prompt fifty six: lost and found

rate: T for Teens and Up

Fifty six out of one hundred.

I finally got around to posting best friend's little sister/Queen Lucy prompts into separate stories. Now as you have an easier time finding these prompts and enjoying these stories as their own, make sure you enjoy this one as well. Bon appetite.

"When my soul was in the lost-and-found, You came along to claim it."—Carole King

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Natsu scowled at nothing in particular, walking down the streets of Magnolia after a brutal shift at the firehouse. His body ached and he was dead tired after working a twelve hour shift, wanting nothing more than to lay in his bed and be dead to the world for a good couple hours or so. His stomach rumbled but that wasn't anything new—he could maybe find something to microwave at home or maybe even stop at some fast food joint.

The flyers that were stuck to the light posts flapped annoyingly as the wind blew and as Natsu looked up at the darkened sky, the afternoon turned into evening, he hoped there would be no rain.

And as he trekked down the streets of Magnolia with little to no people who were heading out or into work, his nose caught a whiff of something delicious and something greasy.

A burger joint that had just opened up down the street from his place looked very appetizing, especially after a long, hard day at work. This would be so much easier to eat than him having to rummage through his fridge and microwave days old food. And he had a high chance he could eat this on the way to his house so he could kill two birds with one stone.

Making a detour for the nice place, Natsu was pleased to see a kiosk sitting in the corner. He didn't want to talk to more people if he didn't have to and going right to the machine, he punched in his order of three burgers and two large fries with a large drink before paying.

Waiting for the meal took the longest and it ticked him off even more considering he was one out of the four fucking people waiting. How long would it take for someone to slap together a burger? Apparently twenty five fucking minutes long. For a fast-food joint, this was definitely not fast enough and Natsu was ripping through his first burger before he was out the door.

With the bag clutched to his side protectively, his drink in his other hand, Natsu shoved through the door with said burger in his mouth. He tripped as he came out of the restaurant, cursing out loud and stumbling where his drink went flying right in front of him and onto the very concrete. He watched in complete utter disbelief and disappointment at his drink that painted the concrete dark with its liquid and he let out a groan before he turned back to glare at whatever was in his way.

But to his surprise, it wasn't just trash or even a foot or maybe even nothing but air but a small fluffy white dog that couldn't weigh more than twenty pounds right in front of him. He curiously went to Natsu's spill, sniffing at it before lapping up his sugar juice.

His usual white fur had black and other markings over it, showing it was out and about causing havoc but Natsu knew instantly this couldn't just be a stray dog. One, because it was certainly well-fed and plump in the way that a normal street dog wouldn't carry and two, he could clearly see the pink collar that wrapped around his fluffy neck.

And the dog wasn't running away from him in fear but simply standing there with its tail held high and an annoying bark that had his lips tugging downwards.

While he was dead set on his evening plans, Natsu was an animal lover himself. Though he was more of a cat person, he certainly did not harbor any ill feelings towards the dog species so he felt like he had to do something. Even if the little shit tripped him and caused the death of his precious drink. Someone was surely worried sick about their beloved animal gone missing and as he looked around to see if anyone was barreling down the street looking for a lost pup, he let out a sigh before wrapping up his half-eaten burger and bending down into a squat.

"You lost, buddy?"

The instant bark that came from the dog relayed his response and Natsu held out his hand for him to come near, seeing how the small thing cautiously inched over to take a sniff. Once he deemed Natsu worthy, his tail started to swing back and forth at a rapid speed and came rushing into his palm, wanting to get more pets.

A small smile curled up and as he held his palm out, the dog came closer and he had a chance to scoop him up in his arms. Not minding the dirt and other shit that stained his white fur, Natsu knew he wasn't the cleanest either right now so he ignored it.

The puppy squirmed in his arms but Natsu kept him firm against his chest, turning his collar to squint at the small lettering of an address and a name.

"Plue… huh." He said out loud which made the dog bark back at the sound of his name. "Weird name but… I guess. Alright blue with a P," he popped the letter, trying to juggle everything that was in his arms. "Time to take you back home."

Natsu decided this was a smart dog as he barked twice back, taking it as his response to his words. He kept a good distance between his bag of food and the dog, seeing how he was trying to take a sniff and wiggle around.

The address wasn't too far from where he was and it only added an extra ten minutes to his walk but he kind of hoped he might get some kind of reward for returning this damn dog. Maybe even a nice drink to replace the one this little shit dropped. That was the least this weirdo who named their dog blue with a P could do for him. He just found their lost dog who could have been wandering the streets for a bit.

Thinking about that, Natsu felt a bit bad as he adjusted the takeout bag in his arms before digging into it. He pulled out a couple of fries, taking one with his teeth before bringing it over to Plue's face to sniff.

Once he had concluded it smelt delicious, he was instantly slobbering and going for the little fries that Natsu held out.

That was all he was getting. He was lucky he even gave him one.

Turning a corner, Natsu squinted at the street signs to see where he was and where he had to go, following direction towards the dog's owner's place as he finally saw it coming into view.

He quickly rushed the rest of the way, wanting nothing more than to go right to bed after this, seeing how he did his good deed for the day. Hell, he'll count it for the entire week at this point.

Finally making it to the building, Natsu entered the apartment complex where he was greeted with a set of stairs or doors to other apartments. He looked back on Plue's collar, trying to see if there was an apartment number on it and when he figured out his owner lived upstairs, he let out another small groan.

"I better have some good karma coming my way sometime soon…" he grumbled as he took the stairs by two, food still tucked in one arm while the other had a dog in it. He walked down the small hall, passing the doors that didn't have 2A labeled on it before he finally stood in front of a wooden door. "Is this your place, buddy?"

The bark he produced confirmed it for Natsu so he bent down to drop his bag of food to the side before knocking on the wooden door. He waited for a moment as he didn't hear anything, hoping someone was home because he really wasn't going to wait here all night. He knocked again, harder this time, trying not to make it seem like he was pounding on their door like some ape.

After a heartbeat, he was relieved to hear something coming from the other end and he took a step back to give them some space in between. He tapped his foot impatiently, the dog still cradled against his chest.

Finally, after what felt like years, the door swung open. "I found your—" he found himself at a loss of words at the sight that was bestowed on him.

Was this his good karma already coming back?

Standing in front of him on the other side of the door was a short blonde who was dripping wet from her head to her toes, white fluffy towel tightly wrapped around herself as she looked up at him with wide chocolate eyes. She blinked up at him as he stood there with his jaw slack, his eyes pinned on her face before it caught sight of a bead of water trailing down from her neck down her chest.

She gave him an odd look till her eyes fell on what he held and her eyes widened before a gasp flew out, one hand flying up to cover her parted lips.

"Plue!"

What did she just say?

"Where did you find my dog?!"

Natsu looked down to realize she was talking about the dog and he was quick to return back to earth, blinking dumbly at the barking pup that squirmed and wagged its tail, trying to return back to its owner.

"O—oh, um, yeah, I found your dog." He quickly pushed the dog into her arms as she happily accepted.

Plue was all over her, licking at her face and rubbing itself all over her in affection. She giggled as she held onto him tight, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.

"Plue, you little bastard! How could you run away from mommy? I missed you so much!"

The little yapper was loud as he nuzzled himself into her chest, something he found completely idiotic that he was jealous of a damn dog.

"Oh, thank you so much for bringing him back home! I was really worried!"

His eyes dragged back up to see the flushed beaming face of the woman, a bright smile on her face to show her sincerity.

"Where did you find him?"

"Oh, uh, at that new burger joint place by Saber Ave." He jerked his thumb behind him as if it was right there. "He kind of tripped me on my way out and spilled my drink everywhere."

"Oh!" She gasped before turning to her dog, grabbing at him to bring him to face her while she frowned, brow furrowing in an adorable manner. "Bad Plue! What did mommy say about begging for food? You could have hurt this nice man!" She let out a small huff when he licked at her nose before she turned back to face him. "I am so sorry about that. Let me repay you!"

"No, it's cool. You don't—"

"No, that's nonsense! Let me at least replace your drink for you." She waved him off as she bent down to drop Plue down on the ground. "You're getting a bath, mister!" She said, holding her finger up at the dog. He seemed to understand exactly what she said as he turned on his tail and rushed out of there, whimpering like a sad child.

When she stood back up, she gave him a grin. "Let me grab that drink for you real quick!"

Natsu opened his mouth to tell her it's fine one last time but she didn't give him a chance as she turned and walked right back inside of her place. She left the door wide open with him standing outside and he gaped in disbelief, now knowing how this little rascal escaped with how she just left her doors open, especially with a stranger on the other side. He could clearly see into her place and very obviously just walk right in.

He suddenly felt glad it was him who found the dog and nobody else seeing how trusting this woman was. Luckily for her, he wasn't some weird crazy bastard and he stood there, waiting, as he looked inside her very nice cozy apartment.

It wasn't small by any means but it was still a studio where he could see her queen size mattress all the way on the other side pressed against the window. Pink comforter with fluffy white pillows. A beat up but nice looking couch in one end facing a television and a desk that was adjacent to it. A bookshelf that was full of books and papers that scattered all over her desktop. A small kitchen with a wall that separated the living room and kitchen, noting the open bathroom that had steam rolling out of it.

He thought the place looked really nice and actually very homey. He wouldn't mind living in a place like this.

When the woman returned, she had a bag in her hands and what clearly looked like two bottles tucked away inside. She had a smile to her lips and a slight blush painted on her cheeks, towel still wrapped around her curvaceous body and hair still wet from her shower.

"I didn't know what you'd like so I put one bottle of juice and one bottle of tea. Thanks again…" She trailed off as he extended his hand, his brows jumping up as he realized she was asking for his name.

"Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

"Well, Natsu," her smile tipped further up as he took the bag from her. "I'm Lucy and you already know Plue," she sighed softly, rolling her eyes. "Thanks again for bringing him back home. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah.. it was no problem. Thanks for the, uh, drinks." He tipped his arm up slightly to show her the bag she just gave to him and she giggled slightly.

"Anytime." She said in a soft purr and his eyebrow raised at the way she bit down on her bottom lip and smiled shyly at him. She leaned against the side of her door, one hand holding onto the doorknob from the inside while the other fiddled with the one on the outside. "Are you a firefighter?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, how'd you know?"

"Your outfit." She pointed out making him look down to see his firefighter's t-shirt and cargo pants on. A small chuckle and blush rushed up to his cheeks, feeling embarrassed. "Unless you're just some kind of weirdo that likes to dress as firefighters and return their missing dogs."

"I could be," he shrugged, smirking slightly at the wide-eyed look she gave him. "I can see how your dog escaped in the first place. You know how dangerous it is to just leave your door open, especially with a stranger on the other side of it?"

"Well, I trusted you wouldn't do anything." She shrugged nonchalantly and he furrowed his brows.

"We just met."

"Yeah, but you brought Plue back home so you had to be someone with a good heart."

He blinked at her stupidly as he processed her words. She was right. She had good intuition and he was a good person. Or at least he thought so.

"Well, just make sure you're keeping your doors locked and being safe on your own, okay?" He gave her a genuine look of worry and as she stared up at him in what looked like complete awe, he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Ummm… okay." She flushed as well, looking down shyly at the space between them. "Thank you… Natsu."

"You're welcome," he cleared his throat, looking away bashfully. "Lucy."

He bent back down to grab at his bag of takeout and tucked it into the side of his arm once again, holding the bag of drinks tightly in his hands. "Well… Goodnight."

"Oh, um," she hesitated, looking back up at him. "Um, do you think we could maybe see each other again?"

"Huh?" He knew he sounded stupid as he looked at the woman in utter surprise, seeing how her adorable red face glowed.

"I… I left my information inside the bag," she pointed at the drink bag he held, his eyes flickering down to look at it before looking back up. "I'd really like to thank you by buying you lunch or even a cup of coffee one of these days. I was really heartbroken when Plue first ran off and I'm just really grateful."

Secretly, Natsu was jumping for joy inside at the thought of having her number. He was going to be a bit bummed out if he had left without at least trying to get her contact but he wasn't going to push anything, especially since she was just in her towel. He didn't want her to think he was hitting on her just because she didn't have any clothes on.

"Yeah, that'll be great. Thanks!" He gave her a bashful grin. "I was going to ask anyway if you maybe wanted to, uh, see each other again."

The way her eyes lit up made his chest flutter and he smiled as she stepped closer.

"We'll get in touch and figure out a day. Thank you so much once again, I'm sorry to bother you—"

"Uh… Lucy?"

"—and I know it's late so it was probably out of your way to do something like this. Plue is a menace sometimes, I swear. But he's never run out on his own!"

"Lucy!"

"Huh?" She stopped talking to look up at him and when her eyes finally landed on his face, she blinked up at him. "What's wrong?"

With his entire face red and jaw slacked, Natsu tried his hardest not to stare as he rolled his eyes up and glared at the ceiling. "Ummm… your… your towel… it, uh, it fell."

A very long awkward silence passed by them and as Natsu squeezed his eyes shut at her shriek, he could only be greeted with a slam of a door. The slam was so loud, it echoed in the hall and he could only let out a shudder as his head tilted down and he stared at his shoes.

Holy. Fucking. Shit

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Fin