NaLu Oneshots

Autumn

Summary: Why Autumn is Lucy's favorite season.

Notes:
   - I wrote this in August
   - why not?

Rating: G (good for most people)

All the seasons were good, but there were more reasons for why fall was Lucy's favorite season.

1. There were more tea and coffee options

Tea and coffee were always year round, but she always preferred a hot cup instead of an iced one. When September started getting cold, cafes would start selling cups of cinnamon and autumn themed drinks. And Lucy loved a fresh cup of coffee with milk and pumpkin spice.

2. It was sweater season

How could anyone hate sweaters? Especially a really soft one that actually looked nice so you could wear it out for an event if you wanted to.

3. Fires

Now, she didn't have a fireplace. And she couldn't just stand out in the cold while the sun would set. But Natsu had a fireplace, and there was always something burning. It was always warmer with him.

4. Pie

Apple Pie was her favorite. And it always tasted best the night after Halloween with a tired and hungry friend. Sometimes it was the whole gang that would go to Lucy's apartment for pie. Sometimes just a few people. But Natsu helped make, and eat it, every year.

5. Heat

This takes an explanation. Of course, in summer there's heat. But it's different in the fall. It was chilly, so anything most people bought was meant to be used for heat. Soup was hot, tea and coffee were hot, sweaters kept you warm, heaters kept you warm. But there was a problem. Usually Lucy would only get enough money for her rent, food, and water. Buying clothes was a special occasion. That's why she had the same sweaters she brought five years ago, back when she lived with her father. She couldn't afford paying for heating or air conditioning.

Her friends would only come to her apartment for special occasions once it got cold. Christmas and New Years. It was always cold at her apartment. She always wore a tight tee shirt and leggings under her flannel pajamas and slept with at least four blankets at night. Sometimes she purposely fell asleep at the guild in attempts to spend the night by the huge fireplace. The last time she tried it, Natsu ended up stopping her.

It was the weekend before Valentines Day and he had fallen asleep after eating more than usual for lunch. He woke up with Mirajane jingling the guild keys in front of him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead, I need to lock up for the night," she told him. He rubbed his eyes and sat up straight; he looked around the guild hall for Happy, who was sitting in front of the fire.

"Happy, let's go!" Natsu said as he stood from the table and walked towards the exceed. Happy turned him with half of a fish in his hand.

"What about Lucy?"

"What about her?" Happy pointed to Lucy's sleeping body in front of him. She was laying against the ground and was wrapped up in one of the guild's spare blankets. Even with the heat of the fire and the blanket, she was still curled up into a ball. "Why is she here, still?"

"Lucy can't afford heating," Mira informed him. She was buttoning up her coat at the entrance of the guild. "Some nights she stays here because it's warmer." Mira started walking towards him. "If you want to stay with her I can lock up."

He didn't respond. Instead, he lifted Lucy up, off the ground and over his shoulder, waking her in the process. Mira let him and Happy leave first, locking the door as they left the guildhall. She said goodbye as Lucy became aware of the situation and began to panic.

"Natsu?! What are you doing?"

"You're no sleeping at the guild tonight. You'll sleep at my place tonight."

"Wha- why? Put me down!" She was starting to kick him. Normally Natsu would've ignored it but they weren't in a rush and no one was in danger of being killed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Why the hell are you sleeping at the guild?" Happy ignored the fact that Mira had just told him why and sat on his shoulder.

". . . I . . . it doesn't matter. Just leave me alone okay?"

"You're staying at my place tonight," he told her. There wasn't any use arguing, once Natsu set his mind to something, there wasn't any chance of stopping him. He took Lucy's wrist and lead her to his home hidden in the Magnolia forest. Throughout the walk Lucy wouldn't stop talking, she tried getting him to let go or to think of reasons why she couldn't stay for the night. All of which were horrible reasons or lies.

His home was in better shape than she remembered. But that may be because the sun had set and she couldn't see the chipping paint or vines growing up along the sides. The inside was a mess. Food wrappers were scattered across the floor and the kitchen was a disaster. Lucy wanted to clean the place up but continued standing behind Natsu. He walked over to the hammock against the right wall and set a blanket and pillow on it.

"You'll sleep here," he told her. Lucy walked over and tried to get in on her own. The first time she somehow flipped it over and fell on the floor. While Natsu and Happy were laughing at her, she was able to lay on it. She had forgotten how hard it was to move in a hammock when she tried to reach for the pillow and blanket on the floor. She wouldn't let herself move once she was able to cover herself with a blanket. Moments after she had closed her eyes she was asleep.

She woke up the next morning with Natsu sleeping on the floor next to her with a trail of drool on his face. Happy was asleep on top of him, using a ramen wrapper as a blanket. Lucy felt horrible after she managed to leave and bought the two lunch the next day.

"I'm sorry about last night," she told the two as the dug into the plastic containers of meat and fish.

"Why? You didn't do anything," Happy said as he fought Natsu for the food.

"I took the blanket and the bed."

"We let you have those things. We had more, but Natsu fell asleep trying to keep the fire going and I was too lazy to go grab a second blanket." Happy had his share of the food and ate as Natsu explained the situation to her. "If you're cold, you're always welcome at our place."

In the end, she spent most winter nights bringing a blanket over and spending the night next to Natsu's fire place with a cup of coffee next to her while the other two played board games and argued with each other. It may have been dumb reason, but no one really cared. Staying with him and Happy had become one of her favorite parts of fall.