Chapter Text
🔭: Lesson 1
“Teacher, Teacher!” A student rushed up to her, “How hot does the sun get?”
She smiled, and shifted the stack of papers in her arms, “That’s on the exam that you’re taking in two minutes, did you forget to study?”
“But Teacher, your exams are so hard!”
“Then maybe you should study more.” She opened the door to the classroom, “Now go sit down.” She placed her papers onto the podium, and clapped her hands together, “Alright everyone, put your books away! Nothing should be on your desks except for a number two pencil!” She paced around the front of the room, “Ey, these desks should be parallel lines, scoot your desk closer in the back, Siwon! Everything off the table Graycen! No food in the classrooms, Bridget. Astuko, do you have a number two pencil? Mechanical pencils aren’t accepted in these exams!”
She took a deep breath, as the bell rang, and all of the students were ready to take her exam. She took a deep breath, and passed out the papers, “Don’t turn them over until I say so.” She observed the classroom, making sure that all of the students received the exam paper. She sighed, “Alright, begin.” She looked down at her watch. This was her last exam of the day, and her last class of the day. It was a Friday, so she was getting off early, too. She had a hair appointment in the city, and she wasn’t going to miss it.
Five minutes before the bell rang signalling the end of class, she clapped her hands together, “Times up! Turn in what you have, remember guys, it’s always best never to leave anything unanswered.”
The students were very audibly grumbling about the complexity of her exams, and one student whined in front of her as they turned in their paper, about how she should make it easier next time. She smiled, and shook her head. She was going to be doing a lot of grading this weekend, so that she could put their grades in the system before Monday. She placed the stack of exam papers on her desk in the teachers room, and collapsed onto her chair.
“Don’t you have a hair appointment today?” the teacher who had a desk right next to hers whispered.
“Yeah, I do, Levy,” She groaned, “But every time I make the exam a little bit easier for them, and they do even worse than before.”
“Maybe they need some motivation. What’s the next subject?”
“Well, we’re going to be talking about combustion.” She sighed.
“Oh, that’s hard.”
She groaned, “I know, and these students are going to be the death of me.”
Levy sighed, “Maybe you could do something to help them remember it easier. Like an activity, event, or special guest.”
“I’ve tried activities, and I even took them to a planetarium when we were studying the constellations in the solar system, but it doesn’t seem to help at all.”
“And what about a special guest?” Levy asked, “My students liked it when I brought in a war veteran who shared stories from the war. They did much better on my exams this time.”
“A special guest?” Lucy muttered, “I don’t know any scientists who would be able to help make astronomy easier for the students.”
“But you’re talking about fire next, right?” Levy asked, “Didn’t you say that you knew someone who researches that stuff?”
Lucy’s eyes widened, “Oh, you’re right! I’ll have to ask him about it, though, to make sure he’s not busy himself, before I put the request in.”
“I’m sure it’ll help the students.”
“I hope you’re right.” She clapped her hands together, “Alright, I’ve got a new mission for the weekend!”
🔭🔭🔭
Her bag was heavy with the papers she still had to grade, but her head was lighter now. She took a deep breath, feeling the wind blowing through her freshly cut and styled hair. She wanted to do some serious relaxing, but she had a few things that she had to make sure to do before she was able to enjoy herself like that. Still, she wasn’t going to go home right away and work on grading these exams. No, she wanted to delay doing that for a little bit longer. She made her way to the cafe near where she lived, and inhaled the smell of freshly ground coffee that this small little local cafe was well known for.
“Lucy?” She heard a voice next to her, and looked over.
“Oh, just the person I was planning to see this weekend!” She exclaimed, before looking at the table he was at, and noticing a jacket on the chair he wasn’t sitting at, “Are you here with someone?”
He nodded, “Yeah, Juvia.”
“Juvia?”
He nodded.
“Juvia?” She repeated.
He nodded.
“The very same Juvia that you say fan girls like crazy over that ice skater even when she’s on the clock?”
He nodded.
“Are you… on a date?”
He laughed, “A date? With Juvia?”
She meekly nodded, was that too far fetched to ask?
He shook his head, “That’s hilarious! Hey, Juvia!” He called, earning some looks from the two other people in the cafe, and also the woman who was making her way back over to the table with a tray of two drinks and eight pastries.
“Yes?” The woman asked, putting the tray down on the table.
“Lucy thought you and I were on a date!”
Juvia looked absolutely disgusted the second he said that. She looked over to Lucy, “You think that Juvia would go and be with someone like him, when my beautiful darling Gray exists?”
She blinked, “Ah, well, it's just…”
She shook her head, “Yes, Juvia is beautiful, and strong, but my heart is only reserved for my darling Gray!”
“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to offend you.” She muttered, and leaned down to whisper in Natsu’s ear as the woman continued to rant off why she was saving herself for this Gray person loud enough for everyone in the cafe, including the baristas, to hear. “Why is she speaking in third person?”
He shrugged in response, pulling on her arm to get her to sit in the other empty chair at the table, “She just does that, don’t think too deeply about it.”
“I see…”
“So,” he stated, picking up one of the pastries and putting on a napkin in front of her, “Why were you planning on seeing me this weekend?”
She hummed to herself for a second, before putting her bag down, “I have something I want to ask you, but let me order something first.”
“Something you want to ask me?” he asked, watching as she got back up from the chair, “What is it?”
“Let me order first, Natsu.” She sighed, and made her way to the counter. She was greatly relieved that Natsu wasn’t on a date with Juvia. Her heart had sunk in her chest for a second when she had momentarily thought that could be the case. She looked up at the menu.
Honestly, the bigger issue that was plaguing her mind was if she could convince Natsu to come in the first place. He was one of the best in his field, and had his own private laboratory, too. However, he would often complain to her about this Juvia person on occasion, usually having to do with this famous ice skater named Gray, because he would often work with the fire department, especially since there was an influx of fires around the area. She sat back down at the table, with her coffee in front of her, sipping on it on occasion as she tried to bring up the topic.
“No, I’m telling you, Juvia, Gray would absolutely hate it if you showed up to your date wearing that.” Natsu stated, matter-of-factly.
“Why?” Juvia asked, “It shows just how much Juvia loves him.”
Natsu shook his head, and gestured to the picture, “I don’t think he would like it if you showed up wearing his face. That’s all I’m saying.”
Juvia shook her head, “Why did Juvia ask you for advice?”
Natsu shrugged, “Don’t ask me, you’re the one who bombarded me on my way out of the station asking me if I knew Gray personally.”
“And you do!” Juvia exclaimed, “You’re the only one Juvia has met who does!”
He nodded, “And that’s why I’m saying that showing up to a date decked in his fan merch is a bad idea.”
She frowned, “But Juvia wants to show him how much Juvia loves him.”
He nodded, before sighing, “How’d you even get a date with him anyway?”
Juvia smiled, and put her phone down, before grabbing both of Natsu’s hands, effectively stopping him from eating another pastry, “That’s where you come in.”
“Me?” He asked, “Why?”
“You’re going to set up the date for Juvia!”
Natsu very audibly gasped, and his jaw dropped open. Juvia didn’t seem to notice at all, because she let go of his hands, and continued to look through the pictures on her phone, humming to herself, as if she was trying to decide something else to wear instead of what she was going to wear.
“You okay?” Lucy asked, waving a hand in front of his face.
He blinked, and slammed his hands on the table, “You mean to tell me that you don’t even have a date yet?”
“Yet.” Juvia nodded, “Juvia doesn’t have a date yet. You’re going to set it up for Juvia.”
He groaned, “Why should I?”
Juvia frowned, “Do you have something else planned this weekend?”
He sighed, “No… I… Ah!” He snapped his attention over to Lucy, “You said you wanted to see me this weekend, why?”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s anything so important to get you out of planning a blind date…” she muttered.
“See!” Juvia exclaimed, “So, set Juvia up with my darling Gray!”
He groaned, “I don’t want to.”
“Please! Juvia will set you up with someone, too!”
Lucy’s eyes widened as she stared down at her drink. Set him up with someone? So… he would end up going on a blind date, too? She didn't exactly like how-
“What?” Natsu asked, “When did I ask for that?”
Juvia sighed, and twirled her straw around in her beverage, “Seriously, Natsu, you seriously need to get out of your lab more often. You’re never gonna get a girl if you keep showing up to the station with grime all over you.”
He rolled his eyes, “Like you guys over there are much better?”
Juvia smirked triumphantly, “Juvia will have you know, that Juvia always makes sure to keep her hygiene at it’s finest for my darling Gray!”
“You’ve never even met him in person before.” Natsu grumbled.
“That’s where you’re wrong! Juvia has!” She clasped her hands together, “It was like fate! Juvia had been running late when getting drinks for the team, when Juvia was still new, and forgot the station’s card! When my darling Gray swooped in, like a knight in shining armor, and paid for all ten of those rugged firemen’s drinks for Juvia!”
Lucy noticed Natsu had the most deadpan face at Juvia’s extravagant story. She held back a laugh.
“And then, my darling Gray said to Juvia, ‘Oh, what a beautiful woman you are! Let’s get married on the spot!’”
He burst out laughing, “For sure! Take that ice princess off my back for me, Juvia!”
Juvia pouted, “You don’t believe Juvia?”
He shook his head, “Nah, nah, of course I do, continue.”
She turned away from him, “So maybe he didn’t propose to Juvia, but he really did pay for the firemen’s drinks.”
Natsu nodded, “Absolutely he did.”
Juvia sighed, “So, let Juvia set you up on a blind date, too! As thanks for setting Juvia up with Gray!”
Natsu laughed, “Okay, fine, fine, I’ll set you up on that blind date, but I don’t-”
“Natsu’s actually really busy this weekend!” Lucy exclaimed, gripping her drink tightly.
“He is?” Juvia asked, “Are you?”
He blinked, “I am?”
Lucy nodded, “Yes, you are. You agreed to help me out with something for my students.”
“I did?” Natsu asked.
“Yes, you did, how could you forget?”
He looked over to Juvia before back at Lucy, “I wouldn’t have forgotten something you wanted me to do, Lucy, I-”
She reached over and slapped his shoulder, for being a guy stuck in his lab all of the time, he sure didn’t have the stereotypical build for it, she wrung her wrist, “You’ve always been so forgetful, Natsu.”
He looked over to her again, before back at Juvia, he sighed, “I guess I’m busy this weekend.”
Juvia frowned, “I guess I can wait until next weekend, then.”
“Okay.” Natsu replied, “So, what are you planning to do for-”
“Natsu’s busy next weekend, too!” Lucy exclaimed.
Natsu looked over at her, “I am?”
She nodded.
“When did I get so busy?” he asked.
Juvia hummed to herself, before leaning forward, she had this weird smile on her face, “But Juvia wanted to set him up on a blind date next weekend, Juvia guesses she’ll have to set it up for the weekend after that. You’re not busy then, right, Natsu?”
“The week after what?” He asked, and started putting fingers down on his hands as if trying to count it.
“He’s actually busy, then, too.” Lucy muttered.
Natsu snapped his attention over to her, “What? I am? Lucy, I’m not that busy! Yeah, sure, I’m looking into things for Pegasus Origin’s spacecrafts, for Quatro Appliances, and for the government, but I’m not that busy, I have free time on the weekends.”
She frowned, “You won’t anymore.”
“What?” He blinked, and looked over to Juvia, before back to Lucy, “I won’t?”
She nodded.
Juvia hummed again, and Lucy really didn’t like that smirk on her lips, “Why won’t Natsu have time on the weekends?”
Lucy folded her arms across her chest, “Because he’s agreed to be a guest teacher at my school.”
“I have?” Natsu exclaimed, with wide eyes.