Natsu's eating a bag of chips-cereal bowl empty on the couch beside him-when the door opens and in pops Laxus. Happy startles at the intrusion.
"Natsu, you're a child." Laxus starts with. "What kind of toy would you like?" Natsu places the bag of chips down so he can glare at his roommate.
"First of all, that's insulting." Natsu counts on his fingers. "Secondly, fuck you because now I'm thinking about toys." Natsu glares harder. "Third of all, if this is about your daughter then seriously fuck you because she's a seven year old girl and we are nothing alike." Natsu cries out.
Laxus huffs out a puff of breath before throwing himself on the couch, shoes and all. Natsu shuffles over to make room, still glaring under his lashes. He hasn't gotten over what Laxus said last night; him mentioning Lisanna. He knows how much of a sore subject she is for him, and to throw it in his face like that is beyond cruel.
"Come on, I need you to help me pick out some things for her." Laxus nudges him with his foot and Natsu pulls away, slapping the foot from off of him.
"You come home insulting me, without even apologizing for last night, and just expect me to obey your commands?" Natsu responds in indignation.
"I did apologize." Laxus raises his voice. Natsu pulls a face.
"When?" He squawks.
"When I came home just now and asked you to help me find a toy." Natsu closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"We really need to work on your apology skills." Natsu grumbles even though he knows his resolves are breaking already. Laxus has finally gotten his head out of his ass long enough to be a decent human being, there's no way Natsu is going to give up this opportunity.
"I'll go on one condition," Natsu turns to announce. "You have to buy me a toy as well." Natsu mumbles the last part as he stands. He walks out the room just in time to avoid hearing Laxus' thundering laughter.
Going upstairs is a quick trip. He's stopped in the hallway but a smirking Bickslow who's talking on the phone while leaning against wall.
"Right, hang on." Bickslow turns to look at Natsu. "The old man wants to know if you're still coming to dinner tonight?" Natsu frowns, wondering why Bickslow would be talking to Makarov, but shakes his head 'no' at the same time. "Alright he said no...no way am I missing out on all that good cooking...I don't know how it went so I'd advise not inviting them over just yet." Natsu tunes out and heads for his bedroom.
He gets dressed at lightening pace, just putting on some blue jeans and a shirt that he prays is clean. He exits his room, noticing Bickslow still on the phone, and shakes his head as he heads downstairs where he finds Laxus in the kitchen eating cold leftover pizza.
"Ready?" Laxus muffles the word behind a mouthful of food. Natsu raises a brow, disapprovingly, but agrees he's ready anyways. "Alright then." Comes the next response.
Natsu goes back into the living room to grab his phone when he sees a text from Lucy asking him if he can meet up today. His fingers hover over the reply button. Deep down, down so far he's keeping it locked up tightly, he wants to see Lucy again. Her presence makes him smile, like he hasn't been able to do in a while. She's truly a breath of fresh air, filled with laughter and innocent joy. He bites his lip as a thought passes through his mind.
"I have an idea." Natsu says as he walks back into the kitchen, phone still in hand. "Lucy wants to know if I can meet her today, so why not have her meet at the toy store? That way it won't look suspicious." Laxus takes the water bottle from his mouth, raising a brow.
"A young woman meeting two dudes at a toy store doesn't look suspicious?" Laxus questions teasingly. Natsu raises his chin in defiance.
"Not if she's helping two friends find a toy for a little girl." Laxus looks as if he doesn't believe Natsu for a moment. "Besides, it'll be helpful to have an actual girls' opinion on what little girls like to play with." Laxus laughs.
"Whatever you have to convince yourself of," Laxus shrugs and Natsu glares to hide his blush. "Let her know where we're going." Laxus places his water bottle on the counter and exits the room without a second thought. Natsu stares at the man retreating before sending his reply to Lucy. She responds almost immediately that she's leaving now.
They walk to Laxus' car together. Natsu gets in the backseat like always, because it helps lessen his motion sickness when he's lying down. Laxus gives him shit for it all the time but Natsu knows Laxus struggles all the same, he's just too stubborn to admit it.
"So, you like this girl?" Natsu blanches at the back of Laxus' head.
"Can we not do the relationship bonding thing?" Natsu pleads.
"You cornered me about Mira, so now it's your turn." Natsu groans and huffs his disapproval. Truth is he doesn't know about Lucy. He could possibly grow to like her a lot but he's still too scarred from his last relationship to want to date again. Lisanna was everything to him, and yet? It was Natsu who indirectly ended her life. He can't forgive himself, and because of that he can't open his heart for another relationship.
"Fine," he relents. "I think she and I will become great friends. She's a lovely girl, and apparently has enough of a conscious to not want her father to get away with fraud." Laxus hums and Natsu peers through the rearview mirror to see a smirk on the man's face.
"I give it a month before you two are boning each other." Laxus winks.
"Laxus, fight me." He snarls.
"I'm not trying to have you crying to the old man again about how I abuse you." Laxus gives a pointed look. Natsu leans back in his seat and pouts because he was nothing but a child last time he and Laxus fought, and Laxus was way too rough.
"I was a little kid, and you were mean." Natsu defends. Laxus levels his eyes and merely stares until Natsu shifts his gaze towards the floor of the car.
"Natsu, this was like last year." Laxus deadpans. Natsu brings his palm up to his mouth as he rests his elbow on the seal of the car window.
"I've grown a lot in a year." Natsu mumbles as he proceeds to ignore Laxus' laughter. The rest of the twenty minute ride is spent in silence.
They pull up to the toy store and Natsu immediately searches for the familiar blond he met only yesterday. It takes him walking up to the store, but he finally finds her. She's standing by the entrance, wearing a mini skirt and crop top to match. Were her boobs this big yesterday? Natsu tries not to stare at them too intently, but he does have eyes.
He can practically feel Laxus' smug smirk, so he refrains from making eye contact whatsoever with the man.
"I can see why you wanted to see her so bad." Laxus nudges him with his shoulder. Natsu straightens his back and decidedly ignores the elder. "I mean look at her smile now that she sees you." He whispers. It's true, however, that Lucy is giving Natsu a million watt smile right now that practically goes from cheek to cheek. She's even waving her hand.
Natsu walks faster to get away from the teasing Laxus.
"Hey Lucy." Natsu greets as the girl goes in for an unexpected hug. Natsu tenses at first but slowly relaxes into the touch, allowing his arms to wrap around her smaller body. He pulls back as soon as he hears Laxus coughing beside him. He notices Lucy look down with slightly pink cheeks.
"You must be our new client Lucy." Laxus extends his hand and she shakes it tentatively.
"And you must be…" she trails off.
"That's my annoying pain in the ass, Laxus." Natsu grits out which only serves to make Laxus smile harder.
"Also known as his older brother and co-counsel." Laxus finishes lamely. Natsu huffs and gestures for Lucy to enter the store first.
"Wow, brothers?" Her eyes are wide as she takes the two men in.
"His grandfather adopted me when I was six." Natsu explains with a shrug. Lucy's smile deflates a bit.
"Oh, did your parents die?" She asks with a saddened expression.
"Never met my original parents, but my adoptive father, Igneel, died; yes." Natsu responds. She nods and walks closer to Natsu.
"It seems like it all turned out for the best." She decides to say, quietly, after a moment of silence. Natsu looks to her and she gives him a small smile. It's rare to have someone not say 'I'm sorry,' or 'sorry for your loss' after he explains his situation. Frankly, he hates when they offer condolences, especially since they didn't cause the death; there's no reason to be sorry.
"I guess you're right," he finally replies back.
"Often times I wish I was adopted by nice people after my mother passed away." She shakes her head like she can't believe she even admitted it out loud. Natsu brings an arm around her shoulder and squeezes it before pulling back.
"Hey, if you were adopted then you wouldn't have been able to learn about your father. Then hundreds, if not more, of people would be suffering financial losses without any repercussions." Laxus speaks up, surprising Natsu who didn't think the man was even paying attention.
"Thank you for that." Lucy says to Laxus. "You aren't nearly as scary as Natsu said in his text message." Natsu ducks his head as Laxus pulls him in from around his neck.
"Oh, I'm scary huh?" Laxus tightens his hold before pushing the man away. Natsu feels a certain type away about being manhandled like this in front of company.
"Seriously, Laxus fight me." Natsu puts his hands up. "At least let me keep some dignity."
"It's okay Natsu, I'm sure you could easily take the man on." Lucy offers. Natsu puts his hands back down to his sides and gives her a cocky grin.
"Haha," Natsu turns to Laxus to brag. "You hear that? She knows I can easily take you on." Laxus gives a half grin before pushing Natsu by the top of his head.
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, kid." Natsu knows the man only added that on to embarrass him.
"Kid? I'm all man." Natsu gestures to his body.
"I've noticed." Lucy says, probably absentmindedly. She blushes as soon as she realizes she's said this out loud and Laxus doesn't even try to disguise his laugh as a cough. "I mean, uh...what kind of toy are we looking for?" Natsu stares at her for a moment too long and when their eyes meet he forces himself to look away, a blush forming on his own cheeks.
Why am I acting like this? He curses himself. He doesn't even know this chick but here he is going toy shopping with her as if they're old friends. He has to be careful.
"Some toys for my daughter." Laxus answers as he gives Natsu a cautious expression.
"Ah, how old is she?" Lucy questions as they head towards the doll section.
"Seven, turning eight in a few months." Lucy nods at Laxus' response and she goes towards the end of the aisle and touches over various dolls.
"What kind of toys does she enjoy?" Laxus seems to tense a bit, probably because he has no idea; granted, neither does Natsu. They've both been lacking in the department of getting to know Azmay like they should-both for different reasons.
"We aren't sure." Natsu admits. She looks as if she has some follow up questions but decides against asking them. Smart, Natsu thinks.
"Well, how about we get her a little bit of everything. Some dolls, some board games, some electronic stuff, maybe some sport stuff. She can grow into some of the toys, explore different options, or even save them for other little kids." Lucy offers.
"Smart thinking little girl." Laxus nods and Lucy sticks out her bottom lip in a pout.
"I'm hardly a little girl." Lucy places her hands on her hips as she states. Laxus eyes her up and down.
"I've noticed." Laxus turns to Natsu and gives him a wink. Natsu glares at Laxus until the man puts his hands up in mock defense. He turns back to Lucy who's full on blushing now, which only makes Natsu turn to glare harder.
"Anyways," Natsu says a bit too loudly. "This doll looks fun." He points to the first doll he sees. It's a baby sized doll that comes with its own potty and snacks. Laxus comes up behind him and glares at the offensive toy.
"Why would I want my daughter learning how to take care of babies? She's a child, not a mother." Laxus bellows. Natsu rolls his eyes but continues on.
"How about this one?" It's a jumbo unicorn that is large enough for a small child to get on.
"She should like this." Laxus agrees and picks up the unicorn.
They walk around in the same manner, arguing and picking out reasonable enough toys. They end up buying the unicorn, a monopoly game, an electronic e learning game, some trollz items, a soft football, and a train set along with a few dress up dolls.
Exiting the toy store Lucy pulls Natsu off to the side while Laxus heads to the car.
"I had fun hanging with you. Thanks for inviting me." Lucy whispers to him. Natsu swallows as he nods.
"Sure thing, you can umm, you can come over if you want." Lucy beams a bit at the suggestion.
"Are you sure?" She asks questioningly. That's a good question, is he sure? Does he really want to spend more time with her, knowing how easy it is to be comfortable around her? Is it wise? Probably not.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He says against better judgment. "Did you drive, or?" She shakes her head.
"No, took public transport so my father couldn't have someone follow." Natsu looks down, not really liking the sound of her father being so overprotective.
"You can ride back with us, if you want?" He offers.
"Sure Laxus won't mind?" She asks questionly.
"Eh, who cares." Natsu waves his off already knowing the man is going to give him nothing but hell for this.
"Then let's go." She gestures for him to lead the way and he does.
X
Arriving at the house Natsu goes straight for the basement, ignoring Laxus teasing him from behind.
"Crap I forget to feed happy." Natsu gestures for Lucy to sit on the sofa while he heads back upstairs.
He grabs the can food and puts it in Happy's bowl, along with fresh water. Happy immediately smells his fish and comes bouncing from off the counter and to his bowl. Natsu goes back to the door of the basement.
"Lucy, you want food or drinks?" He yells.
"Water and food please. I'm not picky." She yells back. Natsu nods to himself and goes back into the kitchen for the goods.
He's busy making his own version of Ramen, using two day old leftover pork, when Bickslow comes up behind him-sniffing the air.
"Ah, I love it when you make Ramen." Bickslow kisses Natsu on the cheek. Natsu wipes off the unwanted contact and shuffles the man out of the way.
"This isn't for you, it's for Lucy." Natsu snips. Bickslow smirk grows wider and Natsu groans.
"Laxus told me about the busty blond of yours." Bickslow rests his elbows on the counter. "Should I go down to the basement and introduce myself?" Natsu kicks the man in the shin.
"If you care about your family jewels you'll behave yourself." Natsu warns.
"If you make me Ramen, I'll behave." Bickslow offers. Ugh, Natsu mentally groans.
"Fine. Go into the living room and I'll let you know when it's done." Bickslow bows out and leaves Natsu alone.
The food takes another ten minutes to cook. He makes Lucy some miso ramen with pork and leaves another serving for Bickslow. He calls out to the man that the food is ready and heads down to the basement with his bottles of water and his food for himself and Lucy.
Lucy has turned on the television, and has started playing the Mario kart that was left on from last night. She turns to look at him and gives him a childlike smile.
"I haven't played in forever." She beams. "After we eat, can we play?" He nods as he sits right beside her on the couch.
"I hope you like miso ramen with pork." He hands her the bowl, playing the waters on the table.
"Oh, I do. Thank you so much." She says her grace and starts eating right away; only taking a few seconds to blow on the food before each mouthful. "This is really good, Natsu." She boasts.
"Thanks, I've been cooking it for a while." He admits.
They eat in relative silence after that, just asking each other little questions like they did last night at the bar. After eating they play a few rounds of Mario Kart before she has to go to the bathroom and they break. Coming back from the bathroom they don't resume the game, instead Happy comes into the basement and jumps on her lap.
"He's blue." She says in shock.
"Paint accident a few years ago, and it won't turn back." He explains with laughter. "A bit of a shit, he is." He points to Happy.
"I think he likes me." She giggles as Happy purrs. Natsu fights back allowing his emotions to come to the surface. The last time Happy immediately took to someone was when he was first born, nine years ago and he jumped in Lisanna's arms-refusing to let go of the teen.
"Yeah," Natsu says airy-feeling like the wind has been knocked out of him. "So uh, tell me more about yourself?" Natsu says to try and gain control over the situation.
"Oh umm," she pauses as she pets a sleeping Happy. "I don't really have friends, because of how sheltered I am. I've always had big dreams of going on adventures, and just living in the moment-not having to worry about ten steps ahead." Natsu takes in all the information. "I'd like to consider myself an outdoors girl but I'm pretty sure I'd die if I slept outside alone." She chuckles.
Natsu isn't sure what prompts him to do this but he asks the question anyways.
"My friend Gray and I camp outside all the time. You want to go with us? We can invite the rest of our friends and make a thing of it." He continues. Her eyes widen, beaming with hidden joy.
"Please? When? Tonight? I really wasn't looking forward to going home to an empty mansion again." She gushes, as she places her hands on Natsu's thighs. Natsu was secretly shooting for sometime in the distant further but he can't possibly say no to those brown eyes. He smiles in response, scratching the back of his head.
"Sure, just let me text them." He chuckles as he pulls out his phone.
"I'm so glad I met you Natsu, you're really the best." She leans in close to whisper in his ear. Natsu's face turns a crimson and he nods but doesn't say anything else. Natsu realizes in this moment two things. Firstly, he won't be able to deny Lucy anything-which is a terrifying thought. Secondly, he's completely and wholeheartedly fucked.