Authors' notes: I am glad to see that more and more people are viewing my story J oh and a friendly reminder I don't own fairy tail.
Chapter Eight
Birthday Girl
Natsu's POV:
Lucy and I stood there after we watched Gajeel's van pull away after it was all packed up. I swear that, that mans driving is actually getting worse as we watched him run over the curb. I then chanced a look over at Lucy and my heart caught in my throat at how breath taking she looked as she watched the stars. Before I knew what I was doing I grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of home, which is something that I do all the time, only on this occasion I didn't let go of her hand, it was my birthday and I was going to have this, even if it was only this.
So there we were walking hand in hand as I asked her,
"Wanna play truth?" She just smiled up at me and said,
"Sure, I think it's my turn anyway." Then we quietly pondered for what felt like forever and a day so I said,
"Luce, I am going to die of boredom before you ask your question." She giggled at me and said,
"Fine, here it is, why don't you ever seem to have any money?" My eyes widened, I really didn't think she noticed that I avoided spending money as much as I could, I didn't really want to talk about it, but this was truth and she asked so I answered,
"Well you see, my mom died when I was pretty young and then my dad just up and disappeared a few years back and they left me with my little sister Wendy, and she's super sweet and so innocent and I wasn't quite eighteen yet and they were talking about taking her away from me, and she's the only family I have left and I didn't think I could deal with that, but really I couldn't raise a ten year old little girl so I did the only thing I could think of I sent her to this really awesome private school, where I can visit her, and she can come home for holidays, but the only down side is that I have to pay all of her expenses, which isn't so bad, I mean she's wicked smart so she has a scholarship so it's really just her room and board. So I guess the answer to your question is I send my money to Wendy." I looked down at her and I see tears in her eyes as she smiles up at me and says,
"You're a really great big brother." I adverted my eyes as I rubbed the back of my head with my free hand and said,
"I just wish I could really take care of her and we could be a family again." She then pulled me to a stop as she said,
"Natsu, family doesn't have to live together to be family, hell family doesn't even have to be blood it's all about how you feel in your heart, and Natsu you and Erza and Grey, and Levy and Mira, hell even Gajeel you guys are my family." How was it that is girl could render me speechless so easily? I took a deep breath as I told her with a smile,
"Luce, your part of my family too." She smiled back at me like the stars in the sky and so I knew what my question would be, "So Luce, why do you like the stars so much?" She immediately began to finger her necklace with her free hand as she said,
"My mom, she taught me all about them when I was little and then when she died it was one of the only memories that I really have about her so when I look up at them I remember her and that makes me happy, but sad because I know she's not with me anymore." I pulled her into a hug as I breathed in her honey like scent and asked,
"How about we lay off the deep questions for the rest of the walk?" She laughed and nodded and then we resumed our walk still hand in hand as we asked questions and received answers and then before we knew it we were standing in front of her place, and I knew that I should just leave her there and walk home and lay in my bed and stare at my ceiling until the sun came up, but before either of us spoke our goodbyes we heard a sound coming from her fire escape and when we looked up we both laughed at the furry blue cat that was pawing at her window trying to get in. He instantly looked down when he heard our voices and meowed his displeasure in having been locked out. She just sighed and shook her head as she said,
"Come on, let's go." And pulled me into her apartment.
Lucy's POV:
I swear the boy was a human furnace, there is no way someone can generate that much body heat and not be sick I thought as I kicked off my comforter and let the cool morning air hit my skin, causing goose bumps to appear on my flesh but I didn't care because I could finally breathe. I then turned to face the boy that made me feel like I was going crazy and sighed as I brushed a pink lock of hair from his eyes and marveled at how soft his hair was, so in my half asleep state I began to pet Natsu like a puppy until I feel back asleep, just like a little kid and their security blanket.
The next time I woke up I was lying on Natsu's chest as he gently snored, only this time I didn't know why I was awake, oh there it was again, that vibration sound against wood, and I looked up and Natsu's phone was going crazy, I sighed and let my head drop back on his chest as I said,
"Natsu your phone." He just grunted and pulled me tighter, which I will admit caused me to blush and do nothing but curl back into him, but that sound was driving me crazy. I shimmied my way up a bit so that my mouth was by his ear as I whisper, "Natsu if you don't pick up your damn phone right now, you will never sleep in this bed again." His eyes instantly snapped open as he blindly groped for his phone, once in hand he answered it with a bit of anger,
"You better be on fire." I could hear Grey laugh as he said,
"Dude, its noon." Natsu just growled into the phone,
"What do you want ice princess?"
"We are celebrating your birthday belatedly with drunken escapades so met at my place at ten." Natsu pulled the phone away from his ear as he glared at it and said,
"Don't I get a say in this?" all you then heard was Grey say,
"Nope." Then line then went dead. Natsu then let the phone drop onto the bed as he mumbled,
"I hate him." I just shook my head and laughed, when there was a sudden knocking at my door, we both froze. Who could be here, and then I heard Erza's voice as she began to pound on the door,
"Lucy, get up." Natsu and I looked at each other with wide eyes because we knew that if Erza found Natsu here, in my bed he was going to die, so he did what any man sane would do when faced with Erza's wrath he jumped out my window, as I jumped out of my bed to chuck his shoes and hoodie after him, and right before I opened the door he popped his head back in and said,
"Happy birthday Luce." Then he was gone and I couldn't stop smiling as I answered the door and was faced with not only Erza but Levy and Mira was well, and they were smiling too, just not in the same way, it was then that I knew I was going to have one hell of a birthday.
So after a very long day of shopping, I was then told that we would be going out dancing to the new club that opened up in town and that would be when the makeover began. By the time they were done with me, I didn't even think I looked like me, they had put me into a bright red strapless dress, that fit me like a second skin and was also way shorter than anything I had ever worn, but it was gorgeous especially the way it seemed to shimmer every time the light hit it. Mira then strapped a pair of red heels on my feet that matched my new dress perfectly. I smiled as I looked at the girl in the mirror with her flawless makeup, perfect hair and her friends smiling back. After I was taken care of as Mira said, the others quickly got ready. Erza was sheathed in a black dress that she looked stunning in, it was short and flatter her amazing figure and it had an almost nonexistent back, she then swept her long Scarlet hair to the side and buckled her black heels around her ankles. I then looked at my other two beautiful friends; Levy had on a light orange colored halter dress that flared out around mid thigh with white heels and a white headband and Mira had on a burgundy off the shoulder dress that held onto her every curve. After she placed her feet into her black pumps she grabbed her bag and asked,
"Is everyone ready?" We all nodded enthusiastically, at first I didn't want to go but now I was excited, I'd never been to a club before and it was my birthday, my twenty first and I was going to live it up.
The first thing my friends did as soon as we entered the club was hit the bar, The bartender Cana was a regular at the guild and she was also shooting back shots that the male customers were buying her like they were water, yep that was Cana. As soon as she saw Mira she smiled and said,
"Long time, no see, I thought that loud and drunk wasn't your thing." Mira rolled her eyes,
"Loud and drunk are my thing, just with better music, but this is Lucy's Twenty first and she needed a girl's night that wasn't at the guild." Cana laughed and asked,
"So what will it be?" Mira then had that look in her eye, that made you think that she maybe wasn't as sweet and innocent as she appeared as she said,
"Something that will get her wasted." Cana smiled evilly,
"Oh I have the perfect thing."
So there I was seated at the bar and I think I was three or maybe it was four, what did Cana call them again, oh yeah trash cans in and couldn't stop smiling and then Levy grabbed my hand and we were heading to the dance floor and the music was thumping so hard I could feel it in my blood as I swayed my hips to the beat. Levy and I danced until we were both in need of another drink, once I sat at the bar again I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Grey with a huge smile on his face as he hugged me with one arm and yelled over the music,
"Yo Lucy Happy Birthday." I smiled from ear to ear as I sipped on yet another trash can and yelled back,
"Thanks." He then eyed my drink,
"How you feeling?" I held up the drink in question as I yelled,
"Awesome." He just laughed at me, and it was right then that I wanted to see my pink headed friend and I remembered that he was suppose to be with Grey tonight so I asked, "Natsu here?" Grey looked around the crowded club as he said,
"He's around here somewhere, if I see him I'll send him your way." I just nodded a little disappointed but that was nothing another trash can, couldn't fix right? As soon as Grey walked off a gorgeous blue haired girl wearing a dark blue spaghetti strapped dress with a plunging neck line and a slit up the side that went on for days appeared and she looked angry. Crap what did I do?
"Are you Juvia's love rival?" I tilted my head in confusion,
"Love rival?" She nodded,
"Are you Juvia's rival in love for Grey's heart?" before I could stop it a bubble of laughter burst out of my mouth as I looked over to our guitarist who had somehow lost his shirt since I has spoken with him and yeah he was cute, hell gorgeous would have been a better word to describe him, with his black hair and deep blue eyes but he defiantly wasn't my type, he wasn't Natsu. So I shook my head wildly as I said,
"I am defiantly not your love rival, Grey is all yours." With that I finished my drink, hopped off the bar stool and wove my way through the crowd dance floor where I just let myself get caught up in the beat.
Natsu's POV:
As soon as I walked in the door, I wanted to leave, this was not my scene, I liked the guild with its rustic charm and loud brawls, but this was where the ice princess wanted to come and he was paying so I guess the only way to survive this night was going to have to drink, a lot. When I found my way to the bar, I smiled and waved Cana over as I yelled over the music,
"So, you drink all day at the guild and come here to pour drinks at night?" She smiled,
"I have to find some way to pay my tab, and who's said I'm not still drinking?" She said with a wink, she then gestured towards me and asked "What can I get for you?" I rubbed the back of my head and shrugged,
"I don't know something strong and keep them coming, it's all going on icee's tab." She gave me that wicked grin of her as she said,
"Oh, I've got just the thing."
After god only knows shots of something Cana called a fireball I was feeling nice and really warm as I looked out at the dance floor, when I suddenly saw a very familiar blonde head weaving her way through the crowd and before I knew it I was on my feet and they were carrying me to where she was on the dance floor. As soon as I saw her moving her body to the beat, in that dress I swear I stopped breathing, and then I was right there dancing behind her, with my hands on her hips and I knew even in my drunken state that this was a bad idea but then her hand came over her head and she ran her fingers through my hair and I was done with thinking about the consequences, screw the consequences. I pulled her closer to my body and removed my left hand from her hip so that I could move her hair over her shoulder and as I did her breath hitched and she said my name. My eyes widened as I turned her to face me and she was smiling from ear to ear as I asked,
"How did you know it was me?" She shrugged,
"I would know your hands anywhere." My breath caught in my throat as I leaned in closer and I said,
"You're drunk." She nodded and leaned into me more,
"So are you." I smiled back at her; our lips were so close that we were breathing each other's air as I asked,
"Luce what are we doing?" She cupped my cheek with her hand as she said,
"This." And her lips where on mine and the world could have exploded around me and I wouldn't have cared, because it was the single most amazing kiss of my life. I wrapped my arms around her waist and deepened the kiss as I nibbled on her lip begging her to let me have more and she obliged and I was in heaven.
Eventually we parted so that we could gulp in some much needed air and she smirked up at me as she said,
"You taste like cinnamon." I placed my forehead on hers and asked,
"Do you maybe wanna get out of here?" She just kissed my lips gentle as she whispered against them,
"You have no idea." I didn't need any further prompting; her fingers were entwined with mine as we waved to our friends who all had knowing smiles on their faces and exited the club…
To be continued…