Surprise

Lucy jumped when she opened her eyes that morning. She was lying on her side, and much to her surprise, there was a pair of black eyes staring giddily at her from beside the mattress. Natsu, fully clothed and ready to go, was kneeling next to the bed, his eyes shining with excitement and his fangs glinting happily. "Luuucyyy…" he said softly. "Guess what day it is?" His only response was a groan as she turned her head to bury her face into her pillow. He drum-rolled the mattress with his hands. "It's your birthday!" He stood up. "C'mon, rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

"No…" she moaned, turning on her other side and snuggling into her blankets. Natsu tsked and jumped onto the bed.

"Don't be like that, Luce! It's your birthday!"

"Exactly," she snapped, looking over her shoulder at her husband. "Natsu, I just got back from a two-week long mission, and I'm exhausted. Just let me sleep in a few hours."

"I don't think so," he chuckled, grabbing the end of the blanket and pulling them off of her in one fluid motion. She gasped and curled into a tighter ball, stunned by the sudden lack of warmth. She glared at him.

"Nats—"

"Me, Happy, and Nashi have a big day planned for you," he explained, disregarding her heated stare. "I need you to get up and get ready right now."

"But Natsu…" Lucy whined, a shiver wracking her body.

"No buts. C'mon." He reached under her knees and around her shoulders and lifted her off the mattress. She leaned closer into his warmth, but it was gone as soon as it came when he let her down and shoved her to the direction of the bathroom. "Go take a bath. I'm gonna wake up my accomplices." Lucy watched as he bolted down the hall, a light smile on her face. Well… she was awake now. She walked over to her dresser to pick out some clothes for the day, shaking her head with a small laugh. Natsu always gave it his all to impress her, give her the best birthday ever. And it worked every year, and he somehow topped her previous birthday every year. She asked him once why he tries so hard. His answer?

He looked at her, very serious, and said "To make up for all of those birthdays your father forgot." Lucy sighed at the memory, her hand subconsciously reaching up to touch the mark on her neck.

Knowing that whatever Natsu had planned would take place outside, she grabbed a nice tank top and some jean short. Every year, "Lucy's birthday of awesomeness" – his words, not hers – had something to do with being outside. Last year, two months after Nashi was born, he took them to the beach to relax. The year before that, in their second month of dating, he took her to the park, and then to a crystal blue lake he found a few miles from his house. So whatever he had up his sleeve this year, Lucy was excited to find out.

As she was changing in the bathroom after her shower, there was a knock at the door. "Luce? Are ya ready yet?" came Natsu's excited voice.

"Almost, Natsu," she laughed, reaching for the comb to untangled her damp hair. "I still have to dry my hair."

"Let me do that while you eat." Lucy rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain the giggle. He'd started a habit of drying her hair whenever she gave him an opportunity. He said he liked how soft it was, how it felt on his hands. And she never complained about it. He certainly was faster than her hair drier, and he made it smoother than her hair drier. She often asked herself why she kept that thing in the first place. His magic was obviously better. But then she remembered she'd have nothing to dry her hair with when he was out on the job. With a sigh, she set the comb down on the counter and left the room.

She was greeted by the glorious sound of Nashi laughing as Happy flew in circles around her head. The child was in a pretty coral blue dress that went down passed her knees. Lucy smiled fondly at the sight. That was the dress Levy bought them for the baby shower. Natsu was standing next to the bed, leaning up against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently and dressed in his usual attire. He grinned a blinding grin when he saw her. "There you are, slow-poke," he said, walking over to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen, sitting her down at the table. "Eat up. We have a long train ride in an hour."

"We're taking the train?" Lucy asked, gawking at the amazing breakfast at the table. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, biscuits, the whole shebang. "Did you make all of this?"

"What? No. Mira did," he answered hurriedly, walking behind her to get started on her hair. "You know I don't cook."

"Don't I ever…" she mumbled. The first time she let him cook was the last time. Let's just say, it didn't go very well, and she ended up having to buy a whole new kitchen set. Silverware, other utensils, even some new counters.

"And yes, we're taking the train," he continued, not hearing her little comment. Or he was ignoring it, one of the two. "Now start eating."

"What about you and Nashi and Happy?"

"We ate while we were waiting for you. Now eat!"

"Alright, alright." She reached over the table and started to fill her plate. "So where're we going?" she asked curiously, taking a sip of her orange juice as Natsu threaded his fingers through her hair.

"I can't tell you," he answered coyly. "It's a surprise."

"Okay, well, how long is the train ride?"

"Four hours, give or take." Lucy scrunched up her face as she thought, taking a bite of her pancakes. What was approximately four hours away? She jumped when he reached over and pinched her ear. "Don't think about it. I want you to be surprised." The blonde sighed in defeat and continued to eat her breakfast. He's never taken her anywhere by train before. What was he planning? She really wanted to know now. Within a few minutes, he pulled away. "Alright, your hair's done. Are you finished eating?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Then let's go!" He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of her seat, darting back into the bedroom. "You ready, Happy?"

"Aye!" he chirped. He flew over to the closet and pulled out a seemingly heavy stroller. Lucy laughed as she watched him struggle with it.

"I'll get it, Happy," she said, taking it from him and unfolding it.

"Thanks, Lucy," the feline huffed, thankful to not be carrying that thing anymore. She smiled and turned to get Nashi, but Natsu was way ahead of her. The Dragon Slayer settled the small child into the stroller and buckled her in, practically bursting at the seams with eccentric, excited energy. He placed a quick kiss on Nashi's forehead and bolted upright.

"Let's go!" he said, sending Lucy a brilliant smile and making his way toward the door.

"Are you going to be able to handle a four-hour train ride both ways?" she asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Don't worry about me," he dismissed with a flick of his hand. "Wendy's gotten better with her magic, y'know. She casted a powerful Troia spell on me, and said it should be able to last until we get back."

"But I thought you were immune to Troia now, because she's used it on you so often."

"I told you. She's gotten better."

The ride to wherever they were going was relatively quiet. The only sounds that filled their car were Nashi's awed gurgles as she watched the scenery pass by through the window, and Lucy's light breathing. She'd fallen asleep on Natsu's shoulder thirty minutes into the ride, and despite his overflowing excitement for the day's upcoming events, he couldn't blame her. It was true she'd gotten back from a two-week long mission just the night before, and he did wake her up a six in the morning. It wasn't originally his plan to wake her up so early, but the ride to where they were going was a four hour trip. He wanted to get there before noon so they'd have a full day to hang out and have an awesome birthday. Besides, he didn't want her to be super tired all day. So he was completely fine with her falling asleep on the way there. That meant she could get the rest she needed.

What surprised him, though, was that Nashi was as energetic as ever. He figured she'd be asleep on the way too. Maybe she got her energy from him, he thought with a proud smirk. Sure he loved to sleep, but it didn't take much for him to feel energized and awake. He turned to Lucy when he felt her shift. Her eyes were still closed as she scooted away from him, and lowered herself to lie down, resting her head on his lap. He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, using the other one to brush her hair from her face. She sighed and snuggled into his thigh. His grin broadened, but disappeared when he heard snickering. He looked up to see Happy sitting on top of Nashi's stroller, hiding his mouth with his paws and giggling. Natsu tsked and rolled his eyes, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

Happy still teased him about acting all lovey-dovey with Lucy. And for some reason unbeknownst to the Dragon Slayer, he still got embarrassed. Maybe it was because he still wasn't completely used to acting like this with her, even though they'd been together for nearly a year. Maybe he wasn't used to it because… it was Lucy. She'd been his best friend since she joined the guild, and he never would have imagined that someone as perfect as her would go for a guy like him. But he loved her for it.

Momentarily forgetting about Happy and his teasing, Natsu leaned forward and pressed his lips to Lucy's temple. When he straightened up, he couldn't conceal the goofy grin. She was going to love her birthday surprise this year. And he couldn't wait until they got there. He couldn't wait to see her face. He physically had to stop himself from bouncing with excitement.

The train slid to a stop when they arrived, but Lucy remained fast asleep in Natsu's lap. The hand on her shoulder gave her a light shake. "Lucy," he said. "Luce, wake up. We're here." The blonde stirred and peeled her eyes open.

"We're here already?" she asked sleepily, pushing herself up into a sitting position as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yup! It's been four hours."

"So are you going to tell me where we are?" Natsu laughed and stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up as well. He reached for Nashi's stroller.

"Well, you'll just have to go outside and see," he answered as Happy opened the door to their compartment. With a jubilant smile, he pushed the stroller out of the car and down the aisle, Lucy trailing close behind. When they exited the train, Natsu looked at her and gestured to the town's sign. She followed his gaze and her eyes widened.

"Shizukesa?" she asked softly.

"Yup! Surprise!"

Shizukesa Town, the most peaceful place in all of Fiore. It's where all of the nicest people live. Every year, in the middle of December, there is the three-day-long Heiwa Festival, where the town's most talented dancers and performers put on a show in the center of the town's supermarket. There are no magical guilds, but Lucy had read about it several times in Sorcerer Weekly. And ever since she read the article about the Heiwa Festival seven months ago, she's been dying to visit. And now here she was. It wasn't December, but that didn't matter.

"So…?" Natsu said slowly, shifting nervously on his feet. "Whaddya think?"

"I think you're incredible, Natsu," she said breathlessly, taking a look among the people at the train station. The Dragon Slayer beside her beamed.

"Great! Now c'mon! We've got a whole day ahead of us!"

That night…

This was by far the best birthday ever for Lucy. The day she had with her family was beyond words. The food in Shizukesa was wonderful, simple yet delicious. The people were so friendly. And the town itself was beautiful. It was a quaint little town, the buildings made of brick and the sidewalk made of gorgeous cobblestone. Colorful lamps were strung over the streets, and the supermarket was home to one of the most elegant fountains the celestial wizard had ever seen. And according to one of the women walking around, the town had a firework presentation on the first of every month, just for the heck of it.

How convenient.

Now it was close to 9 PM, and they were standing beside the fountain in the supermarket, waiting for the fireworks to start. And when they did, flashes of reds and blues and greens erupted against the cloudless black sky. One hand perched on her waist and the other holding up Nashi, Natsu glanced over at Lucy as she looked up at the display, the vibrant colors reflecting beautifully in her chocolate eyes. Happy was sitting on her shoulder, his tail wrapped draped lazily around her neck. The Dragon Slayer leaned down with a grin. "Happy birthday," he whispered into her ear. She turned her head to look at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Natsu," she whispered back, pressing her lips to his.

"M… Ma…ma." The two wizards froze in their kiss, slowly pulling apart to look at each other. Also hearing the small voice, Happy turned to face them, shocked. After a moment, they all turned to Nashi.

"What did you say, sweetheart?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide with hopeful surprise.

"M… Mama," Nashi said again, reaching out toward her with a smile. Her parents laughed in unison.

"She spoke!" Lucy exclaimed, taking her from Natsu's arms. "You spoke, Nashi!" The girl giggled as Natsu placed a gentle kiss on her scalp, clapping her small hands.

Yup. Definitely the best birthday ever.

Author's Note: Ne, mina! So, my birthday was on Tuesday. I turned fifteen. And guess what? My mom got me Sony Vegas Pro, so I'm gonna be making some AMV's along with my writing! As soon as I have one done, I'll post a link on my profile. Anyway, I planned to post this on my birthday, but I was exhausted by the end of the day. And yesterday I was just plain lazy. I hope you guys like it! And I even added Shizukesa into the story! Leave a review, please!