Wheels of Fire

The Fireball and the Princess

Lucy unlocked her door, removed her shoes in the foyer, and dropped her bag heavily with a long, weary sigh.

"What a mission!" she exclaimed, heading straight to the kitchen to get dinner started. "Those guys were insanely hard. Even Natsu had issues. And now, Natsu! I hope he's okay. Well, it's Natsu, so he'll be fine. Still, without him around, I wondered if the rest of the team would want to do another mission, an easier one, something so I can pay rent and ... oh ... that's right," she mumbled peevishly.

She walked out of the kitchen, through the main room, and glanced to the doorway. Edo-Natsu had insisted on walking behind her—far behind her—the whole way, so she completely forgot about him. Now he stood in the doorway, only leaning his head in, glancing around with his mouth gaped open in awe.

"Well, come on in," she said brusquely.

"Ah, yes ma'am, sorry." He scurried in and shut the door, yet stayed on the welcome mat looking around in amazement. It was smaller than he had imagined for a girl who looked like a princess. From what he could see, there were only three rooms: the main room with a bed, a dining table and three chairs, a desk, an overstuffed cushioned chair, and bookshelves ... lots of bookshelves. Then the room Lucy reentered, and from the glimpse of a stove, he realized that was the kitchen. The one next to it must be a bathroom, and there was a small door leading to what he guessed was a balcony or fire escape. Overall, plenty of room for one person, but it would be crowded with two.

"Have you never seen a house before?" she teased as she got water boiling for tea and some rice cooking for dinner.

"Well, I'm not really sure," he admitted, venturing forward one step at a time, as if checking for landmines in the wooden floor. "I lived with my father in whatever cheap motels were close to the racetracks, and when he vanished, I was taken in by Fairy Tail. I lived with them, and since we were always jumping from place to place, most of us lived inside the guild building, so ... I don't think I've ever been in a real house like this. A few swanky hotels, but not a house. Lucy used to rent small apartments. She hates staying with the rest of us, so whenever we plan to stay in one place for a few months, she rents a place in the nearby town. I always wondered what it'd look like inside, but she would only have me drop her off, never invited me up. This place..." He took a couple more hesitant steps in. "It's very ... un-Lucy-like."

"What?" she yelled. "What do you mean? And take off your shoes. I don't want you dragging dirt onto my floor."

"Ah! Sorry, sorry," he squeaked and quickly removed his boots. "I just mean, I always imagined Lucy's home would be ... you know ... all black with chains hanging from the walls. This home is ... cute. Simply cute!" He beamed at her. "Like Lucy Heartfilia."

She glared at him. "Are you already trying to flirt with me? Don't tell me you're as bad as that playboy Loke."

His face went a few shades paler. "Waah! No, I ... I didn't mean it in a flirting way. And ... L-Loke?" He tilted his head in confusion. "Your Loke is a flirt? As in with women?"

"Well, yeah," she mumbled. "Why? Did you guys have Loke in Edolas too? I didn't see him there. What is he like? Was he in the guild?" She laughed softly as she pulled a tin of tea down. "Don't tell me he's gay."

"Well, that too," the boy mumbled, wondering where he could sit that would be least offensive to his hostess. "Loke vanished long before you Earthland guys arrived. Some say he got in a fight with Lucy and she killed him."

Lucy dropped the tin, and it clattered on the cabinet shelf. "Seriously?" she cried out in shock. "Lucy Ashley killed your Loke?"

"That's the rumor," Natsu said with a frown. "Not only was he homosexual; he was a total misogynist, hated women, and he despised Lucy for trying to take over the guild after Master died. He argued with her many times, bad arguments that broke into bloody fights. I heard him muttering 'I want to kill that bitch' many times. Others said he tried to, sneaking in on her while she slept. Once, Lucy got food poisoning and Loke just laughed, so she accused him of trying to murder her. Shortly after that ... he vanished. Lucy was quiet about it, so we think maybe he tried to kill her again, and she killed him instead."