Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and the characters are owned by Hiro Mashima. I own this story based on Mashima's work
Skinship-seeking goblin
A/N The part of the lake that the Conbolts like to stay is described in Chapter 8: Guy's day out.
Natsu glanced out at Lake Sciliora as they turned to follow the promenade once again. The sun was starting its slow descent to meet the horizon. All the activity on the lake itself had stopped, as if to mark the sun's slow decline. Natsu felt the change in the air, a light mood of expectation and anticipation was rising. He noticed that lots of boats were now entering the waters of Magnolia and were dropping anchor just inside the bay. Natsu and his friends sensed something significant was about to happen.
"What going on Lucy?" Natsu asked.
"We're getting ready for the main event" Lucy answered him, grinning.
Everyone waited for her to continue but Lucy just smiled and continued leading her friends forward along the promenade. Levy and Romeo also made no move to clarify things.
The group noticed that they were now leaving the activity of the main promenade behind them. They were taking a bridge around a small bluff that led to a much quieter part of the lake. This section didn't border the central part of the town. The path soon transitioned from a mixture of slate and cobblestone to wood and, as they progressed even further past the bridge, the material disappeared completely and the group found themselves walking on the banks of the lake itself.
As they walked the lighting gradually became more muted, and with the noise of the city well and truly behind them, the sounds of the lake waters lapping over the beach overtook their senses. They had all been talking endlessly just moments before about all they'd done and seen that evening but one by one, as the cooler evening breezes massaged their sun exposed skin and the tranquil cover of darkness gently fell upon them, casually turning the day to night, each member of the group was hushed. It was a natural process that happened every 24 hours and yet they managed to take this magic for granted every single day.
Natsu fidgeted awkwardly between his steps. He'd taken off his boots and rolled up his trousers along the way and was enjoying the feel of the water on his bare feet, hoping it would distract him. Why did this quiet make Natsu wish he was alone with Lucy right now? As he walked Natsu fought a constant and irrepressible urge to reach for her hand or to touch her in any possible way. He longed to be closer to her.
To make up for what he wanted and couldn't bring himself do, Natsu inched closer to the blond beside him and allowed his shoulders brush lightly against hers. His heart raced briefly, and then plummeted as soon as it became obvious that that kind of short-lived contact did not satisfy him one bit.
And Natsu wasn't alone. Lucy, Levy, Lisanna, Gajeel, and even Erza were all being tormented by the atmosphere that had unexpectedly descended on them. In this picturesque spot, at this time, the undercurrents of romance were sweeping in all around them. There was no escape. And each and every one of the company who knew what it was to have their heart stirred by another was fighting the effects.
Only one person in the company was following her heart. Cuddled up to her Gray-sama's arm as she walked, Juvia was the only one with the courage to show what she wanted, and to go after it wholeheartedly, despite the rejection that might come. Only this time it didn't come. Gray let her walk beside him, smiling softly at the lake waters as he walked along. She really wasn't so bad, he thought, this warm girl who had recently started showing him the sincerity of her feelings.
Feeling the tension, Romeo and Wendy looked at each other and discreetly increased the distance between themselves and the others. They both hoped that they wouldn't catch whatever had infected the older kids any time soon.
Growing up is complicated, Romeo thought eyeing Wendy. He could tell she was thinking along the same lines.
To break the silence Levy asked the Fairy Tailers if they wouldn't mind spending time with the Conbolt family for the next part of the evening.
"Sorry, we didn't think to ask you before, we just brought you along with us." Levy blushed. "This time is always for our family, you see. All the day we're free to see and do whatever we want but this activity, this is always reserved for family."
Mira smiled at the warmth that she felt coming from this family. It was the same love that she felt for hers; honest, affectionate and unconditional. She felt privileged that the girls had thought so naturally to include them in this. She shared a glance with Erza and knew her friend was thinking the same thing.
"We'd be happy to join you," Erza answered for all of them.
"That's great," Romeo said suddenly bounding up to join them. "We're going to our own special place on the lake. Where we always go to watch the fireworks - oops!" Romeo quickly covered his mouth with both hands.
"Fireworks?" the others chimed in collectively.
"Romeo, that was supposed to be a surprise," Levy chided.
"Sorry," he replied guiltily.
"Well it had to come out sooner or later," Levy put in ruffling her little brother's hair. "We couldn't keep it secret for much longer anyway." She pointed to a small peninsula coming up ahead. There were several clusters of artificial light dotting the banks of the lake. "We're almost there."
Romeo walked up beside Natsu who was leisurely walking along the banks of the lake.
Addressing all the company he explained what was going to happen next. Pointing to some structures out in the lake Romeo said, "See those barges in the lake, over there?" Everyone turned to look. "That's where they'll be setting off all the fireworks for the display. But you get the best views from here. That's why loads of people come here to see the show."
Erza looked around and realised that all the lighting now was coming from just the sky and the few dim lamps scattered across the banks of the lake. A few groups were already sprinkled along the banks on blankets, in small foldable tents or on the ground. They seemed to be hanging out waiting for the show to start. Some of the bigger groups had brought their own lights to decorate their picnic areas. Others, especially the couples, preferred to stay on the perimeter of the soft light produced by the lamps - and that arrangement suited everyone else just fine.
As they came up to a huge oak tree they heard a female voice call out to them, "Hey! You guys finally made it."
Erza saw that a large blanket was laid out under the tree. Dim, unassuming outdoor lights lit the area under the tree. Five people, well four full-grown people and a very adorable little person, already sat on the blanket.
"Yea, sorry," Lucy answered running over and plunking herself on the blanket. She grabbed the giggling little girl up in her arms and snuggled her, squealing "Asuka, Asuka" over and over into the little girl's tummy. Romeo quickly joined her.
"We got a little caught up with all the stuff this year," Levy said sitting and indicating to the others to join her on the blanket.
While Lucy removed her pretty blue and yellow shoes the older woman looked up at the new friends that her daughters had brought. She immediately smiled at them and waved them over enthusiastically. "Come, come. Come sit down. Lucy told us that you were joining us so we brought out more blankets. Don't be shy, there's room for everyone. And if not we'll just squish. It's more fun that way anyway."
While everyone settled themselves, Cana came running towards the tree. Breathing hard she plopped down beside Bisca.
"Argh," she groaned, breathing loudly and collapsing on her sister. "I made it! Ah, you guys made it too," she added, spotting the crew from Fairy Tail. "That's great! The gang's all here."
The family's cheerful and welcoming attitude quickly made everyone from Fairy Tail feel at ease.
Once everyone was seated and comfortable Lucy made the introductions.
"Where's Jellal and Ultear?" Levy asked once the introductions were over.
Macao and his wife only glanced at each other furtively. "They went to see a guy…"
"About a rocket?" Cana finished for Annie, "yea, yea. We got that much. What's that all about? Come on now, spill? What's going on?"
Macao and Annie only grinned. "Well, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself, just like the rest of us."
The girls and Alzack looked at each other. That was way too cryptic. Something was definitely up.
"Oh, it's coming up on 10," Bisca said, rolling over her husband to turn down the lights they'd brought with them. Erza looked around from her spot between Natsu and Gray. All around them the lights on the banks of the lake were dimming. Now she understood why people preferred to come here to see the display. Fireworks in near darkness had to be infinitely more spectacular.
From a blanket further down the banks a local radio station came up on someone's battery radio. It was a broadcast from the centre of the town where the main activity was still taking place. The Governor was preparing the crowd for the show.
" . . . and this year we will have a spectacular finale. You will not want to miss this folks. One hundred handmade rockets, yes, you heard that right, one hundred handmade rocket fireworks will be set off from the far side of the lake. The build and display was supervised by Strawberry Hills High School's very own Ultear Milkovich."
The banks on the far side of the lake erupted with loud cheers from those who'd heard the Governor's speech. Congratulations were shouted from a couple of the blankets around them toward Macao and Annie.
"You have got to be kidding me," Cana blurted out. "That's insane. How in the hell did she hide that?" Except for two silent and very proud parents, everyone on the Conbolt blanket shouted with excitement, all caught up in the building adrenaline.
"The firework's design," the Governor's voice went on after the cheers in the town centre had subsided, "was based on Ultear's prize winning senior science experiment. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you, we had to drop things down a notch or two, or six, for the rockets to be fit for tonight, but I have to tell you, I'm excited. I can't wait to see what this genius high school senior has created for us tonight."
With that, the radio turned off and the crowd on the lake fell into an agitated silence. The Governor had created one hell of an expectation.
A few seconds later the town's clocktower could be heard ringing very faintly in the distance. It was 10pm. And with that the first fireworks blasted from the barges in the lake. Fire and smoke torpedoed in long streams from the barges, bursting in the night sky in bright golds and reds that lit up the lake. Some hovered as rings and wildflowers in the sky, while others opened up and fell as leaves, waterfalls and willows to the lake below. The barges themselves lit up as if plumes of lava were spewing in all directions from them. The lake waters reflected each speckle of light making it seem as if everywhere, as far and as deep as their sights stretched, was covered with fireworks and sparkle.
Each explosion boomed and echoed across the lake as the sound ricocheted off the surrounding hills and buildings. As he sat on the banks of the river, Natsu even felt the sound vibrating through him. The darkness and silence around him had heightened every flash of light, every sound and every sensation. Natsu felt like he was being drawn into the display rather than watching it from afar.
Beneath the constant sprays of light, colour and sound sat the boats that had pulled into the bay just an hour before. If anyone had a front row seat to the spectacle it was those on the boats. Natsu envied them.
Next year, I'm getting a boat! Natsu decided, already resolved to attend the Magnolia Festival every year from here on out. He could not believe that this was happening here every year and he'd never known. For a fleeting moment an image of him and Lucy on a boat looking up at the fireworks as the lights reflected on the lake all around them appeared in his mind. His heart lifted with the thought. Suddenly, everything about Lucy was making his body do unusual things. These new sensations weren't bad at all, he decided, he liked the way they made him feel though he wished he could control them.
The people on the blanket huddled closer together as they took in the incredible display, pointing out their favourites to each other and whistling and cheering during particularly awesome displays. Natsu realised that his chest ballooned with pleasure every time he heard Lucy laugh or scream with delight behind him. Despite the fact that he and Gray were currently being crushed in Erza's exuberant death lock, which the redhead liked to call a hug, Natsu's features softened every time Lucy expressed any kind of elation.
I want to hold her so bad! Natsu thought fighting the growing urge to pull her to him and hold her close. What is it with liking someone and wanting to touch them all the time? he wondered. Why did his body seem to want this constant physical contact with her today? Natsu prayed that this wasn't permanent and it was just the charm of the lake playing tricks on his body. He didn't think he could live fighting this impulse all the time.
Then suddenly Natsu felt Lucy's foot come up beside him and buckle slightly into his side. It was an accident, just some freak good fortune as Lucy adjusted herself behind him, but Natsu celebrated. The skinship-seeking goblin inside him was soothed for the moment.
Little did Natsu know that the girl behind him was now breathing a little easier herself, finally finding some relief from her own damned goblins.
Lucy had been fighting the little mischief-makers ever since she first saw Natsu after her performance. The way he'd looked at her and the warm smile he gave her made her heart race faster than it ever had. He'd come right up to her side after the performance, as if that was his natural place, and had teased her so endearingly; it made her stupid racing heart soar. Why was it that everything she felt when she was with Natsu always so contradictory? Racing and slowing, tight and soaring, gentle and intense. Those feelings should not be happening together. But yet they did happen together, over and over, whenever she was with him. Whenever he looked at her with that intense look of his. Whenever he smiled. Whenever he did something just so Natsu.
Lucy had found herself distracted by Natsu for the rest of the evening. As they walked along the promenade looking at different performances, she kept replaying their time together in her mind and the wonderful way Natsu made her feel. It was there from the very beginning, that strange lightness in her chest, it had just been growing over the time that she knew him.
Natsu made her feel at ease and comfortable in a way she'd never felt with any other boy. There was something about him that meant Lucy could just be herself with him, all the bits and pieces of herself - the good bits and the not-so-good bits, and she knew he wouldn't judge her or think any less of her for any of it. His idiocy drove her crazy but it was also part of his special magnetism; she never got bored when she was with him and Lucy felt like she wanted to protect that quality about him that made him so very special.
Lucy understood now that his lies had hurt so deeply because their friendship had deep meaning for her. On the hill on Monday, Natsu had believed in her and in his bizarre way had made her feel braver, stronger and more confident. Natsu filled that yearning for adventure in her and Lucy felt that she always wanted to have him by her side grinning as he pulled her along on whatever bonkers scheme he had planned next. That thought made her so happy.
Lucy soon realised that her heart was racing more with every new thought and memory about Natsu. By the time they'd approached the couples' dance performance her heart had almost taken full control of her. It was then that Lucy realised that while all these things she'd been thinking about were all wonderful traits about her friend and their friendship, what really mattered right then was how Natsu made her feel. And that was so different from how she'd ever felt about anyone before.
As they walked along the dimly-lit banks of the lake under the sinking summer sun Lucy had cast several surreptitious glances at Natsu. She remembered the feeling that overtook her that afternoon when she'd reached out to him and hugged him. That overpowering feeling of wanting to shield and comfort him. With every fresh glance Lucy's body announced her feelings more insistently. She remembered closing her eyes under the subdued light of the rising moon, feeling her chest tighten to the point that it was stabbing her.
I like him. I like him so much.
Now, as the fireworks set the night sky ablaze and sent her emotions careening even further Lucy again experienced that overpowering feeling she'd had that afternoon. This time it was an unbearable urge to be near him. So she did the first thing that came to mind, as she shifted on the blanket to get more comfortable, she accidentally let her foot catch comfortably against his side. It was stupid, she knew it, but it had the desired effect of making her feel closer to him on this beautiful night.
As the fireworks show drew to its climax every firework the barges had left in their arsenal shot into the sky illuminating all the heavens in brilliant overlapping flashes of colour and sound.
Just when the skies started to clear and the smoke settle, a flurry of deafening whistles came from a barge at the furthest end of the bay. A few seconds later shimmering golden rockets shot across the lake in a giant scintillating blaze. One after the other they came crossing the lake in dazzling arcs; one hundred lights shooting across the night sky, long trails of golden stardust marking their path along the blanket of night. For those watching, it was as if they were witnessing a meteor shower rather than a fireworks show. It was breathtaking to behold.
Astonished and emboldened by the incredible beauty playing out in front of him, Natsu reached across his waist and placed his hand gently on Lucy's foot still resting comfortably on his side. More than anything, he wanted to share his awe of this moment with her. To his amazement, he felt Lucy's foot rub affectionately against his side in response. There was no mistaking it. He dared to think that maybe Lucy also wanted to share this moment with him. Not willing to stop the silent conversation between them just yet, Natsu squeezed her foot gently. Lucy smiled behind him and rubbed her foot against his side again, this time more playfully. Natsu grinned. He could almost picture her expression that time. He fought the incredible impulse to tickle under her feet and instead let his hand rest securely where it was. He wasn't ready to let go of her just yet. He was grateful that in the darkness no one could see them. This was his and Lucy's private moment.
§§§
"Well, my sister is just about the coolest person on earth right now," Cana announced when the lights were turned back on. The group was getting back on their feet.
"You're telling me," Alzack responded, surprise and pride still marking his face. "I can't remember anything but video games at 18 and this girl's building rockets." He turned to Annie and Macao, "How did she even…?" his voice trailed off. He wasn't sure where to start.
Annie smiled warmly, her gaze falling on the spot where Ultear's meteor shower had just owned the sky.
Ur.
"I'm sure she was watching tonight," was all Annie could bring herself to say.
The words, an obvious reference to Ultear's mother, sent the group into a reflective silence. Gray, however, felt his body freeze to its very core. There were just too many coincidences. The meteor shower, it was completely different, but the basis for it was the same. Gray could just imagine Ultear's full experiment. In fact, he could see it vividly. More as a memory than imagination. The basic principles of the experiment were the same, they were just expanded and applied differently, this time to a rocket. Gray cursed himself for not paying attention to the radio broadcast when they'd mentioned her name.
There's no way, Gray corrected himself. There's no way. Even if that's the case, there's no way she could have solved it. Not in high school.
"Gray?" Natsu broke quizzically into his thoughts, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Gray met Natsu's eyes, first distractedly but then more like himself.
"Yeah, sorry I was just thinking about that finale," Gray answered turning towards the others, not convincing his childhood friend in the least.
"Guys I have to take off or I'll be late, I'll see you later, okay," she said to Lucy and Levy before running off towards the parking lot.
"Drive safely Cana," Annie called after her.
"I will," Cana shouted behind her, waving her arms.
"You guys going somewhere now?" Erza asked.
Romeo sulked extravagantly, and kicked the grass in front of him.
"Aw," Levy said coming up to him. She wrapped him in a playful hug and ruffled his hair. "Just three more years."
"ARGH!" he whined. His bitterness was clear. That did not help at all. If anything Levy's words made his frustration worse.
Bisca looked at the Fairy Tailers, choosing her next words delicately, sparing a thought for the boy who now felt very left out.
"There's an open-air concert happening out in the park right now," she informed them. She whispered her next words, "16 and over."
"Ah" Mirajane uttered, realisation hitting her.
Natsu and Gray looked at each other. They could barely contain their excitement, they definitely wanted to go. But they remained calm for Romeo's sake.
Lucy glanced at Natsu's barely restrained expression. He was looking positively electric.
I can't believe I like him, she thought, shaking her head and smiling at his lack of composure.
"Ah!" Wendy emitted the sound as quiet as a mouse, but Annie caught it.
"If you guys want to catch a bit of the concert," Annie told the group, "and if it's okay, we would be happy to have Wendy with us tonight. She can hang out with Romeo and Asuka for a little while longer."
"Yay! Wendy!" Asuka squealed in a sing-song voice, running toward the blue-haired girl and wrapping her arms around her. Romeo and Wendy too seemed happy that the night didn't have to end yet.
So it was decided.
As they headed out to the carpark, some to head home, others to walk to the park, Levy stretched her hands high in the air. It had been an extremely long but an absolutely fantastic day.
"I can't wait to see Ultear," she shouted into the air.
Lucy laughed as she walked behind her sister. "I know. Who would have thought? Ultear Milkovich: celebrity."
Not Conbolt, Heartfilia or McGarden, Natsu thought, his knowledge of the family growing. Milko—
Natsu paused mid-step as he took in the new name. He turned slowly towards Gray who met his eyes. There was a storm behind his friend's cool, dark blue eyes. Still, Gray didn't seem as surprised by the revelation as Natsu would have expected.
Finally, Natsu thought. He's found her.
We long for touch because touch conveys all the things that words can't.
A/N
For anyone who has ever used a foot to solve a physical contact problem.
The concept for the meteor shower firework display was inspired by a rocket war that happens on the Greek island of Chios every Easter. This written version is VERY watered down. I can bung the inspiration vid somewhere if anyone wants to see it. It's insane.
This year our power to touch was taken from us. Touch is still pretty regulated where I am. When the world gets back to normal if there is one thing I won't be taking for granted again it's the magic of touch. Keep safe everyone.