After another crazy night of laughter, booze and a couple of fist fights with Gray, Natsu and Lucy decided to leave the Guild with the intention of going to Lucy's apartment and sleep off the alcohol in their systems (because the idea of sleeping on the ale-covered floor didn't seem very appealing). But as soon as they passed the guild doors, they managed to pass Strawberry Street and get themselves immersed in the city night.
Now they were both wandering the streets aimlessly and Natsu was beginning to sober up, the dull thrumming in his skull growing slowly.
"Neee Natshuu~ I'm borreeddd.."
Natsu rubbed his temples, hoping to get rid of some of the dull throbbing. "Hmm? Oh yeah, just give me a second Luigi."
While the normal Lucy would've yelled at Natsu for calling her Luigi, the drunk version just snorted and giggled. She breathed in deeply the cool Magnolian night and started to lazily hum an unfamiliar tune.
'Shit.' Natsu ruffled his hair in frustration, a zap of pain passing his head. 'I don't even know where we are. Where the hell do we go?'
His and Happy's house in the forest was too far and his brain was still too foggy to remember how to get to Lucy's apartment was. Should they just go back to the Guild?...
When they both left, a majority of the people there were already passed out. So no, the Guild right now was definitely out of the question.
Natsu analyzed his surroundings, looking for anything that would spark his memory. Generic buildings with dark windows probably filled with sleeping citizens, closed stalls that have been covered in tarp to protect it from the chilly weather and flickering lamp-posts that burned bright enough to illuminated his path. But still nothing that stood out.
The wind shifted and a breeze passed him. Behind Natsu, Lucy squealed and twirled. "Whaa!~ Natshu look! It's so pretty~"
Natsu tilted his chin and looked up. The breeze carried away some green and pink leaves and it flew right over their heads.
Wait, pink leaves?
Natsu brought his hand up and managed to grasped one velvety petal between his index finger and thumb. He brought it up to his nose and sniffed, the familiar floral scent jolting his memory.
'Ah.' Natsu drew his head back. He let go of the petal and watched it float away, the corners of his lip quirking upwards. He knew just the place to go.
"Oi Lucy!" Natsu turned around and took Lucy's wrist. "Follow me!"
Lucy almost stumbled when Natsu suddenly pulled her, but she regained her balance and followed, her mouth cracked into a wide grin.
They had been walking for quite sometime before finally arriving to Natsu's destination, the Rainbow Sakura park. The same park where he had dug up that exact tree and floated it down the river in front of Lucy's house, just for her to see. Natsu threw his head back and released a small chuckle, one arm slung around Lucy's shoulders. He remembered how Makarov never found out who the culprit was.
They both descended down the stairs, their footfalls echoing in the desolate park. Lucy's foot reaches the last step when she felt her boot squeak. Natsu's hold around her shoulders disappeared and she found herself falling. Lucy was about to fall face first towards the ground, when a warm pair of arms quickly shot out and pulled her back from around her waist.
"Woah, that was close!" Natsu exclaimed, pulling Lucy close towards him. "You okay, Lucy?"
When Natsu looked down to see how she was, he could feel his ears and neck warm up slightly. Pulling her towards himself with a lot of strength caused Lucy to collide onto his chest and bring her face very close to his own.
"Shit." Natsu swore under his breath, embarrassed. Natsu let go of Lucy's waist, allowing her to step down onto the dirt. A moment passed before the corner of Lucy's lips twitched and she released a small chortle.
"Natshu," Lucy looked at him, her usually bright and sparkling brown eyes now were dark enough to look almost completely black. "You're so weird, ya know?"
If it weren't for the way Lucy's eyes seemed so dark and intense enough to give Natsu the feeling of all his breath being stolen away, he would've probably given Lucy a quick retort at her comment. But all that he could do is let his cheeks reddened and turned his head to the side. He let out a small stutter. "S-shut up!"
It didn't seem that Lucy heard him, since Lucy had walked away and was now sitting on the small bit of grass surrounding the big rainbow sakura tree. Her legs were spread out and she was supporting herself by leaning the palms of her hands. She was staring at the clear starry night, but her eyes were getting heavy and drooping close. She had almost collapsed under the support of her hands when Natsu slid and sat behind her, pulling her up so that she was now leaning against his chest.
Lucy was now sitting between his legs and Natsu had his back leaning against the trunk of the tree, his chin propped up on top of Lucy's head and his arms around her waist. When Natsu's hand brushed against Lucy's, he could feel the slight chill radiating from it. "Lucy, aren't your hands cold?" He asked.
"Hmm?... just a little bit." Lucy replied drowsily, her left hand covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle her yawn.
Natsu sighed and, without hesitation, grabbed both her hands. He held them together, using a little bit of his magic to warm her stiff fingers. Natsu could feel the softness of her hands and how lithe yet strong her fingers were. He liked how her hands weren't so callous as his own, despite all the battles that they've fought together. They were so familiar to him, these hands that could bandage him up after a fist-fight with Gray and these fingers that would run through and stroke his hair whenever he experienced transportation sickness. Her hands were his hands, only for Natsu alone to hold.
He had to stop his brain and rewind to what he just thought a moment ago. Her hands were his hands? Only for him to hold?
'When did I get so damn poetic.' Natsu thought, amazed for his choice of words and startled because he just clearly stated to himself that Lucy was his.
'When did Lucy ever become his anyways? Would that even happen to us?'
Natsu's chest suddenly felt tight. He didn't want to even try touch that subject anymore.
Instead, he tried to think back to when he first realised that he was in love with Lucy Heartfilia.
Yes, in love. Love should be the last thing on his mind, since he still hasn't found Igneel and is still on tireless hunt for his draconic father. But one day it hit him like one of Laxus' Lightning Blasts, quick and with unbelievable impact.
Natsu always liked Lucy. Not in the way he does now, but in the 'she's a weirdo but I like that' way. Back when she first joined the guild, he didn't think that she would end up leaving such a big imprint in his and Happy's lives. It took that one mission to Mt. Hakobe to make the duo into a trio.
Natsu looked down at Lucy. He couldn't see her face, but that was okay. He can imagine vividly Lucy smiling or laughing joyously.
Her unique scent of mango and strawberries and how it has secretly become Natsu's favourite smell.
Her hair that was soft and shiny like the setting sun on the horizon.
Especially right now and how she fits perfectly with him in his arms, just like how fire go perfectly with wood. Everything that was Lucy was burned into his mind, so it won't be erased or forgotten.
Impulse swooped in and without a second thought or doubt, Natsu placed small, gentle kiss on her temple. When he was done, he didn't pull away. Instead he brushed his nose against the spot where he has kissed her and took a deep breath, hoping that the loud ba-dump that he could hear and feel would calm down.
"You know Lucy, you're actually the weirdo." Natsu murmured, squeezing their intertwined hands. "You're still the weirdo girl I met in Hargeon. The only difference is…"
He hesitates but continues anyways. "T-the only difference is that I'm in love with you now."
'Sweet dear Mavis.' Natsu thought, his ears and cheeks violently red. No-one ever told him how mortifying it was to confess.
After spending a bit of time calming down, he looks at Lucy nervously. All that was left was to hear her response…
Lucy's chest rose and fell softly and slowly, tiny little puffs of air coming out her mouth each time she exhaled. Her heartbeat was calm and steady, Natsu could tell.
He could also tell that she was fast asleep.
When she fell asleep, Natsu didn't know. All he knows is that she most definitely did not hear his confession.
He could've woken Lucy up and done it again, but looking at her and seeing how peaceful she looked as she slept, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Natsu chuckled. "Oh well. There are better chances in the future."
He lets go of Lucy's hands and gently pulls her towards him more, letting her head fit in the crook of his neck. Natsu carefully wraps his arm around her and just as he about let himself drift off, he takes one more look at Lucy. He tucks one stray hair behind her ear and smiles to himself before closing his eyes and placing one hand over Lucy's guild marked hand.