Charmed

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Chapter Ten: The Morning After

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Dawn was not a time of day for the weak.

The dark of night still lingered in the sky, subtle hints of pink and orange dawn scattered upon the dark gray wisps of clouds that caked the sky. A slight breeze blew in the air, as if to say that not all beings were sound asleep in their homes, as they should be by any means.

The wind blew the grass against the bare ankles of a figure who stood just on the edge of a cobblestone path. She stared ahead at the grass with a blank expression, her glossed lips pursed as she raised her arms above her head to stretch. She examined the array of little shops and cafes boarded up and shut down for the evening, or rather from the previous day, as she'd learned the little town had been swept away and charmed by some festival in some weird little farm town.

Magnolia, a town that he had insisted on checking out. It didn't seem any special to her.

"You're late." the first words she'd spoken since she arrived at the spot in the temporarily abandoned town.

She rolled her eyes as her visitor chuckled softly behind her. "Wasn't it just the other day that you said to us how much you pride yourself on your punctuality?"

"I pride myself on many things." a male voice cooed, softer and less sharp than hers. "Though I was not aware we agreed to meet exactly on the dot."

She clicked her heel on the path below as she turned to face him, taking in his obnoxious white hair and matching leather jacket. "You fret too much, my dear." he told her.

"Let's just get on with it, yeah?" she sighed. "I could be sleeping right now, instead I'm awake during this godforsaken hour on an extra errand. Don't you usually do shit like this at midnight?"

"Like you could ever say no to him." the male droned. He glanced towards the grassy field behind her. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't want to be here either. Drab town, nothing special to offer." he glanced back in her direction. "Everything ready?"

She narrowed her eyes and let out an annoyed tsk as she grabbed a hold of her bubblegum pink cloak, lifting it up to reveal something curled in a ball laying on the ground, unmoving and still.

The male grimaced. "Charming as ever, I see."

She scoffed down at her so-called baggage, lightly tapping it with the tip of her heel. "A hindrance, however it'll serve us well to find our target."

The male clucked his tongue in approval, a dangerous smirk hidden in the dark spread upon his face. "A lovely message of our arrival."

She leaned down and grabbed onto the collar of the crumpled form at her feet, long brown hair covering its lifeless face, spilling down just enough to show a flash of dull blue.

Her green eyes flashed dangerously in the night as her lips curled into a smile.

"I really do hate children."

The soft serenade of chirping birds forced Lucy to bat her eyes open, her eyelashes brushing against her pillow softly. Her morning eyes burned with fatigue, wanting to immediately close and return to their previous state of peaceful slumber. She let them close all the way, snuggling deeper into her covers and sighing with content as her sleepy thoughts reminded her that she had absolutely nowhere to be this morning. No promised missions, no prior obligations of any sort; nobody in their right mind would choose to ride out their hangovers from the previous night chasing down criminals or searching for a rare flower; Fairy Tail members knew better than that.

She sighed softly once more as the sun pouring into her window warmed the top part of her bare back. Her thoughts slowly drifted around the question of why she forwent her usual oversized t-shirt for bedtime attire, silently trying to put together the pieces of her not-so-sober adventure back to her bedroom last night. Had she really gotten drunk enough to strip down bare and crawl into bed without so much as an afterthought? On past drinking occasions, she'd even managed to make sure to scrub her makeup off and brush her teeth, that is, after she came down from her so-called kitty persona. This kind of alcohol hit different.

Cana one, Lucy zero.

She shifted her weight once more, rolling over to her left when something had suddenly stopped her movement, something sturdy and warm. This broke Lucy from her drowsiness as her skin touched this new obstacle, her bare skin might she add.

Bare skin against bare skin.

She opened her eyes softly, her mind slowly beginning to put together a picture she never thought she'd ever see. Her vision grew in strength, the blurred lines blending together as her heart dropped into her stomach as she felt her mattress move underneath her, but not by her own doing.

She wasn't alone.

She barely had time to reflect over her actions as her arms and legs pushed against the body next to her, a reflex of self defense that sent the mystery guest flying off of her bed and slamming into her dresser. The wood shook violently, opening her drawers and knocking several perfume bottles onto the ground, her fluffy white carpet cushioning the blow. Her comforter flew off of her bed with the weight, leaving contact with her skin and falling down on top of her visitor.

A surprised grunt danced around Lucy's ears as she frantically fumbled with her sheets, bunching them up sloppily and wrapping them around her body tightly. The cool air from her sudden jolt had alerted nerves on parts of her body that were not typically exposed to open air, and she felt her heart rate increase as she tried frantically to halt the exposure.

She watched her companion grumble about being woken up so suddenly, his complaints falling on deaf ears as she began to process her current situation, his pink hair making her eyes glaze over.

"What the hell?!" she faintly heard him grunt, struggling to untangle himself from her comforter, bumping his head in the process and knocking down some more perfume and lotion bottles. A whoosh filled her room as his hand finally found the top of the blanket and his head broke the surface.

"Happy, what the-" He opened his mouth to spew another insult, however he choked on his words as their eyes connected. His pink bangs fell messily around his eyes, almost covering them completely. Lucy was still able to watch his irises shrink slowly as he began to recognize where he was, and what position the both of them found themselves in. His eyes dashed from the comforter spread loosely across his lap, to the girly wallpaper of her apartment, and back to Lucy. His jawline grew rigid as his eyes finally widened to their highest degree. She barely noticed his eyes trace the covered curves on her body as they both released delayed screams of shock.

o-o-o

"What are you doing here?!" Lucy exclaimed, squirming under her sheets like a frightened animal. "You can't just sleep in someone's bed-and why are you naked?!"

"You should talk!" Natsu exclaimed back at her, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head from being slammed so suddenly into it from his peaceful slumber. "It's rude to wake up a guy while he's asleep!"

"Why are you in my room?!" Lucy yelled once more.

"How should I know?!" Natsu yelled back, leaning forward and letting the comforter draped across his lap slide down his legs. He let out a sound of alarm as he grabbed the cover at the last possible second, covering his waist above his knees as he sat up in a V shape. "And what in the hell did you do with my clothes?"

"Don't ask me!" Lucy huffed, turning away to glare at the wall. "I can barely remember getting home last night, let alone where your clothing went."

Natsu glared at his partner "Why don't you look for your own clothes while you're at it?"

Lucy huffed in his direction. "D-Don't look." she stammered angrily, squeezing her blankets tight around her body and pressing her back into the wall above the corner of her bed.

"Couldn't care less." Natsu sighed. His eyes traced her room for his clothing until he spotted his scarf draped on her couch. He silently cursed for reminding himself of Gray's awful stripping habit. The day he accumulated that lifestyle would in fact be the same day that he threw himself off a very high cliff.

As he was about to hoist himself up off of the ground, his mind began to wander. How did he find his way into Lucy's room? Whenever he felt bored or needed some entertainment, he always could recollect taking a trip into town and slipping in through her window. She'd even grown used to it, letting him crash on her couch and just lounge as she would do some writing or read some books. But sleeping in her bed with her? Natsu knew better than that, let alone sleeping in her bed naked.

It wasn't until his eyes noticed the black suit jacket hidden under the white of his scarf, and the faint smell of damp clothing filled his nose that a violent flash of recollection flooded his vision.

Faint laughter, an involuntary dip in the river, staring up at the ceiling…

And then something else.

His eyes widened as the memory of their bodies pressed together flashed before his eyes, hot and heavy, a deep pleasure vibrating throughout his bones.

Oh no.

He turned back towards Lucy "Did we…" Natsu began, trailing off awkwardly as she ceased fiddling with her sheets and turned her attention back to him. She cocked her head as his face began to heat up, and he assumed she could see the flush on his face growing brighter.

"What?" she asked him, frowning as she took in his face, until he noticed her eye catch sight of something above his head. Her eyes glazed over for a brief second, and when her pupils shrunk and her mouth dropped into a concerned o shape, he followed her line of vision to the top of her dresser, where perfume and lotion bottles had attacked his head.

However, when his eyes landed on a pink bra that was tangled between a few surviving glass perfume bottles, his fears were confirmed.

When he turned to look at Lucy, he gulped as her own face was a violent shade of red, her mouth hanging open as she darted her eyes back and forth between Natsu and her discarded bra.

"Oh crap." she whispered before suddenly shooting up from her curled position, still holding onto her sheets like a pro. "Oh crap, oh crap!"

Natsu groaned, slamming the back of his head against her dresser and rubbed his temples with his fingertips, hoping to chase away the lingering hangover and the lingering awkwardness that suffocated the room. He let out another groan into his palms after he cupped his mouth, a small ounce of panic beginning to build inside of him. "Oh my God."

A million thoughts rushed through his mind, he didn't know if his stomach was churning from the lingering alcohol in his system, or from the realization that he had woken up in his partner's bed.

Or from the sheer fact that they ended up sleeping together.

Minutes passed before either of them acknowledged each other. They slowly turned to face each other, embarrassed heat glowing on their faces as they truly began to digest the situation at hand.

His vision darkened briefly as a pillow from Lucy's bed was launched at him, a dull thud sounding off from his nose from the contact of the pillow. "Hey!" he exclaimed, grabbing onto the pillow and tossing it aside. "What was that for, huh?"

"This isn't a dream." Lucy stated softly as she retreated back into her comforter cocoon, her hair spilling over her shoulders and covering her eyes as she rocked back and forth slowly. "Oh crap, this isn't a dream!"

"M-Maybe it never happened." Natsu stuttered, finally rising from the ground while swiftly securing the comforter around his waist, kneeling. It made him look like he was adorned in an elaborate puffy skirt. It was almost comical."I mean, there's no way that we could've-"

"No," Lucy interrupted him sharply, looking down at her bed with her eyes glossing over in a defeated stupor. "We did."

"How are you so sure?" he questioned her, his heart pounding.

Lucy's face grew even more flushed, refusing to lock eyes with him. "I just...know." was all she uttered softly, biting down on her lip as he waited for a further explanation. When none came, he grew slightly confused. "What?"

"Girls just know when-I'm not explaining this to you!" Lucy sputtered, continuing to mutter some curse words as she finally sprang up from her bed. Tucking her sheets into the valley between her breasts, she trudged over to her coffee table and scooped up a stray hair tie and began to gather up her hair into a sloppy low bun. "I-I'm gonna shower." she said hastily as her bangs fell into her face. As she tried to sweep her stray hair away from her eyes, she ran into her side table and let out a startled yelp, which in turn caused her to step on her sheets and lose her footing. Without hesitation, Natsu found himself at her side immediately, grabbing onto her arm to help steady her. His efforts were worthless though, as her weight forced him to go right down with her, both of them screeching in surprise as they slammed into the floor. Natsu's bare back emitted a violent echo across her apartment as Lucy's body landed on top of his. Her sheet had been released from her body halfway, draped down the side of their frozen forms as Natsu felt some of her bare skin touching his chest.

They were staring each other down, their faces bright red and their jumbled words caught in their mouths.

"Pancakes!" Natsu heard himself exclaim as they both tried to separate themselves from their tangled form. He cursed as he tried to get up from the ground, but instead slipped and banged his elbow against the floor. "Hangover pancakes!"

"Yeah! Mira's pancakes!" Lucy exclaimed frantically, scrambling to adjust her sheets as the two of them continued to attempt at separation. Her bangs fell into her face once more as she adjusted herself to take her chest away from his. Though in turn, she ended up in a sort of straddle position atop him, yelping as she realized she was putting all of her weight onto his waist. "C-Can't wait to have them!"

"Definitely!" Natsu heard himself croak back, surprised at how high his voice had gotten. "We should-"

A sudden whoosh interrupted their frenzied moment as her window flew open. A blue flash entered her room, and the tell tale ring of a familiar voice greeted them cheerfully.

Oh shit.

"Gooooood morning!" they heard as their heads spun towards their guest, watching as his wings fluttered happily in the morning light, his tail swishing back and forth. "How-"

Happy's greeting was cut short as he took in the scene before him, and Natsu felt his body grow rigid as his exceed's mouth dropped open.

Natsu and Lucy's eyes both widened as Happy's eyes took in their half naked bodies, Lucy still straddling Natsu, that damn sheet just barely covering her chest. Natsu felt his heart pounding awkwardly as he felt Lucy's body tense atop of his.

It was more than enough for Happy to completely lose his mind.

Mira's pancakes, an event that every Fairy Tail member looked forward to with every passing day. One would say that you weren't truly a member of the guild until you've ingested the breakfast food, and that it was the second right of passage after receiving your guild mark.

Lucy remembered the first time that she'd consumed her first plate. It was just a couple of days after she had ventured off with Natsu to find Macao in the mountains. Mira had insisted making a special plate just for Lucy, and while at first she politely mentioned to the mage that she had already eaten, Natsu had insisted she try them.

She remembered the serotonin and bliss she felt taking her first bite, attacked wonderfully with the tastes of butter and cream, strawberries adorning the fluffy surface that made her tastebuds dance with glee, if that were even possible.

And now, the morning after such a fun celebration, she was sitting awkwardly next to Levy and Erza, chewing slowly while her friends were already two plates in. Well, Erza may have been on her third or fourth, Lucy couldn't say for sure.

After her eventful morning, Lucy was taking time to process everything that she knew to be true on her own sober time. She'd halted her frantic and panic when Happy had flown unannounced into her room to find her in an interesting position with her partner, and the two of them had spent the entire morning trying to catch the exceed as he flew around her apartment basically laughing his little blue head off, exclaiming how upset he was with himself for missing all of the action, in turn taunting them for being on top of each other with nothing but a sloppy sheet cocoon. It wasn't until Natsu had leaped into the air and grabbed ahold of Happy's little paws that Lucy put on her death stare. She knew it had to be working, since Happy's taunting smile dropped and his small lips began to quiver. She tried to ignore the smirk from Natsu that she caught a glimpse of behind the blue cat, knowing that he knew all too well what could happen to anyone who defied Lucy's death stare.

"Just try telling anyone about what you've seen here. Just try, and see what will happen when you do."

And now, after showering and throwing on some clothes, she found herself in the guildhall surrounded by pancakes and her thoughts. Sure, she could've stayed in her apartment all day to process the events of the evening till morning, however she knew better than to be alone when all she could think about was...well...what she and her partner had done, so to speak.

"Lucy!"

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a small nudge against her right arm, and turned to Levy eyeing her curiously. Her blue curls still smelled slightly of hairspray, tucked in place with a bright orange headband. "Are you listening?"

Lucy smiled softly. "Sorry, just a little hungover still." she told her friend, sighing and reaching for her glass of water.

"You and me both, girl." Levy agreed, spearing another piece of pancake onto her fork and dipping it into a pile of whipped cream. "It was so worth it though."

Lucy stared at her plate as flashes of her night played over and over before her eyes. Drunk laughter played over in her ears as she remembered trying not to trip over her dress, feeling the excited rush of the evening flow away into the dark.

"Yeah." she heard herself say softly, smiling to her best ability as Wendy took a seat right next to Erza, plopping down onto the bench light as air.

"Speaking of," Levy inquired, swallowing the last bite of pancake she took. "I didn't see you leave last night. When did you?"

Lucy gulped. "I'm not sure, I can't remember." she told her friend, which was the honest truth. She hadn't kept a record of the time when she made her drunken departure from the guild hall. In fact, after taking that last gulp of alcohol from her cup, her activities during the rest of the evening while in the climax of her intoxication were a blur.

She changed the subject swiftly.

"What kind of fruit is that?" she motioned to the red fruit piled up on the side of her plate. "Some sort of raspberry?"

Levy chuckled softly. "You mean you don't recognize them? They're the berries you and Natsu brought back from your job a couple days ago."

Lucy felt her face go pale once she recognized the shimmering fruit, and imaginary steam began to rise from her ears in a silent rage as Levy cocked her head in confusion.

Those damn berries.

"What? Levy finally asked her, popping one into her mouth. "They're delicious!"

"You mean utterly evil." Lucy hissed, glaring at the fruit. "I'm never taking a single bite out of that devil fruit."

Levy shrugged. "Suit yourself, more for me!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and smiled at her best friend, turning her attention back to the destroyed whipped cream piles on her plate, now watered down and bubbling pathetically.

"When did you leave last night?" Lucy asked Levy, turning back in her direction. "The last time I saw you, you were having a blast."

Lucy then frowned as she saw a faint blush swipe across Levy's cheeks. "I'm not sure either." she giggled awkwardly as she poked her remaining pancakes with her fork. "Crazy night."

Lucy let her own thoughts pause themselves for the moment, taking in signs from her friend that she knew all too well. The blush, the nervous giggles, and even the vague speech set off alarms in Lucy's head.

"In fact," Lucy giggled, leaning in close to Levy and lowering her voice ever so slightly, smirking. "The last time I saw you, you were with Gajeel-"

Levy's water glass tipped over and splashed the table as the blunette nearly jumped in her seat. "Wh-What does that mean? Plenty of people were dancing-er-hanging out with each other!" she stammered nervously. Lucy enjoyed every minute of it, teasing her bestie to finally spill the beans.

Besides, she had her own tea to spill.

"Good Morning everyone!" a cheerful voice chirped as a small clunk of silverware and china was placed onto the table to the left of Wendy. They all turned to smile as a familiar bluenette sat down to join them for breakfast, her hair fastened up into a high ponytail with some stray pieces hanging down neatly. Lucy heard Levy sigh in relief at the interruption, blotting up the spilled water before it could stain the wood.

"Juvia-san!" Wendy smiled. "Did you have a good night?"

Juvia nodded happily. "Juvia slept well, and Juvia's been looking forward to Mira-san's pancakes!" She wasted no time in digging in, joining Erza who was still at work on her own plate, both of them entering a blissful state of pancake heaven.

"I gotta admit, I did have a good time last night." another voice agreed, and everyone turned to acknowledge Gray and Loki joining the group at their table. Lucy barely bat an eye after taking sight of Loki joining them, it was almost comical how often she'd see him out and about with her calling him. For her, it was just another guildmate joining them at the table.

Gray and Lucy locked eyes when he sat down, and he nodded once in her direction, a silent thank you for her candor the previous evening. She nodded back at him, and lifted the corners of her mouth ever so slightly.

"Juvia felt like a princess." the water mage said dreamily, twirling her fork in a small pile of whipped cream. "Juvia wants to have another party!"

Gray reached over and ruffled up Juvia's hair as she began her second indulging session of her breakfast. "Next time let's go easy on the drinking, eh?"

"You should talk." Wendy's sly voice chirped, and everyone turned to her as she bravely plucked a blueberry off of her plate and popped it into her mouth. "All of you were pretty intoxicated."

"That's just because you don't know what you're missing out on." Cana's voice suddenly taunted, smiling and bopping Wendy atop her head. The little dragon slayer huffed in response, spearing a pancake chunk from her plate. "Speaking of, I got some business to attend to." she continued, quickly dashing over to Lucy, who surprisingly jumped as Cana slid into the space between her and Levy. She placed her right elbow onto the table and rested her cheek in her hand. In the other, she held a glass of what appeared to be orange juice.

"And good morning to you too." Lucy commented sarcastically, mustering up a small enough appetite to take a bite from her own plate, the sweetness of a strawberry spreading across her taste buds.

"Do you know where Natsu is?" Cana asked her, eyeing Lucy as she swiftly swallowed her mouthful of fruit. The question caught her by slight surprise as Cana's head swiped back and forth at an attempt to catch a glimpse of Natsu. Attempting to swallow her fear with her meal, she allowed her face to relax as she put on an indifferent face.

"No idea." she stated, brushing her ponytail over her right shoulder. "Haven't seen him since last night."

"Hm?" Cana hummed, putting her glass down and fishing in her pocket for something. She pulled out a mini green shot bottle, popped the little cap off, and poured the clear contents into her cup. "Didn't you guys leave together last night? I would have thought he'd try to crash at your place, the guy could barely walk in a straight line."

Lucy felt her cheeks begin to burn as Cana brought her makeshift mimosa to her lips and downed the whole thing in under a second.

Her mind betrayed her as she was transported back just mere hours before the present time. Everything was still fuzzy and blurred, but she was beginning to remember the intoxicating burn of pleasure that had pulsed throughout her body as her partner ran his hands all over her skin and touched her in all the right places. She began to remember the sounds that he released in her intoxicated ears, sounds she had never heard from him in her life. Sounds that made her stomach pound with butterflies, butterflies that sent her into a helpless frenzy when he said her name in a raspy voice.

"I'm not his keeper." Lucy muttered, dropping her fork onto her plate.

Walk in a straight line, absolutely not. However when it came to other recreational activities…

When the silence around her registered, she looked up from her plate and took in all the pairs of eyes that were staring her down, some confused, others concerned.

"I-I just mean that I don't always know where he is or what he's doing." she recovered, stuttering slightly, folding her hands in her lap. "He's probably sleeping it off."

To her defense, she really did not know what Natsu was currently up to. After almost scaring Happy into a sworn secrecy, Lucy had abruptly excused herself to her bathroom, awkwardly telling the two of them that they were free to leave, as they clearly knew where the door was. A little harsh maybe, but she didn't confirm their reactions as she swiftly shut the door behind her.

She had sat on her bathroom floor for a good twenty minutes before deciding to hop in the shower, where she spent another thirty minutes fully processing what in the hell had just happened.

An hour later, she finally found herself locking her apartment door and trudging down her stairs to head to the guild, not before groaning at the shattered glass on her front door that she was responsible for. She almost ended up back in her bed, curled up into a ball of stress before convincing herself to head out for the day, as that would have surely brought on questions she wasn't ready to confront.

Cana blinked at Lucy before her neutral expression melted into a smirk. "Well can't say I blame him. Not everyone can have an exceptional tolerance."

"I'm convinced your liver isn't real." Gray chimed in, sighing as he put his own utensils down. "No human should be able to drink as much as you can stomach."

Lucy felt a soft nudge on her thigh, and she glanced over to find Levy's concerned ones eyeing her. Lucy felt her stomach drop as she let out a quiet exhale. She knew that Levy could sense something was wrong with her, and Lucy wasn't surprised that her best friend had picked up on it so quickly. Then again, she'd be even more surprised if the script mage hadn't shown any indication that she knew something was going on.

"Speak of the devil!" Cana exclaimed suddenly, slamming her glass down onto the table and jumping up from her seat in a blur.

The pit returned to Lucy's stomach as she pointedly continued to stare down at her own plate, her face burning hot as the pulsing in her ears drowned out everyone else's greetings to the person she wanted to cease thinking about entirely.

"And don't even try to deny anything. We all saw how drunk you got!" Cana's laughing voice boomed throughout the room. "The dragon has finally met his alcoholic match!"

"Yeah, yeah." she heard Natsu's voice utter. It was then that she slowly turned her head and stole a quick peek from behind her bangs. She noted the dark circles under his eyes that mimicked her own, though less muted. His eyes were slightly glassy, but otherwise his outer appearance remained rightfully the same as it always had. Much like her own feigned neatness, two hungover peas in a pod. "Save it. My head's still spinning."

"Why don't you eat something!" Wendy chirped, reaching to her left and picking up an unclaimed plate of pancakes, offering it to her fellow dragon slayer. "We saved you some breakfast."

"Hm? Oh, thanks." Natsu said, looking in the direction of the plate. He frowned down at it suddenly, leaning closer to his breakfast plate to examine the red fruit adorned on the fluffy pancakes. "Raspberries?" he questioned.

"Lola berries." Lucy heard herself grumble, glaring at the evil jam. She bit the inside of her cheek as she realized she'd spoken.

A look of pure disgust spread across Natsu's face. "Hard pass."

"Jeez, what's with you two and these berries?" Gray asked them, gently taking the plate from Wendy's hands and setting down on the table to sample the pancakes. He speared a piece and brought it to his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully. "They taste pretty good to me."

"Evil." Natsu and Lucy had both uttered angrily, bringing some laughter to their table.

The light fluttering of Happy's wings serenaded the air as he sniffed Gray's plate, his nose scrunching up. "I still have scratches on my paws. Doesn't mean I'm still curious about the taste."

"Go for it!" Levy encouraged the exceed. "At least some of us can enjoy them!"

Lucy let the pit in the stomach fill up slowly, bringing in her practiced breathing to calm herself as she reached for her cup. The corners of her mouth sloped upwards briefly, enjoying the distraction as she tilted her cup to drink.

Happy stared at the plate, thoughtful, however he shook his head. "Nah, I'm not hungry. We already ate at Lucy's."

Lucy's throat began to burn as she hacked violently, accidentally inhaling her drink as Happy declared to the whole table that she had basically lied between her teeth. She barely felt Levy's pounding on her back to assist with her friend's choking.

"Lu-chan!" Levy exclaimed. "Are you okay?!"

Lucy turned to fully face Natsu then, and his own eyes were wide with panic, mimicking hers so well, the second time that day that the two of them were completely in sync.

Natsu's eyes left hers and went straight to Happy, who was staring back at the two of them with his own wide eyes, his paws resting over his dropped jaw. Lucy heard her blood pounding in her ears as everyone at the table stared at the three of them in confusion.

Happy looked left and right, pure panic spreading onto his furry face. "I-uh-I mean-"

"At Lucy's?" Erza finally spoke up, resting her finished plate onto the table, lightly placing her fork on top. She turned to the celestial mage, who's face grew hot. "I thought you mentioned that Natsu didn't spend the night?"

Happy, you are so freaking dead!

"S-Spend the night?" Natsu blurted out, awkwardly stretching his right arm behind his head, elbow up. "Who's talking about us having a sleepover?" he turned to look at Lucy, who was at a complete loss, which surely did not help the situation as he clearly looked as if he were drowning and needed serious help.

Oh crap, oh crap.

o-o-o

Perhaps, Natsu thought as he and Lucy locked eyes with one another, Perhaps he should've stayed home.

After Lucy had escaped into her bathroom, Natsu had taken his cue to grab his still damp clothes off of her couch and head to his place to freshen up, or rather process what the hell had just happened.

Scoffing at the severely wrinkled dress shirt he'd picked up, he gave up and crumpled it up into a wet ball and shoved it in his pants pocket. Running his fingers through his hair, he tried to ignore the awkward swooshing noise of his damp pants and how they stuck to his legs as he made his way down Lucy's steps and out the front door, but not before cringing at the shattered glass of the window on the door.

Natsu was halfway back to his place before he felt Happy began to awkwardly knead his paws atop of Natsu's head. Natsu sighed, reaching up to scratch Happy behind his ears as they continued their trek home.

"She's scary when she's angry isn't she?" he asked his partner, half joking and half serious.

"Very." Happy agreed, shivering.

He honestly didn't know what to think of the events he'd partaken in the previous night, not to mention that he could barely remember their trip to her bed, minus some extremely vivid details that were hard to let slip. His footsteps on the path were his accompanying beat to try to come to terms with how he would even begin to approach this situation, however his results came up dry.

When they finally got home, Happy leaped off of Natsu's head and floated in front of him as he shut their door. When the two of them locked eyes, Natsu sighed.

"You have one minute." he said in defeat.

Happy's little body had exploded into a frenzy of firing off almost a million questions, his little paws frantically waving around in the air. Natsu took it like a champ, however he admittedly did drown out a lot of his partner's excited yelling and questioning.

"I mean...what does this mean?" Happy finished, floating down onto their couch in defeat. "I know I always joke about this with you guys but now that it happened…" he awkwardly trailed off.

"You're asking the million dollar question buddy." Natsu sighed, reaching into his pocket and throwing his crumpled up shirt onto the couch next to Happy, who barely bat an eye. He walked towards Happy and affectionately messed up the fur on his head, smirking at his partner. "Imma shower, then let's head to the guild and get some grub, what do ya say?"

Happy looked at Natsu with uncertainty, but his look soon turned into an excited one as he nodded.

Natsu spent the next 20 minutes standing in his shower, hot water pouring all over his body as he focused in on a small crack on the tile in their bathroom, his focal point for his mind to betray him with visions of what he at first could not recollect.

Groaning, he leaned forward and pressed his palms against the wet tile as everything started to come back to him, everything that only confused him more and more.

He remembered how soft her lips were, malleable like clay. He remembered how right it felt to hold her, their bodies pressed tightly against one another, fitting like a perfect puzzle piece. He could still remember the feeling of her legs wrapped around his waist and the delicious sounds that escaped her as he moved and touched her in all the right places. In all of his days, he'd never heard a sound as intoxicating as her voice moaning his name in his ear…

And these visions continued to harass him, all the way to the guild where he currently stood, trying to cover up Happy's slip up.

"So you DID have a sleepover!" Cana smirked, strutting over to Natsu and elbowing him in his ribs. "I'm telling ya, my special drinks work wonders!"

"What in the hell's that supposed to mean?" Natsu asked the card mage, an awkward sweat beginning to form on his temples. All he wanted to do was eat a good breakfast, not defend his honor.

"One time after drinking one of Cana's mixes, I woke up laying down on a bench in Pansy Park completely naked." Gray smirked, pausing to take a swig out of his mug, to which triggered a small coughing fit and blush from Juvia next to him.

"Ain't that an every other day occurrence?" Natsu commented, eyes narrowing, attempting to change the subject.

"Juvia's woken up in the water fountain." the water mage commented, after getting her breathing under control. "All of Juvia's clothing was on though."

"Ya see? Wonders!" Cana laughed, sitting back down next to Lucy this time, basically proud of her work. "And you wouldn't believe the effects a good drink will have on your libido-"

Lucy jumped up from her seat suddenly, slamming her palms onto the table, startling Cana and the others.

Her fists clenched then, Natsu eyeing her with concern as her back was to him. Her shoulder blades were stiff, her bangs covering her eyes as he had absolutely no idea what she was thinking.

She pressed her fists atop the table, as if they had the ability to phase through the wood. She leaned in close to Happy, channeling more of the serious nature she'd already given to him earlier that day. The exceed gulped nervously as her face inched closer and closer to his, his whiskers almost touching the tip of her nose.

"What did you eat?" Lucy asked him, her eyes now visible and blazing with accusatory fire. Natsu couldn't tell if she was feigning her demeanor, or if she was just very good at lying on the spot.

Either way, Happy had gone along with her question, gulping nervously as he answered her softly. "S-Strawberry pudding." he replied shakily. "It was right there in the fridge and well...uh.."

Nobody spoke for the next couple of seconds, watching and eyeing Lucy as she kept her form still and focused on her target. Everyone had released breaths when Lucy sighed in defeat, and gently scratched the top of Happy's head.

"Just ask me next time, okay?" she sighed, smiling at him then with a defeated smirk. "You know how I feel about you two sneaking into my apartment and rummaging through my fridge."

Natsu could feel the relief radiating off of Happy's little body as he saluted the blonde, easing up the tension in the air. "Aye, sir!" he affirmed, a little shakily.

Natsu crossed his arms as if to try to settle his pounding heartbeat. His eyes shot briefly around the room to his fellow dragon slayers, who were tuned and keen on tracking heartbeats or anything off about their comrades' bodily signals. Wendy and Gajeel had both not been too interested in the organ currently still pounding in his chest as if it wanted to escape permanently, though he had Lucy's sudden reaction to thank as a cover up.

"What's the big deal?" Gajeel grunted. "Salamander always finds himself at Bunny Girl's bed." Levy shot him a look as he returned his attention to his plate, but quickly returned her gaze to her own. Natsu eyes Lucy nervously as he could see some of her stress melting away very slowly, their friends gathered around the table and continuing their chats over their morning coffee and orange juice. The tension in her shoulders was becoming less and less, but her back was to him, shielding her true emotions.

He felt the corners of his mouth grow taut, and the beckoning of his friends telling him to take a seat fell on deaf ears as he watched Lucy straighten up her posture and swing her legs over the bench behind her. She began to walk towards the hall leading to the kitchen, her face still hidden by her hair, her mouth in a straight line.

"So," Gray's voice krept into Natsu's ears as he slowly lowered himself onto the bench, Happy plopping down next to him atop of the table. "Fun night?"

Lucy's ponytail swished melodically behind her back as she disappeared into the shadow of the hallway.

Natsu closed his eyes in defeat. "You could say that."

Lucy's bare back was cold against the wall as she stared blankly ahead, her eyes glossing over a news article enclosed in a brown picture frame shielded by thin glass. Fairy Tail Guild Returns to the Scene! was written in bold italic print, a black and white photo of the new and improved guild hall standing proudly behind Makarov. Flashes of cheers and scents of fresh hardwood filled her memories briefly of that day, perhaps if she dwelled on it more she could harvest some joy from it.

She was glad to escape the table, if she'd stayed any longer who knows what would've come from it. Exhaling, her dry throat stung from the hot air that escaped her, wishing that she had taken another swig of her drink before escaping from her seat. Not to mention, the dirty dishes she left behind for her friends to clean up.

She looked pathetically at the corner of the photo frame, of course she's be thinking of dirty dishes at such a time, though maybe it was better than airing out her so-called dirty laundry of the morning.

"Hey."

Her head swung to the right on instinct, and it was not someone who she particularly wanted to see.

Natsu watched her carefully, his expression completely blank and cool as a cucumber. The pit in her stomach was back, and yet it wasn't as gaping as before, though it did hold an uncertain feeling that she didn't enjoy or trust. Her confidence in reading her partner's expressions like a book was gone, she didn't know what he was thinking.

And she hated it.

"What?" she asked him, surprised by the tone she used as she crossed her legs and turned her attention back to the wall, letting her hair fall into her eyes as if it were some shield.

"Good morning to you too." he replied to her. Natsu walked a few steps over to the wall opposite Lucy, so that he could mirror her and lean against his own side of the wall. She was slightly put off by this, usually he was throwing an arm over her shoulder or poking at her cheek to get her attention whenever she shut down. This was different, and she silently was grateful for it.

"That before was..uh.." he trailed off, sighing in defeat. "Pretty bad."

This prompted her to raise her eyes to meet his, serious as ever, with a slight flush to his tanned skin.

Lucy scoffed softly. "Pretty bad indeed." she agreed quietly.

They stood there for a few minutes silent, unmoving and listening to clanging silverware and plates in the room over, no doubt cleaning up from the breakfast that she willingly abandoned.

This was torture.

"So...now what?" he asked her slowly.

Lucy frowned, bracing herself for the dreaded talk that she'd only ever wrote about in short stories. She'd always attempt to drum up what it would feel like for her characters to DTR or attempt to talk to their hookups to make sense of their evening shrouded in so much uncertainty. Now, she could say she knew the feeling all too well. But it wasn't like this was on simple pen and paper. This was real, this was happening.

She didn't give a response, only watched him carefully as his eyes now diverted away from hers and focused on a spot on the wall near her elbow.

She couldn't feel a single thing, she couldn't bring the correct words to her lips to convey how unsure she felt about everything she'd been through for the past 12 hours. She wanted to give herself and Natsu an answer, but she couldn't.

Now what? Now what?

She felt herself slipping, and did something that she'd only ever done with her father.

She shut down.

"I need to go." She announced, straightening up from her defeated stance on the wall and began her stride of retreat, but was stopped when she felt Natsu's hand grab her right arm. She stifled a small gasp of surprise, and tried to free herself from his grip, only to fail. "Let go of me." she said plainly.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, not increasing his grip on her entirely but not backing down either.

"I need to think." she told him, trying to shake free of him once again. When she failed, she twisted her body towards him and met his gaze once again. "Let me go."

"We need to talk about this." Natsu told her. He leaned in closer to her, his eyes now sparking with a goal in mind. She leaned away from him, opening her mouth to request her freedom once as she had already but stopped herself. She began to feel something bubbling up, maybe it was the emotion she was looking for to help her process their expedited trip through their one night stand. Staring into his blazing gaze didn't help her case of reaching her escape.

She was confused, she was frantic, and she was something else she couldn't name.

"What's there to talk about?" she asked him softly, her voice gruff. It made Natsu blink and shed his in-control handle on her. "We made a mistake, we move on. Simple."

A minute passed before she heard his reply.

"A mistake?" he asked her, his fingers loosening on her arm as she took in the emotions taking turns hopping into control on his face. "That's what you're calling it?"

"What would you call it then?" she sniped back, adding vinegar to her question and undoubtedly causing anger to permeate throughout her body. Why couldn't he let her go to process this? Didn't he know how she worked? Weren't partners supposed to have some sort of silent understanding with each other? "A random hookup? A need to get some action? Natsu I don't do this kind of crap-"

"And you think I do?" he shot back at her, adding his own flavor of vinegar to his voice. "I'm just as confused-if not more confused-as you are!" he hissed quietly. He released her arm in a flash, swiping his hand away from her skin, though taking care not to hurt her. "You're not immune to this. I know you."

Lucy clenched her fist, and without realizing what she was doing, grabbed onto his scarf and yanked on it sharply. It brought Natsu's head level with hers, the tips of their noses almost touching as their eyes blazed into each other. He stared right at her, barely flinching from her actions, and it took everything in her not to scream.

The person who was clutching onto Natsu's scarf wasn't the same person who was choking on her drink before. She didn't recognize the negative, sour feeling that was fueling her actions.

Something foreign was pulsing in her veins, and she let it take over.

"Clearly, you don't." she said harshly. She let her words marinate as she released her grip on Natsu's scarf. She leaned away, giving their noses space as the opening of the nearby door to the kitchen broke the silence.

"Hey, anyone free for dish duty?" they heard a voice inquire.

"Be right there." Lucy said, all the while still staring into Natsu's eyes. Before she could try to decipher what he was thinking, she decided that she no longer cared. She then brushed on past him, their arms bushing against one another as she escaped into the safety of the next room.

She couldn't feel the hot tears now spilling down her cheeks. Those were meant to be saved for later.

A/N: *waves pathetically* Hiya friends.

Yep, once again I suck at updates. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Love you to Fiore and Back xx