his heart aches for Wendy, because while he lost his father when he was young, she lost her mother when she was even younger. He wonders how different his life would be if his family was still complete. Would he and the others have started the channel? Would the channel still exist, but he wouldn't be part of it? How different would he be from the person he is today?
Before he can descend into 3am Thought Hell, his phone vibrates and he reaches over to check his notifications, glad for the distraction.
Lucy: Hey, I know it's like 3am but you told me to text you if I couldn't sleep, so...
Lucy: So, hi?
Lucy: If you're awake, that is. If I woke you up, just go back to sleep.
He's wide awake before he even realises, typing a reply.
Natsu: nah it's fine i couldn't sleep either
Natsu: what's up?
Lucy: Nothing, really.
Lucy: I think it's just that feeling of sleeping in a new place?
Lucy: I had this problem last time I moved, too.
As someone who can fall asleep anywhere, he can't relate, and he chuckles to himself. Softly, of course. The walls are thin.
Natsu: i'm so amazing that i can sleep anywhere
Lucy: Why does that not surprise me?
Natsu: should i take that as an insult?
Natsu: i'm taking that as an insult
Lucy: Take it any way you like, I'm neither confirming nor denying.
Natsu: why r u like this?
Natsu: :( :( :( :( :(
Lucy: Don't you think 5 sad faces is a bit excessive?
Natsu: never
Natsu: u think that's excessive? wait til i bring out the memes
Lucy: DON'T YOU DARE
Natsu: [image sent]
Lucy: [image received]
Lucy: IS THAT A FUCKING PEPE I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU
Lucy: FRIENDSHIP CANCELLED
Natsu just laughs again, his previous worries now no more than a fleeting memory.
so uh fun fact? i finished this chapter maybe... 10 hours after i finished the last one because i started writing and i couldn't stop i'm slightly concerned. but i decided to wait a bit before posting it, and i'm about halfway through the next chapter? something like that!