Valentine's Day with the Connells

Valentine's Day is not just for young people looking for love. It's a day celebrated even by those married with children, rekindling that flame that scorched a path toward lifelong bliss. Bisca and Alzack decided to spend this day as a family, and they brought Asuka to an outdoor ice cream parlor. The two gunslingers playfully fed one another their ice creams, smiling and laughing as they silently recalled other Valentine's Days.

Suddenly, Asuka perked up and looked toward the street. "Ah, Lucy!" She waved enthusiastically to the blonde wizard just about to enter the parlor.

Lucy jolted at hearing her name called, then saw the trio and smiled. "Asuka, Alzack, Bisca. How are you?"

"Doing well, Lucy," Alzack smiled.

"Are you here alone?" Bisca asked in concern.

"Ah, um..." From the blush in her cheeks, the green-haired guns magic wizard could tell the answer. "I'm meeting...someone...but he's late, of course."

"Well, it's no fun to sit alone." Alzack scooted his chair closer to his wife. "Sit with us until your date arrives."

"It's not a date!" Lucy insisted, although she still blushed. "He said he wanted ice cream, so we planned to meet. It just so happens to be February 14th, that's all." Still she sat with them and looked around the street. When she did not see whoever she was waiting for, she gave a long sigh and looked at Asuka spooning melting fudge ice cream into her mouth. "Hey, Bisca, how do you know if a guy actually likes you?"

She hummed as she thought about such an important question. "That's really hard to say. Men show affection in many ways. Sometimes you have to know the man really well before you can see the signs."

Lucy grumble, "What if he's a clueless idiot and gives you no signals whatsoever?"

Bisca chuckled. "You remind me of myself with Alzack. We were hit-and-miss for years. I thought he was too dense to see how much I liked him, but it was a matter of him being shy."

Lucy pouted and slumped. "He's anything but shy," she mumbled to herself. "If you don't mind, can you tell me how you two spent your first date?"

Alzack smiled fondly. "Bisca asked me out first, but I picked the location for the date. First we went to a gun show. I bought her some special magic bullets she was eying. Then we went out for some ice cream at this very same parlor," he said, waving to the store. "After that, we went down to the beach and took a little stroll. Then I walked her home."

Lucy leaned on her hands and listened closely. "Did you kiss her goodnight?"

Asuka looked up. "Kissy, yucky!"

"No," Alzack chuckled, patting his daughter's head. "I didn't kiss her until the third date."

"What was it like?" she asked eagerly.

"Well, I thought it was great!" Alzack laughed. "I guess I don't remember precisely how it..."

"Fireworks!" Bisca cut in fast. "He took me up to the hill where Fairy Tail has their moon-viewing parties. It was a full moon, absolutely breathtaking. I could tell he wanted to kiss me because I could see him licking his lips over and over again, afraid they were drying out."

"I didn't want you to think I had chapped lips," Alzack muttered, blushing just a little.

"Then I looked over to him to say something just as he looked over to me, and just like that, instead of talking, we kissed. Right as we kissed, someone began shooting off fireworks."

"Seriously?" Lucy gawked.

"Now I remember that," Alzack laughed. "There really were fireworks."

"It was a perfect first kiss," Bisca sighed.

"Did you know right then that he was the one?"

"Well, maybe not right at that moment," Bisca admitted. "I was too busy thinking wow he's a darn good kisser to be bothered with asking myself if he was the man I wanted to marry. But I think I figured it out quickly." She looked up to Alzack. His eyes shined proudly at her, and Lucy could see them holding hands under the table.

"You two are so amazing," Lucy sighed. "But how did you know?"

"I just knew," Bisca shrugged.

"I don't think there's a single moment when it hits you," Alzack said. "It forms long before you begin dating. It's something that begins when you first meet. It grows as you become friends. It blossoms as you date and get to know one another more intimately. By the time you know that person is the one, you realize you've already known for such a long time."

"Your gentleman today is probably slowly figuring it out as well," Bisca said with a wink.

"No...no way," Lucy laughed nervously. "He's not the one. Not a chance."

"Only time will show," she shrugged. "By the way, he's looking for you." She nodded over to the street.

Lucy turned sharply and saw Natsu walking up the road. He was dressed nicely, although he still wore his scarf which had been knotted to mimic a necktie. He looked at the cafés and eateries around the street with a confused expression, as if he had already forgotten which one Lucy said to meet her at. He had a bundle of red roses in his hands with a decorative card sticking out of the bouquet.

"Oh God," Lucy whispered, blushing as bright as Natsu's hair.

"Go on," Bisca encouraged.

"He's waiting for you," Alzack said, nudging her.

"Go Lucy!" Asuka cheered.

She rose up and slowly walked toward Natsu. The Connell family watched as Natsu's face brightened at seeing her. He eagerly handed her the roses, and they went inside the ice cream parlor to order their food.

Bisca turned back to Alzack to give the two youngsters privacy. "You didn't give me flowers on our first date."

"No, but I did get you some for Valentine's Day," he reminded her.

"I think they're off to a good start," she decided.

Alzack leaned over and gave her a discreet kiss on the cheek. "Maybe we should advise them more."

"I'm not sure you and I can be considered experts on love. Look how long it took us to hook up."

"The best things in life are worth waiting for," he declared.

They were just about to lean in for a deeper kiss when Asuka shouted, "Kissy yucky!" That stopped them, and they pulled back before others began to stare at them.

Bisca sighed and wiped up a drip mess from Asuka's ice cream. "Maybe I should advise her to always leave the kids at home before going on a date."