A Date with Lucy; Part 2

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Hargeon

February, x785.

"Mira? Why are you here?" Lucy asked in a confused tone.

Smiling brightly, though she was slightly confused to see Alfonzo and Lucy, Mirajane replied to Lucy's question without showing it.

"I'm on a quest." Mirajane replied. "Yajima hasn't filled all the positions here yet, since the restaurant opened not too long ago. So, he commissioned a quest for waiters and waitresses."

"Oh…" Lucy replied.

Then, Lucy looked over the uniform Mirajane was wearing. And when she saw how much cleavage and thigh it showed, she could not help but shake her head.

"Well, that uniform makes it obvious that Yajima is one of Master Makarov's best friends." Lucy said with a wry smile. "I mean, look how much skin you're showing."

"Yeah, they're both old perverts." Alfonzo added with a wry smile on of his own.

"Really?" Mirajane asked while looking down at herself. "But I think it's cute."

"Of course, you do." Alfonzo replied while rolling his eyes. "Anyway, yeah, can we get a table for two?"

"Of course!" Mirajane replied enthusiastically. "Right this way."

With that, Mirajane picked up a couple of menus. Then she gestured Alfonzo and Lucy to follow her while making her way towards a small table for two.

A moment later, Alfonzo, Mirajane, and Lucy were standing in front of a table in the corner of the restaurant near a window that gave a great view of the harbor and the ocean. Then, Alfonzo pulled Lucy's chair out for her before helping her get closer to the table, before taking his own seat. Meanwhile, Mirajane looked at all this with a bit of envy in her gaze.

"Then, please have a look at the menu." Mirajane said, hiding her envy with a bright smile. "Your waitress should be here shortly to take your orders. In the meantime, can I start you off with something to drink?"

'I'm definitely gonna get him to take me out on a date like this, too.' Mirajane thought to herself.

A few moments later, Mirajane left the table after taking Alfonzo and Lucy's drink orders.

"That was a real surprise." Lucy said as she opened the menu. "I really wasn't expecting to see Mira here."

"Yeah, something tells me she's not the only one here, either." Alfonzo replied.

"Really?" Lucy asked, looking up from the menu.

Nodding his head, Alfonzo also looked over the menu. And although he had not spread his [Magic Power Detection], his instincts were telling him that he would meet more people he was acquainted with during his date with Lucy.

"So, since you helped with the menu, is there anything you recommend?" Lucy asked while reading the menu.

"That depends." Alfonzo replied. "Is there anything you're in the mood for?"

"Hmm… Something light, I guess." Lucy replied.

"Then, how about this?" Alfonzo said after taking a few more looks at the menu. A moment later, he turned his menu around to face Lucy and pointed at a particular dish. "The Guillotine Crab Meat Salad should be pretty good."

Finding the dish in her own menu, Lucy took a moment to read its description. Then, she nodded her head in agreement.

"Sounds good, I'll have that." Lucy said with a smile. "What about you, what will you have?"

"I think I'll go with the Beastman Curry." Alfonzo replied. "I'm in the mood for something with deep flavor."

"Oh…" Lucy muttered while checking the description of the Beastman Curry. Then, with a slight frown, she continued. "It looks really spicy…"

"It can be." Alfonzo replied. "But you can choose the spice level."

"I see." Lucy replied with a nod. "Then, maybe I'll try it next time."

*Thud!*

Before the conversation could continue any further, Alfonzo and Lucy felt the table shake, accompanied by the sound of something being placed on it. Assuming that it was their waitress with their drinks, they both looked towards the sound.

"Yup, my instincts were right." Alfonzo muttered with a wry smile on his face.

"Good evening. I'm Erza, and I'll be your waitress tonight." Erza said with half of her butt on the table, her skirt flipped to reveal most of her thigh and half of her butt, her left hand supporting herself on the table, a tray with two glasses in her right hand, and a seductive smile on her face while her hair, styled into a pair of low ponytails, hung in front of her chest with the tips of her ponytails disappearing into the valley of her cleavage.

Meanwhile, Lucy could only gawk at Erza with her eyes and mouth wide open in surprise.

"Hey, Erza." Alfonzo said. "So, is this your trick to get tips from the male customers?"

"Oh, Alfonzo, it's you." Erza said, her smile becoming much more sincere after seeing her fiancée. Then, she glanced at Lucy. "And I see you brought Lucy with you. I guess that means today was the day for your date, was it?"

"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But you really don't have to do all that. I promise the tip will be good, so just act normal, okay?"

"Of course." Erza said as she stood up from the table. "Here are your drinks."

With that, Erza placed the drinks on the table. Then, she pulled a small notebook from behind her apron.

"Have you decided what you'll be having tonight?" Erza asked. "If so, then I'd be happy to take your order."

With that, Lucy snapped back to her senses. Then, she and Alfonzo gave Erza their orders.

After receiving the two's orders, Erza stayed to chat for a few moments before taking the orders back to the kitchen. And after she left, Alfonzo and Lucy continued to chat.

Not much later, the couple's dishes were served. However, instead of Erza, it was Marin who brought out their orders.

"Wow, you really all took the same quest?" Lucy asked, surprised to see so many people she knew in the restaurant.

"Yup." Marin replied with a smile. "Originally, it was just supposed to be me and Mira. But after Erza saw the uniform, she insisted on coming, too. To be honest, we were really worried about bringing her with us. I mean, she tends to break just about everything she touches."

"And how's that been working out?" Alfonzo asked as Marin placed his curry in front of him.

"Better than expected." Marin replied with a smile. "Since Yajima knew her… track record… he only lets her take drink orders."

"That's probably a good call." Lucy said as Marin placed her salad down in front of her.

"Yeah, I can only imagine how many broken dishes and how much wasted food would have happened as a result. Luckily, she's only broken thirteen glasses today. So, our pay shouldn't be docked too much."

Hearing that, Alfonzo and Lucy could only smile at Marin with sympathy.

"Anyway, I hope you enjoy your meal." Marin said with a small bow and a bright smile. "If you need anything, just call out and one of the waitresses will be happy to help."

"Thanks." Alfonzo and Lucy replied with smiles of their own.

After receiving their meals, Alfonzo and Lucy spent the next half hour talking, eating, and being teased by their friends on the wait staff. They even ordered dessert, with Lucy ordering a Ruby Parfait and Alfonzo ordering vanilla ice cream smothered in hot raspberries and raspberry sauce.

And to their surprise, Yajima himself brought out their desserts. Then, after chatting with them for a few minutes, he waived their bill as thanks for Alfonzo helping him with the recipes. Then, after saying goodbye, Alfonzo and Lucy left the restaurant with satisfaction.

"That was really good." Lucy said with a smile while holding Alfonzo's arm as the two left 8-Island. "And Levy was right, it was almost as good as your cooking."

"Yeah, Yajima really is a great cook." Alfonzo replied with a smile of his own. "Anyway, now that dinner is over, how about a walk around Hargeon?"

"Sure." Lucy replied with a nod. "I haven't really walked around Hargeon since the day I met Natsu."

"Hahaha!" Alfonzo laughed after thinking back to that day more than half a year ago. "Natsu destroyed the bell in the clock tower, and I had to clean up his mess."

"Yeah, and I was almost tricked into becoming a slave on another continent." Lucy added while hanging her head.

"But because that guy… what was his name? Bora, I think… was pretending to be from Fairy Tail, he really pissed Natsu off." Alfonzo said.

"Yeah, then with Happy, he came flying to the ship." Lucy said, regaining her smile. "And then, he crashed through the cabin's ceiling and… got motion sickness immediately. Hahaha!"

Reaching that point, Lucy could not help but laugh loudly, drawing attention to the couple as they walked through the streets of Hargeon.

"Luckily, the distraction he provided was enough for Happy to whisk me off of the ship before he ran out of magic power and we both fell into the sea." Lucy continued after she got her laughter under control. "Then, I found my [Celestial Spirit Keys], which that creep, Bora, had thrown away, and I forced the ship back to the shore with Aquarius."

"And shortly after that, Lici and I showed up and forced Natsu to apologize for all the damage he caused while he beat up Bora and his goons." Alfonzo said, concluding the story.

"Yup." Lucy replied with a smile and a nod. "And that day, even though it started off so badly, was probably the luckiest day of my life. Because of all that stuff, I got to join Fairy Tail… And meet you."

Lucy said the last part so quietly that if Alfonzo's body hadn't been strengthened by magic power for more than a decade, he would have missed it. However, instead of responding, Alfonzo simply grabbed Lucy's hand and smiled at her warmly.

And with that, the two continued to chat as they visited a few shops. They even stopped at the Taylor Shop to see how things were going. Then after walking around for a couple hours, they returned to 8-Island, where they left Alfonzo's Vanquish, before hopping in the car and starting their trip back to Magnolia.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

A little more than two hours later, Alfonzo pulled up outside of Fairy Hills. And during the entire trip back from Hargeon, he chatted happily with Lucy, though they did not really talk about anything too deep. Well, other than magic. That conversation got pretty deep. But as wizards, that was to be expected.

"*Sigh* I guess I'm home." Lucy said, sounding a bit reluctant.

"Yeah." Alfonzo replied, sounding a bit reluctant as well. "I almost don't wanna let you leave."

Hearing that, Lucy wore a small smile. Before she could respond, however, Alfonzo continued.

"But, like they say, all good things must come to an end." Alfonzo said as he opened his car door.

Then, like he did at 8-Island, Alfonzo walked around the car and opened Lucy's door for her before offering her his hand.

"I guess you're right." Lucy said as she took Alfonzo's hand.

Then, after closing the door, Alfonzo walked Lucy to the front doors of the women's dormitory.

"I had a really good time tonight." Lucy said while twirling a lock of her hair around her finger after she and Alfonzo stopped just outside the doors.

"Me too." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I even got a little something that I thought would look good on you."

"Huh? When did you do that?" Lucy asked in a disbelieving tone.

"I have my ways." Alfonzo said as he reached into the front pocket of his pants. "I hope you like it."

Once Alfonzo pulled his hand out of his pocket, he was holding a small box, though it was much bigger than a ring case, so Lucy did not have any weird misunderstandings. And when Alfonzo eventually opened the box, Lucy's eyes sparkled.

Lying in the box was a black butterfly hair clip encrusted with pink gem stones. Something that would match her current outfit perfectly.

"It's so pretty." Lucy said as she reached for the hair clip.

A moment later, she removed the hair clip she was wearing to fasten her side tail in place and replaced it with the one Alfonzo bought for her.

"How does it look?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"It looks great." Alfonzo replied with a smile of his own. "I guess spending all that time with a fashion designer made it so I'm not too bad at picking out accessories, huh?"

Hearing that, Lucy could not help but giggle.

"Thank you, Alfonzo.' Lucy said softly. "I really did have fun tonight."

"Then, we'll have to do this again." Alfonzo replied with a smile.

Smiling in response, Lucy looked up at Alfonzo. Then, she slowly closed her eyes while slightly puckering her lips.

Understanding what Lucy wanted, Alfonzo lowered his head and planted a chased kiss on her soft, pink lips.

Separating their lips after a few seconds, Alfonzo smiled at the lost expression on Lucy's face.

"Well, it's about time I---" Alfonzo started to say before he was interrupted.

Before he could finish speaking, Lucy grabbed the front of Alfonzo's shirt with both hands and pulled him down into another, much more passionate, kiss. Though, she did not insert her tongue.

Then, after about a minute, Lucy finally let go of Alfonzo with her face completely red.

"Well, it's getting late, so I'm gonna go to bed." Lucy said very quickly. Then, she turned toward the dorm's entrance and pulled the door open. "I really had fun and I hope we can go out again, soon. Okay, good night, bye!"

With that, Lucy ran inside and slammed the door behind her, leaving Alfonzo standing there thoroughly confused. Still, after a few seconds, Alfonzo smiled as he turned away from Fairy Hills and got returned home.

Lucy, on the other hand, had made it to her room in record time. And she was currently sitting on the floor of her room with her back against the door while banging her fists on the sides of her head.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Lucy shouted at herself. "After doing all that, I ran away and forgot to ask him to be my boyfriend. Ooh! I'm so stupid!"