Forgive But NEVER Forget

Garden

LUCY POV

So, I just agreed to have dinner with Natsu?!

I arrived in front of the bar at 6:55 pm. Natsu was waiting for me in dark green khakis, with a white shirt coupled with a gray sleeveless pullover. His scarf complimented his clothes.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting," I apologized.

Natsu looked at me and didn't say anything.

"Was it a bit too much," I asked looking down at my long thigh-length socks, a black skirt which was trimmed with white near the ends, and a white tank top. I had my hair down to cover much of my shoulders.

"Uh-Oh, sorry not at all. I was just... you look amazing, Luce" he complimented.

"You don't look too bad yourself. Shall we get going?"

"Sure," he said and lead me through the streets.

We both continued to walk in complete silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was peaceful. I was enjoying his presence.

Soon we had arrived at the garden that Natsu first took me to, to tell me about how sorry he was.

"We're almost there," was all he said as he grabbed my hand and lead me through the awe-inspiring garden. He halted right in front of a fountain. It was a bit too dark for me to see completely, but when Natsu blew about 50 small flames in all directions, the whole scenery came to life. Right behind the fountain, there was a tree that had candle lights hanging down from the branches. To the left was a whole dinner table set up with more flowers and candles.

"This is so beautiful, Natsu! Words can't describe how amazing this is. Did you do this?"

"Yes, with a bit of Happy's and Wendy's help. I don't know about you, but I am starving! Let's start eating."

"Okay."

We both sat down at the table and Natsu uncovered my dish. There was curry and rice. We looked at each other and with a nod, both of us started to eat. The curry was great!

"Did you make this too?"

"Luce, did you already forget how bad of a cook I am? This is actually Mira's cooking. I asked her to whip up some food for us. She gladly accepted and told me to tell her how the date goes."

The date?! Natsu thinks of this as a date...I think my heart just skipped a beat. NO CALM DOWN! It's just a date, not a big deal... "LUCY, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE OF GETTING A MAN," Aquarius's voice traveled in my head.

"Not right now," I replied.

Natsu started to joke around about an adventure we had before I left the guild. It was the time when we fought the Jiggle Butt Gang and he had to fight them even when they farted this crazy scent that destroyed his nose. We laughed and ate our dinner. When I was done Natsu pulled out another item.

"There is your Strawberry cake topped with a sweet cherry," he offered.

I thankfully accepted and set aside the cherry for the end. After joking around a bit more, both of us fell quite. This time the silence was just awkward. So I said the next best thing, or so I thought, "Natsu, why are you doing all of this?"

He said nothing.

"I don't get what you're trying to accomplish by doing something so extravagant. If you're trying to get on my good side, you already are on it, so you don't need to do this."

"Lucy, I am not doing this to get on your good side. I am doing this because I want to convey how I feel about-," he said but I interrupted him.

"Then why did you call me weak?! If you wanted to do something like this, why did you say something like that?! Is it because I am actually strong now and I am not hiding behind my sprits now!" At this point, I became unaware of my voice. Unaware of the tears flowing down my cheeks.

"That's not it. I know what I said was something that wasn't like me at all and it was the worst thing anyone could ever say. I know no matter what I do, I can't take back the words I said, but when you left, I realized who I had truly lost. I said this before and I'll say it as many times as you want me to, but I am deeply sorry. Luce, I realize that I hurt you and all of this isn't for you to forgive me; however, all of this is to show you that you mean a lot to me."

In that moment, the tears stopped. In that moment, his words came back to me. The look in his eyes was full of determination, but I could sense a fear in them. Fear of losing someone. Fear of losing me...