For The Love Of Nalu

Chapter 21

Theme: Showtime

Requested by: LilTimy

"Alright guys, it's showtime! Do your best and Natsu, no flames please. We have Romeo for that." Mirajane giggled at the pout that formed on the dragon slayers lips. He was really looking forward to showing off his tremendous powers.

"Why would you use Romeo's flames when mine are better?" They ignored the hey that came from the smaller dark haired teen as they continued.

"I told you Natsu, he can make flames that don't burn. You on the other hand can't hold back." She smiled. Once more the pout spread over his lips but Mirajane shuffled off to check on the others.

Lucy stood a few feet away, smiling lightly at the dragon slayer. She was trying her hardest to hide the nervousness she was feeling on the inside. Yes, she played the confident girl and in reality she was but in a situation like this, who wouldn't be nervous.

All of Fairy Tail was participating in a play. A play if front of all of Magnolia. And of course the play just had to be Sleeping Beauty, with her named as the princess. When she had protested Mirajane had simply brushed her worries to the side saying that Lucy was the only one with formal training to be able to pull off the act so well and thus making all her objections worthless since that of course caused everyone else to agree.

"You ready Lucy?" Came the smooth voice of the ice mage from behind her. She turned and smiled lightly at the dark haired man. To her surprise, Mirajane had chosen Gray as the prince but maybe this was just another of her schemes. Which even then that would be surprising since she normally tries for her and Natsu not Gray.

"As much as I'll ever be." She said with a sigh.

Lucy did her best as she sung with the prince, their voices matching in rhythm and sync. They danced and managed to pull everything off without any problems other than minor ones that took place back stage. Apparently Natsu was growing impatient for his chance at the spot light. Little did he know that even when he makes an appearance, most eyes will be on Gray not him. But he would still have his time to shine.

Natsu had missed most of the practices, not having the patience to wait and watch. He would leave once his part was done finding it too boring to sit around and wait. And of course all of the other guild members fully agreed that this was best knowing that if he stuck around, the stage would probably just end up catching fire from the fire mages attempt to amuse himself.

Lucy stood in front of the supposed fairies as they confessed all of the princesses past. She stood there in mock surprise but kept her eyes on the girls. Standing in front of her was Mirajane as the fairy named Merryweather who was dressed in all blue. Beside her, standing in the middle was Erza dressed in all red with a firm expression on her face even if she was supposed to be crying. She played the fairy Flora. And lastly stood Evergreen who always proudly calls herself a fairy anyway. She looked smug dressed in all green and playing the fairy Fauna.

The play seemed to be going off without a hitch. Everyone recited their lines without prompt, each remembering them perfectly. Even if their acting skills weren't the best, they were having fun and that's all that mattered.

Now Lucy stood following the light that leads her to the spindle. She entered the dark room with the evil Maleficent guiding her. She pricked her finger before falling to the floor. Closing her eyes, she could hear the three fairies as they worried over the sleeping princess. She was shifted from the floor and onto a bed rather roughly which led her to the conclusion that it had to be Erza. A rose was placed in her hands as she laid there. Finally the stage darkened and Lucy was able to move from her spot so that they could set up the stage for the newest scene.

They played their parts well and Lucy watched from the sidelines as Gray, playing the role of the prince, fought the mighty dragon, who of course was played by Natsu. Romeo's flames looked amazing and not a thing was burned that wasn't supposed to be. Gray stood his ground looking rather handsome in his princely clothes with his sword raised high above his head and waiting for the dragon to attack.

The large dragon shot forward, as if for the kill shot but only ended with a slice to the chest. Natsu imitated the dragons roar perfectly as he pretended to cry out in pain. The crowd was in awe at the moving performance.

Gray ran through the castle in search for sleeping beauty until he stumbled upon the room in which she lay. Her blond hair was fanned out around her face, rosie red lips parted just slightly and a heart beat that only seemed to quicken with each step the prince took.

Lucy laid there nervous, this was going to be her first kiss. During all of practice, they had not once kissed. They always stopped just before that point but now her first time would be for all of Magnolia to see, and to Gray of all people. She wondered if he realized that this was her first time and if he was nervous at all.

She knew that Gray was far from new at this sort of thing, having personally heard some of the stories of the oh so suave ice make mage but still, this was a whole new experience. He was now standing above her, his cool hand lay upon hers as he grew closer.

The audience sat waiting in anticipation for the kiss. All of Fairy Tail stood behind the curtains watching as Mirajane quietly gushed over just how romantic it was. Erza stood smiling and appreciated the great acting skills of all her guildmates.

Lucy could feel the cool breath from Gray across her face. Smelling of mint and slightly of some sort of fruit. Her bangs shifted lightly when he exhaled. Taking in one last gulp of air, Gray began to close the space between them, a mere three inches when a loud bang was heard from back stage.

Lucy jumped slightly but managed to hold her position as Gray shifted slightly before pulling himself back into the play. She shivered slightly when she felt Gray return his cool hand onto hers. This was it, Lucy was mentally preparing herself from the moment she was given this part but she still wasn't ready. Deep in her heart, she knew that she would rather have someone else standing over her, ready to steal her first kiss. She knew this as impossible now. She gave up on that hope long ago.

Another loud noise as the sound of yelling could be heard. Suddenly the sound of someone falling reached her ears but before her eyes could flutter open to see what was happening, she felt the pressure placed upon her lips. She was surprised to say that she had expected different. Everything else told her that Gray's lips were probably cold, from his hands to his breath everything was cool but these lips were nothing of the sort. They were incredibly hot and the kiss was filled with such want that she found herself enjoying it. A warmth began to pull in her abdomen but she ignored it as the person pulled away and her mocha brown eyes fluttered open.

A gasp escaped the blonds lips once she noticed that standing above her was not the dark haired ice mage but the pink haired dragon slayer who she had dreamed of so many times. He panted slightly as he gazed at her with such intensity. Her mind went blank as their eyes met, she couldn't think of anything other than the fact that her first kiss was in fact taken by the very man she had wished for, for so long.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy finally choked out. Her mind was finally beginning to return to her as she realized that this wasn't supposed to happen. She sat up, Natsu's gaze not once diverting from her before her brown eyes landed upon the lump figure that was Gray. He laid there on the cold hard floor unconscious with what looked to be a large lump on the side of his head. "What is going on?"

"What is going on? Why didn't you tell me that you were supposed to be kissing that ice freak?" Now she was even more confused. Why would it even matter to him? The accusing tone in his voice pushed the thoughts of what just happened from her mind as she settled on being angry with him. Knowing him, he probably had no idea what he had just done. At least if Gray had kissed her, he would have known what something like this meant to a girl.

"Me? Why should I have told you about something like this, why would it matter? And besides, after all these rehearsals, how could you not know?" She questioned back. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists and she could feel the burning of the tears forming but she refused to let them be seen.

"Of course it matters! I am the dragon that protects the princess and not just anyone gets to kiss you." All anger she had previously held had vanished as she stared in the charcoal orbs of her partner. A squeak was heard from behind the curtain but they ignored it along with the crowd.

The audience wasn't sure what to make of this. Was this a part of the play? Did they change it? They continued to watch, enjoying the show with smiles on their faces.

"W-what are you saying?" She asked. Natsu reached forward and grasped her hand in his. The difference was immense and she felt herself melting in the warmth he provided.

"You are mine, so only I get to kiss you." And with that said he leaned forward once more to claim the ruby red lips of the princess, thus forever changing the story of sleeping beauty within the guild for years to come. Lucy had to admit, she had never been so happy before to have the fire mage ruin their plans because for once, it was for their benefit.

The audience cheered as cat calls followed. Natsu stood Lucy up as the guild members all came from behind the curtain and formed a line across the front of the stage. A groan came from the ice mage as he finally began to awaken. As he looked over, he noticed the dragon slayer holding the blond tightly by the hand as they bowed towards the crowd. A smirk formed across his lips as he joined the line.

Who knew things would go so well?

So finally I manage to find some time to do some updating. Here is the twenty-first installment of For The Love Of Nalu. Titled Showtime and was a request from LilTimy. I really hope you liked it and I hope you don't mind that I used Sleeping Beauty. I know I could have used Romeo and Juliet or something like that but in my opinion Mirajane wouldn't want a tragedy. She is too in love with romance to make it a sad story.

Total word count without the authors note is 1,859

Next theme shall be...well, I am going to make it a surprise. How about that?

Please drop a review letting me know what you think. It would really be appreciated!

Thanks so much, love you all so much. Angel.