nalu- She's so pretty but she's my best friend

admiring from afar

hey so before you continue...
(sorry for this)
Hii my name is cole (you may know me as Sky- I happily go by both) and I'm writing again (yay!) and I just had to get my MANY years long fairytail obsession down on paper so here goes.

But first some context behind this book:
- - - - - - - ^^
I wanted to write about how I interpreted how Natsu begins to confront his feelings for Lucy and vice versa, through moments of admiration, mixed feelings, confusion and even denial. Through the wonderful work of Hiro Mashima we see their relationship unfold through actions and words but being as obsessive with these characters as I am, I really wanted to explore this timeline of friends to a blossoming flower of something more by really getting into their heads. (sounds creepy but you get it right?)

so enjoy these one-shots and please review i'd love to hear your thoughts and interpretations
- - - - - - - - ^^

1. Admiring from afar
"treasure that just wasn't quite his yet"
-.,-.,-.,-.,-.,
around just before tatarose

The sun shone brightly over Magnolia, granting everybody a warm summer's day. The fairytail guild had taken advantage of this lovely weather by spending the day relaxing outside in a nearby field. The entire guild spread themselves out across the green, newly cut grass; checkered picnic blankets and baskets of food scattered around the area as everybody enjoyed themselves.

Natsu Dragneel, lay down on a blanket with his hands behind his head, under the shade of a tree, trying to enjoy his day off by having a nap. However, it wasn't going exactly as he planned. Despite his efforts of trying to empty out his head and shut his eyes in hopes of drifting off into a comfortable sleep, which was normally an easy task, he couldn't keep his eyes off his blonde partner.

Lucy sat a few feet away from him, away from under the tree and out in the hot sun. She sat cross legged on the grass by Wendy as both girls chatted while making daisy chains. Happy perched on Lucy's lap, half dozing off, half making eyes at Carla. Natsu kept his eyes trained on Lucy, catching her every movement; from the fiddling of her fingers as she struggled to connect two flowers together to her furrowed brows and pursed lips in concentration.
To Natsu, Lucy was one interesting girl. They had become quick friends as soon as she joined the guild and became even quicker partners. He cared for her greatly and considered her to be one of his most trusted friends. Natsu pursed his lips together, eyes still watching the blonde, as he wondered if there was something more to it. Under the warm rays of the sun was when Lucy looked the most alive; Natsu had noticed this over the years. Her smile was bright as she chuckled at something the sky dragon slayer had said, her hand coming up to muffle her laugh. Natsu frowned slightly at this movement, wishing she would laugh freely and let the sound get carried by the wind. He realised that he liked it when she laughed, especially when it was because of his doing.

Her big brown eyes looked the best in the light; Natsu could see the various shades of light chocolate, deep Hazelnut and flecks of gold that blended together around her pupil, creating pools of warmth and comfort. The same two eyes that provided him hope before a battle, the same two eyes that were laced with concern whenever he was in trouble and the same two eyes that welled with tears when she felt at her worst. Natsu was well aware that on many occasions he was the reason her eyes glazed over and glistened with tears. It bothered him greatly whenever she was hurting, and vowed to do whatever he could to replace her trembling lips with a smile. He was her friend after all, of course he wanted her to be happy.
Natsu raised his eyebrows slightly as he watched her gentle slide happy off her lap and slowly get up. She got up so gracefully, and really took her time. Not that Natsu was complaining, not at all, in fact he took in every movement. She smoothed out her skirt, her hands running over the short cotton fabric and onto the soft skin of her very exposed thighs. She waved her hand in-front of her face, fanning herself as she muttered something to Wendy. Natsu assumed she was complaining about the heat as he watched in awe as she undid a few buttons of her white top. His eyes grew a fraction wider as his gaze lingered on the movement of the top of her breasts spilling out of the grasp of her tight top, her collarbone and cleavage becoming clearly visible under the sun for all to see. Natsu bit the inside of his cheek, praying that nobody was watching him shamelessly leer at his best friend. It wasn't like it was anything new, despite what everyone in the guild thought, he was well aware that his partner was an attractive woman and was rather gifted in certain areas. He liked what he saw, of course he did, he was a man after all but out of respect for her, and being her best friend he never let his mind wander too far out. He tried to at least.
He felt his mouth go dry as she stood up, her mini skirt fluttering dangerously in the wind, revealing more than she had intended. Lucy walked like she was on a runway, without intending to she sways her hips with every step, her long golden hair swishing in time with her walking.
That beautiful blonde hair.
The striking yellow of her hair reminded Natsu greatly of gold. Gold that you'd find in a treasure chest that you would have to work hard to find and even harder to unlock and make yours. Gold that holds immense value. Gold that everybody wanted a piece of. And with that thought, Natsu became aware of the various eyes of men that too watched as she walked. Adjusting his position slightly so that he sat straight against the tree, he found himself to be rather irritated at their lustful eyes. The dragon slayer was sure that they had no idea what even her favourite colour was.

The dragon slayer crosses his arms and furrowed his brows as he tried to make sense of the jumble of thoughts in his head. He was aware that he had crossed some sort of invisible line in their relationship. He had let himself wander to some foreign territory. Natsu hadn't a clue what this change even was but he knew that it had been around for a while, growing day by day. He gazed at her as she came to a halt in front of Levy and Gajeel. There was something there, something that was pulling at him to always make her laugh, to tell her he would always be here and to embrace her. He wanted to tell her... tell her that she was smart and strong and lovely and better than anything he deserved. In all honesty, he had no idea what to do or what he had gotten himself in to or what it was that causes his heart rate to pick up at the mere thought of her. All he did know is that everything lead to one girl.

Lucy waved goodbye to her two friends, with a basket of food under one arm. As she turned to face forward, she met his gaze. Her eyes widened as she noticed his stare and the way he sunk into his scarf in embarrassment. Natsu grinned sheepishly, as she chuckled and shot him a quick but dazzling smile before handing out food to Wendy and Carla. Whatever this strange sensation was, and although he was itching for more, he was content with where he was now. Her best friend and partner. He would admire from afar.
Like a dragon over some treasure that wasn't quite his yet.

"Oh you've got it baaaad."

Natsu jumped slightly and whirled his head to see a certain blue cat giggling away into his paws, his big eyes full of mischief. Natsu shot him a confused look.
"What are you talking about?"
Happy shook his head and laughed at his best friend's cluelessness. He'd let him figure it out on his own.

- - - - - - ^^