Chapter Text
Lucy returned to the guild hall just before lunch began, and was rewarded with a Natsu flying directly at her face.
She had gone on a solo quest the night before helping some townspeople with maintaining their fields, which is something Taurus and Virgo were able to make quick work of. While the quest was easy, it was quite a distance away, and she had spent the night traveling back, leaving her exhausted the morning after. That would be her excuse for why she couldn't dodge her flying friend, anyway, as she ended up getting crushed under Natsu’s weight.
“That was a cheap shot, Gray!” Natsu yelled as he sat up directly on Lucy’s stomach, leading the girl to yelp in pain.
“Natsu! Get off me!” She screeched, wiggling out from under the dragon slayer's weight. She had only just escaped when she was hit again, this time by a flying blue cat.
“Lucy! You're back!” Happy cried, hugging her like she had been away for much longer than a day and a half. Happy stared up at her tearfully, “Grey and Natsu have been fighting non-stop since you left, and Erza is away on her own quest so she can't beat them into submission.”
Lucy sometimes forgets that despite his cute exterior, Happy is more nefarious then most of the other members of the guild.
Natsu jumps back onto his feet, full focus suddenly on Happy. ”The jerk only gets what he deserves! He won't accept the fact that if we were cheetahs I would be faster than him because I would be the fastest cheetah in the world!”
“That is so not true! Everybody knows that the Cheetah is the fastest animal, meaning that it's impossible to be the fastest cheetah because all cheetah’s are the fastest!” Gray yelled back, harnessing his ice magic for another shot.
Lucy was so done with their crap as she smacked the both of them over their heads hard enough to set them off balance. “You two better stop fighting about this stupid bullshit and get along already!”
“Yes ma’am.” They apologized in unison as Lucy sighed, walking over to where Miarjane was working behind the counter and taking a seat.
“Welcome back Lucy,” The white haired woman said, “how did your quest go?”
“It was fine, nothing too special about it.” Lucy took a moment to look back at the two boys who still remained glaring at each other, “Have they been like this the entire time I've been gone?”
Mirajane unfortunately nodded, “They have. It feels like every time you're gone they are more likely to act up against one another over the simplest things. Your presence really does have an effect on how they act.”
Lucy was somewhat surprised by this discovery, “You think?” She had noticed that the two had been fighting less commonly, but she hadn't thought that her presence had much to do with it.
“Hey Lucy,” The blonde jumped as she realized Natsu had snuck up on her when she was deep in thought. “I need to talk to you outside.”
—-------
When Natsu had brought up needing to talk, she almost thought it would be something important and honest - almost getting her hopes up for a brand new quest which would pay her rent for the next year and a half.
“So what you're saying is you burnt your house down making ramen and need to move in with me.” She stated deadpanned as the dragon slayer frowned downwards shamefully.
“I guess so yeah,” he agreed as he began his argument, “But it's not my fault! The directions on the box were wrong, and I tried to get another place but it turns out that my housing history makes most places not let me stay because they think I'll burn something else down!”
Lucy's eyes twitched in anger. “And why exactly do you think moving in with me is the best idea?”
“I mean we're partners, aren't we? I swear I’ll help pay rent and with chores. And besides I already spend enough time at your house that it wouldn't be much different from how things have been in the past.” He begged.
Lucy supposed that he did make some fair points, and an extra income helping with her bills certainly couldn't hurt, but she was still weary about the idea of living with the pyro.
She sighed, “Fine. But you have to swear not to set anything on fire. And I don't have an extra bed for you so you'll have to sleep on the floor. Plus you will have to bathe regularly, I cannot have you making a stinky mess in my house.”
Natsu’s eyes lit up like she told him he won the lottery. “Thanks Lucky! You're a lifesaver!”
“That's not my name and you know it!”
—-------
Natsu moved into her apartment the day after, hardly giving her time to rethink and regret her decision before he came bursting through her door with two suitcases in hand with all of his belongings.
She had never really thought about where and how Natsu was living before since it was never a topic of much importance to her, however his lack of belongings made her begin to wonder what conditions it must have been. He didn't own most of the essentials such as shampoo or conditioner, just an old 5 in one he supposedly used for his entire body head to toe. He also had a worrying lack of clothes - only around 3 sets of everyday clothes and a few more pieces of undergarments - and nothing more but a few more cooking supplies, a pillow, and a blanket. She considered asking him where he had been staying originally but became distracted by his cat flying in through the window.
“Hey Happy buddy, you got all your stuff?” Natsu greeted the blue cat, unaware of Lucy's suddenly fiery stare.
“I did not say you could let Happy move in too! My apartment doesn't allow pets - they could evict me!”
Natsu held onto Happy defensively, “Happy isn't a pet! He's our friend! Besides, he's in here all the time and you've never had a problem with it before.”
“When have I ever not had a problem with you all breaking and entering into my home? And besides, him popping in once and a while is different from him living here!” She argued back, crossing her arms across her chest.
Natsu sighed and looked down, before staring back up at her with a voice softer than she's used to from the dragon slayer. “Please, Luce?”
“Yeah Lucy,” Happy's large watering eyes stared up at her as his bottom lip trembled, “I have nowhere else to go.”
While Lucy may be stubborn, she isn't a heartless monster, and certainly can be coerced into things by cute animals and puppy dog eyes. “Fine, but you better help out a fair share as well. You are not freeloading in my apartment!”
“Hell yeah!” Natsu and Happy yelled in agreement, hopping up to give each other high fives.