His Heart's Key | nalu

23. The Calm Before the Storm

[ T w e n t y  T h r e e ]
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The next few days stretched into weeks, of utmost bliss for me. No disruptions, and it felt like I was in Lala land with Natsu. Maybe this was the honey moon period for all relationships, but I didn't want it to end. A surprised greeted us instead, as we were walking back to my apartment.

"Your tie is backwards." I smirked, glancing at his school uniform as we walking up the stairs. We were at the cafe I worked at, and it seemed almost odd to be there without working there, it wasn't as much of a hateful place.

He glared at me. "You were the one who ruined it, you know," and then a smirk appeared on his features. "Not that mine is that bad, I mean, look at your shirt."

Now it was my time to be embarrassed. Once we had left the cafe, we opted to kiss in the somewhat dark alley beside the place. It wasn't much, just a little groping and mindful hands that made it look like we did something a lot worse when walking out.

I unlocked the keys to my apartment, waiting for a breezily empty space when hands when out to grab me.

"Lucy! Oh my gosh, it's been a while." Arms launched at my waist, and a familiar light blue head popped out.

"Yuki!" I cried hugging back as Natsu side-stepped me and decided to leave us alone. Most probably to go to my kitchen where he could eat food he claimed was a lot better than "Wendy's cooking".

I paused momentarily. "Wait? How are you here?" I asked; knowing that Sabertooth was most definitely not laid back in their rules. Visiting once must have already been hard enough.

Yukino shrugged it off. "Sting pulled some strings and got us here."

I froze. I was waiting to see if there was any familiar pull of heartstrings or perhaps a few butterflies in my stomach. But there wasn't. There wasn't anything.

I happily settled back into her embrace. I was truly over him. My long time crush and love for years was gone, so suddenly and fast that it was shocking. All the tears I had cried over him, the "unnoticed" friend seemed small and I deemed them unimportant.

"Did you bring the whole gang?"

Then, as an extreme sense of déjà vu came over, Yuki smirked at me. "Of course Lucy, you doubt me too much."

I grinned. I really did miss my best friend, and just seeing her was enough to make me smile. That was when Sting and Rogue entered the scene, both of them animatedly talking to Natsu. Sometimes I forgot that they were cousins, and it made me wonder if had I stayed at Sabertooth, would I still have met Natsu some way or the other? Or would it just be polite hellos if we were ever introduced, and me still with my long-crush on Sting.

Natsu went to slip his hand into mine, causing the others to raise their eyebrows.

Yuki squealed, and Rogue just grinned. Sting blinked, that smiled. "Natsu would be amazing for you, Lucy."

I made a face, then turned to face Natsu as he had a similar expression on him. "Yikes, no."

They just laughed, and we all spent time talking. I did notice the looks Sting gave to Yukino, they never really changed. But what was surprising were the ones she sent back to him. They were filled with mischief and slight longing, something I knew I could help with. So when Yuki and I were putting our plates away, seeing as the guys took way longer to finish their food, I cautiously approached the subject. Somewhat.

"You can be with him if you'd like." I said softly, while Yuki's back was to me.

She turned, already knowing exactly what I was talking about. "I can't do that! He was yours first."

I knew this wasn't true. "Not really, I've always seen it, you know, his feelings for you. And all this time I've been holding you guys back, so go for it Yuki. Really."

I gave her a hard look, hoping she understood that I was completely serious.

She sniffled, which was rare for her. "Oh Lucy," she threw her arms around me. "Of course you'd understand. It's just been so awkward since the last time we were here, y'know?"

I smiled knowingly. I did. "I know, I saw you two kiss."

She let out a gasp, before apologizing profusely.

I let out a small laugh. "It's fine, really, I want you to go for it Yukino, you deserve to be happy." I smiled at her, and she returned it back. When we returned, I noticed her deliberately sit closer to Sting. He sent me a smile, I returned it, and Natsu's hand found its way back to mine again.

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Working was always tiring, and it most certainly was today. I could feel my arms move heavily, sweeping the floors as my eyes dropped. I heaved, tempted to sit down for a while but knew that would just prolong my time here. I sighed, stopping to stand for a bit as I limply hung onto the broomstick to help me stand.

The door chimed, and I cursed myself for putting the closed sign up but not physically closing it.

"We're closed." I said tiredly, but warm, strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind and an intoxicating smell that I couldn't resist had me leaning back into Natsu.

"You should take a break." He murmured into my ear, and I closed my eyes, trying to enjoy this moment for simply being this moment. I smiled.

"I'm nearly done, I think it's just another ten minutes." I said, melting into his touch.

"I can finish up, you look like you're going to drop and that's the last thing I'd want for my girlfriend." He joked, but I turned and tiptoed to meet his lips. They tasted sweet, like he had just had a cake or something before he got here. Natsu deepened the kiss, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, because this was a moment I couldn't take back. This moment was the honeymoon of our relationship still, all smiles and sweet kisses and I didn't know this would be one of our last.

Another dime had me break away for a second, who else would be coming in at this time? It bothered me, and I was ready to tell the person off, as threatening as I could be while I was practically pressed against Natsu in the middle of the cafe after hours, but a voice stopped me.

"Well," it was taunting and mocking, cruel as it caused my stomach to drop and a cold shiver ran down my spine in fear. Of course I recognized it. "You're not the loyalest fiancée, are you Lucy?"

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[ A/N: So I just learned in French class what déjà vu meant. I feel like an idiot now haha for thinking it was just a cool-sounding English word, but to educate my readers because I am so very engrossed in French, (not really because there can't be a subject I despise more) déjà vu (or without the accents deja vu) literally translates to "already seen". It's a French lesson! ]