Chapter 6 – Special Occasions
"Happy birthday!"
"Hm…?"
Lucy rubbed her eyes, trying to decide if she had indeed woke up or if this was a dream. Natsu and Happy were on top of her, grinning and yelling.
"Come on, birthday girl, are you gonna get up or not?" Happy asked, blowing a party horn.
"Okay, okay" she shouted, trying to be louder than the horn. "I think you got the day wrong. My birthday is tomorrow"
"No, it isn't" Natsu's grin got wider as he leaned to kiss her nose.
"It is, look at the calendar" she pointed to the paper hung on the wall next to her. "It shows June 29th, which means today it's June 30th and my birthday is tomorrow"
"I changed your calendar a week ago and you didn't notice" he informed. "Got ya!"
"You what?" she yelled, eyes going wide. "No way, I would have noticed!"
"Not if I got everyone at the guild to act like it was a day before" he chuckled. "Admit it, Lucy, you got tricked!"
"Is this real?" she asked, insecure. Happy gave her the newspaper of the day. It really was July 1st. "Oh, my… Why would you do this, Natsu?"
"You always get super anxious the day before your birthday" he explained, dodging a pillow she threw at him. "Besides, I could actually surprise you this way!"
"Yeah, gift time!" Happy announced, picking a package suspiciously shaped like a fish. "Happy birthday, Lucy!"
"Wow, thank you so much, Happy" she said, hugging him, or better saying, crushing him against her breasts.
"Need… Air…" he gasped, and she released him, laughing, and ripped the pink wrapping paper to reveal a big salmon.
"Fish! I loved it!"
"Well, who doesn't?" the exceed said as it was matter of fact.
"Now me!" Natsu said excitedly, taking a big and nicely wrapped gift from under the bed.
"Wow, it's big!" she yelled in delight, opening it and taking a beautiful pink dress from it. "Oh, my God! It's the dress I saw on the Heart Kreuz magazine, I thought it was all sold out!"
"Well, guess it wasn't!" he raised his hands like it was no big deal.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she got on her knees to hug and kiss him. "It must have cost you a fortune!"
"It wasn't that expensive" he assured her, and she kissed him again.
"Okay, Happy is still here, Happy is still here!" the exceed reminded them before they could deep the kiss too much, and they separated, laughing.
"So, why don't you put on your new dress and we go to the festival across town?" Natsu suggested getting up as Lucy followed him.
"I would like to go to the guild first" she said, picking up the salmon and walking to the kitchen.
"What? No, then everyone will come to say happy birthday" her boyfriend whined. "And I don't want to share you today!"
"Is that really the reason or is it to keep me far away from the guild while they prepare a surprise party?" she guessed, winking.
"Damn it, Lucy, you're gonna ruin everything!" Happy sighed as she put the fish on the fridge.
"I'm not, I'll act surprised, I swear!" she promised.
"Is there really a surprise party?" asked Natsu in shock. "How come nobody told me?"
"Because you wouldn't be able to hide it!" the flying cat said like it was obvious.
"That's great, so I bought her a cake for nothing!" he pouted.
"You bought me a cake?" Lucy clapped her hands. "That's so sweet, where is it?"
"It's in the fridge, I hid it behind some milk carts" he admitted, and she opened the door again to see it.
"It looks delicious!" she said with a smile.
"Well, Mira's cake will be better for sure" he groaned. She closed the fridge's door and took his hands on hers.
"What if we come to eat it tonight after the party? Just the two of us" she proposed with a suggestive tone.
"Wha… Really?" he smiled, reading her thoughts.
"I think we can get creative to make the cake even better" she assured him.
"Oh, man, I really didn't want to hear that…" Happy cried, covering his ears.
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Lucy sighed as she ripped off the leaf of her calendar. This was the worst day of the year. She hated this day so much. She sat on her armchair with a mug of coffee, pouting. She was wearing just a plain white T-shirt and a black skirt, and had no plans of leaving, but didn't really want to do anything at home, either, so she just sipped her coffee, lost in her own thoughts.
"Hey" greeted Happy, coming in through the open window.
"Hey" Lucy answered with a tiny smile.
"That day of the year again, huh" he commented, sitting on the couch across from her.
"Yeah… Did you see where he went?" she asked.
"Nope, he was gone when I woke up" he answered, shaking his head.
Today was the day of their battle against Tartaros. The day Igneel died. The day Natsu left her for a year. Every year, he disappeared on this day. He wanted to be alone, and he didn't even took Happy with him. And Lucy would spend all day worrying if he would come back or if he would leave again. It was a day full of anxiety. She couldn't do anything but wait. And she would only relax on the next day, when he came to her and she could be sure he didn't left.
This year was particularly nerve wrecking, since it was the first since they've started dating.
"Thank you for staying with me" she said to Happy. "It makes me feel at least a little better"
"He's not gonna leave again, Lucy" the exceed tried to calm her.
"Yeah, not without you, he won't" she replied with a bit of bitterness. Happy sighed.
"I can't believe you still don't understand what happened that time" he said. "Even now that you're dating Natsu"
"I understand perfectly" she argued, annoyed. "He left with you for training and didn't want me around"
"It's not that simple" he tried to explain "It was supposed to be a harsh year, a year to focus. He was miserable because of Igneel"
"I know, I was miserable too!" she said with frown. "We could have been miserable together"
"No, you couldn't" Happy shook his head.
"Yes, we could!" she insisted.
"No, we couldn't" a voice came from the window, and they jumped, startled. Natsu was standing on the floor next to the window, arms crossed and a serious expression.
"I'm going to the bathroom" Happy announced, flying away quickly to leave them alone.
"Y-You're here" Lucy said timidly after they heard the bathroom door closing. "I wasn't expecting to see you today"
"Listen up, Lucy, let's settle this thing about the training year for good now, okay?" he said, crossing the room in quick steps and kneeling in front of her, putting his hands on her knees.
"Okay" she agreed, biting her bottom lip. He seemed angry, but he wasn't acting angry.
"I guess… It's easier to say this now that we're dating" he started, looking down, but still took a deep breath. "After Igneel died, I wasn't just sad. I was really, really angry. Angry at myself, because if I was stronger I would have been able to stop it"
Lucy gulped. She wanted to stop him right there to say he shouldn't feel this way, but refrained from doing so. It was so difficult getting Natsu to talk, she had to let him do it now that he wanted to.
"So going away wasn't just about the training" he continued, his fingers doodling lines on her knees. "It was about punishing me as well."
"Punish?" she blinked, so surprised she let the word slip her lips.
"Yeah, it was a punishment" he admitted, sighing. "So a crucial part of it was staying away from you. It was the worst punishment, so I thought it would be fitting. You see, we can never be miserable together, 'cause you just make everything better. I just… I didn't realize I would end up punishing you too."
Lucy felt something warm on her knee and realized it was a tear. She couldn't see Natsu's face, but she noticed the change in his breathing.
"I'm sorry for that" he concluded, resting his forehead on her knees. Lucy felt her heart breaking.
"Natsu" she called, but he didn't raise his head. She moved, putting her mug on the table and sliding off the armchair to kneel in front of him, and hugged him, passing her arms around his neck. He buried his face on her shoulder. "It's okay. It doesn't really matter anymore. I'm never bringing this up again, okay?"
He took a deep breath and squeezed her tighter. Lucy felt her own tears falling down her cheeks. This was the most vulnerable he had ever shown her.
"I'm never leaving my little star again" he whispered, and she smiled.
"It's a deal" she determined, also resting her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few more moments, than Lucy kissed his cheek and stood up, making him seat on the armchair instead. "Bet you want some coffee, huh"
"With milk, please" he asked with the beginning of a smile. After a couple of minutes, she came back with his fuming mug, and the tear traces were gone from their faces.
"Lucy, I seized the opportunity to comb my fur" Happy informed, coming out of the bathroom. "Thanks for letting me borrow your hairbrush"
"What? Oh, no, I bet it's filled with blue fur now" she complained, and Natsu chuckled to see her reaction. "You better buy me a new one"
"Okay, I'll buy a nice hairbrush for bears, I think it'll be better for your hair" he offered.
"Let's do this instead: I'll buy the hairbrush and send you the bill" she replied, acid.
"So, Natsu, you didn't feel like being alone today?" the exceed asked him directly after some more bickering with Lucy.
"Nah, I'd rather spend the day with you guys" he grinned after finishing his coffee. "I just… kinda wish there was a way of talking to my dad again"
"I always wish I could talk to my parents, too" Lucy shared, looking down. "Visiting their graves helps a little."
"Yeah… Too bad Igneel doesn't have one" Natsu sighed. The three of them stayed in silence for a moment.
"Why… Why don't you make him one?" his girlfriend suggested quietly. Natsu looked at her, surprised.
"Yeah! We could get a big and pretty rock for it" Happy agreed with enthusiasm.
"I have a magic pen that can write on anything!" Lucy complemented. "With it, we can grave anything you want, Natsu!"
The dragon slayer stayed quiet for some seconds, thinking, as Lucy and Happy awaited in expectation. At last, he opened a big grin.
"Yeah, I think I'd like that!" he agreed. "Let's do it!"
The three of them spend the whole day on this project. First, they needed to find a nice and big enough rock. They made their way to a place with rocky ground and started looking. Naturally, no rock was as big as Natsu wanted. So Lucy had an idea.
She summoned Scorpio and asked him to make a big structure of sand, the size Natsu wanted. Once he did, Natsu blew a big fire roar on it, turning it into a gigantic crystal. They all gaped at how beautiful it looked. Lucy intended to cut it in half so it would have a smooth surface, but the dragon slayer liked that it was unleveled and it had bumps, since he thought they looked like scales. Natsu carried it to the site where Igneel fell after taking off Acnologia's arm, where he died, and buried it on the ground, facing east, where the sun rises.
Then Happy flew with Lucy's pen to write in big and nice letters: 'Igneel. The Fire Dragon King. Beloved father.'
"Wow" Natsu exclaimed, still regaining his breath after carrying the crystal. "Looks awesome"
"Good job, Happy!" Lucy winked, taking her pen back. "Now I'll bring flowers!"
She ran to the forest and came back with Virgo helping her carry a bunch of colorful flowers. They set them in front of the crystal, surrounding it with roses, daises, lilies, crocus, dalias, jasmines, sakuras and the flower that named the city, magnolias.
When they finished, the sun was setting, and they all kneeled in front of the tomb, paying respects.
"I'm not sure what to say…" Natsu admitted, insecure. "What do you say when you visit your parents, Lucy?"
"I just tell them what I've been doing, and that I hope they're well" she told him with a smile.
"Dear Igneel-san" Happy said loudly, putting his paws together "Natsu and I have a lot of fun fishing together. We're taking good care of him. I hope there's a lot of fish for you to eat up there"
Natsu and Lucy chuckled to the exceed's sweet words. The Lucy closed her eyes and put her hands together as well.
"Hey, what are you saying to him?" Natsu asked, coming close to her.
"Excuse me, I'm having a private conversation with Igneel here" she protested, opening one eye to look at her boyfriend.
"I bet she's telling weird things about you, Natsu" Happy giggled.
"Come on, Lucy, don't be weird in front of my dad!" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.
"I'm not! Hey, stop it!" the blonde ended up opening her eyes, and gasped. "Natsu, look!"
Natsu turned to the crystal tomb, to where Lucy was pointing to, and also gasped. The sun was setting directly behind it, and the orange rays of light went through the crystal, painting it red and glowing in all directions. It looked like it was on fire. They remained there, enjoying the stunning view in silence, until the sun was gone and they were engulfed in darkness, the only source of light the stars up in the sky.
It was a long time until Natsu finally decided to leave. Happy had fallen asleep on Lucy's lap and she was napping against Natsu's shoulder. He took the exceed in his arms and guided his half-asleep girlfriend by her hand home. It was years since Igneel had passed, and today was the closest he had felt to him since that day.
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"Natsu, guess what!" Lucy yelled excitedly as he entered the guild with Happy.
"What?" he asked after kissing her.
"The guild is having a costume party on Halloween!" she said, clapping her hands. "We should come with a couple's costume!"
"What do you mean, a couple's costume?" he asked, confused. "Like those costumes that one person is the front and the other the back part of a horse?"
"No, dummy" the blonde rolled her eyes. "I mean like a famous couple, like… Romeo and Juliet"
"Ohh, I get it, it sounds like fun!" he replied with a grin. "Like Salt and Pepper"
"It's closer… But I was thinking more Prince and Princess" she tried.
"Lame…" he waved it off. "How about I go as a vampire and you'll go as my bat?"
"Ugh, you're impossible!" she whined.
"Wait, this isn't just a joke?" he questioned, curious.
"No!"
"Lucy, you know I like to dress up as dragon for Halloween" he reminded her.
"I know" she nodded with a pout. "But I thought maybe this year…"
"Let's just come as Princess and Dragon, it's always a fun match" he proposed.
"But I would like to come with you as my Prince, just for once" she pleaded, hoping to get him into an elegant costume.
"Sorry, it's not happening" he shook his head.
"You're so stubborn!" she pouted, crossing her arms.
The next days were full with this discussion. Lucy was always trying to convince him to wear a different costume, but that was a subject he wouldn't give in, not even for her. The night before the party she stormed out, annoyed, and he let her go, also a little bothered by her behavior. After a couple hours, however, he had to go check on her, and ran to her apartment. She wasn't home yet, and he decided to take a nap while he waited. He was woken up by keys noises and laughing outside the door. Glancing at the clock, he noticed it was 3 AM already.
"Lucy!" Natsu called, opening the door to find Cana and Lucy giggling, with their faces red and a strong alcohol smell.
"Hey, I got your girlfriend a little drunk" Cana informed, pushing her blonde friend towards the dragon slayer, who tripped and fell in his arms, laughing. "On the bright side, she's no longer mad at you"
"Cana…" he grunted, annoyed.
"Take good care of her, bye-bye!" the brunette said, smiling and waving as she walked away.
"Natsuuuu, I missed you" drunk Lucy told, hugging him. "I promise, I'll dress as whatever you'd like. If you want, I'll even wear nothing at all"
"The party is only tomorrow, Lucy" he said, closing the door and helping her inside.
"Oh!" her eyes went wide, and she started crying like it was the most awful news she had ever heard. "Nooo, I can't believe it'll take so long!"
"Here, drink some water" he asked, putting a glass of water in her hands. She immediately stopped crying and drank it.
"Wow, I like water a lot!" she said, surprised.
"You don't say" he replied sarcastically. He hated drunk Lucy. Well, not hate hate, because he could never hate her, but she was very tiresome and hard to deal with. She got too flirty, and although that sounded nice considering she was his girlfriend, he didn't like it, because it didn't seem like his Lucy. It looked fake. It would be like taking advantage of her, and she would hate him the next day.
"Let's take a bath together" she proposed with a thin voice.
"Maybe tomorrow" he replied without enthusiasm. "You should go to sleep"
"I don't wanna!" she whined like a child.
"Come on, Lucy!" he insisted, tired. She made a sad face again.
"You're mad at me" she cried, burying her face on her hands.
"I'm not mad at you, I just think you're tired and will feel better after you go to sleep" he explained with softer words.
"Okay" she agreed, raising her head and pouting. "Will you carry me?"
"Sure" he sighed, taking her in his arms and carrying her to bed. He laid next to her and held her so she would fall asleep faster.
"You don't like me when I'm drunk, do you?" she asked quietly.
"I prefer the normal Lucy" he answered, hoping it wouldn't make her cry, but she just nodded.
"Hey, if you want, I have a tip for you to deal with normal Lucy" she offered.
"Really?" he watched her eyelids already dropping. "What's that?"
"She'll do whatever you ask if you're shirtless" she whispered in his ear, closing her eyes and falling asleep.
Natsu chuckled, and soon was also sleeping soundly. The next day, he woke up before her and decided to make her some coffee, anticipating she would really need it.
"Hm… Natsu" she called after he had just finished coffee.
"Hey you" he greeted, pouring the coffee on her favorite mug.
"Why are you yelling so early in the morning?" she asked, covering her ears. He sat on the bed, giving her the mug.
"I'm speaking normally, and it's noon already" he whispered, watching as she processed the information.
"Ugh… What happened last night?" she questioned, sipping the coffee.
"You came home 3 AM, you were with Cana and apparently, you drank a lot" he informed, still talking in a low voice not to disturb her.
"I knew it…" she sighed. "Did I say something stupid?"
"Well, you did say you'd wear anything I want for the party, even if it's nothing at all" he teased her, and she shook her head.
"In your dreams" she chuckled. "Thanks for the coffee. I need to go to the bathroom"
"Fine" he took her empty mug and took it to the kitchen. After considering his options for a while, he decided to test drunk Lucy's tip. He took off his scarf and vest. She came out of the bathroom and he could sense her surprise as she gasped and blushed to his sight.
"Why did you take off your shirt?" she asked, trying not to stare and failing.
"I just felt a little hot" he answered, grinning. "So, are we set for tonight? Dragon and Princess?"
"Hm…" she frowned, and he came closer and put his hands on the wall behind her, so she didn't really have anywhere to go unless she bended and went face to face with his abs.
"Lucy?" he called, since she seemed to have forgotten how to speak.
"Fine, you win!" she gave in at last, and he celebrated putting his hands on the air. "But I'm ripping that stupid dragon costume off you as soon as we're home!"
"You have a deal, Your Highness" he agreed, bowing.
"I'm so getting wasted at this party" she mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Good, drink as much as you like" he encourage her.
Drunk Lucy wasn't so bad after all.
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"Hey, can I talk to you girls for a sec?"
Mira lifted her eyes from the glass she was cleaning, and Lisanna turned after putting the last mugs on the shelves. Cana, who was at the counter, looked at him from over her wine bottle.
"Sure, Natsu, what do you need?"
"Some ideas" he looked at the wooden surface, embarrassed.
"Relationship advice?" asked Cana with a smirk.
"Kind of" he admitted from behind his scarf. "Can you promise not to tell Lucy?"
"Of course" Mira answered with a smile. "What is it?"
"Well, our anniversary is coming up" he told.
"Oh, that's right!" Lisanna noticed. "A whole year already! It feels like you just started going out yesterday!"
"Really? I think it feels like they're going out for longer" her older sister replied.
"That's 'cause you always pictured them together to begin with" Cana argued. "So, Natsu, are you gonna do something special?"
"I want to" he answered, sitting on a stool. "But I can't figure out what… We went to every nice place in town on dates already"
"Well, you could take her to her favorite" Mira suggested.
"I guess… But I'd like to do something different" he insisted. "Any ideas?"
"You should take her camping!" Lisanna said. "That's always fun!"
"We camp all the time when we work" he waved it off.
"Oh, I know!" Cana yelled. "You should buy one of those big cakes and then come out of it! You know, naked!"
"I think someone had too much to drink already" Erza said, approaching the table with Levy. "Natsu, you should go on a trip with Lucy. No jobs, just a vacation"
"That's… Brilliant!" he grinned at the prospect of it. "Where do you think we could go?"
"Oh, that island Caracole!" suggested Wendy, coming from behind him. "It's back to normal and it's always tropical weather there, Lucy-san is gonna love getting out of the cold here in Magnolia!"
"Or you could go to the mountains" Levy proposed. "Gajeel and I went there last year, it's really fun! You get to stay in a cozy cottage and get warm by the fireplace and also ski outside!"
"Both place sound like fun…" Natsu considered, indecisive. "Which would Lucy like the best?"
"Well, she loves the summer" Cana pointed out. "Plus, you'd get to see her in a bikini every day!"
"She always says she would like to go back to Caracole" Erza agreed.
"Yeah, but she asked me a bunch of questions about the mountain cottage after I went" Levy informed. "I think she got interested in going there, too"
"Guess I'll think about it" the fire dragon slayer said, standing up. "Thanks for the tips! Don't tell Lucy!"
"We won't!" Mira assured him. "Right, Cana?"
"Tell who about what?" the brunette asked, already falling asleep.
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Lucy sighed deeply as she came out of her sleep state, and blinked a few times before registering that the softness on her lips was her boyfriend kissing her.
"Natsu?" she mumbled against his lips, and he let go of her, but remained lying close to her face.
"Heh, I did it!" he said with a grin. "I woke you up with a kiss!"
"… because I was under a sleeping curse?" she asked with a chuckle. "I don't remember eating any apples or stinging my finger on a spindle"
"No, weirdo, I just thought I'd return the favor one year later" he explained, kissing her again. "Happy anniversary"
"What?" she blinked. "You changed my calendar again?"
"No" he raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you forgot!"
"I didn't, but…" she scratched her head and sat on the bed, still sleepy and confused. "Are you sure it's our anniversary?"
"Of course it is!" he assured her, also sitting. "It's been a year since you kissed me right on this bed and got me addicted to it"
"Kiss?" she repeated.
"I have a special gift!" he informed, giving her an envelope. "Don't worry, since you forgot, you can give me something else to make up for it… I'm sure we'll think of something"
Lucy smirked, opening the envelope and examining the two pieces of paper that were inside it.
"Passages to Caracole?" she read, her chin dropping. "You're taking me on a trip?"
"Yup! A vacation, just the two of us!" he said, hugging her from behind and kissing her hair. "Did you like it?"
To his surprise, however, Lucy started to laugh. He released her and she laughed so hard she had to hold her belly and tears came out of her eyes.
"What's so funny?" he questioned, crossing his arms. "Gee, Lucy, and you don't like when I call you weird"
"Sorry, it's just…" she wiped the tears from her eyes and went to her desk, coming back with a pink envelope very similar to his.
"What's this?"
"I thought our anniversary was the day you gave me the bracelet and asked me to be your girlfriend, which will complete a year some weeks from now" she told him. "And I got you these as a surprise!"
She handed him the envelope and he opened in a hurry. Just like his, it had two passages inside.
"Passages… To the mountains!" he read, and also laughed. "You and I had the same idea!"
"At least they're different places" she considered. "What do you wanna do?"
"What else is there to do?" he asked. "Let's go on both of them!"
"Thank God I already paid rent this month" she chuckled. "When we come back, we'll have to work like crazy"
"It's okay… I bet we'll have a lot of fun!" he grinned, pulling her by the waist. "We'll be together, after all"
"Always" she assured him, smiling and touching his forehead with hers. "I love you, Natsu"
"I love you too, little star"
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