The Blind Date: Chapter 2
Lucy and Levy neared the gate that led to a path towards the modest cottage. This was in a quiet corner in Magnolia, which surprised Lucy since she had expected a big-shot like the most famous matchmaker in the country to be living in a five-star hotel or a luxury suite or something along those lines. "It looks really cozy here," Lucy commented.
"Yeah… I expected more people to be here, though. She is the most well known matchmaker in Fiore," Levy said, pointing to the sign on the smooth wooden door that read, "Hera's Matchmaking Service" with a beautiful wreath of wild flowers circling it.
"Maybe it's because it's near lunchtime?" Lucy suggested as she knocked twice lightly, already anticipating meeting this woman. After learning about this matchmaker from Mirajane and knowing her prospects of actually finding out who her soul mate would be was giving her the jitters. As a young child, she adored the fairy tales her mother used to read to her and would dream of meeting her own Prince Charming in real life, get married and then live happily ever after with him. Perhaps today would mark the day she would finally take a step towards fulfilling that dream!
The door creaked open, revealing a rather senior woman dressed modestly in a green dress that fell to just below her knees. Her brown hair colored with streaks of gray was tied neatly in a low ponytail, and she wore a lavender scarf with a white apron wrapped around her thin waist. "Why, how may I help you two lovely ladies?" she asked with a sweet smile.
"Are you Hera-san?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, that would be me, and you are?"
"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and this is my friend Levy Mcgarden. We're actually here for your matchmaking services," she said.
"Actually, I'm just accompanying her here," Levy said with a bright smile.
The lady nodded. "I see, I see, well it's nice to see a young person so interested in getting married! Most of my clients are middle-aged or in their late-twenties, you see."
"Actually I'm not really looking to get married yet..."
"Ah, so you're a young fish swimming idly in the sea, waiting for the right one to show up. Well then, come in! Have a seat, you two! We can talk about this more over a nice cup of tea."
Lucy and Levy were ushered to the very comfy loveseat in front of the warm fireplace as the old lady carried a tray with two warm cups of tea and placed it on the small, round table beside them, before taking a seat on her rocking chair opposite them. "So, how may I help you both?"
Lucy cleared her throat softly. "Hera-san, I heard that you can sort of… predict who one's soul mate is?"
Hera took a sip of her tea and sighed. "There is no such thing as a "soul mate", per se; I only do the tabulations and see who the most suited person is for you. That is what I do."
"I see," the blonde said, eyes widening.
"So, I assume you are in search of a suitable boy to date for now, yes?" the lady said.
"I guess so…" Lucy said as a light pink slowly dusted across her fair cheeks.
"Quite the bashful one, I see…" the old lady said, as she scrutinized her. "From what I see, you are a hopeless romantic, a very sociable person. A "Giver" is what we call people like you, you put the needs of your friends above yours and you appear to be quite popular among your friends, especially because you're very sensitive to their needs."
Levy and Lucy's jaws fell open at the same time. "H-How did you know?"
"That's exactly how I'd describe Lu-chan!"
The old lady only gave them a small smirk. "I've seen many people in all my years of living, so I read people quite well. And I think I know just the kind of boy for you."
"Really?" Lucy leaned forward, a smile creeping up her lips in anticipation.
"Yes, but you will only get to know this person when you meet him on your date."
"Date?" she echoed.
"Indeed, perhaps you are more familiar with the term "blind dating"? I will have to know your schedule so I can fix a date with the man, and then within three days you will receive a letter in your mail; it will contain the details pertaining to the meeting, including the venue, time and date. I will only be coordinating the first part of the meeting, however, so if there is anything else you two would like to do, you are free to do so. As for the time, you can give me your preferences and I will arrange it as so. And as for the fees, I have a habit of charging customers only after the date, if you found the date to your satisfaction."
"You're really fine with accepting fees only after the date?" Levy asked, surprised.
"Yes, I am not in the matchmaking business for the mere superficial profits, you see. I entered this profession wanting to help others lead a beautiful and fulfilling love life," Hera grinned.
"Wow, that is admirable of you, Hera-san," Lucy smiled.
"Doesn't it make you sad when you see an old man or woman walking alone down the street with no one by their side? When I was still an energetic young woman in my prime years, I thought, what a shame, for someone to live such a lonesome, dull life without a partner, and that was what inspired me to enter this profession. People said I have an eye for reading people, you see, so I decided to maximize that ability for good."
"If you don't mind me asking, Hera-san," Levy began, "do you have a husband?"
A sad glint appeared in Hera's eyes as the skin at her forehead creased. "I did, actually. Hamlin was his name. He was the best man I ever met, and I was blessed to have married him, and stayed by him until he left this world four years, eight days and twenty-one hours ago."
"I'm so sorry," Levy murmured.
"No need to worry about it, dear. Hamlin would hate to see other people sad because of him. So, enough of me, how about I get to know more about you, Lucy, so I can narrow down the scope for your potential date?"
The blonde smiled shyly. "Sure. I'm eighteen this year, and I'm a Celestial wizard part of the guild Fairy Tail. Um… I love reading and writing, and I enjoy making friends and spending time with my family."
"Do you have a favorite sport?"
"I guess that would be swimming?"
"What is the one thing that you look out for most in someone you regard as a potential love interest?"
"Someone who is loyal to his friends and will never leave them or give up protecting them. Not ever," Lucy said with conviction.
"I see. Well then, how about your dislikes?"
"Dirty things, haunted houses, rollercoaster rides and frogs."
The onslaught of questions continued, and it was a while before Hera finally declared that she had enough information to make an accurate choice for her date.
"Oh, and as for my schedule, I'm free for the rest of the week, since I'm not going on any jobs for the week," Lucy said.
Hera stood up, making the girls follow suit and she led them towards the door. "Alright then, that's wonderful. I'll send you a letter soon, dear."
After exchanging farewells, the two girls left the cottage and began their way home, chattering excitedly about Lucy's date and possible husband-to-be.
"I'm looking for someone called Hambur. Are you Hambur? Geez, your name sounds like a hamburger…" Natsu asked.
Happy nodded. "Aye Natsu, hearing that name makes me hungry!"
Hera stood at the door, amused by the two's antics. "Yes, I am Hera. And who might you be?"
"I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel, and this is Happy," Natsu introduced.
"Aye! Nice to meet you!"
"Are you two here for matchmaking services too?"
"Not me, Natsu!"
"No, actually, I just wanted to know who my soul mate is. The guys back at the guild said you know who people's soul mates are, so I wanted to know," Natsu said.
Hera frowned slightly. "So, you're not interested in the dating services at all?"
"Not really, I don't do dating. I just want to know who my soul mate is so the idiots back at the guild will stop pestering me about dating my friend."
"I'm sorry, but there's no such thing as a 'soul mate', I only try my best to make the most accurate matches between men and women so as to give a little boost in their love lives. You look like a young boy," she said.
"I'm eighteen," he replied, crossing his arms behind his head. "So, if there's no such thing as a 'soul mate', then what am I even here for? The idiots are still going to come after me about Lucy," he muttered.
Happy shook his head. "Maybe if you find out the best girl to be your future wife isn't Lucy then the others will stop."
"That's true…" Natsu said, nodding along with his feline friend.
"It looks like we have a lot to talk about then," Hera said with a grin, as she opened the door wider for them. "Come in, we can talk about this over some snacks."
Minutes later, Natsu and Happy were greedily gobbling down the cookies Hera had brought out for them while Natsu answered her questions.
"So, tell me about yourself, Natsu."
"I'm a dragon slayer; my dad Igneel's a fire dragon, and he taught me dragon slayer magic," he grinned. "I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, this is my mark, see?" The boy twisted to his side and flaunted the proud, red guild mark on his right shoulder. "Happy is my best friend, and so is Lucy, everyone back at the guild is my family. We look out for each other, and it's great! Hey Hera, maybe you should come over sometime."
"I would love to," the old lady replied, "It does sound like a very warm place."
"It is! We're the strongest guild in Fiore, cool huh?"
"Yes, that is very impressive. I watched the Grand Magic Games, and I have to say, your guild did a marvelous job," she smiled, prompting Natsu to give her a wide grin in return. "So, what do you like?"
"Like?" He blinked. "Lots of things. I like eating, sleeping, hanging out at Lucy's place, going on jobs and kicking butt, protecting my friends and fighting. But I love Happy, Lucy and everyone back at the guild, as well as Igneel…"
"What is the one thing you wish for most, Natsu?"
"I guess that would be to see Igneel again."
"You miss him very much, don't you?"
"Of course I do. He taught me everything, and he was a great dad. He's the strongest dragon ever, and the best dad I could ever ask for."
Hera smiled at that and leaned back in her rocking chair. "You're a wonderful boy, Natsu. I'm here you'll find him someday."
"I know," Natsu said with a gleam in his eyes. "I'm looking forward to that day."
"So what are your dislikes?"
He thought about it for a moment. "I hate it when my friends get hurt."
"Mm… Well then, I think I have a better idea of who would suit you most now," Hera said.
"Really? Who is it?"
She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I cannot reveal her name to you. You see, this matchmaking service is about blind dating, and you will only get to know her on the date itself."
"Haah? Dating?" he grimaced. Natsu was never good at this sort of stuff. Anything romantic, he never really knew what to do. Thinking about all the things Lucy told him before about what people did on dates made him cringe. Holding hands, whispering sweet-nothings in each other's ears… He shook the goose bumps rising on his forearm away. It sounded so… unnatural and uncomfortable to him.
"Natsu is going on a daaaaate," Happy mused, chuckling to himself. That prompted the dragon slayer to give him a hard smack on the head. "Ow! That hurt, Natsu!" the cat whined.
"Good."
"How is your schedule like for the rest of the week?"
"I'm free, I guess. Lucy said we'd only be going on a job next week because she wanted to rest."
"Alright then, that makes things much easier. You can expect a letter in your mail within three days from now, with the details of the date in it. It will include the venue, time and date of the date. However, I will only be planning the first part of it, so if there is anything you want to do with her later, you are free to do so. And as for the fees, I will only be collecting it after the date, if you enjoyed it well enough."
"Why after?"
"Because I do matchmaking to help others, not to earn money," was her simple reply.
Natsu nodded before saying, "You're a good person, Hera-san. Well then, Happy and I will head back now. Thanks for the cookies, they were great."
"I'm flattered, Natsu," the woman smiled as she got to her feet and showed them out the door. "Good bye now!"
"Bye!"
"Bye, Hera-san! I'll give you a fish the next time we meet!"
"I'm looking forward to that," she grinned as she waved back to the two diminishing figures.
After two days of anxious waiting and constant checking of her mail, Lucy's landlady finally knocked on her door one afternoon to hand her the letter from Hera. "I'm not dreaming, I'm actually going to meet him!" was what she exclaimed while grinning from ear to ear like an idiot when she felt the smooth envelope handed to her.
Back in her room, Plue was amusing himself on her bed with her blankets. He would crawl underneath the covers, and then attempt to feel his way out of it. He would cheer and do a small victory dance when he succeeded and the cycle continued.
Lucy paced around her room while opening the letter. "Pu puuun?" Plue asked curiously, jumping off the bed and poking her calf softly. "Hang on, Plue." In it was a magnificent shining golden card with the details of her date inside:
~Hera's Matchmaking Service~
Thank you, Lucy Heartfilia, for engaging with our services. We are delighted to inform you that your date has been chosen, and we hope you have a lovely time with him!
Venue: Lume di Candela Amore Restaurant
Time: 19:00
Date: Friday, 14 July X792
Have a lovely night, and we wish you eternal happiness!
Lucy squealed. Today was Thursday! Hastily, she put on her black combat boots and raced to the guild. She needed to tell Levy about this! Plue followed after her clumsily, but eventually managed to catch up to her and was picked up in her arms as she continued running, not breaking a sweat. Already in her head, hundreds of outfits that she could wear was running through her mind, as well as what she would have to do with her hair, her makeup, and oh, she couldn't wait to meet her destined Prince Charming!
Natsu and Happy were lazing around at home after a whole day of messing around at the guild and hanging around in Lucy's empty apartment for a while before they got bored and decided to head back home first before trying again. Happy was taking a nap in the hammock, while Natsu was lying on the floor along with the numerous dirty plates and laundry lying around haphazardly, thinking about what job they would do next. This time it was his turn to choose, and he was definitely going to choose something challenging; this was going to be fun!
Just then, he heard some footsteps outside the door and the opening and closing of his mailbox. That must be the mailman. Lazily he picked himself off the floor and made his way over to get it. "What's this?" he said to himself as he found a white envelope inside. He hardly ever got mail anymore, who was this person?
Curiously, he opened it and began to read the contents written on the shining, gold card.
~Hera's Matchmaking Service~
Thank you, Natsu Dragneel, for engaging with our services. We are delighted to inform you that your date has been chosen, and we hope you have a lovely time with her!
Venue: Lume di Candela Amore Restaurant
Time: 19:00
Date: Friday, 14 July X792
Have a lovely night, and we wish you eternal happiness!
"Oh right, Hera. Matchmaking. Lucy," he muttered, rolling his eyes and stretching his back. "This is such a pain… Those guys at the guild are so going to pay for this when I'm done proving I'm not going to date Lucy."
Natsu sighed. Well, it wasn't like he could do anything else. Besides, it was at a restaurant, so he was going to at least enjoy the food. Drool was already forming in his mouth.
Friday evening came quickly. Lucy had spent a good three hours at home prior to leaving the house on time trying to pick out a good outfit. She had thought about wearing a full-length gown at first, but then quickly dismissed it; they were only going to a restaurant—albeit a five-star one at that—it wasn't as if they were attending a ball.
Out. Then she moved down the list, hurling various tops and bottoms behind her. Should she go with sexy? Nah. That would probably send the wrong signals and the last thing she wanted was for someone to think that she was a flirtatious woman or something along those lines.
After an agonizing two hours she finally found something nice to wear. Her top was an off-the shoulder, striped crop top that showed off part of her mid-riff and a light pink skater skirt that fell to her mid-thigh. Pairing it with a pair of brown knee-high, lace-up boots, she felt satisfied with her overall appearance. Then she called Cancer out to help her do her hair. He did some layering, and then helped to curl her hair so that her blonde curls felt softly by the sides of her face.
After putting the finishing touches to her makeup, Lucy Heartfilia was ready and just in time to grab her clutch and head out of the house. The restaurant wasn't too far from where she stayed, so she could just walk there. On the way, many men shot her appreciative glances, some eyeing her from head to toe and giving her a tip of the hat or a flirtatious smile. Lucy had never blushed so much in her life.
She entered the fancy double glass doors of the two-story restaurant, and followed a waiter who directed her to her table after she showed him the card she received from Hera. Her eyes darted all over the restaurant, trying to spot anyone who could be her date. She was slightly let down though, when the waiter led her to an empty table by the window on the second floor that overlooked the busy street below. Checking her watch, it read 18:54.
"Where could he be?" she shifted about restlessly, the worst possible scenarios already running through her mind. What if he had backed out at the last minute? What if something had happened to him? What if he was hanging out with someone else? What if he was lost?
It's not even seven yet; relax, she told herself.
Suddenly someone's loud voice snapped her out of her train of thoughts. "Not bad, this place is real clean… Oh hey, Lucy! What are you-" Her head whipped in the direction of the oddly familiar source of noise to find a mop of pink hair following behind a waiter who was coming towards her. If Natsu had looked happy earlier, now he just looked plain horrified, which was probably reflected in her face as well.
"N-Natsu… What are you doing here?" Her heart picked up pace inside. Was Natsu really the date Hera had set her up for? That would mean this whole plan had been pointless right from the start!
"Don't tell me… Lucy?" Natsu gawked. The waiter was actually leading him right to her! This can't be happening; Hera must have made a mistake, he thought, as his face grew slightly hotter.
This was going to be one interesting night, indeed…
That was what both of them thought. That is, until the waiter coughed lightly and ushered Natsu to the table right beside hers.
A/N: BEFORE you point a gun at my forehead and tear my neck off my shoulders, let me confirm that this is a Nalu fic, so don't get your panties in a twist haha. Wonder how many of you were expecting them to be together for the blind date x)
And like WHOA thank you so much for all the support! I never thought this story would hit so many favorites and follows at the first chapter, so I told myself I'd update earlier if this somehow managed to hit 30 follows, and it actually did, so yeah I decided to just do it lol. I really appreciate it, especially the reviewees! (Just a term I use to call the real sweet people who take the time to leave a comment and make my day hehe.)
Welcome to the hall of fame guys ;)
TheGoldenDragonofFiore, ft shipper, PandaPrincess42, lokibotan2, iwishaninjawould, Guest, Leeshyloo, SMAK101, CierraTheAlaskanDragonSlayer and CheezeMonster!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave a review? (: Thanks! The next chapter should be on 15 October after my exams end haha. God bless and see you soon!