Underneath A Canopy Of Cherry Blossoms (Nalu AU)

{12} Tell Me Please

I held his hand tightly and ran as he let me drag him down the street and towards the same park that we were sitting in last night.

The park appeared completely different during the daytime, it was filled with gigantic cherry trees that I couldn't see when it was dark, and even though they didn't have any petals left on their branches, the sight of the ground coated in a light pink blanket of flowers was enough to calm me down. The view gave off an aura that made me feel safe and happy, and I knew that this was where I was going to tell him everything.

"Luce where are we going?" He questioned, but I didn't answer him. I kept guiding him towards a tree that overlooked the park, when we arrived I let go of his hand and instantly felt the coldness of the lost embrace spread up my arm.

I sat down with my legs crossed and my back against the trunk of the tree, my eyes trailed down to the pink petals laying on the ground in front of me. I was avoiding looking up at Natsu because my face was on fire and I didnt want him to see it. Grabbing his hand and dragging him along was a really bold move for me, and something that I wouldn't normally do.

I felt him sit down against the trunk with me, our shoulders grazing as we attempted to calm our breathing in a comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry, I hope you are okay with skipping class." I relaxed and leaned my head against the tree, looking up at the sky through the thin intertwined branches of the cherry tree.

"I don't mind, it's exciting actually" he responded and I could hear his smile through his voice.

The silence returned and we were sitting, just listening to the sound of our now evenly paced breathing, and the occasional gust of wind pushing around the branches above us. My mind began to wander and I was thinking about how crazy this idea of mine was, I'm not sure how I was even going to begin to tell him everything that I wanted to say.

Suddenly my attention was grabbed by a warm hand being placed on my knee, I looked up at Natsu to see his onyx eyes meet mine, his expression filled with concern for what I could only imagine would be me, "Hey are you okay?"

To be honest, I'm terrified of how he's going to react to what I'm about to say, but I'm not about to tell him that. "Yeah I'm fine but I really need to tell you something, that's why I dragged you here." I said as I placed my hand on top of his and adjusted my body so that I was facing him more.

"Of course," he shifted over so that we were right across from one another, "you can tell me anything"

"I wanted to talk to you about last night. I didn't want to run off, but I wasn't sure.." my voice quivered and went quiet as I held my breath, silently hoping that he would cut me off so I didn't have to finish my sentence quite yet. I stared at the ground to hide my burning face, and tangled my fingers in the grass to try and bring myself back to reality.

I was surprised when he lifted my face with his fingertips and spoke, "it's okay Luce, I understand completely, it's hard to decide on something a big as that on the spot." His gaze was soft and comforting, and helped me come back to my senses "it's no secret that I like you a lot Lucy, so please just tell me what's going on inside of your head."

As much as my heart wanted me to say it back to him, there was that one thing nagging in the back of my mind that was stopping me. The internal battle between my heart and soul began, and I was still unclear of which one would take over. I think that Natsu could tell that I was conflicted because his face softened from his smirk and he was smiling gently as he grabbed my hands in his. "I really, really like you Luce"

When he said it again, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. "Natsu, I don't know" was all I could say, and I saw a small glint of sadness flash in his eyes. It wasn't the answer he wanted. He wiped the tear off of my cheek with his thumb, and his touch sent electric shocks through my body. I took one more tentative breath as my heart took over and as I breathed out, I whispered, "I like you too."

"I know" his answer came quick, and for this reason it caught me a little off guard.

"Wait, how would you know?" I was shocked.

"I can see it in your eyes when you look at me, because they get brighter and more beautiful" I blushed once again at his kind words, but this time I didn't look away, "you did also kiss me back" he gave me a signature smirk that was hot enough to make me melt. I shoved him slightly and laughed at his silly behaviour, it is really hard to be serious when he acts like this, but it is also one of the many reasons that I like him.

"Natsu that's really sweet" I really do want this to work out between us. "But if this is going to work, there is something really important that I need to tell you about me."

"Go on then, what is it?" he lifts one eyebrow and gives me a comforting smile that fills my stomach with nerves.

"I have a rare condition called hemophilia."