"Ah! Everything looks so pretty!" cheered Lucy as her and Natsu entered the festival grounds. The lanterns shone brightly against the twilight sky, only to shine brighter when the sky grew darker. Not only guild members of the invited guild attended, but so did the townspeople of Magnolia.
"I still don't get why we had to wear this stupid thing." Natsu complained, pulling at his yukata like an annoyed child.
"Natsu, it was part of the rules." Lucy reminded him. "Even Happy is wearing one."
"Aye!"
"What a stupid rule."
"Why did Erza make me come with you?" Lucy shook her head with a grimace. In all honesty, she was interested in the dragon slayer since he stepped foot into the guild that morning. She felt drawn to him and her heart sped up when Erza suggested that the two went to the festival together.
It was almost like a date with a stranger, except there was no awkward tension. Oh, and Happy also joined them.
"Are you saying you don't want to be here with me?" Natsu playfully pouted.
"What! No, of course not!"
Happy chuckled behind his paw, spreading his wings to fly above them. He then gasped when he saw Wendy up ahead with the white exceed that he found so lovely in a bright blue yukata.
"I gotta go!" he said before flying off.
Natsu walked over to Lucy with his arms resting behind his head. "What do you wanna do?"
Lucy allowed her eyes to wander over the festivities. Everything looked like fun and she just didn't know where to begin. All the thinking made her head swim. Natsu watched her in amusement, before taking her hand and leading her over to where some of their friends are.
"Oh, Lucy! You look so cute!" complimented Mirajane. Ezra stood beside her along with Gray, Juvia, Levy, and Gajeel.
"Thank you, Mira!"
"Hey guys!" yelled an excited Sting as he weaved his way over through the crowd. He earned himself a few glares and curses here and there, but the grin never fell from his face. Rogue followed behind him, grunting apologies to those who glared, while Yukino chuckled. It looks like all the exceeds had wander off, much to Happy's disappointment.
"Glad to see you could make it." greeted Erza with a nod.
"Of course, although the dress code was a bit strange."
"That's what I was saying!" shouted Natsu.
"Calm down, Hot Head. It's not that bad."
"Easy for you to say since you're already stripped down to your underwear."
"Crap!"
The group laughed together at this; even Rogue gave a small chuckle.
"Mira! I'm out of booze!" Cana whined as she stumbled over.
"Cana, you know this is a festival and not the guild, right?"
The brown haired girl blinked before taking a look around. "Oh yeah."
She then made her way over to Lucy and threw an arm around her shoulder, groping her left breast in the process. "So Lucy, have you confessed your love yet?"
Lucy back away from the intoxicating aroma coming from Cana.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.
Before Cana could answer, Natsu grabbed a hold of Lucy's wrist and began tugging her away from the group. "Lucy and I are gonna get some ramen! Bye-bye!"
"Hey wait-!"
Her friends just waved them off, a few snickering here and there. She reluctantly allowed Natsu to drag her to a short line in front of the ramen stand.
Natsu let go of her wrist only to intertwine their fingers. Lucy didn't mind nor object. It felt natural. It was hard to believe that it was the very last day of this curse. It was a bit depressing to know that no progress had been made. At least, that's what Natsu thought.
Lucy gazed at him as he was lost in thought, taking in all his features. She blushed when he turned to her and caught her staring.
"Uh, it's our turn to order." he stated.
"Ah, right." she nodded.
They ordered their ramen and went to a nearby picnic table to enjoy their meal. They ate in silence, not really sure what to say to one another. Maybe this was one of those times where words didn't need to be exchanged. Just being with each other was enough.
After they ate, they wandered around the rest of the festival, stopping at game stands here and there. When the time drew close to when the fireworks display was set to happen, Lucy led them to the sakura tree they were at the night before.
"I've been waiting for this all night!" she cheered. Lucy stared up at the sky in anticipation for the fireworks but also wanting to stargaze.
Natsu wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"N-natsu?" the blonde stuttered. She turned in his arms to face him directly. She brought her hands up to wrap around his neck.
"I didn't tell you today, but I love you." he whispered. He was about to lean down to kiss her, yet she pulled back. "What's wrong?"
"I just have something to say before you go and do that, is all."
"Well, go on. Spit it out."
Lucy blushed, taking in a deep breath. Her mind was jumbled with words, and yet, she couldn't seem to find the right ones. Were they any for this occasion.
She sighed. "Natsu Dragneel,"
"Yes, that is me." he chuckled. She playfully hit the back of his head. "Ow!"
"Don't interrupt, stupid!"
"Alright, alright. Please continue."
"I woke up this morning, knowing your name and face. For some reason, I was happy about it even though you were merely a stranger. As the day progressed, I remembered little things about you that have happened over the course of this week. I don't know why though. I mean, I barely met you today. Right?" she paused as her voice cracked.
"But, I love your stupid childish smile. I love your silly salmon hair. I love the passion in your eyes. I love how you care about everyone. I love when you hug me. I love how my hand fits perfectly in yours. I love how you make me feel like I'm the only one in your eyes. I love it when you kiss me. And most of all," she stops making sure she is looking into his eyes.
"I think... No. I know that I love you. I love you, Natsu." she admits and without any other hesitation, she brings her lips to his. They kiss each other greedily, almost like this is their life source.
Natsu breaks it first, needing to catch his breath. A great big grin spreads across his face. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear those words."
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." she giggles. Lucy then closes one eye in pain and brings her hand to forehead.
"What's wrong?" Nastu asked with a worried expression.
"My head is killing me." she stumbles slightly before falling into his embrace. He looked at her, not entirely sure what was going on. Shouldn't the curse be broken by now? Why was she in so much pain?
"It hurts." she cried out. The pain was written all over her face, even as she slipped into unconsciousness.
"Luce? Lucy?!" Natsu urged her to wake up to let him know she was okay. Without thinking any further, he scooped her up into her arms and sprinted through the crowd. Curious glances were thrown at him and Lucy, who was being carried bridal style.
He ignored the stairs. He just wanted to get her to the guild infirmary as soon as possible. He knew that Porlyusica was there just incase someone fell ill during the festival; that, and she did not want to be out where a whole bunch of people are.
As Natsu ran, he heard the worried voices of Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Happy calling out to him. He ignored them, picking up the pace.
He rushed through the guild doors, not used to its empty and quiet state. Porlyusica emerged from the infirmary room, about to scold the boy before she saw Lucy in arms.
"What happened to her?"
"Please," he panted, "help Lucy."
And then the sound of a firework went off while the bright glow shone in the night sky.
___________
the end.....
lmao jk. there's still a few more chapters to this story ;-) i aint done with it yet!