"Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love."
― Craig Claiborne

I can't even believe it myself, but I am... back?! And it feels great. :') I know I haven't written in ages but I hope you haven't forgotten me entirely my pals my buddies my frends... and this time around I'm writing about one of the great loves of my life: food. ;) Well, maybe not only about food. But there will be food. Yum.

Cooking, despite what some might try to tell you, is an art.

It is art, and it is magic. There is art in an idea, in the careful execution, in the swirls and patterns of thoughtful arrangement on a simple plate. There is magic in old, scribbled recipes that endure time, in the love you pour into your creations, in that first bite. It is in the smiles of the people who taste your food, in the way they come to know you without ever having met you, because you took a part of your soul and held it to their lips.

The art of cooking-

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

Resisting the urge to hurl her pen against the next wall, Lucy Heartfilia leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Maybe this was why she had not become a food critic in the end. As much as she loved writing, it did not come easy to her. It was hard. What she could do, however - what she had taught herself to do with passion and endurance - was to create dishes that spoke for her. Or at least she hoped that was what she did. Some days, she didn't know anymore.

Maybe this wasn't the best time in her life to be writing an article for a renowned food magazine, when she wasn't even sure if she deserved to be in it. With a heavy sigh, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and tried to focus on the task at hand.

But she did not finish it that night, or the night after.

"Chef, appetizer for table six is ready to go."

"Thanks, Cana. Gajeel, ready to go on the main?"

"Aye."

"Cana, send it out. Gajeel, start in five. I want this energy to continue, alright team?"

"Yes, Chef!"

Lucy was in her element. She was in control. Everything happening was happening as it should; the magic (as she liked to call it) was flowing splendidly tonight. Yesterday's doubts were still in the back of her mind, the anxiety over that new restaurant across the street a thorn in her side, but for tonight she pushed it all away. This year, she reassured herself, would be the year she would finally earn her first michelin star.

There was no one who could do it like Lucy Heartfilia. No restaurant that could rival The Fairy's Tail, not in this street or this city or the entire fucking country. She had to believe this.

"Chef. Chef! Lucy!"

Blinking away her stupor, Lucy gave a start. She found herself confronted with the stern face of her head waitress, Aquarius. She swallowed. The scowl on her face bode nothing well.

"The guest at table seven asked to speak to you."

All that Lucy heard in her tone and bearing was 'What did you do wrong now, silly girl?' but she merely nodded and skidded away from the woman's likely wrath. Lucy might be her boss, but god, could Aquarius still be scary after all these years.

Scary, too, was the prospect of meeting that guest. It didn't help that Aquarius had not hinted at the nature of the request. Would she be met with a complaint or a compliment?

Pondering this simple yet nerve-wrecking question, she made her way through the kitchen doors and out into the dining area, into her restaurant. For Lucy, it was the kitchen which felt most like home: this was where she lived as much as she worked. But here, amidst neatly decked tables and careful arrangements, amidst the sound of conversation, softly clinking cutlery and low laughter, here was where the soul of her restaurant lay. It felt good to remember that from time to time. Here, what she did felt easy and joyful and right. The blood, sweat and tears that had brought her to this point lay behind her, forgotten easily in the face of what her work could accomplish. Steaming plates, inviting dishes, colourful details... it all looked so simple, despite the hours of thought so many people had put into it. Her food brought people together; it made them smile.

And that was all she had ever wanted, in a way.

The table she was headed for was one of the small ones close to the wall, with the soft emerald cushions. There was only one person sitting there, comfortably lodged between table and wall, looking entirely at peace with the world. Some of the tension dropped off Lucy's shoulders. His eyes moved and caught her approaching, and the smile that spread across his face lit up his eyes in a way that was, she found, entirely pleasant. A very good, content smile.

Her initial impression, however, was quickly redacted when she arrived at the table and he opened his mouth.

"Yo," he said, looking her straight in the eye as his smile wandered and settled on the corner of his mouth in a rather cheeky fashion. "You the chef?"
A little confused (she was not undercover in her flashy chef's uniform, after all, and he'd asked for her - and what kind of weird manners did he have anyways?) Lucy merely nodded and waited for him to continue. He told her he very much liked her food (which made her smile) and then he told her that he was the owner of the new place down the street (which made her want to faint on the spot and be carried off to the nearest unoccupied grave).

The new place down the street. The restaurant. The very thing that had been the cause of so many sleepless nights now that she had stopped counting. Her smile froze.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

Taking a closer look at him, she noticed details that his outfit (a black suit which looked entirely out of place on him, upon further consideration) had drowned out: the spiky hair that was dyed the most ridiculous pink, the piercings, even (poking out beneath the table) the dirty chucks on his feet. An image popped into her mind's eye, and she almost laughed: someone stealing him right out of his bed to drag him, kicking and screaming, into the suit he wore, and then shoving him through the door of her restaurant. What other explanation was there for his odd appearance?

So this was… her rival. The one she knew she had to compete against, one way or the other. His restaurant had not yet opened, yet the hype around it already was more than she could take at the moment.

Lucy smiled, extending a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr…?"

(She knew his name, but she did not want him to know that she knew it. If he knew she knew it would mean he'd know she'd researched him, and that was one thing she did not want to give him the pleasure of knowing.)

"Dragneel," he offered, and took her hand into his. His grip was firm and hard. "Natsu Dragneel. You should pop over to the Fire Dragon one of these days and I'll give you a special tour."

She couldn't tell if he was making fun of her or if his offer was genuine; there was a glint in his eyes that made a shudder run down her spine.

"I might just take you up on that offer," she said, taken aback by the intensity of the man. It wasn't just his piercing eyes or cocky smile, it was the entirety of his person that unsettled her. Not in a bad way, no - she found him surprisingly likable, which made her angry in an altogether different way. There was arrogance in his behaviour, but it was not unappealing, which would have made her life a lot easier. "For now, I fear, I should get back to my kitchen."

Lucy offered him her most dazzling smile, and he flashed her a grin that was all teeth.

"I'm looking forward to… this," he said with a casual wave between the two of them, leaving her speechless.

The implication of that wave, and the sheer simplicity of it, infuriated her beyond words. Was it all that simple to him? Was it a game? Fun? The complexity of her thoughts on the matter had nearly overwhelmed her every night as she tried to fall asleep, and here he was, shaking his hand and managing to say it all with a flick of his wrist...

This was a man she had to look out for.

They were locked in a silent competition, and he was looking forward to it with the air of someone who had already won. But she would not go down without a fight. She would not go down at all. Natsu Dragneel had no idea who his opponent was.

Now Lucy knew. If it meant besting him, she could work harder than ever before.

Short but it's a start? Please tell me your thoughts and feelings and whatever the hell you want but pls tell m it's been so long and I need validation ok thanks cool haha I'll go lie down now. :)