#oofa

______________________________

Lucy paused in her sipping of beef stew to watch Natsu tear a hunk of meat off his turkey leg like a wild animal. With cheeks stuffed full of food, he smiled contentedly. “Mmm, dash da shtuff!” he exclaimed. Good thing Juvia wasn’t around to tell him off like she had to Happy earlier.

“And so you just left them all there, tied up like that?” Wendy asked after taking a bite from her own bowl. She and Carla had joined them for a late dinner in the guild hall, having just arrived back from a job themselves, and was listening to the details of their journey through the countryside today. While it was just the four of them and Happy at the table together, the guild hall was far from empty this evening. Many of the others were scattered about, eating, drinking, and chatting.

“Yup,” Lucy laughed. She blew on her steaming hot spoonful. “They weren’t about to go anywhere, not after Natsu and I were done with them. We contacted law enforcement once we reached the village, and by the time we passed the spot on our way back, they’d already come and gone. We stopped by the jail on our way back into town, and sure enough, there they all were. I don’t think they were too happy to see us.” She stuck the spoon in her mouth and giggled. “Natsu might’ve gone a little too hard on them.”

Natsu washed down another big mouthful with several gulps of beer and set his mug heavily down onto the table. “They deserved it,” he said unsympathetically. “Sounds like they’ve been givin’ people a whole lotta trouble lately. Stealin’ from those nice people out there…makes me sick.” After this input, he resumed the task of tearing away at his dinner.

Lucy watched him for another moment, a smile tugging insistently at her lips. That was Natsu: always ready to defend those in need. It was one of the things she loved most about him.

“And where were you during all of this, Happy?” Carla asked. “Why didn’t you go on the job with them?”

The exceed in question sat by Natsu’s side, busy devouring his own plate of fish and potatoes. “Natsu was being a real downer this morning,” Happy answered. “I decided I’d rather go catch some fishies and take a nice long nap while he and Lucy went on the job.”

Lucy had been a little curious why Happy hadn’t joined them—that morning he’d simply stated ‘I don’t wanna come’, which was a little unusual, considering the two of them went pretty much everywhere together. She wondered at the time if they’d gotten into a fight or something, but maybe it was as simple as Happy being tired of Natsu’s moping.

“You do seem to be in much better spirits than you were this morning,” came Mirajane’s voice as she stepped up behind Natsu. She gave them all a warm smile and set a full pitcher of beer on the table.

“Thanks, Mira,” Lucy said with a nod. She looked curiously back at Natsu, who merely grunted in response to Mirajane’s observation. What exactly was it about this job that had lifted his spirits? Probably beating those bandits to a pulp. Natsu loved a good fight—not that those dolts had put up much of a fight—and it was a great way to blow off steam. Lucy smiled wider, glad he had found that outlet today. She didn’t want to see him feeling down. One of these days, she would figure out exactly what had him feeling this way and do whatever she could to snap him out of it.

Someone tapped Lucy’s shoulder from behind. “Um, Lu?”

The celestial wizard pivoted on the bench to find Levy wearing an unusual, coy sort of smile. Once she had her attention, Levy pointed a finger toward the front doorway—or, rather, the front doorway hole. There stood Kavan, who held up a hand in greeting but did not invite himself further inside.

Lucy rose from her seat, pretty sure she heard a mildly irritated grunt from Natsu as she did so. A few bouncy steps later and she stood before Kavan and offered a flirty, belated wave. He took her hands gently in his and pecked her on the cheek, causing her to flush.

“Hi, Lucy,” he greeted her quietly. The young man smiled at her, but now that she was closer, she noticed a slight upward tick to his brow.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, still holding loosely onto his hands.

Kavan tilted his head and sighed, his smile growing a little in response to her immediate insight. “Yeah—well, no…no, not exactly. I’m afraid I’ll have to cancel the plans we had for tomorrow. I hope you can forgive me.”

It was Lucy’s turn to tilt her head, and concern wiped the smile from her lips. “What’s going on?”

He closed his eyes briefly and shook his head. “It’s nothing; please don’t worry about it. I just have some…personal matters I must attend to.” Kavan opened his eyes again and renewed that handsome smile of his. “I don’t have time to stay right now, but I wanted to stop by and tell you in person. And…” He leaned forward and whispered the next words into her ear, “I really wanted to see you.”

Lucy, sure she was beet red by now, gave Kavan’s hands a squeeze. Her heart thumped in her chest.

“If you need help with anything,” she began hesitantly after he had withdrawn, “you know you can ask me…right?”

Kavan nodded. “Of course. Thank you, Lucy.” He squeezed her hands back before releasing them. “I’ll see you soon, alright?” Kavan leaned in one more time to give her a peck goodbye, this time doing so lightly on her lips. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Lucy said with a little wave, feeling a little breathless. She stood there and watched him go for a long minute, then for another minute after that, before numbly turning around and shuffling back to her table. Without a word she dropped back onto the bench, initially unaware that she had garnered the attention of quite a few of her guild mates, who now flocked over to their table.

What felt like a silent eternity, but in reality was probably only a few seconds, passed them by before Cana chimed in.

“Gods, Lucy!” she exclaimed. “Did you win the lottery or what?!”

“No kidding!” Levy clasped her hands in front of her chest. “He’s so dreamy, Lu!”

Lucy raised her hands to her burning cheeks. Flustered as she was, she really didn’t need all this attention right now. She could barely process her own thoughts without everyone else sharing theirs!

“You finally got that romance of yours you’ve been yappin’ about, huh, Lucy?” Gray teased.

“Guys…” Lucy started, but her guild mates weren’t about to let up.

“Looks like our guild’s gonna lose another eligible young beauty,” Wakaba declared.

Jet and Droy chortled, the latter pointing a finger and saying, “Look at her! She’s red as a tomato!”

The lot of them went on for another minute or two, teasing her in good fun and doing their best to keep that blush on her face.

“I don’t see what the big deal is.” This time it was Natsu’s voice, and Lucy managed to uncover her face to look up at him. “What’s so special about this guy?”

“Umm,” Cana drawled, as if he was crazy for even asking, “have you seen him? He’s gorgeous! And rich, and sweet, and just the total package.”

Natsu rose from his seat, part of his meal still untouched, and threw a big shrug in the air. “I dunno, I still don’t get it. I mean, first off, the guy looks like the wind could blow him over.”

Hardly a fair assessment, yet Elfman nodded in agreement. “Not very manly!” he declared.

Jet threw a couple mock punches at Natsu, and the dragon slayer feigned mortifying defeat and crumpled to the ground, causing a fit of laughter among part of the group—mostly the men.

“You guys aren’t being very nice,” Lucy told them. Her face remained hot from a wild mixture of emotions.

Natsu hopped back onto his feet and replied, “Aw, c’mon Lucy, we’re just teasin’!” He began to round the table to the other side. “You’re right, we shouldn’t make fun of the guy just because he’s a weakling. I’m sure there’s lots of great stuff about him. Like money! All those fancy clothes, fancy dinners…”

“Hey, cool it, man,” Gray spoke up as the mood in the room began to shift.

“What?” Natsu asked, throwing his arms back into the air. “They’re the ones going on and on about how rich he is!” He gestured at the girls closest to Lucy. “He’s the one who rolled in here, knowin’ he could get whatever he wanted if he just flashed his money around.”

Lucy turned to look at him, a deeply unpleasant tension building in her chest. “Natsu, that’s enough,” she said in barely more than a whisper.

He either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her. “Is that what you like so much about him?” he pressed on. “You grew up rich; maybe you miss all that fancy stuff.”

Lucy could hear Happy say Natsu’s name as she rose from her seat, fists trembling at her sides.

“He can take you to all those expensive restaurants, buy you whatever you want, and you’ll never have to—”

Natsu never got to finish that final thought, for he was cut off by a resounding slap! after which a heavy silence descended over the guild hall.

Lucy stood, shaking, tears burning her eyes, as he remained still for a long moment, head still turned from the impact. When he slowly began to straighten back out, fingers reaching up toward a red cheek, Lucy only allowed their eyes to meet for a single moment before brushing past him and rushing toward the exit. The only other thing she heard before bursting out into the cool night air was Gray bellowing at Natsu, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Lucy ran as fast as her feet would carry her, even though her throat constricted painfully and her lungs resisted filling to capacity. She had to run, run away from the guild, away from this crushing feeling. Never, never in her life had she felt like this. Not when Phantom Lord kidnapped her. Not when Acnologia threatened to destroy them on Tenrou Island, not when she learned her father had died, not when she’d been beaten down at the Games. Because, through all of that, he’d been by her side. He’d been there to defend her, to pick her back up, to give her whatever support she needed. To make her laugh when she was feeling down. To make her feel safe when she was feeling vulnerable. To tell her she was strong, and important.

So why…why? Why would he say such awful things to her? Was that…really how he saw her, after all this time? Just some rich girl, playing at being a guild wizard, with shallow desires?

Lucy ran and ran until she could no longer propel herself further. She wound up in South Gate Park and collapsed against the great sola tree in its center. There she sat, cradling her knees against her chest, allowing herself to devolve into a sobbing mess.

Some long stretch of time later, after her sobs had finally begun to subside, Lucy heard footsteps approaching. She lifted her head to find Gildarts gazing down at her. He must have just returned to town, having gone on a job the day he and Natsu destroyed the guild hall.

“I heard what happened,” he said gravely. The man stood there awkwardly for a moment then gestured toward to the ground. “Mind if I sit?”

“Sure,” Lucy answered quietly, wiping the residual tears from her eyes.

Gildarts lowered himself to the ground by her side with a groan, leaving a polite gap between them.

“Natsu can be a real idiot sometimes. Runs that mouth of his before he even realizes what he’s saying half the time.”

Lucy stared straight ahead at the silhouettes of the tall waving grasses at the edge of the park. “’Idiot’ is putting it lightly,” she responded bitterly.

Gildarts heaved a sigh and seemed to contemplate his next words carefully. “Listen, Lucy…I’ve known Natsu for a long time. He’s never had a whole lot of tact. But, more importantly, he’s also always been fiercely loyal to his friends. You’re one of his friends, aren’t you?”

Lucy swallowed. “I thought so,” she mumbled, her sore eyes threatening to spill tears again.

Gildarts sighed again before he continued speaking. “Thing is—and Natsu doesn’t want to admit it—I think he’s jealous of this Andoss kid you’ve been spending all your time with.”

“I know he’s jealous,” Lucy muttered. “He’s all but said as much. But if he’s truly my friend, then he should be happy I actually have a life outside of the guild, instead of being a selfish jerk.”

Gildarts uttered a light chuckle, and Lucy couldn’t for the life of her figure out what was so damn funny about this situation.

“That’s…not exactly what I mean when I say Natsu is jealous.”

Lucy finally turned to glare at the older wizard. “Well then, what did…you…” Her voice trailed off as the realization set in. Gildarts had said Natsu was jealous of Kavan, not her. She could feel her face grow hot again. “You’re not saying you think Natsu wants…”

Gildarts held up a hand to stop her and gave his head a small shake. “It’s not my place to assume anything. If you really want an answer to that question, then you should ask Natsu himself.”

Too embarrassed to maintain eye contact with Gildarts after that bombshell, Lucy redirected her gaze back to the park scenery.

After a short pause, Gildarts spoke again. “I do agree,” he began, “that Natsu’s choice of words was in pretty poor taste, if I’m to believe the others at the guild hall. You’re not wrong to be angry with him. That being said…I think he’s confused about how he’s feeling, and he doesn’t know what to do or say about it. Go easy on him.”

Lucy’s face grew hotter, but this time it wasn’t from embarrassment; it was from brewing rage.

“Oh, so he’s confused, and that alone excuses him from acting like a complete ass?” she barked. Lucy rose to her feet, clenched fists trembling at her sides once more as she glared down at Gildarts. “What is it with you men? You act like animals and then come up with some lame excuse instead of just owning up to it! Well, I’ve had enough!” She wasn’t sure what she meant by that threat, but she was too angry to think clearly. Lucy huffed out a scoff before turning on her heels, but she only made it a couple of steps before spinning back around to point a finger at the stunned-looking Gildarts. “And you know what Kavan never does? Act like an animal!” She withdrew her accusatory hand and instead placed it against her chest. “He respects me. Something that fire-brained jerk is apparently incapable of doing.” She opened her mouth again but found she had nothing left to add, so she clamped it shut and turned away from Gildarts once more, this time for good. The celestial wizard stomped off into the night without a single glance back toward the sola tree.

With some good distance behind her, Lucy slowed her pace and stared down at the cobblestone street beneath her feet. Once again, she was alone on the streets of Magnolia.

Okay…that might have been a tiny bit of an overreaction. She grimaced at the thought of Gildarts sitting there, baffled, after her outburst. He mostly—mostly—hadn’t deserved that barrage, and she regretted letting out her frustrations on him. It was Natsu she was really mad at. Stupid, boorish Natsu. The thought of even his name caused the fire in her chest to rage higher. But it also brought tears to her eyes. She still couldn’t believe he’d been so rude and heartless. That alone was bad enough, but he did it in front of the entire guild. A friend? Hah! What kind of friend would do that?

Lucy wiped the fresh tears from her eyes and she continued down the deserted street. Every few paces she passed through a gentle orange globe shed down from the streetlights above. It reminded her of the warm light cast by a fire. Though she felt anything but warmth.

She thought she knew Natsu. She thought she knew what kind of relationship they had, one built on trust and mutual respect. Her mental vision of him did not match the wizard whom she’d slapped in the middle of the guild hall that night. All those things he said…was that really what he thought about her? Was that what he’d thought the entire time they’d known each other? It didn’t make sense—he couldn’t!—but that didn’t change the fact that he’d said what he’d said.

Lucy’s thoughts drifted back to what Gildarts told her. Now she was calm enough to consider those words again. “I mean…it’s crazy, right?” she whispered aloud to herself. Natsu, jealous of Kavan, because he himself wanted to date her?! No way! First off, if that’s really what he wanted, then he’s had plenty of time to make his wishes known. Lucy found herself blushing again. She’d be lying if she said she had never considered the possibility, especially considering all they had been through together, but her mind always dismissed the notion as absurd. They were friends, and Natsu had never once expressed romantic interest in her—or in anyone, for that matter. Either way, whatever the truth was, it didn’t excuse him from being so rude to her. Even a friend should know better. On that she would remain firm.

Lucy sighed, her wildly fluctuating emotions relinquishing her to fog of sadness once again. She was exhausted, and in this state it was really difficult to make sense of her own emotions, let alone speculate at someone else’s. Sleep seemed like the only solution. She longed to splash cold water over her puffy eyes and slip her tired body into bed. Maybe tomorrow, after some rest, she could muster up the willpower to look that jerk in the eyes and figure all of this out. But right now, she did her best to push all these thoughts and feelings to the back of her mind as she slowly headed back home.