"So why is Lucy-san mad at you again?" Wendy Marvell inquired of the older Dragon Slayer as they made their way back home to Fairy Tail.
"Well..."
"Yo, Luce!"
"Gah! Don't scare me like that!"
An amused look was given from the ever excitable Natsu Dragneel in return for his partner's scolding. Lucy Heartfilia continued to glare at the intruding Dragon Slayer for yet again leaping through her window instead of using the door like a normal person., These days, however, Natsu was starting to think of her patented look of anger as more of a pout than a glare.
In other words, Natsu was beginning to find his best friend to be...rather cute.
Although, of course, no one would ever be able to get him to admit it - not even the pink-haired mage himself. Any and all fuzzy feelings that were beginning to stir within his stomach in regards to his partner would instantly be shooed away by the naive Dragon Slayer. That, or they'd be attributed to hunger.
"Anyway, you excited for next week?" Natsu asked of the blonde in front of him, his signature smile plastered upon his face.
Lucy's still-intact glare gradually softened as she regarded the smiling dolt in front of her. The effect that smile of his had on her really just wasn't fair. She could feel a familiar warmth spreading from her heart, something the Celestial Spirit mage would prefer to attribute to Natsu's body temperature, rather than his smile.
"What's next week?" Lucy asked, already preparing herself for responses such as 'monster hunt', or a variety of other violent activities that she'd inevitably get dragged along to against her will.
"The Christmas party at the guild, duh!" the pink-haired mage proclaimed, as if that should have been obvious knowledge to anyone in the world. For Lucy's part, however, she definitely felt as if she should have remembered.
"Oh, crud, Natsu you're right!" the blonde exclaimed in dismay. "We've been doing so many missions lately that I forgot all about that! I need to help everyone set things up at the guild and, oh gosh, presents! I need to get everyone their presents! And -" as Lucy began to go into overdrive, she suddenly felt a strong grasp upon her shoulders. She looked up from her rant to find Natsu looking her intently in the face, his strong grip making her blush.
"We've got plenty of time for all that, Luce." the Dragon Slayer offered, attempting to comfort his best friend. "You don't need to worry yourself that much, weirdo."
The Celestial Spirit mage slowed her breathing a little and gave her partner a small smile.
"Thanks, Natsu." she said, appreciatively, before giving a slight giggle ,to the confusion of the lad in front of her. " 'We' have plenty of time for all that? I don't remember mentioning 'us' when I was worrying over the preparations, though." Lucy explained, sticking her tongue out teasingly at Natsu. The salmon-haired mage groaned and looked away from the girl within his grasp. Partly out of embarrassment at her insinuation, and partly because her actions were beginning to make him feel funny again.
"W-Well, we're a team, right?" Natsu offered, meekly. The blonde giggled again at her partner's words.
"The greatest." she affirmed, before pulling Natsu into a tight embrace, a smile on her face as she rested a cheek near the Dragon Slayer's warm chest. For his part, Natsu was glad that Lucy wasn't looking up at him at the moment, as he was certain his face was probably an unnatural shade of red right about now. After a moment, one that seemed to last an eternity and yet be much too brief at the same time, the two separated from the warm hug.
"So! Should we begin the preparing tomorrow morning, then?" Lucy said, her excitement evident in her voice.
"Yeah!" Natsu agreed, sharing in Lucy's enthusiasm, before a look of a realization came over him. This did not go unnoticed by the Celestial Spirit mage, as she looked inquisitively at her partner. "A ha ha... I just realized that I promised Wendy I'd help her out with a mission tomorrow... you aren't too mad are ya, Luce?" the Dragon Slayer explained, chuckling nervously as he did so. Despite his best efforts to be diplomatic about the slip-up however, the dark aura emanating from his partner was becoming more and more apparent.
"Luce?"
"Lucy-Kick!" was the yell from the blonde as she kicked her best friend clean out of her window. In a huff, she turned off the lights, quickly climbing into her bed and pulling the covers over her body, angered by her partner's admission. A few moments passed by before her irritation followed suit, and she softened a little as she gazed up towards the ceiling.
Why was I so bothered by this? Lucy thought to herself. Was I really looking forward to spending time with Natsu that much? She sighed as she allowed herself to admit that this was indeed the case. Pulling her covers over her face out of embarrassment, the Celestial Spirit mage decided that she'd have to apologize to the Dragon Slayer when they next met.
"And that's pretty much what happened."
Wendy and Charla exchanged glances at each other as they giggled at Natsu's recounting of what had transpired four days ago between he and his partner.
"I don't see what's so funny about that." Natsu groaned. That Lucy-Kick was definitely the hardest one he'd ever taken.
"Sorry, Natsu-san." Wendy offered. "So, what are you going to do about this?"
The salmon-haired mage waved his hand in dismissal of the younger Dragon Slayer's worries.
"Lucy never stays mad at me for long." he assured his teammate. "She's cool like that."
"He says, despite being kicked right in the face by her." Charla spoke up. "It would seem you two are rather fond of one another." Her blue-haired owner giggled in agreement at that last statement.
Another groan was elicited from the older Dragon Slayer, as he instinctually adjusted his muffler. Another knowing glance was exchanged between Wendy and Charla as they observed Natsu's apparent embarrassment.
"Natsu-san, look! I can see the guild from here!"
"Finally!"
The guild doors were flung wide open as the Fire Dragon Slayer announced his return in typical Natsu fashion. The usual sounds of the guild welcoming back one of their own were heard, but Natsu was only interested in seeing a particular blonde at the moment. He rushed over to Mirajane to confirm the completion of his and Wendy's quest.
"Welcome back, Natsu!" the beautiful bartender greeted.
"Hey, Mira!" the salmon-hair mage greeted back, appreciatively. "Have you seen Luce?" he asked. The silver-haired mage's beaming smile turned into a slight frown.
"Well, Lucy hasn't shown up to the guild for a few days now, and I'm starting to get worried." Mirajane said, the growing look of concern on the Dragon Slayer's face not going unnoticed by her. "Maybe you can check on her for me and see if things are alright?" she suggested. Her words had barely escaped her lips before Natsu had bolted out of the guild, no doubt in a hurry to check on his partner's well-being.
A 'tsk' was heard as Mirajane turned to find Fairy Tai's Titania giving her a furtive glance.
"That was rather cruel of you." Erza stated, evenly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about~" the Take-Over mage cooed, her voice sounding so innocent that it could only convey anything but.
"We both know full well that Lucy's merely sick with a cold." the scarlet-haired mage admonished.
"Oh, Erza. Sometimes people just need a little push to get them going." Mirajane insisted.
"And they call me scary..."
"What was that, dear?"
"Nothing."
With that, the Take-Over mage went back to wiping the guild's wine glasses, humming to herself happily as she did so.
A little Christmas fic for ya, folks! Read, favorite, follow, and definitely review! They definitely mean a lot to me and make me very happy! :D Happy holidays! Expect an update to this soon~