hiiii only one chapter left after this one! eep!

Piling the rest of her clothes into one of the bigger shopping bags, mostly to hide the lingerie, Lucy turned back around to face Natsu who leaned against the frame of his doorway.

"He's downstairs." He offered her a half smile, nudging his head toward the front door behind him.

Lucy took hold of the hand he extended for her, wanting to squeeze harder, knowing their last few moments together were happening now.

"I shoulda had you cook today," Natsu sighed as he walked her to the door. "Didn't think you'd be leaving so soon...kinda sucks."

"Well, um, want me to walk you down?"

Lucy felt like she didn't have enough time to process any of this; finding out that her father was worried enough to go to the police, and now leaving Natsu's apartment before she'd barely begun to sort out her feelings? They were supposed to have this whole week together, but maybe it was better to get out sooner rather than later. It felt like she was having an out-of-body experience when she was with him, and doing her best to ignore reality whenever possible.

"I'll see you at school," Lucy shook her head, not really wanting to meet Natsu's gaze. She brushed past him and walked down the hallway, towards the elevator. Each step made her feel a bit sick and more upset than she realized, deciding it was easier to leave without looking back. "Thanks, Natsu."

Lucy laid awake, staring at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom, not liking how cold it felt now that she was alone.

It was late at night, later now that it'd been a few hours since she came home. She was too exhausted to sleep, having gone though a whole emotional rollercoaster with her family's staff and seeing her father again.

Gildarts left her at the end of her entirely too-long driveway, in front of the golden gates that hung a gigantic 'H' on the front. He offered to drive her up to her door, but Lucy didn't want to have to explain why a suspicious-looking black car being driven by an older man was showing up on the security cameras.

He thanked her for hopefully being a positive influence on Natsu before driving away, Lucy sighing as she made the trek toward her front door.

She stood before it for longer than she should have, unsure of what she should say to explain herself. How would she even begin to explain where she was?

Lucy knocked on the door and hoped someone would still be awake to hear her, felling the night air begin to nip at her skin.

Her breath caught in her throat as the door pulled open with a swift yank, her father staring down at her with wide eyes.

"Lucy…" She was expecting Spetto or Virgo to be the one to greet her, figuring that even if her dad was worried, he wouldn't be up this late. When was the last time she'd seen him look anything other than stoic? He was slightly out of breath, his brows that had been knotted together relaxing, and his pained concern was dissolving into a weak relief.

"Hi—" She let out an oof as her dad drew her in for a massive hug, squeezing the life out of Lucy before she could prepare herself. "D-Dad!"

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Lucy," She was sandwiched roughly against his chest, her arms pinned at her sides in awkward positions. "Are you okay? Where were you? You didn't have your phone or your wallet, I was so worried!"

He tightened his hold on her again, not even waiting for an answer as his cheek brushed against hers.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy, I didn't think you'd be so upset. I wasn't thinking about what you might want, I would never have made you marry someone you weren't interested in."

Her breathing slowed as their embrace continued, Lucy wondering when the last time they ever hugged for this long. Possibly around the time her mother passed, but even then it was hard for her dad to express himself properly. Aquarius and Virgo looked after her for the most part as Jude allowed himself to get absorbed more and more into his work.

Now that Lucy had a second to think, what had she freaked out about enough to throw a drink in her father's face? In the moment, she was superbly hurt and thought it was the worst thing he'd ever said to her. But if they just had a chance to talk things through, if her head cleared after running in a straight line, if she hadn't run into Natsu…

But it'd never felt easy for them to talk, even if she had come home, what would've been different? She would still have her curfews, her strict routine when hanging out with friends, the quiet dinners and quiet homework session afterward. There was always a distance between them that hurt whenever he left before work without saying goodbye, one that Lucy never thought could fix itself.

"Dad…can we talk?"

They spoke in his office for a little over an hour, Lucy opening up about all of the things she'd been stressed out about or uncomfortable with; some rules were way too restrictive.

And she apologized for running away, for staying with a friend and deciding not to get into contact with him.

She wanted to talk to him more and come to him again if she ever needed to, saying that it was never her intention to disappear like that in the first place.

With her phone back in hand, she called to let Levy and Cana know she was okay, the two of them planning to come over the next day to talk about everything she couldn't tell her dad.

Aquarius, Virgo, Capricorn, and the rest of them all got a call as well, she didn't want them worrying another day about her whereabouts.

And now that she was alone in her own space, her bed felt entirely too empty. Maybe she could have asked for Natsu's number if they had a different relationship. Lucy groaned and turned over, pulling her blanket over her head to block the nonexistent moonlight.

There was no use in wishing he missed her, wishing there was ever the possibility for more. As suddenly as she was there, she was gone, left with these memories that she could only hope to shake off one day.

~000~

When school finally rolled around, Lucy couldn't help but feel more noticed than usual as she walked through the halls. Like everyone outside of her classroom knew who she was and where she'd been.

Not to say it was public knowledge that she was with Natsu, but almost every parent was asked if they had seen her, if they knew anything about where she might've gone.

Lucy made a quick beeline for her classroom, feeling better once she saw Cana and Levy already sat around her desk.

She gave them the gist of what happened, maybe leaving out the most explicit details. It was enough for them to know that things got a little too heated more than once, but where exactly their hands had been didn't need to be shared just yet.

Lucy groaned as she dropped her bag onto its hook and plopped into her seat, the other two giving her an apologetic look.

"I can't complain, this is all my fault," She mumbled into her shirt sleeve, pouting as they offered her a comforting pat on the back. "But do they all have to stare so much?"

"I think they're just surprised, straight-laced girls never go missing without a proper reason, you know? It was probably surprising for all of the people who actually know you, but now the other grades have a face to the name," Cana explained, but it didn't do anything more than contribute to the obvious.

"Have you seen Natsu yet?" Levy asked, Lucy lifting her head slightly to glare with one uncovered eye. "...I'll take that as a no."

"I don't know if I want to see him at all," Lucy groaned. They had talked about him for at least eight hours straight on the Tuesday they came over to see her. Most of the details were spoken from behind a stuffed animal for her sake, though she managed to get out all of her unsorted feelings. After talking about how she wasn't sure if she liked him or liked the atmosphere, seeing him seemed like the only way she'd be able to confirm. But what then? Natsu wasn't the girlfriend having type. "Maybe I should've skipped. Dad had to go on a business trip and asked if I wanted to go with him. I could've avoided school for another week,"

"I don't think you should avoid him," Levy shook her head. "Even if Natsu seems all rough around the edges and sleazy, what you said about him makes him seem like sort-of a good person. I think you should just talk to him, get some closure. He wouldn't ignore you if you wanted to be friends."

"Don't say that, Levy-chan," She whined and Cana snickered. "You're raising my hopes in the worst way possible."

"Not even you know what you want from him, Lulu. If you talk, you'll have a chance to settle your feelings once and for all."

"I guess," Lucy pouted again, her legs crossing and uncrossing anxiously. "Ugh,"

"Lucy, someone wants to talk to you," Laki beckoned her from the classroom door, pointing her thumb at the dark-haired boy waving his hand.

"Mest?" She stood up, her chair squeaking against the floor as it pushed out. Lucy hurried to greet him, ushering him back into the hall as she lifted an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"

"Your dad called my parents and asked if I knew where you were last week. I know you came home not long after that, but I was still worried. You were missing for a couple of days, are you okay?"

"I was just cooling my head while I stayed with a friend," Lucy nodded, hoping the conversation would end there. Not that she had any bad blood with Mest, but it wouldn't do her any good to keep talking to her ex. They were on relatively good terms but she still kept him at a distance. They saw each other every once in a while at her father's functions, but the air continued to hold a slight awkwardness. Even if they broke up about two years ago. "Thank you for being worried, but I'm okay."

"You know you're allowed to come to me if you ever need anything," His hand fell to bicep as he smiled subtly, exampling the worry and concern he still had for her. "As a friend, yeah?"

"Luce," The hairs on her neck stood up as she heard his familiar voice call out to her, Lucy turning to see Natsu giving her a questioning look.

He looked the way he always did; slightly baggy pants due to his lack of belt, the untucked and semi unbuttoned shirt, his tie loosened and hanging lower than it should. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, his head slightly upturned as he looked down from the couple of inches he hand on her. His eyes burned a hole in the hand still on her arm, Lucy brushing it off as she turned back toward Mest.

"Thank you, Mest," She offered him a smile before he left, glad that the first warning bell for class rang before Natsu could make him anymore uncomfortable.

"Can we talk later? During lunch?" He asked, not smiling like she thought he might.

"Sure," Lucy nodded, swallowing her nerves, watching him nod and walk into the classroom before her.

Levy and Cana perked up as they saw him walk in, Lucy motioning with her hands for them to not be so obvious.

Lucy leaned in to whisper before the teacher walked in, glad Natsu's seat was in front of them so he couldn't see them.

"We're going to talk at lunch," She finished her sentence just as Macao walked in, clearing his throat to end any of the other conversations still ongoing.

~000~

Time couldn't seem to move itself fast enough, Lucy unable to focus on anything the teacher said, her notes a mindless list of words she half-caught between sentences.

Natsu usually greeted her with a smile, so of course she felt pained when he thoughtlessly nodded in her direction. Maybe he was upset? But more likely he just wanted to make the obvious clear to her, that what happened between them was just that and nothing else.

She tried her best not to stare at the back of his head, hoping lunch would stay in the far distance while trying its darndest to meet her.

When the lunch bell finally rang, Natsu left before she did, Lucy hot on the heels of his shoes. She waved to her friends and told them she would be back soon, scurrying after Natsu.

Did he do this to make her seem like the desperate one? To make her chase him to some hidden part of the school for what would probably be a five minute conversation.

Lucy caught up with Natsu and he slung his arm around her casually like he used to, flashing her a sideways smile. Earlier, was he being stoic on purpose? Maybe he used that expressionless face to keep anyone from thinking they had a deeper relationship. Yeah, probably.

"Miss me?" He asked, closing the door of a far off storage room in the quiet end of the building. She took a look around before answering, the dust cleared from the walls as if the room was being used often. There was one odd desk and a few sets of stacked chairs, Lucy leaning against the wall as Natsu blocked the light coming in from the small window.

"I don't know how you want me to answer that," She felt her confidence return under his eyes, under that look that was already asking her for something more than herself. Her stomach still felt heavy with anxiety, though he had a knack for making her feel comfortable at the same time. "But...yeah, I missed you."

Natsu pulled one of the straggling chairs closer to sit on, taking her hands in his as he continued.

"You fix things with your dad?"

"Yeah, we had a good talk. I don't think we would have unless I ran away the more I thought about it."

Natsu paused with a nod, his thumb rubbing all too nicely at the center of her palm.

"So…anything else? Or did you just want to check on me?" Lucy broke the silence and looked into Natsu's deadpanned gaze.

"Really? That's all I get?" He almost laughed, looking at her with a raised brow. "I thought I meant a little more than that to you, Luce. Or was that other guy the one who has your attention now?"

"Mest?" She scoffed and playfully rolled her eyes. "He's my ex, he was just checking on me."

"Your ex?" Natsu promptly stood up. "You said he went to a different school,"

"I lied," She shrugged with a sigh, feeling ready for the conversation to end. Couldn't he hurry up and break her heart already? "Felt like the right decision at the time,"

"I don't like that," He glared, pursing his lips as she laughed. "Seriously, you shouldn't have lied."

"And if I told you he went to school with us?"

"Well, I still would've had Gray and Gajeel find out who he was," He grumbled, ignoring Lucy as she lightly slapped his arm.

"Natsu, why are we here? Are you going to remind me not to be clingy? I'm already aware, everything's in the past, right?"

"What?" His expression dropped the sarcasm between them, Natsu looking at her as if he was almost concerned. Rather, he looked offended by her words. "Luce, you…"

"That's what you told me at the beginning," Lucy looked at him with equal confusion, trying her best to ignore her hopefulness. "What?"

"I mean," Natsu ran a hand through his hair, shaking it as he fell back into the seat. "I thought you liked me."

"I do…" The words rolled off her tongue in a heavy fashion, wondering if he was approaching the question she thought he was. "But as a friend?"

"That was a question more than a statement,"

"You said you don't like clingy girls," She sighed again, raising her hands wondering if the universe was playing a deceitful trick on her. "I'm not being clingy. We're friends, right? There's nothing serious between us."

"I thought it was serious, I said it, didn't I? That I was thinking about keeping you!"

She stared at him for a few seconds, Natsu's face half in his hands as his eyebrows knit together.

"You can't be serious! That's not how you ask a girl out!"

"I just thought," Natsu groaned, exacerbated as he half-glared. "I thought that…well, I don't know. I just…started to like you and I thought we had a thing going. But then you left without even giving me a goodbye kiss and that's what I really wanted to talk to you about, but,"

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose, this wasn't how she foresaw this conversation going at all. Could someone actually be this dense?

"I'm an actions guy, I forget about words sometimes," Her eyes flickered back onto him. She was anxious and lovesick over this guy? This idiot? "I was upset that you didn't kiss me and I—"

"So what then? You like me?" Lucy asked, her hands behind her, fingers pushing together to settle her nerves.

"'Course I do," His smile brightened her heart, her back tapping against the door as he stood up again. "I really like you, Luce."

"...Do you like me?"

ehehehehehhee can't wait to write the ending for yall!