Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome to my latest oneshot, "To Cut a Flame!"
So basically, I saw this Grayza story called Melting the Ice by 82and9make91. Those of you who've seen it will notice the similarities, and that's because that's where I got the idea for this fic. I dunno, I just wanted to expand on it a little through the medium I'm good with, which is NatsuxErza. It's not meant to be a copy, but rather an alternate interpretation. Nevertheless, if 82and9make91 wants me to take this down, I will gladly do so.
So now that that's out of the way, I guess I got nothing to say except, enjoy.
I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does. I own Dice the ice cream man.
Magnolia was experiencing a heat wave. Most of the residents preferred to stay in their homes with whatever cooling methods they had available to them. Some had even gone to the beach in an effort to combat the suffocating August heat. Even the normally rowdy Fairy Tail guild was subdued by the weather, with one obvious exception.
"What is this bullshit?" a certain pink-haired young man demanded of his nakama.
Nearly everyone in the guild was in some sort of slothful position, none too eager to indulge the Fire Dragon Slayer in his quest for a fight.
"Come on! We should all be fighting and having a good time right now!" yelled Natsu. "Are you weaklings gonna let a little heat slow you down?"
These words were met with a collective groan from his guildmates. A blond-haired girl rose to speak on their behalf with a sigh.
"Natsu, it's at least 95 degrees out," said Lucy, irritated, but oddly patient. "Not everyone was raised by a fire dragon, you know."
"Lucy's right, Flamehead," said Gray, with only a pair of boxer shorts covering him. "Any other day, I'd be glad to kick your ass. But right now, we are all exhausted, and none of us wants to put in the effort for a fight!"
"Doesn't seem to be bothering Erza," said Natsu. It was true. The scarlet-haired mage sat in a simple black tank top and her usual blue skirt, sipping at a glass of strawberry lemonade.
"Yeah, but... she's Erza, what'd you expect?" asked Gray.
Erza smiled to herself at Gray's compliment. Truth be told, she wasn't any cooler than the rest of her guild. However, during her slave days, she had been forced to work under much worse conditions. At least now she was neither hungry or tired.
"Whatever, I want a fight, and I want it now," said Natsu.
Erza sighed. Natsu was already a force when you were defending yourself, but he was dangerous if you didn't fight back. Realizing nothing good could come of the Dragon Slayer's antics, she finished her lemonade and stepped in between him and Gray.
"Why don't we go get an ice cream, Natsu?" she suggested. "Ice mages don't function well in the heat, so it wouldn't be fair to fight Gray in this state. Besides, at least this way, we won't be bored to tears."
Natsu pondered Erza's words, then realized she was right. "You're right, Erza," he said. "No point fighting that damn stripper if he's not gonna make it a fight."
Gray frowned. "So you listen to Erza, but not me?" he demanded.
"The difference is, I actually like Erza," replied Natsu, giving his rival the finger.
Gray opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it between Erza's glare and the sweltering heat. "You know what? It's just not worth it today," he said.
"Fantastic!" said Erza brightly. "Lucy, Gray. Are you coming with us?"
"Nah, I think I'll just head home," said Lucy. "I figure if I work on my novel, I'll at least be getting something done."
"I'm going home too," agreed Gray. "I'm just gonna freeze my apartment and take a long nap like I should've done from the start."
"Suit yourselves," said Erza. "Let's go, Natsu."
"Aye," replied Natsu. He walked with the Titania from the guild, but not before scoffing quietly to himself at how pathetic his guild could be.
The two Fairy Tail mages had walked down to the plaza. Natsu knew Erza's favorite ice cream place all too well. Glitter's was the place where the knight would take him after a long day of training. It was also the place where she would take him every July 7th to help ease the pain of Igneel's disappearance. The pair shared many fond memories of that place.
"I suppose you'd like cinnamon in a cone, Natsu?" asked Erza. That was another thing about Glitter's. It had strange flavors to suit the guild members' tastes. The owner had been a member back in the old days, and he and Makarov were still close.
"Aye, sir!" said Natsu. It was hard to find cinnamon at any other stand, but Dice had always made sure it was in stock when he came around.
"And I'll have vanilla in a cup," said Erza. Dice and Natsu both looked at her in surprise.
"But... you always get strawberry," said Natsu lamely.
"That's not what I'm hungry for today," said Erza simply.
"And you never get a cup!" added Natsu.
"I don't want it melting all over my fingers today," replied Erza.
Natsu struggled to make sense of this development. "I have no idea who you are anymore!" he yelled dramatically.
"Well, I for one think it's good to come out of your comfort zone every once in a while," said Dice, his graying mustache twitching with his smile as he handed the two their ice cream. They each took their own as Erza paid the man. "Enjoy!" he said brightly.
"We will, Dice-san," said Erza.
Natsu was still unsatisfied. "Hey old man. Add on a scoop of mocha while you're at it!" he ordered, handing the cone back to Dice.
"You hate mocha!" Erza pointed out.
"Yeah, well you hate vanilla!" rebutted Natsu. "And I'm not gonna lose to you! Not here!"
"That's the spirit, Natsu!" said Dice, handing back the cone with the added scoop. "I'll need an extra hundred Jewels," he added.
"Done!" said Natsu, slamming down the bill.
"Careful!" warned Dice. "A strong fella like you can break my counter without trying!"
"Sorry!" said Natsu.
"You kids enjoy yourselves!" said Dice, waving off the two Fairy Tail mages for the next customers in line.
As they took their seats by the fountain, Erza found herself admiring Natsu's enthusiasm. He was willing to try a flavor he hated just because she had inspired him by trying one she didn't like. However, what Natsu wasn't aware of was that Erza had ordered the way she did with a certain intent. She blushed at the thought.
"I knew it! I knew you were hot!" said Natsu boastfully.
"Wh-what?" exclaimed Erza in surprise.
"Your face is red!" Natsu pointed out. "The heat's getting to you! Natsu 1, Erza 0!"
Erza kneed Natsu in the stomach, knocking his cone out of his hand, which she caught without a drop spilling. "Count again, smart guy," she smirked, handing the cone back to Natsu.
"My mistake," groaned Natsu. His face perked up as he realized something. "Hey Erza! Whoever finishes their ice cream first wins!" the Dragon Slayer challenged.
"Natsu, no! You're gonna get-!" Erza tried to warn her friend. But it was too late. Natsu had bitten off three-quarters of his ice cream off in one swift movement.
Erza sighed and started a mental countdown. 3... 2... 1...
"BRAIN FREEZE! AHHHHHHHH!" Natsu screamed. He placed his free hand to his temple as he experienced a throbbing headache while struggling to hold on to his cone.
Erza shook her head, but at the same time couldn't help laughing. This was what she loved about Natsu. When it got right down to it, he was a staunch defender of Fairy Tail – and of her. But in ordinary situations, he was just this lovable goofball who only seemed to live to make others smile.
Suddenly, she found herself questioning her intentions towards Natsu. Would he understand? Hell, she wasn't quite sure if she herself she steeled her resolve. After all, Erza Scarlet never backed down from a challenge, especially one which she set for herself.
"You're right, Natsu," said Erza, taking a scoop of the quickly melting ice cream and positioning the spoon just over her cleavage. "I am feeling a little... hot." Some ice cream dripped in between her breasts. "Oooh! That feels good!" she groaned.
To say Natsu was shocked was putting it mildly. Now, Natsu didn't really place that high a value on this sort of thing, but he was a young man, and Erza was a young woman. A young, attractive woman to boot. Needless to say, even a knucklehead like him couldn't help but stare at this blatant display of raw sexuality.
"Um... you got a little..." he tried to say, his face red with embarrassment.
"Oh!" chirped Erza. "How messy of me." She reached into her breasts, scooped up the drops, and licked them off her fingers, making sure to savor each molecule.
Natsu struggled to avert his eyes. "I won't look!" he told himself. "I'm not like that damn pervert Gray!"
Erza continued to eat her ice cream, sometimes licking the spoon and making sure Natsu saw plenty of tongue, sometimes sticking it in and sucking on it. All the while, she paid attention to Natsu's reactions. He had finally given up any pretense and had started openly ogling Erza as she ate, his own ice cream forgotten in his stupor.
Finally, the ice cream was gone, and Natsu mustered up the courage to speak. "What the hell was that?" he half-asked, half yelled.
Erza's face paractically matched her hair at this point, giggling in an uncharacteristically girlish way. "Well... you see, ever since... you know... I've started to wonder what men think of me. I mean, if they think I'm sexy."
Natsu tilted his head. "Why would you ever care about that?" he asked. "You're beautiful! Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not!"
"I know, but... I just wanted to reassure myself that I could be sexy..." She sighed. "On occasion, I would flirt with boys," she said. "Mostly whenever I wanted to feel like a normal girl, like the lives of all my friends weren't dependent on me keeping a deadly secret. But I've never really seemed to do it right, as the boy in question would always find some excuse to leave, or just outright run away."
Natsu took some time to think. He had always thought Erza was scary. But he had always seen through to the beautiful girl and, even though he spent most of his childhood with Lisanna, had always harbored something of a crush on the knight, something which had blossomed into what he felt now, thanks to the Tower.
"You know, Igneel used to say a man's magic reflects his character," said Natsu. "Never really believed it myself until now."
"Explain," ordered Erza.
"You use Sword magic," said Natsu. "Your character reflects that. Most people see a dangerous weapon. They fear being cut too much to see the beauty that defines the blade."
"Do you, Natsu?" asked Erza.
"Hell, no!" said Natsu loudly. "I'm fire! No one can cut me down because as long as I have a breath in my body, I'll come back stronger than ever!" He took Erza's chin in his hand and looked directly into her eyes. "I mean it, Erza," he said softly.
Erza pulled herself away from Natsu and looked at him with a contented smile on her face. Perhaps she would never be a sex symbol, but as long as one person thought she was beautiful, she could continue on happily. On some unnamed instinct, she leaned in and pecked Natsu on the cheek.
"Buy me another?" she asked, holding up the empty ice cream cup.
And there we go. I seem to be writing a lot of ecchi scenes, don't I?
Like I said, 82, you want this taken down, I'm more than happy to oblige. But for the rest of you, enjoy this while it's up, I suppose. I'll try to make progress on Don't Forget to Remember Me, but no promises, as I was kind of rattled by personal matters during the story's setup phase, and that kind of killed my drive for writing for a while. I think I'm going to either discontinue Figuring It Out or at least rewrite it to feature Rogue instead of Sting, since after 291, I feel like the StingxLucy ship was sunk hard, and I don't feel like waiting to see if Sting pulls a Heel Face Turn to continue writing it. As of right now, Rogue works better in my mind.
But that's all for another day, and until that day, peace and love from Nightlingbolt!