The NaLu Chronicles

Young Love

(This chapter is dedicated to AfAfreen cuz she awesome and I only wish my writing was as good as her. She writes the best SasuSaku stories so I suggest to go read her book "SasuSaku Fanfics" cuz they're so good!)

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Natsu Dragneel was four years old when he met what he deemed to be the love of his life.

Evidence to prove this was taken from what he learned from his grandpa, who, just the day before, had informed Natsu that he knew grandma was it for him when she smiled at him and he wanted to spend his whole life making sure she never stopped.

When Natsu met Lucy, she was not smiling; instead, she was crying. It was a high point that summer and her scoop of mint chip slid right off her cone to land half on the ground and half on her shoes with little cat faces all over them. Her blonde hair was up in pigtails with little cherry hair ties, and the pink dress she wore boasted a large yellow flower on the front.

She was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen in his four years.

Leaving behind Mary, the nanny he'd come to the park with, who spent more time gossiping with the other nannies than she did actually watching him, he walked right up to the pretty, crying girl and said, "I've got two whole dollars. I can get you a new one."

Sniffling, she blinked up at him. Rubbing at a few stray tears on her cheeks, she said, "Who're you?"

"My name's Natsu," he declared, rocking forward onto the tips of his feet. "What's your name? I bet it's pretty."

She frowned at him. "How come?"

"Because you're pretty," he said guilelessly.

Putting a hand on her hip, she gave a huff and told him, "I'm not pretty. I'm smart!"

Natsu tipped his head, his brow furrowed. "Can you be both?"

Pausing, she gave it some thought, and then said, "Yes..." Swinging her arms side to side, she told him, "I'm Lucy."

Nodding sagely, he declared, "That's a pretty name. I was right."

"And a smart name, too. It means 'light and brightness'; my mommy told me so."

"You weren't bright when I saw you. You were crying." He turned then and pointed toward the ice cream cart in the distance. "I can buy you more and then you'll be really bright." Brightening, he said, "If it falls off this time, I'll catch it for you."

Lucy smiled at him. "Okay!"

Natsu held his hand out then. "You have to hold my hand though because Mavis says I'm not allowed to go anywhere unless I'm holding someone's hand." He shrugged. "Mary is busy though, so we have to hold each other's hands." Admittedly, that was a bit of a stretch, since he'd been walking around holding nobody's hand for a while now, but, well, he wanted to hold Lucy's.

Lucy reached out and took his small hand in hers and Natsu proudly walked them over to the ice cream truck.

"Where's your nanny?" he wondered as they waited in line behind a string of other kids.

Lucy nose wrinkled cutely. "I don't have a nanny. I have a mommy and a daddy."

"I have a mommy, a daddy, a nanny, and a Mavis," he told her happily.

"What's a Mavis?"

Frowning, he stared at her, stumped. "She's Mavis," he said simply, shrugging. "She makes me sandwiches and kisses my owies and tells me stories."