Chapter Text
Day One: Baking
Hair tied back, apron perfectly starched and hands on his hips, Natsu stood in the middle of Lucy's kitchen ready for another adventure. Except this one didn't involve magic and fighting or villainous dark guilds and monsters who got a little too frisky with his partner or were a little too annoying.
This adventure involved pans and mixers and flour up to his elbows.
He eyed the recipe, reading slowly.
Alright.
He would start on the batter first.
Natsu had barely touched the first ingredient — the pack of flour — when a patter of little footsteps met his ears.
"Mornin' Natsu."
"Hey, buddy."
Happy settled beside him on the counter. Curious brown eyes darting between all the utensils and ingredients.
"What's all this?"
The Dragon Slayer emptied the flour into the sifter and began to shake it. "It's Lucy's birthday. I wanna bake her a cake."
Happy paused momentarily, obvious surprise in his eyes.
Natsu didn't like that reaction. "What?"
The Exceed shrugged. "I'm just shocked. You normally forget and make her sad."
Natsu scoffed, offended. "That was ages ago. Of course I won't forget every time. Besides, don't act like you haven't forgotten before either!"
Happy lifted his paws placatingly. "Hey, I'm just stating what I've seen." His paws dropped to his side as he peeked into the bowl. "What kind of cake?"
"Strawberry? She likes those right?"
The Exceed made a soft noise. "Okay, but weren't you supposed to make the strawberry bit first?"
Natsu stopped where he had been about to add sugar to the bowl. "What?"
Happy pointed to the recipe. "Right here. It says puree strawberries."
The Dragon Slayer snatched the paper, his eyes darting over the words then nearly cracked his neck as his head dropped back, a frustrated groan leaving him. How had he already managed to mess up and skip an entire step?
"Okay, we'll just put this aside and work on the puree. No big deal."
He and his cat spent the next four hours attempting to bake one little cake. Natsu sliced the tip of his finger while trying to cut the leaves off the strawberries before throwing it into the food processor. He swore loudly, dripping blood everywhere and desperately attempting not to get any on the food while Happy helpfully cleaned the mess and offered him a bandage.
The puree burnt twice before he got it somewhat right, which was good because he had run out of strawberries and uninjured fingers.
The first time he dipped the cake mixer into the flour and turned it on, he somehow managed to cover the entire counter, himself and the Exceed in flour, butter and oil.
He fought with Happy over the recipe, the temperatures, the baking times. The kitchen was a mess. His mind was a muddled battlefield.
No, he decided. This was not for him. Baking wasn't for the weak and it certainly wasn't for a fire breathing dragon slayer and his talking cat. This was worse than having his bones broken in a fight or running empty on magic. This was quite literal torture.
He almost gave up. Muttered and swore and even shed a couple tears trying to get the damn cake right. How was he to know that baking a cake took so much work? Literal blood, sweat and tears? But he was doing this for her. For Lucy. Because she was everything to him and he would be damned if he couldn't even make her one of her favourite desserts on her birthday of all days.
But he couldn't lie. He had definitely gained a new appreciation for all the chefs and bakers out there. Hell. He even saw Lucy in a new light as well. She went through this almost everyday. Making breakfast and dinner for his and Happy's ungrateful asses.
He had to remember to thank her for that too.
With a sigh of utter relief, Natsu and Happy dropped themselves unto the couch, sinking into the soft cushions, exhausted from their escapade.
"Lucy will be home soon," Happy mumbled.
Natsu nodded. "Yeah."
"Should we clean up? I don't think she'll appreciate coming home to this today," Happy gestured to the absolute mess they'd made of her kitchen. All for one stupid cake.
Groaning, Natsu mentally prepared himself before pushing to his feet. "Fine. Let's do this."
______
Lucy walked in the door as Natsu and Happy were still wiping down the counter, the last thing they had to do before the kitchen was sparkly clean again.
"I'm home," she sounded cheerier than usual, a warmth in her voice that had his movements stuttering as she walked around the corner into sight.
"Welcome home," Natsu and Happy replied in unison. "What did you do today?"
Lucy kicked off her sandals. "Spent the day with the girls. They took me to some fancy restaurant—" Bright chocolate eyes landed on them and the Stellar Mage came to an abrupt halt, looking scandalized. "What the heck happened here?"
Panicked, Natsu glanced around, thinking that there must've been some part of the kitchen he had forgotten to clean. But no. Everything was as clean and tidy as it had ever been. A lick of pride actually ran through him at the sight of his handiwork. But then it took him a moment to remember that he and Happy must've looked like they were hit by a flour tornado.
"Oh," he chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "We baked a cake."
Lucy nodded slowly, her gaze lingering on his hair then moving down his body before darting away to the counter then back to his eyes in surprise as if his words had only just registered. "You baked?"
He and Happy bounced over to where the cake had been cooling on the counter. "Come see."
She cautiously approached, her familiar scent just as sweet as the cake he baked filling his nose as she stood beside him, eyeing his cake with wide eyes.
"You baked," she repeated, not a question this time.
"I helped," Happy quickly chimed in.
"Happy birthday." Natsu spoke softly.
Her gaze lifted to his, something akin to awe in her eyes. "You remembered?" He nodded. "And you baked me a cake, even though you hate cooking?" Another nod and Natsu's heart sped up as Lucy's eyes immediately watered, tears threatening to fall over. Always so damn emotional.
"Please don't cry," he instantly reached up to wipe her tears then stopped, remembering his hand was still dirty from cleaning. "It was nothing, really. I swear."
She sniffled, her cheeks reddening. "I can't believe you guys did this. Thank you." And despite their ridiculously filthy state, she pulled both of them in for a hug, her warmth enveloping them so deliciously that Natsu's breath hitched. "I love you both so much," she sobbed.
His grip on her instantly tightened, pulling her closer, the Exceed caught between their bodies but that didn't stop him from nuzzling against her shoulder and breathing her in.
"We love you too," he sighed softly. Felt the way she stiffened slightly, her breath catching as his did before she quickly pulled back, a shy almost awkward smile curving her lips. She hastily wiped away her tears.
"Right. Um..." her gaze lowered to the cake on the counter. "It looks...good. Can I taste it?"
"Wait!" Natsu stopped her before she could touch it. He turned, rummaging through the drawers before finding what he was looking for. Returning to her, he stuck one measly rainbow colored candle on the cake and flicked the lighter. "Make a wish."
Lucy's eyes dropped closed, her fingers laced in front her chest, an amused crooked smile hooking her lips. Barely three seconds passed before she leaned down and blew out the candle.
"What'd you wish for?" Happy asked curiously.
Her gaze flicked to Natsu before darting away. "If I tell you then it won't come true."
The exceed's eyebrows furrowed. "That doesn't sound right."
She shrugged. "Well, that's how it works."
Natsu listened to her and the cat argue while he meticulously cut a slice of cake and plated it before turning to her. "Here," he handed her the plate. His breath automatically held as she bypassed using a fork, obviously having spent way too much time with him and subconsciously picked up his eating habits. She took a small bite and chewed. Her eyebrows shot upward.
"How is it?" He was practically leaning forward in anticipation, his nerves fluttering incessantly, the lump in his throat difficult to swallow. It was okay if she hated it, this was his first time baking after all. But in truth, he really wanted her to love it.
"It's actually...not bad," she commented then took another bite and the relief that flooded him was so sweet he almost toppled over.
"Really?"
"Absolutely! Here, taste it," Lucy held out the slice for him, her cheeks colouring that pretty pink when her leaned in and took a bite out of her hand instead of taking the cake from her. He chewed thoughtfully, examining the flavour. In truth, he couldn't really tell. As long as it wasn't poison, everything tasted good to him so all that mattered was that Lucy liked it. "See?"
He just shrugged.
"Me too. I want to taste it!" Happy opened his mouth for her to feed him a bite too and Natsu watched, his head empty and his heart full as his two favourite team members enjoyed something that he'd worked so hard on.
He couldn't wait for his birthday to roll around. Maybe Lucy would bake him a cake too. And maybe...maybe he would finally gain the courage to tell her how he felt about her.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.