Hey, guess what? I'm back! and I bring with me fanfiction.
Now i've always wanted to try my hand at a coffee shop AU because why not? So that's why this happened, because i have no self control.
Anyways, here it is so please, enjoy.
Pairing: Nalu
It was a question that was always stuck at the front of her mind when she went for her morning coffee at the Fairy Tail Cafe.
Why? Why would anyone choose to dye their hair pink?
A bright, cherry pink at that?
Every morning she was him, the barista who worked at hyper speeds during the rush. Natsu was his name if she remembered correctly, and though he constantly wore a hat emblazoned with the shop's curious logo, it could not keep those unruly, pink tufts from her eyes.
And it wasn't as if the chance never arose. Lucy had her coffee served by him on many occasions, often enough that he knew her favourite orders. But the question that was always sitting on the tip of her tongue never found the right opportunity to leave Lucy.
Today was the same as any other day of the week, except somehow more cheerful, as though the world was smiling. The sky was clear, only a few brush strokes of clouds were in sight and the wind whipped through her hair, ruffling her T-shirt. Lucy silently praised herself for wearing shorts.
The blonde opened the door to the cafe, the bell chiming softly, alerting a few of the baristas. Those familiar with her waved.
Surprisingly, today was empty, only a few people sat haphazardly around the shop, either tapping away at their phones or had their noses held down to books, It seemed everyone was out enjoying the day.
Another surprise, Natsu was manning the cash register, a position that did not suit someone who had his sort of energy. He was wearing his cap backwards, showing off more of his intriguing hair that held her interest.
His eyes, half-lidded (with boredom probably) were intently focused on something behind the counter. As Lucy neared she saw that he was aimlessly tracing the intricate flame tattoo that covered his arm.
It started at the wrist and rose upwards, wrapping around his elbow and diving into the crook of his arm. It fanned out in spirals of reds and yellows and oranges, the tips disappearing under his shirt sleeve.
"Hello and welcome to the Fairy Tail Cafe, where every customer is family to us. What would you like from us today?" He spoke in a dead pan tone, like it was a tape-recording.
Natsu's eyes were still glued to the finger he was dragging along the course of his arm.
"Well I'm not sure, why don't you take a guess?"
Hiss head snapped up impossibly fast when he realized it was her," Lucy! I didn't even notice you!"
"I know"
"Well stay right there, I'll go make your coffee!"
He dashed off without even ringing up the order (or take her money at that) and returned some time later with her coffee. Tendrils of steam rose from the cup Lucy's name was messily scrawled upon.
"here ya go!" he said cheerfully," One mocha latte to go!"
Lucy took it gratefully and held out the money. He looked confused for a moment.
"I didn't pay yet," Lucy reminded, "You ran off before you rang up my order."
Natsu groaned and took of his cap, running his fingers through his hair. "I keep forgetting about that," he muttered, taking her money," I begged the old man not to give me register duty but he kept going on and on about how it would be 'good to have the experience'. Thank god today's a slow day…"
Natsu gave Lucy her change and continued rambling about his boss, but she just couldn't focus on the words. His hair swayed with the slightest toss of his head and her curiosity was building.
It looked weird, coarse and thick with an odd sheen of softness to it. Lucy briefly wondered how it must've felt.
She just had to ask, but how to drop the question? She had to know without making things awkward, if that was even possible.
"And you know what sucks? I just learned how to use this, so I don't know if what i'm doing is right! And another thing-"
"Why is your hair pink?" she blurted out
Yeah Lucy, great. Totally didn't make things weird right there.
Natsu stopped talking. The only thing that could be heard between them was the howls of laughter from the black-haired barista in the back.
He appeared stunned by the off-handed question( which was quite understandable) before moving forward with a deadly serious expression on his face. There was only mere inches between their noses.
"I'll tell you why, but only if you tell me why your hair is yellow."
Natsu leaned back with a satisfied smirk. It took Lucy a few seconds to process what he said.
"W-what? My hair isn't yellow," she spluttered," It's blonde."
"Fancy word for yellow hair."
"No it isn't! It's blonde, natural blonde!"
He spread his arms wide like she had figured out a grand secret," There's your answer."
"….I don't get it."
Natsu dropped his arms to rest at his sides," My hair's natural. Why, is that such a big shock to you?"
"I always thought- I thought your hair was,well, dyed." she admitted
"I don't get why people think that. My hair's still alive last I checked."
She opened her mouth to respond but stopped. Natsu waited for the response that never came.
"Aw come on," he said,disappointed," you don't get it? It's a pun! You see because you said 'dyed' and then I said it 'was still alive' meaning that-"
"YOUR JOKE SUCKS!"
An empty cup sailed and hit Natsu on the back of the head. It was returned with 3 times the necessary force, "SHUT UP GRAY!"
"It's like no-one appreciates good puns nowadays," he grumbled, turning back to Lucy, "Sorry 'bout that."
"It's fine"
"NO IT'S NOT"
Lucy sipped her beverage carefully, listening to the back and forth argument between Natsu and the other barista (who he obviously wasn't fond of, evident from the colourful nicknames he had given him) when another questioned surfaced in her mind, one thatdefinitely wasn't going to slip out.
After all, adding this to the question of whether his hair colour was real or not would make him think she was some sort of weirdo, which she would not have. There was no chance of that happening.
"Can I touch your hair?"
The bickering stopped and Lucy nearly slapped herself.
Honestly what was with her today? It was like her thoughts refused to stay where they belong, in her thoughts.
"Why, you think it's fake? Because i'm pretty sure it isn't. "
"No, no, just curious is all. Not unless that'll be weird or anything then I could just go and-"
"Hey calm down. It's ok."
"Are you sure this won't be weird for you because really you can just forget about the question so-"
He leaned his head forward invitingly, "Won't happen. Trust me. Plus something tells me you won't really be satisfied until you do."
Well that was true, and since she went through all the trouble of embarrassing herself, she couldn't really pass this up now.
Hesitantly, Lucy reached forward and sank her fingers into the thick locks, slowly sifting through it in fascination. It was soft, almost as soft as her own, contrary to its appearance and her initial beliefs.
Slowly withdrawing her hand with a smile Lucy felt better now that she had her answers. Natsu smiled at her too, a knowing smile.
"Feel better now?" She nodded her response
"Good. Any other weird questions?"
"I think that's all," she replied,"Sorry for making things awkward, twice."
Natsu waved her off,"It's not the first i've been asked that. You were just the only person to ask it straight out like that and….."
"And what?"
"The first to touch."
He gave a smug grin at Lucy's reddened cheeks before laughing it off.
The bell at the door chimed consecutively, signalling the arrival of a fair bit of customers. Natsu jammed his cap back onto his head," Looks like it's time for me to get busy."
"Guess so." Lucy glanced at her at her watch and almost cursed. She was nearly a hour late for her meeting with Lisanna. She knew her friend wouldn't mind but Lucy took punctuality very seriously.
"Hey I gotta go. I can't keep my friend waiting any longer."
"Hold on, lemme do something before you go." He held out his hand, "Pass me back your cup for a sec."
She did as such and Natsu produced a marker, quickly scribbling on the cup.
"What are you doing?"
She inspected it when it was returned. A bunch of numbers was written on her cup, a phone number.
"Just in case you get curious anytime soon, or want to touch again." He winked at her playfully.
Later when Lucy went to meet Lisanna, her friend knew something was definitely up. There was a rare few things in this world that could make her friend so pink. But this time she just couldn't figure out what caused it this time.
"The moron kept rambling and then she straight up asked him why his hair was pink." Gajeel and Gray let out bellows of laughter at Natsu.
"And then a bit later," Gray added in a mock sweet voice," she even ran her fingers through his hair."
Gajeel elbowed Natsu in his side," So yer a secret ladykiller,eh Salamander? Who taught you that move, Igneel?"
"He wrote down his number on her cup too."
"Laid it on a bit too thick there, ya mighta scared her off."
The pair snickered cheekily. Natsu's retort was ferocious.
"Well at least the girl I like actually talked to me and she's got my number." Natsu's phone rang and he slipped it out of his pocket. He stared at it for a moment.
"That blue-haired girl you like talk to you yet Gajeel, or better yet, she even notice you?"
Gajeel stopped laughing.
"And Gray, when you stop avoiding the girl you like then we'll talk."
Gray stopped laughing as well.
Natsu answered the phone, holding it to his ear. His entire demeanor was cocky when he looked at his friends.
"Hello? Oh, hey Lucy."
Guess what?
I don't even know what this is