The air was cool and crisp, and smelt faintly of apples. Natsu's scarf fluttered in the breeze, his rosy pink hair swept back by the wind. Without his knowledge, Bickslow's dolls had been following him around all day, at orders of Makarov.
"You sure, Master?", Bickslow had asked. He didn't like invading his guild mate's privacy, but he had to obey the Master. It was the way things were.
"Yes", Makarov had said. "He has been acting strangely these past few days, and last night he told me that he wasn't going to come to the guild hall today. That is unusual for him and I want to be absolutely sure he is okay." So, Bickslow sent his dolls, and he and Makarov waited to see what was happening.
Meanwhile, Natsu was walking just outside of Magnolia. He had a somber look on his face that worried Makarov. He looked almost depressed. His eyes did not have the fire they usually held, and when he walked, he walked like a man on the verge on death. Something was very wrong.
You wouldn't have been able to tell from his eternal blue companion though. Happy was, well, happy. He flew up behind Natsu his normal cheerful self. Natsu turned to him and smiled.
"Hey Happy", he said, "what's up?" Happy smiled at his friend.
"So you're gunna do it today?", the little blue Exceed asked.
"Yeah. I want you to go back to the guild hall, though. This is kind of personal." Happy nodded his understanding, and turned to fly away, that big, goofy grin still on his face.
"Wait, Natsu!", he called. "Try to look a little happier. This could be the most important day of your life. Not to mention, you're on camera." Back at the guild hall, Makarov and Bickslow panicked, unsure of what to do.
"Yeah, I know", Natsu said. "I could smell Bickslow's dolls. When you go back, tell them I don't mind. They can watch me if they want." Both men at the guild hall were confused. This would be the kind of thing Natsu would want to fight about. Bickslow sighed a sigh of relief.
"At least I won't have to fight him later", the young wizard said. Makarov nodded. Just then, Happy burst through the door.
"Everyone, quick! You're going to want to see this", he shouted. Gray and Gajeel turned from their game of darts.
"What are you on about, Happy?" asked Pantherlily. Wendy, Carla, and Cana had gathered around the surveillance lacrima as well, and the others soon followed.
"Happy, what's going on?" Erza asked. They were all growing concerned about Natsu, but Happy kept reassuring them that everything was all right.
"Just wait and see", the little cat said. Soon they were joined by Laxus, Macao, Wakaba, and everyone else in the guild. They watched on as Natsu continued on his walk.
Happy's advice was helpful, as Natsu now smiled on his way to his unknown destination. Back at the guild hall, the others watched in suspense.
After a while, Natsu arrived at the gates of the old Heartfilia mansion. Gray and Erza looked at each other, a silent knowing in their eyes. Gray called Happy over and whispered into his ear.
"Hey, is Natsu going to do what I think he's going to do?" Happy giggled and nodded. Gray looked back to Erza and gave her the thumbs up. She crossed her arms at her chest and smiled.
The guild watched on as Natsu crossed the courtyard into the cemetery. He picked a rose on the way in, and eventually made his way to the grave of Jude Heartfilia, Lucy's father.
He bowed his head for a moment then got on his knees.
"Mr. Heartfilia", he began, "my name is Natsu Dragneel. I'm a guild mate of Lucy's." Everyone leaned in closer to hear what he was saying.
"I never got the opportunity to meet you personally. I only ever got a passing glance. I heard from Lucy that you weren't much of a father. For a while, I wanted to hate you, because you made Lucy sad. I wanted to beat you after that whole deal with Phantom Lord."
"But for some reason, that began to change. I was glad you started that war. Without that, we wouldn't have Gajeel and Juvia with us. And Lucy grew stronger because of it. We all did. But I still hated you for hurting Lucy like that."
"Then came that time you left for Love and Lucky. When Lucy stormed in to save you, even though you weren't there, I knew something had changed in her. And when you finally arrived and talked to her for that last time, I knew something had changed in you too. I knew you had realized what you did was wrong, and I could see that you wanted nothing more than to be a good, loving father. So I stopped hating you. I wanted Lucy to go back every so often and visit you, and for you two to get back what you had lost during her childhood."
"I'm sorry that chance never came. Acnologia saw an end to that. But when we were finally released, I thought that maybe you two could start over from there. Until I heard that you had died. Lucy was so sad, she cried almost every night, although she would never admit it. She wanted to be strong, not just for our team, but for the sake of your memory as well."
Natsu's guild mates watched on, amazed at his eloquence.
"From the time Lucy first joined, I've seen her grow. I've watched her face countless struggles, I've seen her cry, I've seen her fight… I've seen her love. She is an amazing girl, and I couldn't imagine Fairy Tail without her. Which is why I've come down here today." Erza, Gray, and Happy all nodded their approval as the guild watched on in amazement.
"What's he doing?" Wakaba asked. "Shhh! This is getting good", said Levy.
"I want to keep watching her grow. I want to see her get stronger. And I want to show her the love you were robbed of the opportunity to show her. For your sake, and mine, I've come to tell you that I want to marry your daughter. I want to make Lucy my wife. I want her to be Lucy Dragneel." At that, the guild grew silent.
In that moment, the breeze blew a small daisy over Jude's grave. "Lucy's favorite", Natsu said. "Can I take that as a yes?"
Just then, a sob forced Natsu to turn. The guild watched on in amazement.
Lucy placed her hands over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. Natsu began to panic.
"Lucy, I-I didn't know you were here! I, uh, I mean, it's so nice to see-" He was cut off by the sound of her crying.
"Natsu, I… That was beautiful…" Natsu regained his composure. He straightened his jacket and pulled a small box out of his pocket.
"Lucy," he said, "I meant every word. Happy told me that I should ask your dad's permission first. So I came here." He got down on one knee and opened the box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. The band was gold, and in the center was a diamond cut in the shape of the Fairy Tail emblem. Even on the surveillance lacrima, it shone like a star. Lucy picked it up out of the box, and placed it on her finger. She stared at it for a moment and broke down in tears of joy. She grabbed Natsu's face and kissed him long and deep.
"Lucy Heartfilia", he said, "will you marry me?" Lucy's smile was the biggest Natsu had ever seen, and her beautiful blonde hair was floating gently in the wind.
"Yes", she said. "I will marry you, Natsu Dragneel". He smiled as he stood, and held Lucy close, her face pressed against his chest. He looked down at her and kissed her again.
"Let's go back to the guild", he said, and she nodded her agreement. The guild erupted into cheers. "Way to go Natsu!", Laxus said.
"Hell yeah, Salamander, that's the way you do it", Gajeel added. That night was full of beer, music, and magic when Lucy and Natsu arrived back at the guild. It was a night that would go down in Fairy Tail history.