Natsu and Lucy were taking a stroll through one of Magnolia's farmer's markets, the dragon slayer absentmindedly walking with his hands behind his head as his eyes lazily watched Lucy fawn over the different kinds of fruits and vegetables. She would come here every week to collect her groceries, the vendors usually gave her a more reasonable price since pretty much the whole town knew what a glutton Natsu could be and they sympathized with her. It, more often than not, helped when she would (innocently) bend over the array of produce and let thesellers fawn over her before handing over a bag full of food for the cunning celestial mage. Natsu would begrudgingly hold her bags, usually waiting behind her as people flashed their lewd eyes at his wanton partner, glaring daggers if they dare linger on her. He would be grinning ear to ear when she turnedback to him, her smile wide as well as she cozied up to his side to squeal in secret about how many apples she got for such a low price and the promise to make him a pie with them once they were done shopping.
Lucy walked up to another stand, attracted by the strong smell of fresh bread laid out before her, telling Natsu this would be the last stand she would stop at before going back to her apartment. His arms were crowded with a surplus of groceries, a sack of potatoes even balanced on his shoulder. He grunted as he dropped their bags for a moment, stretching his arms and legs before turning around to reach down and touch his toes. As he stood back up, the table across the bread stand caught his eye and tempted him to walk over. In front of him laid a cluster of random bracelets, most of them made of craft gems with an assortment of those just woven of string.
"You're out with quite a cute young lady, hm?" The merchant smiled lightly as he let a nervous blush slip onto his tanned cheeks.
"S-She's my partner, we just work together," He explained, although the older woman giggled at such a failed attempt to distance their relationship.
"Is she a fan of jewelry?" She asked as Natsu nodded, his partner wouldn't hesitate to wear something nice when she could. He pursed his lips as he contemplated on what kind of item to buy her. Per recommendation, since the two were mages and usually got caught in vicious fightswhile out on jobs, he should pick something she could wear every day without fail. Maybe he preferred that idea because he always liked to see her wear things he gave her; it made him somewhat proud when she did. He'd often hold back a satisfiedgrowl when he saw her wearing one of his t-shirts to bed; Lucy looked one hundred times better that way. Staring down at the bracelets, he held his chin as he pondered over which one to pick, Lucy had wandered away to watch a dancer performing, the baker insisting that she wait for bread that was about to come out of the oven. The celestial mage wasn't one to refuse fresh bread, it'd make a great lunch after her day out with Natsu. She saw that he was preoccupied with an array oftrinkets and their seller, her cheeks pink wondering if he might be picking something out for her.
Cana had been pushing her recently to enter Natsu's field of vision by being more touchy, a little flirtatious, and unbeknownst to the alcoholic mage Lucy had been wearing his clothes to bed and cuddled with him more often than not till noon on some days. They would get out of to brush their teeth and wash up before breakfast, but Natsu would seduce her back under the covers, the two of them enjoying the cool breeze that would flow in from her open window before they would ultimately leave for the guild. The dragon slayer was rare to show his deeper emotions, but she was satisfied with the sweet smiles he gave her; they could really melt her into a puddle.
She was in the middle of quite a large crowd, people gathering closely on the cobblestone road to watch the pair of dancers conduct their routine. One girl was danging with scarfs controlled by magic and acting as her partner, while the other was using paper magic to dance with dolls and surrounded herself with folding origami. The call of the baker sounded in her ears and lured her to leave the crowd, the blonde tripping over her feet as she exited, a muscular arm wrapping around her and stopping her from planting her face into the ground.
"O-Oh thank you," She said awkwardly as she turned to face her savior, who still had yet to let go of her.
"I'm glad I could be of use to the famous Lucy Heartfilia," His grin was weirdly forced, it failed to reach his eyes. She felt a shiver crawl down her back as his hand rested on her hip, his grip definitely too tight for comfort. Even though Lucy was a Fairy Tail mage, she was very against causing a scene in public, especially with so many people nearby.
"It's always nice to be recognized by a fan," She faked her own smile as she attempted to pull his hand away from her.
"I've been part of your fanbase for a while, I hope you're free right now, I'd love to show you a good time," He breathed heavily as his eyes raked over her chest and his hand moved to caress her behind roughly. She cringed and was ready to call her partner to beat the crap out of this creep before she felt his familiar warmth approach her. The unnamed jerk turned to face the sudden heated presence, his eyes bulging out of his head before he shrieked and ran off in the opposite direction.
"Thanks, Natsu he w-" Lucy's voice caught in her throat for a moment as she came face to face with an embodiment of her pyro best friend, his grin clear as day in the swirl of flames that made up his body. It took her hand and led her back to the bread stand, his hand lingering on hers before he disappeared in a wisp of smoke. The baker had failed to see the manifested fire as he packed up her loaves and accepted her regular lowered amount of jewels.
"All done, Luce?" Natsu's voice made her jump and turn to face him quickly, his head tilted to the side as he observed her odd behavior.
"W-Weren't you just...H-How did you do that...?" She asked as he rose an eyebrow, not understanding her question.
"Do what, weirdo?" He snickered as she turned red, she always did when he called her by the unliked nickname.
"N-Nevermind! Let's get going so we can make lunch, this bread is making me hungry." She pouted, ignoring his sudden nervous aura.
"U-Um! I got this for you, Luce..." Natsu coughed, handing her a simple knit bracelet with a small wooden star charm acting as the connecting piece.
"Eh? I didn't think you'd actually get me something!" She gasped, jumping a little as she offered her wrist for him to tie it on for her.
"I think you look good wearing the things I give you," He mumbled, a brave blush present on both their faces.
"Then I'm going to make lunch wearing one of your shirts," She giggled as he perked up at the sound of such an offer. "Let's hurry back."
"Sure!"
