Chapter Twelve

To Date or Not to Date

Natsu paced back and forth in a mental frenzy. Lucy, his best friend, had asked him out on a romantic date. She wanted to be more than friends, his first girlfriend. He wiped the sweat off his mouth with the back of his hand. The bushes rustled and Natsu straightened up on high alert. Happy appeared, glancing over his shoulder and back at him. "Geez, what's with all the weirdness between you two?"

Breathing out in relief, Natsu wrapped his arms behind his head, forcing a grin. "Lucy wanted some privacy while she put her clothes back on."

Happy folded his arms, smirking. "I wasn't talking about that. And you know it."

Dammit… He hoped deflecting the situation would get him off his back. When Lucy wanted Happy to leave the vicinity for privacy's sake, Natsu expected the feline would hide himself nearby to eavesdrop into Lucy's confession. "So don't ask if you already know, dummy."

Happy snickered. "Just wanna see how you're handling all this. You know, first love and all?"

"Tch." He sucked air between his teeth and paced some more, shaking his head. Then he stopped and stuffed his fists into his pockets. He concentrated on the tall hedge that veiled Lucy from an unknown distance. He gestured with his head. "Can she hear us from here?"

Happy peered around the bush to assess the earshot distance towards the riverbank. He glanced back at him and shook his head. Curiosity twitched his ears.

Natsu walked towards a tree stump and sat down, hunkering forward till his elbows rested on his knees. He exhaled. "I don't know what to do."

Happy arched a brow and tilted his head. "Date her, obviously."

"Why? So you can run back to the guild and gloat?" Most of the guys had this joke about Natsu being the least likely person to get tangled up with some chick. That he would wear the poor girl out with his constant adventuring to new places outside of Fairy Tail. That his recklessness against the law and social norm would give her a heart attack. Always on the move and never settling down in one place for long. In other words, no woman would want a man like that. And Lucy was no exception.

"Well yeah, but." He quickly added. "Only if you tell the guild about you and Lucy first."

He blinked. "Really?"

"Of course!" Natsu had to shush him for his incredulous outburst. The last thing he needed was for Lucy to overhear and come around the corner to inspect the commotion. So Happy whispered. "This is a huge step for you two. I'd been waiting for one of you to confess one day. Though to be honest." He chuckled. "I'd expected Lucy to be the first one to do it."

Natsu straightened up with one elbow on his knee. Nobody had ever supported his legit pursuit of a romantic relationship before. Not gonna lie, he found this refreshing. He smirked with a playful challenge. "Oh yeah? How'd you figure?"

He raised a paw for emphasis. "Easy. She reads a buttload of romantic novels and you don't."

Natsu snorted.. "I don't think reading a buncha books could make anyone wanna confess to their crush, Happy."

He shrugged. "Maybe their crush never re-enacted their favorite character of said book."

Then it clicked; his logic made sense all of a sudden. "So that's what we're lookin' at here? My audition landed me a girlfriend?"

"Seems so." Happy gasped, snapping his paw with an idea. "Hey, maybe my audition can impress Carla too. Haha!" He hopped from one leg to the other in a dance. "It's the perfect plan."

"No no no." Natsu shook his head, hands gripping the side of his hair. "That's the total opposite of good." He rose up, breaking into a pace. He pointed at him. "Lucy and Carla would be in love with a character. Not us."

Happy stopped hopping, staring at him for a moment. "Oh." Blinking, he scratched the side of his head. "I didn't think that."

Natsu looked to the side, then down at the ground, kicking the dirt with his sandal. Without words, they both knew girls like them would not take guys like them seriously enough.

"Ok, I got a plan." Happy spoke with a determined look. "But first, I need to know something from you." He climbed onto a low-hanging branch to meet Natsu's eye level. "On the scale from one to ten. One being ugly and ten being the hottest babe in town, how would you rate Lucy?"

Natsu crossed his arms behind his head, looking up at the clouds preventing any ray of light from penetrating through the dense tree canopies. He considered her a five, for being his best friend. As for her looks… when he'd approached her in the river, she didn't slap him across the cheek, throw a pebble at his forehead, or call him a pervert again. Instead she permitted him, with a smile that lit her brown eyes, inviting him to see her in a different light. Ok, perhaps she could be a six. When he'd knelt down beside her, placing his hand into the cold water, she breathed warmly. Her soft lips turned pinker as the shivers in her body ceased. Was it him that made her react like that, or his fire? Nah, it had to be his fire. Unless he could test her for that reaction again.

If he was her flame from the get-go...

Heat tinted his cheeks. He shifted his face from Happy's line of vision. "Er, I don't know." He mumbled. He leaned up to peer over the tall hedge and stopped himself. If Lucy caught him peeping at her, she'd think he was a pervert for sure. Or maybe, peeping at her would be something she wouldn't mind him doing from this point on. At that rate, she'd find out how much practice he had in sneaking quick peeks at her body without her noticing. Crap! Life was so much easier and guilt-free before she made that confession!

He glanced at Happy, who had been watching him this whole time, wearing a knowing smirk. "So here's the plan. Date her for three months and record all the things you did that impressed Lucy. And bam! We'd unlock the secrets to attracting the complex nature of the female brain."

"Uh." Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Sounds good and all, except you're forgetting one thing. I can't impress a woman to save my life."

He shrugged. "Who said you were the only one?"

Natsu opened his mouth, and no words came out.

Does Lucy truly know what dating him would entail? It would be a matter of time before she'd regret choosing him as her boyfriend.

He groaned, frustration solidifying in his gut. He dragged his hands down his face. "All right, how about this? We stay friends and call it a day." He turned at his heel to part open the hedges. Dating was an uncharted territory he didn't feel the need to trek down, anyway. Their friendship was more than enough to keep them both happy. Lucy may disagree with him. But even if she stopped speaking to him for a month or so, she'd bounce back to her usual self. And everything would be normal like old times.

Happy gave a long exhale. "Okay then. At least she got other options."

His hands froze on top of the leaves and branches. He craned his head, narrowing his gaze. "What do you mean by that?"

"Come on man, you can't be that dense." He hopped onto a higher branch closer to him. "We both know some guy will snatch her up. Like Loki. Remember he took her to that cafe earlier? That's no coincidence, pal. That's the number one place for a first date. And then there's Gray."

"Gray?!" Natsu whipped around while Happy quieted him, placing a paw over his mouth, reminding him of Lucy still in the vicinity. Natsu shoved his paw away. "Lucy'll never date him!" He whispered fiercely. The image of them together nearly overturned his stomach. The guy's personality grated his nerves as it is. Seeing him every day in Lucy's apartment would justify him using his ugly face as a punching bag.

"Maybe not, but it's still possible." Happy stated casually.

He balled his fists. "You're pushin' it, little Tommy."

He tilted his head to the side with an impassive gaze. "Why are you getting all worked up? It's not like you're dating her."

Something snapped within him. His hand shot out to seize Happy. But the feline took to the air, summoning his white wings. "Come here, ya little runt!" Natsu said with a growl.

"Come at me." He smirked. The mischief that very few noticed behind the innocent kitty facade unveiled itself. "I'll just tell Lucy that you friend-zoned her for life."

"You better not! Or you'll be gettin' the beating of a lifetime!"

Happy took off towards the river. Natsu lurched at him, missed, and toppled over the tree stump. Scrambling to his feet, he pushed himself up with his foot on the side of the stump. He clawed his way through the bush, twigs snapping at his skin, till he spotted Happy soaring towards Lucy adjusting her black boot in her full outfit.

"Save me, Lucy!" He bulldozed into the crook of her arm, clinging onto her side. "Natsu is gonna beat me up!"

"Happy? What are you-?" Lucy stammered until her eyes caught Natsu approaching them. With a glare, she shielded Happy with her arm, turning her body to the side. "Ok seriously, what's going on here?"

He exhaled sharply, threw up his hands, and placed his fists on his sides. "Oh now you're on his side, huh?"

She raised a skeptical brow and shifted her attention to Happy. "What did you do to him this time?"

Sitting on the cradle of her arm, he waved his paws in feigned innocence. "How should I know? Ask Natsu. Only he knows what's up."

That little bas-!

"Aw, why are you tryin to beat this poor wittle kitty?" Lucy cut off his train of thought, lifting Happy up towards him with both hands. His feline eyes dilated with sadness surpassing the performance of a stray cat looking for a family.

"Don't fall for his charade, Lucy! He deserves punishment!"

She rolled her eyes and rubbed cheeks with Happy in a warm snuggle. "It's ok, buddy. You did great leaving a fight."

He started it! Natsu wanted to shout. Only, he couldn't help but stare at her grand gesture. Maybe it was the side effect of his recent visit with Lisanna back at the East Forest. But he'd be lying to himself if Lucy's kindness didn't remind him of how Lisanna treated Happy after their fight. "Since when did you start acting like his mama?" The question slipped out faster than he could bite his tongue.

Lucy lifted her gaze to him, her brows drawing together. "What are you talking about? I always do this whenever a friend needs some TLC." She scratched under Happy's chin and his eyes closed, succumbing to the pleasure.

Natsu pointed his finger at her. "Well if ya know what's good for him, you'll hand him over for judgment!"

With a sigh, she frowned and turned her back slightly towards him. Her silence unnerved him. He'd expected her to nag at him for his antics.

Happy leaned to the side, pointed at the back of her head, and winked. The motive behind his actions became clear to him. Before Lucy could figure out their foreign exchanges, Happy made his final act. "Thanks, Lucy. You sure know how to make me feel better. Just remembered something. I gotta pick up some wild berries before we head home." He climbed up her shoulder and took flight into the wilderness.

Perplexed, she looked to Natsu. The impending repercussion of answering the call to a long-term commitment filled the space between them. He swallowed, knowing exactly what he was about to do.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review on what are your favorite parts about this chapter, how the story flows, are the characters relatable, and what questions had this story evoked in you that you hoped to see in the future chapters.

Your constructive criticism is what helps and motivates me to hone my writing skill and storytelling as an aspiring author. You would be greatly appreciated and I would love you very, very much! I'll be editing the next chapter.

Happy writing!