Day 4 of NaLu Week: Secrets

Lucy woke to find her bed empty, which was weird since her heater-like boyfriend was usually there to keep her warm during the cold winter mornings. Yet, now he was nowhere to be seen. She checked the time and saw that it was midnight. He should've been home by now, she thought. She was reluctant to shut her eyes, but sleep claimed her once more. When she woke the next time, she felt a weight crushing her against a warm wall. She smiled as she snuggled into her boyfriend's chest before realizing that she still didn't know where he was last night.

"Natsu," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Where were you last night?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Don't worry about it, Luce," he mumbled into her hair. Lucy sat upright.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"Well then, have a good day, Natsu Dragneel," she said as she climbed out of bed and headed off towards the shower.

"Luce, don't be like that," he said as he got up after her, but she slammed the door in his face.

"LUCE!" He yelled as he banged on the door. Lucy turned on the shower to drown out his voice. She let the water run down her body as she slid to the bottom. Why couldn't he just tell her where he was last night? He never kept secrets. Never. In the years that they've been dating, they had never kept secrets from each other.

"You know what, Lucy Heartfilia, it's about time you stopped feeling sorry for yourself and got out of this shower before you turn into a prune," she told herself as she shut off the water. She dried herself off and hesitantly peeked around the corner of the door before seeing that the room was empty. She walked out, got dressed, and proceeded to her kitchen. She made herself some tea and oatmeal before noticing a note on her table.

"'Dear Luce- I'm sorry for upsetting you. I'll see you later for our date at Fairy Tail. Enjoy your day. Love, Natsu,'" she read. "Well at least he feels bad about lying to me." She went through the rest of the day in a blur. Her mind didn't really focus much on her story at work, and even Levy couldn't seem to get through the haze at lunch. Eventually, Lucy found herself getting ready for her date.

"Well, at least I look nice," she mumbled to herself as she looked in the mirror. She walked down to Fairy Tail to find her boyfriend waiting for her outside the doors.

"Hey, Luce," He said with a smile as he went to go kiss her. She turned her head so he kissed her cheek instead.

"I see you're still mad at me," he deadpanned.

"Well, how could I not be slightly annoyed at least? You lied to me, Natsu," she told him.

"Okay, first of all, I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you where I was last night."

"You're not helping yourself at all right now," Lucy told him. Natsu winced, but held the door open for her to go inside. They sat down at a table away from everyone for once and ordered their food from Mira. The silence stretched on for hours.

"Luce, do you know what today is?" Natsu asked.

"Tuesday."

"No. Well, yes, but no."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "What's today, Natsu?"

"It's our anniversary."

"No it isn't, our anniversary is in 3 weeks," she corrected him.

"It's the anniversary of when I met you in Hargeon," he told her.

"Oh…" Lucy said as she looked down, "you remembered that date?"

"Of course. How could I ever forget the day that you walked in and changed my life?" he asked her as he put his hand over hers, "and now, I want to remember this day for another reason."

"What reason?" Lucy asked as she snapped her head up to look at him.

Natsu moved so that he was kneeling in front of her and opened a small box with a heart-shaped red ruby. "Lucy Heartfilia, will you marry me?" he asked her. Lucy couldn't breathe. She sat there looking at him, kneeling in front of her, and felt tears start to sting her eyes.

"When did you…" she whispered.

"Last night. I was there for hours trying to find the right one," he told her as he picked the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes, that's a yes!" She cried as she flung her arms around his neck and crushed him in a hug. She pulled back and kissed him fiercely.

"Natsu, I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Luce, it's okay. I hated not telling you the truth, especially when you stormed off into the shower, but this right now makes it all worth it. I'd do it all over again if it meant I get you. I love you," He told her.

"I love you, too," she replied. Maybe some secrets weren't so bad after all.