The night was no longer young and the booze was still flowing. Cana Alberona - one of Noah's infamous best friends at the guild - had ordered another round of drinks. This drink would be his tenth. Or was it eleven? In his drunken haze he noticed several empty beer bottles as well. Wait, how many beers did I have?
He looked around his table, attempting to take a mental photograph of this moment, although he was sure he would forget it by the morning. Natsu was arm wrestling Laxus as Gray cheered on the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Laxus had only recently been accepted back into the guild, but to them it was like he never left. Juvia was not far from the Ice-Make prodigy. Cana had gotten shots of an amber liquid for the six of them, but had apparently decided to help herself to three of them. He took his own and clanked the glass with hers before downing the shot. Whiskey; expensive by the taste of it.
The King of Fiore would regret offering the guilds this party. The bill he'd be slapped with tomorrow would be one for the record books. He mentioned this to his equally drunk friends at their table, who howled with laughter.
Noah fully realized his drunken state as he stood from the table. The room started to spin and he had to take a minute to get his bearings before making his way to the table lined with food. Slowly, but surely, he made it there in one piece. He silently praised his skills.
It was as he was loading his plate with his third helping that he realized a woman was speaking to him. He turned to see a beautiful brunette in an extravagant emerald dress staring at him expectantly. He swallowed the shrimp he had stuffed into his mouth and stood straighter in her presence. Her elegant appearance subtly, but effectively, demanded so.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" He inquired, pulling nervously at his tie. He was a street kid for several months before finding his place in Fairy Tail. As a boy raised with only just enough, these people sometimes made him uncomfortable; inadequate even.
The girl giggled. It was a cute sound, he noted. "Are you Noah Fletcher of Fairy Tail?" She asked once more.
He smiled politely and nodded. She seemed delighted with his answer.
"You competed well in the games. I was not confident Fairy Tail could win, but I was gladly mistaken. My name is Evelyn, by the way." She replied, offering him a pale hand. He politely took it and gave her his thanks.
"That's very kind of you. Pardon my asking, but are you a mage? I don't recognize you from any of the guilds or see a guild mark. I was under the impression everyone here tonight was from the guilds." He offered, attempting to make conversation.
"Oh no, I'm an acquaintance of Princess Hisui."
"A friend of royalty talking to a lowly mage? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Noah jested.
"How about a dance? Although the stench of alcohol seems to be... apparent on you. You lowly mages are no strangers to partying, I've noticed." She teased, a light blush tinting her cheeks.
It was then that Noah heard a girl's laugh. It was a sound he would know anywhere, and a sound he had caused on several occasions. It was a sound that, quite simply, he adored to hear. His drunken mind was immediately drawn to the sound, where Levy McGarden was talking to the beautiful celestial spirit mage who had been haunting his dreams. Not even a week ago he had seen that same girl die right in front of him. Granted, it was the girl from a different time period, but the resulting pang in his chest and guilt in his heart was all the same. He realized then that he never wanted to stop hearing that sound.
"Oh, I see." The girl - Evelyn - remarked.
Noah was startled out his thoughts. "Sorry, what? I was just.." Noah suddenly felt guilty. Under normal circumstances, he might've enjoyed this woman's company. He would have accepted her offer to dance, even drank and flirted a bit.
"That girl over there. You love her, don't you? It's not difficult to see, you know. She's very beautiful. A talented mage as well, if I remember correctly." She responded.
"What? No! I mean, yeah she's beautiful and sweet and... why are we even talking about this?" He muttered.
Evelyn gasped dramatically. "Does she not know your feelings towards her? I'm sorry, I just assumed..."
He sighed and shrugged half-heartedly. He didn't need to be reminded of his failure to act on his feelings toward the extraordinary woman that lived next door to him.
"Don't think so." He finally responded.
"Well you must tell her at once!" Evelyn exclaimed, turning on her heels and gracefully pacing towards the blonde Fairy Tail mage through the thickening crowd. It took a few seconds for Noah in his drunken haze to process the events. Is this chick for real? He clumsily pursuited the girl in the emerald dress as she got closer and closer to her target - Lucy. It couldn't come out like this. He simply was ready. He had formed an incredible bond with Lucy over the course of their adventures with Fairy Tail. He couldn't lose her as a comrade. He valued her friendship too much to risk it.
"Evelyn, wait!" He called to her, bumping into a fellow mage. Noah ignored the drunken man's curses as he reached out to grab the girl who was now so close to ruining everything. To his surprise, she let him be pulled into his arms as she put on a fake grin. He raised an eyebrow at her, obviously confused.
"Thanks for the dance, Noah! Here, could you take over?" She said, gesturing towards Lucy. "I think he's a little drunk."
Lucy looked towards Levy, who smiled encouragingly, before switching places with Evelyn. It took him several moments to process this turn of events. He looked back towards the retreating brunette and Lucy, bewildered. What just happened?
"Uh, sorry about that. I'll try not to step on your feet." He said, looking anywhere but Lucy's eyes.
She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks. I hear you're drunk."
"Yeah, well, the King throws one helluva party. And Cana's an alcoholic. Seriously, should we get her in a program or something?" He joked. She giggled, and he couldn't help but try to get more out of her. The sound was just as intoxicating as the King's expensive liquor.
"I'm serious. Can you imagine Cana in an AA program?" He continued, chuckling to himself at the thought. "She'd throw that book right in their face and storm off to the nearest tavern."
The blonde haired mage laughed again. Noah couldn't help but smile at the sight. He was drunk but the sound brought a peacefulness to his mind. The fog was lifted for a moment, and the euphoria he felt then was distinctly different than the way he felt from the alcohol. It made his smile grow exponentially.
This did not go unnoticed by his dance partner. "What?" Lucy asked, skeptical of his chasire-like grin. He shook his head, smile still attached from one dimple to the other.
"I just really love that sound." He murmured, truthfully. A blush tinted Lucy's cheeks in response. In the silent moments that followed, he wasn't sure if he was getting closer or if she was, but soon their foreheads were touching. It seemed that neither was brave enough to close the distance. It would mean crossing a line they couldn't return from.
"Why are you hesitating?" Lucy questioned, cautiously. Her brown eyes stared deeply into his own, attempting to read him. Noah gulped. Perhaps she had had a bit of liquid courage of her own tonight. She had directly questioned what was going on between them. It was out there now. He had to answer for his actions and their undeniable chemistry. He had to address his feelings towards her. He could single-handedly take down a hoard of lizardmen and face some of the most notoriously powerful wizards in the Grand Magic Games - he could definitely do something as simple as telling a girl that he liked her. He had told numerous girls the same thing. Why was this so goddamn hard for him?
Before he could speak she added, "Am I reading too much into this?" He could see the doubt in her eyes, and decided then that he could not bear the thought of not clearing those doubts once and for all. It was time. He had waited long enough.
There was only one thing wrong.
"You deserve better than a drunken love confession, Lucy." He finally answered, slowly pulling away from their intimate embrace.
To his surprise, he was - rather forcibly - pulled back towards her. His hands instinctively went back to the shapely hips of his blonde dance partner. He had yet to step on her feet, even with the force with which he was pulled back to her.
"I'll take what I can get." She murmured, inches from his lips.
In his intoxicated state, his heart immediately made the next decision for him. He hastily closed the distance and did what he had wanted to do for so long. They both gasped at the sensation and the realization that each was just as eager as the other. The longing and want from years of a platonic friendship built up for this exact moment. In the backround Noah could faintly hear Levy shout a 'finally!' but he hardly noticed. Not when Lucy's lips were parting for his and she was crushing her body against his own.
They pulled away after several endless seconds. The kiss left him breathless, although it couldn't have been very long. Lucy was in a similar state. He could feel her breath tickle his lips in their close proximity. Noah struggled not to get carried away, but now that he had done it he could hardly wait to do it again.
"Wanna take my drunk ass home and totally take advantage of me?" He murmured, flirtatiously. She smirked and pressed her lips to his once more.
Later that night, Noah had fallen asleep in Lucy's hotel room with her, their lips swollen and bodies tired. He was fully aware that he was her first boyfriend - or whatever he was to her now. He was also fully aware that he was drunk and practically dead on his feet. So they did not make love that night. He was in no rush, and neither was she. No words for spoken, they both just knew. Tonight was the night for beginnings. This was just the start. There was plenty of time for that later.
So he casually diverted his gaze as she stripped out of her formal wear and quickly got into bed with only his boxers and shirt on. It was important to him that Lucy knew he did not expect anything. He was utterly content with what he had. Even more so when she cuddled up against his side and threw her arm over his stomach. He could get used to this. The idea of actually being with Lucy was one he entertained for a while, but now that it was a reality, he was pleasantly surprised at how right it felt. In his intoxicated and drowsy state, only three words came to his mind later on that night:
"Thank you, Evelyn." He murmured softly into the night. Lucy must've still been on the edge of sleep, because he felt a hand playfully slap against his face.
"Don't say another girl's name while you're in bed with me, weird-o." Lucy murmured into his chest, her voice laced with mock offense.
He chuckled and closed his eyes once more. "Wait, is your name not Evelyn? I'm sorry, I think I may be in the wrong room." He fired back.
"Mm, that's okay. Stay as long as you'd like." Lucy replied, drowsily.
"Careful, I may take you up on that." He said.
"I certainly hope so."