I am so sorry! I get bored with Helvetica when I type, so I like to choose random fonts and I forgot to fix it! Sorry!
Um, this is dedicated to RosesAndRavens, for being awesome and the first commenter. Special thanks to WhiteWinterStar, Kyomo Saki, and gwb620. I love all you guys! thanks for your feedback. Oh, I added some Jerza, to be elaborated on next chapter (come on, who doesn't love Jerza?) Review please!
I awoke to soft afternoon light filtering through my window onto my bed. I lay there for a while, still wrapped in a soft fog of sleepiness. Eventually, it occurred to me that it was really warm under the blankets. Warmer than usual. A sneaking suspicion prompted me to lift the covers to peer underneath.
Natsu was curled next to me, snoring softly and muttering in his sleep. Happy slept on top of Natsu, his snores accompanying the dragon slayer's. Completely awake now, I pushed out of bed before I could do something really stupid. As I was getting up, though, my fingers brushed through Natsu's hair. It was softer than I had always assumed it would be, silky and totally addictive. Before I knew it, I was sliding back into the bed and stroking Natsu's hair like he was a dog. I couldn't help it – I'd been caught off-guard.
"Lucy," Natsu mumbled, and I pulled away like he'd burned me. But then he turned over and laughed hysterically. "Lucy's naked again, Happy!" He's asleep, I thought, with overwhelming relief. But at the same time, my heart gave a twinge of disappointment.
Wait, what? No, no, no...
Natsu waking up when I was being weak like that would be awful. He would know something was up, and that would be the end of our friendship. Not that Natsu would ever ask me to stop being his friend, but the easy closeness between us would become awkward distance, he would go out of his way to avoid being alone with me, and we would grow apart, and that would be unbearable. I would rather stop interacting with him altogether than endure the uncomfortable silences and nervous laughter. So disappointment was out of the question. I didn't want anything between us to change. I had already decided to give up on loving Natsu in the way I did. I was so close to letting him go, I could taste it. And yet...
And yet, I still wished somewhere deep inside that Natsu would find out how I felt. What an idiot. Hating myself, I got out of the bed and padded into the kitchen to make coffee and eat something. Seeing the state of the room, though, I stopped dead in my tracks in the doorway. It was utter chaos. Every pot and pan had been pulled out and lay all over the counters and floor. Cabinet doors hung open, revealing a half-empty pantry. Food covered every available surface, splattering the sink and overflowing the trash can. Horrified, I took a step and landed in something squishy. Looking down, I saw I had put my foot through a tomato. I lifted it with a squelching sound and shuddered, scraping the remnants off the underside of my foot. I picked my way through the kitchen carefully until I reached the table. I sat in a chair, thankful that it had been spared from the mess.
I sighed, surveying my poor kitchen. Natsu must have tried to cook at some point, maybe last night. One thing was for sure – I was going to be cleaning all day. With another sigh, I got out of the chair and started picking up pots and putting them back in their cupboards.
It took me an hour to put the cooking materials back and decide what to salvage from the food graveyard. I would have to go shopping for more food soon, which meant I needed to take another job if I was going to pay rent this month. I tried to get worked up about it, telling myself it was Natsu's fault and that he should take responsibility. But in truth, I was touched. He had tried to make dinner for us, to the point where he nearly destroyed my kitchen. So I didn't mind cleaning it up that much. I hummed along to the familiar, unplaceable tune inside my head and listened to Natsu's rhythmic snores drifting in from the bedroom. It was oddly soothing to know he was so close, and I savored the feeling as long as I could. He would wake up soon enough, and then it would be back to pretending he had no draw whatsoever.
I was too focused to notice when the snores grew softer and something shifted in the other room. I didn't even realize Happy was awake until he slid on the remains of the tomato I'd stepped in earlier and sailed into the backs of my legs. I tripped and dropped the mop and bucket of water I was carrying. Hot, soapy water spilled all over the floor and I landed up to my elbows in the half-full bucket. Standing up and shaking off the water, I saw that Happy had landed underneath the mop and was lying there, trapped. I heaved a sigh and picked up the mop and the confused Exceed, setting Happy on top of the table.
"Well," I mused aloud, "I guess it's not that different from what I was going to do anyway," referring to the water soaking the floor. I leaned over and rolled up the hems of my jeans to my knees so they wouldn't get wet – wetter – and brandished my mop at the drowning food. "Get ready, I'm coming for you!" Happy, by this time sitting up and watching me, laughed.
"Don't be silly, Lucy. Food doesn't care about that." I glared at him and pointed my makeshift weapon at him.
"You, be quiet and don't move. I'm trying to clean this mess up." I deliberately turned my back to him and started scrubbing away at the streak of tomato Happy had left on the floor. Slowly, the water absorbed into the mop's sponge and brought the food remnants (plus some old dirt) with it. Behind me, I could hear Happy munching on something, probably a fish. Natsu's snores grew in volume, then quieted down to a low shh-ing sound. I pushed my mop to the rhythm as they got louder again.
Just as I was nearly done with the floor and beginning to plan what I would need to do to clean up the sink, someone knocked on the door. I brushed a hand though my hair and leaned on the handle of my mop. "Happy, could you get that?" He leapt into the air, miraculously growing wings and flying through the doorway.
"Aye sir!" I went back to my chore, but a minute later Gray's spiky blue head poked around the doorframe. I was vaguely surprised he had bothered to knock – he was always breaking into my house without permission.
"Lucy?" I straightened and smiled at him.
"Hey, Gray. Why are you here?" He just stared at me. "What's the matter?" I glanced down. "Do I look weird?" His brows scrunched together.
"Lucy... Why are you wearing an apron?" I tugged self-consciously at the edges.
"So it looks weird after all. I wasn't really thinking about it since I didn't expect anyone to come over today. I didn't want my clothes to get dirty while I was putting my kitchen back in order, so..." I gestured down at the thigh-length pink apron. Before Gray could reply, there was a clanking sound in the other room, and then Erza appeared. She was about to say something when she saw the apron and her eyes went wide and cat-like, and her mouth opened a little bit. (A/N: Come on, Fairy Tail watchers. You know what I'm talking about. The face Erza makes when she's being cute, like when she went through Lucy's panties. Or when she goes "Kya!" That face.)
"L-Lucy..." Erza began, clearly scandalized. "Why are you wearing that while Natsu is sleeping in your bed?" I blushed bright-red and held up my hands like I was trying to defend myself from something.
"No, no, you've got it all wrong. He slept there without my permission, and made a huge mess in here, so I was cleaning and I didn't want my clothes to get dirty, so I put the apron on..." I hid my face in my hands. "Oh, never mind. Why are you guys here?" Gray leaned casually against the table, and I noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, just that silver pendant and black pants.
"We were worried, so we came to make sure you were alright. You didn't show up at the guild today." I suddenly remembered that I had promised Erza I would be there that day.
"Oh, sorry. I was really tired, so I slept into the afternoon." I glanced at the bedroom, where Natsu was still snoring away. "Although apparently, he's even more tired than I was." I looked at Erza, who was fidgeting in the doorway. It was unusual for her to look like that, so I figured it had to be important. "But, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She scowled at Gray, who flinched.
"Can we talk in private?" I nodded, feeling immensely sorry for poor Gray. Erza looked prepared to kill him if he said something in protest.
"Come on, let's go to the bathroom." I untied the apron and tossed it at the table, walking past Gray and Erza into the bedroom. Studiously ignoring Natsu's sleeping form, I led my friend into the bathroom and sat on the floor against the tub. Suddenly I remembered the time I had sat in the same position with Cana when she told me about her dad. I patted the floor beside me, encouraging Erza to sit down. "Tell me what's on your mind." She sat silently, her fingers twitching like she was resisting fidgeting again. After a moment, she sighed.
"So, you see..." I watched her, prepared to wait as long as it took for her to say it of her own accord. Her shoulders straightened, and she took a deep breath. She turned to face me, and the intensity in her deep brown eyes was almost frightening. The last time I had seen her look so fierce was...
"He contacted me the other day."
...When she was with Jellal.
Thank you for being patient with me. I have very little skill with computers and barely know how to click things. Just so you know, I will try to update fairly often, except school starts tomorrow, and I have other stories (mostly originals, a few fanfics) that I have ideas for, so there will be days I don't update. Let me know about mistakes, ideas for what will happen with Natsu and Lucy, or with Erza and Jellal – I'm pretty much making up the plot as I go along. Anyway, I really appreciate any and all reviews, so type something in the box and click that button! Click it! You know you want to.