Stripshow

Nalu flash fic teaser, prompt Silence

The heat index rose slowly in the small apartment and none of it had to do with his magic. Sure, felt like the height of summer, except it was the dead of winter. No, maybe more like a sauna being fueled by the hottest volcano. Natsu gulps hard. Scratch that, make it the surface of the sun. He stares forward with the intensity of a predator stalking its prey, and yet the beads of sweat slowly dripping down his forehead give away his appreciation. With his brows furrowed and lips pursed, he dares to lean forward, resting his arms on the tabletop.

For her part, Lucy was determined not to budge an inch. Seconds tick by, turned minutes, with tensions growing like a weighted surge of water threatening to pull you under its tow. She leans forward as the slayer does, resting her arms and propping her head up with hand, eyes lowered, grinning over the stalemate.

Even Happy looks on from a safe distance across the room, eyes flitting back and forth between his two friends. An eerie sense of dead air rests between them, and he had no idea how this was going to end. He wanted to side with his buddy Natsu but feared suffering the wrath of Lucy. He was almost ready to brave the blustery swirls of white outside to get away from this mounting situation.

You could have heard a butterfly's wing beat the room was so quiet.

Natsu looks down at the table, but keeps his head leveled with Lucy's, and ears sharp for any sudden change. This wasn't good, not good at all. He swallows through a parched throat, and licks his cracked, drying lips in a desperate attempt to bring them relief. It pulls Lucy's attention to his actions, but only for a brief moment before she's focused on him again. He was done for, as she knew it.

"Make your move," she snickers quietly, breaking the silence, like a deafening gale of a winters storm. This game meant to be a fun distraction during a blizzard's snow-in, turned into a death match thanks to his competitiveness.

It was all his fault for putting himself in this situation, and Natsu hated admitting defeat, but it was the obvious conclusion at this point. Slowly he moves his game piece, hesitating, before finally setting it down.

Lucy grins and makes her move. "I win, now off with it," she points at the last remaining piece of clothing on his body…