*Dies* I finished this yesterday (1:30am - does that count?) but had to get Cup Ramen to read through it :D Honestly, I don't know what happened - It just kinda...I don't know anymore. Is this what they call verbal diarrhea? :O Things just started to go a bit off track and voila, this is what you end up with! Oh yes, that is why I couldn't think up of a good summary so yes, it's slightly misleading in a way! Enjoy - R & R pleash :3 There is slight Gajeel x levy as well :3


Title: Only me

Summary: Sequel to 'Through clouded eyes' - The unfortunate moment when you find out that you've been reading a Shonen-ai book for 30 minutes...LuNa. Summary is misleading and has nothing to do with plot!


Tracing 'McNulty's' latest novel, Lucy hummed to herself in happiness and relief. She had once again found herself seated at the usual barstool and god, she thought she'd never make it through…Three missions, five days and fifty or so awkward moments…She couldn't have been happier that Gray and Erza had come along. She let out a sigh. How on Earth could it be so hard to love someone? One moment she'd be Lucy and then the next – when he'd arrive, she'd be a weird Lucy. She shook her head in disapproval.

"No, I've gotten over it." The blonde chided inwardly.

Flashback:

It was like a passing phase. Gray and Erza had shrugged off the soap incident as an event gone horribly wrong and not to mention, horribly misunderstood and Natsu…well; he was just being his stupid, grinning self. Was she overthinking things?

"Hey, Luce…" Natsu spoke, his voice so soft that she had almost missed it. Why did it feel as if they hadn't talk-talked in an eternity?

"Hm?" She turned her gaze to the dabs of white clouds that covered the sky and holy shit, where did Erza and Gray go? Needless to say, she shamelessly proceeded to chicken out of the convo, calling for Gray instead.

End.

She decided that him not talking to her afterwards was a good sign…Okay…Maybe that hadn't gone as well as she thought it did.

"I'll leave that 'til later…" She breathed, reaching for her book.

30 minutes later:

Lucy's eyes bulged as she scanned the same line of the novel over, and over. Why was Oscar professing his undying love to John? What happened to Mary? She immediately proceeded to scrutinise the blurb.

"A tale of forbidden love, will love triumph over society's prejudices?"

Fml. Was she reading Shonen-ai this whole effing time? This was not frickin' happening – 10,000 jewels or so had gone down the drain and she couldn't even shove the book into her bookshelf without feeling an ounce of shame.

"I refuse to believe this…" She seethed through clenched teeth, earning her a curious look from Mirajane. Her chestnut orbs fell onto the front cover of the tome: "Mirrored Hearts", it read, with two half-naked angels embracing one another. Oh god, was that Oscar and John? That was it. Her whole day had officially been ruined. She only felt her mood worsen when Natsu and Gray decided to fight…again.

"I bet there's an iceberg floating in your head!"

"What! You frickin' flame brain!"

"What'd you call me? You asking for a fight, you bastard?"

"Can you guys shut up?" She snapped and they immediately froze in their place as the blonde turned to face them.

"Every single day!" She shouted, hands in the air.

"Do you always have to fight with one another?" The celestial mage continued, exasperated and fuming. She was as scary as Erza and Gray nearly wet himself when he caught a glimpse of her eyes.

"Yes?" Natsu lifted a brow and Lucy shot him a 'that-was-a-rhetorical-question-and-I-will-kill-you' look.

"That's 'cos you won't go on a mission with me!" Natsu whined, arms crossed. Gray shuddered as he tip-toed out of the scene. Note to self: Natsu is and forever will be, a retard.

"What?"

"You heard me, you're boring Luce!" The dragonslayer continued, nose in the air.

"At least I don't do the same frickin' thing every day! Do you only know how to fight with fists?" She countered. Natsu opened his mouth to say something but instead settled on rubbing his chin in thought.

"Why don't we play a game then?" He grinned, his unusually intense gaze nearly making her heart skip a beat.

"W-what kind of game?" She stuttered.

"A staring competition."

Wait, could this be a chance to test her tolerance? She hadn't been able to look him in the eyes without turning completely red in the past week. 'Wonderful' She sang to herself, tasting victory already when she remembered his short attention span. She could do this.

"Deal. Whoever averts their gaze first…" A small smirk formed on Lucy's face.

"Will lose…If you lose, you'll have to go on a mission with me and if I lose, I'll stop bothering you…maybe…"Natsu continued for her. And thus began the game.


Tic-toc, Tic-toc, Tic-toc…

No words had been exchanged between the pair and the majority of the guild watched on, waiting for either one to break the silence…or just to lose. It had been one minute and Lucy felt like congratulating herself – She was staring. At him. At his eyes. Without feeling like flying to Mars! Then again, she decided to imagine that they were sultanas…oh well. It wasn't long before a certain ice mage decided to return.

"Seems interesting, what're you guys doing?" Gray smirked as he joined the crowd.

"A staring competition!" Happy declared.

"Ehh…" Gray smirked even more.

"Hey Lucy…" His voice reeked of trickery.

"Yeah?" She began to turn towards him but was swiftly stopped when Natsu held her chin in place.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy trembled under his touch and gulped as they remained like that for what seemed like an eternity. Gray probably wasn't going to get to ask his question or whatever it was anytime soon.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Did you forget about the game?" He revealed his canines when he grinned one of his trademark grins and Lucy could only bite her lip in frustration. Dammit, was he doing this on purpose? Was aggravating her, watching her squirm, this fun? She swore she saw his lips tug into an amused smirk.

"No…" She managed without cracking her voice as he proceeded to cup her left cheek. HolycrapHolycrapHolycrap! And the whole guild was watching on, even more intrigued than before.

"W-what are you doing?" A small coat of pink dusted her cheeks. Damn.

"Hmmm…Whatcha talking about?" He sang, as he leaned to whisper something in her ear.

"Are you doing this on pur-"

"Look only at me." Voice firm and almost demanding, his warm breath hit the side of her face. That was it, Lucy Heartfilia was officially brain-dead.

He leaned back, dark orbs set into a determined gaze.

"What are you talking about?" She spoke, her tone surprisingly not showing her hesitation or confusion. She wasn't going to show him her inner turmoil. And it worked. The dragonslayer frowned at her words, unsatisfied with her response.

"Are you going to make me say it?" He scowled, swaying impatiently on his chair.

"Say what?" She lifted a delicate brow as the rest of the guild was left to chatter amongst themselves.

Leaning towards her once again, he scrutinised her chestnut orbs with his onyx ones, almost as if he were seeing right through her.

"Your…"

She felt herself shrink in her seat as the distance between them slowly decreased to several centimetres.

"Yes?" She squeaked as their foreheads touched.

Right now, she didn't care whether or not the guild was in complete silence. Right now, she didn't care if her heart was nearly going into cardiac arrest. Right now, she didn't care if her cheeks were tinted pink. Right now, she didn't care whether or not she loved him. She whipped her head to the side in record timing and god that hurt. She needed to avoid his eyes. She needed to avoid him.

"Eyes are brown." He finished off his sentence and she buried her head into her arms, hoping, just hoping that the table would provide her with some much needed refuge.

"I win!" Natsu declared happily.

"Mrhm…" She mumbled. She had lost. She had completely lost. Why was life so unfair?

"Well…That was intriguing!" Sang Mirajane from the counter, breaking the silence and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I think I'm drunk." Cana added as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Time to refill!" With that, the rest of the guild bustled off to continue their activities and Gray only stifled a laugh as he re-ran the scene through his head.

"Classic."


"Hmmm…" Natsu scanned the request board, reaching for a poster.

"Wait…Maybe not…Ooh! What about this one…ehh…nahh…"

Lucy sighed as she watched Natsu contemplate over which request to pick. He looked like a kid at a candy store. Meanwhile, she took the time to think over random things and immediately furrowed her brows as she mused over the thought that it would only be the two of them going this time. Apparently, Happy was with Gray of all people. Why did she find it slightly suspicious? Speaking of which, what did Gray want to as-

"Lucy! I got one! Let's go!" Natsu interrupted, waving a request sheet in the air like a hyperactive 5-year old before heading to the doors.

"Yeah, yeah! Coming!" For now, she'd have to accompany her idiotic partner to the mission.


The pair walked in silence, making their way across the grassy knoll that lay on the side of the road to the guild.

"So, what request did you pick?" Lucy asked airily as she admired the endless blue sky and the scenery that lay before her.

"Hm…" Natsu quickened his pace so that only his back faced her.

"Natsu?" She narrowed her eyes as he whistled an off-tune melody guiltily.

"I uhm…kinda didn't pick a request…" He grinned sheepishly as he turned to face her.

"What?"

Natsu winced as she gave him that look.

"I didn't feel like it." He shrugged and oh my, did she just shoot him another one of those 'I'll-kill-you' glares?

"So you decided to waste my time instead?" She spoke through clenched teeth and he only cowered under her threatening aura. Why didn't she notice that they had been wandering around aimlessly for the past 20 minutes?

"Uhm, you see…" The dragonslayer fidgeted in his spot as he tried to come up with a passable excuse. He failed epically.

"You didn't seem to have anything better to do and plus, I don't feel like doing a mission anymore~" He beamed, only to raise a brow when the celestial mage laughed shakily. Screw having some 'alone' time with the flaky idiot.

"I see, so you decided to drag me along in your little escapade?" She had stopped walking and instead stood, rooted to her spot.

"Luce?" Natsu looked at her warily.

"You know Natsu; it's not good to do things half-way…" Lucy shot a deadly glare towards him, the venom still seeping through her voice.

He looked at her, a puzzled expression crossing his features for a split second and at that moment; it appeared as if words had truly failed him. The blonde was left to wonder what had happened.

"Actually, it's not even like you to leave things half-done…or to not feel like doing a request." She commented in surprise and confusion, all anger lost.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" Since when did he ever refuse a request? Since when did he ever look so confused, so lost? Since when had he started acting so…weird? Lucy was left to stare at him in apprehensive wonder as he stayed silent, orbs focused on the lush, grassy field. This was worrying.

Not shifting his gaze, he spoke in the smallest of whispers.

"What if…What if you weren't sure of what would happen next?"

Lucy felt a gust of wind hit them, the violent batting of the long grass strands muting out everything else other than his statement. What was she supposed to say to that? His words managed to echo through her mind. Somehow, the conversation had derailed and somehow, it appeared as if her next words would determine something far more important than missions or anything else previously discussed. But then she knew. What he needed at the moment weren't wise words or anything overly-done up. She let a small smile cross her features. Of course he didn't, he was Natsu.

"Then are you saying that you should give up?" She spoke, her voice unwavering and eyes set into a determined gaze.

"But what if-"He lifted his head to reveal an almost anxious expression – It surprised Lucy but she wasn't going to have any 'buts' or 'what ifs'.

"Natsu!" She interrupted, effectively stopping him from finishing his sentence.

"There are things out there that you'd never know about until you decide to take that step." She continued, capturing his full attention.

"So don't give me that look when you haven't even tried!" His eyes widened in shock.

"Luce…"

"Now let's go back and you do whatever you have to do." She smiled and turned back to the guild, that was, until she felt a strong hand tug at her wrist.

"Natsu?" She squeaked as he pulled her towards him, holding her in a tight yet warm embrace.

"Thanks." He grinned.

"But are you really sure about that?" He questioned her and she had to let out a sigh.

"Yes. I'm positively, 100% sure, dummy."

Lucy felt him part-release her from his hold. His arms were draped over her shoulders and her chestnut orbs met his when their faces were separated by only a few centimetres.

"Good."

"What-"

Her eyes widened when he leaned in to press his lips against hers. It felt like an eternity before the kiss ended but she found herself too lost in the moment to care about anything. Her mind was a complete blank when he looked at her straight in the eyes yet again.

"I love you." He breathed, their foreheads touching.

"I…love you too…" She managed without collapsing to her knees. His laugh reminded her that this wasn't all a dream. So this was what he was worried about.


-Approx. 30 metres away-

Levi squealed as she half-strangled a Gajeel to death.

"Ican'tbelieveit!" She cooed as the iron dragonslayer choked in her death hold. Now she had some juicy table gossip and boy, she was going to bask in some well-deserved glory after that tiring mission! Mirajane was going to love this!

"And you, mister," The bookworm smirked evilly at Gajeel and he gulped in fear – God, this shrimp can be scary as shit sometimes.

"I want every detail of their conversation." She finished. He groaned as they headed to the guild. Now he had the joy of repeating that crumby conversation to everyone and he knew he couldn't get out of it because it was Levy.


I know, I know, this was weird. Like, really weird. D: One thing just led to another! D: Anyhow, I have 4 or so exams this week and needa get off my lazy ass to do some work! Please REVIEW and tell me what you think about this ffic! Love you guys! :3