A/N: Hey! WriterzBlock12 here! Here's a new story that I'm making. Hope you all enjoy it, it's another Nalu story... of course. Please leave a comment saying you liked this or not and if I should continue. And that's about it, which I'm surprised about cause usually I have way more to say.
I don't own Fairy Tail nor the characters. Hiro Mashima does!
Chapter One: Banana and Peanut Butter Swirl
Leaning on the table while absently tapping my nails on the hard surface I stared at the elderly women drinking her coffee with a newspaper in hand. Across the small table she sat at was an empty chair with the exception of a dark blue coat that hung over it. Everyone who worked at the diner and was a regular customer knew that coat wasn't there to save a place, no it was there as a reminder of her husband. We had all tried to be extra cautious and kind towards her afraid we might bring up the fairly new touchy subject. It had only been a week since her husband passed away and she still came here every morning at their spot with her head held high as she read the newspaper. She was one of those women who didn't want pity so all of us had to pretend as if we had none to offer.
With a quiet sigh I stopped my excessive tapping, choosing instead to simply rest my elbow on the counter with my chin cupped in my hand. I had believed today would be a busy day, but I suppose the heavy snow that came down this morning made customers flee inside their homes. Some of our regular customers came in despite the chilly wind you had to go through just to get here. All of them said though that it was worth it just to have the warm and delicious coffee in their hands. Most of the regular customers didn't come due to having a flight to see their families and loved ones or just going home to do that. It was Christmas after all.
"Hey slacker!" With a a startled squeak I jumped out of my relaxed position trying to hastily cover up my laziness by quickly picking up a clean mug and running over to the nearest cupboard with a speed I didn't know I even had.
Turning around, ready to face my manager, instead to find a short blue haired girl who was currently laughing with her hands on her knees, "I can't" another long laugh, "believe you fell for that!"
With a roll of my eyes I gave an annoyed glance at her that really only had amusement behind it, "Levy! That was you? I did't know you had it in you to do that?"
Levy stood straight up and took a deep breath before finally ending her fit of laughter with a short smile, "I had to try it since everyone is so terrified of Laxus." Laxus was the manager of the diner and I wasn't necessarily scared of him... I just really didn't want to get on his bad side. Even so, I agreed with her with a simple nod of my head.
She brushed off my quick agreement and moved on, "Anyways, I came here to ask you if you can take Mrs. Rally's order... I think she's a little bit more emotional today. But, you know how your better with her." And to be honest I was better with her than most people because I knew how it felt to lose someone. I knew what it felt like to be a little lost.
"What about this?" I gestured to the clean dishes I had just pretended to put away a seconds ago.
She simply shewed me off with a wave of her hands saying, "Don't worry! I'll do it, besides I'd put away these dishes just to see Mrs. Rally's smile for Christmas. It makes me want her to be happy when I see her like that."
Still uneasy and guilty about Levy taking my work, "Are you sure?"
"Yes! Yes! Now go!" This time I gave her a quick smile and did the run and awkward walk towards the tables. Eventually, I made it to Mrs. Rally's table with as bright as a smile as I could muster, "Merry Christmas Mrs. Rally!" Maybe it was a bad idea to bring up the holidays to her, "Would you like a refill? Something to eat?" Oh great, now I was asking to many questions.
She raised her head with her gray silver hair pulled into a loose bun that somehow screamed elegance, "Um, yes please just a refill and Merry Christmas to you too dear." I physically felt my shoulders relax with relief at her seeming better, "Great! I'll go get you some more uh..." I glanced at her almost empty mug.
"Some more black coffee please."
"Thank you, I'll go get you some more!" With that I scurried off back behind the counter to find Levy already almost finishing putting away the dishes, "Wow, Levy! Your almost done!"I stated the obvious.
"Uh, yeah. I just need some help with these mugs and I'll be done." She pointed to the cupboards up top that she wasn't able to reach even if she was on her toes.
I took a blue mug out of her hand and started a deal with my friend, "I'll do these...but"
"Uh oh, What's the but?"
"Could you get the coffee started?"
"Geesh Lucy, you made it sound like something bad." She sent a quick wave before going to make the drink. To her back I said a quick thank you before doing my part and starting to put away the cups. It was up so high that I had to go on my toes to reach it though, but it got the job done. As soon as I had finished I went over to where Levy was to see the coffee pot was almost filled, "Thanks Lev! Your amazing!" Giving her a quick hug trying to show my gratitude for the short girl.
"Oh it's fine Lucy I-" She was cut off by the jingle of the bell on the door announcing another customer, "Oh, didn't expect there to be more, see ya Lucy." In response I gave a limp wave as a goodbye and then went back to staring at the coffee pot while I waited for it to fill.
After what seemed like ages it was done so I quickly pulled it out and started walking towards Mrs. Rally's table before I saw Levy taking a pink haired man's order. It was pink! It took all my willpower to not keep staring at the back of his head and instead made my eyes stay right in front of me. After a couple of quick glances at the man's hair, I had finally made it to Mrs. Rally. Pouring the coffee in the white mug creating steam I questioned the elderly women yet again, "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"
"Yes, dear. Thank you."
"Oh and also uh... I have something for you," I grabbed a small package wrapped in blue and white snowflakes paper out of the pocket of my apron and placed it near Mrs. Rally's cup of coffee on the table. At first she looked shocked and pleased until it seemed realization came to her, "Your're not giving me this out of pity are you?"
Starting to wave my hands in front of me as a means of saying no, "Oh, no no! Well... it's Christmas so..."I didn't understand why she was so confused, I had given her Christmas presents before.
"Oh I'm sorry. I suppose I've been very well... cautious about someone treating me differently."
I stared at my feet in sudden shame, "I- I still feel sad for you because I do know what it feels like to lose someone like that and I know that almost everyone says that but I just want you to-" I was cut off by two arms wrapping around me with a gentle motherly hand that I hadn't had for so long. Her voice slightly cracked telling me she was crying, "I know, Iv'e just wanted to be brave just like how George was." She pulled me back at arms length ending the hug, "You know, George and I would meet each other here every day because... well this was the place we met."
I had already heard the story of how they met a million times already and how they would come here every morning, but I still smiled because it was one of the greatest love stories I had ever heard of, "I'm sure it was love at first sight."
She gave me a hearty laugh that automatically brightened the room, "Oh heavens no! I actually hated his guts, but he was love sick for me. He figured out that I came here to finish some papers I had from work and well he visited me every day here. His stubbornness was the first thing that made me fall for him. I could have just not gone to this diner, but what I didn't realize was that I stayed there to see him no no matter how many times I called him an idiot." I could see the love she had for him in her eyes as she told the story. Apparently I didn't know the whole tale like I thought, I had known the couple for two years and I was just now finding out about this.
"That's so... wow. Your story is...'
"Yeah it really was," Her voice was distant as if she were somewhere else yet she still patted the back of my hand and sat back down in her chair with a sigh, "You know what Lucy, I think I will have something to eat."
Almost jumping on the balls of my feet I asked, "What would you like? We have our special Christm-"
Cutting me off she answered, "Just some of your Banana and Peanut Butter Swirl pancakes," She never had pancakes especially those kinds, always saying she was too old to have such a sugary substance for breakfast this early. Someone who did always have our famous Banana Peanut Butter Swirl pancakes was George even though the name for it was slightly cheesy. Of course she would have gotten that, especially on Christmas.
"Yeah! Sure, coming right up!" With that I scribbled down the order with neat handwriting that I was quite proud of and then proceeded to walk towards the counter. I was just about to go around behind the counter when I saw a flash of pink hair again speaking to my short friend. Levy was still taking his order! How much food does one person eat? It doesn't look like he's taking it to go either and it didn't seem like he was ordering for anyone else.
Dismissing it, I went back to business and started making Mrs. Rally's pancakes. Usually It was Jerry who made the food, but he had to spend Christmas with his kids so right now it was just Levy and I. I wasn't the best with pancakes, sometimes accidentally burning them or just making them not well.. cooked. Pancakes were my weakness except for the Banana and Peanut Butter Swirl pancakes for some reason. The funny thing was that the Banana and Peanut Butter Swirl was one of those dishes that no matter how hard I tried to not make it good it turned fantastic, the other pancakes though were a complete mess even if I just started stirring the bowl.
Pouring some of the pancake batter onto the hot pan into an oval, I waited for it to get golden. Once again I was tapping my nails on the counter in impatience. Then Levy came up behind me seeming to be finished with taking the men's order. She was astonished, "Man, he took forever."
"What did he order?"
"Geesh. Where do I even start! Well, just read this." She handed me her small notepad that contained the list of food he wanted. There were so many different types of food and many of just the same that the very thought of how much this would cost made my head hurt.
"Wow. That's a lot. On the bright side, you'll get a huge tip!" I knew I would be happy about that, with a tip like that it would definitely help pay my rent.
She gave a bright smile, "There was this one book I really wanted to buy..." I could tell she would already be excited about this.
"That's the spirit! Also I'll help you after I'm done making pancakes for Mrs. Rally."
"Please tell me the pancakes your making is the Banana and Peanut Butter Swirl?"
"Yes, don't worry I won't blow anything up.'
She put her hands on her waist, "Good. How about you start getting him a glass of water while I start cooking the food."
This surprised me, "Oh, I thought you were his waitress."
"You know we can switch, besides the first thing on the list is to make some chocolate chip pancakes..." Of course it
"Fine. Fine. At least I'll get a chance to ask him about his hair!" I was already walking off before she could say anything else. Finishing making Mrs. Rally's pancakes and getting water for the pink dude, I went off to finish my order.
When I reached Mrs. Rally's table she was even more confident than before. Her back was straight as she stared straight across looking out the window with snow falling down outside. I was as cheerful as I could when I spoke, "Here you go, the Banana and Peanut Butter Swirl pancakes."All I got was a small smile that looked strained, yet I didn't mind since I knew the feeling.
I reached the pink man's table which also showed the view outside with the ice cold water in hand, "Here you go Sir, if you need anything else please just-" I stopped myself when I looked up and saw his face. He was well... handsome. At the back of his head I had imagined someone with piercings and tattoos all around his face or just a pink face in general. Maybe it was all those late nights writing, that made me think of him like that based on the back of his hair and color of it. His hair was spiky all around his head that I hadn't gotten a chance to take detail of before hand. The man's skin was a tan that somehow worked with his bright wild hair and his eyes were a dark green that I could barely make out, but was just luckily close enough to see. And with those few seconds of seeing him I had dropped his ice cold water on the floor that the glass shattered to bits.
Automatically, I dropped down while accidentally cursing silently. Not worrying about if the shards might prick my skin I started picking up the glass carefully, "So sorry! The condensation might have made my hand slip or- or I was just- just clumsy. So Sorry!" I repeated that apology for what seemed like the millionth time.
Looking up, I saw him crouching down and starting to help, "Naw, It's okay. This happens to me all the time, my friends say I make a mess of everything." He said it as if it was a good thing. I saw him pick up another shard of glass and drop it off on the table. Apparently in my frenzy of trying to pick up the mess, I hadn't thought of the pain my hands would endure with the glass. Another silent curse... great job Lucy. I decided to follow his lead and drop off the load of shards on the table, that surprisingly only had a few cuts on my hands, before mumbling to the pink haired customer, "I'll be right back to get a dustpan and broom," I saw him give a nod and a shining smile before scooping up some more glass causing me to screech, "Stop! I mean, thank you sir, but it really isn't that great of an idea to do that with your bare hands..."
The man rose up to his full height, showing me he was roughly a head taller than me, with the mess I had made in between us. He gave me a look before putting his tan hands behind his head, "I'll be fine, trust me uh..." He stared at my name tag before continuing, "Luigi!"
Did I look like a Luigi? I put my hands on my waist in an exaggerated motion, not caring about the policy that customers are always right, "It's Lucy! Not Luigi! Geesh, can you even read?" I'm sure that a lot of the customers were still staring at the mess I had made from the loud crash and now from my loud voice, but I really didn't care right now. Sure that would probably nip me in the bud, but for now all I could think of was how stressed I was. Unfortunately, all that stress landed on the man before me.
He looked simply appalled at my accusation even though it was just a rhetorical question, "Of course I can! What do you take me for? That ice stripper?"
"What?" I had been getting myself ready to say my next come back until he had said ice stripper. Who was this guy?
"You know, someone who takes off their cloth-"
"I know what a stripper is, but what do you mean by ice stripper?"
He seemed about ready to tell me until something or another invaded his brain making him pause, "It's nothing." He was staring at the floor a clear sign he was lying, even I knew that and I had only know the guy for a mere five minutes at the most. Not to mention I don't even know his name.
"Okay," I tried to clear up my rude behavior, "I'll go get that dustpan I was talking about earlier to clean this up. Would you like a different table?" I had to be nice, at least that's what I told myself so that Levy wouldn't get a bad tip. She has always been so kind, she deserved this. Besides, I had gotten way to worked up over a smashed glass and someone calling me a weird name. I was taking my annoyance on my situation and thrown it at him, he didn't need that.
"Nope, I'm good! Thanks anyways."
I gave a tight forced smile and began to walk off only to be stopped by his voice once more, "I forgot to tell the other waitress that I want some of your guys Banana and Peanut Butter swirl. I must've gotten distracted by the ham," I physically saw him start to drool when he mentioned ham.
Pretending his eating habits didn't bother me, I took out my notepad and wrote down Banana and Peanut Butter pancakes in neat handwriting while speaking, "Coming right up, your other orders should be coming soon too." With that I gave another smile and sped off towards Levy, ready to make some more Banana and Peanut Butter Pancakes. If only I knew the simple breakfast would lead to way more than a crappy Christmas.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! I have an idea on how this whole story is going to play out, but this chapter was slightly slower than I meant for it to be. Tell me if you have any more OC for the daily customers cause I really can't think of anyone except for Mrs. Rally. Thanks for reading and tell me if you want me to continue this or not!
-WriterzBlock12