Fairy Tail:
Testing the Waters
Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima
Story and OCs © Me
Summary- When Lucy is upset about a job gone wrong, Natsu, at his sister's urging, decides to take her out on a date. What could possibly go wrong?
Ch. 1- The Question
"We're back!" Natsu bellowed as he entered the guildhall with his usual boisterous enthusiasm. Happy flew in right beside him with his usual cheerful "Aye" while Lucy was seen not too far behind... although she was dragging her backpack behind her with her shoulders slumped. As everyone else turned to welcome the trio back home, Lucy soon dragged her feet to the bar counter, where she immediately groaned as she buried her face in her arms. Cana was already there, as always, chugging down a mug of beer.
"Hi, Lucy!" Mirajane greeted while wiping a mug.
"Hi, Mira..." Lucy muttered.
"Hey, Mira!" Natsu exclaimed as he sat down next to the Celestial Spirit Wizard. "Can I get some extra spicy chicken croquette sandwiches with a side of lit matches?"
"And raw fish for me, please!" Happy added.
"Coming right up!" Mirajane replied as she went to retrieve the Fire Dragon Slayer's meal.
"Hey, guys!" Haru greeted as she came and sat down with her brother while Blue Fang soon sat down behind her. "How'd your job go?"
Almost instantly, Lucy raised her head up and glared at the Beast Wizard, who gulped slightly at the sight of her angered gaze... and it didn't take her very long to figure out what happened.
"I'm guessing it was a bust?" asked Haru.
"Let's just say thanks to your brother," Lucy began, "half a town is now demolished."
"Seriously, Natsu?" asked Haru, incredulously.
"Hey, you can't talk about me, all right?" Natsu quipped as Mirajane returned with his sandwiches and lit matches, which he began to munch on as if they were a bunch of french fries, then got to work on the sandwiches.
"Still, though!" Haru countered.
"It's okay, Haru," Lucy said. "I can always find another way to pay my rent. Honestly, I'm pretty used to Natsu destroying stuff by now." She then gave a heavy sigh. "To be honest, that's not really what I'm worried about."
"It's not?" asked Haru while Blue Fang perked his ears up.
"Then what's the problem?" Happy inquired while he ate his usual raw fish.
"Well... it's just..." Lucy started, only to trail off as a look of contemplation formed on her face before she sighed. "No. Never mind."
"Oh, come on, tell us!" Haru urged.
"Yeah, Lucy, you can talk to us!" Mirajane added, causing Lucy to look up between her and the Beast Wizard to her left.
'I have a feeling I might regret this,' she thought.
"Well... it's just," Lucy began, "I've been Sorcery Weekly again and... well... I've been looking up the Top 10 Wizards That Would Make Great Girlfriends."
"Oh, yeah, I was reading that, too!" Haru replied.
"Mira's on the list again," Cana said. "No surprises there."
"I even saw Erza's name on there, too!" Haru added. "Oh! And there's Sherry Blendy from Lamia Scale, Jenny Realight from Blue Pegasus... oh! Cana's in there, too!"
"Guilty," Cana raised her hand.
"Exactly," Lucy said, solemnly. "I'm the second cutest girl in Fairy Tail... and yet... you don't see my name anywhere on that list."
Natsu glanced over at her while chewing on the lit matches while Lucy sighed.
"I guess I'm just not dating material," she said.
"Oh, Lucy, don't say that," Mirajane said, sympathetically.
"Yeah!" Cana agreed. "You're a real catch!"
"Oh, thanks for trying to cheer me up," Lucy began, "but honestly, I'm practically the least interesting girl." She then gave a wistful sigh. "You know what I would like? Whether it's a famous wizard or some normal guy... I'd like it if they'd come up and ask me out, you know?" She smiled dreamily as she stared up into space. "We could go for a nice little walk... we'd talk for a little while... go out for a nice dinner. Just a nice little outing, you know?"
"Aww, how sweet!" Mirajane cooed.
"I think that's just wonderful, Lucy!" Haru added.
"Yeah," Lucy replied before she sighed, her forlorn expression returning. "It's just too bad it'll never happen."
"Yeah," Natsu muttered as he swallowed his matches. "That's too bad, Luce." He then let out a noisy burp as he continued eating, causing Lucy to sigh and roll her eyes at his crassness.
"Oh, like you care," she muttered while Haru blinked at her brother, then back at Lucy, then back at Natsu again before she frowned at him and began to clear her throat... but that didn't seem to get his attention, so she tried again, a bit louder this time.
"Some water will clear that cough right up, sis," Natsu suggested, only for Haru to slap her hand against her face in frustration. Then, without warning, she grabbed her brother by the scarf and pulled him away from his plate, causing him to yelp as he tried to claw back at his stool, only for him to get dragged off into a corner of the guildhall, away from everyone's eyes and ears.
"What the hell?!" Natsu questioned. "I was eating!"
"Are you deaf or are you just plain dumb?" Haru asked. "Lucy was sitting right next to you and yet it was like you didn't hear a word she said!"
"I heard her!" Natsu said. "She said she wished that someone would take her on a date!"
"Yeah!" Haru said.
"She just didn't specify who," Natsu countered.
"Okay, fair," Haru shrugged, "but I have an idea! Natsu, why don't you ask Lucy out on a date?"
A pause... before Natsu snorted and burst out in a guffaw, bending over while gripping his stomach in laughter. As he stood straight up, however, he noticed Haru had a deadpan expression on her face as she raised an eyebrow at him.
"...You're serious, aren't you?" Natsu asked, his humor beginning to fade.
"Does this look like I'm not serious to you?" Haru asked back, causing Natsu to groan.
"I... Haru... you don't get it," said Natsu.
"Natsu, come on," Haru said. "Please?"
"Okay, look, there's something I don't get," Natsu said. "Why are you so insistent on this? Why are you so eager to see me and Lucy as a couple? So you and everyone else can tease me again?"
"No!" Haru argued. "Look, Natsu, we're sorry about the teasing, but I gave it a lot of thought and... after everything you two have been through together so far, it would make sense, don't you think?"
"You think me and Lucy make sense?" Natsu asked.
"Yes!" Haru answered. "I mean, you always go and visit her at her house, even though she doesn't really want you there, and when we're at the guild, you're always sitting next to her."
"Yeah, because she's my friend and I can do that," Natsu argued. "Look, Haru, I can't just go up to Lucy and say 'Hey, Luce, you wanna go out on a date with me?'"
"Why not?" Haru asked.
"Because it's weird!" Natsu argued. "Do you have any idea how awkward that would be? And it'd be even weirder if we were... dating."
"How do you know that?" Haru asked.
"I just do!" Natsu replied. "Besides, you know I'm not that kinda guy who's into that... mushy romantic stuff." He stuck his tongue in disgust. "Bleh! Not my style!"
"Natsu, Lucy's not looking for that kind of thing," said Haru. "She just wants nice and simple: a little walk, a little dinner... just somebody to talk to. It's really no different from when you two hang out except you'll just get to know each other a little more... and it'll just be the two of you, together."
Natsu stood quietly, crossing his arms and pursing his lip as he furrowed his brow in deep thought.
"Look, Natsu, I'm not saying that you guys should be a couple," Haru said. "All I'm saying is... just test the waters a little. See where it goes, you know what I mean? Also, not to blame you or anything, but... since you ended up costing Lucy her rent money, this could be a way for you to make it up to her."
"...I guess that's okay," Natsu replied as he let his arms fall to his sides. "I mean... I guess it's not really a... date, date. It's just two friends hangin' out. Nothin' weird about that... and... yeah... I do kinda owe it to her, I guess."
"There, you see?" Haru asked with a hopeful smile. "So? What do you say?"
A pause... before Natsu soon had a familiar expression of determination etch his features.
"You know what?" he asked. "You're right, sis. I'm gonna ask her if she wants to go out with me."
"That's my big bro!" Haru exclaimed, proudly. "Now go get her!"
Natsu grinned and nodded his head before he strode out from the corner with confidence, approaching an unwitting Lucy as she sipped her milkshake through a straw while Happy sat beside her, still munching on fish.
"Yo, Luce!" the Salamander exclaimed, causing Lucy to glance back at him, puzzled.
"Yeah?" Lucy asked.
"Listen," Natsu said as he sat down at the stool beside her again. "I was thinking about what you said, earlier, about wanting to go on a date and all... well, how about you and me go on one?"
Almost instantly, all eyes turned on the two. Erza's normally stoic expression turned into an owlish look of surprise while Gray's mouth gaped open slightly. Juvia covered her mouth, her eyes wide in shock as the words that left Natsu's mouth hit home. Elfman dug a finger in his ear before taking it out, just to make sure that he heard that right. Wakaba's jaw hung open, causing his pipe to drop out of his mouth while Macao, who had Romeo sitting next to him, arched an eyebrow in disbelief. Cana's beer was halfway to her lips before she had to stop and do a double-take, just to make sure that she wasn't hearing things while Mirajane was doing her damnedest to keep herself from letting out the most unearthly squeal. Levy's eyes were wide and her mouth was gaping open as her reading glasses fell off her face. Happy's eye twitched as he held his fish in his paws, his meal left untouched while Blue Fang tilted his head in puzzlement.
And Lucy? Well... she blinked at Natsu, who just had the biggest grin on his face like he had just made a big accomplishment, then she looked around just to see if she might have been hearing things or if he was talking to anybody else. When the realization hit that he was actually talking to her, she turned to her best friend with the most flabbergasted look anybody had ever seen.
"You mean... you wanna take me out on a date?" Lucy asked. "Me?!"
"Uh... you're the only Lucy I know," Natsu began, "so... yeah. I wanna go on a date with ya!"
"Uh... Natsu?" Happy asked, growing more and more concerned by the second. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Never better," Natsu replied. "Why?"
"Okay... can someone PLEASE explain what just happened?!" Gray questioned. "For real!"
"I'm still processing it, myself," Erza replied.
"Natsu? And Lucy?" repeated Elfman. "On a DATE?!"
"Oh, my GOSH, I can't believe it's happening!" Mirajane exclaimed while she bounced up and down like a little girl, unable to contain her excitement.
"Okay, even I didn't see this coming," Cana began, "and I'm a fortuneteller, for cryin' out loud!"
"What is the big deal?" Natsu asked. "All I asked was if Lucy wanted to go on a date with me!"
"Yeah, we heard that!" Macao replied. "It's just... well... err..."
"We never thought you'd actually wrack up the nerve to actually ask out a girl," Wakaba pointed out.
"Guys, it's no big deal," Haru said as she walked out into the middle of the guildhall. "It's just Natsu asking Lucy if they can spend the day together, okay?"
"Exactly!" Natsu replied before he looked at Lucy. "So, what do you say, Luce? You wanna go on a date with me?"
Everyone glanced over at Lucy, who stared at Natsu, who smiled at her in that same impish yet friendly way that honestly made her feel comfortable. It was the same smile he had when he first invited her to join Fairy Tail and it made it hard for her to say no to that. Perhaps she could give this a chance and see where this would go.
"You know what?" Lucy asked as a smile played on her lips. "Why not?"
"Great!" Natsu exclaimed. "So... tomorrow? I'll come to pick you up at 1? Maybe 2 o'clock?"
"2 o'clock is fine," Lucy replied.
"Awesome! I'm fired up!" Natsu declared before he turned and headed out. "Well, see ya tomorrow, Lucy!"
Haru giggled before she turned to Lucy, who was surrounded by several of the girls, who were giving her their congratulations. Though she seemed rather embarrassed, she still smiled, nonetheless, even as Erza gently yet firmly patted her on the back, which did knock a bit of wind out of her. Soon, Haru turned and followed her brother out, along with Happy and Blue Fang as they began to make their way back to their cottage in the woods, just as the sun was beginning to dip behind the town buildings, painting the sky a deep orange.
"I knew you could do it," Haru said. "Way to go, big bro!"
"Thanks, sis!" Natsu grinned.
"So, what are you gonna do when you go out with Lucy tomorrow?" Happy asked before he began to make kissy faces. "Are you gonna smooch~? Mwah-mwah-mwah~!"
"Ew! No!" Natsu replied.
"Happy!" Haru chided. "None of that is gonna be happening! It's just gonna be Natsu and Lucy hanging out and having a nice time, okay?"
"Well, that's boring," Happy pouted.
"Yep, it's just gonna be me and Luce, out on a date," Natsu replied. "...Uh... Haru? Question."
"What?" Haru asked.
"What exactly does one do on a date?" Natsu asked with a slight look of embarrassment on his face... and once again, Haru smacked her palm against her forehead.
"Should have seen this coming..." she muttered.
I was gonna save this for after Wendy joined, but I figured I might as well start on this now. Plus, I wanted to do this for a long time and I'm hoping to get it right.
Review, please!