DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters in this story. All characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
The thing about 100-year quests that they didn't tell you was that to keep going, you'd eventually have to take on smaller quests along the way. Granted, not many people know much about 100-year quests. Granted, only a number of people take on 100-year quests and even fewer finish them. Granted, they probably should've started with a 10-year quest to warm up after a year of resting, but hey, they were from Fairy Tail, go big or go home. Naturally, Team Natsu grabbed every opportunity that presented itself. Though, it was more like Natsu and Erza grabbed every opportunity for them. This one particular side-quest, however, was bound to cause some trouble.
The Weekly Sorcerer wanted to feature all the guilds and mages that fought in the Great War, and they reached out to Erza and Mira to put the plan in motion. Easier done than said since everyone was more than willing to come along, and the money was good too. So, Team Natsu decided to take a little detour to Crocus for the shoot. They would be there for the whole week, all expenses paid.
Three to four days of fittings, a three-day shoot, and the most raucous guilds in one hotel. What could go wrong?
Natsu didn't mind that people kept staring at his face and asking him if this or that bothered him when they were at the studio. Nor did he mind that people kept interviewing him while the production staff was taking his measurements or fitting his shoes. He also didn't mind that it was a bit crowded because almost everyone he knew was there for day one-measurements and interviews. The writers were jumping from mage to mage, asking them about the type of armor they would like wear or what weapon they might prefer use. He even noticed that hot pink, was decidedly not Gray's colour. He couldn't help but laugh a bit at the Gray's matching blush.
"What're you laughing about, flame brain?" Gray asked when he saw Natsu's reaction to the hot pink scarf around his neck.
"Just admiring your stylist's choice of colour, ice princess." Natsu did his best to keep the laughter in because he didn't want to offend the stylist. It wasn't their fault that Gray was hard to dress up. Especially since Gray rarely bothered to do so himself most days.
"Why you little-"
"Is that an argument I'm hearing?" Erza asked, suddenly appearing from nowhere with a flock of stylists behind her.
"Nope!" Natsu and Gray said in unison. "Just a casual conversation," Natsu added.
"Good. Make sure you behave." With that, the redhead left, but not before she gave both her idiots a menacing look for good measure.
It was going to be a long day, and Natsu didn't think he could behave that long. Happy was with Charles and Lily because the Exceeds had their own private interview, Wendy was with Chelia because they also had their own interview; Gray was still trying to rock the pink scarf with Juvia right beside him. Where was Lucy? Natsu sniffed the air for her scent. It was faint, so she was probably somewhere outside the studio with Levy. She should be fine, everyone here was family, but that didn't stop him from going outside to look for her the moment his stylists said they were done with him for the morning.
"Have you seen Lucy?" He asked every other person he knew along the path that her scent brought him to. None of them knew where she was. He was starting to worry, until he looked further up the path and saw where it ended—Mercurius—the Royal Castle. Figures she'd be there. The Queen probably invited her. He took off with a sprint and sped through the royal gardens and into the palace gates. No one dared stop him. After all, the guards knew that Natsu was a personal friend of the Queen and that he'd probably try to kick their butts like the last time he snuck in.. Oh what a privilege it must be to roam around the castle grounds at your discretion.
Lucy's scent grew stronger as he kept moving towards the source, he smiled at guards he passed by. Natsu hoped that Lucy wouldn't be too mad that he decided to just up and show up. He could hear her voice now, with two others, they were laughing at something. That was good to hear. Her scent brought him to the courtyard, where Lucy was apparently having tea with the Queen and Yukino. He stopped by the doorway just as he was about to call out to Lucy.
"Natsu Dragneel." A voice by the door said. "If you don't have anything urgent to say to Miss Lucy, you'd best leave them to it for now. They deserve this morning off, don't you think?"
"Arcadios." Natsu smiled at him. "Why are you watching them from the shadows like a creep?" He asked.
"I am not. I am merely guarding the Queen. I am head of her Queen's guard after all." He explained.
"Oh. That's cool. What're they talking about?"
"Family and marriage, I think." Arcadios answered, a sad smile on his face.
"That's—"
"Natsu!" He heard Lucy call his name and saw her wave him over.
"Go on, don't keep your princess waiting." Arcadios told him. "At least one of us has a shot at a happy ending."
What the old man said confused him, but Lucy was already telling him to hurry up so he decided to just ask him what he meant later on. Plus, all the sweets they prepared in the garden looked delicious and he couldn't wait to eat them all.
"What're you doing here?" Lucy asked him.
"Looking for you." He said. He smiled at Queen Hisui and Yukino before sitting down beside Lucy.
"Why? Did you need me for anything?" They casually scooted closer together with Natsu's arm resting on the back of her chair as she handed him a piece of chocolate.
"No, but you weren't with the others so I looked for you." He answered as he ate the chocolate.
"That's so sweet." Yukino said to no one in particular.
"I agree, that's a very sweet thing to do for two people who aren't dating." Queen Hisui added.
"You're both exaggerating." Lucy said as she waved her hands to try and dismiss the topic.
"Dating? Why would we need to be dating for me to look for Lucy?" Natsu asked, genuinely confused, an innocent look on his face as he kept eating the sweets. Chocolate was staining his lower lip.
Lucy didn't think her face could get any more red, but Natsu had a point. He really didn't need a reason to look for her. It was just something that was natural to him.
"You don't. We just think it's really sweet. Compared to everyone else on your team, you're with her the most or look for her the most. It just felt like something a boyfriend would do. It's certainly something I'd like for my boyfriend to do, if I ever havr one." Yukino quickly explained.
"Isn't Sting your boyfriend?" Natsu asked. "His scent is all over you." It really was.
"No! Master has been good to me but we're not like that." Yukino tried to deny. "The scent is probably because Sabertooth was just sponsored by a cologne merchant and-"
"Save it, Yukino. The jig's up." Lucy said as she laughed with the Queen. If Natsu could tell that they were dating, then everyone else wasn't far off.
"If I may, why do you keep it a secret?" Hisui asked, her eyes sneaking a peak at Arcadios' general direction before smiling at her friends again.
"It's new, and we're still trying to sort some things out and we enjoy the privacy." Yukino relented, a content smile gracing her face.
"Enough about me, though. Let's go back to you guys." Yukino clasped her hands together, eyes shining with renewed determination. "So, Natsu, when you guys get married, would Lucy take your last name or will you take hers like the family tradition? Natsu Heartfilia sounds really good."
"It does sound quite elegant." Hisui added as she gave the non-couple a once over and smiled. "And you two simply look adorable together just sitting there."
"First of all, we're not a couple. Second-" Lucy's well-rehearsed rebuttal was stopped short by what Natsu said next and the squeals of two supportive friends.
"I'm fine with whatever Lucy chooses." The dragonslayer answered with a grin.
What happened next, is a story for another time.
A/N: I haven't written or published anything in a while so please bare with me. I apologize for any errors. I wrote this around the time Mashima released the Nalu chain photo because it's supposed to be a oneshot centered around that but, well, it turned out to be the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic. I'm not sure when I'll write or even upload said next chapter but I do promise to finish it. Yes, I know I have other unfinished fics and I won't leave them hanging either. I'll probably finish them come winter break. This is my first time to write for the Fairy Tail fandom even though I've been a fan since forever. Thank you for reading! Feel free to point out any errors which will be corrected accordingly. God speed!