Birthdays, Sincerity, and Hiding Things

As far as Fairy Tail members were concerned, Lucy's birthday was a thing of myth.

Ever since she'd joined the guild she hadn't once mentioned when her birthday was. There were parties thrown all the time in the Fairy Tail hall. On August 21st every year there was a party for Cana's birthday, complete with a beer fountain and free drinks all day. On March 14th Mira had the day off for her birthday, and everyone chipped in to throw her a massive kick-off-your-shoes type of birthday where she could relax. On July 14th the Master celebrated his birthday, and it was arguably the loudest most raucous day of the year for Magnolia residents, who had learned to expect a sleepless night every second week in July.

The fact was, everyone had some sort of party or get-together or special something that happened on their birthday in the Fairy Tail guild. All that is, except Lucy.

She'd yet to disclose when her birthday was, simply because she said she didn't want to celebrate it. She said she'd gotten gifts piled upon gifts every year since she was a toddler and as the years dragged on, it began to mean less and less to her. It was a holiday full of heartbreak when her father forgot, and full of silly material items that didn't mean anything to her. She said she just wanted a day like normal, having fun with her friends and newfound family. That that was what the ultimate gift was, to her.

Most had learned to accept this. They figured 'to each his own' and if that was really what she wanted… they'd let it go. They'd let her have her special day the way she wanted.

However, there were a few people who still pursued the answer. Natsu was one of those people.

He'd known her for years and it clearly bothered him that he didn't know. After all, there was a huge bash thrown on his birthday, and he strutted around like a king. He'd asked her hundreds of times, begged her, reasoned with her, bribed her, attempted to even blackmail her once, but she never divulged the information. She found it amusing and sweet that he cared so much, but she wasn't going to tell anyone.

That was, until one day when he intercepted her mail. It hadn't been on purpose, rather he saw the stack of envelopes sitting near her door and had decided to do her the favor of bringing them into her apartment. He'd only happened to be actually entering through her door because her window had had a crack in it –which was definitely not because he'd rammed his head into it, thinking it was open, the past week- and was currently blockaded off while she ordered a new window. Seriously, she kept that glass too clean; he couldn't even tell if it was there.

She'd told him she'd put a window cling on it next time so he could tell.

And that was when he'd seen it: the glorious envelope issued by the Fiore government. There was a census going around apparently, collecting everyday information about citizens so the region could keep track of certain things. Natsu didn't care much for stuff like that and thought it was rather silly… But maybe that was because he hadn't received one of those envelopes and had been left out. Or maybe not. Maybe they just didn't' want information about super cool people. Yeah, that was it… Or maybe it was because he literally didn't have a mailing address. A more likely option.

He'd stared down at the envelope for a minute before his eyes went wide. If she filled out the paper inside, undoubtedly she'd have to write down her actual birthday. Which meant if he got a glimpse of it… he'd have his answer.

He didn't know how to go about it. Should he be sneaky? Should he try and wait until she was asleep and then peek at it? Or should he act like nothing was wrong at all and casually look at it as if he were interested in what some of her other answers had been, such as what she estimated her yearly income was as a mage, or what her rent was.

He went for the first option.

However, it backfired.

After she'd filled out the paper she'd put it right in the return envelope and sealed it before he had the chance to get a peek.

He'd stared at that glued envelope for what felt like hours, contemplating what to do. He'd seen movies where people steamed open envelopes to get at their contents. However, he had the feeling it was a bit more complicated and he really didn't want to get the paper wet on accident, smearing her ink-written answers.

And so he'd gone about it the Natsu Dragneel way, and simply ripped it open. Quietly, though, of course. And in her bathroom… with the door shut... while she was sleeping. Just for extra precaution.

His hands had been shaking slightly as he unfolded the paper and quickly skimmed to find what he was looking for. There was a box near the top that said 'Birthdate (Month/Day):' and right next to those glorious words he finally had his answer. July 7th.

He faltered for only a moment upon seeing the date. It was the same day that Igneel and the other Dragons had disappeared. Part of him was surprised that she'd never told him, or even slipped up and happened to let on that it was the same day. But as he heard her stir in the next room his mind snapped back to the task at hand and he quickly re-folded the paper and inserted it back into the envelope.

He stared at the top, jagged and crumpled where he'd ripped it, and he immediately regretted his decision. How the hell would he explain that? However, after a few moments of quick thought, he'd found his answer.

Quietly he'd slipped out her door again, census letter in-hand as he ran through the night, back to his cottage. He ransacked drawers and shelves and finally found the tape he was looking for. Without much care he managed to tape most of the pieces back in place on the top of the envelope, or at least seal it off enough that it would make it in one piece. He then ran back to Magnolia City Hall, and slipped the letter into the mail container in the front, feeling rather proud of himself. He dusted off his hands.

If she asked, he'd just say he'd been heading out and decided to do her a favor and send off her mail. Yes, he'd just committed what was technically a federal crime by tampering with mail, and in the end she'd probably smile at him and thank him for helping her out. He couldn't lose.

Once he knew her birthdate, it was only a matter of time before he began contemplating what to do with that information. He'd kept it to himself for the first few months, but as June was quick approaching, July soon to come, he decided he'd have to share. Why? Because they were going to throw her a bomb-ass surprise party, the likes of which had never been seen before, that's why.

At first everyone had been absolutely shell-shocked that he'd actually found out Lucy's birthday. By now there were some rumors out there that she didn't have a birthday, or didn't know, or the more common: had been born on a leap year on February 29th and didn't have that hard of a time keeping that date from them.

But soon enough, everyone was on board and excited to throw what would be the first ever Lucy Heartfilia birthday party. And on top of that, she didn't even know a thing. There weren't really any surprise birthday parties in Fairy Tail. They had tried one for Wendy for the first birthday she had since joining, but scared the poor thing so bad she'd fainted and had spent most of the day out cold in the back room in Fairy Tail, being fanned by Mira. So a surprise party for someone who wouldn't black out was an exciting prospect.

Natsu's best guess of the worst that could happen was that she would throw a 'Lucy-kick' at the nearest person in her fright. But that was no problem. If they put Droy in the front it'd help cushion the blow, too. Or, more likely, he'd just wear a pillow or something. After all, he really wanted to be the one to see her reaction up-close and personal.

And so the preparation had begun. Balloons, streamers, confetti, party hats and horns, among a myriad of other decorations were bought. They'd decided to go theme-less and simple for her party. It was the first one and it was to be a surprise, so going too all-out would be not only difficult to keep under the radar, but any kinks in the plan might cause the entire thing to be a disaster. Simple was the best way to go.

They stored everything in the back of Fairy Tail, along with some stuff in the upper level where only the S-Class mages were allowed to go. A disco ball was kept at Erza's room in Fairy Hills, and a massive and only growing pile of gifts was being kept in Gray's apartment. After all, he was an extreme minimalist and had more room than he knew what to do with. He didn't mind at all.

While Mira did most of the party-planning, as she usually did, Natsu was arguably the most involved. He coached people on how they were going to surprise Lucy, gave input on where certain things should go, and pointed out places where he thought she might be, and they should avoid. For example, Levy, carrying a gigantic stack of paper plates over to keep in her own room, was intercepted by Natsu. He said Lucy was in the library, but would probably be leaving soon. If he were correct, she'd probably quite literally bump into Levy on her journey, and the entire thing would be spoiled. Surprisingly, he'd been right, and so making Levy take the long way around to Fairy Hills, toting a stack of plates much taller than she was, hadn't been a silly idea, after all.

There were 'mock drills' held in the wee hours of the morning the week leading up to the party, where places were assigned and they had a dress-rehearsal of sorts for when Lucy would actually walk into the guild on the morning of her birthday. They positioned everyone behind different tables or pillars, under different chairs or benches, and made it so everyone had the perfect spot to not only see her reaction, but so she could see everyone pop out at once, as well. Natsu was situated right behind the guild door, and would be the signal-giver for when they should all jump out. He decided he'd actually take his pillow idea literally as he would be awfully close to her when she was surprised, and he didn't want to break a rib in the process.

It'd all been a whirlwind of rolling streamers and cake decorating but it'd been an absolute blast. They'd worked like one giant well-oiled machine and gotten everything ready without a hitch.

The only time everything had come close to disaster was around three days out from the party. They'd finished what they'd dubbed as their final 'dress rehearsal' for her party, and were cleaning up the mess when who was to walk through the door but Lucy herself. They'd been careful to always have their practice sessions done by around seven o'clock in the morning, which was when Lucy typically woke up. She never arrived in the guild until at least eight and so they'd given themselves a cushion. Whether they'd run late or Lucy had gotten up early, no one knew, but everyone froze as they saw her enter, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Someone had had the presence of mind to quickly flip off all the lights before she had a chance to see anything, smothering them all in almost-complete darkness. The sun wasn't too high and what little did peek through the windows, luckily, didn't either give something away or light up the place enough to see.

Natsu's heart had been in his throat as no one dared to make a sound or move an inch. Lucy made a confused sort of sound before asking why the lights were off… and if anyone was there.

There'd been a beat of silence before Natsu heard Happy hiss into his ear, saying that he'd take care of this. Before Natsu had time to react, Happy was a whir of wings. Lucy was still standing in the doorway and so everyone got a prime view of what was happening.

Happy let out a deafening war cry, flying at Mach speeds and ramming straight into Lucy's stomach. It sounded rather painful and Natsu could hear a collective hiss amongst the Fairy Tail members as they witnessed what had to be one of the worst gut punches in the history of gut punches. Lucy stumbled backwards, wheezing to herself as Happy fell to the ground with a plop, holding his head.

It was only a moment before Lucy recovered enough to yell a strangled 'what the hell was that for?!' at him, successfully bringing Happy back to the task at hand.

With another war cry, this time the words 'I'm sorry, Lucy' leading off his yell, he went at her again. His first hit had undoubtedly been in an attempt to get her out of the guild, so he could shut the doors. However, she had only stumbled back a few feet. He threw little punches at her calves and ankles. She let out a squeal of surprise and began what looked to be a very awkward jig, all trying to avoid his claws. She wasn't backing out of the guild any, though.

It was then that she apparently became rather suspicious as she looked back up from Happy, still doing her little dance, squinting into the darkness of the guild. Natsu swore he could see her mouth a little 'what's going on?' to herself and he swallowed. It was only a matter of time before her eyes adjusted enough to see what was going on. They'd be caught red-handed with decorations piled high, and the birthday would be a bust.

However, Happy had a fighting will that was up with the best of them, and gave it one final shot. 'You leave me no choice!' he yelled, and just as she'd nearly made it to the first step down to the main floor, his wings popped out and he flew at her again. This time he opened his mouth wide, chomping down onto her hand. There was a moment of silence where no one really knew what to do, in which Happy muttered 'you taste funny' before he brought himself back to the present and finished the job. With a whirl he sped toward the door, Lucy half-dragged, half-stumbling behind him as he officially yanked her outside, the guild door closing with a loud thud!

Natsu had no idea what Happy would end up saying to Lucy outside to somehow cover his odd behavior or the lights being out, but he sent a silent thanks to his buddy. He'd done a good job. Albeit with measures that were sort of more harmful to Lucy's well-being than Natsu would've liked… but he'd gotten the job done.

The lights flicked back on a moment later and he made a gesture to everyone to quickly round everything up while Happy bought them some time. In a whirlwind they somehow managed to get everything back to normal before a very angry-looking Lucy stormed back into the guild, Happy staggering after her, a bump on his head.

However, rather than that minor catastrophe, there hadn't been any bumps in his plan for the party. And he was damn proud of himself.

The day of her birthday came without further incident. Everyone arrived nice and early and they had plenty of time to set up and get ready. It all went according to plan and as Lucy opened the door, everyone popping out at just the right time and yelling 'surprise!' Natsu was practically beaming with happiness.

Indeed, it did scare her nearly out of her wits, and Natsu was immensely grateful that he had opted for the pillow. A particularly deadly Lucy-kick had been thrown his way and he was afraid for how painful it would've been without the protection.

It'd been a massive undertaking, and he and the other guild members had spent countless hours preparing for it, but the day came off as a success.

And as day of what could only be described as carefree festivities and jubilation came to a close, he was happy to see a smile on her face. Despite the initial shock over the party, followed by the shock of knowing that someone had actually found out her birthdate, she warmed up to the idea quickly. Her eyes softened and she'd whispered a sentimental 'you guys…' before promptly joining in on the fun. Natsu hadn't seen her smile as much as she had that day in a long time.

He had to admit he was exhausted, collapsed at a bench across from her as she ate another piece of her cake. The sun was setting outside, although the party was still going strong. She mentioned something to Mira about being thankful for her organizing such an ordeal for her. That she didn't typically enjoy her birthday, but if it was like this, she thought she could come around to it. Mira smiled, telling her she was glad, but that she wasn't the one who'd really put the whole thing together. Instead, it was Natsu.

Lucy looked surprised, her gaze quickly turning to him, before softening, something in her eyes sparkling. And as she whispered a heartfelt 'thank you, Natsu', he was positive it'd all been completely worth it.

The Sinnoh League Challenge - Route 202 vs Bidoof - write about something biting something else

I apologize in advance for that bizzare-o title. I've never had such a hard time naming a fic in my whole life... weird.
Just hopefully a sort of sweet little NaLu thing. :D Natsu's just a precious muffin whom we never deserved. Lucy deserves him tho.
And Happy gets medal of honor for his brave war service in getting Lucy out of the guild. Kudos, my man. *salutes*

Anyway, just a little silly but hopefully cute thing. I feel like NaLu is sort of dwindling on this site and that makes me incredibly sad. I hope there are still NaLu shippers out there that still read fanfics! I know I sure do! :D
I hope you enjoyed!

~Foxtail-chan