Let me start by saying, it's not what it sounds like. :P This is dedicated to Msmanga14! I hope you like it!

Summary: Fairy Tail was known for its teamwork. So, why was Lucy surprised when Natsu asked if she wanted to work together to tie a cherry stem with their tongues?

Rated: T, for foul language and adult situations.

Pairing: Natsu/Lucy

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word Count: 2.4K

Tying the knot

"Okay Natsu, truth or dare."

The dragon slayer tapped at his chin as if he was thinking, but judging by the glint in his eye, Lucy knew he wasn't going to pick truth.

"Dare!"

Lucy looked around her apartment, wondering what she could make him do. Her eyes landed on her fridge, remembering there was something she always wanted to try. 'Maybe I should have him try first? See how hard it is...'

Getting up, Lucy made her way over to her fridge to remove a jar of cherries. She brought it over, smiling as she set it on the ground. "I want you to tie a cherry stem with your tongue."

Natsu snorted, clearly underestimating the challenge. "Piece of cake!" He opened the jar, taking out a single cherry. Lucy watched as he popped it into his mouth, pulling out the stem as he chewed on the small fruit. After he swallowed, he put the stem back in her mouth.

Lucy didn't bother holding back her giggles as Natsu grew more and more frustrated with the stem, his lips twisting as he moved it in his mouth, trying to maneuver it with his tongue.

She fell backwards in a fit of laughter when she saw fire coming from his mouth, the stem disintegrating in the flame. Natsu let out a roar as he picked out another cherry, trying again.

By the time Natsu went through five more cherries, Lucy was crying from laughing, her stomach cramping in the process. She couldn't help it. Natsu looked too cute trying to tie that knot.

"H-here," she giggled, taking a cherry for herself. "I'll try."

"It's impossible," Natsu muttered, tempted to knock the whole jar over in his aggravation. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that Lucy would kick him if he messed up her floor... again.

Natsu turned his glare to Lucy, watching as her mouth moved, her lips pressed tightly together. His cold stare slowly faded, replaced with a lazy grin as he watched her struggle. Somehow, knowing Lucy couldn't get it either made him feel a little better, even if that thought made him feel guilty at the same time. What could he say? Sometimes he could be a sore loser.

"You're right, this is impossible."

She pulled the stem from her mouth, seeing the bends along the red line. She was about to get up and throw the stem away when she froze, unsure if she heard Natsu correctly. "What did you just say?" she asked, shooting him an incredulous look.

Natsu raised a brow, as if he was wondering why she was looking at him like that. "I said, maybe we should try to work together to tie it. Isn't teamwork our best strength?"

Lucy's stomach felt as if she had butterflies swarming inside her. She had to press a hand to her belly to make sure she couldn't feel a flutter. "Do you realize what you just asked?" She didn't think Natsu was as dense as people kept claiming him to be, but that last question had her wondering if he meant to say what he did.

Natsu cocked his head, brows pinching together in concentration. "I asked if-" And then Lucy saw the recognition in his eyes.

He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Wow! Guess that did come out wrong. Can you imagine?"

Lucy frowned, eyes falling to the ground. Yeah, she could imagine. She had been doing a lot recently, ever since she started feeling more than 'just friends' with Natsu. It started one day after he helped her organize her bookshelf. It was such a mundane activity, but laughing beside him as they made fun of story titles made her realize how comfortable she was with him.

She thought it would end there, but it didn't. Those types of thoughts didn't stop. She began really thinking about their friendship and the trust between them. It all happened so fast after that, until finally she realized that maybe what she wanted wasn't just friendship with him.

She wanted more.

But, clearly he didn't, judging from his reaction. He continued laughing as he grabbed another cherry to eat. He was having fun until Lucy spoke again.

"Sure. Let's try teamwork."

Natsu jolted, the cherry getting stuck in his throat. He had to cough before it finally went down, a few beads of tears in his eyes as she struggled to breathe. "Damn. That was a close one." He looked at Lucy, body freezing when he remembered what she said. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Why not?" Lucy shrugged. "You said so yourself. Teamwork is our greatest strength." She knew she was manipulating his words to get what she wanted, but she couldn't help it. She really wanted to kiss him, even if it wasn't real. Of course she would never force him to do it. If he said no, she wouldn't press the issue. Respect was a two way street.

Natsu seemed to think long and hard on her offer, his eyes narrowing just a bit as he chewed on his bottom lip. Lucy was just about to tell him never mind when he sat up straight. "Good idea. I'm sure with both of us working on it, we can tie this damn stem!"

Lucy blinked in surprise, shocked her plan worked. She thought he was going to call her weird and keep laughing, but that didn't happen. "Come here," he said, voice as calm as ever.

Her legs felt a little heavier than normal as she scooted in front of him, the jar of cherries by their side. She watched as Natsu plucked out a fresh cherry, eating the fruit before holding up the stem. "Okay, I'm gonna try to twist it into an 'o', you try to push one of the ends through. Then we'll grab both ends with our teeth and pull."

Lucy's throat went dry, seeing he was dead serious. "O-okay."

Natsu popped the stem into his mouth, leaning in with his lips parted. She watched as his tongue moved in his mouth, his lips closing and his eyes narrowing as he tried to make it into an 'o'. A growl rumbled in his chest when he couldn't get it, a hand coming up to beckon her closer.

"I can't do it. Maybe you can," he started, leaning in the rest of the way to press his lips against hers.

Lucy flinched, her chest tightening as he moved his lips against hers, his brows furrowing a moment later. He pulled back, giving her a questioning gaze. "You gotta open your mouth. This isn't gonna work with just me doing it by myself."

She swallowed hard, realizing she was in over her head when she suggested they really give it a try. Giving a shaky nod, Lucy parted her lips, watching as Natsu leaned in to press a kiss against her again. Though, it wasn't a real kiss. She had to remind herself of that.

Lucy nearly jolted when she felt Natsu's tongue invading her mouth, pushing the cherry stem to her. She thought he might pull away as she tried to tie it, but he stayed put, lips covering hers.

She tried tying it, but it was harder with her mouth open. She didn't have anything to push the stem against while her tongue worked on it. Natsu's tongue entered her mouth again, gently pushing at one of the ends.

Lucy had a hard time not thinking about the heat from Natsu's mouth, or the fact that he tasted like cinnamon. She knew it was only because he was eating spicy candy before they started playing truth or dare, but she couldn't help but imagine that was how he tasted all the time.

Lucy's breathing turned heavy as their tongues moved, the stem not bending to their will. She had to gulp back the excess saliva building in her mouth a few times, her heartbeat racing when she felt some of his trickle on the corner of her lips.

Brown eyes met his, a determination in his green orbs as he twisted his tongue, accidentally tickling the roof of her mouth in the process. Lucy thought this was getting a little out of hand. At the rate he was going, she was surely going to-

"Mmmm," she moaned, eyes widening when she realized what she just did. There was no way she was going to be able to play that off. He was going to-

Her thoughts died when Natsu closed his eyes, pushing his tongue much further into her mouth than it had been before. He ignored the stem, tongue swiping at every inch of her mouth.

A soft groan left his mouth when he felt her massaging her tongue against his, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders. Lucy closed her own eyes, not sure if he was really doing what she thought he was doing, but loving it either way.

Natsu pulled away abruptly, stem caught between his teeth before spitting it out. Lucy thought that was it, he was giving up, but her mind stopped working when he leaned in to kiss her again, tongue thrusting roughly into her mouth.

She whimpered when his hands massaged at her sides, rough fingers pushing her shirt up a few inches so he could feel her soft skin. It took Lucy a moment to get control of herself, her head jerking away from his when she could finally think clearly. "W-wait!"

Natsu's face was flushed and his breathing was harsh, chest rising and falling quickly. "What? Did I do it wrong?"

"Wh-what are you trying to do?" Lucy asked, voice sounding airy. She took in a deep breath, her heart pounding faster when he kneaded her flesh with his hands.

"Kiss you. I thought it was obvious."

She frowned, brows furrowing and mouth parting. "You actually wanted to kiss me?"

He nodded. "Why else would I suggest working together? I thought..." His hands loosened around her waist until he let her go. "I thought you wanted it too..."

"I do," she quickly said, feeling a blush rushing to her face. "I just didn't think you... well, I thought you didn't see me like that."

Natsu snorted, shaking his head. "Are you kidding me? I've been trying to make up reasons to kiss you all month! Haven't you noticed?"

Lucy stilled, mind racing as she thought about what happened in the last month. There was an incident where Natsu started choking. Erza said someone had to give him mouth-to-mouth, but he miraculously recovered after Gray volunteered to save him. There was one time when he asked if he could taste her lip gloss, but instead of letting him taste it off her lips, she said no, thinking he was going to eat her make up. Once he accidentally fell on her and pressed his mouth to her forehead, but she was starting to realize that wasn't an accident. None of it was an accident.

"You're so..." Lucy couldn't find the right word. Idiotic? Crazy? Eccentric? Any of those would do. "... silly," she finished, deciding that fit his personality best. "You could have just told me you liked me." Lucy paled, heart falling in her chest as she asked, "Wait... You do... like me... don't you?"

Natsu nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want to kiss someone I didn't like."

Lucy sighed in relief, thankful Natsu didn't think of this as some type of hookup. She couldn't stand being a friends with benefit with him. She liked him too much and that would cause her too much pain.

"Good."

"Do you like me?" Natsu asked, green eyes remaining unblinking.

Her voice caught in her throat at his intense stare, so instead of answering with words, she nodded.

Natsu grinned, his eyes softening as he leaned in. "I'm glad. I thought you wouldn't want anything more than friendship."

She shook her head, coughing to clear her throat. "That's what I was worried about too. I didn't think you'd like me like that."

Once again, he snorted. "What's not to like? You're nice, funny, pretty, and weird."

"Hey!"

"You're the whole package!" Natsu said, ignoring her protests.

Lucy puffed out her cheeks, causing Natsu to grin. "And, you look really cute when your mad."

She shot him a glare, hands crossing over her chest. "You're just saying that."

He didn't bother hiding his chuckle. "I'm really not."

Lucy loosened the grip on her body, hands falling to her sides. She wasn't really angry, just slightly annoyed. Here they were having a moment, then Natsu had to call her weird.

Then again, his behavior was one of the things that attracted her to him in the first place. She had met plenty of guys who were 'smooth', but she didn't want that.

She wanted Natsu.

With a smile twitching on her lips, Lucy scooted closer to him, their knees brushing against each other. "You really think I'm pretty?"

The red tint on Natsu's face slowly crawled to his ears. He nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped. "Y-yeah," he mumbled, chin and mouth dipping into his scarf.

Her smile grew as she leaned closer, bracing her hands on his thighs. "I think you're handsome," she admitted, feeling her face grow hotter. She couldn't believe she was admitting that, but she figured it was the right thing to do seeing as he was confessing things to her.

"Since when?" he asked, then shook his head. "Fuck it, I don't care right now." He cupped the back of her head, pulling her in for a searing kiss. Lucy followed his lead, eyes shutting and body relaxing against his. She could always tell him the first time she thought he was handsome was after Mira suggested Natsu might have a crush on her. That was so long ago and barely mattered.

This, what they were doing right now, that was all she cared about. She straddled his hips, trying to get closer to him as their tongues took turns invading each others mouths, trying to dominate the other one.

Natsu's fingers dipped a few inches into the back of her shorts, brow raising when he didn't feel something that should have been there.

He pulled back with a smirk, his green eyes holding a teasing glint. "Are you going commando?"

Lucy let out a squeak. He opened his mouth again, but she quickly cut him off before he could say anything else by kissing him again. There was no way she was answering that question.

It wasn't her fault he decided to visit her on laundry day and she had nothing to wear down there. Lucy was determined to not answer that question, even if she had to kiss him for the rest of the day.

She couldn't see any flaws in that plan.

Let me know what you thought! I had fun writing this. :)

Oh, just thought I would add, I've only successfully tied a cherry stem in a knot once in my entire life haha. Have you ever done it before?