Hello, All! This is a request from Natsu013. As of right now, this will be a completed One-Shot, unless I get enough requests to make it into a story.

Dedication: Natsu013

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Warning: I know nothing about sports, especially football. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but please excuse any errors in terminology or concepts.

Please review and let me know what you think. If enough people ask, I will make this into a story!

Pleaes support my other stories, which include NaLu, GraLu, LaLu, RoLu, CoLu, and more!

Touchdown...On My Heart

Natsu took deep breaths, trying to drown out the shouting around him. It didn't matter what his parents were yelling from the stands or what his best friend was chanting in front of him. All that mattered was grabbing the football and running like Hell.

When the football shot back between Gray's legs, Natsu grabbed it and ran. He zig-zagged across the field, his eyes focused on the goal posts. He ducked to avoid a tackle, then jumped to avoid someone lunging for his feet. If he made this touchdown, then Fairy Tail High would not only win against their longterm rival Sabertooth High, but also qualify for State Tryouts.

His vision blurred as he reached the end, and his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He stopped breathing entirely; he had to focus all his energy on his feet. When his feet crossed into the End Zone, he began seeing stars. Before he could collapse due to lack of oxygen, he felt his team pick him up into the air. The deafening noise around him finally reached his ears, and he let out a scream of his own.

Natsu let his team carry him towards the locker-room doors. They were in for quite the celebration, and the first bottle of alcohol would surely be opened in the locker-room. Their coach, Gildarts Clive, would probably join in, as well; Fairy Tail hadn't beaten Sabertooth for twenty years.

Natsu gave a brief look to the bleachers, looking for his father's flaming red hair. Instead, he noticed Ultear Milkovich running out from behind the bleachers in tears.

(-)

The team met with their families at 8 Island for pizza after the game. The owner of 8 Island usually closed by 8 o'clock, but the old man had a soft spot for football, as he had played in his youth, so he always stayed open later on football nights.

All the players had done a shot of liquor in the locker-room, but the party would really start later. The players would amuse their parents with pizza, as it was a tradition since Middle School, then go to Jellal Fernandes' house afterward for the real party.

Natsu sat a table with Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, Levy, Jellal, Erza, and Lisanna. The boys were all football players and the girls were all cheerleaders, aside from Levy, who was in the Marching Band. Gray and Juvia started dating at the beginning of the season, and Gajeel and Levy had been dating since Freshman Year. Jellal and Erza weren't officially dating, but they had slept together a few times. Natsu and Lisanna weren't dating, but everyone expected them to; both were the captains of their sport, after all. Natsu felt nothing for Lisanna aside from the strong friendship accomplished after twelve years together.

Natsu looked over at his family, who was sitting with Gray's. Natsu's parents, Igneel and Sherry, had been friends with Gray's dad, Silver since high school. Gray's mom had died in a car accident shortly after his younger sister, Wendy was born. Silver eventually remarried Ur, who had a daughter from a previous marriage.

Natsu nudged Gray shoulder and said, "Hey, man, where's your sister?"

Gray shoved a slice of pizza into his mouth and nodded towards the bar. Wendy was sharing a milkshake with Romeo, who played football for the Middle School team. He was already accepted into both the Junior-Varsity and Varsity team, which was rare for incoming-Freshmen. Natsu was the only player out of his batch to make both teams before Freshman year.

"No, your other sister," Natsu said. He looked around the room, but couldn't find her mop of black hair anywhere. Her hair had always stood out to him, since it was so black that it almost looked purple.

Gray ignored Natsu and whispered something into Juvia's ear, making her blush and laugh. Natsu asked again and shoved Gray's shoulder. "Okay, fine," Gray said, slightly annoyed. "She went home after the game. I guess she threw up or something."

Natsu gave a nod, trying to act casual. He normally didn't care what Ultear did, but he had also never seen her cry before. After eating one more slice of pizza, he told his friends that he had to get home and write a college essay. They gave him a little trouble, but he said it was due at midnight and totally forget. That time they all laughed, saying it was so like Natsu to forget something so important. He had to promise to come to the party later, though.

Natsu got into his truck and drove to Gray's house. He had been there thousands of times, and he knew that the spare key was under the frog statue on the porch. He let himself in, then went to search for Ultear. All the lights downstairs were off, but as he climbed the stairs, he saw the bathroom light on.

The door was shut, and Natsu could hear faint crying sounds. He knocked twice, and the crying stopped. After a minute, Ultear opened the door. She clearly wasn't expecting to see Natsu, if the look on her face was any indication.

"Gray isn't here," Ultear said, clearly confused. She probably assumed that Natsu, the star of the night, would be out partying longer and harder than everyone.

"What happened at the game?" Natsu asked, not easing in at all. He noticed her flinch and realized he was being insensitive. "I mean, I saw you crying afterward, that's all."

Ultear nodded, then walked past Natsu. She opened her bedroom door and flicked the light on. She sat on the floor, leaning her back against the bed. Natsu followed her lead. He sat beside her, close enough for support but not too close.

"Siegrain texted me," she said. Siegrain was Jellal's younger brother. Ultear and Siegrain were both Juniors, one year behind Natsu and his friends. "He told me to meet him behind the bleachers."

"Seriously?" Natsu asked. "Don't you know what happens under the bleachers at football games?" He realized, yet again, how insensitive he was being. Ultear and Siegrain had been going out since the beginning of summer, so she must have known and wanted to take their relationship further. "I'm sorry," he said, "Go on."

Ultear nodded and took a deep breath, trying not to cry again. "I was across the field by the snack booths, so it took me a minute to get there. By the time I did, he...he." She started to cry and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Natsu put his arm around her and pulled her to him. "Hey, don't cry," he said. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"Meredy was there," she said.

Natsu was surprised. Meredy was a senior, and usually, popular seniors wouldn't go anywhere near underclassmen. Then Natsu remembered a party from a few weeks before, where Meredy tried to sleep with Jellal. Jellal had ended up sleeping with Erza for the first time that night. Meredy was probably jealous and looking to get back at Jellal by sleeping with his brother. She was using Siegrain and ending up breaking Ultear in the process.

"You deserve better," Natsu said. "You shouldn't cry over an ass-hat like him." Siegrain was a pretty awful guy; he was kicked off the team his Freshman year for smoking weed before one too many practices. He also had a history of sleeping around. Everyone that Ultear had changed him, though. Apparently Siegrain hadn't changed at all.

Ultear let out a half-cry, half-laugh. "Siegrain is the best I can get," she confessed. "A band-geek even shot me down once."

Natsu laughed, remembering that day. Natsu and Gray were sophomores when Ur and Silver got married. Ultear was both a Freshman and a new kid, meaning she was the target of bullying. She made one friend quickly though: Zeref. Zeref was a loner and a band-geek, yet he still rejected the beautiful Ultear Milkovich. At the time it made total sense, but looking back, Natsu never understand why. Ultear was beautiful, smart, and creative, and had caught the eye of many guys over her next two years at Fairy Tail High. Gray single-handedly stopped guys from asking her out, but she still had to know how wanted she was, right?

"You should hear the guys talk about you in the locker-room when Gray isn't around," Natsu said. "Wait until Gray graduates, and you'll have guys lined up to ask you out."

Ultear's eyes widened. She wouldn't have believed Natsu if she didn't already know how honest he was; he wouldn't lie to her, even if it was to cheer her up.

"I mean, I would even date you," Natsu said. He blushed when he realized what he said. He was just trying to cheer her up, but clearly he got carried away.

"What?" Ultear asked. "I don't think I heard you. It sounded like you said…"

Natsu took his arm away from her body, suddenly feeling shy about touching her. He normally didn't think twice about giving her a friendly hug or holding her hand to keep from losing her in a crowd, but he basically just confessed.

He was going to deny what he said, admit that he was just getting carried away trying to cheer her up, but he found that he couldn't find the words. Natsu was honest and never said something if he didn't believe it, and right then he didn't know if he would believe that he didn't have the tiniest crush on Ultear.

"Natsu," Ultear said, turning to look at him. Her whole face was dusted pink, and her embarrassment overshadowed her sadness regarding Siegrain and Meredy.

"I don't know if I meant that," Natsu said, trying to be as honest as possible, "but I know that I didn't not mean it."

Ultear smiled. She wouldn't say she had a crush on Natsu, but she had considered dating him in the past. He was her brother's best friend and the most popular guy at school, so she never let herself indulge in fantasies; he would never want her, she told herself.

"Hey, where are you guys?"

Ultear and Natsu jumped apart at the sound of Gray's voice. Both of their blushes were turned to a darker shade when they realized that they had been leaning closer. Natsu made an effort to move an extra foot away from Ultear, just in time for Gray to appear in the bedroom doorway.

"Are you guys coming to the party?" Gray asked. "Everyone left 8 Island already. Everyone was asking for you, Natsu. I figured I should drive you, because everyone is going to be giving you shots all night."

"Yeah, I'll be right down. Go get the car started," Natsu said. Gray nodded before leaving the couple alone again. "Are you coming with us?" he asked Ultear.

Ultear shook her head. "I don't want to see Siegrain," she said.

"No, you're coming!" Natsu said. He stood up and grabbed her hands to pull her to her feet. She gasped when her chest hit his. "I won't let anyone hurt you," he whispered.

Ultear looked into Natsu's black eyes, her heart racing. She wondered if Natsu was feeling the same electricity he was. He almost had to with the way his eyes were looking into her very soul, his chin leaned down so he was only breath away.

Gray blared his car horn, impatiently waiting for them to meet him outside.

"Let's get to the party," Ultear said.

Natsu smiled. He won the game for his team, and he may have won the girl, too, he realized. Touchdown!