A/N: This is a gift written for my wonderful fiancé, Ronin201. Today is our third anniversary, so here's a little one-shot detailing the first date of two of our "Fairy Tail" OCs. I hope you like it, love!

Connor Logan could not keep his eyes to himself.

On a normal day in the Fairy Tail guild, he would be glued to a barstool, drinking in excess amounts, a sort of balm to soothe the sting of the most rejection that Cana Alberona had shot his way, and only after he had tried to pick a fight with almost every other male member of the guild.

For once, however, Cana was the last thing on Connie's mind.

The only girl that the bulky steel mage could not stop thinking about was the guild's most recent arrival: Kulani Mahelona.

She had arrived only earlier that week, but she had already taken the guild by storm. The young woman was, for one, a sort of novelty to the guild members. She had come from a little-known island nation south of Fiore, so everyone was fascinated by her, eager to learn about her country and her magic and her life. Besides that, she was a natural beauty, with a lovely hourglass figure and long, thick hair. Kulani had explained that her father was the primary chief of her island, so she was even royalty, to boot.

Connie was absolutely smitten.

"Are you going to keep staring like a gaping fish, or are you going to finally talk to her?"

The teasing voice broke Connie out of his most recent reverie, and he turned to his left. Gitana Santiago had taken up a seat beside him, an amused smile on her lips.

"I'm not starin'," he said in a defensive tone.

The former-gypsy shook her head, still looking as amused as ever. "Of course not. That vacant expression totally means you have the hots for Happy," she quipped fondly.

Connie made a face and took a deep swig of his ale. "It's not that obvious…" he muttered into his cup.

"And Vulcans can fly."

He groaned again, his mood deteriorating quickly into embarrassment. "I can't 'elp it…"

"Because you're smitten?"

Connie slumped a little, as if he were trying to compress his large frame into a small ball, wishing to disappear forever. "Well…"

"She's the first girl to show up in our guild that isn't already taken or is adamant against dating you, so you're thinking you might just have a shot of gaining her affections," Gitana continued, giving Connie a very pointed look. "Right?"

He glared at her half-heartedly. "It's not fair if yer dumb fortune-tellin' said all that."

"Hey, my "dumb fortune-telling" is what is telling me that this girl is the one I predicted would come along to make you forget about Cana."

At that, Connie's emotional state immediately turned around. "Are you positive? That fateful encounter that you told me about?"

"You mean when you begged me to give you a reading?" Gitana asked with a quirk of her brow.

Connie waved a dismissive hand. "Sure, sure."

"Yes, Connie. This is the one. So, get your ass off that stool and go talk to her for crying out loud." At that point, Gitana slid off her own stool and proceeded to push on Connie, physically urging him to move.

"H-hey! Stop pushin' on me like that!" Connie said, sounding extremely disgruntled.

"If you don't go talk to her yourself, I swear I will transform into you and do it for you!" Gitana threatened, pushing on him again. "And I'll make you seem like a real asshole, too!" she added as further incentive.

"Alright, alright!" Connie grumbled, moving from his spot. He took a few steps forward, and then glanced back at Gitana.

She rolled her eyes and made a shooing gesture with her hands. "You've never been this shy around women, so I don't see why you're going to start balking now!"

"I'm not chickenin' out!" Connie replied, maybe a little louder than he'd intended, considering the way that some of the other guild members were staring at him. "What? You want to start a fight?" Connie demanded, puffing up a little, ready to defend his pride at the drop of a pin.

Unwilling to deal with Connie's antics, the others turned away and focused back on their own drinks and conversations.

Gitana sighed and shoved at Connie again. "Go!" she urged in a firm, yet exasperated, voice.

Connie huffed and crossed the large room, approaching Kulani, where she was being all-but-interrogated by Seraphim Chevalie, one of Connie's teammates.

"…siblings do you have?" Sera asked, trying to not make it as obvious that she was keeping track of all of Kulani's answers in one of her notebooks.

The young islander shook her head. "None. I am my father's only child, so I will become the next clan leader."

"Really? And what kind of society do you have? Matriarchal? Patriarchal?"

"Sera, don't go talkin' her ears off," Connie said as he approached.

The young researcher blushed a little bit, and looked up at him. "But there's hardly any information about her island!" she said defensively. "This is a great opportunity!"

Kulani smiled a little bit. "If you are interested to learn more, I will be happy to tell you about my home. I don't mind."

Sera brightened, and opened her mouth to ask another question, but Connie stopped her. "Well, you've already got a few pages worth of information. Maybe you can ask her more questions later?"

She glanced up at him again, ready to protest, but then Gitana slid up next to Connie. "Hey, Sera, shouldn't you b e getting ready for your dinner with Kyosuke tonight?"

Sera gasped and quickly scrambled out of her seat. "You were supposed to remind me earlier than that, Gitana!" she exclaimed, stuffing her notebook and pen into her messenger bag. "Especially when you promised that you and Yvonne would help me get dressed!"

Gitana smiled in reassurance. "Don't worry, Sera. We'll have you ready in no time. But you'll have to save your interview for later." As she took Sera by the arm, she gave Connie a very pointed look before jerking her head slightly in Kulani's direction.

Connie huffed, giving her an 'I-know-already' look.

Gitana just smiled in response and led Sera off, asking her what color she wanted to wear that night for her date.

Once the other two were out of earshot, Connie glanced down at Kulani, and swallowed. For all his talk, he found himself blanking at the most inconvenient moment.

"What's your name?" Kulani asked him pleasantly. "I don't believe you've introduced yourself to me, yet."

Connie sat down beside her, practically plopping down in the empty space on the bench where she sat. "Uh, Connor Logan. The other people here in the guild call me 'Connie,' though."

"Connie," she repeated curiously, like she was testing the word on her tongue.

He nodded once. "And your name is Kulani? What does it mean in your language?"

She smiled a little. "Like heaven," she explained. "Because 'lani' in my language means 'sky' or 'heaven,'" she added.

"That's…interesting?" Connie said lamely.

"Names are sacred. They hold a lot of power, even magic power." Kulani smiled brightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I suppose so…"

"Oh! I had a question for you as well."

"A-aye?"

"Well, this is my very first time on the mainland, and my first time in a large city…I was going to ask Miss Sera if she might show me around Magnolia, but if she's otherwise preoccupied…"

"I'll take you out!" Connie exclaimed in a heartbeat, ignoring the implications behind his poor choice of words.

Kulani looked excited. "I look forward to it!"

x-x-x

Connie shifted anxiously from foot to foot as he waited outside the café that he had planned to meet Kulani at. He grimaced as he rubbed at his clean-shaven cheeks, and then tugged on the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt. He wasn't even sure what had possessed him to dress up for dinner. It was almost as bad as when he was in his own hometown and went to church with his parents and siblings. And he had butterflies in his stomach, which was especially stupid.

It was just a tour of Magnolia, and that was all.

…Right?

"Connie!"

The strawberry blond jumped a little and looked towards the direction that his name had come from. Immediately, his breath caught in his throat.

As Kulani walked towards him, her slippers slapping against the pavement, the breeze caught at her wavy hair, and it was very easy for Connie to imagine her strolling along the beaches of her island home. She had a large, bright red flower in her hair, and she was wearing a white sheath dress that reached her ankles and had ruffled sleeves that fell off her shoulders.

She stopped in front of him, smiling as brightly as before. "Thank you so much for doing this for me. I look forward to spending this time with you."

"I-I'm looking forward to it, too…"

She glanced up at the restaurant. "We're starting with food, I assume?"

Connie nodded and went to the door, opening it and holding it open for her. Well, if nothing else, his mother would be impressed with his manners. Maybe.

Kulani stepped through the doorway with a nod of thanks.

The maître d' looked up when they walked through. "Good evening. Table for two?"

Connie nodded.

The maître d' picked up two menus from his podium and led the two of them to a table by the window. "How does this work for you?"

"This is lovely," Kulani said, smiling. "We can people watch while we eat," she added, sounding almost like an excited child.

Connie felt a smile tug at his lips. Kulani was oddly adorable…

The two took their seats, and the young woman flipped through the menu. "Wow, there are so many options…Is there anything you would recommend?" She glanced up at Connie. "Do you have a favorite dish that they serve here, maybe?"

Connie blinked, a little surprised that she had asked. "Well…I like the lamb stew…It reminds me of me mum's cookin' out of everything on the menu," he eventually said after a moment of consideration.

She glanced at him. "Do you miss your home, then?"

Connie was thrown off-guard once more. "I…I suppose I am…"

"What brought you here, then?"

Before he had a chance to answer, the waitress stopped by their table. "Is there anything I can get started for you? The couple's special, perhaps?"

Connie blanched instantly. He'd forgotten that the café had a special deal for anyone on a date, a three-course meal for a reduced price. And since it was just him and Kulani sitting at the table…The waitress thought that the two of them were on a date!

"No, that's okay! We're fine with just two lamb stews!" he exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of the other patrons. "And you all need to stop starin' an' mind yer own business!"

The waitress laughed a little, seeming nervous. "A-alright, I'll have that out for you as soon as possible…Can I get you anything while you wait?"

"I'd like to try your mango juice, please," Kulani requested.

"And I need a couple o' bottles o' whiskey," Connie grumbled, sinking a little into his chair.

The waitress nodded and went off to the kitchen.

Kulani looked towards Connie. "Do we really look like a pair?" she asked quizzically.

"Well, I guess other people think so…I mean, it is only the two of us eating together, so I suppose I can understand why they think that."

She nodded, looking thoughtful. "Would that be something that would appeal to you?" she asked.

Connie swallowed, taken aback by her bluntness. He remained silent, unsure of how to answer. Well, if she really was the mystery woman that Gitana had continued to hint at, then of course he wanted to be able to date her. It did seem, after all, that most of Gitana's predictions came true. Yet Connie was still a little skeptical of Gitana's fortune telling, so he was a little unsure about whether or not he wanted to take a chance with Kulani.

"Well…"

The waitress interrupted by returning with their drinks, setting them down on the table. "Your food should be out shortly," she added in a cheerful tone.

Kulani took a sip of her juice after the waitress had left. She made a face, looking immensely disappointed. "It doesn't taste the same…" she murmured, staring at the glass forlornly. "It's too sweet, not as fresh…" She sighed and looked up at Connie. "So, why did you leave home?"

Connie blinked, but was thankful that she wasn't continuing to press on the question about whether or not they should be a couple. "Well, I like working to help send money back to my family. It helps them pay for my sister's medical bills."

"She is very sick, then?"

He looked down at the table, fiddling with one bottle of whiskey. "She is…So I do what I can to help her, even though I'm far away." He glanced back at Kulani. "My father also wanted me to do something with my life besides working at the steel mill. So I decided I would study magic and become a mage."

"A steel mill?"

He nodded. "Right. They process steel ore and make it into lots of useful things. My dad's worked there his whole life, and my brothers are there now, too. If my father hadn't been so insistent about me not working there, then I probably would have signed up as soon as I was old enough."

"Why is that?"

"It was such a great place to be! My father brought me there once, even though he said that it was pretty dangerous work. The sparks flying everywhere, the heat shaping the metal into different shapes…I wanted to be able to do the same thing one day. That's why I decided to study steel magic, specifically. If I couldn't work at the mill, then I would still find a way to work with steel."

Connie stopped talking, taking note of the smile on Kulani's face. "What's that look for?" he asked.

"You're very passionate about your magic, I see."

Connie coughed once and scratched the back of his head, doing his best to not look as embarrassed as he felt. "I suppose…"

"I think that's a good thing. Nothing is worth your efforts unless you're passionate about it."

"That makes sense…"

She nodded and took another tentative sip of her juice, but she looked just as disappointed with the flavor as before.

"So, um, you live on Kahakai? Where on the island did you grow up?"

"At the base of Mount Ahi."

"A mountain? That sounds like it would have been a beautiful place to live."

Kulani shook her head. "Oh, no. Mount Ahi is a volcano."

Connie stared at her for a few moments. "A…volcano?"

She nodded. "That's right. All members of the Mahelona clan are taught to use lava magic, so it helps to have our home near Ahi."

In that instant, Connie seemed to know that Gitana's prediction was correct. There couldn't possibly be anyone else that could be a better fit for him. Maybe he really did want to be able to date Kulani, and make it work out between the two of them…

The waitress stopped by once more, this time to set down their food. "I hope you both enjoy it!"

"Thank you," Kulani said, smiling a little. She picked up a spoon and took a bite. Her eyes lit up almost immediately. "This is really good! It's so different than the food from home, but it's so good!"

Connie stared. Damn, she was acting really cute…He shook his head once to force himself to focus. "I-I'm glad you like it," he told her.

"If this is how good the food is, then I look forward to the rest of the evening, as well!"

x-x-x

As Connie and Kulani walked back to the Fairy Tail guild after a leisurely stroll through South Gate Park, he listened as the young islander raved about everything he had shown her throughout the evening.

"…so beautiful here! Thank you so much for showing me around. Maybe someday I can take you to Kahakai and show you around the island. It could be really fun. And then I could even introduce you to my father."

Connie stopped in his tracks. "Your…father?"

"Sure. I mean, if we're a couple, then it's the natural thing to do, right?"

"…We're a couple?"

"I'd like to give it a try. After all, I really like you, ipo!"

Connie frowned, giving her a quizzical look. "What does that mean?"

Kulani smiled, a sort of smile that seemed to hold back laughter, or like she was hiding something. She stopped and turned to face him, reaching up on her toes so that she was closer to his height. She kissed his cheek. "I'll tell you someday," she promised.