Nalu one shots

#8 Is it worth it?

Lucy and Natsu have been a married couple since two years. These last couple of months there were a lot of conflicts, neither side having time to spend with each other. They kind of drifted away. Their friends try to help them by making them remember their good times.

Enjoy :)
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The door being closed made Lucy look up from her phone. She sat at the dinner table. Two plates with food were placed neatly on the table, along with glasses of wine.

"I'm sorry," the pink haired man began, holding up his hands. He promised he would be home early so they could finally spend some time together.

Their schedules were hectic, with the man, Natsu, usually working till midnight and Lucy working in the morning and afternoon.

They barely saw each other and they live in the same house. For Pete's sake, they sleep in the same bed. They've been married for two years already and it had never been this dull. They didn't make time for each other, when they saw each other in bed there was no real connection, both tired from work so they fell asleep quickly.

"You said you would be here by seven," Lucy began, looking at the clock. It was 8.30pm.

"My boss wouldn't let me go," Natsu responded, taking off his coat and shoes.

Lucy took a deep breath. Always the same. "Work this, work that. When do you even have time for me?" she said, beginning to eat her already cooled off dinner.

"I am really trying, Luce," he said, looking extremely apologetic. He quietly took a seat at the table, his heart clenching when he saw she made his favorite food.

"It looks amazing," he said, hoping to lighten up the mood.

She put her spoon down, looking him dead in the eye. "Trying is not enough," she said quietly. "We haven't spent time together lately. We've been caught up with life."

"I never see you in the morning either. Why are you blaming me for the lack of connection," Natsu said, grabbing a chicken wing.

"I let you sleep in because you work till midnight every time. Sleep is important, you know."

"Then stop victimizing," he began, raising his voice slightly, cramming his mouth with food. It tastes amazing, but he doubts he should be complimenting her kitchen skills right now.

Lucy's eyes widened. How dare he? She clenched her hand. "Victimizing?"

"'You're not making time for us','you're not trying hard enough'. I bet you say how horrible I am to your friends. Gosh that's why Erza got angry at me when I worked till 11pm one time. My work is very demanding but it pays off well if I do it right. If I make one honest mistake or make the boss mad I'm done for. So, sorry that I couldn't be here at 7pm, but I'm here now and that's all that should matter."

She gritted her teeth, eyeing her husband painfully. "You really don't mind the time we don't spend together, do you?"

"Why the hell do you think I don't?" he half shouted, standing up. "Of course I do mind, but I can't change it. This is our life. This is the real world and it doesn't make an exception for anyone."

"I don't want to live this life," Lucy said, also raising her voice. "I don't want to eat dinner alone every day. I don't want to walk through the house knowing damn well I'm alone. I shouldn't need to voice out my feelings of abandonment."

"Abandonment?" Natsu shouted, his eyes widening. "Gosh stop putting all the blame on me. You're never home either when I'm home. Always leaving before I wake up, always sleeping before I even come back home—"