outlines | nalu oneshots☽

015 | scent

It was always great to get home after a long day. For Lucy, it was even greater, because she was usually gone for weeks or even month. After days of sleeping on floors, hotels or wherever else, embracing the familiar scent of your home after you completed a mission was just the best. The blonde breathed in and looked around. Coming home was really great. But she would have enough time to enjoy it tomorrow. The only thing she wanted to do today was to go to sleep.

The very first thing she saw when she entered her bedroom was the salmon haired boy sitting at her bed, back leaning against it. The blue cat that was always by his side was sitting next to him, a fish in his mouth. Wait a second; that was the fish she wanted to use to make breakfast tomorrow. And the boy was calmly drinking her juice, as if it was the most natural thing of the world.

"Hey, Lucy." The boy said.

Usually, Lucy would have freaked out upon seeing the uninvited guest in her house, but it happened so often, that she wasn't even surprised anymore to see him here. Besides, she was tired. So she just raised an eyebrow and stared at the duo annoyed. At their questioning looks, she sighed, walked towards the boy and grabbed the juice out of his hands.

"Hey!" He protested, but Lucy was merciless today.

"Get out of my house, Natsu!" She said, sounding almost bored. "And you too, Happy!"

"What's up with Lucy today?" Happy asked his lifelong friend.

"We don't wanna go home, right Happy?" Natsu grinned at his cat.

"Aye!" the cat answered.

"'Aye' my ass!" Lucy growled, now seeming dangerously ticked. "I want you out of my house now!"

Natsu and Happy both looked at the Celestial Mage as if not being able to comprehend what she had just said. Then, both of them blinked simultaneously and tilted their heads.
Not in any mood to deal with them, Lucy gazed at the ceiling in exasperation and sent a prayer before shifting her attention back at the duo.

"Listen up," She said sternly, "I'm going to take a bath now. I want you gone as soon as I'm finished or you'll regret it." And with that, the blonde was gone.

"Lucy's acting weird today.." Happy said and Natsu nodded in agreement.

"Oh well, nothing we can do about it. She always takes forever, so we still have some time before she gets out. Let's relax a bit."

And with that, Natsu hopped on his friend's bed and relaxed. For some reason, that not even he himself knew, relaxing was really easy on Lucy's bed. Maybe it was because it was so nice and soft.

And it wasn't just the bed; everything in her apartment screamed of Lucy.

There was the scent, all the books that she owned, the color of her floor and walls, the tidiness and even every single piece of decoration was proof enough that she was living here. But the bed was the best thing about the entire apartment. It smelled so much like Lucy that Natsu's became all dazed. In a matter of minutes, he was fast asleep, being quieter and more relaxed than anywhere else.

And so he stayed until Lucy came out of the bath. She hadn't really expected Natsu to be gone. After all, he could out-power her anytime if he really got serious.

Her plan was to call Erza and tell her that Natsu had been peeking when she was bathing or something, that way Titania would personally make sure that Natsu would not step another foot into Lucy's apartment for the next few months.

What she hadn't expected was to see him fast asleep on her bed. But when she thought about it, it wasn't that surprising. And seeing him sleeping safe and soundly, the Celestial Mage didn't really have the heart to kick him out either. That meant that she would spend another night on the couch.