A Gift For You
Summary: On her tenth birthday, Lucy Heartfilia received the best present she could ever have.
The petite blonde ran down the grand halls with bright, sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks. In her hands, rested a carefully made rice ball that she had spent a long time working on. She had taken time to learn how to make one from one of the chefs and though even after a few weeks she hadn't mastered it, hopefully this would be good enough.
She approached the towering white mahogany double doors, and stood on her tiptoes to reach the cool metal of the door handle. Opening it, she ran in gleefully, barely able to contain her excitement. The familiar figure of her father was seated behind a large desk that was filled with messy stacks of papers.
The man was frowning quite intently at one of the papers he was holding in his hand, tapping his foot on the carpeted floor impatiently.
The girl's grin grew even wider. Maybe he'd cheer up when she gave it to him.
"Daddy, Daddy!" she called. He did not look up in acknowledgment of her presence, but she ran all the way up to the front of the desk anyway. "Look! I made your face on a rice ball, Dad! I made it! Eat up and work hard, 'kay?"
The man did not shift his gaze from the paper he had in his hand. "I'm working. I'll deal with you later," he said in a gruff voice.
Her spirits dipped, knowing that he was serious and that he was probably very busy at the moment. "Okay… Then, I'll leave it right here. Eat it later, 'kay? And, you see, today it's… um…"
The girl didn't notice her father's brow twitch in annoyance, and was about to carry on when he suddenly swung his hand and forcefully knocked the rice ball she had spent hours learning and making off the table. The snack fell and crumbled to the ground.
Frozen with shock, she was too scared to even feel upset. Her father's glare was terrifying; he rarely ever looked at her like that, and that was only the time when she had accidentally knocked into the long line of chefs, causing all of them to tumble like dominoes and spilling food all over the floor, at the same time staining some of his documents too.
Her father stood up, tall figure towering over her. "Did you not hear me?"
The girl automatically moved a few steps back. "I-I'm sorry!" Without another moment's hesitation, she turned, walking out of the room with her head down, trying hard to contain her tears until she was out of his sight. She wouldn't, she couldn't cry in front of him, since it'd only make him even angrier.
But, that day was special, she really didn't want it to end like that… She turned around meekly, averting her gaze from her father, "Um…"
"I said you were bothering me, Lucy! Our personal chef cooks our food! If you have time to do that, then you have time to learn something about running an empire!" he shouted, his voice ricocheting off the walls of the spacious room.
She couldn't even say anything in reply. "Understand? Now leave." Wordlessly, the little blonde child left the room, never turning back again as she brought a hand up to wipe her falling tears.
Um… today is… my birthday… She didn't care that he probably did not remember, nor did she care that he likely would not have the time to spend with her that day, too. That was why, she thought that maybe, if she did something for him, he would be touched and be willing to take maybe even an hour away from his work and spend it with her.
No, she wouldn't even mind if he did not want to spend time with her; he was a busy man, and she understood that. But… was it really too much to ask for him to say just two simple words? She had been looking forward to this day for ages, even thinking hard about what she should do for her father two months back. She didn't want to it to be like her other birthdays where her father would order one of the maids to dump a couple of gifts at her door and expect her to be happy with that.
She did not need those gifts; she needed his time. Just a little time of his day really wasn't so much to ask for, was it?
"Mama…" she sobbed, as she ran back down the halls, and eventually emerged at the front gate where she then ran towards her mother's headstone. "Mama…" If only her mother were here with her; she wouldn't be crying like this. Her mother would have woken her up first thing in the morning to surprise her with a kiss and a present carefully picked out for her.
"Happy birthday, Lucy," she recalled her mother saying in that soothing voice of hers. The memory only made Lucy cry even harder. It had been a two months since her mother left, yet her heart hurt as if her mother had just left the day before. Fleeting memories of her mother's kind gaze and her warm smile surfaced in Lucy's mind, prompting more tears to fall. "Mama… I miss you… Mama!"
She ran up to her mother's headstone, the beautiful statue with wide wings spread open. Lucy fell to her knees at the headstone, both hands trying to wipe away the tears that would not stop flowing. She looked up and imagined the two wings as her mother's long, slender arms. She missed being embraced by her mother, she hadn't been embraced or showed the slightest sign of parental affection ever since.
Something about her father changed; he became more engrossed in his work than ever before; she hardly ever saw him take a break, and even if he was somewhere other than in his study, he would always be alone. He used to be celebrate her birthday with her mother and it was always a joyous occasion, yet it seemed this year, perhaps from now on as well, things would different.
"Mama… it's… it's my birthday today…" she choked out with some difficulty, seeing as how she was still sniffling quite violently. "Daddy doesn't… remember… I made a rice ball, and I thought that would make him happy, but… he only got angry… Mama, was I wrong? Am I a bad girl for… wanting Daddy to spend some time with me on my birthday?" Silence was her only response. She tried desperately to imagine what her mother would do or say, but the more she struggled to comfort herself, the worse she felt.
The little girl then picked herself off the ground and ran straight ahead, along the path of the garden. She had no destination in mind; she just wanted to get away from this cold place she had to call home.
Mama…
Mama, I can't stop crying. Would you give me a hug or tell me a nice story?
Say, Mama, if you were still here, what would you have given me?
Because… it's my birthday today… And I wish I could spend it with you…
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly, and Lucy knew she had probably taken her walk too far, since the sky was getting slightly darker and the sun looked ready to go back to sleep. Even so, she didn't feel like going back any time soon. Or maybe she should, her father might be getting worried-
No, he probably had no idea that she had left the house, and even if he did, the likelihood was that he would not bother, or perhaps he would send one of the workers to look for her.
Lucy sighed and closed her eyes, feeling some moisture gather at the back of her eyes again. She wondered if she was secretly made of water; even after so long she hadn't run out of tears to cry yet.
Suddenly, she knocked into something hard, eliciting a loud, "Woaaah!" from the object in the process. Losing her balance, she fell on her butt with a soft thud. "Ouch..." she muttered.
"Oi, watch where you're going, would you?" She looked up to see a pink-haired boy rubbing his sore behind and narrowing his eyes at her in annoyance.
"I-I'm sorry…" apologized Lucy in a small voice. Fresh tears slid down her cheeks before she got a chance to stop them. The boy seemed like he was going to continue when he noticed that she was crying and started to panic.
"H-Hey… I know you're sorry; you don't have to cry over that. Really, it's fine," said the boy, who now sounded guilty for chiding her earlier.
Lucy did not reply; she hugged her knees to her chest and curled into a small ball, hiding her face from the stranger.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere? Your butt should have more fats than that so it's less painful when you fall though." When she still kept mum, he cautiously approached her and asked, "Where does it hurt?"
"Go away… Just leave me alone…"
"You're crying. I can't just leave you here like that alone. Besides, you're a little girl, and if some bad people come, you wouldn't be able to protect yourself."
Lucy lifted her head up, her eyes resting on the young lad's face. "You look just as young as me, what makes you think you can protect yourself?"
His eyes gleamed, as if he had been waiting for her to ask him something like that. "Take a look at this!" He lifted a hand, and then suddenly flames erupted around it.
Gasping, Lucy stood up and her head jerked about wildly trying to find a source of water anywhere. "Your hand is on fire! What do we do? There doesn't seem to be a river around here! Wait, I always see adults stepping on things that catch on fire! Put your hand on the ground!"
"What for?"
"I'll step on it so it goes out!"
"No, that'll hurt!"
"It's better than having your hand on fire! That's gotta hurt way more! And… wait a second… why don't you look like you're in any pain?"
He smirked then, and threw a ball of flame up in the air, pointing a perfectly normal and unburnt index finger at the flame. "Watch this."
Lucy followed his gaze and stared at the fire ball as it flew up in the air. All of a sudden, it burst with a starburst of orange, red and yellow colors. The sparks floated down gracefully like snowflakes, and soon it all faded away.
"I'm a fire dragon slayer, see? Fire doesn't hurt me at all. My dad always does this when I'm upset, so I thought I'd try this, though he does it way better. Pretty cool, huh?" he folded his arms behind his head, clearly pleased with himself. "I thought I'd show this to you. See, you're smiling now."
The blonde's lips parted into a tiny 'o' shape, not realizing herself that she had stopped crying by then and her frown had been replaced by a smile instead. "You're right… I do feel better now."
"That's great! I'm Natsu, by the way. Natsu Dragneel."
"I'm Lucy."
"Lucy… That's a cool name. What're you doing way out here alone, and why were you crying? Did you lose your food? I get upset when I'm hungry, so I'd know."
She shook her head, smiling despite herself. Who cried like that simply over food? Lucy stole a shy glance at his curious face, and decided there was no harm in telling him whatever had just happened. So she briefly explained the events leading up to her running off and to where she was now to him. The whole time, he listened patiently, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
At the end of her sad, sad story, her head was hanging down again. She expected him to say something like, "I'm sorry," as all the adults did at her mother's funeral, but Natsu surprised her by placing both of his hands on her shoulders and flashing her a broad smile.
"How old are you today?"
"I turn ten today."
"Hey, that means we're the same age! But my birthday comes earlier, so I'm your senpai! Now call me Senpai!"
Lucy giggled at how happy he looked at such a simple thing. "Senpai Natsu!"
His grin grew wider in obvious glee, and she swore his ears twitched at the sound of that. "Then you're Kouhai Lucy! And since I'm the senpai, I guess it'll be my job to make sure you're really happy on your birthdays from now on, huh?"
"… From now on?"
"Yeah! We're friends now, aren't we?"
"… Friends?"
"Yeah, friends! Let's be best friends, Lucy!"
"O-Okay..." A light rose dusted her cheeks. Friends… She liked the sound of that. It sounded warm, and she hadn't felt that sort of warmth in a long, long time, not since her mother passed away.
"Oh shoot, I need to go soon, or Igneel's going to kill me!"
"Igneel?"
Natsu's chest puffed out with pride, and he tipped his chin up. "Igneel is my dad! He's so cool, he can burn a whole forest down with a single roar! Great, huh? One day, I'll be stronger than him; that's what he tells me anyway."
"He sounds really cool!" Then, her smile faded. She had never been able to speak about her father with such zeal; they just weren't close like that. Not anymore.
"What's your father like? Is he strict? Does he spend time with you? Does he scold you for disturbing him from work?" Lucy asked in a small voice.
He frowned. "Igneel? Well, I guess he is kind of strict. If I oversleep or get back late or suck during training he'll whack me… And he looks scary to a lot of people—so many people scream and run off after seeing him, I don't know why—but he's actually real nice. He reads me bedtime stories, teaches me how to read, takes me out a lot to train, and loads of stuff! I could spend all day with him… Come to think of it, I think we do that most of the time, haha!"
"You're lucky… I wish my father was like that."
"Right? Igneel is the best dad ever!"
"Anyway, you said something about needing to go, right? Or you'd get scolded or something."
Natsu's face lit up, before he grimaced and groaned dramatically, tugging at his hair. "Oh crap, I totally forgot! He's going to pound my face in the ground for this! Got to go, bye Lucy!"
He ran off as she waved him goodbye. As his figure gradually diminished from view in the distance, the feeling of loneliness returned again. Lucy wished she hadn't reminded him, never mind the fact that he'd get his head pounded in the ground for going home late, she missed his company already.
Just then, a shout caught her attention. "Lucy!"
Her head snapped up to find Natsu there, waving both of his hands frantically over his head. "Lucy! I almost forgot! Happy birthday!"
The little girl's heart skipped a beat. Happy birthday. She never thought she'd be hearing those two words on this ruined day. But the moment the words left his mouth, her chest swelled and she felt something lodge in the back of her throat. Her vision blurred and she panicked for a second. Why was she crying again?
"See you soon, Lucy!" The boy flashed a toothy grin in her direction one last time before taking to his heel and sprinting away out of sight.
Lucy stood there for a long while, still staring wide-eyed at the spot where he'd last been. Her cheeks were glazed with fresh tears, though instead of a grimace, she was smiling. She was smiling, the most she had ever smiled in the past year, ever since her mother left. She could feel something warm in her stomach and in her cheeks; she was probably blushing.
"Mama…" the girl murmured, eyes shifting towards the marigold sky, dotted by several chirping birds. "Mama… thank you." Maybe it was pure coincidence, maybe it was fate, or maybe it was her mother looking after her from the stars above.
"Natsu Dragneel, huh…" Her lips tugged up into a wide grin, possibly one as wide as his.
On her tenth birthday, Lucy Heartfilia received a friend.
"Hey, Luce. Luce, wake up."
The blonde stirred and opened an eye to find the dragon slayer's face directly above hers. Immediately she was wide-awake and her face was burning hot. "N-Natsu! What are you doing here?"
"Hello Lucy!" Happy grinned from the side.
"Hey, Happy… Is it time for our job already? It's still pretty dark though…" She yawned and stretched her arm, sitting up on her bed. "What time is it?"
"Midnight," Natsu replied.
"Midnight?" she echoed in disbelief. "Why did you wake me up? Our job is only at six! And wait, what are you two doing in my house?"
The pink dragon slayer scratched the back of his head sheepishly while Happy giggled. "We wanted to be the first to wish you-"
"Happy Birthday, Lucy!" Happy exclaimed, cutting the dragon slayer off as he jumped up and gave her a hug. "Now you're one year closer to becoming an old hag!"
Lucy had a hard time choosing between hugging Happy back or slapping him. But he was quickly forgiven when he gave her a piece of fish—he always gave her the same thing every year. Apparently he felt that there was nothing better for a birthday present than a good old piece of fish.
Then, she heard Natsu clear his throat and met his shy gaze as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little box. Looking away, he handed it to her. "Here, your present."
"Thanks, Natsu," she grinned, taking it from him. Their fingers brushed past each other by accident and butterflies began to dance in her stomach. She secretly hoped her room was dark enough to hide her blush. Carefully, she opened it under the eager gaze of Happy and Natsu, and it revealed a necklace. A small heart was attached to the silver chain, and upon closer inspection, she noticed there was a small flame inside it.
"Happy birthday, Lucy," he grinned.
"It's so beautiful, Natsu," she smiled, and without thinking she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love it."
"I thought you'd like it," he said, returning the hug.
"He llllikes you," Happy chuckled.
Immediately Lucy tried to pull back to shoot a retort at the feline but to her surprise, Natsu did not let go of her.
"N-Natsu?"
"You know… sometimes Happy can be right."
It took a few moments for his words to register in her head while Happy argued with Natsu over that statement, and when it did, Lucy thought she could die of happiness.
On her eighteenth birthday, Lucy Heartfilia received a dragon's heart.
"Hey Natsu," Lucy called.
"Yeah, Luce?"
"When's your birthday? You never told me."
"I don't remember," he frowned. "But Igneel just made it the day he found me."
"When is that?"
"First of June. Igneel named me Natsu because it was the hottest time in summer."
Lucy chuckled. "That's nice. My parents named me after a broken sign."
"I'm glad they did. I like your name," he replied with a grin.
Just as he predicted, she blushed and turned away from him. "A-Anyway, we should celebrate together! It's in five days, right?"
"I don't want to celebrate it…" he muttered.
"What? Why not?"
"…He found me on the same day my birth parents abandoned me."
"…Oh."
"Yeah."
"Then, what about the day Master found you?"
He snorted loudly. "The old man forgot."
"Oh… Hmm… Ah, I know! Let's celebrate your birthday on the same day as mine!"
"Haah?"
"It's settled! We'll just celebrate our birthdays together from now on, Natsu!" she grinned.
"But that's weird…" he muttered.
"Or would you rather celebrate it on the first of June?"
He made a face. "No."
"Then celebrating it one month later shouldn't be a problem," she said. "Your birthday is special, so I want to celebrate it with you," she smiled, resting her hand over his.
His face turned a light shade of red as he averted his eyes from her. "D-Do what you want…"
She giggled victoriously.
Lucy's alarm clock jumped up with a shrill ring at the stroke of midnight. "Happy birthday!" Lucy exclaimed, throwing her arms around Natsu's neck. "You're officially halfway to fifty!"
"Happy birthday, Luce. You do know that you're the same age as me, right?" he grinned, returning the hug. "So, where's my present?"
She pulled away and stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm still younger than you, "Senpai Natsu". We'll exchange presents as per tradition."
"Not this time, I want to show you my present later, so hurry and give me my present so I can show you yours."
She shot him a suspicious glance, but decided to let him have his way. She squatted down and reached under her bed, pulling out a beautifully wrapped package. A golden ribbon sat on top of the box.
Natsu's lips stretched into a wide grin as he eagerly took the box in his hands and shook it. "What is it?"
"You look like a child every time you get a present," Lucy chuckled, shaking her head.
"That's because I look young, unlike someone…" He laughed when she slapped his arm with a frown on her face. "I was just joking."
"You better be. Hurry and open your present!" Her smile returned, brightening her face.
"Okay!" Like a little boy, he tore the wrapping paper away and opened the box. His breath caught when he got a good look at his gift. "Luce, how did you..?"
"I managed to find some information, but there's no guarantee that you'll actually find him. I just thought it was worth a shot since the source was reliable and all-"
Natsu abruptly pulled her into a bone-crushing hug and he buried his face in her hair. "Thank you so much, Luce. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I'm just glad you like it," she grinned.
"I want to set off tomorrow already," he said. "This could be it, Luce!"
She nodded. "Yeah, I hope so too, Natsu. I really hope you find Igneel this time."
"Thank you so much, Luce. This is the best birthday present yet."
"You do know that this doesn't mean that you'll actually find him, right?"
He pulled away and flashed her his crooked grin. "I know, but I'll take every chance I can get."
"Hey, what about my present?"
He smirked. "It's already on you."
"W-What?" Lucy began checking her pockets and even checked if he'd thrown it into her shirt. "I can't find it."
Laughing, he took her hand and held it up. "See?"
Lucy's eyes widened at the sight of a diamond ring on her ring finger that definitely hadn't been there a few seconds ago. Her eyes flitted from Natsu to the ring, and then back to his gleeful expression. "N-Natsu… Is this..?"
He scratched the back of his head. "I'm not that good with the romantic stuff, but I figured you wouldn't say no, so I decided to put it on you…"
"Who said I would say yes?"
He froze and his expression mirrored that of a deer caught in headlights. "Y-You don't want to..?"
Just then, he noticed her lips twitch and immediately he knew that she was just teasing him. "You tease," he growled as she burst into hysterics.
She fell back on her bed in crazed laughter as the dragon slayer glared at her. "Y-Your face… You should have seen your face!"
"Haha, not funny, Luce. I almost had a heart attack there."
"Yet another sign of your ageing," she shot back.
"Be a little more serious about this, would you? It's not easy for me to ask…"
"But you just said there wasn't a need to ask since I wouldn't say 'no', right?"
"Yeah, but- Wait, was that a 'yes'?"
Lucy rolled to her side so that her back was facing him. She kept silent.
"Luce!"
She still refused to speak.
"Luce…" Suddenly his hands were around her waist, eliciting a surprised shriek from her as he dragged her off the bed and carried her up in his arms. "Put me down! Natsu!"
"You started it," he argued, spinning her around. Soon the room was filled with her giggles and his snorts of laughter.
Eventually they got tired and both plopped onto the bed, trying to recover from their laughing fits. "Oh, my stomach…" Lucy panted.
"You're not going to sleep until you give me a proper answer."
"You're not going to get a proper answer until you ask me properly."
"Oh." In one swift motion the dragon slayer was off the bed and stood in front of the woman who was now sitting up. Then, he got down on one knee and took her hand in his. "Uh, I'm Natsu Dragneel and-"
"Natsu, I know your name. You don't have to tell me that again."
"Um, then… Want to spend the rest of your life with me?"
"If you keep leaving the toilet seat up, then not really, no."
"Luce."
"Natsu."
He shot her a glare at the sight of the amusement gleaming in her eyes. "Okay, I'm just going to do this the old-fashioned way then. Will… you marry me, Luce?"
"That was the simplest proposal I have ever heard."
"Just answer me!"
She answered him with a kiss.
On her twenty-fifth birthday, Lucy Heartfilia received a promise of a lifetime.
"Will you be gone for long?" she asked sadly.
"I'm not sure about that, but I won't be too long, I promise. I'll be back by the first of July," he said as he hugged her reassuringly.
"You better come back soon before some other guy snatches me up."
"I'm not too worried about that… It'll be pretty hard to take your heart since it's with me now."
"If you take too long I'm taking it back," she warned with a pout of the lips.
"Sure thing… I'll miss you, Luce."
"I'll miss you too… I wish I could go with you…"
"You know I can't let you do that. You gotta stay here to take care of our little princess too," he grinned, softly patting the small swell in her belly.
"Come back soon, I don't think I can make it through this without your mad cheerleading skills."
He laughed. "I think I'd panic even more than you and burn everything down by accident."
"Perhaps. I just hope she doesn't turn out to be like you. I don't think I can stand taking care of two fire dragon slayers in the house."
"Hey, I take care of myself just fine!"
"If I don't clean up the house for one day it'll turn into a pigsty."
"But it's still livable," he replied insouciantly. Then he turned his gaze to the Sun peeking through the horizon. "I have to go. I'll see you soon, Luce."
"See you later, Natsu."
He planted a final kiss on her forehead and then he was off.
The dragon slayer swung the front door open and bolted into the house. Hundreds of knives seemed to pierce through his chest as the familiar scent of his wife wafted towards his nostrils. He could hear sobs coming from the guild members solemnly standing by the bedroom door and the salty smell of tears in the air.
Makarov was the first to greet Natsu. He had his arms folded across his chest and a deep frown was etched onto his aged face as he said, "Go to her. There's not much time left."
With gritted teeth and balled fists, Natsu dashed into the bedroom, pushing the door open. He was greeted with quite a sight. Erza, Lisanna, Cana, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Makarov, Levy, Gajeel, Gray and Juvia were all there, surrounding the bed and hiding the patient from sight.
Upon hearing another's footsteps, they turned their heads towards Natsu. Tears were present in their glassy eyes and a few of them choked back a sob before turning away again. They parted like the red sea for him, revealing Mirajane who was holding a wailing newborn wrapped in a towel in her arms, and a frail, delicate woman lying on her side of the bed.
"Luce!" He rushed forward and in an instant, he was by her side, clutching her hand tightly and stroking her damp hair. "Luce!"
"Natsu…" she breathed, a tired smile forming on her face. "I… I did it… Nashi…"
"You did great, Luce, you were amazing."
She gingerly reached a hand up to cup his face, and he held it against his cheek.
It was cold.
"She has your eyes, not your hair… Thank goodness…"
Normally he would have retorted her but his lips were quivering and it was taking nearly every fiber of his being to stop from crying. He had to be strong.
"Here," he said, as he took a rattle out of his pocket and held it up to her face.
"Natsu..." The corners of her lips turned up weakly as she feebly wrapped her fingers around it.
"You said you wanted to buy something for Nashi, and I happened to find this…" The rattle was in the shape of a heart. Two halves of the heart were pieced together and placed on a shimmery pink handle.
"It's… it's beautiful, Natsu…"
"Happy birthday, Luce."
"Thank you…" A tear slid down her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Natsu…" she murmured, sniffling.
"What are you apologizing for?" he asked gently, resting his forehead against hers.
"I can't celebrate with you anymore…"
"Hey, hey, you can't leave now. Who's gonna get me presents otherwise? Stay with me, Luce. You can do it, I know you can."
She shook her head as moisture filled her eyes. "I'm sorry, but Nashi will just have to take my place on this day from now on…"
The first tear slid down his cheek. "No," he bit out, squeezing her hand tightly. "You have to keep fighting, Luce, don't give up on me now."
With her thumb, she gently brushed his moist cheek. "I'm sorry, Natsu. This is the last time I'll be celebrating with you…"
"Come on, stay with me! You can do this! I know you can, please… Luce…"
"I can't, Natsu… I'm sorry… Thank you for celebrating my birthdays all this time… Please… do the same for Nashi, because I can't…" Her eyelids began to fall and she felt her strength slowly fade away.
"Promise me… you'll never… forget…"
He felt the skin on her forehead crease ever so slightly as she smiled, meeting his eyes once more and resting a pained gaze on her precious daughter for the last time.
"Happy birthday… Natsu…"
Her eyes fluttered close, and her hand lost its strength. Falling from her grip, the rattle landed on the ground with a soft clatter that was barely audible above Nashi's wails, the sobs of all the other guild members around them, and the deafening silence of the now widowed man.
All the memories they shared flashed in his mind right then, materializing in the tears that began to trickle down his face as he took her hand and placed it against his cheek.
"You're the best gift I have ever received, Natsu. I love you so, so much," she had told him one day, while they were taking a leisurely stroll in the park together, two days after they had gotten married.
The words had come out of the blue, taking the man by surprise. But those words had stuck with him forever and imprinted on his heart. Really, it was quite the opposite.
Perhaps it had been to make up for the losses of his birth parents and Igneel, but Lucy was without a doubt, the greatest gift he had ever received. She could move him in ways he couldn't explain, frustrate him to no end more than others could, but at the end of the day, she was always the one who could make his heart swell with love, love that he never knew he could have or give.
"Thanks Luce, for everything," he murmured as his voice cracked, before gently planting a soft kiss over her lips.
And it was then that he registered the wails of their child. Standing up but not letting go of her hand, he gestured for Mirajane to pass Nashi to him.
With the little baby in his arms, he rocked her, hushing her cries, just as he knew Lucy would. He may not be the best father, but he would do his best.
"My gift to you. Happy birthday, Natsu."
...and on her twenty-seventh birthday, Lucy Heartfilia gave everything to the one who gave her a lifetime of joy.
A/N: Basically digging up all my old, unfinished one-shots. Found this heartbreaker left untouched for... a year? O_O Wow. Anyway, hope you liked this, and if you have the time, do leave a review to tell me what you thought. (: Thanks for reading!