Lucy burst out in uncontrollable laugher, drawing some very strange looks from the people sitting around her in the café.

That morning, the industrious blonde had chosen to camp out at a nearby café just a few blocks from her apartment. For one, the scones sold there were crumbly and the small chocolate chips tucked hidden away in the buttery pastry were like tiny melt-in-your-mouth treasure pieces.

The head baker had a rather sadistic sense of humour, so sometimes you might find yourself with just a few chocolate nibs. But if Lady Luck decided to specially favour someone that day, he might be delighted to find a few more in his.

One would have figured that irate customers would be kicking up a fuss over the unfairness of it all, but even the plain scones themselves were such a delight that whatever ire one felt would have evaporated with the next bite. Topped with a few dollops of clotted cream and a hot tea, and you had a perfect tea time snack to while away the lazy afternoon with.

And that was how Lucy Heartfilia had chosen to spend her afternoon, surrounded by the savoury aroma of fresh pastries in the air.

As it was a Monday afternoon, The Regency Café was not that crowded.

The pair milling around the counter browsed the glass display with casual indifference as they pointed out the various sweet and savoury offerings. Around her, a few others were scattered about, their gentle chatter echoing off the high ceilings. The temperature that day was already delightfully chilly and so, the large overhead fans whirled about at an almost fainéant speed, fulfilling mainly the purpose of accentuating the ambience rather than having an actual cooling effect.

Lucy put down the stapled set of pages and glanced out the window. Her warm breath misted the glass window. Resting her chin on one fist, she smiled as she watched the world crawl by.

Given that most of the residents in her neighbourhood were now toiling away in their offices with the scant minority who also worked freely here in the café, the streets were unsurprisingly empty. Every now and then, a group of children would skip on by, their rainboots splish-sploshing playfully along the puddles, but as quickly as they had come, they would be gone again.

"Miss, can I refill your tea?" came a warm voice that drew her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, thank you."

A contented smile spread her lips as Lucy watched the hot liquid swirl about her teacup. Red tendrils began dissipating into the water as the final liquid took on a pale maroon. She took a sip of her rooibos, holding the teacup below her nose for a few seconds as she basked in the light fruity scent of pomegranate.

Energised, she picked up the manuscript again.

She had been surprised when Levy suddenly announced that she had her next manuscript ready. Even with her vivid imagination and mastery over the written word, it usually took the blunette half a year before she had a rough draft ready to go.

What was even more surprising was when Levy declared with a glowing pride that she had churned out her draft in four days. The dark, swollen rings below her eyes had been a very clear testament to that during their video call, so much so that Lucy and Erza were racked with worry about whether their friend had gotten any sleep during the time.

However, Levy McGarden had assured them that she was fine. She had been struck by sudden inspiration a couple of days ago, she hinted with a coy smile on her lips. The ideas had whooshed into her mind with such ferocity that she just had to put them onto paper before her mind exploded.

Given the sheer haste with which it was written, the latest script was rife with errors, but they did not take much away from the quality. Lucy arched her brow when she read, and re-read, the latest paragraph.

The male protagonist had a tendency to laugh in an odd way. Geehee.

"Huh."

Lucy blinked, thinking that she had heard that sound somewhere before but for the life of her, she could not recall its provenance. Ah well. Maybe it would come to her later.

It was her job to finish reading the manuscript and conceptualise a cover design for Levy's latest novel. Thankfully, Levy had finished the draft so much earlier than her deadline that Lucy had plenty of leeway before she needed to even start putting pencil to paper. So she just indulged herself in the story.

However, when she got to one particular scene, she nearly dropped her teacup.

"Wha-!"

Levy's latest female character was named Yukia, and she had a head of soft baby blue hair. However, somewhere along the way, that hair had darkened into a cerulean and her name…

Heads whipped towards her as the blonde was seized by nearly violent fits of laughter.

It must have been a complete Freudian slip brought about by sleep deprivation, but her friend had somehow managed to write herself into the story. Indeed, in that particular paragraph, the romantic scene developed with 'Levy McGarden pouted adorably as he reached a hand towards…'

"Hahahaha! Oh dear Mavis, I can't breathe- haha!"

Lucy wiped away a tear. Then, snickering slyly, she snapped a photo of the page and fired it off to the group chat she shared with Levy and Erza.

As expected, the replies came blindingly fast, and one very embarrassed blunette was practically screaming across the text.

'I'll send you a new one tomorrow. THROW THAT AWAY!'

Lucy grinned as she continued reading. Maybe she would keep it for posterity.

The next few days went by in a blur. Tuesday was as it usually was with Lucy bustling about campus to teach two classes. On Wednesday, after her lesson ended at 6, she found herself being whisked off to a newly opened VR arcade where Natsu made good on his promise to let her have her rematch.

With two controllers in hand and the ability to use her whole body, Lucy fared much better at the games, even managing to beat the high score in the system. The blonde had been so jubilant that she did a happy little jig on the spot. It was only after she had removed the VR headset that Lucy realised her date had been filming her gameplay the whole time.

Natsu was chuckling amusedly as he kept his phone aimed at her. In response, Lucy had given her own adorable pout.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush, maybe it was the darkness reminiscent of the theatre, but their passion flared at some point. The arcade was not ideal, so the pair had hightailed it out of there as quickly as they could.

Passers-by might have thought them sick. Lucy certainly felt a little feverish. Her breathing was fast and shallow, her face was flushed and her heart was thundering in her ears. All the while, she kept her stare trained straight ahead at the large black cap he wore.

The blonde noted with no small amount of excitement that his ears were tinted the slightest shade of pink. However, with his thick locks curling around his neck, it was barely noticeable. Whereas on her, the blush must have been visible from miles away.

The mall was crowded, but he knew the place like the back of his hand. Natsu led her straight to a quiet stairwell and pushed the door shut behind them. As soon as the 'Click!' echoed out, he spun around and yanked her flush against him. His kiss was so sudden that Lucy gasped, the sound of which was quickly swallowed.

By now, her body was well-conditioned to his touch and Lucy responded immediately. Grabbing his scarf, she stumbled backwards till her back hit the wall and she held him tight. Lust swirled in her belly and she let it take control, sliding her arm below the folds of his scarf to wrap around his neck as she kissed him fervently.

There was a twinge of pride when she felt the man shudder.

"Someone's taking the lead today," he mumbled, smiling against her lips.

"Mm… I learnt from the best."

He trailed scorching kisses along her cheek, and when his teeth grazed her earlobe, Lucy bit back a moan. Lucy let her head drop sideways as the wonderful sensations rippled through her body. She knew that that little bit of the ear was an erogenous zone, but she had never really explored it before.

The man alternated between sucking, gentle scraping and then licking the highly sensitised skin. Everything he was doing now felt like a new adventure, and dear Mavis, was she enjoying the heck out of every second. A series of tiny gasps escaped her lips and she clutched his hair, trying to press his head closer.

Feeling her knees begin to weaken, Natsu held her more tightly. He let his other hand slide along her waist to grab her butt. She panicked when he accidentally touched her there the other night, but she certainly wasn't doing so now. If anything, the less-than-subtle demonstration of desire made the blonde arch her body towards him lasciviously. And then…

"God damn…"

Natsu groaned right by her ear when she suddenly cupped him through his joggers. When had her hand even made its way down south?

Now it was Lucy's turn to smile.

Since it had felt so good for her, she figured it must be the case for him as well. Pressing feathery light kisses to his cheek, she lightly trailed her lips up his jawline. There was the slightest hint of stubble and the gentle roughness titillated the nerve endings in her lips. And just as her mouth closed around his earlobe, Lucy squeezed him again ever so lightly.

The man hugged her tightly nearly to the point of crushing her. The power she had over him was a heady rush and Lucy marvelled at how he was almost trembling in her arms. The petite blonde was nearly subsumed under his broad chest but the control was all in her hands.

As she had told him earlier, she learnt from the best, and the pinkette was certainly the best at turning her on. She copied his mouth movements from earlier almost exactly, sucking, biting and licking. As for below, she improvised, but it was working wonders on him. Natsu was nearly growling now and his breaths were coming out as harsh pants.

Every few seconds, a raspy whisper would breeze past her ears, as if he were trying to say something. But as quickly as it would come, it would then be replaced by another lustful groan.

His unbridled excitement was infectious and Lucy sped up her movements below.

Graduating from gentle squeezing, she gently closed her fingers around his erect length and began to stroke. Even through layers of cloth, she could make out the outline of his arousal. Long and thick, its heat began to warm the palm of her hand. Just touching him, albeit indirectly, fuelled her own desire and a moan of her own began rising up her throat…

However, barely ten seconds in, Natsu grabbed her hand, forcing it to still.

"Lucy…" he rasped out. He was glaring at her from beneath heavily-lidded eyes. "If you continue, I'm really going to snap."

Guiding her hand away from his groin, he shakily folded her into a tight hug.

"You turn me on more than I can handle, Luce, and I want you. I really, really want you… but not in a stairwell."

She opened her mouth to protest but clamped it shut a second later. Her protest stemmed from her remaining desire, but as logical Lucy slowly returned, she had no choice but to concede that a dusty, slightly dim corner of the mall was indeed far from perfect.

She understood it, but accepting it was something else altogether. Her tiny grumble reached his ears. Despite his burning arousal, he managed to find the strength in him to pull away.

"Besides," he continued, sliding his fingers through her tousled locks. "I still owe you four dates."

I might need to change the rating soon. Lol.

Sam.