You people rock! Here's the next chapter. While the original was pretty short, I had to expand it because I made such a big deal out of the date. On another note, I'd like to publicly thank Alex The Crystal Dragon Slayer for being my first follower ever! Yay!

But you want Fairy Tail, so here it is.

Meliera was brushing her hair when Gray knocked on her door. "Come in," she called. Sharing a house with her childhood friend made things much easier for both of them. Plus, they saw each other on a regular basis.

"Another date, Meliera?" he said with slight disapproval.

"Oh hush, Gray. Don't be a dog in a manger. We broke off our engagement last year." He turned red.

"You know that I don't actually like you that way, right?" She dropped her hairbrush and pretended to be shocked.

"You don't?!" she mockingly exclaimed. He swatted her shoulder.

"You really need to get yourself a nice Water wizard one of these days," she continued. "Besides, I can't stay single forever. I'm going to fall in love eventually."

"Who is it this time?"

"Guess."

He named several guild members without success. Replying 'no' to everyone he mentioned, she smiled and put on her earrings. She watched his jaw drop as the only other possible answer hit him.

"You aren't going out with… Natsu?" She nodded and watched him lose it. "Are you insane? He's a complete freak!"

"So am I, Gray, but you don't complain about me too much."

"Very funny," he growled. "Are you sure about this? I mean, Natsu?"

"He's very sweet," she said, experimenting with another hairstyle. "He's kind, and reliable, and more truthful than many others. He stands up for the weak, and not afraid to speak his mind, even if he would be punished for it. That's more than I could say for most." She stood and looked at Gray. "I'll be fine. Quit being so overprotective. I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"I know, just…" He sighed. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll be back in a couple hours," she said over her shoulder.

Meeting Natsu by a large fountain in the middle of Magnolia, they walked around for about fifteen minutes talking until they found a nice restaurant. She noticed that he was still wearing his scarf.

Waiting at their table, she asked, "So what's the story behind the scarf? You wear it everywhere."

He picked up the end of it and glanced at it. "Oh. My father Igneel gave it to me. It's all I really have left of him, other than memories."

She looked at it closely from the side of the table. "What is it made out of? Dragon scales?"

He started in surprise. "Yeah, it is. How did you know?"

Meliera laughed, and replied, "Well, it looked like it was made out of scales, and there aren't that many scaled creatures big enough to produce scales of that size. How did your father get a hold of dragon scales? Dragons are really rare."

Natsu gave her an odd look. "Igneel is a dragon." Her jaw dropped. It was hard to get a visible shocked reaction from her like that, but he managed it.

"A first generation Dragon Slayer," she murmured. "I thought it was all myths."

"That would make me a myth too, right?" They both laughed.

"Do you have any other family?" Meliera asked. Natsu froze, then shook his head.

"None that I can remember," he said quietly. "My earliest memory is waking up on the ground and just wandering around. I found Igneel about an hour later."

"I'm sorry," she said, placing her hand on his.

"What about you?" he asked. "I know you grew up with Gray, but that's about it."

She sighed as she remembered. "My parents were killed in an… accident. The last time I saw them was when I was nine. Being an only child, I didn't have any other reason to stick around, so… I left. Gray is the closest thing to family I have left."

"Oh. I guess we both have a bad past."

Dinner arrived, and they fell silent for a few minutes. Casual conversation resumed quickly as they ate, such as the discovery of Happy - or rather, his egg - , interesting jobs, and other things. Natsu Dragneel, you are a mystery to me. The way he acted made him seem very juvenile. But sometimes when he looked at her, he blushed and wouldn't tell her why. Men were often like that around her.

It didn't help her confusion that she could see Rift spores on him.

After their meal, they walked by the ocean for about half an hour, then he took her home.

"This was fun," she told him at the door. "I'd like to do it again sometime." He smiled at her, and said, "I'd like to as well. Maybe in a week or two?"

She smiled back. "Sure. I'll let you know if I have a free spot in my schedule. Goodnight, Natsu."

"Yeah, um, goodnight, Meliera." She went inside, the door finally between them. That was quite possibly the best date of my life, awkward as it was.

"How was it?" Gray asked from the couch, where he was reading a book.

"Put your clothes back on. It was fine. We went for dinner, then we took a walk. It was fine," she repeated, seeing the look on his face. "What did you do this fine evening?"

"The usual."

"Hardly specific."

"It wasn't meant to be."

"Your clothes, Gray. Go to bed, it's late."

"Natsu."

He looked up in surprise to see Meliera talking to him. It had been about three weeks since their date, since she had been super busy with jobs.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a job with me."

"Uh, sure. When do we leave?"

She stooped to retie her boots. "In about an hour. I'll meet you at the train station then." As she walked off, Happy made kissing noises to Natsu. He flew away quickly after Natsu turned red and lit his fist on fire threateningly.

Natsu later poked up from behind his seat, searching for Meliera. Happy had opted out of this job, because, in the cat's words, "You and Meliera need some alone time." It was accompanied with more kissing noises. Ah, there she was. She sat next to him with her lone pack.

"Where's Happy?"

"Happy decided not to come this time." He searched her face to see what she thought.

"Oh. Alright then. If he comes, he comes. Fate decides all."

"You're really into this 'fate' thing, aren't you?" Meliera had talked about it many times at the guildhall.

She tossed her hair. "Fate rules us all, Natsu. One cannot help but believe in fate when one can see the fate of anyone they wish."

"You can see what's going to happen to people? Like Cana's card reading?"

"It's a bit more accurate than her cards, but yes. I can see everything that's going to happen to people, up to their deaths, if I so wish."

"Can you see mine?"

"I could, but I don't want to. I prefer to watch their lives play out. Unless your fate dictates that you know what is going to happen to you, which I don't believe it does, I don't tell people what their fates are."

"Oh. What can you see of a person's future?"

"Anything I want. Who they will love, who they will marry, what will hurt them, or kill them. Anything." The train started suddenly, giving him horrible motion sickness. As usual.

Meliera laughed and took his hand, doing her best to keep him entertained for the three hour train ride.