Lucy smiled, looking at herself in the reflection of the mirror. Tonight was her and Natsu’s one-year anniversary. She was feeling giddy, ecstatic, like some love struck schoolgirl. She shook her head smiling to herself, no; actually, she didn’t know how she felt. She assumed that it was how she always dreamed of feeling—love-struck, heart beating nonstop, all of those ‘romance novel’ feelings, but reality was the complete opposite.
She felt that way at first—the ‘romance novel’ feeling. He was all she could think about for the first few months; wanting to feel his touch, waiting for those stolen moments when nobody was around, and even for the sex. She wanted all of it. Every second. She knew that she loved him. She did…but something changed. Lucy didn’t know if it was him, or her, but something was definitely different.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. Her life had fallen into a definite routine. She’d wake up with him (and Happy) in the morning, breakfast, shower, and walk to the Guild, take on a job, come home, and repeat. The very thought of disrupting that routine both scared her and excited her. She loved him, and even if that ‘romance novel’ feeling wasn’t there, that didn’t mean it just didn’t exist. There was still something, and Lucy wouldn’t give up on it. Not until…
Knock, knock.
Yo, Luce,” Natsu’s voice disrupted her thoughts, “you ready yet? The reservations are at 6, and it’s nearly 5:45…” his voice came muffled through the door.
"Yeah, I’m almost ready,” Lucy responded, rubbing her lips together, and checking the mirror one last time. She had picked out a simple outfit a deep blue strapless dress, with a white belt around her waist, followed by white flats, and a white clutch.
“Wow,” Natsu said as she came out of the bathroom.
“What?” Lucy brushed down her dress, hoping it wasn’t too flashy.
“You look great,” he smiled at her. She returned the smile, hoping it wasn’t as empty as it looked. It seemed to go unnoticed by him, for he quickly got to his feet, and soon the two of them were on their way to the restaurant.
This was the part Lucy hated the most—the walks filled with silence. It was the worst. In romance novels, the couples couldn’t ever stop talking to each other, and the moments that there were silences, the love between them said it all. For her and Natsu, that kind of silence never really existed. The silence between them was an angry one, it made Lucy want to scream, but still, she said nothing, and walked beside him.
“So…what kind of restaurant are we going to?” Lucy attempted small talk.
“You’ll see,” Natsu smiled at her, putting his hands behind his head, “I really think you’ll like it!”
“Oh…how much farther is it?”
“Jeez, you sure must be hungry!”
“I was just wondering,” Lucy muttered. She had almost forgotten about that. His words never failed to anger her. It was never what he said; it was just how he said it. Of course she was hungry, but he didn’t need to say it like that…
“Look, here we are!” Natsu said, slipping his hand into hers. Lucy let out a small gasp, surprised by the sudden motion. She recovered quickly and laced her fingers with his, waiting for the feeling of heat to rise in her cheeks. Nothing came. Instead, anger filled its place. Why couldn’t she just feel something?
“Well, Luce?” Natsu’s voice pulled her back to reality, “what do you think?”
Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth dropped open. The restaurant Natsu was gesturing to was so…high class. Neon lights twinkled at her, reading, “Le Gourmet”. The outside doors even had their own doormen. Lucy could barley keep the shock off of her face.
