A Packaged Deal (NaLu ficlet)

A Packaged Deal

She wasn't sure of the day when suddenly she became part of a pair. She'd been alone most of her life, forced to entertain herself and make her own fun. She'd been without a mother for as long as she could remember and emotionally without a father for just as long. She'd set out on her own, and she'd decided she'd make a name for herself.

She was Lucy Heartfilia. Simple as that. She was Lucy Heartfilia, mage, Celestial wizard, Fairy Tail wizard, and friend and family member to all of the other wizards in her wonderful guild.

But somehow along the way her name had changed a bit. She was still Lucy, but nowadays her name always seemed to be tacked on to another's. Natsu and Lucy. People talked as if they were one entity. Natsu and Lucy did this, Natsu and Lucy did that, Natsu and Lucy blew up a building on their last mission, Natsu and Lucy should be back soon. Her name was always with his, as if they were the same person.

In all honesty, she wasn't upset by it. At first when she had the small epiphany, she'd been shocked. She'd never realized that people rarely said Lucy did something, or Natsu did something, instead of Natsu and Lucy, and when she'd realized it, she wasn't sure what to think. She sort of wanted to be upset. She wanted to be peeved that she wasn't in fact making a name for herself as she'd hoped, but somehow she just couldn't get that fire in her heart to really become angry.

She sort of… liked that they were a packaged deal. They were partners, friends, maybe a little more than friends –at least she hoped so- and together nearly twenty-four-seven. She could see how they could be classified as one.

But more than any of that, it made her feel closer to him, in a very odd way. It made her heart beat fast that they were considered one. Not just friends that were always together, but simply one person, not a pair but one, always together and never apart.

She wasn't sure of the day when she'd suddenly become part of a pair, but she wished she could. She wished she could mark that day on her calendar as the day she finally grew closest to the boy she held dearest, even if it was only through the eyes of the guild.