43One-shot:
Seventeen-year-old Lucy Heartfilia is currently sprawled out on her bed, lying on her stomach. She is attempting to do her math homework, but is failing miserably at focusing on it. Her attention is somewhere else since she is texting her best friend.
Natsu: This homework is stupiddd :P
Lucy glances over at the open textbook and notebook. Then she looks back at her phone to reply.
Lucy: I think so, too…
Natsu: When am I ever gonna use this math in real life? D:
Natsu: I'd rather learn about something useful! Like taxes!
Lucy: Useful, yes. Boring to learn, probably.
Then she turns her attention to her math homework. "All right, I'll do one problem before texting again," she tells herself. So she picks up the pencil and gets to work.
Her phone goes off when Natsu texts her, but she resists checking it. She will stick by what she just told herself.
Halfway through the problem, Lucy realizes she wrote a wrong number down and groans. "I don't like math…" she mutters as she begins to erase her work.
Natsu texts her a second time, but she does not look at phone's lit up screen. She needs to focus.
By the time she solves the problem correctly, there are three texts from Natsu she needs to check. "What is with him?" Lucy asks herself as she opens them to read.
Natsu: Luce
Natsu: Luceee
Natsu: Hey, hey
A song comes to mind so Lucy goes with it. She types the next part of the lyrics.
Lucy: You, you
When Natsu replies, she smiles because he is keeping it going.
Natsu: I don't like your girlfriend
So she types what is next.
Lucy: No way, no way
Natsu: I think you need a new one
Lucy: Hey, hey
Natsu: You, you
Lucy: I could be your girlfriend
Natsu: Okay!
Confusion washes over her as she stares at the single word. Okay? That is not next for the lyrics. It should be–
Things finally click in place.
As her mind races with different thoughts, her face heats up. Her ears are burning and they might melt off. Her bedroom feels hotter, too. It is like the heat turned on even though it is a warm day outside.
Is this his way of asking her out? Does he want to date her? Like, become a couple date her?
Lucy's phones goes off, signaling another text from Natsu. Anticipation rises in her. She changes position and sits cross-legged before checking it.
Natsu: Luce? You still there?
She is taking too long to reply, and she knows it. "What am I even supposed to say back?" Lucy asks herself out loud, not doing a good job of remaining calm.
She yelps in surprise when Natsu's ringtone goes off, and it catches her off guard. She fumbles with her phone and drops it onto her bed. It lands face up, and she can see the assigned picture of Natsu on the screen. It is one of her favorite photos of just him that she updated weeks ago.
Natsu Dragneel might be a year older than her, but that is because he was held back a grade in middle school. He has pink spiky locks that are haphazardly placed and a cowlick that makes his bangs stick up in front. With a broad chest and fit build, he has tan skin and mesmerizing dark green eyes.
The photo had been taken by Lucy a few weeks ago while she and Natsu were goofing off. They took a day to get in one last summer hurrah before their senior year of high school began. The moment seemed picture perfect so Lucy took it. In the photo, Natsu is smiling from ear to ear at the camera while sitting at the bottom of a playground slide he had just gone down on. She can practically hear him laughing…
Snapping back to reality, Lucy grabs the sides of her face, managing not to pull at her blonde locks. "What do I do?" she screeches.
So she does a logical thing to do in this kind of scenario. She grabs a nearby pillow and smothers her phone, wanting to block out the ringtone.
She and Natsu have been friends since middle school. Sure, she has had a crush on him for a couple years now. However, she has not said a word to him or anyone else about it. She does not want to risk their friendship that they have. It means that much to her.
But because of what he did, Lucy feels all sorts of confused. Does he like her back? Or is he messing with her because one of the guys put him up to it? Maybe he is just messing with her because he wants to. But it does not seem like Natsu to play with her emotions like this…
Lucy bites her lip. What is she going to do?
An idea comes to her, and she rolls with it.
She tosses aside the pillow and grabs her now silent phone. She unlocks the password and shoots Natsu a quick text.
Lucy: Meet me at our spot!
Then she slips her phone into a back pocket of her jeans and clambers out of bed. She slips into the cute shoes she had been wearing earlier for school and dashes out of her bedroom. Her forgotten homework is left behind.
As she makes her way through the Heartfilia Manor she calls home, Lucy tries not focusing on the fact that her phone is still quiet. Natsu has yet to reply to her text. She knows he will pull through for her though.
"I'm going out for a bit!" Lucy announces as she grabs the key to her car from the key rack. She is quick to slip out the garage door and into the large garage. Her blue convertible Beetle is right where she left it and is all ready to go.
She presses the garage door opener on the wall before getting inside her car and starting it up. After putting on her seatbelt, she pulls out and makes her way down the long driveway. Lucy is already bubbling over with anticipation. The sooner she can talk to Natsu in person the better!
The Magnolia Woods Park is a tiny playground that is a halfway point between her home and where Natsu lives with his family. It became their designated meeting spot when they became close friends. It is not that far to walk, but driving will take less time.
Minutes later, Lucy pulls into a spot and parks her car, shutting off the engine. She takes a calming breath before stepping onto the pavement and shutting the door behind her. She heads over to the swing set and takes a seat.
The little park is tucked away in trees and a path connects to a bike trail. It features swings, a playground, and different slides. It might be basic, but it is still great.
"Everything will be all right," Lucy assures herself as she pumps her legs. "It is Natsu after all."
She looks over at the slide that is featured in Natsu's contact photo. She can remember that day perfectly. It is one of her recent favorite memories with him. Finishing the long day at this park had worked out in the end.
Time passes, and there is still no sign of Natsu. Feeling anxious, she slips out her phone to check it. There are no new notifications. Nothing at all from him.
Only now does Lucy realize that she may have jumped the gun. Perhaps she should have waited for him to respond before driving out to the park.
"I'm such an idiot," she groans, mentally kicking herself.
After putting her phone away, Lucy drags her feet along the ground to slow herself down. When she comes to a stop, she stands up and looks towards the car entrance of the park. Still nothing.
Suddenly, movement by the bike trail entrance catches her attention and she looks over. Much to her surprise, Natsu is sprinting from it and heading right for her.
"Natsu!" Lucy rushes over to him, slightly worried that something is wrong.
Rather than crashing into one another, they stop in front of each other. Natsu bends over, hands on his knees as he catches his breath.
"Why didn't you drive your car?" she asks.
"Bro has," he pants, not speaking properly. "Needed for thing."
"You could have mentioned you didn't have a ride here!" she explains.
"Running okay. Made it."
"Do you need water or anything?" She always keeps water bottles in her trunk for just in case reasons. "I can go grab you some."
He merely shakes his head, skipping using words for now.
Lucy lets him catch his breath before she takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. She did ask him to meet her here for a reason. "Natsu–"
He jolts up and grabs the sides of her arms with both of his hands. He looks her in the eye while he talks. "Are you okay? Is something wrong? Or bothering you?"
She opens her mouth to speak, but words do not come out. She is tongue tied.
His hopeful expression falls a little. "Look, if I said something that you didn't like–"
"Are you serious?" she blurts.
"About what?" he asks, tilting his head to one side.
"Do you want me to be your girlfriend?"
"If you wanna be my girlfriend…" he replies cautiously. "Only if you wanna…"
Lucy decides to really go out on a limb. "What if I want you to be my boyfriend?"
He perks up. "Do you?"
"What if I do?"
"Well, that'd make me… happy." His smile grows. "That'd make me really happy."
Her heart melts because of his expression. He seems really happy even about the idea. About a possibly reality he might have. One that will be possible because of her.
"C'mon, Luce!" Letting go of her arms, Natsu grabs her right hand with his left and pulls her towards the playground. He leads the way in climbing the stairs and walking across the mini bridge of planks. They come to a stop at the top of a double slide. "Here seems good!" Then he takes a seat, letting his feet hang down one of the slides.
Lucy sits down cross-legged next to him and rests her hands on her lap.
"Hey, do you remember when we were kids?" he asks randomly. "We were here when I kissed you because of a dare, and you pushed me down the slide."
She smiles at the fond memory. "I remember that."
He looks at her with a grin. "You're gonna remember this, too."
"Why's that?"
"Because I'm gonna kiss you not because of a dare." His grin grows. "I'm gonna kiss you because I really wanna."
Lucy's heart skips a beat because of his words. Butterflies begin to fill her stomach. Is he really going to… ?
She gets the beginning of an answer when Natsu starts leaning into her. She braces herself for the moment and her brown eyes flutter shut. She is more than ready this time.
Knowing he will not miss his intended target, Natsu follows suit and closes his eyes. He has waited for this moment for too long.
Their lips meet, finding the other pair to be warm and soft. Fireworks might not be going off, but some sparks are definitely happening. Natsu gingerly holds her head with a hand to keep her still and angles his head so the kiss can be better. The butterflies in Lucy's stomach are zooming around now. She is kissing her crush. And he had initiated the kiss in the first place!
The kiss is simple and sweet. Nothing too hot or wet. Nothing too complicated. When it is over, the duo pulls back and stares at each other.
"Wow…" Lucy breathes.
"That was waaay better than last time," he comments.
She giggles. "Oh, for sure."
Natsu lies down on his back and throws a fist into the air. "I just kissed my girlfriend!" he shouts.
She cannot stop the laughter from bubbling out of her. "You're such a weirdo," she says, stealing his word for her.
He flashes her a grin. "But I'm your weirdo!"
Lucy lies down next to him, her right arm touching his left one. "You sure are."
Natsu takes her hand and twines their fingers together. He gives her a little squeeze. "I'm happy."
"Me, too."
He turns his head to look at her. "Hey, Luce?"
"Hm?"
"Wanna know a secret?"
She looks at him. "Sure."
"Do you know who dared me to kiss you when we were kids?"
Lucy thinks for a moment. "Actually, I don't think so… My guess is Gray or Gajeel–"
He starts to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" she asks.
"Wrong!" He is acting like a child because he knows something that she does not.
She playfully rolls her eyes. "Then who?"
Natsu waits a moment for dramatic effect. "Me."
She blinks. "Huh?"
"I dared myself," he adds.
"What?"
"I dared myself to kiss you."
"You dared… yourself… to kiss me… ?" Lucy is still processing his words.
"I only had the courage to kiss you then because I dared myself," he admits.
Things click in place. "Oh…"
"Yeah." He chuckles some more. "But I guess I didn't make a good impression on you when I did."
"You surprised me," she reasons to defend herself. "I had no warning before you grabbed my face to plant one on me."
"So pushing me down a slide was a logical reaction?" he snorts.
She playfully bumps her shoulder into his. "Like I said, you surprised me."
He laughs. Lucy loves his love. She loves his smile, too. They are both precious to her. She loves seeing and hearing them. And to make things even better, not only is he her new boyfriend, but he is her oldest friend. She cannot ask for a better combination of the two. "Hey," she says to get his attention.
"Yeah?"
"Want to know a secret?"
Natsu gets a quick case of déjà vu. "Sure."
"I like you." It feels great to finally admit it out loud to him. She actually does feel relieved.
He grins from ear to ear. "I like you, too. A lot." He scoots over to kiss her forehead. "And I do hope that you like me since I'm your boyfriend."
She giggles. "My boyfriend, huh? I like the sound of that."
"But it doesn't sound as great as you being my girlfriend," he points out, being completely cheesy.
"I'm not sure about that," Lucy teases, and gasps when she realizes something. "We're dating!"
He blinks at her. "Um, yeah?"
"We're finally dating!" she responds with excitement. "Finally!"
"Wait, was I supposed to ask you sooner or something?"
"I guess it would have been nice if you did…" she muses. "But that's not what I meant. I've"-she takes a deep breath before continuing-"had a crush on you. Around the time high school started. But I was afraid of ruining our friendship–"
Natsu starts cracking up all of a sudden.
Much to her dismay, she puffs her cheeks out at him. "What's so funny?"
"I've been crushing on you for a while, too," he admits. "And I was afraid of screwing us up before us could even happen!"
Lucy laughs at the silliness of the matter. "Oh, wow!"
"Yeah!"
Then she sighs, feeling completely content about life. "Natsu, can we keep us a secret for a little bit?"
He seems confused. "You don't wanna tell other people?"
"I do, but not now. I just want to take the time for us to start. Does that make sense?"
"It'll be our little secret then, Luce," he promises.
A/N Part 1: To "repent for my angst sins" because of Chapter 45 in MTAP and Chapter 22 in CAF, this work with good feels exists! Missy Platina and senpai-natsu-nalu said I had to make up for the angst with a fluffy one-shot XD Although, it originally started because of inconsistent-igloo because we did the Girlfriend texting bit over chat :P Regardless, I did a writing thing! :D Woo~
A/N Part 2: I doubt I'll continue this, but maybe. I'm not sure. I'm too focused on MTAP and CAF as of now, but time will tell I suppose…
