A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! Sorry for not updating immediately, I think this is the longest I've gone without updating. I attribute this to a little laziness and a bout of writers block. But, I'm back in action! Oddly enough my thoughts came back into focus when I was watching a Star Wars marathon on TV…hmm, go figure? (I still get goose bumps whenever I hear Darth Vader's theme…any of you guys like Star Wars by the way?)
For the record, if I ever go without updating for an extended period of time, it does not mean I've given up on writing; I'm either busy, getting my thoughts together or suffering writers block. BUT, I will not give up on my writing! Once I set my mind on something, I see it through to the end.
I've been busy studying for my final exams (the current bane of my existence!) and I'll be out of town for four days to visit family out of state next week. So, I'll be busy for the next two weeks. But, Christmas break will be after exams so I'll be off from school for an entire month once that all settles down. I'll try to update in between then but if I don't, be patient please.
And now a shout out to you guys!
-lilpumpkingirl: Hey there, long time no see, it's been a while hasn't it!? I'm glad you like the little preview for my next story. It's still in the works but I'll have it ready soon enough. To answer your question, yes, the story will involve an OC I created on my own. I understand what you're saying and I appreciate your advice/input. Don't take this the wrong way, but at the moment, I'm not really concerned about how many reviews I get at the moment. I would like more reviews but they aren't my main concern. I will alter/change characters and plots with other stories as time goes on, but for now, I just want to focus on what I want to write. I hope that doesn't come across as rude. I sincerely appreciate you bringing this up and I hope I haven't deterred you from not reading my future chapters/stories…I would feel terrible if I did that.
-Darkhope: Welcome back. Nothing wrong with Gruiva! I'm glad you liked the side story. Yes, Juvia was pregnant with Jenny. I think when any husband finds out they are going to be a father, they consider it to be the happiest day of their life, like, ever! Yes, Gray was ecstatic when he found out he was going to have other children.
-Sesshomaru'sCrazyGal: Welcome back Crazy Girl! I'm glad you like this story, I think my writing does improve with each chapter I add. I'm sorry for making you wait this long for this chapter. As for my next story, I'm just getting it planned out but I should have it ready towards the middle of the month. Is my writing that good that you think its genius!? I'm flattered to hear that, I really am.
-kazenoseiren: Hello there and welcome back! Yeah, the quick update was just a spur of the moment thing. As for Natsu said in the previous chapter, well, his temper got the better of him and he let loose some cuss words. Given the situation I put him in I don't blame him for letting rip an "F-Bomb" or two. Juvia putting "sama" at the end kind of an old habit that dies hard. She's been saying that to Gray for so long that it's become second nature to her…and Gray finds it to be rather cute so he doesn't really mind. As for Igneel's dream, I'll say this; patience young grasshopper, patience. All will be revealed in due time. It's all about the buildup as to what's to come. Just be patient please :3.
-Tomoyo10798: Itsumo no yō ni anata kara kiite tomoyochan, yoi okaerinasai! (I hope that translation came out okay). I'm glad you love both the side and main story, I try my best to balance both. I'm a little busy at the moment, but I will read and review your story when I get the chance. If there is anything I may find wrong with it, I'll do my best to give you advice on what to fix. For my next story, the character is an OC. I'm glad to hear that you'll read my next story; don't worry, when it's ready, I'll put a notice in an author's note for one of my Kids chapter's. Just be patient please 3.
Now that's taken care of let's get started because this is going to be a long one.
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CHAPTER 9: Reconnecting Pt.1 of 4
It had been two weeks since the kids had made their appearance in Crocus; two weeks since they had revealed who their parents were.
Things had initially been awkward between the guild and the new arrivals but it seemed like everyone, in their own way, was adjusting to the arrivals from the future. The guild members were still slightly wary…but they were starting to accept the new group none the less.
Well…everyone except the parents of course. The shock from the revelation had yet to fully ware off. The exception to this seemed to be Juvia, Erza and Jellal. They seemed to be more accepting of the role they were told they would become.
But as for everyone else…the awkwardness was still a present factor.
Natsu and Lucy were a prime example.
Ever since the incident in Crocus, the fire mage had been avoiding Lucy, much to her dismay. Lucy in turn had wanted to approach Natsu, but she had no idea what to say to him. She was still wrestling with her feelings for him, let alone trying to wrap her head around the fact that they were parents. It was a source of great frustration for her…and for Lilly and Igneel.
"He's avoiding her…again." Igneel said as he took a sip of his drink while he watched Natsu from his spot at the bar.
"It's getting to be annoying," Lilly said as she casted a quick glance at Lucy, "very annoying."
Lilly frowned slightly when she noticed the look in her mother's eyes. It was a conflicted look; like Lucy wanted to say something but was too afraid to do so. And she had a pretty good reason as to why.
"We got to put a stop to this." Igneel said.
Lilly looked back at her brother.
"How? You know how stubborn, correction, dense he can be about these things. And besides, weren't you the one who suggested that they should work this out together?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Dad may be dense but he's not stupid; he's far from it actually. Our arrival may have had caused some friction between mom and dad…but that doesn't mean we can't," Igneel paused as he thought for the correct word, "Nudge them in the right direction."
Igneel took another sip of his drink.
"Besides…we're still on the clock, remember?"
Lilly nodded as a hard look formed in her eyes.
"Yeah, I remember. We still have to look for her right?"
Igneel nodded.
"We'll find 'em eventually…but for now, let's sort out things here first."
Igneel looked back at Natsu for a minute before a sly smile formed on his face.
"Uh-oh, I know that look." Lilly said.
"I have an idea." Igneel said with a gleam in his eyes.
XXXX
Natsu sat at a table a couple of feet away from the bar but it was still far away enough that he could keep his distance from Lucy.
Natsu let out a tired sigh and frowned. He hated avoiding Lucy. They had always been so close, almost inseparable. But recent events seemed to have caused a divide between the two of them. Natsu was still trying to deal with the possibility that Lucy might have romantic feelings for him and he didn't know if he felt the same towards her.
He had always felt an attraction to Lucy; who wouldn't. She was arguably one of the most beautiful girls Natsu had ever met. With her curvaceous form, golden blonde hair, her captivating brown eyes and wonderful smile, Lucy had earned her fair share of admirers and boyfriends over the time that he had known her.
Natsu frowned as he clenched his hand into a fist over the last part of that thought.
Natsu had always felt weird when he saw Lucy with another guy. It caused him to get flustered on the inside and he felt the urge to become especially protective around her. He had asked the guys about this one night during one of their poker games, which earned him a good amount of teasing from Gajeel and Gray. Macao, however, had given Natsu a sympathetic look and had told Natsu he was jealous.
Jealous…he had asked Igneel, his foster father, what that word had meant long ago. The dragon, in his wisdom, had smiled and told Natsu;
"Jealousy is an emotion we feel when we become envious of something or someone because they have something, or, have done something that has earned them the attention or praise of others. It is a powerful emotion Natsu and it can be a very dangerous and harmful one if you're not careful. But; it can also tell us things we did not know about ourselves…things we did not realize or were too blind to see."
"But…I can see fine Igneel. What do you mean by blind?" Natsu had asked.
Igneel had chuckled and used one of his large claws to gently rustle Natsu's hair.
"You'll understand when you're older, I promise."
The memory was a happy one for Natsu but it didn't mean it wasn't less painful. He understood what jealousy was…he had just never felt it towards anyone before. Except, of course, towards the guys who had dated Lucy.
…Why was that?
Was he jealous because those guys were with Lucy and he wasn't? That she was giving them her undivided attention instead of him? Did these feelings of jealousy mean that he liked Lucy the way she liked him? Did he love her?
Natsu let out a groan, laid his head on the table and pounded his forehead on the wood. There were way too many questions racing around in his head at the moment.
"Ugh…I'm so confused," Natsu said with a groan, "I wish Igneel were hear. He could make sense of this."
Now more than ever, Natsu wished his foster father could help him with his current predicament.
A shadow suddenly leaned over Natsu, causing the fire mage to lift up his head. Looking down on him, with a bright smile, was Lilly.
"She looks way too much like Lucy." Natsu thought as he straightened himself up.
"Something on your mind?" Lilly asked.
"You could say that." Natsu said with a tired sigh.
Having watched her father play an internal tug of war with his thoughts, Lilly had a pretty good idea as to what Natsu was thinking.
"C'mon," Lilly said as she gestured her head towards the door of the Guild, "let's take a walk."
"To where?" Natsu asked.
"Around." Lilly said simply said and headed for the door.
Seeing as he had nothing better to do, Natsu stood from his seat and proceeded to follow his daughter.
XXXX
Lucy watched as Lilly and Natsu left the Guild Hall, a sad sigh escaping her lips.
She had wanted to talk to Natsu at some point but apparently she had missed her chance…again.
She wanted to be mad at Natsu for avoiding her, but frankly, she knew that she was also to blame for her best friend's behavior. She hadn't been exactly approachable either.
For the past two weeks, Lucy had been struggling to come to terms with how she felt for Natsu. She had spent many a restless night thinking about the pink haired mage and what he meant to her…and she had now finally reached a conclusion.
After trying to debunk everything her conscious and unconscious mind threw at her, Lucy had come to one simple conclusion; she was in love with Natsu.
She had been in love with him for some time now…she was just too stubborn to notice it.
In a way she guessed she had always been attracted to Natsu from the moment they'd met.
But the events of the Grand Magic games seemed to have slowly set things into perspective for her. The prospect of living in a future where Natsu was gone from her life seemed almost unbearable. She had seen the looks her future self would cast at Natsu when he wasn't looking…the love she had for him in her eyes spoke volumes. Lucy had done a good job of denying what she saw, not willing to believe what she saw in her future self. That had gone on until she found something in the remnants of her torn clothes that her future self-had left for her.
It was a small piece of paper with just a few simple words written on it; "Don't let him go…don't you dare let him go."
Lucy had no idea when her future self-had taken the time to write it, let alone hide it in place for her to find. She could have written it out beforehand but that was beside the point. The point was that the words had been crystal clear to Lucy.
And even now, what Igneel had told her on the train from Crocus did have some merit to it now that Lucy was coming to terms with her feelings. Whenever Natsu had rested his head on her lap because he was feeling ill, Lucy had always taken a small amount of pleasure in gently running her fingers through his surprisingly soft hair. She also found the way Natsu got protective around her to be a rather charming quality of his, a fact that she had only confided in private to Levy. And the way she had subtly brushed her hand against Natsu's…
Yes, the Celestial Mage was in love with her longtime friend and partner…but she was too afraid to tell him that. Even though she knew what her heart felt to be true, Lucy was afraid that Natsu didn't feel the same for her. For all she knew, Lilly and Igneel's arrival could have seriously damaged her and Natsu's friendship and could have inadvertently pushed him away from her. The prospect made Lucy's stomach flip-flop in fear and her skin slightly pale.
"You alright?" A voice asked.
Lucy was shaken out of her thoughts and turned in her seat to see who was addressing her.
She was slightly shocked to see Igneel sitting next to her. When had he gotten there?
"What?" Lucy asked.
"I asked if you were alright…you looked pale for a moment." Igneel said with a concerned frown.
Lucy shook her head quickly to clear her thoughts.
"I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind that's all." Lucy said with a disarming smile.
"Thinking about dad?" Igneel asked as he adjusted his glasses.
Lucy's eyes widened in shock.
"H-how did you-"
"How did I know? Simple. If you pay attention to people long enough you can generally get an idea as to what's going on in their head."
Igneel stood from his seat.
"You look like you could use a walk," Igneel said as he gestured to the Guild door, "and someone to talk to."
XXXX
Lilly and Natsu walked along the beach at a languid pace. Neither spoke as they let their feet tread across the course sand.
A gentle breeze kept them cool from the heat of the sun and the glare it casted off the reflective surface of the sand.
"Igneel told me about what happened between the two of you that night." Lilly said, breaking the ice.
Natsu visibly tensed and unconsciously began to rub his neck. He could still vividly remember what Igneel's nightmare had caused him to do. Even two weeks after the incident, it was something that the father and son didn't dare speak about. Igneel would still have his nightmares every now and then, but they weren't as bad as that particular one. The two had since tried to put it behind them.
"Thanks for not telling anyone else about it," Lilly said, "Igneel's a private kind of guy. I think me, Saito and Sam are the only ones he confides in."
"Yeah…he didn't say what it was about." Natsu said.
Lilly frowned slightly.
"His secrets are his secrets…if he doesn't want to talk about something, he just doesn't."
Lilly looked at her father.
"Still, it's nice to see that you two are getting along."
Natsu made a small smile.
"Yeah…he's a cool guy. He helps out around the house, goes fishing with me and Happy. I guess you can say we're connecting with one another if that makes sense."
Natsu paused for a moment.
"How are things between you and…Lucy?" Natsu asked hesitantly.
Lilly smiled.
"I think she's finally getting used to me being around. I help around the apartment, critique her writing and just hang out with her…its nice having some mother daughter time."
The two were silent for another moment.
"Growing up," Lilly said, thus changing topics, "I always enjoyed taking a long walk along the beach."
Lilly closed her eyes as she focused on the memory.
"You, mom, Igneel and I would spend hours down here and just laugh and play."
Natsu let the ghost of a smile form on his face. The idea held some appeal to him.
"So why are you avoiding mom?" Lilly suddenly asked as she spun on her heel and began to walk backwards.
Natsu froze in place with a shocked expression on his face. The shock quickly turned into a look of guilt as Natsu lowered his eyes and tried to focus on something else.
"I-I'm not avoiding her!" Natsu hastily said.
Lilly frowned and crossed her arms. She gave Natsu an "Are you serious?" look. The look Natsu had received from Lucy more than once.
"Dad…don't lie to me." Lilly said evenly.
Natsu quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to dig his way out his current situation. Natsu let out sigh and looked back at Lucy.
"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to just pretend like nothing has happened?"
"No, I don't." Lilly said, "But I want you to give me the reason as to why you're avoiding mom. You're hurting her dad…can't you see that?"
Natsu bit his lip and lowered his eyes. How could he not notice? Every time he looked at Lucy and the pained expression in her eyes, he felt a stab in his heart. He hated seeing Lucy sad and he hated himself even more because he knew he was to blame for her pain.
"She loves you dad…more than you could possibly know."
"How can you be so sure?" Natsu said, his tone laced with regret, "How can you say that she loves an idiot like me. How can she love a guy who's avoiding her? I'm nothing but a coward."
Natsu suddenly found himself on his back, looking at the sky, a sharp ache in his stomach. Natsu blinked once, then twice. It took him a moment to realize that Lilly had punched him in the gut.
Lilly flexed her fingers, thus causing her knuckles to crack.
"Seriously!?" Lilly bit out, "You're going to try and play that card!?"
Lilly moved so that she loomed over Natsu.
"You are the strongest and bravest person I know dad! You've saved the world how many times and yet you call yourself a coward because you're afraid to talk to mom? Get real dad!"
Natsu looked away from Lilly.
"Now are you going to stop guilt tripping yourself and tell me what's really going on?"
A conflicted look formed on Natsu's face. Lilly did have a point…he should've just come clean with her.
"I…I don't even know if I like Lucy the way she likes me. How do I know if I…" Natsu swallowed hard as he searched for the proper word, "love Lucy the way she loves me?"
Lilly placed her hands on her hips.
"You want to try and explain?"
Natsu's brow scrunched up as he tried to form out what he wanted to say in his head.
"…I get jealous…and protective around her when she's with other guys; I get tense just looking at her with someone else," Natsu said, "I enjoy spending time with her…making her smile and laugh and I feel warm on the inside whenever that happens. It's not like my fire magic…it's something else…something I can't explain."
Now it was Lilly's turn to slowly blink twice. She then promptly palmed her face.
"Dear Mavis you're so dense." Lilly said.
"Uhm…pardon?" Natsu asked.
"That warmth you feel is love dad." Lilly said.
"You love making mom laugh and smile because you enjoy being with her. You're protective of her because you want to protect her from the things or people you fear will hurt her. You're jealous because you hate it when mom is with someone else that isn't you. Dad…can't you see it? You're in love with mom too."
Lilly's words rang in Natsu's mind, her words clicking with the feelings in his head. And the more Natsu thought about Lilly's words, the more he realized that they were true.
"Is this what Igneel had meant about people being blind?" Natsu thought, feeling as if a large burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
"Now do you see?" Lilly asked as she extended her hand.
Natsu smiled and took her hand. With Lilly's help, Natsu rose to his feet.
"Yeah…I see." Natsu said. He didn't know if it was because he finally had talked to someone about what he had been feeling or if it was something else, but in that moment, Natsu felt that he had in some way connected with his daughter.
His daughter…Natsu liked the way that sounded.
Lilly smiled.
"Good…because now you have to ask her out on a date."
"Yeah, I have to ask Lucy out on a-" Natsu suddenly paused.
"Wait…WHAT!?"
Lilly giggled.
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" Natsu said as he shook his hands frantically, "what do you mean I have to ask Lucy out on…date!?" Natsu said as he tried sounding out the word.
He knew what that word meant.
"What?" Lilly asked innocently, "It's what two people who are in love do all the time."
"Yeah, I know what the word means, it's just that I've never been on date before, especially not with Lucy!" Natsu said.
"It's not that bad dad," Lilly said as she gave Natsu a cheeky grin, "me and Sam go out at least once a week."
If Lilly's earlier statement had thrown Natsu off track before, then her latest one caused all the gears in Natsu's head to grind to a halt.
Natsu looked at Lilly with a completely floored expression.
"Sam…Sam, as in, Sam Fullbuster? Gray's kid?" Natsu asked dumbfounded.
Lilly nodded.
"He can be a dolt sometimes but he's a real sweetheart none the less." Lilly said as a shade of pink and dreamy look formed on her face.
"W-what!?" Natsu blurted out, "Since when have you two been going out!?"
Lilly placed her finger to her chin. Her cheeky grin still on her face.
"We started dating about two years ago and have been together ever since. We actually went out last Saturaday. But considering you've been moping about for the last two weeks, I'm not surprised that you haven't noticed. In fact, I don't think anyone else at the Guild noticed either."
"It's not the fact that I haven't noticed it's the fact that your dating the son of that ice stripper!" Natsu fumed. He did not like the idea of his future daughter dating one of Gray's kids.
"Oh, don't be such a prude dad. He's nothing like his father." Lilly said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"I'll be the judge of that." Natsu retorted back.
Lilly let out a tired sigh and palmed her face.
"Geez dad, you're overreacting just like the first time I told you this." Lilly mumbled.
XXXX
"Here you go." Igneel said as he handed Lucy a small plastic dish of ice cream.
"Thank you." Lucy said as she sat down on the park bench.
The two were currently in South Gate Park, taking a break from their walk around town.
The two had hardly spoken a word to each other and after a very lengthy silence, Igneel suggested they take a break. Heading to the park, Igneel noticed an ice cream vendor and asked if Lucy had wanted some. Letting her sweet tooth get the better of her, Lucy politely accepted Igneel's order.
Using her provided spoon, Lucy took a generous scoop of her ice cream and gave a pleasant hum when she tasted the sweet but cool treat.
Igneel, having purchased his own dish of ice cream, silently ate his at an even pace.
The two remained silent and eventually finished their snack.
"Feel better now?" Igneel asked.
"I needed that," Lucy said with a nod of approval. She then looked at Igneel, "thank you."
Igneel gave a small smile and then watched the other people in the park mill about. There were people calmly walking about, couples walking hand in hand, and children running about while their parents watched from the sidelines. Lucy herself found herself particularly watching the children. She wondered if one day she and Natsu would be able to do that with Igneel and Lilly.
Lucy frowned at the thought of the pink haired mage…the mage she had come to love.
"Y'know," Igneel said, "it helps to talk about it. You'll only beat yourself up on the inside if you bottle it all up."
Lucy let out a sigh. There was no point in avoiding the issue any longer.
"Sometimes I wonder what goes through Natsu's head." Lucy said as she looked at Igneel.
"I'm scarred to tell him I feel about him…if he'll understand what I'm trying to tell him."
Igneel gave Lucy a soft smile.
"So you've finally accepted the truth, eh?" Igneel said, "Dad can be dense…but he does know what love is. Sometimes you just have to take the direct approach with him in order to get the point through to him."
Lucy snickered.
"I know what you mean…but what happens then? What if I tell him how I feel and he still rejects me? Natsu is my best friend and for a long time I was just content with that. But as of recently I've recently realized how much he means to me."
A pained look formed on Lucy's face.
"If…if he rejects me…I don't know what I'd do." Lucy said, her voice becoming slightly filled with panic.
Igneel placed a comforting hand on his mother's shoulder.
"Don't think like that. You are someone very special to dad. I don't think he could seriously hurt you if he tried."
Igneel smiled at Lucy.
"Besides…why wait when you can tell him now?"
Lucy gave Igneel a puzzled look. Igneel jerked his head to the right and Lucy in turn looked in the general direction of where Igneel gestured.
Lucy's eyes widened considerably with a light gasp of surprise.
Standing a good distance away from them was Lilly and Natsu.
The two seemed to be having a heated argument about something Lucy couldn't hear, but that didn't really matter to her at the moment. Lilly was halfway through saying something before she paused and turned her head so that she was looking at Lucy. Lilly gave a bright smile and Natsu followed her gaze. His facial expression matched Lucy's perfectly.
The two locked eyes and Lucy felt her heart beat pick up in pace.
A minute passed and then another.
Lilly finally gave Natsu a slight shove forward and after clearing his head with a shake, the fire mage began to walk over to Lucy and Igneel.
"I'll leave you two alone for a minute." Igneel said as he got up.
Before Lucy could protest, Igneel was up and about. He walked past Natsu but not before giving him a pat on the shoulder. He then stood next to his sister. Igneel whispered something to Lilly which caused her to smirk.
Now Natsu stood before Lucy and it was clear he was nervous about something. And slightly embarrassed given the slight shade of red on his cheeks.
The two were silent for what seemed like an eternity.
"H-hi…" Lucy said hesitantly.
Natsu swallowed hard.
"Hi." Natsu answered, his voice slightly hoarse.
The two were silent for a moment again. Natsu began to rub his neck awkwardly but he never broke eye contact with Lucy. Despite his nervousness, Lucy could clearly see some sort of confidence building in his eyes.
"Luce I'm…" Natsu said before closing his eyes and taking a deep calming breathe, "I'm…I'm sorry."
Lucy's eyes widened in surprise at Natsu's admission.
"I've been a terrible friend to you these past two weeks. I've been avoiding you and because of my actions…I've been hurting you."
Natsu gave Lucy a pained look.
"Luce…words can't describe how sorry I am for hurting you the way I've been. It's not like me at all and I hate myself for doing so."
"Natsu…" Lucy whispered.
"It's just that after everything that's happened with Igneel, Lilly and the others, I didn't know how to respond to what was going on. I was afraid and confused. I thought that I could figure out the issue on my own…I was wrong. And because of that…I was acting selfishly and I put our friendship on the line. I should've just talked to you from the beginning."
Natsu let a sad smile form on his face.
"Can you forgive an idiot like me?"
Lucy was silent for a moment before she a let a sad smile of her own form. Natsu had apologized to her and had admitted his mistake.
Now it was time for her to do the same.
"Of course I forgive you…how couldn't I?" Lucy said, "I'm partially to blame here too. All this time I wanted to talk to you myself…but I didn't know what to say to you…I didn't know how you would respond to me…I was scared. I admit, I didn't know what to think about Lilly and Igneel either. I didn't know what to think about us," Natsu's blush returned in full force when Lucy said that particular word, "…I was scarred too."
Lucy gave Natsu a hopeful smile.
"Now it's my turn to ask; can you forgive me?"
Natsu blinked once before giving Lucy his trademark smile. The smile she had always thought to be completely adorable.
"Of course I can silly!" Natsu said.
Lucy let out a breathe she didn't realize she'd been holding and gave Natsu a heartwarming smile of her own. She promptly stood up and brought Natsu into a tight a hug. A hug which he returned.
"Thank you…" Lucy whispered, "thank you."
After a moment the two drew back from each other.
It was then that Lucy noticed that Natsu's blush began to increase in strength. He began to rub his neck again.
"S-so…to make up for how much of a jerk I've been…I was wondering…i-if y-you'd…" Natsu stammered out.
Lucy quirked an eyebrow in confusion.
"If I'd what?"
"I-I was wondering i-if you'd like to…" Natsu said before mumbling the rest of his sentence.
Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. Did Natsu just ask her what she thought he'd just asked her?
"W-what did you say N-Natsu?"
"Would you like to…" Natsu mumbled again, his face practically glowing red.
"Natsu, please…speak up." Lucy asked, her heart beat and spirits soaring.
Natsu suddenly took an exceptionally deep breath of air and-
"LUCY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO OUT ON A DATE WITH ME!" Natsu blurted out before slapping his hand over his mouth. That had come out way louder than he'd intended.
The question echoed throughout the park and many people turned their heads to look at the pair.
"Oy vey…" Igneel muttered as he palmed his face. Lilly on the other hand was suffering a severe giggle fit.
"Real subtle dude!" Someone yelled out.
Lucy stood with her mouth agape and a shocked expression on her face.
He'd said it.
He'd really just said!
Natsu Dragneel, the densest mage in all of Fairy Tail, had just asked her out on a date!
"I…I can't believe it…" Lucy whispered.
Apparently, this had been too much for Natsu. His face a very deep red Natsu moved to leave out of embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, that was really stupid, I shouldn't have-"Natsu made to leave but he felt a hand suddenly latch onto his wrist.
He turned and saw that Lucy, now sporting a shade of red, was keeping a firm grip on his wrist.
"Wait!" Lucy said, "I'm just shocked that's all. I never…never thought I'd here you say that."
Lucy took a calming breathe before gently taking Natsu's hand into hers.
"Natsu…I would love to go out on a date with you."
Natsu blinked before his trademark grin spread across his face.
"Really!?" He asked.
Lucy giggled in a slightly giddy manner.
"Yes…really."
XXXX
Later that evening
"You know, when I said I wanted to go out on a date with Lucy, I didn't mean like it had to be tonight." Natsu said as he watched Igneel hold up one of his dress shirts to his father's chest.
"You could've at least given me some time to prepare…I haven't really done this before y'know?"
"Best strike while the iron is hot," Igneel said as he grabbed a spare set of dress pants, "you and me are the same size and build so these clothes should make you look like your dressed to impress."
After Natsu had asked Lucy out on the aforementioned date, Lilly and Igneel had subtlety suggested to their parents that they go out later in the evening. Before either one could protest, the twins had dragged their parents back off to their respective residences.
"Does this mean that you actually li~ke, li~ke Lucy?" Happy asked in his teasing manner.
Natsu flushed at Happy's teasing but made no move to refute it.
"Y-yeah…I guess it does." Natsu answered.
Happy began to giggle.
"Natsu and Lucy, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-"
"Would you stop it!?" Natsu hollered much to the exceeds amusement.
"Alright dad, you can get dressed now." Igneel said as he handed Natsu a set of neatly folded clothes.
Natsu gave Happy a warning glare before heading off to his room. A moment later, he emerged dressed in the same way that Igneel dressed; minus the glasses of course.
"Wow Natsu!" Happy exclaimed, "You and Igneel look exactly alike!"
"I guess we do." Natsu said as he finished rolling up his sleeves.
Igneel smiled before making sure nothing was out of place with his father.
"Everything checks out. Now, before you leave, I have say this. When you two go to get something to eat, please refrain from inhaling the food. Try to take the time to enjoy it. It's bad manners to do so, especially on a date."
"I'll try." Natsu said sheepishly.
Igneel smiled.
"Have a nice night dad."
XXXX
Natsu arrived outside the Kardia Cathedral at the specified time to find that Lucy was already waiting for him. And what he saw took his breathe away.
The sun had since begun set but the darker lighting seemed to enhance Lucy's beauty. She wore a beautiful black evening dress with a violet colored shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair had been styled into an elegant braid that reached right between her shoulders blades. Add to the fact that she was waiting a pair of black, open toed shoes and some makeup, Lucy was quite the sight to behold.
"Wow…you look…you look incredible." Natsu said as he walked up to Lucy.
Lucy blushed.
"Thanks…you don't look half that bad either." Lucy said. She had to admit, Natsu looked handsome dressed up in slacks, a vest and dress shirt. Especially since he kept the first two buttons of his shirt undone, giving her a look at his muscled collar bone.
Lucy blushed again before mentally fending of her thoughts. Now was not the time.
"Well…" Natsu said, "Shall we?"
Natsu held out his elbow in the "gentlemen" way he'd seen other guys do before.
Lucy smiled warmly and wrapped her arm in his.
XXXX
The night passed quickly for the two mages.
The two had gone to a local restaurant that wasn't exactly fancy nor was it expensive. There were other patrons dressed like they were so they didn't have to worry about being singled out. The place was situated near the beach, so the two were able to look out onto the moon lit ocean as they chatted the night away. They were making up for the time they had lost during their two week separation.
Lucy told of how she and Lilly were adjusting to each other's presence. Natsu was surprised to hear that Lilly was alike Natsu in regard to some of his habits which made the fire Dragon Slayer sheepishly grin at some of the antics Lilly had pulled around the house.
Natsu in turn related his experiences with Igneel to Lucy. However, he still kept the incident with the nightmare a secret. Igneel had asked Natsu to keep that secret and the fire mage would be damned if he betrayed Igneel's trust. Igneel would talk about it when he was ready and Natsu respected that.
The food had been served just as the two were beginning to hear their stomachs growl.
Rather than begin to wolf down his food, Lucy was surprised to see Natsu actually take the time to enjoy his food. Even though she had somewhat grown accustomed to Natsu's eating habits, Lucy guessed that Natsu was trying to be polite for her sake since they were on their first date together. Needless to say, Lucy was touched.
After finishing their food, the two proceeded to divide the check between themselves and spent the rest of the night walking about the town, enjoying each other's company.
So engaged were the two that they didn't realize what time it was when Natsu walked Lucy back to her apartment; it was quarter to midnight.
"Natsu…I…I had a wonderful time tonight." Lucy said as she stepped through her apartment door. Lilly was still awake and had been reading one of Lucy's books to pass the time. She smiled warmly as she watched her parents.
"Same here…we should do this again sometime." Natsu said.
"Yeah…perhaps next Friday or Saturday?" Lucy asked.
Natsu nodded.
"I'd like that Luce…goodnight." Natsu said as began to turn away.
"Natsu." Lucy said.
Natsu turned around, only to have Lucy stand on the tips of her toes and place a gentle kiss on Natsu's cheek.
"G-goodnight." Lucy said with a small smile.
The two both shared a deep blush before going their separate ways for the night. All the while, Natsu had placed the fingers of his hand on the spot where Lucy had kissed him, a gentle smile on his face.
XXXX
"So," Igneel asked, "how'd it go?" Igneel asked as he looked up from his book. Happy was curled up next to him, sound asleep as Igneel gently scratched behind the blue exceeds ears.
Natsu didn't answer immediately but the blush and smile on his face told Igneel all he needed to know.
"It was nice…I had a wonderful time…she had a wonderful time."
"Good to hear." Igneel said with a sincere smile.
"…If it's alright with you, I'm gonna head to bed." Natsu said.
"Fine by me. I'm going to stay up for a little bit."
Natsu nodded and went to his room.
Igneel smiled to himself. He loved it when a plan worked out.
"Damn I'm good." Igneel muttered and flipped to his next page in his book.
XXXX
A/N: And there you have it guys! Damn, this took me longer than I expected but I got it done and to you guys regardless. This chapter was packed full of NaLu so I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapters will be different, I promise you that. I'm sorry if things appeared to be rushed and what not in this chapter but I digress, more or less.
Like I said, I'm going to be busy these next few days so don't expect an update anytime soon. I will work on this but I may not get a chance to post it so hang in there.
As always, please read, review and happy reading! If you have questions about this chapter or my upcoming story, just leave it in your review.
Hasta la vista and dasvidaniya! :)