Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, MY LOVELY READERS!
It's been a bittersweet year, but I hope 2016 brings along better times :')
And this fic is a collaboration with my artist friend from tumblr, Sorcerer-Weekly, so please go to her page to see the full version of her beautiful art work, which is the cover image to this fic!
XOXOX
New Year's Eve in the guild was a jolly time. Everyone in good spirits, thanks to a couple of glasses of alcohol. Though for Lucy, it felt like a pity party for one as she slumped down on one of the seats at the bar counter as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight.
Juvia was pretty adamant about stealing Gray's New Year's kiss, while Gray was pretty adamant about avoiding Juvia's midnight kiss and Levy and Gajeel were practically a couple so their kiss was a given.
Natsu was busy trying to pick a fight with Gildarts, who literally stuck his finger out and with a whoosh, Natsu was thrown across the guild and onto Gray—which ended up causing a fight between the two boys.
Then there was Erza who was content with her strawberry shortcake seeing as Jellal was missing as per usual.
And there was Lucy left all by her lonesome self, she sulked.
"Soo, Lucy," a purely sweet and oh-so-innocent voice from right beside her said, "who are you planning to kiss at midnight?"
Lucy tensed up as her eyes painfully shifted to the side to see Mira-san grinning ever-so-brightly as her. "No one," she exhaled.
"No one?" Mira asked, with a sparkling glint in her blue eyes as she polished a glass in her neatly manicured hands. "Not even a certain dragonslayer?"
Instead of allowing herself to be irked by the prying transformation mage, Lucy feigned stupidity, "Wendy? Oh no! She's much too young for me. That would be so creepy!"
Mira's eye twitched as she tried again, "What about another certain dragonslayer?"
"Gajeel?" Lucy clucked her tongue, glancing over to the boy who was casually serenading to a blushing Levy, who was begging him to stop. "I think he might be giving his midnight kiss to Levy."
With gritted teeth and a very tense smile, Mira gave it one last try, "What about another dragonslayer?!"
"Laxus?!" Lucy fake-gasped, cupping her hand over her mouth in surprise before coyly gleaming at Mira, "But I thought he was supposed to be your midnight kiss."
And the glass Mira had been cleaning, shattered in seconds and Lucy was reminded of how scary Mira really could be as she slowly began to transform, meanwhile Cana laughed in the background, enjoying the whole scene that had just played out.
"WAHHH," Lucy jumped off the seat, her hands raised up to protect her face. "SOMEONE SAVE ME!"
"NATSU!" Mira exclaimed in utter aggravation. "I WAS TALKING ABOUT NATSU!"
And that caught the attention of the entire guild, silencing them all at once so that they could all eavesdrop on what was going on between the two girls.
Mira calmed down, sweetly tying her hands behind her back and asked, "Are you going to kiss Natsu at midnight?"
"W-what kind of question is that?!" she stammered, her face burning up like tanning oil in the sun. With a trembling form, she snuck a hesitant glance over to the boy in question and their eyes instantly met. He looked a bit puzzled with his fist—that was meant for Gray—frozen in midair. Lucy squeaked, quickly averting her gaze.
"Pshhh, who needs Natsu? I'll be your midnight kiss, Lucy," Cana said smugly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, sloshing her beer all around—which managed to hit Lucy's bare arm and thankfully not her clothes. Last thing she needed was to smell like a brewery.
"Thanks, Cana," Lucy sweated, wishing the pounding in her heart would stop. She risked another peek at the fire mage, but he was no longer looking at her since he had resumed his fight with Gray, with Juvia mindlessly cheering for the ice mage in the background.
Lucy drearily sighed. Not like Natsu would even be interested in kissing her…But it wasn't like Lucy wanted Natsu to kiss her either. Nope, not at all. Because that would just be weird. He was just a friend. Yep, just a friend who manages to make her heart go doki doki—because that's the kind of reaction people normally get from friends, right?
Her thumped painfully.
"I'm such an idiot," she moaned into her palm.
"Lucy," Cana deadpanned after observing the obvious melancholy that was radiating off her pathetic form, "if you really want a New Year's kiss from Natsu, then go and get one!"
"But how?"
"With a little liquid courage," Cana winked with her one purple are glimmering as she thrusted out a glass of fizzy liquid.
"Liquid…courage?"
XOXOX
Midnight kiss was something that has never been on Natsu's mind—until the little demon mage had to go and ask Lucy. Now it was literally all he could think about. Why did Mira have to ask such weird questions?
Him? Kissing Lucy?
His heart throbbed in his chest.
"Say, Natsu," Happy called out, flapping his wings in front of the bemused boy.
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Why do you have that ugly look on your face? Did you eat some bad fish?"
Natsu's eye twitched, "Heh?"
"Orrrr is it Lucyyy-related?" the blue exceed cackled mischievously.
Natsu practically choked on his own spit, trying to sputter, "S-Shut up!"
"You wanna kissss herrr!" Happy purred, narrowly avoiding Natsu, who was trying to grab hold of him to strangle him.
"N-No way!" he flushed, feeling about a million degrees hotter.
"Why not?" Happy asked, tilting his head to the side.
"W-Well it's not like she would wanna kiss me either!"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Happy snickered before flying off, leaving Natsu to wonder what the hell that was about.
Obviously Lucy didn't want to kiss him. That much he knew, not like he cared though, right?
And it wasn't like he was going to kiss anyone. His kissing experiences in the past always turned out badly, shivering as he remembered his kiss with Happy and Yamada-kun.
Like hell was he going to kiss Lucy…though just the very thought of it made his stomach flutter…Not to mention his crush on the girl…"Argghh," he pulled at his spiky hair out of frustration. What was he going to—
"Hnnghh, Natsuu?"
"Heh?" he turned around and sucked in a breath. Lucy was standing right behind him in some kind of daze. Her eyes had this foreign haze over them, a haze that left Natsu a trembling, confused mess.
"L-Lucy," he gulped, inching back a step with sweat trickling over his pink bangs. "W-What are you doing?"
And suddenly the countdown began.
"TEN!"
She grasped onto his scarf, pulling him closer to her, allowing him to take in the tiny gold flecks in her brown eyes, her flushed up cheeks and her plump lips and not to mention the amount of cleavage that allowed him to see right down her—
His heart agonizingly pulsed. Why was she acting so weird? She only behaves like this when she's—interrupting his thoughts, he could hear Cana cry out, "WOOO! THAT'S LIQUID COURAGE FOR YA!"
And now it all made sense…
"NINE!"
Lucy moved in closer, rising onto her tippy toes.
"EIGHT!"
"W-wait…" he tried to say, but his voice got lost amongst the cheers from the countdown. "Lucy…" Though to be completely honest, his resistance was fleeting as Lucy's nose brushed his.
"SEVEN!"
Her warm breath tingled against his lips.
"SIX!"
"Happy New Year, Natsuu," she sloppily mumbled just as Natsu choked out, "But it's not—" And Lucy was kissing him—or maybe he was kissing her? Either way his lips were pressed tightly against hers, though his eyes were stuck wide open, unable to grasp that this was really happening.
Lucy was kissing him. Never in a million years would he have believed this moment would come—especially after the Asuka incident, though it made his heart clench painfully, he figured it had meant Lucy didn't see him the way he saw her.
But clearly he was wrong.
His eyes slowly began to close just as cheers of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" racked around the room, though Natsu hardly realized. Nor did he realize all the party poppers and noise makers, or even the colorful confetti that danced around the kissing couple like petals from the Rainbow Sakura Tree.
It was like they were the only two in the room as Natsu decided fall into the kiss. With his heart slamming against his ribcage—more intense than any battle he had ever been in.
Lucy's hands began wander around his chest, finally releasing their death grip on his scarf. His body felt hot like he were about to combust in a fiery inferno any minute now as his heart raced along with each of her soft touches. His own hands still remained frozen in the air. What was he supposed to do exactly?
Well he was saved from having to decide on anything because Lucy pulled back and stared at Natsu with an embarrassed blush—probably because her 'liquid courage' had worn off.
The girl shrank back, shying away from the disgruntled-looking expression Natsu was wearing. "Oiii, Lucy! You were supposed to wait until they say one before kissing me!"
"S-Sorry!" Lucy squeaked, timidly biting her lip, looking in the other direction, seeing all the kissing couples and partying friends. Maybe the kiss was a bad idea after all…
Though Natsu couldn't get past the thought of Lucy wanting to kiss him, which meant she returned his feelings?
"Well guess this leaves me with only one choice," Natsu pretended to exasperate, cupping Lucy's cheek to carefully tilt her head up, allowing her to see the determination in Natsu's dark eyes. Sparks ignited from the slight touch, hitching her breath and her heart nearly stopped when he whispered, "Happy New Year, Lucy," before gently kissing her.
T'was a Happy New Year, indeed.
XOXOX
Hope this turned out alright :0
Thank you all so much for reading!
May 2016 be a wonderful year for all of you :')
Enjoy your New Years!