His Heart's Key | nalu

16. Can You Get Any Cleaner Than This?

[ S i x t e e n ]
⇽❦⇾

"Happy birthday dear Romeo,  happy birthday to you!" I clapped along as I was finally given a short break, before I had to resume putting dirty pizza plates away and bringing out the small desert ones for cake.

A customer had booked the cafe to host his sons birthday party, and boy did that mean I had to work overtime. It was nearly done, as parents and such were beginning to to patiently wait outside the doors, sending my sympathetic looks as I limped behind the kids who wouldn't give away their forks — apparently having them wedged between their teeths was a better place in their opinion.

I let out a short breath as I finally stood on the side, wiping my forehead and watching all these kids aimlessly chatter. I was almost jealous, oh how I'd love to go back to those times where my biggest worries was my outfit for the next day, or whether my crush would notice me. I small smile came onto my face, then I hurried back into the kitchen to wash the dishes and help the chefs, it wasn't much easier for them.

Finally, as if my prayers were finally heard, the kids began to leave and I started to wipe down the cake bits from the other tables and pizza sauce stuck to the chairs. With the fact that we were running low on waitresses today, none of them available for the late evening shift I knew this was going to take a while with the amount of tables there were.

"I see you do have some skills." Came an observation that someone chose to voice from behind me.

I turned slowly, not in the mood to fight with him because I was so emotionally drained, not to forget I had a workload of Chemistry and Biology homework to get back to, and I didn't understand it at all.

"Why are you here?" I asked Natsu with a sigh.

He tilted his head towards his younger sister Wendy, whom I hadn't noticed until now. She was talking to a couple of her friends, letting out a few giggles here and there seeing as she had also not realized her ride was here.

"Oh." Was all I said, and turned back to scrubbing underneath the tables. I could deal with Natsu tomorrow.

"You're barely standing, why would you force yourself to do something you clearly can't?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

"I can do it very well, thank you!" I replied hotly. If an argument was what he was looking for from tired and cranky Lucy, then an argument he would get.

"I bet you I could do it better."

"I bet you you'd fail."

He scoffed. Looking towards one of the brooms laying by the side. "I bet you couldn't even broom as well as me." Then he grabbed one and started cleaning with a smug smirk on his face. Honestly, I wasn't sure what type of game he was trying to play, but I'd let him do whatever he wanted. Getting back to the rest of the tables, I had finished roughly the same time as he had finished brooming. Wendy was now watching us through tired eyes, all of her friends long gone. Not choosing to say anything, she preferred to just put her head down.

All that was left now was mopping, mopping and then I could spend the rest of the night finishing up work. That almost felt like heaven to me compared to what I was doing now.

I glanced at the mops the same time Natsu did, coincidently there were two left for the other waitress who bailed last minute. I could hear the chefs beginning to was up inside the kitchen and I knew there wasn't long until they were closing the cafe down, I would have to hurry.

We both made a dash for them, a mutual agreement now that may the best person mop the fastest. Suddenly, a rush of adrenaline made me want to prove him wrong, that I was better than him on this, so I furiously plunged the the mop into the bucket of water and scrubbed all the dirt and grime from the floors.

Natsu also followed me, and soon after was catching up to me at an alarmingly fast speed. It was neck and neck until one of use were close to reaching the half point and—

"Done." Natsu stated proudly, a wide smirk on his face as the fight had left me a while ago and I was practically forcing myself to finish these last tiles. 

"You're so slow." And Natus quickly wiped those ones as well.

I glared at him, "Thanks."

He shrugged. "Take defeat as it is, Lucy."

It felt so weird hearing him say my name, foreign because the rare times he did it would always be addressed in hate. Huh.

I gladly practically threw my apron off, and Natsu was gently trying to wake up Wendy. I'm guessing it was way past her bedtime. I smiled at the sight, it was nice viewing Natsu in a way that didn't make him seem as much of a monster.

"Thanks," I said, softly at most as I left, but I know he heard it. And I was thankful. For the almost extra hour he gave me to focus on my school work, I was grateful. As I walked the short route back to my apartment, I saw Natsu carrying a sleeping Wendy and gently placing her into the back seat. He closed the door and leaned against it outside, his eyes closed in thought. I was sure that those same concerns would probably come to me too as I tried to sleep on those couple of hours later than night. Everything was such a mess and not at all how I wanted or even expected it to be.

⇽❦⇾