"Oh wow..." I trail off.... speechless at the sight of the ginormous soccer stadium.

"If you keep your mouth open like that, Luce, flies might fly in." Natsu jokes just as we reach the gate. I shut it instantly, blushing slightly. Giving me a slight smirk, he opens it up. "Well, this is our training ground here. We have three big games here during this year. The first one is in two weeks."

"It's amazing." I gush out as he leads me into the field where I can see his teammates practicing. "It's just, I've never seen a soccer stadium like this before."

"Well now you have, babe." Natsu takes my hand in his and pulls it towards his lips, kissing it softly. "Come on, it's time for you to meet my team."

"Natsu, my man!" A broad shouldered blonde haired guy calls. He comes over and claps Natsu's shoulder. From the angle he's in, I can see a lightning shaped scar below and above his right eye. Noticing I'm here, the man glances over at me. "So...this must be Lucy." He grins, winking at me. "You were right, pinky, she is a sight to see."

"Eyes off, Lightning." Natsu wraps his arms around me and glares at him. But there's a small smile tugging at the edge of his mouth and I can sense they're both joking.

Laxus grins. "Come on, the guys are waiting." Natsu untangles himself from me, stretching his arms. Taking my hand in his, he leads me to the boys who seem to be laughing, while juggling around the ball.

"Hey, flame brain! Hey Lucy!" Gray waves at us, puffing a bit.

Everyone else stops and greets us, while pumping Natsu's fist. Feeling a little awkward, I stand to the side, while watching them. What feels like twenty or so later, a guy with spiky reddish brown hair finally notices me.

"Hey, Natsu, aren't you gonna introduce us?" He asks, pointing at me.

The chatter stops.

"Yep! This is Lucy, guys." Everyone whoops and cat calls while punching him on the shoulder playfully.

"Ok, ok, enough guys." Natsu laughs, noticing how awkward I looked.

"So, you finally got her back, huh?" One guy with dark orange hair smirks.

"He's a real man!" A white haired guy calls, pumping his fist.

Natsu rolls his eyes and starts introducing us. The guy with the dark orange hair is Hibiki. The white haired guy is Elfman and I soon learned that 'real man' is his favorite line. Gray and Laxus are Natsu's best friends and went to college with him.

He also introduces me to Bickslow, Jellal, Erik, Droy, Dan, and Jet. Then there's Freed, who seems to be obsessed with Laxus.

"So your in college?" Jellal speaks up after the introduction.

I nod, a little overwhelmed still.

"What year?" Bickslow chirps up.

"Junior."

The boys start asking me about what I'm studying and I start rambling, telling them everything. I explain that I'm majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Astronomy because of my love of stars.

Dan whistles once I finish. "Damn. She's a keeper, Natsu."

"Yeah, don't let her go."

"Not counting on it." He smiles and leans foreword, kissing my forehead, giving my shoulders a squeeze. I smile up at him and lean my head against his muscular chest.

"Come on, guys! We should begin practice." Laxus clears his throat and the team nods, stretching and heading to the middle of the field.

"You'll be ok, here?" Natsu murmurs.

"Uh huh." I sit down. "Go on, I'll be fine."

"Call if you need me!" He yells after taking off his shirt. I blush slightly when I see his muscular eight pack rippling as he runs.

Sighing, I sit quietly and watch the team as they begin practicing.

The guys start to stretch, work out and run.  I watch as they begin cone exercising and the three goal drill. An hour or so later, it gets a little ruff. They start playing and every so often one of the guy will fall in the mud. This causes them all to laugh at each other and I giggle at how silly they are.

I watch as the ball is juggled across the field. and is kicked into one of the goals. Natsu and Jellal clap hands when their 'team' makes a goal. The game goes on until it begins to slightly rain.

I shiver as droplets of water fall on top of me and wrap my arms around myself. Great, it's the second time I'm getting soaked today. The boys stop playing and Natsu jogs over to where I am. His whole upper body full of sweat and hair ruffled all over his head.

"Hey, so we're done with practice. Since it's getting late, I'll take you home, ok?"

I nod and let him help me up. We wave goodbye to the team and head out.

-♾-

Yukino is asleep when I arrive back home, so I quietly tip toe up the stairs and into the bathroom. After showering and brushing my teeth, I head into my room and slip on a pair of pajamas.

Just as I'm about to turn off the lights, my phone rings. Seeing the caller I.D, I press the answer button.

"Natsu?"

"Hey, Luce. I know it's late." He whispers. "But I wanted to ask if your free on Friday."

Scrunching my face, I think for a moment. "Yes, I think I am, why?"

Although I don't see him, I can tell he's smirking. "I still need to take you on first date, don't I?"

"Oh, right, yes..." I blush, red tinting my cheeks. When we were together all those years ago, we didn't go on any dates. Which is to be expected, since our relationship then, wasn't 'exactly' legal. So this will be our first real date and for some reason...I'm nervous.

"So what time are you available?"

I think for a moment. "I work until 5:30, so anytime after that?"

"Hmm...how about 7:30, does that work?" Natsu suggests.

Thinking about it, I calculate how much time I'll need to get ready. It's a huge deal and I want it to be perfect. I guess two hours is enough...right?

"Yes, 7:30 works." I smile into the phone.

"Great, I'll pick you up at that time." He says cheerfully. "Goodnight, Luce."

"Goodnight, Natsu."

"I love you." We both say at the same time and then burst out laughing. After a half hour of talking we finally hang up and I plug my phone into the charger.

Sighing, I close my eyes and prepare for sleep. Tomorrow is my first day of class and I'm really excited. But there's something much more wonderful...

He loves me. Natsu Dragneel loves me. Making the emptiness in my heart feel whole again.

Today was absolutely perfect. I think happily to myself just as sleep takes over me.

-♾-

Hey guys! I finally updated this book! I'm so sorry it took so long!

As I said before, I'm busy with school and such, but I was able continue writing. So thanks for being patient and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks for reading!

By my Angels!

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Date Published: January 30, 2020

Word count: 1152