a/n: My first contribution to this year's Nalu week! I have an update for Luminosity next and chapter 7 of the War in Summer ready for Friday~Sunday (depends on the holiday). Also, I may have laid on the cheese extra thick with this one (based around the current ed of the anime).

This was a mistake. Absolutely, positively.

There was no way that anything was ever going to work out between her and Natsu.

He was loud, brash, childish and such a massive ball of energy that he usually could be found destroying whatever was in his path. Lucy, on the other hand much preferred to sit in a quiet peaceful corner and read her novels or discuss her manuscript with Levy. And as much as Lucy Heartfilia loved the fiery idiot, she was not fully convinced that their relationship should evolve from being best friends to... more.

Not that she hadn't spent many days fantasizing about how Natsu would swoop in and sweep her off her feet, just like he'd done many times during their missions. But she couldn't help but wonder after he swept her off her feet...then what? Did Natsu even know the first thing about romance, or being in a relationship with someone? Lucy sighed, as she looked down at her phone for at least the twentieth time in the past hour. He didn't even know how to show up on time for a date he'd asked her on. Twenty more minutes, she decided, and then she'd leave. She already felt more than a little conspicuous about sitting alone on the veranda of the quiet restaurant they'd agreed on.

From the brightly lit screen of her phone a picture of Levy smiled up to her, giving her a cheerful thumbs up. Levy was the only person she'd told about her and Natsu's...outing. The blue haired girl had been over the moon with excitement for the two of them, and her encouragement had bolstered Lucy's resolve to at least try. But Levy's advice had also cropped up a list of anxieties that Lucy had even know existed. While she could point out that Natsu was definitely inexperienced, she was no old hat herself. Before meeting him and joining Fairy Tail, she'd lived a very sheltered life. Her romantic interactions with boys where slim to nil if you didn't count the fawning the Pegasus guys did whenever they were around and Loke's persistent propositions. Romance novels could only help so much, and then they pretty much guaranteed a happy ending. The girl got her guy, the sun set and well...that was it. But real life was not could not be contained in a set number of pages.

Success, or failure, she and Natsu would continue on as guild mates. Success would obviously be the desired result, but failure could bring about the end of Team Natsu, the end of him invading her house, stealing her food and hogging her bed. Failure would probably break her heart.

Oh God, she was starting to hyperventilate.

"Hey, Lucy, you okay?" Natsu panted as he suddenly appeared beside her table. Startled, Lucy looked up at him, a frown marring her face as she took in his appearance. For once, he wasn't wearing his requisite black vest and white pants. Today he was wearing a light gray vest over a white t-shirt and brown cargos. Over his shoulder he carried a bag she didn't recognized and he appeared winded.

"I should be asking you that." Lucy replied. "Sit down, you look...tired." Which was weird for the ball of energy. He collapsed into the chair opposite her and Lucy signaled for the waiter to bring over a glass of water for him.

"Sorry I'm late." he breathed. "I got lost. Why couldn't we do this at the guild hall, again?"

Lucy's face flushed. "Well then it wouldn't be...special. It would be the same old, like how we meet up in the guild for our missions. This should be different, I think." she chanced a glance at him and noticed that his face had reddened slightly too.

"Right. You're right." he cleared his throat. "This should be special. So, I got you something." He reached for the bag he'd stashed under the table, and dumped its contents on the table between them. Out spilled chocolates, magic pens, a stationary set, a lotus paperweight and a bunch of other small trinkets.

Lucy gaped in surprise. "What is-?

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I couldn't decided on one thing so I got a bunch of stuff I thought you'd like. Something you'd remember...this by." He riffled through his goodies, holding up a silver chain that held a Fairy Tail charm on the end. The charm glittered in the dying sunlight and Lucy was reminded of the time she'd waited from him to return home to his house after she'd spent all day cleaning it. All of the things he'd kept, the flyer from their very first mission. Something you'd remember this by.

Lucy looked down at her trembling hands. This was important. To him. And to her. It was terrifying, how much she wanted this to succeed. For them to be happy, to be together.

"Hey, Lucy? You okay?" Natsu asked again. Lucy lifted her eyes to catch his gaze, his olive green eyes shone with concern. "Are you feeling sick?"

With nerves? Most definitely. Instead, she shook her head no and reached out to grab the hand that still held the pendant. His hand shook slightly as hers enveloped his. His skin was warm, warmer than what was probably normal, but what could you expect from a fire dragon slayer?

"You're being weird." he breathed as she tugged the pendant from his grasp and intertwined their fingers.

"Not as weird as you buying a bunch of stuff for me." she told him with a light chuckle. He reddened even more, breaking eye contact.

"Well I just- You-"

Lucy watched as he stumbled over his words, laughing slightly at his own clumsiness. She squeezed his hand and leaned in closer to him, breathing his smoky, woodsy scent. Her heart sped up. And Lucy finally told her worrying mind to shut up. This—they were going to be quite alright. Because whether he even realized it or not, Natsu Dragneel had swept her off her feet and run off with her heart a long time ago. It had been his from the first time he smiled that goofy grin at her and held out his hand for hers.

"Hey, Natsu?" When he dragged his eyes back up to her face, Lucy pressed her lips softly to his. He stiffened in shock, only for all the tension to drain out of him as he kissed her back. A sweet longing pulled at her chest as he cupped her neck and pulled her closer. This was definitely new territory for them and something she'd never initiated with anyone ever before and she couldn't help but think that this-

This felt right. Absolutely, positively.

The sound of the waiter clearing his voice loudly caused Natsu to lean back reluctantly and a small, un-Natsu like smile graced his lips. The waiter sat a glass of water in front of him and told them he'd be back for their order shortly. By the time the man had disappeared, Lucy's heart had decided that hammering it's way out of her chest was the best course of action in this embarrassing moment and Lucy couldn't bring herself to look Natsu in the eye. And after a beat of silence, the pink haired boy began to pack away the things he'd unloaded.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked. Still peering into his bag, Natsu mumbled something she couldn't quite catch, the tips of his ears going pink. "What was that?"

"You don't need any of this. That was something we'll both definitely remember." he told her. "Probably for a long time."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lucy smiled slightly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Is it okay that I already want to do it again?"

Finally, he looked back up at her, beaming that full wattage smile at her. "Absolutely."