Chapter 4
Lucy hummed happily to herself as she poured boiling water into the china teapot and popped the lid back on. She was still in high spirits from the market yesterday. Natsu was such a sweet guy, buying her that book and all. She had to leave it outside her window and go down to the cellar and take it through that way. If her stepmother saw it, it would be in the fire before she could blink. It was currently buried underneath her dresses.
She managed to read a few chapters last night, and it was pretty damn good so far. She really really really really really really really really really really REALLY wanted to go to the dance tonight. More than she ever had before in her life – yeah it was because Natsu was going… - but she knew her stepmother would never let her go. It would be suicide to ask her.
She sighed, reminding herself for the hundredth time not to get her hopes up to high. But she still felt like jumping up and down screaming her head off. She prepared breakfast, trudged up the stairs and entered when called as always, waited at the side of the room until they had finished, and then moved to clear up the dishes. What shocked her was that her stepmother actually spoke to her.
"Lucy…I have some news" she said wiping her mouth with a napkin. "The girls and I are going to a party tonight and we will be spending the night" she looked up and glared fiercely at Lucy. "So we won't be here tonight. And I am certainly not leaving you by yourself in the house to wreck everything. So, we will be leaving at 7 sharp. I'm locking the house behind me, so you shall see us off, and sleep in the streets tonight. Just be back at the house a 5 O'clock. Once we get back you'll do double your normal work to make up for your laziness tonight" she flicked her eyes up to Lucy. "Are we clear?" Lucy carefully masked her excitement behind the blank face she had mastered years ago. "Crystal ma'am" she said curtsying.
"Good, now go. I have better things to do than talk to you" she snapped. Lucy bowed and slipped out the door. Once the plates were safely set down in the sink she started jumping up and down, her hands clamped firmly over her mouth to stop the screams from being heard. A huge grin stretched from ear to ear on her face. The dance started at 8 O'clock! SHE COULD GO TO THE DANCE! She would see Natsu again! She took several deep breaths to calm herself, before carrying on with her chores, still grinning like an idiot.
•••
Natsu laid with his back in the soft green grass, watching the firelight from the bonfire cast dancing shadows across the ground, the flickering flames throwing embers high up in the air. He filled his cheeks and puffed out a breath of air. A faint white cloud drifted lazily in front of him. It was pretty chilly tonight. He sat up and ran his hand through his messy pink hair. He got to the dance early. He had been so excited he was practically bouncing of the walls of his room. He must have burnt at least 10 punching bags to dust in attempt to let his exhilaration out. Not even a fight could get him this worked up.
The attendants were currently flocking in, chattering loudly to each other. The wooden stalls selling all sorts of food and drink were already set up and waiting for customers. The musicians were getting in position beside the bonfire that was already roaring, tuning their instruments. Natsu was currently waiting to see if Lucy was coming. He knew she said she probably wouldn't make it, but he wanted to hold on to the possibility that she would.
He rested his back against one of the logs that had been smoothed for the occasion and closed his eyes, letting the warmth was over him. A sweet smell tickled his nostrils. A smell he knew all too well, as it had been the one he was now infatuated with. Lucy! His eyes snapped and he whipped his head up. And there she was. The soft firelight flickered over her face, her golden hair glittering, her brown eyes shining with a soft light and her creamy skin glowing. She was breath-taking.
He grinned, his heart hammering and leapt to his feet. "Lucy!" he practically roared before charging at her like a wild bull. Lucy laughed as he flew towards her, enveloping her in a bone crushing hug. "You made it!" he squeaked as he buried his face in her beautiful blonde hair. She chuckled lightly, wrapping her thin arms around his torso and leaning her head on his chest. "I couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?" she giggled.
After she had asked Mr Green if she could spend the night on the sofa in the bookstore, she walked around the field, craning her neck, her eyes peeled for Natsu. Once she finally saw him, her breath caught in her throat, like it had a habit of doing around him. He was wearing the same clothes as earlier, the firelight flickering of the hard muscles in his arms which she had a perfect view of. The buttons on the top of his shirt were unbuttoned, showing enough tanned skin to make her mouth go dry, while still not showing much but enough to make her seriously want to see more of his glorious chest.
She could see some other girls sneaking not-so-subtle glances at him as he sat there with his eyes closed. She felt a quick flash of annoyance and anger race through her, before she quickly squashed it down. She couldn't get jealous, she didn't own him. She quickly made her way towards him, hoping to get her own back and scare him, but he opened his eyes and saw her before she could.
A ginormous grin stretched across his face and he practically screamed "Lucy!" before racing towards her. She laughed at his excitement to see her. After almost crushing every bone in her body with his over-excited hug, she couldn't help but lean into him. He was so warm it was almost impossible to resist. She could feel his hard muscles under cheek. She blushed furiously before pulling away. He pouted at that, and looked genuinely disappointed. "So…what do you want to do first?" she said clapping her hands together. His pout disappeared instantly and was replaced with a grin. "Food of course" he scoffed, grabbing her hand. "Come on Luce!"
He dragged her from stall to stall, intent on tasting everything on offer. She swore he hand the largest appetite she'd ever seen before. He was shovelling food down his throat at an alarming rate. It was a wonder how he didn't choke. She swore he ate like a kid. It was all hands and food flying everywhere. "Natsu!" she screeched after getting caught in another food shower. He looked up, cheeks bulging and sauce all over his face. "Wha is it Wuce?" he asked, his cheeks visibly straining with the amount of stuffed in there. She puffed out her cheeks and waved a hand "Nah it's nothing" she sighed. He raised an eyebrow at her, before offering her the other end of the massive meat covered skewer he was currently munching at. "Want some?" She looked at the sauce covered delicious smelling meat, and despite herself her stomach grumbled. Loudly. She grinned sheepishly, and he laughed as best he could without choking. On his wild rampage, Natsu had been offering to buy her food at every stall, and every time she refused. They were both as stubborn as hell, refusing to back down but in the end she won. She was extremely hungry. Her stepmother only let her eat whatever was left over from breakfast lunch and dinner, so she hadn't had a decent meal in 9 years. So yes she was really hungry.
She looked at the meat, biting her lip. "Go on Wucy" Natsu coaxed, pushing it towards her. "I'm winished wanyways". Her hunger got the better of her. She snatched it from Natsu's hands and ravenously devoured it, licking the wooden skewer clean when she was finished. She leaned back against the log they were sitting on, rubbing her stomach with a sigh. Natsu watched her almost warily, clearly shocked after she ate like an animal.
"For the record I have perfect table manners, my mother taught me, I was just extremely hungry" she said to him. And you're one to stare she added under her breath. Unbeknownst to her, Natsu of course heard her. He grinned at that. "Well for the record, I have perfect table manners too, my mother also taught me, I just didn't feel like using them" he said shrugging as he lay down beside her. She gave him the 'yeah right' look. He held up his hands defensively. "I swear" he said. She sighed, rubbing her stomach again. "That was delicious" she murmured, before a light burp made its way past her lips. She clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening in shock, and flushed red in embarrassment. "Pardon" she whispered. Natsu burst out laughing, rolling around in hysterics at her reaction.
She glared at him. He chuckled at her, before letting out a louder burp. She spluttered, and then burst out laughing too. Natsu joined in, and soon they were both rolling around in hysterics tears escaping from their eyes. They both lay there wheezing, trying to get their breath back. Lucy looked up at the stars, and smiled softly. "You know my mother used to star gaze with me every night" she whispered, knowing Natsu would hear her. "She used to show me all the different constellations". Natsu gazed at her, his onyx eyes softening. "Would you mind if I asked -" Lucy cut him off. "She died, from a disease, once I was 10 years old" she said softly. "My Dad died a year later"
Lucy turned away slightly, squeezing her eyes shut, as a fresh wave of pain washing over her. Natsu was shocked at that. He still had both of his parents, so didn't know what it was like not to have any. He hoped he wouldn't have to. For a while anyways. Seeing her in pain was ripping his heart out. He just couldn't help but reach out and hug her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her thin frame and clutched her close to him, as if he could somehow pass her pain onto him.
He reached up his hand and gently stroked her hair, running his fingers through it. She whimpered quietly, and buried her head in his chest. "Shhh…It's ok" he murmured soothingly in her ear. "I'm here for you". Lucy took several deep breaths. His warmth was seriously soothing, and she felt her pain ease away. She felt so safe and secure in his arms, like nothing could ever touch her.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, Lucy content to stay in his arms and Natsu was content to keep her there for as long as possible. He really liked holding her in his arms. He felt like he could protect her, which he fully intended on doing from now on. It was like she was his…His…He REALLY liked the sound of that.
Lucy pulled back a little and Natsu, although disappointed, let her go. "You ok?" he asked gently, rubbing her back, concern in his eyes. Lucy nodded. "Yeah I'm good" she sniffed. He nodded. "You know I'm here for you if you need me, right?" he said, smiling softly, bringing one hand up to stroke her cheek gently before cupping it. Lucy sucked in her breath as his warm hand left shivers raking her body. She gave him a dazzling smile, "Thanks Natsu. No one's ever been there for me in a long time". She smiled warmly at him.
A loud blare of music came from behind them, snapping them out of the moment. Almost everyone was lining up for the Feu Dance (It means fire in French…don't ask I ran out of ideas for the name and I didn't just want to call it fire dance…). Natsu's eyes lit up. "Oh the Feu Dance! Come on Luce let's dance!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and jumping into the last line. Lucy grinned. Dancing was a great way to get her mind off her parents.
Once everyone was lined up, men facing women, the music started. The Feu Dance was made up of two parts. The first part was a lively foot stomping, clapping and skipping match. Everyone laughed their heads off, including Natsu and Lucy, as they spun in circles around each other, clapping, stomping and flicking their feet in the air. The second part of the Feu Dance was more intimate. A man and a woman faced each other – Natsu and Lucy facing each other (no surprises there…) – then stepped forward and joined wrists, circled each other before standing back to back, the man grabbed the women's waist from behind and spun them in the air, then the woman leaned back against the man's chest, before they both stepped back to the original positions. This was repeated several times, before for the finish, after being spun around in the air the woman turned around and leaned back, and the man leaned forward so they ended up with their faces inches away from each other.
Natsu and Lucy carried out the dance, staring into each other's eyes intently. Lucy just couldn't drag her eyes away from Natsu's bewitching onyx ones, and Natsu couldn't look away from the brown orbs that were mesmerising him. He swore he could get lost in her eyes. Once they got to the spinning part, Lucy's body was again invaded by shivers. She really liked the feel of his warm hands on her waist, even if they were a little rough. Once Natsu's hands met with Lucy's waist, he couldn't believe how perfect it felt. The nestled there like they belonged there.
They both danced away, getting more and more entranced with each other with every step. The dance ended, both of them panting with their sweaty faces inches away from each other, their lips just centimetres from touching. Lucy could feel Natsu's hot breath mingling with her own. She stared at his lips. He smelt like smoke and a campfire (because fire has a smell…? If anyone can pull that off it'll be Natsu). Weirdly enough she thought it really suited him. Natsu could barely stop himself from slamming his lips into Lucy's. Her strong smell of strawberries was hypnotizing him, and her plump pink lips looked so soft…
Loud clapping broke the both of them out of the trance. They both looked up to see the spectators clapping at the dancers, who were now clearing of the dancing area. Fortunately no one seemed to have noticed the pairs little scene. The both pulled away sharply, sporting raging blushes and awkwardly made their way back to the log and sat down. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Lucy nervously playing with her fingers until Natsu broke in. "That was fun" he said, coughing and scratching the back of his neck. He seemed to do that a lot.
"Yeah it was" Lucy replied. "I don't think I've danced once since I was a kid" she said truthfully. Natsu shifted his gaze to her and asked "So how was your first dance since then?" "Brilliant" she answered smiling as she looked at him. He smiled back, and just like that the awkwardness was gone and they were left smiling at each other like idiots.
"So then everyone, how about a song?" Mr Green's voice floated down from the wooden stage that had been constructed for the musicians. A loud cheer rose up from the attendants. "Any volunteers?" he asked. No hands were raised. Mr Green flicked his gaze through the audience and they landed on Lucy. She turned as white as a sheet and shook her head violently at him. No… "Lucy! You have a beautiful voice, why don't you come up and sing for us?" he grinned. All eyes turned to her. She flushed in embarrassment. "No thanks Mr Green -" she started to say until Natsu shoved her of the log.
As soon as she stood up everyone burst into cheers and pushed her up onto the stage. Soon she was standing up in front of everyone. She gulped nervously. She hadn't sung since her mother died…The only reason Mr Green knew she could sing was because he caught her singing softly to herself when she was looking through the books in his store when she thought he was in the other room. Her eyes flicked through the crowd until her gaze found Natsu. He smiled warmly at her, gave her two thumbs up and mouthed 'you'll be great'. She felt her anxiety melt away with his encouragement, and she grinned at him.
Turning around, she whispered her song choice into the pianist's ear. He nodded, and she walked back into the centre stage. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath and started to sing once the piano started to play.
There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
But You sing to me over and over and over again
I pray to be only Yours
I know now you're my only hope
Sing to me the song of the stars
Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing
and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
I give You my destiny
I'm giving You all of me
I want Your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs I'm giving it back
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
Natsu was mesmerised from the first note that left her lips. He took a sharp intake of breath. Holy crap. She had the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard in his life. It was like an angel had fallen down from heaven and started singing. He stared at her, eyes huge with wonder, mouth slightly open, and his heart lifting and swaying with every note that dropped from her lips. As the last note slipped from her lips, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, fingers clenching in fear. She hadn't sung for anyone but her mother and father, and that was a long time ago. What if they hated her? What if the yelled at her and booed her?
She slowly opened her eyes to be met with silence, and an audience staring at her. She bit her lip and twiddled her fingers nervously. She wasn't that bad was she? Then the audience erupted into a roar so loud she almost fell over. Everyone was on their feet clapping and whistling and cheering. She just stood there, slightly blown away. She wasn't that good was she? Her eyes met Natsu's. He was on his feet, cheering with the rest of them. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled "You smashed it Luce!"
She grinned, curtseyed and made her way off the stage. People applauded and clapped her on the back as she went past. She made her way to the back where Natsu was waiting on the log. Everyone else turned their attention back to the stage where more songs were starting up. Natsu grinned at her, and wrapped a heavy muscular arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him. "You were fantastic Lucy! How come you never told me you could sing like that?"
She shrugged and said "I don't really sing anymore. That's the first time I've sung in ages". He looked slightly shocked. "How come?" "After my Mom died, I kind of just stopped" she replied. He hugged her tighter. "Well I'm glad you did tonight. You have a voice like an angel". Lucy blushed at that. Natsu smiled at her embarrassment.
"Oh!" his eyes widened as he realised something. "I almost forgot". He leaned over and grabbed his jacket and started searching through the pockets, looking for something. Lucy frowned at him in confusion. "What are you looking for?" she asked curiously. He had his tongue stuck out in concentration. Cute… "Aha!" he suddenly exclaimed, pulling something out of his jacket. It was a box, about 15cm long, wrapped in pink tissue paper. "Here" he said offering it to her.
"For me!" she said, shocked. She looked at him, eyes wide as saucers. He chuckled at her face. "Yeah weirdo, it's for you" he said rolling his eyes. She took it gingerly off him and gently pulled the tissue paper off. Inside was navy velvet box. She opened it carefully, before almost dropping it in pure shock. Inside was the diamond heart necklace, nestled in dark blue silk.
She looked up at Natsu, eyes know like moons and you could probably have driven a train into her mouth if you tried. Natsu spluttered at her face, clapping a hand over his mouth to quiet his chortles. Lucy looked at the necklace, then at him, then the necklace, then him again, franticly switching between the two. All she managed to get out was a quiet squeak. She was literally speechless.
"Well are you going to stare at it or are you going to put it on?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms behind his head. "Did you…did you buy this for me?" Lucy asked softly. "Of course I did Luce" he grinned. "Why?" Lucy asked, confused. "Because! You deserve it" he said smiling softly. Lucy looked at the beautiful necklace. She reached out and trailed her fingers down the side. It was more stunning up close. "Natsu I can't accept this. It's one million jewels" she whispered shaking her head. "Stop being so humble all the time Lucy" he said. He placed his hands on her shoulders and started into her eyes. "Lucy. Take. The. Necklace. I don't care about the money. I want you to have it" he said earnestly. She stared at him for a long time. Tears started to roll down her face.
"Hey, don't cry" Natsu said wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "I got it so you would be happy, not sad". "I-I'm s-sorry" Lucy sniffed. "I-It's j-just…this i-is the n-n-nicest thing a-anyone's ever d-done for m-me" she sniffed. Natsu shook his head and pulled her against his chest. Lucy sniffled a little, clutching his shirt. He stroked her back soothingly. "So do you like it?" Natsu asked quietly. Lucy pulled back and grinned widely at him. "I love it" she said. She gently slipped it out of the beautiful blue silk and handed it to Natsu. "Would you mind?" she said, turned around so her neck was facing him and gathered her hair up in a messy bun at the top of her head.
"Sure" Natsu whispered. He gently placed the necklace around her neck, secretly admiring how smooth her skin was, and how much he really wanted to kiss it. His fingers trailed over her neck, just barely touching her skin but Lucy still got tingles. He carefully clipped the two ends of the delicate chain together. "There" he said. Lucy dropped her hair back down and turned to face him. She lifted the necklace up in the palm of her hand, stroking the surface, fascinated by its beauty. She looked up at Natsu, eyes shining, and whispered "Thank you so much". She leaned up and quickly placed a swift kiss on his cheek, blushing. Natsu flushed and scratched the back of his neck, grinning. His heart was leaping around his ribcage in happiness. Lucy smiled at him. He's cute when he's embarrassed…
Lucy inched closer to him, and laid her head on his shoulder as she watched the dancers. Natsu shifted his arm and wrapped it firmly around her waist, pulling her closer, and laid his head on top of hers. He quickly smelled her hair while he was at it. Her golden hair was incredibly soft, and still smelled delicious. He buried his nose deeper into her blonde locks and took a deep sniff. He sighed, smiling softly in content. Then he wondered if Lucy would think he was weird, smelling her hair. He looked down at her, but she was already asleep, lulled by his warmth, eyes closed and chest rising and falling softly. She had a small smile on her face, as she snuggled closer to him. Natsu's smile grew wider, and he clutched her closer, perfectly happy to just let her lie there.
Song is Only Hope by Mandy More