My Rare Pairs Week 2020 contribution for the prompt : Firsts.

I'm sorry for the mistakes, English is not my mother tongue. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer : Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Firsts

Natsu looked at Juvia and smiled. She was sleeping peacefully in his arms. Juvia had just moved in, it was a new step for them. He gently stroked her arm and thought about their relationship.

It started a year ago, when the rain fell on Magnolia. The rain drenched him as Natsu went home. Strangely, this rain felt good. He felt like it was chasing his sadness away. He had decided to tell Lucy how he felt. He had planned everything. As soon as he arrived at the guildhall, he would have gone to see her and declare his love to her. But when he saw her, he heard her conversation with Cana and Mirajane about her date with a reporter from Weekly Sorcerer. He had left the guildhall before anyone could see him and decided to go home.

He did not made any progress in his relationship with Lucy and he felt like they would only be friends. He was halfway home when the rain started to fall, until it got stronger. At the entrance to the forest, Natsu saw a figure, sitting under a tree, protecting itself from the rain. He approached and recognized Juvia. She had her arms around her knees and Natsu could hear her crying. That's why it's raining, he thought. He should have known there was nothing natural about this rain. He approached her and called her name. Juvia jumped and turned to looked at him.

'Natsu-san !'

Natsu sat down next to her.

'Juvia is sorry. It's raining because of her.'

'Why are you so sad ?'

Juvia was crying even harder. She told him that she had asked Gray if he wanted to spend the day with her. He had refused. It was not the first time. But this time, Gray got mad at her, annoyed with her insistence. Usually Juvia would tell herself that it did not matter and that she would ask him again another day. But this time was different. Juvia was heartbroken.

'Why did Gray-sama get mad at Juvia ? Juvia loves Gray-sama. There is no harm in that. So why is it wrong ?'

Natsu understood what Juvia felt. They loved people who did not love them. Without thinking, he took her in his arms. It was the first time he hugged Juvia. He had hugged only two girls before, Lucy and Lisanna. But with Juvia, he felt something different. He did not know what. All he wanted was to console her and made her smile again.

'Gray is an idiot. He doesn't realize the chance he has to be loved by you.'

Juvia blushed. Little by little, the rain stopped.

The next morning, Natsu went straight to the board when he arrived at the guildhall. Happy was following him closely. With a smile on his face, Natsu found a mission that seemed perfect.

'I'm not sure Lucy will like this mission,' Happy said, as he read the paper.

'It's not for Lucy, it's for Juvia.'

Happy stared at him, wide-eyed.

'Juvia? But we never went on a mission with Juvia.'

Natsu looked around for Juvia, impatient to show her the mission. He wanted to see her smile and he knew that a few days away from Gray would do her good. Natsu also felt the need to be away from the guild. He finally saw her sitting at a table, holding an untouched glass in her hands. She glanced sadly at Gray. Natsu winced. He headed for Juvia. Happy flying behind was him. He stood in front of the water mage. He had a big smile on his face and he handed her the mission.

'Do you want to to go on a mission with us ?'

Juvia read the mission and smiled sadly at Natsu and Happy.

'Juvia is not good company at the moment.'

'Come with us,' Natsu said. 'I'm sure we're going to have fun.'

'Come on, Juvia,' Happy said.

Before she had time to refuse again, Natsu took her arm and force her to stand up. He started running, taking Juvia with him. It was their first mission together. The most important part was that Natsu had fulfilled the mission he set himself. He had managed to make Juvia smile.

From that day on, Natsu always asked Juvia to go on a mission with him and Happy. He felt happy when he was with her. Happy teased him about it : 'You liiiiike her !' Natsu blushed and got angry at his friend, who laughed.

But deep down, Natsu knew his feelings for Juvia were changing. Juvia was kind, funny, strong, smart, a little weird and so beautiful that he would be an idiot for not realizing the fantastic woman she was. He had only one obsession, to kiss her and to hold her again in his arms. He was falling in love with her, but refused to accept it. What if she does not feel the same ? What if she was still in love with Gray ? He had already been heartbroken when he realized that Lucy did not feel the same way he did and he did not want to feel that pain again.

The pace of events had quickened during a mission that went wrong. Juvia had been kidnapped and Natsu was unable to do anything. His dragon slayer instinct had taken over and he thought only of one thing, to find Juvia and make those who kidnapped her pay. After a long battle, he had finally found her. She was safe and that was all that mattered. Natsu had always acted instinctively and without thinking about what he was doing, he ran to Juvia and kissed her. Natsu ended the kiss, wanting to apologize, but Juvia stopped him by kissing him. It was their first kiss.

This first kiss was followed by other first times. Their first date, their first 'I love you', their first time they made love. Their first day living together. Natsu had never been a romantic guy. He never cared about it. It was before he fell in love with Juvia. He knew they will have other first times and he was impatient to live them. He was not her first love and she was not his, but he knew she will be his last and he would do anything to be her last.

The end