Dragon Prince

Chapter 9

Lucy looked intently at the sky, noting the way that the blue contrasted with the white and grays of the clouds that looked as smooth and solid as marble yet soft as cotton, and she appreciated the way that the light of the sun struck them, casting shadows across their surface.

She then looked ahead to her right, at a florist's shop that they would be passing shortly, taking in the vibrant colors of the arrangements on display. Reds, yellows, and violets crowding the large window, each brightly colored petal demanding attention, begging to be bought. After passing the shop, she returned her attention to the young man who was almost dragging her down the sidewalk and smiled smugly at the back of his head.

By focusing on the little details of the world outside, Lucy had managed to avoid asking altogether, and she was very proud of herself.

Unfortunately, any sense of pride vanished in the next instant a she suddenly blurted out, "Aunt Porly?"

She felt her posture slump and her ears grow warm as Natsu's quiet laughter reached them.

"Wow, a whole minute. I'm impressed." He said without looking back.

Her eyes narrowed to glare at him even as her lips formed a pout, and she muttered "that was at least two," under her breath.

Continued chuckles were the only response she got for that remark.

She felt herself deflate a little, her shoulders slumping and her head hanging just a bit lower than where she usually held it, and she started to drag her feet as they continued in silence a moment before he answered her question.

"My mom's older sister," he said. She perked back up and quickened her pace so they were walking side by side and, looked over at him when she asked her next question.

"Is she always like that?"

He snorted, "no," smirking as he glanced to her and said, "you caught her in a good mood."

Lucy would have stopped in her tracks had Natsu, who was still holding her hand, not continued pulling her along. As it was, she settled for slowing down just a little bit while she tried to get her mouth to make sounds again.

After a second, she recalled enough to choke out "Good?" and then she remembered how to shout. So, she did.

"GOOD mood! That was a good mood?! You mean she's usually worse than that?"

Natsu's smirk was still planted firmly on his face as he nodded confirmation.

"For being on duty, yeah. She usually goes on and on about how she doesn't like people, especially teenagers," Lucy raised an eyebrow at this but Natsu kept going, "Gramps must have had a talk with her about how it doesn't really look good for a nurse at a high school to be complaining about that. Most parents don't really like it."

"I wonder why," Lucy muttered, using more sarcasm than words almost. She supposed that explained why the elder pinkette had been so adamant about her going home.

Hey, wait a minute...

"How do you know where I live."

This time Natsu froze in his tracks, blinking rapidly as if just realizing this himself.

"Ahh..." he let go of her hand and reached up to scratch the back of his neck, "I... don't." he said, almost like it was a question.

"Are you sure?" Lucy replied, sarcasm seeping back into her voice. She walked to stand in front of him a look on her face that was a cross between skeptical and questioning. "because you were going the right way."