Part 2 of 6

WARNING: This chapter contains hints of Nali angst-ish scenes. But DONT worry. TONS of Nalu fun as well.

A CHALLENGE?!

Natsu was excited.

The pocky game that Mirajane had demonstrated seemed easy enough, but the trouble was finding someone to be his worthy opponent. He had asked Gray, who wrote him off as a weirdo, because evidently it was weird for boys to play the game together - which Natsu found confusing. He asked Elfman, who was too busy trying to find Evergreen. Gajeel was nowhere in sight - so Natsu was left without a partner for the most part.

Suddenly a figurative light bulb appeared over his head.

"LISANNA!" He hollered, calling out to her across the guild hall.

Lisanna turned her head to where the voice came from, but as soon as she had, Natsu was already by her side. He grabbed her arm and dragged her across the room and back to the bar.

"Natsu, what're you doing!?" She tripped as she walked, unable to keep up with Natsu's speedy run.

"C'mon, Lis! We're gonna play the pocky game!"

Lisanna's expression brightened, and then her cheeks tinted pink. Suddenly her thoughts stopped. "Uh, Natsu, shouldn't you ask Lucy first?"

Natsu stopped in his tracks. "Why would I do that? You seem like a worthier opponent." He stated simply.

"That's mean, Natsu!"

"Lucy would probably get scared of how fast I'd be eating" Natsu beamed with pride at his yet-to-be discovered skills.

"Ha ha, I'm sure she wouldn't! Lucy's strong, you know"

"I never said she was weak, Lis. Anyway, let's get a stick!" Natsu trotted to the bar and picked a pocky from the box Mira was holding out to everyone.

Lisanna bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder. Lucy was laughing merrily as she watched Bisca and Alzack playing. She scratched her neck and had an awkward smile on her face. As the laughter and merriment died down on that side of the guild, she expressed a sad smile. Lisanna felt conflicted now.

God, what do I do!?

She wanted desperately to ask Mira for help, but she was trying to become more independent after the Grand Magic Games - to prove to her family and her guild that she was not a burden. She looked at Natsu and then back at Lucy. Her heart twisted, but she tried her best to ignore it.

Natsu turned back to her with the broadest, most determined smile Lisanna had seen - which was saying a lot considering his past battles and conflicts.

"Let's play!" He stuck the pocky in his mouth, and like an obedient puppy, waited for instructions.

In that moment, Lisanna felt happier than ever since her return from Edolas. For the first time in ages she seemed wanted by Natsu, no, needed by him. She saw the passionate gleam in his slanted eyes, the broad smile she'd seen so often, his ruffled pink hair - everything - made her heart skip a beat. She'd never been in love with anyone else but him. Not just Natsu, but this Natsu. She could never have fallen for the Edolas Natsu, no matter how hard she tried.

When she turned back to Lucy, she remembered that things were far different now than when she was a child. Now, Lucy was Natsu's best friend. They'd shared more years and adventures together far more intimately than Lisanna ever did. She wanted to be angry at Lucy, for taking Natsu away from her when she was trapped in Edolas - but she hadn't the heart for it.

How could she blame another girl for no fault of hers? Lucy was so strong, beautiful, passionate, and loyal - everything Lisanna herself wanted to be. She looked back at Natsu, who was waiting patiently for her to begin the game.

She stood in front of him and turned her chin up to reach the pocky. She put the end between her lips and started into Natsu's eyes. Up close, she observed undertones of emerald green.

Beautiful.

Lisanna let go of the pocky, completely bewildering Natsu.

She sighed, defeated by her own humility.

"Natsu, I'm sorry, but I can't play with you" She gave him a small, painful smile before turning away.

She walked over to Lucy, who was looking down gloomily, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Lisanna?" Lucy was surprised. Lisanna smiled and pointed behind her with her thumb.

"He's waiting for you"

Lucy looked back to where Natsu was standing, holding the pocky limply in his mouth with a sad puppy face.

"Lisanna, I-"

"Don't worry about it, Lucy. Just go!" Lisanna pulled Lucy off her chair and pushed her towards where Natsu was.

Lucy looked back at her, completely unsure of herself. Lisanna smiled, but Lucy could so clearly see the pain that radiated through it.

"Go!" She gave Lucy one final push. Lucy stumbled slightly and walked towards Natsu.

"Yo!" She waved at him and smiled cheerfully. Natsu gave Lucy a toothy smile in return.

From behind, Lisanna's expression softened and she smiled genuinely. Seeing Natsu smile like that was all that mattered to her, after all.

"Jo Rucy! Les pray!" Natsu said, the pocky in his mouth distorting his speech. Lucy suppressed a giggle.

"Un!" She nodded vigorously. "Levy! Can you say 'go' for us?"

Levy came to Lucy's side and gave her a thumbs up. Meanwhile, Lucy positioned herself in front of Natsu. Since they were about the same height, she didn't need to tilt her head much. She took the pocky between her lips and glanced at Levy.

"GO!"

The two mages worked their way to the centre at roughly equal speeds - which surprised most of the onlookers since Natsu was such a voracious eater. However what they did not know was that Lucy could down a pocky in just a few seconds - even faster than Mira.

Juvia, who was standing by, was growing redder and redder as Natsu and Lucy got closer and closer.

Finally, Lucy felt something soft against her lip. For a second her eyes snapped open and she completely forgot about the game. However, this crucial second gave Natsu the opportunity to snatch the rest of the pocky clean out from Lucy's mouth. Lucy, who was quicker than Natsu would have expected, immediately came back to reality and latched her teeth onto the last bit of pocky just before Natsu could stuff it into his mouth.

The crowd roared and cheered.

Lucy and Natsu fought desperately for the last piece, their lips barely grazing each other as the grip on the pocky fluctuated.

"MINE!" Natsu hissed. He pushed his face fully against Lucy's, taking her completely by surprise.

Their lips locked and a warmth welled up in Lucy. Her eyes closed and her head tilted to the side, essentially deepening their kiss.

Natsu... Lucy's thoughts were singular.

I've got her! Natsu smiled against Lucy's lips, and he felt her smile back against his.

For a second he thought she'd uncovered his strategy, but she showed no sign of it. Suddenly Natsu's canines grazed Lucy's lower lip, making her flinch and relent her grip on the last pocky piece.

"OW!" Lucy abruptly pulled away, holding a finger against her throbbing lip. "NATSU! THAT'S PLAYING DIRTY!"

Natsu dramatically gobbled the last piece and raised him hand triumphantly. "I WIN!"

"MEANIE!" Lucy fumed.

"That's what you get for getting too close, Luce" Natsu quipped, inspecting his finger-nails.

"THE WHOLE POINT OF THE GAME IS TO GET CLOSE YOU DUMMY!" Lucy stomped her foot and ran towards Natsu with the intent of socking him in the face.

No one stopped her.

Next is Gruvia! Tell me how you like the series so far.

I'm separating each individual part as separate stories instead of chapters so that I can put in all the pairings so more people can find the stories - however for a more fun read I recommend checking out each individual story and reading them as if you'd read a chapter story.

Gah I wish FFN had the option to put more than 4 characters/2 pairings. They should upgrade it to ten characters and 5 pairings tbh.