"Natsu... I..." I managed to stutter out before Natsu was suddenly gone. I blinked a few times, believing it to all had been my imagination, until I heard one of my little brother's yelling. "Get your slimy hands off my sister!" Sting cried, stomping on poor Natsu as Rogue stood at the top of the stair. I glared up at him to understand why the HELL Sting had just done that, but the youngest twin just shrugged.
After hearing Natsu starting to fight back, I ran down the stairs to break it up, lifting up the hem of my dress so I wouldn't fall. "Sting! Natsu!" I yelled and they both stopped, sensing my menacing aura. "What the hell, Sting?" I frowned, dropping my skirt and crossing my arms. "He was about to kiss you," Sting argued and my cheeks flushed bright red. "Kiss?" Natsu, probably not knowing what that word means, repeated quizzically. "He was not, Sting! He was asking me to rejoin the team!" I yelled, slapping my protective brother's arm. He frowned his brows, not believing it, and returned to Rogue after I commanded him to do so.
Still blushing brightly, I scratched the back of my head. "Look, Natsu, I would love to come back to Fairy Tail, but I don't think-." Suddenly, I was whisked into the air. "What the hell?" I cried out as I started moving. Looking around, I found that I was being held over Natsu's shoulder, the rest of Fairy Tail following close behind. "We knew you would choose family over what you want, so we decided to choose for you!" Happy, flying closely beside us, explained calmly. "What? No! Put me down!" I cried out, beating lightly on Natsu's back. Truthfully, I did want to return to Fairy Tail, but I didn't have the heart to tell my family.
With Sting and Madoka chasing my guild through the streets, we finally escaped onto the last train of the night out of the city.
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A few months after moving back to Magnolia, sitting at the bar with a hot chocolate in hand, as the winter weather was quickly approaching, it was nice to have some silence. I moved in with Natsu because it was cheaper for rent and he said he wanted to make sure I didn't run off to Crocus again, although I told him I wouldn't. Team Natsu hadn't stopped going on missions since I returned and my muscles were starting to hurt from all the travelling. At the moment, writing a letter to my brothers and sister in the capital, I only now noticed that none of my team was here. "Mira, where is everyone?" I called out as she was serving some beers to the resident drunks. "I don't know, Lucy. I think Gray said something about a mission?" She replied, walking through the bar gate. I froze up. Are they finally getting bored with me again?
Just as I was about to question my friendships, the doors of the guildhall burst open. "We're back!" Natsu and Gray chorused as the two and Happy wondered in. I turned with a smile, hoping my judgement was wrong. "L-Luce? What're you doing here so late?" Natsu panicked, quickly hiding the small bag he was carrying behind his back. I cocked my head but didn't think anything of it. "Natsu, it's only 5 in the afternoon. I'm writing a letter to my family." I showed them my paper and pen as Gray came to sit beside me, acting as cool as ever. "How was your mission?" I asked Happy as he fluttered down beside me. "Really fun! But the client didn't speak the same language, so Natsu had to think." The exceed teased. "Oh, I should've come, I could've translated for you."
Natsu sat beside me as I explained how I could understand anything now that my powers have improved. "That's impressive, Lucy." Gray nodded, patting my shoulder proudly. "It's great! I can even understand Plue now." I grinned, the spirit appearing in front of us as I pronounced his name. "You called, Lucy-pun." Probably sounding like gibberish to the men around me, I laughed at their confused faces. "I learnt that he can read people's minds if they're passionate enough. Unfortunately, that's how I found out when Sting first spent a night at his girlfriend's." I cringed at the memory of Plue informing about that scarring information. "Oh yeah? Bet you he can't tell you what I'm thinking." Natsu smirked, starting a staring contest with the spirit. "He likes you in that dress, pun pun~." The spirit started to sing and I instantly combusted. "Plue! That's impossible!" I shrieked, making the people at the bar jump. "You're cute when you're sleeping, Luce!" Plus continued and I begged him to stop.
Natsu watches me when I sleep? Well, I've fallen asleep on the couch before, but surely he doesn't remember that! I cried internally as Natsu peered into my face. "Dude, what were you thinking?" Gray asked as I was processing the information. "About that time Luce fell asleep writing home." He shrugged, neither of them finding the problem with it.
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A few days after the revelation that Natsu likes when I wear dresses, I was preparing for the day, standing in front of my closet. "It was so much easier when Madoka chose my outfits." I sighed, holding out a dark blue dress and a light pink dress, trying to configure out if I was feeling especially girly today. "At least I don't have to wear corsets anymore."
"Luce, can I talk to you a sec?" Natsu opened my door without knocking, forcing me to throw one of the dresses in my hands so he didn't see me in just my towel. "Natsu! How many times have I told you to knock!" In my fury, I kicked him out the door and got dressed into whatever article I still had in my hand.
Exiting, I swiped the dress Natsu had thrown over the couch and turned to him with a questioning glare. "What was so urgent?" I tried to keep calm as he stood up. Surprisingly, he was kind of timid. "Mira said you were feeling ignored, so I wanted to apologise. We just thought you were getting tired of all the mission we were doing." He explained and I instantly felt guilty. "Oh?" I muttered, not expecting this out of the dragon slayer. "We just wanted to surprise you!" Happy cheered beside him and I looked up, confused. "Here." Showing off his toothy grin, Natsu held out the same small bag I spotted him hiding behind his back the day Gray and he returned from a mission.
Taking the slightly weighted bag, I let the thin item fall into my palm. It was a key. "I saw it in a shop window when we went to Crocus last. I thought you were homesick, so I made Gray go with me to get it." The pinkette explained as I inspected it. "Cupid's key?" I shrieked as I noticed the heart inscribed at the hilt of the pinkish key.
Cupid was a rare key. The story goes, whoever gifts it to you is meant to be your soul mate. You can only see it when you're in love. It's not a summoning key, just a sign of fate.
Instantly reminded of what Plue told me a few days ago, I published brightly. "Na-Natsu, do you know the story behind this?" Surely not, Natsu was too dense and would never listen even if the store clerk was explaining it. "Yep! Gray thought I was crazy for buying something invisible, but I knew what it was." He smiled instantly and my eyes went wide. "N-Natsu." I stuttered, not knowing what else to say.
Natsu continued smiling as happy tears grew in my eyes. "Come on, Luce! We're going on a mission on Galuna Island, everyone's waiting for us at the guild!" As if nothing had just transpired between us, Natsu grabbed my hand and pulled us out the front door. As we ran, I hooked the key to my pouch, a wide smile on my face, thinking about what my future would look like.
YOU ARE READING
Look Who's Useless Now?
Fanfiction(Quick note, everybody is at least a few years younger than in the original, like, 14/15.) During a mission in Crocus, Team Natsu were preparing for an expedition in a nearby forest with fearful monsters and deadly beings. Lucy had to buy some equip...
