From Puppy to Prince

Music in My Ears and a Song in My Heart

"Hey Happy, I'm gonna go home. You can stay here, ok?" Happy nodded, knowing form the look in his eyes that he needed some alone time. Natsu stood from the bar, waving to the rest of the guild. "See ya guys!" A chorus of mismatched goodbyes echoed throughout the guild as the fire dragon slayer left. A certain blonde mage watched, curious as to why Natsu was leaving without Happy. Those two rarely went anywhere separately, so seeing him tell Happy to stay and Happy actually listening, well that was nearly unheard of!

After Natsu had left, Lucy turned to Mira, "Hey Mira, do you think Natsu has been acting a little different? I mean since we came back this morning."

"Now that you mention it, he has been a bit quiet. Maybe the job took more out of him than he wants to let on?" The white haired woman smiled at Lucy, "I wouldn't worry. He will be back to normal in no time!"She then went back to wiping off the counter with a rag. A few minutes later, Mira noticed that Lucy was still preoccupied with thoughts of the fire mage. "You know, you could always just go to his house and see what's up..."

Lucy's eyes lit up as she got up quickly. "You're right! Thanks Mira!" She ran out of the guild, making her way out of Magnolia to Natsu's cottage-like house. Watching the blonde girl leave, Mira smirked. Her plan for the two partners seemed to be coming together nicely.

~*~*~*~

Panting, Lucy made her way up the slight hill to the little house at the top. As she neared, she thought she could hear someone's voice. Her footsteps slowed, wanting to be quiet, as she realized it was Natsu, but he wasn't talking. For a moment, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lucy crept up to the window and peeked in.

There was Natsu, sitting in the middle of the floor, with papers strewn about him. That wasn't what was most odd. In his hands was a guitar, and he appeared to be singing while playing it. "I didn't know he could play..." Lucy murmured.

She sat there watching him strum his guitar lazily as he looked around him. He shifted some of the papers, changing the melody to whatever was written. It took her a minute to realize he must have written the song himself, because it wasn't one that she had ever heard of before. Lucy watched as Natsu took a breath, then opened his mouth to start singing again. It took her a moment to realize he was singing about the guild and their adventures. In her head, she commented every now and then, eventually settling to just listen.

"When you're ice-makes cold," That's Gray... "Tarot cards all fold," And that's Cana. "And these doors stay locked, With the keys we hold," She figured out that line was about her. "When your ship sets sail, And your stomach fails," She giggled a bit at that, watching Natsu make a face. "You can find your balance in Fairy Tail, You cannot hide from me, Cause we're a family," Lucy nodded at this, smiling slightly. "Just let the beast inside, Take over don't you cry, If you stay close to me, Remember you'll, Be freed, The evil king will call, Dorma Anim will fall." Lucy frowned, remembering the Edolan creation.

"Now these, Oracion Seis, Will bring the, Darkest days, But I'll stay by your side, During this, Demon fight, I've got a, Fire in me, And I know inside, I can feel it burn, The dragons will return!" Lucy realized this was the chorus, and while she frowned again at the mention of the six demons, the next line had her thinking. Who was this written for? Not for the first time since the Puppy Potion job did she get butterflies because of thoughts of Natsu.

"You've aching bones, And you're out of home, And you've lost your way, You're not alone, Hold your hand up high, To the light of day, Though there's miles, Between us, I'm looking your way, Why do you always frown? When the rain comes down, They say you just bring gloom, I'll stay here next to you, If you stay close to me, Remember you, You'll be freed, Zeref even Jellal, The darkest guilds will fall." Lucy couldn't get the butterflies to stop, and they just got worse the more Natsu sang. His voice was in tune, nothing like when Gajeel sings. She felt that she needed to hear the rest of the song without the pane of glass between them, so she stood and slowly opened the door, walking inside, standing just out of eye sight. It amazed her that Natsu hadn't noticed her yet. Normally his dragon senses would've alerted him to her presence by now.