(A/N): So, Winnifred Artemis (my new beta) thought it would be a good idea to invite me to her Writter's challenge, first time doing something like this, so yeah... let's try new stuff. Theme is 'White day', a day in Japan where men return the gifts women gave them on Valentine's day according to what I read
Sooo yeah, it's NaruLu and first time I actually do Fluffy stuff for real, so don't be too harsh about it, maybe I might add the missfortunes of Naruto (and later Natsu) looking for gifts for their respective couple, write in the reviews if you would like that
Well, that's pretty much all I have to say, chapter for the main fic might come a bit late this week... but I'm wotking in improving new and past chapters for you to enjoy them, so a little patience, please? ... ON WITH THE STORY! :D
Disclaimer: meh, ya' know the drill
The perfection of simplicity
Lucy certainly didn't expect this the moment Naruto said he had something to give her, actually she didn't expected a return gift at all from her blonde best friend.
When she and Lissana decided to prepare some chocolate for them on Valentine's day it was mainly because Mira had asked them some help preparing some of her own to sell on the guild's new shop, and like the date was perfect for it they decided it would be a nice gesture from them
The fact that she actually feels something else for her blonde friend and that Lissana has similar feelings for his pink haired older brother (even if just for a year) wasn't a reason at all, just a happy coincidence, nothing else.
The previous day they decided to play a prank on them, as some kind of revenge from the ones they had played to them before… she still remembered the three weeks she had to endure having her hair died pink and whisker marks painted on her cheeks… according to Lissana she went through something similar once, but Kurama also decided to add his five cents in the form of a furry tail glued to most of her pants and skirts.
They decided to make Naruto and/or Natsu curious about their 'secret meetings', including Cana, Juvia, Levi and even Bizca in the prank, sure that at some point either Naruto or Natsu would get too curious (it was inevitable, that was their nature) and ask one of the girls besides herself and Lissana about it. Naruto was the one to ask Levi. Check Mate.
The prank was about making them know about the White day, and then let them deduce the rest alone, sure that they would not mind it too much, or simply not discover the underlying message and keep oblivious to it
Then the next day they would make the Dragon twins feel so guilty about not giving them gifts after their 'hard work making the chocolates for them' that they would do practically all they asked them to do, and they would exploit it for the rest of the day before revealing that it was all a prank, it was perfect!... Clearly they underestimated the Dragon Slayer duo.
"I know it doesn't looks like much Lucy" the blonde teenager said with a small blush on his face "But it was the best I could get for you during the day" he was holding a not very big box in front of him, oddly wrapped with pieces of various gift papers and duct tape, but with a nicely done ribbon on top of it
Looking at the wrapping she realized it was what she could expect from someone like Naruto, he was known for his lack of finesse in almost everything he did, usually preferring a rough approach, but instead of looking bad it actually added some cuteness to the already sweet gesture of finding a gift for her.
The work, even if not really good looking, showed the effort he had put in the task on wrapping the box himself, instead of just paying someone else to do it for him, and that he actually looked the help of someone else to improve it's presentation if the ribbon was any indicator.
And the view they got of Magnolia from the cliff they were currently sitting in… if that wasn't enough to distract her attention from the gift appearance she doubted anything else would… except maybe Master Makarov dressed like Master Bob suddenly appearing in front of them dancing ballet… why the idea crossed her mind she had no idea.
"Naruto… it's perfect, I-I really don't have other words to describe it but perfect… Thank you"
She said meaning every word and taking the box from his hands, in the beginning she was slightly annoyed that Naruto made her take that long trek to this part of the forest, but following her curiosity of what he was planning she made it to the top of the cliff, and not even once since then she regretted her decision
The place was high enough to give a perfect view of all Magnolia without problems, a great sigh alone, but it seemed that the background itself had decided to play along with Naruto's plan since she doubted such vision of the city could be seen ever again if she didn't took a picture of it, yet she felt like doing it would break the feeling of uniqueness she had at the moment, that this sunset belonged only to Naruto and her.
The sun was halfway gone in the horizon, framed by the distant mountains, giving an orange halo around itself while the rest of the sky was already taking a deeper and darker shade of blue, with some stars already shining here and there
The forest around the city looked mysterious and magical with the shadows the dying sun made the trees project, making the perfect frame for the city itself, which was slowly starting to become alive with the lights of the streets turning on and many couples walking on the streets enjoying the cool and refreshing weather the afternoon brought in contrast of the usually hot weather of the city, and in the center of it all the Fairy Tail building, with it's usual loudness that could be heard even from the distance
Naruto seemed to catch her sight locked on the view in front of them and smiled, knowing that Lucy was enjoying it as much as he expected
(Play song: Dearly Beloved - Kingdom hearts 2 Original Soundtrack)
"I asked Levi to help me find a good moment or place to give you your gift, and she told me that anytime and everywhere would be fine with you, but that if I wished to make this good enough for you it had to be a place that held some significance for any of us… I found this place some time ago while training with Natsu-nii and since then is one of my favorite ones"
She broke eye contact with the view in front of her and turned to Naruto, she could feel that what he was about to tell was something important for him, and she would never ignore one of her friends opening up for her, specially Naruto
"I don't know why, but this place, the view it gives… it just makes me feel… right. I know it sounds weird, but every time I come here I feel like a missing part of me is waiting here for me, ready to ease me if I'm worried, or cheer me up if I'm sad, or things like that"
Not even once he turned to her while speaking, but it didn't bothered her in the slightest, and even gave him a small smile even if he would not see it; he only chuckled lightly and shook his head before turning to her with a serene smile
"Go ahead, open it" she nodded and did as told, carefully removing the ribbon and unwrapping the gift, careful not to damage the collage of papers with all intents of storing it, the effort he put on it was already another gift for her
Inside the box she found three curious presents, noticing that he actually followed the principle of giving 'three times what he was given', true not all was chocolate like it was supposed to be, but she actually was happy for it
First, and clearly obvious, was a box of chocolates from the Candy land store, the interesting thing about them being from there was that the store allowed the customers to prepare with some help their own candies, not only chocolates but many other sweet stuff she never took the time to taste
When she opened the box inside she found nine key-shaped chocolates, slightly larger than the original keys, resembling her nine golden keys curiously accurately precise to the details of the original ones, and when she took a bite from one of then she found out that they had small chips of cookies inside, just like she liked them
Closing the chocolate box and storing it again she took out… a scarf, but it actually looked really familiar
"I had some trouble getting that one… the girl in the store I found it refused to sell it because 'it was like having a part of Fairy Tail on her store everyday', in the end she only sold it to me under two conditions: first that I had to give it only to someone I considered important, and second that I had to go at least twice a week to help on her store, it was like a recurrent job, paid and all, but it had to be me and only me"
It was a close replica of Naruto and Natsu's own scarf, it even looked scaly and all, but on touch it was clear that it was made of cloth instead of whatever material the original ones were made… the fact he considered her someone important for him and that he went through all that trouble just to get it for her was enough to mark the item as special and to never be used to keep it in good condition
There was also the fact that it was the Dragon Twins trademark, that was why no one used replicas of the scarf in public, it was just wrong to see it in anyone else but them, he would surely understand
And finally, in the bottom of the box there were two plushies shaped after them, but with childish versions of their features and comically big heads in contrast of their bodies, clearly 'chibified' versions of them from the 'Stuff Yourself' store, the only one in Magnolia that worked that way
The interesting feature of it was that the two plushies were holding each other's hand and that both were widely smiling with cute blushes on their cheeks, it brought a blush to Lucy's face as well
"Akame-san helped me with those even before she opened her store thanks to Wendy… she thought it would be a good detail to add something else, so…" He trailed off, now sporting a blush of his own "Try and squeeze my plushie"
When she did so she heard Naruto's voice speaking from inside the plushie, saying 'We'll be best friends forever!' Naruto blushed even more in embarrassment and Lucy giggled before storing everything back in the box, and raising her head to face Naruto
"I totally love the gifts Naruto, they are awesome" and then she put the gift box to a side and sat closer to him, turning her head to the still beautiful sight in front of them and leaned her head on top of his shoulder, mush to his nervousness… but strangely it wasn't uncomfortable
He even started to enjoy the silence that came after that; both there, sitting in the grass, enjoying the sight… and then Lucy spoke again, catching his attention and finding that her face was quite close to his by now
"Even if I enjoyed the gifts Naruto, for me it would have been enough this" she turned to the city and smiled "This moment now belongs to us, no one else is going to have this view ever again, I'm sure if that, and that alone is a gift that, even if it may seem simple and not really important… it's just perfect"
Once again she turned her face to him, but this time she closed distance between them slowly, and Naruto also felt like doing the same, slowly but steadily nearing their lips to each other, inch by inch… until Lucy sighed and tilted her head slightly, placing what could have been the kiss she had been looking for much time in his cheek
She would get it in the right way, with both agreeing on their feelings, not using the moment to take advantage of the confused blonde and forcing things out
"Thank you Naruto" she whispered on his ear before leaning once again on his shoulder, and spending the rest of that magical day next to the blond fool that, despite not being the sophisticated and perfect man she dreamed with as a child, showed her once again the perfection of simplicity.
(End Song)