STAR-CROSSED | NALU

04 | girls' day out

"Lucy!" a cheerful voice echoed from the other side of the station.

"Levy!" Lucy cheered once she spotted her in the distance.

She excitedly ran towards her, jumping into her arms and a warm bear hug. Levy let her suitcase fall and held her tightly, both ignoring the judging stares they were being given by other arrivals.

"I missed you so much!" Lucy wailed into her hair.

They had a significant height difference– Levy was about a head shorter than Lucy– so hugging always felt like a mother and child's embrace. But it worked for them; the bluenette liked burying her face into her chest, and the blonde enjoyed resting her chin on her head, so they didn't mind.

"I've missed you too!" Levy smiled when she pulled away.

Her eyes enlarged with concern when she saw her best friend's face, thick tears trickling down her cheeks.

"A-are you crying?!" she asked, stunned. "What's wr– hey, it's okay..."

She pulled her in again, rubbing her back as she let her sob, shushing her quietly.

"It's just that," Lucy explained in between sniffles. "I never realised how lonely I've been feeling until now, and it's all surfacing."

She could admit that she'd been feeling overwhelmed since finding out her co-star was Natsu, and the events that transpired after, but she never actually noticed how isolated she'd been feeling until that very moment.

"Oh, Lucy," Levy cooed, chuckling as she shook her head in endearment. "Well, I'm here now."

It was the middle of summer, marking the end of the school year for students and time off for their teachers. So, Levy had travelled from Magnolia to visit her best friend in the capital.

Her apartment was big enough, so Lucy decided that she should stay with her the whole time. And Crocus had enough attractions, so they'd never run out of activities while she was here.

They took the scenic route home, so the tourist in Levy could admire all of Crocus's sights and scenery on their way to Lucy's apartment.

When they reached said apartment building, she let out a dramatic gasp.

"This is where you live?!" she exclaimed.

Lucy shrugged in response. She was used to the sight by now.

Levy skipped excitedly to the main doors. Before she could reach them, a man opened them and walked out. She failed to stop herself in time, bumping into him.

She looked up, a pair of dark eyes looking back down at her. She blushed under his gaze and thought she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink too.

"Sorry," she mumbled, apologetically.

Lucy gasped. "Gajeel! I'm so sorry, I forgot we had a session today!"

Levy blinked at the man. So he was the infamous personal trainer? She had to admit, he was a lot different than how she imagined him.

The way Lucy had described him, she practically envisioned some hideous, viscous beast. This man was far from it. He looked... attractive, definitely not hideous. She had yet to decide about the viscous beast part.

"Anyway," Lucy continued. "Could we please cancel today, please please?" she clasped her hands together and pleaded.

Gajeel cleared his throat and returned his attention to Lucy, who was confidently rambling about how she would work ten, no, a hundred times harder in their next session. He looked back to her short friend, who was silently watching in anticipation.