The NaLu Chronicles

The Daisy Division

Lucy Heartfilia owned the flower shop downstairs.

In the four months since he'd moved in, Natsu hadn't really had any reason to step foot into the small shop. He wasn't seeing anyone, and so didn't really need to buy any flowers, and he'd been trying to get settled in his new place. Add a stressful job into the mix, and it turned into something he kept meaning to do but never got around to.

He'd seen her around - Blonde hair in a high ponytail, glasses perched on the edge of her nose, arranging the displays and hanging plants outside the front of the store. She was always dressed as colorfully as her flowers, sometimes in short sundresses, sometimes jeans and a vibrant flowing sleeveless shirt, one memorable time in a brightly tie-dyed tee. And despite the inviting blast of cool, crisp air conditioning whenever he walked by and someone was coming out the door, despite the scent of lilacs carrying up through his street-facing window in the humidity of the late June evenings, despite Lucy looking like someone he really, really wanted to get to know, he kept putting it off.

He told Erza it was because he was busy. Erza said it was because he was an idiot.

Fine.

None of it mattered though, because one night in early July, Natsu started sneezing.

And he didn't stop.

At first he thought it was just hay fever, but no one else with allergies was showing any signs of problems, and it had never been this severe before. Runny nose, teary eyes, sneezing that woke him up in the middle of the night.

He was definitely allergic to something, and he checked to see if the upstairs neighbor had gotten a cat since he'd moved in, but no dice.

His doctor told him it was a pollen allergy. The question was, pollen from what? He'd never had any issues with Lucy's flower shop before, but maybe she'd gotten something new?

Which was what brought Natsu to finally step foot into "The Daisy Division" for the first time.

The shop was... cute. There really wasn't any other word for it. Painted tin buckets hanging in rows lined one wall, filled with flowers of every kind, organized by color. Pre-arranged bouquets were displayed on artfully stacked wooden crates in the center, and on the opposite wall were potted plants and flowers, extra pots, decorative garden pieces and vases. Flowers hung from the ceiling, and the walls were all painted a light blue.

The bell on the door tinkled as he walked in, and when the door shut, the cool, damp air surrounded him and the noise from outside disappeared, throwing him into a completely different world.

He could already feel his nose beginning to itch. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Can I help you?" Lucy stepped out of the back room, wiping her hands on a rag. Her fingernails were painted light green, and she was actually wearing overalls. Natsu didn't know people still wore overalls. She looked adorable in them.

"I, uh-" He cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Natsu Dragneel." He held his hand out to shake hers, and she took it.

"I know who you are, Natsu," Lucy responded, smiling.

"Right, of course you do. I mean, I – uh... I live upstairs after all."

Lucy nodded. "Yes, you do. What finally brings you down here?"

And there it was. He'd come down to ask her what new flowers or plants she'd received in the last week that could have caused his condition. But he suddenly very badly didn't want the first time he met Lucy Heartfilia to be when he was complaining about her flower shop. He hadn't even had the decency to introduce himself before today.