"You sure you're ready, Lucy?" Natsu asked, looking in the mirror and straightening his tie. Glancing in the mirror to look behind him, he noticed Lucy starting to choke up. She looked so beautiful, and he was so ready to share this moment with her.

"I'm fine, Natsu," she told him, sniffing and wiping her eye. She lifted her chin and gave him that smile that made him fall in love all those years ago.


They had first met when he had saved her from some bandits that were capturing young girls and selling them into slavery. Natsu had jumped onto the scene without taking the slightest glance at the person he was saving and yelled at the bandits to back off. When they did not, a few well-placed punches conveyed what noisy words could not. Once the bandits were knocked out, Lucy stuck out her hand to thank the man that saved her life.

Natsu looked at her hand, and then at her face. The shock that was sent to his brain when he looked at her was quite electrifying indeed. Her hair cascaded in golden waves, and her smile was bright and genuine. As he gazed down at her, he noticed that her body wasn't bad either. She was built curvy but strong, and he knew that if she wanted to defend herself, she definitely could.

She took him to a restaurant in thanks, and while Natsu had his fill, Lucy told him all about herself.

"I want to join this fighter's guild, Fairy Tail, but they say that only the best fighters around get in," Lucy let him know, putting a hand on her cheek and starting to fangirl. "Although, I could rely on my good looks and natural charm. These aren't for nothing, you know."

She stuck out her chest a little to explain, and Natsu almost spit out his drink that he had just taken a swig of. It was true that she was gorgeous, but did she have to flaunt it like that? Guys were going to be lining up the block just to date her. How the hell could awkward, klutzy Natsu ever stand a chance?

"Besides, I think that I'm pretty strong anyway. I did take some judo classes in school," Lucy fake threw a punch, and Natsu admired her form and also her toned muscles that tensed when she punched. The girl had skill, and even he was willing to admit that.

"Well then why don't you join? I know they'd want to accept ya," Natsu told her, shoving another sandwich straight into his mouth and swallowing without chewing.

Lucy made a face at the action and then made one of confusion. "How do you know that they'd be willing to accept me?"

"I'm a part of the Fairy Tail guild. My name's Natsu. It's nice to meet you," he told her, and Lucy practically jumped out of her chair in excitement.

"Why didn't you tell me that in the first place? I'm Lucy!" she exclaimed with a grin, and Natsu was surprised at how gorgeous it was.

Natsu began to get to know Lucy over the coming weeks. He found out that they had the same taste in music and that they both really liked action anime. They spent time together watching anime that he recommended to her, and they even made a blanket fort.

"I can't believe that Ed's dad was Hoenheim all along!" Lucy sighed as she and Natsu finished an episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Natsu just chuckled at how cute she looked when she was upset.

"Just wait, there are even more surprises, Luce!" he said with a grin. Lucy just grinned back and replied that she was happy to have watched it with him.

"Hey, Natsu?" she asked, and Natsu paused his search for food to turn to look at Lucy.

"Yeah?" he answered, and her eyes were glued to the floor. By the looks of it, she was nervous about something. She was biting her plump lower lip between her teeth, and she was wringing her hands like she was waiting for some news.

"When do you think I'll have tryouts for the guild? I know they hold them every year, but I don't know when, and I'm really worried that I won't be good enough to get into the guild. I heard that they only accept the best, and—" Lucy trailed off, listing things off of her fingers about why she wouldn't be a good fit for the guild. She liked to eat junk food, she spent too much time watching tv and not training, she needed to learn to properly kick, and her weight wasn't at what she wanted it to be. Endless things were listed until Natsu stopped and put his hand over his to stop her counting.

Lucy stared down at their hands in disbelief. She had only met Natsu a few months ago, so why did her hand fit so well in his? Her face warmed as he put his other hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"Just because you're not in the best physical shape doesn't mean that you're not a good fighter, Lucy. I know that you're strong. Hell, you could kick a few people's asses that are already in the guild!" Natsu replied with a laugh, and Lucy's eyes crinkled up in contentment. He was always so kind to her and willing to help out.

"Thank you, Natsu," she said, cheeks flushing. Quickly, she rose to her toes and pecked his cheek. Natsu took his hand from hers and rubbed his cheek affectionately with a smile, and they stared each other in the eyes.

Their staredown lasted only a few seconds before Happy, Natsu's Russian Blue cat, decided to hook his claws into Lucy's leg and climb up to rub his head all over her cleavage.

"Ow! Damn cat!" Lucy growled, detaching the cat from her stomach.

'Lucky cat,' Natsu thought, but then dispelled his thoughts immediately. He wasn't going to be any help to her training if he thought like that. Sure, he was starting to grow an attraction to her, but that didn't mean that she was his. He first had to ask her out on a date.

And with that, Natsu suddenly had an idea.

"Lucy?" he asked, and Lucy's expression turned from glaring at the cat to a genuine expression of excitement.

"Yes, Natsu?"

"Would you, I mean, do you, want to, I dunno, do something with me tomorrow?" Natsu questioned, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"We are doing something tomorrow, silly! We're training all day! And that means that you've gotta get your rest. I better get going," Lucy laughed, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

"N-no, that's not what I meant by doing something with me tomorrow," Natsu stammered, his eyes glued to the floor. Lucy swiveled around and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wait a minute. Do you mean a date?" Lucy finally raised the question, and Natsu started to sweat under his collar. He pulled the scarf away from his neck awkwardly, and coughed.

Their eye contact was held for a few moments as there was a pause in the conversation. It was so damn awkward asking someone out! And why was it so nerve-wracking to actually admit that he was asking her out?

Suddenly, Natsu had another idea.

"Psh, no," he answered, running a hand through his hair to try to seem cool, "that's not at all what I meant Lucy. I meant to hang out as friends." Real smooth, Natsu, real smooth. She'll totally know that was a joke!

Lucy said nothing, but looked a little let down. She wore a frown on her beautiful face, and her eyes were now glued to the phone with a look of concern.

Shit! Maybe she really did want to go on this date. But he couldn't back out now. He would have to ask her out another time.

"What was I thinking? Us, dating. Can you imagine that?" Lucy looked up from her phone and said suddenly with a laugh, and Natsu replied with a laugh of his own. She totally understood!

"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to date you," he agreed with a goofy grin. Within seconds, Lucy's smile dropped and she looked like she was about to bite his head off with the scowl she wore. He was definitely in trouble now.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know I was such a terrible option!" Lucy put her phone in her pocket and threw her arms up in the air.

"No, it's not that, it's just—" Natsu attempted to explain, but Lucy grabbed her jacket and headed to the door.

"Forget it. I'll see you tomorrow, Natsu," Lucy glared at him before opening the door and walking out with defiance.

How could he mess up this badly? He didn't mean to say that out loud, and he was just joking!

With a sigh, Natsu lowered himself to his knees and pulled on his hair. Damn that beautiful woman for causing his head to spin!

It had been a long day. He was tired. And with a soft yawn, he pulled himself into bed and fell asleep. Tomorrow would be a long day as well.

The next morning, he woke up and called Lucy to make sure she was awake. Once plans were set, they found a gym was the perfect meeting spot.

Natsu threw on a navy t-shirt and jeans and tossed together a bag of things he would need: water bottle, snacks, gym clothes, and tennis shoes. Today was going to be an amazing day of training, and the day when he would finally get Lucy to go out with him for the first time.

Once he got there, Natsu met Lucy at the gym. She looked gorgeous as always with her hair in a ponytail and shorts and a croptop that showed off her ab muscles. He didn't think he was attracted to girls' ab muscles until now, but Lucy definitely changed that thought. Hers weren't as fit as his, but he could definitely see the v-shaped lines that went down to her crotch. His eyes travelled down her body and met at those lines, and thankfully he could look since Lucy was talking on the phone with Levy.

She was so beautiful and fit, and he was absolutely sure with all of that that she could last pretty long in bed. The thoughts of her touching him consumed him, and he had to be careful not to get hard. She was now looking at him with a confused look on her face, and he realized then that he was partially drooling. He wiped the drool off of his mouth quickly and walked up to her.

"I'll talk to you later. Bye, Levy." Lucy ended the call and smiled at Natsu. The smile practically electrified him, and he felt a little dazed.

"Hey, Luce! Ready to do some training today?" he questioned.

Depends. Are you going to stand there ogling at me all day?" Lucy teased, and Natsu's face heated up.

"Hey! It's your own fault!"

"My fault? How the hell is this my fault?" Lucy practically shouted, turning a few people's attentions to her.

"You're so hot and I keep staring at your abs! Agh, why do you do this to me, Lucy?" Natsu wailed, grasping his hair. Lucy's face flushed softly but she said nothing.

Silently, they made their way to the boxing room where they began training. Lucy coated her hands with chalk and slid them into the small boxing gloves where Natsu began to show her how to throw a right hook.

"Steady with the jab, Luce," Natsu told her, coming alongside her and reaching his arms over hers to guide her hand. Lucy's face heated up once more, and she attributed it to her body temperature and the heat in the room. Why did they insist on keeping these rooms extra hot if people were going to be sweating in them anyway?

Natsu held her arm and aided her in throwing a punch a few times. He couldn't help but notice that her ass was pressed up against his dick now, and he had to think about Erza beating him up to not get hard this time. It was so difficult with it being so hot in the room, and Lucy's shorts were skintight as hell!

"I-I think I've got it, Natsu," Lucy stammered, throwing a punch for the first time on her own.

"Great, Lucy! You're getting the hang of things," Natsu told her as he detached himself from her and slid over to the punching bag.

"I want you to work on knocking out this punching bag," Natsu tapped it with his hand, and Lucy threw a right hook at it.

Unfortunately, Lucy ended up punching Natsu instead and the man ended up with a bruise on his cheek for the rest of the week.

Later on, they spent time together when Lucy actually joined the guild. Every day, they trained together and watched anime afterwards. Natsu was getting close to asking her out again, and he knew he had to make it romantic. He had to make up for that stupid blunder he made early on, and he really wanted to make it the best night of her life.

That day, when Natsu found his way to the guild to meet with Lucy, she was joking with Loke, another fighter in the guild. Loke's fingers caressed Lucy's face, and Natsu scowled while watching her be romanced by another guy. Natsu's feathers were hypothetically ruffled, and he went over to Loke to ask what the big idea was about stealing the girl he may or may not be completely in love with.

'Love?' Natsu asked himself, and he realized for the first time that the feelings he felt for Lucy had to be romantic love. He wanted to protect her always, and he wanted to be at her side forever. He thought she was gorgeous and was sure that their children would be even more stunning.

'What the hell is wrong with you?' Natsu chided himself, 'if you like her so much, go ahead and ask her out again, idiot!'

It was in that moment that Natsu decided once and for all to ask her out. What did he have to lose? Maybe she'd just be mad at him again, and he might get rejected. But it was worth another shot. Love was something worth fighting for.

When he made his way over there, though, he saw that Lucy was giggling at everything that Loke had to say. Sure, that orange haired bastard was a lot more handsome than he was and ten times more smooth, but that didn't mean that he could just steal his girl!

"Hey, Lucy, let's get out of here and go train! You said you wanted to get some done, right?" Natsu asked.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot all about that! Let's go in a few minutes," Lucy replied with a groan but continued to smile at Loke, never turning to face Natsu.

"Well don't go yet. You gotta get my number first, gorgeous," Loke said with a charming smile, and Lucy giggled as he picked up and kissed the back of her hand suavely.

"Tch, that line is so old," Natsu said, but neither seemed to be hearing him as they typed each other's phone numbers into their phones.

"Okay, Natsu, let's go! Bye, Loke," Lucy waved with a flush, and Loke bowed.

"Always a pleasure to meet a true princess," Loke said with a wink, and Lucy flushed even more.

"How do you even stand that guy?" Natsu asked when he finally caught up to her, and she held her cheek with a sigh.

"He's perfect! He's smart and handsome and he can totally protect me. Ahh, he's like my knight in shining armor!"

"I could be your knight if you want me to, Luce," Natsu told her bluntly, but Lucy just giggled as she texted Loke from her phone.

"He asked me out on a date! Should I say yes?" Lucy asked, shrieking.

Natsu's eyes drained of the light within them, and he felt like he had a rock in his stomach that he needed to throw up. He suddenly felt woozy too, and his body felt ice cold.

That was it. Natsu had officially lost her. She was all Loke's now, and there was nothing he could do about it.

But he had to let her be happy. If not with Natsu himself, then it had to be with someone else. And that someone else to her was Loke. Her happiness was much more important to him than his feelings, and it was time that he accepted that. As weakness seeped into his veins, he sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair and turned to Lucy.

"Sure, Luce," Natsu smiled weakly, cold sweat pouring down from his forehead, "If that's what will make you happy, I'm all for it."

Maybe it was because his feelings were hidden from her for so long. They had only known each other a few months, but Natsu truly did feel in love with her. She was everything that he ever wanted, and now, he had lost her.

And that feeling would never truly go away.


Natsu helped Lucy up from her chair, and Lucy smoothed her dress. She looked beautiful in white satin and with pink flowers in her put up golden hair, and her dress fit her body like a glove. In heels, she was almost Natsu's height.

"Ready?" Lucy asked him, echoing his question he had asked moments prior.

Natsu smiled softly, but inside he was dying. This was his last chance to take her back and love her in his own way, and have her become his. His insides ached to kiss her and run away with her for the last time and leave that bastard that stole her in the first place at the altar confused.

But Natsu resigned it to himself that she needed to be happy. And her happiness, once again, was much more important than his stupid feelings.

Natsu tipped his head up and pressed his lips to her smooth forehead and sniffed her hair. He had to let her go. Tears welled in his eyes, but he squeezed his eyes so he wouldn't cry.

"As I'll ever be, Luce."