"SO Lucy, what are you doing for Valentine's Day?" Mira asked, waggling her eyebrows.
Lucy sighed. "What do you think, Mira?" She took a seat in one of the stools. "Doing what I do every year. Sitting on the couch watching romance movies while eating chocolate. And bawling my eyes out."
"Aww, Lucy! Don't you wish you had someone to watch those movies with?"
"Mira, no." Lucy took a sip of her smoothie, "Last time I had a boyfriend, it did not end well."
"But Lucy, he wasn't even in the guild! Look around at all the choices!"
"Choices? What choices? Natsu doesn't know the difference between genders, Juvia will kill me if I start dating Gray, same with Evergreen and Elfman. Everyone else is too old for me."
"I'm sure Natsu knows the difference! Natsu! C'mere!"
Natsu stood up from his previous fight with Gray, and walked over to Mira. "Mira, what is it?"
"Do you know the difference between genders?"
Natsu looked astonished. "Of course I do!"
"Psh, yeah right." Lucy said, and then gasped and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that! Looks like she had thought aloud. She felt her face redden as Natsu looked at her, confused.
"Why don't you think I would know? I mean, I do know... Levy, Evergreen, Mira, Lisanna... they're all girls. Ice princess and metal brain are guys."
"I-I'm sorry... It's just that you n- you never treat anyone like they're a girl or a guy! It's like everyone's the same gender to you!" Lucy seethed.
"..." Natsu remained silent, staring into the brown orbs that had a strange look in them... was it.. anger? Hurt? Those eyes... they were unreadable. The emotion that was held deep inside.. why wasn't it that he could know what it is? Why can't she tell him? Why can't he feel it with her?
"Lucy," He breathed, his voice almost coming out as a whisper, " I don't feel like that about everyone."
Lucy opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by squealing. Glancing in the direction of the high-pitched noise, they realized it had been Mira, squealing and pointing at her and Natsu.
"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, alarmed.
Mira just rambled on about love, otp's and thirty-three nalu babies.
Lucy, rolling her eyes, asked, "So, Mira, what is the guild doing for Valentine's day?"
Mira stopped her ranting and looked at Lucy with hopeful eyes, "Master said that we'd just be doing the yearly Valentine's party, but I thought of a new idea! A couple contest! Winner gets 50,000 jewel!" She beamed. "He said that if we get enough votes, we'll do it!"
"That's great!" Lucy said through a grin, "Maybe I could go around the guild and collect votes?"
"That'd be great!" Mira exclaimed, "Take this!" Mira handed the celestial mage a piece of paper with two columns. One of them was for the "Yes" votes, one for the "no" votes.
Lucy smiled at her and then went around the guild, asking for votes.
Lucy sighed in contempt. She had gotten all the votes, and 78% more of the guild wanted a contest! Especially Natsu, of course. He just ranted about how he was gonna beat "Ice Brains".
"Here you go, Mira! Looks like we'll be having that contest after all!" Lucy beamed.
Mira sighed happily. "I can just imagine how many couples I can make!"
Lucy was about to say something when Mira yelled, the whole guild hearing, "Giirrlllss! MAKE SURE YOU WEAR SOMETHING NICE TOMORROW! YOU WILL WANT TO LOOK NICE FOR YOUR TRUE LOVE!"
Lucy sweat dropped. She knew that she wasn't getting into a relationship any time soon. Definitely not with Natsu... Lucy knew he loved Lisanna. They'd been friends ever since they were small... obviously Natsu had feelings for the takeover mage. Not that she cared, though. Right? She didn't care!
Lucy had been thinking about how she "didn't care" if Natsu loved Lisanna when she felt an arm sling over her shoulder. Looking up to see who it was, she realized it was a brown haired card mage.
"What's up, Cana?" Lucy asked.
"Nothing much. I heard that the contest is gonna happen?"
"Yup!" Lucy radiated with excitement, "78% of the guild wanted a contest! Levy figured that out for me. You know how smart she is."
"Definitely. So, tomorrow is the contest, then?"
"Mhm! Tomorrow is Valentine's day."
"C'mere." Cana whispered and pulled Lucy into a random corner of the guild.
"What's wrong, Cana?" Lucy whispered.
"N-nothing," Cana blushed a bit, "I was wondering if I could participate with someone from another guild? We do need partners, right?"
Lucy gaped in shock. She hadn't thought about that... who would be her partner?
Gulping, Lucy said, "We do. And I don't think Mira would mind.. who do you want to be your partner?"
"...B-B..."
"Buh...? Bixlow? He's in our guild, you know.."
"N-no!" Cana fumed. "..I want B-Bacchus to be my partner."
"Oh." Lucy said, understanding. Of course Cana would like Bacchus. Mavis, he used beer magic!
"I haven't asked him yet.." Cana exhaled.
"You should!" Lucy smiled.
Cana smiled shyly, "Okay.. I will."
Lucy woke up in her bed, thoughts immediately hitting her. Valentines day. Contest. Partner! She tried to sit up but couldn't. That's when she noticed that a pair of strong arms were tightly embracing her waist.
"Hm," Lucy said under her breath, sarcastically, "I wonder who it is."
Lucy shook him multiple times in hope that he'd wake up. Instead, he only held her tighter.
"Crap..." Lucy said. She squirmed around, hoping he'd release her, but to no avail. Then, she slapped Natsu across the face. His eyes popped open before he released her, blushing a small teeny weeny bit...
"Get out, Natsu. I need to change."
"But Luuuu-"
"GET OUT OF HERE!" She shouted.
Natsu raised his hands in defeat before walking out the door.
Lucy scanned her wardrobe for something nice. Then, she spotted it. The perfect dress.
Juvia had never really been one to be competitive... unless it was about Gray, of course. When she heard about the contest, she got excited. Maybe she could be Gray's partner! Partners would lead to feelings, feelings would lead to love, love would lead to marriage, and marriage would lead to babies! It was the perfect plan!
And today was the day.
Grabbing her usual blue outfit, she looked it over before putting it back. Mira had said to wear something nice... well, time to wear that one dress that she'd never touched.
Levy honestly thought that the contest was a bad idea. A party would've been more fun, in her opinion. But they were having a contest, so she'd just have to deal with it.
She needed some money, too. Maybe, she could win. She smiled to herself, already knowing who she'd ask to be her partner. None other than the iron dragonslayer. She didn't have feelings for him, no; They'd had a bet a while ago and she had won. Now to repay her, he'd help her win.
Looking through her wardrobe, she'd decided to wear the hideous, but pretty, dress.
Erza sighed, jumping out of bed.. Valentines day.. reminded her of... She bit her lip as she thought of the one man she so greatly loved. She pondered if she loved him more than Juvia loved Gray. Probably... not. She didn't stalk Jellal; Juvia stalked Gray. Erza greatly wished that she could spend this romantic day with him... but she just couldn't... no, she couldn't. Heck, she didn't even know where he was.
So that meant that she wouldn't join the contest. She probably wouldn't ever even get married... she'd just feel like she was betraying Jellal.
Erza.. forever alone. Forever without the man she loved...
Blinking back tears, she went to get her usual clothes..
But she was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.
She opened the door, only to see that man. It was Jellal.
"Je-Jellal! What are you doing here?!" She asked.
"I wanted to visit you, Erza."
"W-why?"
"Just because..." He said, his cheeks tinted pink.
"O-oh..."
He cleared his throat. "So, I heard that Fairy Tail is holding a Valentine's contest. Would you like to be my partner?"
"Um, sure!"
He smiled softly, taking her into an embrace, "See you there," He whispered before exiting, leaving a blushing Erza.
Looks like she'd have to dress up today after all.
Evergreen fumed. She'd been thinking about participating in the contest, yes. But after she'd learned that they'd needed partners, she didn't want to join. Not at all. All the men in the guild were imbeciles-even the one she had a slight crush on. Just a little one.
Sure, she probably wouldn't mind being Elfman's partner. But even if she did, he was so stupid that he'd probably just blow it for her anyways.
But even if she wasn't joining, who said she couldn't dress up?
Lisanna yawned, jumping out of bed. Today was the Valentines contest! She was SUPER excited. But there was just one thing:
Who would be her partner?
She blushed as she thought of who she wanted it to be.
Maybe later, she could ask him.
Pushing away the thought, she scanned her closet for something 'nice'.
Wendy knew immediately from the announcement that she wouldn't be participating. She was WAY too shy. Plus, its not like anyone would want to be her partner. She'd probably just ruin it for everyone.
Sighing, she pulled out her favorite dress.
Cana woke early. She still hadn't asked him. She was too shy... Dang, shy just wasn't her thing. So why in the world was she SHY!?
She just pulled out that thing, hoping maybe later she would have the chance to ask.
Jellal sat at the bar, nervously tapping his fingers on the counter.
"You look nervous, Jellal," Mira said, "Is something on you're mind?"
Jellal smiled, "You could say that."
Just then, the guild doors flew open, revealing Erza in a pretty black halter-topped dress. It had a slit on the left side, going up to her mid-thigh. Her hair wasn't really done, it was just down, loose. But Jellal loved it that way. Loved it as much as he loved her.
Jellal felt his whole face turn crimson as he saw her take the seat next to him. "H-h-hi, Er-za.." He stuttered, "Y-you look nice.."
She smiled softly at him, blushing a bit, "Thankyou jellal. As do you."
"Do you guys need anything to drink?" Mira asked them.
Gajeel sighed as he took a seat.. alone. He didn't want anything to do with this Valentines crap. He hated love. He hated anything about romance. And he certainly did not love anyone, nor ever will. But that didn't mean that he couldn't like someone.
As he was thinking about this, and blocking all noise out, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw it was that person he liked.
"Speak of the devil," He grunted, trying not to look at her. But it was utterly impossible not to. She was beauty itself.
She was wearing a white feathery dress that made her look like a dove. It was about as short as the usual orange dress she wears, and strapless. She also had white gloves and boots. Her hair was "the norm".
"You were talking about me?" She asked, in that angelic little voice she had-NO!
"Nope."
"Ummm, okay then," She said as she sat next to him, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Whatt'ya want, shrimp."
She pouted, puffing out her cheeks. "I want you to be my partner."
Gajeel blushed a bit. "Y-you do?"
Levy blushed too, a little, "Not like that you idiot! YOU are going to help me win. Remember that bet?"
Gajeel groaned. So troublesome. Why couldn't she just leave him alone?
"Yeah, yeah, shrimp. I'll help ya."
Elfman laughed in his deep voice as Gray told him a joke.
And he kept on laughing.
and laughing.
and laughing.
"Dude, it wasn't that funny." Gray said, facepalming.
"I-I know, heh! but-haha-it was so funny and MANLY!"
Gray was about to just slap him when the only thing that could make Elfman shut up walked in through the door.
Her light brown hair was in a pretty bun. The beautiful violet dress that had one strap was so... womanly.
"Evergreen?" He asked, as she sat down next to Freed. Then he walked over to her.
"Y-you look womanly and I w-want to to b-be my-ARGH GETTING EMBARRASSED IS SO NOT MANLY!"
Evergreen smirked up at him, "Let me guess. You want me to be you're partner?"
Elfman grinned.
Gray watched as Elfman stumbled upon his words. SO not like him. Sighing, Gray's eyes scanned over everyone. Jellal and Erza were talking, smiling goofily and blushing. Gajeel and Levy were arguing. God, they really didn't notice how much they looked like a married couple. Everyone else was just.. sitting around.
And then the creeper walked in, and Gray suddenly had they urge to run away as she started walking towards him.
She was wearing a strapless aqua dress that fell just above her knees. It was sparkly and flowy, and it made him think of a mermaid. She wasn't wearing a hat, and her wavy blue hair fell loose.
She looked.. okay.
No, scratch that. She looked absolutely amazing.
"S-sup, Juvia." Gray said, trying to sound cool like usual.
Juvia smiled slightly, "Hi, Gray-sama. Juvia w-wanted to ask.. to ask you if you-Gray-sama, you are so daring!"
Gray looked down, only to see that he was in only his boxers. But he didn't really care, and he knew that Juvia didn't either.
"Whatever. You were asking?"
"Oh yeah! Gray-sama, will you be Juvia's partner?"
"...sure."
Romeo looked around at all the lovey-dovey people. Gross. He tried to find a place where there were no blushing idiots and found himself taking a walk outside.
Whenever he saw couples, he had the urge to puke.
Ew, they're so gross and-
"Romeo?" He heard a soft voice call out to him. Looking over, he saw that it was his best friend, Wendy. She was wearing a cute poofy yellow dress with white stockings and long white gloves. Her hair was down, and slightly wavy.
Uh-oh. When he was younger, he had a huge crush on her... and now it was coming back.
"W-wendy.." He said.
"Hi Romeo!"
He casually walked up to her. "Hey, so, uh, I was pretty bored, and since there's no one in the guild thats our age, how about we be partners?"
Her whole face became red as she nodded.
Bixlow froze completely when his secret love walk through the doors. The love that had short, white hair, and eyes as blue as the heavens. The love that was wearing a long peachy-colored dress with long sleeves.
"Sup, Lisanna." He said. He wasn't a shy person when it came to this kind of thing.
"Hi Bixlow," She said, her face tinted pink.
"So, uh, wanna be my partner?"
Her face got a bit pinker, but she smiled happily and exclaimed, "Sure!"
Bacchus smirked at the thought of Cana's face when he asked her. Well, technically, he hadn't asked her yet.. but he was going to. He was gonna go to the Fairy Tail guild and ask her. It was all over sorcerer weekly; the contest, that is. And if he wasn't allowed to participate because he wasn't in the guild, well...
He'd make them accept it.
Walking through the doors of the guild, he saw that Cana wasn't there. She was probably getting ready.
Why was he even asking her. Probably because she was hot. Yup, that's it. Although, deep down he knew it was just something more than that...
He sat at one of the stools. "Hi, um, Bacchus," Mira said, a confused look on her face, "What are you doing here?" C
"Cana's gonna be my partner."
"Oh, so you're participating in the contest, then?"
"Yep."
The guild doors quietly opened, revealing a sad-looking Cana staring at the floor. She was wearing a black strapless dress that stopped at her mid-thigh.
Not looking up (and not paying attention to the whistles she was getting from perverts), she sat down in a random spot.
It was the perfect time to sneak up on her.
He was right behind her when he breathed out, in her ear, "Be my partner, Cana..."
She whipped her head around to view him, wide eyed. The sulking face morphed into a happy, blushing, and almost competitive one. "Sure."
Natsu bounced around, picking fights with random people. But now he couldn't. Everyone was being all couply. Not that he didn't like that kind of thing. It was just that.. he wished he could do it too.
Where was his Luce?
He looked at Erza. She was blushing, twirling her hair around her finger, and talking to Jellal. Weird.
Then, he glanced at Gray, who was busy trying to get out of Juvia's grasp. Natsu smiled. Gray was one of his best friends, not that he would ever admit it.
He saw Wendy, who was busy getting a piggy-back ride from Romeo.
Elfman and Evergreen were fighting, as usual.
His friend Lisanna was poking Bixlow in the nose while giggling.
And then there was Metal-head, who was teasing the blue-haired bookworm about her shortness.
Finally, he saw Cana, who was getting drunk with... Bacchus!? How crazy! Why in the world was he here!?
As he was thinking, Lucy walked in. She was wearing a pink, sparkly, long silky dress with no straps. The top of it was the shape of a heart, and she had her hair down. She was wearing long white gloves.
"H-hi, Luce.." He said, ogling her. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He just wanted to kiss her, so badly..
She flashed him a grin and said, "Hi, Natsu." Did the room just get hotter? "Wanna be my partner? I mean, everyone else is already paired up. So we could just go as friends..."
Natsu felt like he got slapped in the face when she said, 'as friends' but ignored it. "I was about to ask you the same thing, Luce!" He laughed.
A few hours later, a man they all knew well walked in. "Hey," He grunted out, "I'm here to help out with the contest."
Mira blushed at the sight of him, "LAXUS?"
He waved.
''Alright then," Mira said, "I guess its time to let the contest begin!"