I find what I lost

                                    

                                          
Lucy and I continue to search the park for what feels like ages. The sun started to go down, so Luce has to use her phone as a flashlight. She seems a little dismayed, but she didn't give up looking. I smiled over in her direction, knowing she couldn't see.
                          
"HAPPY!" I shout for the hundredth time. 
                          
"Happy!" I hear someone else call, from further away. I could tell the voice wasn't Lucy's, so I went to investigate. Walking further away from the light of Lucy's phone, I followed the small voice until I could recognize it. 
                          
"Happy! Where are you, boy?" Wait, WENDY? 
                          
"Wendy?!" I cry out. The calling for Happy stops. 
                          
"Natsu-nii?" A male voice this time. I recognize that voice! It's Romeo, Wendy's best friend. A small light starts to appear and grow bigger, until I can see it's Romeo running with a flashlight. 
                          
"Romeo-kun, it is you! Wendy is here too?" I laugh when Romeo runs into me with a big hug. I pick him up and spin him around. 
                          
When I put him down, he gets a very serious look on his face when he says, "we're looking for Happy." 
                          
"Don't worry, we are too." I get a feeling Romeo thought that would upset me, but I already knew Happy ran away. 
                          
"Wendy-chan's feeling really, really guilty, so go easy on her, okay?" His big eyes glow in the light, and his face looks really innocent. It prides me how much he cares about my little sister. 
                          
I hear a stumbling from behind me, and a worried Luce calls out, "Natsu, where'd you go?" 
                          
"I'm here, Luce!" I call out happily. "Romeo-kun's here too!" She runs up to us, accidentally shining her light in our eyes. Romeo and I flinch away, and she laughs while muttering an apology. While Luce crouches down to greet Romeo, I look around behind him, trying to see Wendy in the dark. 
                          
The sun is completely down, and I can see the moon over the treetops. It's past the time Wendy goes to sleep. I hope she didn't just fall asleep somewhere. I laugh at myself. One time, a couple years ago, Wendy and I came to this park and sat under a tree. We talked nonsense, probably something about how she was doing school. We talked about friends, animals, sports, tv, anything. We talked and talked until Wendy fell asleep in my lap, and I think I kept talking even after that. I remember looking down at her when I heard her snore lightly. I picked her up in my arms and carried her home. She looked really peaceful then, very calm. Happy...
                          
"HAPPY!!!" Wendy's voice cuts through my thoughts. "Happy, Happy!" Her excited exclamations get louder as she runs towards us. "I found him, Romeo, I found..." She trails off once she sees Luce and I. Her head drops, and Happy jumps out of her arms. Scratching and clawing, he makes his way up my body and into my arms, where he rests his head on my shoulder. I hold him close to my body, pressing my face into his fur. 
                          
"I'm so glad you're safe, Happy. I was worried I lost you forever," I whisper into his warm body. A side glance at Lucy's beaming face tells me she heard what I said. I breathe in Happy's scent, not worried at all by the cat fur that is being vacuumed into my nose. When I finally look up, I see Wendy's still crestfallen face. 
                          
She hiccups, "I lost Happy. Please don't be mad at me." Tears start to form in her eyes, and Romeo takes one of her hands. Happy walks around on my shoulders until he's sitting on his own, so I take Wendy's other hand. 
                          
"Don't worry Wendy, it wasn't your fault. Happy ran away for whatever reasons he may have. That doesn't explain why he came back, though..." 
                          
"Still!" She cries, "I could have kept a better eye on him..." 
                          
I smile down at her, and wipe away a small tear, "he's back now." Wendy collapses to the ground in a heap of relief. We all lie down with her, Romeo letting Wendy rest her head in the crook of his neck. I smile at the obvious pairing. 
                          
Wendy will never be alone. She'll never have to worry herself, and the others around her, because she can't find the one person who makes her heart beat faster than anyone else. She won't go through heaps of boyfriends just to realize that the right one was the one standing with them the whole time. Her best friend. She won't make the mistakes I did, playing around with other people's emotions, and acting as if I wasn't hurt by it at all. I'll watch over her, so nobody will ever hurt her. And I will strangle Romeo with my scarf if he ever tries anything funny. 
                          
Lucy sits up and brings her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "What I want to know is why Happy ran away, just to seem excited to come back to Natsu." I sit up as well, but cross my legs so Happy can sleep in my lap comfortably. 
                          
"I was trying to figure that out myself, actually," Wendy pipes up without moving from her spot. "I think Happy was looking for you, onii-chan. I think he missed you when you weren't at home to take care of him. He let me pet him, but wouldn't play with me the way he plays with onii-chan. He came home last night, probably for food and a place to sleep, but then escaped the next chance he got. Wouldn't even let me put a ribbon on his tail... Dumb neko." 
                          
"Merrroooowwww," Happy whines and wriggles in his sleep, causing us to all laugh. I stroke his fur between his ears. He really missed me, the little guy. I feel Lucy nudge my shoulder, and turn to look at her. Woah, we're a lot closer than I initially thought... 
                          
"He's your cat," she whispers. Her breath smells good, like strawberries. "You should keep him, Natsu. He clearly adores you, and I don't need a cat to make me happy." 
                          
I smile and breathe in her scent. "I know. Be strong Lucy. I believe in you." 
                          
Something in her breathing hitches, and she shifts in her seat. Placing her hands down on the ground, she moves her body so she's sitting closer to me, her entire side pressing into mine. She leans over, and I feel a surprise tickle, then sensation as she nuzzles into my neck and kisses me lightly below the jaw. I turn my head to face her, and rest my forehead against hers. Our breathing lightens until we're in sync. I watch in awe as her eyes flutter, her long eyelashes dancing inches from my cheek. 
                          
With one swift move, my lips could meet hers again... 
                          
"Natsu-nii, not in front of Happy!!!"
                          
Lucy and eye move so quickly that we actually hit foreheads, but we roll our eyes at the same time. I look into the wide, innocent eyes of Romeo, who still looks shocked. 
                          
"Sorry 'bout that, Romeo-kun. You'll understand one day." I feel Luce respond to my words by wrapping her arms around mine, and resting her chin on my shoulder. I tilt my head until it rests on top of hers. Maybe it's my imagination, but I hear Wendy chuckle a little. 
                          
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The song in the media is You Found Me, by The Fray (previously a song by Crywolf). Hope you loved this chapter as much as I did!! 
                          
xOx Shadow