Natsu POV
Grey, Erza and I were walking towards Lucy's apartment when Happy broke the silence we were currently in.
"Ne, Natsu.. Where are we going?" he asked me.
"Lucy's place. I need to go there and smell her room so that I can pick up on where the bastard entered and took off with Lucy. After I find that out, we should get going in that direction." I told Happy. I could tell that Erza and Grey were listening, too.
"And then..? What happens after that, Natsu? We charge in and save Lucy? Yeah right, I bet you anything that the guy that kidnapped her has already thought about Gramps sending in some of us to go and take her back by force and has planned a trap or something ahead of time so that we will get caught while he goes and probably slits Lucy's thro-" Grey was cut off by Erza.
"Enough! Grey! Enough.." Erza silenced Grey by jerking her head towards me. Even though they were behind me, I could still tell what they must've looked like by now. Erza would've been sad and Grey would've looked guilty. Even though me and Ice-freak weren't close, we still knew when we'd cross a line that we shouldn't have and apologize for it. Lord knows I have done that many times, even if I didn't want to apologize. Grey has done that just as many time as I have though, so it's cool.
Upon arriving at Lucy's, I stopped outside her door and turned to my two Nakama.
"You guys stay out here." I told them.
Grey looked taken aback. "And why should we do that, Natsu?" Grey inquired.
I shot him a look, and Erza seemed to understand it. "Because if we are in there, Grey, then our scent's will be way more potent then the bad guy's. In other words, we would completely mask his smell, and Natsu wouldn't be able to pick up on anything but you, me, Happy and probably a faint Lucy's smell – since this is her apartment and she had only gone missing recently." She answered Grey. Grey hung his head, now understanding.
"Right.. Sorry.. I forgot, you have a sensitive nose and if we are there then you'd smell us instead of him." Grey muttered.
"It's fine. Now stay out here and I will be out shortly." I told them, and then backed up a bit. I jumped and landed next to Lucy's window sill. I opened up her window – the window's lock is broken, so I would understand how she got kidnapped, if she'd locked the door or not – and slipped inside. I was instantly greeted by Lucy's scent.
The entire room smelt like vanilla, strawberries and jasmine. The scent filled my head and I became slightly dizzy. I looked over at Lucy's bed and decided to investigate. I laid down on it for a few moments, deciding on how warm the bed was so that I could have an indication of just how many hours had passed before she was taken. Judging by the warmth of the bed, I debated between 5-6 hours ago – which would be reasonable since it was about 2 in the afternoon.
As I lay there, though, I seemed to get lost in Lucy's scent for a little bit. The familiar smell brought me comfort, after having gone so long without it. God, I missed Lucy. I have missed her for months on end, and the pain of her absence just would not stop. Before I knew it, I lost myself in memories of how fun times together.
The time we first met, our first mission together, the time I saved her when she fell from the Phantom Lord's tower, our time on the resort that Loke gave us tickets to – before the whole 'Tower of Heaven' thing happened, the time Lucy entered the Miss Fairy contest, the Fantasia parade, the time when she ditched her date to come on a mission with me, the time when Lucy had acted weird because Mirajane had told her that I liked Luc–Oh.. My.. God..
What kind of magic had I eaten to cause myself to be so dense that I would ignore my own gut feeling? All this time.. The awareness, being scared and nervous around Lucy, the times when I would feel my face get hot or my insides get all tingly whenever Lucy hugged me, or even the time when I carried her home after saving her from the fall she took from the Phantom Lord's tower and all I could really think of was the fact that her assets were pushing into my back – my face felt like it was on fire, even though it wasn't.. or even.. or even the over-whelming pain I have felt since I'd ended my friendship with her.. Bloody hell! I even cried when I found out that I wad hurt her so deeply!
All of it made sense now.. Mirajane was right, and even I didn't know it! I like.. no, love.. I love Lucy.. I am in love with my ex-best friend.. I always have been, but I was so dense that I didn't even know it.. It never even crossed my freaking mind! Not once! God damn it.. I wonder if Lucy feels the same way about me..? No, not possible. Definitely impossible – there is no way she would, not after the way I ended things so abruptly with her. Though.. that would explain how she looked when I told her that I didn't wanna be her Nakama anymo – No. No, she'd said that I reminded her of her father. That's why. She doesn't love me, and she never will. It isn't like I deserve it anyways.. although, if I save her and apologize and explain why I unfriended her, then maybe.. just maybe she will forgive my actions? If I am sincere enough, she just might. But, even if I were a freaking holy man and swore my life to god if I wasn't sincere enough, I reckon there would, in fact I am pretty sure it will be, a 65% chance she will reject my apology. I'd deserve it though. I deserve all the pain I caused her and more.
After I concluded that I would apologize no matter what – and somehow, some day, I would earn her trust and forgiveness back – I got up from the bed and decided that the quicker I get the scent, the quicker I get to Lucy and apologize after I thrash the bastard the took her. I went over to Lucy's desk and sniffed. I could smell her.. and an unfamiliar smell – definitely a man's scent. Got him.
I leapt out the window and landed on the ground next to Erza, Happy and Grey. They were about to say something, but I held my hand up and lifted I head. I sniffed the air, searching for the male scent I smelt in Lucy's room. It lead to.. The right. I inclined my head for the guys to follow and took off to the right. I ran and ran, all the while following his scent. I could also smell Lucy's scent mingled with his so I knew it was the same scent from the room. I followed it to the outskirts of town. I was headed in the direction of Akane Beach. I stopped at Magnolia's border and sat down. Erza and Grey looked at each other before shrugging and sitting down with me.
"Are we going to think of something?" Grey asked.
"Well, no duh, Grey.. we have to come up with a plan so that my Lucy doesn't get hurt while we try to save her. Just bursting in and taking the place by storm isn't going to do anything but alert anyone, besides the guy who took her, about our presence and they will go off and get to my Lucy before we do." I told them, showing that I had clearly thought about this. "What we need to do is-" I was cut off by Grey.
"Natsu.." Grey muttered, looking shocked at something, I looked at him questioningly, then I looked at Erza, she had the same look on her face. Happy just looked like someone gave him a weeks worth of fish.
"What? What did I say?" I asked, perplexed.
"N-Natsu.. did you.. were you even aware that you were calling Lucy yours?" Grey asked me.
I looked at him like he'd grown a third head. "What are you talking about?" I asked him.
"Natsu.. let me repeat what you were saying," Grey cleared his throat. "We have to come up with a plan so that my Lucy doesn't get hurt while we try to save her. Just bursting in and taking the place by storm isn't going to do anything but alert anyone, besides the guy who took her, about our presence and they will go off and get to my Lucy before we do."
I just looked at him blankly. He's right, I had called Lucy mine. I sighed. "Well, that's to be subconsciously expected, of course.." I muttered to myself.
Erza chimed in then. "Natsu.. what are you talking about? 'subconsciously expected'?" she asked, looking at me like she were trying to solve a puzzle.
"You lllllllliiiiiikkee her!" Happy put in, making that weird face he always makes when he says stuff like this.
"Happy, as if that idiot would even-" I cut Grey off this time.
"He's right." I looked at my Nakama seriously. They all just stared at me with their eyes wide open.
"W-what? What did you say? Natsu?" Erza asked.
"Happy is right. Well.. Kind of. I wouldn't say like.. I would say more.. I love Lucy?" I admitted to them. Looking them all in the eyes, being dead serious. It took a while before they spoke again.
"Are you screwing around with us, Natsu? Don't joke like that. It's not cool." Grey finally spoke up.
I sighed again. "Yes, I am dead serious Grey. I ain't joking around. It's kind of the reason why I ended my friendship with Lucy. I hadn't figured out what was going on with me, but whenever Lucy was around me, I wouldn't act like myself. I would feel like a fool at times and others I would feel my body temperature heat up just by looking at what she wears half the time. I had been having conversations with her, where she would do most of the talking and I would just listen to her velvety voice and only mumble out 'yeah's and 'uh-huh's and stuff, right before I decided that she was making do things I would never do and she wasn't realising it. I was just frustrated I guess.". I admitted to them, I could feel my face light on fire. And this time, it seriously was on fire.
"But.. after I ended our friendship.. it's hard to describe.. it felt like.. no, it still feels like someone jaggedly cut out my heart and ripped it up into odd shapes and sizes before throwing the remains in a blender. And at the same time, its like someone's cut out my guts and stuck them on a giant cactus plant and decorated it like a Christmas tree. That's the best way I can some it up.. even if it is a really weird description, it's the closest thing I can relate it to. I guess, for a shorter version, you could say that I feel.. hollow inside without her. And yet, while I feel 'hollow', I also feel like I am constantly in pain. Even now, I feel like that." I tried to explain it to them. How I feel without Lucy.
"Don't get me wrong, though, I have only just figured it out recently. I figured it out when I entered Lucy's room earlier. Before I sniffed around for the bad guy, Lucy's scent hit me like a brick wall as soon as I climbed through the window. I had laid on Lucy's bed, deciphering the warmth so that I could figure out just how long it had been since she'd been taken. I estimated around 5-6 hours, it'd be 6-7 hours now. After I got the estimated time-length, I kinda.. just.. lost myself in her scent, I guess. I was looking back on Lucy and mine's fun time as Nakama's when I suddenly recalled the day the Mirajane had told Lucy that I liked her and so Lucy had acted weird all day and when we'd met up later that night, she was all dressed up for a date or something. I guess, looking back on it now, I figured out that Mirajane had been right – even if I didn't know it. Thinking about it – everything I'd do around her suddenly made perfect sense. It was because I was falling for her that I acted weird around her, but after I ended our friendship, I didn't realise just how far gone I already was. I was already in love with her at that point." I looked over at Erza, she looked completely shell-shocked. "Do you remember.. That day? You and the girls were at the café and Lucy talked about how she felt about our friendship being over? How she cried?" Erza just nodded silently.
"Do you remember.. How I cried?" Grey's head snapped to my direction.
"What are you guys talking about?" He asked. "Since when do you ever cry Natsu? It isn't like you." Grey said.
I sighed. "I think it's time you both knew what happened that day, the day I cried over Lucy." I looked pointedly at Grey.
And so, I told them my story of how I came across the girls and what I'd been thinking and everything. Even what I had said to myself before I left. It appeared that realisation appeared on Erza's face, as well as shock on Grey's.
"That's what you were mouthing? I couldn't pick up on anything – but the only thing I picked up on was that you looked like you were attending Happy's funeral." She admitted.
I laughed a real genuine laugh. I also gave them a real smile, not a fake one or a smirk, but a real smile from me. Their eyes widened. I knew why. This was the first time in 7 months that I had done either of those things.
"You know what? I reckon I would act the same way, anyway, if that happened. Happy is my best friend." I told them, grabbing Happy and putting him in my lap. I gave Happy a fish and started petting him in his favourite spots. Within seconds, Happy was purring loudly. I chuckled at the face he was making; it was adorable, considering he is a cat.
"Anyway, we need to figure out what we need to do. Do you have any suggestions, you two?" I asked them.
And with that, we stayed there for four hours, revising on what we were going to do to rescue my Lucy. God, I loved the sound of that, my Lucy. After we knew what our plan was, we faced the direction of Akane Beach.
Just you wait, my Lucy, I will save you and kick that bastards ass for kidnapping you.