After several bowls of spicy noodles, Lucy finally pushed the empty vessel away from her. The young blonde leaned back in her chair, holding her bulging stomach. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten this much.
"Do you need more?" The Fire Dragon Slayer questioned as he picked up her bowl, fully prepared to get her another serving.
Lucy shook her head, unable to hold it up because her entire body was feeling heavy. After all the food she ate, the Celestial Mage was ready for a nap. "I don't think I could eat another bite. It'd probably start coming back up." The young blonde mentioned with a chuckle.
"This was delicious, Salamander." Virgo complimented. "I've never eaten anything quite like it!"
Natsu thanked the Maiden, a smile on his face. "I'm glad you liked it. There's still some more if you're hungry."
The Celestial Mage got up from her chair, seeing the small pile of dishes in the sink. Lucy was slightly taken aback, normally when the Dragon Slayer cooked he left a mess over the entire kitchen. This time, it looked to be contained to the sink and the one pan still on the stove. The corners of Lucy's lips turned into a smile. She was very thankful for the minimal cleanup.
Going over to the sink, the young blonde started the hot water. She moved the few dishes to place the plug at the bottom of the sink. As she went for the soap, Lucy felt a pair of hands on her waist, causing her to freeze.
"I'll take care of the clean up." The Dragon Slayer's voice was gentle behind her ear. "You go relax, let me get this. I'm the one that made the mess after all."
The corners of Lucy's mouth turned up into a smile. "I don't mind doing it. You cooked for me."
"And I'm going to clean too." Natsu mentioned stubbornly, pushing the Celestial Mage out of the way. "I'm sure you can find something better to do than clean up after me."
The young blonde took a good look at the Dragon Slayer in front of her. The man who refused to even pick up his own laundry, or do his own laundry, was now cleaning up after himself? Lucy was taken aback by how much Natsu had changed.
"Come on, Princess!" Virgo stood from her seat at the counter excitedly. "We can watch movies! Or you would work on your novel! You haven't done that in a long time."
If Lucy was being truthful, doing the dishes was the only thing that made the young woman feel useful at this time. All the Celestial mage wanted to do was crawl into bed. The thought of watching movies with her friend, Virgo, brought back memories of staying the weekend with Melody.
"No way he did it!" The Celestial Mage pointed towards the dark haired man on the television. The two ladies had moved on from movies to crime dramas. The genre was one of the frail woman's favorites!
"They just revealed he has no alibi! I know he did it." Melody gestured towards the man in the red t-shirt.
"You've been right about every other one of these." Remi giggled. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were right this time as well."
"I've watched enough of these to know they follow a certain pattern." The frail woman leaned back in the recliner, snuggling into her blanket. "If they have a suspect within the first ten minutes, odds are he's not the guy. It doesn't matter if they follow him the entire episode. It's always the person you least expect, to keep you watching."
"I've never gotten into them, or any television really." The Celestial Mage shrugged. "I never liked the idea of being fixated on death. My life seems to be filled with adventure, I'm never thinking about "
Melody thought about what Remi said. "For me, it's not like that."
"Oh?"
"Yeah…" The frail woman smiled. "I've had the grim reaper's shadow over me for a long time. Crime Dramas are my one way to help me become comfortable with the idea of death. I'm not sure when my time will be to go, none of us are. I guess these shows allow me to see there's people that care about what happens to people after they've passed on. If I was murdered, I'd hope that someone wouldn't stop until they found out who did it."
Feeling a surge of emotion flow through her, the Celestial Mage fought back tears as she turned on her heel. Lucy quickly walked out of the room, leaving Natsu and Virgo speechless.
"I think I'm just gonna go lay down. I'm pretty tired" The young blonde mentioned under her breath, barely louder than a whisper.
The Fire Dragon Slayer took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He wanted more than anything to help his partner. Natsu remembered how it felt when Igneel disappeared. The pink haired wizard felt lost, like life had completely stopped and sped up at the same instance. He needed answers, but all he could do in the beginning was mourn the loss of his father.
Then, years later his best friend Lisanna was sent to Edolas. The shape-shifting mage was one of the first people Natsu bonded with at the Guild hall. Both wizards raised Happy, the Dragon Slayer's blue Exceed. Thankfully,
Thankfully, through weird circumstances, The guild was able to bring her back home!
"I've never seen a person sleep so much." The Maiden let out a deep sigh. "It's almost like her personality got switched with a hibernating bear."
"She's just grieving for someone she's close to." The Dragon Slayer looked in the direction Lucy walked, before looking down at the pile of dishes before him.
"I can assist with the chores, it sounds like you may be able to talk to her."
"Like I told Lucy, I don't want to leave you guys with my me-
"You've been through what she's experiencing, Salamander. Please."
Virgo gave Natsu a serious look as a pair of bright purple rubber gloves and a brush appeared in the Maiden's hand.
The Dragon Slayer's eyes widened before he chuckled and took his hands out of the water. "I guess I'll leave you to it then. Thanks Virgo." The pink haired wizard dried himself off before leaving the kitchen. As he began to walk towards Lucy's bedroom, he thought about what he should say to her. There were so many questions running through Natsu's mind, it was hard to organize them all.
Opening the door slowly, Salamander poked his head into his partner's room. At first, he was taken aback by the darkness in the space. As he tiptoed inside, Natsu walked over to his partner's dresser. He decided to light a candle or two, giving the room a gentle glow. Once he got closer to her bed the Dragon Slayer heard Lucy crying quietly under a pile of thick blankets.
Natsu used his arm to create a small opening in the cocoon his partner made around her. It was just big enough to crawl inside the warm blanket nest. The pink haired wizard wrapped his arms around Lucy, pulling her as close to him as possible.
From the moment the Dragon Slayer's muscular arms enveloped the Celestial Mage, the floodgates opened. Lucy began sobbing, turning in her partner's arms to face him. She burried her face in Natsu's chest as she let it all out. All of the tears she'd been holding in from Melody's passing, missing her peers, and not having the pink haired wizard by her side, came out in this moment.
Warm fingers ran up and down her back in an attempt to soothe Lucy. The Dragon Slayer began to leave kisses on top of her head, around her ears, and anywhere else he could reach. Natsu could feel the sadness radiating form his best friend. He wanted more than anything to heal that piece of her that was broken.
Lucy wasn't sure how long she laid there crying. She could feel Natsu's hand rubbing her back, which calmed her. Eventually, her sobs quieted until she was clinging to her partner. The Celestial Mage took the sleeve of her sweatshirt and began to dry off the Dragon Slayer's chest.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to let the floodgates go on you."
"Don't worry about it." Natsu reassured her with a smile. "Water isn't the worst thing that's been on my clothes, trust me." Hearing the Celestial Mage giggle was like music to his ears.
The two were silent for quite some time. Both were enjoying each other's company. Natsu's hands moved from her back to running along any body part he could reach. He began going up her back, across her shoulder, and down her arm.
"What was Melody like?" The pink haired wizard asked. "I know it's painful, but I've learned that talking about loved ones that aren't with us can sometimes ease the hurt. You get to remember them in a good way, instead of how things ended."
"She was… Unique." The Celestial Mage could feel the corners of her mouth turn into a smile. "I've never met someone who would just try something new on a whim. She baked, made confections like candy, tempered chocolate perfectly every time, along with attempting to make lotions, and bath soaks. She loves helping people, which is the only reason why she showed up to work everyday. Melody knew she was making a difference in everyone's lives.
"I watched her make hard candies for the first time." Lucy began to laugh, thinking back on it. "Even though she says it didn't turn out right, it would've been better than any of my first attempts. I would've burned it in seconds! I've never seen it made before, it was a fun process to witness, even though according to her it didn't go as planned."
"I love candy!" Natsu mentioned, making Lucy's giggle even louder than before.
"I don't know if I could make the hard candies, but i'm sure I could whip up something that she taught me."
"You know how much I love food. I'll be your taste tester any day." The Dragon Slayer chuckled, his hand running through her blonde locks. He felt Lucy's face nuzzle into his neck. The pink haired wizard smiled, continuing to play with her hair.
Silence befell the duo once again. The Celestial Mage's eyes closed as she relaxed into Natsu's touch. The feeling of his warm fingers through her locks was extremely soothing. If Lucy wasn't careful, she was likely to fall asleep. However, there was still one thing on her mind.
"Natsu?" The Celestial Mage's voice was quiet.
"Yea?" The Dragon Slayer looked down at the blonde in his arms.
It took some time for Lucy to speak, unsure of exactly how she wanted to vocalize her concerns. Although Melody had been on her mind a lot over the last few days, another dark cloud looming over her was Dico and Grimoire Heart. The way everything happened still confuses Lucy. If the purpose was to punish Dico and get the equipment back, the men should've attacked at a time he would be home. Instead, they came in and charged innocent bystanders, taking the equipment by any means necessary.
Does Dico think I caused this? Lucy's mind began to race. What if Grimoire Heart is out there right now looking for me? I don't want them hurting any more of my friends!
"Hey.." The pink haired wizard could feel the young blonde tensing up in his arms. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of her heartbeat quickening. "What's going on? You froze on me."
"After watching Melody and her boyfriend get killed for that stolen equipment, I can't help but think Dico and his guild are going to come after me as well. I know I went undercover, which now I'm thankful for. However, I know that's not going ot stop anyone in a dark guild from-"
To stop Lucy's spiraling thought process, The Dragon Slayer stole her lips in a soft kiss. He slowly pulled away, seeing her wide eyed look. Natsu couldn't help but flash a toothy grin. "I'm always going to be here to protect you. Not only that, you have an entire family that's willing to fight for you! We're not going to let anything happen to you, Lucy."
From the moment their lips touched, the Celestial Mage's mind went completely clear. The fears she'd been having over the last few days washed away the second Natsu kissed her. The corners of her mouth turned into a smile as she looked into his ebony orbs.
"I know."