slice of life | the big 4

01, it's not so cold

Winter had come early this year. It made it's arrival evident– freezing every drop of morning dew into a crystallised frost. The normally blue yonder was now a faded whitish-grey, and though there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun still ultimately failed to shine it's warm rays.

Natsu huffed a heavy sigh, his breath forming a white cloud. He'd always hated the winter.

He never was a fan of the cold air, the way the chill would seep deep into his bones, and the icy puddles that never missed the chance to slip him whenever he would get near by half an inch.

No, it was more Gray's style, a freaky punk that he would never understand. Natsu preferred his warmth, summer being the best season for him.

He leaned against the brick fence, arms crossed, and sighed again. What was Lucy still doing inside? For the first time ever, she might be the one to make them late to school.

Moments later, the gate screeched open, and a short, blonde girl popped her head out. When she saw him, she smiled, closed the gate and made her way to him.

"Natsu! Good morning!" Lucy said. She wasn't particularly dressed for the weather, but was seemingly unfazed. She beamed at him, and suddenly he forgot what he was feeling so moody about.

"Hey!" he smiled back. "Wanna start going?"

They walked side by side, their breath forming misty clouds every time they spoke in the brisk morning air. It had only been a few weeks since they started dating, the transition from best friends to lovers feeling surreal but absolutely amazing.

He'd always adored Lucy, she was kind, intelligent and strikingly gorgeous. When he realised that she felt the same way about him, it was nothing less than euphoria.

He stole a glance at her, her hair looked lighter in the wintry hue, and her cheeks had a rosy tint from the cold.

She hugged herself suddenly, lightly shivering. "It sure is chilly today, huh?" she chuckled.

She really wasn't prepared for the weather. Was it that she didn't know, or..
"Do you not have any winter garments?" Natsu asked.

She let out a soft snicker. "I do," she answered. "I was just in a rush this morning."

"Rush?" he raised a brow. "Seemed like you were taking your sweet time to me."

"Shut up!" she huffed. "I overslept, okay..." her cheeks turned even pinker.

Natsu looked down at her hands. As he thought, they were pale from the cold, and her fingertips had a pink tinge where she gripped onto herself.

"Wanna hold hands?" the question came out before he could really think about it, and it caused his cheeks to redden too.

He held his hand out, his eyes fixated on the frosted hedges next to him as he avoided eye contact.

He felt her slender fingers tenderly intertwine with his and squeeze tightly.

"Thank you," he turned to see her looking down, smiling, cheeks still so obviously red.

They carried on walking, hand in hand, and arms brushing against each other.

Natsu gulped.

Why did the mood suddenly change?

They'd held hands plenty of times before and it was never awkward– skinship was just natural for them.

But today, it felt completely different. He felt a gentle, electric thrill surge through him. Time felt as if it was slowing down, letting them savour the intimacy.

Her hands were smaller than his, yet they rested perfectly in his grasp.

While he felt her hands warmed up, he noticed she was still slightly quivering. He frowned, unable to think of a way to help.

"Oh look, a robin!" Lucy suddenly chirped, using her other hand to point upwards to the large tree on the other side of the street. "It's so beautiful."

As she gushed and excitedly recited all the facts she knew about the aforementioned bird, Natsu noticed the couple walking besides the tree.

They were walking close together, lovey-dovey and grinning. The two were wrapped in the same scarf, a red, oversized, cozy knit. It looked warm and comfortable, as shown by the content expressions on their faces.

"You didn't get a word of that, did you?" Lucy teased.

All of a sudden, she felt the familiar warmth of Natsu's scarf wrap around her. She flushed red and turned her head to see him blushing a deep scarlet too. Their faces were intimately close together, and Lucy couldn't resist the urge.

She pressed a warm kiss onto his cheek, then wrapped the scarf properly around her, securing it so they were now nice and snug. She giggled proudly to herself.

Natsu stopped walking. "You did this on purpose! Didn't you?" he accused her.

"Pfft- No!" she lied, then accidentally let out a snicker and gave up, laughing loudly.

Her boyfriend simply rolled his eyes at her.

'Typical.' he thought.

They continued on their walk. Lucy leaned in closer to him.

"It's warm," she whispered. "Winter's great."

"Yeah," Natsu agreed. He smiled to himself.

'It isn't so bad.'