#bumblebeehug writes

[bumblebeehug]

Gave him her heart

Ship: Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia Summary: Lucy worries about what to get Natsu for his birthday, not knowing how ridiculously easy it actually is. Day 5 of Nalu Week 2023 - prompt: gifts Ao3

***

Natsu was a good man. He was wild, fun, crazy, but most of all: good. Lucy was very aware of this and knew that such a good man truly deserved the best. So, naturally she felt slightly panicked when she realised his birthday was coming up.

Lucy liked to believe that she was good at giving gifts. She was observant, both on the battlefield and off, so she knew what people looked a little extra at when they browsed shops or went by markets. Wendy turned to sweets, cute dresses or jewellery, something Lucy was relieved over when she noticed it – Lucy was nothing if not good at picking clothes and accessories, and Wendy was transparent with her tastes (sweet = good, savoury = fine, if there was a good reason to why it was gifted, otherwise a little weird, and sour = danger zone. It could be risky, but citrusy tastes were appreciated in sweet desserts). Erza was also easy to please with gifts – either go the sword and armour route, or go the girly route, possibly with some suggestive books. Gray appreciated nice soaps and clean décor for his house, and if she wanted to be funny with him she could always gift him underwear, seeing as it was the only clothing that stayed on for a while (though since him and Juvia got together it wasn’t really an option – Juvia didn’t care too much about what Lucy gave him, underwear or not, but Lucy herself felt weird about it, so nowadays she kept to soaps). Carla liked tea and pretty dresses as well, but appreciated flowers and other handmade things, and Happy was never happier than on his birthday, when he practically could get buried in the number of fishes he’d be given.

Natsu, however? Lucy wasn’t too sure what she could give him. He liked loads of things – food, fights, adventures, funny hats, board games: few things were off the table with that guy. If she gave him a bouquet of flowers he’d probably smile and say thanks (and maybe he’d try to eat them once he got home), if she gave him tea, he’d probably set the leaves on fire and accidentally get high or something – she didn’t want to risk it either way. He’d be thankful for any clothes she would give him, but would most likely only wear them when he really had to, or to sleep if they were comfortable enough. He really liked his special made ones, that managed to stay intact no matter how hot his fire was. He would definitely try to eat the soaps, and that wasn’t worth it in her opinion, and if she gave him a fish he’d very likely think she was either giving Happy a gift through him, or that she was confessing her undying love for him, since that’s what it meant when Happy gave fishes as gifts to the opposite gender (of the same species, might be important to add).

Point is: giving Natsu gifts was hard when you knew him too well. She had even considered giving him jewellery that matched with the ones she had gotten from him recently, but it once again came down to him only wearing them as a chore, and her pride couldn’t really take that. She would have to put a pin in this challenge though, because she was expected at the guild to help cover a shift for Mira as she dealt with one of her requested missions.

As she entered the guild hall, she was relieved to see that it was rather empty. It had its perks, working at a bar in the middle of the day, and since she saw some of her closer mates, she knew she could take her chance to dig around and find out what others would be gifting him.

“Hi Master,” she greeted Makarov, still using the title he had tried to give over so many times already. Though technically he was still in charge, so Lucy thought it only appropriate to keep calling him master until he truly was off the position. “I’m covering for Mira this afternoon.”

“I heard,” he grumbled from his position in the wheelchair. “You’ve been behind the bar before, so you know the drill. In fact, could you bring me a plate of fried squid and a beer? Just put it on my tab.”

Lucy took his order and sent a note into the kitchen per his request. Normally Mira would help out in the kitchen as well, but since Lucy had limited experience with cooking the meals they were serving, she was excused to just manage the drinks and easier snacks, like nuts and chips. As she waited for the staff in the kitchen to finish the order, she poured a glass of beer for Makarov. Half with light alcohol, half with none. He was currently cutting down on his alcohol intake, Porlyusica’s demand, but to not make him fall back immediately from quitting cold turkey, they slowly made him drink lighter and lighter.

“So, Natsu’s birthday is coming up,” Lucy said, trying to cover it up as small talk, but realising it was obvious what she was trying to do.

“I’ve heard.” A smug grin graced Makarov’s face. The relations between the mages in his guild were always amusing, especially in the stage that Lucy’s and Natsu’s had been in the last couple of years.

“I’m a bit curious…” She gave him his order. “What do you think he wants? You’ve known him for longest.”

“Child, I’m too old to remember all my guild members’ gift preferences, and I’m definitely not rich enough to give away gifts like it’s nothing. For a long time now, I’ve allowed myself to forget who likes what.” Lucy smiled, ready to brush the topic off and take another order across the hall, but he continued. “I do, however, know that you could give him a stick or a pebble you found on the sidewalk, and that boy would treasure it like it’s his most sacred, most valuable item in his possession. Do what feels right, Lucy.”

She thanked him, but within she felt like she was back at square one. She knew he would be happy about getting any gift, but she didn’t want to give him just any gift. She wanted it to reflect how much she appreciated him and their friendship, and she wanted it to stick out. Maybe it could even suggest that she appreciated him more than a normal friend, but only if he started overthinking the gift (which she doubted he would do anyways). It was meant to be subtle, but not subtle enough for it to never be discovered by him. And if it needed to be discovered by him, whatever this little message it was she was trying to convey to him, then it would have to be flashing in neon lights above his bed when he woke up in the morning.

So, she spent a few hours continuing to ponder on what to do, as she was taking more and more orders as people kept dropping in. At around 6:30pm her true saviours arrived at the guild hall. Her team, plus a few other closer friends and minus Natsu and Happy, who were camping today and tomorrow, were back from one of their shorter missions, and they were probably starving for some dinner. Lucy was quick to come over and take their order, also grabbing her chance to question them about their thoughts on this conundrum.

“Hi guys, did the mission go well?” She greeted them, preparing her notepad.

“It went great!” Wendy beamed, and Lucy made a quick mental note to ask about the mission more in detail at a later date. She must have done a good job if she allowed herself to be this proud – Lucy always thought she was too harsh on herself when they fought on missions.

“Gray even kept his clothes on,” Erza added, praising the man on her right.

They took a quick moment to chat, and as they finally decided on what to eat, Lucy seized her moment.

“So,” she started, already knowing she would never live down asking a question like this, considering that many of the people at the table were quite transparent on their opinions on Lucy’s and Natsu’s relationship, “Natsu’s birthday, huh?”

The silence her sentence brought made her regret it immediately. She could already see how their brains were working on new ways to tease her for whatever she was going to say next, but she would have to swallow her pride once again. It’s for a good cause, she kept telling herself.

“Have you gotten your presents yet?” She chuckled awkwardly, hoping their answers would be enough to inspire her, so she could get their food and forget she ever brought it up in the first place.

“Mhm.”

“Yep.”

“I have too.”

“And I’m with Wendy on her gift,” Carla added, still making it painfully obvious that nobody was elaborating their answers. They were making Lucy work for it; she just knew it. They loved grabbing their chances to make her say embarrassing things, and today was no exception.

“Really…” She forced out a laugh. “So, what have you gotten him?” She tried again to prompt anyone at the table to speak up, but they knew she would have to continue pressing, and that it would sound more and more desperate the less information they gave her, so after they all stayed silent for another minute, Lucy gave in.

“I’ve just completely blanked out; I can’t even remember a single thing he likes! Please, help me! Give me some inspiration!”

Erza exchanged a glance with Wendy before she answered.

“Well, he likes fire.”

“And fighting.”

“And ugly tourist shirts,” Gray chimed in. Lucy groaned.

“I can’t exactly give him a clip card for sparring matches, and I’ve already considered a bonfire, but I wanted to have a get together later with all of us where we make a bonfire and drink hot chocolate and stuff.” She spared Gray a short glance as well. “And he only wears his special made clothes, so I can’t give him a shirt to frame for 200 jewel.”

“Then we can’t help you,” Erza said, flipping her bangs as she always does when she lies. Lucy pouted.

“I’ll get you your food, please help me afterwards?”

“Deal.”

After 30 minutes she finally had four hot plates balancing on her arms, ready to serve to her stubborn teammates. They were chatting along just fine now, so hopefully the would have forgotten their silent agreement to keep themselves clammed about their gifts. Lucy hurried to place out their food, hoping that they would notice her way of bribing them by giving them extra big portions.

“Now please...! What should I give him?” Lucy sat down at the table. She wasn’t going anywhere until she got an answer she was pleased with.

Wendy gave her an apologetic smile.

“Well… We can tell you what we think, but don’t you think he’d like it better if it truly came from you?” Erza nodded along.

“I’m going to give him a sword that’s enchanted with endless fire,” she revealed. “But you know, it’s not really a gift that screams ‘Lucy’.”

“Erza’s right. I’m giving him some scrap wood I found in the woods because I can’t really bother, but no gift we tell you to get will be as appreciated as the one you come up with,” Gray said, taking a sip from his beer.

“And we’re getting him a small cupon at a restaurant,” Wendy added.

Lucy sighed.

“I know it won’t be the same, but my creative well has completely dried up. Nothing I think of feels like enough. If I get him something I’d appreciate it would be like I don’t know him at all, and that doesn’t feel fair.” She started to feel hopeless. She didn’t like how drained she got from worrying about this – she loved Natsu! And she would love to properly show him how much she loved him, because he truly deserved that. Platonic or not.

“Hey, you look like you’re giving up, that’s not like you! Think of it like this, we’ve all combined our own interests with Natsu’s interest: Erza with the sword, Wendy and Carla with the food, and me with the scrap wood that shows that I have zero interest in him. Why don’t you write something to him? It may not look like it, but I think he know how to read. At least simple words.” Gray gave Lucy a half-hug from his seat in an attempt to comfort her.

“So… you think I should write him a letter? Would that be enough?” She felt sceptical, but it could work.

“You spitting on him would be enough,” Carla snorted, almost offended by her obliviousness.

“Carla!” Wendy burst out, not before Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion. Her gut told her not to ask, and for once, she decided to actually follow that gut feeling.

“Do you really think a letter would be enough though?” She asked.

“How about you give him an experience? A friendly date of sorts,” Carla suggested.

“An experience?”

“Like going to the movies, or to a restaurant, or maybe picknick or stargazing?” It was Erza who spoke up this time, and Lucy thought she could see a sparkle in her eye. If she didn’t know better, she would almost think that Erza had been on dates like that herself.

“Hm… I guess you’re right. If he doesn’t like it, I’ll just have to ask him directly, I suppose.”

Lucy stood up from her seat at the table and bid farewell to her friends, along with her thanks. A letter would have to do, and she had a gut feeling that told her that she would figure out a good topic to write about. She hurried to end her shift so she could get to her gift-making. A good idea rarely stayed for long in one’s head.

When she finally sat at her desk, pen in her right hand and paper in front of her, she knew this was the right thing to do. What better way was there to tell Natsu how much she appreciated him, if not through words on paper? It was her speciality, after all. She had even lighted some candles to keep her company, since she knew she would sit there for a while. There was a lot of things she wanted to tell him and thank him for, and the letter would be the perfect way to convey these feelings. Right. Feelings. That could include her less platonic ones, and even if this was a great opportunity for that as well, she didn’t know if she was quite ready to go that far yet. In the meantime, she would just have to tell him she loved him in every way except the straightforward one.

Four hours and 16 pages later, she had her letter. It was ridiculously long, she knew that, and he probably wouldn’t be able to read it in one go, but her heart felt light. A letter was the perfect gift. She had even included multiple invites to ‘experiences’ she wanted to give him, and if he took as long to read it as she thought he would, then those experiences would be experienced with about one week in between them. Lucy gave the thick envelope a quick lick to seal it, and after that she couldn’t help but to give it a soft kiss. She had poured her heart out, and though it would be embarrassing for her to know that he would read such things, it also felt very right. It wasn’t a love letter, but in a way, it felt like it was. She had told him all the things she loved about him, all the moments she especially appreciated him being there, and how great her entire life was thanks to him. If read with the intent of reading a love letter, it could very well translate into one, and maybe, someday in the future, he could look back at it and see the hints she left him.

Lucy leaned back in her chair with a big yawn. It was well into midnight hours by now, and she really needed a refreshing shower. A thought went to how Natsu and Happy were having it right now, in a tent somewhere in the woods. Though she was happy to get to sleep in her soft bed, she was missing them. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. To speed time up she hurried to the bathroom so she could get into bed as soon as possible – her apartment wasn’t the same without those two.

Lucy cursed herself. Why, why, why had she written that letter? It was the most obvious love-confession anyone could ever read, how on earth had she not realised that when she read it through yesterday? She was dragging her feet behind her, because if the embarrassment wouldn’t kill her when he read it later, she would have to kill herself, and no one non-suicidal would ever look forward to something like that. So, her feet dragged. The letter felt heavy in her hands, and she knew that as soon as it would be opened, she would feel naked. Her gut was begging her to turn back, but her heart told her that celebrating Natsu today was more important than her pride. Him and Happy were coming back from their camping trip, and they promised her they would stop by the guild to say hi before heading home, and that’s when they would be surprised with a small celebration. Nothing like other events, where people went completely wild, but a celebration big enough to show him some appreciation.

Checking the clock one last time, she made sure that she was there before they arrived. They woke up pretty late generally and their favourite camping spot was about an hour into the woods. 10am. Maybe they hadn’t even woken up yet, but Lucy didn’t want to risk it. She wanted to prepare and decorate the guild, and then she would grab something to eat, considering she hadn’t eaten any breakfast yet.

As she entered the guild, she was relieved to only see her team and a handful more people. They were chatting and blowing up balloons, and they had turned one of the tables into a gift-table. Lucy hurried to put her letter amongst the others, eager to get the gift out of her hands.

“Good morning, Lucy!” Levy greeted her with a hug. “You’re pretty late, did you stay up last night?” Lucy chuckled lightly.

“Yeah, I had something important to finish.” She felt her team’s eyes in her back – they knew she had stayed up writing, and though Lucy knew she hadn’t written a love confession of any sort (other than platonic) she still managed to feel a blush creep onto her cheeks.

“So, do you need help with the balloons?” She offered, greeting the rest of the group.

“It’s fine, you go ahead and grab some breakfast instead,” Mira smiled.

“How did you know I haven’t eaten?” Lucy sat down at a table.

“You have a tendency to forget to eat when you have other things on your plate,” Mira just answered, placing down a yoghurt bowl with homemade granola and fruits. Lucy could only smile sheepishly, slightly embarrassed how obviously nervous she was about this event. She was sure Erza had told her about her moment of weakness yesterday, so she reminded herself to try to keep herself under the radar. She’d just be here, sing a happy birthday song, eat a piece of cake and watch Natsu open his presents, then the day would be over and the whole Lucy-confesses-her-feelings-though-a-letter thing would be over! No unnecessary teasing from her friends, if all went well.

“I’m back!”

The guild door shot open with a noise loud enough to give the untrained ear a heart attack. Lucy however had a trained ear, so she just turned her head and met Natsu’s happy gaze, her heart fluttering at the fact that his eyes immediately searched for her and no one else.

“Happy birthday!” The guild cheered. Lucy stood up from her place at the table, not really knowing why until Natsu stood in front of her, just an arm’s length away. If she reached, she would be able to bring him into a hug, and it truly itched in her arms to do exactly that.

“Hey,” Lucy smiled softly. “Happy birthday.” Watching Natsu’s smile go from surprised and generally happy, to soft and caring made Lucy lose what little control she had, and she caved into her needs to hug him. As soon as she felt him hug her back, she knew that whatever the others thought about the content of her letter contained, as long as Natsu read it and took it to heart, all would be fine.

“Thank you,” he whispered, tightening the hug for a second before he went ahead and thanked the rest of his friends, never straying far from Lucy.

The birthday party was overall a quite big success, everyone had a great time, and Natsu, who not so secretly had been itching to open the presents, finally gave in and announced what he was planning to do.

“Time to open the presents!” He cheered, almost jumping in place in excitement, clearly not representing the age he was turning (400-something years old) but making everyone smile regardless. Everyone except Lucy, whose heart flew up in her throat, suddenly getting the strongest urge to grab her letter before he got to it so she could throw it away or burn it. Not because she didn’t want him to read it – she would just prefer it if he read it somewhere more private, where the burning eyes of her much beloved friends could read it and jump to conclusions. So, she hurried close to whisper her plan to Natsu – despite him being the cause of these nerve-racking feelings, he was still her partner in crime, and she knew he would break his neck to achieve whatever she asked him to do. This time, what she asked him not to do.

“Psst!”

Natsu shot a glance to Lucy, who was whispering just quietly enough that no one else would notice, unless they had dragon ears and paid attention to her. Lucy, who saw that he had heard her, hurried to shoot her shot.

“My gift is the letter, I would kinda like it if you read it after the party instead? It’s just – it’s quite long and it won’t be any fun if you sat down and read it here, you know?”

The ball was in the air, and now she could at least sleep well knowing that no matter the outcome, she did try her best to steer the situation into best case scenario – all to her means of course.

Natsu, the king of pranks and someone who was surprisingly good at sneaking around, despite his usual love for the “let’s just barge in and fight anyone who tries to stop us” approach, still managed to keep up his gleeful demeanour as he had listened to Lucy’s request. He once again met her gaze and gave her a quick nod, ensuring that she had scored. The rest of the evening would manage to stay calm and uneventful. All thanks to their ways to keep down low. It was really convenient to have dragon hearing at times like these – though usually she had that thought on missions, and not happy, meant to be uneventful celebrations and parties.

The birthday boy himself didn’t mind opening Lucy’s gift later. In fact, he was just happy he was getting something at all from her, considering how stressful most birthdays could be for her. Sure, she already knew what genre people liked, but getting down to picking the actual thing and managing prices was a hard task for Lucy to tackle without stress. So instead, he went ahead and opened the elongated, wrapped gift that said “Happy birthday, from Erza” on the card. He would make sure to ease Lucy’s mind today, considering how stressed she clearly had been the last couple of weeks.

Natsu couldn’t stop grinning. He truly had the best friends ever, and despite him not being a big birthday celebrator when it came to himself, it felt good to be appreciated. There had been good songs playing, yummy food to eat, and most importantly: good company. He especially loved the presents he had gotten, since they clearly were gifts that his friends had carefully thought through and taken into consideration before giving them – yes, even Gray’s gift was appreciated, because though it seemed silly, he did sometimes need firewood after hard missions to speed up his recovery. Everything was dear to him, so when he finally got home with that thick letter in his hands, he couldn’t wait a second more to open it. This, you see, might be the dearest gift of all.

The softly written “To: Natsu Dragneel” on the front of the envelope made Natsu’s heart beat harder. He knew that the content in it probably wasn’t anything out of the ordinary stuff the two of them said to each other, but still. He liked that Lucy had put extra thought into whatever she had written. Or, at least he hoped she had, seeing as he didn’t actually know what the letter said yet.

Happy peaked over Natsu’s shoulder, closing the door behind the two.

“So, what are you waiting for? Open it!” Happy urged, eager to see what Lucy wanted to say to him, but clearly couldn’t since she had to write it down. In his opinion a speech would be quicker, knowing how slowly Natsu read.

Carefully Natsu parted the sealed wax from the paper, making sure not to tear anything. If he could make some space, he’d want to hang everything on his memory wall later, and in that case he didn’t want to ruin it.

Still standing just inside the door, Natsu began to read. The letter started out rather normal. She was writing the obligatory happy birthdays and saying hi to Happy, who she knew would read over Natsu’s shoulder despite it being a private message. That part piqued Natsu’s interest a little extra. What did she have to say to him that not only had to be written, but wasn’t meant for Happy to know? It sparked some hope in his heart that she possibly could feel something special about him – special-er than what they already had. He continued down the page. She started reminiscing about the past, and about halfway through the second page, Happy gave up on Natsu’s slow reading and told him he’d simply read it after Natsu was done with it. Natsu took a seat as he joined Lucy’s trip down memory lane, enjoying the new information on how she saw him when they first met, during their first missions and more. He especially liked learning that despite his foul mood the first days together, she still had fond memories of him, like when he included her in his list of friends when they fought Macao (before they knew it was him, since he had turned into a Vulcan) and how the reason she didn’t refuse to get along with him after he had seemingly deceived her for a mission, was because he had managed to get a few lucky words in. Something like “because we thought you seemed nice” had made her stick, and Natsu could only thank his past self for accidentally pressing the right buttons.

As he continued reading, he was struck by the wonderful realisation that he truly mattered to Lucy. It’s not like he didn’t know that she enjoyed his company, but seeing in in black and white was completely different. It wasn’t just that she had written something along the lines of “I care about you, your existence matters to me” (though that would have worked as well), but the fact that she could remember so many small details of what he had said and done, that she may as well have written a complete book with all those moments, and it would probably be at least 200 pages long. He knew she had been cutting down on what memories she brought up in the letter, because enough talks with one person made them show how much brain capacity they had, and Natsu knew that her brain capacity was way longer than a 16-page letter. This was her way of being concise. Yet she still managed to bring up moments he only vaguely remembered, sharing almost exact quotes of what was said and by who. Mostly the who was either Natsu or Lucy, but it was still impressive.

Natsu had never been interested in reading. It was a chore he had to go through to get the money he needed for food, had never been any more interesting than that. Except for two occasions: Lucy’s first published book, and this letter. Sure, he had been reading it for almost double as long as it probably took to write it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested. This letter was so far the greatest thing he had ever received, which wasn’t an easy thing to manage.

At 4am had he gotten to the last line of the letter. His eyes were trying to force him to rest, but his mind fought it like never before. He had skipped dinner for this, and he was not planning to give up last minute, just to succumb to something so superficial, boring and unnecessary as sleep. No, he gathered up some extra will power and pulled though. “Though you probably understand this after reading this letter, I am simply eternally grateful for everything you are, and what you’ve just read is the best I could do at describing my gratefulness in words. Thank you for all you’ve done, and for being unapologetically you. No one else could make me as happy as you have, so once again: Happy birthday, Natsu Dragneel.” She had signed it with her signature at the very bottom, ensuring that all he had just read was completely and wholly from Lucy. After reading the whole thing, he felt his legs itch. No, maybe it was his arms. Feet, hands? No, it was most definitely his soul that had started to climb inside his body. He wanted to go to her, and he wanted to see her. Preferably five minutes ago. He threw another glance at the clock. 4:50am. He had been tossing around, unable to even do as much as close his eyes, for the last 40 minutes, and he knew he wouldn’t feel better until he was within a 20-meter radius of Lucy. Or rather, 2-meter radius.

Not bothering to sneak around the heavy sleeper that the exceed was, Natsu jumped out of the bed and pulled on his slippers. In less than 3 seconds he was out the door, and in another 3 he noticed that he was running. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do when he saw her, especially considering that she most likely was asleep in this hour, but he simply had to get to her, quickly. The time was ticking, like he was a bomb soon to explode, like he was going to run out of time if he didn’t arrive soon. Wind blowing in his ears, he could barely make out the sound of his heavy breathing. He hadn’t run this fast in Mavis knows how long, and he might actually had made it outside her apartment in record time. His chest rising and lowering in big breaths, he managed to make something of a sigh in relief to see her window slightly opened. Climbing the wall quietly was no challenge with Natsu’s experience, so he swiftly pulled himself up, making sure to fully open and enter the window as quickly as possible – though this time with less success since he didn’t have as much experience with that part. Usually he just barged in after scaling the wall, seeing as the time he did it at was most often a time where Lucy either was away or awake.

Either way, he didn’t manage to sneak in as stealthily as he’d like. The window creaked and his body almost fell limp after getting a whiff of Lucy’s calming scent – that he had been running like a maniac to get there didn’t help either, and after a loud, nongraceful landing, Lucy was already awake.

“Natsu? ‘s that you?” She mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Yeah, sorry for waking you,” he whispered, finding his balance on his legs again as he stood up.

“No worries.” Lucy had now swung her legs over the edge of her bed and sat in a more upright position. “Did you need anything? Is Happy alright?”

“Yeah, he’s at home sleeping. I just felt like coming here,” Natsu said, full transparency.

“Alright,” Lucy said, now taking a better look at his face. He looked red and flustered, but with his heavy breathing it might just be the fact that he ran to her place.

“I read it.”

Lucy’s face started getting hot as well.

“The letter?”

“The entire thing.”

“Wow. Uh, so what do you think of it?” Had the hour been normal she might not have asked him such a bold question, but something about the way the streetlights and moon illuminating the room made her feel brave. Perhaps she still thought she was dreaming, but this felt much too real to be just a dream.

“It’s perfect.” Natsu took a few steps closer. He could now make out most of her facial features, sleepy yet alert of his presence.

“I’m glad.”

A few more seconds went by, though it felt like minutes.

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“All of it. All the things you wrote?”

A soft smile graced Lucy’s lips.

“Of course. I would never lie about those things.”

Natsu knew he could be dense in most situations. He couldn’t always read the room, and he wasn’t good at subtext. This time however, he had felt something the whole time as he read that letter. Maybe it was what other would call “reading between the lines” but he suddenly had great confidence in something that could change their relationship forever. Of course, it was a very long shot, but perhaps the adrenaline from all that running was just what he needed to gather the courage to take it. He did, however, decide to test out the water first. Running headfirst was usually his go-to method if he could choose, but he wasn’t blind to the delicacy of the situation he was putting himself in.

“Can I assume things?” He tried.

“Assume things? From what I wrote?” Lucy asked, curious where he was leading this conversation. She was very aware of her heartbeat, but she didn’t know that she didn’t have to be this time, considering that all that Natsu was hearing was his own.

“Yeah.”

“It depends. What do you want to assume?”

Natsu swallowed. Did he always have this much saliva? If so, maybe something was wrong with him. He swallowed again, clenching and unclenching his fists. Had he ever been this nervous in a situation as calm as this? No bandits, no monsters, no big wild animals – not even an annoyed Erza was around.

“That…” he started, his tongue thickening as he spoke. Not literally, but it sure felt like it. He could barely concentrate on what he wanted to say, gazing into those doe eyes. She was so, ridiculously pretty. He knew that before, of course, but he almost found it unfair. How could he think of any words when she sat there, looking all nice and pretty. “That you like me?”

He had said it as a question, though it sounded more like a statement right now. Lucy’s heart must have skipped a beat or two. She was still sleepy, but the tiny possibility that this wasn’t just a perfect dream made her stop herself from straight up answering yes.

“Well… I hoped my letter was clear on that. You’re my best friend in the whole world, how could I not like you?” She let out a small chuckle at the very idea of disliking a friend. She didn’t, however, predict what he would say next.

Natsu reached out his left hand, touching a piece of her hair that had fallen out from behind her ears.

“But can I assume…” He put it behind her ear, “that you like me more than a friend?”

Natsu’s eyes were darker than usual in the dimmed light, but Lucy saw clearly that he was being serious. Though, this exact facial expression was one she had never seen before. She had seen his tender look, his soft look, his happy look, his loving look, but she had never seen this combination of all. And it was her he was showing it to. In fact, maybe it was exactly this expression that made her admit the truth for once. For so long she had been scared that he would feel bothered or surprised by the very idea of “liking beyond friendship”, or love, as she would prefer to call it. She had been afraid that he would find her fantasies of the two of them living their life together as a couple weird, or even mildly repulsive. That her confession would lead to their friendship breaking apart forever. That, however, could no longer be the case. Lucy wasn’t blind, and she certainly wasn’t dumb. If Natsu looked this… happy? To even assume that she likes him beyond friendship, then the outcome from telling him the truth couldn’t possibly be bad. She tilted her head lightly towards his hand, sharing another smile.

“Yeah. I do like you more than a friend, or a best friend.” Natsu took another step closer, now close enough to make her feel his hot breath on her face that he had tilted upwards, towards him.

“Then…” He bended down slowly to come closer to her sitting position. “Can I kiss you?” His words didn’t come out louder than a breath, but Lucy knew what she heard. Her heart had never danced as wildly as it did when she nodded and closed her eyes as Natsu closed the space between them.

The kiss itself was probably nothing special to someone watching. It was plain and soft, just two mouths pressing against each other. For them, however, it was nothing short of magical fireworks. Lucy’s cool, soft lips against Natsu’s hot, slightly rougher ones sent shivers throughout both of them, as if the small touch had opened a completely new door, a way for them to connect and become closer than ever.

Inexperienced as they both were though, they soon had to break it off to breathe. After less than 20 seconds, Lucy pulled their faces together again. How could they have been missing out on this awesome experience for all the years they had known each other? Natsu knew that this already had topped the list of his favourite activities – even placing higher than eating and fighting. The next time they went up for air, they couldn’t stop themselves from giggling.

“Can this count as a birthday gift if I haven’t slept since yesterday?” Natsu asked, more energetic than reasonable after his long day.

“If that makes you happy,” Lucy smiled, giving him another peck on his lips. Whatever they decided to do from this point on, Lucy knew they would figure it out. After all, if they had managed to overcome the obstacle of going from friends to whatever this was, then they could definitely manage anything and everything else thrown at them. What’s important was that they from this point out, took on every challenge together.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail fanfic #nalu fanfic #fairy tail fanfiction #nalu fanfiction #natsu x lucy #bumblebeehug writes #yay i'm posting my fics on tumblr #thanks to mya's advice :)

[genavere]

✨ for the writers ask thing!!

Let's Get Real Ask

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

This is from a different fandom, but I wrote a mutli-chapter fic for the anime Munto, one that I kinda abandoned back in 2016 and then came back and finished in 2022.

The fandom of Munto does not have many fans, and so it did not get much traction, but I wish more people would read it cause I feel I did a decent job on it, and it brought me back to writing full blown stories again.

And I actually have plans to continue it, since I left parts of the story ambiguous. I just haven't got around to doing it yet.

If interested, here is the link for Falling High on AO3.

Thank you for the ask!

#ask #answered ask #Writing asks #Let's get real #Writing #Munto #fanfiction #creative writing #content creator #fic writing #bumblebeehug

[tokkias]

Any fanfic recommendations, especially for while I wait for you to drop one of your masterpieces? Love your work x

teehee sorry to keep you waiting but you're gonna have to wait a few days for my magnum opus so i'll give you a couple of my faves in the meantime

most of my ao3 bookmarks are public and these are generally the ones i come back to most

my favourite nalu multichaps are yuánfèn by tiddiejoon and ignite by absentangel. i recently finished reading journey's end by xambedo and that was pretty good too

anything by madartiste is automatically chefs kiss and you should read all of their work but my favourites are eye of the beholder, something bubbly, something blue, speed dating, and party hard

i would say all of this, but i don't wanna ruin the moment and night drives by @lucyskies gets me sooo fucked up (affectionate) and you have to read them both rn or i'll cry

i’ll make you a promise (watch you dance with your keys) by tetsuryu is so beloved <3333

ao3 user aitnes please write more nalu challenge because your heart, my heart and it takes two (it takes us) both changed me as a person. they have another nalu fic on their profile which i don't recall reading but if it's even half as good as the rest of their stuff then it's a fucking masterpiece and you should probably go read that too

and obv you have to read everything from @bumblebeehug my beloved. their lovely seasons series is so cute so beloved (and winter is nominated for the guild awards you should go vote for it, so is god, she loves him <333)

#mya's mumbles #nalu

[thehylianidiot]

TheHylianIdiot's Assortment of Brain Worms

Was tagged by both @bumblebeehug and @kiliinstinct for this one, so let's do this.

rules: share the first line (or two or more!) of every current wip you have (that you feel comfortable sharing) and tag some writer friends! feel free to add the titles of your documents if you see fit

Oops We Kidnapped the Emperor (Title WIP) (Fairy Tail)

The mission to rescue Makarov had a few hiccups.

The first of which being despite traveling across the ocean to the heart of the Alvarez Empire, storming its castle ready to get back their captive guildmaster, the designated High-Collateral Rescue Squad did not bring back their Sixth-But-Soon-To-Be-Eighth-Guildmaster. 

And as for the second well…

Erza explained it to the rest of the guild best. “We kidnapped the emperor.” 

The Other Four Idiots, Plus A Cat (Chapter 22) (Fairy Tail)

“How many people have you interacted with in your life?”

“Umm… well… I don’t have a lot of practice with people. Most are either dead or fled in the first twenty four hours.” Mavis chuckled a bit, because keeping bright and cheerful normally made things happier and not a constant reminder that the majority of her prior interactions involved the other party trying to… well… increase their kill count by one. 

Given the lady slapping her palms to her face, maybe that wasn’t the best way to put it. 

“Oh gods he befriended a psychopath,” Ultear not-so-quietly muttered into her hands.

Lost My Cap (I swear I will write this someday) (Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap)

"I thought I heard something" 

Yes. It was a frog. How that buffoon of a guard could mistake a frog for him, Vaati wasn't sure. And of course the dimwit just had to pitter patter up above like some lost pet. 

On and on he heard the aimless clank of too heavy boots. Surely the guards could find something more interesting. There were monsters flooding every inch of their precious kingdom! Didn't they have something better to do than hunt the one who opened that damned box? Like perhaps stepping away from the sewage gate? 

He breathed in a quarter second too long and nearly gagged at the overwhelming stench. Don't you dare, he told himself. No way was he embarrassing himself further today by getting caught. 

To Slay A Demon (Part 2) (Fairy Tail)

Maybe some naively optimistic part of Gray hoped Zeref was a glass canon. That after cult after cult of worshippers and thousands of demons at his command, their ringleader would be too dependent on them. 

That optimism was crushed between a fraction of a second.

And death magic flowed around like a tidal wave of sand, flinging haphazardly in a nonexistent hurricane, crashing against ice-made shield. One trickle past Gray’s defenses, and he’d lose everything.

The Little Raindrop of Magnologia (Fairy Tail)

Drip drip drop. 

Little Juvia stood alone in the pouring rain. 

Drip drip drop. 

Everyone else had long since fled indoors. After all, it was the easiest way to escape the rain creating waterfalls from roofs and rivers from sidewalks. 

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t afford that luxury. 

These Are Not the Reincarnated Immortals You're Looking For (Title WIP) (Fairy Tail)

Alios would say the evening was going surprisingly normal until the chloroform. 

But no matter how many preparations he made so he could have a decent time (for once) at his favorite author's award ceremony—working overtime that week to make enough space in his schedule and spending the better part of an hour beforehand figuring out how to wear a modern suit along with how a gods-forsaken tie worked—Alios couldn't stop his weekly kidnapping from literally any random cult in Fiore falling on that exact date.

So as the last shreds of haziness finally faded away and Alios found himself tied to a chair in a pitch black cell, his first thought was, at least they gave it a cushion this time. 

Death Swap (Title WIP) (Fairy Tail)

It started with a passing rumor. 

A local tale shrouding its details with pottery gilded in mysticism and silken rarities tailored to lure passing travelers with enough coin in their pockets and a passing interest with the morbid to pay for a souvenir. Yuri knew he shouldn’t keep his hopes up. 

Knew it was going on two years already. Knew he should be getting back home, call it a night after making sure Warrod had kept a good eye on Makarov this time and the guildhall wasn’t turned into an artistic rendering of spinach inside a blender. 

As Precht said, they were never going to find her. 

Then again, Precht spent most of his time nowadays wallowing in the never-ending stream of newfound council regulations that kept multiplying like rabbits every few weeks until he couldn’t look at a stack of paper without sweating, so what did he know? 

Tagging @classysassy9791, @xfangheartx, @pencilofawesomeness

Feel free to ignore me, nobody is under any pressure to share if they don't want to.

#fairy tail #legend of zelda #wips #wip ask game #wip meme #writers tag game

[bumblebeehug]

Here's a prompt:

Lucy falling asleep somewhere (desk? Couch? the floor?) and Natsu carrying her to bed

The days inbetween

Ao3

***

Lucy’s days were never alike. She didn’t have a set scheme for when she ate breakfast, when she went to work, when she came back home or when she fell asleep. Her work as a mage meant unreliable hours, and with her team it could also mean quite unreliable pay. Often she could be away for a few days, sometimes weeks, and at the end all their reward money would go to repair any damages caused by them. Well, caused by Natsu, Gray, Erza and even Wendy, more often than Lucy.

This way of living wasn’t very sustainable. Everyone in the guild knew how futile Team Natsu’s missions turned out, and though Lucy would love to tell herself that money didn’t matter, her friends and her team mattered more. She couldn’t argue with facts – she had to pay the rent and have money for groceries. So, when weeks went by without any jobs – be it because people needed time to heal, or someone going on another job with other people, Lucy had the opportunity to earn some pocket money through journalism. She quit the job for good after working there for a year, but thankfully they told her that she always was welcome to work extra there. 

Mostly that entailed editing other journalists' pieces, keeping the office neat or buying coffee as a temporary assistant. It gave her a moderate sum of money and didn’t require her to be around for an extended amount of time – it was flexible work. Other times, however, she knew she had a week or two off, and those times she could do proper journalistic work. Since she was one of the few mages that worked journalistically in Magnolia, she could take on stories that required the reporter to go into more dangerous situations. 

So, that was exactly what she had been doing for the last six days. She had been allowed to write a story covering mage-less crime in the centre of Magnolia, and had gathered all the information she currently required. Since she wasn’t working with the others in the office, she could manage her hours however she wanted, which meant that she, at 11:30pm on a Sunday night, was sprawled across her living room floor, papers and notes from interviews and police reports surrounding her, trying to make an informed yet catchy summary of her conclusion. She wanted to finish this before the editorial office opened tomorrow, at 6am. If she only knew how to elegantly wrap this story up. She already had three titles, a dozen photos for the editors to choose from, and she had just the right number of characters so that there’d be space for photos, undertitles, fact boxes and more.

All this work had her absolutely exhausted. She usually didn’t drink coffee due to her dislike of the taste, but despite this, she had already had six cups of coffee in total, just in the last twelve hours. The initial caffeine kick had helped her speed through this project, but now she was feeling the consequences – a major caffeine dip. Her movements felt sluggish, her eyesight was getting worse by the minute, and she didn’t manage to form a single thought. It wasn’t even that late, compared to when she usually finished her articles, but she truly messed up by drinking all that coffee.

Lucy reluctantly lied down on her side. She told herself she just made herself comfortable to read through her article from the beginning, but she knew she was lying to herself. If she didn’t sleep now there was no way she’d be able to make it to the office tomorrow morning - she probably wouldn’t even be able to wake up until 11am. So, she decided not to beat herself up over allowing her heavy eyelids to close for a while. And she didn’t feel bad for crinkling some of her workpapers as she made herself comfortable on the rug. She didn’t even worry about saving energy by turning off the lights in the kitchen – just this once she let herself indulge in not doing things properly.

***

When Natsu opened the front door he was surprised to see the lights on. It certainly made it easier for him to navigate around the shoes in the hallway, but he couldn’t help but feel curious. Was Lucy still awake? She couldn’t be, she told her just yesterday she had to go to her extra job early Monday morning – it wouldn’t make sense for her to be awake at 2am.

He slowly made his way around the apartment, trying to piece together what was going on. As soon as he turned the corner he got his answer. Two metres away, Lucy lay curled up on the rug just by the couch. She had made quite a mess, papers and notepads acting as tripping hazards through the entire room. He practically had to go through an obstacle course just to reach her.

Lucy looked peaceful where she slept, and hadn’t he known better he’d think she was comfortable on the rug. Her eyes moved around quite a bit under her eyelids, so he suspected she was dreaming about something. Hopefully only good dreams. Though, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was having a nightmare – after all, they had been through a lot in their lives, and some things weren’t easily forgotten. Natsu knew that from experience.

He quickly decided that she couldn’t keep sleeping there. She would definitely be mad at herself for not going to sleep properly if she woke up with pains, plus, Natsu had come here to sleep in bed with her, not to imitate the way they slept when they were out camping on missions. They could do that any other time, but there was no way that he would pass on the opportunity to spend the night in her bed. He never slept quite as good anywhere else – it had to be Lucy’s bed, with her in it.

Carefully he took her in his arms, making sure not to shake her around too much, in case she woke up. Luckily she only stirred a little, grabbing Natsu’s neck and drawing him close into a hug. Natsu swiftly put his arm under her legs and stood up, proud to have successfully picked her up, even getting rewarded with a hug. Lucy had managed to nuzzle her face into the crook between Natsu’s neck and shoulder, and Natsu felt his entire soul yearn for a cuddle in bed, so he could reciprocate.

Making sure to be light on his feet, he managed to snuck into the bedroom without stepping on her important papers. He almost slipped on a pencil, but quickly regained his balance. As soon as he got away from the mess he hurried to the bed, moving the comforter and placing down Lucy in one movement. Then he undressed, knowing that Lucy hated it when he touched her bed in his outside clothes, and joined her.

Natsu’s heart was full as he laid beside her. He took her in his arms, wrapped them around her waist and took a deep breath, full of the scent of Lucy and the shampoo she loves. She truly fit in his arms perfectly, lying flesh against his body as he spooned her. Natsu couldn’t remember if they always had been able to cuddle this comfortably, or if there had been a time where his arms would fall asleep or she’d toss around to find a comfortable spot. He wouldn’t be surprised however if they actually were made for each other.

Any other day, Lucy would have woken up and given him a lecture on how friends weren’t allowed to use emergency keys for anything other than an actual emergency. She’d tell him off, try to make him sleep on the couch “where friends belonged” and nag him for not taking a shower before bed. Today, however, Natsu thanked the heavens for her part time job. It may be the reason Lucy’s unavailable a lot of the time, despite them being on breaks from missions, but it was also the reason she didn’t wake up today, earning him some extra cuddle time, filled with the softness and warmth of her body.

Before he fell asleep himself, he managed to kiss Lucy just below her ear, almost on her jaw. Once in a while he allowed himself to indulge in the love he felt for her, or else he knew he would go crazy. One more soft peck, and then he joined her in the world of dreams.

Lucy’s days were never alike. She didn’t have a set scheme for when she ate breakfast, when she went to work, when she came back home or when she fell asleep. Her work as a mage meant unreliable hours, and with her team it could also mean quite unreliable pay. Often she could be away for a few days, sometimes weeks, and at the end all their reward money would go to repair any damages caused by them. Well, caused by Natsu, Gray, Erza and even Wendy, more often than Lucy.

This way of living wasn’t very sustainable. Everyone in the guild knew how futile Team Natsu’s missions turned out, and though Lucy would love to tell herself that money didn’t matter, her friends and her team mattered more. She couldn’t argue with facts – she had to pay the rent and have money for groceries. So, when weeks went by without any jobs – be it because people needed time to heal, or someone going on another job with other people, Lucy had the opportunity to earn some pocket money through journalism. She quit the job for good after working there for a year, but thankfully they told her that she always was welcome to work extra there. 

Mostly that entailed editing other journalists' pieces, keeping the office neat or buying coffee as a temporary assistant. It gave her a moderate sum of money and didn’t require her to be around for an extended amount of time – it was flexible work. Other times, however, she knew she had a week or two off, and those times she could do proper journalistic work. Since she was one of the few mages that worked journalistically in Magnolia, she could take on stories that required the reporter to go into more dangerous situations. 

So, that was exactly what she had been doing for the last six days. She had been allowed to write a story covering mage-less crime in the centre of magnolia, and had gathered all the information she currently required. Since she wasn’t working with the others in the office, she could manage her hours however she wanted, which meant that she, at 11:30pm on a Sunday night, was sprawled across her living room floor, papers and notes from interviews and police reports surrounding her, trying to make an informed yet catchy summary of her conclusion. She wanted to finish this before the editorial office opened tomorrow, at 6am. If she only knew how to elegantly wrap this story up. She already had three titles, a dozen photos for the editors to choose from, and she had just the right number of characters so that there’d be space for photos, undertitles, fact boxes and more.

All this work had her absolutely exhausted. She usually didn’t drink coffee due to her dislike of the taste, but despite this, she had already had six cups of coffee in total, just in the last twelve hours. The initial caffeine kick had helped her speed through this project, but now she was feeling the consequences – a major caffeine dip. Her movements felt sluggish, her eyesight was getting worse by the minute, and she didn’t manage to form a single thought. It wasn’t even that late, compared to when she usually finished her articles, but she truly messed up by drinking all that coffee.

Lucy reluctantly lied down on her side. She told herself she just made herself comfortable to read through her article from the beginning, but she knew she was lying to herself. If she didn’t sleep now there was no way she’d be able to make it to the office tomorrow morning - she probably wouldn’t even be able to wake up until 11am. So, she decided not to beat herself up over allowing her heavy eyelids to close for a while. And she didn’t feel bad for crinkling some of her workpapers as she made herself comfortable on the rug. She didn’t even worry about saving energy by turning off the lights in the kitchen – just this once she let herself indulge in not doing things properly.

***

When Natsu opened the front door he was surprised to see the lights on. It certainly made it easier for him to navigate around the shoes in the hallway, but he couldn’t help but feel curious. Was Lucy still awake? She couldn’t be, she told her just yesterday she had to go to her extra job early Monday morning – it wouldn’t make sense for her to be awake at 2am.

He slowly made his way around the apartment, trying to piece together what was going on. As soon as he turned the corner he got his answer. Two metres away, Lucy lay curled up on the rug just by the couch. She had made quite a mess, papers and notepads acting as tripping hazards through the entire room. He practically had to go through an obstacle course just to reach her.

Lucy looked peaceful where she slept, and hadn’t he known better he’d think she was comfortable on the rug. Her eyes moved around quite a bit under her eyelids, so he suspected she was dreaming about something. Hopefully only good dreams. Though, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was having a nightmare – after all, they had been through a lot in their lives, and some things weren’t easily forgotten. Natsu knew that from experience.

He quickly decided that she couldn’t keep sleeping there. She would definitely be mad at herself for not going to sleep properly if she woke up with pains, plus, Natsu had come here to sleep in bed with her, not to imitate the way they slept when they were out camping on missions. They could do that any other time, but there was no way that he would pass on the opportunity to spend the night in her bed. He never slept quite as good anywhere else – it had to be Lucy’s bed, with her in it.

Carefully he took her in his arms, making sure not to shake her around too much, in case she woke up. Luckily she only stirred a little, grabbing Natsu’s neck and drawing him close into a hug. Natsu swiftly put his arm under her legs and stood up, proud to have successfully picked her up, even getting rewarded with a hug. Lucy had managed to nuzzle her face into the crook between Natsu’s neck and shoulder, and Natsu felt his entire soul yearn for a cuddle in bed, so he could reciprocate.

Making sure to be light on his feet, he managed to snuck into the bedroom without stepping on her important papers. He almost slipped on a pencil, but quickly regained his balance. As soon as he got away from the mess he hurried to the bed, moving the comforter and placing down Lucy in one movement. Then he undressed, knowing that Lucy hated it when he touched her bed in his outside clothes, and joined her.

Natsu’s heart was full as he laid beside her. He took her in his arms, wrapped them around her waist and took a deep breath, full of the scent of Lucy and the shampoo she loves. She truly fit in his arms perfectly, lying flush against his body as he spooned her. Natsu couldn’t remember if they always had been able to cuddle this comfortably, or if there had been a time where his arms would fall asleep or she’d toss around to find a comfortable spot. He wouldn’t be surprised however if they actually were made for each other.

Any other day, Lucy would have woken up and given him a lecture on how friends weren’t allowed to use emergency keys for anything other than an actual emergency. She’d tell him off, try to make him sleep on the couch “where friends belonged” and nag him for not taking a shower before bed. Today, however, Natsu thanked the heavens for her part time job. It may be the reason Lucy’s unavailable a lot of the time, despite them being on breaks from missions, but it was also the reason she didn’t wake up today, earning him some extra cuddle time, filled with the softness and warmth of her body.

Before he fell asleep himself, he managed to kiss Lucy just below her ear, almost on her jaw. Once in a while he allowed himself to indulge in the love he felt for her, or else he knew he would go crazy. One more soft peck, and then he joined her in the world of dreams.

#thanks for the prompt anon! #i wrote a little something lol i hope that's fine #nalu fairy tail #nalu #nalu fanfiction #nalu fanfic #nalu drabble #drabble #bumblebeehug writes #fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #fairy tail nalu

[bumblebeehug]

Bittersweet

Ship: Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia Summary: When time rolls around a certain anniversary, Lucy tries to deal with her sorrows and learn how to cope. Day 3 of Nalu Week 2023 - prompt: fears Ao3

***

Whenever Lucy struggles to get out of bed, she allows herself five minutes of reflection. Those five minutes usually lead to her falling asleep again, waking up 30 minutes later that intended to – that’s however never a big problem. Other times she spends those five minutes taking a deep breath, swallowing twice or slowly wiggling different parts of her body to see if she’s feeling alright, because some missions bring colds or fevers, and some just makes her so sore that she decides to take her time and spend the day in the apartment. Sometimes the five minutes just gives her more time to finish up a dream she was dreaming, and sometimes she just takes them to properly wake up so she can step out of bed and prepare herself to spend the day as usual.

Every year in late September, she finds herself waking up with a heavy heart. She knows it’s time to properly wake up and make breakfast and get on with her day, because unless she spends her five minutes in the ways mentioned above, she’s supposed to be able to go on with her day. But the skies are grey, the air in her apartment is cold, and her heart lies heavy in her chest, and she knows that the next days will be just as slow and unpleasant, because she remembers that it is late in September and her life will always feel like this during this time of the year. So, she allows herself to lay there for a while. Sometimes she manages to force herself out of bed in just under ten minutes, but most often she lays there for another hour or two before she can even attempt stepping out. Those hours feel like days, and as she feels her body tossing and turning, her mind roams the endless corridors in the Heartfilia mansion. During these hours she relives the first turning point in her life – the death of her beloved mother Layla. It would be fruitless to go into detail about this event, seeing as death has been part of life since the beginning of time; every living organism has witnessed and/or experienced family members dying, leaves falling off trees to rot on the ground during winter, animals taking their last breath as they suffer the consequences of the curse and blessing called life. Lucy is certainly not the first nor the last person who must deal with this phenomenon, so she allows this week to happen.

She wakes up and suffers for a few hours, because that is the punishment of loving the ones who once lived, and then she strains her body as she moves around, forcing it to eat for fuel, to laugh in front of her friends, because she knows that when the month of the anniversary of their dead loved ones comes around, they will do the same and that is how people live. Everyone she knows does this. Natsu goes into the woods for a few days whenever Igneel’s death anniversary comes around, Gray acts similarly to Lucy, spending some days or weeks quietly for himself as he’s reminded of Ur’s unfair fate, Erza spends more time quietly watching the sunset when her past revisits, and Wendy cries by herself in the guild bathroom whenever time rolls around to when her old guild proved to be a lie, a made up fantasy to compensate for not being able to provide it from the beginning. Lucy knows that they need those moments, and therefore she treats herself with the same compassion, because she too was once a child who lost someone important, and though her life changed for the better as she grew up, she’ll always carry that small child, who had to witness her own father become nothing short of a monster in the aftermath of her mother’s death.

For a long time, she managed to deal with this on her own. She took the time she needed, both to be sad and to build up her happiness again. It was never easy, and never would be, but she did it, alone, because that was what she knew. When she was a child, she had done everything on her own, and when it came down to it as an adult, she knew that she would have to get used to living that way. Sure, she had the guild now – it was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she loved being able to curb the lonely feeling whenever she felt like it, but it didn’t work when she felt her past loneliness take over. She wasn’t alone now, sure enough, but she was then and that would never change. Little Lucy was still dealing with the death of her mother, reliving it every second of her life, and though Big Lucy could try to drown it in the loud sounds of brawls and laughter of the guild, it was never enough to save her from having to deal with Little Lucy’s loss at the end of the day.

When Lucy finally managed to move her heavy limbs, this morning, late in September, she once again wished that she would find strength to live another week. Not because she needed it to deal with this anniversary, or because she wouldn’t be able to live without that strength she wished for, but because she found that that was the only thing she could do. She could wish, and she could hope, and she could tell herself that surviving would be the same as living, even when she knew they were as different as living and dying. So, she wished, and then she stood up and put on the kettle, to somehow drown her morning blues in a hot cup of tea. Then she wished again, as she scooped oats into a bowl, to measure her breakfast. And she wished for a third time, when she accidentally cried into her oatmeal and made it salty, and that is when the Gods must have heard her wishes, echoing in all timelines, beginning when she was still a child, crying loudly in the empty halls of the Heartfilia mansion, because that is when the door flew up in Lucy’s hallway on Strawberry Street. The man she trusted at every other point in her life had entered, not expecting to see his gold haired companion wipe her tears and swallow hard as he hung his raincoat and slipped out of his slippers – an odd combination, but one none of his friends weren’t used to nowadays. Natsu was indeed surprised to hear sobbing this ordinary morning, but Lucy on the other hand just sent a thanks up to the Gods, along with a last wish. The wish that he would be there with her, every other time she had to deal with this phenomenon called death.

“What’s the matter, Lucy?” Natsu asked as he made his way over to the table.

“Oh,” she began, “nothing much, really.” She took a deep breath, knowing he must be startled by this odd scene. As she gathered some courage, she looked up and met his worried eyes, and then she let go of this responsibility she made up, that for so long had forced her to carry this loneliness and sadness all by herself. “Mom’s anniversary is coming up. I just tend to feel down whenever it comes around, as I said, it’s really nothing much.”

Natsu, who had sat down in front of her, had a difficult expression plastered all over his face. It was soft and kind, sympathetic even, but also something else that she couldn’t put her finger on.

“I’ll probably be like this for a few days, but it’ll pass, so no need to worry, Natsu.” She said after a while, not knowing how else to fill the silence between them.

“Do you wanna talk about her?” Natsu asked to Lucy’s surprise. She didn’t expect him to take a roll to support her during this – after all, he had never been good at comforting people, especially not when it came to death and such. He was known for running away from these things, and she couldn’t blame him, since she’d do the same if she had the energy to.

“I don’t know what you want to hear. There’s not much to say other than the things you already know,” Lucy told him with a faint smile. She truly appreciated his attempt to comfort her. Natsu was awkward about these things, even if he didn’t look it at the moment. While he took his time to formulate a sentence (she suspected he didn’t want to say anything to accidentally upset her – also something she really appreciated) she took a sip from her tea, that now had cooled down slightly.

“Well, I don’t know a lot about her as a person,” Natsu admitted, “other than that the two of you are similar. What were her hobbies? How was she before she met Jude?” The faint smile Lucy had carried grew stronger.

“Our hobbies were quite similar as well actually. She loved to read and write, though the only writing she did was in her diary, and that was buried with her, as per her request. You already know she was a strong mage, but I bet you didn’t know that she actually disliked the concept of guilds. She thought that it was putting normal people out of jobs, and she once compared it to a cult.” Lucy couldn’t stop a giggle as she saw the shocked look on Natsu’s face. “I promise she would think differently of it now, the business is cleaner now. Mom was actually a profound debater, she was great with her words, but she could never make a living out of it since she was too open minded to continue arguing about the same thing. If she argued against guild for example, and then heard a good enough argument as to why they actually are good for socioeconomic reasons et cetera, then she would just fall flat and admit being wrong. Great for making friends, but kind of bad if you want to make a living out of it,” she laughed. It felt nice, being able to talk about her mother as if she was alive. It was rare, which was sad in itself since she was so much more than just another dead mother.

Lucy’s laughter lacked the energy it usually had, but Natsu couldn’t blame her. Even his fondest memories of Igneel made him sad sometimes, just because he knew he’d never get to experience anything like it again.

“Mom was a really happy and positive person, both before and after she knew dad. She knew how to turn every bad situation around; you can say she was a master at seeing the golden edge when life felt grey and cloudy. Though, from what Aquarius told me, mom was fiercer before she met dad. Apparently, she had been taking care of the Heartfilia Konzern ever since she was in her late teens, and business was said to be in its golden age when she took care of it all. I can’t imagine mother being a bossy person, but maybe Aquarius got her temper from her, or the other way around.” She let out another chuckle before looking up at Natsu again. His face was serious, but he didn’t wear the frown she knew he usually got with his serious face. His eyebrows had a soft tilt, as if telling her to continue, and confirming her that he’s listening.

“Do you know what made her fall for Jude?”

“Well, other than the fact that dad had a lot more hair when the two of them met, apparently, he had spent months trying to get her attention by sending her flowers and love letters. They were all kind of bland, just repeating the same principle of ‘I fell in love at first sight, please let me introduce myself’ and a whole lot of stolen quotes by famous poets. She finally gave him a chance one day, and I’m pretty sure she fell for how devoted he was to her. She wrote in her diary once, in the very early entrances, that she hoped he would stay as devoted if she ever birthed him a child. It’s scary how people can change when they’re heartbroken.” Lucy’s voice only barely carried through her last sentence. Scary it was indeed, because there was no way any of the three of them could have predicted how sorrow would look in their mansion. She knew her father must have been extremely depressed, and after her history with him, she became surprised to learn that he never attempted to harm himself in any way. Instead, his sorrow became unrecognisable as it turned into rage and emotional detachment, and he harmed people around him whether he intended to or not.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and though Lucy felt the same heavy air from this morning return, it returned lighter. Natsu’s presence alone helped tremendously.

“How do you deal with it?” She finally managed to ask, her voice waving. “How does anyone get through it?”

Natsu swallowed, and Lucy could see his eyes flicker around the room, as if his brain was working hard as he carefully chose his words. She allowed him to take his time and brewed him a cup of tea so he wouldn’t sit empty handed while she ate breakfast. She still had her back turned when he answered.

“I don’t think anyone really deals with it. Ya’ know I’m already bad at dealin’ with emotions as is, so whenever Igneel’s anniversary comes up I kinda prefer being alone until I can function normally again. I’m sure you’ve already noticed I go away sometimes.” She turned around, now with a cup of hot water and a teabag in her hands. Natsu didn’t look up from a certain spot on the table, but she placed them down beside him anyways and let him continue. “But I know it makes me happiest when I can talk about him, and all the things we did together. That way he’s still remembered, and even if it’s sad and frustrating that those moments won’t happen again, it makes it a little easier, if just for a while.”

“Remembering them is bittersweet,” Lucy said, moving her own breakfast to the seat beside him so she could sit closer. “I can’t say I mind bittersweet things, because they help me feel things again, when everything just becomes overwhelmingly numb.”

“That’s the word, yeah.” Natsu looked up at her again. Her eyes looked tired, and her skin was pale, so he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her arm a squeeze. “What more are you thinkin’ about?”

Lucy pressed her lips together firmly, in an attempt to hold back her new flow of sadness.

“It’s just… Sometimes I feel so scared. Mom left me with dad, and it was supposed to be okay, because she expected him to continue loving me, even after his death. But it she didn’t know that dad wouldn’t be strong enough for us both, so she accidentally left me all alone, just leaving the empty shell of who was once my loving father. And then, when I finally reconciled with him, he died, leaving me all alone again. I’m just afraid I’ll end up losing someone again, and it’s stupid because I know none of my friends would purposely abandon me, but it has just happened too many times for the fear to feel irrational.” Lucy realised that she had started crying as she talked.

“I know how you feel,” Natsu whispered, pulling her into his embrace in an attempt to stop her shivering.

“The scariest part of this is that all my nightmares already have come true once,” she let out with a shaky voice. “I had already lost Aquarius, and then you had to deal with your stuff, which was totally understandable, but then the guild disbanded, and in less than a week my entire life had just crumbled down. All that was left was me and this stupid fear of abandonment, and even if you came back and brought the guild together again, and I was supposed to heal, this terrifying feeling stayed. You know, the ‘if it happened once, what stops it from happening again?’ type of feeling?”

“Yeah, I know it,” Natsu said again. “But I promise you that it will never, ever, in your entire life, happen ever again. I promise on everything I own and love. No matter what, I promise I’ll be with you, alright?”

Lucy burrowed closer into his shoulder, turning the half-hug into a proper one by wrapping her arms around him tightly. A few sobs slipped out, and it was unclear if they were from sadness, exhaustion, or gratefulness.

“Yeah, I know you will.” She rested her chin on top of his shoulder, practically bathing in the heat he radiated. “Which is why the fear is stupid.”

“I also feel scared of getting abandoned sometimes.” Natsu rarely spoke about his own traumas, especially ones that were this old, but as he rubbed faint patterns onto Lucy’s back, he felt like he could tell her. “It’s a really old fear, and even if it hasn’t resurfaced in ages, it still shakes me. It’s mostly remnants of when Igneel disappeared – and though I know now that he was with me all along, I still thought he’d left me there in the woods.”

They stayed in that position for a while, only changing to get closer. Holding him near like this was partly to ensure she’d never lose him again, but also partly to use him as an anchor. She believed his promises, and she trusted that he would never break the same promise twice.

When she spoke up again the tea had already gone cold.

“Natsu?”

“Mhm.”

“Can we stay inside like this today?”

“Yeah, ‘course.”

“Natsu?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fanfic #natsu x lucy #prompt: fears #nalu week 2023 #naluweek2023 #bumblebeehug writes

[bumblebeehug]

Stars and Roaches

Ship: Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia Summary: When Natsu starts behaving differently, Happy takes Lucy along to investigate. Day 4 of Nalu Week 2023 - prompt: shenanigans Ao3

***

“Dear Lucy, please come to your living room 14:30 sharp. There is something that needs to be discussed. DON’T BE LATE!! /Anonymous”

Lucy blinked as she read the bright orange post-it note again. To be honest, when she woke up this morning, she hadn’t expected to open her eyes to that neon-coloured paper. The person who wrote it must have managed to sneak in sometime during the night, because when she woke up it had been stuck onto her forehead. Clearly this person meant serious business, and though Lucy would have been scared, or at least a little nervous, knowing someone had broken into her house in the middle of the night, she couldn’t bring herself to even feel surprised. The letters on the tiny paper were just messy enough to only be possible to belong to one person she knew – and that guy just happened to leave evidence that solved the mystery immediately - some blue hairs on the sticky part of the post-it.

Knowing she couldn’t leave Happy hanging when it came to this urgent matter, she decided to stay in this morning, and spend some valuable time writing on a draft to an article Jason had offered to pay her for. The article itself wasn’t very urgent, but she never complained to get work done beforehand whenever it was possible.

Just as she had finished the first rough draft, the sound of pebbles smattering on her bedroom window filled the room. The clock on her left arm said “14:38”, so clearly the “sharp” part hadn’t been as serious as it had seemed.

“I’ll be right there!” She shouted, not bothering to hurry to let her guest in. She wanted to properly close the bottle of ink and clean the pen, and if Happy was around, she’d probably get to the task hours later, which sometimes harmed the pen and always spoiled the ink. So, she took her petty time cleaning up, ignoring the continuous knocking on the glass.

Before she opened the window, she took another glance at her clock. “14:45”. Oh well, she would just have to apologise by buying him some fresh fish at a later date, if he bothered to remember it that long. When she finally unlocked the window, not without using some force, she was met by a frown.

“You took AGES to get here, didn’t I say 14:30 sharp?!” He scolded her.

“Oh, I thought so too, but then you were 8 minutes late, so I thought I could take my time. Sorry, Happy.” She tried to feign her innocence, but failed, feeling a smile creep on. “So, what’s the urgent matter? You wanted to discuss something?”

Happy sat down on Lucy’s table, beside the article she had been writing on. To get herself closer to his eyelevel, she decided to sit down on the chair in front of him.

“Right. Well, you know Natsu?”

“I’ve heard of him, yes.”

“Yeah, so, I heard he’s been planning something big for tomorrow.” Lucy couldn’t keep her poker face when Happy himself looked so serious. A few chuckles slipped out before she regained control. He was being adorable, she thought, taking this planning thing seriously enough to bother making anonymous notes regarding it.

“And why do you think that’s weird?” She asked, allowing herself to feed this little fantasy. “Doesn’t he just say that sometimes, like when he’s saved up enough money to treat himself to a 20-course meal at a restaurant?”

“Well, I thought so too, until I saw him wrapping up a present. But listen, it wasn’t a good present at all, because the box was really small, so the fish inside must be tiny! And quality over quantity might work with other things, but fish are a lot better when you can take more than one bite.” He crossed his small arms as he thought about this puzzling situation.

“Do you know if it’s someone’s birthday?” Lucy asked, now slightly more interested in this mystery.

“No one at all comes to mind. I think he’s been meeting someone in secret.” His words struck through Lucy’s body like lightning. Could that be true? He had been slightly off lately, and a lot more laid-back regarding missions. She shifted her seat uncomfortably.

“Do you really think so?”

“It’s the only explanation.”

“No, but maybe he’s celebrating some date we’ve forgotten. What date did the three of us meet again?” She was getting desperate to solve this conundrum.

“I’m telling you that’s not it, Lucy. I’ve checked all our calendars, that’s why I was here last night.”

“Not to stick post-it’s on my forehead?”

“That became the aftermath of not finding any reasonable explanation to his behaviour. Have you even noticed that he hasn’t been at your apartment as often?”

“Well, sure, but I thought he just had something else to take care of… But what are you saying, do you think he’s been meeting some secret person… romantically?”

“Of course not, where did you get that from?” Happy deadpanned. Lucy ignored the feeling of something heavy getting lifted off her chest and continued talking.

“So, he’s just up to weird stuff, is that what you’re implying?” She sat back in her chair and took a deep breath to regain her critical thinking skills, that for some reason got turned off when Happy brought up that hypothetical person.

“Yeah, but the fact that we know nothing about it makes it really weird, don’t you think? We don’t have secrets, so why is he suddenly breaking that rule?” Happy stood up and starting walking across the table and back. He seemed really puzzled, but Lucy knew it was concern in disguise.

“It is weird… You’re right. But why can’t we just ask him about it? I’m sure he’d gladly tell us about whatever he’s doing.”

“Ask him… That’s right! I haven’t tried that yet! Let’s go there immediately and ask him!”

He hadn’t even asked Natsu about it… It took Lucy great amount of power to not smack her palm to her face. Sometimes she worried about the lack of problem solving Happy showed, but since he’d made it this far in life without it, she couldn’t exactly rewire his brain suddenly to live his life differently – though surely it would make his life easier.

Not wasting any time, she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, right after Happy who urged her to go faster. As they made their way over to their house, Lucy tried to wrap her head around this whole thing herself. It was certainly true that Natsu hadn’t hung around Lucy’s apartment as often, but she hadn’t thought of it since Happy made sure to visit regularly enough. They did that sometimes, so she didn’t think anything of it. Plus, if Happy was right about that whole present thing, the size of it sounded too much like a box that held jewellery, which, whether Happy liked it or not, could only mean that there WAS a secret romantic special someone. And though it wasn’t any of Lucy’s business, she felt like she had failed him, because she truly wanted him to be able to share things with her. Had they really started to grow apart? And how could that be possible when she felt like they had been closer than ever, when they actually DID hang out?

She stopped herself from eating her heart out regarding this topic. It would be silly if she spent all this time worrying, just for it to be explained with the simplest reasoning as soon as they asked. But then again, she still had to prepare for the worst.

“Are you sure he’s home?” Lucy asked as their house started to emerge in front of them.

“Aye,” Happy said, flying slightly ahead. As he entered, the door flew up with a loud bang, which surely would scare any living resident to death, if said resident hadn’t already both heard and smelled them coming.

“What’s up?”

Natsu smiled broadly, surprised but pleased with this unexpected company. Lucy immediately felt calmer when she saw him. There was no way he held some big secrets from them, their Natsu just wouldn’t do something like that.

“Nothing much,” Lucy smiled, taking off her jacket. “I just haven’t seen you in a while, so I thought I’d pay you a visit. What have you been up to?”

“Oh, well… Nothing much. I’ve just been hanging around, did some trainin’ and stuff.” Had he told Lucy this yesterday, she wouldn’t have bat an eye, but since she now paid more attention, she noticed that he glanced around, as if he was stopping himself from telling too much.

“How nice.” She didn’t want to come off as if she was interrogating him, so she played innocent while she prepared herself to confront him. “You guys still got some tea, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll fetch it for ya.” As he went into the messy kitchen, rummaging the higher shelves, Happy shot Lucy a meaningful glance. She understood he was getting impatient, but she ignored his sense of urge and continue taking this slowly.

“Thanks, Natsu,” she said, tilting her head slightly to further prove her innocence. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary for her to act like this, but she allowed herself to go the extra mile this time, to get him to obey her later. She hurried boiling some water and preparing three cups with teabags so she could get to business.

Meanwhile, Natsu had noticed that something was off with Happy.

“What’s the matter bud? You’ve been awfully quiet since you got here.”

“Yeah,” Lucy added, “are you feeling alright?” She sometimes wished he could practice his poker-face, because right now he was looking both guilty and secretive.

“Uh…”

“Maybe your stomach is hurting from the fish I gave you earlier?” Lucy was lying, because she definitely hadn’t given Happy a fish, but she hoped he’d get the hint to continue this small lie.

“No, that’s not it.”

Lucy sighed before she repeated herself.

“I said: MAYBE your STOMACH is hurting from the FISH you ate earlier?” This time she sterned her eyes into his – she couldn’t be more obvious than this, and she honestly worried Natsu would see through this act they were putting up.

“Oh! That fish! Yeah, now that you say it…” Happy chuckled nervously, now glancing over to Natsu, who looked like he started to find them suspicious.

“Well, the tea is ready, let’s sit down.” Lucy got both of their attention, and hopefully Natsu wouldn’t ask further about it. Well, he wouldn’t need to when they unravelled this little secret he had, because after that she would make both of them vow to never keep secrets from each other again. At least no romantic secrets, because no matter what Happy said, she couldn’t think of any other reason Natsu would own a ring box.

When they all sat by the messy kitchen table, Lucy once again tried to invite Natsu to tell on himself.

“So, what do you do when you’re not hanging around my place nowadays?” She asked, this time trying to point him in the right direction. ‘What is so important for you that it lessens your time spent with me?’ she actually tried to ask, but all she could do was hope he understood what she meant.

“As I said, I’ve been trainin’ some. Nothin’ interestin’, I’ll tell ya that.” She followed his movements as he readjusted his seat, sitting back and resting his arms behind his head.

“But tomorrow! You told me you’d planned something for tomorrow!” Happy busted out, no longer having the patience to sneak around the subject.

“Happy!”

“Tomorrow? I didn’t think you’d remember I mentioned that.” Lucy swung her head around to look at Natsu again.

“Aha! So there is something planned tomorrow!” She had to admit that she wasn’t too proud of how intense she became, but clearly there was no point in going around the main subject.

“He told you?!” Natsu exclaimed. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just do it today. Though I had it all planned out…” He mumbled the last part of his sentence and walked away, seemingly to fetch something. When he came back, he held that small package that Happy had been talking about. Lucy felt her face heat up, because clearly it was meant for her.

“I wanted to have some privacy,” Natsu shot Happy a meaningful glance, ”but I suppose I’ll just have to do it like this.”

The box was wrapped in silvery paper, with a golden ribbon holding it together. It looked odd, coming from Natsu’s hands, since it wasn’t exactly his type of gift, yet she still couldn’t look away from the sight. If this turned out to be a meaningful moment between the two (now three, she supposed) of them, then she wanted to remember every single second.

“I don’t know if you remember, Lucy, but almost exactly five years ago, something happened that changed our relationship forever.” She held her breath. “I think you’ll understand when you open this, but we haven’t exactly celebrated it before so no worries if you don’t.”

Lucy looked up at Natsu. He looked so sincere, almost shy, and she took an internal picture so she could save and savour this moment forever. She thought she saw a faint blush, like a watercolour wash, paint his cheeks, which she only found fitting considering her own bold, red face.

“Natsu…” She began, accepting the gift and looking over at Happy quickly, not wanting to miss out on his expression. Happy looked really invested, and maybe slightly uncomfortable, like he was intruding on an important moment. Natsu didn’t seem to mind his presence too much though, so she turned back to the item in her hand.

Giving Natsu one last thankful smile, she unravelled the bow and opened the wrapper. The box itself was a gorgeous red, only comparable to Natsu’s deepest fire, and it was clad in a soft velvet, making it feel ethereal in her hands.

“Oh, Natsu,” she said again, too flattered by his thoughtfulness to even open the box. “I feel so bad, I can’t remember what we’re celebrating at all!”

“No worries! I’m telling you, it’s nothin’ special, really. I just wanted to bring some light to what happened five years ago. I promise, you’ll remember as soon as you open it.”

“But I have nothing to give you back! Especially nothing as gorgeous as this… Can I really accept it?” She felt really bad, because no matter how hard she thought, no date or anniversary came to mind.

“If you really wanna make it up to me, you can do it later. Just open it!” Natsu was clearly getting impatient, so she gave in to his request and slowly opened it.

“EEEK!!!” Lucy flew up from her spot by the kitchen table faster than lightning, throwing herself backwards. Happy did the same, still not knowing what was in it, but trusting Lucy’s instinct (and getting startled by her sudden reaction).

“WHAT, WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?” Happy shouted, shielding himself from the apparently evil red box that still laid on the table.

“C-… COCKROACH!” Lucy screed, shielding her face from the disgusting critter she apparently had seen in the gift she once was so happy to receive. Not until now did she hear the silent laughter coming from her pink haired companion. “You! What on earth is that supposed to celebrate, you vile human?!”

Natsu threw his head backwards as he let out a roaring laugh, all the way from his toes.

“THE-… THE FIRST TIME I PRANKED YOU!”

“Oh my god!? Natsu! Did you seriously show me a DEAD COCKROACH for a PRANK?!” Lucy, who had scooted closer to Natsu, still trying to stay far away from the disgusting insect, hit his arm for revenge.

“HAHAHA!”

Since there was no way to get through to Natsu while he still bathed in the success of the prank, Lucy threw a glass over the box, just in case the critter would come alive or something. Happy, who only was scared because of Lucy’s sudden freak-out, started laughing as well. Lucy sighed in despair, though that was probably a dramatic description of her current feelings. She didn’t feel despaired – just shocked and a little embarrassed. She had really thought Natsu would give her something nice, maybe along with a long-awaited confession, so she had behaved all thankful and sentimental. Knowing he only meant to prank her all along, made her feel like she was made a fool of.

“Hey, explanation please?” She said, crossing her arms as the laughter died down. Natsu, who now seemed to have calmed down enough to take in what was happening around him, started laughing again as he saw the glass over the box.

“HAHAHA, you CONTAINED the BOX?!”

“Well, cockroaches are known for never dying! How do I know you killed it properly?” Lucy defended herself, pushing Natsu lightly to extend her point. Finally, he managed to properly stop laughing, drying a tear in the corner of his eye.

“Because I didn’t have to kill it! It’s plastic, silly!”

“You’re calling ME silly? YOU’RE the one who put a ROACH in a RING-BOX!” Lucy started walking around to try to calm her own heartbeat, which still was high from the initial shock.

“But you didn’t look behind it!” Lucy stopped herself in her movements.

“Sorry, I was busy following my instincts,” she glared, not happy with how he was pointing out the obvious.

“But there IS a proper gift there as well. Look again!” Natsu lifted the glass from the table, picked out the scarily realistic cockroach (she still wasn’t sure if it really was as fake as he claimed it was) and gave her the box again. Lucy looked at Natsu one more time, with a warning glance, before opening it again.

Inside was a small charm, maybe the size of half a pea, that was meant to represent a small, silver star, which despite its rough edges, looked beautifully handmade.

“But- why?” She managed to say, picking it up and observing it from every angle.

“Consider it my apology gift,” Natsu grinned, giving her half a hug as they both looked at the shiny charm in the light.

Happy, who decided he was done with this disappointing ordeal, drank the rest of his tea, that now had gone cold, and went over to Natsu. Without missing a beat, Natsu handed over the cockroach, still making small talk about the star, talking about who made it and which necklace or bracelet she should put it on, as Happy dropped it into her teacup. They loved her to death, both of them, but sometimes she just made pranks so incredibly easily accessible, and despite what they thought, Lucy didn’t mind at all, because that just meant there never was a boring moment with them. Though this time she wouldn’t make the mistake of letting the cockroach out of sight twice.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail fanfic #fairy tail fanfiction #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #natsu x lucy #nalu week 2023 #naluweek2023 #prompt: shenanigans #bumblebeehug writes

[bumblebeehug]

Happy Endings

Ship: Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia Summary: What Natsu knew about families had been an ever-changing subject for as long as he could remember. Yet somehow, he found himself free from these wonders one day. Day 2 of Nalu Week - prompt: family Ao3

***

Natsu could only remember one time in his life when he was searching for a family. During that time, he only remembered cold, dark woods, and a feeling of abandonment he couldn’t shake. Igneel had disappeared, and he truly felt scared and alone. When Makarov picked him up and carried him to the warm safety of the Fairy Tail guild, he remembered feeling better, though still confused and upset. Igneel had been all he had, all he needed, and suddenly he was gone, and Natsu needed someone else to help him teach him how to live. In that sense Makarov was an angel from above – he provided him with a family, friends, food and roof over his head. He provided him with the guidance he needed to function in society, and for that Natsu would forever be thankful.

As he met the other children Makarov had managed to pick up on his journeys, he also had to learn how to share, and how to play fairly. That way he discovered that he hated a black-haired boy named Gray, that the redheaded girl called Erza was scarier than anyone he had ever met before – and mind you, his dad was a dragon, and he discovered that the Strauss siblings were easy to boss around. Well, not Mira-Jane, she was as scary as Erza, but the other two, Lisanna and Elfman, were fun and easy to play with. Though Elfman was quite the scaredy cat, which made some games complicated whenever they played together.

And so it happened that Natsu and Lisanna became best friends. They still had their differences – Natsu was wilder than her and wanted to play more violent games, preferably in a way that made him look tough, and Lisanna liked to make those games more emotional. She was actually quite good at storytelling and managed to modify Natsu’s ideas to make it work for both of them. If Natsu wanted to fight, then she would make it that he was fighting for a good cause – to protect his friends and family, and Lisanna herself could be a princess or a sibling who had to be saved. They worked well, the two of them – something that would be proved when they finally got old enough to go on missions to earn some money for themselves. Though that’s skipping ahead in time.

Before they went on missions together, they one day found a mysterious egg. By then Natsu had gotten more content with the idea of staying with Fairy Tail for good. He would always search for Igneel, and he would certainly find him, but until then he liked the group of people he knew in this wild guild. He even liked Gray, though he’d never admit it if anyone asked. The guild was wild and violent, friendly fights breaking out every other day, but he knew in his heart that this was his home, and that the people inside it was his family.

Lisanna, who Natsu thought was getting more creative by the hour, figured out that they could play house with this egg they found. For her, the family dynamic was simple to spot – she would be the mommy, Natsu the daddy, and whatever was in that egg would be the baby. Of course, the part of her that had a small crush on Natsu was also happy with this game, and unbeknownst to her, Natsu was also pleased with it. He had too much pride to admit it, but he loved playing with Lisanna, despite her to him crazy ideas about wives and husbands and weddings. Those words had no substance in his world – why couldn’t everyone just live and love and let life happen without the interruptions of ceremonies and such? Well, it didn’t really matter when it came down to it, because ceremonies or not, games or reality, the egg was bound to hatch, and when it did and a tiny, blue, flying kitten came out of it, Natsu felt something click within himself. The cat, who Natsu named Happy, had brought together the guild in a way he never quite had seen or experienced before. In the guild, people had lost big parts of their families, replacing it with the friends and elderly figures found in Fairy Tail, but now they met Happy – a cat who not only could fly, but who they also soon learned could speak. This kitten had never known a life without a family, abandoned or lost. He was constantly surrounded by loud and happy people, and even when he wasn’t in the guild hall, he spent all his awake time with Natsu and Lisanna. Happy’s childhood fascinated many of the children. For him, the constant flow of people around him, assured that he would never truly be lonely. He could have a silly fight with Natsu and Lisanna, who were likely trying their best to raise him, even though they were only children themselves, and Happy could fly off to some other group of people, who all would be grateful to have him near them. See, Happy was properly and thoroughly loved, because all the family he had ever known, would never leave him.

Natsu saw Happy’s childhood unfold right in front of him. He was practically the only person Happy would dare to categorise as a father figure, though, brother was probably a better word for it, seeing as they practically learned to live side by side. Still, even if Natsu wouldn’t be able to put it into words by this age, he understood that Happy’s childhood was the ideal. All his friends should have gotten a chance to experience what Happy did, but too few of them actually did. By this time, he knew enough about marriages, wives, husbands and children, to know that one day, he would like to try again at raising a baby. Happy was quite exceptional, who survived having Natsu as his main provider, and Natsu looked forward to raising actual human babies – though it could certainly wait until he had sniffed out Igneel.

Lisanna had taken a huge role when it came to raising Happy. She took it more seriously than any other friend Natsu knew, and even though he first should have been concerned over the lack of adults who partook in Happy’s early months, he soon found out that she was the perfect person for the job. Kind-hearted, caring, fun and responsible. She truly was it all, and Natsu couldn’t help noticing his feelings for her develop. Maybe it was his years as a preteen, or maybe he was just finally old enough to see her clearly, but his admiration for her grew constantly. Not a day went by where Natsu and Happy weren’t by Lisanna’s side. They were glued together, until the day came when Lisanna had gotten permission to take a harder job with her siblings. It was the worst day in Natsu’s life since he was abandoned by his father in the woods. Now, he felt like he had truly been through it all. The only consultation was that he still had Happy by his side, and even that wasn’t cheering him up. How could anyone deal with the death of someone? Had Natsu spent all this time with her in vain? Weren’t they supposed to try again with the family stuff, some day far into the future?

As soon as he had noticed his happiness come, he saw it go. Over and over again, he watched the last memory of her repeat in his mind. Fair skin, light hair, endlessly blue eyes, and the softest smile he had ever known. He was meant to protect her, to be there to ward off any dangers, just like they had played as kids. How could fate be so cruel that he didn’t even get to see his longest friend grow old? Natsu had never asked for much, he never expected Lisanna to hold on to her childhood crush on him, and he truthfully wasn’t expecting himself to hold on to it either. He knew life could come between the two of them, but how could he accept it when it was death that split them, and not life?

Natsu wasn’t proud of how he dealt with his sorrows. It had begun with anger, not at anyone specific – especially not Mira or Elfman, who he knew did all they could to protect her, even when Elfman had lost all control. No, he was mad at himself, for not being there for her, even if he wouldn’t be able to beat an out-of-control Elfman, he could have gone in her place. Really, anything would have been a better outcome than this, he thought, as long as it meant that Lisanna could get a chance to live a long and full life.

After Natsu went through the different stages of grief, he learned that the way he could most comfortably cope with his loss, was to push other people away. Don’t get him wrong, he wouldn’t go out of his way to ignore people if they wanted to talk with him or hang around him, but he had stopped trying to reach out and connect with the rest of the guild. Happy was always by his side of course, and as he vowed he would never allow anything bad happen to him, he also knew that he was avoiding emotional confrontation. At several instances he would realise that Happy was trying to make him talk about what had happened, to maybe come to some cliché solution where Natsu finally could say “life works in mysterious ways” and then continue living. Not that Happy necessarily wanted him to come to that conclusion, but he knew that Natsu was avoiding what had happened, and it would only lead to more harm in the future if he couldn’t learn to cope with it now. He might not have understood exactly that things would end up like that, but he sensed that something could go very wrong within Natsu’s brain if he didn’t start connecting with people again.

The sorrow however never subsided; it just became greyer as the time went on. Even if Natsu never truly recovered from the loss, the same way that Mira and Elfman had changed for good, life still got easier. He slowly started to learn to live with it, and despite his emotional unavailability, other than the anger his hot-headed temper allowed to show, he still managed to learn to appreciate the family he still had. He never let his sight go of Happy, and he always made sure he was in safety before he joined in with any guild brawls. He also never managed to gather a proper team after Lisanna passed, but he still had idle chats by the bar when the time was right. He disguised his cravings for the touch of another human’s skin by throwing fists at Gray and Loke, and he even took some time to appreciate Erza’s reliability from afar whenever he thought no-one noticed.

This is how his relationship with the guild looked like for a long time. Admiring from afar, never letting people see his real feelings and desires, in fear that he would lose another friend if he got too close. It was after all an undeniable pattern – he loved Igneel, and he disappeared one day. He found proper fatherly love in Gildarts, who always went away as fast as he arrived. And Lisanna – the person he had the most tender relationship with, went away in the most excruciating way. It couldn’t keep happening like this, and so he hid away his feelings.

A few weird coincidences lead to a big change in Natsu’s life. One day in the guild, he had accidentally overheard a fellow guild mate mention a fire breathing salamander. Normally, breathing fire wasn’t out of the ordinary for Natsu. It was after all a magic spell he had learned at a young age, and he now managed to control it relatively easily. Adding that to the word salamander however awoke a picture in his head – a salamander didn’t look too far off from a dragon, apart from size and some other minor details. And if it could breathe fire, then it might just as well be possible that it was Igneel! So, despite the very high chance of it not being Igneel, he went to search for him, just to check it out. It wasn’t too far away, but he took the train, because he simply didn’t want to waste any time (though he didn’t know he’d pass out from motion sickness and accidentally waste time through an extra trip). At the time he didn’t know that time was moving him towards his fate, so he could happen to meet the right person, just at the right time.

The commotion the “salamander” brought to the coastal town of Hargeon was fateful indeed – he saw a weak fire mage (who certainly didn’t compare to a dragon) scam young girls by making them think he had certain interest in them, he somehow got an autograph, and then there she was, with bright yellow hair, brown concerned eyes, and a magic mouth. Magic was an exaggeration, since she had only offered to buy him and Happy some lunch, but he was grateful non the less. In fact, he hadn’t been too off with the magic stuff – the weird girl called Lucy was a celestial mage, which was something he knew nothing about before their encounter. Apparently, she could summon “spirits” or “sprites” (he didn’t care too much about the proper terminology) thanks to magical keys.

Despite her chatty mouth, he immediately knew that he liked her. There was something refreshing about her – maybe it was the way she acted the same way his guildmates did, combined with the fact that she didn’t know anything about him. He was a new face to her, and that was something he appreciated. When their ways crossed again, he knew he had to take this chance to keep her close. She had been talking excitedly about his guild during the meal, and he found her praise quite flattering, before the royal guards could capture the two of them, he grabbed her hand and made his offer: the offer to join Fairy Tail.

His life drastically changed after she joined the guild. That girl, Lucy Heartfilia, she really knew how to shake things up in that old building. She was stubborn, kind-hearted, hot headed, funny, and incredibly smart, and somehow, she stuck around Natsu, despite his standoffish attitude and impolite way of inviting her to his team by attempting to use her looks to deceive some old duke. Really, she could have decided to go on her own jobs from that point, and he wouldn’t blame her the slightest. But she decided to stay, even when he brought her on S-class jobs and practically made her risk her life. And after this, when she turned out to be the daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern, she spent most of her time worrying if she even deserved to be a member of the guild. He couldn’t believe it! She was the only one ha really had been able to get close to since Lisanna died, and as if that wasn’t enough, she even brought him closer to his other guild mates. He had never spent as much time with Gray or Erza or Mira before Lucy got in the picture.

There was never a dull day now that Lucy had joined the guild. People he had seen as enemies were now allies, like that weird other dragon slayer, Gajeel, and the water girl Juvia. The jobs they took (somehow, they had allowed Erza and Gray to join their team, which Natsu wasn’t too happy about – he liked the small group of him, Lucy and Happy) got crazier and crazier, and the effect it had on the guild, his family, was nothing less than magical. It’s silly of him to compare the great, amazing, good things to magic, because magic was an ordinary concept now that wizards and witches grew in population, but it was true; Lucy made them all tighter, happier, even if they didn’t know how much credit she deserved.

Thanks to this girl’s existence, Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Carla were able to survive some really complicated situations, when Lucy turned out to be the only one who could use magic in the weird reality called Edolas. Thanks to her they figured out how to save the rest of the guild, and as a byproduct, one of the most improbable things happened: Lisanna came back to life. Well, that wasn’t exactly how it had gone, since she never really died in the first place, but that is how it felt for everyone from Earthland. Mira and Elfman got their little sister back, and they were happier than ever, and though Natsu should have felt ecstatic as well, seeing as his first resemblance of love was back, he didn’t feel very different. He was happy, but he had been for a while now, now that Lucy was around. His childhood crush was just that – a childhood crush, and he was grateful to be able to befriend Lisanna again after all this time apart. The odd thing was that he didn’t feel a need to get back to how things were. Happy almost seemed the same – excited to see Lisanna alive and well, but not in need to continue their mother-son relationship from where it dropped off.

And around that time was when it hit Natsu: his idea of a family had changed drastically. Igneel was still in the back of his mind, and the guild would always be his home, but now he found himself constantly drawn to the girl whose golden hair could outshine the stars. His life suddenly revolved around her, and Happy had found himself right in the middle of it. Lucy and Happy were even tighter than Lisanna and Happy – not because Happy didn’t like Lisanna, but because Lucy had become one of his absolute best and closest friends, only competing with Natsu himself. They had become a team, even way back then, and the three of them would just continue to play around and live life as dangerously as humanely possible. They were inseparable.

As time went by, they had been through a lifetime of crazy experiences. They had been stuck in time after being attacked by a dragon, gotten a comeback at the Grand Magic Games and won the whole thing, then he met future Lucy who sacrificed herself for her past self, something that would never be forgotten by Natsu, and he would certainly never forgive future Rogue for acting like that. At that point he hadn’t met the dragons though, but he soon would, and somehow he would survive seven of them, and then, after visiting a town where giants lived, a demon guild decided to kidnap Natsu, because apparently he had some connection to Zeref, the dark mage, and then, completely out of the blue, Igneel showed up. Lucy had been there for all of this, and at the time she already seemed out of it, sort of depressed in a way that maybe only Natsu could pick up on. She had been waving it off as being tired, but later he learned she had sacrificed Aquarius, her mother’s key, just so she could save the guild from being digested by a monster. And now, there he was, Natsu’s father, or the closest thing he had ever known to be a father, and he was there to fight Fairy Tail’s greatest enemy: Acnologia.

In an ideal world, Igneel was supposed to win that fight. He would win, and he would spend the rest of his life with Natsu and Happy and Lucy and the guild, and so would the other dragons. Everything was supposed to be alright afterwards, and the whole E.N.D. thing would solve itself. His heart would be full, and his family would be whole. He would have it all. So, when the evil force that was Acnologia murdered Igneel in front of Natsu’s eyes, he knew something had to change. Something that Natsu never believed would happen in a million years, in his darkest nightmares, happened, and he couldn’t stop it. The image was etched into his brain, and it replayed like a scratched CD, scarring the brain tissue that was responsible for his happiness, and that was when he knew he could never allow something similar to happen ever again. No matter what, he had to get stronger. If he hadn’t been strong enough to prevent Igneel from dying, then there was no chance for him to stop Zeref or Acnologia. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He left everyone in order to grow stronger.

Natsu had never intended to leave Lucy alone, and he certainly didn’t intend to bring Happy either. Happy was great, and even if he pretended to have full faith in the blue feline’s survival skills, he was worried he’d hurt him with his fire, or that he’d accidentally drop a boulder on him somehow during this training. That’s why he first wanted to leave Happy with Lucy – they could take care of each other. If Happy didn’t want to be with her all the time, he could be with Lisanna or Wendy, or anyone he'd like, really. But not even Natsu could convince Happy to stay behind – the exceed simply wouldn’t hear of it. He protested for days when he learned that Natsu intended to leave Lucy as well, but when he didn’t budge, all Happy could do was to convince him to at least leave a note, so she wouldn’t worry too much. So that’s what he did. It took many days for Natsu to get the words right, as it felt like nothing he wrote would be enough to excuse himself with. “Happy and I are going to train, we’ll be back in a year” could be reworded as “I’m running away, yikes, don’t die, maybe I’ll come back, or not” and it gave off practically the same feeling. The letter he settled on was short and cruel in his opinion, and he knew he could never fully be forgiven for what he was about to do, but he just couldn’t deal with this loss in any other way.

It wasn’t supposed to be as hard to leave as it was. Natsu and Happy had always been the original original team, ever since Natsu found that egg in the woods. It hadn’t been Lisanna who found him, but Natsu, and therefore they stuck together. They had known each other for Happy’s entire life, and Lucy had only joined a few years ago, plus 7 years that couldn’t really count. That was the facts, Happy and Natsu, Natsu and Happy – it was always those two who would stick together, no matter the situation. So why on earth was leaving Lucy the hardest thing he had to make himself do? He had no choice but to see his father leave, but running away from Lucy was entirely Natsu’s decision. He would be crushing mountains and he would evaporate entire lakes and seas, yet those feats had nothing on him abandoning her. He didn’t understand how or why, but Lucy was more important than anyone else he had ever met, well, parallel to Happy. Natsu didn’t care about Lucy like a sister or anything, not like Erza, Levy, Cana, Mira or nowadays Lisanna. She was just his friend, except it wasn’t fair to call her “just” or “friend”. She was… his. That’s all he could get from it. She was his new safe point, where he went to recharge or relax, and calling her family didn’t make sense for him at the time, despite the similar characteristics she shared with the rest of the guild.

When he finally had enough courage to return, she had changed drastically. Before she seemed to live life like there was no tomorrow, never worrying about a thing, flying from one job to another, just happy to experience life in all it’s glory. When he met her eyes in the burning stadium, he couldn’t find the glimmer he once had compared to the stars. He had never felt so heartbroken. It felt so stupid, because here he was, grinning like an idiot, asking a stupid and shallow question, and Lucy should have taken her chance to kick him and scream at him and cry, and yet she managed to smile and carry on being her kind, polite self. Except, he knew she felt weirded out by the whole thing. They hadn’t met each other in an entire year, yet here he and Happy was, acting as if no time had gone by at all. A dick move, but it was the only thing Natsu knew he could do. And sometimes, for a few minutes, he could swear he had dreamt the whole year of training, and that everything was back to how it used to be. Him, Lucy and Happy, eating and playing and talking, like there was eternity ahead of them.

While the air between Natsu and Lucy sometimes grew thick, the bond between them also grew. It became stronger after this time apart, and now all Natsu could think of was how mature she seemed compared to him. Her hair was in this ponytail on the side of her head, tied with a really pretty blue ribbon, that really flattered her skin tone. Her clothes were new as well, and he couldn’t help but admire her lean back whenever he walked behind her. He was so aware of everything she said and did, and he found himself multiple times trying to casually show off to her. He felt pretty humbled when he learned that she had done her own special training, even learning to use those star dresses (though some of those outfits he wouldn’t mind being more covering), and her job as a journalist had clearly only aided her in becoming smarter, and suddenly he once again felt like he had missed too much of her time. He found himself wishing that he’d never left at all, just so he could have been by her side as she grew.

The true turning point in their relationship happened later on, during the final war against Zeref and his nation. One of the Spriggan 12, a woman named Dimaria, had killed her, murdered her, his Lucy, and for him, that was the point of no return. His fury burned absolutely everything, from what he later heard, even time and space, and he wouldn’t have changed that outcome for anything in the world, even in hindsight. When his anger blocked his vision, his hearing and all other senses, he remembered only having one thing in mind. He had to kill the one responsible to Lucy’s death, and it didn’t matter who he had to get through. In fact, he didn’t care if this fire and rage killed him, because without her he couldn’t imagine living on.

The rest of that big day was kind of a big blur. He knew he had gotten his senses back in the middle of a fight with Gray, where Erza had stepped in to break them up. Shortly after he could smell Lucy, and then before he knew it her arms were wrapped around him. He was completely drained, but inside he was the happiest man alive. She was alive, maybe he somehow had managed to save her from the cruel fate Dimaria would have given her otherwise. Then more time passed, and things became blurry again until he felt part of himself heal. He once again sensed Lucy had jumped in to save him in some smart way he couldn’t wrap his head around, because he was fighting Zeref and only barely managed to stay up against him.

To describe every single moment that Lucy saved his life in, or to go into detail about every fight they fought together would take a lifetime. When Fairy Tail fought Zeref, Natsu weren’t unfamiliar to his possessiveness towards the celestial mage, since he many times had found himself vowing to keep promises to her future self, or just vowing to never let a single enemy who somehow hurt Lucy go unharmed. As he returned from Acnologia’s spiritual world, he realised that the place he was falling towards, was home. It was more than just the ruins of his guild, and it was more than his mates standing around, waiting for some celebration to begin for surviving the hardest battle yet: he fell towards Lucy and Happy. Even in midair he found himself relieved – despite having the landing left to do. In a few seconds he’d be face to face with the most beautiful face in the entire world, and he would say “I’m home” because for him there was no better word to describe that feeling. Then he would hear her say “Welcome home” and he would feel his life fall into place, like he’d finally found the missing piece to the never-ending puzzle of his life.

Sometime in the future, Natsu would continue this puzzle. He would have learned by then that the wife-thing Lisanna talked about when they were little, was more than just childish dreams from a small girl, and he would allow himself to thrive in the family he’d make with Lucy. First it would be the two of them, and Happy of course. Then he’d look back at his memories from Edolas, when he met Lucy Ashley and Natsu Dragion’s daughter, Nasha, and he’d think of Grieg, and he’d think of Levy and Gajeel’s twins, and by then he’d want to expand the tiny family they made up. For Lucy to be a mother, for Natsu to be a father, and for Happy to be the best uncle anyone could ever ask for, was according to Natsu, the so-called “Happy Ending” everyone had been talking about. He would fill his life with new adventures, and he’d experience them all with Lucy, whom he by then would proudly be able to call the love of his life, and he would tell everyone that she was exactly that, until she begged him to shut his mouth and let his actions prove it instead of his words.

And though this was in the future, and he had no idea how it would turn out yet, he knew he’d never have to search for a family ever again. Now that he promised his entire future to her, he could feel safe in the knowledge that he’d spend the rest of his life dedicated to fulfilling all his promises to protect her and take her on endless amounts adventures. Not even a happy ending had to end when he had forever with her. Natsu’s Lucy.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fanfic #natsu x lucy #nalu week 2023 #naluweek2023 #prompt: family #bumblebeehug writes

[bumblebeehug]

Endless Devotion

Ship: Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia Summary: Natsu spends the morning preparing something important. Day 1 of Nalu Week 2023 - prompt: anniversary Ao3

***

The morning air was cool and tranquil as Natsu began his day. He was up early, tripping around carefully to not wake up Happy who still peacefully slept in his miniature hammock, like the one Natsu extensively used. Usually, they both slept in Lucy’s apartment, but since Lucy hosted girls’ night last night, Natsu had been temporarily kicked out. Girls’ night was no joke for the Fairy Tail girls; they planned elaborate games and picked food and movies as if their lives depended on it. Early in their relationship, Natsu and Happy had hung around on her roof (with Lucy’s permission of course, he didn’t really care about spying on a bunch of women gossiping for hours, but he liked staying close to her, and still do to be frank) and overheard the most elaborate, detailed discussion on whether the shop clerk two blocks over had finally gotten his hands on the gift to his wife, or if the nearby elementary school teacher had gotten a new haircut to impress the new substitute teacher. Really, he had found out that they could talk forever about anything and everything, and after that he figured that it was easier to just let them do their thing. He had always liked seeing Lucy have fun with her friends - especially when he knew that she still liked him the best.

The girls’ night might have been the cause of what made him sleep at home, alone, but today he would get to have Lucy completely for himself. It was their two-year anniversary, and Natsu had the entire day planned. Even though he hated to wake up early in the morning, he had already washed up and grabbed a cup of coffee. The day had to be perfect, especially since they hadn’t seen each other since yesterday morning, which was a longer time apart than they usually spent.

To start their anniversary, he wanted to cook Lucy some breakfast, cue his early morning. He knew what time Lucy usually got up, and since she’d no doubt been up late yesterday, there was no worries about her getting up earlier than usual to get ready for the day herself. That way he could easily sneak in and make her a hearty breakfast, and as she would get ready for the dates afterwards, he had plenty of time to prepare for the next part of his arrangements.

His train of thought got briefly interrupted as he heard Happy stir in his bed beside his own hammock. The poor exceed had been plagued for days with Natsu’s never-ending planning and had gotten his sleep schedule all messed up.

“What time is it?” He groggily asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Sorry buddy, it’s still really early. Was just thinking I’d do some dishes while I wait for the coffee to brew. I’m not used to the slipperiness though…” Even while trying his best, Natsu struggled to keep his voice down. His heart was beating fast, and he looked forward to spending the day with his girlfriend. It was almost like he was reliving how things were two years back, when every day made him a nervous wreck before he saw Lucy’s face. Though now he wasn’t particularly nervous – just excited and giddy.

“Well hurry up and get used to it, I want my dream back,” the blue cat muttered.

“What did you dream about?”

“It was the best dream I’ve ever had,” Happy began, “I had just saved the kingdom from a huge, mean dog, and when I say it was huge, I mean gigantic, and so the princess, who actually was Carla and not Princess Hisui, gave me unlimited fish and her hand in marriage in reward.”

“Sounds like a pretty awesome dream,” Natsu smiled, giving his back a supportive pat. “I can’t promise Carla’s hand in marriage or unlimited fish, but I went by the market yesterday and picked up some fresh salmon if you’re hungry. I’m leaving in 10 minutes, and I probably won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know, the date stuff. I’m sleeping over with Carla and Wendy tonight either way, they promised I get to choose which board games we play after dinner. Tell Lucy I said hi.”

“Sure will.”

Things had become different when Natsu and Lucy started dating. Of course, there was the obvious stuff – the kissing, the PDA, (the sex), but Natsu hadn’t anticipated how little time he would get with his other friends. He didn’t mind it of course, he was often the one who glued himself to Lucy’s side, so naturally there would be less one-on-one time with other members of the guild, but it was a change, nevertheless. Happy was the main guy who made him realise this change - see, before Natsu and Lucy got official, there was nothing stopping him from hanging around all the time. The three of them were as tight as any trio could be - they all had the same inside jokes, they shared every secret about themselves, embarrassing and emotional alike, and they always kept together. As soon as Natsu and Lucy’s relationship truly fell in place, however, they couldn’t share everything with each other anymore. Mainly because Happy was completely uninterested in what they were doing whenever he wasn’t there, (the deed, usually), but also because whether they liked it or not, a romantic relationship changed the dynamics in their friend group.

The teasing between the three of them never stopped, but it changed. Natsu no longer had the ability within himself to take jokes a notch too far - he simply didn’t like seeing Lucy getting more upset than necessary, and so it mellowed out.

For Natsu, the rest of his friendships changed as well, though mostly it was a better change. He had gotten closer to Gajeel and Gray, who he now could relate more to. Who knew endless hair shedding was universal? And for once he understood all the weird things Gildarts had been talking about (dirty old man).

Either way, life had gotten way more fun now that Lucy Heartfilia was in every part of it, and today he intended to show her just how much he appreciates her in his life. So, as previously mentioned, he had planned the perfect breakfast and chill morning. He knew how Lucy loved getting ready – she often preferred those times over the actual outing, since she gave herself all the love and attention she craved for a good day. Well, Natsu could easily do that himself, but he knew that she liked giving herself that time.

After she would be finished getting ready, she would probably wear way too uncomfortable shoes to walk any long distances, and given that most beautiful sceneries were quite far away (and Natsu refused to get motion sick on one of the best days of his life) he’d planned to first take her to a bookstore so she could browse the shelves, maybe she would overhear someone complimenting her book (“maybe” as in definitely – he had pulled some strings to make it happen), and as the time would go by she would find herself getting hungry. They’d then buy a simpler lunch and sit by the cherry blossom tree Natsu once dug up for her, and they’d just talk and have a nice time. Then the plan was to walk by the canal, still not exercising like crazy, and they’d stop buy some markets and Natsu could buy some small souvenirs or other types of jewellery, and then, after all that, they’d be just in time for Natsu’s restaurant reservation. It was one of those more expensive places – the type of place Natsu usually couldn’t stand being in due to the uncomfortable atmosphere. He had, however, been there recently to try out their food (planning ahead and all), and the waiters were surprisingly okay with his manners, or lack thereof. So, after a great dinner, he planned to give Lucy the anniversary gift he had bought; a necklace with a thin, golden chain, with two small charms, one being a star with a diamond in the middle, and the other being a small flame. From a distance it just looked like an ordinary cute necklace, but looking closer there would be proof that Lucy (who was symbolised by the star of course) and Natsu (the flame) belonged on Lucy’s neck, close to her heart. Then the night would end with stargazing and maybe sex if the stars were in his favour.

Well, that was the plan anyways. He knew that executing it would be a different story, since despite making them simple, plans never worked out as, well, planned. He could always try his best though, and he certainly intended to. He checked himself one last time in the dirty mirror by the front door. His clothes were clean and tidy, not a wrinkle in sight on his pants, his hair was as tamed as it could be, and he had a clean face. He made sure his gift laid safe and secure in his pocket, grabbed his bag with breakfast food, and headed out the door, heart beating rhythmically against his ribcage. He was so excited to give the love of his life the perfect date. Maybe next time, he’d have the courage to stand on one knee and ask her to marry him – but for now, what they had was perfect.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fanfic #natsu x lucy #nalu week 2023 #naluweek2023 #prompt: anniversary #bumblebeehug writes

[bumblebeehug]

i feel like i’ve been really inactive here :( not posting as much fairy tail stuff, just reblogging… i’m actually not feeling very interested in the whole fairy tail thing currently, i’ve been wanting to rewatch the anime but time and interest has never overlapped. so i guess i’ll still be up to date with the hyq and some nalu fics and other things in the nalu tag but i’m struggling to feel fired up, for lack of better words, so i’ll probably continue to lay low in the fandom for a while.

#very random update for those who care #i’ve been trying to squeeze in some fic-writing but i’m struggling #bumblebeehug speaks

[tokkias]

I'm the anon who sent the ask for the og team natsu headcanons and I love all of them especially the ones where happy lets lucy baby him and him snitching on natsu whenever he annoys him cause those are ones I can absolutely see happening in canon thank you!! (also no worries about not being to find any fics I know there aren't many of them out there but I appreciate you for looking)

ahh i'm glad you liked them and sorry it took me so long to get to them!

i did go back to ao3 and have a broader look bc my bookmarks are quite specific and i didn't find much in my quick sweep but you could try At the Beginning by Just_Absolutely_Super, otherwise the only one i could really find was,,, my own fic lol, but if you want some cute happy lucy moments and you haven't read it already, you should check out i don't want to be your friend (i want to kiss your lips) by yours truly. honestly their little relationship in that fic might have been my favourite part about writing it

if i find more og team natsu fics i might gather them and make a little rec post but it's more likely that i'll write my own sometime soon after i finish up with nanowrimo (or that i'll gently bully @bumblebeehug into writing some lucy happy goodness. ooooo you wanna write it, ooooooo you wanna write it sooo bad <3)

#mya's mumbles

[bumblebeehug]

psa because this happened to me last week: if a person writes in their tags that they don’t speak english as mother language and that they therefore won’t be taking criticism, it doesn’t mean that the creator is beyond all rules of the english language - it means that the writer simply just wanted to write something fun and they didn’t want to make their fanfic academically perfect. it also doesn’t mean that they never ever want to accept criticism in their life - it simply means that they aren’t actively wanting criticism on the fic they published (for free, since writing is their hobby)

and if the creator wrote that the fic was unbetad, unedited unhinged they probably meant it in a jokingly matter. like “hey, you might find some spelling mistakes or you might find that some sentences aren’t completely perfect, but i had fun writing this and i hope you’ll like it as well!”

sorry i just needed to vent about it cause it was the first comment i got on my fic and it really bummed me out🥲 like damn at least tell me if you enjoyed the trope i wrote about or something before you complain, or just write nothing at all if you hated it😭

and selfless plug, read blush-potion on ao3 if u wanna read a short nalu fic😋 (user: bumblebeehugs)

#not adding tags cause it’s not that deep i just wanted to vent lmao