notes: Lol, I almost didn't make it for Valentine's Day.
notes2: Since I made you cry last chapter, I guess I owe you this fluffy chapter (and besides, I can't ruin Valentine's Day much).
notes3: A major milestone in Natsu and Lucy's relationship!
notes4: Thank you to those who put this in their Favorites/Alerts and to those who reviewed (nalua93, Lucy Ashley from Fairy Tail, 1fairytaillover, QueenP19, Betta Fische, ravenred123, LinkLover123, TivaNaluKick4evs, misstirius, KinKitsune01, Yuni-sama, lurvevanilla, greetingsfrommaars, pandasxpocky, PhoenixBear, WrathiusDreyar, km28ave, Guest, Zipperz Kester, and Dragneel)!
disclaimer: If I was Mashima, I would give the NaLu fans something special for Valentine's Day *coughs*makingNatsuandLucycanon*coughs*
summary: Because it was a milestone in the relationship and he wanted everything to be perfect.
It was a normal day in the guild, the usual drinking and everyday brawls going on like they did daily. Cana was down to her next barrel of beer, Elfman shouted something about 'being a man!', and Gray has lost his boxers somewhere between the fight. Everything was perfectly normal—
—save for a Natsu uncharacteristically outside the fights, slumped on the counter like a heavy dilemma was on his shoulders. And there was.
"Is something wrong, Natsu?" The barmaid had naturally picked up on his odd behavior.
He continued to press his face on the hard wood (as if doing so would somehow lessen the load). "I haven't taken Lucy out on a date yet," he said, puffing out his cheeks, "Usually, by now, the main guy in those corny romance books of hers would have taken the girl out on somewhere romantic—and I haven't." A long sigh escaped his lips, and he almost groaned. "She's probably disappointed in me already."
"I heard something about a date!" Levy suddenly appeared on the stool beside his (he swore every female had a radar somewhere in their bodies for the words 'date' and 'couple'), a wide, ecstatic smile on her face. "Oh, Lu-chan's already been expecting that!"
Someone snorted behind him. "Of course," a familiar annoying voice said, and he resisted the urge to kick his frozen ass, "since this dumbass made her wait for too long already."
"Shut up, Ice-Brain. At least I have a girlfriend." He almost smirked under his arms despite the situation. That shut him up.
"I have to agree with Gray, though. A month is pretty long, Natsu," Mirajane added not-too-helpfully, making the pressure on his slouched body heavier.
"I thought you were on my side, Mira," he whined, raising his head to look at the barmaid.
Mirajane's smile suddenly took a darker twist. "I'm on love's side, Natsu," she said, almost with an edge at every word, "That's the only side I'm in, and if you're not working for love, then I'm not with you on this one." He instinctively leaned back, away from the white-haired demon.
"I've been planning to take her out on a date, okay?!" he exclaimed when he reached his patience's end, "But—it's just—I just—I didn't know what to do." He slumped back on the bar, even gloomier than he was before the conversation.
"I want to make Luce happy," he said almost admittedly, "but I'm not good with romance." His fingers ran through his spikes in a stressed gesture. "Although I want to at least try."
"Awww, how cute, Natsu," Levy gushed, probably visualizing a romantic scene out of his speech, "Then, maybe you should bring her to the bookstore."
"The bookstore?" Gray asked, laughing, "Yes, that's definitely really good for a date."
Levy shot a glare at him. "See? This is why you're single, Gray," she said, "Go find your clothes."
The ice mage gasped dramatically, offended. "Gajeel has been a bad influence on you, Levy. You're starting to act like him," he said before running off into the middle of the fight to try and find his clothes (although that was not likely).
After the ice mage had disappeared, the petite bookworm turned to him. "Don't listen to Gray. Just you going there willingly is enough for Lu-chan."
As he opened his mouth to reply, Mirajane cut him off with a sudden squeal, face brightening visibly. "Taking her out to dinner at a fancy restaurant is even better!"
His face immediately contorted with disgust at the notion. "Those places where you wear fancy suits and fancy black coats and fancy ties?" He shook his head frantically. "Hell no."
"I thought you wanted to try, Natsu?" Levy asked, seemingly innocent-looking, but somehow, he knew that there was something razor-sharp behind it like a certain metal dragonslayer's smirk (and, for once, he agreed with Gray—and proceeded to inwardly soap his tongue for even admitting that). "I'm sure you, of all people, would know that Lu-chan found fancy dinners romantic."
A scowl etched itself on his face, because Levy was right and Lucy liked romance more than anything else and it was hopeless that he just didn't do romance. "Damn romance books and their sappy techniques on creating a great date," he grumbled.
"Which is why, maybe, you should take a hint from them," the barmaid, now polishing glasses, chirped in, "After all, you said it yourself that Lucy sometimes took advices from her books."
At the seemingly reasonable and logical idea, he perked up a bit. "You know what, Mira? You're right. I'll take your advice and learn from romance books." He turned to Levy. "Can I borrow some romance books?"
"Sure," she said, smiling rather giddily, before it turned mischievous, "Would you like the books Erza borrows as bonus?"
Completely oblivious, he nodded excitedly, thinking they were combat books. "Awesome! Thanks, Levy!"
"Oh, I don't think you would thank me for Erza's books," the blue-haired girl said with a peculiar undertone, giggling. If her best friend ever found out that she lent Natsu romance books—Erza's books, dear Mavis—she would be murdered for scarring the poor, innocent dragonslayer. Not to mention she would have a raging Erza hot on her heels. Oh well, she honestly thought it was all worth it. After all, it would help Lucy in the long run *wink wink*.
Natsu still didn't look completely satisfied, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. "When do I take her out on the date, though?" he asked, a bit frantic, "It's the first, so, of course, it has to be special."
"You're in luck, Natsu." Mirajane winked at him from behind the counter. "One of the best dates is coming up really soon."
Intrigued, he asked, "When's that?" Mirajane gave him a smile in reply.
"February 14, Valentine's Day."
She stood in front of the mirror, turning a critical eye at her appearance that night. Her golden hair was curled and falling down her back like gentle waves. Her face was powdered lightly and it brought the simplicity of her features to the surface (because Natsu was all for simplicity). Her red dress hugged all the right curves of her body, and for that she was confident. Because even if she'd gone on numerous dates in the past, she was nervous because it was Natsu she needed to impress.
Not that she needed to, really. Natsu was all hers and she knew that. Maybe there was just the subtle fear of not being what her lover expected. Maybe because he set the bar pretty high for her.
Her heels clacked softly when she made her way across the room to her wooden desk. On the furniture was a piece of paper, and she took it in her hands, fond. It was Natsu's invitation to their date, written in a way that was not him at all he may have been threatened at sword-point to write it (and knowing the guild, he might as well have been). The gesture alone, the obvious feeling in the words, made her lips curl up in a tender smile. Because even if he was not the type to do these things (a fancy dinner?), he tried and tried so hard to do it for her.
(And that was why Natsu was different from others, different from those guys she dated before.)
"Luce, you ready?"
Her skin jumped at the sudden voice, and she whipped her head towards the source of it (so quickly she almost had a whiplash). In all his glory, Natsu sat perched atop her windowsill, pink hair stark against the now darkening sky. Despite his position (squatting precariously on the edge of her window), he looked undeniably sharp in his formal wear of coat and tie. Maybe the surprise on her face was there because she has never seen him dress so formally (at least, on his own will).
And for a long moment, she stood there, staring at him dumbly and so intensely that she started to see signs of discomfort appearing on his face. She snapped out of the trance when he started making his way towards her frozen form, a slightly worried (nervous) expression on his visage. A laugh bubbled in her throat. "I'm fine, Natsu," she said, eyes twinkling with unbridled amusement, "Let's go, hm?" Her arm linked with his, and she was the one to pull him out of the house (she laughed inwardly at how it wasn't the other way around).
She had a good feeling about this, about their date, and if the beginning was like the rest of the date, then she had nothing to worry about.
He picked on his food with the utensils, eyes uninterested as they looked around the previously-artistically-arranged plate. Normally he would've inhaled everything by now, but his stomach didn't feel good (and he thought that maybe that was the nervousness, silently bubbling inside him).
Perhaps he didn't scarf down the food because it wasn't a very sophisticated thing to do (When did he start to care about sophistication?). His posture was rigid, back straight, shoulders squared, and he could feel the strain it was putting on his muscles already. Here he was, (barely) eating fancy, expensive food he didn't even know the name of (something with Blue in it—Gordon of Blue, Blue Gordon?), sitting on a plush, velvet chair that only made him fidget. He tugged on his black tie nervously.
He hasn't even said anything to Lucy throughout the dinner, only to ask her what she wanted to order. This wasn't him, this quiet, nervous man sitting across the girl he liked (she was his mate now, he had to remind himself). But he absolutely did not want to screw this all up.
The guild members (well, mostly the girls; Gray was just there to ridicule him) had given him advices on what was expected on the first date. He booked a reservation at the fancy restaurant Mira told him days before, almost threatening the employee when he said there weren't any tables available for them (he might have gone a little overboard then—but the pressure was starting to get to him). With Erza's sword pointed at his neck, he was forced to write a romantic invitation to the girl for the date (they weren't his words, but the thought and intention were wholeheartedly his). After that, he borrowed his attire from Gray (who knew he had something formal like that? He wouldn't even be able to keep it on for more than a minute, so it was useless), subsequently going down on his knees to beg for it (the bastard had the gall to smirk at him, and he could feel his pride being crushed, but all he thought was that it was all to make Lucy happy). And then he was there, squirming in his seat uncomfortably with the uncertainty if he was doing the right thing.
"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy, who was sitting across from him, suddenly came into focus, raised eyebrow and worried brown eyes clear to him (and she was beautiful, so much that it took his breath away and left him stunned for a moment, mouth wide open like a gaping fish).
"Nothing!" he answered on impulse, "Nothing's wrong—what are you saying, Luce?" His attempt at nonchalance was half-assed even to his own ears, and even he wouldn't believe himself.
Thankfully, Lucy decided to ignore his weird actions (great, now he was the weird one), choosing to go back to her own plate to slice a piece of beef off and offer it to him. He looked at the fork questioningly. "Natsu, you haven't eaten a bite of your food yet," she said in a condescending voice, much like a mother scolding her child, "If you don't eat, these very delicious—not to mention expensive—food will go to waste." She gave him The Tone, a tone she often used whenever she made him an innocently convenient offer, but really was just to use guilt for him to accept.
(Like he would refuse.)
And really, Lucy was acting so natural on this date thing, like they were just going out as best friends and not exactly lovers, that the thought hit him that maybe it was what he was supposed to be doing. Maybe he should be more like himself. Maybe he should put himself at ease, because he was with Lucy, and he was always comfortable when he was with her.
At the end of dinner, they finished every plated meal on their velvet-covered table, a part of his nervousness disappearing with the food.
After paying for the bill (with insistence from Lucy that they split it, no matter how hard he refused to let her pay), he practically burst out of the wooden restaurant doors with relief. Thank Mavis he was out of that place! It was beginning to feel stuffy inside and his suit was definitely not helping in lowering the heat in his body.
Now that the dinner part was over (ugh, finally), next up on the 'Super Awesome and Super Memorable First Date!' list was—
"Natsu?" He heard behind him, followed by a surprised yelp.
Instinctively, he snapped his head to the direction of the voice, finding Lucy sitting on her ass on the cold, hard ground—
—because she was blindfolded. And he forgot that he was supposed to lead her.
"Oh, shit!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side and helping her up quickly, "Are you okay, Luce?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered as she pulled herself up, almost irritably (who wouldn't be after being blindfolded and left alone to walk by herself?), "Where are we going that requires me to cover my eyes anyway?"
"You'll see," he said, excitement at the edge of his voice, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."
As they walked slowly, taking one step at a time, Lucy mumbled, "This better not be a prank, Natsu."
He gaped at her, offended (even though she couldn't see the expression). "Why would I do something to ruin our first date?" He wanted to add Mira and Erza and Levy would murder me for sure! but cut it off because it was better to end the sentence at where he did.
His mate didn't say anything in reply, but he swore he saw a small smile on her face as they walked.
.
.
.
His hands gripped her shoulders firmly as they climbed up the small, slightly steep, hill. At first, there was unease in her steps (because he could might as well have led her to somewhere that was part of his 'prank'), but now, all he could notice was how she was as enthusiastic as he was about this. And, he was almost fairly sure that she would like it.
He discovered this place one day, when he was wandering around the city at night with Happy. Somehow he winded up climbing the hill and walking towards the end of the path. It was a cliff side that presented a magnificent view of the stars at night. The sight took his breath away and the first thing he thought of was how he should bring Lucy there with him.
When he reached the cliff side, he giddily looked over Lucy's shoulders to the sight before them.
Instead of thousands of tiny, sparkling stars, though, all that welcomed him were thick clouds, dark and heavy and not resembling shining stars one bit.
The disappointment crashed down on him almost immediately. It was the one part of the date that he actually planned himself, for Lucy (because he knew she would like it), and it wasn't happening. The special first date was ruined.
"Are we there yet, Natsu?" Lucy's voice held so much excitement that it physically pained him knowing she would be just as disappointed as he was.
"Well," he sighed, "we're here."
"Can I take the blindfold off then?" She smiled at him (well, his general direction anyway) and he couldn't help the frown it brought on his face.
He nodded, then felt stupid after because she couldn't see the movement, so he said with an unbidden hint of moroseness, "Yeah, go ahead."
Her hands almost tore off the cloth from her eyes in a flash, her eyes adjusting to the sight before her. Her smile waned just a bit, and he saw how she forced it to grow wider. "Wow, Natsu," she said, faked amazement evident in her pitchy voice, "This is—this is beautiful."
He sighed again, disappointed and guilty because Lucy was trying so hard to look impressed. "This wasn't what I wanted to show you," he said, "You can stop pretending, Luce."
Beside him, she let out a sigh, too. "What did you want to show me?"
A smile grew on his face just at the memory of the view. "There would be millions and millions of stars here, shining and sparkling and bright and just beautiful." He gestured his arms to the dark, cloudy sky for emphasis. "I thought you would really like it, so I wanted to show you tonight, but. . ." The disappointment was starting to come back, and he didn't like the feeling one bit.
Lucy's hand took his tenderly, and she gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's fine, Natsu," she said, giving him a bright smile that could rival the shining stars in his memory, "We could go here some other time."
He pouted. "But it wouldn't be our first date anymore."
Lucy's smile didn't change, seeming to grow wider. "It won't be," she said, "but I'm sure it'll be just as special."
Apparently, the world wasn't done yet with ruining his 'Super Awesome and Super Memorable First Date!' plan.
Right after Lucy reassured him with a smile that they would come back another day to see the stars, tiny droplets of water started falling down, quickly evolving into a full-blown rainstorm (screw those damn storm clouds).
Now, as they both ran, he felt his coat getting wet and being spotted with heavy droplets (dammit, Gray was going to kill him!). Slightly behind him, Lucy was cursing the rain because it messed up her hair and it made the ends of her dress muddy.
He had other activities planned after the stargazing, but they were all outdoors, rendering them impossible to be done anymore. And here he thought he could redeem himself and still save the date.
This was probably the worst thing to ever happen in a first date.
They took shelter under one of the roofs and resolved to wait until the rain stopped.
Silently, as Lucy fretted over her dress (which he briefly heard that she borrowed from Erza), he sulked at the fate of the well-planned first date with a disastrous end.
Devoid of all the previous excitement from the beginning of the evening, he dragged his foot inside Lucy's house, watching as she dried herself off with a towel. As he reached her couch, he dropped his butt on it with a plop (completely dry because of his heat), the cushion dipping under him. An unsatisfied, miserable aura enveloped him, his body resting tiredly on the couch. Oh, Mavis, he screwed up.
"I'm sorry, Luce," he said softly, almost like he didn't have any will left in him (might as well, because there was no way he could salvage this).
From behind the couch, Lucy walked around the furniture to sit on the spot beside him. There was a tender smile on her lips and he didn't understand because she was supposed to be disappointed at him, at this failure of a first date, just as much as he was with himself. "What are you apologizing for, Natsu?"
He looked at her with disbelief. "That must've been the worst date you've ever had."
She shook her head. "Not exactly," she said, chuckling, "but there was nothing to apologize about for it."
He remained silent, still unconvinced and upset with himself. A heavy sigh sounded throughout the silence of the house, and he felt a soft hand on each of his cheek, turning his face to his mate's. "Natsu, what you did for me tonight was more than enough," she said, looking straight into his eyes that he couldn't look away, "It was the best thing anyone has ever done for me." She smiled softly.
"I didn't do anything," he replied. Because there was no way he could accept that he did anything remotely enough for her. He didn't even reach her standards.
"Yes, you did." The firmness in her tone shut up any of his complaints immediately. "You put a lot of effort making sure this was the perfect first date for me. You wore formal wear, even though it makes you uncomfortable, on your own free will. You booked a reservation at a fancy restaurant you didn't even want to be in. When you looked at a field of stars, you thought of showing it to me because it was so beautiful." He felt himself panic because she looked like she was on the verge of crying.
After a moment of silence where they both left the words hang between them, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Natsu," she said his name so affectionately he almost burst, "even without the fancy dinners or the stargazing, as long as I'm with you, I don't care about where we go or how the first date goes." She pulled back and took his hands in hers, looking down on their intertwined fingers. "If it's with you, I know it'll be special."
And that was how their first date ended, her hair tangled and still wet, his clothes slightly sticking to him, their lips pressed together in a gentle kiss and the moon as their witness.
(And Mira. . .and Levy. . .and the whole guild. . .)
notes: Sneaky, sneaky guild.
notes2: I hope this suffices the tears I brought to your eyes last one-shot (deep, deep words).
notes3: KinKitsune01's drawing actually fits Igneel's description to a T! Go check it out: ritsukachoo. deviantart art /Igneel-Dragneel-Jr-NALU-son-348675491 (remove the spaces)
notes4: Now, the big question: should I continue? I know I intended for this series to end after 25 one-shots, but I'm not closing the possibility of continuing it. The choice is up to you guys :)
notes5: If you're worried about ideas, don't be. I have A LOT in the inspiration bank.
notes6: So, should I or should I not? Put it in the review box down there :)