Fairy Tail One-shot: Glasses

Summary: It seems it's not just Natsu's eyes that require some focusing.

It was just another normal day in the guild. Cana was drinking beer, as usual. Levy was reading books, as usual. Mirajane was serving drinks, as usual. Juvia was trying to engage Gray in conversation, as usual. Gray was being indifferent, as usual.

It was just another normal day. Except, it was not normal for some people.

"Someone help!" Lucy suddenly threw the doors of the guild open and her team rushed in. Immediately numerous heads swiveled in their direction and nearly everyone's jaws dropped at the sight.

Now, there were a few things out of the ordinary.

One, it was always Natsu who pushed the doors open and yelled like a maniac when he entered to announce his presence, not Lucy.

Two, Lucy was bruised and battered and crying.

Three, Happy was bruised and battered and crying.

Four, Natsu was bruised and battered and unconscious.

"Someone help Natsu, please!" she cried, and in a flash the guild members surrounded the trio, offering any help they could give. As Happy's transformation ran out and the exhausted, wheezing cat crashed onto the floor, Erza and Mirajane rushed to the injured dragon slayer. The redhead then carried him up and went with Mirajane to the sick bay, with Wendy trailing behind them.

"What happened to you, Lu-chan? You guys were on a job, right? What happened?" Levy asked as she helped the blonde to a seat. Lucy's legs buckled and she collapsed onto the chair. Gray hurried over with a glass of water and handed it to the blonde who accepted it with trembling hands. She took a sip before answering in a shaky voice, "The job… Natsu was acting weird."

Gray cocked an eyebrow. "What was he doing? I've never seen him so beaten up before after a job."

Lucy looked close to tears. "We were fighting a pack of werewolves…"

"Werewolves? Those aren't that hard to handle," Cana said.

"Not if there are a hundred of them," Lucy replied. "To be honest it would be a challenge to get rid of them even with Natsu, but then Natsu was being weird… He… It was like he couldn't hit them."

"Haah?" was Gray's disconcerted reply. "What do you mean he couldn't hit them?"

"Exactly what I said. He couldn't hit them. He kept missing somehow, and because of that it was really hard to fight. I managed to fend them off and escape with Natsu and Happy because we couldn't fight anymore."

Gray frowned. "He kept missing? That's unusual."

"Actually, it's been going on for a while," Erza spoke as she joined the circle of guild members around Lucy. "I've noticed on some recent jobs that Natsu's accuracy seems to have dropped a fair bit, and I guess it's finally starting to take a toll on him."

"What do you think could be the issue?" Lucy asked.

"Wendy is doing a check-up on him. We'll have to wait until she's done with him," she replied.

"Ah, Wendy-san is back," Juvia said, turning to face the sky dragon slayer as she sighed and walked out together with Carla.

The anxious blonde abruptly stood and unsteadily made her way over to the sky dragon slayer. "How is Natsu? Is he okay?"

Carla folded her arms as Wendy sighed. "He's fine, just that some of the wounds he has were a little more severe, but he'll recover quickly," the cat said.

"That's a relief," Lucy breathed, the muscles in her shoulders instantly relaxing visibly.

"But," Wendy began, "there seems to be something wrong with his eyes…"

"What? There's something wrong with his eyes?" Erza asked in disbelief.

The shy girl nodded, twisting her lips wryly. "If I'm not wrong, I think Natsu-san has long-sightedness."

"Long-sightedness? What's that?" Gray questioned.

The celestial spirit mage, upon hearing this, widened her eyes before exhaling deeply like a deflating balloon. Then she placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head in disbelief. "So that's what this is all about… I should have known…"

"What's this all about?" he asked.

"It's nothing serious, just that… Natsu needs glasses."

After Natsu came to and began to roam around the guild as per normal, everyone started to notice some peculiar things about him. He was running into things clumsily and mistaking objects for people or cats.

"Oi Happy, why do you look so small today?" he asked as he stared intently the unmoving blue thing in front of him.

"Natsu, I'm over here!" the flying cat waved from afar, catching Natsu's attention.

"Huh? But aren't you standing here?"

"That's a cup, Natsu," Gray said flatly.

"Oh. No wonder it wasn't moving."

"I think Natsu just got dumber, if that's even possible," the ice mage said.

"Shut it, Ice Brain! You wanna go?"

"Bring it on, Fireface."

Natsu jumped out and stuck a leg out, preparing to kick Gray, but he missed by an inch. Gray didn't even have to move to dodge the attack and it did not take long for Natsu to realize he was about to crash.

"We need to do something about this quick," Gray sighed, as he watched the pink-haired boy struggle to get his leg out of the floorboards. Once he recovered, he attempted to throw punches at the ice mage, but his attacks were easy to dodge. Unable to stand it anymore, Gray grabbed the dragon slayer's outstretched arm and hurled him onto a table near them.

Lucy watched them intently with a frown on her face. Then she turned to the sky dragon slayer who genuinely looked concerned about Natsu as he was getting beaten so easily. It was definitely unlike him. "Wendy, do you have anything to help him with this?"

"I think I may have heard of such a spell from Grandine before, but she never taught it to me… Perhaps if I learn it, Natsu could regain his eyesight."

"I'll see if I have any books that can help," Levy said, standing up. "In the meantime, you should bring Natsu to the optician so he stops banging into walls."

Lucy nodded and smiled. "Thank you!" Quickly, she went up to Natsu who was still rubbing his sore head that had crashed directly into the table. "Hey Natsu, let's go to the optician!"

"Lucy? Is that you?" he asked, gawking at her.

"Yeah… Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You look… fuzzier than before. Are you growing fur or something?"

"What? No I'm not! Your eyesight is just getting worse, so we have to go to the optician now!"

"Why do I have to go for an operation? I'm not sick!"

"Optician, Natsu. It's a person who checks your eyes. Treat it like going have your eyes fixed by a doctor."

He still looked a bit unsure. "Come on, you'll know when you see it," she said reassuringly, reaching a hand out to him.

"Fine…" He reached his hand out to take it, but only ended up snatching up air.

The optical shop was a twenty-minute walk away from the guild. Normally Lucy would be fine with the distance, but after just five minutes of it she wasn't sure if she could stand it anymore. Every few seconds Natsu would be tripping over something on the ground or knocking face first into objects. He knocked into a couple of people too, and had already stepped on her toes three times. Eventually, the exasperated blonde resorted to holding his hand—which felt unexpectedly nice and warm, she noted—and she lead him to the shop without having him stumble so much.

They entered the shop, and Lucy was glad to find that it was mostly empty. The optician, Mr. Norman, did a very quick checkup for Natsu and just as Wendy had diagnosed, he said that Natsu did have long-sightedness, and since his degree was considerably high, it would affect his fighting capabilities on jobs.

"I don't want to wear them," Natsu said, frowning as he took off the new pair of glasses he got from the optician. Lucy had chosen a simple black-rimmed pair for him, since he couldn't choose the design he wanted, nor did he care anyway. "It's uncomfortable, and how am I supposed to fight with this thing getting in the way?"

"You have to wear them, or you won't be able to fight at all," Lucy said, taking the glasses from his hand and putting it back on for him. "Take care of it. These things break pretty easily."

"What makes you think I'll break them?" he asked. An eye roll was all he got in response. "Take care of it, Natsu," she said, "One pair costs 2,000 jewel. And pair of yours is one of the cheapest already."

"Yeah, I got it," he said dismissively. "But you know," he suddenly stopped walking to stare at her face, "this is the first time in a while I got to see your face so clearly… You've gotten prettier."

At that, he noticed a red color begin to form on her cheekbones and she turned away hastily. "T-Thanks…"

"By the way, does this thing make me look weird?"

She smiled. "I think it looks good on you."

A smile made its way onto his face as his heart picked up pace. "Thanks, Lucy."

Natsu was frustrated. Fire was coming out of his mouth in spurts as he paced about in irritation, muttering to himself and swinging his arms as he did so, before he not so elegantly crashed face-first into a pillar. "Ugh…" he groaned, rubbing his sore nose.

"Natsu, why aren't you wearing your glasses?" Mirajane asked good-naturedly.

That seemed to touch a nerve. He let out a groan and attempted to punch the pillar, but unsurprisingly, he missed. "They keep getting in the way! I was fighting and then they fell off and I missed and then I accidentally knocked into Lucy, and now she's hurt because of me! Stupid glasses…"

"Oh my… But, it was just an accident, right? There's no need to get so frustrated. Is Lucy fine though?"

"Well yeah, but…" I may have accidentally landed on top of her and kissed her and now she won't talk to me.

"Speaking of which, where is she?"

"I think she went home to take a bath."

"And um… where are your glasses, Natsu?"

He paused, thinking about it, and then realization struck him so hard he jumped. "Shit! I lost them! Happy, did you take them?"

"Natsu, that's a cup," the cat replied from the counter as he snacked on a piece of fish. "I think Lucy took them with her."

"Oh…"

"You should get it from her then," Mirajane said.

"Maybe later…"

The cat chuckled knowingly, and Natsu sent him a warning glare before he could reveal anything. Knowing Mirajane, she wouldn't let him hear the end of her matchmaking tales and about how they were "made for each other" and all that nonsense. Lucy didn't like him that way, and they were just good partners, that was all there was to it.

But after embarrassing himself a few more times at the guild, Natsu decided getting his glasses back was more important than avoiding the possibly furious celestial mage, so he went on his way alone—Happy was still in the middle of eating, and he couldn't deal with waiting any longer.

It did not take long to reach the apartment he frequently visited. At the doorstep, he raised his fist to knock, but hesitated. What if Lucy was still mad at him? Would she be even angrier if she saw him now?

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to visit her. He could always get his glasses back from her another time… not really. He had been banging into things all day and the last thing he needed in this foul mood of his was to have his forehead kiss another pole.

Just then, the door opened to reveal Lucy at the door dressed in her usual outfit. She smelled of strawberries, having just bathed. Natsu thought he heard a small squeak from her when she saw him, but then dismissed it when he saw her head hang low to avoid facing him. A pang of guilt hit him; if only he had been more careful earlier, Lucy wouldn't be so upset with him now…

"N-Natsu, what are you doing here?" she asked in a soft voice.

The pink-haired boy gulped. If she was being so quiet… Was this what they called the "calm before the storm"? What was he supposed to do now? He had no idea how to handle angry women! "Uh… I uh, just wanted to… Uh, are my glasses with you?"

"Your glasses?" she echoed. A small moment of silence passed before something seemed to click in her head. She let out a gasp of realization and cried, "Be right back!" before running back into her apartment, presumably to get it for him.

She soon returned with his glasses in hand and handed it back to him. "Thank goodness it didn't get scratched when it fell. I added some rubber here so it's longer and it should be able to fit around your ear. It'll make it tighter so your glasses won't fall off so easily. Try them on and see if they're okay?"

He nodded and put it on. Immediately the world shifted back into focus and now he could see things clearly again, including Lucy's hopeful face. Well, she didn't look too mad at him now; maybe she felt better after her bath? Wanting to test his glasses out, he shook his head violently and jumped up and down. They didn't fly off his nose like before. "This is great Lucy, thanks," he grinned.

"Is it too tight or too loose? I can adjust it for you if you want," she said.

"Nah, it's perfect. Thanks Lucy, I don't know what I'd do without you."

There it was again. Red appeared on her cheekbones as she averted her eyes shyly. Natsu raised his eyebrows in confusion. He had seen her do this on a couple of occasions when famed male wizards turned her way and uttered a small greeting to her. And then after that, she'd start squealing and chattering non-stop about how handsome and charming and cool they were. Why was she doing that now? She had been doing that more often during jobs too, when they accidentally landed on top of each other and the like too.

Without warning, he stuck the back of his hand on her forehead, making her yelp in surprise. "Natsu, what are you doing?"

"Your face is red. Are you having a fever? Your face has been getting red recently," he replied.

Under her breath, she cussed a little, which puzzled Natsu slightly before answering, "I'm not getting a fever… Must be the weather I guess."

"Well yeah, it's been pretty hot lately. If you're not feeling well tell me, okay?"

She smiled. "I will, Natsu."

His heart fluttered at the beautiful smile of hers. For some reason, lately he'd been doing that. Her smile was as radiant as the Sun, and whenever she laughed, his heart would do a dance of its own to the melodious sound of her bubbly laughter.

His cheeks would heat up whenever Lucy came near, his heart would hammer against his ribcage and he found himself tempted to touch her face, to hold her hand and to hug her. He'd hugged her before, when she was crying and needed someone to support her, and while his heart had broken seeing her so upset, he had actually enjoyed the feeling of having her so close to him in his arms.

Strangely enough, Natsu found this similar to when Happy was talking about Carla and how he would start acting funny around her for no reason at all. Happy had mentioned something similar, like his heart racing and cheeks burning when he was around the cat.

But Happy only reacted that way because he liked Carla.

Unless…

Don't tell me…

He swallowed thickly.

Did he really… like Lucy?

As days and weeks passed, Natsu found himself seeing new things. As he spent more time with Lucy, he began to realize a few more things. For one, she never looked more beautiful. Maybe it was because of his poor eyesight before, but now with his glasses, he could see her clearly up close, and it was only then that it dawned on him that Lucy Heartfilia was a true beauty, inside and out.

He loved the way her nose scrunched up as she concentrated on mending a new hole in his vest. He loved the way she stomped her foot on the ground when he and Happy did something stupid to annoy her. He loved the face she made right before she sneezed—and now he was resisting the urge to bring a small bottle of pepper with him whenever they hung out together. He loved the way her lower lip would protrude slightly when he got injured and the way she stared at him wordlessly with worry-filled eyes.

How did he not notice these things before? And that was only the tip of the iceberg. There was also the way she smiled brightly whenever he called her name, or when she had something to show him. And sometimes he would grab hold of her hand to help her run faster from monsters they were up against, and every time he looked back, he found her blushing as she squeezed his sweaty hand back. Then when she found him in the bed with her, she would promptly kick him off, but then he would again catch that blush on her rosy cheeks.

On days that she was too tired to shove him off, she'd merely turn her back towards him, but the color of her ears would turn a bright shade of red as well.

Maybe it was just him, but if he didn't know better, he'd actually think that Lucy Heartfilia, the beautiful celestial wizard, the clumsy girl she turned into when he played a prank on her, his best friend and partner, actually liked him too.

"Natsu, this is the seventh pair already, and you don't have money to buy another one!" Lucy folded her arms across her chest in irritation.

"I said, I'm sorry," Natsu huffed in equal annoyance, looking the other way.

"Why are you always so careless? And I can't go on a job together with you to earn money to buy another one, since you can't do anything!"

"I'll figure some way out, right Happy?" He looked to his side where Happy had been expectantly, only to find that the cat was nowhere to be found. "Where's Happy?"

"He ran away," the blonde said flatly and sighed. "What am I going to do about you?"

"Quit worrying about me so much, I'll be fine."

"You can't walk two meters without tripping or walking into something."

"But I'll be fine," he repeated.

"Whatever you say, Natsu. I'll be going home first," she said in an exasperated tone before stalking out of the guild.

"What's her deal? It's not like this is her problem or anything," Natsu muttered to himself. Lucy was getting so uptight about something that didn't even concern her, and he just didn't get it. Just then, something with red hair walked up to him. "Natsu."

"Oh Erza, you're back?"

"I just did," she replied blandly, "and I happened to overhear your argument with Lucy. What happened?" she asked in a softer tone.

Natsu sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I broke my glasses again today during the job and I don't have enough money to buy another pair without starving to death. And Lucy's being so uptight for no reason; it's none of her business, so I don't understand what's up with her."

"I see…" the redhead answered. She shook her head and sighed. Immediately his guard was up and he discreetly shifted further away from her. Whenever Erza sighed like that, it meant he wasn't getting something that he should be getting and if he didn't get it soon, she'd put him in a world of hurt. "Natsu, let me ask you a question. What do you think of Lucy?"

All wariness disappeared as he gawked at her. "Haah? What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it."

The silent threat in those three words made Natsu comply immediately like a scared puppy. "I don't know. She's my best partner, other than Happy?"

"Have you ever thought about going out with her?"

"We go out all the time on jobs, remember?"

"Not in that way," she continued patiently, "I meant it in terms of dating, in a romantic relationship."

The dragon slayer felt heat begin to gather in his cheeks as he averted his eyes from the red mop of hair. "Well, I guess Lucy's pretty cute…"

"Do you like her?"

"W-What makes you think I do?" he challenged weakly.

Erza snickered, and he knew he had given it away. "You're finally growing up, Natsu. I'm proud." Her hand reached over to pat his head, but she ended up knocking his head three times a little too hard.

"Ow!" he groaned, backing away from her. "Why did you ask me that anyway?"

"I just wanted to know for myself. So, are you planning to ask Lucy out anytime soon?"

He looked away bashfully and sighed. "She doesn't even like me in that way…"

"Natsu, why do you think Lucy was so frustrated with you earlier?"

"She's on her period."

"You can tell?"

"Her scent changes during that time of the month," he said with a shrug. "So Happy and I know not to mess with her during this period."

"Okay, but aside from that, why do you think she was so frustrated with you?"

"Don't periods make all women more angry than usual?" Natsu asked.

"They don't get angry without a reason," Erza said, sounding a little impatient now.

"I don't know. Lucy's just… weird."

Erza let out a long sigh. "Even with your glasses, you're still quite blind, Natsu."

"What? I can see everything so clearly with my glasses."

"Not everything," she said. "Lucy cares about you more than you think, that's why she was so frustrated that you didn't seem to care for yourself earlier."

The pink-haired boy thought about it for a moment. "I guess that's true…"

"And I think she cares for you in the same way that you do."

"I know." That must mean she cared a great deal. But it wasn't as if he didn't know that, from the numerous times she had helped him out.

"And by that, I don't just mean in a 'just friends' sort of way," Erza added as an afterthought.

"What do you mean by- Oh."

"I see you finally get my point," she said, sounding quite relieved. "You should go look for her and talk to her."

"Yes, ma'am!" Now fired up, Natsu took to his heels and bolted out of the guild.

Not before slamming into one of the doors first.

A lot of tripping, falling and knocking into people later, Natsu finally arrived at Lucy's doorstep. Without bothering to knock, he rushed in and yelled, "Lucy!"

"Natsu?" He ran into her bedroom and found her sitting at her desk. She looked up in alarm and quickly shuffled her papers, presumably the new sappy romance story she was working on and hastily stuffed them in her drawer.

"What are you doing here? And your forehead is swollen," she added with a grimace. She stood up and was about to go over when he held up a hand to stop her.

"No wait, stay there. If you come closer I can't see you."

"But I need to give you an ice pack to stop the swelling!"

"That can wait. I need to talk to you first," he said firmly. Then he drew in a deep breath and asked, "Lucy, what do you think about me?"

"What?" The blonde stared at him incredulously, as if he'd just grown two heads. "Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?"

"Just answer me!"

"Um… well, you're a very strong wizard and you're really weird, but despite your goofiness you're very headstrong and loyal and kind to your family," she replied with the smile he loved so much. "But you need to do something about your rashness. You always act without thinking," she added with a frown.

"Do you like me?" he blurted all of a sudden. Natsu had no idea where he was suddenly getting this courage. Excitement and nervousness was oozing from his entire being and he couldn't keep still anymore. He had to have an answer. Which was why Lucy's silence was beginning to unnerve him.

But soon, he spotted the same color of red on her cheeks and his heart did a somersault in his chest. She always made him feel so weird when she made faces like that, though it was a good kind of weird.

"D-Do you like me, Natsu?" Her voice was hopeful, and in his heart, Natsu knew that it was a yes. His chest promptly swelled in happiness and flashed her the biggest, toothiest grin he could muster and then in a swift motion, he was right next to her. Before she could say a word of shy protest, his arms were around her waist and he hugged her tightly.

At first she was hesitant, unsure of where to place her arms exactly, but then he heard her sigh in defeat and her arms curled around his neck as she pressed close to him in response. He could feel the heat from her face through his clothes and he chuckled, feeling his own cheeks heating up as well. "I guess I do."

"I like you too, Natsu."

"I know."

"Natsu, let go for a second." With a raised brow, he loosened his hold on her and she pulled away slightly. Before he could ask her why, suddenly she leaned forward and tugged on his scarf to bring him down, and then their lips connected. Natsu felt a strange warmth pool in his belly. It was a different kind of warmth from when he ate fire or suffered a punch to the stomach by Gray. No, this was the best kind of warmth there ever was.

Instinctively, he kissed her back deeply, marveling at the softness and plumpness of her lips. He could taste her strawberry lip-gloss and found himself getting drawn in by her intoxicating and enchanting scent. He would have loved to continue, but they had to break away because both of them needed air urgently.

"That was… crazy," he remarked breathlessly.

"Crazy good," Lucy agreed with a wide grin. "But you know, if you have to wear your glasses all the time then it'd be difficult to kiss."

"But if I don't wear my glasses I can't see your face clearly," Natsu murmured, cupping her face and staring at her intently.

All he saw were two circles for her eyes, a vague stick-looking thing for a nose and something red that was her lips.

"Maybe we should get you some contacts, but then they're difficult to take care of since they're so delicate."

"Or you could help me take care of them," he suggested.

"I'm not your maid!"

"Yeah, you care more than a maid does."

She giggled and playfully slapped him on the chest. Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for another kiss.

Screw glasses. He was so going to get those contacts.

A/N: So one day I was just thinking, "What if Natsu has to wear glasses?" and then poof this one-shot came out. Haha that was so much fun to write! Hahaha I hope you enjoyed this one-shot! Do leave a review to tell me what you think and yeaps have a good day! God bless! (: