A/N: A one-shot I just posted on my tumblr. Dedicated to Kauia because I honestly wouldn't have posted this otherwise and for putting up with my theories and random rambling.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail (c) Hiro Mashima

Overview: Flash Mob!/Modern!AU. Inspired by those dancing proposal videos, but I'm way too lazy to write the whole dancing scene... or the proposal scene... so have a pre-proposal (heh. pre-posal) fic instead! Rated T for language. I censored it in the outer summary, but not in the story.

Summary: "You nervous?" – "Feh, as if. Nervousness is a coward's way of being too prideful to admit that they were afraid." – "Okay, fine then. Are you afraid?" – "…fucking terrified."

Pairing(s): Natsu/Lucy, and a bit of Gray/Juvia and Gajeel/Levy.

"Nervous?"

A Pre-posal/Flash Mob!AU

The usually confident, salmon-haired Natsu Dragneel fidgeted in his seat, his olive-green eyes occasionally drifting to the woman who sat across from him. In spite of the anxious churning in his gut, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

Unable to help himself, his gaze traced the feminine frame of her face, the golden locks of hair twisted into an intricate braid that she delicately draped over her shoulder. Despite the elegance in the way she styled her hair, the top-half of her body that he could see was clad in one of his sleeping-shirts. It was an ugly thing. The shirt, he means (she'd have his head on a stick if he even joked about that. He would never, ever mean it, but still...).

The grungy, faded, maroon t-shirt was much too big for her and it slipped off of one shoulder without her knowing, leaving the skin exposed to the warm air of the diner. He lost that shirt to her the day they were forced to share a hotel during one of the Guild's bigger jobs (a client of theirs offered to pay a hefty sum for the every member in their dancing group, Fairy Tail, to participate in the 'Promposal' attempt).

Natsu tried to get it back a few times– fully intending to give shirt back to her since she seemed so attached to the old thing. All he wanted to do was wash it in a fool's attempt to get some of the age and grunge out of it. He was fully aware that the golden-haired girl was finicky when it comes to cleanliness. She, however, insisted that it was fine and that she didn't mind the wear from being a bit worn. He tried to insist, but she argued that the faded shirt held history that she didn't want him to wash off.

Well... he should've expected that.

If there was one thing he knew for certain that the blonde would get up in the morning for, it was a good story; she always longed for a story filled with history and adventure. His shirt was a very good candidate, apparently. Then again, Fairy Tail members were required to travel all over the continent of Fiore for odd jobs and he brought that piece of cloth along because he loved that shirt almost as much as she did. The history of his travels before her was indeed embedded into the very seams of the faded cloth and she admitted that the shirt didn't really smell bad at all. It was the way she stubbornly clung to the shirt, however, when he became extremely jealous of that damned cloth.

His own shirt for Mavis' sake.

And to make matters worse, she kept the forsaken thing on her person so he couldn't take it forcefully, and she coyly refused to take it off for the rest of the day. The golden-haired woman only removed it from her person when they had to change into their gear for the flash mob they were participating in. To make matters worse, she cleverly hid it somewhere, saying—once again—that she wasn't going to let him 'wash the history off'.

It was safe to say that he called her a major weirdo for that. She surprised him then by biting back a retort and sticking her tongue out childishly before she pranced away to get into position.

He could still remember the smile that graced his lips when she danced away from him, aware of the warmth that had expanded through him but unaware of what it actually meant at the time. And to the day, he couldn't help but admire how well his favorite color complimented the woman's pale skin. Even under the dull fluorescent lights of the diner, the creamy skin of her shoulder seemed to glow against the dark-red fabric. It used to be one of his favorite shirts– and still is, but now it's his favorite shirt on her.

Yeah, yeah. Call him cheesy, love-struck, whipped. Whatever. He's already heard it all from the gossipmongers in the guild. A.K.A. the guys who swore they didn't gossip more than the women. He couldn't blame them though, or even get mad at their jabs because he—along with the rest of Fairy Tail—knew it was true; he accepted that this golden-haired woman was so much more than just his best friend.

He could be a little dense, but he wasn't that stupid.

Lucy Heartfilia is a very beautiful woman and there was no doubt about that. Even if he was a bit slow at realizing it, she captivated him from the very start. When they first met, he had pulled her out of the crowd at the busy Hargeon Mall during one of the random, solo routines that he did every so often. He had fully expected her to resist– to even shy away like many of the unsuspecting victims he had pulled into his dance before did. But she didn't.

Instead, she stole the show.

Natsu could clearly remember every step she took before he jumped in to join her, and he could probably recreate the entire scene without fail if someone asked him to. His gut had told him to let her take the lead and she definitely did not disappoint. The blonde led them through a complicated dance, somehow forcing him to move with her but still managing to let him keep full control over his own body.

She convinced them with a single, gentle sway of her hips that it was her moment just as much as it was his and he believed her. A single note of her carefree laugh made him willingly let her take full control of the reins without a drop of protest on his part. And when she twirled and pranced and skipped– all without pulling or taking anything more than what he offered, he was nothing but putty in her hands. The loose meeting at the tips of their fingers gradually slid further and further until they held onto each other like a lifeline. They slipped away occasionally, but at points in the song—even without either noticing—they would always gravitate back towards each other again. They were completely captivated in the moment.

It was glorious.

He moved to her every whim and she followed his every command.

At the time, he didn't understand how he was so easily swayed into her rhythm, how he was so fluidly coaxed into her pace, or how undeniably natural it all felt. All he knew during their dance was that she was fun and that—although he received the lowest amount of tips that day (the crowd was convinced that the entire routine was planned out and he honestly couldn't blame them)—she beamed at him with so much joy that it made his chest ache.

Then the weirdo had taken up his wrist and his bright blue radio, and dragged him towards the nearest restaurant to thank him for choosing her out of all the people in the crowd. Natsu wasn't one to turn down free food either, so he followed her without an ounce of doubt and only paused long enough to relieve Happy (his stereo) from her hand. Despite it's weight, the stereo hung loosely from his fingers as he draped it over his shoulder, a wide grin on his lips. He then deftly twisted his wrist so he catch her hand in his, quickly usurped the reins, and tugged her to his favorite restaurant in the mall.

Natsu told her fantastical tales of Fairy Tail and recounted every moment that he experienced with them. He entranced her as he told stories of all that they've done and how they functioned. He spoke of how they were a traveling rag-tag group of dancers who did improv flash mob routines and performed odd jobs on the side. The awed wonder danced tentatively in her chocolate-colored eyes and—much like how she had coaxed him with just her dancing alone—an invitation slipped from his lips before his mind could properly register what he wanted to say.

Even if he was able to mull over it, he still would have asked her to join them. She was a bit weird, sure, but who wasn't? Honestly, everyone had a bit of weird of them. And when the golden-haired girl asked him if was being completely serious, Natsu could only nod excitedly back in reply.

Lucy had blinked out the twirling fire in her eyes and hesitantly rolled the offer on her lips.

She refused at first, explaining that she needed to focus on school even more so than ever. Seeing as she was close to graduating, the golden-haired girl was currently in the middle of looking into a good college. Being nearly a year out of high school himself, Natsu wasn't deterred at all by her refusal. In fact, her quick denial only made him work harder for her to agree. It took him seven tries to convince her that the traveling was worth it and that they offered educational programs that most colleges accepted.

The blonde had politely refused each offer, much to his chagrin. Still yet, he wasn't convinced that she genuinely didn't want to join.

So, he stepped up his game a little and resorted to dragging her into every routine he had over the span of the next few days (the mall was hosting a college fair for the entire week so she was always there). It seemed like such a lifetime ago when she finally gave into him and accepted his offer.

And it had not been even two years later that he mustered up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend with the full expectation that she would laugh in his face.

And she did so. Without fail.

She didn't really mean anything bad by laughing, however. It was just that they had always gotten the shit-end of the stick whenever the group wanted to tease a non-existent relationships between partners. So whenever they were alone, or on small dancing jobs, they'd always joke around. They had even made up a game to find the most ridiculous ways ask each other out. She never realized that he was actually being genuine about it. After all, he asked her out right in the middle of an improvised routine and in front of a decently large crowd. The only difference was that, instead of the playful air they'd usually have, he was dead serious.

To her credit though, she caught on pretty quickly and abruptly stopped laughing– stopped dancing entirely, actually.

She had confused their growing crowd when she stalled and confused him when she finally whispered a small yes under her breath. Her voice was barely audible under the loud thumping music that came from Happy (she never understood what drove him to name his stereo, even if she understood how the name came to be), but their exceptionally close proximity played a huge role in hearing her answer. Lucy must have seen the shocked—but overjoyed—disbelief on his face because she laughed and then she kissed him to seal the deal.

Natsu had often wondered if any of what happened was true, or if it was just some kind of cruel hoax that his mind wistfully conjured to make him feel better about his unrequited love. But here they were, exactly five years after their first meeting, back in Hargeon, and up long before the sun itself, scarfing down an early-start breakfast in a diner near their hotel.

His golden-haired girlfriend gave up her plate of potato hash to him and calmly ate the rest of her fluffy waffles. He'd catch her eyeing him between each bite but he played it off and forked the last of his meal into his mouth. However, he couldn't shake her searing chocolate-gaze off of him no matter how nonchalant he was trying to look.

She knew something was up.

He didn't know how she knew, but he knew that she knew that something was up. He also knew that she was just biding her time until she could corner him with her questions. As usual, she never seemed to fail him.

Once his fork hit his empty plate, Lucy cleared her throat. "So what's the occasion?"

"Huh?" He asked innocently, doing what he does best and played dumb. "What'dya mean?"

"Oh come on, Natsu," she snorted her disbelief, "I've known you for five years and dated you for the last three. You and I both know that you would rather be cuddling in bed than up before the sun to eat breakfast."

Natsu fidgeted and placed his fork onto the plate. "Okay fine, you caught me."

He used his now free hand to stack their empty dishes at the edge of the table and motioned her to move closer. His girlfriend rose a delicate eyebrow and propped her elbows onto the tabletop to lean forward. He leaned forward too and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"It's our anniversary."

Lucy blinked at him blankly. "But... you asked me out on my birthday."

"Not that anniversary, you weirdo," he received a glare for his weirdo comment but brushed it off, "I meant the anniversary of the first time we met!"

Her chocolate-orbs stared critically at him for a moment before her beautiful hues widened in surprise. "Holy stars, it is! How on Earthland did you remember that?"

Natsu scowled. "Oi!"

"Sorry," the blonde muttered an apology, her lips twitching in amusement, "but you can barely remember meeting dates for guild jobs. Excuse me if I find this kind of hard to believe." At his dry look, she coyly twirled a golden lock between her fingers and smiled sheepishly, "I love you?"

Before he could open his mouth to playfully call her out on her poor attempt to apologize, his phone rang in his pocket. So instead of making sure his girlfriend was properly scolded, he slipped out of the booth after checking the caller I.D. and took the call. He circled around to Lucy's side of the booth, affectionately cupping the back of her neck and bending down so he could press a forgiving kiss to her lips. She pressed back briefly then giggled when his scarf tickled the underside of her chin.

"Ugh," the voice on the other end of the line groaned when Natsu mumbled a slow I love you too against the blonde's lips. "Can you two– oh, I don't know, not make out whenever I call?"

The golden-haired woman giggled, catching the comment. "Good morning to you too, Gray!"

The man on the phone, Gray Fullbuster, grumbled out a 'morning' before sighing. "I still don't understand why you and the other girls like getting up at this ungodly hour, Lucy."

"The sunrises are pretty."

"Or so they say," Natsu snickered, slipping his hand from the back of her neck to pull down his scarf and pressed his forehead against hers. "Just gonna talk to the stripper real quick. Be right back."

"M'kay," Lucy hummed with a beaming smile. "Love you, dork."

"Love you too, weirdo," he chuckled with a beam of his own. Unable to help himself, he dropped one last kiss onto his girlfriend's lips before heading outside of the diner to take the call in private.

"You two are disgusting," Gray groused when the pinkette rose the phone to his ear.

Natsu let a cheesy smile tug at his lips, knowing his friend couldn't see it to tease him. "Eh, you're just jealous. At least my girlfriend doesn't ignore me when we're together."

"Shut up, Pyro," the other man growled through the line, "Juvia doesn't ignore me, dumbass. She's just respecting our boundaries."

"Keep tellin' that to yourself, Icy," he snickered, "maybe one day you'll believe it."

"Yeah, yeah," the other man sighed, probably rolling his eyes, "The sun is going to rise pretty soon and everything is all set up and ready to go. You ready for this?"

The anxiety from before settled like an anchor in his gut and his throat tightened. His eyes habitually drifted to Lucy who was cutely sipping on her iced tea. She was so close, only separated by a wall of glass, and although her being near would usually calm his nerves, her presence only dropped more weights in his stomach. The blonde caught his gaze and her she smiled around her straw, her chocolate-orbs melting into a puddle of warmth that cooled a little bit of his anxiety.

He didn't know what amazing deeds he did in his past life to get this woman to even spare him a second glance, but he was eternally grateful that she did. Grateful that he could even experience a love so fierce that it never failed to leave him breathless.

So when Gray asked if he ready? The answer was a: no, probably not. But if Gray asked if he wanted to spend the rest of his life married to the woman he loved, then...

Fuck.

He really wanted to.

"As I'll ever be," Natsu finally mumbled under his breath.

Gray chuckled. "Nervous?"

"Feh," he scoffed, trying to play off the nervous twitching of his fingers, "as if. Nervousness is just a coward's way of being too prideful to admit that they're afraid."

"Okay, fine then," the other man snickered, seeing right through the pinkette's false confidence, "are you afraid?"

There was a pregnant pause on Natsu's side before he released a heavy breath through his lips. "...fucking terrified."

"You really shouldn't be. I don't know why, but Lucy loves your idiotic ass," Gray laughed truly this time. "Anyway, Erza just sent Levy and Juvia out to pick Lucy up. Go and make out with your girlfriend one final time and hurry over here so we can shove you in a suit."

"You think this is a good way to propose?" Natsu asked anxiously, pulling his scarf away from his neck as he pushed off of the wall to head back into the diner.

"You were so excited planning this out," the other man ground out, "don't fuck it up now, Natsu. We didn't spend all this money for you to chicken out."

"Right," the pinkette mumbled, nervously shaking his hand out of habit, "right."

Gray sighed, knowing that picking a fight wouldn't work to calm down Natsu's nerves. Not this time. "Besides, even if Lucy wanted to say no—which she doesn't, so don't freak out—we're not called Fairy Tail for nothing. When had any one of our proposal jobs failed?"

Natsu expelled a breath he never knew he was holding. "Never."

"Duh," the other man snorted. "We need you hear to help set up some pyrotech crap and I know you're good with that kind of stuff. I'm hanging up now, so go make up an excuse and haul your sorry ass over here before Erza gets pissed."

The line clicked, indicating the end of the call and the salmon-haired man stayed outside to breathe some fresh air. After a moment, he checked his watch and nodded. He needed to hurry up before the sun could make its appearance. Heading back into the diner, he made quick work of paying for their meal at the front before making his way back to Lucy.

"Hey," she greeted with a warm smile when he neared, the sight of her settled the rest of his frazzled nerves. "So what did Gray need?"

"There's somethin' wrong with one of the lighting displays," he returned easily. Lucy was under the impression that they were here on a job, so he would roll with that half-truth. "Erza needs help settin' up some fireworks for the mob, so I hafta head in."

"Fireworks? That's really flashy..." the blonde trailed hesitantly with eyebrow raised. Natsu shifted a bit anxiously but then she grinned, "I like it."

Natsu chuckled and fixed his scarf so he could affectionately rest his forehead against her own. "Levy and Juvia's comin' to keep you company, so go do whatever weirdos do when their boyfriends are gone."

"Five percent of the time, weird girlfriends miss their boyfriends," Lucy informed as she playfully leaned up to wrap her arms round his neck. "The other ninety-five percent is used to celebrate them being gone."

"Ouch," Natsu gasped in mock offense then snickered when she giggled. "By the way, I paid for the food already so don't worry about it."

The golden-haired let out her own dramatic gasp that had him rolling his eyes. "You actually paid for our meal? I mean– I know it's our anniversary and all, but who are you and what did you do with my dorky boyfriend?"

"Hardy har har, Luce," the salmon-haired man laughed sarcastically, drawing her into one last kiss before forcing himself to pull away. "I really gotta go before everyone gets on my case. See you in a bit. Don't trip on a leaf, okay?"

Lucy scowled at his retreating back. "That was one time!"

"One time is enough," Natsu called over his shoulder and pushed the diner door open, a laugh falling from his lips. "Love ya, weirdo!"

"Love you too, dork!"

"You two really are disgusting," a short blue-haired woman, Levy McGarden, joked with a smiled when the pinkette let the door close behind him. The other blue-haired woman beside her, Juvia Lockser, smiled politely.

Natsu grinned and dropped a hand on Levy's shoulder. "It's okay, Lev. I'll try to slip in some advice to my cousin when I get there."

"Oh shut up," the smaller bluenette grumbled, her face flushing.

"Is Natsu-san ready?" Juvia asked kindly, a bright smile on her face when he nodded. "Juvia knows that Lucy-san will love this."

"Thanks Juvia," he grinned, "I'll leave the rest up to you girls, okay? Take care of her for me."

"You can count on us, Natsu," Levy rolled her eyes, pushing him to the direction of where they came from. "Now go– the sun waits for no one. Juvia will text Gray when we're close."

The pinkette grinned and started to jog towards the direction of the mall. As he passed the window where Lucy was, Natsu paused. He held up his fist, his pinky slightly jutting out, curled as if it was linked in a promise, and brought it to his lips. With a blush on her face, the blonde mirrored the action and together, they smoothed the same hand over their hearts. It was a gesture they both made up when they were close enough to see but too far to hear. They kiss their pinkies in a promise and lay the same hand over their heart in a gesture of affection.

So in a way, it was a silent vow to keep their hearts connected– a promise to love no matter what. He got a lot of shit from the guys when he did it once in the middle of a routine, but he didn't care. The gesture meant more than words could ever explain. It was much more than just an 'I love you'. Like the grand proposal he planned out, it was perfect for him to show her the things he couldn't say. He never really was someone who took the time to mull over words anyway.

He was a man of action after all.