Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back for another chapter of "Lucky Star!"
So yeah, the date gets underway in this chapter! I thought it would progress more than it did, but I found a good place to stop, and I just rolled with it. I did have to rewrite this a little just so things would make a little more sense. Other than that, I think we're good. Le't's do it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters. If I did, everyone would have at least aged seven years in the Fairy Sphere.
Lucy and Jellal had just left the apartment, both a little nervous about what the night would bring.
She figured these feelings weren't totally unexpected. After all, it wasn't every day that Fairy Tail's sweet and innocent Celestial mage (bah, if the townspeople could only see the drafts of some of her more adult ideas) left her house arm in arm with what was once the greatest threat the Magic Council had ever seen. Fortunately for Jellal, it seemed to be enough that Makarov trusted him, and so people left the matter alone for the most part.
Suddenly, Lucy shivered. It was winter in Magnolia, and though it wasn't known for heavy snowfall, it being a coastal town meant that it could get pretty cold during that time.
"Are you all right?" Jellal asked in concern.
"Yeah," replied Lucy. "I'll be fine. I'm just a little cold."
"Why didn't you bring a coat?" Jellal wondered.
"I guess I didn't think of it because I was too busy trying to get rid of Natsu and Erza," said Lucy sheepishly. "No problem, I'll just ask Virgo to bring me one from the Celestial Spirit World." She lifted the key to summon The Maiden, but was caught off guard by Jellal offering her his own jacket.
"Jellal!" gasped Lucy. "You don't have to do this, you know."
"Well, I don't know much about dating," said Jellal. "But I know the man has to take care of his lady."
"Who told you that?" asked Lucy.
"Elfman," said Jelall simply. Lucy sighed and put her palm to her forehead.
"Please tell me you're kidding," she said.
"Well, he didn't tell me so much as he bellowed it out for everyone to hear," said Jellal. "He seemed quite proud of himself when he said that."
"Thanks," said Lucy, taking the jacket and putting it on.
Suddenly, they heard a voice calling, "Evening, Lucy-chan!" Sure enough, the two gondoliers were rowing by. "Are you going out tonight?"
"I'm going on a date!" Lucy called back.
"You want to be careful around this guy, Lucy-chan!" the first gondolier called.
"Don't be an idiot!" said the other one. "Makarov knows what he's doing!"
"Thanks for your concern," said Lucy. "But I trust Jellal. And I have my Spirits, just in case!"
"Don't worry, Lucy-chan! We just want you to be safe!" said the first gondolier.
"Be good, you two!" said the second gondolier as they rowed away.
Lucy frowned. Those two meant well, of course, but they had inadvertantly awakened her to the stigma of Magnolia that Jellal must have felt. Each awkward stare or questioning glance could only serve to remind him of past misdeeds that he had long since forgotten. However, she was determined that tonight would not be a night to indulge in guilt of the past, but to revel in the simple pleasures of the present.
"Nice guys," said Jellal fondly of the gondoliers.
"Yeah," agreed Lucy. "They've been looking out for me ever since I moved in. In a way, they're almost like big brothers to me." Lucy would have said more on the subject, but the sight of a pale blue winter coat falling on the street demanded her attention – and not in a good way, judging by her shriek of terror.
"Hey, Lucy!" called Natsu from her window. "You forgot your coat!"
"So next time, bring it DOWN to me instead of tossing it from my WINDOW!" yelled Lucy. "And what are you still doing here? I thought I got rid of you guys!"
"I forgot my scarf!" replied the Dragon Slayer.
"Well, you have it now, so GET OUT!" Lucy made sure to say the command as loudly as possible.
"Aye, sir!" said Natsu. With a salute, he leapt out of Lucy's window, using his fire to propel himself just before he hit the ground, thereby ensuring a smooth landing. Erza followed close behind, descending gracefully in her Heaven's Wheel Armor.
"Please tell me you locked the door," Lucy groaned.
"Very well. We locked the door," said Erza.
"…Did you really, or are you just telling me what I want to hear?"
"…I'm just telling you what you want to hear."
"…Well, at least you're honest…"
"…Yes... I am…"
"SCRAM!" With that, Erza dragged her boyfriend away from the building, more for fear of his life than anything else.
"Excuse me, Jellal," the Celestial mage said as she stormed back up to her apartment to lock the door, coming down mumbling about "stupid Salamanders and no-help Titanias."
"So where are we eating?" asked Jellal.
"I thought we'd try that little seafood place downtown," said Lucy as she slipped on her coat. "It's close to the theater, so we can have a drink before going to the play."
"By 'little seafood place,' you don't mean 'The Portside,' right?" asked Jellal. "I heard that's expensive."
"You'd be surprised what I can afford when my teammates don't destroy everything in sight," said Lucy. She glanced at her watch and cursed. "The reservation is for 5:30, you came late, and of course, Natsu happened… plus it's a twenty minute walk from here… we'll never make it now!"
"Never say never, Lucy," said Jellal. "Just grab my hand." She did.
"Meteor," Jellal whispered. He and Lucy were suddenly covered in a faint golden glow. "Which way?" he asked.
"Left," said Lucy. With that, they flew off towards the restaurant.
The trip to the restaurant was uneventful, to say the least. Jellal had commented that at full power, Meteor could take him as fast as its namesake, but Lucy just barely heard him, content to stay in the spell's glow with him all night.
This came as a bit of a surprise to the Celestial Mage. After all, weren't they just going out as friends? Sure, she bought the dress she was wearing especially for tonight, and they were eating at a fancy seafood restaurant, but her reasoning was that Jellal would appreciate something other than prison food.
"So why didn't you just go to a diner?" asked the voice in her head.
Well, the voice had her there.
"Welcome to The Portside. How many will be dining tonight?" asked the lavender-haired hostess.
"Two, please," replied Lucy, gesturing to Jellal. "We have a reservation under Lucy H."
The hostess's eyes narrowed at the former Wizard Saint, but neither guest noticed. "Your table will be ready in twenty minutes," she said briskly. "Feel free to order a drink at our bar until then."
"But we have a reservation-!"
"Twenty. Minutes," the hostess repeated, this time more harshly.
Lucy was fuming by this point, but Jellal put a firm hand on her shoulder. "It's only twenty minutes," he said gently. "We'll survive." He then made his way towards the bar, motioning for a reluctant Lucy to follow.
The bar area had an impressive view of downtown Magnolia and faced the canal. Lucy had planned to save her drink for her meal, so all she had at the moment was water. Meanwhile, Jellal's drink was served to him, and Lucy's brow quirked at his order.
"Pina Colada? Really?" she asked.
"What? I like that song," said Jellal nonchalantly. Lucy said nothing in reply, but merely glanced towards the front of the restaurant. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Not really," said Lucy. "I'm just a little miffed, that's all. I mean, I made that reservation… I mean, it was when we all went out together! That's how long ago I made it! And when you add the play tickets into it, I barely had enough left over from that mission we came back from to pay my rent!" She gave a heavy sigh. "Thank God Erza didn't mind me mooching for grocery money!"
Jellal gave a sad smile. "Erza's always been the type to help out a friend in need," he said wistfully, taking a gulp of his drink.
Lucy frowned. "Damn it, Jellal, we've been through this!" she said. "They're-"
"I know, I know!" said Jellal, holding his hands up. "They're not trying to hurt me!" He sighed, took another sip of his drink, and all was quiet for a few minutes. Finally, Jellal seemed to find the right words.
"I once said that I believe in the man Erza believes in. I still stand by those words."
Lucy felt a swell of pride upon hearing those words. By reaffirming his faith in Natsu, Jellal seemed to be moving on with his life. It wasn't easy to let go of unrequited love, but it helped to know that things weren't awkward between you and the object of your affection.
Well, except for the occasional mission make-out session. Lucy made a mental note to hone her magic-sensing abilities so she didn't have to walk in on any more of those.
Suddenly, a puff of smoke burst next to her seat, and when it cleared, there sat her faithful Lion Spirit, Loke, more famously known as Leo. "Lucy! Glad I caught you!" he said.
Lucy groaned. "Damn it, Loke, I thought you said you wouldn't come out tonight!" she complained.
"I know, I know, but I just realized something!" said Loke. "Remember when you came to the guild and Master was yelling at us all?"
"Yeah. So?" asked Lucy.
"What did he yell at me for?"
"Seducing a Council member's granddaughter?" Lucy guessed. "I dunno! Just because it was the day that changed my life forever, am I supposed to remember all the little details?"
"That's her," said Loke.
"What's her?"
"Councilman Reiji's granddaughter."
"…So why are you telling me this?" Loke pointed to Jellal, and it suddenly dawned on Lucy. "Oh, crap!"
"Yeah," said Loke. "She was probably making you wait because you're here with Jellal."
Lucy got up and fished her wallet from her purse. "We're leaving, Jellal," she said.
"Lucy, I don't think that's necessary," Jellal argued, surprisingly calm.
"I'm not giving that bitch any satisfaction, Loke!" said Lucy angrily. "You don't deserve to be treated like crap because of something you couldn't control!"
"Lucy, we're already here, and we're about as close to the theater as we're going to get. There's no point in going to another restaurant and then walking all the way back here," argued Jellal. "Besides," he added. "Karma's a bitch."
"Lucy H., two!" the hostess called out. As the couple left the bar area, they exchanged smiles laced with a contrast of nerves and confidence.
But really, what did they have to lose?
And there we go!
The first half of the chapter was practically filler, so congrats on putting up with it. The second half was mostly to set the stage for the rest of the dinner. Props to all who made the connection between the hostess and Jellal, but I'm hoping to clear that up with the next chapter.
So that's about it for today. Until next time, peace and love from Nightlingbolt, and I hope everyone had a great Halloween.