Hello, guys! How is your Saturday today? Feels like it's been decades since I've last updated, wow.
In the time that I was gone, I found out that a lot of you are confused by the title of the fic. The title is very significant to this story; however, some people are taking it in a literal sense. Which you shouldn't.
I don't want to give out too much away, so that's all I'm going to say!
Do not take the title in a literal sense.
/sobs because Kuroko No Basket ends today and I don't know what I'm going to do without my babies.
While I'm on the topic of anime, how many of you guys are watching the FT anime? I'm literally squealing at everything that is happening, ugh.
Tartarus literally destroyed me. I'm still recovering from it and the Avatar arc in the manga is already ruining me. Sigh.
Just wanted to say happy birthday to Love At First Site because that fic seriously changed everything for me on this site. :')
Please, let me know what you think about this chapter! Thank you so much for reading.
Natsu's fingers aren't laced around mine anymore when I wake up after what feels like days. What happened last night seems like a dream.
I open an eye, taking a brief scan of my surroundings. I'm in my room—the silence tells me I'm alone.
The covers are pulled all the way up to my chin; the edge of the covers curls under my feet so there isn't a way for them to poke out into the air.
How did he know I slept like this?
Not having much of a choice but to get up and get ready for school, once I exit my room to go and make breakfast, I instantly collide into the person standing directly behind the door.
"Good morning, Luce," Natsu greets me with a childish grin.
"Don't scare me like that!" I gasp, placing a hand on my chest to calm my rapid heartbeat. "How long have you been here?"
"Not long. I heard you moving around, so I decided to get up and meet you here," he answers simply. "Is that something else I'm not supposed to do?"
My stomach churns slightly at the question despite it only being a question out of curiosity.
I slide past him—so I don't have to answer—and head to the kitchen. Of course, he follows me until I lean against the counter.
"Did you sleep well?" I ask while glancing at his crumpled up blanket on the couch.
"I didn't sleep," he shrugs nonchalantly. "I couldn't after what happened in my nightmare."
"What happened?" I inquire before I can stop myself. So he doesn't think I'm nosy, I quickly add, "Aren't you going to feel tired today?"
"I don't really remember," he responds, a little bit too vaguely. "I'll be fine with the amount of time I slept."
He snatches a few oranges from the fruit basket on the counter—effortlessly juggling them as though it's his hobby.
"You're really good at everything, aren't you?" I mutter while opening the fridge. "Is there anything you want to eat for breakfast?"
"Pancakes," he replies almost immediately.
"Okay," I nod. "They'll be ready soon."
I'm half-expecting him to just leave the kitchen, but he doesn't.
Instead, he accompanies me by sitting down on the counter. He juggles the oranges, occasionally adding another one in every few minutes or so.
"You should join a circus," I suggest with a smile, placing his pancakes in front of him when they're done.
"Are circuses fun?" Natsu inquires as he watches me sit down in the bar stool beside him.
"I've never been to one," I admit. "We should go to one someday!"
"Deal," he accepts with his pointy canines looking sharper than ever.
Though I'm not able to admire them too much, since the word reminds me of the blog I read from last night before he had distracted me with his nightmare.
"What?" Natsu catches on a few seconds later.
"Stop feeling my feelings!" I command with a scowl. "It's weird."
"What were you thinking about?" he smirks.
I'm about to brush him off and direct the conversation elsewhere, but a question that's in the back of my mind crawls its way up my throat.
"How did you take me back into my room last night?"
"I didn't think you were that heavy," he answers with a grin.
"I'm not heavy!" I claim with a frown. "How did you carry me?"
"We better go to school before we're late," he states, rising from his seat. "Thanks for the breakfast, Luce."
"Hey, answer my question!" I exclaim as I chase after him, hastily getting my schoolbag in the process.
The grin is still planted across Natsu's face when I catch up to him outside.
"I'll tell you someday," he gives my head a few reassuring pats.
"Fine," I send him my most convincing pout, but his eyes don't waver once.
And with that, we continue on to school—telling each other jokes that only we would be able to understand.
The first week of Natsu and I going to school together goes smoother than I thought it would.
The way Natsu is with me is just like how he is with everyone else. Except I seem to be the one he favors most to tease.
Surprisingly, he has managed to get Gajeel to like him a bit more ever since he helped him out once during math class. The complaints of Gajeel having a neighbor came to a stop after two short days.
As expected, he blends in with our group of friends so well that I'm sure he is meant to be in our group in the first place.
Natsu is, well, flawless.
Though it sounds odd, Natsu is absolutely flawless.
I can't stop myself from marveling at it all and it's comforting to know that I can until my heart's content.
It's a tradition now to go to Fairy Tail every Friday night, no matter the occasion.
Gajeel insists it's because we all want to hear his special gift, but that is definitely not the case.
"I'd rather listen to this Flame-brain talk all day," Gray snorts at the table after Gajeel has walked off to join the karaoke stage.
"Same goes for you, Ice Princess," Natsu easily shoots back.
I watch the two with amusement. It's only been a week, yet it's like they've been best buddies for years. The nicknames they've given one another never fail to make the girls stifle a laugh at least once.
Sometimes, the mature and composed Jellal even adds a few things to rile the boys up a little more.
"You really like Natsu, don't you, Lu?" Levy nudges my elbow.
"O-Of course not!" I almost spit out the soda I'm sipping on. "I can't like someone in one week."
"Juvia did!" Levy counters. "Juvia liked Gray in less than week, she liked him in one—"
"That's Juvia," I cut her off. "I, on the other hand, have to get to know the person before I like them."
"So you're saying that after a week of walking home with Natsu, you don't know anything about him?" she interrogates with a doubtful look.
"I never said that," I respond plainly, sipping my way out of her other questions.
"Lucy, look!" Lisanna shoots out of her seat to scurry towards me. "This is the biggest sale I've ever seen!"
I instinctively take Lisanna's phone, scrolling through all the items on sale. But as I'm looking through the items, I realize something.
My heart isn't beating as fast as it usually would when it comes to things like this.
"This is a really good sale," I confess with my scrolls coming to a stop. "Are you going to get anything?"
"Of course! Aren't you?" Lisanna tilts her head with a puzzled expression.
"Not this time," I shake my head with a small smile. "Tell me what you decide to get, though."
"I have never seen Lucy turn down a sale before," Gray states with disbelief. "Can someone take a picture of this?"
"On it," Erza announces—camera flashing in my face and blinding me for a couple of seconds.
"What's wrong about turning down a sale? I've done it at least once," I narrows my eyes at all their baffled faces.
"Not in front of us you haven't," Jellal remarks.
With a hmph escaping my lips, I twist around in my chair to listen to Gajeel who is almost finished singing his third song.
It's no surprise when a waitress stomps onto the stage to take the microphone away from him. Gajeel doesn't seem to mind after inhaling the sweet smell of pity money while returning to our table.
The rest of the night breezes past us and ends faster than usual. This is the first time all of us have actually stayed at Fairy Tail until closing time.
Which only means that this will surely become a tradition as well.
"Lisanna, what are you waiting for?" I question, noticing her lounging around the restaurant. "Aren't you coming with us?"
"I don't want to interrupt your time together," she replies, eyes flicking at Natsu's for half a second.
"Oh, come on," I giggle while seizing her wrist and tugging her towards me.
"Lucy and I spend enough time together," Natsu assures her. "It gets tiring after about ten minutes."
"Yeah, right," I jab an elbow in his chest.
I'm able to see a twinkle in Lisanna's eyes that isn't due to the stars above us.
"You really do make a convincing robot," she says.
"That was the plan," Natsu grins.
Lisanna smiles in response, waiting for him to become distracted by something. Eventually, he does, so she takes the chance to swiftly lean into my ear.
"He's a keeper," she whispers.
I can't believe it when a violent blush sweeps across my cheeks; I'm glad the dark doesn't let them see it.
Soon enough, our apartment complex comes into view. We hike up the stairs, testing who can jump up the most at once.
And surprisingly, Lisanna only loses by one stair.
"Well, now I know who's the least athletic," Natsu jokes once we're inside my apartment.
I stick my tongue out at him, dropping my schoolbag in its usual spot by the door. My feet scream in relief once I've kicked off my shoes.
"We should do something tomorrow," Natsu suggests randomly. "Saturdays are good days to do something."
"Isn't any day a good day to do something?" I scoff, picking up small things he has left lying around the apartment.
"Only if it's with you," he shrugs.
I avert my gaze, scolding myself for blushing at something petty like that.
"Sure, we'll do something," I say. "What do you want to do?"
"Let's go to the arcade again!" he proclaims. "I want to see how many arcade games I can beat you at again."
"What happened to you being my teammate?" I raise a brow.
"That's only in one game, Luce," he reminds me.
I crack a smile. Natsu sure is something.
"We'll go tomorrow afternoon then," I arrange smoothly. "Prepare to lose. Goodnight."
"You're going to lose!" he calls out, his voice echoing in the hallway.
"Yeah, yeah," I laugh softly.
And as I'm about to enter my room, Natsu's gentle voice echoes in the hallway one more time.
"Night, Luce."
Saturday mornings are without a doubt my favorite day.
I'm able to wake up whenever I want, stay in bed for as long as I want, and soak in the morning sun as much as I want.
However, my first Saturday morning with Natsu is nothing like the ones I spend by myself.
For starters, I'm woken up by light knocks on the door.
Next, Natsu barges into my room after losing the patience I assumed he had and he tells me to get out of bed and look outside.
And following that, he opens the curtains to my window to reveal a dreary sky.
"Can we still go to the arcade?" Natsu asks with childlike eyes that I'm sure are going to become dull when I break the news to him.
"I don't think it's a good idea to go to the arcade when there's a storm coming," I hesitantly admit. "We can go tomorrow, though!"
"I see," he answers, his shoulders visibly slumping. "We'll go tomorrow, then."
"Turn that frown upside down!" I demand while reaching up to him and pushing his cheeks up. "We can do something else today."
I'm able to feel Natsu's cheeks move on their own after a few seconds; I send him a satisfied smile.
"You're so weird," he chuckles.
I lead him out of my room—realizing that it's his first time in my room and hoping he doesn't think it's too messy—and shuffle to the kitchen where I can hear his growling stomach from several feet away from him.
"And you say you don't have to eat," I smirk at his sheepish expression.
Cooking the regular Saturday morning breakfast, I try not to jump at the rumbles of thunder that seem to be sounding more frequently as the time goes on.
As Natsu and I eat, I look outside the apartment to see the dark clouds and pouring rain that comes with it.
These are the kind days where I would spend hours and hours on my computer, searching for sales online. It feels strange to not have the urge to turn on my computer anymore.
"What are you doing?" I ask Natsu after he wordlessly rises from his seat. He shuffles towards the glass door leading to the balcony, slowly sliding it open.
"Rain," he mentions. "I've never felt it before."
My breath goes still as he sticks his hand outside, palm facing up to catch the raindrops.
"Is it supposed to be warm?"
"Only during the summer, it is," I respond while going up towards him. I do what he does—poke my hand outside and feel the rain.
"So in the winter, it gets cold?"
"And it sometimes turns into snow," I nod. "Snow is really fun."
"How does the rain feel during spring? What about fall?" he continues to ask questions.
My lips tug up into a smile at his curious eyes. They're the simplest questions in the world, but he genuinely wants to know the answer.
As a result, we begin a game of everything Natsu wants to know. Natsu asks so many things at once, sometimes I have to tell him to slow down.
"Seasons are weird," he mumbles. "Weather is weird, too."
"It's unpredictable, even though the weathermen don't think so," I reply.
Thankful that he has forgotten about the arcade being cancelled, I turn on the TV for us to flip through channels and aimlessly talk.
But it isn't until we land on a food channel when something for us to do sprouts in the air.
"Those dumplings look good," Natsu comments. "The way they show it on TV makes me want to have some."
"They cooked that in twenty minutes," I remind him. "It can't be that good."
"Who says it can't?" he retorts. "The judges are really enjoying it."
I give him a stubborn shrug, not bothering to reason with him.
"I bet I could make good chicken and dumplings in twenty minutes," he states.
"So could I," I respond, "but since you've never cooked before, mine would be better."
"Are you willing to bet on that?" he smirks.
"Absolutely," I say without any hesitation.
"What do you want to bet on?"
I'm too caught up in the moment, I blurt out the first thing I can think of.
"A date."
"Winner picks the place of the date?" Natsu proposes.
"And loser has no choice but to go," I finish for him.
"Deal," we speak simultaneously, giving each other a firm handshake.
"We're just going to make the chicken and dumplings?" he questions.
"We'll make a dessert, too," I include to see his reaction.
"I'm getting fired up," he grins. "Wait, how are we going to get the ingredients? It's still raining."
"Natsu, can you remind me how you got here?" I ask him while picking myself up from the couch and plopping down in my favorite chair.
"I was delivered," he replies.
"So, you know what that means, right?" I press the button, watching the screen light up.
"You can order food online, too?!" a bewildered expression spreads across his face.
I almost want to laugh at how amazed he looks as he stands behind me, intently observing me as I go on the website to order the food.
"If robots can get ordered online, food can, too," I reply.
Searching and clicking for all the ingredients we'll need for the two rounds, the instant I click check out, Natsu begins his series of questions.
"How long will it take to get here? Will it be long?"
"Less than an hour," I answer. "Until then, you should think of what kind of cupcake you're going to make."
"Cupcake?" he echoes.
"Since we only have one oven, we have to make our cupcakes at the same time," I inform.
"What kind of cupcake are you making?" he tilts his head.
"Secret," I grin.
"Mine is, too, then," he returns the grin.
"You already thought about a cupcake?!" I exclaim. "So fast? You don't even know what ingredients I bought yet!"
"I'm not planning on losing," he warns. "I'm going to take you on that date."
'I'm going to take you on that date' is on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it back. I could never say something like that in my life.
"How are we going to judge our foods?" Natsu brings to our minds. "Both of us are obviously going to pick our own."
"If the rain lets up, I'll call everyone and tell them to come here," I state.
"Making them come all the way over here just to pick my dish is cruel, Luce," he teases with a mocking glint in his eyes.
"Can I just remind you that you've never cooked a day in your week long life?" I counter with a smirk.
"I've seen it on TV and that's enough for me," he responds.
Natsu's cocky tone makes me completely nervous, but I don't tell him that. Though I'm sure he can feel it already.
Exactly less than an hour later, I hear the food delivery boy arrive.
I'm able to feel his eyes behind his glasses lingering on mine as I get the bags from him; I try not to let him know I'm noticing it.
"Thank you," I smile as my appreciation while closing the door before he distracts me from the intense battle waiting for me in the kitchen.
Natsu does a drumroll on the counter as I take out the ingredients, separating the doubled ingredients so we both have at least one of each.
"You're not allowed to look on my side," I tell him. "The only time we can look at one another's food is when we're making the broth."
"Got it," he nods. "Anything else?"
Natsu is bouncing on the tips of his toes in excitement as I try to think of some other rules.
"Can you make the cupcake you want with those ingredients?" I point at the separate counter with all the ingredients necessary for a cupcake.
"Yep," he replies, hardly taking a glance. "Can we start now?"
"I'm going to set the timer for thirty minutes because I know twenty minutes isn't enough for you," I reveal.
He scoffs in response since he and I both know that we'll be more at ease if there is just a little bit extra time.
"Okay, start!" I begin the timer.
I dash to my side of the counter, spreading out the ingredients across my work space.
I've lost count on how many times I've made this dish—my hands move impulsively. The only difference between all the other times and this time is that I have to watch a clock.
I start with the chicken, making sure there are an equal amount of pieces for the three servings it will make.
To save time, I chop the carrots and celery so I won't have to worry about saving time to unevenly chop them at the end of the round.
My hands are moving faster than I thought they could—adrenaline is pumping through my veins the entire round.
I never knew who fast ten minutes could be.
I'm expecting to see Natsu scrambling all over the place, but when I steal a glimpse at him over my shoulder, he's the exact opposite.
"Don't look on my side, Luce," he scolds while chopping the carrots and celery as fast as I did—if not, faster.
"How did you even know I was looking?" I mumble, directing my attention to the stove where my broth is heating up.
I forbid myself to feel a rush of confidence when Natsu finally stands by me at the stove to heat up his broth.
"I'm not behind," he guarantees me, instantly crushing my hopes that he was.
"How do you know the recipe to this?" I inquire. "Or are you improvising?"
"Neither," he answers as he slowly stirs the broth the same way as me. "I'm just remembering what I watched on the show."
"You can remember all that?!" I gape at him.
"I guess so," he shrugs slightly. "You better stir your broth or it's going to burn."
My eyes widen as I remember, feeling embarrassed that he had to remind me.
After that, we don't say much as we periodically stir the broth with the newly added dumpling in it.
Every so often, our arms graze past each other. And only a few times do we purposely knock our elbows at one another's.
I don't pay attention to it in the slightest. At least I try not to, anyway.
"Better start plating," Natsu announces when there are only five minutes left.
"You sound just like the host," I giggle, already in the middle of returning to the counter.
Natsu's silence is more intimidating than I thought it would be, but I'd much rather him be silent than shout the whole time like he usually does.
Then, before I know it, time is up.
"Please, step back," Natsu and I command each other, reciting the host's words.
We grin at one another; however, the tension between us still remains.
I eye his dish that has the same characteristics as mine, but I already know mine tastes better.
"I want to try yours," he nearly pouts. "It looks good."
"Too bad," I stick my tongue out. "It's not raining anymore, so let me call everyone."
Natsu nods as he quietly listens to me call everyone, explaining the cooking battle between him and I.
When I've gotten to Gray, Natsu snatches my phone to say, "You better pick mine or you won't hear the end of it!"
"Threatening the judges is illegal, Natsu," I remark.
Once everyone has been called and has accepted to taste our food, I take a deep breath.
"Now we have to make the cupcakes. Are you ready?"
"Are you sure you don't want a break?" Natsu smirks. "You look like you need one."
"Do I feel like I need one?" I return the smirk.
Natsu chuckles, rolling his shoulders back to ready himself.
"We only have thirty minutes to prepare the cupcake," I notify him. "Okay, here goes. Get ready."
Setting the timer to half an hour, I inhale deeply again.
Natsu is staring at his ingredients with eyes that are in a different world. The containers of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves make me frown.
How can he already know what cupcake he wants to make? He hasn't even tasted a cupcake before!
I ready my trembling fingers to start the time. I can do this, I know I can.
"Okay, start!"