Unexpected
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. OH MY GOSH I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED MY SOUL EATER FANFIC YET! I have just been the busiest person ever! I pinky promise to update it as soon as I can! But for now...NALU WEEK! Day one's theme: Birthday.
I knew about the surprise party.
The guild members aren't very good at keeping secrets. I noticed the surplus of food Mira was bringing into the kitchen over the past week, the bags of balloons Master snuck upstairs, the invitations poorly hidden under a book on Levy's desk when I visited her house a few days ago, and the amount of people who conveniently needed to go shopping recently. The clues were all there. They were planning a surprise birthday party for me.
I'm not complaining, I'm actually touched that they even remembered my birthday, but couldn't they just be a little more subtle about it? Well, no, I suppose not. I mean, this is Fairy Tail I'm talking about, and they're never subtle about anything. Natsu being the perfect example.
"Natsu, be quiet! Someone could hear you," I whispered to him on a mission we took about a month ago. Our mission was to retrieve an item that was stolen from a museum. We were told specifically not to cause a scene, and so, had to make our way into a mansion silently and without being caught. It seemed Natsu had trouble with the "silently" part.
"But Luce! It was funny!" Natsu whispered back while continuing to chuckle. A guard had fallen asleep on duty, and being Natsu, he decided to draw all over the guard's face. Of course it was funny, I had drawn on Natsu's face a couple times myself, but now was definitely not the time to be fooling around.
"I knew you couldn't handle this mission..." I mumbled under my breath. I had needed some quick cash for my rent, so I took a mission with a reward that was slightly over the price I needed. Apparently, there were no missions that peaked Natsu's interest on the request board, so he decided to tag along with me. At first I was a little wary of Natsu's company, seeming as though it required an absence of noise, and Natsu not exactly being the quiet type, but he insisted on coming, being too bored to do anything else.
And so there we were, sneaking around a mansion in the middle of the night, attempting to be silent and Natsu pretending to be like a ninja. Even though he was trying to enjoy himself by stealthily moving about the rooms, I could tell he was becoming fidgety. I tried hurrying for his sake and mine. I didn't know when he might crack, and if he cracked soon, he would give away our position.
"Okay Natsu, we're almost to the room where the stolen item is. What I want you to do is stay in the doorway and be lookout. Can you do that?" I quietly spoke to him from behind a large column, hiding from any security guards. Natsu solemnly nodded at the boring assignment that was given to him. I could tell he was itching to destroy something.
Once we reached the room containing the stolen object, they were met by two wizards protecting the area. They were quickly knocked unconscious by a swift punch in the gut by Natsu. Lucy then opened the door to the room and walked over to the item in the center.
"It probably has some sort of magic security system on it," I thought. I stood there staring at it, thinking of a way I could take the item without having any problems. Then, I felt someone behind me. I turned around to see Natsu reaching towards the object.
"Natsu! I thought I told you to-" BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Natsu had grabbed the object and, just as I suspected, an alarm went off.
"Natsu, you idiot! I told you to be lookout!" I shouted at him over the alarm. I heard voices coming from down the hallway which we had come.
"Well, hide! We can't let them find us stealing the-" SMASH. Natsu had shattered a window and jumped out. I groaned, knowing that I would most definitely not be getting my rent paid this month, then leaped out the window after him, landing with a thud on the grass, then ran away from the mansion as fast as our legs would go. Our client found out about the ruckus we'd made, and so did not pay us in full. I only received half of the money needed for my rent. Natsu apologized at least fifty times before I forgave him.
But, even though the Fairy Tail guild can't keep quiet for even a minute, I still love it with all my heart.
It's the day before my birthday, and when I entered the guild, it was even more rambunctious than usual. Immediately, Levy caught sight of me as I came in.
"Lu-chan! How about you and I go shopping today," she offered. I smiled and agreed, assuming that this was just a way to get me away from the guild so they could prepare for tomorrow. I went along with their plan, shopped with Levy, and had a blast with her, pretending not to know a single thing about the party. Once it started getting dark, I said my goodbyes to Levy and headed home. I fell asleep quickly, knowing a fun day was awaiting me when I woke up.
I awoke to the sun shining brightly in my eyes. I looked to the clock hanging on my wall. It was nearly nine-thirty. I'd slightly overslept. I leisurely got ready for my day, took my time picking my outfit, made sure my makeup wasn't messed up at all, and summoned Cancer to do my hair perfectly. Happy with the way I looked, I smiled and left my apartment, locking the door behind me.
I was on my way to the guild when Erza approached me, her crimson hair in a high ponytail and her armor gone, replaced my a bikini. A volleyball was being held under her right arm.
"Lucy, care to join me at the volleyball tournament down at the beach?" she asked with a friendly smile.
"I would love to, but I don't have a swimsuit," I replied, looking down at my green tank top and jean short-shorts.
"That's fine, you don't have to swim if you don't want to. I just thought you might enjoy watching us play," Erza said, shifting the ball to the other arm. I accepted the offer, and followed Erza to the train station where we boarded a train headed for the beach. Once at the beach, I noticed a most of the guild members were there, along with a lot of other civilians of Magnolia. I found a seat next to Wendy and waited for the game to begin. Erza, Mirajane, Cana, and Levy were on one team and Gray, Elfman, Gajeel, and Loke were on the other. Juvia was cheering Gray on from the sidelines. Gajeel seemed a bit bored with the whole thing, but once the game started, he was working just as hard as everybody else not to lose. Of course, Erza's spikes weren't exactly easy to handle, and the girls' team defeated the boys'. Team after team went up against Erza, Mirajane, Cana, and Levy, but none came out the victor. I took pleasure in watching the games and seeing everyone have a good time, except for the occasional spike-gone-wrong and almost making direct contact with my face.
"That's weird, I haven't seen Natsu or Happy yet. Usually they'd like this sort of thing," I thought, the image of Natsu setting the ball on fire making me giggle. Despite his reckless ways, I have been feeling sort of different towards the goofy dragon slayer lately. A feeling that makes my heart beat faster and my stomach flip in a weird way. I can't quite explain it...
"Come on Lucy! It's time to go back," Wendy said cheerfully. I nodded, standing up from the towel I was sitting on, and made my way to the train station with the others.
"Maybe he didn't want to go on the train. He's probably waiting at the guild," I assured myself. During the walk back to the guild from the train station, I noticed I was being made sure to be kept at the front of the crowd. Like they were making sure I had a front-row seat for what was happening next. Just as we approached the guild doors, Master Makarov and Mirajane appeared on either side of me, placing a hand on each of the doors. I knew what was coming.
"Happy birthday Lucy!" all the guild members shouted in unison. I put on my best shocked face and walked into the guild to see tons of balloons, food, presents, and a big pink cake in the middle of the room decorated with candy keys. I gratefully thanked everyone and hugged as many as I could.
Three hours into the party and I had opened all the gifts, eaten two slices of the delicious cake Mirajane had made, and had a wonderful dinner full of stories and laughter. It was about eight o'clock and I still hadn't seen Natsu or Happy at all.
"Hey Gray, have you seen Natsu?" I asked the shirtless ice wizard, who shook his head in response. I asked more people about the whereabouts of the fire mage, but nobody had an answer.
Around an hour later, Cana and Master Makarov were completely drunk. Evergreen and Bixlow soon followed. The party eventually ended when Evergreen turned Elfman into a statue. I agreed to pick up my gifts tomorrow, being as tired as I am now, and left the guild. The night was chilly and I had to hug myself to keep warm. My thoughts remained on the fire dragon slayer the entire walk home. Where has he been all day?
When I got under the covers of my bed, I had my answer.
I felt an unusual warmth in my bed, and turned my lamp on to see Natsu's sleeping face only an inch away from my own. My face heated up and I instantly jumped out of the bed.
"Natsu! What do you think you're doing sleeping in my bed?" I angrily yelled at him. He rustled under the sheets and opened one eye.
"Oh, hey Luce," he said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. A tired lopsided smile formed on his lips, which made my stomach feel weird. I sighed, trying to calm myself.
"Where have you been all day? You missed the party you know," I said, putting my hands on my hips. Natsu tilted his head a little.
"Party?" he said, looking confused. I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, my surprise birthday party. Didn't you know?" I asked. I was kind of shocked that Natsu didn't know about the party. Even I knew about the party.
"It's your birthday Luce?" he said, eyes widening. Okay, now I was just stunned. He didn't even know it was my birthday even with all the fuss at the guild. I mean, I knew he was dense, but geez...
"Never mind. Can I just have my bed back please?" I said while trying to pull Natsu out by his scarf. He fell to the floor beside my bed with an oof!
"Wait, Lucy! If it's your birthday then I'll feel bad if I don't give you a present!" Natsu said as he scrambled up off the floor. I sat down on my bed and pulled the blankets over my legs.
"You don't have to do that Natsu. I already have enough. Now, goodnight," I said as I reached over to turn off my lamp, only to be stopped by two strong arms around me.
"N-Natsu! Wh-What are you doing?!" I stammered, my face a bright red.
"This is all I can do right now. I-Is it a good enough present?" he asked, sounding worried that it might not be enough. I froze, my heart beating a hundred times quicker with every second, then slowly wrapped my own arms around him.
"Um...yeah, I guess," I said, awkwardly pushing myself away to end the hug. He smiled.
"Can I please sleep in your bed? It's so much more comfier than mine," he pleaded. I sighed.
"Fine, I guess I'll sleep on the floor-"
"No! I mean, it's your birthday, so you should be comfortable too."
"So what are you suggesting? That we both sleep in my bed?"
"Yeah!"
I blushed again, the thought of me and Natsu in the same bed was a bit...overwhelming.
"O-Okay. I suppose that's alright. Hop in," I said, scooting over and patting the empty area next to me. Natsu crawled in next to me and laid his head on one of the pillows and I did the same, shutting my lamp off before closing my eyes.
About thirty minutes later, I was close to falling asleep, when I felt Natsu move. He had put an arm around my waist and had pulled me closer to him. My entire body stiffened. No way was I sleeping now. It was only about fifteen minutes later when something unbelievable happened.
"Love you Luce..." Natsu mumbled in his sleep. My heart skipped a beat. My breathing stopped. My face felt like it was on fire.
"Did...Did Natsu just..." I thought, my brain not seeming to process the words that had come from the boy's mouth. Then it hit me. All those times my heart started racing when I saw him and the butterflies in my stomach, they were all because I was developing feelings for Natsu. Feelings that were stronger than just friendship. I smiled.
To think, I thought I knew all the surprises today, but this was completely unexpected.