Author's Note: I would like to apologize ahead of time for this chapter, lol. Excuses at the end. -sends self to the corner-
Remember to leave a review if you enjoy! They really help me keep writing, no joke! And hey, if you don't leave a review, who will?
One Wish
Chapter 10: Unforgettable
As soon as rumor had gotten around that it was karaoke night at the guild, members came in droves, making Lucy and Levy both glad of their seats at the bar. It wasn't long before the place was packed, and the blonde was left wondering if maybe some of the mages hadn't brought non-guild friends to the party. Still, as Mirajane and the others got the stage set up, and someone dragged a lacrima powered karaoke machine in from one of the back rooms, Lucy couldn't deny that the atmosphere of anticipation was quite fun. Everyone was in a good mood, and after the drama between Loke and Natsu earlier, she was glad of the distraction.
Beside her, Levy was craning her head around in an attempt to catch sight of something, or, rather, someone.
Lucy elbowed her friend lightly and said "Don't worry, if there's music and a stage involved, there's no way Gajeel's not going to show up."
Her blue haired friend flushed, but smiled as she was caught out "I hope Natsu comes back soon, too," she said "I know he always likes to get a good laugh in during events like this."
Lucy nodded and chuckled "And hey, we don't have to worry about him setting the place on fire when he inevitably challenges someone for once!"
Levy giggled, unable to deny the point her friend made as Mirajane took the stage.
"Alright everyone, this is how it's going to work!" the S-class mage said after taking up the microphone so she could be heard over the noise of the crowd "Rather than having sign-ups, we're going to play 'pass the microphone'. I'll start by singing a song first, and when I'm done, I'm going to pick someone else out of the crowd to sing. If you get picked, you have to sing. There will be consequences if you don't, got it?" She asked, wagging her finger at the room and grinning "So we'll just keep it going like that. Also, no repeat singers for at least ten turns, so everyone gets a chance."
Once she was sure that everyone understood, Mira turned to the karaoke machine behind her and picked out a song. It was upbeat and catchy, perfect for getting the crowd excited. She had a clear, high voice, and it was obvious to Lucy that the other girl was quite talented. Then again, what wasn't Fairy Tail's poster girl good at?
When she was done, Mira called out Evergreen, who was seated just down the bar from them. Typical of the supremely confident fairy mage, she jumped right up onto stage and strutted her stuff to a pop-rock song, tossing her hair and swaying her hips enticingly. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Ever picked Elfman when she was done, though he blushed and tried to get away.
"Come on, be a man, Elfman!" Gray yelled and he jumped up onto the table he had been seated at, stripping off his shirt as he did so.
Unable to deny the challenge, the bulky take-over mage marched up to the stage and picked out a song. Much to everyone's surprise, a sappy love ballad was his choice, which he did a much better job at performing than Lucy certainly would have guessed.
"Aww, just look at Ever!" Levy squealed and pointed out the other mage, who had reclaimed her seat down the bar from them, blushing furiously, but obviously delighted.
"B'aww," Lucy cooed as Elfman finished called out Gray (no doubt in revenge for his earlier jab about being a man) and went to Evergreen's side, still blushing like mad. The fairy mage chided him for being so obvious, but it was easy to see that she was more happy than annoyed when she wrapped her arms around his hulking bicep and nestled in close.
"Really, though, who do they think they're fooling?" Lucy remarked to her friend, a fond smile on her face as she regarded the obvious couple. Ever was rather prickly, but she was a good person, once you got to know her. It would never stop amusing most of the guild, though, that she and Elfman were romantically involved. Two more different people it was difficult to find!
"Oh, let them be," Levy said with a smile of her own and turned her attention to the stage as Gray finished making his selection.
When he broke out in a fast paced rap, both girls shared a look, and then grinned. They were certainly learning a lot about their friends' unexpected taste in music today. The ice mage had a good sense of rhythm, and even broke out a few dance moves, to everyone's entertainment. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) he finished before it turned into a strip show, and they applauded loudly with everyone else, though perhaps not so enthusiastically as Juvia. Then again, it was hard to match Juvia's enthusiasm when it came to anything Gray related.
There was, however, a loud groan when the ice mage picked Gajeel out of the crowd to sing next, making Levy's head whip around to spot him. Apparently he had been in one of the back corners of the room with Lily where they hadn't noticed him.
"Oi, shut up!" the iron dragon slayer shouted as he made his way to the stage.
"No guitar, Gajeel!" someone shouted.
"Yeah, this is karaoke, use the machine!"
"I know what the hell karaoke is, idiots! Don't make me come down there!" the tall, dark haired man threatened, making Lucy and Levy both laugh as he turned to the machine and picked out a song.
Luckily, Gajeel's voice was a little better when he had something to sing along to other than his own off-key guitar strumming. He wasn't particularly good, but not objectionably bad, like he normally was, much to Lucy's relief. The song he picked was a jazz number, which didn't surprise her in the least, considering that was what he always seemed to try to sing when he got a chance with his guitar and infamous white suit.
Daring to glance at her friend, Lucy grinned when she noted that Levy seemed totally transfixed. Maybe without the get-up she was able to take his singing more seriously, though Lucy still thought he'd pull off some hard rock or metal way better than jazz.
"Oi, Lucy! Get up here!" The end of the song, and Gajeel shouting her name into the mic took the blonde completely off-guard.
"W-what?! Me?" she stammered, looking around in alarm as the iron dragon slayer shoved his way through the crowd towards her and Levy.
"Yeah, you," he said with a wicked grin, poking her in the shoulder with one finger as he did "Now get out of my seat."
Lucy's eyes went wide as she glanced from him, to her blushing friend, and back again. So that was it, then! She'd half expected him to call Levy out to get her attention, but the dragon slayer had shown surprising forethought in calling out Lucy instead. This way, he got to take her seat while she went to sing.
"Oh alright then," she huffed and slid off her perch, then headed for the stage. For the sake of her friend's potential love life, she could take a hit "You owe me one, Gajeel!" she called back over her shoulder as she pushed through the crowd. She could hear him laugh behind her.
While she was willing to step aside so Levy could have some time with the man she liked, Lucy was more than a little nervous about singing in front of so many people. Normally she'd only done karaoke in small groups, not in front of what practically constituted a concert audience, after all.
The woman went to the machine and picked up the microphone. Apparently it was one of the fancier models, as it also came with a little ear piece so one could hear the original song and sing along, which was nice. She clipped it on her ear, and then flipped through the menu quickly, and found something she liked.
As the music started, it's light, bouncy notes filling the air, Lucy turned and faced the crowd. With the lights set up the way they were (had there always been spotlights up in the rafters?) it was hard to make out the faces of those that weren't right up in front of the stage. Still, it shouldn't be hard to spot that familiar shock of pink hair in a crowd, right?
As she started singing, Lucy was torn on whether or not she wished Natsu was there to watch. On the one hand, she hoped he wasn't, because the last thing she needed was him teasing her over her performance. On the other, though, part of her hoped that maybe he'd hear her and be impressed. Not to mention she hoped he was no longer in a sour mood after his blow up at Loke earlier. Honestly, if making fun of her singing would take his mind off things, at this point, she'd let him without complaint.
In the middle of the first verse, though, she spotted him. Natsu was leaning casually against one of the banisters on the main staircase, watching her with an absent smile on his face. The sight was enough to make her heart leap excitedly in her chest, and she couldn't hold back the elated smile that spread across her face. Without thinking, she raised a hand and waved at him, feeling absurd, but not caring in the slightest.
He was here, and he was smiling at her.
"I got lost in the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind all these words
I hear in my mind all this music..."
After he had waved back, Lucy pulled her attention from him and looked out over the crowd, focusing on singing the half-remembered words coming out of her ear piece.
As Natsu watched his friend perform, an oblivious sort of smile took over his face. Distracted as he was, he jumped when Happy unexpectedly landed on his shoulder.
"You're back!" the exceed exclaimed "We were worried, but Lucy said to give you some time. I guess she was right," Happy mused as he settled himself more comfortably on his perch.
"Yeah," Natsu said "Sorry if I startled you guys earlier...I shouldn't have blown up like that."
Happy looked at his friend, surprised by Natsu's show of maturity. He smiled, then, and said "Don't worry about it. Even Loke said you were right after you left."
When Natsu's only reply to this was a distracted hum, Happy followed his gaze up to where Lucy was singing. She was swaying gracefully in time with the music now, any sign of nerves seeming to have left her as the song went on.
Aha.
"Lucy's a pretty good singer, huh, Natsu?"
"Yeah, she's great," the dragon slayer admitted distractedly, eyes locked on stage as Lucy's met his again, and she smiled, then flushed as the next verse filled the air between them.
"And suppose I never ever met you?
Suppose we never fell in love?
Suppose I never ever let you kiss me so sweet, and so soft..."
Lucy tore her gaze from his and sang on, leaving Natsu feeling oddly breathless, his stomach full of butterflies.
"You want to kiss Lucy, don't you?" Happy purred in his ear, making the dragon slayer go still as stone and flush beet red simultaneously. Thank goodness the lights were low over the audience so it wasn't likely that anyone but Happy would notice.
"You liiiiike her!" the exceed insisted with quiet glee when he didn't respond.
"I-what?!" Natsu demanded, completely wrong footed by his friend's observation. This was becoming far too much of a habit for the exceed lately.
"I do not!" he contested hotly, knowing full well that he was lying, and that Happy knew it too. The way his blonde friend's face flushed prettily at the lyrics of her song just wanted to make him kiss her all the more. How on Earthland had it taken him so long to notice what so many other men noticed the second they met her? Her sweet, full lips looked utterly kissable. Boy what he wouldn't give to just nibble her bottom lip...
"Natsu, you are a terrible liar," Happy chortled
"I...shut up," Natsu grumbled, falling into embarrassed silence for a moment before looking up at the exceed and saying emphatically "Don't you dare tell Lucy, Happy!"
The blue exceed blinked at his friend and said "I wouldn't do that, Natsu," and he felt the dragon slayer relax under him "You are going to tell her though, right?"
"Y-yeah," Natsu admitted bashfully with a firm nod "Just not yet."
"Well alright, don't take too long, though," Happy warned, and his friend glanced up at him curiously "Well, if you've noticed that Lucy is pretty and wonderful enough to want to kiss her...chances are a lot of other guys have too," the cat explained, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
Natsu flinched at this revelation, but nodded his agreement, knowing his friend was right.
"I hear in my mind all of these voices
I hear in my mind all of these words
I hear in my mind all of this music
Breaks my
Heart
Breaks my heart..."
As Lucy's song wound down to a close, Natsu applauded along with everyone else, grinning widely as he pushed Happy's warning to the back of his mind for the time being. He was confused, though, when his friend remained on stage, and seemed to consider something.
"What's she doing?" he wondered aloud.
"Oh right, you weren't here at the start!" Happy said with a grin "The singer gets to choose who will be next, and you're not allowed to say no if you get picked! You've missed some good ones so far."
"Oh," Natsu said with a grin, wondering who his best friend would pick out next. A mischievous smile crossed the girl's face, and he knew they were in for something good as she turned and pointed out into the crowd...
"Natsu!"
"What?!" he demanded, mouth agape. Lucy grinned wickedly at him, and winked "Come on, you're in the guild, that means you have to sing when I call you," she said in a sing-song voice as she crooked a finger at him and tossed her hair in a way that made his mouth go dry.
"You'd better not chicken out, you bastard! If I had to sing, so do you!" Gajeel shouted from the bar.
"Who are you calling chicken, bolts for brains?!" Natsu shouted back.
"Bawk-bawk-baaaawk!" Gray jeered, making flapping motions with his arms.
"Be a man, Natsu!" Elfman called across the room, grinning broadly at his rose haired friend.
"I'll show you a man!" the dragon slayer said, rising to the challenge as he shoved his way through the crowd and jumped up on stage. He grabbed the mic from Lucy and said "Okay, how does this thing work?"
"You've never done karaoke before?" Lucy asked with some surprise as she took off the ear piece and carefully clipped it onto Natsu's ear. Had the man not been so fired up over the challenge, he would have been utterly distracted by the gesture.
"No, but I'm gonna kick Gray and Gajeel's asses at it," he told her with one of his manic grins, delighting in the way she laughed in response and nodded.
"Well, Gray did a rap, and Gajeel...well, is Gajeel, so beating them shouldn't be hard. Do you have a song preference?" she asked. When he shook his head, she turned to the machine and scrolled through some songs before finally coming up with something she thought Natsu might be able to excel at.
Natsu peered over her shoulder and asked "So the words show up there, right?" as he pointed to the menu.
"Yep, it'll project them in the air so you can follow along easier. Plus, you'll be able to hear the original version through the ear piece," she explained as she tapped her own ear.
"Alright, let's do this!" he said enthusiastically, stripping off his jacket and tossing it aside while she pressed the start button and jumped down off the stage.
As the music started, Lucy looked around and realized she'd wound up sandwiched between Erza and Gray (who was still shirtless), with Juvia squeezed in on the ice mage's other side. Apparently all three wanted a good view of their friend's performance. Happy arrived to hover by her head a moment later, and they shared a grin.
"Choose something good for him?" Erza asked with a smile.
"Please tell me you picked something hilarious," Gray said.
"I picked something that I thought might suit his range," Lucy said with a smug smile.
"Du du du du-du du du
Du du du du du-du du du..."
From up on the stage, Natsu raised an eyebrow at her as he sang, clearly wondering what the hell she had signed him up for. Beside her, Gray burst out laughing and Erza just stared.
"What song is this?" the man beside her asked when he managed to get his laughter under control.
"Oh just give it a moment!" she said, mostly to Natsu, who rolled his eyes and kept at it. A moment later, though, his ears perked up as the song shifted gear.
"Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries-"
"There we are!" Lucy cheered, applauding Natsu's singing, and herself for the song choice. As she had guessed, the dragon slayer's rough, strong voice was perfect for the song. The longer it went on, and the louder the music got, the more into it her friend seemed to get. Natsu went from standing stiffly on stage to leaning over the mic in his hands to wring out a little extra breath on each verse.
"And just one mistake
Is all it will take.
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries
Hey, hey, hey..."
Taking everyone by surprise, Natsu took a deep breath between verses and crowed loud and clear "Remember me for centuries!"
The grin he flashed the shocked crowd was as wild as the emotion in his voice. As he reached the crescendo, he threw a hand out for emphasis, and then pulled it back in, muscles tensing and shifting beneath his sun-kissed skin, vest thrown wide open to expose the bandages on his chest.
Around them, the audience burst into wild applause while Erza, Lucy, and the others all stared up at their friend where he stood on stage.
"Holy shit," Gray said after a moment, having to shout over the noise of the crowd around them. There had been a sudden surge to the front of the room from those in the back, and they were now pressed quite tightly together.
"Since when is Natsu a rock star?" Erza asked, completely baffled, but impressed all the same.
"Happy, does Natsu have a secret musical career he's never told us about?" Lucy stammered out as she tried to pick her metaphorical jaw up off the floor.
"I...no?" the equally dumbfounded exceed replied.
"Mummified my teenage dreams
No, it's nothing wrong with me
The kids are all wrong,
The story's all off
Heavy metal broke my-"
The music cut hard, then, and Natsu shook his hips to the double beat of guitar and drum in a way that made Lucy blush "heart!"
As the entire room began to clap in time with the music, Lucy glanced around at her friends. Gray was still gaping, though he had started to join in with the clapping as well. Juvia was staring in a way that she normally reserved for the man at her side, and Erza was swaying in time with the music.
The red head caught her eye and grinned "Great pick, Lucy. It really suits him, huh?"
"Yeah," Lucy agreed absently as her eyes were inevitably drawn back to the man on stage. He seemed completely oblivious to the people around him as he launched into the next verse.
"Come on, come on and let me in
The bruises on your thighs like my fingerprints-"
The meaning of the words that escaped him without thought caught up with Natsu half a second later, and his eyes flashed open, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he unconsciously sought Lucy's gaze.
Heart pounding, and her face the same color as Erza's hair, Lucy stared up at her friend, wide-eyed as Natsu missed first one line, then another. Not wanting him to get distracted, whatever startling acrobatics her heart and stomach might be attempting at that moment, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted "Sing, Natsu! You're amazing!"
The man blinked down at her, and then grinned and threw himself back into the music"I never meant for you to fix yourself!"
She thought he was amazing? Her words made Natsu's heart leap as he looked down again, and saw Lucy beaming up at him, cheeks flushed as she danced along side Erza, moving in time with the music that pounded from the speakers behind him.
He'd show her amazing.
"And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name
'Cause I was only born inside my dreams
Until you die for me, as long as there is a light, my shadow's over you
'Cause I-"
Following the flow of the music, Natsu dropped his voice and practically purred into the mic "-I am the opposite of amnesia," drawing out the final vowel before picking up the beat again. Was it just him, or had Lucy shivered?
"And you're a cherry blossom
You're about to bloom
You look so pretty, but you're gone so soon"
Unable to resist, Lucy danced, the energy of the song and the crowd around her sweeping her up and carrying her away. It had been a long time, but before she'd joined Fairy Tail, she'd often gone dancing. It came back as easily as riding a bike, and she wasn't the only one doing it. He'd probably deny it vehemently later, but she saw Gray bobbing his head and swaying in time as his friend launched into the chorus once more on stage. Juvia moved much more freely at his side, revealing moves that were as smooth and powerful as her element could be.
Surprised by the other mage's skill, Lucy took the challenge when their eyes met and stepped up her game, throwing herself into the music much the way that Natsu had. The rose haired mage had broken out in a sweat as a result of the heat of the spotlights and his efforts singing. His skin glistened under the lights as his eyes slipped shut and his hand tightened around the microphone.
Normally Lucy would have been grossed out by the prospect of a sweaty Natsu, but somehow, looking up at him on stage, combined with the thunderous beat of the music, she found it indescribably sexy.
Surprised by the thought, Lucy shook herself sharply just as the music calmed and Natsu went very still, his eyes closed and head lowered as he sang:
"We've been here forever
And here's the frozen proof"
The drums kicked in again, and Natsu raised his head sharply as one hand reached for the heavens, fingers splayed and grasping while one leg bounced in time to the beat.
"I could scream forever
We are the poisoned youth"
Natsu's raised hand was tightened into a fist as he pulled it down again and tore into the final round through the chorus.
"Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries
And just one mistake
Is all it will take.
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries
Hey, hey, hey
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries..."
The music faded, and Natsu was left panting breathlessly on the stage, seeming surprised by the arrival of the song's end. The crowd of mages erupted into a deafening round of applause, making him grin and laugh self-consciously. He went to leave the stage when he caught sight of Lucy waving at him.
"You have to pick the next singer!" she shouted over the cacophony, hands clamped firmly over her ears in an attempt to block out the noise.
"Oh, right!" he said, pausing and looking around. Spotting a perfect victim, Natsu grinned evilly and brought the mic up once more to say "Let's go, Macao," as he pointed at his fellow fire mage. The older man blanched, but after some shouts of encouragement from Wakaba and the crowd, he made his way up to the stage and accepted the microphone from Natsu.
"I don't know how the hell you expect me to follow that, brat," the older mage said, shoving the dragon slayer jokingly, making the rose haired man grin shamelessly and salute him before grabbing his jacket and jumping off the stage to join his friends.
Lucy almost immediately grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him off towards a nearby table, their friends following along. Luckily, the original occupants were more than happy to vacate for them in the wake of Natsu's performance, so they were able to take a seat witout hassle.
The dragon slayer was glad of the chair as he lowered himself into it and tugged at his scarf to loosen it's stifling grip on his throat. The sensation of being hot was extremely odd for him. It wasn't as though he never sweat, obviously, so much as he normally had to be working very hard at a fight to even start. Finally he gave up and just stripped his scarf off all together and dropped it on the table, immediately feeling the better for it.
"Not gonna lie, man, that was pretty damn impressive," Gray said as he took the seat across the table from him, spinning the chair around and straddling it so he could rest his arms on it's back.
"Juvia had no idea that Natsu could sing!" the water mage agreed, a little starry-eyed as she settled in next to Gray, while Erza grabbed the seat to his left.
"Color me impressed," Erza agreed, an amused smile on her fair features "Lucy was asking if you had a musical career you've been keeping from us, and I can't help but wonder the same thing."
"What? As if," Natsu said with a startled laugh at the very thought as the blonde in question took the chair next to him, flushed with exertion and still grinning from her time dancing. Her normally pristine golden hair had come loose of her ponytail in a few places, leaving some of the finer hairs to curl delicately around her heart shaped face in a way that he found captivating. All the dancing and energy in the room had made the temperature jump several degrees, and he wasn't the only one who had broken a sweat during his song. As his blonde friend wiped absently at a stray bit of moisture along her hairline, Natsu was briefly diverted by thoughts of tongue baths and how wonderfully salty the girl smiling at him would probably taste right now...
Natsu turned his head sharply and coughed, dragging himself back from the brink of a very dangerous line of thought. Finding your best friend attractive, he realized, was incredibly distracting.
"You alright, Natsu?" Lucy asked worriedly, laying one hand on his forearm. He expected her to flinch back from his sweat dampened skin like she normally would, but was surprised when she didn't.
"Uh, yeah," he said, clearing his throat "Must just be all the singing," he added with an abashed grin.
"I'll go get some water!" Happy volunteered and flew off quickly towards the bar, where Mirajane was doing very brisk business.
"So, how often do you sing, Natsu?" Erza asked with a grin as she pushed a long strand of red hair back from her face.
"Pretty much never?" the rose haired mage admitted after a moment's thought, running one hand through his sweat dampened hair.
"Seriously? It sure didn't sound like it," Lucy said, blinking up at him with wide brown eyes.
"Lucy, you see me practically every day. When do you think I'm supposedly getting all this singing time in?" Natsu said with an incredulous laugh, with which she joined in, shaking her head.
"I don't know, I still think he secretly goes to karaoke clubs to practice just for times like this," Gray joked, and Juvia giggled.
Natsu snorted and quickly tried to turn the attention from him to his friend "What about you, Lucy? I didn't hear the beginning, but you were really good up there," he told her with a grin.
"Ah, thanks," she said, blushing prettily at the unexpected compliment "That song's an old favorite of mine, though I hadn't heard it in ages," she admitted as she fiddled absently with Natsu's scarf.
"I hope I get a chance to sing," Erza said, glancing hopefully around at the stage to where Macao was singing and old blues tune.
Lucy smiled at her red headed friend, recalling all too well her unexpected fondness for the stage. She couldn't help but wonder if the requip mage really liked singing at all, or if she just enjoyed being under the spotlight occasionally.
"Here you go, Natsu!" Happy said as he returned, fluttering carefully down onto the tabletop with a glass of water.
"Ah, you're a lifesaver, Happy!" the dragon slayer told his friend with a relieved smile as he picked up the glass and proceeded to drain it in one go.
In his eagerness, a little escaped the corner of his mouth, streaming down to his jaw, and then following the line of his throat until it was absorbed by the bandages that still bound his chest. Lucy watched it's progress, almost transfixed by the droplet as her fingers gripped her friend's scarf convulsively. Unconsciously, the woman opened her senses wide and took a deep breath.
The guild was rife with the scent of sweat and hormones, which was a curious thing to realize, considering that before now, she'd no idea what hormones smelled like. Some primitive part of her brain told her that that was the heavy, almost erotic scent she was picking up in the air, though. The music from the stage was suddenly far too loud, but Lucy would swear she could hear the heart of every person in the place beating in time with the melody that sang through her veins.
Despite feeling as though she were going to drown in the heavy pounding of the bass, and the aroma of animalistic need, perhaps the most distracting thing of all was the scent of the rose haired man beside her as he chatted obliviously with Erza. She couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying, but the smell of him filled her nose and drew her in closer to him.
Most prevalent was the salt of his sweat, a sharp, though pleasant contrast to the familiar hint of herbs that she had come to associate with Natsu. Just under that, though, was the slight tang of copper that she instinctively identified as blood, no doubt from his bandages. Her eyes half-lidded, Lucy had to fight hard against the urge to lean in and run her tongue up the column of his throat to get a taste of him. The primal part of her that came closer to waking with every moment she left her senses open told her that this would be a far more efficient way to establish how her friend was truly feeling in that moment. After all, he may be able to lie to her with words, but his physiology sure couldn't.
"Natsu," she hummed, voice low and husky so only he could hear.
Lucy's voice sent a thrill down the dragon slayer's spine when she said his name, practically right in his ear. Looking around at her in surprise, the thrill turned to a jolt when he caught sight of the expression on her face.
Her eyes were hooded and she was biting down on her full lower lip as she regarded him with an almost predatory gaze. His breath short as his heart leaped in his chest, Natsu felt transfixed by her eyes. Though normally a warm shade of brown, they now seemed almost amber, and for a moment the man wondered if it wasn't just the lighting. As he stared at her, she leaned in close and inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, as though picking apart his scent. Her breath against his collar bone was hot and made his skin tingle pleasantly, distracting him to the point he almost couldn't think straight.
When she growled quietly and leaned in yet closer, though, realization hit Natsu like a ton of bricks. Turning quickly to their friends, he said "Hey, I'm gonna take Lucy home, I don't think she's feeling well."
"What?" Erza asked in surprise as the dragon slayer pushed back his chair and got to his feet, then proceeded to coax Lucy into doing the same. Looking at the girl more closely, though, it quickly became apparent that she certainly seemed rather out of it.
"You need help?" Gray offered, making Juvia pout disapprovingly. Even the water mage looked concerned after a moment's further examination of the blonde, though.
"Nah, I got it," Natsu said, waving off their concern before turning to Happy as the cat started getting up reluctantly "You can stay, buddy, I've got this."
"You're sure?" the exceed asked, glancing at Lucy, clearly concerned by the strangely intense look she was fixing on Natsu. She seemed totally oblivious to everything else around her.
"Yeah, I'll see you back at our place," he said firmly as he grabbed his scarf, took Lucy by the arm, and lead her out the door.
The sun had just set, as evidenced by the lavender glow along the horizon as the stars started appearing in the sky above them. Natsu lead Lucy along the street towards her house for a block or two before stopping and taking her by the shoulders.
He gave her a gentle shake and said "Lucy? Come on back, Luce," snapping his fingers sharply in front of her face, frowning slightly "Take a deep breath," he instructed, though immediately regretted his wording when she leaned into his personal space and did so deeply again "No, not of me, dammit, the night air! Clear your head. That crowd got to you, didn't it?"
Lucy blinked up at him in confusion, but did as she was told all the same. A moment later, the dragon slayer watched as her eyes shifted from their strange amber hue, back to familiar brown.
"Natsu?" Lucy asked, sounding much more herself as she looked around in confusion "When did we get outside? What happened?"
Natsu heaved a sigh of relief and released his hold on Lucy's shoulders "You left yourself open in there, didn't you?" he asked as he draped his scarf across his shoulders without wrapping it, still feeling too warm to want to do so.
"What?" she asked, pushing some hair back from her face absently as she looked up at him in confusion.
"Your senses," Natsu clarified, going slowly as he realized she had probably never had such a problem before in her life "Hearing, smelling...you know, that stuff. You opened yourself up wide and didn't close back down again."
Lucy thought hard for a moment, trying to understand what he was saying "I...yeah, yeah I guess I did," she said slowly, deciding not to mention that she had been distracted by how nice he smelled again. That and all the hormones weighing down the air in there...that was just embarrassing "There was a lot going on."
Natsu nodded and started walking, and she fell into step with him "I'm sorry I didn't warn you," he said quietly as they moved past a few couples lingering in the long shadows of the surrounding buildings "You've got to be careful not to do that. It can be...overwhelming," he said after a moment's thought "It's a balancing act, keeping yourself open enough to know if trouble is coming, and opening yourself up so much that you become overwhelmed."
Unused to this strangely straight forward and candid Natsu, Lucy watched him curiously and asked "What happens if I get overwhelmed?"
Natsu wouldn't meet her eyes when he answered "It opens up a very primal part of your mind and lets it take over," he explained "Your brain kinda...switches gears from human to animal, you stop thinking and start reacting instead. It can be useful for survival situations, but..."
"Yeah, no, I get it. I don't want to come to and find out I bit somebody or something," Lucy said, grimacing at the thought.
The dragon slayer chuckled and nodded "Pretty much. You can snap out of it, but it can take awhile if you don't have external help."
Lucy nodded and was quiet for a minute before asking "Has it happened to you before?"
"Yeah, though not since before Igneel left," he said, eyes drifting up to the sky above them where the moon was starting to make it's ascent "I lost myself and disappeared off to live with a bunch of wolves for like...a week," Natsu admitted, grinning at the memory. He didn't recall much of his time with his temporary pack, but he did remember Igneel's lecture when he'd finally wandered back, filthy and naked as the day he was born.
His confession startled a giggle out of Lucy, and he smiled at her, relieved to see that she was doing the same at him.
"So...you're not freaked out?" he asked, feigning unconcern as they turned onto her street.
Lucy hopped up onto the curb that ran along the canal, as was her habit while she thought. After a moment's consideration, she said "No. You were there to snap me out of it," and smiled shyly at him before turning her attention back to her feet so she could watch her step "At least I didn't wind up running off with the wolves."
"True. Finding a wolf pack here in town would be pretty impressive though," he commented, drawing another laugh from his best friend, which made him grin.
A companionable silence settled over them as they walked down the quiet street, each simply enjoying the other's company without needing to fill the quiet with chatter.
When they reached her house, Lucy hopped down from the canal's edge and turned to him, asking "You want to stay again?"
Though he dearly wanted to say yes, Natsu forced himself to shake his head "Nah, I'd better head back to my place and make sure I haven't been robbed again," he said, only half joking. He told himself that that was most definitely not a disappointed look in his friend's eyes.
"I'll see you in the morning," he told her, taking a step away from her as he did. If he didn't leave soon, he knew he'd convince himself that it was okay to stay another night. He couldn't though, not yet. Not after the realization he'd come to today. He needed to actually think for a change, and there was no way he'd be able to do that if he wound up in the same bed as her tonight. Thinking would be the last thing he'd want to do.
"Alright," Lucy said, raising a hand in farewell. He returned the gesture and headed off down the street before she called after him "Hey wait, you have my keys, right?"
"They're safe with me," he said, smiling at her over his shoulder as he patted the leather case where it sat on his belt. It's weight on his hip was strange and unfamiliar, but he knew full well just how important to her they were.
Lucy smiled gratefully at him before impulsively adding "Your singing really was great tonight, Natsu!"
Though she couldn't see it, he grinned broadly to himself when he raised his hand in acknowledgment and disappeared into the dark.
When he was gone, Lucy let out a long breath before turning to let herself into her apartment.
Once inside, she kicked off her shoes and headed straight for the bathroom. Though she was back to normal after her strange deviation into a primitive mind set, her thoughts were still distractingly full of Natsu. A nice hot bath, that was what she needed...
As she sank into the hot water a few minutes later, though, the woman was quite disappointed. Despite all the steam rising from the surface, it barely registered as being above room temperature against her skin.
"What the hell?" she muttered with a frown as she turned to play with the faucet behind her. She turned the hot tap to full and stuck her hand under it, but it didn't feel any warmer.
For a moment, she nearly got out to go see if the water heater was broken, when the truth hit her.
"Aw man, you're kidding me!" she whined and sank more deeply into the water. It wasn't that the water wasn't hot, it was simply that she was hotter, thanks to her new magic "This sucks."
After a minute's sulking in her lukewarm bath water, Lucy finished up and got out. She dried off quickly and got into her pajamas. At least she wouldn't have to worry about getting cold while she slept at night. Although, if she was being honest, she'd rather be cold and have Natsu come warm her up than be able to warm herself...
Shaking the thought from her mind, Lucy grabbed a book off her shelf and flopped down onto her bed to read for a bit before sleeping. A good historical fiction would surely take her mind off of a certain rose haired mage.
She wasn't more than a chapter into her book, though, when a strange creaking from above reached her ears. Turning to look up at the ceiling, she shrieked in surprise when it suddenly caved in and someone dropped through, destroying her table in the process.
"What the fuck!" she yelped, ready to tear into the idiot that had wrecked her living room "What do you think you're-"
Lucy didn't get to finish her sentence, though, as she was interrupted by the intruder suddenly lunging at her with a wicked looking blade.
Author's Note: Yeah, so remember back at the end of chapter six (I'm actually finishing this the same day I published that, lol) and I said that there were certain scenes in my head that I knew I wanted to happen before I knew how to make them happen? Well, Natsu singing Fall Out Boy's 'Centuries' was one of those XD Honestly, I almost just made it a one shot of it's own, but finally decided against it. I'm simply not the type of writer that can make two characters get together without significant interaction in different environments first, and this absurd, but very fun scene went pretty well towards that goal, I think.
I know I'm far from the first person to write about the guild doing karaoke, but I do feel like it's pretty uncommon for Natsu to actually be good at it (from the ones I've read anyways, haha). Listening to 'Centuries', I felt it was just a perfect song for Natsu, so I couldn't resist. Lucy's song was 'Fidelity' by Regina Specktor.
I definitely took some liberties with the technology involved with the karaoke machine. Fairy Tail is super random with the kind of tech you find in that world, so I just said screw it and made a magical karaoke machine. I mean, we're talking about a world where there's a clock/giant mechanical fish that can warp humanity's perception of time itself...I'm pretty sure they could manage karaoke.
Sorry for this way long AN, haha. Please leave a review if you enjoyed! They keep my muse flowing and the chapters updating!