Lucy was trying hard to hold her tongue; no, correction, Levy had her hand clamped over her mouth from behind. Her friend was on her tiptoes due to her height and had a mock scowl fixated on Lucy.
"Mfg, Levffm!" Lucy's voice was muffled behind Levy's small hand so she did the best thing that she could and swiped her tongue over the inside of Levy's hand. The shorter girl yelped out in disgust and her playful scowl turned into a real one.
"Lu! That's gross!" Levy complained and Lucy simpered.
"Stop covering my mouth!"
"You're going to ruin the fun!" Levy whined and gestured to the sight before them. Yes, that is why Levy had flung herself onto Lucy and had shoved her fingers over her mouth. Natsu. Why was it always Natsu that caused Lucy the most grief? The gods only knew. He was currently shot-gunning a beer, Gray next to him following suit. Lucy shook her head; she knew that it was going to end in a fight, it always did. She knew it took Natsu a lotof alcohol to get him drunk because of his higher body temperature, and Cana was easily supplying him with the very substance so there was no shortage of a drunk Natsu.
Natsu rarely got drunk, but when he did it was always an event. He wanted to fight even more, if possible, and, in some weird, contradictory twist, also became more clingy.
"Don't say anything, Lu! He's probably gonna start dancing soon." Levy giggled and Lucy sighed. Natsu always fit right in with the rowdiness that was Fairy Tail, and the members always enjoyed the times that Natsu did get drunk with them. Natsu was a fun and happy drunk, something that Lucy was happy about if he was going to get drunk. Her father had always been a mean drunk and if she had found out that her best friend was one too then, well… It would not have sat well with Lucy. So, as much as she wanted to stop the seemingly endless drinking contests, she was actually enjoying seeing Natsu having such a carefree time. His face was flushed, the bridge of his nose a slight pink, and he was cackling like a madman at Gray because he finished his beer before the ice mage.
"Sure, I'll let you all have your fun. All smiles until they start smashing up the guild hall." Lucy stated and Levy smirked.
"I don't think Master or Erza are going to care too much…" Levy gestured at Makarov who was chugging a pitcher of beer next to Cana, and to Erza who was now stumbling around challenging people to fights in her half equipped Heaven's Wheel armor. It was then that, as Lucy predicted, that Gray and Natsu started shuffling around quite lamely. It was nothing like the fights that they had on a normal day, but Lucy was sure they both, in their drunken states, thought that they looked totally badass and tough. Natsu's fist burst into flames and punched Gray square in the jaw.
"Nice aim, I suppose." Lucy snickered, her eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch. Gray retaliated by sending ice shards towards Natsu's face. Natsu fell backwards flat on his ass sending the crowd around them were set in an uproar. Gray threw a punch at Natsu while he was down, but missed and swung full force through thin air and ended up twisting to the left and landing on his shoulder next to Natsu. "And there it is. Both of them making fools of themselves. You should call me a saint for wanting them to stop, Levy."
"Sure, sure." Levy laughed. Lucy's attention snapped back up to the scene with enough time to see Juvia rush over to Gray, who was groaning on the ground, to make sure that he was okay.
"Gray-sama, you must be careful!" Natsu stood back up and rubbed his behind while Happy floated next to him looking worriedly. After flashing Happy his signature toothy smile, Cana slip him another frosty pitcher of beer from the other end of the bar, and Natsu gulped it as quickly as he got it.
"Oh gods…" Lucy put a hand on her forehead and averted her gaze. "He's going to be a mess tonight."
"What are you complaining for, hm? You love it!" Levy teased. "He's just all over you when he's-" It was Lucy's turn to slap her hand over her friend's mouth.
"Stop that!" Lucy's face flushed and Levy's eyes twinkled up at her in humor. Lucy's attention was once again brought towards the bar. Her breath was caught short as she saw Natsu standing on the bar in the beginning stages of a strip tease for the entire guild. "OH MY GODS!" Levy's tongue met the inside of her fingers and Lucy let out a squeal, much like Levy had earlier, and ripped her hand away. She had no time to scold Levy, her eyes were glued to a stumbling, stripping Natsu, and the guild members throwing dollar bills at him. He first shrugged off his single sleeved vest and started swinging it around his head and then threw it into the crowd landing on a slightly horrified Carla who was angrily covering Wendy's eyes.
"Woops!" Natsu giggled out and bit his bottom lip ever so slightly as his hips swayed to the pulsing music. Lucy's face was flushed completely; she was sure that she had turned a new shade of red. She was also trying to ignore the fact that Levy was just about seizing with laughter behind her, gasping for breath at Lucy's expense. Natsu then started unbuckling his belt, which earned a cat call from both Cana and Gildarts, causing his black pants cover to drop to the bar's tabletop with a clank. Mira casually drew small circles with a cloth, cleaning the bar top, as if there wasn't a half naked dragon boy right next to her.
"Natsu, get down!" Lucy couldn't hold back any longer, but he surprisingly didn't seem to hear her.
"What's the matter, I thought you'd like a show like this, eh?" Cana slung her arm around Lucy, the scent of alcohol lingering harshly around her friend.
"W-why?" Lucy stammered out and Cana threw her head back in laughter not answering her question. Natsu's thumbs hooked into the waistband of his baggy pants, the last thing on his body save for his scarf, and started teasing the crowd by pulling them down ever so slightly. Lucy, and she was sure many others in the guild, caught sight of justhow far Natsu's slight happy trail went. Lucy's face, hell, her entire body felt hot; this was the worst she'd seen Natsu.
"Oi! There's kids in here you dumbass!" Gajeel called from where he was standing by Wendy. With that, Gildarts yanked Natsu off of the bar top and left him giggling on the ground.
"Hi sweetheart! Are you having fun? You look so cute with your arm around Lucy!" Gildarts approached the pair and smushed Cana's cheeks together adoringly before she shoved him away in annoyance, a light blush on her face.
"Get lost, old man!" Cana yelled, but a smirk played on her lips. "Say, Lucy, your boyfriend is all ready for you. All you gotta do is take those loose, loose pants off, mm!" Cana whispered into her ear and Lucy's eyes went wide.
"C-Cana!" Lucy protested, but she suddenly skipped away. Lucy turned back and started to step forward only to smack directly into something hard and warm.
"Lucy!" Natsu. It was Natsu's bare torso she had slammed into and he was now looking down at her, his eyes shining happily, and his scarf now tied securely around his head. This gave Lucy full view of his well defined abs, his color bones that were glistening with sweat, his jaw… Lucy shook her head vigorously, her mind was wandering into uncharted territory. How strong were the drinks that Cana had given her exactly?
"N-Natsu… T-that was quite the show." Lucy squeaked out. It was impossible for Lucy to tell if he was blushing, his face was already red from the alcohol. It spread across his nose, his cheeks, and was even reaching up towards his ears, and down his neck. Natsu just grinned down at her seeming to not understand quite what she meant.
"I'm so happy to see you!" Natsu hugged her tightly and Lucy heard Levy snickered from behind her.
"I'll let you two lovebirds have some alone time." Levy tugged on the bottom of one of Lucy's pigtails; Lucy's only regret was that she was not facing Levy otherwise she'd have sent a swift kick at her friend. Lucy huffed and tried to untangle herself from Natsu's strong grip. He released her from the hug, but kept his arm slung around her shoulders. The stench of beer rolled off him in waves and Lucy scowled up at the boy.
"You're very drunk, Natsu."
"No..!" He protested only to end up in a fit of giggles. This was clingy Natsu. Clingy drunk Natsu to be exact, and clingy drunk Natsu had a knack of literally clinging to Lucy exclusively.
"Son of a…" Lucy swore and tried to figure out what she was going to do with her plastered best friend.
"Lu-cy." Natsu whined in her ear softly, his hot breath tickling the side of her face and down her neck sending shivers through her.
"What is it?" Lucy started to shuffle them to the lounge area of the guild where she could plop Natsu into one of the big leather chairs.
"You're so pretty." His words jolted Lucy, but as soon as she got her bearings, she shrugged off his words.
"Is that so?" Lucy kept her tone light, they were approaching the lounge and she was focused on getting them both there without tipping over. Natsu was lithe, but he was heavy as hell from his compact muscle. "The nerve to call me heavy…"
"Mhm… And you smell good too." Natsu buried his nose into her hair on the top of her head and drew in a deep breath.
"Natsu!" Lucy swallowed hard, she knew they looked more intimate than need be. "C'mon, let's sit you down here." Lucy guided him over to one of the big plush chairs.
"Don't leave me." Natsu whined as she practically shoved him into the chair.
"I'm not-!" Lucy's response was cut off as Natsu grabbed her waist and jerked her forward onto his lap where he continued to hug her tightly. Okay, this was more intimate than Lucy could talk herself out of.
"N-Natsu! L-let me stand up. This is weird!" Lucy protested and Natsu pressed his cheek to the top of her head.
"This isn't weird, this is right." Natsu's words came out breathily and Lucy actually thought that he might have fallen asleep until Natsu burst into another fit of giggles. "I-I just…"
"Natsu… You need some water or something…" Lucy fretted and Natsu shook his head, humor etched on his face.
"I just love you so much!" Natsu proclaimed and Lucy was sure her heart stopped beating. That, or it was going to beat out of her chest.
"W-what?"
"You're so cute, I could look at your face all day. Oh my- I literally can't handle it!" Natsu tilted Lucy's chin up as he seemingly inspected her face as if he'd never seen it before.
"Natsu!"
"Well, what do we have here?" Erza stumbled in eyeing the pair. "You two look like you need some protection. THERE IS NO SPACE FOR GOD IN BETWEEN YOUR BODIES. YOU ARE TOO CLOSE!" Erza started to yell and it drew attention to the pair.
"I-it's not what it looks like!"
"Why, what does it look like? I can tell you if it is what it looks like or not." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh my- Lu, I didn't think you'd move so fast!" Levy cackled feeding into Erza's nonsense.
"Levy!" Lucy growled out through gritted teeth.
"Gray-sama, they're so bold!" Juvia clasped her hands over her chest. "Juvia sees now that Lucy is not her love rival!"
"Dude, what the fuck? What are you doing with Lucy?" Gray practically choked at their proximity and Lucy appreciated a normal response from him about the situation.
"Remember what I said the o-other night?" Natsu hiccuped slightly, directing his question at Gray.
"No, you say a lot of stupid shit."
"It was really important." Natsu stressed to Gray and then turned. "I've been so confused, Lushi." Natsu only called her that when he was drunk, it was not a nickname she was fond of, but Natsu made it cute.
"Oh yeah! Oh-ho man, I can't believe you told everyone that!" Gray guffawed and Natsu scowled. "I'm so sorry Lucy."
"It's not a joke you asshole!" Natsu barked back. Natsu was still hugging Lucy tightly to his, still and very naked, chest. She had to twist uncomfortably around in Natsu's arms to face the group that was eyeing them like they were a freakish exhibition.
"What is it Natsu?" Lucy looked from Natsu to Gray and then back again. Natsu seemed to get quiet, the redness in his face was ebbing slightly, only to be replaced with the pink tint of a blush. Alcohol was still coursing through hi body, but Lucy could tell that his high body temperature, which she could feel all too well at the moment, was starting to burn away at some of what he drank. His gaze rose to meet her own looking sheepish.
"I mean it, Luce. I've been so confused, but I'm not now." Natsu whispered and from the corner of her eye she saw Levy ushering the group away from the lounge. Lucy never really felt uncomfortable with Natsu, but this time she felt anxious and unsure of what he was going to say.
"C-confused about what?"
"I've been feelin' so strange… Well, for a while, but I just ignored it, y'know?" Natsu sighed.
"S-sure…"
"It's not like I'm stupid or somethin', like, I know what's going on, but I didn't think it was real. And you are you and you're so pretty and nice- you're so great Lucy." Natsu looked at her so sincerely that it made Lucy's heart flutter.
"Thank you, Natsu… But you're very drunk right now, I don't think you know what you're saying…"
"I do, Lucy! You're my best friend… I would never say anything I didn't mean to you…"
"Th-then what is it?" Lucy's heart thumped hard in her chest.
"L-Lucy, I mean it when I say I love you so much. You're just the greatest. I want to scream it to the whole guild!" Natsu broke out into a huge smile and Lucy stopped him from jumping off the chair.
"N-no, please don't! But you what? A-are you sure?" Lucy felt herself asking incredulously. "I mean, I know you love me in a 'you're my best friend' kind of way, so why were you so worried?" Natsu shook his head, a lopsided grin on his face.
"No, Luce, I mean I really love you. Like butterflies in my stomach and all that shit." Natsu waved his hand in the air as if to gesture butterflies. Lucy felt like her heart was being squeezed.
"Are you sure?" She squeaked out again and Natsu rolled his eyes.
"Would ya stop asking? I mean for shit's sake I even told Gray and Gajeel, those bastards. I still can't believe I did that!" Natsu laughed to himself, but Lucy was still reeling.
"Y-y-you love me? In a-a romantic way?" Lucy stammered out and Natsu nodded vigorously.
"Yep!" He answered her simply. "I'm so sure now."
"Y-you…"
"That strip tease was dedicated to you." Natsu winked; Lucy was sure she never wanted to see this side of Natsu again, at least not in public.
"Oh my lord…" Natsu suddenly looked withdrawn and his smile diminished. He looked at her uncertainly and quietly. "Are you sure you're not just saying this because you're drunk, Natsu?"
"I'm very sure." Natsu stated soberly and Lucy gulped.
"Th-then… I guess I should say…" Natsu suddenly, and gently, pulled her forward and kissed her. It was light at first, growing deeper with each passing second. His hand was at the back of her head, pressing them deeper into each other. Lucy's nails scraped against the back of his neck and at his scalp until they finally broke apart, eyes wide and in shock that they had actually done it. "I… love you too..?" Lucy squeaked out, finishing her response to him. Natsu broke out into a huge smile and let out a caterwaul loud enough for the whole guild to hear.
"She said she loves me too!" Natsu exclaimed and Lucy put her face in her hands embarrassedly as cheers sounded from around the guild.
"Natsu…"
"Lucy, don't take what I'm about to do personally or in any way connected to what we just did." Natsu said quickly and promptly threw up over the side of the chair.
"Are you okay?" Lucy rubbed his back comfortingly and he picked his head up smiling at her slightly and then leaned in for another kiss. "No chance in hell!" Lucy shoved him backwards and he looked at her in hurt and confusion making Lucy roll her eyes.
"Not until after you brush your teeth!"
