Hear me

14

"Nat, you got my pillowcases all dirty! Wake up!" The shrill sound of Lucy's yelling woke Natsumi from her slumber, startling her that she flew out of the bed, landing in a fighting stance to take on would-be assailants.

Noticing there was no one in the room but her blonde roommate and Happy, she relaxed, painting a cheerful smile on her face.

"Mornin', Luce!"

"Don't you 'Luce' me, Natsumi! You got dirt all over these! What the hell were you doing last night?"

Natsumi blinked. Sensing danger, Happy wordlessly tiptoed out of Lucy's room, hoping that the blonde wouldn't notice his escape.

"I got thrown in the river."

"And you didn't think to shower after you came home?" Lucy was not amused as she stripped the formerly white pillowcases and sheets off the bed with a long-suffering sigh.

"I was tired," the dragon slayer defended, "and you guys were cuddling when I got back, so I thought I'd just sleep here like the old days!"

Lucy only stared at her, glowering.

"If it makes you feel any better, it was Laxus's fault. But I got revenge, so it's fine."

"Tell that to my pillowcases!" The celestial mage balled up one of the soiled linens and threw it at Natsumi, who deftly dodged.

This led to fifteen minutes of Lucy attempting to strangle her friend with her dirty pillowcases, shouting all the while about showing her true revenge.

When Lucy finally gave up, panting, hands on knees, Natsumi remembered the idea that had come to her just before she fell asleep the night before.

"Hey Lucy? Will you help me with my hair?"

That snapped Lucy out of her spell of exhaustion. "What? Since when does Natsumi Dragneel care about her hair?"

The shorter girl glared at her friend's confusion. "I don't! I just always miss spots in the back when I brush it myself," she ignored her friend's 'when you remember to brush it at all' and continued, "and you always do a better job. So you'll help me, right?" She smiled as wide as she could, hoping her friend wouldn't ask too many questions.

Unfortunately, she wasn't quite that lucky.

Lucy sighed, "Fine, I'll help you. But!" she cut off Natsumi's celebratory cheer. "Does this have anything to do with how you were out for half the night with a certain S-Class Mage?"

Natsumi sputtered. "No! Stop being weird, Lucy!"

Lucy's sly look only grew more pronounced, knowing her friend was lying through her teeth. Something big must have happened to make her friend interested in her appearance for once in her life. She itched to know, but something told her it'd come out on its own time if she played along.

"Okay, calm down," she relented. "But I'm not touching you with a ten foot pole until you shower. Go get started and I'll help you afterwards."

She was surprised when the dragon slayer obeyed her, shouting out a cheerful "Aye, sir!" as she flew out of the room, returning seconds later with an armful of clean clothes and disappearing into Lucy's bathroom in a whirlwind. Her excitement made Lucy smile, and she didn't bother scolding her for not using the main bathroom instead.

Checking the kitchen to make sure Happy wasn't in the middle of irreparable destruction and finding him quietly munching on a fish fillet on the kitchen counter, she decided there were probably worse things and set about preparing her vanity.

Several minutes later, Natsumi emerged from the bathroom in a towel, enthusiastically plopping herself on the vanity stool in front of Lucy.

"You could have at least wrung out your hair beforehand," Lucy complained in a flat voice. "Explain to me again why you can't dry your own hair?"