Chapter Two:

Lucy POV.

It really was a long day at the office. I am utterly exhausted, and cannot wait until I get home so that I can crawl onto my nice, comfy bed. Earlier this afternoon I had told Levy I'd walk home for a change, with the intention of having some time alone and getting fresh air. Now I really wish she was still around with the car, but she's usually finished up before me and clocks out early… Oh well, no point complaining now.

I depart the office via the elevator, even though the ground floor is only two levels below. Stairs require too much effort at this time of day.

"Hey Lucy!" Wendy the receptionist calls as I wonder out of the elevator and into the foyer. Wendy is the youngest employee I know, yet is still relatively short for her age. Her long hair is a deep blue, reminding me of the colour of sapphires, and today it hangs in neat pigtails. She juggles study and work, and while she only works two days a week, she works inhumanly long shifts of up to ten hours at a time. I admire her dedication.

"Hey, what's up?" I reply.

"Did you hear that we're getting a newbie in tomorrow? Some guy from our sister company, Edalis Inc. I think it's called? Anyway I hear you'll be asked to show him around so you should probably get in a little earlier if you have a chance of getting your own work sorted," she suggests.

"Really?" I groan. I despise early starts. "Alright I better get home."

"Yeah sorry… I'll see you next time," she smiles apologetically and resumes her work.

Walking outside I notice it was getting late, and the swirling dark clouds overhead threatened to storm later on. Hurriedly I begin walking up to the river, when out of the corner of my eye I see a figure jogging towards me. It's Natsu. I already begin to redden as I always do when he's around.

"Lucy wait up!" he calls as he closes in. I stop walking and simply ogle him until he also comes to a halt. He looks concerned. "Are you walking home? Don't you usually drive to work?" he asks.

"Yeah," I respond casually. "I usually get a lift off of Levy, but she'd probably be home by now."

"Oh I see. And is your house far from here?" he questions.

"Umm… no it's maybe a forty minute walk that way," I point to the river. Oh I hope he offers to take me home! That would be amazing! Calm down Lucy… that's unlikely to be the case. I'm sure he has better things to do.

"Hmm…" He contemplates, clearly unsatisfied by my answer. "It looks like you might get caught in the rain, and it's getting dark. May I escort you home?" He looks genuinely worried about me. I can hardly contain my excitement. Play it cool, I tell myself.

"Sure!" I blurt out overenthusiastically. Smooth Lucy. Very smooth.

"Great," he responds, clearly both relieved and delighted. And with that we begin walking wordlessly towards my house. I feel the need to end the awkward silence, but I have no idea what to say.

"Thank you for walking me home," I finally manage. "Sorry to be such a bother."

"No, it's no bother at all. I'm more than happy to oblige," he smiles.

I find it difficult to come up with things to say, which is fine because Natsu finds heaps to talk about. I happily listen on with genuine interest, commenting and laughing like what I assume a normal person does. At one point he asks me about my living arrangements, to which I reply, "I rent a house with Levy. She works over in the office on the level above ours. She's really great! What about you?"

"Ah, I just live in an apartment with my cat Happy," he explains.

"Happy," I repeat, trying out the name. "Aw that so cute!" I cheer. He simply smiles in response.

It begins trickling down with rain. From out of nowhere, Natsu takes out an umbrella and hoists it over our heads. It's quite a small umbrella, so we end up walking shoulder-to-shoulder to compensate. I'm walking so close to him I can hardly bare it! I look up at him and an involuntary shiver runs through me. At this he slows and partially turns to look at me. We stop and suddenly I'm nervous. Have I done something wrong?

"Are you cold?" he asks, examining my not-so-modest clothing ensemble. I can't help but stare into his eyes stupidly, and for far too long. Before I could so much as shake my head, Natsu starts to remove his well-cherished scarf and thoroughly wraps it around my neck. No words could describe how stunned I am by the gesture. I am grateful and honoured.

"Th-thanks," I say. I've never seen him without his scarf… ever! Without it my eyes are drawn to his prominent collar bones where I begin to gawk, then quickly look away and blush.

"Well what do you know, it looks great on you Luce," Natsu beams. I just look down at my shoes and smile at myself. "Come on we should get going," he prompts.

"Right," I reply, and we again start off along the river. After only a minute or two of walking, the clouds seem to suddenly burst and the rain becomes heavy and intense. The rain in conjunction with the darkness is almost overwhelming, making the path ahead nearly invisible. I would have been screwed if Natsu hadn't been here with his umbrella.

"We should find cover," Natsu insists, and so we walk into the nearest open business, shaking off and collapsing the umbrella as we enter. I recognise the business instantly as the very posh and very expensive Japanese restaurant 'Anteiku'. The restaurant is traditionally decorated with Shoji rice paper walls and tatami mat flooring. There are even Kotatsu tables for dining! The décor has left me awestruck, and (obliging by Japanese custom) I remove my shoes at the door before proceeding in to investigate the rest of the establishment. Natsu follows suit.

We are approached by an elderly Japanese gentleman, who welcomes us and asks us if we'd be eating in. I begin to kindly refuse when Natsu announces, "We'll be needing a table for two," and turns to smile in my direction.

I shake my head and begin to object, explaining that as lovely as the restaurant is, I simply couldn't afford it. Natsu says that it would be his pleasure to treat me to dinner, and as I start to object to the offer, he grabs my hand and leads me over to a table in the corner of the room. He waits for me to be seated before he himself sits down.

"Pinch me I'm dreaming…" I say dreamily, and quickly clap my hand over my mouth. Did I seriously just say that out loud?

"What's that Luce?" He raises an eyebrow at me, but I'm saved from the embarrassment of explaining myself as another employee asks if we wanted anything to drink before ordering. We both ask for green tea, and then revise the menu to decide what to have for the main. When the employee returns, I order a type of vegetable noodle soup, and Natsu has the same. Our meals are served in no time and were delicious! I had to resist the urge to slurp down the bowl!

We got to talking about a variety of usual and unusual things, such as whether or not the new guy would be cool. At one stage we debated whether or not dragons existed, and what they would look like, what they would eat and where they'd live if they did. It was becoming easier to talk to him as the night progressed.

At 9:00pm we leave the restaurant, and start back on the road to my house. The rain had finally quietened down, making the journey easier. We arrive at home too quickly, and I find myself on the doorstep, saying my goodbyes.

"Thanks for treating me to dinner," I grin, and instinctively lean in to kiss him on the cheek. I catch myself before it was too late, thinking better of the gesture. It's not like it was a date or anything. He just walked me home, like any real gentleman would… I think.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow at work," Natsu says. He seems almost disappointed. Or maybe I just imagined it.

"Yep, see ya," I call, and turn around to enter the house. I steal one last glance at Natsu, before closing the door gently.

Levy is sitting on the couch in the living room, reading another of her sciency-type books. She greets me as I walk in, but I barely notice as I hover over to the bathroom and have a quick shower, all the while reflecting on how romantic my night with Natsu felt. I pull on my comfy pyjamas and crawl into bed. Soon after, I fall asleep peacefully, with a ridiculous smile plastered on my face.

End Chapter

Hey guys! Sorry that this chapter took a while to get out – I've just had heaps to do! Anyways I hope you enjoyed it! I'm already in the process of writing the next one, and please if you have any comments (good or bad) just let me know! Any bit of feedback helps!