'tHEIR FACES I'M YELLIN'

'am i the only one who wants to smush their faces together and be like 'now kiss'?'

'WHAT IS THIS WHAT IS HAPPENING'

'u guys i know this is just for a video or smth but i'm gonna die'

'THEY'RE HERE GIVING US WHAT WE WANT AND AT THE SAME TIME REALLY NOT GIVING US WHAT WE WANT'

Natsu locks his phone and slides it underneath his pillow. He's been keeping an eye on the comments on both his own photo and the official channel account's photo, but he keeps being drawn to the latter. While he knows that the two of them are just acting (at least he thinks he's just acting), he can't ignore all the comments. He knows that Mira is in charge of the official account. This must be her strategy to gain hype, and it's working.

He's seen comments like this before. Just a few stray ones on his or Lucy's videos, occasionally on some of the others' if they're both featured in their videos. He never paid them much attention, since comments like that are just part of the job, but knowing what he knows now about his own feelings, he can't help but be more conscious of them. He won't think about it too much, though.

Yet when he tries to distract himself, he ends up thinking of other things he'd prefer not to. He looks at his own picture and at the excited comments and wonders how his father would feel about all this. Would he be proud? Surely, he would be. The further he goes in life, the more he fears forgetting his father. He has a few memories of him, a few photographs and keepsakes from when he was alive, but there is only so much they can do. As time passes, his old memories make way for new ones, but he doesn't want to let go. Not yet.

He's thinking so hard that he doesn't notice Lucy leave the bathroom, pyjamas on and hair damp. "Natsu? Are you alright? I thought you'd already be asleep."

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he looks over at her, and it's not hard to tell that she's tired herself, but she isn't making any moves towards her bed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"What about?" she asks, and this time she does move, sitting on her bed where Plue and Happy are curled up together, already asleep. "If I'm allowed to ask."

He chuckles at her politeness. "Just about my old man, I guess."

Her smile is sympathetic, and he looks away briefly. "I know that feeling."

"Oh, right." Lucy's mother passed away, too, didn't she? Maybe she'll understand, then. "I'm just wondering if he'd be proud of me, where I've ended up. I think he would be."

"I think he would be, too." Lucy is about to slide into her bed, but once she spots Happy and Plue, she thinks better of it. "I just think it's amazing what you did. What all of you did."

Natsu slides further to the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to him for Lucy to sit on. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I was still living with my dad, we did a few charity events at orphanages," she says, moving to his bed, sitting on top of the covers. "They weren't the worst places I've ever seen, not like the old movies would make you think, but there was a definite lack of morale there, especially for the older kids. You guys were able to come together and make something fantastic, pave the way for yourselves. I never would've been able to at your age."

Natsu shrugs, turning on his side so he can get a better look at her. "Well, like I said, we were all bored one day, and Gramps had a camera he said we could use. Everything just kinda blew up from there."

"Still, though, it gave you an opportunity and you did something with it." He doesn't think he deserves the admiration in Lucy's voice. Perhaps it's because at this moment, it's all directed at him, even though she's talking about all of them. They should be here to listen to her praises. "It takes a lot of creativity and brainstorming to have a channel like Fairy Tail. I always looked up to you guys for years. I was only able to binge-watch all your videos after I moved out, but what I say still stands."

"Thanks," Natsu says, because it's all he can say. Fans have told them what the channel has done for them over the years, but this feels different. He can't put his finger on why. "How long were you watching us for?"

Lucy hums as she thinks. "Since I was still in high school, so for a while now. I didn't get a lot of time to spend on the internet, at least for fun and not for my studies, since I was always so busy, but I was browsing after a pretty bad day and I found one of your skits. It cheered me right up. I made sure to watch you guys when I could after that. I wish I'd had something like that after mum... Well, you know."

Natsu nods. He does know.

"What was your mother like?" He doesn't really think the question through before asking it, but it's out there now.

Lucy is silent for a few long seconds, and Natsu considers backpedalling until she speaks, looking straight ahead at the wall opposite the bed. "She was amazing. I remember exactly what she looked like, though that could be because she looked a lot like me. Whenever I think of her, I think that's what angels must be like. She always had this aura of compassion and kindness, and she always had time for me, even though she was busy helping dad with work. She'd read me stories and even make some up, and she'd always encourage me to be creative. She's the reason I love books so much. And why I love the stars. We used to go stargazing on the front lawn and she'd point out all the constellations she knew of."

The wistful smile that made its way on Lucy's face throughout her dive into her memories falls slightly and, with a slight burst of panic, Natsu realises that tears are pooling in her eyes. "She was never the healthiest person in the world. She wasn't particularly bad, at least when I was really young, but as she grew older and the company also grew and her responsibilities increased, she just... I think it was inevitable. She passed away peacefully, so that was something to be thankful for, but it's still hard."

She sniffs and wipes her eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Natsu says immediately, sitting up and scooting closer, intending to be a sense of comfort. "If you need to cry, just let it out. That's one of the first things gramps told me when I got to the orphanage. He told me I could let it out if I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. It's normal. Even if you're an ugly crier."

Lucy manages a weak laugh and smile at that, which he considers a success. She isn't trying to hide her tears anymore, either. "This is the first time I've talked about her. Like, really talked about her. I'd talk about her to Spetto and Bero - they're employees that I grew up with - but I've never had to describe her to anyone before. They already knew what she was like. Talking about her like this just brings it back, I think. I miss her. I really... I really miss her."

The tears come pouring down after that. Lucy is a near-silent crier, though Natsu wonders if she's just being conscious of the people in the other rooms, or maybe even of him. He watches helplessly for a few moments before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her one of his pillows to hold. She buries her face in it and draws her knees up to her chest, muffling her quiet sounds even more. It's then that he notices the goosebumps on her arms and back and tugs the top blanket off of his bed, covering her with it.

It's a good ten to fifteen minutes before Lucy's tears have run dry, reduced to a few stray sniffles here and there. She must be exhausted, as she places the pillow behind her head and lies down, but she doesn't close her eyes.

"Thank you," she says, voice a little hoarse from crying.

"No problem," Natsu says with a grin, lying down beside her and shifting their blankets so they're up to their shoulders. He doesn't need them that high (his natural body heat is higher than most, for whatever reason, though he considers that a good thing), but he does it in case she does. "Feel better?"

"I do," she says, and the smile she gives him has more of a spark in it than before. It's more Lucy. "I think I needed that."

Looking at her now, he has to agree. Maybe she's just lost energy via crying, but she's more relaxed, not as stiff. "We all need it at some point."

Silence envelops them again, though it isn't uncomfortable. Natsu isn't a silent person most of the time, and on the off-chance that he doesn't fall asleep right away and he's alone with only the quiet for company, he'll distract himself. He doesn't feel the need to do that now. He doesn't want to sleep, not just yet, and he wonders if it has anything to do with Lucy's presence next to him. Or if it's because of Lucy's presence next to him.

"Hey, can I ask..." Lucy hesitates, and Natsu turns his head to look at her. She's lying on her side now, her hair falling over her face, and he has the sudden urge to push it away. He resists. "Can I ask about your dad? You mentioned him earlier, so..."

Without even confirming if asking is okay or not, he launches into his description. "He was the best. I guess I'm biased, 'cause Wendy would say the same about Aunt Grandeeney, but it's true. He was hotheaded and had a bit of a temper if he thought there was trouble and sometimes went a bit too far -"

"- Like father, like son, then?"

Natsu playfully narrows his eyes and nudges Lucy, but says nothing else. She must be feeling better if she can joke around. "But he looked after me. Wendy, too, when she needed looking after. He was even the one who taught me how to blow things up safely." Well, somewhat safely. "He was a single parent, but he made me feel like I didn't need two parents. As far as I was concerned, he was all I needed. He was a really good teacher, too. He knew how to explain things so I'd get it. I'd never say these things to his face, though. It'd just inflate his ego, even from beyond the grave."

He pauses for a moment before continuing. "He and Aunt Grandeeney died at the same time. Us kids were at school and they were coming to pick us up when there was an accident. You hear about them all the time on TV, bastard drivers running through red lights and hurting innocent people. Long story short, we didn't have any other relatives, so we were sent to the orphanage. I know we keep saying 'orphanage', but it was more of a permanent home for us. We weren't treated like kids that had to leave as soon as possible, get adopted and all that. We were all welcome there. Gramps made sure of that." He smiles at the thought.

"I'll always be upset that my old man died, but... I don't regret anything. If that hadn't happened, I might not be part of Fairy Tail," he says. "And I love Fairy Tail."

When he looks at Lucy again, her eyelids are drooping, and it's apparently contagious as his begin to feel heavy, too. Before the two of them can slip off into dreamland, Lucy manages to utter a single sentence.

"I love Fairy Tail, too."

When Natsu wakes up the following morning, Lucy is already gone, along with Happy and Plue. He takes one look at his phone's clock and understands why. It's almost noon, and Lucy rises earlier than he does most days. Besides, the pets need to be fed, and it's never a good idea to do so in their room. Happy can get a bit excited when it comes to food.

Laughing at the thought, Natsu grabs the video camera he left sitting on his bedside table last night and opens it up, pressing record once it's focused on his face. "Good morning, everyone! Only just, though. It's almost noon." He quickly shows the time on his phone. "I don't know how I slept so long since my phone's been blowing up since those photos went out. I hope you guys liked them! But I can't tell you what they're for just yet."

With an exaggerated sound, he pulls himself up and throws on the nearest shirt he can find. "Lucy's already gone out, and she's stolen my cat, so let's go find her, shall we? This is a journey to find Lucy in this huge ass place."

He slips on his shoes before grabbing the camera once more and heading out the door. Filming almost everything in sight, he hums to himself, letting his (future) viewers see for themselves how nice the resort is. He doesn't encounter any of his friends on their floor, so he takes the elevator, stopping his humming only once to comment on the strange elevator music. It sounds almost like someone's saying 'Perfume' over and over again.

Once he's on the ground floor, he heads over to the buffet and grabs a turkey leg, stuffing it in his face. He even turns the camera to himself to show just how sloppy he's being.

"Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyyyy," he sings, mouth still full. He scarfs it down fairly quickly. "Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyyyy!"

"Oi, what are you doing?"

Natsu is surprised to see Laxus up and awake before he is, especially with the schedule he's been keeping lately. Perhaps Freed is the one who woke him up. He's sitting with his group now at one of the dining tables, though only he and Freed are paying any attention; Evergreen is preoccupied by her phone and Bickslow is busy digging in to some all-you-can-eat bacon.

"I'm looking for Lucy!" Natsu says, approaching the table. "Have you seen her?"

Surprisingly, it's Bickslow who answers. Apparently he was listening after all. "I think I saw her earlier with Happy and her dog. Plue, right? She was feeding them."

Natsu turns the camera back to himself. "Interesting, interesting. So they've been fed. Excellent."

Laxus narrows his eyes, though Natsu isn't sure whether it's out of confusion or suspicion. Or both. Probably both. "I don't know what you're trying to do, exactly, but don't drag us into it."

With his question already answered, Natsu just grins and salutes before carrying on his way. He knows Lucy has been spending as much time at the beach as she can, and that Happy and Plue will gladly follow her anywhere, especially if she's the one who fed them. A pet's loyalty lies with their stomach. It's a universal rule.

He continues his song as he heads down the path between the resort and the beach. "Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyy! Where could she be? She's an enigma."

He's too busy looking at the camera's screen that he doesn't notice the figure jump in front of him until it's too late and they're already in the shot. Gray's face takes up a good portion of the screen, as though he doesn't have plenty of space in this lovely garden-ish area to move about. Natsu knows that he does it to annoy him, but it doesn't mean he's going to let it slide. When does he ever?

"Get out of my way, ice butt, I'm on a mission," he says, jabbing Gray in the side, only to be slapped on the shoulder in retaliation.

"Yeah, to find Lucy, I heard."

"Gray!" Natsu actually looks up from his camera this time, right as Juvia stops by Gray's side. She takes one look at the camera, blinks, then smiles and waves at it. Perhaps she's not as much of a natural as Lucy is when it comes to showing herself off (though maybe he's biased), but at least she's polite. "Juvia didn't realise Natsu was filming. She's sorry!"

Natsu laughs and adjusts the camera so Juvia is in the centre of the frame. It's hard to avoid Gray, though, especially when she's standing so close to him. "It's fine, I'm just looking for Lucy. Have you seen her?"

Juvia turns towards the beach and holds her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Last Juvia saw, she was on the beach with Levy and Erza. It wasn't too long ago, so she's probably still there." Before Natsu can thank her, she's turned back to Gray and tugging at his bare arm. "Gray! Do you want to come build a sand castle with Juvia? She's never made one before!"

As fun as it is to watch Gray struggle with Juvia's earnest expression, Natsu decides to leave him on his own to continue his search. The path begins to widen as grass turns into sand and it's then that he's able to see Lucy in the distance. As Juvia said, she's right beside Levy, but Erza is nowhere to be seen. Happy, Plue, and Lily are also lounging around, attached to the two girls.

"Lu-Lu-Lucyyyyyy!" Natsu calls out, gaining the two girls' attention. Whatever conversation they were having stops as they turn to look at him. Levy starts giggling when she sees him bounding up to them and Lucy raises an eyebrow, looking as though she's trying not to laugh. He decides that's a good sign.

"We've found the Lucy!" is all he says at first when he reaches the girls, turning the camera towards himself once more to give a victory cheer along with his usual grin. He quickly focuses on them again. "I was wondering where you'd taken my cat, and now I know. I know I've joked about this before, but I really think he likes you more than me. He's a traitor."

He zooms in on Happy, who is perfectly content snoozing on Lucy's legs and doesn't stir.

"Can you blame him?" Lucy says, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "I'm practically perfect in every way."

Natsu snorts and looks into the camera, as if to say, 'Can you believe this shit?' before turning the camera off and changing the subject. "Where's Erza? I asked Juvia while I was looking for you and she said Erza was with you."

"She's up that way," Levy says, gesturing to their right, further up the beach. "We decided to give her some privacy."

Dumping the camera on one of the girls' beach towels as he sits beside them, Natsu follows Levy's pointed finger. Sure enough, there's Erza, and she's not alone. He vaguely recognises Jellal, having only met him a few times, several of those being the previous few nights and in passing, but he knows enough about him to realise that Erza acts a little differently around him. It's nothing too noticeable, but especially in a moment like this where the two of them are alone and close together with no one around to hear them, she acts almost bashful. As if she isn't trying so hard to be one of their main leaders. He understands why the girls left her be.

"It's only a matter of time before one of them makes that step forward," Lucy says, then adds, "I hope."

Levy watches the two with a small smile before sighing and lying down on her towel, stretching her arms above her. "It must be nice to have someone like that. Mutual pining is a trope I wish happened more in real life."

Lucy watches Lily sit almost right on top of Levy's shoulder, back straight, as if guarding her. She looks like she wants to say something about it, perhaps something related to Levy's comment, but seems to think better of it. "Right? Why can't real life be more like books."

The two girls start talking about books, a conversation that is completely lost on Natsu, so he instead gives attention to Plue, who has wandered up to him for a pat. Every so often, though, he sees Erza and Jellal out of the corner of his eye. They've lost a bit of their awkwardness now, which is a good sign. He wonders if they can see what the other feels. He hopes so, for their sake.

"Hey, Plue," he says, low enough so only he and the dog can hear. "What exactly is mutual pining?"

Rather than answering him - because he's a dog - Plue gives him a lick on the cheek and jumps ship, heading for Lucy's lap instead.

"Yeah. Figures you'd be no help."

hellooooo there! the second part of this chapter was actually based on a video i watched ageeees ago and seemed like something natsu would do. half the time i can't tell if this is a serious fic or just me messing about. and holy shit it's past 1am oops.