Chapter 7
Lucy twisted her hands together nervously as she stared at the large wooden door. Beside her Natsu chuckled. "Relax Luce, you'll be fine. My parents are cool, they'll love you. Trust me". Lucy nodded and smiled. "I can do this!" she said enthusiastically, hitting the palm of her hand with a fist. "That's the spirit Luce" Natsu said. He pushed the door open, Lucy following behind. "Mom! Dad! I'm home" he called out. "Natsu!" the excited voice was met with a hurtling blue blur colliding with Natsu's legs.
"Wendy!" Natsu laughed. He bent down and gave the blue haired girl a hug. He got back up and gestured at Lucy. "Wendy this is my friend Lucy. Lucy this is my little sister, Wendy". Lucy waved a hand. "It's nice to meet you" she said. "You too" Wendy giggled. "You're really pretty". Lucy blushed and laughed. "Not as pretty as you" she said. Wendy practically glowed. She hugged Lucy's leg tightly. "Thank you!" she squealed. Lucy ruffled the little girls blue hair affectionately. "Your welcome sweetheart".
Wendy looked up a Lucy with wide brown eyes. "Could you be my big sister?" she pleaded. Lucy laughed delightedly. "Sure" Wendy jumped up and down in delight. "Yay! Want to come see my dolls?" she said grabbing Lucy's hands. "Later Wen, me and Luce have a school project to work on" Natsu cut in. Wendy pouted. "Ok, but you have to play too!" Wendy said. "Of course" Natsu patted her on the head. Wendy giggled and spun off.
"Well she really liked you" Natsu said. Lucy shrugged. Natsu made his way into the kitchen. A slim woman with dark blue hair and soft brown eyes stood by the sink, washing dishes. A man who looked incredibly like Natsu but with dark red hair sat at the table. "Hey guys" Natsu said. "Welcome back" the blue haired woman kissed him on the cheek. Her eyes brightened when she saw Lucy. "Who's this?" "Mom, Dad this is my friend Lucy. Lucy, my Mom and Dad"
Lucy inclined her head slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr and Mrs Dragneel" she said politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you too dear. And please, call me Grandine. And that useless lump over there is my husband Igneel" Igneel looked up from the paperwork in front of him. "Lucy! So I see you've met my son". Lucy nodded and slipped of her glasses, since Igneel had already seen her without them (he's her landlord, remember?)
"Let me help you with those" she offered. Grabbing a towel she began to dry the dishes Grandine was washing. "That's so nice of you dear". Igneel tapped a finger on his chin and observed the scene with a strange look on his face. "Is my son blackmailing you?" he asked suddenly. Natsu spat out the orange juice he was drinking. "W-What?" he choked. "Umm…No?" Lucy replied sweat dropping. "Huh" Igneel said. "Funny. I mean you're smart, beautiful, helpful, and since you baked me cookies when you moved into your apartment I can say you're an amazing cook. So why on earth would you willingly hang around the lazy thing I call my son?"
"DAD!" Natsu hissed in embarrassment. Grandine promptly whacked Igneel across the head with a wet dishcloth. He yelped in pain and scowled as he massaged the sore spot. "He's actually a great person to be friends with" Lucy laughed. Natsu immediately brightened and grinned smugly at his father. Then he turned back to Lucy, pouting. "Luuccce, you didn't bake me cookies" he whined. Lucy rolled her eyes. "I cook for you all the time". He switched on the adorable teary puppy dog eyes that Lucy couldn't resist. "Fine, I'll bake you cookies later" she sighed. Natsu whooped and hugged her. "You're the best Luce". Igneel and Grandine shared a knowing look. "Did I hear someone say cookies?" Wendy popped her head around the door.
•••
Lucy yawned and rubbed her tired eyes. True to their word, once they finished their project Natsu and Lucy went through Wendy's doll collection, then ran around the house *ehem mansion ehem* (seriously though the place was huge. It was a good thing Lucy was used to it, since she grew up in a mansion, or she probably would have got lost) squealing while Natsu chased after them roaring with a red blanket tied around his arms (they were playing princesses and dragons)
Then they all baked cookies in the kitchen. Well, tried, but it resulted in a cookie dough fight which Igneel and Grandine joined in after they both got hit in the face while checking up on them (Natsu's parents were seriously childish. Must run in the family). Afterwards Lucy actually made cookies, and they happily munched while watched movies. It was now late, Wendy was in bed and Lucy should be getting home. She turned to say as much to Natsu, but was interrupted by a loud boom. She flicked her gaze to the window, to find the heavens opening with thunder and heavy sheets of rain colliding with the glass like bullets.
"Oh no" Grandine said, biting her lip. "I guess you better stay the night Lucy. We've got plenty of spare bedrooms. Natsu can lend you a shirt, and I've got some old clothes that will probably fit you for tomorrow. Thank goodness it's a Friday". Lucy was so tired she couldn't care less. "Are you sure?" she asked anyway, afraid of intruding. "Of course dear. Natsu go grab one of your shirts. I'll take you to you room".
Lucy sleepily dragged herself up and followed her. Grandine opened a sleek mahogany door to a bedroom that looked very similar to Lucy's own apartment bedroom. The only differences were the bed was king sized and it had an en suite bathroom. "I'll go get you a toothbrush. Natsu's room is just across the hall if you need anything". She left just as Natsu emerged from the room opposite hers. "Here" he said, extending a large red t-shirt. "Thanks" Lucy murmured stifling a yawn.
Natsu chuckled and gave her a one armed hug. "See you in the morning Luce. Sweet dreams" he whispered. "You too" she replied. Grandine returned with a blue toothbrush and wished her a goodnight. After brushing her teeth and everything else, Lucy slipped into Natsu's t-shirt and collapsed on the bed. The mattress was like cotton wool and oh so much more comfortable than her own bed. She buried her head in the cloudlike pillow and snuggled under the covers. Natsu's t-shirt smelt like him, and Lucy's brain vaguely registered that he smelt really nice, before she drifted off to sleep.