Ch. 2- Getting Ready

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

Natsu hummed to himself as he stood in front of the mirror that hung off one of the support pillars of the cottage. He dipped his fingers into a small jar of hair gel and smoothed it over his salmon pink hair to give it that spiky look, then he backed away to look at his reflection. He had on a red open tee shirt with a golden flame design around the bottom, revealing his broad muscular chest and his chiseled abdominal muscles, as well as a pair of blue loose-fitting shorts that went to his knees. Smiling in satisfaction, Natsu then reached over to a wooden stool and picked up his scarf, which he wrapped around his neck.

"Look at you, getting ready for your date!" Haru exclaimed as she walked in with a broom in hand. "You look great, bro!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed as he sat on Haru's shoulder.

"Thanks!" Natsu grinned. "Do ya think Lucy will like it?"

"I think Lucy would like anything you wore," Haru replied, causing the Dragneel Siblings to chuckle... but then, Natsu frowned slightly, to Haru and Happy's concern.

"Natsu?" Happy asked.

"What's the matter?" Haru inquired.

"I dunno," Natsu replied as he walked over to the couch and sat down while Blue Fang, who was lying on the floor, raised his head up and whined worriedly. "I guess I'm still nervous about this whole 'dating Lucy' thing."

"Aww, Natsu," Haru said as she sat down beside her brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to be nervous."

"I know," Natsu replied. "It's just... I've never done this before. I still don't know the first thing about what someone does when they go out on a date."

"Well, if you want my advice," Haru said, "maybe you can start by bringing Lucy some flowers."

"Flowers, huh?" Natsu pondered.

"But really, there are only two important things that you need to do," said Haru. "Number one: make sure that both you and Lucy have a good time. Number two, and most important: just be yourself. Don't try too hard. Remember, this is just supposed to be you and her just hanging out together."

Natsu furrowed his brow in thought before he smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just gonna ahead and go for it."

"Speaking of going," Happy added, "isn't about time you got going? You have to pick up Lucy at 2 o'clock, right?"

"Oh, crap, you're right!" Natsu cursed as he slipped his sandals on and hurried out the door. "See you later, guys!"

"Bye!" Haru called. "Have fun!"

"Tell us about it when you get back!" Happy added while Blue Fang barked his goodbyes.

"I will!" Natsu called as he disappeared beyond the trees, heading straight for town.

"Well, now that he's gone," said Haru as she stood up and turned to the huge mess in the middle of the room, "I can finally start cleaning the house. Happy, you wanna help me?"

"...Do I have to?" Happy asked.

"Yes," Haru replied, "because some of this mess is yours."

XXX

Lucy sat in front of her vanity mirror while Cancer stood behind her, carefully combing her blonde tresses and snipping off any split ends. She had on a simple jade green shirt with a magenta undershirt beneath it, a pink frilly skirt with a belt, complete with a heart-shaped Heart Kreuz belt buckle, and a pair of brown sandals with short heels. As Cancer continued to style her hair, she kept glancing nervously at the clock on her wall.

It was 2 o'clock. Natsu was going to be showing up any minute... and yet, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding. Ever since Natsu asked her out yesterday, though she looked calm about it, the moment he was out of her sight, she became a big bundle of nerves. She started panicking to the rest of her female guildmates, sputtering on and on about what just happened. She just couldn't believe that Natsu Dragneel, someone who was said to have the attention span of a hamster and had absolutely no interest in the opposite sex, actually asked her out on a date...

And yet... he did... and for some reason, she couldn't help but feel just a little bit happy at the thought. However, she quickly shook her head, causing Cancer to let go of her so as not to accidentally cut off more than he should.

'What are you getting so worked up over?' she thought as Cancer began to part her hair in the back and wrap hair ties around the roots, giving her two low pigtails. 'It's just Natsu, your best friend... it's nothing to get nervous over...'

And yet... she still felt uncertain.

"All done, baby," Cancer said as he backed away, allowing Lucy to look herself over.

"Thanks, Cancer," Lucy said. "You can take the rest of the day off."

Cancer nodded before he disappeared, heading back to the Celestial Realm. As Lucy grabbed her Celestial Gate Keys and put them in her purse, she jumped a bit as she heard a knock on her door.

"Luce, it's me!"

Lucy blinked in surprise. Not only was Natsu right on time, but he actually knocked on the door for once.

"Lucy?" Natsu called as he knocked again.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" Lucy called back as she hurried to get her makeup, her wallet, and other things.

Outside the door, Natsu hummed as he waited for Lucy to come out, his hands shoved down his pockets. However, as he glanced down at his empty right hand, he gasped as he realized something.

"Flowers!" he whispered. "Crap, I forgot to get flowers!" He then heard Lucy's encroaching footsteps, causing him to look around in a panic before he glanced over at some flowers growing out of a windowsill, which he quickly pulled out from their soil and hid behind his back, just as Lucy opened the door.

"Hey, Natsu," she greeted.

"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu greeted back as he held the flowers out to her. "Gotcha somethin'!"

"Oh!" Lucy exclaimed as she took the flowers into her hands and smelled them. "These are lovely... but also kind of familiar. Where'd you get these?"

"Eh, it doesn't matter," Natsu shrugged. "Anyway, ya ready to go?"

"Y-yeah, I'm ready," Lucy replied, trying to hide her nervousness, and yet somehow, she felt that Natsu could tell anyway.

"Great! Let's get goin'!" Natsu exclaimed as he soon walked away with Lucy following after him. As they left, however, two familiar heads poked out from around the corner, one black and one red.

"I knew it," Gray muttered, wearing a pair of sunglasses, his usual white coat, black shirt, and trousers. "The idiot has absolutely no idea what he's doing."

"Now, hold on, Gray," Erza said, also wearing a pair of shades, a sunhat (even though it wasn't sunny), a simple white blouse with a blue ribbon on the front, a long blue sailor skirt, and a pair of leather boots. "Let's not jump to conclusions. I'm sure Natsu has something in mind."

"It's Natsu," Gray said. "The guy wouldn't know romance if it bit him in the ass."

"Listen, all we're doing is just following them around to make sure that things go well," said Erza. "Lucy was so nervous, yesterday, so I just want to make sure that she's all right is all."

Gray snorted. "Knowing Flamehead, he'll probably scare her off for good."

"Let's get going," Erza urged before the pair sneakily hurried after Natsu and Lucy as they headed into town together.

And we got spies. XD

I hope I'm making everyone seem as in-character as possible. I'm hoping to make it at least close to canon.

Review, please!