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Stray drops fall here and there, a warning from the thick gray clouds above to seek shelter. The dreary day does not hamper Natsu’s good spirits, however; it is but an invitation to spend a cozy day inside with his favorite person. Contained within a bag slung over his shoulder is an assortment of fresh vegetables, as well as some fish he’d caught just that morning. He plans to commandeer Lucy’s kitchen and whip up some fish stew for them to enjoy together. The dragon slayer grins to himself, bounding up the cobblestone path toward the rear window of the familiar apartment. He stops short when he hears Lucy’s voice from within.
“—am I supposed to do, Mom? I can’t get the idea out of my head, no matter how hard I try.”
The vulnerable timbre of her voice catches Natsu off guard. He leans forward just enough to peer through the open window and finds Lucy sitting on the edge of her bed, back to the window, clutching the framed photo of her mother that she always keeps on her bookshelf.
“It’s stupid, right? I mean, we’re friends. And guild mates. If he were interested in me, you know…romantically, wouldn’t he have said so by now? Or shown it in some way? I mean, he’s seen me in some pretty hot outfits. And he’s had plenty of opportunities to…I don’t know. Make a move? I guess I probably shut him down a lot in the beginning. I had no idea how I would wind up feeling about him. Is it possible I shut him down too much, and he moved on from the possibility of being in a relationship with me?”
Natsu’s hand tightens around the strap on his shoulder. Lucy has a crush on someone in Fairy Tail? An uncomfortable feeling settles in his stomach. He’s not quite sure what causes it—maybe the fact that he and Lucy share everything with each other, but she had not once breathed a word of this to him.
The rain begins to fall a little more steadily.
“Who knows. Maybe he’s interested in someone else? Or maybe he’s not into the idea at all. Either way, I can’t talk to him about it. I don’t want to mess up our friendship. There’s no way he feels the same way about me as I feel about him. Can you imagine if he knew I liked him?”
Natsu knows he shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but his limbs keep him frozen in place. If he listens just a little longer, maybe he will learn who this wizard is that she has a crush on. He’s not sure what he’ll do with that information, but it’s a start, anyway. He has a sudden intense urge to uncover this secret of hers.
“No, I’ve gotta keep this to myself. It’s better this way. His feelings won’t change.” She pauses, and Natsu watches her clutch the frame against her chest. “But…I don’t think mine will, either. How do I…what do I do, Mom? Won’t it hurt to keep up the pretense of a friendship, when deep down, I want something more?” She heaves something between a groan and a sigh. “Gods…why did I have to fall for Natsu?”
The dragon slayer blinks. …M-Me? ME?!
The sack of ingredients falls to the wet path, forgotten in light of this revelation. Natsu has only one objective as he clambers across the windowsill and plops down atop Lucy’s bed. The celestial wizard shrieks at his abrupt and unexpected appearance and flings herself to the floor, but Natsu stares at her with furrowed brow and all the solemnity he can muster.
“I wanna make sure I heard you right,” he says; “you did say my name, right?”
Her face is crimson. “Wh-What are you doing here?!” she sputters. “W-Were you…listening to me just now?”
Natsu leans over the side of the bed, palms pressed into its edge, and continues to lock his gaze upon her face, studying every tiny shift in her expression. “Let me get this straight: you like me, but you think I don’t like you?”
Lucy opens and closes her mouth like a fish, but no words come out. Her face seems to be growing redder by the second, and her eyes shift to the side.
Natsu’s heart begins to pound in his chest. So he had heard her right. The fire wizard slides off the bed to meet her on the floor. Lucy hides her face behind her hands, but Natsu reaches up and takes them in his own. “Lucy…” he begins, but he’s unsure of what to say. Maybe that’s just the thing. Maybe it isn’t words he needs to convince her she’s wrong.
Giving her hands a tight squeeze, his heart now racing uncontrollably and his stomach in knots, Natsu leans forward and presses a kiss into her lips. She doesn’t recoil, or slap him, or tell him off. She merely flinches then leans into the gesture.
When he pulls back, she is staring at him with wide, glossy eyes. For a long moment they stare into each other’s eyes, each of them at a complete loss for words. The rain outside falls steadily now, a gentle and encouraging soundtrack to their unanticipated but mutual confession. At last, a smile breaks across Lucy’s lips, then Natsu’s.
They share a giggle.