Five: 100 degrees celsius
The sunlight flooded through Lucy's window making her apartment warm and comforting.
Waking up to the birds chirping outside, our favorite stellar spirit mage bounded out of bed, refreshed, optimistic and most importantly, fit as a fiddle.
"Good morning, world!" Lucy greeted enthusiastically as she pushed aside her curtains and flung her windows open. The morning breeze blew through the apartment making Lucy feel twice as good. "Wow, what a beautiful day!"
Her dreaming eyes gazing far out into the blue skies above were suddenly brought back down to earth as an old woman called up to her, "Lucy, dear, being in love is one thing, but do you have to be so loud about it?"
"WHAT?!" Lucy gasped and covered her mouth. "What did you say, ma'am?"
The elderly lady looked up and smiled at the girl. "Oh honey, I might be old but I was once young and in love, too."
With that, Lucy fell back into her bed forgetting all about the pleasant morning.
After Lucy had finally dragged herself out of bed, she resolutely decided that she was still going to have a great day. Lucy took a nice long shower, took her time blow-drying her hair, and spent an hour picking out her outfit for the day. As she sat in front of her dressing mirror brushing her hair, Lucy smiled at her reflection.
"At least I still look somewhat decent," Lucy concluded as she pulled back her hair into her signature ponytail and searched for her ribbon.
"You're always cute."
Lucy froze and dropped her hair, the strands falling around her face. She stared back into the mirror, blinking rapidly as she saw her reflection waving to her.
"I'd go for the yellow ribbon today." Lucy brought up her hands and rubbed her eyes hoping that when she opened them, her reflection would turn back into normal. What she didn't expect to see was that it'd turn into Natsu.
Lucy's breath caught in her throat as the image of Natsu cocked his head to one side and said all too familiarly, "Aren't you going to finish doing your hair, Luce?"
The girl threw her hands up into the air. "WHY? WHY AM I GOING CRAZY?!"
"You're not going crazy," the reflection said wisely. "You're just in love."
"Aaaaaahhhh!" Lucy buried her head in her arms before peeking back up into the mirror. "First I see him in the smoke coming from my burnt pie, then I have dreams of kissing him and now I see him in my mirror?!"
"I guess so," Mirror-Natsu shrugged.
"I wasn't talking to you!" the girl cried and spun around in her chair, not wanting to look at the reflection of the boy she loved. She had to do something quick. Perhaps going to a psychiatrist would be helpful.
"You don't need to go to a psychiatrist, Lucy."
The blonde turned around, forgetting that she didn't want to talk to the mirror. "Really? And how would you know?"
"Because," Mirror-Natsu smiled knowingly. "I'm you. This is your heart speaking."
"Well, you've got the wrong number. I'm hanging up now!" Lucy snapped as she got up.
"Before you go, I want to say something to you," Lucy looked into Mirror-Natsu's eyes as she nodded for him to go on. "Just do your best."
"My best in what?"
"Telling him how you feel."
"Telling him how I feel?!" Lucy reiterated as she slumped back onto her chair. "How can I possibly do that?"
"You can. I know you can do it eventually. There's no rush."
"But what if he says-"
"There's no use in speculating, Luce. Just do it when you feel you're ready."
Lucy looked down into her jewelery box. "Right, like in a million years."
When she looked back up again, her own reflection stared back.
The day proved to be a hot one so Lucy picked a light summer dress to go traipsing around town in. After her rather interesting encounter with the various reflections of her mirror, Lucy decided not to go to the guild and spend the day shopping. Her spirits lifted being outside her apartment. She even went so far as to summon Plue to accompany her.
"Aaahhh, it feels so good to be outside!" Lucy hummed as she walked on top of the road's ledge, her heels clicking on the rocks.
"Puunn! Puunn!" The stellar spirit agreed.
"Be careful there, Lucy!" A man on one of the many fishing boats called to her from the river. Lucy nodded and waved back cheerfully.
"Alright, Plue. You ready to hit the town and go shopping?"
"Puunn!"
Lucy laughed and jumped off the ledge and crossed the town's bridge that led directly to the main plaza. Everywhere people went bustling about their daily activities. Lucy paid them little attention and headed straight into the first clothing store she saw like a veteran shopper.
After several visits to other stores, Lucy's arms were soon filled with bags and her heart was lighter than ever. Plue walked beside her feeling a little pooped but otherwise enjoying Lucy's splurge on clothes and seeing her so happy.
"Ooh, Plue! We have to stop here!" Lucy said suddenly as she eyed yet another store. "I know you're tired but this is the last one, okay?"
"Punn..."
"Don't worry, I'll treat you to some ice cream right after. I promise!"
"Puunn!!"
As Lucy and Plue walked through the front door, the saleslady immediately approached and offered her services.
"Ah, thank you but I'm just browsing."
"Alright, no problem!" the woman smiled. "I just want to let you know that the bras are buy one get one half off. Panties are thirty percent off and if you become a card member, all of your purchases will get an additional fifteen percent off."
"Thanks!" Lucy said automatically as the lady finished her selling spiel. The girl grabbed Plue and shuffled off to the sales area. "They always hound you with that kind of stuff, you know. You've gotta be strong and just learn how to refuse," Lucy whispered to Plue as if he understood the mechanics of buying and selling.
After half an hour, Lucy had a handful of underwear and a fluffy bathrobe. She made her way to the line in order to purchase the clothes when she passed by a mannequin sporting a particularly scandalous lingerie set. It was pink, bejeweled and quite ruffly in certain areas.
"Whoa."
"Exotic, isn't it?" the same saleslady said behind Lucy making her jump.
"Yeah, it is..."
"It's actually on sale, miss. Forty percent off since it's the summer sale. We're bringing in a new line for Fall."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, indeed-y. It's been our most popular lingerie set this season!" She examined the mannequin before reaching out and adjusting the bra strap a little to the right. "Hmmm...I believe it could do wonders in the bedroom, don't you?"
"...U-Uh-huh..." Lucy offered lamely as she scooted up in the line, hoping to put some distance between her and the saleslady.
"Some lucky guy would have quite some fun with his girlfriend in that number." Lucy blushed as she avoided eye contact with the woman. Apparently, it seemed that the lady was oblivious to the awkwardness of the topic. "Keeps things interesting, spicy! Perhaps even all night long!"
Poor Lucy shook her head as she tried to block out the woman's incessant chatter; but seeing as how Lucy's only human, her brain instinctively created an image of herself wearing some alluring nightwear and coyly beckoning a certain pink-haired dragonslayer to the bed.
"Next in line, please."
"I'M NEXT! I'M NEXT!" Lucy shouted as she rushed up to the cash register, not even noticing that she cut the two customers in front of her.
When Lucy and Plue finally got out of the shop, Lucy beelined for the nearest food stand, slammed some money down onto the counter and ordered a huge amount of ice cream. Then she grabbed all of her purchases, marched over to a small umbrella table for two looking out onto the river, and plopped down. She didn't even touch her ice cream.
"Puuunnn?"
The girl reached out and patted Plue on the head. "I'm alright. Just a little flustered is all. It's a really hot day, isn't it?"
Lucy then grabbed a spoon and began shoveling ridiculous amounts of ice cream into her mouth trying desperately to get rid of the image of her and Natsu engaging in some foreplay.
"Dammnn...brain freeze..." Lucy closed her eyes and grit her teeth as she felt her head grow numb-but not nearly numb enough to erase those dirty thoughts. "Stupid, stupid, stupid...Don't imagine things like that, Lucy!"
Plue had decided that Lucy was beyond his help so while Lucy sat there massaging her temples, he helped himself to some of the ice cream.
When the girl finally opened her eyes, she found Plue licking the spoon clean and sitting down with a huge bulging belly. Watching the stellar spirit be so utterly content finally made her laugh . She leaned back in her chair, letting the late summer air relax her nerves. What she needed more than anything was to just calm down.
As Lucy looked out to the sparkling river, she noticed some people swimming and lounging about by the shore.
"Wouldn't it be nice to be so carefree like that, Plue?" Lucy asked the tuckered out stellar spirit.
"Puunnn..." Plue managed before falling asleep letting the girl talk to herself dreamily.
"I'm so strung out lately I feel as though I'm going insane. I just want one day off to forget about everything. Forget about money and food and life," Lucy sighed deeply and rested her chin on a hand thoughtfully. "And especially him..."
Lucy trailed off as the words dried up on her tongue. She sat still as a statue as she spotted a particular figure coming out of the water.
Oh, no. No, no, no, no! It couldn't be! The girl tried her hardest to look elsewhere but she couldn't. Instead, she settled for crying out to fate that she'd wanted a day off from him, not to run into him!!
Lucy's eyes honed into every detail as if she were scrutinizing a picture of Natsu on a poster.
There was one Natsu Dragonil coming out of the glittering water and Lucy had tuned in just in time to see his body in all its masculine glory. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you should choose), he was shirtless and Lucy's brain slowed down the entire scene, recorded it and had it on replay in the girl's mind for many days after.
Lucy's expression was one of immense shock since she asked herself the following series of questions when she saw him walk along the sand:
Had he always been that hot? That level of hotness? Seriously? How could she have missed it, seeing him shirtless countless times before?
Hell, he always had his six-pack showing! Maybe it was the water, yeah, that's it. The water. Glistening, emphasizing every toned muscle from his arms, to his chest, to his abs to his calves...
And why, why was he acting so casual as though it was just an everyday thing to look so devastatingly gorgeous?! Look at him running his hand through his messy wet locks of pink hair, laughing! Ha, laughing! Why was he laughing? There was nothing funny about how utterly amazing he looked. She was dead serious.
Oh wait, who was that he's laughing with? Oh, Gray? What the hell was Gray doing there?
In Lucy's mind, it just didn't make sense why Gray was there at all.
The image of Natsu was etched in her brain even when she finally managed to tear her eyes away. Beyond flustered, Lucy buried her head in her arms, trying to erase every detail of Natsu but it was futile.
"Hey there!"
Lucy clicked her tongue in annoyance. She really didn't want to start a conversation with anyone let alone look up from her misery, but she figured it'd be rather awkward if she just sat there. Finally lifting her head, she saw a guy standing next to her with a flirtatious smile on his face. The grin faltered a bit after he saw Lucy's scrunched up, suffering face.
"H-Hi, I see you're sitting alone," the guy still persevered, gaining more courage after Lucy rearranged her features to look more like a human being than a gaping fish. "Would you like to join me for lunch?"
"Sorry. I have company," Lucy said distractedly.
"You do?" He asked eyeing the empty chair across from Lucy.
"Yeah, it's his," Lucy pointed to the sleeping and drooling Plue sprawled out on the table.
"Really."
"Really!"
"Well, I think he wouldn't mind if I borrowed it for a bit." Before Lucy could object, the man sat down and put one arm back lazily on the chair. "I see you've been shopping," he indicated the many bags surrounding Lucy's chair.
"Obviously," Lucy said coldly as she pulled out Plue's key and issued a forced dismissal in case things should get ugly.
"Wow, you're a stellar spirit mage!" the man said excitedly. He saw the golden keys around Lucy's ring and smiled. "And a pretty great one at that."
"I'm late for an appointment," Lucy snapped and stood up. As she reached for her bags, the man took a hold of her wrist.
"Don't leave yet, sweetie. We were just getting to know each other."
Lucy narrowed her eyes before jerking her hand away. "No, I think we're done here. You're way out of your league, buddy."
The man raised his hands in fake surprise, "Ooh, maybe I am." Then he slammed his hands onto the tabletop, rattling the bowls and the umbrella above the table. "Or maybe I'm just the kind of guy that can handle your type, babe."
He dared to label her when he was the obvious macho-clueless asshole who treated women with no dignity?! Unforgivable! Lucy reached for one of her keys.
"OPEN, THE DOOR TO THE-"
"Door to what, honey?"
Both the man and Lucy froze and turned to look at the person who just spoke. Lucy, especially, found it hard to believe that someone just called her 'honey'. What was even more shocking for the girl was that the word came from Natsu's own mouth.
"Hey, you're in my spot, bub." Natsu said to the man and shoved his way across to sit at the vacant chair. "What're we having for lunch, Luce?"
The man was the first to recover. "Wait, hold up. Who're you?"
Natsu didn't falter. "Her boyfriend."
"What?!" Both the man and Lucy said in unison. But as both the guys looked at her, Lucy recovered instantly.
"Ho-How dare you say, boyfriend?" Lucy stammered and made her way over to stand next to Natsu. She laid a shaking hand on his bare shoulder. "You're my fiance."
"Fiance?!" This time, both the man and a clueless Natsu spoke together. As Lucy dug her nails into Natsu's shoulder, he winced before patting her hand, cuing her to ease off.
"Yes, honey. Fiance. Sorry."
"Fine, I can take a hint," the man huffed and put his hands in his pockets. "You're both such bad actors."
Lucy sighed in relief as he turned to walk away but found that Natsu had brushed her hand off. The dragonslayer marched after the man and much to Lucy's dismay, he tapped the guy on the shoulder. When the man turned around, Natsu took him by the collar threateningly.
"I may be a bad actor but believe me when I say I can kick your ass."
Both males glared at each other before the man conceded to Natsu's stare and promised to 'lay off' next time he saw Lucy.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Natsu walked back to the table and looked up at Lucy expectantly. "So, what's up?"
Lucy didn't answer but mechanically walked up the counter, bought the first thing on the menu she saw, and went back to the table. She was careful to look at the sandwich and fries on the plate instead of Natsu's toned chest as she slid the food over to him. "Here."
"Meat! Thanks!" He hungrily devoured the food as Lucy watched. She would never get tired of seeing him inhale his food as though it was magic. His unattractive speed-eating did somewhat make it easier for her to look at him without oogling.
"Hey, Natsu, where'd you learn the word 'honey'?" the girl asked as Natsu reached for a glass of water and chugged it.
"Oh, that's what Gray told me to say."
Right, Gray. He had been with Natsu. How could she forget? "Where is Gray?"
"He left ages ago."
"Why?"
"He said he was leaving anyway," Natsu said, shrugging indifferently. "We saw you with that guy and we were about to come help. But then he told me it'd be less of a hassle if it was just one of us."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and he told me to go get rid of that guy and call you 'honey'. He said that way we could avoid a fight and not rack up anymore debts," Natsu scoffed. "If it were me, I'd beat that guy into tomorrow."
"Ah, so it was Gray who thought up of that. No wonder..." Lucy chuckled as she watched Natsu pat his stomach happily. "I thought it was weird coming from you."
"What? Why?" Natsu fired immediately, offended that Lucy thought Gray was better at coming up with cover stories.
"Come on, Natsu!" Lucy sighed. "You didn't even know what the word 'fiance' was, huh?"
The dragonslayer conceded and stood up. "Alright, alright so I suck. You ready to go, Luce?"
"Yeah," Lucy nodded and got up herself. "And hey, thanks, Natsu." She hesitated before giving him a relatively normal smile for what seemed like the first in a long time.
"No problem," Natsu grinned back and reached for Lucy's bags. "I'll help ya carry these. Where to?"
"Well, let's stop by the guild. I bought something for Mirajane and Erza and I want to give it to them soon."
Natsu's eyes widened with excitement. "Ooh, what'd you buy them?! Is it food?"
Lucy grabbed a couple of bags herself not minding the boy whose limited interests included the dragon Igneel, beating people up and meat. "No, no. I bought-"
Lucy stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Natsu rifle through one of her bags and pulled out a pair of her new red panties. "What? This isn't food."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Blood rushed to Lucy's face as she lunged for the panties and threw them back into the bag. Then she snatched it out of Natsu's hands and smacked him on the forehead. "You idiot! Of course that's not food! You're carrying none of my bags!"
The girl stomped ahead of Natsu, her face burning red for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"Hey, Luce, you're not getting another fever are you? You're really pink!" Natsu called as he hurried after her.
"NO! It's just a really hot day!"
A/N: Oracion Seis arc has come to a close! Can't wait to see what's in store next. Hopefully more NaLu ;)