Chapter 9: Harvest Festival

They got to the guild and a ball of blue fur shot into the arms of Cana. Happy made a habit of greeting them like this every time they came back to the guild. Happy was still too young to accompany them on job, so Cana had him stay back at the guild when they left to go on missions.

"Cannnnna! Please, please, please don't ever leave me like that again!" Happy exclaimed with tears in his eyes. "The Demon was so mean to me!" Happy whined.

"Fear not Cana. I allowed no harm to come to Happy in your absence!" Erza assured Cana that Happy was well taken care of during her time away. Erza approached the two young mages and greeted them. "I'm glad to see you made it back safely Cana!" The brunette smiled at Erza's words. Erza then turned to Natsu. She was still sour about Natsu's previous actions but decided to be the bigger person. "Hello Natsu. I trust you kept Cana safe on the mission."

Natsu scoffed at the scarlet haired mage's words. "Of course I did. A dragon protects its treasure." The two girls blushed at what Natsu had insinuated. Natsu stared at the girls with a confused expression. 'Why are they looking at me like that?' Deciding he'd rather go get a drink then partake in whatever weirdness they were doing, Natsu made his way to the bar.

"Did he just?"

"Yep." Cana responded.

"Do you think he meant it like that?" Erza asked inquisitively.

"Probably not." Cana's voice gave off a saddened tone.

"Did you want him to?" Erza raised an eye towards her friend.

I… I don't know. I mean he's just so… And I'm just me…" Cana tried to explain but couldn't find the right way to put it.

"Why not ask him to attend the Harvest Festival with you?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure Natsu would enjoy something like that..."

"Well you'll never know if you don't try."

Cana mulled over Erza's comments. Was it really as simple as just asking him to go? But what if he says no? What if he laughs in my face? 'What if I have the wrong idea and I just end up embarrassing myself and looking like an idiot?' Were a few of the questions that plagued Cana's mind. She knew she felt something towards Natsu, but could those feelings be romantic in nature. She just wasn't sure. All of this was so foreign to her. Cana was broken out of her thought by her red-haired friend.

"I think you too would make a fine pair." Erza said, offering Cana a smile.

"Really?" Cana stared at her friend. Erza had always been honest and upfront with her, so she saw no reason to question the girl's judgement.

"I do. He's different with you Cana. Just look at him." The two observed Natsu, who was now sitting at the bar. Cana saw was she was talking about. He looked guarded here, like he was constantly on edge. His demeanor was nothing like it had been when they were together. "At the very least, he respects you. Much more than he does anyone else."

"You liiiiiiiiiiike him!" Happy shouted. He covered his mouth with a paw while he giggled.

"Happy be quiet!" Cana yells as she rushed to try and put her hand over Happy's mouth, but Happy was too quick. His small wings sprouted and he flew out of the reach of Cana. Happy laughed as him flew higher. "I'm gonna go tell him!" Cana's eyes widened. She couldn't let Happy tell Natsu. So, she used the only bargaining chip that would work.

"If you don't tell Natsu, I'll get you a fish Happy. How does that sound?"

"Two fishies!"

"Okay, okay. I'll get you two fish and you'll stay quiet right?"

"Aye!" Happy yelled, already dreaming of the fish that were soon to come his way.

"Quite the little extortionist, isn't he?" Erza chimed in. Cana looked to Erza, forgetting that there was another person that took part in the conversation about Natsu. It was if Erza read Cana's mind, and she answered the question Cana had yet to speak. "Worry not Cana. Your secret is safe with me. I won't tell a soul." Cana let out a sigh of relief. For now at least, the knowledge would remain among these three. "Oh, and Cana." Cana perked up. "I'm rooting for you!"

Natsu had found his way to the bar and ordered himself some food. He had just started to eat when he heard a voice that grated his ears. "Well, well, it seems the dragon has returned to its lair." Came the voice of one Mirajane Strauss. If there was one person in the guild he couldn't stand, it had to be her. She was loud, boisterous, annoying, and pretty much everything else he hated. "How was the job? Must suck that you have to have a babysitter. Honestly, I feel bad for Cana."

"God do you ever quit talking?"

"What the hell did you just say to me you pink headed bastard?" Mirajane slammed her hand down next to his plate. Sighing, Natsu rose from his seat and met Mirajane's gaze. The look of mutual hatred filled the space between them.

"Do you really want to do this again?" Natsu asked in a bored tone. "I mean, you saw what happened last time." His arrogant tone returning to his voice. "But if you insist, I'd be more than happy to kick your ass again."

It looked as if all hell was about to break loose between the two, but before they could come to blows, Cana and Erza, along with the help of Mirajane's siblings Elfman and Lisanna, got to them and deescalated the situation.

"Tch, whatever. You just got lucky last time." Mirajane spat out as she retreated with her siblings. Erza also took her leave to go have her daily piece of strawberry cake, but not before giving Cana an encouraging look.

Once she noticed that Natsu had calmed down from the situation, she decided it was now or never. She was going to ask Natsu to go to the Harvest Festival with her. "So about the Harvest Festival, I-"

"You still haven't told me what that is."

"Oh well, Magnolia used to be an agricultural town, and once a year everyone would come together to celebrate the harvest for the year. That's what it started off as, but now it's just a tradition the people of Magnolia participate in. There are games, food stands, a whole bunch of stuff! Then at the end, there is this thing called the Fantasia Parade, and it features members of Fairy Tail riding around on floats using their magic to entertain the people! It's a lot of fun!" Cana explained. She took a deep breath and readied herself to ask him. "So uh, I usually go to the festival with some of the other kids here, but uh… I was wondering… do you… would you maybe want to go to the festival with me Natsu?"

Natsu started blankly at Cana. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay we can go."

"Really!? That would be awesome!" Cana shouted, drawing the attention of a few of her guildmates. "I'll meet you back her at five this evening and then we can go!" Cana yelled to him as she left for her house to prepare for tonight's festivities, with Happy following close behind her. Natsu shrugged, not know why Cana had gotten so excited and returned to eating his food.

"Natsu." Yet another voice called out to him, disrupting his lunch. He turned and was met by Erza. "Don't hurt her." Natsu was about to get defensive, but then the girl uttered one more word. "Please?"

"Why would I hurt her? She's my friend."

"Precisely. Now I trust you'll clean yourself up and look presentable for tonight?"

"And what the hell is wrong with what I have on now?"

Erza threw her arms up as to not invite more conflict. "Oh forgive me, I meant no offense. I just think Cana would appreciate it if you dressed up a little more. That is all." Erza's quick explanation seemed to have appeased the boy from her unintended insult.

"All I have are clothes like these…" Natsu said in an uncharacteristically low tone.

"Well then, I'll just have to accompany you to get some more appropriate clothes for this evening."

"Why?"

"I already told you I think Cana wo-"

"No. Why would you help me? Especially after I beat you up like I did?"

"Well because we are friends." Erza offered her words to Natsu. He marinated on them for a moment.

"But Cana is already my friend."

"You are allowed to have more than one of those. Everyone here is willing to be your friend if you let them Natsu." Natsu just stared silently. "Come, Natsu. I shall assist you in finding a proper outfit for tonight!"

Natsu hadn't been waiting long when Cana showed up at the guild. She forwent one of her usual dresses and instead wore a more eloquent purple dress. Her long, flowing brown hair was now braided into a single rope that hung low on her back. She wasn't the only one in new attire. For tonight at least, Natsu ditched his usual outfit and donned button up shirt and a simple pair of jeans. While what he was wearing might not be considered dressed up to some, Natsu did. Regardless, no one could deny this outfit was a step up from what the Dragon Slayer would normally wear.

Cana took in the appearance of her friend. "You look nice Natsu!"

"I don't like it. It's itchy. And it restricts my movement." Natsu sulked as he moved his arms about, earning a small chuckle from Cana. "Where's your shadow?"

"Happy? I already put him to bed. It's just going to be us tonight." Cana said to Natsu. "Are you ready to go?" Natsu nodded at Cana and the two made their way to the festival.

The festival wasn't at all what Natsu had expected. He thought the celebrated would be contained to the citizens of Magnolia, but that was not the case. What Cana had forgotten to mention was just how big of a celebration this was. People from all over Fiore traveled her to enjoy it. The amount of people was a little overwhelming for Natsu, but anytime he felt his anxiety rising he just looked over to Cana and he felt himself calm down. She was having a great time. And seeing her so happy, made him happy.

They started the night off by grabbing a quick bite to eat. It wasn't anything big, just a small snack from one of the many fried food stands. Cana spoke to Natsu while they walked, eating their food. "These were some of the festival's biggest attractions. By the end of the night, I want to try them all!" Cana was excited at the prospect of sampling the many fried options they had, but Natsu was less thrilled. These foods didn't seem the healthiest, and they were quite greasy. His enhanced sense of taste didn't help with this either. But since it was only for tonight, he'd manage.

"Oooooo Natsu! Let's play this game!" Cana dragged Natsu to a nearby stand. They had already been walking around for about a couple hours now. They had tried a few games, well Cana had tried a few games. Natsu just watched. So far, they hadn't won anything, but Cana had a good feeling about this one. It was one of those balloon popping games, but instead of giving you a device to pop the balloons, you were allowed to use your magic to try and pop as many as you could.

"Hello! Two please!" Cana said as she slid the man in the booth jewels for two rounds of the game.

"Why did you two rounds? Think you're going to mess up that badly?" Natsu playfully taunted.

"Oh no. Nothing like that. In fact, I feel quite confident about winning this one." Cana said with a smug look on her face.

"They why did you get two?"

"Because you are going to play too."

"I am?" Natsu raised an eyebrow towards the girl.

"You are." Cana said, nodding in confirmation.

Sighing, Natsu stepped to the booth. And after a short explanation from the man in the booth, Natsu readied his magic. His objective was simple. Pop as many balloons as he could within a minute. Natsu outstretched his hand and several small orbs of black energy formed in the air. By closing his fist, the orbs were sent flying, popping every single balloon in the stand.

"Natsu! You popped them all! You won! But I guess that means I don't get a turn now. Oh well, it was worth it to see you looking like you had some fun."

"Oh don't worry." The man in the booth called. "You can still have your turn miss." He raised his hand and with a snap of his fingers, the balloons returned to their state before Natsu popped them. "Now," the man turned back to Natsu. "Seeing as you popped them all, I'd say that means you can pick out any prize you want from the top shelf." He said pointing to the row of prizes and the top on his stand.

Natsu looked at Cana and saw her eyes were fixed on a particular prize in the left corner. "That one." Natsu said, pointing to the object.

"Very nice choice sir!" The man grabbed a large stuffed bear and handed it to Natsu, who in turn handed it to Cana.

"Here. I saw you looking at it so I figured you wanted it."

"Aw! Thank you Natsu!" Cana exclaimed as she took the bear from Natsu and gave it a tight squeeze. "DO you mind holding it while I take my turn?" She asked her companion with a sheepish grin. Natsu took back the bear and waited for Cana to take her turn playing the game.

She pulled out her cards, took aim at the balloons. When her minute was up, she had only managed to pop seven of the balloons. A far cry from the entire thirty Natsu managed. "Well it looks like you popped enough to pick anything from the second row." Cana's eyes scanned the row. She stopped when she saw the perfect prize.

"You know you didn't have to give this to me. You won it." Natsu said, observing the small stuff dragon Cana had given him."

"Well you gave me your prize, so it's only fair. And besides." She grabbed the stuffed dragon from Natsu's hands and held it up to his face. "It's a pink dragon! Just like you!"

"Ha ha. Very funny." Natsu took back the small stuffed dragon. "You do know that I'll be a black dragon, right? Not a pink one."

"Yeah well, your hair is pink. So for right now, you're a pink dragon." Cana laughed at her own comment. But something that Natsu said lingered in the back of her mind. He'd be a black dragon. Meaning, when he transformed. They had been having such a good time that she forgot about that. But maybe, just maybe, if they kept having nights like they were having, he progression would become even slower. But she didn't want to think about that right now. All she wanted to focus on was having a good time with Natsu.

"Oh look!" She shouted while pointing to another booth. "That's a photo lacrima booth! They didn't have one of those last year! Come on, let's go!" Cana grabbed Natsu's arm and led him to the booth with a smile on her face.

Once they got inside, Cana quickly explained how it worked. They took a series of pictures making a mixture of goofy faces and smiles towards the camera. Well, it was mostly Cana making the faces, Natsu was just along for the ride. For the last photo, Cana decided to take a risk. She flung her arm around Natsu's neck and pulled him to her until his forehead lightly touched hers. Natsu looked at Cana. She was wearing a large smile and held up one of her hand, forming a peace sign. Natsu tried to replicate the look Cana had, but it didn't look as natural in him as it did on her.

When they exited the booth and received the printed photos, Cana's eyes were immediately drawn to the last picture. Sure, Natsu looked a little awkward, but she didn't mind. They looked like a couple. And for now, that would do for her.

The evening had come, and the festivities were coming to a close. All that was left was the Fantasia Parade. Natsu's social battery was running very low. He was getting antsy as the crowd started to settle around them. Natsu could stomach the crowd when they were moving. The streets were full all day, but they were never confined to one area like they were now. If he was beginning to fill suffocated, they would just move. But now that the parade was starting, people were beginning to become stationary. Cana must have sensed the mounting tension inside of Natsu. She turned to him and whispered into his ear. "We can leave if you want to. I know the crowd can be a little overwhelming. So if you want to leave, we can."

In truth, that's exactly what Natsu wanted. He had already seen a lot for today. And he still hadn't properly rested since they got back from their job. But Natsu knew the parade was what Cana wanted to see the most. He had picked up on the sadness in her voice. So he knew he couldn't leave. However, he would settle for the next best thing.

Natsu picked up Cana and summoned his magic to his feet, allowing it to propel them into the air. They landed on the roof of a nearby building. It was perfect. There were no people, so Natsu was happy. And they had an amazing view of the parade, so Cana was happy. The two watched the rest of the parade in a comfortable silence. As it started to come to a close, and the Fairy Tail mages performed the final act, Cana joined the rest of her guildmates in throwing up the hand symbol of Fairy Tail. Natsu let a smile form on his face, a genuine smile, not one he copied from watching other people, as he watched Cana.

"You know you didn't have to walk me home. I could have managed."

"I know."

"I had a lot of fun tonight. And thank you."

"For what?"

"Just for everything tonight. The prize. Coming with me in the first place. And at the end. I knew you were uncomfortable, but you stayed and watched the parade with me. It meant a lot."

"You could tell I was uncomfortable?"

"It doesn't take someone with your kind of senses to be able to tell something like that."

"Oh right."

"Hey…" 'Tell him! Tell him!' "I…" she wanted to. She really did, but she just couldn't. "I had a really great time tonight."

"I did to Cana. Thank you for inviting me."

Natsu and Cana stood silently as they both reflected on their evening. Cana moved to hug him but decided against it at the last second. "G..goodnight Natsu." Cana yelled as she hurried into Fairy Hills.

Natsu stood alone and waited for a moment. He raised the pink dragon and took a long look at it. "A pink dragon huh?"

Hello all you beautiful people! Here is another chapter for you! I hope you like it. This is the first "date" chapter between Natsu and Cana. I hope you enjoyed! And I've got a little surprise for you all, but I'll leave that for the next chapter. - Sinh