A/N: Alright, an updated version of this because I decided I liked this enough to continue it! Updates on this will be sporadic, much like Togetherness (also I'm so sorry- it's been months since I updated that ^_^')
I hope you enjoy!
"I remember walkin' in the heat of the summer- wide-eyed one with a mind full of wonder…" As Natsu ran to the beat of the song blasting into his ears, he almost laughed at the lyrics that played, beads of sweat dripping down his neck. It certainly was hot this summer.
He'd decided to make a daily jog part of his schedule since he'd moved to Magnolia for college, and while he'd only been here a week, in the middle of a sweltering August, he'd been consistent with it.
Natsu looked around at the park he'd taken to running in. It was rather plain, a small playground in one section, an open field in another, a small grove which housed a huge cherry blossom tree that was apparently a big deal, and the sidewalk he was currently jogging on surrounding the whole thing.
He hadn't been paying much attention to the other visitors to the park beyond a few power-walking grandmas he'd done several laps past, but a fluffy white yorkie zipping around in the field caught his eye.
Natsu smiled. He was more of a cat person himself, but he had to admit the tiny dog running as fast as it could to catch up to a frisbee was quite the cute sight.
He didn't pay it any more mind as he ran another several laps.
The day grew longer and the sun grew hotter. He'd been running for so long and his legs screamed at him to stop, so he did, pausing on the sidewalk and breathing heavily as he flapped the hem of his shirt in an attempt to cool down and pondered going home for the day and getting something to eat.
And then something else caught his gaze.
Someone - a woman that looked about his age - in his peripheral vision was waving her arms frantically, running towards him. Why was she waving? Did she know him from somewhere? Natsu hesitantly waved a hand, but as she grew closer, he realized that her lips were moving. She was shouting something, but he couldn't hear over his music.
Pulling his earbuds out, he yelled "What!?"
"DUCK, YOU IDIOT!"
A frisbee decked him right in the forehead, forcing Natsu to stumble and fall onto the sidewalk.
The girl was quick to dart to his side, fretting over the nasty scrape he'd earned on his elbow.
"Crap, are you okay!?"
The bright sunlight forced Natsu to squint his eyes shut as he rubbed at his head where the frisbee had hit him. "Heh, should be fine," he replied, sitting up. He tried getting a look at his elbow. It stung like shit, but he was used to scrapes.
"What the hell were you doing, just standing there!? Why'd you stop running!?" the girl yelled, digging in her purse for something
Natsu laughed, picking up the frisbee from beside him and handing it to her. "Sorry, wasn't paying attention, I guess."
"Well, sorry for whacking you in the head with a frisbee." She dug for a bit more before crying, "Aha!" The girl pulled out a tissue and took Natsu's elbow, pressing the Kleenex to the still-bleeding skin.
Natsu blushed at the caring gesture and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly before finally glancing to her face. Her own eyes flicked up at that same moment.
Sparks flew as their eyes met. Natsu could've lost himself in the bright, warm chocolate. He saw her eyes widen marginally as she stared into the depths of his own. Natsu didn't know what it was, but he was compelled stay there, talk to her, get to know her. He wanted to find out her name. He wanted to learn what she was like. He wanted to see her more and more.
The yorkie Natsu had seen earlier darted in between them to yap at his apparent owner, tearing their gazes from one another and interrupting their reverie.
"So…" Natsu started as she began petting the shaking dog. "You were watching me run?" He had a friendly smirk and tried to meet her eyes again as he referenced what she'd asked him earlier, about why he'd stopped running. She couldn't have known he'd stopped unless she had seen him jogging before, right?
The girl averted her eyes, blushed, and squeaked as she stood up, crumpling the now partially-red Kleenex in her hands and wiping dirt from her skirt. "So, I'll be going now!"
Wait, he didn't want that! Natsu had to get to know her! Something about her, just… He was captivated by her and he had to get her to stay!
"Natsu!" he suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" Well, mission success. She'd stopped and turned back around, her eyes meeting his again, a small smile gracing her shiny pink lips, forcing Natsu's heart to pound harder than when he'd been running.
"My- my name. It's Natsu!" he finally blurted out.
"Natsu…" Natsu's heart did a flip at the sound of his name from her lips. "Lucy. Mine's Lucy," she told him while she crouched down to Natsu, still sitting on the ground, holding her hand out.
"Lucy…" he repeated, liking the way the name felt on his tongue. He took her hand and shook it, his heart fluttering again.
Lucy stood up, helping Natsu do the same. As he did so, he accidentally yanked the cord to his earbuds out of his phone, letting the music that had still been going to keep playing out loud. Only one line played before he hastily shut it off and shoved it in his pocket, eager to continue getting to know Lucy.
"Falling too fast to prepare for this…"
Thank you for reading!