A/N: I JUST FINISHED THE FIRST ARC OF FAIRY TAIL AND HOLY CRAP BASKETS I LOVE IT AND NALU IS SO OTP THIS ISN'T EVEN FUNNY.
glad you came
"Oh, really, you must stay!"
"We couldn't!"
"Yeah! You've already paid us!"
"There will be plenty of food and the fireworks tonight are sure-"
"…fireworks?"
"Natsu!"
Lucy lay in the bed of their hotel room, staring up at the ceiling. It was a momentous occasion really. It had been exactly two years since Natsu and Lucy had been partners, and instead of doing something fun back in the guild - or really, somewhere close to home - they had just finished a job that should have taken a couple of days, but turned into two and a half weeks.
And Natsu had already signed them up to stay another day at this town. The blonde was in ruin. Hadn't the fire mage remembered today was their special day?
The sound of the shower cutting on irritated her. "Idiot," she murmured.
Forgetful, insensitive idiot.
She didn't want to stay in this stupid town for some stupid festival that her stupid, forgetful, moronic partner who didn't care about anything but his stomach. He could choke on his own fire for all she cared.
Her brows furrowed further. "Was it so easy to forget?"
"Forget what?"
Lucy squeaked at the interruption of her sulking, whirling around on the bed to see Natsu staring at her questioningly, wearing only a towel. She could still see the steam coming from the bathroom from his hot shower.
The celestial mage learned quickly that it was quite difficult to focus on anything, like being mad at her partner or sulking, when said partner was walking around in only a towel, with his very-well-sculpted chest on display for her…still clinging with water droplets from his shower…
"Ugh, Natsu!" Lucy whined, shoving her face into her pillow. "Go put on some damn clothes! If you start walking around half naked like Gray then I'm never going on missions with you again!"
He gasped, wounded. "Did you just seriously compare me to that porn star?"
"Go put on some clothes!" the blonde shrieked into her pillow.
The dragon slayer huffed through his nose, pulling on some fresh clothes all the while muttering about weirdos talking to themselves and his partner's deteriorating mental health. When he finally threw his scarf over his neck, he turned towards Lucy, who was still laying on her bed haphazardly.
"Oi, why haven't you gotten ready yet anyway?" Natsu called, which prompted her to turn over on the bed and inspect him. Surprisingly, he looked…quite handsome. He'd thrown on a faded red shirt and black pants. It was a welcome change from his usual outfit.
Lucy rolled over, facing away from him once more. "I'll be out in a minute. Go on without me, Natsu," she said unhappily.
He watched her breathe slowly, quietly as the room settled in silence. His brows pinched in worry for Lucy. She'd been in a foul mood since the mayor of the town had invited them to stay an extra night. He shrugged it off, deciding to focus on things that would definitely cheer the blonde up.
.
.
.
Half an hour late, Lucy had finally gotten up and threw on a new dress and lipgloss before heading out into the festival that had already gone into fullswing without her. The sun had just began to set, and the town was bathed in gorgeous pinks, oranges, purples and blues. Children were running around playing and screaming in delight, shops were set up with games and food, and large lanterns were hung up around every corner.
She couldn't help but smile as she walked along the stone paths, taking in all the sights while inconspicuously looking for the rose-haired mage. Not that she wanted to talk to him just yet. All she wanted to do right now was eat.
The blonde made her way over to a dango shop and got herself a stick and ate the sticky treat as she continued on walking about under the colorful sky.
So maybe she shouldn't have been so upset over Natsu forgetting their anniversary. It wasn't entirely unforgivable, but it was still a huge disappointment. And instead of berating the fire mage for it, she deflated entirely, without any sort of fit or anger tossed his way. She'd made special plans for them back at the guild - an entire party gone to waste just for some stupid festival.
Heaving a sigh, Lucy tossed the dango stick into a nearby trashcan. No good. It would do her no good to still mope about it now.
"LUCY!" she heard Natsu shriek.
A heavy force nearly knocked her off her feet, and soon she was staring into excited eyes. Natsu all but jumped on the girl, pulling her into an embrace before she was caught off balance and fell. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving against her own as his breath fanned over her face. All of her thoughts were swept away at their utter closeness.
"Where the hell were you?" he asked playfully, his hands moving from her waist to her hands, stepping away slightly for more breathing room, leaving the blonde mage inexplicably disappointed. "I've been looking all around for you! Man, you've got to try this roasted chicken - it's actually on fire!"
The horror of his words sank in all too quickly as Natsu soon dragged Lucy away with blinding speed.
For the rest of the night, Natsu had taken Lucy all over the town's festival, from the different assortment of foods ("Taste it! Seriously! It's delicious!" "Natsu, I'm not eating fire, you idiot!"), to a variety of games, and even a dance - the blonde had all but thrown him into the middle of the street when she saw the small group of street performers plucking a shamisen and belting out traditional, warbling songs from years past. They swayed to the melody of the sting of notes the musicians put together.
"Why are people staring at us?" the fire mage asked irritably as a small crowd of people began to gather and coo at them. Lucy merely smiled and laid her head against his chest. "Just keep on dancing, hothead."
It was too, too easy to let the world fall away when she was with him.
Time flew by much too fast, and soon the sky was pitch black, and the lanterns were lit up with a hazy, glowing light that cast the stone path ways with a soft, orange glow. The pair were walking lazily through the streets side by side, as Natsu tossed chocolate candies into his mouth. Sometimes, he'd toss a few to her, but they usually ended up stuck to her forehead and his ribs would end up sore.
"You have really bony elbows, you know," he commented dully, surveying the girl's arms, then the rest of her body, clad in a long-sleeved, high-necked, emerald minidress. "Is that new?"
"What?"
"The dress."
Lucy merely shrugged, her mood sinking at the topic. She'd originally bought the dress for their anniversary party. "Yeah, it is. I bought it before we left for the mission."
"Eh. It looks…nice." There was a tell-tale reddening of his cheeks that
"Out of all the words you know, you used nice." Lucy, more than a little bit vindictive, decided to push it. "Not, oh let's say - beautiful? Gorgeous? Stunning? Flawless? Flawless has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Natsu's cheeks burned a darker red, clearly visible through the latern's lights, his lips curling into a cute, embarrassed scowl. "Oi, I'm not gonna inflate your fat head any further. You're doing it fine by yourself."
"Tch. Whatever. I'm fabulous."
The pink haired lad kept his lips sealed at the comment, trying to keep from blushing further. , overlooking the blonde's head, discreetly looking for-
"They're starting!"
"Grandma! Look! The sky!"
"Oh, how wonderful!"
"Aye!"
Natsu and Lucy's heads swivled automatically to the small blue cat that floated around the former's head, his ever-present smile looking a bit brighter. "They're all set up! Follow me!" Happy said enthusiastically, and without another word, Natsu had grabbed Lucy's wrist and bolted. Lucy wailed at the breakneck pace, not even able to get any coherent words in until the three of them finally stopped. Lucy, of course, ended up smashing her face into Natsu's shoulder.
"Well you're clumsy today," Natsu commented breezily, looking out from the tree branch he was standing atop of. The blonde gaped, looking around her to see that they were in fact in a tree, standing on a branch that looked a good hundred yards off the ground. "Geez, they have some huge trees in this-"
"Oh my god! Get me down!"
"Shh! They're starting!"
"Don't shush me, fire breath!"
Lucy fiercely clung onto Natsu's shirt, taking in deep breathes as she tried to focus her eyes onto the sky in front of them - their high-up vantage point gave them such an amazing view, she was struck to silence. As the fireworks began, she visibly relaxed her shoulders and focused her chocolate brown eyes onto the spectacular show of lights. The pitch black back drop of the night sky, the twinkling stars, the red and blue and yellow light, it was also incredibly beautiful.
"Wait a second," Lucy said, going unnoticed to Natsu helping her sit down on the branch. "Is that- is that us?"
"Yeup. I was wondering when you were going to catch on," her partner said enthusiastically. "I thought this would be a great place to celebrate our anniversary."
She nodded dumbly, watching as the colors burst into the sky again as the former ones faded away, painting a picture of her and Natsu with Happy between them, holding onto each of his arms - the exact picture that she took of them four months ago at the New Years part at the guild. "Natsu, oh Natsu, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done," she said quietly, reaching out to grasp his calloused hand in her own. Her eyes were locked onto the fireworks, not noticing the look he was giving her. "I left your gift back at my house, though."
"Oh, I already have it."
Lucy looked at him hotly, glaring. "Why do you have it!? Did you go snooping through my house again?"
Natsu grinned, pulling off his scarf and tossing onto Lucy's shoulders to reveal the wooden necklace that she'd bought for him three weeks ago at a small shop in town that custom made jewelry. Inwardly, she patted herself on the back for a job well done. It looked wonderful on him. Outwardly, she turned her nose away and huffed, tying his scarf around her neck snuggly.
"I bet that's where you got the picture frame too," she mused.
"You got it. You have the worst hiding skills. But since now I have your gift, let me finish giving you my gift," Natsu said smugly, grinning in a way Lucy wasn't sure she liked. Well, it was certainly cute, but almost menacing.
She raised a brow in challenge, because, well, felt like she was being challenged right there on that tree branch in the sky. "Well then gift me already, Hot Head."
And she should have expected him to be so quick and impatient about it, because in a second he'd already yanked her closer to him, their bodies pressing together, pulling down his scarf from her chin with a gentler smile. Natsu kissed her, his hands trailing to her waist and tangling through her hair, effectively messing up her perfect blonde locks in the only way she'd ever mind. Lucy's lips moved with his, and she wasn't quite seeing stars, because with her half lidded eyes, all she could see was Natsu and that was so much better.
Natsu didn't taste like fire, or ashes, or burned things, but like cinnamon and sweet things and his tongue was surprisingly skilled and playful.
After a while, he pulled away, as breathing raggedly as she was, hair looking wind-swept from her own handiwork, and still smiling. "Lucy," he said, repeating her name with such reverence, like a prayer he wanted her to fufill. "I'm glad you're here, y'know? I'm glad I met you. I'm glad you're working with me and happy. Everything's…better. Everything's better when you're around."
She giggled, leaning her forehead into his. "Likewise, hot head. I've never been happier in my life with you here."
The fire mage's grin brightened a thousand watts, and he swooped in to bite her lower lip, and then Lucy thought she was seeing a few bright spots in her vision.