"Well, Jesus, Lucy—maybe you should just walk around your bedroom naked."

Lucy said, knocking her head against her headboard. "Don't be gross, Levy."

"This is a serious suggestion! Hear me out. The kid won't even give you a second glance—all he sees is little ol' tomboy Lucy, even after all of this time. And you've been dropping hints like crazy, still nothing. You even dress all sexy and flirt with a dude right in front of him, and nothing! So, he comes home, goes to his room, looks though his window, and what does he see? You getting changed or something. Totally nude. He can't see you as little brother Lucy after that."

Lucy let out a sigh. She'd called Levy—her best friend at the prep school—to fill her in on her first week back home. Of course, Levy had asked about everything, and Lucy had dished; she'd even told her about her conquest to make Natsu want her, and how it clearly wasn't working out. So, Levy gave her some ideas.

"I can see the logic, but still. I don't really want to walk around naked. What if my dad knocks on my door?"

"Then you say 'Dad, don't come in, I'm naked'. Easy."

Lucy let out a laugh, shaking her head against her cellphone. "I'll consider it."

"It'll work, I'm telling you." Levy paused, her breath loud in the receiver. "Maybe just date this Gray guy, y'know? Maybe forget completely about this whole thing with Natsu and just focus on the guy whose actually caring about you."

Lucy swallowed; her throat felt thick. "Yeah…" She trailed off. "Maybe that's the best idea."

"I mean, why waste time on this guy if he doesn't even notice you?"

"But that's the thing," Lucy said, frowning as she stared at her floor. "He does notice me. In a friendly way. And that's it."

"So be friends with him," Levy spoke, "But date Gray. He seems to actually show romantic interest. Is he cute?"

Lucy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Then go for it! It's not like Natsu could be mad—he hasn't shown any interest that way whatsoever."

"True."

"Listen to me. I give the best advice."

Lucy sighed. "I know. You're right. I'll listen to you."

"And I'm serious about that walking around naked thing! Try it, I swear to god."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Maybe."

"Yeah, yeah. Update me, okay? I gotta run. Love you!"

"Love you, too," Lucy mumbled into her cellphone, exiting the call and tossing the phone onto her bed. She glanced over to the window, again making sure that it was closed. She looked down at the can, pulling out the sock she'd stuffed up there before confessing everything to Levy. She would've died if Natsu had ever been able to hear a tidbit of that conversation, so she'd taken precautions. Now, she undid these precautions; she opened the window, letting a warm breeze flow in. She tossed the sock into her laundry hamper.

The week had passed and Lucy had gotten nowhere in her goals of making Natsu lust after her.

He'd asked her to come pass the ball around with him—he needed to practice his skills before tryouts, which were in three weeks—and she'd worn her sleaziest outfit (tight crop top and the sexiest, shortest jean cutoffs she owned) and he hadn't even blinked. It meant nothing to him. He didn't even widen his eyes, didn't even glance down at her body or give any sort of reaction. No, no. Instead he'd just chatted away about baseball and the tryouts and how he had to definitely increase training if he wanted to make the team this year.

Lucy had invited him over for dinner one day, because her father wanted to see Natsu and catch up. He'd come, and Lucy had worn a tight black dress with a big slit to show off her toned legs. She'd curled her hair, done her makeup, looked as beautiful as possible, but still nothing. He'd sat there and stuffed his face with spaghetti, chatted away with her father the entire night. And once they'd finished supper, Lucy and Natsu had headed up to her bedroom to hang out. He'd put a movie in and they'd laid in the bed together watching it, and she even tried to subtly touch their legs together. The contact had sent her heart into a frenzy, but the boy hadn't even noticed; his eyes were trained on the movie, and he kept making dumb jokes about the CGI the entire way through.

She was absolutely out of ideas. What else could she do? She'd looked as hot as possible, and there was no reaction. She'd flirted with another dude in front of her, and there was no reaction. She'd been as sexy as she possibly could without giving the dude a friggin' lapdance, and there had been no reaction.

Maybe Levy was right. Maybe Lucy should focus her time and effort onto the boy that had shown actual interest in her.

But the idea didn't seem to catch Lucy's interest. Yeah, Gray was pretty cute and he was super nice and super funny, but the urge to really rub her newfound hotness into Natsu's face was the only thing that really appealed to her. Of course, she'd absolutely failed in doing so every single time she'd attempted. So why was she so inclined on continuing to try?

Lucy decided she'd give herself one more attempt. One more try to get a reaction out of Natsu. She wanted a real reaction out of him. She wanted him to check her out and she wanted him to drool at the sight of her and she wanted him to look at her lips longingly.

So, she genuinely thought about walking around her bedroom naked. After deliberating for a couple moments, Lucy came to the conclusion that that was too slutty, that she couldn't go that far. She didn't want to totally demean herself—she wasn't about to stoop that low. She tossed her hopes into the metaphorical trashcan and figured she'd just see where things went with Gray—nothing serious, just something casual and fun.

She was tired—she'd come straight home from school and called Levy; the boys had headed to the baseball diamond to practice for a bit—so she headed to the shower to wipe the schoolyard grime off of her skin. She stripped in the bathroom and hopped in the shower, letting the hot water wash over her; she lathered up with a pretty smelling soap, smiling to herself. It smelled like roses—she loved that scent.

Once she was clean, she hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself; she grabbed her dirty clothes and tossed them in her hamper in her bedroom, grabbing some clean underwear as well as a change of clothes. She headed back to the bathroom, taking the time to shave her legs, and then pulled her bra and panties on.

Lucy frowned down at the outfit she'd picked. She'd chosen a black bra and panties, but then a sheer white top and light colored shorts. If she wore them together, everyone would see her underwear through her clothes—a major fashion faux pas, unless deliberately pieced together to make a statement. Lucy sighed, grabbing the top and shorts and heading back to her bedroom, wearing only her bra and panties.

She hung the clothes back up, careful not to wrinkle the fabric. She dug through her closet some more, frowning at shirts that wouldn't work with her bra either. Frustrated, she kept looking through her clothes, desperate to find something that would work.

But, before she could find anything, the sound of a door opening nearby broke her out of her trance.

Lucy's eyes snapped to her door, and her heart stopped. "Uh, Dad, don't come in—"

But her voice cut off just as quickly when she realized it wasn't her door opening. No, it was the door to the bedroom across the gap. Lucy spun, eyes wide, turning to face her window; as she did so, the door in the bedroom across the gap flew open, and several boys walked into the room.

Gajeel, Laxus, Gray and Natsu.

They sauntered into Natsu's room, their eyes inexplicably flickering up to his bedroom window. It was everyone's first reaction when they entered his room; the window was the first thing in front of the door you saw. And now that Lucy was back and her curtains were open, Lucy's bedroom was the first thing anyone saw when they entered Natsu's room.

And, one by one, they all freaked.

Gray walked in, eyes flickering to the window casually, then widening once he realized that oh my god, that was Lucy, right there, in her underwear. "Jesus!" He'd cried, unable to look away, eyes wide, cheeks red, pants suddenly very tight.

Gajeel had walked in, mouth filled with a cookie he'd stolen from Natsu's kitchen. His eyes flickered to the window, landed on Lucy's ass, and he'd begun to choke; the cookie lodged itself in his throat as he gasped. He spent the next couple minutes leaning over and hacking, face red and unable to breathe.

Laxus had stepped into the room and looked to the window; instantly, he'd ducked his head, face more red than it had ever been before, and covered his eyes. "Shit," He'd hissed out, eyes slammed shut.

Natsu had followed behind all of the boys, frowning when he saw their expressions. Gajeel choking, Laxus with his eyes slammed shut and his hand on his face, and Gray pointedly staring at his bedroom window. He made a face, and then his own eyes caught what was across the gap from his window.

Lucy.

She'd realized what was happening and had spun, eyes wide and cheeks red, so that she was facing the window, which honestly, wasn't any better. She was frozen in place, the shock and embarrassment halting her mobility.

Natsu's face went red when he saw her there, like that, and he dove forwards, dropping his beloved baseball bat and letting it clatter to the floor. He slammed Gray out of the way—he swore it was an accident, but at the way Gray was ogling Lucy like that, he didn't really mind that he'd pushed Gray's forehead into the drywall—and dove to his curtains.

"Jesus—Luce!" Natsu had hissed, pulling his curtains shut, preventing the boys—and himself—from accidentally looking at her nearly naked body any longer.

Now that the curtains were closed, Lucy had the ability to move; she sprung into action and dove onto the bed, grabbing her bedding and wrapping it around her like a cocoon. "Ack—I-I'm sorry!"

Natsu sat on his knees in front of his window, hands still tightly clinging to his curtains, holding them together. He leaned his head against the fabric, closing his eyes, chest heaving from the sudden action.

He could hear her panting—both of their windows were wide open and only a small space apart—and grunting as she covered herself with blankets.

After a couple seconds, Natsu murmured, "Luce, you okay?" He knew she could hear him, and he knew she'd be upset.

Gajeel was still hacking in the background, trying to cough the cookie up; Laxus and Gray were clapping his back, trying to help him.

There were a couple of seconds before Lucy responded; when she did, her voice was shaky with embarrassment. "Did you…Did you see anything?"

Natsu blinked, staring at his still-closed curtains. His fists were still tight around the fabric, and he didn't dare open them, not until he knew Lucy was clothed. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to let go of the curtains at all, in fear that they might flutter open or something. He had to protect Lucy's innocence. "I…uh…"

Lucy closed her eyes, grimacing. She knew what his hesitation meant—he'd seen everything. "Ugh." She was mortified.

Natsu's cheeks were warm, but his voice was soft. "Are you okay?"

"Other than wanting to kill myself? Yeah, perfect."

"Don't say that," He scolded. "It's not a big deal."

Lucy's stomach flopped with embarrassment. She had never intended to follow through with Levy's advice—but here she was, accidentally doing it. Thank god she hadn't actually been naked. "It's a big deal."

"It's really not."

Lucy sighed. "Natsu, you saw me in my bra and panties."

He shut his eyes, embarrassed. "It's not me you have to worry about—it's the other guys that are bothering me."

Lucy blinked. "Why?"

"Gajeel's dying. Laxus still has his eyes shut, for some reason. And I think Gray might start jerking off right here, in my bedroom."

Lucy cringed. "Kill me."

"Luce."

"I'm just gonna go lay in the dark for the rest of my life, okay?" Lucy pulled herself up, blankets still cocooned around her. She had to hop to move. "You can open your curtains."

Natsu flung his curtains open; his eyes locked with her brown ones. "Luce, don't go."

"I'll see you at school," Lucy grumbled, hopping out of her room, cheeks hotter than they'd ever been before. She opted to go sit on her bathroom floor rather than face her best friend.

Natsu frowned at her as she hopped out of sight, staring at her room for a long moment before turning back to his friends and going to give Gajeel the Heimlich.

Lucy fully intended to die there on her bathroom floor, because she really didn't want to leave and she was perfectly happy with never seeing anyone ever again. But, these plans were disrupted when there was a light knock on her bathroom door approximately seven minutes after the incident.

"Go away, Dad. I'm dying in here, I decided."

Another couple knocks.

"Dad, I said go away—"

The door creaked open, revealing a familiar face.

Lucy groaned. "Natsu, go away!"

Natsu opened the door all the way, flicking the lights on. He held up a container of Ben and Jerry's and two spoons. "Let's go watch a movie."

Lucy had refused—she insisted she was dying on her bathroom floor tonight—but he'd picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder and hauled her over to her bed. He left her cocooned in her blanket of sadness and grabbed an extra blanket from the closet in the hall; he rolled himself up into his own cocoon. Then, he put on some girly movie from her laptop, settled it in front of them, flicked off the lights—making sure to turn the lamp on so the room was comfortable and they could still see the icecream—and started the movie.

He handed her the icecream—cookie dough icecream, Lucy's favorite—and a spoon, and let her start to dig away at it. Once she'd had an opportunity to get the good chunks, Natsu began to poke at it with his spoon, chipping away a couple mounds of icecream at a time.

After a couple minutes, Natsu spoke. "Don't be so quiet."

Lucy frowned. "You're the one that rudely interrupted my dying on the bathroom floor."

Natsu nudged her with his elbow; his eyes watched her carefully. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Luce."

"Yes, I do, actually. You practically saw me naked, Natsu."

He tried not to make a face. "S'not so bad—just like seeing you in a bikini."

"You've never seen me in a bikini!"

Natsu stuffed more icecream in his mouth. "Yeah, well, now I know what I've been missing."

"Ugh." Lucy made a face, then she sighed, expression going soft. "Where'd the boys go?"

Natsu's dark eyes flashed from the laptop to the girl beside him. "I sent them home."

Lucy frowned. "Weren't you guys supposed to be doing something important tonight?" She vaguely remembered them chatting excitedly at lunch time.

"Yeah." Natsu shrugged. "It's alright, though. I'd rather be here."

Lucy didn't understand. "Why'd you send them home?"

Natsu snorted, shaking his head at her obliviousness; he turned his gaze to her, and he gave her a funny look. "Priorities, Luce."

Her eyebrows bolted upwards. "I'm the priority?"

"'Course you are."

"Wow," Lucy murmured, settling back against her headboard, eyes flickering to the laptop screen for a quick second. "Well, I feel kinda bad taking up all your time, making you send the guys home…"

"Don't worry about it." He took another spoonful of icecream. "I'd rather be with you anyways."

"Why's that?"

Natsu shrugged, as if the answer were obvious. "You're more important. Besides, you're having a rough day. Gotta make it better."

Lucy's mind flashed back to all of the times Natsu had come over, icecream or chocolate in hand when she'd been sad; he'd put her in bed, give her candy, put on a movie—just like this. He'd always been there to take care of her when she needed it most—and that was still true to this day.

"Well, thank you," Lucy whispered, voice catching a little as the memories flooded her mind. "For everything."

His expression was warm and his eyes softened, melting down into pools of darkness as he looked at her. When he spoke, his voice was deep and gentle. "You're welcome."

The movie played on in the background, but Lucy and Natsu hardly noticed; they sat there, the glow of the lamp in the far corner the only thing lighting up the room, eyes locked on one another.

Lucy's stomach flopped nervously, his gaze intense on her face; her heart was hammering against her ribs, pushing the air out of her lungs in short little gasps. Her veins felt like they were on fire; vibrations bolted through her limbs, like jolts of electricity zapping her from her head to her toes.

Her heart felt like it was swollen, like it was so full with love and happiness that it might explode.

And her eyes dropped to his lips. She couldn't help but admire them.

But before her thoughts could continue any further, his eyes dropped and he glared down at the tub of icecream, complaining about how Lucy ate so much and didn't save him any and how life wasn't fair. Lucy felt her heart drop a little, too caught up in the moment that had so easily slipped by, but ignored it; she squabbled back with him, smacking him and telling him he'd eaten a ton of it already.

They bickered like that all night, just like the old days, and for a while, Lucy almost forgot that she'd left.

It felt like no time had passed. It felt like she was the same old Lucy, the little tomboy with the sweatpants, sitting with her best friend in her bedroom like they always did. She didn't feel girly and different. With Natsu, she naturally reverted back into her original state.

She wasn't positive if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet.

They fell asleep there, both wrapped up in blanket burritos, movie still playing on the laptop. The icecream melted and spilled on her sheets, and by the morning, they'd both untangled themselves from the confines of their blankets.

Lucy's alarm for school went off and she groaned, complaining. She let out a screech the second she realized she was in bed with Natsu in her underwear; Natsu awoke with a start, jumping to his feet to protect Lucy from whatever had made her scream. He looked to her and his cheeks went red but for some reason he didn't look away, and she smacked him, then ran to the bathroom. Natsu went to the door and apologized; Lucy was silent for a moment or two, and then asked him to grab her a change of clothes.

It took Natsu twenty minutes to follow Lucy's instructions and pick out an appropriate outfit, and he covered his eyes and stuck his hand in the bathroom, handing her the clothes. She pulled them on quickly, washing her face and brushing her hair before they headed off to class, since they were already late.

Lucy didn't realize she wasn't wearing makeup. She also didn't realize that her outfit choice for the day was drastically different than the outfit she'd worn on her first day of school; rather than wear a tight dress, now she'd subconsciously opted for something a little bit more comfortable: a t-shirt and some jeans. Not quite her old sweatpants and sweatshirt, but a far cry from skin tight minidresses.

Lucy never noticed.

Natsu did. And it sort of made him happy to see his best friend back, even if she was still a little more girly than before. But it was her, and she was here, and they were together.

He smiled brighter than usual.