Chapter 13 – Two Types of Fun
Beach House, Summer Time,
Year X792, Evening,
Natsu Dragneel
I sat on the sofa in the main room, anticipation and anxiety in equal measures rising in my chest as I awaited the reappearance of the blond White Dragon Slayer. "Come on Sting, how long're you gonna take?" I complained to myself as I stared towards the general direction of the bedroom where the blond was 'getting ready'. Since arriving back at the house, Sting and I had agreed to get ready separately, with me preparing and showering first, and him second, however as I now waited, I was somewhat regretting my choice; Sting was taking forever. I had only hurriedly gotten changed into the spare clothes I had brought with me, after having a quick but thorough shower, yet Sting seemed to be taking his sweet time getting himself ready. And here I thought he was excited for this date he had planned? I thought to myself. After a little while longer I got up and heaved a great sigh.
"Alright, it's been an hour at least, I'm coming in!" I declared only moments before barrelling into the bedroom. Despite my warning, there was no one there. "Sting?" I questioned aloud, trying to see if the other male was still showering. There was no reply.
"Sting?" I tried again, yet still nothing sounded out. After a few moments, I noticed that the window, which I was sure was closed when I had left the bedroom, was now wide open. "Did he leave through the window?" I questioned, with a puzzled but slightly amused expression passing over my features. Poking my head outside I could see not one trace of the White Dragon Slayer, although I could definitely smell him. "What the…" I gave a look of confusion, "Where did he go?"
Suddenly a knock sounded at the front door. Turning my head, and with a suspicious frown, I headed out of the bedroom to answer the person knocking. As soon as I opened the door, my face turned from a frown, to a look of pure confusion. "Surprise!" Sting beamed at me from the porch of the building.
"What are you… did you come all the way around the side?" I questioned the beaming Dragon Slayer. Sting nodded.
"Yep. I heard you complaining, and then as soon as you stood up I knew what you were going to do, so I had to make a slightly… quicker… escape than I had planned, which meant I had to finish buttoning this shirt up as I came around… but, anyways yeah I guess I did" Sting blabbered. I sighed, before smiling.
"You wanted to surprise me?" I asked him. Sting nodded.
"I figured to make this seem more like a date I should pick you up from the front door, rather than just walking outta the bedroom going 'let's go'" Sting explained with a slight chuckle. I chuckled along with him.
"You're putting a lot of effort into this" I stated observingly, before I looked down to Sting's arms, which were hidden behind his back. "What are you hiding?" I asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. Sting pouted.
"Nothing…" he said coyly. I smirked.
"Come on" I said, "You know I can always smell them anyways, right?" I added after a moment. Sting shrugged.
"Fine. Here, I got these for you" he stated, before he produced a small number of flowers and chocolates.
"For a first date?" I queried immediately. He nodded.
"Hey, if it's for you I'm going all out" Sting stated, before he gave a wide grin, "Although if you're just gonna use your nose to tell everything anyways, then I guess there's no point in me hiding anything" the White Dragon Slayer commented, his face giving a slight pout. I laughed.
"It's not like you couldn't do the same" I said. Sting shrugged.
"My nose is not as good as yours Natsu, in fact I don't think anybody's is" I replied, in a flattering tone of voice. I just rolled my eyes.
"Alright, you got me convinced, I'm sorry. Thank you for these. Now shall we get going?" I said quickly. Sting nodded.
"Okay, you look good by the way" the White Dragon agreed, before giving a slight nod towards my attire; it was nothing special, just an extra, closed-front waistcoat and a parody of my usual attire in a blue-silver colouration. I accepted the compliment graciously.
"Thanks. You… look good too" I replied, as I locked up the house for the evening. Sting smiled.
"Hey, I said I'd try" he chuckled, as he linked arms with me. I couldn't help but agree, unlike me Sting was wearing a nice, deep-blue shirt with matching dark-blue trousers and shoes. Does he really think he has to try so hard? I… already like him… a lot… I thought for a moment, before shaking my head to remove any possible negative thoughts from my mind.
No, tonight I'm just gonna be positive. I gotta enjoy my time with Sting like this I thought determinedly. "Something the matter?" Sting asked me as we walked into town; he seemed to have noticed my slight head shake.
"No" I said confidently, before I allowed a smirk to form on my features, "Just wondering what you've got planned for tonight". Sting smirked back.
"You'll have to wait a see" he replied in a sing-song but upbeat voice. It annoyed me that he was keeping me in suspense, however I knew it wouldn't be for long.
/
After a short walk into town, Sting directed me towards a particular restaurant. "I think you'll like this place. You said you weren't too comfortable with all-posh and expensive food when we were at the Zollzero's restaurant, so I figured I'd choose something a little more low-key this time" Sting said with a bright, although somewhat unsure smile. I smiled back to reassure him.
"It's fine. I like most food so it didn't really matter to me what you'd pick, although… I'm kinda glad you remembered that" I said happily with a fondness to my tone. Sting nodded, before pointing to a specific building.
"Thanks. Look, there it is" he said. I followed his outstretched arm to the intended target; sure enough, the place Sting had picked seemed to be some smaller restaurant nuzzled in between a large shop that was closed for the evening, and row of little market stalls, all of which overlook beach views. Entering the establishment, a woman came to meet us, who immediately recognised Sting and me.
"Oh, you're Sting Eucliffe… and Natsu Dragneel" the woman said in a tone that suggested she was completely unaware of the reservation Sting had supposedly made previously in the day.
"Yes, we are. I believe I made a reservation here earlier today" Sting said in a more pleasant tone of voice, clearly to placate the seemingly surprised woman before us.
"Oh… um… I'll just have to go and check, please wait a moment" the waitress said, before she hurried off to confirm our request. After a minute or so, she returned, with two menus in hand as well. "It seems you do have a reservation sir, please follow me and I will show you to your table" we both did, with a slight smile to each other as we were led through the quiet restaurant.
The table Sting had apparently selected was a booth near the back of the building. Beside it was a window that stared out directly onto the ocean, which glowed all manner of oranges and pinks as the setting sun reflected off the crystal blue water. "Whoa" I breathed as I took in the view.
"This is the table you specifically requested, isn't sir?" the waitress asked in a polite tone of voice, directing her question to the blond beside me.
Sting looked at me before he replied; I could tell he was gauging whether I would like to sit here, and after giving him a faint nod, he smiled. "Yes, it is" Sting confirmed. The waitress nodded, before gesturing for us to take our seats. As Sting and I sat opposite each other the woman placed the two menus down delicately in front of us.
"Would you like anything to drink whilst you look through our menus?" she asked, after giving us a moment to glance over the contents of the documents. I looked to Sting.
"Erm…" I was unsure of what to request, since my normal response to such a question would usually just be either 'beer' or 'water', neither of which seemed like appropriate answers in this context. The White Dragon Slayer seemed to be having the same plight as me, since he too gave a look of uncertainty.
"If you need a moment to decide I can always return, or if you prefer I can recommend some wine or other drinks from our collection" the waitress said with a smile. Despite her good intentions, the waitress' recommendations were not making anything easier for me; Wine? That's something people normally drink on dates, right? But I don't know the first thing about wine, or any other kinds of alcohol besides drinking it… I froze in place.
After a few painful moments, Sting spoke up. "We'll have whatever wine you recommend" he said with a gracious smile to the woman serving us. The waitress gave a slight look of surprise, which she attempted to carefully cover up with an expertise that suggested several years in the service industry despite her relatively young appearance.
"Oh… is there any particular preference you have then? A specific type of wine that I can get you? Or a specific price?" she questioned us, obviously trying to work out our preferences. Sting pouted in thought for a moment.
"Red. But it can't be too expensive" he said with a smile, before looking to me, "If that's alright with you Natsu?" I nodded; inside I was thankful that the blond had taken charge and was just happy he had made a decision when I could not. "Alright, that settles it then" Sting declared in confirmation. The waitress nodded.
"Okay, I will bring your drinks over in a moment, then I can take your food order" she said. Sting and I nodded in understanding, before we watched her leave. Once she was gone I gave a visible expression of relief.
"I can't believe that I froze up there" I stated amusedly. Sting smiled.
"So, you can fight Dragons, beat up demons and take on the biggest of monsters without batting an eye, yet you are completely defeated by waitresses taking drinks orders… interesting" the White Dragon Slayer chimed with a slight chuckle. I frowned at him.
"Hey, don't pretend like you didn't freeze up there too, I saw your face" I said defensively. Sting shrugged.
"Maybe, but at least I gave a response" he replied with a cocky grin that sent me pouting.
"I hate it when you get all cocky like that" I huffed, before I focused on scanning the menu. Unlike the last time Sting and I were in a restaurant, this time I could understand all of the dishes that were being listed, although I was still having some difficulty just selecting one to choose. "Do you know what you wanna eat?" I asked, trying to see if the other male's choice could help me to make my mind up.
Sting laughed, "I don't know… there's quite a few things here that sound tasty" he commented, "Have you decided?" I shook my head, sending him a big grin back.
"No. I'm having the same problem" I replied, which made Sting and I laugh a little more.
"We could order a couple of dishes and then share I suppose" the White Dragon reasoned, "However that'll use up the rest of my funds, I won't probably have any money left until we get back to Magnolia and take another job" I shrugged.
"I'll still have money, so I could buy us breakfast tomorrow" I stated. Sting shook his head.
"The manager already offered to give us breakfast back at the hotel tomorrow, as an apology for having his staff member assault us" Sting stated. I frowned.
"It wasn't his fault though" I said in a mildly confused tone. Sting nodded.
"I said that, but he was… insistent…" the White Dragon Slayer relayed. "Regardless, when we get back to Magnolia, I'm gonna have a word with Edric… since the guy behind all that stuff was only attacking us because of our connection to those Zollzero, I figured we may be able to get some compensation from them" Sting explained. I smiled.
"That's a good idea… if I tell Gramps what happened then it's likely he'll also probably want to have a word or two with Edric as well, so if you can't get some compensation from them, then he definitely will" I grinned wickedly. Sting chuckled.
"That's a good idea" he said, before he turned to his left in time to see the waitress reappear with our drinks order.
"Here is your wine, I hope you like it" she said, as she set two glasses down and poured some of the deep red liquid into them. Sting and I observed the wine carefully before we looked back to the woman. "Are you ready to make your food order?" she asked. I looked to Sting.
"Are we going for the sharing option?" I asked. Sting nodded.
"Yeah, why not? At least we'll get to have more food" he said, before he then proceeded to select multiple dishes from the menu. The waitress recorded all these, before vanishing off to fulfil the slightly longer requested food order. Once Sting and I were alone again, I couldn't help but smile.
Sitting here with him, having a laugh… it's fun… but does it mean I love him or is it just something else? I thought for a moment as I took a sip of my wine. Sting smiled back at me.
"Enjoying yourself so far Natsu?" he asked. I nodded.
"Yeah" I replied. Sting beamed at this.
"Good, because this is only the beginning" he said. I frowned.
"Really?" Sting nodded.
"Yep, I've got three things planned for tonight, so after this there's two more" he said. I smiled.
"But I'm guessing you aren't gonna tell me about them yet?" I said in a jovial but questioning tone. He laughed.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I did" he replied. I chuckled.
"Alright then…" I couldn't help but wonder what he was planning. Guess I'll have to wait and see…
/
Our food order took a little time to arrive, but when it did both me and Sting had to force ourselves not to drool. It really was a grand selection of dishes.
Sparing no time, we each dug into plate after plate of food, before we ordered some additional deserts. Eating those, Sting and I both began reminiscing about the sweet treats at our respective guilds, with me in particular regaling the White Dragon Slayer with several stories about Erza and her obsession of all things cake. Sting in turn told me about several amazing cake shops and cafés that were near to his guild that he just 'had to show me sometime'. I almost took him up on his offer, however I decided to avoid discussing future plans until after I had decided how I felt about the White Dragon Slayer. Sting seemed okay with this decision, since his confidence pushed him to just try harder to win me over. It made me happy he thought like this, although I could not understand why.
After enjoying ourselves at the restaurant, Sting and I left, with bright smiles plastering our faces. "What's next?" I asked. Sting gestured for me to follow him.
"You'll see when we get there, come on" Sting said, before he led me at a slow, but pleasant pace, through the streets of Hargeon. As we walked, I couldn't help but observe the blond. His hair was as spikey and haphazard as always, however it also showed some care, and a smoothness that made me want to touch it. I wonder if he does anything specific to get it like that… I thought to myself, no matter what I do with mine, it always ends up the same, messy mop…
"Something up Natsu?" Sting asked, as he glanced towards me. I shook my head and smiled.
"No, just admiring the view" I said. Sting chuckled.
"Of what?" he mused "I didn't have you pegged for the daydreaming type" he added with a slight smirk. I shrugged.
"I don't mind looking at stuff when it interests me" I said, before changing the topic of conversation. "Anyways, speaking of stuff that's interesting; where are we going?" I asked. Sting smiled.
"It's not far, you'll see when we get there" the blond replied, before he moved closer to me, taking my hand in his. "And then there'll definitely be a view there you can admire" he added. I smirked to myself. So long as you're around there's always gonna be a view that I can admire I thought. "Something funny?" Sting asked suddenly, noticing my smile. I shook my head.
"No" I said, "Just thinking about something a little embarrassing" Sting's practically glowed when I said this. Seeing his expression, I knew immediately what he was going to ask.
"Can you tell-"
"No" I said, before giving him a big smile, "However if this thing, or this place your taking me to is interesting enough, I might tell you… maybe…" I chuckled. Sting slightly increased the pace of his walking as I said this.
"If that's the case then let's go!" he cheered, before practically dragging me the rest of the distance.
When we reached the place, I was left completely speechless. It was beautiful.
/
Beach, Summer Time,
Year X792,
Sting Eucliffe
The sun had set, and left a blanket of blackness in the sky above, dotted with the faint lights of stars. This almost perfect, cloudless night was made all the more amazing by the still sea which mirrored everything and made it seem like the sky itself had merged with the place before us. I heard Natsu breath in deeply beside me as we made our way over to the particular part of secluded beach, somewhere between our house and the town. "Whoa…" he said in a breathless tone. It surprised me to hear the Fire Dragon Slayer go so quiet. I smiled slightly to myself.
"So, is this interesting enough for you?" I asked the pink-haired Mage, with a smile and a slightly raised brow. Natsu looked to me.
"You wanted to show me this?" he asked. I nodded.
"I know it isn't some big fancy or particularly special place… however, when I was walking around town earlier today I saw this old man painting. Just outta curiosity I looked to see what he was painting, and it was this place, except at night" I explained, which seemed to surprise Natsu, "When he noticed me looking he smiled and said that this place was the most beautiful part of the beach this time of year, and that he always came to draw it during the day so he could get the scenery right. At the time, I was trying to think of a perfect place for us to spend our time after dinner… and well… I figured I'd choose this place" I added with a faint chuckle, "Pretty stupid, right?"
Natsu shook his head. "No" he said firmly, "I think it's perfect. I always like hanging out under the stars, makes me remember when I was little with Igneel, camping outside" the pinkette added with his own smile. I laughed.
"Really? I used to like doing that with Weisslogia too" I said in a slightly more upbeat tone. Natsu chuckled.
"So, I guess we had similar upbringings with our Dragons" he stated, before his eyes wandered back to the star-dotted scene both above and before us. "Y'know… if Lucy was here she could tell us all the constellations, she usually does when we're forced to camp out on jobs" the pinkette muttered, seemingly just to himself. I smiled and took his hand.
"Yukino does the same thing. Must be because of their Celestial Spirit Magic" I relayed, dragging the Dragon Slayers attention back to me. Natsu nodded.
"Probably…" he agreed before he looked down to our joined hands. I began to tug at his wrist in order to get him to follow me. I want to get him relaxed… before I give him that thing I bought… plus the other thing…
"Come on, let's sit on the hill for a little while… we can see if we can remember any of the constellations without those two there to correct us" I grinned. Natsu nodded and allowed me to guide him to a patch of soft grass, where we sat together, each staring up into the darkened sky above. I found that no matter how hard I tried, I could not remember the names of any of the dots above, so instead I allowed my eyes to fall to earth, taking in every detail of the male beside me; he was much more beautiful to me than those stars anyway. After a little while, Natsu noticed me staring at him, and he gave a slightly smug look. "Enjoying the view?" he asked me in a cocky tone of voice that sent a slight wave of heat throughout my body. Damn, not yet I thought, as I supressed my sudden urge.
"Yeah… it's beautiful" I replied, keeping my own smug smile on my face. Natsu laughed.
"So… you said there was one more surprise after this… are you gonna tell me what it is?" he asked. I smirked at this.
"The third surprise depends on you" I stated. This made Natsu frown.
"On me?" he mumbled in confusion, as his mind clearly tried to guess at what this could mean. I nodded to confirm his question before I spoke.
"Yeah, but before I let you decide, I want to give you two things" I said, holding up two fingers to emphasize this. Natsu eyed the digits for a moment, before his face became a mask of intrigue.
"Okay…" he said, trying to prompt me to tell him what these things were. I let go of his hand, to fumble about my person for a moment. After a quick search, I found the object I was looking for. "Alright, hold out your hands and close your eyes" I said. Natsu did as he was told, although from his quick frown, he was not pleased with having been asked to do this. With a slightly childish smirk, I placed the trinket I had bought down in the Dragon Slayers palm. "Okay, you can open them" I said to Natsu, who immediately looked down at the small thing I had placed in his hand.
"What's…" he trailed off before he had even begun to speak. Natsu looked back up at me for a moment, before looking back down to the trinket. "It's a little you" he smirked. I nodded.
"Yeah, I saw a stall selling all kinds of miniatures. Me, you, Fairy Tail, Sabertooth… Blue Pegasus. Even Lamia Scale. There were miniatures of each and every famous Mage in pretty much the whole of Fiore" I said. Natsu chuckled.
"So why did you get me this?" the pinkette asked me. I laughed a little.
"Well… it was because of two reasons. One, I wanted to see how you'd react. And two, I wanted to give you something that wasn't too serious, but would still remind you of me. I figured that little thing would definitely at least remind you of me" I stated a little jovially. Natsu smiled brightly at me.
"Well, I guess you succeeded then" he said, before he looked to the figure for one last time. He moved it around in his hands, examining its details, before looking back to me. "So, what was your other gift?" he asked. Hearing this, once more a wide grin spread over my features.
"The other one is right here with me… you just gotta close your eyes again so I can give it to ya" I said. Natsu did as he was told once again, closing his eyes with a slight look of anticipation on his face. As he did this, he placed the figure of me down on his lap, before holding out his hands. I took one look at the pinkette before a warmth spread throughout my body. Well… guess this is when I see how he feels about all this… I thought, before I leaned in to give the Fire Mage his present.
/
Beach, Summer Time,
Year X792,
Natsu Dragneel
I waited expectantly with my hands outstretched. I could feel Sting moving about in front of me, but I could not figure out what he was doing. Then, quite surprisingly, I felt his lips connect with mine. I opened my eyes for a moment in surprise, before closing them again to enjoy the experience a little more. The kiss was sweet, and it ignited a heat within me that I had not even suspected of existing, one that made me unconsciously lean in towards the blond. After a couple of minutes, Sting pulled away and I opened my eyes. I had to take a moment to allow my mind to catch up with what was going, whilst Sting moved to sit cross-legged in front of me.
"So… what did you think of your other present?" he asked, his tone and the glimmer in my eyes told me instantly that my answer here would define how Sting I would in the next few minutes, or perhaps would permanently, act towards each other. I need to decide now; do I love him or not? I thought. The answer was simple, and a smile on my face gave it away before I could even speak.
"I liked it… a lot" I said to Sting. The White Dragon Slayer grinned brightly.
"Oh good…" he sighed in relief, "I wasn't sure if you would've after we already kissed, I thought it wouldn't be as special" he added. I shook my head.
"No Sting, it was… good. All this was good… the meal, the view from our table, all this" I gestured around to the starry scene, "It's just so nice and good and… perfect. I don't really know what else to say, I'm not very good at expressing all my emotions or feelings with words" I said, looking into Stings deep blue eyes. I want to say I love him, but it just…
"Natsu, you don't need to tell me. If you can't use your words, use your actions" Sting said with a smile. I smiled back. My actions?
I found myself leaning in and kissing Sting again before my mind could even register the idea. Now it was the blond-haired Dragon Slayer's turn to give a look of surprise, before a flicker of a smile passed over his lips. I leaned in closer, and placed an arm behind Sting to support myself. Sting seemed to follow the movement, and soon we were lying on top of each other, our lips still connected. Sting opened his mouth a little, and allowed me entrance, which I took willingly.
We made out for a short while, before we broke apart for air. "Well…" I said with a slight smirk. Sting nodded slightly.
"That was pretty… clear" he mused, before looking down to where I was laying on top of him.
"Oh… sorry" I mumbled, before I sat up off of him, "I guess I just got a little carried away" I added. Sting shook his head.
"It was fine… you were nice and warm" he chuckled.
"Well I do play with fire" I said, conjuring up a small flame to my finger tip to emphasise this. Sting looked to the flickering ember, before looking back to me.
"I suppose that's true" he agreed, before he rubbed the back of his head, "However…" the White Dragon Slayer looked away from me, his face showing some uncertainty. I realised Sting was unsure of something; the sudden scent of fear emanating off of Sting was clear enough from this proximity for me to register it instantly. After a moment or so of thinking, Sting's moved so that his eyes met mine; blue to black. "I uh… need… I need to know. Do you think we could be together… as boyfriends? Or do you just want to leave this like it is, with us having this one date?" Sting asked me suddenly. I widened my eyes a little in surprise; Was that kiss not clear enough? I thought confusedly.
My wide-eyed response seemed to invoke a sense of desperation in Sting, who sighed deeply. "It's okay if you don't want to…" he said, his words and tone completely contradicting one another. I shook my head. Damn, he must've thought that my surprise meant I didn't want to!
"No" I said suddenly, earning a slightly confused look from the other Dragon Slayer. "No, I… want to. I want to be with you, Sting" I said. Sting's eyes glimmered for a moment, before a suspicious smile crept up onto his face.
"Really?" he asked. I nodded, before I allowed myself to smile.
"Of course, I do, ya idiot" I said, "Why else would I have kissed you like that?"
Sting smiled, his eyes positively glowing upon hearing my response. "If that's the case…" he said, before leaning in, "Can I kiss you one more time?" I nodded.
Then Sting's lips crashed into mine.
/
Heat and love was practically overflowing from this kiss; Sting had clearly been holding back this last couple of times. He pushed me back softly, so that I was the one laying down this time, with his weight on top. Sting's tounge pressed to my lower lip, and out of sheer instinct I opened my mouth, allowing the wet muscle entrance.
Kissing Sting I could still taste the barest remnant of his desert from back at the restaurant; its sweetness enhanced the whole experience and I soon began to feel the heat from earlier fill my body, this time tenfold what it was previously. What the hell… it feels like somethings burning in me, strong than my Dragon Slayer fire… is this what it feels like to be in love, this heat? The question left me confused.
After a few minutes of kissing, Sting pulled off of me, a bright grin on his face. "You like that, Natsu?" he asked with a slight lewdness to his tone. I smiled.
"It was fun… like everything else that's happened tonight" I said, as I tried to avoid letting slip the fact I was already getting a little of that inner heat in another part of my body.
"Well… actually, there is still one more thing I had planned for tonight…" Sting said, with a slight raise of his eyebrows. I nodded as the memory of Sting explaining his plans what felt like ages ago flashed into my mind.
"Yeah, you said that the next thing would depend on me" I relayed. Sting nodded at this.
"Yes, so now I'm going to ask you one thing; do you want to sleep tonight, or do you want to do something a little more fun?" Sting asked me, a lewd, but concerned look on his face.
I gave a pout of thought for about a second, before I grinned brightly. "Depends on what you mean by fun?" I asked, "Fun like what we just had at the restaurant… or the other type of fun?"
Sting laughed. "Do you really need me to say it?" he asked with a slightly amused tone of voice.
I shook my head, "No, however I wouldn't really care which, so long as I could get to have that fun with you" I said.
Sting stood up. "If that's the case then come on, the beach house isn't far from here" he said, before offering his hand to me. I took it, and then with equally as lewd grins plastered over our faces, Sting and I walked back to our temporary accommodation hand in hand.
Once the house fell into view, neither of us could wait another second, and without any warning, we sprinted back to the building, before barreling through the door at record speed. There was nothing that could hold a pair of horny Dragons at bay after all.
And after those kisses, and this awesome date, there was not one thing alive that was going to stop me having fun with Sting.
Not one thing.
End of Chapter 13
Chapter Hint; A Dragon's Nose