Sweetheart

66

A/N: Hey all. Sorry for the slow updates. I have COVID again.

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Natsu pried his eyes open and cursed at the pounding in his head. He groaned when the sun started to leak through the curtains and buried his head under a pillow. It hurt when he breathed, and his heart was pounding, which was, of course, not helping with the situation either. He took in a deep breath and froze. It smelled different. His head slowly emerged from the barricade of pillows that he had built to defend himself from the window and he looked around.

"What the fuck?"

After taking another quick look around, much to the dismay of the pain that occurred in his eyes when he moved them, and confirmed that this was not his room. Natsu looked at the door in thought before something crossed his mind. There was that girl last night...

"Fuck!"

He forced himself out of bed and quickly opened the bedroom door. His confusion returned when he took in the familiar surroundings. He squinted his eyes and staggered down the hallway before coming face to face with Aina's bedroom door.

"Thank fuck."

His hand went up to knock on the door when his eye caught movement by the stairs.

"I'm glad to see you're up," Kelia chipperly greeted. "Let's get something in you to help with that hangover that I'm sure you have."

"Where's Aina?"

"Work. She'll be home around four."

Natsu dragged himself down the stairs and flopped into his usual seat in the dining room. He picked at the eggs and toast that sat in front of him and silently thanked Kelia for the large glass of orange juice. Kelia had joined him and smiled at the salmon haired boy and his attempts to eat.

"So did you have fun last night?"

"Uh, I don't really know."

"Well as long as you didn't get into any trouble."

"Miss Labelle, what time did I get here?"

"Aina dragged you in a little before three."

He nodded and finished the food before bringing his plate into the sink. Kelia watched him carefully, partly to make sure he didn't fall over, partly because she was trying to figure him out.

"Do you need to get home?"

"I have work at ten tonight."

Kelia smiled and waved him towards the door, grabbing her keys and walking to her car. Natsu slowly made his way over to the passenger seat and dragged himself into the car. Once the car turned on, music started playing from the radio, causing Natsu to moan in discomfort. Kelia laughed quietly and turned it off, pulling out of the driveway and starting towards Natsu's apartment building.

"If you feel up for it, you should come over for dinner tonight before you go to work."

Natsu slowly nodded and sighed when they pulled into the parking area. He waved goodbye to Kelia and thanked her for the ride before buzzing himself in. He took one look at the elevator and glared at it, turning towards the stairs and groaning.

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"Miss Aina, do you think you could help me feed the cats?"

"Sure thing, Wendy. Just be careful of Charle. She's kind of grumpy today because she had to change collars."

Wendy giggled and wiggled her finger on the glass as a greeting to the white cat.

"A, I have to restock the Blue Wilderness. Think you can watch the front?"