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Wheels of Fire	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 22712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
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Chapter 2
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."
"Yikes!" Lucy cringed, and with a shiver she returned to the boiling water. "I think I prefer my Loke to something like that. He's a playboy, but he always fights for me … when he's not out on a date and sends one of the other Spirits," she amended.
"Um … can I … um … uh … use the … the … um…"
"Spit it out," she sighed.
"Bathroom," he muttered bashfully. "I haven't gone since we were on the train."
"Oh, no problem. It's the door on the right."
"Thanks. Sorry." He trotted off quickly.
Lucy shook her head. "They have a Loke who wants to assassinate Lucy, a Lucy who is like that, and Levy is a mad scientist who uses her own guild members for experiments but hates to write down how she builds things. Edolas is a really messed up world. But Natsu … this Natsu is somewhat adorable, nothing at all like that rude, utterly obtuse Dragon Slayer."
The thought made her smile. Natsu had sneaked into her house all the time, sometimes curling up into her bed only to scare the heck out of her in the morning, yet Edo-Natsu was timid even to enter and stuttered bashfully just to use the bathroom. It would be easy to keep him in line, and she would not mind hearing more stories about the Edolas versions of Fairy Tail.
When Edo-Natsu returned, he sneaked into the kitchen slowly, with the caution of a tomcat approaching a doberman. Lucy hummed as she stir-fried some vegetables and chicken.
"Can I help?"
"Kyaaaaa!" she screamed in surprise.
Edo-Natsu crouched to the ground and covered his head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Oh, stop it!" she snapped, really getting frustrated with his timidity. "Just don't sneak up behind me." Her hand went to her chest as her heart beat erratically. "Sheesh, that scared me."
"Sorry. I was just wondering if you need some help."
"I'm fine. I made tea. Help yourself. Just sit somewhere until I'm done cooking. Read any of the magazines, but don't you dare touch my writing desk or I will skewer you."
"Yes, ma'am," he squeaked. "I'm sorry, really sorry." He rushed out with a whimpering sound croaking in his throat.
Soon dinner was done. Edo-Natsu sat on the red cushioned chair, his legs crossed under him, reading the latest Sorcerer Magazine and sipping the tea Lucy had prepared. He eagerly offered to help her set the table, and he carried in some of the dishes. Lucy chuckled at this completely unique situation, a Natsu who was helpful around the house, who carried things carefully, never spilled a drop, and looked happy to set the silverware in perfect order: fork, knife, then spoon. As they ate, he was neat about the food. When he spilled a little sauce, he quickly cleaned it up. Definitely nothing like the sloppy, gorging Dragon Slayer!
"Hey, Edo-Natsu, can you please pass the salt?"
"Huh?" He glanced up from his meal and pointed to his chest. "Me?"
"Who else?"
"Sorry, it's just weird hearing you and everyone else call me Edo-Natsu. I mean, I'm trying to call you just Lucy instead of Earth-Lucy, although that's weird too since you're nothing like Lucy Ashley. Can't you just call me Natsu?"
"I guess," she mumbled. "So Natsu…" She stopped and pouted. "Nope, it's too weird."
"Then call me Fireball. Natsu Dragneel doesn't go by that name, does he?"
"No, he's known as Salamander. Okay then … Fireball, please pass the salt."
He laughed and blushed a little. "I guess it's weird to hear you call me that name too. Lucy rarely calls me Fireball."
He handed the salt shaker over to her. Their fingers touched, she felt the rough hands and warm skin, and Lucy suddenly let go. The shaker fell, and white grains of salt spilled onto the table.
"Ah! I'm so sorry," Natsu shouted, quickly righting it up. "I thought you had it."
"No, it's my fault," she said. "I dropped it."
He began to dust the spilled salt into a napkin. "I should have made sure it was in your hand. I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz."
"It's not your fault, okay?" she snapped. "I just … oh, whatever," she growled.
Why had she jolted like that? It was just Natsu! Well, a different Natsu, but that was all the more reason to be casual around him. So why did that touch make her heart race?
'Dammit Lucy! Just because he's a bit cute and totally unlike that destructive Dragon Slayer, I'm acting like some teenager. Well, I am a teenager, but still! He's from another dimension, for crying out loud.'
"Now I wonder what I should call you," he said, continuing with their meal. "I mean, I've been trying really hard to call you Lucy, but I feel like hiding every time I say her name." He laughed bashfully at admitting that, and he rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Should I call you Heartfilia?"
"No, I don't always want people to know I'm from that family."
"Oh, I see. So they're yakuza as well, like the Ashley Family?"
"What?" Lucy shouted. "No! No, my father headed a konzern, a large business group. We were … sorta rich. Maybe very rich," she admitted, not too proudly. "Papa's company was one of the wealthiest in Fiore, but we lost it all. Still, I don't want people to think I'm some snobby rich heiress or princess."
"Princess?" he asked. "I guess you really are more like a princess than a yakuza's daughter. Can I call you that, then?"
She pouted and huffed. "Why not? Virgo and Loke call me Princess. It's a little annoying, but it's better than having people know I'm a Heartfilia."
He grinned happily. "All right! You get to be my Princess," he declared happily, then continued to eat his dinner.
Again, Lucy blushed and scolded herself. He was from Edolas! He'd be going back home in just a week! So why in the world was she thinking he was a bit cute?
After dinner, Fireball washed the dishes. Lucy was impressed with how helpful and neat he was. After taking a bath, he left the room sparkling clean. She worried a bit while she was taking her own bath that maybe he had a perverted side under all that bashfulness. She kept her whip near the bathtub, and her Spirit Keys with Virgo's set out for easy reach so she could use the maid to punish the boy if he dared to spy on her. However, Fireball never peeked. When she came out dressed in a robe with a towel around her hair, she saw that he had folded out her shikibuton and made his own bed on the floor at the foot of her bed, already asleep and breathing heavily.
She knelt by him, watching his chest rise and fall. His goggles were off, his pink hair loose, and he wore some pajamas she had laid out for him.
"Sheesh, you really are the spitting image of Natsu," she whispered softly so he would not wake up. "Even the shade of pink in your hair is the same." She brushed back the hair a little and saw that he lacked the scar on the side of his neck. "No scar? Well, I guess you're almost identical. Your arms are thinner too. Natsu trains all the time, so his arms are huge and buff. I wonder," she breathed, "if this guy's abs are as insanely taut as Natsu's. Whenever Natsu wears that opened vest of his, he's always a little hot. Just a little."
She gazed down at the body covered in blankets.
"Sheesh, what am I thinking?" Lucy scolded herself for momentarily wanting to peek on him. "Of course he isn't exactly the same. Dragion and Dragneel had different lives. Although many aspects were the same, they're different people. This guy … he's nothing like Natsu. He's just … a stranger. A stranger from another dimension."
She looked at her bed. She wished she had a separate room and could lock the door so this stranger could not sneak in. However, her apartment had only one main room. She instinctively felt she could trust Fireball, yet she was not sure what she might do if she woke up and found him in her bed. Lucy finished drying her hair, brushed it out for the night, and fell asleep quickly.
When her breath softened and went deep with dreams, Natsu Dragion opened his eyes. He had pretended to be asleep, hoping she would just leave him alone. Not moving while Lucy was close enough to strangle him was really hard, yet listening to her gentle words, feeling her soft fingers, and smelling that sweet scent that wafted off her body, made him realize that he could trust this Lucy.
He was silent as he stood up and looked down at her, cute in her pink quilted comforter and bathed in moonlight. For some reason, hearing her call him a stranger made him feel sad. Although it was true, he hardly knew this gentle princess, still he liked to think that they could be good friends, like him and Lucy Ashley.
He looked out the window that overlooked the canal. Magnolia! It seemed like a peaceful place to live. He gazed up at the stars—even they looked different here—and whispered, "Lucy, did you really let Levy use me like that? I can't believe it was on purpose. I can't! Lucy," he sighed wistfully. "I wonder if you're also like this Lucy. You probably prefer strong, muscular men like Natsu Dragneel. I bet, if you two met up, you'd fall for him in an instant. Lucky guy!"
He returned to his mattress, glancing briefly at the sleeping princess. Sleeping at her feet like a dog, he thought, yet the idea was not distasteful to him. He quietly knelt back down, crawled onto the shikibuton, closed his eyes, and tried to fall asleep in this strange land.
End of Chapter 2
A/N: A shikibuton is a traditional Japanese mattress that folds up into a pile you can hide away. It's good for posture and more comfortable than you think.
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Wheels of Fire