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Natsu sighed in frustration at the fact that he was stuck closing on a Friday. The cafe stayed open till late during the summer months, going into autumn. The amount of weirdos that came in for like a late night coffee was mind boggling. He hated them all. Every single one of them that came in was annoying.
But still, he couldn’t complain too much. He was doing a double shift today so that he could have 3 days off next week. He had some pretty important plans. He was still riding out on the high that he had seen his weather girl all week in the morning. She came in like clockwork and Natsu couldn’t help but think she was the best thing to happen since sliced bread. She was so cute and sweet.
He sighed wistfully, remembering how she had texted him that same day and he was glad to know that she was attracted to him just as much as he was attracted to her. She was the first person he had ever given his number like that out to. Gray had done it the year before to some blonde girl called Lucy and they were still going strong. Natsu wondered if that would be him and Juvia.
As he swept and mopped the floor, he couldn’t get her face out of his head. Her blue hair was electrifying and it fell down her back in gorgeous waves like the ocean. She had cat shaped eyes that were sapphire blue as they expressed every single emotion that ran through them. They spoke briefly in the mornings, texted each other whenever they had time and it was a cute little set up. Natsu liked it. It had only been a week and he decided that he liked her.
The door opened and Natsu cursed himself for not locking the door, although there was a sign on it to say that they were closed. As he turned around to let the dickhead know that they should fucking read a sign before they step into an establishment , his eyes went wide with joy when he saw who was standing right there.
It was Juvia Lockser, that’s who. She was smiling shyly at him as her eyes mirrored the way he was looking at her. She jabbed her thumb behind her, pointing at the door without looking at it. He swore at himself for thinking to be rude to her.
“Juvia knows that the sign says closed, but she saw you in here and...yeah...”
Natsu couldn’t help himself as laughed at how cute she was being. He also couldn’t help the way his heart felt when he realised that she was there for him. She looked really good with that blush that decorated her cheeks and Natsu decided to make it a hobby to get her to blush.
“I mean, usually I would have to ask you to leave, but I guess I can make an exception for you, weather girl.”
He gave her his best wink and he enjoyed how happy she seemed to be whenever he did that. She looked extremely cute with that blush on her face. A blush that he caused. He beckoned her over to the counter. “Do you want anything?”
“Oh no, Juvia couldn’t! You would have just cleaned it, right?”
“Nah, it’s no big deal, I can clean it again.”
Juvia shook her head, pouting as she did so. Natsu couldn’t help but give in. Who the hell could say no to a face like that? He sighed with a smile on his face and then shrugged.
“Okay, I get it, no hot drinks. What about cold drinks? You want any water, juice?”
“Can I get the elderflower canned drink, please?”
“Sure.”
Natsu left her where she was standing and headed into the back. He couldn’t help the smile that stayed on his face when he realised that Juvia had just come in to see him. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was past 9. It was barely late, but it was definitely late for Juvia to be passing by at this time of the day. Summer was nearly ending, but the air was still very warm. The sun had only sunk about 30 minutes ago.
He came back out with two cans, one for Juvia and one for himself and they both laughed as they toasted together. Natsu couldn’t help himself as he watched the way Juvia brought the can up to her lips and took a delicate sip. She tipped the can back and his eyes moved down to where her neck was and he wanted to do nothing more than give her butterfly kisses up and down it. He had to look away and he took a big gulp of his own drink.
“Hmm, that’s really refreshing, Juvia likes it!”
Her eyes were twinkling as she looked at him and Natsu couldn’t help but blush as he nodded his head, entranced by her beauty. He almost swore at himself for being so obvious, but could anyone blame him? Juvia was a really pretty girl and as much as he had been in the presence of many pretty girls and was even friends with a lot of them, Juvia was the first one that he really liked.
“So what are you doing out so late? Don’t you have that swimming meet that you’re preparing the swim team for tomorrow?”
Juvia looked surprised that he had remembered and Natsu looked smug. Of course he remembered, it was Juvia that was talking. It was like listening to an angel sing.
“Yes, Juvia does. Juvia is very surprised that Natsu remembered.”
He smirked. “Of course I did, I always listen when you talk.”
He watched her skin bloom a delicious cherry blossom colour as he grinned at her reaction. He really hoped he wasn’t coming off too strong or that she was going to turn around and tell him that she actually had a boyfriend and that she would rather just stay as friends. Still, he couldn’t help himself whenever he was in Juvia’s presence.
“O-oh, that’s really nice of you to say.”
By the way she was looking down with a shy smile on her lips, Natsu could tell that she wasn’t really used to compliments. No matter, he was going to be the one to shower her in those compliments then.
“B-but, Natsu is right, Juvia is setting up for the meet tomorrow. Juvia went out with a few of the teachers. They were all really nice, so we went to the local pub and stuff. Juvia left early as she needed to get some sleep and get ready. It must be the little alcohol in Juvia’s system that gave her the courage to come in here when she saw you...”
She trailed off, her eyes widening slightly when she realised what she had just said. Natsu had finished sweeping and was about to start with the mopping when he froze at Juvia’s words. His heart started racing, the organ wanting to pump its way out of his ribcage. He felt the tips of his ears burn red as he repeated Juvia’s words over and over again in her head.
“O-oh really? You wanted to talk to me?”
Now it was his turn to stutter as he watched Juvia nod her head with flushed cheeks. “Y-yes. Juvia feels like our talk in the mornings and the texts we send each other aren’t enough for Juvia.”
“Fuck me, is she coming onto me? So she feels the same way, that’s great!”
Natsu chuckled and then grinned at her. “Well then, that makes me feel a lot better about the question I’m about to ask you. Are you free next Friday? After school? Like in the evening? And maybe you have no swimming meet the following day?”
Juvia was clearly about to respond, but her jaw just hung open instead, as if she couldn’t believe that Natsu was asking her out on a date. Natsu himself couldn’t believe it either, but he was glad that he finally worked up the courage to ask her out. It’s why he did the double shift this week so that he could have an extra day off to take Juvia out.
“J-Juvia is most definitely free! Ah wait, that sounded desperately happy-wait!”
Natsu couldn’t help himself as he burst out laughing and mumbled how she was cute as Juvia just tried to hide her face away from him. He had never met a girl excited about him asking them out. So this is what it feels like to like someone and they like you back. That had never happened to him before.
“You’re cute,” Natsu said simply. He watched as her face went bright red from his words. His grin grew wider as he threw his empty can into the bin. “Don’t worry, I’m desperately happy that you said yes. I did a double shift today which is why you saw me this morning and also now. I wanted to have my Friday free and get 3 days off so that I could take you out.”
Juvia giggled a little bit as she moved her face closer to his. “Hmm, you’re very cocky if you believe that Juvia was going to say yes.”
Natsu pouted. “So you’re going to say no?”
Juvia smiled at him and he was almost knocked off of his feet at how gorgeous she was. He knew this was his karma for calling Gray a simp every time he was tongue tied whenever Lucy spoke to him. Here he was, simping after Juvia and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“No, Juvia is definitely saying yes. Does Juvia have to dress a certain way? Fancy or casual?”
Natsu smirked. “Dress smart casual I guess. What time’s good for you? I dunno what time you finish on a Friday? I can pick you up at say 7?”
He watched the way she tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked up at him through her eyelashes. She had a shy smile on those perfectly plump pink lips of hers as she nodded her head. How was he so lucky right now?
“Also, if you’re not in any rush right now...Do you want me to walk you home when I’m done here? I wouldn’t mind.”
“J-Juvia would love that.”
Just from those words alone, Natsu was doing his best to be quick with his cleaning. He checked that everything that needed to be off was off and that everything was in the right place. He fumbled around for the keys to lock up and Juvia giggled as he did so. He smirked as he got the place locked up and they started walking together.
“So how’s it been, working at Fairy Academy?”
“It’s been really cool! Juvia is just a swimming coach, so she has a lot of free time compared to a lot of the other teachers. Everyone in the sports department has been really nice so far. Although, there is one scary person.”
Natsu snorted. “Let me guess, Mira? She was a couple of years older than me and she’s the head of PE. She’s a terrifying woman, especially when rubbed the wrong way. Her and Erza don’t really get along, but never try to break up one of their fights if you see them fighting. You’ll get yourself killed.”
He watched as Juvia shivered and nodded. “Juvia will definitely take your advice. That woman...she’s nice enough, but she’s almost militant. Juvia feels sorry for the kids half of the time. Still, it’s been really fun working there. What about you? Do you like working at the coffee shop?”
Natsu laughed. “Fuck no! I hate working in general! I only got this gig at the coffee shop because Erza’s one of my best friends. Her mum owned this place, but she’s kinda ill right now, so she passed it onto Erza the moment she graduated from university and I guess she just gave me a job here. I’m grateful, but I also hate it. Not because it’s a coffee shop, I just hate working.”
Natsu watched Juvia cover her mouth with her hand and tittered, finding his reaction hilarious. Natsu himself grinned at the idea of making her laugh, even if he was being deadly serious. Just watching the way that her eyes lit up all because of him made him feel some type of way.
They continued their walk in a bit of silence, enjoying the last of the summer breeze before autumn would kick in. Juvia then spoke up.
“So what does Natsu’s Friday nights usually consist of?”
He shrugged. “Not much really, I’m a pretty chill guy. I’m usually playing video games or something. I go out whenever I’m invited to go out, but I’ll never ask people to go clubbing. I mean, next week, I’ll be going out with this really cute girl, so maybe if we both enjoy it, we can make it a regular thing.”
He watched as Juvia blinked up at him, trying to make out what he was talking about before she blushed and ducked her head when she got it. He chuckled slightly as his cheeks were practically killing him from how much he had been smiling since Juvia stepped into the cafe.
“N-Natsu! Stop saying things like that!”
He laughed and shook his head. “No can do, weather girl! C’mon, I know you like it really. I know I like you .”
And it was true. It wasn’t like he was confessing how much he loved her, he was just talking about how much he really liked her. He hadn’t felt this way about anyone in a very long time. The longest relationship he had was only 1 year and even then, it was mostly because the girl liked him and asked him out. He felt bad saying no, so he said yes in hopes of falling in love with her eventually. It never happened. Now, he was in front of a girl who he really liked and wouldn’t mind going on many dates with.
Juvia looked up at him and she stared into his eyes as if trying to find a lie in there. He gave her a reassuring smile that he wasn’t and she ducked her head out of embarrassment. Natsu just chuckled as she led the way. She didn’t live too far away, which was probably why she came to visit the coffee shop every morning. It was on her way to work anyway.
“So what made you come by the coffee shop that morning?”
“Ano, Juvia had just moved in over the weekend and was procrastinating in getting certain things out of their boxes and the coffee machine was one of them. Juvia decided to come by only once, but when she saw Natsu...Well, here we are.”
Natsu’s heart thumped in his chest as she implied that she fobbed off the cheapest way to make and have coffee all because he was there.
“Holy shit, God is real. Or maybe I did something super amazing in my past life, because what the fuck did I do to deserve this girl?”
“You sure know how to make a man feel good about himself. I know Erza would put me on every shift in the world if it really was my face that could keep customers. Still, you’re the only customer I would really need.”
He stood close to her and he heard her breath hitch as she stared up at him with wonder in her eyes. He had to remember to slow down. They had a date next week and then he would probably get the opportunity to kiss her then if things go well.
“Th-this is Juvia.”
Natsu turned his head slightly and almost laughed. “Ah, you live here? I know this is where Gray’s girlfriend lives and they met the exact same way that we did. That’s funny. But I should probably let you head up, you’ve got a busy day ahead of you tomorrow.”
He watched as her hair bounced while she nodded. “Juvia thanks Natsu for walking her home, it was really sweet of you. Juvia will see you on Monday?”
Natsu nodded with a toothy grin that morphed into a bashful smile when he felt Juvia’s lips brushed against his cheek. He could smell her as her scent wrapped around his olfactory senses. He wanted to do nothing more than grab her waist and pull her in close to him. Still, the kiss had him frozen as she pulled away from him and shot him an endearing smile.
“Goodnight, Natsu. Please make sure that you get home safely.”
All he could do was nod his head dumbly and he mentally cursed himself. Did a simple cheek kiss really have him stunned like this? He hoped he wasn’t making a fool of himself, because he seemed so pathetic right now. Still, Juvia probably didn’t mind.
He watched as she made it safely into her building and she turned to wave at him. He waved back to her and she disappeared down the hallway and his right hand found his cheek, thinking about how soft her lips felt. He had been kissed by an angel. He couldn’t help the sheepish smile that crawled up on his lips.