"Ah, what a weird day." I chuckled, walking along the water's edge. "I hope Natsu's okay, he seemed pretty upset earlier after the fight with Gray, and I didn't see him after that. Too bad, I really wanted to go on a job…" I wondered out loud.
"Be careful walking so close to the water, Miss Lucy!" a boater yelled from the canal.
"I will, thanks!" I waved at him with a smile before turning toward my apartment, which I just so happened to arrive at. Sighing with relief to finally be home, I went to unlock the door when I noticed something.
It's unlocked! That means I either forgot to lock it, which is very unlikely, or someone broke in!
I clenched my keys tight, ready to summon a spirit to chase off a robber or pervert. I slowly opened the door and closed it, making as little noise as possible. I then proceeded to inspect the apartment. All rooms were clear, leaving just my bedroom, which I nervously opened.
The light was on as the door creaked open. I slowly walked into my room and looked around. Everything seemed normal… except for the pile of pillows and blankets on my bed!
I walked over and quickly lifted the sheets to reveal… Natsu?
"N-Natsu? YOU GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK! WHAT ARE YOU-" I stopped short as I noticed his expression. It looked worn, tired. His eyes were red and puffy but dry, suggesting he'd been crying but stopped for some time now, and they lacked their usual shine. They stared dead ahead but seemed to look past Lucy, as if not really seeing her. He was sitting with his legs up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them loosely.
He turned his head to look at here before weakly murmuring, "…Lucy?"
"Natsu? What is it? Are you okay? What's wrong?" I asked, extremely worried. I've never seen Natsu in such a state.
He remained silent, but his eyes seemed to focus on her and actually see her.
I sat next to him on the bed and stared him down.
"Natsu, tell me what's the matter."
More silence.
"Natsu, please. I want to help."
His mouth twitched at the corners before he said, "Sorry for intruding like this. I didn't mean to scare you."
Okay, now I was getting freaked out.
"Oi… are you really Natsu?" I asked semiseriously.
He gave a weak smile before simply saying, "Yeah."
We sat in silence for a few minutes before he turned his head again and asked, "Hey, Lucy… If… If there was someone… you really, really liked… loved even…but you knew there was no way they'd love you back… what would you do?"
I was taken aback. Natsu talking to me about such a serious subject… something definitely happened today.
"…Well… I guess it really depends on the situation… but I suppose I would tell them my feelings. I mean, it's better to get shot down then not knowing if you had a chance or not."
He seemed to think about this before replying, "But, Lucy, what would you do if that person was really close, say, a friend, and you didn't want to risk losing their friendship?"
I furrowed my eyebrows and wondered who he could have possibly liked.
Lisanna, probably. Those two are definitely heading towards that direction.
"Well, if they were truly my friend, they would never leave me just because I told them I liked them. It might be tough for a while, but maybe after I got my feelings out, I could move on to another person and still be friends with the person I first liked." Was the best I could come up with.
"And what if… what if there was a barrier between you two? One that, if crossed, would be socially unaccepted?"
"I…I don't understand what you are asking me, Natsu…"
"What if… what if I were to say… that I'm having the trouble I just asked you about… but it was a… a guy that I like?" The last words came at barely above a whisper.
What? Natsu's gay? Well… that's… unexpected.
Wait… a guy… who's a friend of Natsu's… and there is some sort of socially unacceptable barrier…
"Natsu, do you like… Gajeel?"
Natsu looked at her like she sprouted wings and antlers before bursting out laughing, letting go of his legs to hold his stomach as he doubled over from laughter. He finally calmed down enough to manage, "Gajeel! Oh, man, that's a good one, Lucy! And Happy said you had no sense of humor! Hahaha!" he wiped his eyes of tears before saying, "Thanks, Lucy, that cheered me up a bit. Mind if I crash at your place?"
Of course, normally I would object, especially after that crack about not having a sense of humor, but the look on his face when I found him just minutes earlier made me agree.
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I felt a tad bit nervous about walking into the guild.
Okay, more like a LOT nervous. I was afraid of what Gray was going to ask me or say to me about what happened yesterday. Maybe he even forgot about it. Yes, it'd probably be best if he ignored the incident altogether. I had to come back for my vest, though. I mean, I couldn't just wear my scarf everywhere, now could I? Well, I could, but I didn't wanna. It didn't feel right.
I walked into the guild nonetheless and tried to look as casual as possible.
"Ah, Natsu!" I heard a sweet voice say and I looked over to see Wendy running up to me with my vest in her small hands. "You left this yesterday!"
"Thanks, Wendy!" I said, accepting the vest and putting in on swiftly.
"Natsu…" I heard a familiar voice say miserably. I looked to see Happy looking terribly disappointed. "Where'd you go yesterday? Gray and I searched all over, but you disappeared."
"Oh, sorry Happy! I crashed at Lucy's for the night." I tried to say cheerfully, but my stomach did a sick flip and my appetite left me in an instant.
Gray looked for me? I guess there goes my hope of him forgetting what happened.
"Well you could have told somebody." My stomach flipped again and my heart skipped a beat as Gray's voice went straight through him like an arrow to the heart.
Ah. Speak of the devil and he doth appear.
I turned to Gray, scratching my head in genuine regret for making him worry.
Unless he only searched for me in order to tell me how sick I am.
I stuffed that thought away as I replied, "Sorry, I heard you looked for me. You didn't have to go through the tro-" Gray walked across the almost vacant room and grabbed my wrist.
"We need to talk." He said, more like demanded, before dragging me into the back room again.
"I'll be right back, Happy! Then I promise you a fish as an apology!" I said with a smile, looking back at Happy before being led through the door.
"Aye, sir!"
"What happened?" Gray demanded as soon as the door was closed. He had me cornered against it, but I tried not to think about running as I calmly replied,
"What are you talking about, Gray? About how I beat your butt yesterday? I'm up for a rematch if you want-"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about!" He cut me off, staring into my eyes intensely. "What happened after that?"
I swallowed and looked away.
"I said what happened, dammit!" he shouted, slamming his fist against the door, right beside my head. This brought him closer than I felt comfortable with. I felt my face heat up immediately and my eyes flew back to his. A couple moments passed before his gaze finally broke me.
I started shaking uncontrollably and I bit my lip. My tear ducts refused to cooperate and before I could stop them, tears began rolling down my cheeks.
"Natsu…"
"G-Gray… I…I'm sorry…I'm just nervous…We're friends…right?"
Gray seemed to hesitate before replying, "Yeah, you're my best friend."
"Then, promise me you won't be angry after I tell you something."
"Anything, Natsu." He said immediately this time
"I… I like you… a lot. In fact… I think… I think I love you, Gray." I all but whispered, closing my eyes and looking down. I was prepared for about anything, from feeling him walk away, to a punch to my face. I flinched at I felt his hands grab my face, but then he did something I did not expect.
"…Idiot flame brain." He whispered and used his thumb pads to wipe tears from my cheeks. I slowly opened my eyes and saw him smiling gently, before he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss. My eyes widened in surprise before they fluttered close and I kissed him back.
"I love you, too" he whispered before putting his lips back on mine.
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I arrived a few minutes after Natsu, supposedly, though he was nowhere in sight as I sat down at a table. I sighed and flipped through a magazine to pass the time. When I was about halfway through the magazine, I heard a door open and I looked up to see Gray and Natsu exiting the back room. I was about to say something regarding the job request I wanted to take up, but stopped short at the sight of their hands, which were intertwined with the other boy's.
I was confused only for a second before blushing and shaking my head.
Of course… Why in the world would I think Gajeel?