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It started inconspicuously, almost like it was any other day.
Natsu and Lucy were on their way back into town after a simple, run-of-the-mill mission. Happy had tagged along with Wendy and Carla in another attempt to woo the female Exceed, so their trio became a temporary duo. The dragonslayer was a few steps ahead of his partner, taking broad, easygoing steps and whistling a cheerful melody.
“Luce, let’s go get dinner,” he said, turning around so he was now walking backwards.
The blonde hummed, admiring the vibrant sky of that evening’s sunset. “Sure Natsu, I can meet you at the guild in a bit.”
“What? No, just the two of us,” he darted towards her and grasped both hands in his, pulling the young woman forwards at a light jog. “Wasn’t there that new cafe you wanted to try? C’mon, I’m hungry!”
The previously distracted mage was brought out of her reverie as she stumbled forward. There were three shocking things about their current situation. One, Natsu almost never let up the chance to eat at the guild. It was basically his second home and he could be as loud as he wanted, as opposed to a restaurant. Two, Lucy hadn’t expected him to have paid attention that time she was rambling excitedly to him and Happy about the new cafe two blocks from her apartment. She was well aware of her habit of chatting incessantly, which Natsu and Happy—or her boys, as she liked to refer to them affectionately in her head—at least had the decency to pretend to listen to, even though she knew they tuned her out most of the time. Three, it was rare for Natsu to eat without his feline best friend. And she knew that he knew Wendy’s mission ended around the afternoon, which meant the cat was definitely back at the guild already.
Still, Natsu was right about her looking forward to trying out the new eatery. Every morning the delectable scent of freshly baked goods wafted downwind past her now always-open window, and if it weren’t for the fact that her rent was soon due and she was rushing to complete missions to pay it, she probably would’ve gone already.
“As long as you’re paying. I’ve fed you out of my own pocket enough times.” Lucy teased, half expecting him to protest as usual. She actually didn’t mind either way. Natsu had been on his best behavior this time, which meant having extra cash on hand even after accounting for her rent money.
Wait. Natsu on his best behavior? File that under the fourth strange thing of today.
“Of course I’m paying, what kinda man would I be?” The last half of the statement fell apart into a mumble, and although Lucy was now staring at the back of his head instead, she could’ve sworn there was a pink tinge along the top of his ears.
Confused by the bizarre response, the celestial mage opened her mouth to tell him she was joking, but another inner voice chastised her. Don’t you dare lose this chance to eat for free.
So she followed mutely and allowed the pink-haired boy drag her all the way to the bustling cafe.
— — —
The second occurrence was a bit harder to disregard.
It was the morning after, and Lucy was sat in front of her vanity, going through her morning routine when her mind wandered to the events of the previous night.
She had a surprisingly pleasant time. The night was filled with conversation and laughter, the former from Natsu, who regaled her with tall tales and stories from before she joined the guild, and the latter from her. He kept his word and paid for both their meals, even when she tried to pry the bill out of his hands so they could at least split it. And his best-behavior streak continued well into the evening as he walked her home, even offering his hand for balance when she insisted on her usual way of walking along the canal. He said goodnight at the door, and left to sleep in his own bed for once, claiming something about checking in with Happy.
Lucy hummed softly to herself, running her fingers through her blonde locks. This side of Natsu that she had witnessed last night, it was unexpected, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Some things were still the same. He made her laugh, spoke a little too loudly, made fun of her every chance he got. But he was also gentle, thoughtful, and caring. In the eyes of a stranger, the pair last night might’ve even seemed like two people on…
“... a date,” the blonde said aloud to no one in particular, her hands stilling.
“What was that?” Came a voice from her windowsill. The stunned girl spun around to be met with a pink-haired dragonslayer climbing into her bedroom. An easy task for him, surely, since he’d done it countless times. Except, this time he was attempting it one-handed. A bouquet of freshly picked—evidently by the man himself—daisies was grasped in his left hand, and he seemed intent on keeping it intact.
“Goodness, Natsu!” Lucy ran to interfere before he suffered a nasty fall from her second-story window.
“Here!” The bouquet was thrust into the blonde’s hands, paired with a wide grin from the dragonslayer. “Picked ‘em myself, Luce.”
“Thanks, I love them,” Lucy said as she rummaged through her cupboards for a spare vase. Behind her, Natsu tumbles into the room, followed by a flying cat.
“Luuuuucy!” A blue blur came barreling towards her chest, and just in time, she was able to put the vase down on the counter. “Guess what? Carla actually accepted my fish yesterday!”
“That’s great Happy, congratulations!” Natsu watched her pat the cat on his head in a motherly fashion, half a grin playing on his lips. Lucy was great—or to use one of her big words, fantastic. How did he not notice before? From day one, she took care of not only him, but Happy too, feeding them, making sure they cleaned up after themselves, and though she says otherwise, her apartment was always available when they needed company.
As he made eye contact with the laughing woman, his breath caught in his throat. Of course , how could he forget the warmest smile he’d ever witnessed? It was like bathing under early-summer sunlight, like the day Lucy dragged the three of them on an impromptu picnic. The half grin exploded into one of his trademark full-blown expressions, and he found himself stalking across the room.
Lucy felt her heartbeat quicken when she noticed the new expression on his face as he headed towards her and Happy. He seemed intent, driven, but by what, she almost didn’t want to know. The young woman gulped, suddenly feeling that her throat had become extremely dry.
“Natsu, these are my favorite. What’s the occasion?” she asked, in a voice that sounded too loud and pitchy, even to her. Truthfully, roses had been her favorite growing up. But one mission, the whole team had passed through a huge field of daisies. They had been walking all day at Natsu’s adamant refusal to ride on a train, and she was starting to feel the journey wearing away at her feet. Before she could open her mouth to complain, Natsu popped up in front of her with a handful of daisies and an excited “Look Luce! They’re yellow like your hair!” and who could be mad at that?
A couple weeks later, during a particularly boring afternoon at the Fairy Tail bar counter, he asked about her favorite flower and she was saying “daisies” faster than she could process the question.
Natsu shrugged nonchalantly, but Happy, with a knowing smirk, noticed the pink tinge that ran across his cheeks. “No reason, I just saw some on our way over today.”
“Please tell me you didn’t steal these from some poor person’s front yard,” Lucy mumbled as she grabbed her keys, fastening to her belt. So it was purely a spur-of-the-moment decision. She didn’t want to know why that realization made her heart clench the way it did. “Actually, don’t tell me if that’s true. Let’s just head to the guild. I bet you guys are hungry.”
“Yosh, let’s go!” The pink-haired boy cheered and headed out the door. The Exceed sprouted wings, following after his best friend. Lucy made sure the front door was locked behind her and followed her boys to the guild. She was sure there’d be a smile permanently etched onto her face for the rest of the day, thanks to Natsu’s nice little surprise. Of course, she had to remind herself that it was a platonic gesture, but still a sweet gesture nonetheless.
The thing to know about someone like Natsu is that, on the rare occasion of him actually doing something thoughtful, there’s an even rarer chance that he does so with any underlying intentions. No matter how much she sometimes wishes there to be. There’s no denying that Natsu’s attractive, being his best friend doesn’t prevent Lucy from noticing that. And every once in a while, she’s even found herself looking at him in a more affectionate light. They are, after all, extremely close. But as someone who knows Natsu the way she does, she also knows it’s a major waste of time to expect anything from him in the love department. Her mind has long since given up whatever little crush she might have had on him over the years. Her heart is another story.
But whatever little bit of her that thought she might love him was still smaller than the bit that feared losing him as her best friend in case he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Or worse, in case they do date, but still don’t work out in the end. It was safer, Lucy had concluded, to remain friends for now.
— — —
By the end of the week, Lucy was practically buzzing with nervous energy.
Natsu had been…touching her more than normal. Not even in inappropriate ways, as he sometimes had a tendency to do. But just an arm slung across her shoulders, a knee bumping into hers when they sat together, grabbing her hands—and lacing them together—when he needed to lead her somewhere. Just earlier, he put his warmer-than-an-average-person hand on her knee and she all but jumped out of her seat before running to hide in the bathroom where she’s been for half an hour, collecting her thoughts.
If her other guildmates hadn’t confronted her about it too, the poor girl would have considered herself halfway down the path to insanity.
Mirajane caught them the most. The first time, they had been chatting at the bar before Natsu very rudely and loudly interrupted them with a new mission he wanted to take. Lucy had half a mind to chastise him when he casually threw his arm around her shoulders, and her mind went blank. She was certain there was even a little squeeze on her opposite shoulder, like he was pulling her closer. Mira shot her the usual smirk and knowing look, asking almost telepathically, as she had verbally many times in the past, if there had been something secretly going on between the two. Lucy’s face merely turned bright red as she vehemently shook her head.
The last straw for the she-devil barmaid was at the same bar counter. Mira was at the other end of the bar, taking someone’s order while Lucy was trying to enjoy her daily strawberry milkshake. She had been nursing a headache all morning. Natsu had stayed over way too late again last night, and woke her up way too early this morning to walk to the guild together, which they had been doing every morning lately. She had finally managed to find some peace when he started yet another argument with Gray at the opposite side of the building.
The tranquility, however, was short lived, as the sound of rapid footsteps became louder and louder in her ears. Sighing, she dropped her forehead onto the bar counter, which was cooler now thanks to her frosty drink.
“Luce! Why’re you always drinking the same thing?”
The blonde started mumbling a response, but the words died in her throat. She felt, all at once, two very warm arms wrapped around her waist, one very hard chest pressed against her back, and a very familiar head darting over her right shoulder to steal a sip of her drink.
“Natsu! What in the world—”
“Aaah! Why is it so cold!”
“It’s a milkshake you dumbass! My milkshake!!”
Her attention piqued by the commotion, the silver-haired barmaid’s head snapped towards the bickering pair. She was right in front of them in record time.
“Lucy, would you please come see me in a minute?” Despite the saccharine tone, Lucy knew from experience that she should be looking forward to anything but that. And only under Mira’s burning gaze did she realize the two very very warm arms were still locked around her waist, even if the head had relocated to resting right on her shoulder.
“What’s her deal?” The words spoken right beside her tickled her ear, and she tried not to squirm at the sensation of hot air right by her face. It didn’t help that her face felt bright red at this point too.
“What’s yours? Why’d you just do that?!” Lucy spun around, pushing away—a bit reluctantly—the source of warmth. “Mira-san definitely misinterpreted that. She’s going to kill me. She’ll make me do the dishes for a month for not telling her sooner. She’s going to lock me in a dark room and tie me to a chair and—”
“I don’t see what’s so bad about telling her,” Natsu grumbled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, but the poor girl in front of him had already devolved into wide-eyed murmuring. She wandered away absently, followed first by a delighted Mirajane, and almost second by a curious Natsu, if a spare icicle hadn’t hit him first.
“Ice brain! I’m gonna get you back for that!”
“I wasn’t even aiming for you, hothead! Go away!”
“No way! I’m involved now!”
Tucked away into the kitchen, Mira pushed the door shut against the budding clamor outside.
“Lucyyyy,” the takeover mage sang. “Spill. Now.”
“There’s nothing to say!” Lucy squeaked. “I swear, I’m just as surprised as you are!” It was a one hundred percent truthful statement, but the blonde still felt herself buckling under the intense gaze. “I-I mean, some weird things happened earlier this week, but that’s it. I promise!”
“What kinds of weird things?” Mira cocked her head to the side in interest.
“Like, we got dinner the other day, and it’s not like we don’t do that all the time, but I could’ve sworn, and maybe I’m just being silly, but it really, really, felt like … a date.”
Mira’s eyes were the size of saucers. Lucy would know, there was a stack for reference on the counter right next to her. She didn’t make any sounds except a small, strangled noise, and the young woman in front of her was worried she had gone catatonic when, in a flash, she surged forward and grabbed the blonde’s arms, a shriek finally forcing its way out of her throat.
“A date!” She exclaimed, while Lucy felt her lower arms already start to tingle from the blood loss.
“It wasn’t actually a date, just kind of felt like one.” The blonde strained against the strong grip, not wanting to lose her limbs just yet.
“My goodness, a date!” The barmaid cooed, clasped hands pressed against her cheek and twirling in place with a dream-like expression. At the mere mention of the word, Mirajane had already stopped listening to the protests of their resident celestial mage. Before Lucy could even try to begin clearing things up, another patron called for Mira at the bar, and the older woman twirled away.
Lucy eventually found herself back at a table with Happy, Natsu, and Gray. The latter two guild mates had finally settled down after their brawl, but were still shooting daggers at each other. Happy was nibbling on a fish and discussing to no one in particular what his next steps to wooing Carla would be, now that she finally accepted a fish from him. Lucy plopped down on the bench next to Natsu, and stretched her entire upper half across the table, sighing heavily.
Three pairs of eyes shifted to her resigned form, and she could feel a tiny paw patting her head comfortingly. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to clear this up with Mira.” She mumbled.
“Oh, did you finally tell her we’re dating?” Natsu asked nonchalantly, turning his full body towards her now.
“No, no, just that it felt like—” Wait. She stiffened, and even Happy’s paw stilled when he noticed her reaction. “What did you just say? Just now?”
“You finally told Mira right? I’m surprised it took so long, I thought you would have told her immediately. Actually, scratch that. I assumed you would have told Levy first, of course, then maybe Juvia, just so she’d stop being mad at you all the time, then maybe Erza, since she’s—mmph!”
“Shut up.” The blonde groaned, one hand covering the mouth of the talkative dragonslayer beside her, the other massaging her temple. “ Please shut up. What in the world are you talking about? Since when have we been dating?”
Natsu’s head cocked to the side in his typical puppy-dog manner, which Lucy would’ve found endearing if not for the physical and mental hell she was currently going through.
“Remember? It was right before we went to that restaurant that you wouldn’t stop blabbing about. We went on that mission without Happy just so I could ask you. And then I did it at the…it was at the…oh.” He smiled sheepishly, trying to do anything he remembered Lucy ever said was cute in all the years they’ve known each other. The blonde beauty in front of him stared back blankly. His rival across the table was slowly lowering his face onto tented fingertips, already seeing the direction this was taking and pitying the woman in front of him. “Well, don’t be mad now, but I just realized I never actually asked you out first.”
Incredulous, Lucy had to take two full laps around the entire guild hall before she could even return to the conversation.