Lucy fiddled with the pendant of the necklace she was wearing while she waited for Levy to finish applying eyeshadow to her lids. This was the first time she'd been actually excited to be going to a formal dance ever since her cotillion at fifteen. When she'd lived at home these kinds of dances had been opportunities for her father to set her up with possible suitors from other powerful business families, but this time she was going to go with one of her best friends.
She was so glad that she had asked Natsu to go with her when they were walking back to her apartment after having breakfast at the guild. They had been talking about a little bit of everything and eventually they got to the subject of the upcoming ball.
"Aren't you going to the dance Natsu?" Lucy asked in surprise. "You said you were really looking forward to it."
"Yeah, well it's turned into more of a couples thing," Natsu said with a scowl. "I was just going to go with Gray and Elfman and they're not available any more."
Lucy nodded. She knew that Gray had asked Kinana to go with him the day Master Makarov had made the announcement that there would be a formal ball and not just the regular rowdy Christmas party at Fairy Tail this year. She snorted. Poor Elfman had been threatened with being turned into stone if he didn't ask Evergreen! He finally declared that only a Real Man would ask her to the dance and then proceeded to faint when she accepted.
"You could just take Happy with you," she suggested.
Natsu shook his head. "There's some kind of exceed celebration going on and he's going to be there with Carla and Lily."
"Well, why don't you just ask someone to go with you?" Lucy asked, reasonably. "You don't have to be actually dating someone to go to a dance with them, you know."
Natsu turned a blushing pink around his ears. "Well it's only two days away. No one is going to want to have such a short time to get ready for a fancy dance."
Lucy shrugged. "I guess it depends on who you ask."
"What about you, Luce," Natsu said. When she looked questioningly at him he added, "Didn't you want to go to the ball?"
Lucy thought about it before answering. "I don't know, I used to go to those kinds of things all the time." She shuddered, "My father would try to set me up with these horrible guys, usually the rich heirs of his business partners, but sometimes the old rich guys themselves, and they were either really vain and full of themselves and their wealth or…" she broke off as her lips formed a tight line, "handsy."
Natsu's hands balled into fists and Lucy could see the flames starting to flicker around them.
"Natsu calm down!" Lucy ordered as she grabbed his arm and started to wave his hand in the air. "Don't you think I could take care of myself?"
Natsu's sly grin lit up his face. "I'm sure you could Luce, but I'd still like to explain to those guys about proper behavior when in the presence of a human being."
Lucy laughed, "Natsu, stop being silly." Natsu's flames immediately went out. Lucy nudged his arm with her elbow. "Besides, that's all in the past."
They continued to walk along in silence. Lucy was lost in thought as she remembered those parties that seemed to be a lifetime ago. Natsu was waving to the people on the barges floating down the canal.
"You know, Natsu," Lucy said as she was walking along the wall of the canal. "If you really wanted to go to the dance, you could have just asked me. It's not like we aren't friends."
Natsu looked at her completely dumbstruck. "You'd, want to go?" He didn't seem to be grasping what he'd heard. "With me?"
Lucy hadn't even looked back at him, she was concentrating on where she put her feet on the icy wall. "Yeah, why not?" she asked. "You know that we're friends. If you really want to go to the party, I could go with you." She stopped to look at him, smiling. "Natsu Dragneel would you like to go to the Fairy Tail Christmas Ball with me this Friday night?"
Natsu looked down at his feet with a frown and seemed to be thinking over the proposition thoroughly. When he didn't answer, Lucy shrugged and started walking along the wall again. He looked up as he took a breath to speak and suddenly realized that Lucy wasn't in front of him. He looked left and right before spotting her at the front door of her apartment building. He ran to catch up with her.
"Hey, Luce, did you mean it?"
"Did I mean what?"
"Did you mean to ask me to go to the dance with you?"
"Sure, Natsu," she said as she unlocked her door. "I think it'd be fun to go with you."
"Well then, yes," he said, "I'd like to go to the Christmas dance with you."
"Okay, well then what do we need to do to be ready?" she said as they walked through the door. She went to her desk for paper and a pen. "I'll need a dress, I don't have anything that's formal, but I guess my blue dress could do in a pinch. And maybe new shoes if I don't have something that matches," she said as she started to write. "Do you have a suit?" she asked him.
"What?" He chuckled. "Lucy have you ever seen me in a suit?"
"So, no on the suit," she looked him up and down. "Well maybe Gray could lend you some slacks and a button down shirt," she started making a separate list for Natsu. "Would a tie be too much to ask for?"
Natsu's look of horror made her laugh. "I didn't know what I was thinking. No tie." She looked back at her list. "You'll need black dress shoes and some dark socks. I ought to get a mani-pedi, but Levy and I already had those planned for this afternoon." She wrote it on the list anyway. "Do you think Erza would be up for a shopping trip?"
Natsu nodded his head.
A thought suddenly struck her. "Do you want me to get you a flower for your buttonhole?"
The first real laugh she'd heard that morning escaped Natsu's throat. "Why would you get me flowers?"
"Aren't you planning on getting me a corsage?"
"A cor-what?"
"A corsage," she said pointing to her wrist. "It's a small bouquet of flowers that's meant to be worn on my wrist," she explained. "I don't like the kind that get pinned on." She looked thoughtfully at Natsu's blank expression. "Never mind, I have some nice bracelets that will do." She looked over her lists again. "I think that's everything." She handed Natsu his list. "Will you be able to play nice with Gray long enough to ask about borrowing the clothes?"
Natsu scowled but nodded his head.
Lucy laughed, "Thank you. I know we were planning on spending the morning getting ready for our next job, but I need to get ahold of Erza. If I can find a dress I like, it might need some alterations, and while I know those seamstresses are able to work miracles it's best to give them some time to work it in."
"Okay Luce," Natsu said as he pocketed his list. "I'll get right on this."
Lucy patted his shoulder and smiled. "I know I can count on you."
Later that morning Lucy was shopping with Erza, Levy, and Wendy.
"I'm glad you asked me to come with you," Erza said to Lucy as they entered their second dress shop.
"I'm glad you wanted to come since you've already got a dress," Lucy replied.
"Oh, I've got to find a new one," Erza said offhandedly as she grabbed several dresses and headed to the dressing room.
"But, why?" Lucy asked. "That evening gown you got last week was beautiful!"
"It's my fault," Levy said with a sigh. "I found this really cool dress that looked like metal plates riveted together. The woman at the shop called it steampunk. And then I found these gray, high heeled boots with little gear buttons as decorations on them that looked like iron. And I thought that they would be perfect because they match Gajeel's magic so well." She blushed before she continued, "When I showed them to Gajeel he went out and bought a suit that has each part decorated with words!" She smiled remembering the sight. "The jacket has a pinstripe with the word "jacket" in the tiniest stitching I've ever seen. And they're matched with pants that have the word "trousers" on them. His tie even has the word "tie" woven into the fabric." There was a fond look in her eyes. "And of course Laxus wouldn't be out done by Gajeel so he declared that he'd be wearing a red and silver hakama in honor of Erza's strongest armor. Which meant Freed and Bickslow suddenly were coming up with suits to match Mira and Lisanna and then those two were finding clothes to match the guys' magic."
"Oh, I don't envy Lisanna trying to match Bickslow's talent," Lucy said as she looked through a rack of skirts.
Wendy laughed. "She decided to just go with a babydoll dress and let that be good enough."
"She'll look adorable in that," Lucy said while Levy nodded in agreement.
"Freed and Mira are just doing matching pantsuits with opposite colors since their magics are so similar," Wendy reported. "And Evergreen is wearing a dress with several different animal prints while Elfman went out and bought a slate gray suit."
"That sounds so cute," Lucy said. Then her face fell. "I don't think I'll be able to find anything that matches Natsu's fire."
"Don't get discouraged Luce," Levy said. "We'll find the perfect gown for you."
"What do you think of this one?" Erza asked as she came out wearing a stunning electric blue dress with gold embellishments. It was strapless and form hugging. The length of the skirt could generously be called mini and the gold chains that held the sides together were straining to do their job.
"Wow, Erza!" Lucy exclaimed.
"That looks fabulous," Wendy said.
"I don't know," Erza said as she checked herself in the three-way mirrors. "It seems a little loose."
Levy just laughed. "Erza there is nothing loose about that dress."
"Hmmmm," was all she replied. "Well there are a few others I want to try first."
After going through the entire contents of the dress shop, Erza decided to get the blue and gold dress. Lucy failed to find anything that she really liked in this shop or the next three shops they visited. They all decided to stop for some lunch before continuing the quest.
"I hope we find something soon," Lucy said as she skewered a piece of chicken with her fork. "We've got to head over to the nail shop in an hour and I kind of hate doing anything right after a manicure."
"I know what you mean," Levy said. "It doesn't matter how much they assure me my nails are dry, I always find a way to mess up at least one of them."
The others chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"So, Wendy, who are bringing to the dance?" Levy asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.
The younger girl blushed before answering, "Um, I invited Chelia to come with me."
"You two have been spending a lot of time together," Lucy said with a smirk. "Is there anything you want to tell us about the pair of you?"
Wendy merely blushed and shook her head.
Lucy looked a little disappointed. "Oh, I was hoping that you were at least going on a few dates."
Wendy looked at her with a scowl. "What have you heard?"
Lucy's smirk was back. "Nothing, just that you two are hardly ever seen apart."
"I heard that they were holding hands in the park," Levy added in a conspiratorial whisper. "And more than one person at the guild thinks they'd make a pretty cute couple."
Wendy's face was now a solid pink color.
"I've always thought their fighting styles matched really well," Erza supplied. "They are certainly able to take care of enemies quickly and efficiently when they fight as a team. They'd be unstoppable with a unison raid."
All of the women laughed together at that comment. It seemed to diffuse the cloud of embarrassment that gathered around Wendy. Lucy and Levy stopped teasing her, but both of them made notes to pay particular attention to the couple at the dance.
"You know Lucy," Levy said after taking a sip of her drink, "I think we've been looking in all the wrong places for a dress for you."
Lucy was confused. "Lev, we've been in most of the clothing shops in Magnolia. Where else would we find a dress?"
"I think we ought to visit Aunt Olga," Levy said with a shrug.
Erza nodded. "Yes, I should have thought of it before. We really must visit Aunt Olga she'd want to be a part of this," she paused as she watched a waiter go by with a tray of pastries, "after dessert of course."
Ten minutes after they finished eating they were standing in front of a discreet red door in one of the wealthier parts of town. Lucy's mouth dropped open when she realized where they were. Erza pulled the doorbell and a musical note floated out to the street. A large, burly man with a face full of scars answered the door. Lucy was reaching for her keys when she saw the man smile at Erza, look past her to see the others, and his smile widened.
"Zaza! You've come back!" he cried as he enveloped Erza in a crushing hug. "And you've brought a new friend. Come in! Come in!"
He waved for the others to follow Erza into the front room of the establishment. He gave Levy a bear hug and merely placed a hand lightly on Wendy's hair before he excused himself and hurried back into the rest of the building.
Lucy whispered urgently, "Levy, how is it that we are being welcomed into Dame Olga von Lanik's front parlor without a three year reservation?"
Levy giggled. "You just have to know the right people Luce." She looked at her stunned face and said, "You know you don't have to whisper here."
"I do not know that," Lucy huffed as she crossed her arms. "How would I know that? I've never been here!"
Wendy let out a short laugh, "Try to calm down Lucy. Auntie Olga will be here any second."
"Is she everybody's aunt?" Lucy asked, bewildered.
"I am no one's aunt, and everyone's aunt," a woman said as she swept into the room. She was only slightly taller than Levy, but her bearing was more fiercesome than Erza in full battle mode. Her orange hair was swept up into a messy knot on the top of her head. A silky, sky blue shirt was tucked into a short orange skirt that matched the woman's hair. Her three inch heels made a tapping sound as she made her way to Erza, the long ropes of pearls around her neck faintly echoing her footsteps. She kissed both of Erza's cheeks before continuing to speak. "Erza you look as robust as ever," she proclaimed. "Levy! My lovely bookworm. Are you studying hard dear?" she asked as she greeted her with cheek kisses as well.
"Yes, auntie," she replied smiling warmly at the woman.
"Good. Good." She moved down to embrace Wendy. "My sweet sky dancer! You've come back to visit me. So good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, auntie," Wendy said with a grin.
"And you've brought a new friend with you!" the woman exclaimed as she stopped in front of Lucy. "Another fairy girl?" she asked. When Levy nodded she looked Lucy over carefully. Auntie Olga sniffed. "A star mage," she said with a disdainful tone. Lucy suddenly felt like a lamb before a hungry lioness. There were several tension filled minutes as the woman's intense stare sized her up. A smile suddenly broke across her face. "She's a good one. A very happy aura," she declared. "May I greet you dear?"
"Wh- uh, yeah?" Lucy said as she recovered from the feeling that this woman had looked into her soul and judged her worthy. Worthy of what, she didn't know, but she was relieved to have passed the test.
The little woman took Lucy by the shoulders and said, "I am Olga Clarise von Lanik." She pressed a kiss to Lucy's right cheek. "And I am a faithful friend of the fairies." She placed a kiss to Lucy's left cheek. "You may call on me for help, as I will rely on you." A third kiss was placed in the center of Lucy's forehead.
Lucy was stunned, not least by the magic she felt now connecting her to this woman.
"We're here Auntie," Levy began while Lucy recovered, "because of the dance on Friday night."
"Ah, yes," the woman said as she smiled at the girls, "it sounds like it will be quite the party!"
"It certainly will be," Levy agreed. "Everyone is pulling out all the stops. The problem comes with Natsu."
"What?" she sounded affronted. "What has my sweet little Natsu got to do with problems?"
"He's got many things to do with problems," Erza said matter-of-factly. "In this case, he's waited till today to ask Lucy to go with him."
"Actually, I'm the one who asked him," Lucy said quietly as she'd finally found her voice.
"Ah! My little boy is going to the dance?!" She looked at Erza who nodded. "With a girl?" She asked Wendy as she gestured at Lucy.
"Yes," Wendy smirked. "Who would have believed it?"
"Thanks Wendy," Lucy grumbled while Aunt Olga celebrated.
"Come, come," she said as she grabbed Lucy's hand to pull her into her workroom. "I will make you such a dress!"
The others waited in the front room while Lucy was whisked away.
Lucy stopped in awe at the doorway. The room was impossibly huge with a high ceiling and several arches. Three walls were covered in fabrics of every hue and design, while the fourth wall had threads to match each bolt. There was a large table in the center of the arches with several sewing machines located in the corners where seamstresses were busily working.
"Yes, yes," Dame Olga said in a bored tone as she placed Lucy on a step stool to start taking measurements, "It's so big, so amazing, you are so in awe." She grabbed a tape measure and a pad of paper. "So, what kind of dress are you hoping for?" she asked as she started to measure Lucy's waist.
"Well, um, it is a formal dance so I was hoping for something almost floor length but not so long I'll step on it," Lucy began and saw the dressmaker nod as she wrote down a number. "And I'd prefer a halter top or something with sleeves, because I haven't had much luck with strapless dresses." The dressmaker nodded again. "The difficulty is that the couples are trying to have clothes that pay homage to their partner's magic and well…" she trailed off looking for the words.
"Natsu has such marvelous magic," the little woman said. "You could get a red dress, or an orange dress, or even a yellow dress and it would match part of Natsu's magic, yes? But nothing out there is the flickering flame? The warmth of the fire? The heat of the dragon!"
Lucy breathed out in relief. "Yes, exactly." She paused, trying to decide if she should go on, and the silence of the other woman seemed to draw the next statement out of her. "I really want this to be special for him. He wanted to go more than he let on, and he seemed so disappointed that he wasn't going to have anyone to be his friend at the dance." She smiled down at the woman who had stopped measuring to look at her. "He's my best friend, you know? I want him to be happy."
The older woman nodded and smiled up at her. "Yes, yes, I see it now. I know just what to do for you." She helped Lucy down from the stool. "Come back..." she thought for a moment, "Friday morning. Not before nine!" She rang a bell and the man who had answered the door was in the hallway. "Peter, this girl is expected back Friday morning." The man nodded. "You'll see, Lucy was it?" and the girl nodded, "It will be the perfect dress for the friend of my little Natsu!" She walked Lucy over to the doorway. "You know, you remind me of someone I used to be acquainted with. What's your last name?"
"Heartfilia," Lucy answered worried that her father had once tried to do business with the woman and had somehow offended her.
"Lucy Heartfilia?" Olga thought for a moment. "Are you related to Layla Heartfilia?"
Lucy nodded. "That was my mother's name."
"Oh, my lovely Layla!" the little woman exclaimed as she grasped Lucy's hand. "She was a dear friend to me. She was the first one to commission a dress from me, you know." A happy memory seemed to float across her face. "You my enchanting Lucy, you will find me a true friend! I know your mother would be happy to see you in one of my dresses. Just you wait. Auntie Olga will take care of everything! Simply everything!" And with that she handed her off to Peter.
The last thing Lucy saw was Olga calling for her helpers to start clearing the table and prepare a dummy for the dress.
It wasn't until they were sitting at the salon getting their nails done that Lucy even dared to ask how Dame Olga, dressmaker to queens and princesses, was known as a friend to Fairy Tail. Apparently she had been friends with Master Makarov and Master Bob since about the dawn of time. She hadn't always been a designer but some unfortunate incident had made her stop using her magic and switch to designing clothes. She didn't come to the guild house very often because she and Porlyusica differed in opinion on too many things, one of them being Master Makarov, and so she only came for grand occasions. She liked to be visited by anyone from the guild, though it tended to be the girls that came most often, and delighted in hearing about the comings and the goings of "her fairy friends."
Once done at the salon, the girls retired to a little cafe for some refreshment. They finished their tea, and Erza finished her strawberry tart, before they set off shoe shopping. Their shopping trip was finished off with a visit to a jewelry store to look for earrings, bracelets, or other baubles they might need for the dance.
Lucy sank into her couch at the end of the day. Her purchases, still in their bags, were laid on her bed. It had been quite the adventure and she was exhausted. It was with a little irritation that she saw Natsu crawling through her window.
"Natsu, you have a key. I'm obviously home. What do you have against coming through the door?"
Natsu just shrugged. "It's easier to come through the window," he said with a grin. "Did you get everything you needed?"
Lucy couldn't help the weary smile that formed on her face. "Yeah, I think so. We went through almost every shop in Magnolia!"
"Why?" Natsu seemed genuinely confused.
"Well, it's a big night," Lucy said. "I wanted to make sure I had something special to celebrate it with you."
"Oh," he grinned again at her. "That's nice, Luce. Are you too tired to make dinner?"
"Ugh, I can't even get up enough energy to get off the couch right now," she said to the ceiling. "I don't think I even have the energy to think about dinner," she moaned.
"That's okay. You stay right there. I'll be right back!" Natsu dived back out the window and Lucy laughed.
Lucy had drifted off to sleep when Natsu came back carrying take out boxes filled with noodles and veggies. He carefully moved the bags off of Lucy's bed, taking the opportunity to check their contents, before moving Lucy herself to the bed. She woke up as he set her down.
"Natsu, what are you doing?"
"We're having dinner in bed so you can just go to sleep when you're done."
She didn't say anything for a moment then she exclaimed, "That's brilliant!"
"I know," he said as he brought the food to the bed. He handed her one of the containers and a pair of chopsticks, then sat down next to her. "Are you sure you got everything?"
Lucy nodded and swallowed her mouthful of noodles. "Yeah, I got a couple more pairs of shoes because I'm still not sure exactly what the dress will look like."
Natsu looked at Lucy obviously confused.
"Levy took me to Aunt Olga's and she's decided to make my dress."
His look went from confusion to concern. "Aren't her dresses really expensive?"
"Yeah," Lucy said with a shrug. "I'll probably be paying her back for years and owe her my first born child, but-" she smiled at Natsu as she nudged his side, "You're worth it."
Natsu just ducked his head and shoved a spear of broccoli into his mouth.
"Were you able to borrow something from Gray?" Lucy asked with a yawn.
Natsu nodded but the smile had gone from his face. "I had to promise to pay for two months' worth of laundry service for the big snow baby, but he loaned me a nice shirt and pants." He ate some noodles before adding, "And I got the shoes and socks, too."
"Oh thank you, Natsu," she gave a sigh of relief. "I guess we're all ready."
"Except for your dress."
She leaned against him as she sleepily repeated, "Except for my dress."
Natsu took the carton from her hands, so she wouldn't drop it, and put it on the side table. He finished his dinner as Lucy's head rested on his shoulder. Once he determined that she was truly asleep, he moved her so that she was tucked securely under her blanket. Then he put her food in the fridge and left through the window.
