So, because of the demands of some people (That's right I'm looking at you La-chan!) I didn't write the extra NaLu moment I had in mind and will have to put it in another chapter. Your reviews… *sob* They were so sweet and made me happy! I told you didn't I? The more reviews, the better the chapters! Oh, and I just started watching Bleach. OMG! EPIC MUCH? But… Fairy Tail is still my OTA! (One True Anime) ^_^
This is a late-late birthday present to Otaku-chan!
Also for Ta-neechan,(who is sick) Sa-neechan and Ki-chan (who had a bad day)
One more thing for you all! NaLu week! July 1 to July 7!
-Lucy-
The person next to me snuggles into my side and mumbles in their sleep. Open my eyes and stroke their hair, careful not to wake them. Happy is sleeping on my other side and is nestling into my neck, purring in his sleep. Fro is draped across my stomach rising and falling with my breaths. I sniff and grin a little when I smell Rogue's cooking. I turn my head and sure enough, his bed is empty. I hear shuffling noises and see Cobra sit up in his bed.
Mornin' blondie.
Morning Cobra. And I'm going to ignore that insult. Are you training with Natsu today?
No. He's going shopping with you remember?
Oh, yeah.
Sure.
He gets out of bed and pulls his shirt over his head.
What are you doing? I think panicking, sitting up hurriedly.
Getting dressed. He thinks, like it's the most normal thing in the world.
Don't just strip in front of a girl!
Huh? Wendy's still sleeping.
You little-
Stop being so loud.
Natsu sniffles, yawns and rolls over. He opens his eyes and sees that I'm awake.
"Morning Luce!" He shouts. I glare at him and point to the girl beside me. (A/N: Wendy decided it would be best if she and Lucy slept in the same bed from now on. Trolled you a bit ne?)
"Sorry." He stage-whispers. He grins and rolls over again, landing on the floor with a loud thunk. "Ouch! Lucy! I hurt myself, kiss it better?" He holds up his arm, eye brimming with faux tears. I just roll my eyes at him.
"Damn you Salamander. It's too early for this shit!" Gajeel yells from the other side of the room.
"Shut up Metal Face!"
"What did you call me?"
"I called you a Tin-Can!"
"You're worse at remembering than you are at fighting! And that's saying something!"
"Shut it!" Sting's voice also joins the fray. "You are as bad as each other. And I'm a better fighter than the both of you!"
"I'm sorry? Who won our fight again? Oh, I remember. Me!"
"Flame brain!"
"Studs for eyebrows!"
"Mr. I'm-so-much-better-than-you!"
"OI! SHUT UP! WENDY IS STILL SLEEPING!" I yell. Beside me the now awake, Wendy giggles with her eyes closed and Fro climbs up the bed to sit on my shoulder. Happy wakes up too and is staring at the Dragon Slayer with a condescending look on his face. I rub my head, it was already pounding and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet. Damn these Dragons and their noise. Natsu just grins and walk over to me. He climbs into bed beside me and wraps his arms around me, crushing me into his chest.
"Sorry Luce." His chest rumbles against my ear, the same way it does when he's asleep and snoring. I poke my tongue out at him and turn away. He blows warm air down the back of my neck and I squeak and slap him.
"Get out!" I screech. He laughs and grabs my wrist, grinning widely. Without prompting, my mind opens up so I can read his thoughts.
Lucy, I want every morning to be like this. I want you to wake up beside me, and I want you to smile when you first wake up. I want to sleep in the same bed as you, live with you. I want to be the only person to touch you. I want my scales on your neck and though it's meaningless to Dragons, I'll buy you a ring, so others will know your mine. I don't want anyone looking at you the way I do.
I hear Cobra snicker and Natsu flushes and pulls away. He slips out of bed and stands there grinning like the idiot he is. But, he's my idiot. Though I wasn't in love with him, I think I'd still be pretty jealous if someone took him away. Like Lisanna. I shudder at the thought. It's not that I didn't like her, I just didn't think they'd go together as well as Natsu and me. Which is ridiculous because they've been childhood friends for years and have know each other much longer than I've know Natsu.
"We just click Luce you know?"
We did, we'd hit it off right away, became close immediately, I'd passed it off as my favourite colour, but the reason I'd gotten my mark in pink, was a tribute to the boy who'd led me there. Unconsciously, I brush my fingers over my mark tracing the outline. I'm interrupted from my thoughts when I feel someone hugging me around the waist.
"No! Lucy is my neechan. I'm not sharing her with you!" Wendy says childishly.
Natsu picks me up by the back of my shirt. Well, actually it's his because I had forgotten to wash my clothes and needed something to sleep in. Natsu had unceremoniously stripped off his shirt faster than Gray and handed it to me grinning.
#################
"You can wear that."
"It's too big!" To prove his point I slipped it on over my clothes. "See?"
He hadn't answered. He just stood there grinning at something I couldn't see, and I was too afraid of what I might hear if I removed my barrier, so I didn't.
##################
"I saw Lucy first! So I get first dibs! Finders keepers!" He says possessively, everyone in the room could tell he wasn't just talking to Wendy. He was talking to Sting and Rogue too. He hugs me, but what startles me the most are his frantic thoughts. He's warring with himself, trying to convince himself, that he's important for me. I hear Gajeel 'tsk' and walk out of the room, followed by Cobra. Wendy slips out of bed also and shuffles out. Sting stays and makes the beds-his morning duty.
She's not yours. She's my best friend! That's all there is, best friends nothing more, nothing less. Well, maybe less. Rouge's got his eye on her you know, if he takes her, you will no longer be her number one. Rogue will. Then, because she'll need GIRL friends. You'll slip further back in place. Over taken by Levy, Erza, Cana, Juvia, Mira even Lisanna. You won't be her most special person any more. You will just be 'one of the guys in my guild.' I'm on her team! I'm special to her! Gray is on her team also. That puts you on the same level as him. NO! I BOUGHT HER TO FAIRY TAIL! And she thanks you for it regularly.
###################
"Hey Natsu? I'm glad you found me in Hargeon!"
"Why did I join Fairy Tail? Well, Natsu found me and bought me here!"
"Thanks for bringing me here, Natsu."
"I can't imagine my life without you Natsu!"
#####################
See? She loves me! That doesn't mean she's in love with you. You should give up. Before you get hurt. I will not give her up. Even if it costs her, her happiness? What? She may not love you the way you love her. So what will you do? Will you force her to stay by your side? Even if it makes her miserable? Will you condemn her to a life she does not want? She might not want me. You just realised that? If… If she truly didn't want me then, I'd be really sad. It'd be so messed up, I'd probably say and do things I didn't mean. But, if she still loved me, and had someone else… I think I could live with that. If she was much happier with that guy than me, I think I'd could let her go. Must I go through this again? What is she's not in love- I said LOVED me. She loves me. She tells me all the time. She might not be in love, but she loves me.
I quickly blink back the tears. I wrap my arms around him and he stiffens in surprise. Then, he hugs me back. Everything he couldn't say was in that hug. His fear that he would lose me, his happiness when I was near him, his desperateness at keeping me close and staying as my most special person.
"Lucy? Am I… Am I your most special person?" His voice is so quiet I barely hear him and I doubt Sting could hear. I don't think I was meant to hear him either but I did. I hug him tighter hoping to rid him of his insecurities.
"Yeah." I say. "You are."
I see his blush and he nuzzles into my neck. Sting brushes past, not looking at us.
See? I am her most important. Her most special. For now. I will always be her most special. You're being selfish. Am I? … Yeah, I am. She will always be MY most special person. The only person I love. That I am in love with. My Lucy. My Luce. She doesn't belong to you. She's not a thing. I know. I'd never say it to her. But, I can think it right? She can't hear my thoughts… Can she?
I pull out of his hug unwillingly. "Wanna go eat?"
"Yeah." His usual enthusiasm is gone, leaving an uncertain little boy behind. He looked so vulnerable, that I had to hug him again. But he moved at the same time I did and our lips connected. I froze in shock, fully expecting him to take advantage of the situation. But, his thoughts were almost as if…
Do it. No. Don't you dare Natsu Dragneel. Don't you dare.
As if he were afraid. He pulls away, blushing furiously.
"Sorry! Sorry!" His face is full of anxiety. When I don't slap him. He grins sheepishly and half-runs out the door. I stand there in shock for a minute before I snap out of it and unbutton my pyjama top and let it slide to the floor. While searching for a top I hear the door creak open. I scream and throw a pillow at the intruder but it's only Wendy.
"Ah, it's just you."
"Yep." She rummages through her side of the wardrobe we share and pulls out a dress. I grab a blue halter shirt and dull gold shorts. When we are dressed I hear Wendy giggle.
"What?"
She points to herself and then to me. "We match!"
I see that the top half of her dress is blue and from the waist to the hem is gold. I laugh with her.
"If we're going to match we might as well do it properly." I say. She nods. I turn and grab a black cardigan. She giggles and pulls one out almost identical to mine.
"Let me do your hair too!" I laugh. She goes and sits on the floor. I lift a few strands of her hair and wind them together, braiding down her back. I braid my own hair and we walk out of the bedroom together giggling.
"How're gonna train in a dress kid?"
She doesn't answer and instead sticks out her tongue at Laxus.
"La-nii! Be nice!" Then I blink and start a new fit of giggles. "LA-NII HAS A HICKY!" I shriek. Wendy peers at his neck and laughs with me. Sting snorts and Gajeel lets out his usual 'gihi.'
Rogue pokes his head around the corner. "When did you get here?"
"A few minutes ago." He shrugs, shoving the last of the eggs in his mouth. "Who're you calling La-nii?"
"It's cute right?" I say smirking.
His eyes narrow. "I despise you." I make a tortured face and walk over to Natsu, eyes brimming with fake tears. I clutch him arm and look up at him imploringly.
"Natsuuuu." I wail. "La-nii doesn't like me!" Natsu glares at Laxus threateningly.
"Don't be mean to Lucy."
"Don't tell me what to do Bakamander!"
I stop 'crying' and stare at Natsu's face. A mixture of anger, protectiveness and annoyance was just too cute. Laxus smirks.
"Did I hit a nerve?"
"Tch. You didn't even mate with Cana yet."
Laxus's smirk widened and he growls. I quickly pull down my barrier so I can listen to the conversation.
Don't be so full of yourself. You haven't mated Lucy yet either.
Not yet Sparky! You just wait.
You won't mate her. Not if I have a say in it.
Yeah, well you don't Buzz-bee so shut the hell up.
You little-
I jump in the middle of the conversation to stop it escalating to an all out war.
"Did you eat all the food?" I say loudly. "That's not fair! I'm hungry!"
"Lucy?" I turn to see Rogue still standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He beckons. "I put some aside for you."
"Aw, thanks Rogue!" I say beaming.
"I ate it!" Lily declares.
"What? Why?" I pick him up by the tail and shake him a little. "You mean cat!"
Now she won't have any choice. She'll have to eat out with Natsu. Gihi.
My eyes widen.
"You sneaky cat!" I yell. Cobra laughs and a smack his arm.
"Natsu! We're going shopping now!" I yell.
"Okay Luce!"
I pull on Rogues cloak without thinking, but Natsu snatches it off me and grabs his. Our cloaks had matched, both black with gold lining, but his had rope that fastened around the neck and I had a sort of button like thing. In addition, his rope was red and gold rather than just gold which was the colour of my button. He throws it over my shoulders and steps closer to tie it around my neck. I look down at his chest, muscles flexing unintentionally under his black muscle shirt. His breath warms the top of my head, and I try to refrain from hugging him again. He steps back and wordlessly hands me my gloves. I take them and slip my shoes on.
"We're leaving now! Are you coming Happy?"
"No! Bye-bye!" Happy's voices echos through the hallway. "Bring me back some fish!"
I laugh and Natsu pushes me out the door.
_
~Later~
"Okay, so we've got the new pots Rogue wanted, and the replacements for the cutlery that Gajeel ate, new towels to replace the ones you burnt, more sheets and pillows, a new hair brush for Wendy because hers was so old… Anything else?" I look up at Natsu who's watching me intensely. "Don't stare."
He blushes and turns away. My stomach growls and two people passing by giggle.
"I'm hungry Luce."
"You ate this morning! I didn't! And I only ate a little last night!" He grins, grabs my wrist and drags me to the nearest shop. He looked at me for confirmation and I nod, not caring so long as I got to eat. We sat in the window-side seat and while Natsu orders for us I stare out the window propping my chin up in my hand. I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn to see Natsu smiling and holding a steaming cup of something brown.
"Here." He says pressing it into my hands.
"Thanks. What else did you order?"
"Toast, eggs, sausages, bacon, muffin things-"
"Everything on the menu then?"
He laughs. "Yeah pretty much!"
"Are you going to leave some for me this time?"
"Maybe. If you play nice."
I stick my tongue out at him and he snorts into his drink.
"We'll split it 50-50?"
"Nah, my treat today."
I raise my eyebrow. "What do you want?"
He fakes hurt. "Oh, Lucy. I'm offended that you've even think I have another motive."
"So eloquent today Natsu."
"Huh?" I laugh at his bewildered expression and he grins. Then our food arrives and conversation is history.
-Laxus-
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" I've been paired with the Sky kid today. It's hard sparring with her because she's so little and I don't want to hurt her. My thoughts keep drifting to Natsu and Lucy. I'd given the guy a hint how to get points with her, but whether or not he played his cards right was a different story. If anyone was going to end up with Lucy I'd rather it be him. He was a total idiot, but he was an alright guy. A fact Cobra constantly made comments about whenever he caught me thinking about it. It was hard not to. Lucy and Natsu were so close, and even though she wasn't my real sister it felt like she was. Probably because Dragons have a deeper sense of loyalty and attachment than humans.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy's roar catches me off guard and I fly into a nearby tree. She cheers and laughs at the same time. "I got yooouu~!" She giggles.
I stand and glare at her. She gulps and steps back.
"Sorry?"
-Lucy-
When we finish eating we sit in comfortable silence for a while before Natsu suggests we look around. I go to pick up the shopping bags but Natsu takes them and carries them instead.
"Thanks!" I say brightly. He grins and we walk out of the cafe together. We look in shop windows but nothing really catches my interest until I see a pair of sparkly clips in the shape of wings.
"Oh look! Wouldn't Wendy love those?" I tug at the hem of his cloak. "Can we go in? Can we can we? Please?"
"Sure." We walk in and I go straight to the man behind the counter.
"Good morning miss. How may I help you?"
"The clips in the window," I say pointing. "How much?"
"500 Jewels each."
I frown. "That's a lot."
"It's real silver embedded with real diamonds ma'am. I'd consider the price rather cheap."
"Really? May I see them?" He walks over to the window and pulls them out of their case for me. He sets them and I pick one up and examine it. When it moves the diamonds sparkle and throw rainbows around the store. Natsu picks up the other and clips a bit of hair behind my ear.
"They suit you well miss."
"Oh, thank you." I say, removing the clip and placing it back on the counter. "But they're not for me. I thought they'd back a nice gift."
"Wendy would d like 'em I reckon." Natsu adds.
"Wendy?" Says the shopkeeper in surprise. "Wendy Marvell of Fairy Tail? Smallish? Long blue hair? Has a cat called Carla?"
"That's her!" I tell him smiling.
"If they're for her then take them!" The man says enthusiastically. "She helped us out a while back. Caught some thieves for us when she was passing through. On her way to a job she was, but the girl helped us out anyway. Declined anything we offered her. Such a sweet little thing. My son took a real liking to her." He points to a young boy with black hair who was sorting out rubies from sapphires.
"Are you sure that's okay? They are quite expensive. I wouldn't want to intrude on your business."
"Not at all. Not at all!" He puts them back in their box, wraps it in blue paper and hands the box to me. "Please take them."
"Thank you very much. I'm sure she'll love them." I say bowing slightly.
"Yeah. Thanks."
I slip the box into my pocket and hum on our way out. I wave at the man but he's already serving another customer and he doesn't see.
"What next?" I say cheerfully.
"Do you know what day it is today?" He asks me seriously.
"Saturday." I answer.
"I meant the date."
I stop. "Some time in June right?"
"Luce you dummy. It's July the first."
"July… First?"
"Yeah."
"So?" He steps forward and grabs my arm. He stare into my eyes and I lose myself in the warm darkness.
"Don't worry about it. You've obviously got a heap on your mind right now."
"You think?"
His hand slides down my arm and captures my hand. He twines his fingers with mine and his hand is warm so I let him. We keep walking and soon I recognise the jewellery shop I had visited with Laxus. There was a big red sign in the window announcing that they were having a closing down sale and everything was dramatically reduced. I stop and look in the window. The necklace I had seen days ago was still there. The price had been crossed out but I couldn't see what the new one was.
"Wanna take a look?"
"Please." He holds the door open for me and I giggle. I go to the display case where the necklace sits and look at the new price tag and description. Gleaming silver and midnight black enamel form a dramatic setting, with a fiery red garnet at its heart. 50, 000 Jewels. 50, 000 Jewels? That's much less than it was before!
"Ah, welcome back miss!" I look up and see that the same man was working here as the last time I had visited. Without asking he pulls out the necklace. I feel Natsu come up behind me, he's so close his torso is touching my back. My breath hitches in my throat and I mentally slap myself for it.
"Here you are miss."
"Angelo!" The man turns to the voice.
"Excuse me for a moment. Feel free to try it on." He hurries away.
Natsu drops the bags on the ground and picks up the necklace.
"Pretty." Like you.
I blush. That was so sweet! I look up at him, he's staring at me with pink tinging his cheeks.
"Help me with the clasp?" I ask him. He nods, I turn towards the mirror, he sweeps my hair to the side. He puts the necklace around my neck and fumbles with the clasp a little. When it's fastened his hands trail down my partially bare back and rests them on my hips, drawing me a little closer. I fight the urge to sink back into him-there's no way I'd do something so intimate in public and I'm sure he wouldn't like it either-and spin around to face him.
"What do you think?" I ask, resting a finger on the gem in the centre. He smiles softly. so much sweeter than his usual rugged grin and his hand reaches out to hesitantly tuck a stray lock behind my ear.
"Beautiful." He tells me quietly. "Absolutely stunning." I smile and look in the mirror, fingering the red and black jewellery. In the light, the stone looked almost pink. I can see Natsu behind me his eyes locked on mine. My eyes drop to stare at the necklace again and he steps closer, his front pressing against my back. "Oh, and the necklace looks nice too." He murmurs into my ear. His breath tickles my cheek and I flush with pleasure. I hear an older lady say, 'Aw' as she walked past us.
"Thanks." If Natsu was a regular person he wouldn't have heard me. But my Natsu wasn't a normal person and he did hear. He brushes his lips against my ear while he pulls back, but I couldn't be sure if it was intentional or not.
"Miss that suits you nicely, a perfect complement to your complexion."
"Ah, thank you." I say turning back to face the owner. Natsu pulls back his cloak slightly and withdraws his wallet.
"She'll wear it out of the store rather than have it wrapped."
The man bows. "Of course sir." He goes to walk behind the counter to ring up the purchase.
I grab Natsu's sleeve. "Oh, no I won't!" I hiss. He'd grown quickly the past few months so my head just cleared his shoulder. "I don't have the money to pay for it and I'm not going to let you pay for it."
"50, 000 Jewels." The man says. Natsu pulls out the money and hands it to him.
"Natsu!" I protest.
"Can you go wait outside Luce?" He asks cutely, exasperated I refrain from arguing with him pointlessly and go outside. After a few minutes he comes out looking satisfied and I slap his arm.
"What the hell Natsu?"
He turns to me grinning, and pulls me in for a hug. I pull away, but his hands linger on my hips. I put my hands on his forearms, eyes demanding an answer.
"It's July the first." He starts slowly, as if giving me time to catch up, I stare with a blank expression. "So… Happy 18th Birthday Luce!"
Ah, DONE! This was actually so hard to write. I think Natsu's a little OOC but I'm used to writing RoLu lately, it's hard to get into the swing of things! Hope I made you all happy! 'Coz we all need more happy!
Happy: AYE SIR!
Rose: Not that kind of happy.
Happy: Oh, well… YOU DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL SO THERE!
Rose: Why must you always rub it in? *emo corner*
Devianart competition has closed my darlings! All thats left is to decide the winner! Coolstoryrho will be deciding (she only found out just now XD) the winner!
Please Review because they make me happy and helps me write quicker! Please?
P.S: I've already written chapter 30 (OMG CHAPTER 30!) and will update tomorrow if you give me long and SUPER nice reviews! LOVE YOU! XOXO