A/N: Hello lovelies! Here's to the release of another chapter! Hope that it serves you well in the nalu department. Beware of Cana's potty mouth and sexual indications up ahead, otherwise, enjoy!
Charmed
o-o-o
Chapter 2: Breathable Chemistry
o-o-o
Night stretched across the Magnolian sky before Lucy had even realized, blanketing the azure space with the distinct sparkle of the salt and pepper stars that glistened against its obsidian-colored canvas. By that time, all of the stars had been wished upon by all the children who looked to the sky to make their dreams come true, all had long gone to bed in an attempt to reset their bodies for the new day.
Everyone, except Lucy that is.
The guild had been a melting pot of excitement that morning, ceasing to settle down to its usual volume. Instead of its usual good spirits, it had surely attested to rambunctious spirits. Pens, names, and challenges flew in the air around everybody's heads as they chanted the amount of hours left until their little game would truly begin.
Master told them that they would have all day the next day to plan out their strategies before starting the game the day after, leaving time to form the teams from the members who'd already signed up to play. This satisfied Lucy greatly, giving her time to head back to her apartment and finally shower off her restless night of berry picking. Though before she'd left, she'd been served an amazing plate of Mira's fluffy golden pancakes that she'd gobbled down almost instantly, not realizing how hungry she truly was.
She also hadn't realized that they'd been topped with a certain type of glistening red berries, and to her dismay and utmost relief, they were absolutely delicious. Her mouth still watered just thinking about them…
Fast forward hours later, Lucy found herself sitting at her faithful wooden desk, her damp hair flowing down her back like a waterfall. The few stray pieces and baby hairs that had dried quickly were now falling into her eyes, and she found herself brushing them away every minute, which turned out to be quite annoying. Reaching for a hair-tie, Lucy went to grab her long hair behind her back, starting to tie it back, only until she realized that with her hair still damp, the tie would most likely create an awkward crease in the golden locks, which would be a complete hindrance to her naturally straight hair. The things she did for beauty..
Frowning and throwing the hair-tie aside, Lucy twisted her hair into a small bun at the nape of her neck, guaranteeing her at least 5 minutes of a hair-free face.
Perfect, that would be all she needed.
Stifling back what would be her twentieth yawn of the evening, Lucy lightly slapped her cheeks to perk herself up, though a cup of coffee would have been a much better—and a less painful—choice. But, seeing as her lack of caffeine symptoms were beginning to act up, she had to act fast before she fell asleep.
It had been over two weeks wince she'd last worked on her novel, and she swore on her mother's grave that she would at least get some of the writing done that night, whether it be just a single sentence or two, or even just one word. She'd slacked off long enough, and it was more than time to give her unfinished novel some love.
Pen poised and ready, she took a deep breath and dove right into her work, letting the words flow from her brain and into her pen.
The spacious skies were painted with the pinks and oranges of sunset, wiping away the azure blue sky with a fire that consumed the land and her heart to its very core, swallowing up her senses as she ran across the field, the grass sweeping against her bare feet. Her huffed breaths evaporated into the air with small puffs, the aura of autumn drenching the air and removing the remnants of summer. Her lungs ached with every lunge and step she took, but in the end, it would all be worth the pain. She saw him standing in the distance with his back turned to her, ignorant of her existence until she called out his name with a dying and desperate breath. Her eyes overflowed with salty tears when he turned to her, and his face was that of a man trapped in the depths of love. Without another moment's hesitation, she ran straight into his arms, weeping with joy as he held her silently. Then, without another second's delay, he gently cupped her chin and slowly brought his lips down to hers-
"Hey Lucy!"
A startled shriek escaped from Lucy's glossed lips as she felt a pair of hands grab her waist, causing her hands to jerk outwards and to ultimately draw an accidental black line of ink over her text, destroying part of her 'manuscript'. Out of pure instinct, she felt her arm begin to move along with her body, twisting out of her attacker's hold and turning to face him, pen poised, ready to defend herself. It wasn't until she felt a hand grab her wrist and hold onto it tightly like a vice that her parasympathetic nervous system began to calm her heart rate and slow her breathing. But it did nothing to stop the pit that sank into her belly when her assailant frowned at her.
"You're attacking me with a pen? What're ya gonna do, give me ink poisoning?"
Recovering her breath shakily, her eyes hardened as Lucy slowly lowered her hand down to her side, her fingers loosening their grip on her pen. "If matters see fit, then yeah." Shaking her head slowly and placing her pen back onto her papers, she turned to her invader, and without warning, slapped his arm.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, wincing and hastily rubbing the spot wherein she'd made contact. "What's your problem?!"
"My problem, Natsu, is that I've told you over a thousand times that you can't just break into my apartment!" Lucy exclaimed, frowning down at the black line that inevitably blurred her words on the paper together, the wet ink blurring away the product of her brain. Well, there goes her writing for the night.
Natsu frowned deeply at her. "Why're you bein' so angry? It's not like I walked in your bathroom while you were taking a bath or something like that."
Lucy opened her mouth to retort the dragon slayer, but as her tongue betrayed her by giving her nothing to say, she ducked her head in reluctant defeat, her lips taut. Though on most occasions whenever her partner would arrive at her apartment, she'd either be half naked or fully naked, her only saving grave being the thick steam of her bathroom as she'd struggle between wanting to cover up her body or hitting him senseless. One time, Natsu had actually managed to fall into the bathtub with her, his face landing mere inches away from an area that no man had ever laid his hands upon, let alone his face. Needless to say, he'd ended up with a bloody nose that lasted more than a couple of hours.
Lucy closed her eyes in annoyance, grabbing her papers off of her desk and leaning down to pick up a brown cardboard box that sat on the ground next to her desk. She took the lid off hastily and placed her ruined work inside it, on top of another stack of papers that had scribbles of her handwriting. It was where she kept everything that she'd ever written: letters, stories, mock love letters, et cetera. Her so called novel in progress would be no exception from the box.
As soon as she placed the lid back onto the box, she froze. Her eyes narrowed immediately as she felt the air around her heat up, her back bathed in a warming aura that could only lead Lucy to one solution.
"If you so much as read a single sentence on this paper, I'll cut your tongue off." she said, her eyes narrowing in distaste.
She nodded in satisfaction when the heat suddenly cooled down, meaning that a certain pair of eyes were no longer looking over her shoulder trying to sneak a peek at her unfinished work. To affirm this statement, Lucy turned around to face Natsu, walking right up to him and poking his chin with her pointer finger.
"My tongue?" Natsu asked, his chin moving up and down under Lucy's finger as he spoke. "Isn't that being a little harsh?"
"Hmm…nah." Lucy said, taking her finger off of the dragon slayer's chin, crossing her arms across her chest. "I could do much worse."
Natsu's mouth curled upwards in a cocky grin, his canines peeking out behind his lips ever so slightly. "Then give me your best shot, Luce. Oh, and I didn't know that it was possible to set the sky on fire! I'll have to try it some time."
Lucy frowned, confusion setting into her features. "What are you-You read my story didn't you?!" she suddenly exclaimed, lunging for the box that held her writing and picking up the ink damaged manuscript, her eyes frantically scanning the page until she found the line that made her groan aloud, wiping away the azure blue sky with a fire apparently held a new meaning for Natsu.
Clutching the paper in her hands, Lucy turned around slowly, steam escaping from her ears, only to find Natsu lying down on her couch comfortably. His arms were crossed behind his head, eyes closed in content.
"You shouldn't have done that." Lucy said dryly, putting the paper back into the box and placing the lid back on for the final time that night, putting it back down onto the ground next to her desk. Honestly, the nerve of that boy.
"It's not my fault that you're so dense. If you weren't, you would have noticed me." Natsu stated plainly.
Lucy huffed, her cheeks puffing out as she remained crouched on the ground. "I am not dense!"
"Oh, really?" Natsu's voice rang out condescendingly as Lucy slowly rose to her feet. "Then have you noticed what you're wearing?"
Blinking slowly, Lucy took in the dragon slayer's words. What she was wearing? Lucy cautiously looked down at her chosen apparel, biting down on her lower lip in anticipation, wondering if there had been any tears or rips that exposed a certain area of skin that she wouldn't want to show, though after a few minutes of inspection, she found nothing out of the ordinary.
After her shower, Lucy had decided that she would stay in her apartment for the rest of the night, being too tired to function normally. Staying in meant that she hadn't actually gotten fully dressed, per say, but it did mean that she could have a night in dressed comfortably. She'd searched her dresser for the comfiest piece of apparel she could find, and ended up drawing an oversized cotton gray t-shirt, one that she hadn't even known she owned. For bottoms, she'd only grabbed a pair of boy shorts that ended just above the middle of her thighs. Then were thin, stretchy, and her absolute favorite pair to wear. And besides, it wasn't like she'd wear them in public, she was just in her apartment, a risk free environment…well… almost. Other than that, her resting at home attire seemed pretty normal to her.
Lucy looked at Natsu with her eyebrows raised, shooting him a questioning look.
"That's my shirt." Natsu answered plainly.
Lucy blinked and looked down again at the shirt she wore, grabbing the edge with her fingers and crumpling up the fabric softly, frowning. "What do you mean this is your shirt?" she questioned. "How do you know?"
"Because it's way too big on ya, and it smells like me." Natsu answered her, nodding his head in agreement with his own words.
Lucy let go of the fabric, letting it fall back down to her thighs in a flourish. Maybe he was telling the truth…after all she'd never really seen this shirt too often, and the size looked like it would fit Natsu. To test the theory further, she gripped the shirt around her neck and brought her nose down to it, and inhaled. Sure enough, it was there; Natsu's scent.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Lucy sighed. "I don't have the tolerance tonight. I just want to dry my hair and go to bed." She turned towards the direction of her bathroom to get her blow drier, but stopped when Natsu spoke.
"I'll dry it for you."
Frowning, Lucy turned towards the dragon slayer, who now had jumped off of her couch, looking at her with a purpose, his eyes lingering on her golden hair. In response, she clutched onto her locks, shying away from Natsu with an un-trustful scowl on her face. "And risk my hair getting burned to a crisp? No thanks."
"Aw come on Luce! It'll be fun!' Natsu happily exclaimed, walking closer to her, sending Lucy's anxiety level through the roof.
"F-Fun?!" she squeaked, backing away a few more inches. "You call burning off your partner's hair fun?!" The wall was to her back now, and she pressed herself into it, hoping that she'd become intangible and sink into the depths of the concrete.
"Aww, please?" Natsu pouted, his eyes darting from her hair to her startled eyes. "You're no fun Luce. Don't you trust me?"
Lucy felt a small twinge of remorse enter her stomach, the word trust vibrating through her ears. Sighing, Lucy shook her head. "Of course I trust you, more than anyone, you're my partner. I'd trust you with my life." When she saw his face immediately light up, she quickly extinguished his hopes. "Just not with my hair!' she added quickly.
Natsu frowned, his lips taut. "What is it with girls and their hair? Does it hold a bunch of secrets or something?"
Lucy giggled softly, leaving her position on the wall and walking past Natsu, heading towards her couch to fix a few stray pillows that had been knocked out of their places thanks to the pink-haired mage standing only a few feet away from her. "Those secrets are called conditioner and argon oil."
"Argane oil?" Natsu asked dumbly as Lucy gently fluffed out a pink pillow. "But isn't that what people cook with?"
"It's argon oil." Lucy said shaking her head. "You're thinking of olive oil, and you can use that for your hair too."
When the pillows were placed with her upmost satisfaction, Lucy turned towards Natsu, who was staring at her like she had two heads, his pink brows furrowed in confusion. It was then that Lucy realized that she had probably been speaking a completely different language to the dragon slayer. She could only imagine what he would say to her next, probably something along the lines of "Why would you put stuff you eat in your hair?" Then again, Natsu wouldn't be alone. Gray would've probably thought the sane thing. And Gajeel. And the rest of the male members.
Shaking herself back into focus, she treaded back over to Natsu.
"So, does this mean I can dry your hair?" Natsu asked her, his eyes glittering like a child's.
Lucy shot him a taunting glare. "For the last time, no." she said, poking his chest softly. "Now, get out. I'm going to bed."
As she began to lightly shove him towards the door, she felt Natsu's chest begin to shake lightly. Stopping her movements, her eyes shot up to his, and to her astonishment, they were full of the natural glitter of joy. A large grin spread openly on his face, his canines poking out ever so slightly. His laughter was soft at first, but then it rose to a deafening crescendo. He threw his head back to fully immerse himself in his amusement, whatever it may be.
Lucy blinked in confusion, a frown spreading onto her lips, her eyebrows knitting together. "What?" she asked dryly, only to receive more laughter from Natsu, working her up even further than before. "What's so funny?"
The laughter continued on, sending Lucy further and further into a state of annoyance. Puffing out her flushed cheeks, she threw her hands out in front of her and pushed onto Natsu's vibrating chest, knocking the laughing idiot back a few feet.
"Natsu Dragneel, if you don't stop laughing right now-" she began to threaten, until a tanned hand shot out and cupped her mouth, stopping her speech as she glared up at him with darkened eyes.
The dragon slayer's laughter died down a few seconds later, his eyes boring into Lucy's with a mischievous sheen. She watched as his eyes stared pointedly at the left side of her head, and Lucy had suddenly grown a strange suspicion that he was up to something, something that would without a doubt send her to bed with a migraine.
"You really are dense Luce." Natsu said mockingly, taking his hand away from her lips, setting her mouth free.
Lucy narrowed her eyes at her partner, words forming on her lips that she yearned to release in a flourish, only when her lips opened, she never got a chance to speak.
"If you weren't dense, you would've noticed already." he stated as-a-matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and nodding his head in approval.
"Noticed what?" Lucy asked him, suspicion drenching her voice.
Natsu then brought his hand up towards his head and suddenly began to muss up his hair, a smile spreading onto his lips. "Your hair!" he exclaimed.
It took a few seconds for Lucy to process what the dragon slayer was getting at, mulling over his words for a few seconds before her eyes widened. Her hands frantically flew up towards her head, her fingers clinging onto either side of her golden-blonde locks.
What did he mean? What had happened to her hair? What could Natsu have possibly been talking about? Did he smell some stray chemical in her shampoo that would make her go bald? Had she gotten ink on it from earlier? Oh Mavis, she hoped that wasn't the case.
"What did you-" she exclaimed, only to cut herself off when her hands travelled further downwards, her left hand stopping as soon as she felt a change in texture. Blinking slowly, Lucy continued to trace her hair all the way down to the tips, her heartbeat slowing down when she realized that her hair was perfectly fine.
Perfectly fine…and dry.
As if she didn't believe what she'd felt, Lucy ran her fingers along her hair once more, and for the second time, she felt the unmistakable sensation of dried hair running through her fingers, silky and smooth to the touch and completely devoid of any moisture. It was as if the air had sucked up the remnants of her shower, leaving half of her head completely dry and silky smooth.
As if the answer to her question weren't obvious enough, Lucy's eyes darted immediately towards Natsu's and his grin gave him away completely.
"How did you-" Lucy began, until realization hit her like a ton of bricks, thinking back to only a few minutes ago, when she'd blatantly walked right past the dragon slayer, giving him ample opportunity to…
Rubbing her dry hair between her fingers, her scowl darkened as Natsu's grin widened.
"I hate you." she miffed, turning her head to the right to break eye contact with him. As much as Lucy was annoyed, she silently scolded herself for not realizing that he'd actually grabbed her hair, shouldn't she have noticed it in the first place? Maybe she really was dense…
"Nah, you love me." Natsu replied, laughing softly. "And look, you're hair isn't burnt off. Told ya!"
Lucy shook her head at Natsu's speech, refusing to give him any indication that for once, he was right. Her hair, if anything, was the opposite of burned, dried to a silky sheen that flowed down her shoulders like a golden waterfall. Surprisingly, Lucy had never been able to make her hair so soft, not even after experimenting with conditioners and hair serums. Who knew that, all along, the secret to her desirable hair would be Natsu? Certainly not her.
"Maybe not, but-" Lucy began, turning to face Natsu one more time, only to find that he had moved across her living room and stopped right in front of her, making her halt her speech as his tanned hand suddenly shot out and gently grabbed the other portion of her hair that had yet to be dried. Lucy looked up to continue what she had intended to say, but was once again left wordless.
He was doing it again, giving her that strange look that sent her insides into a nervous frenzy, the butterflies taking flight for the second time that day. Against her will, Lucy found her hand making its way towards her abdomen, settling above the flowing fabric of her borrowed shirt, her fingers digging into the gray.
Their eyes were connected, as if by a magnetic force, clover on chocolate. As Lucy studied his eyes closely, she realized that there was something different about them, that something had been out of place, not normal. No, he wasn't possessed or bloodshot, but even so, something made Lucy want to look deeper into those enchanting irises of his, wanting to uncover what it was that made her heart beat unsteadily, wanted to know why it was only now that she'd noticed a strangeness to Natsu's eyes. And it made her curious, very much so.
She felt a heated flush blossom on the back of her neck when she felt his hand brush her skin as he brought it forward, a fist full of golden hair clutched in his tanned hand. She'd realized that the second his hand passed over a few strands of hair, they would be instantly dried to a silky smooth finish, leaving Lucy astonished due to the fact that she was actually letting this happen, not to mention that not a single hint of steam rose from her hair.
He hadn't broken eye contact with her as he did so, his eyes lingering over hers as he finally reached the tips of her hair.
"See?" he said softly. "No burned hair."
They stood in silence for a few minutes, Lucy's mind slowing to a lazy stream of euphoria, not enough to get her excited, but just lively enough so that she knew something was indeed happening to her body. Warmed chills faintly buzzed all throughout her veins when Natsu slowly released her hair, leaving Lucy barely touched and barely coherent.
"Th-Thanks.." she said awkwardly, the pink lanterns in her cheeks igniting their fire once more.
She heard an audible gulp from the boy in front of her. "Sure."
When the second round of silence dragged upon them, Lucy was the first to break it apart.
"Ne, Natsu?" she asked, shyly turning her head to the right.
"…Yeah?" he finally answered, his voice a bit unsteady, which surprised Lucy greatly.
"Why…why were you looking at me like that?" she asked softly, her stomach dropping down a couple of levels before finally sinking down into the depths of her feet. As she waited for his response, she felt the anticipation eating her alive. What would he say? What could he say? All that she knew was that she had to find out why he gave her butterflies all of a sudden, and why he continued to.
His response was nothing short of typical Natsu.
She felt an insistent tugging on the lower half of her shirt, and her eyes flew upwards to meet his once again, only this time, that mysterious shimmer had vanished. Instead, his lips spread into a mischievous grin.
"Gimme my shirt back."
Lucy felt an embarrassed flush spread upon her face like wildfire as she felt her shirt being lifted up, exposing her midriff against her liking. Eyes enlarging to the size of volleyballs, her hands flew downwards and clamped down onto Natsu's, stopping the pervert in his tracks.
"What in the hell are you doing?!" Lucy exclaimed, her face red.
"Like I said, I want my shirt back!" Natsu exclaimed, tugging at her shirt. "Give it back, Luce!" he almost whined.
Pushing down harder on his insistent hands, Lucy's eyes narrowed. "I'll gladly give it to you when I'm not wearing it!" she exclaimed. "Now, let go!"
"I've seen you without a-"
"That doesn't matter!"
"Well, why not?"
"Any person would know why not!"
The two of them bantered back and forth, Lucy's grip on her shirt iron tight. The two of them each fought for dominance as they tugged on the fabric, Natsu pulling upwards while Lucy pushed downwards.
"Natsu!" Lucy seethed in between her teeth. "Let go-GAH!"
The two conflicting pressures were suddenly too much to handle at once, causing Lucy's hands to slip as she pushed down onto Natsu's. The small slip had caused Lucy's upper body to go down with her hands, and she felt her head slam into Natsu's chest, which was apparently enough force to send Natsu down with her. He'd grunted as soon as he felt himself begin to fall, and Lucy let out a squeak of surprise as she felt gravity take her wholly, squeezing her eyes shut for the anticipation of the floor smacking her in the face.
A few seconds passed before Lucy decided to be brave and open her eyes. Eyelashes fluttering, she realized that she had never managed to reach the floor, but instead was met with a warm chest.
When she raised her head, their eyes met for the second time that evening. And just as they had done before, they hadn't broken eye contact.
Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue was paralyzed, unable to form coherent words as she realized the situation she had gotten herself into.
Her hands were pressed tightly against Natsu's chest, her palms spreads out over his firmly sculpted muscles beneath his thin cotton t-shirt. His chest rose up and down, which in turn raised Lucy's hands as she remained planted on top of him. His muscular arms had wrapped themselves around Lucy's waist, as if he wanted to make sure that he would be the one to cushion her fall. Their legs were tangled together on the ground, keeping her in place and, much to her chagrin, keeping her chest pressed closer onto his. Their thighs were pressed together in a rather intimate fashion, so much so, that Lucy remained frozen in her spot for fear that if she tried to stand up, she'd inadvertently make something else follow suit, which made Lucy's face glow red. The shade heightened its hue when she realized that their lips were inches from touching.
An audible gulp was heard from Natsu as his eyes widened, his lips spreading apart just as Lucy turned her head away, her now dry hair falling into her eyes and shielding her face from him.
"Y-You can…keep the shirt."
Lucy sighed as she dipped her fingers into the glass bottle of foundation on her sink, rubbing the thick liquid onto her skin in small circles, trying desperately to hide the pesky blush that continued to bloom onto her face as her mind soared through remnants of last night, cursing her mind for wanting to linger on every little detail imaginable; their tangled legs and pressed thighs were the most adamant of the thoughts; the half emptied bottle of foundation proved this fact.
Giving up, Lucy blended in the last few streaks of foundation onto her face. After examining herself in her bathroom mirror, she nodded, deeming herself worthy enough to be seen by others. For the final touch up, she raised her hands up to the base of her ponytail, and gave it a tug to secure it more into place, guaranteeing that it would remain a ponytail for the rest of the day. Her actions were interrupted by the chime of her doorbell, which Lucy had finally been able to hear for once, since her usual visitors came in through her windows.
Taking one more second to examine herself in her mirror, Lucy left her bathroom and made her way to her door, grabbing onto the brass doorknob with a smile teased on her lips.
Here goes nothing.
"Alright ladies, let's do this!" Cana's voice exclaimed brightly as Lucy opened her door, instantly laughing at her guild mate's enthusiasm as Cana wrapped an arm around Lucy. Lucy then glanced behind the brunette and signaled for everyone to come in.
The previous day, Lucy had volunteered her apartment to be used for planning against the boys in the game. Her apartment may not have been the most spacious, but it was an empty space that the girls could easily take advantage of, assuming that nobody tried to spy on them. Then again, spying was deemed as prohibited by the master, but who knew what could happen. The girls had all agreed on Lucy's suggestion and they immediately set a time for the next day to show up in the morning. And that's exactly what they did.
The team of girls consisted of Lucy herself, Juvia, Wendy, Charle, Evergreen, Cana, Levy, Mira, Lisanna, Bisca, Erza, Laki, and Kinana. A quality team, if they did say so themselves. Each of them brought a uniqueness to the field that made them extraordinary, and Lucy knew that they could win this.
After Lucy had seen each girl into her home, all thirteen of them sat in a giant circle on Lucy's rug, chatting back and forth.
"I have a bet with my husband about who will win." Bisca said coyly, winking at everyone. "So we all better help make this a double win for me, 'kay?"
"Beating Elf-nii will be the highlight of my day." Lisanna joked, though all of them knew how the silver-haired girl admired her big brother.
"Alright, ladies!" Mira's voice chirped up, catching everyone's attention. Lucy's eyes immediately darted to the rose colored envelope that the take-over mage held in her hands, and her eyes shimmered in curiosity.
"Mira-san, what's that envelope?" Wendy asked, leaning forward with her blue hair spilling down her shoulders, her brown eyes wide with curiosity.
"Juvia's curious as well." Juvia stated, running her fingers through one of her blue pigtails.
All of the girls watched with anticipation as Mira held up the envelope. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, though Master did hand a similar envelope to Laxus, though his was blue. I'm assuming that it's instructions to the game we're playing!" Mira said.
That's right, Lucy thought to herself, they still didn't know what type of game they'd be playing. What could it possibly be? A three mile sprint up a mountain? Holding their breath for as long as they could underwater? Lucy felt lightheaded just thinking about it…
"Well, let's not wait any longer!" Cana piped. "Open it up!"
Mira smiled as she ran her fingernail through the top of the envelope, tearing the paper open with just one slice, a satisfying rip ringing out in the atmosphere. They all watched as Mira reached into the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper, and with it, a long red cloth.
"Oh, what's this?" Erza asked, reaching out to pick up the cloth, holding out in front of her to inspect closely. Once she un-rolled it, everyone immediately saw the white guild mark stamped onto the fabric.
"A cloth?" Levy asked, her eyebrows raised. "What's that for?"
"Maybe it says something in the letter?" Kinana suggested.
"Maybe." Mira said. "Let's find out."
Mira unfolded the letter, and everyone immediately leaned forward in their seats as she began to read what was written on the paper.
"Attention Brats!" Mira read aloud. "This marks the beginning of the end…just kidding! I've just always wanted to say that!"
A collective chorus of groans erupted around the circle, changing to laughter quickly.
"As you all know, tomorrow you will all be partaking in a special tradition of Fairy Tail, a tradition that hasn't been upheld since the incident on Tenrou, but nonetheless, the games must go on! This year, the game shall be Capture the Flag!"
"Capture the Flag?" Evergreen asked, her lips twitching into a mischievous smile, adjusting her glasses slightly. "Interesting."
"So, that's what the cloth is for!" Lisanna exclaimed, taking the cloth from Erza and rubbing her fingers over the fabric.
Lucy's eyes gleamed with excitement. As a child, she'd never really been allowed to play with other children, much less a rowdy game of this sort. And now, as a teenager living on her own, Lucy found her heart pounding with excitement as Mira continued to read.
"Now, this is no normal game of Capture the Flag, so, I've decided to change it up a bit. Ladies, I am now speaking directly to you. Inside this envelope, you should have found a red cloth that will stand as your flag for this game. As opposed to the original rules, this game will consist of only one team holding one flag, therefore, the boys will not possess a flag like you. In this game, you will be defending this flag with your lives. The boys will seek you out and try to steal the flag, and you are not to let this happen."
"Keeping a piece of cloth away from some boys?" Cana smirked. "Piece of cake."
"These are the names of your enemies for the day: Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, Romeo, Elfman, Happy, Lily, Bixslow, Alzack, Freed, Jet, Droy, and Loke."
"Loke?!" Cana exclaimed, turning towards Lucy. "You're letting one of your spirits play against us?!"
Lucy threw her hands up together in defense. "Don't look at me! I didn't know about this!"
"Well, he was a member long before Lucy joined, and he did assist Gray in the S class trials." Erza said thoughtfully.
Sighing, Lucy agreed. "I guess so."
"The following rules are expected to be followed, otherwise, you will automatically lose the game. Number one, the flag must be kept by one person, and one person only. No switching!
"Number two, the flag must stay in Magnolia! I'm talking to you, Lucy!"
Everyone immediately looked to Lucy, and she raised her hands in surprised defense. "Don't look at me! I don't know what's he's talking about."
"He probably means that we can't hide the flag in the Spirit World, Lu-chan." Levy said.
"Damn! That would've been a fantastic idea!" Evergreen sighed. "Way to kill the vibe, Master."
"Hey!" Lucy huffed, amusement in her eyes. "I wouldn't have done it anyway! That would've been unfair to the boys."
"Number three," Mira continued. "All girls are expected to hide themselves after a fifteen minute head start. After these minutes are up, the boys will seek you out. If they find you, they will try to tag you to get you out of the game. If you are tagged, then you are out. You are then expected to report to the main hall to await the outcome of the rest of the game. Once tagged, you will be searched. If the girl who possesses the flag is caught, then the game is over."
"Those are some pretty strict rules for a game." Laki commented, resting her elbow on her leg, her chin cupped in her palm. "Though, this'll make things more interesting I'm sure."
"Number four, the flag must be in plain sight."
"Sounds fair enough." Lucy shrugged.
"And finally, number five, if the boys are unable to locate the flag by the time the sun sets, then the girls will claim victory!" Mira read with excitement. "This should be simple enough! All we need to do is keep it up until the sun sets!"
The girls began to chat excitedly, their eyes glittering with cheer and adrenaline as the red cloth was passed among them, each of them admiring the Fairy Tail insignia stamped on the cloth. When it was Lucy's turn, her excited smile suddenly turned into a frown as she brushed her thumb across the insignia.
"What's wrong, Lu-chan?" Levy asked her.
Lucy sighed with annoyance, holding her head in her hand as an image of a certain pair of dragon slayers swam into her mind, their eyes taunting.
"This is the problem." Lucy said, holding up the cloth for everyone to see. "And we're the problem as well." she continued, gesturing to everyone as well as herself.
Almost a dozen eyes blinked back at Lucy slowly, clearly not understanding what she was trying to say. To prove her point, she tossed the cloth to the middle of the circle and directed her attention towards all of the girls.
"Lisanna," Lucy began. "What type of shampoo do you use?"
The silver-haired mage blinked back at Lucy twice before saying her answer uncertainly. "Uh, I think it's coconut scented?"
"And how long have you been using that shampoo?" Lucy inquired.
Lisanna rubbed her fingers through her almost-shoulder length hair. "Oh, I use it all the time! It's my favorite brand and-"
Lisanna's eyes suddenly widened in realization as her fingers slowly dropped from her hair, her mouth opening into a small 'o' shape. "Oh, crap." she cursed, her eyes trailing over to the cloth that lay innocently in the middle of the circle, making her eyes widen even further. "Oh, crap."
Suddenly, everyone understood.
"It's practically a game of hide and seek, and what better people to track down other people hiding than dragon slayers?" Lucy asked them, shuddering while picturing Natsu's condescending grin.
"Natsu-san and Gajeel-san can…" Wendy trailed off, her brown eyes matching everyone else's.
"Well, this is just perfect!" Evergreen sighed in exasperation. "How are we gonna win if those two can track us down using their noses?!"
"Not to mention their hearing." Erza said dryly.
"What if we switch up the shampoo we use?"
"That won't matter, they'll still smell us."
"And hear us."
"And tag us."
"And win." they all recited, collectively groaning.
"Hold on guys!" Mira's voice suddenly chimed out, her nose still buried in the piece of paper she held in her hands. "There's more writing!"
The girls instantly directed their attention back to Mira as she read.
"Now to address some concerns that you ladies may have. Due to the existence of dragon slayers and their special tracking powers, I have taken the liberty of dousing the flag in a special liquid that I've concocted myself. It's clear, odorless, and wipes away any trace of a scent. I have also taken the liberty of making this same liquid into a perfume that you will apply before the game begins. That way, you will be untraceable by your scents."
As soon as Mira was done reading, Cana instantly lunged for the flag and shoved it directly under a startled Wendy's nose.
"Can you smell anything?" Cana asked her, watching as Wendy carefully took the cloth from Cana and inhaled it deeply, closing her eyes to concentrate.
After about thirty seconds, Wendy opened her eyes and glanced down at the cloth, a frown developing on her face. "I…don't smell anything. This is very strange."
"But that's good! Now we don't have to worry about our scents!" Juvia said brightly.
"Yes well, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Mira said, slowly turning to Lucy, her blue eyes twinkling with something strange.
Lucy stared back at Mira and frowned, spreading her lips to ask what the take over mage had meant, until she realized that everyone had suddenly began to stare at her in a similar fashion.
Lucy crossed her arms protectively over her chest, an embarrassed flush spreading onto her cheeks. "What?"
A few stray giggles broke Lucy out of her embarrassment. She slammed her hands down onto her carpeted floors, her eyes scanning each of her friends in suspicion. "What am I missing? What's going on?"
"Oh, come on Lucy." Cana sighed, giving the blonde a knowing look. "Natsu will probably be able to find you even without that perfume."
"You'll be the first one he goes after." Mira nodded.
"Definitely." Erza agreed.
"No doubt." Levy giggled.
"Guys!" Lucy exclaimed. "I highly doubt that he'll specifically target me first, their objective is to find the flag, not specific people!"
"Right." Cana agreed. "And once he finds you, you'll sneak away to a more comfortable spot and have the best make-out session of your life."
Lucy's entire face was on fire, and it didn't help that twelve pairs of eyes were staring her down as she sat there helplessly. Flustered and frustrated, Lucy turned around and grabbed a pink pillow that was seated on her couch and hugged it to her chest tightly, burying her face into it.
"Come now, it's rude to make such vulgar assumptions." Charle's voice rang out haughtily, causing Lucy to look up at the white exceed. She'd have to remember to thank her one day, at least somebody had decency.
"Then again," Charle said, making eye contact with Lucy before her small lips curled up into a haughty smile. "It's rude to lie to your fellow girls."
Back into the pillow Lucy's face went.
"So it's true?!" Levy's voice asked her, shock permeating through the room, causing Lucy to warily raise her head from the pillow cautiously.
"Is what true?" she asked them, her heart pounding in anticipation.
"That…uh…well, you know." Levy said awkwardly, her own face beginning to blossom into a red hue.
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "No, Levy-chan, I obviously don't know."
What on earthland could she have been getting at? What could one of her best girl friends possibly be so embarrassed about? Usually, whenever Levy's face turned bright red like that, it was due to a question concerning Gajeel-
Lucy's eyes widened. Oh no.
"There's rumors going around, Lu-chan…rumors that you and Natsu…" Levy said awkwardly, shooting her friend an apologizing look.
Lucy felt like her head was about to explode. "What rumors?" she asked slowly.
"That you gave your v-card to Flame-o." Cana replied with a sly grin on her face. "That you and him fu-"
"NO!" Lucy shrieked as she stood up and chucked the pillow straight into Cana's face, effectively stopping the card mage's speech. Lucy's entire body began to heat up, a wildfire rampaging in her cheeks and her stomach, her eyes widened with shock and embarrassment. "Don't you dare finish that sentence, Cana!"
The pillow slid down Cana's still smirking face. "But the way you're overreacting must mean that-"
"No! Natsu and I never had sex, okay?!" Lucy exclaimed, witnessing the mixed reactions happening around her. While Wendy's flushed face matched Lucy's, Erza and Juvia were sporting matching blushes on their cheeks as they looked off to the side uncomfortably. Mira and Cana, however, were still smirking at the flustered blonde. Everyone else just laughed lightly at Lucy's reaction.
"Okay, okay, we believe you." Cana sighed amusingly, causing Lucy's flush to calm down only slightly. As she sat down shakily, Lucy exhaled in exasperation.
"Honestly…" Lucy grumbled to herself, which in turn caused Cana to laugh once more.
"Oh, can you blame us?" Evergreen said good-naturedly, shaking her head. "We're not blind, we can sense the chemistry between you two."
Lucy turned her head to the side, her cheeks puffed out. "We do not have chemistry." she said unconvincingly.
"You're such a liar." Cana joked, tilting her head in the direction where Wendy sat. "Hell, I bet that little one can practically smell the chemistry between you two."
Laughter erupted all around the circle as Lucy rolled her eyes, though paused mid eye-roll when the laughter stopped suddenly, creating an incredibly heavy cloud of silence that told Lucy that her morning would never get better.
"Well…actually…"
Slowly, Lucy turned towards the female dragon slayer, and she didn't like what she had seen.
She was sitting cross-legged with her hands gripped tightly together. Her hair was covering her flushed face, and finally, raised her face up to meet the others' but slowly turned her head to face away from them.
Nobody spoke, and while their eyes slowly widened to the sizes of their heads, Lucy wished for a bolt of lightning to strike her dead.
"Shit." Evergreen said, her voice raising a couple of octaves, along with her eyebrows. "Are you serious?"
"Oh my Mavis…" Mira said with wonder, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth.
And then, laughter.
"Hold on, waitaminute!" Cana exclaimed, slurring her words together in an excited rush as she gasped with surprise, obviously living in the moment with glee, amusement spread and smothered across her features like butter on toast. "You mean to tell me," she inched closer to Wendy. "That you can actually smell them getting turned on?!"
Wendy made an audible gulp, and when she gave the slightest of nods, Cana screeched with laughter.
"This is too good! Oh my Mavis, this is amazing!" she almost cackled, falling down onto the ground from her crouched position and rolling onto her back.
Lucy shook her head, trying to rid herself of this world. Maybe, if she shook her head fast enough, she'd drown in the stars that would form in her dizzied state.
"Y-You…You can't be serious!" Lucy exclaimed, looking to Wendy. "Wendy?' she pleaded, looking into matching brown eyes. "Please tell me that this isn't true, and that you've only been smelling my perfume! Wendy!"
The girls held their eye contact for over thirty seconds before Wendy finally sighed, a defeated look glittering in her eyes.
"Lucy-san, do you know what pheromones are?" she asked.
Lucy pursed her lips as the familiar word was processed in her brain. They were the chemicals that a male and a female unconsciously released while in love. They gave strange pitfalls in stomachs, blushes on cheeks, and the desire to, well in a better sense, get it on. Yes, she knew exactly what pheromones were, she'd read enough romance novels to know what they did and how they helped with…erm…sexual activity. Lucy was surprised that Wendy even knew what those chemicals were, then again, she was Wendy…and that girl had more surprises in her that one would might expect.
When Lucy nodded, Wendy continued her mini lecture.
"Well, when they're released…I can sense and smell them. Each person's pheromones has a distinct smell, no two peoples' smells alike.
"They can even…linger." Wendy finished awkwardly, her eyes darting to a spot in Lucy's room behind the blonde's head.
Frowning, Lucy turned her head to follow Wendy's line of sight, and she immediately wished she hadn't.
Wendy's eyes were set a few feet away from Lucy's couch, right where she and Natsu had…
The image from last night shuffled to the front of Lucy's brain, and she'd never felt so mortified in her life.
"Wendy, why didn't you tell us about this ability?" Erza asked her.
Wendy looked away from Lucy. "I…didn't want to embarrass anybody."
You're a little too late Lucy thought, but nonetheless, shot Wendy a small smile, which in return relaxed the female dragon slayer.
"And Lucy-san isn't the only one, you know." Wendy said, closing her eyes and raising her chin pointedly around the circle, and Lucy watched with glee as the faces of Evergreen, Mira, Erza, and Juvia all lit up. Oh, revenge was sweet indeed.
Lucy prayed to Mavis that the Master's special perfume would mask every scent of her body, as it said it would.
Damn you, pheromones.
"Guys!" Mira's voice rang out suddenly, breaking the tension in the room. "There's more writing on the paper!"
As everyone eagerly turned their attentions back to Mira, Lucy sighed in relief, thankful that her mortification had been halted…for now.
"Once the game is over, we will have a formal ball held in the guild! That means dresses, suits, five star cooking…you name it! Better be prepared, you all better have your dancing shoes handy!"
"A ball?!" Erza exclaimed, standing up in her spot on the ground. "But, I'm not prepared!"
"Neither is Juvia!" the water mage exclaimed, joining Erza in her standing up position. "Juvia needs a dress!"
"Relax, everyone!" Mira said. "We'll do some shopping after our session, which, we really need to handle at the moment."
Sighing, Juvia and Erza re-joined their friends on the floor, and the planning began.
"So," Kinana inquired. "Who's gonna hold the flag?"
An audible smirk was heard, and all the girls immediately turned towards Erza.
"Don't worry, I have the perfect person in mind." Erza said knowingly, her eyes meeting the pair that belonged to the girl who would surely lead them to victory.
A/N: Oooh, lots and lots of nalu! And poor Lucy...Though the ball should help the girls in their romantic endeavors! Well...some of them anyway.
Cookies for anyone who caught the Mean Girls reference...if you did, then you're awesome.
Big, big hugs to my first reviewers!: Mechanical-Rose-Sama, Snavej, and papaya-cha!
It would mean the absolute world to me if you left a review! They really help in the motivation department! Especially since I'm going on vacation this week, and I'll be working on some more chapters as I hop planes. Also, I wanna know what you all think!
See you all next chapter! Love you to Fiore and back! xx