Hello, people, and welcome back to more "The ABCs of Natsu and Erza!" My name is Nightlingbolt, and if you didn't know that, why are you here? Today's letter is Q for Question!
This is it, guys. Natsu proposes to Erza in this one. Read on, and judge for yourself if I did it justice.
I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
Natsu was freaking out.
Yes, Natsu barely ever freaks out over anything, preferring to meet his challenges head-on, but this was bigger than anything else he had ever done or would ever do. In fact, it rivaled meeting Igneel for the first time in over a decade.
He looked at the box in his hand, his mind in a frenzy deciding whether this was the right thing to do. After all, what he was planning on doing with this box would change his whole life, permanently and irrevocably. And he didn't know if he was ready for that.
Suddenly, a large green bird flew overhead. Natsu hurriedly stuffed the box in his pocket. Only one other person came to this spot, and he only knew of one green bird.
Lisanna had found him.
The bird touched down and took the form of a white-haired young woman. "Hi, Natsu!" she said brightly.
"Oh, uh... hi, Lisanna!" said Natsu, trying to keep his composure. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
Lisanna was not fooled. "We both know you only come out here when you're freaking out about something," she said matter-of-factly. "Now what's on your mind?"
"Nothing!" said Natsu quickly. "Nothing's on my mind!"
"If only he could hear himself," thought Lisanna with a smirk. "So what's in the box?" asked Lisanna.
Natsu flinched. Had she seen it? "What box?" he asked through his teeth.
"The one in your pocket," said Lisanna.
"I don't have any boxes in my pocket!" said Natsu.
But Lisanna would not be deterred. She transformed one of her arms into a gorilla's and lifted him up, reaching into Natsu's pocket, blatantly ignoring the Dragon Slayer's protests. But when she felt the box for herself, she pulled it out with a gasp and unceremoniously dropped Natsu.
"Natsu, is this...?" whispered Lisanna. She opened it to find a silver band topped with a glistening ruby. Lisanna had no illusions as to who this ring was for.
Natsu got to his feet with a sigh. "Fine," he grumbled. "I'm going to ask Erza to marry me. Happy?"
"Aye, sir!" a feline voice chirped. Sure enough, Happy, Natsu's blue Exceed partner, appeared out of nowhere.
"Where the hell did you come from!" exclaimed Natsu.
"I came with Lisanna," said Happy. "You were probably too busy freaking out to notice me."
Natsu growled. He loved that cat, but damned if he wasn't the biggest pest on the face of Earthland at times (Jewel for every time Lucy told him that...).
"Natsu loooves Errrrzaaaaa!" Happy sang. "Natsu wants to marrrrry Erza!"
"Yeah, well... you wanna marry Carla!" yelled Natsu.
"Oh, I totally do," said Happy wistfully.
"Say, Happy," said Lisanna. "I think you should go back to the guild. I want to talk to Natsu about something."
"But what do I tell everyone?" asked Happy. "Especially Erza?" he added mischievously.
"Tell them Natsu's fine. Just fine," said Lisanna, a feral growl lacing the second sentence. Happy nodded and flew off, not eager to incur the Animal mage's wrath.
This left the two mages alone. Lisanna spoke first. "You know, I'm kind of jealous. Erza gets a ring and I don't. Aren't I your first wife, Natsu?" she pouted.
"Lisanna!" Natsu yelled. Lisanna giggled. He never was comfortable with that joke.
"In all seriousness, when were you going to ask her?" asked Lisanna sternly.
"Well, I... I just bought the ring today," said Natsu nervously.
"I don't know, Natsu," said Lisanna seriously. "That ruby seems to have lost a little shine."
Natsu sighed. There was no getting past Lisanna. "I bought it three weeks ago," he admitted shamefully.
"And you still haven't asked her WHY?" yelled Lisanna.
Natsu was scared. Without question, Lisanna was one of the scariest people he had ever known. "I-"
"This is exactly why I gave up on you, Natsu!" yelled Lisanna. "You couldn't commit yourself to a relationship when we were kids, and despite my own feelings on the matter, I could respect that! But here you are with everything you need to ask the woman you've loved for five years to marry you, and you're not doing a damn thing about it! Why, Natsu? What is it that's stopping you from asking that one simple question? What's so hard about asking, 'Erza, will you marry me?'"
Natsu was silent. He opened his mouth, but words would not form. Finally, two words slipped out.
"I'm scared."
Whatever Lisanna was expecting, it was not that. "You're scared," she repeated. "Scared of what?"
"Of losing her," said Natsu. "Lisanna, when I thought you died, I thought I couldn't go on! My life had lost meaning, I was just going through the motions... and you were just my best friend! But this is Erza, the woman I love! What if she gets killed on a mission like you did? What if one day, she wakes up and realizes I was just something to ease her pain with? What if I end up being a security blanket she decides she outgrew? What then, Lisanna? WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO THEN!"
"Well... letting go of me would be a good start," Lisanna moaned. For Natsu was, in fact, gripping Lisanna's shoulders so tightly his fingernails were digging into them. The Dragon Slayer offered a hasty apology and relaxed his grip.
"I don't have any easy answers, Natsu," said Lisanna. "But I know this much: You guys've been dating for five years now. If Erza was going to leave you, she would've done it by now. Still, you've both been hurt before, you by Igneel, and Erza by Jellal. You're protective, and so is she. And that's why you two are destined for each other: each of you knows that the other will never leave. Erza trusts in you. So why can't you find it in you to trust in Erza?"
Natsu tried to find an answer, but everything he could think of sounded like a copout, so he didn't bother saying anything. Lisanna truly was impossible to win an argument against.
"Leave me alone for a while," he said. "I need to work out what I'm going to say."
Lisanna smiled. "Anything you say will be beautiful," she said kindly. She assumed her bird form and flew away, leaving Natsu to his thoughts.
Erza liked the twilight hours of each day. She considered the setting sun a reward for accomplishing whatever tasks she had set out to do for the day. These ranged between completing a mission, stopping Natsu and Gray from killing each other, or simply getting in a little extra training.
Today, she was practicing with her Morning Star Armor. She hadn't used it in a while, and she felt she was getting rusty in its application. She looked westward at the sun disappearing over the horizon let slip a satisfied smile as she pondered how to spend her evening.
Perhaps she could see if Natsu was available for a date. It had been about a week since they've actually gotten to spend any time together. They had both gone on solo missions, and Erza had returned a day before Natsu, and when he came back, he was in a sort of panic over something. Had the mission really affected him that severely?
Yes, Erza decided. A night of romance would do them both some good.
Suddenly, a blast of fire breezed right past her. She turned around and saw, not to her surprise, Natsu, all primed up for a fight. This was good. She could put her training to good use and spend some quality time with her boyfriend all in one fell swoop.
"What were you aiming at?" taunted Erza. "If you're going to sucker-punch me, at least make sure you hit your mark. Unless you were just trying to get my attention?"
"That was the idea," said Natsu nonchalantly.
Erza smirked and held out her swords. "You're going to wish you had taken the cheap way out!" she yelled, launching two blasts of energy directly at the Dragon Slayer.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" yelled Natsu. With a flaming fist, he easily tore through Erza's attack. "And Fire Dragon's Claw!" His feet ignited, and he charged Erza, who could only parry with her swords. She then released a burst of energy that landed Natsu on his back. Seizing the opportunity, Erza pointed a sword at his chest.
"Alright, I give!" declared Natsu. Music to Erza's ears. She Requipped back to her basic attire and pulled Natsu in for a hug. No hard feelings were to be had tonight, and even though Natsu had won several times in recent years, Erza still had many more than he did.
"You know, Erza," said Natsu. "Every time I fight you, I feel myself get stronger. I mean, I feel like that after every fight, but with you... it means more. The stronger I get, the better I can protect you, you know?"
Erza laughed. "With our record, I should be the one protecting you," she said.
"Hey, I'm getting there!" protested Natsu. "Someday, I'll have more wins than you!"
"I don't doubt you will," said Erza with a smile.
"But the score doesn't matter," said Natsu. "Whether I'm weaker or stronger, I'll always be there to protect you..." He got down on one knee. "If you'll let me."
Erza was taken aback. "Wha... what is this, Natsu?" she asked.
"Erza, I love you," said Natsu seriously. "You mean so much to me. You give me the strength to defeat the greatest enemy, the courage to face my darkest fears, the kindness that inspires my heart, and the love that keeps me going. I want to protect everything that makes you precious to me. Will you let this dragon be the knight that keeps you safe from your darkest demons? Will you, Erza Scarlet..." he took out the ring box and opened it. "...Marry me?"
Erza gasped. She couldn't believe this! Natsu, her fool of a boyfriend, was saying all these wonderful things, things that made her feel like a princess? Natsu was asking her to marry him?
Meanwhile, Natsu was panicking. "Shit, that sounded totally stupid! Now she's gonna say no! Why am I doing this?"
"Yes!" said Erza. "Yes, of course I will!"
This took a moment to register in Natsu's mind. "Yes...?" he repeated. "You said... yes?" The Dragon Slayer was really excited now. "YOU SAID YES!" he proclaimed loudly as Erza lifted him up for a long kiss.
She pulled away and said, "Tell me something. Why are you asking me now just after a fight?"
"Heh, I dunno," said Natsu. "It just seemed perfect, asking after doing something that meant something to both of us."
"But I could have worn a dress, I could have had my hair up, we could have been on a beach..."
Natsu cocked his head. "You've been reading way too many romance books," he said.
"Just put the damn ring on my finger," grumbled Erza.
It was all Natsu could do to oblige.
Meh, the last few lines aren't as romantic as I'd like them, but I couldn't fit in one last "I love you" without it feeling forced. So basically, I just played to my strengths, and hopefully it paid off.
Now, a couple things regarding Lucky Star. Chapter Eight's pretty much done, but I want to see if I can extend it into another chapter before I actually post what I already have. When those are done, like I said, I'm probably going to wait until the rest of the story is written before posting any more, just because I want this story arc to be as perfect as I can make it, although I shouldn't say perfect because there's no such thing as perfect... Gah! Shut up, Chris!
As for a Christmas special, Photographs is all you get. I mean, I included that mistletoe picture for a reason, after all.
Finally, some news regarding the character of Faye Dragneel. She's still the same as ever as far as ABCs canon is concerned, but - and I'm ashamed to admit this - I did come up with an origin story that conforms to the standards of Nalu and Gerza. All I'll say is she now has a connection to Rustyrose.
And that's about it. I doubt I'll get another chapter of this or LS up before Christmas, so I just want to wish you guys a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season, and I'll be back for more writing in 2012. See you all next year.