Fairy Tail: In Your Heart ♥ (NaLu One-shots)

1. A Feeling of Loss

Mira smiled at her, amused.  "My, my.  You need to be more vigilant, Lucy."

Lucy laughed nervously.  "Y-Yeah...sorry."

Round one finished,  Lucy thought in her mind with relief.  Lucy one, Mira zero.  Let's hope it stays that way.

The real reason why Lucy had been up so late is because she had been stressing over what to give to her father.  The anniversary of his death was approaching, and Lucy had no idea what to set atop his resting place.  On top of that, it had been a strange coincidence that her father had died on the same day and month Lucy's mother had.  Lucy did not know what to bring her beloved mother, either.

Lucy did know, however, that the faster it approached the more heavyhearted she became.  Since the Grand Magic Games and the Dragon Invasion, Lucy didn't have much time to think back on her family.  It was days like these that showed her just how much everything went wrong, and how much she wished she could have done something.  Lucy sometimes did believe the death of her mother was her fault; that somehow, she could have prevented her mother's illness.  The thought knawed at her like a dog with a bone, and it seemed to weigh down her thoughts even further.

It was unfortunate, however, that as Lucy thought about this, Natsu and Happy were creeping up on her to give Lucy her monthly scare.

"Don't even think about it, Natsu.  Happy."  Lucy replied neutrally, the two mischevious males halting in their tracks.

Mira blinked in surprise.  "Lucy, you could never tell when they'd start to approach you until now."

Natsu pouted his bottom lip.  "C'mon, Luce!  That's no fair!  You must have cheated somehow..."

"Aye!"

Lucy had her hand on her cheek, her eyes clossed sassily as she stuck her chin outwards in defiance.  "Tondemonai.  No way, I just had a feeling, that's it.  When someone isn't in the mood for a prank, they don't fall for tricks easily."

Natsu and Happy groaned, disappointed their master plan hadn't worked.  They both slapped their faces into the wooden counter, their expressions sluggish and marked by the table as they brought their faces back up lazily.

Lucy blushed at them affectionately; though they could be idiotic and childish, Lucy cherished them greatly.  Though Lucy would never dare to admit it, she always got a weird feeling in her stomach when Natsu was around.  You'd think, with how intelligent Lucy was (or at least how much she thought she was), she would understand it; but she had never felt this way before.

It kinda freaked her out.

Sighing, Lucy tried to get ahold of the sensation racing through her stomach, first warming up and then doing flips.  However, the light sensation seemed to almost make her sick, which didn't improve her mood at all.

"Lu-shee, you look tired!"  Happy exclaimed, poking her cheek.

Lucy glared daggers at the cat, and the exceed flinched as an invisible aura of "leave me alone" curled around him.

"Thanks for the observation..."  Lucy mumbled, standing.

"Oi, where ya goin'?"  Natsu asked, staring after her.

Lucy's legs seemed to turn to jelly as Natsu called out for her, but she kept her head up and just kept walking.  

Waving her hand into the air in farewell, she looked over her shoulder to retort a reply.  "I'm going out!"

"But you just got here, Luce!"  Natsu exclaimed in confusion and disappointment, Happy on the counter next to him.

Lucy's mood seemed to become somber once more.  "Do whatever, alright?  I just need to think for awhile..."