The next morning, bright and early, Natsu was standing on Lucy's front porch. Dressed in relaxed-fit, dark-wash blue jeans, a form-fitting black polo that showed off his chest and biceps (this shirt would be the cause of Lucy's demise later on, unbeknownst to him), black and red high top Jordans, a simple gold chain around his neck, black sweatbands around his wrists, his trusty scarf tied around his waist with the knot to the side, and Adidas cologne, he looked like a million bucks. He felt like a quarter, he was so nervous. Anxious was an understatement to describe his emotional state at the moment. He had texted Lucy twice this morning, once to say 'Good Morning' and another to let her know he was on his way and still hadn't heard anything from her. Maybe she had come to her senses and really did change her mind. Natsu shook his head to clear the negative thoughts. Sweaty or not, he clenched his fists and knocked on her door. A few minutes later, and there was still no sign of life from the house. His heart pounding, he knocked again, harder this time.
"Lucy? You home?" he yelled through the door, hoping he wasn't waking anyone else up. With still no motion in the house, he pulled out his phone and dialed Lucy's number. It rang once, twice. After the third ring, a groggy voice answered the call.
"-ello?"
"Lucy? Are you okay?"
"Natsu? Y-yeah, I'm fine." She yawned. "What's going on? Why are you calling so early?"
"Um, Luce? It's almost nine o'clock. Remember? I said I'd pick you up for breakfast to start our date for today? I'm at your house." A brief silence filled the call before he heard an "OH MY GOD!" followed by what sounded like a stampede coming down the steps and getting closer to the front door. Natsu raised his brows in surprise as the door was suddenly thrown open to reveal a heavily disheveled blonde with her phone still to her ear. A look of horror crossed her face as realization dawned on her.
"Oh my god." She said, shock still etched on her face, eyes wide and mouth agape. The male lowered his phone and ended the call before sliding the device into his pocket. A grin crept onto his face, a bit of relief (okay, A LOT of relief) washing over him that she hadn't been ignoring him and had just overslept. The blonde's eyes tracked his movements before realizing that she still had her phone at her ear.
"Oh my god." She groaned, embarrassed as she placed her own phone in the pocket of her robe. She placed her forearm on the door frame and rested her forehead on her arm. "Sorry, Natsu. As you can see, I'm not much of a morning person."
"Yeah, I can see that." He chuckled as he took in her state of dress. Blonde locks in a messy bun that was falling apart, sleep lines on her cheek, a navy-blue robe with golden constellation patters hung loosely over her frame to reveal pink pajamas with yellow stars in the form of a cotton tank top with white lace trim and matching short shorts, barefoot on a hardwood floor, toes complete with pink nail polish. As Lucy followed his eyes, her eyes widened as she realized her appearance in front of her newfound crush.
"Eep!" Lucy quickly pulled her robe together and glanced away. "Um, please come in. Sorry for oversleeping. I can be ready in about twenty minutes, if that's okay."
"It's fine. Ya know, Lucy, if you didn't like mornings, we didn't have to start so early. We could have met for lunch." He replied as he entered her dwelling. She closed the door and turned to him.
"Yeah but, I liked the idea of spending the day with you." She shrugged he shoulder at 'but' as she answered with a blush. Natsu barely concealed his surprise as a faint tint coated his cheeks.
"Well, go get ready then and we'll head out. I promised you breakfast and Mira's has the best coffee."
"Coooooffffffffeeeeeee…" Lucy moaned with desire at the thought of the hot beverage. Natsu had to admit hearing her moan like that had his heart racing. Twenty minutes later and Lucy was locking her front door to start her day date with Natsu. She was dressed in a flowy, black and grey plaid, pleated skirt with a blue collared sleeveless shirt. A white belt wrapped around her waist, matching sandals on her feet. She looked around and didn't see any unfamiliar vehicles on the street or in her driveway.
"Where's your car? We're not walking everywhere, are we?" she asked curiously. The town was small but not that small.
"No, my Jeep's just over here." He responded, pointing and nodding his head to a red Jeep Wrangler soft-top in the next driveway over.
"Natsu, you shouldn't park in someone else's driveway. You could have parked over here."
"Oh, I know that." He said simply, waiting for her to put the pieces together. They made it to the car and as he opened the door for Lucy to climb in, he heard a wolf whistle from the window on the second floor. He looked up and saw Wendy making kissy faces and teasing him.
"WENDY? I'm telling you. Romeo comes here? You're done!" he snarled while giving her the middle finger. She stuck her tongue out at him and returned the gesture. They both then laughed at each other as he shut the door and rounded to the driver's side.
"So did you have to drop her off at a friend's house this morning?" Lucy inquired politely.
"Nope. She lives here. Unfortunately for me, sometimes." He chuckled as he fastened his seatbelt and started the ignition.
"Wait, what?"
"Your brain really doesn't fire on all cylinders this early, does it, Lucy?" Natsu could literally see her hamster wheel burn out when she finally made the connection.
"OH MY GOD! YOU LIVE NEXT DOOR?!" she all but screamed. He laughed out loud at her reaction.
"Yeah, that's about what I looked like when I read your message last night." He put the car in reverse, placing his right hand on the back of Lucy's head rest to help turn his body so he could see out the back of his car better as he pulled out of her driveway.
"How have we missed each other? I've been here for almost three weeks."
"Well, we had extra practices scheduled for the championship so I was getting home later. That's the night we met at old man Yajima's place. And I work part time with Metal Head at his pop's metal shop. I'm an apprentice welder. I'm not sure what I want to do with that particular skill set yet but when I graduate, I also want to be a firefighter."
"Wow," Lucy breathed, genuinely impressed. "That's remarkable for someone so young. How do you manage it all?"
"That's the beauty of living in a small town. We all help each other out. And all the grown-ups are pretty flexible with our schedules. As long as we get the work done right in a reasonable amount of time, they're pretty chill."
"That's amazing! I can't wait to be a part of it."
"You'll fit right in, Lucy. What do you wanna do, job-wise, I mean?" Natsu asked as he pulled into the parking lot of the diner. He found a spot close to the front door and put the Jeep in park.
"I think I wanna teach. Language Arts, to be specific. I love to read and write and I want to inspire others to appreciate the same." She answered honestly as she opened the door and stepped out. Lucy met Natsu at the front of the car and together they walked into the restaurant.
"That's really cool, Lucy." Feeling bold, Natsu grabbed her hand. Not sensing resistance, he chanced a glance at Lucy who smiled softly and laced their fingers together, squeezing his hand lightly. He grinned and let loose the breath he didn't realize he was holding. They walked up to the host stand where a woman with long, flowing white hair and vivid blue eyes was wiping down menus and organizing the area. "Hey, Mira!" he greeted. The woman looked up at his call.
"Oh! Hi, Natsu! Good morning! And this must be Lucy! It's a pleasure to meet you! I've heard many things about this mystery new person until I got a name from Gray when he was in here with Juvia last night. How are things going?"
"It's great! I'm here to treat Lucy to the best food around before I take her on a tour of the town." He explained.
"That's sweet of you to say, Natsu." She smiled.
"Lucy, this is Mira. She knows everything there is to know about everything and everyone. If you ever need anything, come see her." The pinkette boasted proudly.
"Sure thing! And if I don't know something, rest assured, I can and will find out." The ivory haired woman offered cheerily. "And speaking of not knowing, how long has this been going on, hmm?" gesturing at their clasped hands. Natsu chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously with his free hand.
"Heh heh. Uh, since yesterday? Nothing's really going on right now, but I'd like it to be." He glanced at Lucy, who was also blushing.
"Yup! I ran into Natsu and the others at 8 Island, after the big game I'm told, and then again at the arcade yesterday. We all hung out playing games until they had to leave and then Natsu and I just stayed together. We haven't really stopped talking since."
"Yeah, so I told Lucy, I would show her around and then we were gonna catch a movie after." Natsu finished.
"Oh! That sounds wonderful! The last matinee of the day is at 4:45. I believe its for a film called Dragon Priestess. Popcorn and snacks bought at that time are also discounted." She prattled while gathering menus and silverware without skipping a beat. "Stay away from Main Street as it's closed for sewer maintenance. Oh! And stop by and see Headmaster Makarov. His cow just gave birth. Aren't baby animals just the cutest?" she ended on a squeal.
"Awww!" Lucy cooed.
"See what I mean? Everything about everything and everyone."
"Right this way, you two." She led them to a table by the front window. Mira placed their menus on the table as they pulled out their chairs and sat down. "What can I get you started with?"
"Bring us two Classics, please, Mira." Natsu stated before looking to Lucy. "If that's alright with you?"
"Sounds delicious…" Lucy replied as she scanned the item on the menu, reading what it included.
"I'll put those right in. Coffee?"
"Yes, please!" Lucy practically begged. Mira giggled as she walked away to place the orders and prepare the coffee.
"So, what do you think so far?" Natsu asked her.
"It's very cozy. And smells wonderful." The blonde closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in all the smells around her, when one was distinctly different and definitely not one you would typically find caused by a restaurant. Lucy caught a hint of Natsu's cologne. Her eyes popped open as she leaned in a bit towards Natsu and sniffed. He leaned back, worriedly, thinking he may have overdone it with the spray. "And so do you! What is that?" she asked in awe.
"Oh! Uh, y-you really like it?" he stammered.
"I love it!"
"Thanks. It's, uh, Adidas. Deep Energy."
"It smells great." A brief silence enveloped them before he spoke.
"You look really nice today, Lucy." He complimented her.
"Thanks. So do… you…" she trailed off as she allowed herself to really look at his outfit for the day. Her brain ceased to function as she saw his arms once again. Butterflies erupted in her stomach as she took in his muscles. The black fabric stretched taught against his chest and upper arms. The gold chain glinting against his tanned skin brought out his bronze tones even more. Lucy cleared her throat before addressing him.
"Ahem. Um, you look really good, too, Natsu." She blushed and looked away, not noticing Natsu's grateful smile. He may or may not have snuck a little fist pump under the table. Thankfully, at that moment, Mira had arrived at the table with their coffee.
"Natsu, here's yours, black. Lucy, here ya go." She said as she placed the mugs in front of them. "I also brought some creamers and there's sugar at the back of the table, if you like. Your meals will be out in just a few."
"Thanks, Mira." They called to her. Natsu began to sip his drink as Lucy added her creamer and sweetened it to her heart's content.
"Mmmmmm….." she moaned as the liquid graced her tongue.
"So, I planned on taking you to the high school first. You're joining us for final year, right?"
"Um, yes. It's late in the program and all but I will be there." She said as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Awesome! I can't wait to show you the inside of the school when school starts next month. You're gonna love it. Then I was gonna show you all the hangout spots and the less fun but equally important places. Ya know, like the post office and mechanics shops and all that. But the most important place is the supermarket. Wanna know why?"
"Because that's where the food is?"
"Because that's where – yes! See, your catchin' on already!" he grinned at her as she giggled.
"Sounds like a plan to me. I am at your mercy for the day, sir."
"Well, Princess, after we eat, your chariot awaits." They chatted for a few minutes until Mira brought out their orders.
"Enjoy!" she said as she placed a bottle of hot sauce next to Natsu's plate.
"Thanks, Mira!"
"Yes, thank you!" Lucy said before turning to her date who had begun assembling the eggs and bacon on his toast to fabricate a sandwich of sorts. Not of course without coating it in a decent amount of hot sauce. "Come here a lot, do you?" she teased.
"All the time!" he said through a full mouth. She snickered as he attempted to swallow the whole bite. "I told ya. Mira's has the best food." He exclaimed as he took another bite of his sandwich. Lucy turned her attention to her own meal. The smells wafting from the dish were incredible. Two big servings of eggs benedict, a heaping pile of home fries, four strips of bacon and two pieces of perfectly toasted whole grain bread with pat of butter and grape jelly on the side. Lucy's stomach immediately started grumbling as she picked up her fork and broke into her eggs. The flavor of the hollandaise sauce was as divine as it was smooth and creamy.
"Oh, I absolutely agree. This is heaven!" Lucy concurred before trying the potatoes on her plate. A moan escaped her lips as the flavor of the seasonings filled her tastebuds.
"Didn't I tell ya?" he asked as he watched her reactions to breakfast.
"Well, you are the resident expert." She conceded cheekily. He chuckled at her sass as they finished their meals in peace, tossing banter back and forth occasionally. They stood as Natsu laid some cash on the table for the meal.
"Ready to go?"
"Yup! It's been amazing so far!" Natsu smirked as he held the restaurant door open for her.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet!" he told her happily.