The Playboy of Fairy Tail High

Lunch with Natsu

A tall, older woman with pink hair half in a bun stands in the door frame, as the door slowly closes behind her.

"Aunt Porlyusica!" Natsu exclaims, surprised.

"Auntie!" Wendy smiles.

"Cut the crap. Who is this?" The woman gives me a stern glance.

"This is Lucy-nee. She's staying the night!" Wendy smiles, and Natsu face palms. Their aunt gives me a very peculiar glance.

"Lucy-nee? So you're my niece in law? Why didn't I know? Since when? But most of all, how do you put up with this??" She zooms past me and pinches Natsu's ear.

"Don't get so excited, Aunt Porlyusica." Natsu says through grit teeth, his face and ears red. "She's not my girlfriend, much less your niece. But she's staying the night because she's kicked out of the house." I look at Natsu, but he gives me a look that says wait. Porlyusica squints her eyes, then grabs my face and squishes it.

"She seems ok. But only for the night, and as long as you guys don't bother me! I hate kids," she mutters. With that, she hobbles up the stairs and slams a door behind her. Wendy goes over to pick up the groceries their Aunt left behind. Natsu sighs and sinks into his chair.

"Get up, Natsu-nii! You said you'd make lunch!" Wendy sets the food on the kitchen table, and Natsu reluctantly stands.

"What's your favorite lunch?" I ask Wendy.

"Grilled cheese! I know how to make it, but it always tastes better when Natsu-nii makes it!"

"I'll bet it does," I smile. Natsu pulls out the butter and cheese from the giant refrigerator, and Wendy asks for my help grabbing the oil and bread from the cabinet. I pick her up by the waist and let her sit on my shoulder, while she passes down the ingredients. Natsu grabs a pan and heats the stove under it. Grabbing a spatula and flipping it in his hand, he almost looks like an expert chef.

"Hey, Wendy. Oil?" Natsu calls out, not looking up. Wendy expertly throws the closed, glass bottle, and Natsu catches it in one hand. I watch their sibling relationship play out in this obviously routine way of preparing lunch.

"Almost done!" Natsu calls out after a little. Wendy shows me where the plates are, and she pulls out one big one. Natsu piles the cut grilled cheese halves on the plate, and we sit down in their dining room.

"This looks great, Natsu!" I comment, smiling. The bread is golden brown and the cheese smells amazing. Barely noticing the red specks on the piece I pick up, I take a huge bite.

"Luce, no!" Natsu calls out, just as I feel the burning sensation on my tongue.

"Hot! Hot!!!" I cry out, dropping the sandwich and sticking my tongue out.

"Lucy, that was my piece! There were spicy peppers on it!" Natsu tries to bite back a laugh.

"No kidding!? And the bread was really hot too!! I think I burned my tongue!!" I exclaim. Wendy rushes to her feet, and runs into the kitchen. She comes back with a tall glass and some plain bread.

"Here, Lucy-nee. This is milk with ice, it will help with the burn. The bread will help with the spicy ness. Don't drink water, it will make it worse." Wendy seems to act a year or two older while helping me. That must happen every times she helps anybody, I guess.

"That's Wendy for you! Always knows the right remedies." Natsu grins and leans over to pick up the sandwich where I stopped. He scarfs it down in three bites.

"You're insane," I mumble around my soothing glass of iced milk. Wendy laughs, and grabs a sandwich slice. After my burning mouth goes down, I enjoy a regular slice with Wendy.

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The rest of the day went pretty fast. Natsu and I took Wendy shopping in the mall, but Natsu wanted to stay in the food court while Wendy looked at dresses and other clothes. On our way back we passed a pet store, where we saw a bright, blue cat in the window who looked a little down.

"Aww, little guy." Natsu had said. "You don't look happy at all to be in that little cage of yours." The cat looked up at Natsu and mewed pitifully. Sadly, we couldn't adopt him. Yet, at least.

Right now I'm sitting on the edge of the queen-sized bed in the room Natsu said I could stay in. It's pretty spacious, for a guest room, and there are family photos all over. Feeling a slight twinge of jealousy, I casually look at the pictures of Natsu and Wendy happy and playing with their family. But then I remember that not everything lasts, and I put the picture down.

"Hey Luce, you good?" Natsu raps on my door.

"Yeah. You can come in, if you want." He gently pushes open the door, and sits next to me.

"Man, today was tiring!" He flops back onto the bed.

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yeah?" Natsu puts his hands behind his head, and looks up at me.

"Uhh..." I scratch my original question on who usually sleeps here, and try to cover up. "What'd you think of that cat that we saw?"

"Huh?" He sits back up and tilts his head at me. "I thought he was really cute. And I think he looked right at me! Animals have never really liked me, but this one seemed to have a connection." He gets an almost dreamy look on his face. I just stare at him. "If I were to adopt him, I think I'd name him Happy. That way we'll always remember the way he made me feel, and the way I want him to feel." I smile at Natsu, and he smiles back.

"That's very sweet, Natsu." I look at the side of his face, and into his onyx eyes.

"There are clothes in the closet, if you want to change. You should get a good night's sleep. I'll see you in the morning, Luce." 

"Good night, Natsu." He walks over to me and gave me a light kiss on the forehead, before leaving and closing the door behind him. Nothing smooth to say, no making any moves. Just a kiss on the head. What does that mean? I smile, despite myself. With a yawn I climb into the big, fluffy bed and close my eyes.