Nalu Week 2020

Flirt

"So," Levy said after a few minutes of silence where the two of them simply stared at each other, "What do you want to talk about?"

Lucy scoffed, feeling ridiculous. She never should've gotten sentimental at Virgo's words. She was fine. She didn't need therapy. Everyone had difficulties in life. She didn't 'have their eyes', no matter what Natsu may have said.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Levy said gently, leaning forward to look at her intently, an open and non-judgemental expression on her face.

Levy was a little pixie, with blue hair that only made her seem more fairy like. Lucy was instantly jealous, she loved fairies and could never hope to be as pretty as the tiny woman in front of her. More anger bubbled up as Levy leaned farther forward and placed a hand on Lucy's knee, the orange diamond glinting off her finger.

'Go ahead, flaunt your perfect life in front of me some more. Great job, husband, everything you could possibly want.'

Lucy didn't think that she could ever like this woman, let alone share her deepest secrets with her. Why had the Idiot recommended her of all people?

"I know it's hard since we just met, but I swear, I just want to help." Levy continued, completely unaware of Lucy's thoughts.

Lucy chose not to respond and Levy leaned back in her chair. Studying each other for a few more minutes before she apparently tried to go about it a different way.

"You know, when you made your appointment, I decided to Google you." Levy told her. Apparently she was very straightforward too, just what Lucy needed.

Not.

"Only child of Layla and Jude Heartfilia. 24 years old. Your mother died as a child and your father passed not long after you turned 19. You took over the company, holding it all up on your own ever since." Levy said, reaching for her phone. Typing something in quickly, Levy turned it back around and showed her what she had pulled up. This was nothing new to Lucy. She was used to people Googling her. She was one of the richest people in the world after all.

Levy's phone showed pictures and pictures of Lucy, all taken by the many reporters that she'd interacted with over the years. What caught her off guard was Levy's comment.

"You aren't smiling in any of these pictures, have you ever noticed that?"

Lucy blinked at her. Levy smiled kindly in return, "Why is that?"

The young CEO didn't respond, eyes drawn to the dozens of pictures in the photos. She looked so impassive, so closed off. Not unhappy...but certainly not pleased with anything. It was strange, seeing her everyday expression put in that kind of light.

"When was the last time you smiled?" Levy asked her.

Lucy scrunched her eyebrows together, trying to remember. She had to have smiled recently, right?

To her own amazement, Lucy couldn't remember.

"Did you ever grieve for your parents?" Levy asked her. Lucy was so surprised by the change in questions that she dropped her perfect mask she always wore, the emotion splaying across her face, "You wanna tell me about them?"

Lucy gulped. She tried not to think of her parents all that much.

Layla Heartfilia had died on Lucy's 5th birthday, something the blonde had always been sensitive about. One careless driver had stolen her mother from her. She didn't have a lot of memories of the wonderful woman who had loved her dearly, but the few she did have Lucy held very close to her heart.

After she died, her father had changed, and not for the better. He had trained and groomed her to be the perfect business woman. The best CEO in the world. She wasn't his daughter anymore it seemed like. And she had done everything he asked, never stepping out of line.

Not until her 19th birthday.

Lucy had had enough, wanting some form of freedom. She had run as far away as she could, even leaving the country. She was tired of the way that her father controlled her every move. She was a puppet, a figurehead, with skills that he exploited. Everyone wanted to be partnered with the Heartfilias if it meant getting close to the blonde woman. It was something her father exploited every opportunity he could and it was horrible. She'd thought that it would get better after she became an adult, but it had only gotten worse. He'd never had any plan of letting her go.

So she ran away the night of her birthday, but even at that she had failed. Lucy had only made it a week before her father found her. If she had hoped that her point would come across, she was sadly mistaken. Actually, she would never know if it did.

Lucy had left the country and after sending his bodyguards to collect her, her father was supposed to meet her at one of her layovers on the way home.

His plane never arrived. It crashed halfway there. He died coming to get her, leaving her as the sole Heartfilia left in the country. The new CEO. She didn't know why, but Lucy had turned her entire attitude around after that. She became the perfect business woman, the one he always wanted her to be.

Lucy didn't even realize that she had sobbed all of this out to Levy. She didn't register her tears, only the aching in her chest after the words came pouring out.

She finally admitted that she'd killed her father by running away. The truth she didn't want to face.

For the rest of the hour, Levy just held her and whispered soothing words.

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault."

...Three Months Later…

Lucy packed up her things, making sure she had all of her notebooks as she left Levy's office. When Levy had suggested that she try writing as an outlet and way to express herself, Lucy hadn't put much faith in the idea. How exactly was writing supposed to help her work through her past?

But she'd been proven wrong. Not only had it felt freeing and invigorating to put her story down on paper, but it had given birth to a creative side that Lucy never knew existed. She had started working on a novel about a magical world and a guild called 'Fairy Tail', bringing her new chapters to Levy every week at their appointment.

While Levy was technically her therapist, it turned out that they had more in common than anyone might think and were quickly becoming fast friends. It hadn't taken long for Lucy to get over her initial anger at Levy. She realized that she was just angry at everything and Levy just happened to be the nearest person to be angry at at the time.

Honestly, it was amazing how different Lucy felt these days. It was like she was a whole new person. She didn't anger nearly as easily and was kinder to everyone she met. It was strange, seeing as how it was basically a complete 180 to how she was always raised to act. But Lucy loved this new version of her.

And, apparently, so did other people as Levy wasn't the only new friend she made at the center. The same could be said of Erza, Mira, and Juvia. Lucy had met them almost by accident. Running into Erza in the hallway had somehow turned in the redhead dragging her to one of her classes, where she had met the others. After reuniting with Mira and one awkward instance where Juvia thought she was trying to steal her boyfriend (leaving her entitled as 'Love Rival'), being friends with them was almost as easy as breathing.

Lucy was even enjoying the self-defense classes, strange as it may seem. Natsu was right, there was something amazing about working out in that gym, something that just centered her world and thoughts in that moment.

As for Natsu, well she still hadn't figured him out yet. She ran into him all the time when she went to the center and they would lose time talking together about their day. She was learning more and more about him, all of which contradicted her first impression of him. He was funny, polite, and kind. But she was also partially right as he was incredibly violent, as she soon discovered. He was always fighting with someone. An old friend of his had shown up one day and Natsu spent the entire time yelling out, "Gildarts, fight me!" before getting pulverized by the larger man. Still, the thought of him would never fail to bring a blush to her face.

Then, there was that time she had passed by the play area again and watched as he played with the kids. That same small girl Lucy had seen her first day, Wendy, squealed in delight as he spun her around the merry-go-round. She couldn't be more than 6 or 7. Lucy found herself staring at the scene for far longer than she cared to admit. She was both touched and saddened by the sight.

When she brought it up to Levy at her next appointment, the bluenette suggested that the sadness came from not having a similar moment in her own childhood.

Lucy supposed that could be true. Her happiest memories came from before her mother died. Levy had to be right on some level. Lucy could at least talk about her parents without bursting into tears now, but she was still having trouble believing her when Levy told her that their deaths weren't her fault.

The two of them were done with this week's session, having been discussing all of this. Lucy still didn't want to admit it, but Natsu had been right. This had been exactly what she needed, but it still unsettled her a little bit. The idea of needing therapy implied that something was wrong with her, which she didn't want to admit.

Lucy finished grabbing her things, saying goodbye to Levy and heading back down to the first floor. As she got in the elevator, Lucy began wondering what else was on her schedule for the day. Ever since Virgo had convinced her to make her first appointment, the blonde had inadvertently taken a step back from the company. She wasn't worried about it too much, her staff could handle things just fine and Lucy trusted them.

Truth be told, Lucy didn't really care about the company. She had always just done her best to run it so she could honor her father's wishes. Plus, she had never had anything else in her life. Now, clutching her notebooks tightly to her chest as she got to the first floor, she realized with a shock that she did. When exactly had this become so important to her?

The young CEO was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, crashing straight into someone.

Lucy yelped at the abrupt collision, losing her balance and falling to her butt, her notebooks scattering around her.

"Woah, careful!" a familiar voice called out, "You ok there Weirdo?"

Lucy grumbled at the nickname, but accepted Natsu's help up, "I'm fine. Sorry for bumping into you."

"It's all good." he smiled before picking up her books, "You're writing?"

"Levy's idea." she said hurriedly, grabbing them out of his hands. No way was she going to let him read them.

"Nice," he said, still smiling, "Appointments going well then?"

"Yes." Lucy shifted uncomfortably.

Natsu must've sensed that she didn't want to talk about it because he didn't push, "I just got done in the playroom. It was only Romeo and Wendy today, but Wendy finally let me put her on the swing set."

"I bet she loved that." Lucy responded softly. Lucy hadn't met Wendy personally, but the young girl reminded Lucy so much of herself at that age that she couldn't help but have a soft spot for her.

Wendy was a regular at the center and it wasn't hard for Lucy to hear her story. She was an orphan, father died before she was born and her mother died in childbirth. The complications with the pregnancy and birth had robbed her of the ability to walk. The doctors had all given up hope on her even standing on her own, but Natsu hadn't. He worked with her twice a week, doing everything he could to help her. So far there wasn't any progress, but he remained hopeful.

"She did." Natsu laughed at the memory, "She said it was like flying."

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled, pleased.

"Hey, I'm just about to go on lunch. Wanna come?" Natsu asked her suddenly.

Lucy looked up at him in shock, was he asking her on a date?!

"There's this great Italian place right around the corner and you haven't lived until you've had their chicken alfredo." he continued, waiting for her response.

Ok, definitely a date. He was flirting. What did she do?!

Granted, Natsu was very attractive, she'd thought so since day one, and the thought that he was interested in her sent a warm tingle down her spine.

Was she even ready to date? She never had before. How did you know?

"Hey, Weirdo, you still with me?" he asked, bringing her back to the present.

Lucy cleared her throat, "Um...pasta sounds nice."

"Great!" he said, that smile stretching out across his face again, "Let's go then!"

Grabbing her hand, he practically dragged her out of the building and down the street, giving her a strange sense of deja vu. Lucy's heart pounded wildly in her chest as she could do nothing but follow.

She was going on her first date!

Never had she thought that her first date would be with Natsu of all people, but life could be surprising like that.

In what seemed like only moments, Natsu had pulled her into a cute little restaurant. The smell of tomatoes and herbs greeted her the second she walked in, causing her stomach to growl.

"Two please." Natsu told the worker who greeted them.

He led them to a small booth with a window, leaving them with some menus. Lucy's stomach stopped growling and instead clenched nervously as Natsu waited for her to sit down.

She couldn't do this, there was no way she could do this!

Glancing around, Lucy saw her salvation on the far wall.

"Go ahead and order, I just have to go to the bathroom really quick." she said quickly, not waiting for his reply before rushing off.

Luckily the place was empty and Lucy dropped her things to the floor so she could run to the sink, splashing cool water over her blushing face.

She could do this, she could. She just needed a minute, just a quick breather, just needed a moment along to settle her nerves.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy forced herself to calm down. There was nothing to panic over, it was just Natsu. She knew Natsu. Maybe not very well, but that's why people dated, right?

Feeling much better about the situation, she picked up her things and made her way back out to the restaurant. Only to stop short at what she saw there.

At first she thought it was Mira, their faces were so similar and their sparkling eyes identical, but after a moment it was clear that it wasn't her. This lady was a few years younger than Mira, closer to Lucy's own age, with a short pixie haircut.

She stood next to Natsu's table, laughing and joking with him. Lucy watched as she shoved his arm playfully and gave him a sly wink.

That clenching feeling returned to her gut as Natsu responded, teasing her back.

Flirting with her.

Lucy had never felt more embarrassed. Of course he hadn't been flirting earlier. He hadn't asked her out, he was just being nice. This was him flirting. The strange feeling in her stomach moved to encompass her heart as well.

She couldn't take this anymore. Lucy headed for the door of the restaurant, desperate to be back home where she wouldn't have to see this.

Natsu watched as Lucy practically ran out of the restaurant, face down and turned away from him.

"That her?" Lisanna asked.

"Yep," Natsu said, distracted and wondering if he should go after her. Was she ok? Everything had seemed fine when they got here.

"Just give her time," Lisanna said kindly, "She's probably just nervous."

"Yeah…" he trailed off for a moment before turning back to one of his oldest friends, "Guess it's just me then. I'll have my usual."

"Got it. Coming right up." Lisanna said, writing his order down and then walking away to put it in.

Natsu turned back to the door that his blonde date had just exited. Had he done something wrong?

Professor: Hey everyone, sorry I missed updating yesterday, I was really super busy. Thank you all for your reviews and all of your support! Hope you enjoyed the 'Flirt' prompt. I honestly don't like this one that much, the characters gave me some trouble and the words didn't want to work with me. I was originally not going to have the beginning scene with Levy, but then I realized that I can't gloss over Lucy's past like that. I am going to do my best to have 'Note' posted today as well, but sadly, no promises. Please remember to check out ShanaHollows and MorriganFae who are absolutely crushing Nalu Week!