•••

"What—What in the world are you doing here?" Lucy demanded haughtily.

Hearing her furious, Natsu's laughter eventually died down, and he put a hand behind his neck, suddenly nervous.

"H-hey li-."

"Oh no no no no." Lucy interrupted. "Don't you 'hey' me! You are not supposed to be here, and yet you are here! And you're not even dressed fully!" Lucy screeched.

Natsu looked down at his attire, confused. "Is this not okay?" He asked.

"Does this look like it's okay?" Lucy accused, pointing at her face, which at this moment, was not just red from fury, but also from embarrassment.

She was trying so hard to ignore his exposed torso, which was covered with bandages, but not enough to cover his..well..umm..abs.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Why are you here?" She asked again, but this time, her voice calmer than before.

He rubbed the back of his neck again, looking anywhere but her.

"It was boring without you there." He said so quietly, that Lucy might've not been able to catch it, had she not been paying so much attention.

This flattered her, honestly, and if possible, she turned even more red. However, his spontaneous actions had her on the edge.

"You had Plue." She reasoned.

He still wasn't looking at her, but he counter argued anyway.

"Your dog is very cute. But it also looked very tasty when I was hungry."

"Stay away from my dog!"

"Besides.." he continued. "I wanted to be with you."

"H-Huh?"

He finally looked at her, and Lucy was surprised to see him grinning, yet again showing off his unusually sharp canines.

"Well I have to be, since I have to protect you and all! I've been keeping a watch on you the since the moment you left me in the dining room."

"Since the moment..Wait..YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING ME ALL ALONG?"

'And here I thought that he'd left me alone' Lucy thought. But then..

"Wait..you said you've been watching me all along.. Does-Does that include me..sh-showering and stuff t-too?"

Natsu didn't say anything, but the clear and dark blush on his face was an answer enough.

"Y-You..oh my god..you PERVERT!"

Natsu flinched but looked her in the eye, stuttering and still clearly embarrassed.

"It-it was only for protection pur-purpose, I swear!"

Lucy was still very flushed, so Natsu took this as his chance to change the subject.

"I followed you all the way, just so I could save your life. But man, do you live the most boring life ever!"

"Oh...I'm sorry, for not living up to you're expectations." Lucy retorted sarcastically.

"All I'm saying is that, you should just hurry up and do something stupid to die. Take some risks. Otherwise how am I supposed to save you?"

"Oh well, excuse me for caring about my life and not just entrusting it in some stranger's hands!"

"I told you I'm not a stranger! I'm-"

The door to the office suddenly opened, revealing a petite girl with wavy blue hair.

Natsu and Lucy both stopped dead, frozen mid-argument.

"Is this a bad time?" Levy asked, noticing her friend wide eyed, and frozen mid-sentence.

"N-No..Levy." Lucy said.

Levy nodded and then let herself inside the room, closing the door behind her.

"L-Look Levy, uhm.."

"Yeah yeah, it's alright."

To say Lucy was completely confused would've been an understatement.

"H-Huh?"

"Erza told me all about it. Though I would say I was worried. Don't pull something on us like that again though."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"The text message dummy! You didn't text us back! We were all so worried. Juvia was in tears. Though it can be because of the alcohol too." Levy mumbled the last part.

Lucy was still stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Speaking of texts, were you talking to someone? I could hear your muffled voice in the hallway. It seemed as if you were arguing."

"Y-yes..uhm..it was..um..a call. Very important."

Levy eyed Lucy intently. If she knew that her friend was lying, she didn't push it.

"Did you need something Lev?"

At this, her eyes brightened and she clapped her hands together.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! We have a new recruit! So there's a party down in the cafeteria. You know how Master is!" She smirked.

"Join us?" She asked.

Lucy nodded, feigning happiness.

"Sure I'll be down in a minute!" She smiled.

Levy gave her a searching look once again, probably seeing right through her. But, maybe she decided to let it go for now, for she shrugged and smiled, letting herself out.

"I'll be waiting! Be there soon, 'Kay?"

The door closed again and Lucy turned back, almost expecting Natsu to be gone.

However he was still there.

Before she could even ask him why Levy seemingly behaved as if he wasn't even there, he decided to answer her first.

"I can make myself invisible at will." He disclosed. "I can choose who can see me and who can't. That's how I've been following you."

Lucy nodded, at a loss for what to ask next. Her head hurt from all the questions that still swam in, unanswered.

Natsu decided to break the silence.

"Was that your friend?"

"Yes." Lucy answered, sighing. "Levy McGarden. She's the assistant head of the research department. She is super smart."

Natsu nodded, before continuing.

"And that redhead?"

"Erza?" Lucy questioned. "How did you-."she began, but then she remembered that he'd been following her.

"She's one of my best friends too. She's the assistant director here."

"She's scary." Natsu muttered, shivering slightly. "I was almost certain that I'd have to save you from her bloodlust this morning."

Lucy chucked, amused at his perceptions.

"Aww is the dragon prince scared?" She teased. Natsu just 'hmph-ed' and looked away, embarrassed.

"She can be like that, but she's one of the sweetest people I've ever known." Lucy clarified. "She also loves strawberry cake to death, just for future reference." Lucy winked.

Moments later, Lucy's phone buzzed to signal a text notification.

'You coming? It's getting good down here!'

"Who is it?" Natsu asked.

"Oh it's just Gray."

"That ice jerk?"

"Hey!"

Natsu just shrugged, seeming nonchalant.

"He just pisses me off for some reason."

Lucy rolled her eyes, and stuffed her phone in her jeans pocket. She began to move towards her door, when she noticed Natsu following.

"What?" She asked.

"I'll come with you! It's my job!"

"Natsu..it's just an office party! I won't be in mortal peril!"

"Yeah but.."

"Natsu, do you know the riskiest thing that I've ever done in my life? Leaving something to do in the morning when I know damn well that I won't be up that early. That's just the kind of person I am! So I don't really think that your plan to save my life will work out well here. It might take forever!"

"Well then I guess I'd have to wait forever with you!" He said cheerfully, passing her a wide smile.

How can he even say something like that, without thoroughly thinking of its implications and complications?

It made him so..so..utterly and stupidly adorable.

Lucy blushed 50 different shades of red from embarrassment, before hurrying to the door and closing it behind her.

"Go home Natsu."She said, before the door completely shut, and Lucy dashed downstairs, leaving him behind.

•••
I know imma regret it, but here you go, another chapter.
(Regret it cause I didn't write the next one)
And I'm totally crying rn cause my sorry ass decided to watch the Tartaros arc and my emotions are going haywire rn.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing it.
Please vote, comment and share this story on ur message boards and all! Spread the word! ^.^

Sayonara!
Belle🌸
🔥❤️🔑