Mr. Lucy's Date

Chapter 6: Talent Portion

(A/N: Italics is thinking)

45 minutes had passed when, backstage, all that could be heard was yelling. Yelling, or crashing of some sort. Natsu was in a fit of rage, he had no idea what he would do for the talent part. He was pretty sure everyone knew what they were doing - he had spied on most of them, they were practicing. Gray was ice sculpting, Loke was practicing ballroom dancing with Virgo, Laxus was making fireworks with his lightning, and, funnily enough, Bixlow was practicing ventriloquism with his babies. That was pretty much the only time Natsu smiled. He spied on Freed, which really wasn't all that necessary - he was just napping. Still in his themed costume pajamas, too. Natsu smiled then as well. Less people to worry about, the better, he smirked to himself.

But what was Erza doing?

Once Natsu found the room she was practicing in, he was dumbfounded on how talented she actually was. She was doing a mix of ballet dancing with modern dance. It was beautiful, much to Natsu's disappointment. Damn it, I can't compare to that… he whined to himself, before noticing there was a guy with blue hair wandering around. He looked like a lost puppy - wait! A lost puppy that looks exactly like Jellal… Natsu soon came up with a plan.

"Hey, Jellal. What's up, you looking for Erza?" Natsu called, jogging up to him. Jellal jumped, surprised he had been noticed. He scratched the back of his head and tried not to look at Natsu with his cheeks a tint of dark red.

"Um, yeah, I was. But it's okay, I don't…" he trailed off, hoping he wasn't acting too weird. Natsu grabbed him by the wrist and quickly ran back to Erza's door. Before opening it, Natsu had to tell Jellal his plan. He told Jellal what had happened up until that point - Lucy needs a date, the pageant, Erza's a big competitor, he wants to be Lucy's date, and Erza's dancing beautifully.

"So, I need you to go in there and distract her. I'm sure you can do it with hardly any effort," Natsu smirked, before opening the door and roughly shoving Jellal into Erza's room. Luck was on Natsu's side. He wasn't planning it, but he had pushed hard enough that Jellal had knocked Erza over and was now on top of her. Erza was speechless, her face dark red as well, and that's all Natsu needed to see before sauntering off with confidence.

Natsu looked at the time, he only had a half hour left to decide what the hell his talent was. He cursed silently to himself, the spying had given him no inspiration. He sighed. He decided he would have to put down his pride and go ask Mira (or Lucy) what he should do. Mumbling to himself, he went out to the guild hall, noticing Lucy and Mira together. They looked up, surprised to see him. Lucy immediately blushed, which caused Natsu to blush as well.

"Mira. I, uh, can I, uh, ask you something?" He whispered anxiously, hoping only those two heard him. He was blushing profusely now. Mira nodded, confused. What could he need to ask her? "Um, I don't k-k-know what to do for my ta-ta-talent." Natsu said quickly, stumbling over his words. His blush had grown impossibly red. Lucy had also giggled, making him feel even more embarrassed.

"Of course. I have an idea, but you have to promise me that you will mean it." Mira glanced at him sternly. He nodded furiously, accepting any possible talent he could pull off. "Sorry, Lucy, but you can't hear this, it'd ruin the surprise!" Mira explained before making Natsu bend down so she could whisper in his ears.

Natsu's eyes widened until they couldn't widen anymore. "That's a talent?!" He said, unbelieving.

"It will be, if you do it right. Please. Think about it before deciding if you'll actually do that. If you want, I can make it so you'll be last."

"Y-yeah, that sounds good. Being last would definitely help. Mira, I-I think I can. I'm ready. T-t-thank you, I really hope I am as g-good as you think I will be." Natsu sputtered as he tried to wrap his head around the idea Mira gave him. But, he knew he would do it. It's a way to finally, finally, show some real love for Lucy, Mira's words echoed in his mind. He smiled, and, politely bowed, causing Lucy to bellow a loud laugh.

"Since when do you bow?! Or do anything remotely gentlemanly?!" Lucy exclaimed with uncontrollable laughter. Natsu just smiled, and hugged Lucy before running off. Lucy was interested to see what he would be doing for the talent. I guess I'll just have to wait, she murmured.

Soon, the half hour had passed, and the talent show was scheduled to start. As requested, the guild was back on time - mostly because they wanted to see what idiotic talents the contestants had.

Mira looked unusually bright as she welcomed everyone back and hurriedly went to start the talent show portion. Everyone was suspicious, she knew something they didn't. "Okay okay let's start! Bixlow get your butt out here and hurry up!" Mira declared before he quickly got on stage.

Bixlow brought a wooden chair with him, sat down in it and faced towards the crowd. His babies followed suit. Without moving his mouth, the babies talked for him. "Hey, we're Bixlow's"

"Babies,"

"And we do,"

"Ventriloquism!"

"Hope you,"

"Enjoy!"

Everyone laughed at how they knew what to say without Bixlow speaking. So technically it was ventriloquism, if you looked at that way. Each baby could only say a few words before the talking switched to another baby - making it somewhat confusing. But the act was pretty good, there were some good jokes, many people laughed and Bixlow felt proud of what he did. Or, what his babies did, more precisely.

After the act was over, the judges quickly gave their score after a stern glance from Mira told them to hurry it up. Elfman both held up 8s, Wendy held up a 10 - she was mesmerized! Makarov both held up 6s.

Mira quickly introduced the next act, who happened to be Freed. She waited a little bit, but he never came out. She called louder and was met with an annoyed Freed's voice, "HEY! I'm sleeping here! Can't you shut up?! I pass, I pass, give me zero points, I don't care, I'm sleepy!"

0 points from all the judges, though Wendy gave him a 2 because she thought it was funny.

The hostess moved on, introducing Gray as the famous ice mage. She knew he would do something with ice, and she was right. Gray came out and told everyone to stand back, his hands made confusing and intricate movements, but he seemed to know what he was doing. All of a sudden, he stopped, calmly saying, "ice make: sculpture."

The crowd was severely impressed at how detailed his sculpture was. He made a miniature version of the guild, nothing was forgotten. It was beautiful. Then, Gray made a second one. This time, it was Juvia. She gasped as she realized it was her… Was he going to do it? Is he going to make us public? she wondered, blushing to herself.

"Yo. Listen up, Fairy Tail. You too, Mira. I'm dropping out of the contest. I love Lucy, but as a friend. I joined to make idiot flamebrain over there join. But now I think he's finally realized by himself. So this is my time to tell you the truth. Juvia and I… we're dating." Gray squeaked out, blushing at Juvia. The guild was overcome with emotions and sounds. Squeals, gasps, laughs, wails, and anything else you can think of. Lucy was smiling. She had known all along. She reminded herself to thank Gray later, for making Natsu join.

Mira squealed as she clapped her hands together - everyone was becoming a couple! She was so happy, everything was finally coming together. "A round of applause for our happy couple!" The guild erupted in cheers and congratulations. Natsu smiled to himself. He was actually glad Gray had found someone - mostly because that means he doesn't have Lucy, but also because - though they'd never admit it - they were quite close friends.

After a little bit, the crowd calmed down and Mira returned to the talent show. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but next up is… Loke! Let's see what you can do!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened, but a bright light erupted and standing there was Loke. Oh, and Virgo. Loke was dressed in a nice jacket with slacks, and Virgo was in a light blue dress, that swished a lot. It was funny, Lucy thought, that Virgo is actually wearing something besides her maid outfit.

And then, the crowd was mesmerized. The two began to dance. Not just any dance, but a gorgeous, flowing, prince charming and princess ballroom dancing. It was beautiful to watch, like they were actually royalty. The couple was actually very good at dancing. They kept a nice pace, gentle movements, and they were timed with the music. It couldn't have gone any better. Once the music ended and Loke and Virgo struck a pose, the guild cheered and cried and really anything they could do. Lucy was proud of her spirits and stood up and clapped for them. As did the judges, who rewarded Loke with straight 10s.

Soon, the commotion had calmed down and Loke bowed and took his leave. He smiled sadly to himself, somehow predicting that Lucy would never be his. But, Loke would do his best to make sure whoever she dated made DAMN SURE they treated her like a princess. During this time, Erza had been announced and also started dancing. It wasn't as amazing as Loke's, but it was marvelous to watch.

Erza had combined ballet and modern dance to form a completely unique dance routine. She had changed her Robe of Yuen outfit a little bit, to suit the dance more. It almost felt like her dance was more martial arts than anything. But none-the-less, still beautiful, and still earned her claps. She also was rewarded, like Loke, with a straight number, hers being 9. Erza smiled as she walked off the stage, thinking she had the contest in the bag.

Everyone returned their attention back to Mira. She had waited patiently for everyone to become quiet, and she had a serious look on her face. "Before you ask questions, Natsu and I decided he would be going last. His talent has never been seen before. Most likely, you won't even understand it. So, I have one request. Sit down and shut the hell up." Mira's eyes flashed dark, before returning to a happy smile. "Natsu, come on out. You can do this, okay?"

Natsu looked up at Mira sheepishly. The audience was in a daze - since when is Natsu anxious? He took his spot in the middle of the stage, with nothing but himself. He took a deep breath and started his "talent."

"Luce, I know I'm not strong, or creative, handsome, or talented in anything except fighting or - I'm getting off the subject, sorry. I'm not talented, but I still hope you like my attempt. This is a talent for you and for you only. I'm a collector. I collect memories. Specifically, memories of you, Luce."

Again, the crowd gasped. Was Natsu actually doing this? Did he finally realize he loved her? Already, some of the females were tearing up. Specifically, Wendy, and Levy, who had just returned from lunch with Gajeel. Natsu smiled at them and continued carefully, keeping his eyes focused on Lucy.

"Do you remember that day you found my house? You were so excited to have found it, you were hoping to pay me and Happy back from when we get into your apartment through your window." Natsu smiled at the memory. Lucy smiled as well. "You thought you were gonna be sitting in a nice outfit, in the middle of my house, just like I did, I mean, do, to you. You walked around, disgusted at how dirty it was. You noticed my board of memories. With you.

The quest we did together for the first time… That fake salamander signature I got, remember, from the guy who tried to charm you? A souvenir from Galuna Island… And my favorite. Your maid outfit. I know it's probably weird to keep it, but when I'm at my house, you're still there with me.

It was so funny, I remember you telling me that you ended up cleaning my house instead. That you waited for me to come back to surprise me. That you found me in your apartment instead. That, in my sleep, I had said 'Lucy… come home already.' "

Natsu took another deep breathe, channeling all his courage. He looked to Mira for support, and she nodded comfortingly. Then, he looked to Lucy. Thankfully he saw only happiness on her face.

"Luce. Do you know why I go to your apartment so much?" Natsu looked directly at her, and she shook her head slightly. "It's because, wherever you are - that's my home. My talent… is… is…" He took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm saying this… My talent is loving you." His mouth curved into a small smile, hoping he didn't freak her out. He looked for her in the crowd. She was there, smiling. But something was off. Were those… tears? "No! Shit! Luce I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry."

Lucy waved her hands like it was no big deal. She took a couple seconds to compose herself. "Natsu, these are happy tears. Please don't apologize, that was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. And it came from you," Lucy said, slightly giggling. Natsu sighed, extremely relieved.

"Natsu. I'm sorry it has to be so public this way, but I'm glad you finally told me. I just recently realized that I - I love you, too." She blushed, looking up at him. All he could do was laugh and jump into the crowd, enveloping her into a giant bear hug. Lucy was tearing up some more, I can't believe he did this, it must've taken him so much courage, Lucy thought to herself before nuzzling into his chest.

Their happy moment was interrupted from an "ahem" from Mira. "Natsu, come back here. You haven't gotten your scores yet." He sheepishly left Lucy's side and got back on stage, looking at the judges. All he did was laugh. He got straight 20s.

"I didn't even know that was possible." Natsu said, still laughing. "So, did I win?"

"Actually, yes you did, Natsu. But I'm sure even if you didn't, Lucy still would've chose you," Mira confessed, with a nod from Lucy confirming it.

"EVERYONE, PLEASE WELCOME YOUR WINNER - THE NEW MR. LUCY'S DATE - NATSU DRAGNEEL!" Mira declared loudly, and the crowd was deafening. So many people were happy for them. The entire guild knew they were for each other and it was about damn time they got together. All Lucy and Natsu could do was smile.

By then, it was getting late. Lucy started to head home to her apartment. Not surprisingly, Natsu and Happy were already there. "What's for dinner Luce?" Natsu asked lazily, spread out on her bed.

Lucy just laughed and shook her head. "We're ordering pizza. I'm tired. Plus, we still have the party tomorrow. We're going to have to find you something nice to wear…" Lucy mumbled to herself, remembering how hard it would be to make Natsu look nice - and wear it long enough. Lucy just sighed and fell on the bed with Natsu. Without realizing it, they were soon both asleep, with Lucy's head resting on Natsu's chest, his fingers in her hair.

The End!

Sorry to everyone who thought I was going to continue, I decided against it.