Fireworks
Imagine that your OTP is awaiting a firework display. But it rains, canceling the show. Person B is upset, who really wanted to see the fireworks the most. Person A says they can make their own fireworks. Person A asks how just when Person B swoops in, kissing them.
-from .com
"Why haven't they started yet?" Lucy frowned, fiddling at the hem of her festive, frilly skirt.
She, Natsu, and Happy sat atop the tallest hill in Magnolia along with other Fairy Tail members and citizens. Tonight was a special celebratory fireworks display, signifying the anniversary of a war's end from many years ago in their country. Nobody really paid the actual history any attention anymore, but still partook in the festivities and had a good time nonetheless. Magnolia was hosting their celebration by the lake beneath the hills, the perfect distance away for a spectacular fireworks display and a beautiful reflection of them on the lake.
Natsu crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. "Eh, it smells like rain is coming. Look, there are clouds across the lake." He pointed to the spot above the lake, and sure enough, cumulonimbus clouds were forming quickly.
Lucy whipped her head around to fix him with a dismayed expression. "Rain!? But it wasn't supposed to-" As if mocking her, a drizzle began misting down on the crowd. Thunder rumbled ominously, anvil lightning illuminating the clouds. There was a smattering of disapproval heard among them, and many out of the crowd started getting up to leave.
"Maybe the rain'll go away soon and they'll still do fireworks!" Suggested Happy optimistically, touching Lucy's elbow. Natsu pouted, but then suddenly brightened when an idea hit him.
"I could light 'em instead for you, Luce! My dragon's fire can't be put out by some dumb rain," he suggested, but Lucy shook her head.
"You may be able to ignite them so they shoot up into the air, but they won't spark their lights and colors in the rain," she explained, sounding disappointed. She curled up, drawing her knees to her chest in the rapidly cooling air. The rain was beginning to fall more decisively now, fat drops intermittently splattering on their skin. People were running for shelter out of the rain now, using jackets as makeshift umbrellas.
"Aw. Well, maybe they'll do 'em tomorrow or something-Luce?" Natsu's voice went from reassuring to worried in no time as he scented something salty among the raindrops. Lucy sniffled, her face mostly hidden by her knees and hair.
Happy touched a paw to the top of her head, eyes wide. "Lu-shy, don't be sad! It's like what Natsu said, they'll be back tomorrow!"
Lucy lifted her face to give the boys a watery smile. "I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you, I just..." She let out an unsteady breath. "The last time I was here, on this day, it was with my dad."
Natsu was immediately more alert when she confessed this. He scooted closer to her. The rain was falling heavily now, soaking his scarf and clothes and plastering his hair down to his head.
"I was little, so I don't remember much..." Lucy continued, not bothering to wipe away tears since the rain camouflaged them anyway. "But I remember the fireworks. They were so bright and colorful-it was one of the rare times my dad and I did something together for fun. Even if he was still a little distant."
"Lucy..." Happy's eyes went round and began to tear up. He looked to Natsu as if to say, 'do something!'
Sighing, the dragon slayer mage wrapped an arm around his partner, rubbing her bare shoulder soothingly. The crowd had all dispersed completely, and it seemed that the fireworks crew had packed up quickly and left. The three of them were alone, soaked from head to toe.
"C'mon, Luce. Let's go inside-you're gonna get sick like last time," Natsu suggested, but Lucy just tensed and looked away, unmoving.
"Just a little longer," she pleaded softly. Natsu frowned, but didn't suggest leaving again.
Meanwhile, Happy watched the two of them, getting a strange glint in his eyes. Using his Aera magic, his feathered wings appeared.
"Huh? Happy, where're you going?" Natsu asked in confusion. The cat hid his grin behind his paws before answering.
"I'm gonna go home and meet you later. My fur feels funny in the rain!"
Natsu frowned. He'd never remembered Happy mentioning anything like that before, but he waved anyways.
"Oh, okay. Go dry off, buddy! I'll keep Luce warm, so don't worry!"
The cat flew off, and right after, Natsu began using his fire magic to heat his own body.
"Natsu? What are you doing?" Lucy queried, momentarily distracted from her misery.
"I'm just usin' my magic to keep us warm and dry. It works even in the rain, but I gotta keep it up for a little while. Don't worry though, this is easy!" Surely enough, Natsu's clothing was visibly much drier, as was his hair-though his pink locks were touseled and fluffy instead of his usual style. Lucy's lips quirked as she thought of Natsu carefully using heat on his hair every day to get it perfectly spiked. She felt her own body gain warmth, and suddenly she was very grateful he had chosen to stay out here with her. Lucy shot him a smile, eyes soft.
"Thanks, Natsu."
"Nah, it's cool, Luce. Don't want you catching another cold, y'know?" He gave her his signature grin, though this time, his face was close to hers. She could count the creases on his nose as his face crinkled into that ridiculous smile. She realized he had several sun-kissed freckles dusting his cheeks and nose, too. 'How cute.'
"No, I mean..." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, for being here with me."
Natsu was a little surprised at her sudden touchiness, but settled to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "It's no big deal. We're teammates, right? I have to look after you."
They stayed like that for a while, keeping warm and enjoying one another's company in silence. Over the white noise of the rain, Lucy could hear his slow, strong hearbeat where her ear pressed against his chest. Her eyes slid closed. This was warming her, too-perhaps even more than his fire magic. Her loneliness was being melted away-by none other than a man who could melt pretty much everything in the literal sense. The thought was amusing and comforting at the same time.
"Hey, Luce?" His voice was a low tenor, resounding through his chest and into her ear pressed into his chest. She pulled away enough to look at him questioningly, seeing a thoughtful look on his face.
"Can you stay here a minute? You'll be cold and wet again, but I wanna try something."
Taken aback (and slightly dismayed at the thought of losing the warmth and comfort of Natsu's touch), Lucy faltered. "I-I guess I can do that..."
Grinning brightly, Natsu stood up and began running down the hill. "Okay! Just stay there!"
Lucy pouted as he ran off, then hissed as the cold rain poured down her body again. She'd just gotten used to being all warm and dry, with Natsu's power even evaporating the raindrops that fell before they hit her. Now she was cold, wet, and without Natsu. Her lip trembled miserably. She hated how babyish she could be, pouting when she didn't have Natsu fawning over her every second when she was feeling sad or lonely... But at the same time, Lucy really wanted company, and part of her wished even Happy had stayed behind at this point.
Five minutes passed and Lucy curled in on herself again, drawing her knees to her chest. Natsu had left, then... left her here, miserable and cold and likely to be sick. How could he do that to her?! She knew he was ignorant, but this... even he wasn't usually so dense as to just ditch her when she felt bad. Maybe he was annoyed with her. Maybe he didn't want to deal with her emotional, 'weird' girl stuff. Or maybe he was annoyed because he'd lost his dad, too, and she didn't see him whine about it all the time...
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard three deep booms from across the lake. Lucy looked up in alarm, wondering what the noise was, when she spotted three bright lights surging into the air. 'Flames,' she realized, jaw dropping. The three spots of fire zoomed upwards and then slowed to a stop, before-boom, boom boom! The bright orange fireballs exploded outwards, the searing flames creating arcs of beautiful light and color... 'Fireworks...'
Without her realizing it, Lucy's face spread into a genuine grin, eyes lighting up with happiness even though she was in the cold rain. Leave it to Natsu to know exactly how to make her smile. The 'show' went on, and Natsu would create garish and wonderful displays with his fire, sometimes writing Lucy's name in the sky with it. She laughed with unbridled glee when he made one last 'finale', sending dozens of the fireballs into the sky one after another, pausing the timing a bit so they would explode and light the sky up for a much longer time than simply shooting them off haphazardly. He put care and thought into the display, trying his hardest to create something beautiful... all just for her. Lucy couldn't stop smiling.
The fire finally faded away, and Lucy assumed that meant Natsu was ready to end the show to come back to her. A few minutes later, he was trekking up the hill and giving her his trademark grin, fangs showing.
"How was that, huh?" he asked, planting his fists on either hip proudly. Lucy didn't answer aloud, opting instead to tackle him in a tight hug. The two of them laughed as they went down into the soggy grass. She ended up somewhere under him, shivering from the cold.
"Aw man, Luce, you're super cold. Hang on, let me warm you up and we'll go inside," Natsu offered, and immediately dried her with his magic. She was still shivering for several minutes, but the chills slowly subsided and she felt much better. Though she did notice her nose was all stuffy... she probably would end up getting sick.
'Ah, well. Serves me right for stubbornly staying out in the rain.' She grabbed Natsu's hand and smiled up at him. "Let's head home."
"Wait, Luce..."
She stopped short when his hand held her back, pulling her towards him. "Hmm?"
"..." Natsu unexpectedly yanked her closer so she ended up smashed against his chest, her hands trapped between them. Her eyes grew wide with surprise and she wiggled uncomfortably.
"Natsu! What are you doi-" Her protest was cut off when his hand held the back of her head, his mouth closing over hers.
Lucy processed a few things in that moment. Her feet were barely touching the ground because of Natsu's height and natural strength when he'd lifted her up to him. Her hands were pinned down so she couldn't move them, though she had a sudden urge to tug at his scarf . And Natsu was a really, really good kisser.
His tongue was hot, dipping between her lips and sampling her taste. She could feel his fangs as they scraped over her bottom lip teasingly, and sometimes he'd pull back to suck and pull at her mouth like he was savoring her. Then he was leaning forward further, deepening the kiss and grunting in satisfaction when her mouth opened to him. She was responding in the only way she could right then-leaning heavily on him and moving her mouth in sync with his.
Lucy wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted, but when they at last parted, her mind was hazy. She registered Natsu's dark, unfathomable gaze, alit with fire like the lights he'd just displayed for her. And then he smiled, eyes soft.
"I read the stuff on your desk, and it said that these were a kind of fireworks, too," he said proudly, displaying his megawatt grin and scratching the back of his head.
Lucy blinked a few times, her mind clearing. Her chocolate eyes widened in sudden mortification, face heating and reddening like a tomato.
"You-you-!"
Natsu only laughed and ran off in the rain, Lucy screeching at him the whole way back to their guild.