Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
Summary: If there was someone everyone thought had no idea about love, it was Natsu.
Author's Note: Hi guys! In the previous chapter, I introduced an original character of mine: Ralph Traugott. He is a famous fiction writer from Crocus. The reason why I created him because I wanted Natsu to have a sort of point of jealousy. I could've done that with any of the original Fairy Tail characters, I suppose, but I didn't want Natsu and Lucy to have a falling out with any of the members of Fairy Tail or with friends from a different guild. And so, Ralph was born.
I assure you, I ship NatsuxLucy. ;)
Chapter 2
It was a common misconception among Fairy Tail that Lucy Heartfilia had gone on many dates and had gone through a lot of relationships. This only strengthened her reputation as one of the guild's resident heartthrobs, and that—along with being a powerful celestial spirit mage—made her a deadly force to be reckoned with. This couldn't be farther from the truth, and people would likely be shocked and even skeptical if they had heard that the blonde's first kiss was taken away only last night.
What most people fail to realize was that Lucy was sheltered most of her life. Back at the Heartfilia estate, her only friends were the family's staff who had taken care of her when her mother passed away. She had no real friends that were her age even when she'd gone to a prestigious school for the wealthy. Children her age were intimidated by her last name, Heartfilia. They would smile at her when she was around, but be secretly afraid that they'd be blamed if young Lucy would trip or that they would be accused of bullying if Lucy couldn't win a single game and tattled to the teachers or worse, her father. So they had avoided her. Lucy couldn't get a single friend her age; it was ridiculous to assume that she would have had boyfriends.
Perhaps people thought that with the amount of freedom that she gained since she ran away from home and joined Fairy Tail, she would've had enough time to collect many suitors. But that was a ridiculous notion as well, for anyone who really knew Lucy would know that the freedom she gained was spent hanging out at the guild or going out on missions with her equally famous, if not more so, fire-wielding partner and his flying blue cat.
Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes as she remembered Mirajane's and Lisanna's relentless teasing that Natsu was enamored by her, which couldn't be even remotely true. They were nothing but extremely close friends and Lucy owed the fire dragon slayer a lot. He had saved her countless times without even thinking of what could happen to him in the process, and for that, Lucy would be eternally grateful. But she could never see Natsu as someone she could be romantically involved with. Ralph Traugott. Now that was a name that sent Lucy blushing to her ears and giggle like a schoolgirl.
Lucy pulled the hard wooden door to her apartment until it closed with a gentle thud. She turned around to gaze at the clear afternoon sky and mentally berated herself for waking up later than usual. The blonde had fallen asleep pretty late because of the restlessness that her first kiss had brought. Lucy brought a hand to her lips, smiling as last night's events played in her mind for what seemed like the hundredth time.
It was like her dream came true. This was honestly not what Lucy expected months ago when she had written a letter to Ralph, her favorite author. The letter had consisted with her admiring the author and the mystery novels that he had written. If Ralph's fans received a reply to their letter, it was usually his agent and other people who worked for Ralph who would write and send it.
But Ralph personally replied to Lucy's letter. He had proclaimed to be a big fan of hers as Lucy's name was also well known in Crocus, most especially after the Grand Magic Games in X791. The strength of her spirit had called out to him, he said, and she would grant him a great honor if they could one day meet. Lucy was, of course, ecstatic.
After exchanging letters with him for almost six months, Lucy had felt like they had been friends for a long time, exchanging easy banter and philosophical conversations that Lucy thoroughly enjoyed. But she wondered if she would ever get to meet Ralph Traugott…until she had spotted a poster of him a week ago, announcing a meet-and-greet in Book Land. Here in Magnolia.
Ralph had recognized her instantly among the fans that had gathered in Book Land yesterday. And Lucy had gotten the sense that he wished the meet-and-greet would end quickly because of all the glances he would shoot her way and the distracted way he would talk to his other fans. It was around five in the afternoon when Levy left Lucy for another appointment that she mysteriously kept secret. It was an hour after that Lucy was granted a visitor's pass in Book Land's office so she could meet the man she had spent months writing letters to.
They had gone to dinner at a fancy restaurant in a part of Magnolia that Lucy rarely ever ventured to. She silently thanked the gods that she decided to wear one of her nicest dresses. There were no awkward silences or clumsy blunders that would've ruined an evening that had been entirely magical. Right down to the chaste, goodnight kiss he had given her in front of her apartment.
Lucy sighed dreamily as she wrapped her arms around herself with her shoulders slightly raised, smiling giddily to herself and not caring if the people around her stared at her. She always read about this part in romance novels, where the heroine could think of nothing but the leading man in her life. Lucy had no idea the feeling would be overwhelming, in a good way.
'I have to tell Levy,' she thought to herself as she found herself in front of the entrance of the guild. She had been so lost in her thoughts of Ralph and last night that she didn't even realize that her feet had guided her to the guild like some sort of auto-pilot. Lucy pushed the gigantic wooden doors open and wasn't surprised by the ruckus her guild mates were making. Actually, only three of her guild mates were causing a ruckus.
And as soon as she stepped inside, Natsu went flying against the wall.
"Damn it," Natsu said as he shook his head and stretched his arms. He had taken a nasty hit from Gajeel, that stupid metal head.
Said metal head went up to him with a smirk with Gray beside him sporting a scowl and a busted lip. "You're getting soft, Salamander," Gajeel said with a chuckle, the chuckle that everyone except a certain solid-script mage found weird. He bent his knees so that he was at eye-level with Natsu who was still sitting on the floor. "Maybe you should train more before you decide to pick a fight with me."
"Or me," Gray interjected as he cracked his knuckles. The ice mage had felt humiliated by the effortless way Natsu had picked him up and tossed him about like a rag doll. Revenge would be sweet.
Natsu let out a harsh laugh as he stood up from the floor, dusting himself off. "You guys kidding? We're just getting started," he said as he let his arms fall to his sides, his fists blazing with his magic fire. He needed a good fight, and the thought of it made him grin. "I'm all fir—"
"That's enough from the three of you!" Erza's voice rang out through the guild hall as she approached, shooting them a glare. "There will be no fighting inside the guild."
But Natsu wasn't one to be deterred. He wanted—needed—this fight. "Let's take this outside then!"
Gajeel yawned. "This is getting boring," he murmured to himself as he walked away. "Lily," he called out to his partner who was looking at him unimpressed. Gajeel jerked his thumb at the mission board.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled after him. "Don't walk away, you chicken!" But Gajeel had only given him the finger.
"Son of a…" the pink-haired mage muttered before he turned to face Gray, only to find him being dragged away by Juvia. For some odd reason, Gray had started becoming obedient to the water mage as of late. "Tsk, what a wuss," Natsu said loudly, only to be hit on the back of his head by Erza.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, Natsu," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her, glaring at him all the while. "But this behavior is unacceptable."
"Oh yeah?" Natsu said, grinning. If Gray and Gajeel were too chicken to fight him, he'd just find another way into a good fight. "Well I, Natsu Dragneel, challenge you to a duel!" he exclaimed and pointed his finger at the redhead who only shook her head.
She grabbed the hand in front of her and twisted it unnaturally and picked the dragon slayer up by his clothes. "Declined!" she shouted as she threw him out the window and on his ass.
Natsu blinked twice before his mind was able to properly register what had just happened. Like a child, the fire mage brought down his fists on the pavement and scowled. "Goddamnit!" he shouted.
"Yeah, Natsu, what's gotten into you?"
He froze and cursed silently. Things were not going according to plan. He turned his neck around to find Lucy with her hands on her hips, her eyebrow raised, and her head slightly tilted to the side. "Well?" she said.
Natsu looked away, a frown on his lips. Too soon, he thought to himself. Much too soon.
He had run home after last night and ignored Happy's questions and worried stare. Natsu had tried to fall asleep, but try as he might he just couldn't. Not after that. Not after what he saw. He had been itching for a fight precisely because of the girl behind him. Thinking back, Natsu realized he should've just gone on a mission.
"Helloooo," Lucy said, walking around so that her boots were directly within his line of sight. "Don't you dare ignore me, Natsu," she said and Natsu knew she was pouting. Because Lucy didn't frown when she was upset. She pouted. It was like she absolutely refused to be sad or upset by anything. Unless it was a really serious situation, then she would just bawl her eyes out. Lucy was a happy person, everyone knew that. She wouldn't stop smiling even if she could stop it. But, as selfish as it might sound, Natsu couldn't bear to see her smile when he knew the reason would be—would be—
His trail of thought was lost when he felt his cheeks being pulled apart. He had been so distracted that he didn't even notice when Lucy bent down so that they were eye-level until she started pulling his cheeks. "Stop ignoring me!" she yelled and then pouted again. Her face was inches away from his own and he could feel his face heating up. He held onto her wrists until she let go of him.
"Sorry," he murmured, loud enough for Lucy to hear. "I've been out of it lately."
Lucy scoffed half-heartedly. "That's an understatement," she said. Deep inside, Lucy knew something was wrong. She never knew Natsu to get so serious about anything. Battles—even life-threatening ones—would be fought with fierce determination, but even then you just knew Natsu was still having fun. Lucy decided not to press it, however, thinking that Natsu would open up to her when he was ready.
She offered him a smile. "C'mon," she said as she held up her hand, expecting Natsu to take it. "I'm kinda hungry. I'll get you that flaming Galuna chicken you've been raving about last week."
Natsu's ears perked up at that and he gazed at Lucy's hand longingly. "I—I don't know…" he said. He knew he shouldn't, but they were talking about flaming Galuna chicken. And the only reason he hadn't tried it out yet was because he wanted Lucy to try it out too. It was too good to pass up, but then—
But Lucy was already holding his hand, pulling him to his feet before he could even make a decision. The blonde was grinning at him. And it was that moment that Natsu knew he would never be able to refuse Lucy.
'Not bad,' Lucy thought, nodding to herself as she chewed the piece of chicken that was in her mouth. The longer that she chewed, the more delicious the meat seemed to taste. 'This is actually really good.' She looked at Natsu who was sitting opposite her with his eyes wide, silently worshipping the chicken that lay on his plate.
"So," Lucy said conversationally after her partner had devoured the chicken in five bites. It surprised her a bit to find that his lack of table etiquette didn't bother her anymore as much as it did in the past. "When did you get back from your mission?"
Natsu refused to meet her eyes, as if he was considering telling her. "Yesterday," he replied. "The mission was kinda' easy so we were able to come back right away," he said. As much as Natsu hated being awkward around Lucy, he just didn't know how to act around her anymore.
He didn't understand where everyone got the idea that he had absolutely no idea when it came to dating or love. Dating just seemed like a waste of time to him, but love was not foreign to Natsu. No, love had made itself known to him a long time ago. He would never admit it, but he didn't remember a time when he didn't love Lucy.
"Really?" Lucy asked, looking a bit put out. "But I didn't see you at all yesterday. Where were you?"
Natsu shrugged. "Around," he said, before deciding to look Lucy straight in the eye. "Where were you?" he shot back, careful to keep the hurt from his voice. "You weren't at the guild all day."
Lucy blushed lightly and looked away. "It's no business of yours where a girl goes during her free time," she said, shifting in her seat. "If you must know, I was out on a date."
Natsu picked up the glass of water again and put it to his lips. "Okay," he said against the glass before taking another sip.
Natsu was more than just a best friend to Lucy. He was a lot like an overprotective brother most of the time. Always making sure she wasn't hurt in missions, or not being ogled by random guys on the street. So Lucy found his nonchalant answer strange. But Natsu had been strange the whole day.
Lucy sighed and reached over the table to put her hand on Natsu's closed fist. She rubbed his knuckles with her thumb and smiled serenely at him when he looked at her. "Whatever it is you're going through, it's going to be alright. I'm here for you, okay?"
Natsu's heart skipped a beat, but sadness took over before he could even feel giddy over Lucy's touch. "Yeah."
"About…your date," Natsu said, unable to look her in the eye. "I wanna meet this guy." It was late in the afternoon already and they were walking back towards the guild when he said it; the words already out of his mouth before he could even think of the repercussions.
"Wha—no way, Natsu." Lucy shook her head and put her hands on her hips like she always did. "That's too much, even for you. I can take care of myself, you know. I don't need you babying me."
But Natsu was already walking through the open doors that led to the guild hall. He decided that he didn't need her approval at all. Natsu was the kind of guy who never backed down from a challenge. And he needed to let this—this bastard know that he was still in the game. And that he wasn't going to give up without a fight.