#otherwise it’s just a baffled hollowness instead of a warmth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

adamfoolcry · 3 years

Text

of coffees and holidays (d.sc)

pairings: Ballerina!Sicheng x CafeOwner!FemReader

rating: 13+

warnings: swearing

genre: angst and fluff

synopsis: Your and Sicheng's love story in five coffees with varying degrees of sweetness spanning five Christmases.

word count: 3k+

a/n: for @127-mile, I hope I did justice for your prompt. Hope you enjoy reading it. Happy Holidays! 🎅 Thank you to @neoculturechristmas for organizing such fun event. It can be read in chronological order if y'all wanted to. I promise it's a happy ending. Not proofread so please excuse the mistakes, I am so dumb. Please reach out to me if you would like to do so. - xo aria

Christmas 2019 - Espresso

Outside as flakes of snow fell from the sky, like a light shower of glitter from the heavens, the elusive holiday spirit seemingly present in the air; you watched a young couple huddled together to share warmth, fingers intertwined, cheeks glowing red partnered with coy smiles on their faces, and a family of three in admiration of their son as he showed off his Christmas gift. The streetlights emitting an orange glow providing an aura of softness, making everything come together to form a picturesque scene.

Heartwarming as these scenes were, they failed to evoke any emotion out of you; if anything you feel excluded from it entirely. To you the world behind the cafe's glass windows is just a film you're screening in the cinemas, and you were nothing but a mere spectator. You continue to stare listlessly at the throngs of people passing by until they all mesh into a blur of colors your eyes couldn't catch fast enough. That's better.

Inside the cafe although decorated with trinkets for the holidays there was an air of sadness permeating every corner and seated itself onto the furnishings. Lately it seems like sadness is following you around everywhere - like a shadow - and instead of trailing behind you it looms over you shrouding your every thought until it completely consumes you.

No one stepped foot inside the cafe and with no one to entertain your mind drifts to him. Sicheng.

How many days has it been? Since you last saw him. You've lost count, a lie you tell yourself to make the dull ache in your chest bearable.

It's a torture how you could recall that day - the day you lost him - so vividly as if you are forced to relive it every time the silence eats away at your resolve; to tuck the moment into the deep recesses of your mind, where it can't hurt you. When every little thing reminds you of him, his favorite spot at the cafe, black turtlenecks and that undeleted grainy picture of his sitting in your gallery.

You could never forget the look on his face, resignation etched into every crevice of his features, a forlorn smile on his lips.

"I see," he said in a bittersweet tone before he turned his back at you.

The slam of the door is the nail that hits the coffin. Sicheng is gone. He has already walked out of your life. That was the last you saw of him for he never visited the cafe again.

A month passed by when Sicheng called you. Your heart leaped as his name flashed on your screen and your thumb shakily pressed the answer button; afterwards lifting it near your ear.

There was no greeting as he uttered in his low voice that you have missed so much, "My flight to Russia is this Saturday."

Your heart sank.

"I want you to see me off, ______."

Don't go please stay with me but there are certain thoughts that weren't meant to be put into words so instead, "I'll be there." You reassured him.

But you never showed up at the airport that Saturday. Instead, you were at the cafe staring at the screen of your phone blinking on and off as a wave of notifications with his name flooded your phone. Why make things harder? As if him leaving wasn't hard enough. You pressed the power button long enough to shut down your phone.

The following days passed away into months that's a haze in your mind. You can't recall anything worth remembering. You quickly filled up your schedule with mundane tasks just to have something to do filling every gap of your vacant time.

At night you fell straight to bed, your body collapsing from the physical strain you have subjected it with. Establishing a packed routine without idle time so you don't have time to linger on the dull ache in your chest - always there like a festering wound. This works until you find your list of chores unexpectedly accomplished earlier than you planned, the cafe shrouded in still quietness.

Alone with nothing else to do the dull ache amplified to a crippling one and it bites you right back in your face, forcing you to acknowledge the hollow feeling that seems to reside in your chest permanently. Your eyes would be heavier, your vision blurry, trying to blink away the tears but ultimately failing as it trails down your cheeks; you clutch at your chest because it hurts and you regret that the last you'll see of Sicheng is that face of hurt he wore.

Christmas 2016 - Vanilla Latte

You placed the cup of vanilla latte sitting on a saucer on the table daintily, pushing the saucer across the wooden table towards the customer, avoiding to make any noise. The customer seemed so engrossed with the novel he is reading - nose almost touching the pages - that you don't want to disturb him.

The said customer is a regular, there was not a month that he hasn't visited the cafe. Showing up five minutes after you flip the signage to open, with no fail not even a minute late.

Wearing all black from head to toe, a tall lithe figure, and an androgynous facial structure, your guess is that he works as a model. Even now without trying he is captivating; he makes the cafe look like a set for a magazine spread just by lounging in the matching cherry wood table and chair, and you can't help but stand there and shamelessly stare at him. god really has his favorites.

His work must require him to travel to different countries and have photoshoots in scenic spots, oh how you wish you could also jetset to other countries. Packed schedule for the day that he doesn't have time to think about what he is going to do next. That is a luxury you don't have especially in the ber months for there is a decline in customers and with no one to entertain, your mind goes on an overdrive pondering on uncharted waters of how you have nothing else going for you but run this cafe.

Aside from his penchant to wear all black, read a novel while drinking his choice of beverage - choice of beverage you ask? - you see the other peculiar thing about this man is that he doesn't have a 'regular drink'. Most if not all people who go to a cafe know what they are going to order before they have set foot inside. This man doesn't, his eyes would flit on the menu, scanning from left to right and back again. It is almost ritual like, this would go on for a good minute or two as you drum your fingers on the counter waiting for his order.

The snow is falling outside covering the otherwise grey pavement white, decorations for the festivities hung around the four corners of your quaint cafe. Yet here he is, nursing a cup of coffee instead of being somewhere else. Doesn't he have a family? to celebrate Christmas with?

"Can I help you?" The man said, turning his face slightly in your direction not quite yet abandoning the book in his hand.

"Ohh uhmm-" you were jolted out of your trance, startled you took a sidestep only to collide with the chair where a large unzipped duffel bag was placed. The contents of the bag spilled over.

"Shit! I am sorry." You quickly knelt to the ground to pick up the scattered items on the floor, the man joined you. Charger, earphones, epsom salt, bandage, and tiger balm ointment as you picked up the items you also increasingly grew baffled. What a weird assortment of things. You reached for the item that somehow managed to get under the table and as your fingers came in contact with the rough material of the cloth you learned that your assumption of his job was wrong. A man's canvas ballet shoes.

I thought he was a model.

"What?" The man questioned. You wince to yourself you just didn't say that out loud. You emerge from under the table to find that the man was looking at you too intently for your liking. His eyes sought out yours waiting for an explanation and as if you owe him one you started explaining yourself.

"Well, you are tall and extremely handsome so .." Cringing as the words flew out of your mouth. The man chuckled at your confession, a tell tale sign of a smile on the corner of his lips.

"I am flattered really but as you can deduct by now I actually do ballet." He rose to his feet and offered you his hand to help you stand up.

Unlike other days where he will leave the cafe after an hour or two, this time he stayed and unlike other days where you find yourself alone in the cafe; you find yourself enjoying the company of this mysterious man.

Where you quickly learned that all your presumptions about him have little truth in it. You learned that his name is Sicheng, and he is a principal dancer for the Korean National Ballet company not a model although with his looks he might as well be one. Yes, he travels but mostly for tours and performances. He practices an average of eight hours a day.

Your fascination for his life spurred the conversation as if you were friends catching up with each other. With the book set aside and the contents of the cup long empty you two didn't notice how much time had passed. He bid you goodbye with a promise to visit you again tomorrow. As you watch his retreating figure getting smaller, the snow piling on top of each other over the glass windows of the cafe there was a smile on your lips - the warmth of a newfound friendship is akin to a good cup of coffee - making you warm from the inside out.

Christmas 2017 - Cappuccino

"Surprise me," Sicheng said leaning on his hip at the counter, arms crossed on his chest, when you asked him what he would like to drink. Standing there he looked like the culmination of your dreams.

Maybe it's the iridescent lights from the numerous christmas lights that flickered on his face making him look more exquisite or the grin he gave you after. You did surprise him but not in the way he was expecting and to be honest you are also shocked by your sudden brazenness as you lean in to kiss his plush lips. The kiss didn't last long, a little more than a peck but long enough for you to regret it.

"I .. I am sorry," you stammered burying your heating up face in your hands, embarrassed. You didn't even see Sicheng's reaction, was he appalled? You peeked through your fingers to find out, when Sicheng started laughing, tipping his head back a little, eyes crinkled in mirth, his right hand covering the half of his handsome face.

You want nothing more than to shrivel up in one corner. He started tugging at your wrists, pulling your hands away from your burning face.

"Mind giving me more of that surprise?" The corner of his lips curved upwards, nose slightly crinkled, and you wished to etch his face to memory.

Christmas 2018 - Americano

He was late, you glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, it is now 11 P.M. and soon Christmas will be over.

The americano you have prepared already cold, his untouched while yours halfway finished. It's fine though because you know that this will be the first of the many Christmases you have to spend without Sicheng. You must get used to spending it alone again.

Musing to yourself your mind quickly took a trip down the memory lane of his last visit to the cafe before he got on tour with the company for one of the holiday stage productions.

--------

You have only heard the thud of the door as it closed on its hinges. You are currently cleaning the countertop back bowed and eyebrows furrowed in concentration as you meticulously scrubbed at the stubborn grease that won’t budge, lifting your head to do the customary greeting, when something or rather someone barreled straight to where you are, engulfing you in a tight hug that shoved you headfirst into that someone’s chest your nose burrowed deeply into the black cloth.

Recognizing the intoxicating scent of light musk and citrus, relief flooded you as you hugged Sicheng back. You don't know how long the two of you stayed in that position basking yourself with his warmth just a little longer.

He's real, he's here a safe and solid presence by your side. You can count by one hand the things that have endured with you throughout the years, other than the cafe which you have run since your mother got sick, dropping out of college to keep it going. And one of those is Sicheng you've found in him stability and comfort your past partners can't give you.

Sicheng pulled away putting some distance between the two of you, his arms naturally falling at his sides. He was wearing one of his brightest smiles, the apple of his cheeks high and pronounced on his face.

"_______, I've been offered the position of principal dancer at Bolshoi Ballet in Russia," He can't help but smile again clearly enthusiastic with the prospect of joining one of the most prestigious ballet companies.

It took you a moment to answer settling with an unconvincing, "Wow." You don't know how to react with his news, but you feel dread in the pit of your stomach. You don't like the idea of him leaving. You try not to let it show in your face.

"I know. I was also surprised." As if sensing the change in your demeanor he asked concerned, "Is something wrong, ______?"

"Nothing let me whip you a drink I found from the net," you brushed him off with a wave of your hand.

----------

"Hey _______, I am sorry there was some minor traffic that held us back," Sicheng announced his entrance that broke your reverie. Setting his duffel bag on the floor to sit on the opposite chair facing you.

His hair tousled, cheeks rosy and nose red but despite his healthy complexion you can also see the pronounced bags under his eyes with a tinge of violet. He looks tired and in dire need of rest. Yet he headed straight to the cafe instead of his apartment.

"Sicheng I've wanted to tell you something," perching your arms on the table to fiddle with the ear of the cup.

"Yeah?" Sicheng asked, staring right at you.

"I think," you cast your eyes down on the table, and with a small voice continued, "we should break up."

"You think?"

"I mean we should"

"Why?"

"I ... it's just that it will be easier for you." Your hands started gesticulating in the air.

"Don't give me that bull shit. You are not the judge of that," Sicheng replied in a cold manner.

"It's just you have this life before me and you'll also have a life after me." Your voice cracked, and you gathered your strength to look at him. "I am grateful that you have been a part of my life. You are crazy talented and right now the world opens up in front you and you deserve better. I can't give you that I ..-," clutching at your chest, "I am just me."

"It's nice to know that you think of me as some temporary phase in your life and here I am fool enough to think that maybe you'll want to come with me to Russia," a cruel laugh slipped from his lips, "christ, I can't even choose what coffee I'll be having and finally for once in my life I've never been so sure of anything," voice trailing, "but us.

"So I'll still ask because I know I will regret it, if I don't. Do you want to come with me?" Sicheng pierced you with his eyes, wearing his heart out on a sleeve. Leaving himself unguarded and hoping you'll come through.

But you have never been brave. "I'll stay and you go."

"I see," he said in a bittersweet tone before he turned his back at you.

Christmas 2020 - White Chocolate Mocha

"I told you Renjun you don't have to do your shift at Christmas." You look up to reprimand Renjun, and instead are met with familiar feline eyes that seem to see right through you. There stood Sicheng looking like an intricate piece of art displayed in the museums. It is more painful to look at him than anybody warned it would be. It hurts how familiar you are with him still dressed in black - turtleneck and slacks, his trusty duffel bag hanging on one shoulder, he's still the same but now you are nothing more than a past fling to him.

"Hey," Sicheng walked towards the counter greeting you.

"Hey," you shake your head from the trance that took over you, "Oh I'll make you something."

"I'll have a white chocolate mocha." Slightly surprised by his request it took you a second to start preparing it.

"When did you come back?" You inquired as you moved about to prepare his drink.

"Yesterday night"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have fetched me?" He asked nonchalantly.

You momentarily stiffen evading to answer the question you throw another at him, "How are you? Is Russia treating you well?"

"Can we cut the crap out? As much as I love dancing, I don't like dancing around in circles. I've come back for one reason only."

"Will you come with me to London?"

Looking at Sicheng standing there - after how much you have hurt him - you thought you will never see him again and you have long accepted that punishment. You are not brave and you will never be but

"Yes, I'd love to go with you."

what you have with him is worth it.

a/n: Read more of my works for NCT here:masterlist

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cheshiresense · 5 years

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Ok so, I was reading and super enjoying your hunger!verse Tsuna thingy and I was forced afterword to go seek out more arcobaleno fic (FORCED. Pshhh). Annnnyway I did and now I'm desperately curious if we'll be seeing more of it? Maybe the first time Fon sees Tsuna eat? Will we ever find out how hard Lal Mirch smacks the Sawada Idiot? Where is Skull in all this? So curious! Anyway! Love your fic! Even when you're dragging me kicking and screaming into new fandoms:D

I’m not getting any Skull-writing-motivation atm, and Iemitsu is always a headache to write, even when he’s getting rightfully smacked. So I’ll just do a very short blurb of Fon&Tsuna interactions.

OMFG TUMBLR WHY DID YOU GET RID OF HORIZONTAL LINES-

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-0-

The first time Fon witnesses it, he’s torn between a morbid sort of fascination and a revolted sense of trepidation.

“You don’t have to be here,” Tsuna tells him, not for the first time, as Viper goes to check them in and Reborn leaves to make sure there’s no one with so much as an unpaid parking ticket to their name within five miles of the hotel they’ll be staying in.

It still surprises Fon, a little, even after two months in their company, which is actually one month more than they’ve ever willingly spent with each other. But even back before they realized the kind of woman Luce really was, not even Reborn was as protective of her as he is of Tsuna. Or maybe it’s just a different kind of protective. Where there was always a respectful distance between themselves and Luce, no matter how kindly she treated them, there’s none of that between Reborn - and Viper - and Tsuna.

That’s not to say they don’t respect him of course– in a rare moment of quiet honesty when Tsuna had fallen ill - again - with a mild fever, Viper had confessed to Fon that their new Sky was a kind of strong that still utterly baffled them as much as it was worthy of their admiration as well. And Reborn hadn’t slept a wink until Tsuna got better.

But Tsuna lets them close in a way Luce never could’ve, guards their health and wellbeing in a way Luce never had, and in return, it’s easy to see how Reborn and Viper consider him beloved and friend and Sky and boss, in exactly that order too.

Devotion. That was what they lacked when it came to Luce. That was what Luce could never quite earn from them, even before they learned the terrible truth, even from Reborn. She had gathered them and charmed them and earned their trust, but she had never been able to inspire the steadfast instinctual dedication that both Reborn and Viper show Tsuna these days, so in tune with the boy that even the way they move somehow seems in tune with each other, like… well, exactly like elements woven in with their sky.

And maybe that’s why Fon assures, also not for the first time, “I understand, Tsunayoshi-kun, but so long as you do not object, I would like to stay.”

He’s self-aware enough to know where this is going, that it’s only a matter of time for him too– one of these days, he’ll have enough courage to offer his own Flames as well, it’s on the tip of his tongue already, and even the echo of remembered agony and instinctual fear isn’t going to stop him.

And considering it’s only been a little over two months since he first met Tsunayoshi, well, even Luce hadn’t tamed them all as quickly.

(Fon worries about that sometimes. It’s not natural, is it? To care about someone so fiercely, so fast. But it actually helps that Tsunayoshi’s fought him just about every step of the way; he’s a Sky who so obviously cares, and so even if it makes Fon a little uneasy, he’s also equally determined to return that care. He can’t be a Storm to a Sky - doesn’t deserve to be a Storm to a Sky, especially this Sky - if the bond between them doesn’t go both ways.)

It’s… not as terrible as Fon thought it would be, once they’re shut away in the top-floor suite and Tsuna’s lips are dyed with yellow and indigo. He looks healthier in this moment than Fon has ever seen him, cheeks less hollow, bones less brittle, skin flushed with a healthier colour. Fon pays close attention to the entire process despite some part of him screaming at him to back out of the room, and so he also notices the way neither Reborn nor Viper show any signs of hesitation or pain when they draw out their own Flames and feed them to Tsuna.

“You should eat a bit more,” Viper huffs, shoving more indigo fire at their Sky when he tries to protest. “If you insist on going days without a proper meal, at least eat your fill when we do this.”

Reborn just stares Tsuna down until the boy sighs and accepts more of the handfuls of Flames the hitman is holding out.

Later, when it’s Fon’s turn to walk Tsuna to school (they’ve worked out a schedule, just to give each of them a bit of time alone with their Sky, although it took almost two months before Reborn and Viper - with Tsuna insisting - grudgingly agreed to add Fon to the rotation), he remarks, “It does not seem to hurt them, or otherwise affect them negatively.”

Tsuna doesn’t bother playing dumb. Everything about him droops for a moment instead. “…Maybe not. I mean it definitely did at first, and I don’t know if it’s just because they’ve gotten used to it, they said it wasn’t that and I don’t think they were lying to make me feel better but…”

He shakes his head and glances away, and for a moment, it doesn’t seem like he’ll continue his train of thought. But Fon waits patiently and is rewarded a few minutes later by a near-inaudible, “I just don’t like it. They’re literally sustaining me with their souls. And all I do is… take that from them. But what do I give them?”

Ah. So that’s the crux of the problem.

Well, Fon supposes it’s not so much of a surprise, for this boy. It’s a good thing then, that Fon knows the answer already.

“You give them a home,” He says, steadily, honestly, and something in his chest floods with a warmth that tethers him to the Sky beside him. Judging by the way Tsuna’s eyes widen and his hand jumps to his chest, Fon’s not the only one who can feel the creation of their bond.

“You give us a home,” He continues. “A place to belong, something to hold us together when we would otherwise be adrift in the world. Perhaps that does not sound especially important to you, but for us who have lived for decades with no one to care about and no one who might care about us, a Sky like you is… everything.”

Tsuna does not reply for a long moment. They’re entering through the school gates when he finally speaks again, and even then, it’s a succinct answer, less question and more dawning realization. “You guys were alone. And lonely.”

Fon smiles wryly and thinks of how even with every alarm bell ringing in his head, he still hopped on the first flight to Japan after hearing about a Sky who might actually be a proper Sky. Thinks too of how Reborn approached first even though he’d arguably been burned worst, and Viper who had long decided that trust was for fools and yet had still so desperately wanted someone to be worthy of their trust.

“We were,” Fon admits in a way he knows Reborn and Viper - even to Tsuna - would be hard-pressed to do. “And sometimes, being alone is the worst thing anyone can experience.”

Tsuna nods a little as he changes his shoes. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

-0-

After that, Tsuna is still firm about only eating their Flames once every few days, but he eases up on the protests, and when Fon offers his own Flames up the next time, Tsuna grimaces but also nods slowly without arguing. Reborn and Viper both give Fon suspicious side-eyes but since this works in their favour too, neither of them bring it up.

On his part, Fon feels the same instinctual fear swell up inside him, but he looks at Tsuna, his Sky, and his resolve is infinitely stronger. The core of his Storm Flames flare bright and fierce, and when Fon gathers a piece of it and breaks it off from the rest, there is only a brief spark of pain, like a hard pinch, and then he’s breathing easy again, and his hands burn with the wild pulse of his life-fire.

When Tsuna accepts it with reverent hands, and the red twines with Reborn’s yellow and Viper’s indigo as their Sky eats, something in Fon sits back, satisfied, and the newly forged Guardian bond inside him strengthens.

-0-

The very next morning, Fon wakes to a crash and Reborn very uncharacteristically shouting, “What the fuck-”

Fon’s barging into Tsuna’s room with a Viper who hasn’t even remembered to grab their cloak on his heels before it actually registers, and even then, it’s only because - for the first time since he was still a student at his first master’s dojo - he literally trips over his own feet.

He sits up and stares. Viper’s deathly silent behind him, and even Reborn’s fallen quiet from where he’s half-leaning against the nightstand. His hammock is ripped down the middle and hangs limply from the ceiling. Tsuna stares at all three of them from his bed, wide-eyed and stunned.

Fon looks at Reborn, whose ass is on the floor but whose head levels with the bedside table. He twists to look at Viper, who’s forgotten to float and is standing and... now seems to be about Tsuna’s height.

And then he looks down at himself, at hands that are no longer the tiny ones of his toddler self, at longer limbs that feel clumsily awkward and a heavier body that takes up more space than he’s used to. He’s nowhere near the size of his adult self, but he’s definitely now almost three times the size he was when he went to bed last night.

Reborn had the right of it.

What the fuck.

#khr #myscrap #hunger verse #fon #sawada tsunayoshi #reborn #viper #headcanon

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kiliinstinct · 5 years

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A Smile In The Embers: Prt 3

Rating: PG (or K) - For Now Setting: AU - Time Period Open for Interpretation Pairing: Nalu

{This is a Holiday Story I’ve been planning for a few months now. It’s not necessarily for Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc- but it takes place during these months and has some of those elements. Please enjoy!}

The lonely mansion held many servants and visitors, but the walls were always cold even in the hottest of summers. Lucy Heartfilia dreams of nothing more than to finally feel the warmth of a friend, something beyond the death she feels in her own home. One-freezing winters night- a secret wish comes true in the most strangest of ways. This is her story, of the Smile She Found Through the Embers.

<– Part Three of Five -->

. A Promise .

Time went on. Winter turned to Spring, Spring began it’s slow changes into Summer. Lucy’s friendship with the boy in the fireplace continued and many a servant within the Mansion came to believe the Young Lady’s friend was a ghost. The gem she had revealed the day he’d given it had baffled them for weeks before coming to this decision.

The sudden way they chose to explain the strange occurrences was upsetting for Lucy, aghast at how their smiles turned to humored confusion. Despite keeping it secret from her Father while believing it was a mere game created in her loneliness- even she could read the stares they gave her with ease. Worry, concern: fear.

Lucy knew they believed she was abnormal and the little blonde girl withdrew further into herself, opening up to her happier smiles only during the night as the fire glowed- even in the heat of summer.

“Won’t they get mad?” Natsu asked her once, worried the extra heat would have her taken away from the fireplace, but she shook her head, fingers tapping on a newer book she had just begun to read to him.

“It rains so much.” She explained, smile not reaching her eyes. “And it’s only for a little while so they don’t mind.” Or dare to tell her otherwise, she thought. Time passed on and she grew a little older day by day- and Natsu soon appeared before her in cleaner clothes and happier complexion.

Well taken care of. The orphanage that had a foyer much like her own, seemed intent to make Natsu a proper little boy before long. His smiles never changed despite the time going by and he still managed to tear holes in his pants or get dirt upon them with each new garment. Horse play, he had called it- the other boys (and his brother) often teased him and small fights would break out. The tales he would tell her always sounded like he was surrounded by bullies, but the smile never faded.

“Nah, they’re my friends- sorta.” He explained. “Not like you. You’re special! But we’re all here tryin’ to get new parents- and Miss Anna always patches us up after! You should see the Scarf she’s been … err.. Sewing? I dunno what it’s called, but she uses these big sticks and-”

“Knitting.” Lucy answered for him, smile faltering just slightly. Other children had come to join him, all without parents, but somehow together all the same. It made the hollowness inside her own heart clench just slightly, a small seed of envy growing in the pit of her stomach. “She sounds like a wonderful lady. I wish I could meet her… “

She refused to water that seed, it wasn’t Natsu’s fault she was stuck, unable to see others. The closest to friends outside of him were the children who sometimes came along with their parents for visitation. Play dates, she had heard them all. All dressed in frills and taught the same as she, but none of them broke the mold of that life, none of them argued it.

They accepted and spoke as if she would one day be their wife. (As her Father only ever let her meet the young sons of these families, never the girls.) It made her wish, quietly, that she would never age.

“You know,” Natsu continued, playing with a new tear in his shirt, “Miss Anna looks sorta like you. You even have the same last names! - but when I asked her about having family in a fireplace, she just looked at me funny.”

“You dummy!” Lucy giggled, attention falling back on the other as she squinted through the flames at him, “Of course she look at you funny. No one has family in a fireplace!” He pouted, arms crossed as he stubbornly stuck his tongue out, “If you’re over there, then why not?”

Lucy had just been about to explain how it would be impossible (though, even she wasn’t altogether certain her opinion was correct) when she finally registered what he had been saying earlier. “- Well, because, fireplaces aren’t usually connected to other- … actually, now that I’m thinking of it, I used to have a great Aunt Anna, but I’ve never met her….”

“Really?” This sparked the boys interest, eyes lighting up eagerly, “Why?”

“I - “ Lucy paused, eyebrows scrunched together in her attempt to remember. “No one really told me. She didn’t pass away like Mama, I don’t think, but… they always talk like she just disappeared.”

This revelation only made Natsu more excited, “Then she really COULD be Miss Anna!”

“No, that’s not possible!” Lucy’s denial was obstinate, a strange, almost apprehensive feeling boiling into the pit of her stomach, but her friend didn’t notice, excitedly waving his arms about. “Natsu, it’s not- that was before I was even born, she’d be REALLY old if she was your Miss Anna!”

He froze, lips frowning as his eagerness died like an ember. “Oh, well, that’s no fun… it would have been great if you were related.”

“What makes you say that?”

Natsu shrugged, responding without a second to think, “‘Cause it would mean there’s a way for me to actually see you.”

The little girl didn’t have a reply. The former boiling inside her had changed to fluttering and her face warmed. Natsu as very good at making her feel butterflies, often blushing from the simplest of phrases. To her luck, the boy never noticed, thinking the redness on her cheeks was merely from the fire and nothing more.

This time was no different, but her fingers shyly rung together on her lap and she shyly glanced back through the small lashes of her eyes. His own cheeks seemed to darken in response, but the smile never faded.

He was just like that at times.

The closest it came to the next winter, it became more difficult to sneak out at night. Her responsibilities were growing- the times Lucy would awaken each day: earlier. Her Father and tutors were preparing her for something, but she couldn’t glean a hint from a single person. Each night she would sneak out to the fire place, her time to stay grew shorter and Natsu began to notice, becoming increasingly more disappointed each time.

Lucy began to wonder if perhaps one of the servants had told her Father, and he was purposefully keeping her busy to ward off ill rumors. The thought made her feel sick, unwilling to even imagine a time when she couldn’t visit him.

“You need more sleep.” He told her one morning, watching the little blonde yawn over her breakfast, head nodding each time her eyes slid shut. Lucy’s constant yawns caused a crease in his brow, eating calmly despite the tension in the air. “Should we look into sleep medication, again?”

The mere thought made the sleep leave her eyes instantly. A memory resurfacing of the time just after her Mother’s funeral- screaming fits and inability to sleep, often ended in being made to drink a bitter substance that had her sleep for hours on end. She shook her head, “N-no, I’m fine Father, I’m not having trouble sleeping.”

She still wasn’t willing to try to explain Natsu’s existence and a sudden comment from the butler had her staring wide eyed, silently begging he wouldn’t give it away. The man in question, gulped and nodded his head, offering to refresh the morning tea instead. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, never noticing the observant stare Jude had given her.

Lucy clung to the crystal Natsu had given her that evening while she snuck from her room. Over the last year the small item had become a charm for her. She felt as if it gave her good luck and courage each time she kept it close and Natsu had smiled as if it were his own birthday the night she had told him these feelings. He liked the idea as much as she.

“Maybe it’ll get so lucky that you won’t have to keep going to bed early!” He stated, minutes after his visage had appeared within the flames that night. Lucy could only hope i would come true, biting back another yawn.

“If it does that, then I’ll believe you’re magical.” She admitted, sleepily, eyes nearly fluttering shut as they had that morning. A loud clap from the other side startled her into waking and she blinked towards the boy- his expression worried.

“Lucy…” He murmured after a time, inching closer to the flames until she could hardly discern where he ended and the fire began. “You don’t… you don’t HAVE to come down here if it’s gettin too hard. You need sleep-”

She knew he meant well, and adored him for it, but shook her head. “I’m fine! It would be so lonely if I didn’t get to see you. You’re my best friend!”

Natsu’s chest puffed out a little, smile full and bright, “You’re mine too- that’s why I don’t want ya wearing yourself out just for me. Not that I don’t want ya here, I just…” Want you to be okay. He never finished his sentence, words trailing off while they stared at one another.

Their conversation that night seemed almost solemn, Lucy even forgot to bring a book to read. Her favorite one telling the most beautiful of Fairy Tales. She had wanted to share all of them and Natsu had grown to look forward to every new story she told. Not that night. Instead they spoke in hushed whispers while he urged her to sleep, ‘Even if down here! I can watch you until the fire dies!’

Lucy continued to refuse. Times were changing and she could feel it, the little girl was being called a lady, her education becoming all the more complicated. She knew what that meant for girls in noble families. Though she silently hoped her fate would not be the same Or, at the very least, she could have just one more year before being considered an adult.

Just one more year, that’s all she asked. Sighing, she realized, almost too late, that she had begun to nod off again and quickly moved to sit on her knees, scowling at Natsu. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Sorry, but I didn’t wanna try and wake ya again if you dozed off for good.”

“You should wake me every time!” She huffed! Clenching the gem within her pocket once more. A small idea began to form into her head then, lips quirking at the plan. “Do you remember how I said I would find you the perfect gift?”

His smile lessened to a curious head tilt as he slowly nodded, “Of course I remember. Cause I gave you my Mother’s crystal. You don’t HAVE to give me somethin’ though-not right now, at least.”

The gears in her head were working over time through her sleepiness and with a lethargic, contemplative movement, she slowly reached for a small necklace chord that she kept around her neck. It was a long, rope necklace she couldn’t wear during the day and it dangled down beneath her night dress, hidden from view on most nights.

A tiny, bronze key, weathered from age- she held it close to her chest even as it was removed from her neck. “I keep this hidden most days,” She admitted quietly, fingers running across the small item, “- but it was my Mama’s, too. She called it a skeleton key.”

“What’s that?” Natsu asked, eyes wide, “it sounds pretty interesting-”

“It’s supposed to open any door.” Lucy answered, staring at it fondly before taking in a deep breath. She stilled for a second, as it to prepare herself, before her small arms tossed it through the Flames. “Catch!”

She heard it tink on the floor and the boy gasp as he scrambled to grab it, cursing quietly as he went. “Shi- I mean, hold on, I’ll get it, no wait, it’s here-? Damni- no, I mean. Aww, Miss Anna is gonna be so mad if she knows I’m talkin’ like that! Ah! Got it!”

Natsu sprung back in view, triumphantly holding up the small corded necklace, grinning widely at the small key. Lucy smiled in relief, giggling at his antics and pretending not to have heard his potty mouth. She would let it slide, and let Miss Anna deal with him if it continued. Her laughter came out like tiny bells, echoing off the wall and Natsu’s own laughter joined hers.

A sudden loud slam of a hand on wood shocked them from the moment, Lucy’s heart leapt into her throat , entire body alert to the noise. Turning around, brown eyes widened as she looked upon the entry way, eyes meeting the harsh, angry, gaze of her father. Jude stood in his own sleep clothes, a lit candle in one hand: eye twitching as his hand slowly slid from the wall.

“Lucy!” He barked, glancing about the room, “Is this what you’ve been doing all this time? You’re too tired to learn because you’re laughing at the walls?!” Shriveling back, the tiny girl felt all her happy feelings escape her body, limbs feeling heavy like stone. Jude stomped his way through the room, eyes narrowed and a terrified gasp escaped her-

“I-I’m sorry!” She cried, legs wobbling as she tried to move to her feet. “I Just- I- “ Natsu! Yes- fingers pointing towards the fire, she tried to explain herself. “Father, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you during the day, but I have a friend, right there! That’s why I’m up- !!”

The sudden strong hand that gripped her arm made a surprised whimper escape, pulling yanked towards her feet as the much taller man hissed at her to shut her mouth. His eyes glanced once towards the fire, but flickered back towards her not a second later, cold fury bunched in in his tightened jaw. “Enough! Your Mother filled your head with inane stories when she was alive, but you should be over this by now! No more talking of boys in fire places!”

It was like a bucket of ice had been dumped down her spine. He knew. He knew after all. Someone had told him, but when? Who? Hot tears stung at Lucy’s cheeks as she tried, once again, to make him notice the fire. Why couldn’t she hear Natsu? Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“- It’s not talk, he’s really there- !“ Eyes casting upon the fireplace while feet slammed to the floor, trying to hold her place even as Jude began to pull her form the room- little Lucy met the surprised, stunned eyes of Natsu, through the flames. Hope surged within her, “He’s here! Just- look! Please! He’s right there!”

“Lucy-?!” Natsu questioned, voice strangely matching the hissing of the flames, face paler than she had ever seen it before. “Lucy! I’m here, can you hear me?! Let Lucy go, you’re hurting her!”

His voice, rising over the roar of flames, did not meet Jude’s ears. His grip tightened as Lucy’s body was forced into the hall and a servant called to dispel the flames. Worried shrieks escaped her mouth as she reached for the door frame, desperate to stay in place. To prove her point. Could he not see Natsu?

“Let her go, let HER GO!” The boy was hissing, hand reaching out as if to reach for her, but reflexively yanking back as the fire licked at his fingers. “I’m going to save you, Lucy! I will!”

Save her? It was all a blur, she couldn’t understand, but the tears stained her cheeks and she nodded, body going limp as Jude finally wrestled her into his larger arms, carrying her up the stairs.

“I will NOT have a daughter speaking to walls and fires! This is the last straw Lucy!” He admonished, trudging up the stairs while his daughter’s eyes watched the flickering embers be dispersed- Natsu’s voice echoing even as the wall slowly reappeared.

“Finishing School. As soon as possible. No more late nights for you!”

To Lucy’s horror: he meant it.

“LUCY!”

#A Smile In The Embers #ftfanfiction #fairytail fanfiction #nalu fanfiction #nalu #natsu x lucy #natsu #lucy #fairy tail

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