ADL OLD CHAPTERS

10. Icecream and Rainbows

Thanks to all of you for nearly three hundred reads! I'm blown away by the positive response this story has been getting.

So thank you, guys. Seriously.
~~~

Y/n sighed, resting her arms on the railing of the bridge in Southgate Park. She watched the water flowing by, bubbling and gurgling like a song. A cool breeze blew through her hair making it dance in the wind. She let her eyes flutter closed for a moment, enjoying the calm.

Natsu had dragged her all over town, oftentimes going to one end only to return to the one they'd just been in immediately after. When they'd reached the park he'd declared that he and Happy had to decide where to go next. Y/n had watched Natsu pull the cat away with a small smile. Happy was cute, she could give him that, but the constant you're in love, and general obnoxious teasing got old fast.

"You ready to go?"

Y/n turned at the sound of Natsu's voice and smiled. "Yep, where to next?"

"I was thinking we could go to the market," he offered, leaning his back against the railing as he spoke. "It's getting close to lunch, maybe we could get something to eat?"

"That sounds great," she said. "I am getting kind of hungry,"

Natsu grinned. "Awesome!"

"Slow down," Y/n laughed at his excitement, stumbling along as he towed her down the streets.

"Sorry," he apologized with a shy smile as he came to the stop. Natsu raised his hands up and gestured to the market before them "But we're here! Tada!"

She shook her head and let out a breath of a laugh. They were standing in the middle of the road and many passersby were shooting them dirty glares but Natsu either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Wait, where's Happy?" Y/n asked, her eyes widening as she realized the blue feline was nowhere to be seen.

"He, uh," Natsu said, shuffling a foot on the ground and glancing to the side. He could feel his cheeks warming up under her gaze. "He said he had somewhere to be,"

That was a lie. Happy was a cat. He had nowhere to be.

Natsu had grown tired of Happy's teasing. When he'd brought y/n to the park he hadn't left to discuss where they were going next but to get Happy to go. Happy wasn't thrilled about it at the start, but his small pout quickly turned into a mocking grin, stating that Natsu wanted him gone so that way he could have y/n to himself. Natsu had denied, of course, his face flushed a deep red as he shouted at the cat. Happy had only grinned, cooing yet another you're in love before flying off to who knows where.

Her shoulders visibly dropped as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I thought we'd lost him,"

"Nah, he's fine don't worry about it," He waved her off with a laugh. Natsu held an arm out to her and nodded towards the market stalls. "Shall we?"

Y/n smiled up at him, hesitating a moment before linking her arm through his. "We shall,"

***

The first place they went to was an ice cream stand. Natsu had made a beeline for it the second his eyes landed on it. He bounced up and down excitedly as he ordered before turning to y/n expectantly. She let out an indecisive hum, her nose scrunched as she regarded the sign with confused eyes.

"And what will it be for you sweetcheeks?" the vendor asked, throwing y/n a coy smirk.

Natsu felt an unfamiliar feeling akin to anger beginning to bubble in his stomach. It hissed and burned like lava, flickering just under his skin, flowing in every vein. He clenched his fists and forced the feeling back. He glared at the woman, scowling slightly as he tried to make sense of the burning sensation. Natsu let out an inaudible sigh before turning back to y/n a small smile gracing his lips.