Well... Hello, guys. :') Long time no see. How is everyone? ~
I really want to apologize for the break. School really took over this time; I had never done so much studying in my life.
I still have three projects going on right now, but I really needed to update. I've missed writing and talking to all of you guys so much. Although I got some reviews saying that I'm going to lose readers if I don't update soon, I hope none of you have left. ;A;
For the past two weeks, I've been studying like crazy for the AP World History exam. I had so many time periods jammed inside my head and when the test was over, I could feel all the information I learned flooding out of me.
But luckily, I survived! :-) I'm alive and just have to endure the next 6 days of school left.
I want to announce a few things, for those who don't read my recently completed fic Secret Lovers.
May 16 (which has passed) May 23, and May 30, I'll be publishing a new one-shot, chapter, and a brand new story.
I've already posted the one-shot, Two Lives, One Choice, I'll be updating an epilogue for SL, and as for the new story.. Well, I'll let you guys know more about it next week. ;-)
I'd love if all of you guys read those stories as well! It'd really mean a lot.
Speaking of which, it's crazy how much this story grew in just two weeks. All of you really makes me so so happy. Thank you so much.
So, I'm finally back. No more breaks, no more late chapters, none of that. Summer is approaching which gives me plenty of time to write for you all. C:
Thank you for still sticking with this story and please enjoy this chapter that has a surprise at the end!
The first thing Lucy did the next morning was subtly check to see if her necklace from Natsu was still inside the necklace case.
She wasn't planning on wearing it until she returned to Magnolia. Losing it at the beach house was her worst fear.
Unfortunately, Lucy didn't have too much time to admire the shimmering necklace due to the tugs on her sleeve.
"Lu-chan, let's go!" Levy whispered in a rush.
"Where?" Lucy whispered back curiously, shoving the necklace case beneath her pillow before Levy could see.
"We're going to go wake up Natsu," Erza revealed with a mischievous smile, already up and ready to go.
"It's his birthday, remember?" Levy reminded with a few more tugs. "Come on!"
Having no choice, Lucy silently followed the girls outside to the hallway to meet up with Cana and Lisanna.
"Are the other guys awake?" Erza inquired.
"Nope," Cana grinned. "They're up for a surprise, too."
Lucy and Levy exchanged an anxious look; they knew this wasn't going to turn out good.
Yet they didn't hesitate to trail behind their friends farther down the hallway to the boys' room.
"Okay," Cana took a deep breath with her hand falling onto the doorknob. "On three, we're going to run in and yell happy birthday to Natsu."
"I can't wait to see the look on Natsu's face!" Lisanna clasped her hands in excitement.
"I'm ready," Erza said with eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"One," Cana began. "Two."
"Three!" the girls whispered simultaneously while barging into the room.
"Happy birthday, Natsu!" they shouted as loud as they could.
Instantly, the snoring boys' eyes shot open, all of them reacting on reflex—which was to bounce out of their bed and lift up two defending fists.
"I will take all of you on," Erza declared to the breathless boys.
It took a few seconds for the boys to realize what was happening. After a few blinks, they were out of their trance.
"You suck for doing that to us," Gajeel sighed, falling back into his bed.
"Good one, girls," Jellal complimented.
"Why would you wake us up like that?" Gray grumbled.
"Because it's Natsu's birthday," Lisanna replied with a grin.
"Don't you all feel weird sleeping without a shirt on?" Cana asked bluntly.
"Never," Gajeel shook his head.
"Weirdo," Levy laughed under her breath.
As everyone shared a couple of remarks towards one another, Lucy was the only one to notice who was being left out.
"G-Guys," Lucy stammered. "Natsu fell back asleep."
The group turned to the birthday boy to find him with an open mouth and body sprawled across the bed.
"Already?" Cana frowned. "Did he not get enough sleep last night?"
"He came in pretty late last night," Jellal spoke. "He said he was outside."
Lucy's breath was lodged into her throat. Did he mention he was outside with her?
"Somebody wake up Flame-brain already so we can eat breakfast," Gray commanded, directing the conversation elsewhere.
"On it," Lisanna was the first to volunteer.
"How is she going to…" Levy began, watching her stride to Natsu's bed.
"I used to do this all the time when we were kids," Lisanna informed.
There wasn't enough time for anyone to stop Lisanna as she pulled the covers over Natsu to suffocate him.
"It takes some time," Lisanna told everyone's blank expressions.
Several awkward seconds later, Natsu's body began to move beneath the covers. Then, to get more air, he rose from bed with ragged breaths.
"What was that for?!" Natsu whined.
"Happy birthday, Natsu!" the group exclaimed.
Natsu's eyes widened with surprise, a grin immediately spreading across his face after it all registered.
"Thanks, guys," he said.
"Since it's your birthday, you get to use the bathroom first," Lisanna announced.
"And you get the first plate for breakfast," Mirajane poked her head inside the room.
"Well, if you insist," Natsu smirked as he nearly strutted his way out of the room.
"We don't," Gajeel mumbled when Natsu walked past him.
"As for the rest of the boys," Lisanna glanced at them nervously. "It's all up to you to decide who goes next."
The girls took a step back while the boys used the most non-effective way to figure out who was next—whoever reached the bathroom door first was next.
After everyone's teeth were brushed and they were all cleaned up, they happily ate their breakfast that was surely meant to be served at a five-star restaurant.
"That was a nice prank you girls did today," Gray remarked.
"We didn't mean to prank you guys!" Levy protested.
"It only makes us boys want to prank you back," Gajeel stated with a devilish glint in his crimson eyes.
"Oh?" Erza perked up in her seat. "Are you saying you want to have a prank war?"
"Prank war?" Levy and Lucy echoed mid-chew.
"That's exactly what we're saying," Jellal responded with a smug look. "How about it?"
"You're so on," Cana grinned.
"Boys against girls?" Natsu asked with already competitive eyes.
"This is getting interesting," Lisanna giggled.
"Do Lu-chan and I have a say in this?" Levy squeaked.
"We'll begin at exactly noon," Erza ignored Levy. "So we don't destroy the house, all pranks must be held outside."
"An hour to plan all the pranks we're going to do?" Gray inquired. "More than enough time, Erza."
Lucy couldn't handle the tension in the air as she uneasily viewed the boys that were sending the girls hard stares.
"Let's start then!" Natsu yelled, surging out of his seat.
Mimicking his movements, the girls and boys separated into different parts of the house to devise their pranks.
"Mira has some water guns hidden upstairs," Lisanna revealed.
"Perfect," Erza beamed.
"I say we use Lucy and Levy as bait," Cana spoke.
"Why us?!" Lucy and Levy exclaimed.
"Because Natsu and Gajeel won't hesitate to attack both of you," Lisanna replied.
"We'll protect you," Erza guaranteed the worried girls. "Because when the boys start coming for you, we'll—"
"Shoot them square in the face with our guns," Cana declared.
"We'll do it then," they nodded in agreement.
With the first prank planned, the girls went on to smaller pranks they could do to the boys during the day.
The water gun fight being their first prank was absolutely going to let the boys know that the girls meant business.
"I'm cheering you girls on!" Mirajane proclaimed, handing them their water weapons when it was almost time.
"Remember, ladies," Erza warned as they began to go outside. "Nobody is safe outside in the battlefield."
"I feel like we're going to war or something," Levy mumbled.
"We are," Cana responded. "A prank war."
Lucy adjusted her hands around her large water gun to brace herself for what was to come. Once she noticed it was noon, she held her breath.
"Good luck, girls!" Mirajane waved them out.
Taking one step outside, Lucy's heart was already pounding. She was too busy thinking of what to expect; she didn't notice the whistling from above.
"Watch out!" Cana shouted, side-stepping away from a water balloon splattering beside her on the deck.
Lucy had no idea where the random surge of energy came from, but it allowed her to sprint off the deck without having as much as a few droplets landing on her ankles.
She was thankful her friends—or comrades in this situation—made it out safe as well.
"You can run, but you can't hide!" Natsu roared from the rooftop, shaking a water balloon in his hand.
"Mira, you gave the boys water balloons? I thought you were cheering us on!" Lisanna pouted at her smiling sister.
"I am!" she nodded from the door. "But I'm cheering the boys on, too!"
"Traitor," Cana muttered.
"Let's not retreat just yet," Erza spoke. "Lisanna, Cana, I want you to do a quick shoot and scoot over by the coast. Lucy and Levy, you'll be our safeguards. Understood?"
Erza was about to sprint away, but after taking a look at her comrades' faces, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, Erza," Cana frowned. "You want Lisanna and I to do what?"
"Sorry, Erza, I don't know what you're talking about either," Lisanna sheepishly admitted.
"Erza wants you two to go by the coast and be ready to quickly shoot the enemy and move places before they spot you," Levy explained.
"And then Levy and I are going to stick around here so we can notify everyone when the boys are coming," Lucy added.
"How did you two know?" Cana's eyes narrowed in their direction.
"We don't just read romance books all the time, you know," Levy giggled.
"We can't waste any more time," Erza started to step away. "Get into position before the next enemy arrives!"
Feeding off the suspenseful air, Lucy and Levy crouched into position—being beside the deck so they could be on the lookout.
"Lu-chan!" Levy gasped, whispering in Lucy's ear. "Gray is entering our territory."
"You're sounding like Erza now," Lucy stifled a laugh. "Don't worry, she's got it."
It wasn't long until there was a flash of red hair and Gray was being drenched with water.
"See?" Lucy looked back to Levy, but froze when she realized her comrade wasn't behind her anymore.
"L-Levy?" she stuttered, trying not to panic as she stood up. "Where did you go—"
"Drop your weapon now or she dies," a voice came up behind Lucy.
Lucy spun around to find Natsu gripping Levy's wrist with her water gun in his other hand.
"Well, not really die, but you know," Natsu shrugged slightly.
It took all of Lucy's strength to not laugh at the whole situation; she tried her best to stay in character.
"What are you going to do to us?" she inquired after placing her weapon on the ground.
"Come with me," Natsu took a hold of her wrist, laying the water guns on a table.
"Where are you taking us?" Levy asked warily.
"Be quiet or I'll get Gajeel to soak both of you with our water balloons," Natsu commanded.
Although Lucy was biting her lip to suppress her laughs, she couldn't tell if Levy's glassy eyes were real or not.
"Alright, just a couple more—"
Natsu wasn't able to finish his sentence due to Levy's shrill cry out into the air.
The shriek was enough for Natsu's hold on their wrist to loosen—exactly what the girls wanted.
"Sorry, Natsu," Lucy grinned before taking off with Levy to a spot behind a tree where they knew they would be safe.
Lucy and Levy thought they were safe being behind the tree; however, there was an evil laugh behind them.
"Can't hide," Gajeel snickered.
"Neither can you!" Levy exclaimed while reaching into her pocket and flinging several water balloons at him.
"Where did you get those?" Lucy's jaw fell at the popped balloons on the sand.
"They were in Natsu's pocket," Levy replied.
"Well played, Levy," Gajeel grumbled with dripping wet hair, having no choice but to forfeit.
"Thank you," Levy smiled.
"Where did Natsu go?" Lucy turned around where Natsu once was.
"He probably took off to hide," Levy stated. "Since I screamed, everyone knows where we are now."
"Isn't that a bad thing?" Gajeel remarked.
"Not necessarily," she answered, looking over her shoulder at him with another smile. "Wait for it."
The trio peeked out from behind the tree, watching what was about to unfold.
"There's Jellal," Lucy pointed.
"And there's Cana and Lisanna," Levy lifted her finger out to them, despite hardly being able to see their heads.
"Not bad," Gajeel commended as Jellal was eventually shot with water.
"Now there's just Natsu left," Lucy said.
"Good luck with him," Gajeel sighed while lying down on the sand. "I'm going to stay here until everything is over."
Lucy and Levy shared a scoff before stealthily going off to Cana and Lisanna so they could talk about what their next move was going to be.
"You guys haven't gotten hit yet?" Cana blurted out when they arrived.
"That's right," Lucy beamed.
"This is a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be," Levy confessed.
"I've never had such a fun water fight before," Lisanna rejoiced.
"It has been fun," Erza crawled her way in the group. "Natsu is the only one left to defeat, correct?"
With their nods, they waited for Erza to think of a plan.
"How about we go out there together?" Lucy suggested after a moment of silence. "It'll be the fastest way to get him out."
"Some of us are bound to get wet by his balloons, though," Cana pointed out.
"It's okay as long as we get Natsu, right?" Lucy replied.
"That's right," Erza confirmed. "Let the operation begin."
Standing up together, the girls marched to the center of the 'battlefield' and awaited for Natsu's arrival.
"He's not coming," Levy spoke slowly. "What do we do?"
"He'll come sooner or later," Erza assured.
However, the wait was much longer than expected. The sand that was covering their feet was starting to burn.
"Where is he?" Lisanna sighed impatiently.
As the question left Lisanna's mouth, instantly, water started to shower over them.
"It worked!" Natsu cheered from the rooftop of the beach house.
"What?" Erza inquired, squinting up at the roof.
The girls couldn't believe the sight they were seeing—Natsu holding up a hose into the air with the nozzle set on the highest pressure so the water could reach them.
"I can't believe he got us all at once," Cana groaned with disbelief.
"How did you get the hose all the way up there?!" Lisanna cupped her hands, raising her voice.
"Lots of help from Elfman!" Natsu called out.
"Leave it to Natsu to do the most extreme," Erza smiled once he stopped spraying the water above them.
With all the girls being sprayed, the water fight had come to an end.
"That was exhausting!" Levy fell to the sand.
"So in the end, the boys won," Cana glumly sat down with Levy.
"We're going to prank the boys later, aren't we?" Lucy reminded her. "Something with their food?"
"Oh, that's right!" Lisanna recalled. "I need to go tell Mira before she's finished making lunch. I'll be back!"
"Where is she running off to?" Gray asked as he came up to the girls.
"She had to go to the bathroom," Cana answered plainly.
"Was she that scared?" Gajeel snorted.
"Thanks for winning for us, Natsu," Jellal said when Natsu joined the group.
"I never lose," Natsu boasted.
If it wasn't Natsu's birthday, the group would have already been sending retorts his way. But since it was his birthday, they couldn't do anything but let him say what he wanted.
"Lunch is ready!" Lisanna announced from the deck.
"Finally," Natsu breathed out. "Doing all that work really made me hungry!"
The group returned inside the kitchen, settling into their seats as the plates were passed out.
"I tried to cook my best today," Mirajane revealed before everyone dug into their meals.
"It must be good then," Gajeel spoke while shoving a forkful of food inside his mouth.
The girls eagerly waited for the boys' reaction towards the food once they all took the same amount of food together.
"One point for the girls!" Mirajane reported with a laugh at the boys' grimaces.
"Please tell me you made a separate meal," Gray pleaded, pushing away his overly salted food.
The boys were utterly relieved when Mirajane began to serve more food—not poisoned this time.
And with the score being at a tie, it was safe to say the prank war was just getting started.
Once lunch was over, the group didn't hesitate to resume their prank war for the rest of the day.
Lucy soon realized that what Erza said earlier couldn't have been truer.
Nobody was safe outside.
The moment the girls did a prank to the boys, they promptly pranked them back with no delay.
It was an endless prank war; the group were losing count on how many times water was being splashed around.
Despite it being a competition, there was always a smile on everyone's face.
Lucy couldn't help but smile wider when she noticed Natsu's toothy grin. She was incredibly glad that he was enjoying his birthday.
It was nearing sunset and it was becoming noticeable that the group couldn't handle any more.
"Truce?" Erza finally extended her hand out to the line of boys.
"We can go all day, Erza," Gray smirked.
"So can we!" Lisanna retorted.
It was obvious how stubborn everyone was. Whether Erza liked to admit it or not, she wasn't going any lower than offering a truce.
"We accept the truce," Jellal shook Erza's hand, gaining bewildered expressions by his comrades.
"What the hell, Jellal?!" Gajeel yanked his shoulder back. "We were just getting started!"
"Can we relax for a bit?" Cana proposed. "I need a break."
"Agreed," Jellal nodded.
"Finally," Levy sighed with content when the truce was officially acknowledged. "Those boys are too much to put up with."
"We can hear you," Gray retorted.
Soon enough, the group scattered off into their own directions. With dinner being a few hours away, they were able to do whatever they wanted until then.
Lucy legs were burning from scurrying all over the beach the entire day. The uneven sand made her feet ache.
So, knowing she would be able to fully relax by herself, she swung her legs in the air at the edge of the jagged coastline she loved.
She was in the midst of enjoying the ocean breeze when she heard footsteps behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she was met with a smiling Natsu.
"Are you having fun?" the two asked simultaneously.
"Yep," they answered together.
"Stop repeating me!" they demanded.
"Since it's my birthday, I get to talk first," he declared with a hand clamped over Lucy's mouth.
"You just talked first," she remarked as she peeled his hand away.
Natsu stuck his tongue out, earning a giggle from Lucy.
"How do you feel?" she questioned. "Do you feel like it's your birthday?"
"I feel older already," he joked.
"Yeah, right," she stifled a laugh.
"Why aren't you wearing the necklace I got you?" Natsu lifted a brow.
"Oh," her eyes slightly widened. "I don't want to lose it, so I'm not going to wear it yet."
"I doubt you'll lose it here," he scoffed. "It would be okay if you lost it, anyway."
"No, it wouldn't be," she shook her head. "The necklace is really important to me!"
Lucy felt her face heat up at what she accidentally let slip out. She knew Natsu was thinking she was strange for saying that a simple necklace was important to her.
"Your gift will be important to me, too," he mumbled, although Lucy heard it loud and clear.
Lucy couldn't think of what to say next, so she twirled her thumbs in her lap to pass the time.
"Let's go get a snow cone," Natsu heaved himself up from his spot and reached down to Lucy.
"What about dinner?" she pointed out, slipping her hand inside his.
"We'll only be a little late," he shrugged while leading her off the coastline and back to the sand.
The entire time, Lucy stared at Natsu's hand holding hers. She felt perplexed when they were back on the sand and he hadn't let go yet.
But she didn't mention it; holding his hand wasn't hurting anyone.
Well, except her throbbing heart which she begged to calm down.
It wasn't until Natsu was paying for the snow cone when he released her hand.
"Feels lonely," Lucy thought to herself.
Scooping the coconut shaved ice, she listened with amusement as Natsu explained how difficult it was to haul the hose over the rooftop.
The couple zoned everyone out as they revealed the behind the scenes to their pranks.
"Whoa, Natsu," Lucy scanned the vacant tables around them after taking a look at the faded orange sky. "How long have we been here?"
"Two hours," he answered.
"Two hours?!" she repeated frantically, rocketing out of her chair. "We have to go to dinner!"
"They probably already ate," he nonchalantly rose from his seat.
Feeling frustrated at first because of how calm he was being, she soon realized that this was one of their rare moments together.
Being alone with him was time Lucy didn't want to take for granted.
Although, the sky was getting dark and they were still on their way to the beach house.
Lucy was absolutely clueless as Natsu insisted on taking his time, but she couldn't argue with his twinkling eyes.
"Of course he comes to his birthday dinner late," Gray snorted once they arrived.
"Your food is still warm," Mirajane guaranteed, placing their plates on the table.
"Where were you?" Levy whispered to Lucy.
"Natsu and I lost track of time," Lucy muttered.
"Oh, really?" Levy nudged her elbow with wiggling eyebrows.
"We weren't doing anything," Lucy rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Whatever you say," Levy hummed.
Even though it was night when dinner was over, Lisanna claimed it wasn't dark enough for Natsu's surprise.
Yet it wasn't hard to figure out what the surprise was once the smell of gunpowder drifted into the living room.
"Lucy, distract Natsu while we go get ready!" Lisanna commanded as she took everyone else to the backyard.
Lucy's eyes widened, glancing at Natsu on the other side of the couch they were on.
"You heard her," Natsu smirked. "Distract me."
"H-How am I supposed to do that?" she stammered.
"Give me my present," he responded.
"Okay," she nodded.
They stood from the couch and were about to head to Lucy's room where his present was, but the sliding door made them pause.
"You can come out now!" Lisanna called out.
Lucy was grateful that Lisanna didn't see them going off into the hallway. It would only lead to misunderstandings.
Allowing Natsu to go in front of her, she walked behind him to the backyard where his surprise was.
"Here you go," Lucy said as she pulled open the door for him.
She stayed right behind Natsu since she didn't want to miss the surprise or his reaction.
"Happy birthday, Natsu!" the group cheered with sparklers in their hands.
Natsu grinned at the fireworks; Lucy noticed his hands twitching at the thought of setting some off into the sky.
"Fireworks like a man!" Elfman shouted farther off into the sand.
Following his outcry, colorful lights shot up into the air, exploding in the sky.
Lucy viewed the bright fireworks in awe. She stepped closer to her friends with their heads tilted up to the sky.
"I want to light some up!" Natsu proclaimed as he darted towards Elfman.
"So do I!" Lisanna rushed after him.
"I get to go after Lisanna!" Cana chimed in.
And just like that, the group was running after one another to get their hands on any type of firework they would be able to light up.
Fireworks were cracking, lights were illuminating the sky, people were getting chased with sparklers, then the cake was being sliced.
And immediately after eating some cake, they continued lighting up the fireworks and sending them to the sky.
There was a high-pitched ringing in everyone's ears once the firework show ended.
"That was so much fun!" Levy raved when they had no choice but to go back inside.
"Even though Natsu lit up almost half of the fireworks," Gray spoke.
"At least you weren't chased by a sparkler by him," Lisanna pouted.
"Jellal chased me with threesparklers," Erza said with a grinning Jellal behind her.
"I can smell the fireworks in my hair," Gajeel muttered while taking a sniff at his charcoal locks.
"Tomorrow is our last day here," Cana blurted out.
"Don't remind me," Natsu groaned. "I never want to leave."
"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Lucy asked.
"Late afternoon," Mirajane answered from the kitchen.
"Let's go to sleep now so we can wake up early tomorrow," Lisanna stated. "We'll have plenty of time to enjoy our last day here."
"We're coming here next summer, right?" Gray double-checked once they started to separate and go inside their rooms.
"We'll make it a tradition," Lisanna beamed.
"Sounds good to me," Gajeel sneered.
"Goodnight, everyone," Levy told them as she entered her room for the night.
Several goodnights echoed through the hallway, but not everyone was in their room just yet.
"This feels familiar," Natsu chuckled after having his wrist seized by Lucy.
"You're going to wake everyone up," she whispered, hurriedly leading him outside on the deck.
The ocean breeze wasn't enough to blow away the smell of fireworks which still lingered in the air.
"This probably isn't going to compare to the rest of your presents," Lucy confessed anxiously, revealing a wrapped up box that fit perfectly in Natsu's hand.
"Birthdays aren't all about presents, Luce," he scolded with a smirk, accepting the present.
She couldn't bear to watch Natsu while he unwrapped the box she had spent hours trying to wrap. She stared at the ground, listening to the ruffling paper.
"Cologne?" he asked. "Are you trying to say I smell funny?"
"That's not what I was trying to say!" she exclaimed, swiftly looking up. "I wasn't sure on what you would like and—"
"I like it," he cut her off. "It smells good."
"Y-Yeah," she stuttered awkwardly. She was sure Natsu could feel just how scorching her cheeks were.
Averting her gaze once again, she froze after smelling the cologne in the air.
"It smells really good," Natsu repeated with wide eyes. "Was it expensive?"
"Not really," Lucy lied. "It had a reasonable price."
"You're such a bad liar," he grinned.
She smiled back bashfully; it was strange how well Natsu could read her.
"There's something else I want to give you," she revealed in a rush.
"Really?" his eyes lit up, like fireworks. "What is it?"
"Y-You have to close your eyes, okay?" she stumbled over her words with a hammering heart.
"Okay," he followed the directions. "Now what?"
"Stay still," she instructed.
With Natsu smelling like the sweet cologne and having his eyes closed, Lucy was positive she was going to hyperventilate.
But she knew that if she didn't do this now, she wouldn't have the courage to do it another day.
Rising on the tips of her toes, she held her breath so Natsu wouldn't know how close she was to him.
She forced her eyes shut and she was in the midst of leaning into his cheek when she felt him moving.
"Luce, can I open my—"
Natsu went silent as a pair of soft lips pressed against his, the ocean's waves being the only noise.
In less than a second, they both jerked away with eyes shooting open.
"What was that?" they questioned at the same time.
"You weren't supposed to move!" Lucy proclaimed with horror. "Why did you move?!"
"You're going to wake up everyone, Luce," Natsu muttered, placing his hand on top of her mouth.
Lucy viewed him with eyes wider than ever before; she could still feel Natsu's lips on hers.
"You didn't mean to, right?" he inferred with a small smile. "It's alright."
"Sorry," she sighed when he removed his hand.
"It's okay," he assured.
The gentleness in Natsu's voice was enough for Lucy's eyes to water, but she rapidly blinked the tears away.
"I'm going to go to my room now," she stated. "Goodnight."
Not waiting for his response, she strode to the door and opened the door.
She paused when she heard Natsu speak up behind her.
"Was that your first?" he inquired.
Lucy couldn't make her voice to work. The only thing she could do was nod.
"It was my first, too," he said softly.
"Goodnight, Natsu," she forced out, quickly shutting the door and rushing into her room.
She tried not to cry out loud when her toe connected with the corner of the couch.
Despite the pain and embarrassment surrounding her, Lucy found herself smiling while quietly entering her room.
She wasn't sure if she regretted what she had done yet, but it was entirely comforting to know what Natsu said.
Natsu's first kiss was Lucy. And Lucy's first kiss was Natsu.