Chapter 10
Well, hope you enjoyed! I did! ^^ Yes, sadly, this is the end. The final chapter. (Actually there's a epilogue so it's the not really the final chapter.) I kinda feel remorse finishing it, and I'm so sorry the wait was so long, but I forgot my iPod (which is what I write on) at school over the weekend, leaving me way behind!
Anyway, on with the last chapter!
Levy, Mirajane and Juvia stood at the door.
"Natsu? Lu-chan? Wha…?" Levy looked at them, puzzled. Lucy wriggled away from Natsu, blushing greatly. "No! You don't get it! I was just—and then he—and the covers—we tripped—" she stumbled over her words, making no sense. Natsu looked dazed.
Finally, Happy spoke up. "Aye! Natsu tripped and kissed Lucy!"
He snickered. Lucy sighed. "I'm done for."
Levy and Mirajane squealed with delight before Lucy stood up angrily. "It's nothing ok? We tripped, our lips touched, that's all."
They exchanged a knowing look. Lucy pretended not to notice, instead changing the subject. "Hey…how'd you get here?" She stepped around them. Outside the sky was a brilliant blue. The snow was watery and melting. It had dropped considerably, only reaching Lucy's waist. Through it was a deep path, perfectly cut.
"The snow was watery enough for Juvia to make a path," Juvia explained. "Usually, the snow is too light for Juvia to use, despite snow being a part of water." She shrugged. "But~ Juvia got to spend the night with Gray-sama!"
Natsu scoffed, which clearly meant, how on earthland did an ice mage keep you warm? Which made Lucy giggle.
"Are you guys hungry? I managed to make a small breakfast," Mirajane told them, smiling. Natsu and happy shot out of the house like a rocket. Lucy nodded. "Yea! I'm starving!"
As they walked, the blonde noticed Levy's interest in the ground. "You spent the night with Gajeel, didn't you?" Lucy bumped her. Levy jumped a foot in the air. "W-what?"
Lucy snorted. "No point in hiding it." Levy turned back to the ground. Despite her hair covering her face, Lucy could see her smile. Pleased, she drew her attention to the approaching room.
The white snow, which covered almost the whole house, sparkled under the sun beautifully. Lucy marveled in its glory with a sharp intake of air.
They entered to see everyone else gorging down a huge breakfast. Pancakes, fruit, eggs and sausages piled high. "Managed to make a small breakfast…" Lucy recalled, deadpanning.
Natsu stuffed five sausages in his mouth. "Gray! Gajeel!" He barked, food flying everywhere. "Chew and swallow first!" Lucy scolded, to no avail. Natsu glared at them. "How dare you eat without me! Wait, dammit!" He shouted. "No way, flame brain! I'm hungry, so I eat." Gray shot back. Natsu's response was stuff eggs and pancakes in his mouth then jump on Gray, fists alight. Gray hollered angrily, ice shooting everywhere. "Outside!" Erza ordered. They barreled out.
"You're letting them fight?" Lucy gaped at the armor mage, incredulous. "They were bound to. They need to stretch after being cooped up this long." She popped an egg in her mouth as shouts of ice queen! fire peasant! were heard. "It is noon, Lucy."
Lucy whipped around to stare at a clock, which read 12:48. With a shrug, she seated herself beside Wendy and began to eat.
The food was great, as always. Lucy was vaguely reminded that it was like the food in her dream. As soon as that thought came to her, her accidental kisses came to her as well and she cringed.
It was for the best, brushing it off, right? It wasn't like Natsu really held any feelings for her and if he did, they wouldn't be strong. The blonde sighed, twirling her fork. Besides, it wasn't like she enjoyed it either, did she?
Speak of the devil. Natsu and gray, bruised and beat up, waltzed in. Natsu plopped himself beside Lucy with a grin. "I totally beat gray's ass," he informed her. Gray shot up from his seat. "No way! I was winning!"
"Were not! Don't go showing off in front of Lucy!"
"What? You're doing it too!"
"Well you were doing it first!"
Lucy groaned inwardly. To her right, Juvia sobbed to the table. "Juvia wants gray-sama to show off in front of her…"
"Boys," Erza said in a low voice. Gray and Natsu turned their attention to the food in front of them. "This is really good, Mira," Lucy noted, cleaning off her plate. Mira smiled. "Thank you Lucy, I'm glad. I didn't want you all to starve after being cooped up for so long."
"It was very thoughtful," Levy told her.
There was a moment of quiet before Mirajane informed them that the ball was still going. "I did sign us all up," she reminded them. Lucy choked and saw Gajeel do the same. "Mira!" She cried. Mira only giggled. "It starts at six. We have five hours. I'm taking the girls shopping and I expect the /boys/—" she shot a blood chilling glare at them, "—to be wearing something nice."
"Aye…" they mumbled. Mira clapped her hands together. "Alright! Wendy, Erza, Juvia, levy, Lucy, lets go!"
Groaning and muttering angrily, the girls followed her out. Except for Erza, who seemed pretty happy to try on dresses.
•••
The snow was almost melted as they headed into the dress store. "Hello!" The clerk cheerfully called out. "For the ball, I'm assuming?" Mirajane nodded. "Ah yes, tenth ones today…" the clerk rattled. "At the back, those are the best. Good luck!"
They headed to the back, starting to cheer up. Mirajane smiled and pulled out a small blue dress. "Hey, levy, try this on!" She called. Levy nodded and took it from her, disappearing into a changing room.
"Charla, are you going to wear a dress?" Wendy asked timidly. Charla humphed and shook her head. "I think not," she said firmly, but then shot a longing glance at a pink and gold one. "We have cat dresses!" The clerk called. Wendy's eyes lit up.
•••
Two hours later, they had all picked out dresses, which they deemed perfect. "That was actually pretty fun," Lucy admitted. Her dress was a strapless pale blue, with a ruffly bottom that cut diagonally down from her knee.
Levy nodded. Over her shoulder was a short black dress with white arms. The shoulders were lined with white flowers.
"Yea! I liked that!" Wendy smiled. Her dress was a poofy bright orange. "It clashes with your hair," Charla complained. "They're complementary colours!" Wendy argued. Charla had gotten herself a pink and silver dress with long sleeves that fit snugly on her wrists.
Mirajane smiled. "I told you it would be fun!" Her dress was a forest-y green silk, with light outlines.
Juvia smiled and played with her snow-white dress. It was dappled with blue droplets, which dripped into streams, and flowed into a river at the bottom. "Juvia hopes gray-sama likes Juvia's dress…" She glanced at Erza, who insisted on wearing her ruby dress. Its one strap clung to her shoulder and flowed behind her like a cape. Orange licked the side like magma.
"Erza…you had to wear it out of the shop? What if you step in a puddle or something?" Mira asked quietly. The requip mage nodded. "Yes! A dress this beautiful deserves to be shown off!" She raised her fist. Levy, who had been looking thoughtful, snapped her fingers. "Erza," she said casually, "if you wear it now, it won't be as special when you wear it later."
Erza looked shell-shocked for a second. "That's right!" She gasped, requiping into her casual clothes. Levy flashed at grin at everyone else. "Thank you levy for warning me of this disaster!" The red head chirped.
Mirajane moved away to walk ahead. "I'm going to check on the boys," she told them, disappearing inside. Lucy sighed. "Why is it my first thought that they're going to die?" She asked out loud to no one. "Mirajane can be so scary sometimes," Wendy added. "Yeah," levy agreed. "Come on Lucy, we should pack up, it is our last day."
•••
"Ah! Gray-sama looks so charming!" Juvia swooned. "Juvia…he just stripped down to his boxers."
"Juvia knows."
Lucy laughed at Gajeel grumbling about his suit and Levy fussing over him.
There was only half an hour until the dance, so everyone dressed into their formal wear. The boys had found themselves suits—no doubt help from Mirajane—and Lucy decided it looked much better than their usual ragged clothing.
"Wow, Natsu, you look good." She told him. Natsu pulled at his scarf and buried his face in it. "Thanks," was the mumble.
Lucy frowned, hurt. Was Natsu pushing her away on purpose? She couldn't remember anything she had said to upset him. Unless he was upset about the kiss, or her protest that it meant anything…but no, he couldn't. He couldn't have cared. Right?
Biting her lip, Lucy went to join the other girls. Levy followed her momentarily. To their right, Erza bashed gray for stripping. "—you strip at the party, I will make sure you don't have any way to strip, got it? No stripping!" She warned, stalking over to the others. A terrified Gray lay in her wake. Mirajane sighed. "Alright, we should leave now."
"But I'm hungry!"
"Matchstick, there's food at the dance."
"Oh."
They headed out. Twilight was falling, and the land was tinted red and purple. The snow was completely gone, and the only trace of it was the damp ground and fading clouds. "So, where's this ball?" Levy asked. Mirajane stopped at the road. "Oh, miles away. So we're getting a carriage."
Dying moans came from the dragon slayers.
•••
The carriage ride was bumpy, and Natsu groaned every time it did. But they made it without either of the slayers barfing.
Lucy stepped out. The building was fancy, enough to rival the castle at the grand magic games. The celestial mage shivered. Flocks of formally dressed people flooded inside, the women wearing beautiful dresses that easily surpassed Lucy's.
They headed in and the blonde watched as Natsu made a B-line to the food.
Almost automatically, a tall brunette approached. "Excuse me ma'am, but could I have the honor of dancing with you?" He asked, holding out a hand. Shyly, Lucy took it. He led her to the dance floor, where all the other couples were dancing.
He never missed a beat, moving so smoothly, Lucy wondered about his heritage. A rich family like hers, perhaps? Forced (like her) to learn the proper ways of a gentleman, such as dancing? It paid off, She mused, no longer thinking about the boy in front of her. All those lessons, it made me so good, and what would've I done if I couldn't dance?
The song ended and they broke away, slightly out of breath. He thanked her for the dance and walked away gracefully. Lucy nodded, turning. The next song was slower, mellow. The piano and violin seemed to dance together, the notes intertwining. The piano was powerful and the loudest, but the violin joined in quickly and smoothly.
It was breathtaking, it was heartbreaking. Like a song Mirajane would sing for the guild. Lucy stood, rooted to the spot. The climax reached it peak and the music faded, leaving Lucy feeling slightly empty and somber. She shook her head with a start to clear it.
Her stomach growled angrily, making her go red with embarrassment. "I should probably eat…" the blonde muttered, heading quickly to the buffet where—no surprise—Natsu was pigging out.
"Natsu, the point of a dance is not to eat, but to dance," she scolded lightly. "You're eating," Natsu shot back quickly. Lucy glared at him. "I just got here! At least I've been dancing!"
She swore the pyromaniac's face darkened at that news. "Look," Lucy gulped down the pastry, "Gray's dancing."
"He looks like he's trying to hold up a melting Juvia."
Lucy flinched and looked closer. "Oh…so he is."
She frowned at Natsu's obvious attempts at ignoring her gaze and probably her. "Well," she harrumphed crossly, "if you're going to be like that, then I'm not going to try to make conversation." She grabbed a handful of food items and turned away, jumping at the first dance she got, ignoring the penetrating stares Natsu was giving her as she danced. What the hell is his problem? She wondered.
The song was faster than the last, the piano setting the beat for their movements. As soon as she broke away from that partner—a ravishing green haired man—another man approached. "May I?" He offered his hand.
Lucy stared at him. "Why are you asking me to dance, Gray?"
Gray smiled. "Juvia's resting, Natsu obviously won't, Erza and mirajane are way to weird to dance with and I want to show Gajeel and Levy how proper fairy tail members dance."
Lucy laughed, taking his hand. "Alright, alright."
They floated across the floor. The song had traded from sad to a mellow cheerful, like snow falling. It was mostly piano with other things mushed in. It would have been a good song for a dance with one's true love, staring deep into each other's eyes, drawing closer and closer till that first kiss…
And here she was, dancing it with Gray. He wasn't terrible though, in fact, his dancing skills were quite neat. Lucy wondered when gray had improved; he was graceful and right on time, never missing a beat.
Until Natsu punched him across the face.
Gray rounded on him. "What was that for, campfire?" He roared. Natsu, however, wasn't listening. He grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her away from the dance floor, muttering, "I need to talk to you for a sec."
Lucy gulped and nodded, stumbling after him. "Natsu! I'm in a dress! Slow down!"
He finally did stop, when they were away from everyone, mostly the guild members. Lucy leaned against a wall. "How do I— I can't—" the fire mage paced, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and annoyance. She sighed. "Is this about this morning? Just before Levy and the others came in?"
Natsu slumped and nodded. "I— it means nothing, that?" He didn't look at her. Lucy nodded. "Yes, well, I mean, if you don't want it to be, then it's nothing. I'm ok with that." It wasn't really the truth, but it was better than nothing.
Natsu paused. "No, wait, that's not really what I meant…" he turned to her, looking surprised. She blinked. "That's not what you meant? Then what?"
Natsu took a step closer. "I meant if it mattered to you. You were quick to tell them it was nothing."
Lucy's breath stuck in her throat. She had been so quick to dismiss it; she hadn't given a thought about what Natsu felt about it…!
The blonde looked at the floor. But if he didn't care for her, and instead Lisanna, it would be best to forget about the kiss…
"I—well, I always just assumed you would want nothing to do with it, so…"
"Lucy, look at me."
Reluctantly, Lucy looked up. Natsu lifted her chin. "Well, you're wrong, weirdo."
And then he kissed her.
Lucy's legs wobbled from surprise and emotion. She closed her wide eyes and kissed back, relief flooding through her like a tidal wave.
"Come on," Natsu said after they broken apart. "Lets dance!"
All Lucy could do was nod happily, forgetting how terrible of a dancer he was.
•••
"Everyone! I have an announcement! We're back!" Mirajane called. Everyone cheered. "I have a second one as well!" She chirped. The guild went quiet, suspicious of the barmaid.
"Natsu and Lucy have finally gotten together!"
"Mira! You had to?" Lucy complained as the guild exploded into cheering. "This calls for a celebration!" Cana called from her perch on the bar. "Mirajane! Bring out the beer!"
"Coming!"
Natsu cheered and ran off to fight Elfman. Lisanna approached Lucy. "Congrats," she smiled. Lucy blanched. "Oh, Lisanna, thank you, I know you really liked Natsu…"
Lisanna laughed. "It's fine! Calm down. It was just a childhood crush, I'm totally ok with you dating him!" She winked and dropped her voice. "But tell me if he hurts you in any way, so I can beat him up first!"
"Eh…o-ok…thanks…" Lucy paled. Lisanna grabbed her hand. "Now lets party! You finally got a boyfriend and Natsu a girlfriend!"
•••
The news of Lucy and Natsu's relationship flew fast, with many different versions of how they 'got past their density'. Word of everyone being trapped under the snow became a hit story, with Erza telling it to anyone who wanted to listen.
Other rumors spread fast, especially when one guild member realized that Gajeel and levy were holding hands.
Lucy smiled at Natsu, who grinned back, then picked her up and carried her over to gray. Her leaned down and muttered instructions in her ear. Lucy stared at him in shock.
"Natsu! You don't make your girlfriend fight people!"
"Why not? If gray gets Juvia, it's two on two!"
Wow, I hope you all enjoyed that.
That was awesome, and you all better expect a new story from me soon.
The piano and violin song is real, and I listened to it while writing this.
I suck at kiss scenes, love confessions and endings, but you all probably know that by now.
The epilogue is going to explain the weird snowstorm. Hopefully anyway. So…
Good-bye for now! See you next time! ^^