Day 1: Flowers

"What's that Lucy?" Natsu had been pointing to her hair, where a small daisy rested where her hair was pulled back with a pin.

"A flower! Momma gave it to me and said it would look pretty in my hair, do you think so?" Twirling the ends of her hair, 7-year-old Lucy stared at her pink haired best friend with curiosity. She always wondered if he thought she was pretty.

To her dismay though, he started to laugh so hard he bent over, clutching his stomach. "Wahaha, why would you put flowers in your hair? That's so dumb."

Frowning, and fighting off tears to the best she could, Lucy took the flower out of her hair and let it fall to the ground. She turned on her heel and headed back to her house with the sound of Natsu's laughter lingering in her mind.

"I don't know Levy. I mean, flowers? Really? Isn't that kind of tacky?"

"What? No, since when is putting a flower in your hair tacky?" Levy asked her best friend/maid of honour. They were trying to figure out wedding details, since Levy was getting married to Gajeel in a few months. Currently, they were trying to figure out what the bridesmaids would wear. "I like flowers. They're pretty. Didn't your mom used to wear flowers in her hair all the time?" Come to think of it though, Levy had never once seen her friend wear a single flower in her hair, even though she had a lot of pictures of her mother with flowers. And Lucy idolized her mother.

Shrugging, Lucy waved it off. "Okay, then flowers are in." She smiled at her friend, "anything you want Levy. This is your day, and you're right, they aren't tacky."

"Uh, okay. So what about this colour?"

Lucy fiddled with the flower as she looked in the mirror. She wasn't sure she liked it- did it look silly on her head? She couldn't tell. No one else seemed to be having trouble with it, so she brushed off her insecurities and brushed out the wrinkles on her dress.

"Aw, you look beautiful Levy! Ahh, I might cry." Hugging the bride, Lucy couldn't help but think that the flower she was wearing made her even more radiant. Gajeel really was a lucky man.

"So do you Lu! And see, the flowers aren't tacky, they're perfect." Levy hugged her back, excited and nervous and just needing her best friend. Pulling back, Levy gave her a huge grin, poking the flower in the blonde's hair. "Flowers really do make you look so much more pretty you know. Just like your mom."

A tear fell down Lucy cheek at her friend's words. Maybe flowers weren't so dumb after all.

It was a beautiful ceremony- and also extremely funny. Gajeel was a mess of emotions, which was probably the first time anyone could clearly see what he was thinking. He was so clearly in love with the short blue haired-girl it was ridiculous.

Everyone laughed when the minister asked if there were any objections. They were soul mates, and everyone knew it. Grinning, the old man simply carried on before it was finally time for bride and groom to kiss.

And oh boy, did they ever kiss.

They did the typical groom tipping the bride over while their lips met in a dance that only they knew-and quite frankly the crowed could have done without seeing that. Nevertheless, everyone cheer, jumping up in their seats, hoots and hollers of congratulations, with a few wolf whistles thrown in.

Lucy, for one, had tears streaming down her face out of joy for her friend. She was so utterly happy she couldn't explain it. Her best friend married her soul mate and that was so precious to her- it was almost like a fairy tale.

As the tears slowed and the newlyweds exited the church, Lucy's eyes softened as she spotted a pink haired man, cheering and patting Gajeel on the back. As she stared he turned around and spotted her, grinning wide and waving. She hoped that one day, she could get her happily ever after too.

"Hey Luce!" walking towards her, Lucy couldn't help but admire how good Natsu looked in a tux. It only added fuel to the picture she was coming up with in her mind. Cheeks burning, she lightly shook her head. She knew that it was a slim chance of ever happening, and she didn't want to get her hopes up. "Levy and metal head were pretty gross weren't they? I mean, they didn't need to use that much tongue."

Lucy giggled and nodded, her hand moving to her hair to push a stray strand behind her ear. She felt the flower that was placed there, and suddenly feeling self conscious about it, she went to take it off.

"Hey, what are ya doin'?" reaching out and grabbing her arm, Natsu stopped her from taking the flower.

"Oh, uh, well I just don't like wearing flowers in my hair so…" she averted her eyes, not able to look at him. She knew it was stupid, she did. She actually loved flowers, and they always made her think of her mother, which made her smile. But her mind always went back to that time when they were kids and he laughed at her for putting a flower in her hair. She knew-she really did- that he was just being a boy who thought everything was stupid. But she couldn't help it. She loved him, she always did, and for some reason that one little stupid comment always floated in the back of her mind.

Maybe it was because she had been young and impressionable, or maybe while thinking about her mother made her smile, it also made her sad.

"Oh," letting go of her arm, his dropped to his side. "Well, I think they make you look even more beautiful."

And for some reason she was mad. Mad at him, mad at herself. Why did she ever listen to the words of a 7-year-old boy? Why did she even care what he thought? This wasn't fair; the one thing she wanted to her from him-that she was beautiful- was ruined by her own insecurities and profound idiocy. Huffing, she ripped the flower from her hair and strode out of the church, new tears flowing from her eyes, but this time out of anger.

She ended up in the changing room she was in before the wedding. She was curled up in a corner, a mix of crying and laughing coming from her. She was worried she was going crazy- this was not a normal reaction for being called beautiful from the man you loved.

Slumping her head down on her knees, she tried to calm down by taking a few breaths.

After a few minutes, she was finally able to look at the crumbled flower that she gripped in her hand. It was a violet flower, delicate and beautiful until it was crushed and broken. She laughed at the thought, somehow comparing herself to this small flower. She wasn't broke, only slightly cracked.

Wiping her eyes, she tossed the flower aside and leaned her head on the wall. She had to pull herself together. So she was self conscious about what she wore because of a guy? She could get over it. She could start wearing whatever the hell she wanted, and if he didn't like it then that's his loss. Smiling a little, Lucy stood up and grabbed a new flower from the table. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, ready to put her past behind her.

To see Natsu standing on the other side of the door, concern written all over his face.

"Are you okay? Did something happen? Oh frig, were you crying? Ah Lucy I'm sorry for what I did!" Dropping to the ground, Natsu bowed to her in utter panic, not sure what happened. Did girls always get like this when you complimented them? Or was it just because Lucy was a weirdo?

"I'm fine now Natsu, could you please stop?" even though there were no people around, she always got embarrassed when he did this. "I was just going through a little phase, but I'm good now. Promise!" giving him a smile, she stuck out a hand to help him get back up. He took it, cautiously. He was scared she might hit him or something, since he always found himself being hit somewhere by her.

He eyed her, not quite wanting to believe her, but letting it go. He still had trouble figuring her out most of the time, even after knowing her for so long.

His eyes drifted to her hair, and noticed that she put a new flower in. He wondered, briefly, if the thought of flowers made her sad. He wouldn't blame her if that was why she never wore them.

But, to his utter dismay (because how could he ever live this down), he reached out and grazed the flower with his hand before moving down and gently cupping her cheek. "You really are beautiful Lucy, with or without the flower."

And Lucy smiled, her eyes lighting up in that special way that made his heart skip. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of that smile.

I hope you guys enjoyed this one!

~567random