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Fire vs Ice

December 22nd, X794

"Natsu, look!" An excited voice called out. "It's snowing!"

Sure enough, it was. Snow soon fell upon them in a frenzy as that soft, white, and damp substance appeared at their feet with greater abundance. The sudden flurry's intensity made it easily stick to the ground. Joyful chocolate-colored eyes darted about the scenery. It felt like something straight out of a movie! Literal snow during the holidays. The blonde listened attentively at the way her leather winter boots crunched loudly after each step.

Lucy tugged on her partner's long-sleeved arm playfully. "Can you believe it? It's actually snowing! Just in time for Christmas too."

Her company, a pink-haired man notorious for incinerating buildings and humiliating bandits, scoffed next to her. "Great, snow."

That unenthusiastic remark raised her brow just a little. It was unlike her best friend to not be ecstatic about the snow. She specifically recalled a time when he and their feline partner were easily amused by a simple rain shower. If something like that interested him why wouldn't snow do the trick as well? She turned to face him, eyeing him perplexed. Reading her thoughts, Natsu caught onto the questioning gaze and deliberately sighed.

"Rain is fine. But this…" He waved his hand carelessly. "Snow reminds me too much of Gray. So, not really a fan."

The nonchalant words and yet so seriously said response caused Lucy to instantly lose her composure. Within seconds the once intrigued woman now struggled to conceal her own amusement. Of course, those attempts were already in vain. Her giggles escaped in short bursts as she fought to regain control. Natsu's onyx orbs narrowed.

"What's so funny?"

It was just so hilarious to hear that the fire breather held a grudge on Mother Nature all because his rival's magic came from a similar property. Pink lips parted to explain this, but without warning, another round of laughter made its presence. Her mirth, while music to his ears, stemmed from his own expense. The act had awoken his competitive side.

"Oh, you think that's funny?"

Lucy wasn't even given the chance to question what exactly he'd meant by that. A sudden warmth invaded her personal bubble as those frigid temperatures were overwhelmed by an intense heat. That same heat briefly touched her throat and she felt a shiver go down her spine. The feeling faded just as quickly as it had overtaken her.

From there something loosened itself from around her neck. At the same time the hood on Lucy's pink parka lazily slid off. It didn't take long for her to realize what he'd done. The scaly, checkered scarf which had been wrapped securely around her neck was now once more in his hands. It had been a gift from his foster-father and Fire Dragon King, Igneel. But for the last half hour, its purpose was solely to keep the blonde cozy. Or well, that was the case until just now when Natsu decided to take it back.

"W-What was that for?" She shuddered, the icy cold attacking her now bare cheeks like miniature knives.

Natsu stood still, momentarily having glanced up at the sky. She observed him nod to himself as if he'd just finished a conversation with a being from the great beyond.

"I was using that to hold my hood up you know…" Lucy muttered and puffed her cheeks out in a child-like manner. "Jerk."

The dragon slayer turned his head back to look at her, those black eyes twinkling with mischief. Lucy instinctively gulped. A look like that usually spelled trouble. Or worse, a Natsu Dragneel prank!

Instead of doing something on the roguish side like she'd expected, he strolled along ahead, leaving her behind. "Oh, were you now?" He spoke in a faint murmur. "I never would have guessed."

Arms crossed in disbelief, Lucy stalked after him, leaving behind heavy prints in the padded snow. She heard a light hum leave his normally boisterous mouth.

"Seriously, Natsu? I can't believe you're just going to let me freeze!" She whined after realizing he wasn't going to give back the scarf. To be fair though it was his. Defeated, the blonde readjusted her hood and held it in place with her free hand.

"Oh, come on. Now you're just being overly dramatic." He stopped and rolled his eyes. "We both know you've been through far worse in even less than what you have on right now. Plus, if you can survive Mt. Hakobe in those skimpy outfits you used to wear then you basically can conquer any cold front."

If looks could kill, Natsu would certainly be buried six feet under all the fallen snow. Natsu distinctively felt the flaming eyes that penetrated the back of his skull. He had forgotten how frightening her mood could change at a moment's notice. The woman was genuinely scarier than Erza! Their venture through the park continued on in silence after that little remark. That was until the wind speeds picked up which caused Lucy to yield in her battle to keep the parka's fluffy hood upright. Frustrated, she slipped it off and buried her mittens deeper into her pockets. With the headgear removed, white crystallized flakes settled on her pristine golden locks. Gusts of wind raced by them and whistled as Mother Nature passed by. It was like she was taunting the dragon slayer for his earlier comment.

"So," Lucy started up, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't really know." Natsu answered with a carefree shrug. "I guess we should head back to the guild."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we probably should get back there. It's been a long day, and I bet everyone's wondering what happened to us." A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "I'm sure Happy will want to hear all about our big adventure."

The dragon slayer froze up, a look of horror plastered over his features, as he was reminded of the torturous day he'd been trapped in. "This was not an adventure! This was a prison! Jail without being stuck in a cell part!"

This time it was Lucy who rolled her eyes. "What's the deal with you?" She implored. "Are you finally starting to feel a little self-conscious about how much fun today was? About how the 'big, bad fire dragon' actually enjoyed shopping with somebody for once?"

"Shopping is not what I'd consider fun."

"And yet you've spent nearly the entire day here in the city with me. At a variety of stores nonetheless." The blonde pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Yep! I learned my lesson." Natsu folded his hands together. "Never doing this again!"

"You say that about everything you don't like. Remember your experience with… trains?" She giggled at his nauseous face and poked his chest with her finger. "And yet once more you voluntarily get on them."

"Not voluntarily… you and Erza force me." He retorted after needing a second to regain his composure. She'd put the image of those death traps of steel into his mind. He wanted them out.

"You know what I think?" The blonde placed her hand against her cheek and leaned into it, having become lost within her own thoughts.

"What?" His eyes narrowed as he did his best to try and intimidate her even though he knew it was futile. "Whatever you're about to say, it better not involve any moving objects."

"I think you're secretly enjoying this." Lucy pondered aloud and watched his reaction clearly amused. Her fingers retracted as she observed her friend's expression twitch from disgust to surprise.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!" He repeated.

"Are too!"

"Not a chance in hell!" Natsu roared. "This day has sucked! I've been held against my will and forced to carry all of your bags when I could have been enjoying one of Mira's nice hot meals…" Drool slipped from his lips at the thought of that last part.

"Admit it." She grinned triumphantly, spinning on her heel to face him head on. "You've had lots of fun today." A finger soon lifted itself for each point made. "Shopping for dresses, shopping for shoes, visiting those bookstores Levy told me about, the magic shops with the colorful fire, and how could I forget about you stuffing your face with food from my bank account."

Natsu stared at her blankly.

"I think we've got different definitions of fun, Luce. Shopping is just not it. Beating the snot out of Gray because snow reminds me of him? Now, that's what I call fun!"

Again, she rolled her eyes and wiped a few snowflakes from her front bangs. She stood in front of him like a barrier. "I'm not moving until you admit today was a blast for you."

Her words hung in the air between them. Natsu's eyes widened slightly. Lucy Heartfilia had actually become daring enough on this day to challenge him. He felt a flame ignite inside, his competitive nature becoming lit. He loved a good challenge. But only when he had a legitimate shot to win.

"Okay, the food portion was great." Natsu surrendered. "I'll admit that. But only that."

"Nope." She shook her head. "Not good enough. Tell me the day was enjoyable."

The events of the day resurfaced in his mind, and after a few moments of silence, he internally sensed that flame flicker. Natsu couldn't deny the fact that he had enjoyed the time spent with his best friend. Even while she was encompassed in the clothing stores or open libraries, she'd still taken the time out of her day to go and visit stuff that interested him. That confused him extremely. Wasn't this trip supposed to be about her?

"Ok, maybe today wasn't as bad as I made it out to be." He yielded, chin dipping down just a bit as he examined her vibrant irises. Confidence was laced in them. "But there's something I just don't get."

"Name it." Lucy stated as she noticed their close proximity and shuffled back a few feet.

"You." Natsu answered as he leaned down and balled up a quick snowball. He'd prepared to throw it at her jokingly but, unfortunately for the fire mage his heat had melted the ball in his hands. He stared at the liquid goo in wonder. "You said you wanted to do so much and buy a ton of things, yet all you bought were a few items and we spent most of the day hitting places I liked and eating at food stalls. You probably spent more time walking and talking than buying anything you actually saw."

She blinked, shyness overtaking her, as her heartbeat accelerated after seeing that curious gaze. The dragon slayer's straight lips then adjusted into a playful grin.

"Are you broke Lucy? Do I need to go on another job real fast in order for you to pay your landlord lady so you don't get evicted? It'd sure suck if you became homeless before Christmas." He joked, cracking himself up at his own joke. "Ask nicely and I'll be on my way."

Instead of a speech, Lucy chose the action route. As soon as the shock had worn off, her tempered nature displayed itself. Without warning, the Celestial mage hurled a medium-sized snowball right at his face. At point blank range that was a guaranteed headshot and the slayer, who'd been chortling so hard at that moment, was unable to predict or stop it. She watched with glee as Mother Nature teamed up with her and they clobbered her best friend at full force.

"I'll have you know I have enough savings." She huffed. "I'm not that bad with money, Natsu. I've even gotten better at not purchasing everything that catches my eye." She threw another snowball at him, but he'd managed to dodge it. "I just wanted to do something different today. You know, so we could enjoy the day together." Lucy explained. After realizing what implications that could portray, the blonde hurriedly added, "I mean, we don't get to do this often, right?"

"No, not really…" He answered as he wiped away the icy snow that had stuck to his nose. "Not with the guild and Happy always in our lives. Our line of work is too crazy to just walk and talk."

"See that's all. Just felt like we both desperately needed a day off from the guild." She confirmed, but deep down inside Lucy knew she was being dishonest with herself. There were other obvious reasons for her behavior. Ones that she was currently too afraid to try and explore. "Every once in a while it's nice to have a day all to yourself. So, this was my treat. Besides, it's not like you owe me or anything."

"I kind of do." He whispered. He'd finally been able to shed the last layer of snow from his eyelid. How she'd manage to hit him that good with a singular snowball was beyond his knowledge. She sure was scary when provoked.

"Hmm?"

"Well, I mean, you did save my life." Natsu spoke as he recalled her brilliance to rewrite his demon tome at the risk of her own future. "Don't know how I can ever really repay you for what you did. Gave me another chance at life when I thought I'd already wasted my second run."

Her expression softened. She grasped ahold of his hands and held them firm. "You saved my life plenty of times. It's only fair I got to save yours at least once."

"Zeref and his gang were entirely different beasts compared to Phantom Lord and that clock stuff, Luce. What I did doesn't even come close to what you did."

"You saved me from Zeref too." She argued.

"I pushed you and Cana down from his wave of death with seconds to spare. You literally rewrote my Book and became corrupted by his curse. That's not the same."

She stared right at him with an expression that was unreadable, even for his special talents. "If I agree and don't fight you on it, will that help you sleep better at night?"

Natsu twitched like something had burned him, as if that was even possible. "W-What? What do you mean?" He was keen on his hand being squeezed by the intelligent woman in front of him.

"I know you've been having nightmares." Lucy leaned in and whispered as she rested her forehead against his. The normally intimate gesture for most was simply done out of friendship in their eyes. It was kind of their thing. His mouth opened to deny her accusation, but she shushed him into silence. "Your battle against him isn't like the one you had with Zeref. You don't have to do this all alone. Together we were able to prevent the demon and together we'll defeat it. For good."

"Yeah?" He asked, uncertainty swirling in those rarely timid onyx spheres.

"Yeah." She promised and released their hands. Realization of what she'd just done prior to all the emotional talk hit her like an oncoming freight train. Those bright cheeks turned darker and darker until they were as red as a tomato.

"Luce, you don't look so... ah man did you somehow catch a cold this fast?!" He said aloud and frantically pushed her towards Magnolia Park's exit. Unfortunately, after getting sidetracked, the dragon slayer had totally forgotten about the pink and black bags he'd previously set down on a random park bench.

"I'm fine…" She brushed his concern aside. "It's just–"

"We gotta get you home or Loke and the rest of your Spirits are gonna kill me!"

The key wielder merely sighed. His overprotectiveness could sometimes really kill the mood. But that was just a unique side of him that made him extra special to her. "Okay." She conceded to his concern. "Let's go home." The guild could wait another day anyway.

Silently, like ghosts or perhaps more like nervous teens, the two Fairy Tail mages exited the park. It didn't take them long to make the right-handed turn onto Strawberry Street as they walked alongside one another.

"So…" Lucy mumbled under her breath, index fingers locked together, as she kept her head down observing the intricate cobbled sidewalk. "Did you have fun?" He remained silent. It reached the point where even when they arrived at the base of her steps he'd still yet to respond to her question. Disappointment grew in her chest at his muted answer. "I get it. We like different things anyway. I'm sorry I dragged you–"

"Today was great." He interrupted, flashing her a heart fluttering wink. "It was nice spending some time with you and not being heckled by Happy."

"Yeah?"

"Plus, it was rejuvenating to get away from everything and just be me."

"That's a new word." She interjected as he began to scale up the side of her apartment. "Don't think I've ever heard you use that one before!"

"Well, it helps that I've had such a great teacher over the last few years!"

"You think I'm a good teacher?" She asked. His kindness still found ways to catch her off guard.

"Not good, I said 'great!" He chuckled as he popped open her window. "I see why Anna chose to become an official one. Helping others is natural for you both. I imagine it must run in all Heartfilias."

Lucy stared up at him in admiration. This pink-haired goofball had somehow wrapped his destructive flames around her golden heart and no matter how hard she tried; she just couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one for her. That they were meant to be together. If only she was as great at romance as she was a teacher apparently in the eyes of her best friend. "Maybe you're right." She whispered fondly. "Maybe it's time I–"

"Oh crap!" The dragon slayer shouted from within her bedroom. "Now she's gonna kill me!"

His sudden terror ended that previous statement. "Natsu? What's wrong?" Lucy hurried up her steps and reached the front door. She shuffled around in her bag for her keys. "Wait. Bags." The woman spun to the side expecting to see her shopping assortment at her feet. Instead, all she saw was empty air. A frustrated noise reverberated in her throat before she inserted the key and burst through the door. "Natsu!"