Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back to more of "The ABCs of Natsu and Erza!" Today's letter is V for Valentine!

Now, I don't really write stories to mark different holidays/occasions/whatnot, but I figured this would be a good way to get the V chapter out of the way. Not that I didn't have that many ideas for the letter, just... shut up!

Also, I feel it's worth reminding you all that I started ABCs when I was on a Lucy/Cana kick. These days, I enjoy LaxusxCana, but there's no denying the subtext between the two girls. Besides, I didn't want to screw with the canon I had established long before the timeskip was a thing, so I'm leaving the pairings as is. Just saying, since LucyxCana is a mentioned pairing in this and other chapters.

I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had just returned from a mission to protect a caravan carrying valuable artifacts, which Natsu, surprisingly enough, didn't manage to destroy.

Actually, it wasn't that surprising at all, in terms of money. The mission didn't pay that much, but it did pay enough for Lucy to pay her rent, but only with one extra person joining her. So it was great reluctance that she cast aside Gray and Erza for this job, mostly because they had a way of evening out Natsu's destructive nature (especially Erza).

Unfortunately, what little bandits had attack were weak enough that even Virgo could take them out, and they weren't even mages to boot, a fact that obviously didn't sit well with Natsu.

"Lucyyyyyyyyyyy!" Natsu whined. "That mission was so lame! Can't we go on another one?"

Lucy sighed. She half-expected this reaction from the Dragon Slayer once they got back and his motion sickness wore off. "Natsu, no. I'm tired," she said.

"How can you be tired?" asked Natsu incredulously. "Those guys weren't even worth our time! I mean, here I am all fired up for a fight, and I get... that!"

"Aye! Even I beat someone up!" said Happy.

"Look, I was expecting more, too," said Lucy. "But the trip was long, and I am exhausted." As if to punctuate her statement, she gave a big yawn. "It's a miracle we made it back in time for tomorrow as it is!"

"Tomorrow?" repeated a confused Natsu. "What's so great about tomorrow?"

Lucy groaned. "What's tomorrow's date, Natsu?" she asked.

"The fourteenth," replied Natsu.

"Of what month?"

"February."

"And what holiday is celebrated on February 14th?"

"Valentine's Day." Natsu paused to consider his words. "Valentine's Day? Shit! I didn't get Erza anything! She's gonna kill me!"

"You're dooooomed!" trilled Happy.

Yes, it was Natsu and Lucy's first Valentine's Day as a couple. Lucy could barely believe her friend forgot the occasion. But then, this was Natsu she was thinking of, so she should've come to expect it from the pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Lucy, you gotta help me!" said Natsu. "What are you doing for Cana?"

"Natsu. Lucy doesn't have to do anything for Cana!" said Happy. "She's on the bottom!"

Lucy blushed furiously at the Exceed's remark. "Shut up, you damn cat!" she growled.

"Okay, then what are you doing for Carla?" Natsu asked his foster son.

"Give her a fish! Aye!" said Happy.

"You're no help at all!" screamed Natsu.

"Well, maybe if you'd date someone with an appreciation for fish!" complained Happy. "Like Lucy!"

"I don't have an appreciation for..." Lucy started to say, but she caught on to the double meaning. "You ASSHOLE!" she shrieked.

It took Happy a second, but when he realized it, he blushed. "I swear I didn't mean it like that!" he said.

"Yeah yeah, I get it! Lucy likes fish! I don't have time for this! I need a present for Erza!" whined Natsu.

"All the stores are probably closed by this time, Natsu!" said Happy as he avoided Lucy's attempts to strangle him. "Best you can hope for is to get some sleep and check everywhere in the morning!"

"Yeah, you're probably right," sighed Natsu. "Come on, Happy. See you, Lucy!" With that, he and his feline partner started off for home, leaving Lucy frothing at the mouth over Happy's fish comment.

Something in the guild felt... peculiar.

It wasn't the paper hearts hanging all over the guild. No, Mirajane had made that a Valentine's Day tradition ever since she stopped being The Demon. It wasn't the loud love songs playing, either. Even before Lisanna's disappearance, Master Makarov had always been the festive type, meaning crappy love songs every February 14th.

No, what felt wrong to Erza was that something was missing. Or more specifically, someone. Now who was missing? There were Bisca and Alzack, too shy to say anything to each other, there was Juvia fawning over Gray, Lucy watching Cana drink, Gajeel sitting alone with Lily while Levy watched him from afar, much to Jet and Droy's chargin, and of course, Mira serving drinks at the bar. Everyone else was busy being their usual loud, boisterous selves. It wasn't until she glanced over the guild for the third time that she noticed the lack of distinctive pink hair.

"Has anyone seen Natsu?" asked Erza.

The entire guild stopped what they were doing, looking for their pink-haired Salamander. "Haven't seen him all day," shrugged Laxus.

"What are we, his babysitters?" asked Bixlow, with his babies chattering in agreement.

"I do believe he went on a job with Lucy," said Fried. "But that was two days ago, and Lucy's back now."

"Lucy, huh?" said Erza. Turning her glare on the Celestial mage, she asked where Natsu was, making the other girl flinch.

"Natsu said he was going into town to find you a present!" explained Lucy in a panic.

Erza raised a brow. A present? It wasn't her birthday, and Christmas was out, as it was only February. "A present?" she repeated. "For what?"

Lucy hesitated. On one hand, she was the only one who knew about Erza's relationship with Natsu, and she was positive Erza would kill her if she said anything. But on the other hand, she would kill her for not answering her question.

"Well?" asked Erza, her voice raised by this point, hand reaching for her sword. That decided Lucy's next action for her.

"Valentine's Day! Don't kill me!" said Lucy.

Valentine's Day? Wait, Lucy knew about her and Natsu? Hadn't they agreed not to tell anybody yet? True, it was only Lucy, but still, she was neither Natsu nor herself, so she shouldn't have any idea yet.

"That idiot!" growled Erza. She then stormed out of the guild, presumably to find Natsu.

"He's fucked," said Gajeel offhandedly. The guild members all murmured in agreement.

Natsu was getting desperate. He had been to every store, bakery, and magic shop in Magnolia, and still had found nothing he could give to Erza. She had already expressed her dislike for flowers, and everywhere else had been cleared out by now.

But in true Fairy Tail fashion, he wouldn't dare give up until Erza caught up to him and proceeded to beat the living crap put of him. There had to be something he could give to Erza! There just had to be!

"Natsu?"

That voice! It could only be Erza! Oh, he was in deep shit now! "Oh! H-h-hi, Erza!" stammered Natsu.

Erza gave him a hard stare. "Lucy tells me you're trying to find me a Valentine's Day present."

"Aye."

"And you just now realized today was Valentine's Day," said Erza incredulously.

"Ummm... yes?" said Natsu, wincing as he braced for impact.

"It's okay," said Erza, pulling Natsu into a hug. "I only figured it out when I saw the paper hearts in the guild."

Natsu looked up, wondering where the pain was. "I... what?"

Erza's gaze softened considerably. "Natsu... I don't celebrate Valentine's Day," she said gently. "Love isn't something you can dedicate a whole day to. It takes a 24/7 commitment, or else it's going to fail. In other words, I don't need a special day to show I love you when I can do it any old time I want. And I would hope you feel the same about me."

Natsu blinked. Now that he knew he was off the hook, he returned to his usual confident self. "Why the hell wouldn't I?" he said. He then reached out for a kiss, which the knight was only too happy to give.

Suddenly, Natsu was content with the world again. His girlfriend wasn't out to kill him, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong for him now.

"However!" said Erza, pulling away from the kiss and releasing Natsu from her grip. "I am curious as to why you told Lucy about us when we agreed to keep it a secret."

Natsu gulped. Just because it seemed like nothing could go wrong didn't mean it couldn't.

Gajeel's right. Natsu IS fucked! :)

I hope my female audience isn't too offended by that fish joke, but once I realized Happy's love of fish coincided with Lucy's love of "fish," I just couldn't help myself! Don't deny it, you know Happy would end up making that joke if Canon!Lucy was gay!

Sorry if this wasn't as mushy as you'd expect a Valentine's themed entry to be, but I wanted to play up the angle that Valentine's Day was a pointless holiday, and Erza seemed like she'd be the type to agree.

So I guess I'll just spend my Valentine's Day alone... Peace and love from Nightlingbolt... sigh...