Blossom

Boundary

Natsu was practically skipping up to the door, the thought of finally being able to see his girlfriend after a long day of work making his steps peppier. He knew they wouldn't be having some time alone together until later today, but being in her presence will be enough.

It was like he couldn't get the door opened fast enough, and when he stepped into the mainroom to watch as Lucy immediately turned to look at him from where she'd been perched on the couch, his heart skipped a beat.

"Natsu!" Lucy chirped, already standing and rushing up to him, "Welcome home!"

"Mhm..." Natsu pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his nose in the top of her head and taking in her scent. "Missed you."

His heart fluttered when she seemed to hold him tighter and laughed softly, "Are you sniffing my hair..?"

"Shhhh... It's been a long day."

"Has it? Does the fact that you smell like burgers have anything to do with that?"

"Ugh," Their hug faltered as Natsu dramatically threw his head back and groaned, "Yes. Some big ass family came in and ordered, like, 30 hamburgers. If I never make one of those again it'll be too soon."

"Really? Because now I'm kind of craving them..."

"...We'll just order out."

"Can I have a burger, too?"

They both jolted and turned towards the couch again, having forgotten that they weren't alone. Natsu had known there was someone else here- Lucy mentioned that she'd be catching up with Evergreen today- but that wasn't Evergreen asking the question.

She sat quietly on the couch occupied by her phone, and the ginger-haired man that had been the one to speak made Natsu freeze.

"I thought you ate before you came over," Lucy responded, and the way she was turned away from her boyfriend allowed her to miss the irritation growing on his face.

"Yeah, I did, but, like... You keep talking about them, guess I got a craving as well."

Lucy was shaking her head when Natsu suddenly grabbed her arm and brought her to the kitchen, leaving her growing more and more concerned as she finally took in the look on his face.

"Luce..." He started in a whisper, "Why is he here?"

She matched his low volume, "Loke? He came over a little over an hour ago. Said he needed help with an essay, which was easy enough. Now we're just hanging out, but he got me a gift and I can't wait to try it out-"

"He got you a gift? What, another necklace?"

"No, a mattress-thingy."

"...A what?"

"It's like an air mattress, I think, but there's a hole in the center... A pregnancy air mattress. We're gonna blow it up and I'm gonna try and lay on my front for the first time in forever. Let's hope I don't hate it."

Natsu looked up to scan the living room, and immediately locked eyes with Loke, who'd been watching them the entire time.

Lucy quietly observed their interaction until the silence became too much to bear, as even Evergreen set her phone down to look between the two men when the tension became too uncomfortable.

"Hey," The blonde's sweet voice broke Natsu out of the stare-off, whipping his head around to see that knowing look in her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

He thought about that for a moment, mulling it over in his head. As much as he'd like to go on about how much it all annoyed him, he didn't want to ruin Lucy's mood by upsetting her. He could be the bigger person, at least for today.