"Before I start…" Makarov spoke carefully, "I'm telling you this because I thought you deserved to know. It wouldn't sit well with me if I knew and you didn't."
Natsu's expression displayed his confusion. He knew the old man hadn't been in a good mood, the way his brows and mouth were set told him that, but the teen had figured it was something he did. He thought it was just gonna be another scolding… "Okay…?" He replied slowly, unsure and not really liking the fact that he didn't know where the conversation was heading.
Makarov eyed the boy, searching his face and was sad he was probably about to ruin his day, "It's about Igneel."
He spoke and immediately there was a change in air around Natsu. Though it was physically impossible for Makarov to see the air actually change, it was true that the air was in fact, different. The boy's face hardened in the slightest, his gaze tightened, and his shoulders straightened out. All of those the signs Makarov knew well. They signaled to him that the boy was extremely aware and very ready to play off his feelings toward the words that were about to come out of Makarov's mouth. In other words, a wall had gone up.
Natsu only nodded for him to go on.
"I have a friend who runs a general store in a small town in the upper part of the country." He spoke and scratched his partially bald head, knowing there wasn't going to be a reply until he was finished, "I was talkin' to him the other day and somehow he brought up your father's name, said he was new in town. I asked about it of course and he said from what the man told him he was planning to stay there for about a week."
Natsu hadn't moved. His face was the textbook definition of calm.
Makarov sighed, "I stopped asking there. I didn't want to know anything more until I told you. I know this topic is… sensitive to you despite the many times you say it's not and it wouldn't be right for me to be the one to ask all the questions without your approval. Now, getting to the point," he looked Natsu in the eyes and leaned forward a little, "I wanted to ask you… if you wanted to look into this further. I don't know many Igneel's, so I wouldn't know if that could be him, but it wouldn't hurt to ask my friend about it or even go take a loo-"
"It's alright."
The old man shut his eyes at the boy's words. He knew it was coming. He knew it and yet those words still gave him a feeling of a hole forming in his stomach.
"I've said it before gramps." Natsu chuckled, "I don't need to know where he's at and it's not my life's mission to find him and chew him out or get a heartfelt reunion." He stood up and brushed his pants off, just a fill in action, "He probably had his reas-"
"If you say he had his reasons I swear on my own grave I'll-"
"Okay, okay." Natsu raised his hands and cut him off, "I won't say it... but it's true. So to answer your question, no, I don't wanna look into that. I don't feel like travelling. You know long distance travel makes me feel sick…" He ended his sentence on a light note and walked back to the door, "Oh yeah, you want me to send Lucy in? She's real excited to join."
"Yeah. Go ahead."
"Alright." He replied calmly and left, shutting the door with no added force.
Makarov wanted to break something. Preferably Igneel's nose.
"He probably had his reasons"... bullshit!
Now he knew he shouldn't hate a man he knew nothing about, and what Natsu said did have some stock to it in a way. He may have had reasons he couldn't care for the boy but under no circumstances do you just leave your child alone in the woods to fend for themselves. Makarov didn't care if the devil himself had told him to do it; you do not abandon your child. That was something he couldn't forgive no matter what. If the man ended up having a legitimate reason, it still wouldn't be enough. If he even saved his life at some point, it still wouldn't be enough. He'd seen too many children without parents to be able to overlook something as irresponsible and low as that.
Makarov would've believed Natsu were fine with it if he knew he wasn't. It would've been easy to believe that the boy had gotten over it if it were true. It happens all the time. People get over past traumas and move on with their lives in a healthy manner, but in many other cases they end up just like Natsu had- making excuses for the person who did them wrong.
The man knew Natsu was a strong person. The boy knew who he was and didn't let anyone try and tell him otherwise. He wasn't so easily swayed or beaten down. He'd even broken a bone or two and still came home from the hospital with a smile on his face, laughing his head off about it. He knew his rights from his wrongs and put that knowledge to use daily and yes, Makarov knew in his heart that Natsu wasn't a weak little boy but an emotionally and physically strong person.
But in the end, he couldn't help but notice the abandoned child that was hidden away inside the nineteen year olds eyes.
That turned out just great… Makarov thought wryly.
He'd hoped maybe Natsu would grab at the chance to see his foster father again- though the old man himself had his own reasons for wanting him to go, obviously. He thought maybe if the teen saw him again he'd be able to… oh he didn't know… He just wanted something, anything to happen that finally let that god-awful load off of Natsu's shoulders.
Makarov got off his desk and went to sit in his chair, a rarity. He was about to have official business to attend to and he couldn't very well do it from sitting atop his workspace. Well, he could but he wanted to keep at least a little formality to the girl's interview. Though, it wasn't really an interview to be honest. He only called it that due to some "rules" or whatever.
Natsu, who made it downstairs in record time but slowed down once he was visible to people, made his way over to Lucy who was still gushing about books with Levy and tapped her on the shoulder, a smile on his face, "The old man's ready for you."
Lucy was a little startled by the sudden touch, having been completely absorbed in her conversation. She looked to Levy and stood up after the girl gave a nod for her to go ahead, replying, "Great! This is exciting!" she grinned and smoothed her hair out.
"Yeah." He replied a little too plainly.
Lucy didn't take notice of it but both Mira, who hadn't had any customers to tend to, and Levy knew that wasn't his usual tone.
"Where is it?" The blonde asked.
"It's up the stairs," he began directing with his hand, "and down that long hallway. It's the door at the very end. Can't miss it."
"Okay." She smiled, "Thank you."
"S'okay. Just as long as you're not a criminal or anything it'll go great."
"I'm no criminal." Lucy deadpanned.
"That's exactly what a criminal would sa-"
"I'm going."
Natsu laughed dryly as she walked off, muttering to herself of her non-criminal ways, and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
He needed to get out for a second. The warehouse was suddenly feeling a little too stuffy for some reason.
"Oi." He turned to Mira and Levy who were chatting and gained they're attention, "I need to go do somethin' real quick but I should be back by the time they're done in there. If I'm not just tell her to wait for me will you?"
"Yeah, sure." Levy answered with a nod and Mira gave a "mhm" sound, both a little confused at the sudden request.
"Thanks." He replied and swiftly turned to leave the warehouse, heading out the back instead of the main doors.
"I wonder what that was about…" Mira questioned, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Who knows?" Levy grabbed at one of her fries and placed it in her mouth, swallowing before speaking again, "He probably got scolded by the boss again."
"You think? He sounded a little odd…" The white haired woman took a seat in front of Levy, "He usually looks pouty when he gets scolded."
Levy raised her brow but said nothing.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it…" She placed her chin in her palm, "He seemed normal enough with Lucy so I'll leave it alone I suppose-Ah!" Mira noticed a customer sit down at the bar and shot up, "Did you need anything else Levy?"
The teen smiled and waved a hand, "No, I'm good Mira. Thank you for the fries!"
"My pleasure." She replied and walked off to tend to her new customer, a bright smile almost as white as her hair on her head gracing her face.
Lucy anxiously walked down the hall Natsu had spoken of, twisted the ends of her wavy hair, it was a little wavy due to her not blow drying it earlier that morning, and bit down on her bottom lip. She was nervous of all things. It was a little unbelievable to her. The teen had been borderline interrogated by her father's acquaintances about her home life, things she'd been learning, when she'd take over, and of course the ever famous questions that would allow them some insight as to how to into get his favor, which she could never answer, and now, as she walked down a very normal hallway to be interviewed for a normal job, she was getting very nervous.
It was most likely due to the fact that this time it really mattered to her that she do well. Before, she just had no other choice than to be perfect. Having the "smile for daddy's important business friends" mindset drilled into you sucks any and all fun right out meeting those people and really takes away the desire to want to comply- though in the end she always did. But with this, Lucy really felt the want, the drive, to do well. It was exhilarating but a little terrifying at the same time.
Well… Natsu did say as long as I wasn't a criminal it should be fine… She tried to reassure herself before the knocked on the tall, wooden door that was now in front of her.
"Come in." She heard a muffled voice sound from the room and she did as told.
"Hello." She greeted him perfectly, smile and all, immediately going into her "meeting dad's friends" routine.
Makarov caught this immediately though, he knew when people were only trying to make a good impression. Not that there was anything shameful about it- he just preferred people to be their normal selves around him. "You don't have to be formal." The old man grinned widely,"Come in, come in. Sit down."
Lucy mentally cursed her habits.
"Uh- I wanted to thank you for the other day." She spoke as she sat down (unknowingly in the seat Natsu had been in just earlier).
"For what?" Makarov asked curiously, setting a few papers down in front of him.
The blonde tuck her hair behind her ear, a little embarrassed, "I probably would've chickened out that first time I came… Just before you showed up I was about to leave but you all but pushed me inside- not that I found you pushy!" she corrected herself, "I mean, I'm grateful for you convincing me to go in."
The elderly man let out a boisterous laugh, "You don't have to thank me for that! I was just curious about that pretty little lady who was starin' at our sign so intensely, so I walked over!"
Lucy couldn't help but redden a bit his calling her pretty. It was funny how compliments never used to have an effect on her before coming there and now she was really wanting to take them to heart.
"So?" He set his elbows on his desk, "I hear you wanna join us?"
The teen sat up a little straighter and took a deep breath, "Mhm. When Natsu told me about it this morning I was really very impressed. The idea of an odd jobs business was always great in my own opinion, but what you have here is amazing. It's great that your people can accept jobs when they need them, and from what I can tell jobs come in very regularly so you're never short on them. It seems that it's a huge help to your town as well! Treating your own towns needs as important is very well thought out, not only community wise but financially as well. You're local businesses never have to be short on staff, they can get fill-in's from here, I assume, and even better, your members get to experience a wide variety of employers. Natsu told me you accept local jobs as well as jobs from out of town and it shocked me a little that you're so well known! It's smart that you have people here with special skills that are in demand, but also regular Joes that can take on any other kind of job! Your business is overall really impressive and I'd love to join!"
Lucy ended her small speech with an almost visible sparkle in her eyes. Not only did she not notice that she'd slipped into her old talking habits, she spoke as if she were discussing stocks with a suit clad man, but she had also moved closer to the edge of her seat out of excitement. If she scooted an inch closer she was most likely going to fall out of it.
Makarov, for lack of a better word, was stunned.
Never in his life had someone complimented his business so vigorously and seriously and this was a teenager he was speaking to. Not that they were incapable of such conversations of course, but his brats had never spoken a word like hers ever. "Really very impressed." and "-financially as well." were things he heard from the sixty-two year old mayor… So, back to the word that didn't really describe his shock, he was stunned, but also very curious.
"Well, thank you." Despite him being obviously dumbfounded, he was actually touched by her words. It always made his heart swell a little when people praised him for doing a good job with the business. It'd been passed onto him by a friend, since passed away, so hearing those kind of words gave him a little more pride than the day before. "I'd like for you to join too." He grinned at the girl, chuckling at how her face lit up, "But of course before we move onto that there are things I have to ask you. It's the "law" so I got no choice."
Lucy face, that was previously glowing, scrunched up.
The one part she was dreading had come upon her.
She'd already given into having to tell him "that" but the girl hoped he wouldn't have to pry any further.
"All I need is your full name," he began counting with his fingers, "phone number, address, date of birth, and," he gave a wide, toothy grin, "one good reason you want to join Fairy Tail."
She raised her brow at the last one but her confusion over the lack of information needed won out her next question, "That's all?"
"Yeah… I don't like havin' to go through all that paper work," he had a slightly pained expression on at the thought of it, "so I looked up what the minimum amount of information I needed to hire someone was and sure enough it isn't much. Just the way I like it. Of course the number and address are so I or Mira can contact you but so long as you're not some active criminal, I don't need anything else."
What's with all this criminal talk? The blonde thought, a bit annoyed people thought she could be a possible felon.
"Alright then, is there a form I need to fill or…?"
"I got it." He stuck his hand up to reveal a pen and readied it at the papers on his desk, "I'll be sure to document it properly later. Don't worry."
Lucy took in a breath and let it out slowly before giving her number, address, and birth date to the elderly man, purposely withholding the last bit of information he needed, hoping he would forget about it. It was a fruitless, childish hope but she just really, really didn't want anyone to know. There weren't enough "really"s in the world for her to express how badly she didn't want to say it.
"Okay…" He trailed off, scribbling words onto his paper, "I need a last name now."
The old man looked up after finishing his sentence and saw the discomfort on the girls face. He'd seen many a people who hadn't wanted to share their full names for one reason or another and spoke again, trying to reassure her, "Don't worry. Everything your givin' me is gonna stay between us if you want it to. I won't let anyone see or tell anyone so there's no need to hesitate. I get people who don't want to give me their names all the time."
The girl sighed.
It's now or never I guess…
"Heartfilia. Lucy Heartfilia."
Makarov almost had heart attack.
"Hold on, hold on…" he spoke after he was done choking on her words, "Heartfilia? As in one of the wealthiest families in the country Heartfilia?" The name itself was one of the first things you hear when entering the world of managing your own business. People some way or another would always end up gossiping about or aspiring to the Heartfilia name. It didn't matter what kind of business you ran, the popular topic of how Jude Heartfilia created his fortune was a story most people were dying to tell and achieve.
"Y… Yes…" She replied reluctantly.
"Wh-" The old man was searching for words he couldn't find but didn't need to when Lucy spoke again.
"Please!" She begged her soon to be boss, "Please just… don't tell anyone. I really don't want to be... associated... with that name right now. I knew I had to tell you if I wanted to work here, and lying was out of the question, so being honest my only option."
"What on earth would you need to work here for?" He didn't mean to pry but when the country's wealthiest man's daughter arrives on your doorstep looking for a job, questions are gonna spill out.
Lucy grimaced, telling him her name was one thing, a thing she hadn't wanted to do in the first place, but informing him of why she left home was just not going to happen. She'd take not getting the job over gushing out her sob story to a man she didn't know. It would only make him feel uncomfortable… "I left home for reasons I can't get into," she observed his expression at her words and continued, "and now that I'm settled into my home I need work. I'm really sorry but I can't say any more than that… I just-"
"That's okay." Makarov cut her off, beginning to understand a little, "Whatever you want to tell me is up to you. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I already have all the legal junk I need so anything more would be pushin' it." He gave her a wink, letting her know it was okay and she breathed a sigh of relief.
He would've said he couldn't imagine what would make her leave that rich life style, but he could actually think of quite a few things. From the look in her eyes when she spoke of leaving home, he could tell something must've been awful. It was the same look he'd seen in all those kids. It broke his heart a little to see it in yet another person.
"Since that's out of the way-" He got up after pulling a camera out of what seemed like thin air and said, "It's time to get picture!"
"A picture?" She questioned as he came around his desk to stand in front of her.
"It's gonna be for your card. Everyone gets a sort of ID card when they join." he explained as he turned the camera on, "It's mostly to present to the job requesters so they know who you are."
"Oh." Lucy replied simply. Another smart idea.
"Alright, smile like you just accepted your dream job!"
The girl let out a laugh and Makarov, instead of waiting for her to gather a "proper smile", snapped a photo in that instant. It was the way he did all of his ID picture taking, or at least he tried to do it that way.. Some people, he found out, don't laugh or smile very much.
"W-Wait I didn't-!"
"It's fine, it's fine!" He insisted with a hearty laugh and walked back around to his chair, "The card should be done in a few days. It won't have your name on it, just certification that you're from Fairy Tail." The man set his camera down and looked back up at the girl, "There's still one more thing I need from you."
"Hm?"
"You haven't given me your "one good reason" for wanting to join." Makarov replied.
It was something he always asked for. It was mostly for getting a feel for the person he was hiring. To be honest it didn't matter what kind of reason they had, if it was only because they needed the money that was fine with him. If they gave him a one-thousand word letter he'd find it a little annoying, but that was also fine with him. He didn't care what kind of reason they had, so long as it wasn't harmful in anyway, but whatever it was it needed to be their true reason. One thing he couldn't tolerate in his business was dishonesty.
But, from what he gathered, she didn't seem like that type of girl.
"Oh, right." Lucy titled her head slightly, searching for the right words.
It would've been fine to say she just needed a job, but somehow that seemed too… well, it didn't feel like it covered her reasoning completely. There was something about the place, her first time there as she said before really left an impression on her, that made her feel… at home? It felt comfy and fun. Those three things being something she hadn't felt in a long time.
For a few more moments she tried to gather her words and then said, "It feels nice." Her phrase was simple but it seemed right, "When I walked in, that was the first thing I felt. You all seemed so happy and just seeing that made me feel the same way. Of course, I do need money," she smiled a bit sheepishly, "but I thought if I had to work somewhere for someone it should be at a place I like and with people I can enjoy myself with."
Lucy felt pretty confident in her answer, there were no lies hidden in there, and when she saw the old man grin, reaching up all the way to his eyes, she couldn't help but feel like she'd done good.
"Very well!" He laughed. That girl was way more than he expected. "You're now a full blown member of Fairy Tail Odd Jobs! You're gonna have to wait until you get your card to accept jobs but other than that you're all set missy."
"Thank you!" Lucy beamed and stood up to shake the man's hand.
"No, thank you." He took her hand shake with vigor and said, "It's always a good day when I get to hire a fresh face." Despite his talk with Natsu earlier, it was true that his day had turned around a little. "You can head back down to that boy now… Maybe you can treat him to dinner again…" He mumbled the last part of his sentence. Lord knew the kid was gonna be in need of pick-me-up.
"Hm?"
"It's nothin'. Just talkin' to myself." He walked over to the door alongside her and opened it, "I'll have Mira let you know when your card's done. She's gonna welcome the hell out of you so be prepared."
Lucy let a nervous laugh out and she left the room, giving him a smile before turning to leave. She wouldn't doubt she'd get a boisterous welcome from the woman; so far she'd seemed like a sunshiny person. If she were looking further into it, she'd say Mira reminded her a little of her mom. Which she might've thought was a bad thing a few days ago, but for some reason it made her happy.
The blonde gave a small celebratory fist pump as she walked down the stairs, so very glad it'd gone well. The burden of having to find a job was now off her shoulders and with that came a sense of relief. It felt like she was actually beginning to settle into the town. When she reached the first floor she immediately sought out her rosy haired friend, hoping to point out that her non-criminal history had in fact helped out but she couldn't spot him. Her head twirled left and right, he shouldn't have been too hard to find, and after a few more looks she concluded that he wasn't there.
To say she was a little disappointed wouldn't have been a lie but she was honestly more concerned about who was going to help her find a mattress now.
"Luuucy!" Mira saw the girl looking lost through the small afternoon crowd from behind the bar and called over to her, "Over here!"
Relieved she hadn't been left to her own devices in a place that was still full of people she didn't know, she hurried off to sit on the bar stool Mira was in front of, "What happened to Natsu?" She questioned once she got there.
"Ah, yeah about that, he said he had to go do something for a minute but he'd be back. He told me to tell you to wait for him." She conveyed Natsu's message while wiping down a pint, an action she did often.
"Oh, alright. Do you know what it was?" She spoke of her curiosity. He didn't mention having to do anything earlier. She would've told him she could get a mattress another day if he were busy.
Mira looked down after hearing the question, a small frown on her face. "I have an idea… He didn't seem too happy when he left."
That guy? Unhappy? Lucy thought. That word didn't fit well with the teen's personality in her opinion. Then again she knew sadness could get to the best of people so it probably wasn't something to be shocked about.
"It had to be something about Igneel…" Mira thought aloud to herself. Nothing made Natsu have that expression or tone of voice other than when he'd been talked to about his father.
"Igneel?" Lucy questioned.
"O-oh… Did I say that out loud?" She gave an embarrassed smile and put a hand on her cheek, hesitating a little before she went on. "Igneel's the name of Natsu's father."
"Did he have a fight with his dad or something?" Lucy knew just how much a fight with your father could ruin your mood…
"No… um…" Mira sighed, "It's complicated. His dad isn't around exactly…"
"He passed away?" Her voice saddened as she asked the question.
"No, he's alive… as far as I know." The bartenders' brows furrowed, "Like I said it's complicated and it's most likely why he left, in my opinion at least, but I don't want to assume things. When Natsu was a child his dad-"
"I'm sorry but... hold on." Lucy cut the woman off softly, "Does this have to do with something very personal to him?" She waited for a nod before she continued, "Not that I don't want to hear this, which I kind of do now to be honest, I'd rather he tell me if he wants me to know. I wouldn't feel right knowing something about someone without their permission."
Lucy felt a twinge of regret after saying that. She hoped she didn't make the woman feel embarrassed in any way, but when she was granted a smile instead of an offended reply, like a lot of people would've given, she knew that wasn't the case.
"You're absolutely right." Mira spoke as she set the pint she was cleaning back on the shelf, "That's very considerate of you."
Lucy only smiled in reply.
It wasn't really considerate on her part. It was more the case that she knew she'd be upset if someone told another person her personal information without her permission, and figured he'd feel the same way. She didn't know the guy well enough to be able to casually hear something personal about him. They were friends, she didn't question that now, but if he wanted her to know she would wait for him to tell her. Better than knowing something she wasn't supposed to.
"Miss Mira!" A childlike voice suddenly sounded from behind her and the bartender's expression softened, "I finally finished that job!"
"That's wonderful!" She beamed down at the girl that came into Lucy's sight as she sat down next to her and initiated a high five, "I said you could do it didn't I?"
"You did!" The young, dark blue haired girl that was now beside her was radiating the purest form of "sweet and kind" Lucy'd ever seen said. "The requester even offered to give me more than his original payment but I couldn't take it. Oh-!"
She hastily turned to Lucy with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry! Were you two talking?"
"It's fine." Lucy assured the girl who had gone into a stream in of apologies.
"I'm Wendy." She extended her small hand with a smile to match, and Lucy idly wondered yet again how many hands she'd shaken over the past week, "Are you a new member here?"
"I actually am." Lucy was proud to introduce herself as such, "It's nice to meet you!"
"You were accepted!" Mira exploded; it was more a statement rather than a question. She knew Lucy would have no problem becoming a member, "Congratulations!" The woman reached over the counter to pull Lucy into a bone crushing hug, causing Wendy to laugh and Lucy to momentarily lose her breath.
"Y-Yesh I wus!" The blonde tried to reply as she was being squeezed but failed as mushed words spilled out her mouth.
"If you'd like I could recommend you for modeling jobs! My usual employers would love to have you!" Mira gushed, overjoyed Lucy was going to be visiting regularly.
"M-Modeling?!" The girl knew her face was about to overheat when suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and a voice say, "Hey. Sorry I took off. Are we gettin' you a mattress or what?"
She turned and saw Natsu standing behind her. His hair looked a little windblown and for some reason he had a thin layer of… sweat? on his face, almost as if he'd been running… "Oh right! I was wondering where you went. I thought I'd have to sleep on the floor another night."
Lucy hopped off her stool, deciding not to actually ask where he'd gone and said, "I guess we should go. I have no idea how long it'll take to get one…" She put a hand on her forehead as her eyebrows furrowed, "Not to mention how I'm going to get it back to my house…"
"I got that part. Don't worry." Natsu grinned a seemingly innocent grin and Lucy felt a small sense of relief, unknowing of what was to come.
"Okay then. Bye Mira, Wendy." She waved them farewell and they did the same, watching the pair walk out the doors of the warehouse.
"She's nice." Wendy spoke as Mira place a glass of water in front of her, knowing she wanted some, "You all seem to know her pretty well already?"
The bartender giggled, "I guess she just fits in well here. It's nice seeing a new face around."
"Mira." Makarov appeared beside her with a stack of papers and a loose grin, "Take care of this for me will ya'? My back's killin' me."
"And that makes you unable to work a computer?" Mira scolded her boss but took the papers anyway, "You should really go see a doctor about your back. I've been telling you for over a year now! It's only going to get worse the more you ignore it."
"Yeah, sure. I'll get to it next week." He replied passively and picked at his ear in attempt to make a joke out of it. He didn't like it when people told him to go see a doctor. Made him feel old.
"I'm going to hold you to that." She swore with an ice cold tone. Even if she had to sedate him, the boss was going to the doctor.
"Anyway, Lucy's joined us. Didn't take long." He laughed, "I guess hangin' around with Natsu'll do that to a person."
"Speaking of Natsu," Mira brought the topic of Natsu's earlier behavior back, "He was acting a bit odd earlier…"
"Was he now?" Makarov replied with a question and met her gaze, intending send Mira the message that they'd speak later which she immediately received.
"Yes but I didn't ask. Oh! I forgot to tell you Wendy! About that thing we were discussing…"
Makarov drowned out the girls' conversation, and stared at the front doors to the warehouse. It was beginning to occur to him that maybe Lucy's arriving there hadn't been a total coincidence. He was a fool that believed in fate and destined meetings, and their meeting, to him, didn't seem like something of chance. Maybe it was just his age that was getting to him, or maybe he just wanted to believe in good things but it was definite that those two were something peculiar.
He scoffed at his thoughts a little.
If someone had told him he'd be analyzing a relationship between two teenagers and trying to decide whether it was destiny or coincidence, he would've beaten them up, and the cop that inevitably would've tried to arrest him.
Heartfilia…
On a different note it was something to think about, the fact that the girl had come from that name…
Makarov sighed and rubbed his lower back. He couldn't help but get an odd feeling that something was still to come.
Lucy peeked to her left up at the teen, who was being strangely quiet, walking beside her. Something about him felt off. It seemed unusual for him to not be… talking. The thought of her not really knowing him and his moods occurred to her, but even so she couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to him. What in the world could've happened in the limited amount of time they were apart, she had no clue and for some annoying reason, it bothered her to see Natsu with such a stone like face on.
Just earlier she had decided not to ask but now it was bothering her way too much not to. So she silently took a deep breath and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Despite her voice being gentle, she could've sworn she saw his right eye twitch ever so slightly.
"No." He replied coldly without meaning too and immediately wanted to punch himself.
Lucy turned her head and went back to focusing on what was in front of her, "Oh. Sorry I asked then."
"Wait- hold on." Natsu stopped walking, as did Lucy, and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound like a jacka-"
"No really," the blonde insisted, "I knew I shouldn't have asked." She shrugged and walked back to Natsu, "It's probably something you'd rather not talk about so it's okay."
Her logic was sound but he still wanted to explain himself. One cold "no" may seem like nothing to be sorry for but he hated when he acted that way toward others just 'cause he was feeling a little agitated. "Sure but I'm still sorry. I'll be back to normal in no time."
Lucy nodded in understanding but couldn't help it when a sad smile formed on her face as they continued their walk to the mattress store. She knew those words well.
"Are you sure you know how to do this?"
"Of course I do. Whaddya think I'm sittin' here for?"
"No, really, are you one hundred percent completely positive you're sure?"
"I said yes. Now calm down and put that thing on."
"You mean the seatbelt?"
"I said that."
"No you called it "that thin-" AH!"
Lucy felt her body fling backwards as her friend, and apparently licensed driver, she hadn't seen him with one, sped off onto the road, spiking her blood pressure by a large amount she was sure. Quickly, she secured herself into her seatbelt and prayed a collective prayer to every religion there was that she wouldn't die an unmarried woman.
"I wasn't done talking!" She yelled over the loud music he had insisted on playing, she liked it a little actually, "You did that on purpose!"
He laughed, "You were gonna go on about me forgetting what a "seatbelt" was," the teen actually took his hands off the wheel to make air quotations, "and I figured since I already knew what you were gonna say I could save you the breath."
Lucy felt her teeth grind, "One, how the hell do you forget what a seatbelt is? Two, don't just assume you know what I'm going to say! It's rude and jesus christ- WATCH THE ROAD!" She scolded him as he'd been looking at her the whole time she'd been talking. The girl was two seconds from getting him to pull over.
"Sorry, sorry." He apologized and Lucy frowned at the small laugh he stifled.
"Who's truck is this anyway?" She questioned as she looked through the back window at the mattress she bought. It was a queen size and she tested it by seeing how quickly the teen beside her had almost fallen asleep on it. It'd been quite the funny experience.
"The stripper's."
Lucy giggled but quickly stopped herself, "He said he wasn't a stripper."
"And I can say I'm not a very good driver but we both that isn't tr-SHIT." Natsu cursed as he drove over a curb while turning.
"What was that?"
"A joke."
"Yeah, okay."
"It was."
"Alright," Lucy laughed, "I believe you." She didn't really.
"I don't think you d-" He almost ran over another curb.
"Okay! I think you need to stop talking and focus on the road before you make me vomit my breakfast."
Natsu muttered something under his breath and did as she said.
About ten minutes later, full of hellish driving, almost accidents and storms of swearing from both the blonde and pink haired teen, they finally arrived at the front of her house.
Lucy immediately hopped out of the truck and bent over, clutching her shirt where her fast beating heart was, "REMIND ME TO NEVER GET IN A CAR WITH YOU AS THE DRIVER EVER AGAIN. EVER."
"Come on." Natsu rounded the front of the vehicle and appeared beside her, "It wasn't that… bad." Even he knew his driving wasn't the best but there was no way he was gonna admit it.
"Oh yes it was." She replied, "Please tell me you don't have a license." If he did she was going to lose all faith in the DMV.
"Nope. But I have had lessons."
She sighed a little, feeling somewhat better even though what they'd just done was completely illegal and in no way any better.
"Let's just get this thing into my house please."
Natsu nodded and walked over to the bed of the truck, debating whether or not he'd be able to do it by himself and ultimately decided help was needed. "Alright, you need to get in there."
"Okay." She agreed and went over, stopping just beside him.
"What?" He questioned her expecting look.
"Aren't you supposed to lower this thing?" She knocked on the very back part of the truck that she knew was supposed to open.
"Just hop over."
"Why? You have the key don't you?"
"They're up in the front."
"So go get them?"
Natsu groaned and she conceded, "Alright! Fine!"
Lucy easily hopped into the back and mumbled to herself, "don't hafta be a baby about it… geez."
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing! What now?" She looked down to him; a little happy she was taller at the moment.
"Push it over and I'll catch it." He motioned with his hands, "Then you come down and grab the other end."
" 'Kay." She pushed her hair behind her ears and bent down to lift the mattress up. It was surprisingly light for its size, thought she did have to put a bit of effort into picking it up, "Just don't let it touch the ground alright?"
"Got it." He replied and readily caught it as she pushed it over as told to.
"You good?"
Natsu heard her ask from underneath the bed and let a small laugh out, "Yeah! All good…"
He listened to her feet hit the ground and swiftly grab the other side of the mattress, "Okay! Let's get this inside the house!"
And they did with no troubles, except for Plue constantly barking at the bed as they brought it in and trying to steal Natsu's shoes from his feet.
The two of them chucked the bed down onto her bedroom floor and it landed with a loud thud. Lucy immediately threw herself onto it as Plue put his small nose to work, sniffing it like crazy. The blonde let out a sigh, falling in even deeper love with the bed. It'd only been almost a week since she slept on a real bed, and the one she just bought wasn't as nice as her old one though buying it herself made it superior, but it felt like forever since she'd gotten a good night's sleep.
"This feels soooo nice." She stated with a smile as she rolled around on it, forgetting there was still a male in the room and the sight of seeing a young woman twisting around on a bed probably wasn't the most appropriate sight.
Natsu wanted to hit himself over how unguarded the blonde was but went for pretending not to be fazed, "Right? I almost passed out on the thing."
Lucy sat up, the back of her hair was now a complete mess, "That's how I knew to buy it."
The teen made a confused face but she didn't elaborate. Instead she grabbed her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It was already evening, almost six, and she'd just realized they skipped lunch.
"How have you not mentioned to me that we didn't eat lunch?" She asked, shocked that with his appetite he hadn't keeled over.
"Dunno. Figured you wanted to get all that done as soon as possible…" He half lied. Truth was he just wasn't hungry. Though he did think once during the time they were out not to bother her with anything else.
"I guess… Are you hungry now? Do you want to eat here or do you have plans to eat it somewhere else?"
"Nah. I have to get home and check on Happy. Thanks though." He declined her invitation and followed after her as she left the room, nonchalantly saying, "But man… you must be rich or something."
The girl stopped dead in her tracks and almost choked on her own spit, quickly turning to face him. Her mind, of course, was already beginning to head toward the worst scenario as she practically yelled, "Who told you?!"
Was it the boss?! He said he wouldn't tell! She thought to herself, panicked for, really, no reason.
"Whoa calm down!" Natsu rose his hands, palms outward, "Who told me what?"
"Wh… What?" Confusion played onto Lucy's face, "He didn't tell yo-"
Shit! The girl shut her mouth, effectively stopping all words coming from it as her mind cleared. There was no way the boss could've told him. He'd been with her the whole time and even if he texted him she would've seen. There was nothing for him to gain from it either, and she really didn't think he was the type to try and blackmail her. Not that anyone could gain anything from doing that anyway.
Natsu didn't know anything.
She was fine.
"Wait… what is it you think I was told?"
Or not…
"I-It's nothing!" She tried to play it off.
Natsu wasn't having it, "No, you definitely blew up there for a second. What is it? Did I hit the mark? Was I actually right about that?"
"I said it's nothing. I was just kidding!" She was a terrible liar under pressure.
"Not buyin' it. That was real panic on your face and in your voice. Is there somethi... What's wrong?" Natsu asked worriedly when he saw her face begin to twist into a distressed expression.
"I just- I don't want to talk about it so stop asking! I didn't push you about what was wrong you earlier! Should I ask you again?! Do you want to talk about something personal?!" She snapped with a real, awful bite to her voice and as soon as she was finished all she wanted was to disappear.
The only thing she could do was stare for a moment, genuinely shocked at her explosion toward him. She didn't know what to make of it. There was no sense to her actions. Even Plue, who'd just finished sniffing her bed, stopped at the bedroom doorway.
Worst of all, her reaction had just reminded her of her dad.
"I… I don't…" She looked down, trying to get an apology out but her brain didn't seem to want to piece a sentence together.
Natsu gazed down at her. He wasn't upset by her reaction. Instead he was desperately trying to think of something that could sooth the girl and when he did, though he didn't know if it would work, he had to momentarily process that what he was about to say was true in every sense of the word. "I wouldn't mind telling you y'know."
Lucy's head shot up to meet Natsu's eyes, astonished by his reply, and his unexpected expression.
He was… grinning… of all things.
"Wha…"
"I wouldn't mind telling you." He repeated and leaned against the second floors' railing that overlooked the living room downstairs, "I just don't tell people if they don't ask, though earlier what happened was still kinda fresh so I didn't feel up to talkin' about it out in the open… Sorry about just now by the way." He scratched his head, "Guess I was being pushy."
"No, you weren't. I was just being too sensitive…" She refuted his statement, "It's just a… it's just complicated. I'm the one who needs to apologize."
"S'okay. I'm not angry or anything." He paused for a moment, and said, "Did you want to know?"
"About what was bothering you?"
He nodded.
"Only if you want me to."
He sighed, "Well it's not like I really want anyone to know… It's not my favorite thing to talk about and the reactions I get are always the same… but I guess it's something you're gonna find out about me anyway."
"Well, like I said," She leaned against the railing as well, and tucked her bangs behind her ear, "only if you want me to know."
Natsu ran a hand over his face, stretching it a bit. The events of the day were starting to catch up to him. "Earlier, when you asked me what was wrong... I was just thinkin' about my dad." The word "dad" sent a small jolt through Lucy's body. "The old man told me he was probably in some town up north… he wanted to know if I'd go look."
"That's a bad thing…?"
The teen explained, "Not exactly…" he wasn't sure himself to be honest, all he knew was that it bothered him. "But to the old man it seemed like it. Guy was pissed."
"I'm not following…"
"When I was a kid my dad took off. Left me for who knows what. I don't care much at this point…" Lucy was surprised at his calm tone, "it's been years since I've seen the guy, and he's been more out of my life than in it now." He adjusted his scarf, "Though I guess hearin' that he was actually up to something somewhere threw me off."
Lucy felt her face twist into one of empathy. Her heart ached for him, feeling she could relate somewhat to his story. Her father hadn't left her physically, but emotionally he disappeared the day her mom died.
There it is… Natsu thought to himself when he saw the blondes' expression. He couldn't blame her. It was a sad story, he guessed.
"That's awful…" She finally said, and in turn Natsu gave a dry laugh.
"Yeah, suppose so."
"There's no supposing!" She retorted, genuinely feeling angry, "That was a fact I just stated! It's awful! A parent should never do that! You don't do that to your kids! Why the hell would you have them if you're just going to abandon them?! It's wrong! Completely wrong! I don't care if there's a good reason for it! You just don't…" The girl stopped when she noticed her vision was beginning to blur and hot tears were falling from her eyes. She quickly wiped them away with her wrist, and wondered for a moment just which father she'd been talking about.
"You too?" Natsu asked softly, his brows creasing with concern for the teary-eyed girl.
There wasn't any point in hiding it from him now, Lucy figured. She'd already cried in front of him, something she never imagined doing, so denying it was off the table. "Kind of…"
"Damn." Natsu sighed, "Shit way to end the day huh?"
Despite the mood, Lucy couldn't help but laugh at his to-the-point words, "Yeah… "
"You're not gonna act weird around me now, are you?" He asked with a little playfulness in his voice as he moved to descend the stairs, "Cause you're already weird enough and I don't think adding more's gonna work in your favor."
"Oh shut it with the weird thing already!" She smacked his shoulder and he grinned, "And no, I'm not going to treat you any differently. Unless you tell me you only have a month to live or something… then I'll have to adjust my attitude."
He turned to look up at her when he reached the first floor, a deadly serious expression on his face, "Who told you?"
For a moment Lucy was about to actually believe him and most likely cry again if it were true, but then she realized he was mimicking her reaction to him earlier, "I will punch you if you don't turn around in the next half second."
"Haha! Alright, alright." He moved and made his way to the door, "Just trying to make sure you were fine before I left."
"By trying to make me believe you're going to die in a month?"
"Can't take jokes in the evening either I see…"
"I can and I'm fine." She clarified, and looked down for a second as he opened the door to leave, wanting to say something but couldn't think of how to word it. Instead, she went for, "See you tomorrow then."
He raised a curious brow, "You will?"
His reply made her stop for a moment, wondering why she said that. "Well yeah. I'm a member now right?" She played it off as a light blush spread on her face, "So I'll see you tomorrow… Unless you have other plans of course!" She quickly and awkwardly added that last part. The girl didn't want to just assume he'd be there.
Natsu laughed as she fumbled over more words but cut her short when he replied, "No, you'll see me tomorrow."
The teen opened the door and stepped out onto her softly lit porch. It was well past six now so the sun had already disappeared behind the trees that surrounded her home, "Oh and make sure the little guy doesn't pee on your bed. Can't count the times Happy did that…" He recalled those irritating memories, "It won't wash out easily, let me tell you-"
"I think I got it!" She stopped him, really not wanting to talk about… that.
"Alright then. Goodnight." He grinned, it was the toothy one again, and said, "Don't forget to eat like earlier."
"I won't… I'm starving actually…" She mumbled as she looked down to rub her stomach, then looked back up at him with a smile, "Goodnight. Thanks for today."
Instead of replying, because that would surely keep them going forever, he waved and turned his back, eventually disappearing from her sight.
Lucy stood in her spot for about a minute longer, thinking over what they just talked about, and realized he hadn't asked her to elaborate on what she meant by "kind of". She sighed and leaned against her doorway, a small, grateful smile appearing on her face. He probably understood she didn't want to say anything. Not because she didn't want him to know but for much more… emotional reasons. If she wasn't careful she was going to think that a guy who drives irresponsibly, with no license to boot, was quite possibly one of the nicest people she'd ever met.
Natsu, who had just made it out of her front yard, if it could really be called that, shook his head and wished desperately for the heat on his face to go away.
"You will?"? Damn it… He thought to himself.
The hopefulness his voice had when he said that wouldn't leave his mind alone. It bugged him that he didn't do it intentionally… that he wasn't the one who controlled that. At least that's what it felt like… It was almost as if someone had pushed a button and made his voice turn into some cheesy YA movie characters' voice.
It just bugged him.
His stomach growled and he was really starting to feel his hunger now. Skipping lunch was never going to happen again.
Setting aside his slight embarrassment and curious feelings, he pick up his pace to a fast jog and wondered what he was going to eat for dinner.
Lucy, back at her house, had just shut her front door after putting her own odd feelings away and went back into her room. When her friend had left an idea suddenly popped up inside her head and she felt she had to act on it now or she wouldn't do it later.
In a hurry, the girl grabbed a notebook she packed in her bag and placed it on her bed along with her body, picking up a pen she had in her purse before she did. Writing had always been a love of hers, she always did it secretly due to obvious reasons, her father had caught her once and blown up about it, but it never occurred to her that she could write letters to her mother. In the past she wouldn't have dared to write to her mom. It would've been either too stressful because of her dad, or too sad due to her cursed emotions. But now that she was gone and didn't have to worry about her dad finding out, though she still might cry, it was something she really wanted to do.
The blonde stared at the page and as she was trying to find words, trying to feel like she was talking to her mom again, tears, as she suspected, began to fall from her eyes. Oddly enough, she was okay with it.
With a shaky hand, and a sad smile on her face, she began to write the words "Dear Mom".
A/N: Sorry for the longer wait this time around. I had this sitting in my documents for a few days and I just could not bring myself to read it over and correct things. Even now I'm sure there's probably still mistakes somewhere in this longass chapter so, sorry for that... -_- writing blocks suck.
Anyway, Lucy's now a member of FT, Levy and Lucy are gonna be bookworm bros together, and the nalu's progressing nicely imo. I didn't want them to talk about Lucy's past yet, since Natsu's is common knowledge among his friends I figured his should come out first. Lucy's turn is probs gonna be a little more emotional but as it stands now she's not ready to share that info with people. *MANGA SPOILER*But... I kinda feel bad for makin' Igneel seem like such a bastard now that he's made a return in the manga, which i flipped shit over, buuuuut that's the beauty of an au I guess. still messed up for him to "leave" natsu anyway imo.*END OF MANGA SPOILER*
Also, do any of you find my sentences hard to read? Am I too descriptive or not descriptive enough? Do you prefer shorter sentences or longer? I'd love to know. :))))
I feel that now most of the introduction chapters are done so i can get into some real just all of them being together chapters. They're gonna do jobs together for sure so that'll be fun. I hope you enjoyed and really thank you very very very very very much for reading and reviewing. Warms my heart right up.