At this point, high hopes were inevitable.
Lucy knew her hands were shaking, as well as the rest of her body, buzzing with excitement and anxiety all at once, yet she couldn't get it to stop. She wasn't sure if she wanted it to stop; it was such a good type of nervous, a good type of fear.
Dressing in a few layers to beat the cold outside only helped calm her shaking limbs minutely; beneath her thick jeans and cozy sweatshirt, she was still trembling. Her feet managed to walk in a straight line, however, as she made way down to Natsu's floor and across the hall to his apartment door.
Her knuckles knocked against his front door only once before it swung open fiercely. Her fist still risen midair in the absence of the door, Natsu stood before her, beaming with tenacity. "It's about time."
How long he had been waiting behind that door for her, Lucy may never know. Her hand just dropped down in silent awe for a moment. "I told you I'd get here when my lecture was over."
The puppyish expression swam back up to the surface of Natsu's face. "But you never told me when it was over."
"Oh." Lucy had never bothered to tell him, because no one had ever bothered to listen like he did. What was the point in speaking if no one cared? "Sorry."
Natsu's shoulders shrugged once simply. He grabbed a thin black zip-up from the coat rack on the back of his door. With very graceless movements, he wiggled one arm into the jacket sleeve and closed up his apartment door with the other. Even less gracefully, he switched arms and locked up while flinging his other arm in it's sleeve.
Lucy's lips pressed together to keep from smiling too much. Her feet took a step back, just nearly dodging Natsu's flailing arm as he stuffed it in his sleeve. The pinkette didn't realize how childish he seemed as he turned around and held out his hand for Lucy.
Her gloved palm slid into his, legs walking in equal strides beside each other as they made their way out of the building. "You're sure your family doesn't mind me coming over so last minute?"
The air outside was bitter cold; Lucy threaded her arm through Natsu's to keep close. "My uncle won't. I mean, he's grumpy and it may look like he's always annoyed, but that's just his face."
Lucy nodded her head once, taking a little hop over the curb as she and Natsu stood at the bus stop. "It's just his face. Got it."
"Exactly. So if he's always staring at you like he wants to kill you, he most likely doesn't." Natsu's canines glittered white with his grin.
The city bus pulled up before them and Lucy's breath came out in a puff as equally visible as the vehicle's exhaust. "How reassuring." She grumbled.
Her hand never left Natsu's as she walked up onto the bus; he was always there behind her, his fingers laced with hers, the sound of his footsteps right behind her as a reassuring force. The late into the afternoon had the bus crowded; the two of them stood, both hanging on a metal pole for support.
Natsu's hand wrapped up around the hand strap for balance. His side, open and warm, looked so appealing. Lucy took the welcoming chance and slipped into his side, wrapping her arm around his torso rather than the pole. So much warmer.
The bus ride was silent albeit the white noise around them; other people's conversations, the whirring of the engine, the steady sound of Natsu's heartbeat as her head laid in the crook of his body. It was all over too soon; by the time Natsu pointed out their stop, Lucy had wished the little moments with him could last longer.
The stupid, meaningless, silent, awkward, absolutely perfect moments.
The neighborhood Natsu's family lived in seemed so suburban and normal Lucy had immediately begun to feel a twinge of jealousy. Sure, he was adopted, but he probably had a family that deserved it's own televised sitcom.
Turned out, she was right about that.
The second Natsu rang the door bell, clattering inside the two-story suburban home became so loud she wondered if an entire scrapyard was inside of there. Her hand clenched tighter around Natsu's; perhaps this was too rushed.
Natsu only kept pressing the doorbell, the incessant dinging the annoying children made on Halloween night. Lucy was about to smack his hand away and tell him to be a little more patient with his own family when the door swung open.
Behind the screen door was a middle-aged with shoulder-length, graying hair. He was impossible tall, his skin roughed up with scars and facial scruff like a mechanic. His piercing gray eyes locked with Natsu's before pushing open the door and attacking him in a bear hug.
"Natsu!" The older man bellowed so loudly it startled Lucy. His voice was raspy like a chain-smoker. Lucy dropped her hand from Natsu's as the two of them circled each other in a hug as if they hadn't seen each other in years, though she knew he visited often.
"I told you I was coming over, don't act so surprised." Natsu sheepishly smiled as he and the man pulled apart. "This is Lucy, the one I was telling you about."
In that very moment, the blonde knew exactly what Natsu meant by him having a "mean face"; his eyes were bright but narrowed, a square jaw coated in a bit of overgrown stubble, and a few smaller piercings on his ear made his seem so harsh.
"Hi" was all Lucy could manage. It even took her a second to raise her hand out in a polite gesture. "You must be his uncle?"
The man nodded. "Yeah, that's me. You can call me-"
"Firecrotch, is that you?"
Another deep and rough with anger - perhaps it was just his voice, who knew - bellowed from behind Natsu's uncle. Lucy peered around him to see inside just as a tall boy around Natsu's age walked up behind them and leaned against the doorframe.
His skin was a deep olive shade, eyes so brown they seemed red. His raven hair reached down his shoulder blades, pulled into a black bandana. Grease-stains and scratches covered his bar arms, combat boots stomping the ground underneath his baggy cargo pants.
"Gajeel, I'm not even a redhead." Natsu's teeth were clenched as he spoke under his breath. "That nickname only goes for redheads."
The black haired man scoffed, the piercings along his eyebrows moving as he made a twisted grin. "Please, you know I call you firecrotch because of that time you set yourself on fire when we were-"
"Lucy's here, you know." Natsu raised up his leg and kicked Gajeel right in the shin. The taller boy made a sour face yet didn't even flinch.
It took both of them a moment to calm down, though once they did they both turned the spotlight on Lucy. She found herself the center of attention to a crazy uncle, a boy who looked like a delinquent, and a boy who had a habit of setting his pants on fire - at least that was what came to Lucy's mind.
"Hi." Was that all she was able to say? Lucy had mentally punched herself in the shoulder.
"What, is that all you know how to say?" Natsu's uncle just laughed and threw his arm around Lucy's shoulder as if they were best buds. At least we're on the same page, she thought.
"Natsu told you about me?" Lucy smiled vaguely as he eyes wandered from his uncle towards Natsu. "I hope only the good things."
Gajeel scoffed again as he took a step back inside, obviously done with the situation. "Only the good things? Please, with all the good things he says about you I was beginning to think you were fake."
"That would be my older brother, Gajeel." Natsu took the moment to change the subject. His ears burned red with embarrassment, making Lucy smile wider than she had all day.
"Not by blood!" Gajeel was quick to point out. He stuffed a small rag back into his butt pocket before giving a sarcastic smile. "He's adopted."
Natsu gave an equally sarcastic bow. "Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious. And that's-"
"Natsu's Uncle Cana." The middle-aged man finally separated himself from Lucy enough to finally shake her hand. It seemed a bit awkward hugging her and then accepting her hand shake, but Lucy didn't comment.
She just smiled, her hand gripping his. "It's nice to finally meet you."
Cana smiled back, his crooked grin having an almost insane sort of look to it. He looked like a biker or something, not a dad who lived in the suburbs. "Mavis, you're shaking. Getting cold out, huh?"
Lucy nodded blankly. The temperature outside was the least of her issues, but he didn't need to know. Once they were inside, Cana locked up again and checked the thermostat.
"How ironic the Natsu couldn't keep you warm." Gajeel now leaned against the wall, looking like Judd Nelson from The Breakfast Club. "You know, considering he's such a hot head."
Lucy pulled off her gloves slowly and stuffed them in the pocket of her jacket. "So there truly is a meaning to the nickname." She smiled slyly yet Natsu shot her a look of betrayal as if to say, 'how dare you bring it up again.'
As she kicked off her shoes, Gajeel nodded his head in joy. "Well, firecrotch is more of a reference to the time he set his pants on fire. He was kind of a pyro when he was younger, made us really worry about him."
Gajeel's fake pout disappeared into a condescending smile as Natsu punched his arm so roughly Lucy rubbed her own bicep in empathy. "That's rich coming from the kid who tore apart the shed in our backyard to make a motor for your bike that ended up blowing up."
Natsu's brother's face went dim. "At least I was doing something cool! You just lit stuff on fire for no reason."
"Stop fighting!" Cana shouted.
It was useless; they may not be blood brothers, but it was enough to keep them bickering.
"I said shut up!" Cana yelled again; and again, no response.
Lucy looked from Natsu to Gajeel to Cana standing in the kitchen to Natsu again. The sitcom theme was becoming a great idea in her mind.
Uncle Cana sighed. "Food's ready!"
Gajeel and Natsu both pushed each other away before running past Lucy towards the kitchen. "Coming!"
She really hadn't expected them to do so much just for her. It was unnecessary and completely kind, something she never got often. Lucy took the open seat at the little round table for four. It was crowded with food, not the kind of lush setting her family had. This was small and intimate.
This was the kind of spot that reminded Lucy of Erza and Emily. They didn't have much, yet being so close to each other seemed to be enough. Natsu sat beside her, his leg brushing up against hers in that reassuring way as before. Cana was at Lucy's right, Gajeel across from her.
Natsu had only looked at Lucy briefly before arguing with Gajeel again. It was harsh and loud, but they didn't seem so violent. It was teasing, a terrible kind of sarcasm most people saw as genuine hatred. Lucy knew she would rather argue with Natsu for days then not talk to him at all.
As Lucy grabbed the bowl of dinner rolls Cana passed her, she knew that was the best kind of intimacy: the kind where everyone else thinks it's arguing and hate, yet you know it's nothing but love. It was almost a secret code, like no one else would know how much they mean to you until they experience it themselves.
Nalu Lemon Novel
Exy Koroleva © 2016
Thank you for reading.
Some triggering scenes
to be included, so please
do not report. Comments
& votes are appreciated.
p.s. "cana" is the short
name for "metallicana"
for anyone confused :)