Title: The Nakodo's Apprentice
Summary: The unanimous opinion - according to Lucy - is that Natsu is a clueless idiot. Who is also extremely, uh, attractive. Yeah. There's also that.
Notes: Finals are over. 'nuff said.
Disclaimer: Nothin' but the plot.
Edit: So yeah. I guess I should triple check my writing, huh? ^^
.
.
.
.
Lucy tapped her foot impatiently, hands crossed in front of her chest as she glowered down at her teammates.
Really, that girl was a menace when she wanted to be. Which, fortunately, was not often.
But still.
Natsu flinched. He couldn't help but notice how her hands twitched toward her trusty whip, and attempted to keep the fearful expression off his face, while, at the same time, wished Lucy wasn't so scary.
Lucy snorted. "What's with your face?"
Natsu ignored her jibe. Attempting to make his tone as gentle and forgiving as possible, he said, "If it's that time of the month again, Luce, maybe you shouldn't come with us-"
Her eye twitched. Next to him, Gray hissed, "Idiot."
"No, you firebreathing moron, it's not that time of the month," she sneered. "And even if it was, what difference would it make? I'm perfectly capable of-"
"But Lucy-" protested Natsu.
"No buts," she said darkly, effectively shutting him up. "I can take care of myself, you know."
There was an uncomfortable silence following this statement, during which Natsu looked away from Lucy's livid face, trying to hold his tongue. Because she could totally take care of herself. Oh yeah. Definitely.
"You-!" she screeched angrily, understanding his awkward speechlessness, before turning on her dangerously tall heels rather abruptly and stomping over to the bar, where Mirajane was ready with a glass of God-knows-what and a vat of steaming-fresh gossip.
He just stared at her, bewildered. He would never get girls and their mysterious inner workings. If something was wrong, she should've just spat it out. Maybe he could avoid gawking at her like the idiot he was-
"Oi, Natsu," called Gray with an arrogant (in his opinion) smirk on his face, "Didn't Igneel teach you anything?"
His reverie forgotten almost instantly, Natsu was in Gray's face in a flash. "Igneel was the best teacher ever!" he growled defensively.
Gray scoffed. "Yeah, well then it probably his student who had ash for brains-"
"You wanna take that back, ice freak?"
"Is that the best you've got, you dolt of stupendous proportions?"
A pause. A quirked eyebrow. "What?"
Gray raised a hand to brush his shoulder in triumph - only to find that his shirt was absent. Together, the two mages looked down at Gray's bare chest.
Natsu snorted. "Exhibitionist."
"You wanna go, Natsu?"
The aforementioned boy simpy delivered a right hook to his partner's face in response. Subsequently, all hell broke loose.
From the bar, Lucy sighed fondly. They were a bunch of idiots, but they were her idiots.
She wasn't aware that she had stated this aloud until Mirajane handed her a cup of amber liquid wth an evil glint in her bright blue eyes. Lucy had only seen that look once before, when she had assisted Mira in locking Gajeel and Levy in the broom closet.
It was, frankly put, terrifying.
And she'd marveled at Mira picking fights with Erza. Psshaw.
"It's their way of showing that they care, you know," Mira said slyly, her elbows on the bar, supporting her head, as she peered into Lucy's face.
Oh, the nostalgia. "Mira, didn't you tell me Natsu was in love with me before-when he wasn't? So you've gotta be wrong," Lucy said, almost pleadingly.
Mira smiled a little darkly, the innocence fleeing from her face. "I didn't say Natsu's name."
A pause, in which Cana looked up from her binging (seriously. it was nine in the freaking morning. just - really?) to give Lucy the once-over before letting out a little laugh.
"What?" Lucy asked impatiently, exasperated with the whole freaking guild this morning, not to mention extremely red-faced from her slip-up.
"Oh, you've got it bad," she said with a hazy smile on her face, before picking up a new barrel of alcohol. Lucy spluttered indignantly as Mira simply grinned brightly, the innocence restored to her features.
"You are so cute!" the ex-S class mage squealed happily. "So what's it going to be, Lucy? Either I can set you guys up here or I can get Gray and Erza to do it when you go out on a mission-"
"Eh? Wait, no! He's so clueless. He'd never get it-"
Another bright smile. "We'll make him see," Mirajane said, happily planning their future wedding in her head.
Lucy groaned before ducking her head into her hands, a blush dusting across her cheeks. The world wouldn't leave her alone today, would it? All she wanted to do was slam her head into the bar. Repeatedly. Because there was kindasortamaybe a vision of her and Natsu stuck in her head, holding hands under the table as they shared a drink in a coffee shop somewhere in her mind, and oh God, his eyes were so pretty and they were boring into hers, and he was leaning closer and closer until their noses skimmed and they were practically breathing the same air-
"Lucy? Lucy? Are you okay? You look like you're burning up!" said a frantic voice from above her. She looked up, and immediately wished she hadn't. The boy of her fantasies - Natsu - was inches away from her hot face. Why wasn't he fighting with Gray and generally wreaking havoc, like he was supposed to be doing? No; instead, he was peering down at her concernedly, an adorable expression playing on his handsome features.
Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
She had just associated Natsu with the words 'handsome' and 'adorable'.
So she did the only thing her fuzzy brain allowed her to do. She ducked her head into the cool wood of the bar - injuring her forehead in the process - and covered her it with her hands as she let out a muffled scream.
"Lucy, you're being really weird," said Happy worriedly, who had somehow appeared out of nowhere. Through the gaps between her fingers, Lucy saw Natsu attempt to look up at the cat perched on his head before nodding in agreement.
"Nothing's wrong with Lucy!" Mirajane interrupted cheerfully, handing Natsu a glass of something that was on fire. Lucy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she watched Natsu chug the contents of the cup. For a moment, she thought she was saved. And then-
"But just to be sure, could you walk her home and take care of her for a little? Until she gets better?"
Lucy peeked up from her hands. Mira had that slightly evil expression on her face, and Natsu just looked plain confused.
She heaved a weary sigh. That (according Gray) dolt of stupendous proportions would never get girls.