That random Saturday night, Lucy Heartfilia found herself on her best friend's bed, wearing nothing but her favorite yellow night dress and white socks, face and body full of green foundation, eyes artfully painted in exotic eye makeup as she kneeled closer to Cana, carefully painting red dye on her friend's lips.
"I'm so happy you asked me to sleepover," Lucy said as Cana quietly let her finish the application. Once she was done, she sat back on the bed and handed the brunette a hand mirror to take in the final result.
"Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh, Luce, I look so real," Cana said impressed. Her face was completely pale white in foundation, coupled with a heavy blush, single line eyebrows and rose red lips. Above her upper lip was a pencil drawn mustache, which Cana picked up the eyebrow pencil to fill it in some more.
Lucy smiled as she pulled out her phone to look at Cana's handiwork, her hair piled messily on top of her head adding to the whole "Sexy green Martian" look Cana was going for.
"And I do look like Doja Cat from that one music video," Lucy said continuing to admire herself, she even turned around to see how good her hips looked under the hardly veiling dress.
"Told ya," Cana said, patting the powdered wig on her head that Lucy brought over. "And you're hot enough to pull it off too - actually, I think you may be even hotter than her."
Lucy felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. "Awwwwwwwwwwww. And might I say, you are the most handsome 18th century Englishman I've ever laid eyes on, if I do say so myself."
One of Lucy's stipulations for coming to sleep over at Cana's was that she would be able to turn the beautiful model into a posh, uptight, 18th century Englishman. She thought it would be funny to see her bestie as a man again, especially since she rocked the mustache she got on Christmas so well. In return, Cana decided to sexy her friend up, being tired of seeing the blonde dress so demurely. Also, makeovers were one of Cana's many reasons for living.
Cana smiled happily at her transformation, loving whatever wacky, kooky activities Lucy wanted to do with her. It reminded her of when they were younger and would do things together like this all the time.
"It's been entirely too long since we've done something like this Luce," Cana remarked. "I mean, we honestly haven't had a proper sleepover since you started dating Sting, which was a long time ago. And then of course you moved in with the guys and..."
"Yeah... I know, its so crazy."
Lucy flopped backwards on the bed, not being able to take her eyes off of herself. She couldn't help it, Cana did such an amazing job. Feeling this beauty needed to be shared, Lucy started taking a bunch of selfies, some of them with normal smiles and cute peace fingers, others, with more sensual poses and expressions. She loved them all.
"Hey Lucy... so the truth is... I invited you to sleepover because I need to talk to you about something," Cana said nervously.
Lucy rolled over from off of her stomach, admiring her figure, sensing the conversation was about to be serious.
The brunette walked over to her dresser drawer and brought over a small pearl encrusted chest to the bed. Lucy sat up straight, eyeing the prized memorabilia of Cana's mom.
"So I've been doing some thinking recently," she said opening the chest and shuffling through it. "I'm about to be 30 this year. And at some point, hopefully sometime soon, I want to meet the right guy and start a family..."
The Englishman dressed woman lifted up a locket with a picture of her mother with her younger self. She removed the picture and lifted up a copiously folded piece of paper from the cold grips of the metal case. She unfolded it and passed it to Lucy.
"The point is, I'm serious about starting a family of my own. And I don't want to be lounging about with my husband one day, and suddenly he comes knocking on my door, telling me about what such a terrible daughter I am for not looking for him hard enough, or him demanding to meet his grandkids..."
"That's crazy Cana," Lucy said reassuredly. "If that ever happens you'd have nothing to feel bad about," she scooted closer to her friend, grabbing her hand. "He wasn't around. He's the deadbeat dad."
"Yeah Luce but what if he wasn't?" Cana yanked her hand away from Lucy's. "What if he just didn't know? I mean, mama herself didn't really seem to know."
Lucy recalled this detail to be true. Cana's mom in her hay day was a gorgeous woman who attracted many suitors.
"So... what? You think you can find him now? Cana, I thought you and your family had already been through this when Cornelia died. Paternity tests, hunting down old boyfriends, even looking into sperm banks... any of this ringing a bell?"
"I know all of that Luce, but - hey, read the letter."
Lucy reluctantly paused their conversation to read the words on the scrupulously creased paper. It was addressed to Cana's mother. It was handwritten in the tiniest and messiest cursive Lucy had ever seen and it read like some sort of love letter. The end of the letter was signed, "love GC".
"Woah..." Lucy said quietly. "Cana... do you think...?"
"Think about it. Why would mama keep what is essentially a love letter in her secret chest if he wasn't someone important to her? And who even writes handwritten letters these days anyways? Guys only do grand romantic gestures like this to women who they're sure are "the one"."
Lucy was... cautiously optimistic. Cana and her family had been down this road before. Her mother was never forthcoming with who the father of her daughter was, not even having an inkling of who he might be, so her family took matters in their own hands. Tracking down the woman's old boyfriends, having Cana take a DNA test, even going so far as calling multiple sperm banks to see if she got pregnant that way. All led to dead ends. The guy basically just... didn't exist, and Cana was forced to make peace with the fact that she didn't have a father from a young age.
"I definitely think it's a possibility... but Cana, I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't at least tell you that I am a bit... worried about this. About you."
Cana sighed.
"I just don't want you to get your hopes up to get hurt again. Have even you thought about what you're going to do if you find him?"
"I... don't know. But that's just a bridge I'll have to cross once I get there."
Lucy is still looked unsure, Cana could see it in her eyes.
"Come on chica," she held her hands. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, por favor mi amor. I need your help."
Lucy's Martian painted eyes widened. "What?"
"I wanted you to read the letter and help me track him down based on his handwriting. I mean, you went to school for that right?"
"Cana, that may not be the best idea... I mean without knowing anything else about him, tracking him based on handwriting might be... kind of difficult. Also I got my master's in English, not calligraphy."
As Lucy finished her sentence, she could visibly see Cana deflate. Lucy felt a pinch in her chest.
"I have hope though," Lucy quickly added. "If this letter really is from your father, there's so many clues we could derive from this. And of course I'll do everything in my power to help."
Cana's face lit up. "Really?!" She jumped on her friend in a hug. Lucy smiled warmly and hugged back. And for a few moments they stayed there, green Martian and old British man, hugging each other.
"I promise Cana," Lucy said sincerely. "We'll find him someday."
"And hey, maybe I could even ask Daphne for help," Lucy added nonchalantly.
With that comment, Lucy basically played a record scratch over their heartwarming moment. Cana's eyes catapulted open. She pulled away from their hug.
"¿Que qué?" [Say what?]
Lucy felt a nervous twist in her stomach at the piercing look Cana gave her.
"¿Quién demonios es ese?" [Who in the hell is that?]
"Oh I never told you? That's Natsu's new girlfriend. She's a lawyer. And don't worry, I won't give her any details, I'll just ask her for some off the record legal advice."
Cana raised an eyebrow. "Gee Lucy... I didn't realize that you two were so... close."
"Well I mean, we aren't... yet, but I have a plan to become her friend in no time."
Cana was skeptical. "You sure its a good idea to be cozying up to Natsu's girlfriend like this babe?"
"Of course! I have a way with people Cana, you know this. We'll be braiding each other's hair and sharing secrets in no time."
Cana shook her head, deciding to wash her hands clean of it. "I mean alright..."
Luce and Daphne
"Natsu!"
The pinkette quickly ran into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him with the piping hot plate of breakfast Lucy made for herself to eat. Lucy was fuming as she chased him around the living room and threw her oven mitt at him. He was too fast for her however, and he was able to get away with the loot to devour in the comfort of his room.
Lucy groaned in annoyance as she stormed into the bathroom where the other residents of the loft were getting ready for the day. That Monday morning, Lucy woke up before everyone else so she was already showered and dressed to go to work. She noticed Daphne in front of one of the sink mirrors brushing her teeth. She looked like she just woke up, her black hair was messily pulled up in a high ponytail and she was wearing one of Natsu's flannels with thigh high socks. Lucy reached up on the shelf by the bathroom entrance and grabbed her hand lotion, squeezing it and applying it all over her arms and legs.
"Hey, Daphne!" Lucy said cheerily.
"Hey," Daphne said, turning to her awkwardly.
"It's so fun having another girl around here. You know I have tampons hidden all over the apartment."
Loke, who just finished showering, reached his hand out from behind the curtain to the towels on the hooks on the nearby wall. When his hand fisted his blue towel, he shouted in repulsion. "Ah! Damp towel! Damp!"
"Here we go..." Lucy trailed off quietly.
Loke wrapped the baby blue towel around his torso and stepped from behind the curtains with damp hair and his muscular upper body on full display. He looked livid.
"I feel like I'm taking a really big Wet-Nap," he said in disgust as he grabbed his hair gel from the shelf and applied it. "I feel like I'm being licked by a golden retriever. Look at this bathroom... there should not be two girls in this bathroom... you're too humid. You make everything damp."
"80% of the products in here are yours-"
"Blah, blah, blah, yawn, yes. I use sculpting chutney," he said, grabbing the chutney and applying it to his abs. "Once I'm done with my chutney, back in the row it goes."
Lucy made a face at how egregiously he pronounced chutney, saying it like chut-a-ney instead of how it's supposed to sound. She walked over to the sink next to Daphne and fluffed her curled hair in the mirror, making sure it fell over her red dress sleeves elegantly. Gajeel walked in the bathroom with his toothpaste and toothbrush as Loke straight up ranted.
"Hair everywhere! Multicolored rubber bands! I'm fine with it. It's all okay with me. But a damp towel is where I draw the line!"
"I'm sorry," Daphne feigned confusion. "So what are your thoughts on damp towels?"
Gajeel's raised his eyebrows deliciously at Daphne's sass.
"Oh ho!" Loke snarked. "You'd better watch it, Natsu's Overnight Guest."
"My name is Daphne."
"Like I said."
Gajeel snorted again at all the shade. He tried his best to pretend like he wasn't enjoying this as he brushed his teeth next to Lucy. Meanwhile, Daphne and Loke stared off, and after a while Loke was tensing his ab muscles, as well as his biceps.
"Dude are you flexing, right now?" she asked.
"No," he said quickly.
Their encounter ended when Natsu reemerged from his room, clearly full from the food he stole from Lucy. She glared at him from her reflection in the bathroom mirror and he looked away innocently.
"Hey," Daphne said to him. "So, I'm gonna just get ready in your room."
"Sure," he said and she quickly brushed past him to go back to his room. "Feeling a little weird and uncomfortable in here, I'm assuming?"
"Hey, Daphne, I'll see you later tonight!" Lucy called before she got far.
"Yeah. See you later..." the woman replied unenthusiastically.
Natsu turned to Lucy in stupefaction at the girls' exchange, and the blonde felt like she needed to quickly explain.
"She's helping me get out of a traffic ticket."
"Luce, are you seriously using the girl I'm sleeping with for free legal advice?
Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "First of all, I've already seen you do it."
Flashback
"So there's no chance of me getting Happy back?"
Daphne flipped through the pages of a document Natsu provided her, as he laid with his back on the couch and Daphne sat across from him, like they were in a therapy session.
"Well Natsu," she said. "You want me to sue your ex-girlfriend for custody of your cat which you guys bought while you were together, which isn't gonna work. One, that is a huge conflict of my interests. Second of all, you aren't qualified."
He sprung up from the couch. "What do you mean I'm not qualified?! I raised him from when he was just a kitty! I fed him milk from a bottle and rocked him in my arms like a baby! I even made him a little green cape! He's my best friend Daphne!"
"Well, on paper Natsu, it looks bad. You work at a bar and earn tips for a living. You live in an apartment on the fourth floor with three other roommates, which," she laughed dryly. "Doesn't help your case unless you can prove to a judge that they know the basics of how to take care of a cat, and I've met these people babe, that'll never work."
Natsu silently sulked in his seat as Daphne continued to flip through papers.
"I mean, your ex lives in a house by herself, has a steady stream of income and is a veterinarian. Meaning, her entire livelihood is to know how to take care of pets."
Natsu snorted once Daphne was finished raining on his parade, still not happy with the reality. Noticing this, she walked over with a sympathetic smile and pecked him on the lips.
"Sorry babe."
"And second of all," Lucy continued. "Why don't you just call her your girlfriend?"
"Because she isn't."
"Excuse me?"
"She isn't! We're not labeling it."
"Well what do you mean you're not labelling it?"
"Lucy, just because we hang out a lot and we're sleeping together doesn't mean she's my girlfriend. We're having fun. That's it."
With that, he turned to his bathroom mirror sink and took out his face wash. Lucy was at a loss for words.
"I... Wha... I mean you can't... How? You certainly act like she's your girlfriend, you parade her around everywhere, yet somehow she isn't your girlfriend?"
He continued to get ready in the mirror.
"Honestly Luce, its fine alright?" Natsu said, shrugging his shoulders. "She said she doesn't want to label it either, and this is working for us. Why change it?"
Lucy pouted and walked next to him as he rinsed his mouth out with Listerine. Natsu was confused, keeping his eye on her. When she searched his golden pupils like this, she could tell he didn't really mean what he was saying. "I feel sorry for you," she said shaking her head. "You're still so scared of your own feelings."
"You've got to excuse him Luce," Loke cut in. "That cold dark chasm where his heart should be is filled with nothing but darkness and pain. I mean, he hasn't even admitted to loving me yet," Loke chuckled, as if that were a given. "And if he hasn't admitted that he loves me, then she's got no chance in hell."
Natsu immediately scrunched up his face and stopped doing his hair.
"What?"
"Admit that you love me!"
Natsu scrunched his eyebrows. "Umm... ooooooooooooooooooookay then..."
"You know," Gajeel said. "I remember this one time in the third grade, how it took Natsu six months to finally admit he was crushing on this girl in our homeroom. And this was after months and months of watching her and obsessing over every little thing that she did. And I remembered telling him that I think he had a crush on her - several times. And you know what he told me? He told me that crushes were for losers."
Loke, Lucy and Gajeel all laughed, cooing over the idea of a lovestruck, kid Natsu. His face became warm and his mouth twisted in annoyance.
"Dude!"
"Oh I get it," Lucy said before another chuckle escaped her lips. "So you think you're just too 'sophisticated' to put a label on your relationships?" Lucy asked, using air quotations.
"Well that's not it, I... uh..."
"Oh, you're not labeling it?" Lucy mocked in a grungy voice and English accent.
"Luce please don't do what I think you're about to..."
But Natsu's cries fell on deaf ears as Lucy started ballroom dancing by herself, waltzing in place as she continued to mock him in her horrible guy voice.
"That's not even how a sophisticated man dances Blondie," Gajeel said, ready to get in on this action. "This is how a sophisticated man dances."
He too, then started ballroom dancing with himself, hands around the waist and holding the hands of an imaginary partner. "I'm too sophisticated," he started to sing in a British accent. Loke walked over to Natsu and the two of them started to feel scared how into the little joke Gajeel seemed to be.
"I don't believe in labelling things," Gajeel sang.
When he was done, the responses from the boys came swiftly.
"You gotta get laid man."
"You gotta get laid man."
"Damn, I need to get laid."
"So back in Hargeon, they had this fermented milk stuff that they drink. Whole country runs on the stuff. They were definitely one of my biggest endorsements," Gajeel boasted, checking out his fingernails. "I mean, I had a lot of endorsements, but they were probably my biggest endorsement amongst other endorsements that I had."
Taking the advice from Loke and Natsu seriously, Gajeel decided it was time for him to finally seek the warmth of a female body. It had been entirely too long since he was in a relationship, swearing off romance completely while he was overseas playing football. Despite this though, he did let himself indulge in the sweet beyond that was sex to temporarily cure any feelings of loneliness he had from time to time. And boy did he do it often. Back in Hargeon, it seemed like everywhere he turned women were always throwing themselves at him, ever ready for a good time.
Needless to say that's changed since he came to L.A., with the entire five months he'd been living there marking a prolonged abstinence.
Before he officially left the country to pursue his dreams, there was one woman he used to hook up with frequently and exclusively. Her name, was Sue. Just like Natsu, his relationship with Sue started with lust and eventually they started doing non-sexual things together until it got to the point where they could consider each other somewhat friends.
And now, sitting across from him, in all of her brown-skinned black haired glory, was Sue, who was the first person that came to his mind for a hook up. As he boasted about himself and his escapades in Hargeon, she rested her cheek in her hand, watching him plainly.
"Wow." Was all Sue could say.
"So, um... your place or mine?"
At his question, Sue suddenly burst out into a fit of unironic giggles in the middle of the restaurant, with Gajeel being confused but deciding to chuckle along anyways.
"What are we laughing at?"
"How much I am not going home with you tonight."
The smile on Gajeel's face instantly fell.
"You show up after two years, out of the blue, and all you can do is talk about yourself. You don't even let me get a word in edgewise."
"Why did you agree to let me take you out for drinks then?"
"Gajeel... you took me out for a drink at the place where I work!" With that, Sue got up angrily and pushed forward a small blue folder. "Here's your bill. Thanks for the water."
As she stormed away, Gajeel remained unrepentant.
"Man, I told you to get yourself whatever you wanted... you chose water."
Back at the loft, Lucy was getting ready for her consultation with Daphne. She had baked cookies and cupcakes for the occasion, which she had spread out on two plates on the coffee table. She also had her favorite midnight blue blanket folded on the table just in case one of them got cold, after all, who doesn't like to snuggle? When Daphne emerged from the room, Lucy turned her hostess switch to on.
"Hey, have a seat."
"Okay," Daphne complied awkwardly.
"Let me get you a blanket."
"Why would I want a blanket right now?"
"Just to get toasty."
"Oh," Daphne said dumbfounded as Lucy wrapped a dark blue blanket around her
"Would you like a cookie, or a cupcake? I make them."
"Oh, no. I'm okay. I'm not really a dessert person," Daphne said, whilst simultaneously unwrapping the blanket from herself. "I just don't eat it, usually."
"Oh, okay..." Lucy was disappointed, but not defeated. She scooted the two plates with the baked goods in front of her, handing her a cupcake. "I'm just gonna put this, like, right here."
"But I don't..." Daphne let the thought die out, as Lucy already passed her the confectionary and seemed to have her mind set. The blonde smiled expectantly at her.
"Why don't you just take me through what happened with the ticket? You said they got a photo of you?"
"At the scene of the crime, meh, meh, meh, meh," Lucy made sound effects akin to those played during flashbacks in TV shows.
"Is this it?" Daphne asked, flipping through her file, not amused at all. Lucy didn't notice this, but Daphne's eyes were practically twitching from the strain of not rolling them.
"Yeah..."
"Okay. Hmm. This... may actually be kind of hard to argue with," Daphne remarked, looking at the black and white photo of Lucy, apparently spazzing out in her jeep, running the red light.
"Well, there's actually more there than meets the eye. See, there was a bird, he's not in the shot, but he was injured, and he couldn't get out of the road, so I braked, and then I had to accelerate out of the intersection."
Daphne narrowed her eyes as she continued to look through the information on Lucy's file. "You missed your first court date on this."
"My ex-boyfriend failed to send it to me before the court date, because well, you know, he hates my guts."
"That's an $800 fine."
"That's why I need a really awesome lawyer, like you," Lucy beamed. Secretly, she also hoping that if this process went well, they would be close enough for Lucy to bring up Cana's letter and maybe help out her best friend.
"So..." Lucy continued. "Can you help me?"
"I can try. You never know. A judge might buy into this... whole thing, so..."
Lucy wasn't sure if Daphne meant to or not, but the blonde felt slightly offended at the woman's casual remarks.
"What 'whole thing'?"
"Your whole thing," Daphne said plainly. "With the cupcakes, and the braking for birds, and... 'oh dear, bluebirds are here to help me dress in the mornings.'"
"Oh, I didn't know I was doing a thing..."
"It's a great thing! I mean, the big, beautiful eyes... almost like a scared baby. I'm sure that gets you out of lots of stuff."
"Yeah, except my peripheral vision's, like, almost too good," Lucy joked with a somewhat forced chuckle.
"Hey, so uh... living here," Daphne's tone changed, almost like she were treading lightly towards something. "It's probably fun, right? I'm sure there are, like, lots of girls coming in and out of this place."
"Loke's like Ellis Island in the 1800s. He accepts everyone."
"Sure, sure and Gajeel... and Natsu..."
Lucy froze. Immediately feeling uncomfortable, she continued.
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't..."
"Well, you don't have to-"
"...say anything about that... Plead the Fifth!"
"No, that's not what..."
"Objection!"
Their extremely awkward conversation was ended when Natsu came in through the front door. Daphne couldn't have been happier to see the pinkette, jumping up and rushing over to meet them so she wouldn't have to answer Lucy.
"Natsu, hey!"
"Oh hey."
"You wanna hang out in your room?" she sprung up quickly.
"I mean, sure."
"Great. Okay, so I will look at this stuff some more," Daphne said, haphazardly regathering all of the papers in Lucy's file. "I-I'll call some people, see what I can do." Before she left though, picked up Lucy's blue blanket by pinching it with her index finger and thumb and tossed it back over and next to Lucy.
"Here's your blankie or whatever back."
Lucy felt another sting in her chest at Daphne's words, this time being sure it was intentional. Lucy decided to wrap the blanket around herself as Daphne strode down the hallway and to Natsu's room. Before joining her, Natsu decided to approach his friend as she dejectedly picked up the plates with her baked snacks.
"Hey Luce, what's going on with that ticket?"
"She doesn't like me, Natsu."
"What are you talking about?"
"You won't understand it because you're a guy."
Natsu "pushawed", waving off her claims.
"She doesn't have a problem with you. She's just-"
"Natsu, I am telling you," Lucy said harshly, "that she doesn't like me. Your girlfriend's not a dessert person!"
With that, Lucy shoved the two plates into the pinkette's hands and ran to retreat in her room, leaving Natsu to look at the treats and look around, confused.
"She said you have 'a whole thing'?" Asked a short haired, light blonde woman sipping wine in the loft kitchen.
"I'm sorry, she doesn't like desserts?" Cana piled on, slamming her hands on the counter. "Where is she right now?!"
The next afternoon, Cana and a mutual friend of theirs, Dimaria, popped over to the loft to visit Lucy, with the golden blonde sharing with her friends the details of her consultation with Daphne, both ladies feeling vexed on her behalf.
"Look, I think I know what she meant," Dimaria said, attempting to be the voice of reason. "I mean, you do like girly stuff Lucy. Certainly took me a while to get used to it. I remember when Brandish introduced me to you, you were literally wearing a hat made of ribbons. Frankly, it's off-putting." The woman took another long chug of her cup of wine, finishing the rest of the cup and slamming the glass on the counter irreverently. She then went to fixing her boobs in her black, lacy, halter top bralette, pulling up her burgundy jogger pants, and retying her black jacket around her slim waist.
Despite the fact that it was January and still relatively cold out, Dimaria still wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to dress in more revealing clothes.
"My ribbon hat..." Lucy said reminiscing on Dimaria's memory. "I love that hat."
"Screw her..." Cana declared angrily. "And I'm gonna wear that ribbon hat! Go get it Luce, right now."
"Be right back!" The blonde hopped off of the counter stool and scurried to her room, almost bumping into Natsu on the way.
"Whoa," he said as she hurried away.
"There you are Dragneel," Cana proclaimed aggressively. "Where is this bitch? I've got to smack that lawyer learning right out of her mouth."
"Okay wow," Natsu said, taken aback. "This whole thing is getting excessive. She's just helping her get out of a ticket."
"How? By being condescending and judgmental?" Dimaria asked.
"Well, what did she say?"
"Just drop it, Natsu," Lucy said, returning to the living room with a snowman's hat with a bunch of different colored ribbons sewed on. She snuggly placed it on Cana's head and both girls glared at Natsu rancorously.
"How am I supposed to drop it when you're telling all your friends, and Cana's threatening to beat someone's ass!?"
"You won't get it because you're a guy," Lucy reiterated.
"You keep saying that, but still won't tell me what it is that she said. I just don't get why you're angry Luce. What did Daphne do wrong?"
"It's just how girls fight sometimes alright? There's a lot unsaid. Like one time, a girl said to me, "Lucy, you rock a lot of polka dots."
"Ooh. How did she say it?" Dimaria asked as she walked back to the fridge and refilled her cup with red wine.
"Lucy, you rock a lot of polka dots." Lucy repeated, imitating the girl's voice. Her friends gasped, immediately expressing their sympathy.
"That is diabolical."
"I'm really sorry Luce."
"Yeah it kind of ruined our friendship because I couldn't get over the polka dot incident..."
"I don't understand what's happening here at all..." Natsu trailed off.
"Warning!" Loke cried angrily from down the hall. He sped into the living room with a la dehumidifying machine in his arms, giving pointed glares at all the girls. "Spoiler alert! Somebody unplugged my dehumidifier to plug in their flatiron. I will be putting my dehumidifier, and my towel, in my room, where nothing ever gets wet."
"Lucy you're still not explaining anything to me," Natsu persisted, leaning over the counter to make direct eye contact. "How am I supposed to fix this if you won't talk to me?"
"Maybe I don't want you to fix it: ever thought about that?" She asked, clearly annoyed.
"All right, you know what, Lucy? I think you don't like her because Daphne's one of those girls who just doesn't have a lot of girl friends. She's militant and doesn't like fooling around like you. She thinks like a guy. She doesn't play mind games."
"Ha! Is that what you think?" She countered.
"All I know is that she's totally up front with me. No subtext, no codes."
"Oh. Okay." Lucy said sitting tall on her barstool so she could get in his face. "So did she come right out and ask you if you were seeing other people? Because... she asked me."
Lucy's indignant revelation shook the room with silence.
"She... did?"
"Duh-huh," she said in the same dumbstruck tone he had, mocking his shock. "Surprised? I thought you guys were just so 'up front' with one another. I thought you guys told each other everything."
"Yikes," Dimaria said in between sips.
"Yeah, she apparently told him she didn't want to label it." Lucy informed her friends.
"I mean, that's a classic move," Dimaria said to Natsu. "Even in the lesbian community."
Swoosh!
Cana had to close her eyes due to the wind pressure that Loke carried with him as he clumsily sprinted out of his room, and plopped down in the seat next to her.
"So what did I miss?" He asked candidly.
The whole living room fell into silence for a brief moment as everyone stared at Loke.
"Did you... did you just hear the phrase "lesbian community" and come running out of your room?" Dimaria asked.
"I did. So uh... question, for you ma'am. This community you speak of... do the ladies look, uh... more like this one," he pointed his thumb to Cana next to him, "or, you know... like that one," he said pointing at Natsu.
"Okay, whatever, Celeste," Natsu retorted.
"You know, I think I did date a woman who looked a lot like Natsu once..." The light blonde guest said, placing her hand under her lip, studying the pinkette carefully.
"You did!" Lucy said in recognition. "Felicia."
The next afternoon, Lucy found herself at the bar after a long day's work. Loke and Gajeel were supposed to come eventually and they would all have a loft hang out there. She casually walked over to the counter and waited for someone to greet her, playing around with her high ponytail in the meantime. Max spotted her first from the other end of the counter. Natsu was right next to him, kneeling down, fixing something underneath one of their ice machines
"Hey Natsu, your girlfriend's here."
Natsu quickly looked up, fully expecting to see Daphne, but saw Lucy instead.
He knocked Max in the leg. "Ow! Sorry, I meant your other girlfriend. Your girl friend."
After the words came out of his mouth, Natsu could see the cogs in his friend's head turning.
"Hey... is she single right now?" He giddily nudging him in his sides. "Why not try setting me up, huh?"
Natsu finally stood up, being done with the ice machine, making a face. "Mmmm... I don't really think you want that."
"What do you mean? She seems sweet, she's always giggling at my jokes... she's pretty."
Natsu snorted.
"Yeah, pretty crazy. Think along the lines of manic pixie dream girl, but on crack."
"Aw man really?"
A half smile formed on Natsu's lips as he patted a disappointed Max's shoulders. "You'll find someone someday buddy," he said as he walked away.
Despite what the pinkette said, he instinctively found himself working on a pink rosé drink, accentuated with cherries and a mini umbrella for aesthetic purposes. The beginnings of a smile started to form on his face as he approached where she was at the counter, passing her the glass.
"Here's your usual. Just the way you like it."
Lucy's face lit up, genuinely being touched by the surprise. "Awww," she cooed. "Thank you Natsu."
She smiled warmly at him before taking a couple of sips. Once she was done sipping, she was ready to get down to business.
"So... why can't you just admit that Daphne's your girlfriend?"
Natsu sighed. She was still on this.
"I don't know, I just thought it was uncomplicated before, and now I'm freaking out. I've only been in a total of three relationships in my life, and the last one was a total train wreck. So, I don't know, I think I'm trying to protect myself from something."
"All right. So, so far, Dragneel's greatest fears includes: table tennis, Celine Dion music store standees (which I still find very weird by the way) and real relationships."
"And blackberries," he added for good measure.
"Yo barkeep! Get this man a DRANK!" It was Loke, announcing his presence to the bar, using the slang that always made his friends cringe in the past and deepening his voice to a level that's earned him so many douchebag jar dollars so far. Gajeel trailed behind him, pinching the bride of his nose in embarrassment.
"Ladies, he hasn't had sex in five months!" Loke shouted giddily, patting Gajeel's shoulder. "Come and get it, ladies!"
"I seriously hate you, Celeste. Just why?"
"Did it go well with Sue?" Lucy asked.
Gajeel sighed. "I gotta say, I thought it would be easy you know? Maybe... maybe I don't have game. Maybe I never had game. Maybe it's always been about football."
"Yes," Natsu burst his bubble plainly. "You don't have any game. It has always been because you play football," Natsu laughed airily in disbelief. "Dude I could've told you that years ago."
"Then what's your secret, man? How do guys like you get girls?"
"Let's not sugarcoat anything Gajeel," Loke added. "Let's just, you know, call it what it is... average."
Natsu rolled his eyes at him.
"You have had the most game, out of any of us," Gajeel continued. "Because for years now, you have been working with absolutely nothing."
"He makes a good point," Loke quickly added.
"Really? So I've been working with nothing, according to you guys. You're right, absolutely nothing," Natsu said backing up and holding a bottle with cold vodka in it. "Except this!"
He then proceeded to try artfully juggling the bottle in his hands, twirling it around in front of him, on his arms, behind him, even tossing it in the air. He was doing pretty well for the most part, until he clumsily knocked himself in the elbow with the glass, causing a hollow knocking sound which threw off his focus.
"Ow."
The bottle then slipped out of his hands and fell on the floor in a crash, wasting the drink. An angry voice bellowed from the back in the employees quarters shortly after.
"What the hell are you doing Dragneel?!"
"Sorry Gramps!" Natsu shouted back.
As his friends were having fun seeing him have to clean up his silly mistake, Natsu stopped cold in his tracks when someone new approached him by the bar.
"Hey, Natsu."
"Hey... Daphne."
Not wanting to be too close, Luce moved from her seat to go on the other side of Gajeel and Loke, who were heading to a nearby booth to give the pair some privacy.
"Thought I'd drop by and say hello," Daphne smiled happily at him.
"Oh, I didn't know we were just dropping by each other's work." Natsu's expression was challenging her, clearly not sharing in her merriment.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the bar, Loke and Lucy were trying to further investigate just how Gajeel's reconnection with Sue went so horribly wrong.
"Here's a scenario that's paid sexual dividends, particularly in the Asian markets, and Luce I think, you can back me up on this," Loke said smoothly to Gajeel and a confused Lucy.
"But I'm not-"
"Inform her that you're an aerialist for the Cirque du Soleil," Loke finished.
"Gajeel, just ask questions," Lucy quickly rebutted. "Pay attention to her, listen to her, please don't listen to him," she gestured to the honey blonde.
"Oh, believe me Blondie, I don't take advice from him," Gajeel snorted. "Never have, never will."
"So Lucy told me what you asked her yesterday."
"What?"
Natsu got straight to it, not being able stand around and talk like nothing was wrong.
"That you asked if I was sleeping with other people."
"That is not even... I... what?"
"I don't want to play games with you Daphne."
"That's not what happened, okay? I just said something to her, because I was feeling kind of guilty, because I'm, uh... I'm dating other people," she said quickly, "and I just, you know... wanted to see if you were also dating other people."
Natsu was completely taken back by her revelation
"You're dating other people?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Natsu's eyebrows raised. He couldn't believe this. Sure they weren't official but they both were aware that they had a 'thing' going on and Natsu thought that they both respected that. When would she even have the time to see other people? When she wasn't working, she was more than likely hanging out somewhere with him.
"I'm seeing other people, too." Natsu countered quickly. It was an obvious lie.
Daphne's breath hitched. "Wh... good. Good!"
But it still hurt.
"Great."
"Then we're both doing the exact same thing."
"And on the exact same page."
"This is exactly what I want," Daphne lied through her teeth. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go to the bathroom really quick."
Although Lucy couldn't really hear what the conversation was, but based on their body language Lucy could tell things weren't going well, even from across the bar. Her suspicions were then confirmed when she saw Daphne scurry away and into the girls bathroom. Lucy got up and followed her.
Once she entered the tropical themed female restroom of Fairy Tail, Lucy was met face-first with a puffy eyed, tear streaked face Daphne, who, as soon as she saw screwed her face in a mix of disgust and fury.
"Hey... Daphne..."
"Are you serious?!"
"I'm really sorry," Lucy said quickly. "I want to explain-"
"Why would you tell him that I said that!? Do you know what that makes me look like?"
"Um..."
"I see what you're doing," the lawyer continued, voice thick with tears. "I know you think that I'm the mean 'ole lawyer girl who wears suits and probably works too much. And you... you probably think you're the really fun teacher girl, with all the pretty dresses, who everyone thinks is so sweet and nice, and who bakes all the damn time... and eventually, Natsu's going to come running into your arms, and you'll cushion him with your freakishly large boobs and tuck him in under your little blankie-"
"Okay stop! What are you even saying? And what is it with you and this blankie thing? I have never said the word 'blankie'. And I don't talk like Teddy Ruxpin!"
"If I acted the way you act when I'm at work, then nobody would listen to me," Daphne remarked.
"Yeah well, if I acted like you at work," Lucy countered, "my students would turn in really weird, dark poems, so..."
"I don't like you..." Daphne said starkly and spitefully. "And I don't want to be your friend, so..."
"Fine."
"Can you leave, please? Because... I am about to start crying, and God knows, you are... the last person that I want to cry in front of."
Lucy felt tears welling up at the sting of the girl's words but she did her best to blink them back. "I want to cry too, you know, and... you can't make me go because where else am I supposed to cry? You can't monopolize the bathroom crying space."
"Please go." Daphne said sternly.
And with that Lucy silently nodded and rushed out.
The day after their loft hang out at Fairy Tail, Gajeel found that his roommates gave him some new perspective on what to do about Sue. Natsu and his relationship woes showed him what kind of future he didn't want, Loke gave him explicit advice on what not to do, and Lucy helped the man see things from the woman's perspective, at least just a little. So, on Thursday afternoon, Gajeel put on his best suit and tie and headed back over to Sue's restaurant with a pep in his step. She was behind the counters, wiping them clean when she spotted him.
"Gajeel, what are you doing?"
"Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba," he silenced her. "I have come here to listen to you. Now, should I have interrupted you to tell you that? Probably not."
Sue gave him a 'you don't say?' look.
"So how... how are you?" Gajeel continued. "Tell me about your life, and how is everything?"
"Gajeel... what am I supposed to do with this? I was a booty call for two years... and then I was nothing for two years. You show up bragging after all this time like nothing has changed. What do you want me to think?"
"That I'm an idiot. And you know what? You're right, and I'm sorry. It's just that, since I've stopped playing ball, I realize I'm not that good at this. And, quite frankly, you are way out of my league. That's clear now. But... I do hope this isn't the last time I see you, but whatever you want, I'm cool with."
After a moment's silence, Gajeel waited with baited breath for her response.
"I got to... get back to work."
"Yeah, I'll help you," Gajeel offered quickly, getting off of his stool and beginning to collect used plates. "See?"
"Gajeel, I'm the manager."
"Oh shit, you're the manager?!"
"Yeah."
"Wow... that's amazing."
Sue giggled. "It's okay."
Finally, the day of reckoning had come. It was time for Lucy's court hearing. She showed up to the courthouse an hour before she needed to be there just so she could have a game plan for the day's proceeding. After what happened that day at the bar, Lucy wasn't expecting for Daphne to show up, and she certainly didn't want her too. She'd find a way to handle this herself. Before she walked into the courtroom Lucy pulled down her green dress and smoothed the hairs of the side ponytail at the top of her head, tightening the blue ribbon.
Lucy quietly slipped inside and sat until her case was called.
"Case 73. Mr. Sandoval," the judged called.
Just then, Daphne walked in wearing a black pantsuit with a burgundy camisole, and spotted the blonde, going to sit beside her.
"I see you've dressed for the occasion..." Daphne said under her breath.
"Oh. Hi." Lucy said tersely. "You didn't have to come. I'm sure you're very busy."
"I said that I would be here, so I'm here," Daphne said just as snippily.
"Look, I think I can handle-"
"Let's just get this over with."
With that, Daphne effectively silenced her again, making her feel belittled in the process. The blonde decided to focus her energy on the case before she became too emotional and shed a tear or two. She cleared her throat.`
"Your Honor," she squeaked, quietly in a high-pitched voice. No, that wasn't right. "Your Honor," she said huskily. "These are the facts, Your Honor."
"Case 74... Lucy Heartfilia."
Luce and Daphne both sprung up and took their places on the stand.
"Yes, sir! I'm present... sir."
"Okay, listen," Daphne said softly beside her. "You just have to enter the plea yourself, all right, and then I'll do the rest."
"Okay, I got it."
"So you know, all you have to do is say is-"
"I got it!" Lucy snapped. "Thank you."
"How do you plead?" the judge asked, tearing Lucy away from the conversation with Daphne.
"Guilty!" Lucy spazzed. Daphne's head was about to explode.
"What?!"
"Great. Pay your fine upstairs." The judge slammed down the gauntlet, and just like that, it was over.
Needless to say Daphne was very annoyed.
"Well, I guess we're never going to know if the bird defense worked," Daphne said sarcastically as the two women exited the courtroom and walked down the hall. "Such a bummer, too. I mean, I have this tiny pool at my office-"
"Okay, that's enough!" Lucy put her foot down and turned to her nemesis. "I have got something to say to you, man! So yes, maybe I brake for birds. I do rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours. I absolutely spend my entire day talking to children. And I find it fundamentally strange that you're not a dessert person. That's just weird, and it freaks me out. And I'm sorry I don't talk like Murphy Brown. And I hate your freaking pantsuit. I wish it had ribbons on it or something to make it just slightly cuter... And that doesn't mean I'm not smart and tough and strong!"
"Okay...?" Daphne failed to see where she was going with this.
"And I know you like Natsu..." Lucy's whole demeanor softened. "And I'm really not trying to interfere... but you should just talk to him about this."
"Are you done?" Daphne asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"I'm almost done. Now I'm about to go and pay this $800 fine, and my checks have baby farm animals on them, you bitch."
Feeling it was a perfect place to leave on a mic drop moment, Lucy turned her back on the lawyer and power walked down the hallway.
"You're going the wrong way," Daphne pointed out.
Lucy spun on her heel and powerwalked in the other direction, not feeling ashamed at all that she had to pass Daphne twice.
Later that night, Gajeel found himself walking Sue home, side by side on the sidewalk they walked and they talked.
"You moved," Gajeel noticed the upgrade.
"You remember my old place?"
"The place in the hood?"
"No. It was hood-adjacent."
"Whatever," Gajeel replied and they both laughed. They finally reached her doorstep.
"So, um... so this was nice." Gajeel stated.
"Yeah, it was," Sue smiled at him.
"You want to know what I want to do now?" he asked, closing the distance between them with a deepening voice.
"What?"
"Take you on a real date."
Sue couldn't help herself from beaming some more.
"Well why don't you call me? Good night, Gajeel."
He smiled as he watched her walk through the front door of her house, and as soon as she was inside, he then broke out into this slow whining, seizure-like interpretive dance of excitement.
"Gajeel, what's happening?" Sue asked, coming back out her front door looking concerned. The ex-football player quickly caught himself.
"Huh? Oh yeah, good night."
She smiled before closing the door a second time, leaving Gajeel with his thoughts. "What is wrong with you, man? You got no game. That was so stupid."
"Hello? Anyone!" Loke cried from the bathroom. He had just finished taking a shower but there was no towel within grabbing reach. "My towel! Can someone please get my towel? It's in my room next to my Irish walking cape! The... the bigger towel," he added after a moment's thought. "Do not touch the small one."
Desperate times called for desperate measures, so Loke decided to sideways shuffle out of the bathroom and into the living room. Lucy and her two friends were all on the sofa with balls of yarn and needles, knitting up a storm.
"Okay, I left my towel in my room," he announced. "Nobody look. Nobody look... yo."
"We don't want to." Dimaria answered.
"Nobody look... Seriously, no one's looking? All right, forget it."
With all caution being thrown to the wind, he decided to go for the apron that was in the kitchen, accidentally flashing the girls in the process.
"Aah!"
"Damn it!" Loke cried.
"See, he's a natural blond," Lucy pointed out to her friends.
"What shape is that even supposed to be shaved into?" Cana asked.
"I think he's trying to force perspective..." Lucy reasoned.
"Ha ha. Very funny. I got to get something off my chest."
"Loke there is an apron right over there... go cover yourself!" Cana demanded.
"You really are Jewish." Lucy remarked fascinatedly.
"You're making me gayer!" Dimaria yelled in horror.
"Loke, are you going to go on, like, a big wet towel rant?" Lucy asked, after he managed to tie the apron in front of himself.
"No. This is now a sex rant. To wit, six months ago, I thought getting a girl roommate would mean sex all the time... definitely with her friends, and probably with her. Are there women here? Yeah, sure, more than ever. But you..." he pointed at Lucy, "clearly not going to happen. You," he pointed at Cana, "I will never give up. And you..." he looked perplexingly at Dimaria. "Well, why don't you sample from the gumbo pot?"
"Ha!"
"I am in a damp bathroom full of naked women every day, and I hate it! It's like a nightmare. I'm in a... watermelon-themed apron with a... A tampon?" He checked one of the apron pockets, and to his horror found a tampon. "Why would you need this for cooking?!"
"I have a suggestion," Lucy said, raising her hand. "Why don't we just hang our towels on towel bars instead of hooks, and that'll make them dryer?"
"That is the... that is... that is actually a great idea. Quick question for you." Loke directed his question at a very relaxed but slightly annoyed Dimaria. "As a lesbian gynecologist, perhaps, one of these days, do you think the two of us could sit down and... talk about OSI."
"What is OSI?" Dimaria asked, not being familiar with it at all if it was a medical term.
"Our shared interest."
"Loke! Clothe yourself!" Lucy banished him. As such, he scampered off, taking his weird ideas with him.
"All right, all right. It was just a suggestion."
After a about an hour or two of the girlfriends partaking in happy knitting. The doorbell rang, Lucy rang to go answer it. Who she saw immediately caused the smile to fall off of her face. "Oh. Hey."
"Hi," Daphne said nervously. Her hair was down and her glasses were nowhere to be seen and she wore regular jeans and a gray t-shirt.
"Natsu's not here," Lucy informed her.
"Well that's actually what I was hoping for, because I came here to... well, I kind of came because I-I thought it would be good if you and I..."
"Hey, Luce, my hands are actually stuck in the yarn because..." Cana, who was approaching her friend with the yarn of unfinished creation in hand, paused when she saw Daphne. She may have never seen Daphne before this moment, but instantly, Cana knew who it was.
"Oh. I didn't realize that you had people over," Daphne said. "Sorry."
"No, it's just... crochet time..." Lucy said.
"Natsu's not here right now," Cana said defensively. "So you can go... and come back when he is."
"Cana..." Lucy said softly.
"No, no I know," Daphne said, retreating. "I didn't mean to disturb you... I'll just come back later."
"Wait Daphne..." Lucy said. "Do you maybe... want to crochet with us?"
"I mean, growing up was brutal," Daphne shared to the knitting circle as she lounged with them on the couch starting her hat. "I went to an all-girls school, so you could imagine what that was like."
"I had to go an all-girls school for three years in Britain," Lucy shared, weaving her yarn. "It was some of the worst years of my life," she finished in disgust.
"Mine too," Cana added, resting her head on Lucy's shoulder for a moment causing the blonde to smile.
"The worst girls can be so mean to each other..." Dimaria added. Then she paused. "Actually... I think I might've been one of those bitches in school growing up," Dimaria said in newfound revelation. "Although, in my defense, I was frustrated as hell being in the closet all those years."
"Daddy issues," Cana remarked plainly. "I used to be so awful to people for absolutely no reason growing up, but I realized now its because I was hurting over things with my family and I took it out on others. Mainly girls. There was a time when I even bullied Lucy."
"But eventually, I wore her down with kindness and my adorkable heart, and now we're best friends," Lucy said smugly.
Daphne smiled at the two of them and their tightknit friendship.
"This is... this is really nice, you guys," the lawyer stated sincerely. "Thank you for letting me join in. It's totally relaxing. Except that I don't know why, if I put the fox through the cave, it doesn't...!" Daphne stopped when she ended up tearing her yarn.
"What you making?" Lucy inquired. "A hat? Because, if you're making a hat for a baby, then it is done."
Minutes later, Natsu came home. As soon as he opened the front door and was met with Daphne, he was caught off guard.
"Hey... Daphne. What are you doing here?"
"Could I talk to you for a second?"
"Okay..."
Daphne got up, and walked outside with Natsu following behind. He had thought he closed the door, but left a small crack in view, not assuring them total privacy. Regardless, the knitting circle continued their projects fervently, not making an effort to eavesdrop.
Natsu started first.
"Daphne..."
"Stop. No, there's something that I need to say to you."
"All right," he yielded. "Then go ahead."
"Okay. Okay. I'm going to say it." She was shaking with nerves, she had to take deep breaths and wave her hands just to muster up the courage to talk. "I-I wanted to say that... I don't want to date anybody else. I just want to date you."
"Really?" Natsu asked, smile forming.
"Yes," she said in all certainty. "So, then... what about you?"
Natsu smiled. "I'd like that too."
Daphne beamed. "So does that mean like... you're, like, my boyfriend now?"
"Eh, I'm not really into labels," he teased, putting his arms around her waist.
"Yeah, all right... boyfriend."
"That's so lame."
"You're totally going to... carry my books home from school."
"I will if you wear my leatherman jacket."
"It's "letterman" jacket babe."
"No, I'm pretty sure it's a leatherman jacket."
"Natsu you letter..."
"The leather sleeves that the football guys wear?"
"Natsu, I'm right. I'm just right."
Lucy looked on through the crack in the door as the two bantered and flirted with one another. She smiled, happy to see them reconcile their differences. The two continued on like that for a while before they pulled each other in close for a slow, loving kiss. The longer Lucy continued to watch them, the more her smile gradually faltered.
She, after a while, tore her eyes away from the couple, shaking the weird feelings away, and decided to continue to focus on knitting with her friends with a smile.
"I'm glad you pitched a fit," Gajeel said in the bathroom, admiring the new towel racks. "Because my towel is very dry."
"I didn't pitch a fit," Loke responded, grabbing hold of his baby blue towel. "I just... Damp! Damn it! Everybody! Bathroom NOW!"
Natsu, Lucy and Daphne all came rushing to the bathroom at the urgency in Loke's voice.
"What's up, Dad?"
"What is it, Celeste?"
"Is someone playing a joke on me? Honestly, why is my towel still damp!?" He said, shaking his towel.
"Because that isn't your towel," Natsu said matter-of-factly. "It's my towel, Loke."
"No, it's not your towel," Loke said. "Your towel is the red one," he pointed to the red towel on the rack farthest from the shower stall.
"Well I can tell you that I've never used that one. I do use that one every single day."
"Oh, God," Loke panicked silently.
"This towel's so warm and fluffy," Lucy said, holding the unused red towel and even rubbing it on her face. "It's like it's been in the sun forever!"
"This means you two have been drying your junk with the same towel!" Gajeel pointed out, hardly containing his laughter.
"Ooh, wanky," Daphne commented.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Loke screamed.
"What do you mean, am I..."
"How do you think this is your towel? Do you even wash it?!"
"No, I don't wash the towel," Natsu declared with zero shame. "The towel washes me. Who washes a towel? That's stupid."
"You never wash... You never wash your towel?! You never wash the towel?!"
"What am I going to do?" he asked incredulously. "Wash the shower next? Wash a bar of soap? You got to think here, pal."
"I'm furious right now."
"I get out of the damn shower, I'm clean as a damn baby, and I use the towel."
"Natsu, you filthy, filthy boy... Let me ask you this: have you been wearing my underpants?"
"Sometimes, yeah," Natsu said casually. Everyone groaned in disgust.
"Who cares?" He said defiantly to his friends. Loke, however, was beside himself with rage.
"Natsu you know that sort of thing triggers my OCD!"
"I think OCD is just an excuse for you to be picky about everything," the pinkette responded flippantly.
"IT'S AN ACTUAL MEDICAL CONDITION!"
"Well I think it's a hoax."
"What OCD?"
"No, medical conditions."
"WHAT?!"
"The government could just make up anything and you people will eat it up. WAKE UP SHEEPLE! THINK FOR YOURSELVES!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU NATSU? EVERYTHING IS NOT A CONSPIRACY!"
"YOU REALLY WANNA GO THROUGH THIS WITH ME AGAIN?!"
"We should go," Lucy said quietly. She grabbed Daphne's wrist to take her back to the living room to knit. "They could go on like this for a while."
The two girls retreated into the living room for some more knitting circle, with Loke's screams echoing into the den.
"AND FOR GOD'S SAKE NATSU, TAKE OFF THE TIN-FOIL CONDOM!"
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I was really excited, so I ended up knocking this one out faster than usual. Big thanks to rao hyuga 18 and anneryoko for reviewing the last chapter! I'm always glad to see your support, even with just a small comment or a super sweet and long review (thanks for the well wishes on school anneryoko!), reviews tend to motivate me (and every other writer on this site) to update.
Until next time!