Chapter 47: The Troublesome Trio…REUNITE!
The obnoxious beeping of an alarm clock awoke Natsu at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am. His eyes flickered open, fighting the urge to close them again and return to his peaceful slumber he sat up. The heavy blanket fell off his shirtless body as he stretched while a yawn escaped his lips. He swung his legs over the side of the bed disrupting Happy who was asleep on the foot of the bed, and slipped out his bones cracking and snapping as he moved around the bedroom.
"Mmmmm….Nassu? What you doin?" A sleepy voice slurred from the bed behind him. Natsu turned around to look at Lucy who was sitting up and watching him while rubbing her eyes. Her usually well kept, but currently disheveled golden hair shimmered in the moonlight Natsu couldn't help but smile, she was gorgeous even when she wasn't even awake fully. A blush crept on Natsu's cheeks as the blanket that was draped over Lucy slid down revealing her topless body, and he had to force himself to not stare at his naked girlfriend with the body of a goddess.
"I-I….umm am getting ready for work….remember? Today's my first day so I can't be late." He muttered looking down at the floor as he began getting dressed. The still mostly incoherent Lucy just pouted.
"Awwwww, but I miss my cuddle buddy…..you're so warm….." She whined which made Natsu's face turn pink. He finished changing and walked over to her, and knelt on the side of the bed.
"I'm sorry Luce, but I'll be home by the time you're awake, promise." He whispered and stroked her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes and laid back down.
"I hope so….I'm not as comfy without you." She yawned and soon enough had drifted back into a deep sleep, which caused a chuckle to escape Natsu's mouth. He bent down and pecked her cheek before getting back up and leaving the bedroom, followed closely by their upset cat who wanted a snack as compensation for being woken up at such an early hour. Natsu gave Happy a scoop of food, before opening the fridge and cracking open a much needed energy drink. Even though he would be super hyper afterwards, he needed something to wake him up fully. Chugging the drink down in a few gulps he shuddered as the caffeine hit him hard. Petting Happy goodbye Natsu exited the apartment with one last glance at the bedroom.
It had been about a week since Natsu had given up his alter ego, and things could not be going better for the pinkette. He had cracked down on working on his homework, and thanks to Levy, as well as Lucy was now back to a passable grade after he got all of his make-up work caught up on, as well as some extra credit for good measure. Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets he began his walk to his new job. The brisk morning air had no effect on him as he walked down the quiet sidewalk. Life really was starting to look up, without the stress being the Salamander brought he was able to finally focus on the things that mattered. He took a deep breath as he stood outside his new job, today his life as Natsu truly began again. It was time he rejoined the world in a meaningful way…
"Would you like paper, or plastic bags?" Natsu asked dryly, causing the elderly woman to turn at him and smile sweetly.
"Paper please, gotta save the environment." Natsu sighed as he began bagging the ladies groceries. His shift was almost over, and the only thing he could think of the entire morning was. Why did jobs have to be so boring? The grocery store he worked at wasn't big, it was just a small little bodega that was owned by an old cranky woman, that Makarov had introduced him to named Ooba.
"Have a great day!" Natsu called out to the woman who walked out of the store who turned to smile at him brightley while waving.
"You too sweetheart!" She exited the store leaving it empty once more. Natsu hopped over the counter. He began organizing the shelves in an attempt to stay busy and keep himself awake.
"OI DRAGNEEL! I'M GOING TO GO GET SOME LUNCH! YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE PLACE WHILE I'M GONE!" The shrill voice of Ooba yelled as she stormed out the doors.
"Oh, okay you can count on me Ms. Babasaama!" Natsu replied before noticing that she was already gone. Looking at the clock Natsu frowned, it was only 12:13pm. His shift didn't end until 3:00pm a yawn escaped his lips as he began to sweep the floor. Yup, life was really looking up. But he wasn't going to complain, the pay was good and even though she could be a bit of an uptight grump, Ooba herself was nice. Natsu's frown turned into a grin, as he plopped down in a chair behind the checkout counter. All things considered it was a really good job. Even if he was currently bored. The door swung open and Natsu turned to face it, and grinned upon seeing the person walking in.
"Hey hun, how is your first day going so far?" Lucy waltzed over to him holding a paper bag followed closely by a few of their other friends. She beamed at him obviously way more awake than she was when he left for work this morning.
"Eh, it's alright…I'm just bored is all….there's not much going on." Natsu replied while stretching and standing up out of the chair. Finally he noticed the three companions that were with her.
"Gotta say flame brain I'm shocked you haven't burnt this place down yet…" Natsu just glared as Gray dropped some chips and drinks on the counter for him to check out. Natsu cursed under his breath and began scanning and bagging all of Gray's stuff.
"At least I have a job unlike you ice princess." Natsu snapped back, Gray's eyes darkened.
"Oh yeah, well some of us aspire to be more than cashiers ya know!"
"Well at least I am doing something besides stripping! SERIOUSLY MAN PUT SOME CLOTHES ON KIDS SHOP HERE!" Natsu snapped back, causing everyone to look at Gray who was standing glaring at Natsu clad only in his boxers. He looked down and squeaked in shock.
"Yikes, when did that happen!?" Natsu cracked up as Gray ran around the store collecting his miscellaneous clothing items that were scattered all over.
"SHUT IT YOU PINK HAIRED FREAK!"
"GRRR! WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME YOU PERVY POPSICLE!"
"SQUINTY EYES!"
"DROOPY EYES!"
"That's enough you two….how would Natsu's boss react if she overheard this?" Erza intervened while Lucy stood there awkwardly looking at Wendy who looked uncomfortable.
"Pssh like I care about if lizard breath got in trouble for once…." Gray mumbled and walked back up to the counter now fully clothed to pay for his snacks.
"She's not here right now anyway….which means I'm in charge and can refuse service to assholes like you…." Natsu grinned wickedly, but Erza glared at him which sent a shudder down his spine.
"I swear you two need to learn how to coexist, I won't always be there to break up your fights…." Erza sighed, and soon she walked off to grab herself an iced tea from the cooler. Gray and Natsu finished the transaction with no spoken words, just death glares at one another. Lucy sighed as Gray stomped out the door, and held up the bag she was holding.
"Wendy and I made you a couple of sandwiches, and cookies for lunch…we're all heading over to the guild now. So if you want to meet up with us after your shift we will probably just be hanging out with everyone…" She smiled warmly as she handed over the lunch sack to Natsu who looked at her in surprise.
"You made me this? You didn't need to do that, I could've just gotten food afterwards…" Natsu replied but still smiled. Lucy looked down at Wendy and the two shrugged, and looked back at him with smiles.
"Yeah, but we wanted to!" Wendy chimed in with a large grin on her face.
"Figured it would be a nice thing to do since you have been working so hard lately…it was the least I could do, and Wendy was quite the help in the kitchen." The blonde nudged the younger girl who blushed at the compliment. Natsu smirked, and reached into the bag. He grabbed a cookie and took a bite of the sweet treat, a large smile grew on his face.
"WOW! THIS IS DELICIOUS! THANKS YOU TWO!" He beamed, and the two girls grinned at the praise. The gang hung out for a few more minutes before they figured they should head out before Ooba came back, and so soon Natsu was once again left in the quiet store. He took out a sandwich and munched on it with a small smile on his face. He could really get used to his new lifestyle, and that was a thought that didn't bug him one bit.
The guild hall was as rowdy as ever, which normally didn't bug Lucy but right now it was making it really hard for her and Levy to focus on their class project.
"Remind me again why we thought that it would be a good idea to try and do this here of all places?!" Lucy huffed in frustration, dropping the book she was holding, and taking off the pair of red glasses to rub her eyes. Levy sighed and pushed her own glasses up it was impossible to focus now that things were back to normal. Elfman was yelling at every customer that if they were a real man they would take him on in an arm wrestling contest, Gray kept taking his clothes off and getting scolded by Juvia who then proceeded to yell at girls who were staring at him. Erza ended up starting a fight with a new recruit named Warren who could use telepathy after he accidentally knocked over her strawberry cake, Makarov who was still upset about Gildarts' stunt the other day was as poor-tempered as ever. Usually the two girls loved it, but right now they were trying their hardest to focus on this project that was worth half of their final grade in biology.
"No idea….I'm sorry Lulu, but I can't focus right now….we might have to meet up at either your place or the library at some point…" Levy pouted as she slammed her book closed just as Elfman got carried away with some poor guy who thought this was just a normal bar, and slammed his entire arm through the table before standing up in celebration.
"YEAHHHH THAT'S WHAT A REAL MAN CAN DO!"
"Oh dear…." Mira sighed at her brother's antics and checked up on the guy Elfman had just put through the table. They were so fixated on Mira scolding her little brother that they missed the tall, dark figure sneaking up to their table. That was, until a large, muscular arm draped itself over Levy's shoulders causing the brunette to jump out of surprise.
"What are you two nerds up to?" Gajeel questioned as he plopped himself down on the bench next to Levy who had recovered from her shock and was now blushing at the situation. Gajeel looked at the books they had thrown onto their table with a raised eyebrow. Grabbing one he flipped to a random page. His face contorted in confusion.
"Are these words even real? What is this crap?!" He held the book upside down and tried to make sense of the large, science mumbo-jumbo that he didn't understand in the slightest. Levy snatched the book out of his hands and frowned.
"Yes, they are real words for your information. We're working on a project that'll decide if we can graduate with a perfect record!" Lucy grumbled.
"Oh man…..if I fail this class, because of this stupid project then I can kiss being valedictorian goodbye….." Levy pouted. Gajeel just laughed, causing the two girls to glare at him.
"What?! I'm sorry it's just the thought of you two failing a class is hilarious to me….I'm sure you'll figure whatever out, anyway….I'm going to head out Levy. Do you want me to give ya a ride home?" Gajeel sighed as he stood back up and grabbed the keys for his truck. Levy glanced at Lucy who just shrugged.
"I doubt we will be getting anything done today, we can meet up after school Monday?" Lucy muttered and packed her things back into her bookbag, Levy nodded.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan….okay ya big lug, take me away!" Levy looked up to her boyfriend who grinned and helped her to her feet. Levy grabbed her own bag and took off her glasses.
"Night Lulu, I'll meet ya in the library after school Monday!" She called back to the blonde as Gajeel led her out of the guild hall.
"It's a study date!" Lucy called back with a smile. Those two were getting closer with every passing day, and it made Lucy happy to see her best friend in such a good spot. Even if their relationship had a complicated past, Gajeel has done enough to redeem himself in her eyes. Lucy turned to grab her stuff, to leave and meet up with Natsu as he should be getting done with work at any second now, but as she was standing up three figures approached her table.
"LUCYYYYY I MISSED YOUUUU!" An innocent cry came from a small girl who sped towards her like a bullet. Lucy was taken aback when the small girl wearing cowboy clothes jumped into her arms. It wasn't until she saw Alzack, and Bisca walking up behind the small girl did Lucy fully process who was squeezing the life out of her.
"Oh! Hey Asuka, long time no see! How have you been?!" Lucy pulled away from the small girl's death grip to bend down and look at her. Asuka looked up at her with sweet eyes.
"I'm okay! Mommy, and Daddy said I didn't need to go to school this week! So I AM SOOOO EXCITED!" Lucy giggled as the little girl jumped up and down at the prospect of not having to go to preschool for a week. If only Lucy could be so lucky. She looked over to Asuka's parents.
"How are you two doing? I heard Sabertooth did a number to you guys….are you okay?" She asked worriedly, but Bisca just held up her hand and laughed.
"I can safely say we've been better, but you got way more hurt so we should be asking how you are feeling?" Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm just a little sore, but other than that I've never been better….a lot has been going on to distract me from it though to be fair…." The two adults looked at each other and grimaced.
"You mean the stuff with Natsu right?" Alzack asked and Lucy looked at them shocked.
"How do you guys know about that…."
"It's been the talk of the guild…." Bisca admitted.
"Yeah, it was kind of a shock for us when we heard…how is he doing? I thought that boy only thought about fighting and getting stronger….I hope he's okay." Lucy frowned at Alzack's words. She glanced down at Asuka who was watching Lucy with a large grin.
"He's doing better…..to tell you the truth, he took the Sabertooth incident really personally…it messed him up real bad…he felt guilty for everyone getting hurt…"
"I heard from Gajeel that he and Gray got into it, and Erza couldn't break them apart. So I imagine that must have gotten to him as well….Gajeel said that Gray was throwing all the blame at Natsu…." Bisca sighed, starting over in Gray's direction.
"Well, they always argue….so that's not new I doubt it had any effect on Natsu…."
"No you don't understand….Gajeel told us that they actually broke into a fight, nothing like their normal bickering, like fully powered strikes trying to take each other out." Alzack frowned, and this caught Lucy off guard. She had noticed at the bodega earlier they were a little more annoyed by each other's presence than usual….did something actually happen between them? Natsu hadn't mentioned any actual animosity for Gray besides the occasional snide remark, but still even since they were kids. They never got to a point in their fights where Erza couldn't break them apart.
"Well as long as Natsu is happy then we support his decision to stop fighting…after all he is a part of our guild, and a friend…after everything he's done for us we can't hold anything against him." Bisca changed the subject, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts.
"Yeah….I'm not sure he's fully back in a better headspace, but he is definitely on the road to one…" Lucy smiled at the memory of how happy Natsu had been the last few days, a stark contrast to how down he had been previously. Lucy felt a tug on her skirt, and looked down at Asuka who was gesturing for Lucy to pick her up to which the blonde complied with, and lifted the small child up in the air.
"It's a good thing he has you by his side that's for sure…Lord knows where I would be without Bisca, and Asuka….speaking of which…" Alzack smirked at his wife, and then his face turned serious.
"We were actually hoping for a favor…it's okay if you and Natsu aren't up to it though, we understand a lot has happened recently." Alzack started, which made Lucy tilt her head listening intently.
"Well, you see tonight is our anniversary, and we were wondering…if ya know…." Alzack muttered nervously. Bisca just sighed.
"You could babysit Asuka for the night….we will pay you two of course! And it's totally fine if you don't want to we just know she enjoys spending time with the two of you, and-"
"Of course we will!" Lucy interrupted the married couple's rambling causing them to look at her in shock.
"Y-you mean it? We understand if you don't want to consider everything going on?!" Bisca questioned in shock. Lucy just grinned looking at the small girl in her arms.
"Yeah for sure! It could actually do Natsu and I some good, last time was really fun! Besides, you two should be able to have fun tonight!" Bisca, and Alzack looked at each other in joyous celebration and instantly let out a cheer.
"YES! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" The two cheered in unison. Asuka just blinked a few times.
"Why are Mommy and Daddy being weird Lucy?" She asked the blonde who watched the scene unfold with a dumbfounded expression.
"Well, let's just say you are coming over to stay with me and Natsu…"
"REALLY?! YAYYYYYYYY!" Asuka cheered loudly. Lucy giggled, and soon Bisca had handed her an overnight bag that they must've prepacked in the hopes that Lucy agreed to this, and Alzack handed her a bit of cash to pay for snacks, and stuff. As Lucy and Asuka were heading out of the guild to meet up with Natsu after his shift, Lucy felt an icy stare watching her. She turned to see Gray watching her carefully, when they made eye contact his eyes darkened causing Lucy to raise an eyebrow before glaring back at him. She would have to ask Natsu later what was going on between them because they were acting so strange around each other lately.
As the two girls were waiting outside the bodega Lucy's phone went off, she glanced down to see she was getting a call from a restricted number, with a shrug she pressed the deny call button. It was probably just some scam.
"Oh hey Luce! I thought you were at the guild?" Natsu's voice caused her to look up from her phone, and up at the boy leaving the store while taking off his apron.
"NATSUUUUUU!" Asuka's cry caught Natsu totally off guard as he must not have seen her when he walked outside, and was soon caught off guard by the small girl charging into him. Luckily he regained his footing and was able to catch the girl and lift her up into the air, before she knocked him on his butt.
"Oh, hey there Asuka!" Natsu greeted the child after his initial shock.
"Lucy said I can spend the night!" Asuka beamed at the boy who grinned.
"Well that's awesome, we're going to have so much fun aren't we?!" Natsu grinned before looking at Lucy who seemed to be spaced out. He tilted his head.
"Hey you good Luce?" Lucy who was staring down at her phone as the same number from a minute ago was calling her again. A weird feeling was creeping over her. She glanced over at Natsu and smiled warmly.
"Y-yeah, just thinking…" She muttered her reply, causing Natsu to look at her confused. He shifted Asuka onto his shoulders while she laughed and chanted.
"YAYYY HORSEY!" This caused Lucy to snap out of her thoughts and giggle.
"Well let's head home!" Lucy cheered and walked off leaving Natsu to jog after her, while Asuka was giggling and yelling at him to go faster. They were greeted by Happy having a hairball the second they walked into the apartment.
Luckily the rest of the day was going by smoothly, and the trio were having a good time. Asuka had requested that they watch Frozen, so that was on in the background as they sat on the floor playing Candy Land.
"YAYYYY! I WIN! I WIN!" Asuka cheered as she moved her piece to the end of the board. Natsu sighed and laid back on the ground.
"Do we have any more games Luce? I'm tired of getting our butts kicked by a child…." Natsu grumbled and while Asuka was jumping up and down, he switched his piece with hers.
"HA! NOW I WIN! TAKE THAT!" Natsu yelled triumphantly.
"NO! YOU CHEATED!"
"DID NOT!" Lucy had to giggle at her boyfriend's antics as he stuck his tongue out at the kid.
"I can go check, I think we have Jenga stored away somewhere…." Lucy stood up as she did her phone once again began ringing. Yet again it was the same number from earlier. Rolling her eyes she turned it off and threw it on the coffee table before going and searching the closet for some games to play.
"Okay, we have Jenga blocks, as well as some Apples to Apples…" She grabbed the two boxes of games, and brought them over to the pair. Who had gotten distracted with the movie.
"LET IT GOOOO! LET IT GOOOO! CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE!" The two sang in unison and Lucy couldn't help but laugh as they were singing as loudly as possible, with no care in the world. This would be how the rest of the night would shape out to be. Lots of tone death singing sessions, plenty of arguing over who was cheating at what game, and of course plenty of fun. Thankfully things were now starting to calm down, and Asuka was currently laying down on Natsu's stomach while he was laid out on the couch. They had now moved on to Monsters Inc, and were laughing at every little thing. Lucy was in the kitchen making some frozen pizzas, and she watched the two with a smile on her face. This was something she could definitely get used to. No more stress that Natsu's second life brought, no more worries. Just them, as Lucy looked at him and Asuka laying down on the couch together an image popped up in her head. She imagined instead of Asuka laying on Natsu a child that looked like her, but had Natsu's striking pink hair, or a boy with blonde hair….heck why not both? The timer she set for the food interrupted her thoughts.
"Dinner's ready!" She called out as she carefully grabbed the pizzas from the oven, and sliced them up.
"Sweet! I'm starving!" Natsu smiled brightly as he walked into the kitchen, Lucy handed him a plate with a blush at her previous train of thought. Asuka soon came jumping in and Lucy handed the small girl a plate as well, before making one for herself. The trio sat in the living room and continued their Disney movie watch party, and played many more games, including a riveting round of toy gun war that Asuka easily one. Mainly, because she was the only one with a gun, but who was keeping track of those things. So by the time they needed to get her ready for bed she was already pretty sleepy after such a long day of fun. Natsu tidied up his bedroom, which was quickly becoming the spare room and the two got Asuka ready for bed. When she was all tucked in and resting the two sat down next to each other on the couch. Natsu let a yawn escape his mouth and rested his head on Lucy's shoulder.
"Are you tired? We can get ready for bed?..." Lucy rubbed the back of his neck which made his muscles relax.
"Dunno, maybe a little…I'm not used to this normal lifestyle just yet…and ice princess got on my nerves earlier, so that took some energy out of me…" Lucy nodded her head in understanding and then remembered what Alzack, and Bisca told her. A frown formed on her face.
"I've been meaning to ask something actually….you two have been weird around each other lately…like you have been fighting more often than usual….is everything okay between you two?" She looked at him and saw him squirm.
"I-I mean….yeah, I guess…..I just can't stand him ya know….." Natsu muttered, but grew quiet and stared off into space for a second.
"I guess….but there seems to be something more there these past few days….I overheard at the guild today that you two got into a pretty big fight, and Erza had trouble stopping it." Lucy watched Natsu's reaction carefully and saw him take a heavy breath.
"I dunno….it's all just friendly teasing…that's it…." Natsu bluffed. Deep down he hid how much it hurt when Gray had blamed him for everything that happened with Sabertooth, and when they were fighting. It felt like the two wanted nothing more than to hurt the other one.
"Are you sure?" Lucy questioned softly, and Natsu sighed.
"Yeah….we're okay, just some friendly joking around that's it." Natsu lied, in actuality he didn't fully understand why Gray had been such a jerk lately. Normally they could coexist in a room together, but today at the bodega….it was weird. Natsu yawned again, and slowly stood up.
"I'm gonna get ready for bed….I'm starting to get sleepy." He spoke through a big yawn, and Lucy watched as he walked to the bathroom. She frowned, and grabbed her phone to text Erza about the situation between the two boys, but when it turned on she found that the restricted number from earlier had called her four more times. She stared at it carefully before slowly clicking the call back button. She lifted the phone up to her ear, once more the weird feeling from earlier consumed her. The phone rang a few times, before someone picked up.
"Hello, is this Miss Lucy Heartfilia?" A deep male voice asked through the other side of the phone. His voice sent a shiver down her spine.
"U-umm, y-yeah who is this?" She stuttered back carefully, paranoia starting to creep into her.
"I am Dr. Warrod Sequen at Magnolia General Hospital….and I'm afraid that I have bad news regarding your father Jude Heartfilia."
Chapter 48: We Still Have Each Other
Q: What's going on between Natsu, and Gray?
Just a heads up we will be entering the final saga soon! So you will want to stay tuned! Because stuff is about to get real!...That's right I said saga, not arc….because how else could this story end? I would call this act 2, and you won't want to miss what happens!
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been with this story for this long, I know updates can be sporadic, and some arcs dragged on. I personally lost interest in the Sabertooth arc, thus the kinda rushed ending. But I don't regret any of it. Every moment I have written has been to get to this upcoming epic saga. I hope you stay with me, and from the bottom of my heart thank you! I appreciate all of you, and hope you enjoy what is to come!