The Proposal

Dear Mom,

The date is April 18, year x796. It's warm, it's spring. The sun was out in the morning, afternoon, all the way up until it was vaccumed out of the sky. Everyone was out today by the Sola Tree and we had a picnic under it. I don't think we've done this together in a while, everyone's getting older. We're all older now, it makes me sad seeing everyone grow up. Especially Wendy and Romeo, seeing them reminds me just how old I'm getting. Wendy's already the age I was when I first joined the guild and Romeo is only a year older than her. I'm glad they have each other, they're the only ones of that age in the guild right now.

Asuka is already nine years old and in three years she'll be able to join the guild just like her mother and father. Sometimes I watch how Bisca and Alzack are with her and it makes me want to have a child of my own but then I think about it and get all flustered.

The Master hasn't aged a year. I really wonder how he manages to stay the same even if the days pass by faster than the seconds in an hour. Do you think it's all the booze he drinks? Speaking of booze, Cana is still the same heavy drinker. You should see her with Gildarts, they're both so reckless when they're drunk. Erza tried it out once with her... Lets just say we had to remodel the interior of the guild.

Levy and Gajeel fell into the water, Natsu pushed them in. They looked a lot happier than they were acting, I think they were actually really grateful for what Natsu had done.

Natsu.

I'm actually smiling as I write down his name in black ink. I have to tell you what happened with him today, but I'm not sure if I can manage to capture the magic that happened on paper.

It happened after the sun went down. You never really realize how fast time moves when you're around people you genuinely love. Everyone was starting to pack up and leave, I was too but then Natsu grabbed my wrist. Not really grabbed where it hurt, I don't even think grab even fits what he did. It was such a soft touch I barely even felt his skin on my own.

He pulled me back and told me to stay a bit longer, Happy was already sleeping and I think he asked Levy to take him back with her. I stayed of course, Natsu's not really one to get serious a lot. Only when someone's in danger, his inner beast escapes and by inner beast I mean inner, inner beast since he's already a beast. Anyways, I stayed behind and we just stood there under the Sola Tree for a while.

Natsu wasn't speaking and neither was I but it felt fine that way. I think I like the moonlight a lot better than the sunlight, especially today. You see, Natsu has pink hair. As radical as that may sound, it's as soft-toned as the sakura petals that are just starting to bloom right now and when the moonlight was hitting it through the gaps of the Sola Tree's leaves, it looked almost white. I've never noticed this before and I don't know why I was noticing it right then either but all I know was that just looking at his hair was breathtaking.

And then he caught me staring at him and I didn't know what to do but to look down at my feet. He started laughing and shook out his hair. "Is there something in it, Lucy?" He asked. I shook my head no, my eyes still on the purple nail polish that decorated my nails. He cleared his throat, "I have to tell you something." He paused and then corrected himself, "I mean I have to ask you something."

"Couldn't you just ask before? Why'd I have to stay back?"

"Because it's a bit personal-"

"Are you going to try and dig up that stupid treasure again?" I asked, I didn't mean to sound so annoyed. That's the thing about being around Natsu, my voice just comes out like everything he does is annoying or wrong.

"No," he said and there was a hint of smile in his voice but he was looking down so I couldn't really tell. "Look, I'm not good with these things alright."

"What things?"

He waved his arms around gesturing to the empty air around them, "these things." He took a deep breath, "but I've seen enough LacrimaTV to get the gist of what has to go down."

"LacrimaTV? Natsu, what are you even saying?"

He got down on one knee and at the same time he did that my cheeks were burning like Natsu's fire. I didn't know what to do so I just stepped back against the Sola Tree like it'd help me stay up, I think it was one of the reasons I didn't fall on my knees. My heart was ready to jump out of my chest and god, mom, it took everything inside of me not to throw up my lunch.

Can you imagine that? Someone about to probably propose to you and you just throw up the egg-sandwich you had in the afternoon.

Natsu didn't propose though, he looked up from the ground and smiled. And then he started laughing! Yup, laughing. Like I had that egg-sandwich smeared across my face like clown makeup. "Just kidding," he said. "Your face looks really funny, are you going to cry?"

I punched him. Or maybe it was a slap. Either way, the sound of my hand connecting to his face echoed around us. I'm surprised I even managed to actually hit him. My eyes were blurry with tears and I couldn't keep my hands from shaking. I don't know if I was actually mad or just disappointed that he wasn't doing what I wanted him to do. But I hit him and I wanted to keep hitting him.

The look on his face told me that he knew he had really messed up but I guess the look on my face wasn't exactly a pretty one right then either. "That's not funny, Natsu." I told him. "Don't do that!" I think I was yelling. To be honest that part of the night is still a haze to me, all I remember is the ringing of the smack I gave him.

"You take everything as a joke and I get that that's you but really sometimes there's a limit you know? When it comes to people's emotions you don't just do that. What am I to you? A toy? Well, I'm not. I'm a girl and I have feelings you asshole-"

"Lucy, breathe. Drink some tea, it'll be alright." He was laughing again and I didn't even realize I was going to hit him until he caught my fist in his hand.

"Let go," I said. He shook his head. "I said let go, Natsu. I'll scream."

"You're probably the strongest Celestial Wizard in Fiore and you're going to scream?"

I looked him straight in the eyes. Some people don't realize it but our eyes are the gateway to what we're really feeling inside. The people who do realize this are the ones who can read them, once you can read eyes you basically hold the key to everyone's real self. It's simple to say "I'm fine" but it's hard to mean it. There are people who can see through that, I think Natsu is one of those people.

All I was trying to do was put all my anger behind my eyes, I wanted him to know that what he did wasn't funny. Maybe I was overreacting but then I think I wasn't. "Lucy, stop looking at me like that." I didn't listen and I kept sending my daggers at him, I hope they stabbed him just like his laugh stabbed my heart.

His hand was still wrapped around my wrist, the contrast on our skin tones was so obvious under the white of the moon. I looked so pale under his fingertips. "I was just kidding about kidding," he let go of my wrist and it fell limply to my side again. He was looking at me, but really looking at me. Just like I wrote before, he was seeing through me. Natsu was looking inside of me and everything I was feeling right then.

But that's the thing. I wasn't feeling anything. I was just there, like a floppy piece of paper or just like the Sola tree. I was just there, standing, breathing. Just a backdrop in Natsu's world.

He didn't get back down on his knees, I'm actually glad he didn't. He just looked down at me, his irises were a sea of green and I was drowning in them. "I need to ask you something and I hope you don't kid about your answer." He was smiling again, the same half smile that makes me question whether half his face is paralyzed or not. "We're getting old and everyone who was younger than us in the guild is getting old. The oldies are getting old. The cats are getting old. The guild is getting old. This friendship of ours, that's getting old too." He took my hands in his and held them in between the gap that our bodies made. "I'm really getting sick of being just friends and teammates, Lucy."

He looked down at our joined hands and then back up at my eyes like if he didn't do that they'd disappear. "I want to marry you. That's not my question, because it's not even a question it's a fact. I want to wake up every morning laying next to you, I want you to be the reason I keep smiling- even though you already are- but I want you to be the reason why I smile. I want to have a family with you, I want to be a father so much better than Igneel even though he was already great. I want you to be a greater mother than yours was, I want to be there with you for our kid when he or she is sick, when they want to go on their first job I want to be worried sick with you. I want to protect you and love you until it's the time where we both die and everything comes crashing around us but it'll all be okay because I was given the chance to love you and have you love me and do everything two idiots in love can do. And Lucy?" He said her name in a whisper, he leaned his head against her forehead. "Will you marry me?"

I think you can guess what I answered. After that he took me by the waist and lifted me in the air like I weighed nothing. Maybe to him I didn't weigh anything to him. I wasn't just a backdrop anymore, I was standing center stage in his life and I was basking in all of it, mom. He leaned in to kiss me but he stopped before his lips touched mine. "Wait," he whispered. "Am I allowed to kiss you?"

I pushed my mouth against his, maybe it was a bad idea but he seemed to have liked it. "Don't even ask," I said against his mouth.

That was my first kiss and the first time anyone has ever proposed to me.

Natsu will be the last person I kiss and the first person I love.

- Soon to be Lucy Dragneel

Author's Note: I really have no life so all I do is come up with one shots that I don't really plan out and then go back and read and regret it. But it's okay! Because well I said it's okay. Anyways, yes I know it's not April 18th but I threw it in there because of reasons .. I'm pretty sure I made Natsu propose before... but I think it was more of a joke then serious. I like to think that if Natsu were to propose to Lucy it'd be something last minute and not planned out at all just like this little chapter. He's really goofy and I think Lucy would just take it as a joke and yell at him for even asking such a thing. I didn't make that happen here because well the format was weird. I think this post will be for tomorrow because I won't be online at all because I have a concert so I'll be back Monday!