Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
It was an awkward time for me, I wanted to eat the equivalent of breakfast when everything is selling lunch, hardy, heavy—something I could never finish when I just woke up. Regardless, I was walking along the streets of Magnolia hoping to find an outlier—I didn't. After debating between cooking food, myself or head to the Fairy Tail building, the latter won out. I needed to tell them my mission was successful anyway. I wasn't the first time Meredy told me I tend to prioritise my mission over daily necessities, and today won't be the last. I can just eat later anyway.
After today, I'm positive that I never want to visit the Fairy Tail building during lunch hours. It's loud to the point it made me ears hurt, it hard to find a place to sit—every seat was taken. While my own guild has plenty of members, we never gather in one place like this save the yearly gatherings. Knowing that I'll be coming here often is quite the change of pace. I weaved around for a good minute or two until I found a familiar face, or hair to be exact. Dipping up and down was the head of Natsu, I presume he's eating at speeds that might lead to suffocation. Sitting on him, was his ever-trusty feline, Happy, whom just flew off with a fish wrapped with a ribbon, even if the one he's trying to woo is a female cat, I can't help but feel like that gift is nothing short of tacky.
Right across Natsu was—to my luck—Master Makarov. I waved to the Guild Master and got a surprised reaction from him, making Natsu follow his gaze in curiosity which turned to joy with a friendly smile.
Once I got over the elder asked, "Did something happen? You returned faster than I thought you would." I was about to give him an honest answer when I remembered that Natsu was here.
"Things went smoother than I thought."
"I see." Makarov nodded. "Well you're the first one back, do you want to tell me what happened now, or should we wait for the others?"
"I don't want to repeat myself."
"I understand."
"Hey gramps," Natsu cut in, "what are you two talking about?"
"I just had her team run an errand for me."
"That's it?" Seemingly satisfied, Natsu turned to me, "Did you eat yet?"
"I haven't, I was about to."
"Sweet! I can really show you around then." He grinned. "Are you free?"
"I am, I returned earlier than I expected."
"Cool," Natsu quickly shovelled the rest of his food, "gramps, I'm going to show her around."
"Don't break anything. I'll use your savings to repay any damage you cause."
"Got it!" Without missing a beat, Natsu smirked, pulled me by the arm and dashed away before I could even have a say in anything. "We're going to find you something to eat first."
"Hey!" His energy is tiring for someone that just woke up, my legs were barely touching the floor in poor attempts to keep up. "You're going too fast, slow down."
Natsu kicked open his guild door, "Sorry, I don't want to waste time." Finally, he stopped to let me catch a breath.
"So, where are we going?"
"Since Mira isn't around, we're going to the next best place to eat!" He declared with excitement in his eyes, adding more bounce to his step.
"Lead the way then, hopefully it isn't packed by the time we get there."
"Sure!" Natsu started walking in a direction that seemed random to me. But, most likely leads to a place where a lot of restaurants can be found. And my normal nose confirmed it, amazing, salivating aroma floated in the air. Soon, my eyes found the source. Loads and loads of food stalls were set up side by side to each other in rows on either side of the road. It was like a festival; the place was packed with people lining up for street food.
"Is this where we're going to eat?"
"If you want to, but I'm planning to go there." Natsu pointed to a building behind a food stall. It was white in colour with a sign that says: 'Magnolia Delights'. "The food is great." Natsu continued to sell me on the idea of eating at the place he told me of. The truth is that I don't have any standards when it comes to food as long it doesn't get me sick, being a part of a dark guild for the better part of your life generally doesn't include tasty meals. I didn't stop me from learning how to cook when Meredy pulled a sour face every time I fed her something when she was young.
"You're the expert around here, I'm putting all of my trust in you, I'm fine with anything as long as it isn't expensive."
"About that," Natsu pulled me along, "I come here sometimes, so they give me cheap food as long as I let them use my name."
"How often do you come here?" I can't but feel like Natsu got the short end of the stick of the deal, it makes me worry about how many times he's been used like this.
"Whenever the guild is too busy to have lunch."
"And how often is that?"
"When Mira isn't around." I sighed in response. He did get the short end of the stick.
"You're just being used without good enough return."
"But the food is good." He smiled and opened the doors. Inside was a very typical family restaurant, lots of seats and tables crammed in a small space, with the occasional waiter walking by. By opening the door, Natsu unlocked a chamber to a treasure trove of fantastic smells, butter, grilling meat. At the back, a hallway only covered by a sheet of blue fabric hid the factory. "That smells real good, I think I'll have that."
"How can you even make out what you're smelling from all this?"
"Huh?" Natsu folded his arms, assuming deep thought for what amounts to a simple question. "I don't know, experience I guess."
"Natsu! It's been a while." A waiter called out. Aside from his grey uniform—only an apron having their logo stitched on—nothing else stands out about the person, just short brown hair and a friendly smile. "And who's this with you? A new member?"
"I wish, she's someone I know, so treat her well."
"Of course, we wouldn't have nearly as good of a business without you. So, table for two, right? Then come right this way." The waiter led us a window seat that overlooked the street we were just walking across. It was slightly cramped but, looking at the other compatriots, their situation wasn't anything to be envied either. He brought us two glasses of water and a menu. "Take your time." With those words, he sped off to tend to his other duties. I gave a glance at the menu, looking for anything I couldn't cook myself.
"Do you have anything you recommend?" I asked Natsu who was smiling outside the window.
"Everything is good here, just pick whatever." I suppose I should have expected that answer from someone that moves on instinct and experience. He's utterly useless, I'm sure in terms of being a good date—potentially why he's still a bachelor, a shame too, his looks must attract a good number of girls—he's at the bottom of the list. Seeing that I was left to my own muses, I decided on the special for the day, pasta with a small salad as the side. "Are you ready?"
"I am," I replied, still eyeing a combo filled with local food, "go ahead." I might as well make the most of my stay here.
"You sure are taking a long time."
"If you were help me, I wouldn't be taking so long." I quipped, making sure to add a scowl.
"Sorry, I didn't think you would take so long." Natsu called the waiter over and gave our orders. Though I'm sure it's mainly because I'm with Natsu, the waiter sure left in a hurry to relay the order to the kitchen. Natsu grinned rested his head behind his hands. "So where did you go?"
"Nothing much, just up a mountain."
"Did anything fun happen?"
"I met a talking cat, if that can be considered fun."
"So, like Happy?"
"No, of course not, Happy is weak and annoying, the cat I found was strong, freakishly strong." I would even consider it an insult to compare Diana to Happy. "I don't think I'll get much out of it but, I'll ask anyway, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
"I kicked Gray's ass." He said naturally, though I'm sure nothing came out of the fight.
"I thought Erza usually stops the fight before any development happens."
"Erza wasn't there," Natsu answered with a sulk, "she said she had a job to do, wouldn't even bring us, her team! When she gets back, I'm gonna give her thrashing!"
"Let me guess, since Erza isn't here, you don't want to take a job because you would feel like you're leaving her out."
"Why would I? She's the jerk for leaving her team behind!"
"But you're bored." I decided to drop his main issue for the pass day or so. "You can try to hide it if you want, no one would be that excited to dragged someone around their city."
"W—well, we had a promise." Natsu looked out the window. What a terrible liar, I love dealing with these people. It's like dealing with an impressionable child, easy to lead to get what you want.
"But Meredy isn't back yet. Aren't you the jerk for leaving her out like this?" Just then, the waiter from before delivered our drinks along with a plate of cupcakes that I don't recall ordering.
"It's on the house." The waiter replied to my confusion. "The food will come soon, please wait a while longer."
"Well," I brought a cup of milk tea to my lips, smiling at the warm drink sliding down my throat, bringing along a slight sweetness, "since I am your excuse to kill time, I expect you to bring me the joys of your city." I finished with a smile.
"You can count on me! Then what do you want to do first after lunch?" I quickly placed a finger over his lips. Natsu blankly looked at me for explanation.
"I believe I told you I expect you to guide me. Right now, I know nothing of this city, just show me a good time." Natsu brushed away my finger.
"Then I'll take you to my favourite spots."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Here you go," the waiter slid a plate filled with colourful food, "Magnolia Combo and Fiore-Style Steak." A plate of steak was delivered to Natsu.
"It's finally here!" Natsu grabbed a fork and stabbed his food. While he had a big chunk of food in front of him, I had trouble at where to start. The assortment of local foods were arranged like a theme park, the big attractions right in the middle supported by the lesser known, but still successful attractions. I didn't know what any of the five samplers are, I don't exactly spend my already few free hours researching foods tourists should eat when visiting cities, those are reserved for drunken nights—which is to say: never. However, this didn't stop the feeling of unknown swelling up.
"What's wrong?" Natsu asked. He held up his fork along with his half-eaten steak to me. "Do you want to trade?"
"It's not that." I speared a small fried ball on the far right of the plate, watched as yellow sauce erupted before biting into chewy walls. "I just have trouble deciding what to eat first. However, I don't think I can finish all this, would you like the leftovers?"
"Really? You're the best!" Natsu pumped his fist.
"What is this by the way?" I waved another golden-brown ball.
"I don't know, I had some when I was a kid, I didn't really like it." Maybe I shouldn't have someone like him to guide me.
"Really?" I popped it into my mouth. "It's creamy, a bit sweet, I like it. Maybe it's just been too long, I leave the last one for you." I move around to the opposite side. It was a bread bun the size of my fist. A shiny glaze covered the brown head, topped with a seedy hat. I pulled off a small piece of the bread. Light brown filling were housed inside. Curious to find out was it was, I threw the bit in my mouth. "It's fish." I muttered.
"I know that one!" Natsu cried out like a child. "Lucy dragged me to eat one when she first moved in, she said something about it being popular snack."
"I'm more surprised you remembered what she said, give that you aren't blessed with a normal brain." I relished Natsu's outburst as a side dish to the bread I was eating, even Meredy didn't throw this big of a tantrum, I guess it's just another side of motherhood I never experienced. "Oh right," I started after finishing the bread, "I forgot to ask, did your Master ever tell you what we were talking about?"
"Gramps never tell me things, always nagging something about saving money. What were you talking about?"
"Just some rumours." I answered so he wouldn't keep pushing for answers. Next was the item furthest away from me, a small bowl of stew. "Dark guilds are causing problems like always."
"Want me to help?"
"We have more than enough people, adding you along wouldn't help much. So just live life like you've always been doing, we'll handle everything else." Like Jellal mentioned, there's no need for them to dirty their hands in things like this. People in the light should make full of their peace, we'll take most of the burden. "Are you really that bored you're willing to take a job that offers no pay?"
"Helping friends is free." He shrugged.
"I'll keep that in mind. For now, why don't you tell me about this city? You know, things people like to do for fun. All that."
"That would spoil the fun, I'll show you." Natsu had already cleaned his plate and asked for another while I was still half-way through the stew. I decided to leave it and move on to a small pot of salad sitting across the stew. "Hey, let's check out the market after this. They sell really cool things; our guild always goes there to find gifts. And I really need your help with something." Natsu continued, telling me why he wanted to go look at handcrafts in the first place. "We're throwing a birthday party for Laki soon." It really begs the question, how often do Fairy Tail hold parties like these, with the amount of members, surely they can basically throw one frequently, but then, that would undermine the meaning of celebration.
"You really are milking me for what I'm worth huh?" I didn't mind of course, I didn't think that Natsu would try something like this. "Well, I'm fine with helping you pick out a present, knowing you, you would give tasteless ones." It isn't all bad either, walking around town without having to worry about anything is relaxing, dragging around a boisterous guy like Natsu is always fun. Finally came the final piece, it was a tart of sorts, with fruits adorned like gems.
"I don't, I just don't know what girls like."
"That's a tricky thing to dive into, like guys, we're not the same, we have different tastes. But we do have things we gravitate towards. It all depends on you." I took a slice of the tart and bit off the tip, a well-balanced sweetness, rich in fruits filled my mouth, ending with a nice snap from the base.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you trying to woo her? Or do you want to celebrate a platonic relationship? The gift will have to change a lot according to what you want." Though, most people would happily accept any gift as long you can show you've put thought into it.
"We're just friends."
"Then that makes things much easier." I took another tart and the remaining stew before passing the entire plate to Natsu. "You can help yourself."
"Thanks!" Natsu instantly went for the fried ball, tossed it in the air and ate it. "You're right, this stuff is pretty good." I returned a smile. From the small sample I had, the food in Magnolia is great, I wonder what else does this city have to offer? Maybe Meredy was on to something about wanting to move to a city; I certainly don't recall being so interested in touring around like this. Perhaps it's just this city in general? I looked at the man that will provide all the answers to me, all served with pink hair and an explosive personality.
"What?"
"Nothing at all."
Following Natsu's guidance, we ended up in a wide street that branched off wildly as a tree, each one holding many stores selling trinkets and memorabilia. Here, I found many people like me, travellers were easy to spot from clothes that emphasised mobility than aesthetics; for the locals, casual clothing were the favourite.
"Do you already have something in mind by any chance?"
"Not really."
"In that case, books are a good place to start, does she read?"
"She has glasses." I slapped my comrade across the face. He really surpasses all my expectations…
"What was that for!?"
"For being rude, don't make assumptions like that; have you seen her read books during free times?"
"Yeah, not as much as Levy though."
"Great, the key for gifting books is one: avoiding giving duplicates. Two: make sure to write a message. Three: choose something the receiver will like."
"How am I supposed to know all that?"
"If you know the person, it's quite easy. For example, I know Meredy likes to read fiction more than non-fiction, that alone already filters a lot of options. Then you just keep thinking of the person's preferences and you'll soon get a small range to pick from. In reverse, I read non-fiction more, so Meredy would know what books better suit me." Seeing his frown drew a sigh from me. "You weren't paying attention, were you?"
"Books are boring, so I don't care about them."
"We'll just brute force our way then. Come on." I grabbed Natsu's arm and dragged him to the closet shop, much to his objections.
I was once again impressed by the city. Magnolia's shopping selection is broad, just about anything I could think of, and I'll find it around the corner, it was almost to an unsettling extent. It was here, where Natsu showed me his tastes in gifts, in other words, stressing function and not much of anything else. That's not to say he's not thinking about the recipient, most, if not all of his choices were to make people happy. However, his lack of understanding really hampers his ability to get the message across. Had I not stopped him, he really may have given someone a set of multitools.
We walked away from a store with an elegant notebook with flower designs on the cover. "How do you normally buy gifts for people?" I had to ask, curiosity was getting the better of me.
"I pick something," Natsu started with a bored expression, "Happy shuts it down and the bastard suggests another one, then we get in a big fight, so we buy both and see who wins." The reply given was surprising, yet, I couldn't think of something else that better fits Natsu
"I'm guessing Happy wins most of the time?"
"He doesn't! He's just in the lead!" Hearing how Happy can buy sensible things, how did he ever think raw fish makes for a good present?
"Your stubbornness aside, let's finish your present right now."
"You mean we have to buy something else?"
"Not quite," from my pockets, I pulled out a pen and handed it to him, "write a message on the first page."
"Why?"
"Just do it!" We sat on a bench close by. Natsu took the pen, stopping his hands right before the tip could touch paper.
"What do I write?"
"Anything is fine, its just a way for you to say how much appreciates her being your friend." Still, his hand didn't move. "Did you offend her lately?"
"I think I broke her glasses by crashing into from a fight."
"And you didn't apologies because you were too busy getting back into the fray I assume."
"Wow!" Genuine wonder was on his face, his eyes seem to sparkle, mouth dropped in awe. "Are you a psychic?"
"I'm not. This is perfect, just say you're sorry that you broke her glasses, hope there's no hard feelings, offer to pay back for her glasses and wish that you two remain good friends." His handwriting wasn't a jumbled mess like I was hoping to tease him for, it was clean, strong and beautiful. His strokes were slow, carefully planned, unlike the way he fights. "Your handwriting is nice." He dropped the pen and stared into the distance. His pupils dilated; he was breathing like he just came out of water. "Natsu?"
"Ahh!" He screamed, hugging his head. "No more! Erza, stop!" I pulled him close to restrain his trashing—incredibility hard for someone that had less strength. And the overwhelming smell of smoke didn't help either.
"Erza is not here." I said firmly, gripping harder on his jacket. "Stop freaking out. How much are you afraid of her? You wuss."
"What did you say!?" Anger burned away his fear and the old Natsu came back like an explosion. "I'm not scared of her! Once she comes back, I'm going to kick her ass!" Fire shot out of his mouth as he kept taunting a woman that wasn't even here. I pulled away from him to save face, which, at the same time robbed me of a lot of heat, I can imagine he would make an amazing body pillow during the winter.
"Well, now I know why you're handwriting is so clean."
"The torture never ended!"
"I'll listen to your tragedy later, just finish writing so we can get back to the tour already."
He paused for a moment, pouting: "Fine."
The city was dyed a fantastic golden orange once we were done with the tour, after today, I could work for the next three months and not get a single day off and I would be fine. There's something to casually walking around a city with great company. It takes my mind off things in ways other activities couldn't. I always felt like I was wasting time, not today. It was like want Natsu believed in, spending time with friends is never a waste of time. And I suppose yes, I do see him as a friend, a good one at that—a stupid, silly, springy, spontaneous friend.
Natsu and I were about to go our separate ways, with our day ending at the Fairy Tail building. No one else came back in the time I spent with Natsu.
"Man, that was fun! Thanks for helping me with the gift!"
"You're welcome, I was just free at the time."
"Want to hang out again?" I had an image of me and Meredy shopping without a disguise, with Jellal carrying our bags. Finally done with our jobs, no one would chase us down, free to live our lives.
"I don't know, I don't have many days like these. I can't afford to throw away my days doing this."
"Why not? Didn't you have fun?"
"I did." I decide to lay out the truth. "We can't pursue a normal life anymore Natsu. My past and sins will forever haunt me, they attack me every night. No matter how many people I help, that won't change, time won't reverse that easily. Even if we want to, we can't just freely enjoy life. Trust me, if I could, I wouldn't have Meredy follow me on this path. She could be with Fairy Tail. I can't in good conscious be a part you guys while our work isn't done." I started to walk away. "See you soon." Without waiting, I left. Shutting out the door given to me.
It was one that was unpredictable, where the destination could yield two vastly different endings. That scares me; excites me. I looked behind me, instead of the building, I saw Natsu waving, his sun-like smile, unchanged from the things I just said. There was only one thing I could: smile and return the gesture.
Thanks for reading! Consider this chapter as a make-up for all the time I was absent. Yeah, the past few chapters have been quite slow, I've been having trouble juggling a bunch of elements, I never struggled with writing Juvia's story because Natsu and her are guild mates, it's easy to have the two find some time together. A different matter entirely when the girl here is a workaholic and puts work above most things, but we're getting there.
And it's about time for me to reference the stuff I wrote for the summary of this story, it's not all there, but hey! That's a sign of progress, and I'm taking everything I can get at this point.
I was a bit rusty when I wrote this, with me taking a minor break due to exams and all that, so if the quality and the interactions weren't as good. First off, I'm so sorry for that. Second, there's the explanation, not an excuse. Regardless, I hope you like this chapter anyway. There was a bunch of fanning around in this chapter, I know I put a lot of time into the food, a bunch of shoddy description because I never described food before, that was the best I could come up with.
And with my rambling done, I hope you all have a nice day!